Elucidating morphogenic and physiological traits of rice with nitrogen substitution through nano-nitrogen under salt stress conditions.

Background: Sustainable crop production along with best nutrient use efficiency is the key indicator of smart agriculture. Foliar application of plant nutrients can complement soil fertilization with improved nutrient uptake, translocation and utilization. Recent developments in slow releasing, nano-fertilizers in agriculture, begins a new era for sustainable use and management of natural resources.

Morpho-physiological studies of sandalwood-host interaction under individual and interactive water and salt stress.

To find out the possibilities of growing white sandalwood in sub-tropical regions of India where farmers facing the problem of water deficit and salinity stress, a RBD experiment was conducted. Sandalwood grown alone and with five selected hosts (Alternanthera sp., Neem, Shisham, Dek and Agarwood) on the basis of prior study under water deficit, salinity stress and combined water deficit and salinity stress.

Dataset on antioxidant system of non-model halophytes and in saline environment.

The antioxidant potential of halophytes, and , was examined under the influence of high salinity. These halophytes were grown in lysimeters filled with saline soil and further irrigated with saline water to maintain different salt levels of ECe 30, 40 and 50 dS m along with the one set in normal field soil without saline irrigation serving as control. The leaf samples were collected after saline irrigation and analyzed for the antioxidative enzymes .

Halophytes as new model plant species for salt tolerance strategies.

Soil salinity is becoming a growing issue nowadays, severely affecting the world's most productive agricultural landscapes. With intersecting and competitive challenges of shrinking agricultural lands and increasing demand for food, there is an emerging need to build resilience for adaptation to anticipated climate change and land degradation. This necessitates the deep decoding of a gene pool of crop plant wild relatives which can be accomplished through salt-tolerant species, such as halophytes, in order to reveal the underlying regulatory mechanisms.

Deciphering trait associated morpho-physiological responses in pearlmillet hybrids and inbred lines under salt stress.

Pearl millet is a staple food for more than 90 million people residing in highly vulnerable hot arid and semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia. These regions are more prone to detrimental effects of soil salinity on crop performance in terms of reduced biomass and crop yields. We investigated the physiological mechanisms of salt tolerance to irrigation induced salinity stress (EC ~3, 6 & 9 dSm) and their confounding effects on plant growth and yield in pearl millet inbred lines and hybrids.

Getting to the roots of L. (chickpea) to study the effect of salinity on morpho-physiological, biochemical and molecular traits.

The effect of saline irrigation (EC 6 dS m and 9 dS m) on the roots of L. genotypes was examined at morpho-physiological, biochemical and molecular levels. Reduction in root growth due to salinity was observed, but less effect was seen on the roots of genotypes KWR 108, ICCV 10, CSG 8962, and S7 as compared to the other genotypes.

Comparative Flower Transcriptome Network Analysis Reveals Involved in Chickpea Reproductive Success during Salinity.

Salinity is increasingly becoming a significant problem for the most important yet intrinsically salt-sensitive grain legume chickpea. Chickpea is extremely sensitive to salinity during the reproductive phase. Therefore, it is essential to understand the molecular mechanisms by comparing the transcriptomic dynamics between the two contrasting genotypes in response to salt stress.

transcriptomic data of salt tolerant halophytes (Forssk.) stapf and (Trin.) C.E.Hubb.

Two halophytes, (moderately salt tolerant) and (highly salt tolerant) were selected to generate transcriptome at different salinity levels. Sequencing of RNA samples was done on Illumina-Hi-Seq platform for transcriptome assembly from the leaf tissues of at salinity of ECe ∼30 dS/m and of at three salt levels ( ECe ∼30, ∼40 and ∼50 dS/m). DESeq was used for identification of differentially expressed transcripts and a total of 267,196 and 384,442 transcripts were assembled through Trinity in both the plants respectively.

Quantitative spatial and temporal assessment of regulatory element activity in zebrafish.

