Utilization of liquid medium for rapid micropropagation of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni

Liquid shoot culture of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni in MS medium containing BAP (1.5 mg/l) and IAA (0.5 mg/l) was developed and evaluated in relation to shoot multiplication, on average 37 new shoots per explants were obtained within 3 week. Shoot lets were regenerated from nodal explants of stevia through axillary shoot proliferation. For rooting different concentrations of IAA, IBA and NAA were used and highest rooting percentage (63%) was recorded on MS medium with IAA (1.0 mg/l). The rooted plantlets were hardened and successfully established

Studies on ethnomedicinal plants used by the Malayali tribe of Kalrayan Hill, Tamil Nadu state

An ethnomedicinal plants survey was carried out to collect the information about themedicinal plants found in kalrayan hill and used by the native malayali tribe of SouthernEastern Ghats of India. 80 plant species, belonging to 41 families, which are used intraditional health care system are described under this study. The studies also attempted tofind out the medicines prepared out of these medicinal plants, forms of medicine and theircorresponding ailments. In this communication, the information obtained from the tribalswas compared with the already existing literatures on ethnobotany of India. The documentedethnomedicinal plants were mostly used to cure skin diseases, wounds and rheumatism. Themedicinal plants used by the tribals are arranged alphabetically, and followed by theirbotanical name, family name, common names, vernacular name(s), part(s) used, mode ofpreparation and their corresponding diseases

Improved Micropropagation Method for the Enhancement of Biomass in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni

Incorporation of a range of higher concentrations of CuSO4_5H2O in MS medium significantly enhanced direct shoot bud induction and proliferation from cultured leaf and nodal explants taken from mature plants of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. Shoot bud induction medium was supplemented with BAP (2.2 µM) and NAA (2.8 µM). When the concentration of CuSO4_5H2O in the induction medium was raised to 0.5 µM (five times the MS level, i.e. 0.1 µM) there was significant increase in percentage response along with increase in shoot bud number per explant. The shoots were healthy, well developed with dark green broader leaves. There was remarkable increase in total biomass at increased (0.5 µM) copper level in the medium. During proliferation stage also presence of high copper levels in the medium favoured increase in shoots bud number per explant

Isozyme studies of resistant and susceptible clones of Saccharum officinarum L. to fungal diseases

Sugarcane is one of the important commercial crops of India and it plays an important role in maintaining the economy of the nation. Many diseases of sugarcane lead to loss of net productivity of sugar and by growing resistant varieties the loss can be reduced to considerable amount. Hence, in this study an attempt has been made to identify a resistant clone through isoenzyme analysis. Three resistant (Bo-91, Co-86249, Co-93009) and three susceptible (CoC-671, CoC-86032, CoC-92061) clones of Saccharum officianarum L. were selected for the study. In native-PAGE analysis (for peroxidase) distinct bands with Rf value 0.537 and 0.694 were observed in resistant clones, and the susceptible clones lack these bands.  An increase in peroxidase activity is also observed in clones that possessed the distinct Rf values 0.537 and 0.694. From this, it can be concluded that the clones possessing distinct Rf values are resistants when compared to other clones as they are having high peroxidase action

Impact of histone H4 lysine 20 methylation on 53BP1 responses to chromosomal double strand breaks.

Recruitment of 53BP1 to chromatin flanking double strand breaks (DSBs) requires γH2AX/MDC1/RNF8-dependent ubiquitination of chromatin and interaction of 53BP1 with histone H4 methylated on lysine 20 (H4K20me). Several histone methyltransferases have been implicated in 53BP1 recruitment, but their quantitative contributions to the 53BP1 response are unclear. We have developed a multi-photon laser (MPL) system to target DSBs to subfemtoliter nuclear volumes and used this to mathematically model DSB response kinetics of MDC1 and of 53BP1. In contrast to MDC1, which revealed first order kinetics, the 53BP1 MPL-DSB response is best fitted by a Gompertz growth function. The 53BP1 MPL response shows the expected dependency on MDC1 and RNF8. We determined the impact of altered H4K20 methylation on 53BP1 MPL response kinetics in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) lacking key H4K20 histone methyltransferases. This revealed no major requirement for the known H4K20 dimethylases Suv4-20h1 and Suv4-20h2 in 53BP1 recruitment or DSB repair function, but a key role for the H4K20 monomethylase, PR-SET7. The histone methyltransferase MMSET/WHSC1 has recently been implicated in 53BP1 DSB recruitment. We found that WHSC1 homozygous mutant MEFs reveal an alteration in balance of H4K20 methylation patterns; however, 53BP1 DSB responses in these cells appear normal

