Seed Hardening and Moisture Conservation Practices to Mitigate Water Stress in Cowpea

Cowpea is an important protein catering feed/fodder for cattle. Being a non-season bound crop, it can be grown throughout the year and performs well during summer season under irrigation but water scarcity limits its area under cultivation. It necessitates the development of alternate management technologies to overcome the water stress period for the sustainable growth and yield of the crop. Seed hardening, soil moisture conservation measures like mulching and antitranspirant sprays are the techniques which helps the plant to survive under drought. So the present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of various seed primers, antitranspirants and mulches for mitigating water stress in cowpea grown during summer season, to find out the best among each and also to assess the response of cowpea to these techniques under water stress conditions

Plant Growth Regulators for Mitigating Water Stress in Cowpea

Water is becoming a scarce commodity for irrigation especially under the present changing climatic scenario. Water stress hampers important physiological and biochemical mechanisms leading to reduction in plant growth and yield. Studies revealed that the exogenous application of plant hormones has been found to alleviate the negative effects of various abiotic stresses. Cowpea, being a non-season bound crop, can be grown throughout the year and it performs well during summer season under irrigation, but water scarcity limits its area under cultivation. However, limited research works have been conducted to investigate the potential benefits of exogenous application of plant growth regulators (PGRs) in cowpea grown under water stress conditions. So the present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of exogenous application of certain plant growth regulators to mitigate water stress in cowpea, to find out an effective plant growth regulator for drought management and to assess the response of cowpea to these plant growth regulators

Fruit and seed development in mung beans (Phaseolus aureus Roxb.)

A study of fruit set at different nodes was made in mung beans, Phaseolus aureus Roxb., under field conditions. Flowering commenced on the fourth node from the base and the percentage fruit set showed a gradual decrease from the fifth node upwards. Yield analysis was carried out for each of the fruiting nodes. When the leaf and inflorescences at a node are taken as a functional unit it is seen that there was a decrease in the ratio of leaf area to fruit and seed weights from the base of the plant upwards indicating that at the upper nodes particularly, some other plant parts also contribute to the photosynthate pool of the developing seeds. A quantitative study of the dry matter, proteins and starch in the fruit wall and seeds of fruits at different stages of development was made. It showed that the rapid increase in dry matter, proteins and starch in the seeds at the later stages of development is compensated, in part, by a decrease of these components in the fruit wall. Histochemical studies of the fruit wall further supported these observations. This indicated the contribution of substrates by the fruit wall to the developing seeds

Purification and kinetic mechanism of 5,10-metliyienetetrahydrofolate reductase from sheep liver

5,10-Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (EC 1.1.1.68) was purified from the cytosolic fraction of sheep liver by (NH4)2 SO4 fractionation, acid precipitation, DEAE-Sephacel chromatography and Blue Sepharose affinity chromatography. The homogeneity of the enzyme was established by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation and Ouchterlony immunodiffusion test. The enzyme was a dimer of molecular weight 1,66,000 ± 5,000 with a subunit molecular weight of 87,000 ±5,000. The enzyme showed hyperbolic saturation pattern with 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. K 0.5 values for 5-methyltetrahydrofolate menadione and NADPH were determined to be 132 MM, 2.45 MM and 16 MM. The parallel set of lines in the Lineweaver-Burk plot, when either NADPH or menadione was varied at different fixed concentrations of the other substrate; non-competitive inhibition, when NADPH was varied at different fixed concentrations of NADP; competitive inhibition, when menadione was varied at different fixed concentrations of NADP and the absence of inhibition by NADP at saturating concentration of menadione, clearly established that the kinetic mechanism of the reaction catalyzed by this enzyme was ping-pong

Interaction of cibacron blue F3G-A and procion red HE-3B with sheep liver 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase

Cibacron Blue F3G-A, a probe used to monitor nucleotide binding domains in enzymes, inhibited sheep liver 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase competitively with respect to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and NADPH. The Ki values obtained by kinetic methods and the Kd value for the binding of the dye to the enzyme estimated by protein fluorescence quenching were in the range 0.9-1.2 μM. Another triazine dye, Procion Red HE-3B interacted with the enzyme in an essentially similar manner to that observed with Cibacron Blue F3G-A. These results as well as the interaction of the dye with the enzyme monitored by difference spectroscopy and intrinsic protein fluorescence quenching methods indicated that the dye was probably interacting at the active site of the enzyme by binding at a hydrophobic region

Analysis of the pattern of ADR’s reported to an ADR monitoring center in South India: a prospective study

