Evaluation of Neuroprotective Effect of Barleria Prionitis Linn in Animal Models of Parkinson’s Disease

The present investigation has been undertaken as study the anti-parkinson activity of aqueous extract of Barleria prionitis. The plant Barleria prionitis of family acanthaceae an ayurvedic herb which is known for its significant medical properties. Experiments were conducted following standard procedures. The aqueous extract of Barleria prionitis were evaluated for their invivo antioxidant and anti-parkison properties and neurotransmitters level. The anti-parkinson activity of AEBP was evaluated using MPTP induced parkinson and Rotenone induced Parkinson models. Levodopa was used as standard for both models. Extracts treated groups showed higher invivo antioxidant and anti-parkinson activities. They also showed higher activity in neurotransmitters level. AEBP exhibited similar anti-parkinson activity that of standard but with lesser magnitude. The result may be attributed to the chemical constituents such as iridoid glycosides present in it which may be due to their individual or cumulative effect that enhanced anti-parkinson activity and provided scientific evidence of the ethnomedicinal futures of Barleria prionitis. These findings could justify the inclusion of this plant in the management of parkinson’s disease

Morpho-Agronomic Diversity in Pole-Type Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Landraces from Lushai Hills of North-East India

The present study was based on morphological and agronomical characterization of 23 pole-type common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) landraces collected from Lushai hills of North-East India. Extensive variation in plant and seed traits was found in 16 morphological and agronomical characters. Cluster analysis based on Euclidean distance grouped the genotypes into five main branches, reflecting their growth type and reproductive traits. Significant positive or negative correlation was observed among important traits. Principal component analysis was used for assessing patterns of variation by accounting for all the 10 quantitative and six qualitative variables together. Ordination among accessions showed that the first five principal components had Eigen values greater than one, and cumulatively accounted for 72% of the variation. Characterization based on quantitative and qualitative traits enabled separation of accessions into various groups representing landraces with distinct characters

Identification of mungbean lines with tolerance or resistance to yellow mosaic in fields in India where different begomovirus species and different Bemisia tabaci cryptic species predominate

Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) is an important pulse crop in India. A major constraint for improved productivity is the yield loss caused by mungbean yellow mosaic disease (MYMD). This disease is caused by several begomoviruses which are transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). The objective of this study was to identify the predominant begomoviruses infecting mungbean and the major cryptic species of B. tabaci associated with this crop in India. The indigenous B. tabaci cryptic species Asia II 1 was found dominant in Northern India, whereas Asia II 8 was found predominant in Southern India. Repeated samplings over consecutive years indicate a stable situation with, Mungbean yellow mosaic virus strains genetically most similar to a strain from urdbean (MYMV-Urdbean) predominant in North India, strains most similar to MYMV-Vigna predominant in South India, and Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV) strains predominant in Eastern India. In field studies, mungbean line NM 94 showed a high level of tolerance to the disease in the Eastern state of Odisha where MYMIV was predominant and in the Southern state of Andhra Pradesh where MYMV-Vigna was predominant, but only a moderate level of tolerance in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu. However, in Northern parts of India where there was high inoculum pressure of MYMV-Urdbean during the Kharif season, NM 94 developed severe yellow mosaic symptoms. The identification of high level of tolerance in mungbean lines such as ML 1628 and of resistance in black gram and rice bean provides hope for tackling the disease through resistance breeding

Compartment-Restricted Biotinylation Reveals Novel Features of Prion Protein Metabolism in Vivo

A selective tagging method for detecting minor alternatively-localized populations of a protein is used to study a disease-associated transmembrane form of prion protein. The analysis reveals key features of transmembrane prion protein metabolism and one way this is altered by human disease-causing mutants

Dysregulation of neuronal iron homeostasis as an alternative unifying effect of mutations causing familial Alzheimer's disease

The overwhelming majority of dominant mutations causing early onset familial Alzheimer's disease (EOfAD) occur in only three genes, PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP. An effect-in-common of these mutations is alteration of production of the APP-derived peptide, amyloid ß (Aß). It is this key fact that underlies the authority of the Amyloid Hypothesis that has informed Alzheimer's disease research for over two decades. Any challenge to this authority must offer an alternative explanation for the relationship between the PSEN genes and APP. In this paper, we explore one possible alternative relationship - the dysregulation of cellular iron homeostasis as a common effect of EOfAD mutations in these genes. This idea is attractive since it provides clear connections between EOfAD mutations and major characteristics of Alzheimer's disease such as dysfunctional mitochondria, vascular risk factors/hypoxia, energy metabolism, and inflammation. We combine our ideas with observations by others to describe a "Stress Threshold Change of State" model of Alzheimer's disease that may begin to explain the existence of both EOfAD and late onset sporadic (LOsAD) forms of the disease. Directing research to investigate the role of dysregulation of iron homeostasis in EOfAD may be a profitable way forward in our struggle to understand this form of dementia

ESTs in Plants: Where Are We Heading?

Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are the most important resources for transcriptome exploration. Next-generation sequencing technologies have been generating gigabytes of genetic codes representing genes, partial and whole genomes most of which are EST datasets. Niche of EST in plants for breeding, regulation of gene expression through miRNA studies, and their application for adapting to climatic changes are discussed. Some of the recent tools for analysis of EST exclusive to plants are listed out. Systems biology though in its infancy in plants has influenced EST mapping for unraveling gene regulatory circuits, which is illustrated with a few significant examples. This review throws a glance at the evolving role of ESTs in plants