Secondary metabolites from spice and herbs as potential multitarget inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 proteins.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been responsible for the current global pandemic that has caused a death toll of >1.12 million worldwide and number continues to climb in several countries. Currently, there are neither specific antiviral drugs nor vaccines for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19.

Whole Genome Sequencing and Comparative Genomic Analysis Reveal Allelic Variations Unique to a Purple Colored Rice Landrace ( ssp. cv. Purpleputtu).

Purpleputtu ( ssp. cv. Purpleputtu) is a unique rice landrace from southern India that exhibits predominantly purple color.

Rice DREB1B promoter shows distinct stress-specific responses, and the overexpression of cDNA in tobacco confers improved abiotic and biotic stress tolerance.

CBF/DREB (C-repeat binding factor/dehydration responsive element binding factor) family of transcription factors in plants is reported to be associated with regulation of gene expression under stress conditions. Here, we report the functional characterization of a DREB transcription factor, DREB1B gene from rice (Oryza sativa ssp. indica).

Isolation and characterization of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from subtracted cDNA libraries of Pennisetum glaucum seedlings.

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), used as forage and grain crop is a stress tolerant species. Here we identify differentially regulated transcripts in response to abiotic (salinity, drought and cold) stresses from subtracted cDNA libraries by single-pass sequencing of cDNA clones. A total of 2,494 EST sequences were clustered and assembled into a collection of 1,850 unique sequences with 224 contigs and 1,626 singleton sequences.

Novel transgenic rice overexpressing anthocyanidin synthase accumulates a mixture of flavonoids leading to an increased antioxidant potential.

In addition to their plant-associated functions, flavonoids act as antioxidants against harmful free radicals in animals. Genetic engineering of food crops for a mix of antioxidant flavonoids is highly beneficial in promoting human health. Anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) is one of the four dioxygenases (DOX) of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway that catalyzes the formation of anthocyanidins from leucoanthocyanidins.

Identification of stress-responsive genes in an indica rice (Oryza sativa L.) using ESTs generated from drought-stressed seedlings.

The impacts of drought on plant growth and development limit cereal crop production worldwide. Rice (Oryza sativa) productivity and production is severely affected due to recurrent droughts in almost all agroecological zones. With the advent of molecular and genomic technologies, emphasis is now placed on understanding the mechanisms of genetic control of the drought-stress response.

Annotation and BAC/PAC localization of nonredundant ESTs from drought-stressed seedlings of an indica rice.

To decipher the genes associated with drought stress response and to identify novel genes in rice, we utilized 1540 high-quality expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for functional annotation and mapping to rice genomic sequences. These ESTs were generated earlier by 3'-end single-pass sequencing of 2000 cDNA clones from normalized cDNA libraries constructed form drought-stressed seedlings of an indica rice. A rice UniGene set of 1025 transcripts was constructed from this collection through the BLASTN algorithm.

Novel genes are enriched in normalized cDNA libraries from drought-stressed seedlings of rice (Oryza sativa L. subsp. indica cv. Nagina 22).

We have utilized an efficient method to enrich cDNA libraries for novel genes and genes responsive to drought stress in rice (Oryza sativa L. subsp. indica).