Plants Saline Environment in Perception with Rhizosphere Bacteria Containing 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylate Deaminase

Soil salinity stress has become a serious roadblock for food production worldwide since it is one of the key factors affecting agricultural productivity. Salinity and drought are predicted to cause considerable loss of crops. To deal with this difficult situation, a variety of strategies have been developed, including plant breeding, plant genetic engineering, and a wide range of agricultural practices, including the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and seed biopriming techniques, to improve the plants' defenses against salinity stress, resulting in higher crop yields to meet future human food demand. In the present review, we updated and discussed the negative effects of salinity stress on plant morphological parameters and physio-biochemical attributes via various mechanisms and the beneficial roles of PGPR with 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-Carboxylate(ACC) deaminase activity as green bio-inoculants in reducing the impact of saline conditions. Furthermore, the applications of ACC deaminase-producing PGPR as a beneficial tool in seed biopriming techniques are updated and explored. This strategy shows promise in boosting quick seed germination, seedling vigor and plant growth uniformity. In addition, the contentious findings of the variation of antioxidants and osmolytes in ACC deaminase-producing PGPR treated plants are examined.

Neuropsychological correlates of insight in obsessive-compulsive disorder

OBJECTIVE

There are limited data on neuropsychological correlates of poor insight in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We hypothesize that poor insight may be associated with greater impairment in tasks of conflict resolution/response inhibition and possibly impairment in a task of verbal learning and memory.

METHOD

Insight and neuropsychological functions were assessed in 150 subjects with DSM-IV OCD. The neuropsychological data of 177 healthy control subjects were used for comparison.

RESULTS

Insight score correlated significantly with the Stroop Interference Test for conflict resolution/response inhibition (P = 0.002), and showed trends for significance with the Controlled Oral Word Association (COWA) average for verbal fluency (P = 0.021) and delayed recall on the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) for verbal memory (P = 0.015). On regression analysis, the AVLT delayed recall, the COWA average, the Matrix score, the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale total score, and current antipsychotic use emerged as significant predictors of poorer insight.

CONCLUSION

Poor insight is associated with greater impairments in conflict resolution/response inhibition, verbal memory, and fluency. Individuals with poorer insight may have difficulty in appropriately processing conflicting information, updating their memory with corrective information, and then accessing this corrective information to modify their irrational beliefs.

Antifungal activity of Glycyrrhiza glabra extracts and its active constituent glabridin

Glabridin, an active constituent of Glycyrrhiza glabra roots, was found to be active against both yeast and filamentous fungi. Glabridin also showed resistance modifying activity against drug resistant mutants of Candida albicans at a minimum inhibitory concentration of 31.25-250 microg/mL. Although the compound was reported earlier to be active against Candida albicans, but this is the first report of its activity against drug resistant mutants.

Gallic acid-based indanone derivatives as anticancer agents

Gallic acid-based indanone derivatives have been synthesised. Some of the indanones showed very good anticancer activity in MTT assay. Compounds 10, 11, 12 and 14 possessed potent anticancer activity against various human cancer cell lines. The most potent indanone (10, IC(50)=2.2 microM), against MCF-7, that is, hormone-dependent breast cancer cell line, showed no toxicity to human erythrocytes even at higher concentrations (100 microg/ml, 258 microM). While, indanones 11, 12 and 14 showed toxicities to erythrocytes at higher concentrations.

Antimicrobial potential of Glycyrrhiza glabra roots

The present study was aimed to investigate antimicrobial potential of Glycyrrhiza glabra roots. Antimycobacterial activity of Glycyrrhiza glabra was found at 500 microg/mL concentration. Bioactivity guided phytochemical analysis identified glabridin as potentially active against both Mycobacterium tuberculosis H(37)Ra and H(37)Rv strains at 29.16 microg/mL concentration. It exhibited antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Our results indicate potential use of licorice as antitubercular agent through systemic experiments and sophisticated anti-TB assay.

Synthesis of chalcone derivatives on steroidal framework and their anticancer activities

Chalcone derivatives on estradiol framework have been synthesized. Some of the derivatives showed potent anticancer activity against some human cancer cell lines. Compounds 9 and 19 showed potent activity against MCF-7, a hormone dependent breast cancer cell line. Chalcone 7 was further modified to the corresponding indanone derivative (19) using the Nazarov reaction, which showed better activity than the parent compound against the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Active anticancer derivatives were also evaluated for osmotic hemolysis using the erythrocyte as a model system. It was observed that chalcone derivatives showing cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines did not affect the fragility of erythrocytes and hence may be considered as non-toxic to normal cells.

Synthesis of diverse analogues of Oenostacin and their antibacterial activities

Several diverse analogues of Oenostacin, a naturally occurring potent antibacterial phenolic acid derivative, have been synthesized. A small library with more than forty analogues having different aromatic rings and varied side chains has been achieved through solution phase synthesis. Some of these analogues, that is, 22, 23 and 42, possessed potent antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus having EC(50) ranging from 0.49 to 0.67 microM as compared to Oenostacin (EC(50)=0.12 microM).

