scholarly journals Three Antimitotic Compounds Found in Banana Pseudo-Stem By Using Earthworms.

Author(s):  
Chandran Rajesh ◽  
Senthamarai Kannan Balaji ◽  
Prakash Ramesh ◽  
Narayanan Selvapalam ◽  
Karuppaiah Palanichelvam

Abstract To identify antimitotic compounds from abundant and inexpensive plant resources, banana pseudo-stem was (BPS) chosen. Onion root tip assay and earthworm regeneration assay were carried out to test theantimitotic potential of aqueous extract of BPS.Earthworm (Eudrilus eugeniae) regeneration assay exploits the regeneration ability of amputated earthworms that retain the clitellum region. Aqueous extract of BPS decreased the mitotic index in Allium cepa root tips. Besides, thisaqueous extract of BPS inhibited the regeneration of blastema from amputated earthworms as well. Validation of this extract with MTT (3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazolyl-2-yl)- 2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay using MCF-7 breast cancer cell linefurther supported the presence of antimitotic compounds. Aqueous BPS extract was further fractionated with ethyl acetateand it was found to inhibit the regeneration of new tissues from amputated earthworms. Liquid Chromatography and Mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis was performed with aqueousBPS extract to predict the lead compounds.Prediction analysis with mass values revealed the presence of three different compounds viz. α-tocotrienol, 1,2,4-nonadecanetriol and 3',4',7-trihydroxyisoflavone, which were already reported to inhibit the cell division. All our results strongly supported that banana pseudo-stem extract possesses antimitotic compounds. This is the first report of identification of putative antimitotic compounds from aqueous extract of Musa paradisiaca var. Robusta by using earthworms.

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-45
Author(s):  
N.F. Lunkova ◽  
N.A. Burmistrova ◽  
M.S. Krasavina

Background:A growing part of the root is one of the most active sinks for sucrose coming from source leaves through the phloem. In the root, sucrose is unloaded from conducting bundles and is distributed among the surrounding cells. To be involved in the metabolism, sucrose should disintegrate into hexoses by means of degrading enzymes.Aims:The aim of this research was to explore the possibility of the involvement of one such enzymes, invertase, in phloem unloading as well as distribution of its activity in the functionally different tissues of the plant root tips.Method:To estimate the enzyme activities in root tissues, we applied two techniques: the histochemical method using nitro blue tetrazolium. The localization of phloem unloading was studied with carboxyfluorescein, a fluorescent marker for symplastic transport.Results:Invertase activity was not detected in the apical part of the meristem. It appeared only between the basal part of this zone and the beginning of the elongation zone. There is the root phloem unloading in that area. Invertase activity increased with increasing the distance from the root tip and reached the highest values in the region of cell transition to elongation and in the elongation zone. The activities of the enzyme varied in different tissues of the same zone and sometimes in the neighboring cells of the same tissue. Biochemical determination of invertase activity was made in the maize root segments coincident to the zones of meristem, cell elongation and differentiation. The results of both methods of determination of invertase activity were in agreement.Conclusion:It was concluded that phloem unloading correlated with invertase activity, possibly because of the activation of invertase by unloaded sucrose. Invertase is one of the factors involved in the processes preparing the cells for their transition to elongation because the concentration of osmotically active hexoses increases after cleavage of sucrose, that stimulates water entry into the cells, which is necessary for elongation growth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Unuk Nahberger ◽  
Gian Maria Niccolò Benucci ◽  
Hojka Kraigher ◽  
Tine Grebenc

AbstractSpecies of the genus Tuber have gained a lot of attention in recent decades due to their aromatic hypogenous fruitbodies, which can bring high prices on the market. The tendency in truffle production is to infect oak, hazel, beech, etc. in greenhouse conditions. We aimed to show whether silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) can be an appropriate host partner for commercial mycorrhization with truffles, and how earthworms in the inoculation substrate would affect the mycorrhization dynamics. Silver fir seedlings inoculated with Tuber. aestivum were analyzed for root system parameters and mycorrhization, how earthworms affect the bare root system, and if mycorrhization parameters change when earthworms are added to the inoculation substrate. Seedlings were analyzed 6 and 12 months after spore inoculation. Mycorrhization with or without earthworms revealed contrasting effects on fine root biomass and morphology of silver fir seedlings. Only a few of the assessed fine root parameters showed statistically significant response, namely higher fine root biomass and fine root tip density in inoculated seedlings without earthworms 6 months after inoculation, lower fine root tip density when earthworms were added, the specific root tip density increased in inoculated seedlings without earthworms 12 months after inoculation, and general negative effect of earthworm on branching density. Silver fir was confirmed as a suitable host partner for commercial mycorrhization with truffles, with 6% and 35% mycorrhization 6 months after inoculation and between 36% and 55% mycorrhization 12 months after inoculation. The effect of earthworms on mycorrhization of silver fir with Tuber aestivum was positive only after 6 months of mycorrhization, while this effect disappeared and turned insignificantly negative after 12 months due to the secondary effect of grazing on ectomycorrhizal root tips.


