In Silico functional and phylogenetic analyses of fungal immunomodulatory proteins of some edible mushrooms

Abstract Mushrooms are a well known source of many bioactive and nutritional compounds with immense applicability in both the pharmaceutical and food industries. They are widely used to cure various kinds of ailments in traditional medicines. They have a low amount of fats and cholesterol and possess a high number of proteins. Immunomodulators have the ability which can improve immunity and act as defensive agents against pathogens. One such class of immunomodulators is fungal immunomodulatory proteins (FIPs). FIPs have potential roles in the treatment of cancer, and immunostimulatory effects and show anti-tumor activities. In the current study, 19 FIPs from edible mushrooms have been used for comparison and analysis of the conserved motifs. Phylogenetic analysis was also carried out using the FIPs. The conserved motif analysis revealed that some of the motifs strongly supported their identity as FIPs while some are novel. The fungal immunomodulatory proteins are important and have many properties which can be used for treating ailments and diseases and this preliminary study can be used for the identification and functional characterization of the proposed novel motifs and in unraveling the potential roles of FIPs for developing newer drugs

Test Your Knowledge

62-6

Test Your Knowledge

62-6

Evaluation of Piper betle mediated silver nanoparticle in post-harvest physiology in relation to vase life of cut spike of Gladiolus

Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of green synthesized silver nanoparticles on post-harvest physiology of cut flower in relation to improvement of its vase life as well as keeping quality of the flowers taking gladiolus cut spikes as a model. Results The synthesized Piper betle mediated silver nanoparticles (PbSNPs) were characterized by using UV-visible spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies. It was revealed that PbSNPs ranges from 30 to 50 nm in diameter and spherical in shape. The experiments were conducted to study the effect of PbSNPs on post-harvest physiology, vascular blockage, prolonging vase life, and keeping the quality of cut spike of gladiolus. The treatment consisted of six vase solutions, viz. distilled water (control), 4% sucrose (T1), 4% sucrose + 100 ppm 5-SSA (T2), 4% sucrose + 2 ppm PbSNPs (T3), 4% sucrose + 4 ppm PbSNPs (T4), and 4% sucrose + 6 ppm PbSNPs (T5). Experimental outcomes depicted that T4 vase solution gives the best results in all the aspects statistically compared to its positive control (T2). The results also show PbSNPs in vase solution might have played a significant role for scavenging the reactive oxygen species by inducing antioxidant enzyme system at the time of senescence, leading to a decrease in lipid peroxidation and increase in the membrane stability. Conclusions This study revealed that application of T4 vase solution helps to maintain spikes fresh and dry weight, reduce the vascular blockage, improve the antioxidative defense, and stabilize the membrane integrity that leads to delay senescence

<em>In vitro</em> flowering of tobacco induced by light emitting diode

440-442The influence of light quality on the in vitro flowering of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) var. Jayasri was investigated. A number of different light conditions, namely, fluorescent, red light-emitting diodes (LEDs), blue LEDs, and red and blue (1:1) LEDs, were used in in vitro cultures. It was found that in vitro flowering percentage increased and days to flowering were reduced significantly in the presence of red and blue (1:1) LEDs compared to fluorescent light. Growth parameters, like fresh and dry wt, stem length, leaf area, chlorophyll and carotenoid content were the highest when plants were grown under red and blue (1:1) LEDs. In contrast, soluble sugar content was lower in plantlets under red and blue (1:1) LEDs. These finding signifies that red and blue (1:1) LEDs may be triggering the metabolic activity of tobacco. The present study thus suggests that red and blue (1:1) LEDs significantly promote the in vitro flowering of tobacco, representing a potentially new in vitro experimental platform to study the molecular mechanism of flowering