The () Gene Is Required for Megaspore Mother Cell Specification and Gametophyte Development.

In plants, the role of TRAF-like proteins with meprin and the TRAF homology (MATH) domain is far from clear. In animals, these proteins serve as adapter molecules to mediate signal transduction from Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor to downstream effector molecules. A seed-sterile mutant with a disrupted TRAF-like gene () exhibiting aberrant gametogenesis led us to investigate the developmental role of this gene in Arabidopsis ().

Comprehensive Chemical Profiling of Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth Using NMR, HPTLC and LC-MS/MS Techniques.

Picrorhiza kurroa is an important herb in Indian medicine and contains cucurbitacins, flavonoids, phenolics, iridoid-glucoside and their derivatives as active constituents for the treatment of indigestion, fever, hepatitis, cancer, liver and respiratory diseases. Extensive use of P. kurroa needs detailed analysis and recognition of chemical diversity, is of great importance to evaluate their role as quality control markers.

Crop-ecology and nutritional variability influence growth and secondary metabolites of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni.

Background: Plant nutrition and climatic conditions play important roles on the growth and secondary metabolites of stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni); however, the nutritional dose is strongly governed by the soil properties and climatic conditions of the growing region. In northern India, the interactive effects of crop ecology and plant nutrition on yield and secondary metabolites of stevia are not yet properly understood. Thus, a field experiment comprising three levels of nitrogen, two levels of phosphorus and three levels of potassium was conducted at three locations to ascertain whether the spatial and nutritional variability would dominate the leaf yield and secondary metabolites profile of stevia.

Genetic diversity of high-elevation populations of an endangered medicinal plant.

Intraspecific genetic variation in natural populations governs their potential to overcome challenging ecological and environmental conditions. In addition, knowledge of this variation is critical for the conservation and management of endangered plant taxa. Found in the Himalayas, Podophyllum hexandrum is an endangered high-elevation plant species that has great medicinal importance.

Simultaneous over-expression of PaSOD and RaAPX in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana confers cold stress tolerance through increase in vascular lignifications.

Antioxidant enzymes play a significant role in eliminating toxic levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), generated during stress from living cells. In the present study, two different antioxidant enzymes namely copper-zinc superoxide dismutase derived from Potentilla astrisanguinea (PaSOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (RaAPX) from Rheum austral both of which are high altitude cold niche area plants of Himalaya were cloned and simultaneously over-expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana to alleviate cold stress. It was found that the transgenic plants over-expressing both the genes were more tolerant to cold stress than either of the single gene expressing transgenic plants during growth and development.

Biotechnological approaches to the production of shikonins: a critical review with recent updates.

Shikonins are commercially important secondary compounds, known for array of biological activities such as antimicrobial, insecticidal, antitumor, antioxidants, etc. These compounds are usually colored and therefore have application in food, textiles and cosmetics. Shikonin and its derivatives, which are commercially most important of the naphthoquinone pigments, are distributed among members of the family Boraginaceae.

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.

Differential proteomics of Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth. in response to dark stress.

Picrorhiza (Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth.) an important medicinal herb of western Himalayan region has been used to treat various diseases and disorders. Over-harvesting and lack of cultivation has led to its entry in Red Data Book as an endangered species.

Improved callus induction, shoot regeneration, and salt stress tolerance in Arabidopsis overexpressing superoxide dismutase from Potentilla atrosanguinea.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) catalyzes the dismutation of superoxide radicals (O₂( ·-)) to molecular oxygen (O₂) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Previously, we have identified and characterized a thermo-tolerant copper-zinc superoxide dismutase from Potentilla atrosanguinea (PaSOD), which retains its activity in the presence of NaCl. In the present study, we show that cotyledonary explants of PaSOD overexpressing transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana exhibit early callus induction and high shoot regenerative capacity than wild-type (WT) explants.

Genome-wide organization and expression profiling of the NAC transcription factor family in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.).