Mutations or genetic variation in noncoding regions of the genome harbouring cis-regulatory elements (CREs), or enhancers, have been widely implicated in human disease and disease risk. However, our ability to assay the impact of these DNA sequence changes on enhancer activity is currently very limited because of the need to assay these elements in an appropriate biological context. Here, we describe a method for simultaneous quantitative assessment of the spatial and temporal activity of wild-type and disease-associated mutant human CRE alleles using live imaging in zebrafish embryonic development.

Effect of saline irrigation on plant water traits, photosynthesis and ionic balance in durum wheat genotypes.

In the era of climate change, decreased precipitation and increased evapo-transpiration hampers the yield of several cereal crops along with the soil salinity and poor ground water resource. Wheat being the moderately tolerant crop face many challenges in the arid and semi-arid regions under irrigated agriculture. In view of this, the study was planned to explore the potential of durum wheat genotypes under salinity on the basis of physiological traits.

de novo transcriptomic profiling of differentially expressed genes in grass halophyte Urochondra setulosa under high salinity.

Soil salinity is one of the major limiting factors for crop productivity across the world. Halophytes have recently been a source of attraction for exploring the survival and tolerance mechanisms at extreme saline conditions. Urochondra setulosa is one of the obligate grass halophyte that can survive in up to 1000 mM NaCl.

Physiological response of diverse halophytes to high salinity through ionic accumulation and ROS scavenging.

Salt stress induced modulations in different ionic ratios and ROS system were studied in ten halophytic species, namely at salinity level of ECe ∼ 30 dSm (≈300 mM NaCl) to explore their possible role in salt tolerance ability of these halophytes. These halophytes were categorized for their salt tolerance levels based on the ratios of Na/K, Na/Ca, Na/Cl and Na + Cl/K + Ca. Variable responses were observed among all halophytes where had lowest leaf Na/K (0.

Genetic Dissection and Identification of Candidate Genes for Salinity Tolerance Using Axiom Array in Chickpea.

Globally, chickpea production is severely affected by salinity stress. Understanding the genetic basis for salinity tolerance is important to develop salinity tolerant chickpeas. A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population developed using parental lines ICCV 10 (salt-tolerant) and DCP 92-3 (salt-sensitive) was screened under field conditions to collect information on agronomy, yield components, and stress tolerance indices.

Zebrafish: A Powerful Model for Understanding the Functional Relevance of Noncoding Region Mutations in Human Genetic Diseases.

Determining aetiology of genetic disorders caused by damaging mutations in protein-coding genes is well established. However, understanding how mutations in the vast stretches of the noncoding genome contribute to genetic abnormalities remains a huge challenge. Cis-regulatory elements (CREs) or enhancers are an important class of noncoding elements.

Linear short histidine and cysteine modified arginine peptides constitute a potential class of DNA delivery agents.

The success of gene therapy relies on the development of safe and efficient multifunctional carriers of nucleic acids that can overcome extra- and intracellular barriers, protect the nucleic acid and mediate its release at the desired site allowing gene expression. Peptides bear unique properties that are indispensable for any carrier, e.g.

Engineered reversal of drug resistance in cancer cells--metastases suppressor factors as change agents.

Building molecular correlates of drug resistance in cancer and exploiting them for therapeutic intervention remains a pressing clinical need. To identify factors that impact drug resistance herein we built a model that couples inherent cell-based response toward drugs with transcriptomes of resistant/sensitive cells. To test this model, we focused on a group of genes called metastasis suppressor genes (MSGs) that influence aggressiveness and metastatic potential of cancers.

Cultured buffalo umbilical cord matrix cells exhibit characteristics of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells.

Recent findings have demonstrated umbilical cord, previously considered as a biomedical waste, as a source of stem cells with promising therapeutic applications in human as well as livestock species. The present study was carried out to isolate the umbilical cord matrix cells and culture for a prolonged period, cryopreserve these cells and test their post-thaw viability, characterize these cells for expression of stem cell markers and differentiation potential in vitro. The intact umbilical cord was taken out of the amniotic sac of a fetus and then incised longitudinally to remove umbilical vessels.

