Kirkpatricklorentsen3276

5% w/v sodium chloride with inoculum size (1% v/v) was suitable for higher GGT titres (449 U ml-1). Time kinetics showed the stability of enzyme up to 96 h of incubation suggesting its application in the industrial use. The proposed strategy resulted in 2.6-fold increase in the GGT production compared to that obtained in the unoptimized medium. The results demonstrated that RSM was fitting to identify the optimum production conditions and this finding should be of great importance for commercial GGT production.Mucuna pruriens belongs to the Fabaceae family and is ordinarily known as velvet bean, in English cowitch and Hindi Kawaanch. AY-22989 nmr The restorative quality of this bean makes it an excellent component in pharmaceutical and therapeutic applications. Apart from high protein and starch content, these beans contain (l-Dopa) 3, 4-dihydroxy-l-phenylalanine, which exhibits several medicinal properties. However, it is poisonous when ingested by ruminants. The obstruction to the advancement of Mucuna as nutrition or food is the nearness of antinutrients, which are high as opposed to other uncommon vegetables. Also, this legume is considered as a future restorative herb because of its anticholesterolemic, anti-Parkinson, antioxidant, antidiabetic, sexual enhancing, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antivenom activities. It also exhibits anticancer activities, but very few studies have been done. The seeds of Mucuna pruriens also contain a vast range of phytochemical constituents such as alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, reducing sugars, and tannins, which provide an avenue to explore it for wider applications. This review sheds light on the possible mechanism of action of Mucuna pruriens on some diseases (hypoglycemia, Parkinson's disease, microbial diseases and tumor). and also fills the gap in the studies of Mucuna pruriens. and Further more in vitro and in vivo studies should be done to explore the potential of these seeds against many diseases, its application as a food source, its antinutrient, and harmful properties as well as its nutraceutical perspective.Watercress (Nasturtium officinale R. Br.) is a cruciferous plant consumed by people worldwide. This vegetable contains numerous health-benefiting compounds; however, gene information and metabolomic profiling of individual parts for this plant species are scarce. In this study, we investigated the expression patterns of phenylpropanoid biosynthetic genes and the content of phenylpropanoids in different parts of watercress. We identified 11 genes encoding enzymes related to the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway and analyzed the expression patterns of these genes in the leaves, stems, roots, flowers, and seeds of watercress. The result showed that most of the genes were expressed at the highest levels in the flowers. HPLC analysis performed in samples from these same parts revealed the presence of seven phenylpropanoid-derived compounds. The content of total phenylpropanoids was the highest in flowers, followed by that in the leaves, whereas the lowest level was generally detected in the stems. Rutin was the most abundant phenylpropanoid in all plant segments, while quercetin was detected only in the flowers and roots. This study provides useful information for further molecular and functional research involving N. officinale and closely related species.Premise Atractylodes japonica (Asteraceae) is endemic to East Asia, where its rhizomes are used in traditional medicine. To investigate the genetic diversity of this species, we developed polymorphic microsatellite markers. Methods and results We obtained a total of 175,825 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci using the Illumina HiSeq 2500 system. Eighteen polymorphic SSR primer pairs were selected to determine heterozygosity levels and allele numbers in 80 individuals from four A. japonica populations. The levels of observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.000 to 1.000 and from 0.133 to 0.892, respectively. Cross-amplification in the related species A. macrocephala and A. lancea was successful in 15 and 14 of the 18 markers, respectively. Conclusions These microsatellite markers will be useful for future studies involving A. japonica population genetics and breeding.Premise Nuclear microsatellite markers were developed for Linum bienne, the sister species of the crop L. usitatissimum, to provide molecular genetic tools for the investigation of L. bienne genetic diversity and structure. Methods and results Fifty microsatellite loci were identified in L. bienne by means of genome skimming, and 44 loci successfully amplified. Of these, 16 loci evenly spread across the L. usitatissimum reference nuclear genome were used for genotyping six L. bienne populations. Excluding one monomorphic locus, the number of alleles per locus ranged from two to 12. Four out of six populations harbored private alleles. The levels of expected and observed heterozygosity were 0.076 to 0.667 and 0.000 to 1.000, respectively. All 16 loci successfully cross-amplified in L. usitatissimum. Conclusions The 16 microsatellite loci developed here can be used for population genetic studies in L. bienne, and 28 additional loci that successfully amplified are available for further testing.Premise Camellia reticulata, which is native to southwestern China, is an economically important plant belonging to the family Theaceae. We developed expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers for C. reticulata, which can be used to investigate its genetic diversity, population structure, and evolutionary history. Methods and results We detected 4780 SSRs in C. reticulata from Camellia RNA-Seq data deposited in the National Center for Biotechnology Information's expressed sequence tags database (dbEST). Primer pairs for 70 SSR loci were designed and used for PCR amplification using 90 individuals from four populations of C. reticulata. Of these loci, 50 microsatellite markers were successfully identified, including 11 polymorphic markers. The allele