Callus induction, plant regeneration and somaclonal variation in in vivo and in vitro grown White shrimp plant (Justicia betonica Linn.)

Justicia betonica Linn. is traditionally used to treat various illness like cough, scaly skin and as an erosion control plant. This paper reports on callus induction and in vitro propagation of J. betonica from 3-week-old petiole and internode explants of this species. Callus was readily induced from petiole explants when cultured on Murashige and Skoog's medium (MS) fortified with NAA (0.5-2.0 mg L-1), BAP (0.5-2.0 mg L-1), Kinetin (1.0-2.0 mg L-1) and Zeatin (1.0-2.0 mg L-1), while internode explants only showed formation of callus on MS basal and when 0.5 mg L-1 BAP or 1.5 mg L-1 Kinetin were added. Optimum in vitro regeneration in J. betonica had been successfully achieved using internode explants cultured on MS medium supplemented with 1.5 mg L-1 NAA and 0.5 mg L-1 BAP. Rhizogenesis was observed from petiole cultures supplemented with 1.0 mg L-1 NAA and 1.0 mg L-1 BAP as well as on MS with 1.5 mg L-1 NAA and 0.5 mg L-1 BAP, where the latter had shown the most optimum response, with percentage of root formation of 66.67 ± 5.36. More hormone treatments were observed to yield rhizogenesis from internode explants, especially when cultures were fortified with 0.5 mg L-1 NAA and 1.0 mg L-1 BAP. Genetic stability in in vitro J. betonica plants was observed by studying the variation in mitotic index and chromosome numbers using cytological data. Similar values of mean Mitotic index (MI) and mean chromosome numbers (2n = 14) indicated that the transfer from in vivo to in vitro environment had no significant effect on genetic stability of this plant. However, the mean nuclear size was found to increase, while the mean cell size was reduced in in vitro J. betonica compared to in vivo plants. In vitro regenerated J. betonica plants were clonally uniform and showed no distinct morphological abnormalities, indicating the lack of somaclonal variation

Comparative studies on cellular behaviour of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus Linn. cv. Grenadin) grown In Vivo and In Vitro for early detection of somaclonal Variation

The present study deals with the cytological investigations on the meristematic root cells of carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus Linn.) grown in vivo and in vitro. Cellular parameters including the mitotic index (MI), chromosome count, ploidy level (nuclear DNA content), mean cell and nuclear areas, and cell doubling time (Cdt) were determined from the 2 mm root tip segments of this species. The MI value decreased when cells were transferred from in vivo to in vitro conditions, perhaps due to early adaptations of the cells to the in vitro environment. The mean chromosome number was generally stable (2n = 2x = 30) throughout the 6-month culture period, indicating no occurrence of early somaclonal variation. Following the transfer to the in vitro environment, a significant increase was recorded for mean cell and nuclear areas, from 26.59 +/- 0.09 mu m(2) to 35.66 +/- 0.10 mu m(2) and 142.90 +/- 0.59 mu m(2) to 165.05 +/- 0.58 mu m(2), respectively. However, the mean cell and nuclear areas of in vitro grown D. caryophyllus were unstable and fluctuated throughout the tissue culture period, possibly due to organogenesis or rhizogenesis. Ploidy level analysis revealed that D. caryophyllus root cells contained high percentage of polyploid cells when grown in vivo and maintained high throughout the 6-month culture period

Analysis of histone deacetylation activities in Ananas comosus var. MD2 after mutagenic treatment

Mutagenic treatment such as gamma radiation causes random changes in the nuclear DNA, leading to mutations at chromosomal, gene and genomic level that may result in plant phenotypic variability. Plants have evolved a complex mechanism for DNA damage detection and repair, involving developmental and stress-sensitive genes that are regulated by histone acetylase (HAT) and histone deacetylase (HDAC). HAT causes the chromatin structure to relax, enabling the DNA repair machineries to bind to the promoter site. The reaction of HDACs is always reversed by HATs. The aim of this study was to analyse the HDAC activities of gamma-irradiated pineapple, Ananas comosus var. MD2 plants at different post-recovery periods. The irradiation effects on DNA content of the plants were also investigated. The results showed that HDAC enzyme activity drastically reduced upon radiation with gamma at 400 Gy, but increased with time, as the plants recovered. This indicates that upon detecting severe DNA damage following exposure to gamma, HAT enzymes were actively involved in relaxing the chromatin structure to allow access of DNA repair machineries, to promote base and nucleotide excision repair (BER and NER). This in turn drastically lowered the HDAC levels, which were reversed by HATs. This is also supported by the results of flow cytometry (FCM) analysis, which showed that the 2C DNA content of non-irradiated plants was 2.591 ± 0.034 pg but became 1.715 ± 0.024 pg after exposure to gamma radiation at 400 Gy. However, the 2C DNA content of the irradiated plants slowly increased during recovery and became 1.980 ± 0.057 pg after 4 weeks. Data was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT) to determine the significance of the differences between the means. It was determined that the 2C DNA contents before and after irradiation were significantly different at p<0.05

Investigation of pH varied anthocyanin pigment profiles of Agapanthus praecox and its potential as natural colourant

Anthocyanin pigment profiles, colours and pH values of Agapanthus praecox were investigated. The anthocyanin pigments from the blue flower petals were solvent extracted with 70 acetone, and the pH of the extracts was varied (pH 1, 2.5, 4.5 and 7). The colour of the pigment solution changed with pH, where it became pinkish purple at pH 1, dark red at pH 2.5, light purple at pH 4.5, dark turquoise at pH 7, dark green at pH 9.5, light green at pH 11.5 and yellow at pH 14. The extracts were also subjected to ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometric analysis, where a distinct peak at 544 nm was observed for both pH 1 and 2.5, while multiple peaks at 535, 571.5 and 627 nm were observed for pH 4.5 and at 535, 574 and 620 nm for pH 7. The anthocyanin extract with the most stable pH (at pH 1) was mixed with 20 poly(methyl methacrylate) and coated onto glass slides, which was then subjected to weathering tests to determine its durability

Effect of different solvents extraction on recovery of pigments in Xylocarpus granatum, endangered medicinal plant

Xylocarpus granatum is locally known as Pokok Nyireh Bunga. This endangered mangrove species has economical importance. Pigments of X. granatum were investigated in the mature leaves of seedlings collected from Carey Island, Selangor, Malaysia. The pigments were solvent extracted using 80 methanol, 80 acetone, 80 N,N-dimethylformamide and 100 hexane. As recommended by Bertrand and Schoefs, all the extraction steps were performed under weak light intensity to avoid photosynthetic pigment degradation. The pigments were detected by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and thin layer chromatography. Aqueous acetone was the best solvent for pigment extraction compared to methanol, N,N-dimethylformamide and hexane

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions. © Copyright