Estimation of phenotypic divergence and powdery mildew resistance in a collection of Cucumis sativus L.

Genetic diversity in thirty cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. var. sativus) collections from Karnataka, Southern India, was assessed by examining variation among thirty phenotypic characters and powdery mildew resistance. The collection showed appreciable phenotypic diversity in vein length, leaf length, tendril length, fruit length, fruit breadth, fruit weight, seed index and seed weight. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on 19 quantitative and 11 qualitative characters to determine relationships among populations and to obtain information on the usefulness of those characters for the definition of groups. When the 30 populations were plotted on the first two principal components, accounting for 46% of the total variation, five clusters were identified, accounting for 28 morphological attributes used in the study. The greater part of diversity was accounted for leaf length, fruit length, cavity length, node number, flesh colour, fruit weight, colour of stripes, pericarp thickness, fruit shape, seed length and seed index. CSC-71 (yellow skin and 678 g/fruit) and CSC-83 (774 g/fruit) are considered to be the most important collections to be stressed for further breeding purpose. CSC- 04, CSC-76 and CSC-77 showed gene specific banding for both the sequence tagged site, specific to powdery mildew resistance (EAACMCAC391-395STS and EAAGMCAT280-282STS). Collection CSC-71 (yellow skin and 678 g/fruit) showed gene specific amplification in primer EAACMCAC391-395STS. This evaluation of fruit trait variability combined with powdery mildew resistance can assist geneticists and breeders to identify populations with desirable characteristics for inclusion in variety breeding programs.Key words: Cucumis sativus, genetic diversity, phenotypic traits, principle component analysis

Use of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) in differentiation of selected species of Cucumis grown in Southern India

Cucumis sativus (Cucumber), Cucumis melo var. acidulus (Vellari) and C. melo var. momordica (Snapmelon) are three species which are widely cultivated in India as vegetable crops. These species are distinguished based on leaf, hypanthium and fruit characteristics; however, large variation in morphological and fruit traits has been observed in different populations. A combination of morphological and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis were carried out in these species to have a better understanding of the taxonomy. RAPD analysis of genomic DNA revealed that polymorphism with OPBE, OPBF primer series and banding pattern of OPBE-18, OPBF-03 and OPBF-15 were able to distinguish between C. sativus, C. melo var. acidulus and C. melo var. momordica.Key words: Cucumis sativus, Cucumis melo var. acidulus, Cucumis melo var. momordica, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)

PREDIVAC: CD4+T-cell epitope prediction for vaccine design that covers 95% of HLA class II DR protein diversity

Background: CD4+ T-cell epitopes play a crucial role in eliciting vigorous protective immune responses during peptide (epitope)-based vaccination. The prediction of these epitopes focuses on the peptide binding process by MHC class II proteins. The ability to account for MHC class II polymorphism is critical for epitope-based vaccine design tools, as different allelic variants can have different peptide repertoires. In addition, the specificity of CD4+ T-cells is often directed to a very limited set of immunodominant peptides in pathogen proteins. The ability to predict what epitopes are most likely to dominate an immune response remains a challenge

Fatty Acid Profile, Tocopherol Content of Seed Oil, and Nutritional Analysis of Seed Cake of Wood Apple (Limonia acidissima L.), an Underutilized Fruit-Yielding Tree Species

The present study was aimed at analyzing the fatty acid composition, tocopherols, and physico-chemical characterization of wood apple (Limonia acidissima L.) seed oil and the nutritional profile of seed cake. The fatty acids in seed oil were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and the total seed oil was 32.02 ± 0.08%, comprising oleic (21.56 ± 0.57%), alpha-linolenic (16.28 ± 0.29%), and linoleic acid (10.02 ± 0.43%), whereas saturated fatty acid content was 33.38 ± 0.60% including palmitic (17.68 ± 0.65%) and stearic acid (14.15 ± 0.27%). A greater amount of unsaturated fatty acids (52.37%) were noticed compared to saturated fatty acids (33.38%); hence the seed is highly suitable for nutritional and industrial applications. Gamma-tocopherol was present in a higher quantity (39.27 ± 0.07 mg/100 g) as compared to alpha (12.64 ± 0.01 mg/100 g) and delta (3.77 ± 0.00 mg/100 g) tocopherols, which are considered as natural antioxidants. The spectrophotometric technique was used for quantitative analysis of total phenolic content, and it revealed 135.42 ± 1.47 mg gallic acid equivalent /100 g DW in seed cake. All the results of the studied seed oil and cake showed a good source of natural functional ingredients for several health benefits.</jats:p

