JcTI-I: a novel trypsin inhibitor from Jatropha curcas seed cake with potential for bacterial infection treatment.

Jatropha curcas seed cake is a low-value by-product resulting from biodiesel production. The seed cake is highly toxic, but it has great potential for biotechnology applications as it is a repository of biomolecules that could be important in agriculture, medicine, and industry. To explore this potential, a novel trypsin inhibitor called JcTI-I was purified by fractionation of the crude extract with trichloroacetic acid (2.

Exogenous ornithine is an effective precursor and the δ-ornithine amino transferase pathway contributes to proline accumulation under high N recycling in salt-stressed cashew leaves.

The role of the δ-ornithine amino transferase (OAT) pathway in proline synthesis is still controversial and was assessed in leaves of cashew plants subjected to salinity. The activities of enzymes and the concentrations of metabolites involved in proline synthesis were examined in parallel with the capacity of exogenous ornithine and glutamate to induce proline accumulation. Proline accumulation was best correlated with OAT activity, which increased 4-fold and was paralleled by NADH oxidation coupled to the activities of OAT and Δ(1)-pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (P5CR), demonstrating the potential of proline synthesis via OAT/P5C.

Photosynthetic changes and protective mechanisms against oxidative damage subjected to isolated and combined drought and heat stresses in Jatropha curcas plants.

Photosynthetic changes and protective mechanisms against oxidative damage were evaluated in Jatropha curcas leaves subjected to drought and heat stresses, both individually and combined, in order to elucidate the synergistic and antagonistic mechanisms involved with these abiotic factors. Both the drought and heat stresses caused significant damage to the leaf membrane integrity and lipid peroxidation, and the combination of these stresses greatly enhanced these physiological disturbances. The leaf CO(2) assimilation rate, stomatal conductance and instantaneous carboxylation efficiency (P(N)/C(I)) were significantly decreased in all plants subjected to stressful conditions in comparison to unstressed plants (reference).

Source-sink regulation of cotyledonary reserve mobilization during cashew (Anacardium occidentale) seedling establishment under NaCl salinity.

Seedling establishment is a critical process to crop productivity, especially under saline conditions. This work was carried out to investigate the hypothesis that reserve mobilization is coordinated with salt-induced inhibition of seedling growth due to changes in source-sink relations. To test this hypothesis, cashew nuts (Anacardium occidentale) were sown in vermiculite irrigated daily with distilled water (control) or 50mM NaCl and they were evaluated at discrete developmental stages from the seed germination until the whole seedling establishment.

Roots and leaves display contrasting oxidative response during salt stress and recovery in cowpea.

In this study, we compare some antioxidative responses of leaves and roots associated to growth reduction in cowpea plants (Vigna unguiculata) during short-term salt stress and recovery. The salt treatment was imposed (200 mM NaCl) for six consecutive days and the salt withdrawal after 3 d. The salt treatment caused an almost complete cessation in the relative growth rate of both leaves and roots.

Superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase activities do not confer protection against oxidative damage in salt-stressed cowpea leaves.

•  The aim of this study was to determine whether guaiacol peroxidase (POX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities are effective in the protection and recovery of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) leaves exposed to a salt-induced oxidative stress.