Characterization of two novel fusariviruses co-infecting a single isolate of phytopathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea.

A wide diversity of mycoviruses has been reported from Botrytis species, some with the potential to suppress the pathogenic abilities of this fungus. Considering their importance, this study was devised to find potential hypovirulence-associated mycoviruses found in Botrytis cinerea strains isolated from Pakistani strawberry fields. Here we report the complete genome characterization of two fusariviruses co-infecting a single isolate of phytopathogenic fungus B.

Functional annotation and comparative analysis of four mitogenomes reported from Punjab, Pakistan.

is one of the top phytopathogenic fungus which ubiquitously cause grey mold on a variety of horticultural plants. The mechanism of respiration in the fungus occurs within the mitochondria. Mitogenomes serve as a key molecular marker for the investigation of fungal evolutionary patterns.

Assessment of mycoviral diversity in Pakistani fungal isolates revealed infection by 11 novel viruses of a single strain of isolate SP1.

An extensive screening survey was conducted on Pakistani filamentous fungal isolates for the identification of viral infections. A total of 396 fungal samples were screened, of which 36 isolates were found double-stranded (ds) RNA positive with an overall frequency of 9% when analysed by a classical dsRNA isolation method. One of 36 dsRNA-positive strains, strain SP1 of a plant pathogenic fungus was subjected to virome analysis.

The Route to 'Chemobrain' - Computational probing of neuronal LTP pathway.

Chemotherapy causes deleterious side effects during the course of cancer management. The toxic effects may be extended to CNS chronically resulting in altered cognitive function like learning and memory. The present study follows a computational assessment of 64 chemotherapeutic drugs for their off-target interactions against the major proteins involved in neuronal long term potentiation pathway.

Structural insights and characterization of human Npas4 protein.

Npas4 is an activity dependent transcription factor which is responsible for gearing the expression of target genes involved in neuro-transmission. Despite the importance of Npas4 in many neuronal diseases, the tertiary structure of Npas4 protein along with its physico-chemical properties is limited. In the current study, first we perfomed the phylogenetic analysis of Npas4 and determined the content of hydrophobic, flexible and order-disorder promoting amino acids.

Data on rhizosphere pH, phosphorus uptake and wheat growth responses upon TiO nanoparticles application.

In this study, the data sets and analyses provided the information on the characterization of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO NPs), and their impacts on rhizosphere pH, and soil-bound phosphorus (P) availability to plants together with relevant parameters. For this purpose, wheat ( L.) was cultivated in the TiO NPs amended soil over a period of 60 days.

Structure-Function Mutational Analysis and Prediction of the Potential Impact of High Risk Non-Synonymous Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism on Poliovirus 2A Protease Stability Using Comprehensive Informatics Approaches.

Polio viral proteinase 2A performs several essential functions in genome replication. Its inhibition prevents viral replication, thus making it an excellent substrate for drug development. In this study, the three-dimensional structure of 2A protease was determined and optimized by homology modelling.

Genome-wide analysis of wheat calcium ATPases and potential role of selected ACAs and ECAs in calcium stress.

Background: P- type calcium ATPases (ACAs-auto inhibited calcium ATPases and ECAs-endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPases) belong to the P- type ATPase family of active membrane transporters and are significantly involved in maintaining accurate levels of Ca, Mn and Zn in the cytosol as well as playing a very important role in stress signaling, stomatal opening and closing and pollen tube growth. Here we report the identification and possible role of some of these ATPases from wheat.

Results: In this study, ACA and ECA sequences of six species (belonging to Poaceae) were retrieved from different databases and a phylogenetic tree was constructed.

analysis reveals widespread presence of three gene families, MAPK, MAPKK and MAPKKK, of the MAPK cascade from crop plants of in comparison to the distantly-related syntenic species from coffee.

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are an important family of genes which play roles in vital plant processes, and they also help in coping against various kinds of environmental stresses including abiotic as well as biotic factors. The advancement of genomics calls for the annotation, identification, and detailed processing of the essential gene families in plants in order to provide insights into the importance of their central roles as well as for providing the basis for making their growth vigorous even under stressed conditions and, ultimately, to benefit from them by foreseeing the potential threats to their growth. In the current study, MAPK, MAPKK, and MAPKKK families of the MAPK cascade were identified and reported from five different agriculturally and economically important crop species of the and families based on conserved signature motifs aligned throughout the members of the families under this gene superfamily.

Arabidopsis Raf-Like Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase Kinase Gene Raf43 Is Required for Tolerance to Multiple Abiotic Stresses.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are critical signaling modules that mediate the transduction of extracellular stimuli into intracellular response. A relatively large number of MAPKKKs have been identified in a variety of plant genomes but only a few of them have been studied for their biological function. In the present study, we identified an Arabidopsis Raf-like MAPKKK gene Raf43 and studied its function in biotic and abiotic stress response using a T-DNA insertion mutant raf43-1 and two Raf43-overexpressing lines Raf43-OE#1 and Raf43-OE#13.

CpG usage in RNA viruses: data and hypotheses.

CpG repression in RNA viruses has been known for decades, but a reasonable explanation has not yet been proposed to explain this phenomenon. In this study, we calculated the CpG odds ratio of all RNA viruses that have available genome sequences and analyzed the correlation with their genome polarity, base composition, synonymous codon usage, phylogenetic relationship, and host. The results indicated that the viral base composition, synonymous codon usage and host selection were the dominant factors that determined the CpG bias in RNA viruses.

Arabidopsis poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase 1 is required for drought, osmotic and oxidative stress responses.

Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation is a post-translational protein modification that plays important roles in many cellular processes in mammalian systems. Emerging evidence indicates that poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation is also involved in plant growth, development, and stress responses. In the present study, we used genetic mutant parg1-3 and transgenic PARG1-overexpressing Arabidopsis plants to examine the role of poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase1 (PARG1) in abiotic stress resistance.

Arabidopsis DAL1 and DAL2, two RING finger proteins homologous to Drosophila DIAP1, are involved in regulation of programmed cell death.

Programmed cell death (PCD) is a precise, genetically controlled cellular process with important roles in plant growth, development, and response to biotic and abiotic stress. However, the genetic mechanisms that control PCD in plants are unclear. Two Arabidopsis genes, DAL1 and DAL2 (for Drosophila DIAP1 like 1 and 2), encoding RING finger proteins with homology to DIAP1 were identified, and a series of experiments were performed to elucidate their roles in the regulation of PCD and disease resistance.

The Arabidopsis ATAF1, a NAC transcription factor, is a negative regulator of defense responses against necrotrophic fungal and bacterial pathogens.

Transcription factors of the NAC family are known to be involved in various growth or developmental processes and in regulation of response to environmental stresses. In the present study, we report that Arabidopsis ATAF1 is a negative regulator of defense responses against both necrotrophic fungal and bacterial pathogens. Expression of ATAF1 was downregulated after infection with Botrytis cinerea or Pseudomonas syringae pv.