Genome analysis of amaranths: determination of inter- and intra-species variations

Amaranths are an important group of plants and include grain, vegetable and ornamental types. Despite the economic importance of the amaranths, there is very little information available about the extent and nature of genetic diversity present in the genus Amaranthus at molecular level. We now report the randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiles of different species of Amaranthus as well as different accessions of the species. These RAPD analyses have been carried out using 65 arbitrary sequence decamer primers. From the RAPD data, an UPGMA dendrogram illustrating the inter-as well as intra-species relationships has been computed. The putative hybrid origin of A.dubious from A. hybridus and A. spinosus is also ruled out by the RAPD data. The trends of species relationships amongst the amaranths determined by RAPDs is consistent with their cytogenetic and evolutionary relationships that have already been determined

Exposure of Human Lung Cells to Tobacco Smoke Condensate Inhibits the Nucleotide Excision Repair Pathway

Exposure to tobacco smoke is the number one risk factor for lung cancer. Although the DNA damaging properties of tobacco smoke have been well documented, relatively few studies have examined its effect on DNA repair pathways. This is especially true for the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway which recognizes and removes many structurally diverse DNA lesions, including those introduced by chemical carcinogens present in tobacco smoke. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of tobacco smoke on NER in human lung cells. We studied the effect of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC), a surrogate for tobacco smoke, on the NER pathway in two different human lung cell lines; IMR-90 lung fibroblasts and BEAS-2B bronchial epithelial cells. To measure NER, we employed a slot-blot assay to quantify the introduction and removal of UV light-induced 6–4 photoproducts and cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers. We find a dose-dependent inhibition of 6–4 photoproduct repair in both cell lines treated with CSC. Additionally, the impact of CSC on the abundance of various NER proteins and their respective RNAs was investigated. The abundance of XPC protein, which is required for functional NER, is significantly reduced by treatment with CSC while the abundance of XPA protein, also required for NER, is unaffected. Both XPC and XPA RNA levels are modestly reduced by CSC treatment. Finally, treatment of cells with MG-132 abrogates the reduction in the abundance of XPC protein produced by treatment with CSC, suggesting that CSC enhances proteasome-dependent turnover of the protein that is mediated by ubiquitination. Together, these findings indicate that tobacco smoke can inhibit the same DNA repair pathway that is also essential for the removal of some of the carcinogenic DNA damage introduced by smoke itself, increasing the DNA damage burden of cells exposed to tobacco smoke

A Narrative literature review on Phytopharmacology of a Caricature Plant: Graptophyllum pictum (L.) Griff. (Syn: Justicia picta Linn.)

Graptophyllum pictum is a plant used in medicine from the time of Ayurveda, the ancient system of Indian medicine. This review article is presented to give an insight on all the updated information on its pharmacological activities. Studies indicated that G. pictum possesses diverse medicinal properties such as anti-inflammatory, nephroprotective, antidiabetic, oxytocic, and anti-implantation properties. This review comprehends the numerous medicinal uses and present literature for pharmacological review of G. pictum belongs to family Acanthaceae

Medicinal Plants: Nature’s Prodigy for Hyperuricemia and its related Upshot

Uric acid formation occurs both endogenously and exogenously in the liver, intestines, and blood vessel endothelium when injured, dying, and dead cells transform the nucleic acids adenine and guanine into uric acid. Atypically high levels of uric acid in the blood, or Hyperuricemia, can cause gout and arthritis. Over the past few years, hyperuricemia has become increasingly prevalent. Various studies reported that the increased level of uric acid in blood is not only associated with gout but also may contributory factor for cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, atrial fibrillation, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, coronary artery disease, and cardiovascular death. There has been an emergent attention in uric acid because of the increased prevalence of hyperuricemia worldwide and its induced metabolic disorders. This review article summarizes various traditional plants and their chemical constituents utilized in the cure and treatment of elevated levels of uric acid and its repairable risk factors

Editorial : Covid-19 : effects and innovation for future sustainability

The new Coronavirus, commonly known as Covid-19 or SARS-CoV-2, was identified first in Wuhan, China, in 2019. However, it became a global pandemic within the first few months of 2020. Covid-19 has undergone numerous mutations between then and now, resulting in millions of infections and deaths worldwide. At the same time, the pandemic has created unprecedented global upheavals in every sphere of life. Sadly, any hopes of fully containing Covid-19 have remained uncertain since the pandemic has resurfaced in waves in most countries, demonstrating extreme resilience. As a result, Covid-19’s economic burden has grown with each passing day

A pea chloroplast translation elongation factor that is regulated by abiotic factors

We report the cloning and characterization of both the cDNA (tufA) and genomic clones encoding for a chloroplast translation elongation factor (EF-Tu) from pea. The analysis of the deduced amino acids of the cDNA clone reveals the presence of putative transit peptide sequence and four GTP binding domains and two EF-Tu signature motifs in the mature polypeptide region. Using in vivo immunostaining followed by confocal microscopy pea EF-Tu was localized to chloroplast. The steady state transcript level of pea tufA was high in leaves and not detectable in roots. The expression of this gene is stimulated by light. The differential expression of this gene in response to various abiotic stresses showed that it is down-regulated in response to salinity and ABA and up-regulated in response to low temperature and salicylic acid treatment. These results indicate that regulation of pea tufA may have an important role in plant adaptation to environmental stresses

Suggestive evidence of association of C-159T functional polymorphism of the CD14 gene with atopic asthma in northern and northwestern Indian populations

CD14 is a lipopolysaccharide receptor known to be an important modulator of Th1-Th2 response during early childhood. Genetic association studies of the CD14 gene with asthma and atopic disorders have shown positive as well as negative results in different ethnic populations. The aim of this study was to test for association of C-159T functional promoter polymorphism with atopic asthma and serum IgE levels in northern and northwestern Indian populations. DNA was assayed for the CD14 C-159T polymorphism in a case-control study involving atopic asthmatics (n=187) and healthy normal controls (n=227), and in a family-based association study of 106 trios. The case-control study showed an association at the genotypic (P=0.0146) as well as the allelic level (P=0.0048). Moreover, we observed a deviation of allelic transmission from random proportions (P=0.024) in the transmission disequilibrium test analysis. When we analyzed our results for serum total IgE levels, against this polymorphism, we observed a difference at the genotypic (P=0.0026) as well as at the allelic level (P=0.0016) in a case-control study, whereas no association in the quantitative transmission disequilibrium test analysis was obtained. These findings provide suggestive evidence of association of the CD14 gene locus with atopic asthma in northern and northwestern Indian populations