Structural rearrangements and chemical modifications in known cell penetrating peptide strongly enhance DNA delivery efficiency.

Amphipathic peptides with unusual cellular translocation properties have been used as carriers of different biomolecules. However, the parameters which control the delivery efficiency of a particular cargo by a peptide and the selectivity of cargo delivery are not very well understood. In this work, we have used the known cell penetrating peptide pVEC (derived from VE-cadherin) and systematically changed its amphipathicity (from primary to secondary) as well as the total charge and studied whether these changes influence the plasmid DNA condensation ability, cellular uptake of the peptide-DNA complexes and in turn the efficiency of DNA delivery of the peptide.

Differences in DNA condensation and release by lysine and arginine homopeptides govern their DNA delivery efficiencies.

Designing of nanocarriers that can efficiently deliver therapeutic DNA payload and allow its smooth intracellular release for transgene expression is still a major constraint. The optimization of DNA nanocarriers requires thorough understanding of the chemical and structural characteristics of the vector-nucleic acid complexes and its correlation with the cellular entry, intracellular state and transfection efficiency. L-lysine and L-arginine based cationic peptides alone or in conjugation with other vectors are known to be putative DNA delivery agents.

Exogenous and cell surface glycosaminoglycans alter DNA delivery efficiency of arginine and lysine homopeptides in distinctly different ways.

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) expressed ubiquitously on the cell surface are known to interact with a variety of ligands to mediate different cellular processes. However, their role in the internalization of cationic gene delivery vectors such as liposomes, polymers, and peptides is still ambiguous and seems to be controlled by multiple factors. In this report, taking peptides as model systems, we show that peptide chemistry is one of the key factors that determine the dependence on cell surface glycosaminoglycans for cellular internalization and gene delivery.

Nanoparticles of cationic chimeric peptide and sodium polyacrylate exhibit striking antinociception activity at lower dose.

The current study investigates the performance of polyelectrolyte complexes based nanoparticles in improving the antinociceptive activity of cationic chimeric peptide-YFa at lower dose. Size, Zeta potential and morphology of the nanoparticles were determined. Size of the nanoparticles decreases and zeta potential increases with concomitant increase in charge ratio (Z(+/-)).

Peptides in DNA delivery: current insights and future directions.

Peptides are emerging as attractive alternatives to cationic polymers and lipids for nonviral DNA delivery. Their remarkable properties such as efficient condensation of DNA, translocation across the cellular membrane, pH-sensitive membrane disruption, and efficient targeting of attached cargoes to the nucleus make them lucrative for researchers to explore their application in DNA delivery. In this review article, we focus on how the chemical nature, structural features and DNA complexation strategies of different peptides have been utilized for efficient DNA delivery.

DNA condensation by poly-L-lysine at the single molecule level: role of DNA concentration and polymer length.

Cationic poly(aminoacids) like poly-L-lysine (PLL) are known to be efficient in condensing plasmid DNA into compact nanostructures and have been used for in vitro and in vivo delivery of therapeutic DNA. Our study emphasizes on understanding the molecular mechanism of PLL-induced DNA condensation and the factors controlling it by visualization using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Molecular morphologies were observed using AFM at increasing charge ratios as PLL interacts with DNA (Z+/Z- varied between 0.

Inhibition of protein aggregation: supramolecular assemblies of arginine hold the key.

Background: Aggregation of unfolded proteins occurs mainly through the exposed hydrophobic surfaces. Any mechanism of inhibition of this aggregation should explain the prevention of these hydrophobic interactions. Though arginine is prevalently used as an aggregation suppressor, its mechanism of action is not clearly understood.

Interface peptide of Alzheimer's amyloid beta: application in purification.

Protein precipitation is a process commonly observed during bacterial expression of heterologous proteins. The high concentration of currently used solubilizing agents limits the scope of purification procedures. Protein solubilizers acting at very low concentrations will allow function-based purification protocols.