Assessment of genetic diversity in Costus pictus accessions based on RAPD and ISSR markers

Exploring the Antifungal Activity and Action of Saussurea costus Root Extracts against Candida albicans and Non-albicans Species

The isolation and assessment of the active constituents in polar and non-polar crude extracts of Saussurea costus roots as antifungal agents, against Candida albicans and non-C. albicans (NAC) species, was the aim of this current investigation. The SEM “Scanning electron microscopy” imaging provided potential action modes of n-hexane extract (nhhE) toward Candida spp., whereas the TLC-DB “Thin layer chromatography-direct bioautography” was employed for detecting the anticandidal compounds. nhhE had the greatest biocidal activity against all strains and clinical isolates of Candida spp. with maximum zones of inhibition. SEM revealed the occurrence of irregular, dense inclusions of C. albicans cell walls after treatment with nhhE for 12 h. Complete morphological distortions with lysed membranes and deterioration signs appeared in most treated cells of C. parapsilosis. The most effectual compound with anticandidal activity was isolated using TLC-BD and identified as sesquiterpene by GC/MS analysis. The infra-red analysis revealed the presence of lactone ring stretching vibrations at 1766.72 cm−1. The anticandidal activity of nhhE of S. costus roots was confirmed from the results, and the treated cotton fabrics with nhhE of S. costus possessed observable activity against C. albicans. Data could recommend the practical usage of S. costus extracts, particularly nhhE, as influential natural bioactive sources for combating pathogenic Candida spp.

Lemna minor, a hyperaccumulator shows elevated levels of Cd accumulation and genomic template stability in binary application of Cd and Ni: a physiological and genetic approach

In this study, to determine whether having potential to be used as hyperaccumulator for Cd and Ni, numerous experiments were designed for conducting assessments for physiological and genotoxic changes along with defining possible alterations on mineral nutrient status of Lemna minor L. by applying Cd-Ni binary treatments (0, 100, 200 and 400 µM). Our study revealed that there were increases in the concentrations of B, Cr, Fe, K, Mg, and Mn whereas decreases were noticed in the concentrations of Na and Zn and the levels of Ca were inversely proportional to Cd-Ni applications showing tendency to increase at the low concentration and to decrease at the high concentration. Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) analyses revealed that rather than band losses and new band formations, mostly intensity changes in the band profiles, and low polymorphism and high genomic template stability (GTS) were observed. Although, to date, L. minor was defined as an efficient hyperaccumulator/potential accumulator or competent phytoremedial agent by researchers. Our research revealed that L. minor showing high accumulation capability for Cd and having low polymorphism rate and high genomic template stability is a versatile hyperaccumulator, especially for Cd; therefore, highly recommended by us for decontamination of water polluted with Cd. NOVELTY STATEMENTMany studies have been focused on the effects of individual metal ions. However, heavy metal contaminants usually exist as their mixtures in natural aquatic environments. Especially, Cd and Ni coexist in industrial wastes.In this study, the accumulation properties of Lemna minor for both Cd and Ni were investigated and the effects of Cd and Ni on the bioaccumulation of B, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, K, Mn, Na, Pb and Zn in L. minor were also determined. This study furthermore aimed to assess the genotoxic effects of Cd and Ni found in being extended concentrations on DNA using the Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RAPD-PCR) method.

Assessment of genetic diversity in Lepidium sativum L. using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) marker

Lepidium sativum L. is a fast-growing, edible and medicinal plant that belongs to the family Brassicaceae. Indian system of medicinal and health (ISHM) recognizes this plant as a source of several medicinal and nutraceutical factors. Ninety-four accessions collected from 19 states of India were assessed for genetic diversity using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) marker. Ten ISSR primers amplified a total of 172 bands across the 94 accessions and out of these, 139 bands were found to be polymorphic and 33 as monomorphic. The percentage polymorphism varied from 60.00 to 91.30% with an average of 80.10%. The polymorphism information content (PIC) varied from 0.14 to 0.39 with an average of 0.27. The Jaccard similarity coefficient ranged from 0.11 to 0.89 with minimum between accession LS61 and LS60 and maximum between accession LS95 and LS81. Cluster analysis based on UPGMA grouped all the 94 accessions into three major clusters with accessions per cluster ranging from 12 to 45. Similar to UPGMA clustering, PCA also differentiated all the accessions into three major groups. Model-based clustering determined three sub-populations (K = 3). Further, analysis of molecular variance showed that 67% of allelic diversity was attributed to individual accessions within populations while 33% was distributed among populations. This preliminary study shows that significant variability exists in the collected accessions.

RAPD and ISSR marker assessment of genetic diversity in Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad: a unique source of germplasm highly adapted to drought and high-temperature stress

Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. (Cucurbitaceae) shows high levels of variation in fruit color, fruit stripe pattern, seed coat color, and size. Thirty-eight accessions of C. colocynthis plants from different parts of semi-arid Rajasthan were collected and genetic diversity was assessed using random-amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. Out of 65 RAPD decamer primers, 50 primers produced 549 scorable bands of which 318 were polymorphic. Polymorphic banding patterns with the number of amplified fragments varied from 5 (OPA-08 and OPF-9) to 19 (OPT-20) in the molecular size range of 150-6000 bp. Percent polymorphism ranged from 22.2% (OPA-09) to 83.3% (OPE-12) with 55.14% polymorphism. Out of the 20 ISSR primers screened, 13 primers produced 166 amplification products, of which 99 were polymorphic. The number of bands amplified per primer varied between 9 (UBC-807, 802) and 16 (UBC-803, 812) with average band size between 250 and 4000 bp. Percent polymorphism ranged from 45.4% (UBC-815) to 73.3% (UBC-814) with 65.05% polymorphism. Dendrogram constructed on the basis of RAPD + ISSR polymorphism separated the accessions into four distinct clusters at 72% variation with Jaccard's similarity coefficient ranging from minimum 0.64 to 0.95. The matrices for RAPD and ISSR were also compared using Mantel's test and obtained correlation value (r = 0.7947). Discriminating power of RAPD and ISSR markers was assessed by calculating polymorphic information content, multiplex ratio, marker index, and resolving power. Approx. 50% RAPD and ISSR markers showed PIC value and heterozygosity (H) ≥ 0.50, indicating marker as informative. The primers that showed higher polymorphism had higher RP, MR, and MI values.

Molecular characterizations of somatic hybrids developed between Pleurotus florida and Lentinus squarrosulus through inter-simple sequence repeat markers and sequencing of ribosomal RNA-ITS gene

The 12 pfls somatic hybrids and 2 parents of Pleurotus florida and Lentinus squarrosulus were characterized by ISSR and sequencing of rRNA-ITS genes. Five ISSR primers were used and amplified a total of 54 reproducible fragments with 98.14% polymorphism among all the pfls hybrid populations and parental strains. UPGMA-based cluster exhibited a dendrogram with three major groups between the parents and pfls hybrids. Parent P. florida and L. squarrosulus showed different degrees of genetic distance with all the hybrid lines and they showed closeness to hybrid pfls 1m and pfls 1h, respectively. ITS1(F) and ITS4(R) amplified the rRNA-ITS gene with 611-867 bp sequence length. The nucleotide polymorphisms were found in the ITS1, ITS2 and 5.8S rRNA region with different number of bases. Based on rRNA-ITS sequence, UPGMA cluster exhibited three distinct groups between L. squarrosulus and pfls 1p, pfls 1m and pfls 1s, and pfls 1e and P. florida.