Physiological and genomic evidence supports the role of Serratia quinivorans PKL:12 as a biopriming agent for the biohardening of micropropagated Picrorhiza kurroa plantlets in cold regions.

The medicinal herb, Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth has become endangered because of indiscriminate over-harvesting. Although micropropagation has been attempted for mass propagation of the plant, survival of in vitro plantlets under green house/open field poses a major challenge. Biopriming of micropropagated plantlets with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are among the successful methods to combat this problem.

Nutritional characterization and chemical composition of (D. Don) C. Chr.

(D. Don) C. Chr.

De novo transcriptome analysis of the critically endangered alpine Himalayan herb Nardostachys jatamansi reveals the biosynthesis pathway genes of tissue-specific secondary metabolites.

The study is the first report on de novo transcriptome analysis of Nardostachys jatamansi, a critically endangered medicinal plant of alpine Himalayas. Illumina GAIIx sequencing of plants collected during end of vegetative growth (August) yielded 48,411 unigenes. 74.

Proteome Analysis of the Gametophytes of a Western Himalayan Fern Reveals Their Adaptive Responses to Changes in Their Micro-Environment.

Ferns have survived changing habitats and environmental extremes of different eras, wherein, the exploratory haploid gametophytes are believed to have played a major role. Therefore, the proteome of grown gametophytes of a temperate Himalayan fern, in response to 0 (G0), 1 (G1), and 3% (G3) sucrose was studied. A total of 110 differentially abundant protein spots (DAPs) were obtained.

Nardostachys jatamansi (D.Don) DC.-Challenges and opportunities of harnessing the untapped medicinal plant from the Himalayas.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Nardostachys jatamansi (D.Don) DC. (family Caprifoliaceae) is prized in the Chinese, Tibetan, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Indian and Japanese systems of medicine.

De novo transcriptome provides insights into the growth behaviour and resveratrol and trans-stilbenes biosynthesis in Dactylorhiza hatagirea - An endangered alpine terrestrial orchid of western Himalaya.

This is the first report on de novo transcriptome of Dactylorhiza hatagirea, a critically-endangered, terrestrial orchid of alpine Himalayas. The plant is acclaimed for medicinal properties but little is known about its secondary-metabolites profile or cues regulating their biosynthesis. De novo transcriptome analysis was therefore, undertaken to gain basic understanding on these aspects, while circumventing the acute limitation of plant material availability.

In vitro flowering associated protein changes in Dendrocalamus hamiltonii.

In Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, conversion of vegetative meristem to a floral meristem was successfully achieved on flower induction medium. A total of 128 differentially expressed proteins were evidenced by 2DE in floral meristem protein profiles. Analysis of 103 proteins through PMF revealed change in abundance in the content of 79 proteins, disappearance and new appearance in the content of 7 and 17 proteins, respectively.

In vitro flowering--a system for tracking floral organ development in Dendrocalamus hamiltonii Nees et Arn. ex Munro.

Dendrocalamus hamiltonii plants are slender and tall (15-25 m) thereby, rendering tagging, sampling and tracking the development of flowers difficult. Therefore, a reproducible system of in vitro flowering was established for tracking the stages of flower development. MS medium supplemented with 2.

A simple technique for tracking individual spore and gametophyte development in Adiantum lunulatum Burm. f. using modified extra thin alginate film technique.

A new technique was developed for accurate calculation of percent germination and tracking of individual spores from germination to gametophyte development in Adiantum lunulatum. High percentage of ETAF immobilized spore germination (72.4%) was followed by development of gametophytic clumps.

A simple and cost effective liquid culture system for the micropropagation of two commercially important apple rootstocks.

The two commercially important apple rootstocks i.e., MM106 and B9 were micropropagated using a liquid culture system.

Osmotin-expressing transgenic tea plants have improved stress tolerance and are of higher quality.

Drought is a major stress that affects the yield and quality of tea, a widely consumed beverage crop grown in more than 20 countries of the world. Therefore, osmotin gene-expressing transgenic tea plants produced using earlier optimized conditions were evaluated for their tolerance of drought stress and their quality. Improved tolerance of polyethylene glycol-induced water stress and faster recovery from stress were evident in transgenic lines compared with the normal phenotype.

L-glutamine and L-glutamic acid facilitate successful agrobacterium infection of recalcitrant tea cultivars.