Synthesis of gallic acid based naphthophenone fatty acid amides as cathepsin D inhibitors

Gallic acid, one of the most abundant plant phenolic acids, has been modified to cathepsin D protease inhibitors. The strategy of modification was proposed basing on some previously reported structure and activity relationship (SAR) studies. The synthesized naphthophenone fatty acid amide derivatives have been evaluated for in vitro cathepsin D inhibition activity. Two of them have shown significant inhibition activity with IC(50) values of 0.06 and 0.14 microM, respectively, as compared against pepstatin (0.0023 microM), the most potent inhibitor known so far. The study revealed that such attempts on gallic acid based pharmacophores might result in potent inhibitors of cathepsin D.

A simple, convenient and chemoselective formylation of sterols by Vilsmeier reagent

Vilsmeier reagent (DMF-POCl(3)) was used as an efficient formylating agent. Several sterols having sec-hydroxyl group at 3/17-position have been modified into respective formate esters. The method is simple, mild, chemoselective and provides sec-alcoholic protection in good yields.

Plant-based anticancer molecules: a chemical and biological profile of some important leads

A number of natural products, with diverse chemical structures, have been isolated as anticancer agents. Several potential lead molecules such as camptothecin, vincristine, vinblastine, taxol, podophyllotoxin, combretastatins, etc. have been isolated from plants and many of them have been modified to yield better analogues for activity, toxicity or solubility. Several successful molecules like topotecan, irinotecan, taxotere, etoposide, teniposide, etc. also have emerged as drugs upon modification of these natural leads and many more are yet to come. In this review, the authors have focused on four important anticancer leads, that is, camptothecin, taxol, combretastatin A-4 and podophyllotoxin. Their chemistry, structure and activity relationships, biological activities, modes of action, analogue synthesis and future prospects have been discussed.

Synthesis of 1-(3',4',5'-trimethoxy) phenyl naphtho[2,1b]furan as a novel anticancer agent

3',4',5'-Trimethoxy benzoyl-naphthalene 2-O-acetic acid (5) underwent base catalysed intramolecular condensation to yield exclusively 1-(3',4',5'-trimethoxy) phenyl naphtho[2,1-b]furan 8. The cyclised product 8 has been characterised by spectroscopy. The product 8 showed significant anticancer activity against human cancer cell lines COLO320DM (colon), CaCO2 (colon) and WRL68 (liver) at 0.7, 0.65 and 0.50 microg/ml concentrations, respectively, in the in vitro MTT assay.

Expression of recombinant vitellogenin in the yeast Pichia pastoris

Vitellogenin (Vtg) plays vital roles as precursor to the yolk proteins and as carrier for lipids, carbohydrates, phosphates, metal ions, vitamins, and hormones into the oocytes during the massive deposition of yolk nutrients for subsequent nourishment of the developing embryos. Reproductive success is highly sensitive to the nutritional quality of the broodstock diet, which greatly affects the egg and larval viability. We present a novel strategy for genetically engineering a Pichia pastoris yeast strain that constitutively produces recombinant Vtg (rVtg), for application as an enriched feed. The tilapia Oreochromis aureus Vtg (OaVtg) cDNA (5.3 kb) was cloned into a nonsecretory pGAPZA vector. Clones containing up to 31 copies of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAP)-promoter-driven Vtg expression cassettes were isolated. These clones expressed a membrane-associated intracellular rVtg protein of 194 kDa, constituting up to 1.16% of total protein. To facilitate future purification of rVtg, we explored the possibility of secreting rVtg using the native Vtg secretion signal and the alpha-factor secretion signal of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, neither signal promoted the secretion of rVtg. The clones maximally expressed rVtg at 23 degrees C, reaching a peak at 22 h in shake flasks and 16 h in a fermentor. The clones exhibited a significant increase in essential amino acids and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are important for its application as a high-quality nutrient feed.

Resurgence of natural colourants: a holistic view

Today, natural colourants are emerging globally, leaving synthetic colourants behind in the race, due to the realisation that are safer and ecofriendly in nature. In this context, a brief review of natural colourant sources, their classification, chemical constituents responsible for producing different colours, its activities and effect of different mordants on the hue is discussed.

Microwave-assisted rapid synthesis of methyl 2,4,5-trimethoxyphenylpropionate, a metabolite ofCordia alliodora

Microwave assisted condensation of asaronaldehyde (2) with malonic acid in piperidine-AcOH provides 2,4,5-trimethoxycinnamic acid (3) in 87% yield within 4 min, which upon further reduction with PdCl2- HCOOH-aq. NaOH gives 3-(2,4,5-trimethoxy)phenyl propionic acid (4) in 88% yield within 3 min. Esterification of 4 with MeOH-H+ gives methyl 2,4,5-trimethoxyphenylpropionate (1), a metabolite of Cordia alliodora, in 94% yield within 3 min (overall 69% yield).