2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 327-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renske Landeweert ◽  
Paula Leeflang ◽  
Thom W. Kuyper ◽  
Ellis Hoffland ◽  
Anna Rosling ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Molecular identification techniques based on total DNA extraction provide a unique tool for identification of mycelium in soil. Using molecular identification techniques, the ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungal community under coniferous vegetation was analyzed. Soil samples were taken at different depths from four horizons of a podzol profile. A basidiomycete-specific primer pair (ITS1F-ITS4B) was used to amplify fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences from total DNA extracts of the soil horizons. Amplified basidiomycete DNA was cloned and sequenced, and a selection of the obtained clones was analyzed phylogenetically. Based on sequence similarity, the fungal clone sequences were sorted into 25 different fungal groups, or operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Out of 25 basidiomycete OTUs, 7 OTUs showed high nucleotide homology (≥99%) with known EM fungal sequences and 16 were found exclusively in the mineral soil. The taxonomic positions of six OTUs remained unclear. OTU sequences were compared to sequences from morphotyped EM root tips collected from the same sites. Of the 25 OTUs, 10 OTUs had ≥98% sequence similarity with these EM root tip sequences. The present study demonstrates the use of molecular techniques to identify EM hyphae in various soil types. This approach differs from the conventional method of EM root tip identification and provides a novel approach to examine EM fungal communities in soil.


Tumor Biology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 101042831769756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia-Teng Zhong ◽  
Jian Yu ◽  
Hai-Jun Wang ◽  
Yu Shi ◽  
Tie-Suo Zhao ◽  
...  

Nowadays, although chemotherapy is an established therapy for breast cancer, the molecular mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in breast cancer remain poorly understood. This study aims to explore the effects of endoplasmic reticulum stress on autophagy, apoptosis, and chemotherapy resistance in human breast cancer cells by regulating PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was performed to detect the cell viability of six human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, ZR-75-30, T47D, MDA-MB-435s, MDA-MB-453, and MDA-MB-231) treated with tunicamycin (5 µM), after which MCF-7 cells were selected for further experiment. Then, MCF-7 cells were divided into the control (without any treatment), tunicamycin (8 µ), BEZ235 (5 µ), and tunicamycin + BEZ235 groups. Cell viability of each group was testified by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Western blotting was applied to determine the expressions of endoplasmic reticulum stress and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway–related proteins and autophagy- and apoptosis-related proteins. Monodansylcadaverine and Annexin V–fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining were used for determination of cell autophagy and apoptosis. Furthermore, MCF-7 cells were divided into the control (without any treatment), tunicamycin (5 µM), cisplatin (16 µM), cisplatin (16 µM) + BEZ235 (5 µM), tunicamycin (5 µM) + cisplatin (16 µM), and tunicamycin (5 µM) + cisplatin (16 µM) + BEZ235 groups. Cell viability and apoptosis were also evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and Annexin V–fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining. In MCF-7 cells treated with tunicamycin, cell viability decreased significantly, but PEAK, eIF2, and CHOP were upregulated markedly and p-PI3K, p-AKT, and p-MTOR were downregulated in dose- and time-dependent manners. In the tunicamycin + BEZ235 group, the cell viability was lower and the apoptosis rate was higher than those of the control and monotherapy groups. Compared with the cisplatin group, the tunicamycin + cisplatin group showed a relatively higher growth inhibition rate; the growth inhibition rate substantially increased in the tunicamycin + cisplatin + BEZ235 group than the tunicamycin + cisplatin group. The apoptosis rate was highest in tunicamycin + cisplatin + BEZ235 group, followed by tunicamycin + cisplatin group and then cisplatin group. Our study provide evidence that endoplasmic reticulum stress activated by tunicamycin could promote breast cancer cell autophagy and apoptosis and enhance chemosensitivity of MCF-7 cells by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 1308-1319
Author(s):  
Setsuko Komatsu ◽  
Myeong W. Oh ◽  
Hee Y. Jang ◽  
Soo J. Kwon ◽  
Hye R. Kim ◽  
...  

