Impact of mannitol and poly ethylene glycol 6000 induced water deficit on plant biomass and major secondary metabolites in Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. in vitro

184-191Low water potential related stresses are regulated by modifying water uptake and loss to avoid low water potential, accumulating solutes which in turn enhance active principles and its gene expressions. Present study examined effect of in vitro induced absorption of mannitol and PEG (poly ethelene glycol) 6000 in Indian pennywort, Centella asiatica (L.) Urb., neutraceutical plant, evidenced by phenotypic, molecular and phytochemical analyses. Both mannitol and PEG 6000 induce water deficit conditions in plants and retarded normal plant biomass in terms of fresh and dry weights. These effects were significantly less severe in plants subjected to mannitol, compared to PEG. PEG and mannitol imposed water deficit, resulted in decline in major active compound, asiaticoside evidenced by HPTLC of asiaticoside content. Differential expression of some selected key genes in the asiaticoside pathway including squalene synthase and β amyrin synthase by qPCR, confirmed decrease in transcript level expression of asiaticoside, whereas upregulated transcript level expression was observed in cycloartenol synthase for synthesis of phytosterols. Estimation of total flavonoids and phenolics under different water deficit conditions were found declined. In conclusion, water deficit by mannitol and PEG 6000 can significantly affects processes associated with biomass growth and ability to synthesize secondary metabolites in C. asiatica

Multifunctional aspects of Piriformospora indica in plant endosymbiosis

Piriformospora indica (Hymenomycetes, Basidiomycota) is an endophytic fungus that colonises plant roots, and was originally isolated from Rajasthan desert. It is comparable to Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in terms of plant growth promotional effects. P. indica has been used as an ideal example to analyse the mechanisms of mutualistic symbiosis. Major benefit of P. indica over AM fungi is that it is axenically cultivable in different synthetic and complex media. A preliminary attempt was made to scrutinise the role of P. indica co-cultivation on seedling vigour of common vegetables like Cucumis sativus L., Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench, Solanum melongena L. and Capsicum annuum L. The positive effect of P. indica co-culture on seedling performance was compared to the effects of growth hormones like indole acetic acid and benzyl amino purine when supplemented to the MS medium at a concentration of 0.1 mg ml−1. An exogenous supply of auxin resulted in enhanced production of roots and cytokinin supplement favoured shoot production, whereas P. indica co-culture favoured simultaneous production of shoot and root over the control. P. indica colonisation inside the roots of C. sativus L. was also successfully established. These preliminary results indicate the prospective role of P. indica in vegetable farming through its favourable effect on plant growth

Terrestrial-Type Xenon in Meteoritic Troilite

Recently it has been realized that the isotopic composition of Xe in different phases of chondrites is not uniform and that AVCC Xe is a mixture of the different nucleogenetic components trapped in these phases1-4. We show here a similar abundance pattern for the nonradiogenic xenon isotopes in air and in meteoritic troilite (FeS), which suggests that the isotopic composition of atmospheric Xe was not produced by unique events in the history of terrestrial material but represents a particular mix of the different nucleogenetic components of Xe that was dominant in a central Fe- and S-rich region of the protoplanetary nebula5

Novel routes for valorisation of grape pomace through the production of bioactives by Aspergillus niger

Abstract: Grape pomace is an abundant winery by-product produced worldwide, which contains a high concentration of polyphenols trapped in cell wall fibers. The fungus tannase enzyme finds many applications in the industry, but its use is currently limited. This is due to its high production cost derived from tannic acid, which is the typical inductor of tannase enzyme by Aspergillus species. Therefore, assessment of natural tannin sources as inductors is a strategy to overcome this limitation. We propose here to employ the red grape pomace, which is a rich source of tannins and polyphenols. We found that, although grape pomace is not able to induce tannase by itself, it is a useful complement for tannic acid induction, reducing the concentration of tannic acid necessary to achieve maximum levels of tannase induction, which ranged between 3.0 and 4.5 U/mL. We also explored the potential usage of this biomass to induce other relevant industrial enzymes and quantified the recovery of gallic acid from grape pomace by the fungus fermentation; finding new routes for this by-product valorisation.Fil: Meini, María Rocío. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Procesos Biotecnológicos y Químicos Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Procesos Biotecnológicos y Químicos Rosario; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Departamento de Química Biológica. Área Biofísica; ArgentinaFil: Ricardi, Laura Lis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Procesos Biotecnológicos y Químicos Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Procesos Biotecnológicos y Químicos Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Romanini, Diana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Procesos Biotecnológicos y Químicos Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Procesos Biotecnológicos y Químicos Rosario; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Departamento de Tecnología; Argentin