NAC [no apical meristem (NAM), Arabidopsis thaliana transcription activation factor [ATAF1/2] and cup-shaped cotyledon (CUC2)] proteins belong to one of the largest plant-specific transcription factor (TF) families and play important roles in plant development processes, response to biotic and abiotic cues and hormone signalling. Our genome-wide analysis identified 110 StNAC genes in potato encoding for 136 proteins, including 14 membrane-bound TFs. The physical map positions of StNAC genes on 12 potato chromosomes were non-random, and 40 genes were found to be distributed in 16 clusters.

Characterization of a T-DNA promoter trap line of Arabidopsis thaliana uncovers a cryptic bi-directional promoter.

Investigation of the transgenic Arabidopsis promoter trap line GFP-868 that showed GFP expression only in anthers revealed the T-DNA insertion at 461bp upstream to the hypothetical gene At4g10596 with the GFP reporter gene in head-to-head orientation to the At4g10596 gene. The expression of the At4g10596 gene in wild type and in GFP-868 plant homozygous for T-DNA insertion was comparable and found in all tissues tested, while the GFP expression was restricted to anthers of the GFP-868 plants suggesting that the 461bp fragment separating the two genes in the GFP-868 line is functioning as bi-directional promoter. This 461bp fragment was cloned upstream to the GUS gene in two orientations to test for bi-directional promoter activity.

Braving the attitude of altitude: Caragana jubata at work in cold desert of Himalaya.

The present work was conducted to understand the basis of adaptation in Caragana jubata in its niche environment at high altitude cold desert of Himalaya. Molecular data showed predominance of genes encoding chaperones and those involved in growth and development at low temperature (LT), a major cue operative at high altitude. Importantly, these genes expressed in C.

Change in protein content during seed germination of a high altitude plant Podophyllum hexandrum Royle.

Podophyllum hexandrum Royle (=Sinopodophyllum hexandrum) is a high-altitude medicinal plant exploited for its etoposides which are potential anticancer compounds. An effective, conventional propagation method is by seed. However, seed germination is erratic, and seedling survival is low.

Engineering a thermo-stable superoxide dismutase functional at sub-zero to >50°C, which also tolerates autoclaving.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a critical enzyme associated with controlling oxygen toxicity arising out of oxidative stress in any living system. A hyper-thermostable SOD isolated from a polyextremophile higher plant Potentilla atrosanguinea Lodd. var.

De novo sequencing and characterization of Picrorhiza kurrooa transcriptome at two temperatures showed major transcriptome adjustments.

Background: Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth. is an endangered plant species of medicinal importance. The medicinal property is attributed to monoterpenoids picroside I and II, which are modulated by temperature.

Influence of human lactoferrin expression on iron homeostasis, flavonoids, and antioxidants in transgenic tobacco.

This study was aimed at to check the influence of human lactoferrin (hLF) expression on iron homeostasis, flavonoids, and antioxidants in transgenic tobacco. Transgenic tobacco expressing hLF cDNA under the control of a CaMV 35S promoter was produced. The iron content as well as chlorophyll content of transgenic tobacco was lower compared to mock and untransformed wild plants.

Identification and validation of sex-linked SCAR markers in dioecious Hippophae rhamnoides L. (Elaeagnaceae).

The actinorhizal plant seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L., Elaeagnaceae) is a wind pollinated dioecious crop. To distinguish male genotypes from female genotypes early in the vegetative growth phase, we have developed robust PCR-based marker(s).

Post-transcriptional silencing of flavonol synthase mRNA in tobacco leads to fruits with arrested seed set.

Flavonoids are synthesized by phenylpropanoid pathway. They are known to participate in large number of physiological and biochemical processes in plants. Parthenocarpy and male sterility has earlier been reported by silencing chalcone synthase (CHS) encoding gene.

Alpha-tubulin (CsTUA) up-regulated during winter dormancy is a low temperature inducible gene in tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze].

The present manuscript describes cloning and expression characterization of alpha-tubulin (CsTUA) gene in an evergreen tree tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] in response to winter dormancy (WD), abiotic stresses (sodium chloride, polyethylene glycol, and hydrogen peroxide) and plant growth regulators [abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellic acid (GA(3)), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and 6-benzylaminopurine (BA)].