Background: All medicines with an ability to produce a desired therapeutic effect will also have the potential to cause unwanted adverse effects. It has been established that ~ 2.9%-5.6% of all hospital admissions are caused by Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) & as many as 35% of the hospitalized patients experience an ADR during their hospital stay. An incidence of fatal ADRs is 0.23%-0.41%. In some countries, ADRs rank among the top 10 leading causes of mortality. In order to increase awareness, observe the pattern of ADRs and communicate scientific data to prevent ADRs, this study was undertaken.Methods: It was a prospective observational study conducted at a tertiary hospital in Kochi. All the spontaneously reported ADRs were assessed and analyzed for type, severity and causality.Results: A total of 120 ADRs were reported during the study period. Most of the ADRs were seen in females in the age group of 61-70 years. Skin and appendage disorders were the most common manifestation of different type of ADRs (49.2%). Antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents (30.8%), followed by anti-infectives for systemic use (29.2%) were mostly implicated in the causation of ADRs. Majority of the ADRs were of mild to moderate in severity (89.2%).Conclusions: Although small, but significant number of patients had severe ADRs. Hence, we require a robust system for monitoring the medication use process. So that we can prevent and reduce the morbidity and mortality due to therapeutic agents

Synthesis and characterization of oxidovanadium(iv) complexes of 2-((e)-(6-fluorobenzo[d]thiazol-2-ylimino) methyl)-6-methoxyphenol and their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and DNA-binding studies

Two novel oxidovanadium(IV) complexes with a new bidentate (O- and N-) imine-based ligand 2-((E)-(6-fluorobenzo [d] thiazol-2-ylimino)methyl)-6-methoxyphenol (HL) were synthesized under in situ experimental condition where VOSO4 acts as a kinetic template in the ratio 2 : 1 (L : M) and mixed ligand complex using 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) in 1 : 1 : 1 (L : M : phen) ratio. The synthesized compounds were structurally characterized by microanalysis, magnetic susceptibility, FTIR, electronic spectra, TG/DTA, ESR, and molar conductance studies. Based on the spectral studies, the complexes have the general composition [VO(L)2] (C1) and [VO(L)phen] (C2) in a square pyramid geometrical fashion. The synthesized compounds were primarily screened for their in vitro growth inhibiting activity against different strains of bacteria, namely, E. coli, B. subtilis, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa by the disc diffusion method. Also, the antifungal activity was determined against C. albicans and A. niger by the Bateman poisoned technique. The in vitro antioxidant activity of all the compounds was determined by DPPH free radical-scavenging assay. Intercalative mode of DNA-binding properties of the oxidovanadium(IV) complexes with calf-thymus DNA (CT-DNA) was investigated using UV, fluorescence spectra, and viscosity measurements

Structure and function of enzymes involved in the anaerobic degradation of L-threonine to propionate

In Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium, L-threonine is cleaved non-oxidatively to propionate via 2-ketobutyrate by biodegradative threonine deaminase, 2-ketobutyrate formate-lyase (or pyruvate formate-lyase), phosphotransacetylase and propionate kinase. In the anaerobic condition, L-threonine is converted to the energy-rich keto acid and this is subsequently catabolised to produce ATP via substrate-level phosphorylation, providing a source of energy to the cells. Most of the enzymes involved in the degradation of L-threonine to propionate are encoded by the anaerobically regulated tdc operon. In the recent past, extensive structural and biochemical studies have been carried out on these enzymes by various groups. Besides detailed structural and functional insights, these studies have also shown the similarities and differences between the other related enzymes present in the metabolic network. In this paper, we review the structural and biochemical studies carried out on these enzymes

Identification of a hypothetical membrane protein interactor of ribosomal phosphoprotein P0

The ribosomal phosphoprotein P0 of the human malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum (PfP0) has been identified as a protective surface protein. In Drosophila, P0 protein functions in the nucleus. The ribosomal function of P0 is mediated at the stalk of the large ribosomal subunit at the GTPase centre, where the elongation factor eEF2 binds. The multiple roles of the P0 protein presumably occur through interactions with other proteins. To identify such interacting protein domains, a yeast two-hybrid screen was carried out. Out of a set of sixty clones isolated, twelve clones that interacted strongly with both PfP0 and the Saccharomyces cerevisiae P0 (ScP0) protein were analysed. These belonged to three broad classes: namely (i) ribosomal proteins; (ii) proteins involved in nucleotide binding; and (iii) hypothetical integral membrane proteins. One of the strongest interactors (clone 67B) mapped to the gene YFL034W which codes for a hypothetical integral membrane protein, and is conserved amongst several eukaryotic organisms. The insert of clone 67B was expressed as a recombinant protein, and immunoprecipitaion (IP) reaction with anti-P0 antibodies pulled down this protein along with PfP0 as well as ScP0 protein. Using deletion constructions, the domain of ScP0, which interacted with clone 67B, was mapped to 60-148 amino acids. It is envisaged that the surface localization of P0 protein may be mediated through interactions with putative YFL034W-like proteins in P. falciparum