Conditional expression of harpinPsscauses yeast cell death that shares features of cell death pathway with harpinPss-mediated plant hypersensitive response (HR)

Conditional expression of harpin_Psscauses yeast cell death that shares features of cell death pathway with harpin_Pss-mediated plant hypersensitive response (HR).Pseudomonas syringae pv.syringae 61 hrp Z gene encodes harpin_Pss, a 34.7 kD extracellular protein that elicits a hypersensitive response (HR) in plants. Conditional expression of either full-length or truncated hrp Z sequences under the GAL1 promoter caused cell death in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y187. Plating of pYEUT- hrp Z transformants on a medium containing galactose resulted in complete inhibition of colony formation, whereas their growth on a glucose-based medium was unaffected. Western blot analysis confirmed the expression of harpin_Pssin yeast cells transformed with pYEUT- hrp Z and grown in galactose-containing medium. A time-dependent decline in the percentage of trypan blue-excluding cells in cultures of pYEUT- hrp Z transformants was observed when cultured on galactose-containing medium. Similarly, the number of viable cells reduced to about 50% within 6 h. There were similarities in the harpin_Pss-mediated cell death in plants and yeast cell death (YCD). Galactose-induced cell death in pYEUT-hrp Z transformants of S. cerevisiae Y187 was suppressed by a protein kinase inhibitor K252a (10 μ M). The viability of pYEUT- hrp Z transformants was prolonged in the presence of 100 U ml⁻¹catalase suggesting a role for the oxidative burst in YCD that was further supported by the flow cytometric patterns of propidium iodide uptake by yeast cells. Overall, it appears that yeast provides a useful model system to understand the molecular mechanism of harpin_Pss-mediated cell death.     

Development of ITS sequence based molecular marker to distinguish, Tribulus terrestris L. (Zygophyllaceae) from its adulterants

Tribulus terrestris L. (Zygophyllaceae) is one of the highly traded raw drugs and also used as a stimulative food additive in Europe and USA. While, Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India recognizes T. terrestris as Goksura, Tribulus lanuginosus and T. subramanyamii are also traded by the same name raising issues of quality control. The nuclear ribosomal RNA genes and ITS (internal transcribed spacer) sequence were used to develop species-specific DNA markers. The species-specific markers efficiently amplified 295 bp for T. terrestris (TT1F and TT1R), 300 bp for T. lanuginosus (TL1F and TL1R) and 214 bp for T. subramanyamii (TS1F and TS1R). These DNA markers can be used to distinguish T. terrestris from its adulterants.     

High-performance high-TC superconducting wires

We demonstrated short segments of a superconducting wire that meets or exceeds performance requirements for many large-scale applications of high-temperature superconducting materials, especially those requiring a high supercurrent and/or a high engineering critical current density in applied magnetic fields. The performance requirements for these varied applications were met in 3-micrometer-thick YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) films epitaxially grown via pulsed laser ablation on rolling assisted biaxially textured substrates. Enhancements of the critical current in self-field as well as excellent retention of this current in high applied magnetic fields were achieved in the thick films via incorporation of a periodic array of extended columnar defects, composed of self-aligned nanodots of nonsuperconducting material extending through the entire thickness of the film. These columnar defects are highly effective in pinning the superconducting vortices or flux lines, thereby resulting in the substantially enhanced performance of this wire.