Agrobacterium mediated Transformation of rice, var. Pusa Basmati-1

The present study was aimed at the Agrobacterium mediated transformation of rice (Oryza sativa L.) variety Pusa Basmati-1 .Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA 4404 harboring the binary vector (pIG121) that carries the genes for ß-glucuronidase and hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt) was used for transformation. Co-cultured calli were undergone for GUS histochemical analysis of transformed calli and followed by molecular analysis by using PCR to confirm the presence of transgenes

A CRITICAL REVIEW ON POLYURETHANE POLYMER HYBRID NANO COMPOSITES

Critical review on polyurethane hybrid nano composite paper gives knowledge on its techniques and their applications. In addition to the scientific framework for the advancement in the polymer matrix hybrid nano composite research, the critical review provides an ample discussion on technology, characterization, processing and its applications on polyurethane hybrid nano composites

Survey and surveillance on rice false smut disease severity in Tamil Nadu and the influence of wind velocity on disease progression under field conditions

The false smut disease of rice incited by Ustilaginoidea virens is a major constraint on rice production. The main aim of the present study was to ascertain the false smut disease severity in both delta and non-delta districts of Tamil Nadu through survey and surveillance and assess the correlation between the disease severity and wind velocity for the past three years, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Moreover, the present study addressed the disease distribution pattern of false smut diseases under field conditions.  The results obtained from survey results revealed that the maximum disease severity was recorded in Nagapattinam district (Nagapattinam block) with 27.45% and the minimum disease severity was recorded in the district Theni (Bodinayakanur block) with 8% in 2021. Similarly in 2019 and 2020 maximum disease severity was recorded in the following districts Thanjavur district (Orathanadu block) with 19.91% and Thanjavur district (Peravurani block) with 18.54% and the minimum disease severity was recorded in the following districts Madurai district (Madurai north block) with 4.78% and Madurai district (Usilampatti block) with 4.78% respectively. The obtained R2 values through regression analysis were 0.70, 0.79 and 0.76 in the following years, 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. Besides the relationship between the false smut disease development, the pattern wind direction was also assessed. By assessing the false smut disease distribution pattern under field conditions, more disease distribution was observed around the surrounding area of the paddy field as well as the diagonal path of the field which clearly revealed that wind direction influences the disease development

Isothermal Titration Calorimetric Studies on the Interaction of the Major Bovine Seminal Plasma Protein, PDC-109 with Phospholipid Membranes

The interaction of the major bovine seminal plasma protein, PDC-109 with lipid membranes was investigated by isothermal titration calorimetry. Binding of the protein to model membranes made up of diacyl phospholipids was found to be endothermic, with positive values of binding enthalpy and entropy, and could be analyzed in terms of a single type of binding sites on the protein. Enthalpies and entropies for binding to diacylphosphatidylcholine membranes increased with increase in temperature, although a clear-cut linear dependence was not observed. The entropically driven binding process indicates that hydrophobic interactions play a major role in the overall binding process. Binding of PDC-109 with dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine membranes containing 25 mol% cholesterol showed an initial increase in the association constant as well as enthalpy and entropy of binding with increase in temperature, whereas the values decreased with further increase in temperature. The affinity of PDC-109 for phosphatidylcholine increased at higher pH, which is physiologically relevant in view of the basic nature of the seminal plasma. Binding of PDC-109 to Lyso-PC could be best analysed in terms of two types of binding interactions, a high affinity interaction with Lyso-PC micelles and a low-affinity interaction with the monomeric lipid. Enthalpy-entropy compensation was observed for the interaction of PDC-109 with phospholipid membranes, suggesting that water structure plays an important role in the binding process