number per locus ranged from two to seven (mean = 4.182), and the levels of observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.044 to 0.567 and from 0.166 to 0.642, respectively. Eleven primer pairs amplified PCR products in three other species of Camellia (C. saluenensis, C. link2 pitardii, and C. yunnanensis). Conclusions The set of microsatellite markers developed here can be used to study the genetic variation and population structure of C. reticulata and related species and thereby help to develop conservation strategies for this species.Premise Young plant roots share a common architecture a central vascular cylinder surrounded by enveloping cylinders of ground and dermal tissue produced by an apical promeristem. Roots with closed apical organization can be studied to explore how ontogeny is managed. The analysis of transverse and longitudinal sections has been the most useful approach for this, but suffers from limitations. link3 We developed a new method that utilizes digital photography of transverse sections and three-dimensional (3D) computer virtual reconstructions to overcome the limitations of other techniques. Methods Serial transverse sections of teosinte root tips (Zea mays subsp. mexicana) were used to construct longitudinal images, 3D images, and an animated 3D model. The high-resolution, high-contrast, and low-distortion sectioning method developed previously by the authors enabled high-quality virtual image construction with the aid of a standard laptop computer. Results The resulting 3D images allowed greater insight into root tissue ontogeny and organization, especially specific cellular structures such as histogen layers, xylem vessels, pericycle, and meristematic initials. Discussion This new method has advantages over confocal laser scanning microscopy and magnetic resonance imaging for visualizing anatomy, and includes a procedure to correct for sectioning distortion. An additional advantage of this method, developed to produce better knowledge about the developmental anatomy of procambium in roots, is its applicability to a wide range of anatomical subjects.Premise Physiological processes may vary within leaf laminae; however, the accompanying heterogeneity in leaf venation is rarely investigated because its quantification can be time consuming. Here we introduce accelerated protocols using existing software to increase sample throughput and ask whether laminae venation varies among three crop types and four subspecies of Brassica rapa. Methods FAA (formaldehyde, glacial acetic acid, and ethanol)-fixed samples were stored in ethanol. Without performing any additional clearing or staining, we tested two methods of image acquisition at three locations along the proximal-distal axis of the laminae and estimated the patterns of venation using the program phenoVein. We developed and made available an R script to handle the phenoVein output and then analyzed our data using linear mixed-effects models. Results Beyond fixation and storage, staining and clearing are not necessary to estimate leaf venation using phenoVein if the images are acquired using a stereomicroscope. All estimates of venation required some manual adjustment. We found a significant effect of location within the laminae for all aspects of venation. Discussion By removing the clearing and staining steps and utilizing the semi-automated program phenoVein, we quickly and cheaply acquired leaf venation data. Venation may be an important target for crop breeding efforts, particularly if intralaminar variation correlates with variation in physiological processes, which remains an open question.Premise Putatively single-copy nuclear (SCN) loci, which are identified using genomic resources of closely related species, are ideal for phylogenomic inference. However, suitable genomic resources are not available for many clades, including Melastomataceae. We introduce a versatile approach to identify SCN loci for clades with few genomic resources and use it to develop probes for target enrichment in the distantly related Memecylon and Tibouchina (Melastomataceae). Methods We present a two-tiered pipeline. First, we identified putatively SCN loci using MarkerMiner and transcriptomes from distantly related species in Melastomataceae. Published loci and genes of functional significance were then added (384 total loci). Second, using HybPiper, we retrieved 689 homologous template sequences for these loci using genome-skimming data from within the focal clades. Results We sequenced 193 loci common to Memecylon and Tibouchina. Probes designed from 56 template sequences successfully targeted sequences in both clades. Probes designed from genome-skimming data within a focal clade were more successful than probes designed from other sources. Discussion Our pipeline successfully identified and targeted SCN loci in Memecylon and Tibouchina, enabling phylogenomic studies in both clades and potentially across Melastomataceae. This pipeline could be easily applied to other clades with few genomic resources.Introduction A high body fat coupled with low cardiopulmonary fitness and an increase in oxidative stress has been connoted as contributing factors in developing cardiovascular comorbidities. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between antioxidants and oxidative stress status with cardiopulmonary responses in women of different body mass index (BMI). Subjects and methods Eighty female adults were recruited and divided into three groups; normal weight (n = 23), overweight (n = 28) and obese (n = 29), according to their BMI. Blood samples were obtained prior to cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Plasma samples were separated by centrifugation and analysed for enzymatic antioxidant activity including catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. Non-enzymatic antioxidant activities were assessed using 2, 2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) assays. To evaluate the oxidative stress status of subjects, levels of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde, the by-product of lipid peroxidation, were measured.