The first step in Agrobacterium tumefaciens infection of plants is the establishment of cell-cell contact between the two partners. However, failure to establish such contact makes many plants and explants recalcitrant to A. tumefaciens infection.

Factors affecting podophyllotoxin yield in the ex situ grown Podophyllum hexandrum, an endangered alpine native of the western Himalayas.

This study reports an appreciable yield of podophyllotoxin (PDT) in P. hexandrum plants grown ex situ under polyhouse conditions of a temperate locale. The PDT content of below-ground parts was affected by both plant age and growth period.

Chemical modification of L-glutamine to alpha-amino glutarimide on autoclaving facilitates Agrobacterium infection of host and non-host plants: A new use of a known compound.

Background: Accidental autoclaving of L-glutamine was found to facilitate the Agrobacterium infection of a non host plant like tea in an earlier study. In the present communication, we elucidate the structural changes in L-glutamine due to autoclaving and also confirm the role of heat transformed L-glutamine in Agrobacterium mediated genetic transformation of host/non host plants.

Results: When autoclaved at 121°C and 15 psi for 20 or 40 min, L-glutamine was structurally modified into 5-oxo proline and 3-amino glutarimide (α-amino glutarimide), respectively.

The roles of plant phenolics in defence and communication during Agrobacterium and Rhizobium infection.

Phenolics are aromatic benzene ring compounds with one or more hydroxyl groups produced by plants mainly for protection against stress. The functions of phenolic compounds in plant physiology and interactions with biotic and abiotic environments are difficult to overestimate. Phenolics play important roles in plant development, particularly in lignin and pigment biosynthesis.

An efficient method of propagation of Podophyllum hexandrum: an endangered medicinal plant of the Western Himalayas under ex situ conditions.

This study shows an effective but simple method of conserving characterized populations and elite clones through vegetative propagation and genetic diversity through seeds in Podophyllum hexandrum (family Berberidaceae). Seed dormancy has been considered to be a major constraint in these seeds and most of the earlier reports recommended dormancy-breaking pretreatments such as chilling, gibberellic acid (GA(3)), etc. However, seeds of the 14 accessions that we tested exhibited no dormancy and hence did not require any pretreatments.

Temperature-dependent growth and emergence of functional leaves: an adaptive mechanism in the seedlings of the western Himalayan plant Podophyllum hexandrum.

As an adaptive mechanism, hypocotyl dormancy delays emergence of functional leaf until favorable season of growth in Podophyllum hexandrum, an endangered medicinal plant of the western Himalayas. However, upon exposure of the freshly germinated seedlings to favorable temperature (25 degrees C), functional leaves emerged within 20 days. Therefore, we examined regulation mechanisms of growth and development of this alpine plant by temperature under laboratory conditions.

Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of tea leaf explants: effects of counteracting bactericidity of leaf polyphenols without loss of bacterial virulence.

Tea is one of the major crops in Asia and Africa, and its improvement by genetic modification is important for economy of many tea-producing regions. Although somatic embryos derived from cotyledon explants have been transformed with Agrobacterium, the leaves of several commercially important tea cultivars have remained recalcitrant to transformation, largely due to bactericidal effect of polyphenols that are exuded by tea leaves in vitro. Moreover, the commonly used polyphenol adsorbents and antioxidants cannot overcome this problem.

ABA associated biochemical changes during somatic embryo development in Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze.

The effect of ABA on reserve accumulation in maturing somatic embryos of tea was compared with and without ABA treatment. Changes in the levels of starch, total soluble sugars (TSS), proteins, and phenols were studied in the somatic embryos at different stages of development (globular, heart, torpedo and germinating embryos) in order to investigate whether ABA could trigger accumulation of storage reserves and thereby overcome the problem of poor germination. After ABA treatment (5.

Do leaf surface characteristics affect Agrobacterium infection in tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O Kuntze]?

The host range specificity of Agrobacterium with five tea cultivars and an unrelated species (Artemisia parviflora) having extreme surface characteristics was evaluated in the present study. The degree of Agrobacterium infection in the five cultivars of tea was affected by leaf wetness, micro-morphology and surface chemistry. Wettable leaf surfaces of TV1, Upasi-9 and Kangra jat showed higher rate (75%) of Agrobacterium infection compared to Upasi-10 and ST-449, whereas non-wettable leaves of A.