Plant root systems form complex networks with the surrounding soil environment and are controlled by both internal and external factors. To better understand the function of root tips of soybean during germination, three proteomic techniques were used to analyze the protein profiles of root tip cells. Proteins were extracted from the root tips of 4-dayold soybean seedlings and analyzed using two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis-based proteomics, SDS-gel based proteomics, and gel-free proteomics techniques. A total of 121, 862, and 341 proteins were identified in root tips using the 2D gel-based, SDS gel-based, and gel-free proteomic techniques, respectively. The proteins identified by 2D gel-based proteomic analysis were predominantly localized in the cytoplasm, whereas nuclear-localized proteins were most commonly identified by the SDS gel-based and gel-free proteomics techniques. Of the 862 proteins identified in the SDS gelbased proteomic analysis, 190 were protein synthesis-related proteins. Furthermore, 24 proteins identified using the 2Dgel based proteomic technique shifted between acidic and basic isoelectric points, and 2 proteins, heat shock protein 70.2 and AAA-type ATPase, displayed two different molecular weights at the same isoelectric point. Taken together, these results suggest that a number of proteins related to protein synthesis and modification are activated in the root tips of soybean seedlings during germination.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (19) ◽  
pp. 10248
Author(s):  
Katja Witzel ◽  
Andrea Matros ◽  
Uwe Bertsch ◽  
Tariq Aftab ◽  
Twan Rutten ◽  
...  

Salt stress tolerance of crop plants is a trait with increasing value for future food production. In an attempt to identify proteins that participate in the salt stress response of barley, we have used a cDNA library from salt-stressed seedling roots of the relatively salt-stress-tolerant cv. Morex for the transfection of a salt-stress-sensitive yeast strain (Saccharomyces cerevisiae YSH818 Δhog1 mutant). From the retrieved cDNA sequences conferring salt tolerance to the yeast mutant, eleven contained the coding sequence of a jacalin-related lectin (JRL) that shows homology to the previously identified JRL horcolin from barley coleoptiles that we therefore named the gene HvHorcH. The detection of HvHorcH protein in root extracellular fluid suggests a secretion under stress conditions. Furthermore, HvHorcH exhibited specificity towards mannose. Protein abundance of HvHorcH in roots of salt-sensitive or salt-tolerant barley cultivars were not trait-specific to salinity treatment, but protein levels increased in response to the treatment, particularly in the root tip. Expression of HvHorcH in Arabidopsis thaliana root tips increased salt tolerance. Hence, we conclude that this protein is involved in the adaptation of plants to salinity.


1956 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Jensen ◽  
Leroy G. Kavaljian

The intracellular distribution of ascorbic acid was studied in frozen-dried root tips of Allium cepa and Vicia faba by the silver nitrate procedure. The sites of the ascorbic acid as indicated by the deposited silver appear as spherical (0.2 to 0.6 µ in diameter) cytoplasmic particles. The site appears to have small amounts of lipides and to be rich in ribonucleic acid. These particles are concluded to be submicroscopic in size and associated, in the elongating cell, with the cell surface. In the meristematic cells they appear fewer in number and are distributed throughout the cytoplasm.


Author(s):  
Sri Indrawati ◽  
Yuliet Yuliet ◽  
Ihwan Ihwan

Pisang Ambon (Musa paradisiaca L.) is one type of bananas usually consumed by Indonesian people. Besides its flesh which has high nutrition, its peels also has antioxidant activity. Antioxidants has the ability to reduce oxidative damage in people’s body with diabetes mellitus. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the antioxidant activity of the aqueous  extract of Pisang Ambon peels and to determine it’s effective dose as an antidiabetic agent in hyperglycemic mice. This study used male mice which all have been intravenously induced with alloxan at a dose of 50 mg/kgBW. They were then divided into five groups. The first two groups got Na CMC 0.5% (negative control) and glibenclamide 0.65 mg/kgBW (positive control), while the other three got  the aqueous  extract of Pisang Ambon peels successively at doses of 400, 800, and 1200 mg/kgBW. The data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) at 95% confidence interval with parameter of blood glucose levels difference between before and after treatment. The results showed that the aqueous extract of Pisang Ambon peels had antidiabetic activity at an effective dose of 400 mg/kgBW in hyperglycemic mice which was comparable to glibenclamide


Author(s):  
Frengki Frengki ◽  
Deddi P. Putra ◽  
Fatma Sri Wahyuni ◽  
Daan Khambri ◽  
Vivi Sofia

Deoxyelephantopin is a lactone sesquiterpene compound that shows toxic effects on some cancer cells, otherwise, it is safe on normal cells. The combination of chemotherapy with this compound is intended to determine its effect in increasing the sensitivity of chemotherapy to MCF-7 cancer cells. Cell viability was determined through the MTT method (3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazol-2-il) -2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) to determine the combined effect, while the number of cell deaths was determined through trypan blue staining. Giving deoxyelephantopin-doxorubicin combination to MCF-7 cells showed a synergistic effect with a CI < 0.7. The number of cells that died in the 1.52x and 2.12x combination treatments was higher than the single doxorubicin treatment each at IC50 and ½ IC50 concentrations, this confirms the synergistic effect of the combination. This research proves that deoxyelephantopin can increase the sensitivity and effectiveness of doxorubicin chemotherapy against MCF-7 breast cancer cells.


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