A new disubstituted acetylacetone from the leaves of Bidens pilosa Linn

Phytochemical investigation of the leaves of Bidens pilosa lead to the isolation and characterization of a new disubstituted acetylacetone (1) named as 3-Propyl-3-(2,4,5-trimethoxy)benzyloxy-pentan-2,4-dione.

A Mutation in the gene-encoding bacteriophage T7 DNA polymerase that renders the phage temperature-sensitive

Gene 5 of bacteriophage T7 encodes a DNA polymerase essential for phage replication. A single point mutation in gene 5 confers temperature sensitivity for phage growth. The mutation results in an alanine to valine substitution at residue 73 in the exonuclease domain. Upon infection of Escherichia coli by the temperature-sensitive phage at 42 degrees C, there is no detectable T7 DNA synthesis in vivo. DNA polymerase activity in these phage-infected cell extracts is undetectable at assay temperatures of 30 degrees C or 42 degrees C. Upon infection at 30 degrees C, both DNA synthesis in vivo and DNA polymerase activity in cell extracts assayed at 30 degrees C or 42 degrees C approach levels observed using wild-type T7 phage. The amount of soluble gene 5 protein produced at 42 degrees C is comparable to that produced at 30 degrees C, indicating that the temperature-sensitive phenotype is not due to reduced expression, stability, or solubility. Thus the polymerase induced at elevated temperatures by the temperature-sensitive phage is functionally inactive. Consistent with this observation, biochemical properties and heat inactivation profiles of the genetically altered enzyme over-produced at 30 degrees C closely resemble that of wild-type T7 DNA polymerase. It is likely that the polymerase produced at elevated temperatures is a misfolded intermediate in its folding pathway.

Role of the C-terminal residue of the DNA polymerase of bacteriophage T7

The crystal structure of the DNA polymerase encoded by gene 5 of bacteriophage T7, in a complex with its processivity factor, Escherichia coli thioredoxin, a primer-template, and an incoming deoxynucleoside triphosphate reveals a putative hydrogen bond between the C-terminal residue, histidine 704 of gene 5 protein, and an oxygen atom on the penultimate phosphate diester of the primer strand. Elimination of this electrostatic interaction by replacing His(704) with alanine renders the phage nonviable, and no DNA synthesis is observed in vivo. Polymerase activity of the genetically altered enzyme on primed M13 DNA is only 12% of the wild-type enzyme, and its processivity is drastically reduced. Kinetic parameters for binding a primer-template (K(D)(app)), nucleotide binding (K(m)), and k(off) for dissociation of the altered polymerase from a primer-template are not significantly different from that of wild-type T7 DNA polymerase. However, the decrease in polymerase activity is concomitant with increased hydrolytic activity, judging from the turnover of nucleoside triphosphate into the corresponding nucleoside monophosphate (percentage of turnover, 65%) during DNA synthesis. Biochemical data along with structural observations imply that the terminal amino acid residue of T7 DNA polymerase plays a critical role in partitioning DNA between the polymerase and exonuclease sites.

A simple bacterial turbidometric method for detection of S. aureus

A simple and rapid turbidometric method based on specificity of lysosotaphin to lyse S. aureus exclusively has been developed for detection of S. aureus contamination in foods.

Effect of preservation techniques and food additives on staphylococcal thermonuclease

Staphylococcal TNase was found to retain its activity fully even after exposure to chilling and refrigeration temperatures for 24 h. It was not inhibited by p-hydroxy benzoic acid, sorbic acid, methylpropyl p-benzoic acid and sodium nitrite in the concentration range of 0.04 to 0.5%, whereas it was inhibited by 100 ppm of butylated hydroxy anisole (BHA), 200 ppm of butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT), and 300 ppm of propyl gallate. There was not complete inhibition of S. aureus and TNase by tocopherol (TP) and ascorbic acid (AA) even at concentration of 300 ppm. These results indicate that TNase can be used as an index of potentially enterotoxin producing S. aureus contamination in foods subjected to chilling, refrigeration as well as in foods containing common preservatives and antioxidants.

Effect of gamma irradiation on staphylococcal thermonuclease (TNase)

Stability of staphylococcal thermonuclease (TNase) on exposure to irradiation though expected has not been experimentally established. In the present work. TNase in presence of standard growth media as well as dairy and meat products was found to be completely resistant even at a dose of 10 kGy indicating that the TNase can be used as an indicator of Staphylococcal aureus contamination even in foods in which S. aureus have been destroyed by irradiation. This new application of TNase is being reported for the first time.

The treatment of dracontiasis with thiabendazole

400 cases of dracunculosis were treated with Thiabendazole and the results reported. Thiabendazole appears to be highly effective and its pleasant taste and lack of adverse effects account for its acceptability by the patients. The drug is cheap and can be recommended even for poor patients. The adverse reactions are minimal and do not necessitate stoppage of therapy. We conclude the Mintezol is highly efficacious and should prove a useful weapon against Guinea worm disease.