Plant cell culture technology in the cosmetics and food industries : current state and future trends

The production of drugs, cosmetics, and food which are derived from plant cell and tissue cultures has a long tradition. The emerging trend of manufacturing cosmetics and food products in a natural and sustainable manner has brought a new wave in plant cell culture technology over the past 10 years. More than 50 products based on extracts from plant cell cultures have made their way into the cosmetics industry during this time, whereby the majority is produced with plant cell suspension cultures. In addition, the first plant cell culture-based food supplement ingredients, such as Echigena Plus and Teoside 10, are now produced at production scale. In this mini review, we discuss the reasons for and the characteristics as well as the challenges of plant cell culture-based productions for the cosmetics and food industries. It focuses on the current state of the art in this field. In addition, two examples of the latest developments in plant cell culture-based food production are presented, that is, superfood which boosts health and food that can be produced in the lab or at home

Modeling and Analysis of the Molecular Basis of Pain in Sensory Neurons

Intracellular calcium dynamics are critical to cellular functions like pain transmission. Extracellular ATP plays an important role in modulating intracellular calcium levels by interacting with the P2 family of surface receptors. In this study, we developed a mechanistic mathematical model of ATP-induced P2 mediated calcium signaling in archetype sensory neurons. The model architecture, which described 90 species connected by 162 interactions, was formulated by aggregating disparate molecular modules from literature. Unlike previous models, only mass action kinetics were used to describe the rate of molecular interactions. Thus, the majority of the 252 unknown model parameters were either association, dissociation or catalytic rate constants. Model parameters were estimated from nine independent data sets taken from multiple laboratories. The training data consisted of both dynamic and steady-state measurements. However, because of the complexity of the calcium network, we were unable to estimate unique model parameters. Instead, we estimated a family or ensemble of probable parameter sets using a multi-objective thermal ensemble method. Each member of the ensemble met an error criterion and was located along or near the optimal trade-off surface between the individual training data sets. The model quantitatively reproduced experimental measurements from dorsal root ganglion neurons as a function of extracellular ATP forcing. Hypothesized architecture linking phosphoinositide regulation with P2X receptor activity explained the inhibition of P2X-mediated current flow by activated metabotropic P2Y receptors. Sensitivity analysis using individual and the whole system outputs suggested which molecular subsystems were most important following P2 activation. Taken together, modeling and analysis of ATP-induced P2 mediated calcium signaling generated qualitative insight into the critical interactions controlling ATP induced calcium dynamics. Understanding these critical interactions may prove useful for the design of the next generation of molecular pain management strategies

Enhancement strategies for transdermal drug delivery systems: current trends and applications

Transdermal drug delivery systems have become an intriguing research topic in pharmaceutical technology area and one of the most frequently developed pharmaceutical products in global market. The use of these systems can overcome associated drawbacks of other delivery routes, such as oral and parenteral. The authors will review current trends, and future applications of transdermal technologies, with specific focus on providing a comprehensive understanding of transdermal drug delivery systems and enhancement strategies. This article will initially discuss each transdermal enhancement method used in the development of first-generation transdermal products. These methods include drug/vehicle interactions, vesicles and particles, stratum corneum modification, energy-driven methods and stratum corneum bypassing techniques. Through suitable design and implementation of active stratum corneum bypassing methods, notably microneedle technology, transdermal delivery systems have been shown to deliver both low and high molecular weight drugs. Microneedle technology platforms have proven themselves to be more versatile than other transdermal systems with opportunities for intradermal delivery of drugs/biotherapeutics and therapeutic drug monitoring. These have shown that microneedles have been a prospective strategy for improving transdermal delivery systems. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]</p