HIGHER PLANTS AS PRODUCERS OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS LABELED WITH STABLE DEUTERIUM ISOTOPES

Author(s):  
E. Aronova

The results show the seeds of some higher plant species, in particular beet (Beta vulgaris L.) and turnip rap (Brassica rapa L.), are capable of high germination ability in environments containing 99.9% deuterium oxide. These plant species can be used as producers for the biosynthetic production of deuterium-labeled organic compounds

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tapan Kumar Mohanta ◽  
Abdullatif Khan ◽  
Abeer Hashem ◽  
Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah ◽  
Ahmed Al-Harrasi

AbstractA proteomic analysis of proteomes from 145 plant species revealed apIrange of 1.99 (epsin) to 13.96 (hypothetical protein). The molecular mass of the plant proteins ranged from 0.54 to 2236.8 kDa. A putative Type-I polyketide synthase (22244 amino acids) inVolvox carteriwas found to be the largest protein in the plant kingdom and was not found in higher plant species. Titin (806.46 kDa) and misin/midasin (730.02 kDa) were the largest proteins identified in higher plant species. ThepIand molecular weight of the plant proteome exhibited a trimodal distribution. An acidicpI(56.44% of proteins) was found to be predominant over a basicpI(43.34% of proteins) and the abundance of acidicpIproteins was higher in unicellular algae species relative to multicellular higher plants. In contrast, the seaweed,Porphyra umbilicalis, possesses a higher proportion of basicpIproteins (70.09%). Plant proteomes were also found to contain the amino acid, selenocysteine (Sec), which is the first report of the presence of this amino acid in plants. Additionally, plant proteomes also possess ambiguous amino acids Xaa (unknown), Asx (asparagine or aspartic acid), Glx (glutamine or glutamic acid), and Xle (leucine or isoleucine) as well.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tapan Kumar Kumar Mohanta ◽  
Abdullatif Khan ◽  
Abeer Hashem ◽  
Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah ◽  
Ahmed Al-Harrasi

Abstract A proteomic analysis of proteomes from 145 plant species revealed a pI range of 1.99 (epsin) to 13.96 (hypothetical protein). The molecular mass of the plant proteins ranged from 0.54 to 2236.8 kDa. A putative Type-I polyketide synthase (22244 amino acids) in Volvox carteri was found to be the largest protein in the plant kingdom and was not found in higher plant species. Titin (806.46 kDa) and misin/midasin (730.02 kDa) were the largest proteins identified in higher plant species. The pI and molecular weight of the plant proteome exhibited a trimodal distribution. An acidic pI (56.44% of proteins) was found to be predominant over a basic pI (43.34% of proteins) and the abundance of acidic pI proteins was higher in unicellular algae species relative to multicellular higher plants. In contrast, the seaweed, Porphyra umbilicalis, possesses a higher proportion of basic pI proteins (70.09%). Plant proteomes were also found to contain selenocysteine (Sec), amino acid that was found only in lower eukaryotic aquatic plant lineage. Additionally, the plant proteomes also possess ambiguous amino acids Xaa (unknown), Asx (asparagine or aspartic acid), Glx (glutamine or glutamic acid), and Xle (leucine or isoleucine) as well.


1972 ◽  
Vol 37 (21) ◽  
pp. 3300-3303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry S. Trzupek ◽  
Erwin R. Stedronsky ◽  
George M. Whitesides

Planta Medica ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 85 (04) ◽  
pp. 312-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatai Balogun ◽  
Anofi Ashafa

AbstractSouth Africa contains 9% of the worldʼs higher plants, and despite its rich biodiversity, it has one of the highest prevalence of hypertension in Africa. This review provides information on medicinal plants embraced in South Africa for hypertension management, with the aim of reporting pharmacological information on the indigenous use of these plants as antihypertensives. This review not only focuses on the activity of antihypertensive medicinal plants but also reports some of its phytochemical constituents and other ethnopharmacological and therapeutic properties. Information obtained from scientific and or unpublished databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, SciFinder, JSTOR, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and various books revealed 117 documented antihypertensive plant species from 50 families. Interestingly, Asteraceae topped the list with 16 species, followed by Fabaceae with 8 species; however, only 25% of all plant species have demonstrated antihypertensive effects originating from both in vitro and in vivo studies, lending credence to their folkloric use. Only 11 plant species reportedly possess antihypertensive properties in animal models, with very few species subjected to analytical processes to reveal the identity of their bioactive antihypertensive compounds. In this review, we hope to encourage researchers and global research institutions (universities, agricultural research councils, and medical research councils), particularly those showing an interest in natural products, for the need for concerted efforts to undertake more studies aimed at revealing the untapped potential of these plants. These studies are very important for the development of new pharmaceuticals of natural origin useful for the management of hypertension.


2002 ◽  
Vol 362 (2) ◽  
pp. 423-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna E. CORNAH ◽  
Jennifer M. ROPER ◽  
Davinder Pal SINGH ◽  
Alison G. SMITH

Ferrochelatase is the terminal enzyme of haem biosynthesis, catalysing the insertion of ferrous iron into the macrocycle of protoporphyrin IX, the last common intermediate of haem and chlorophyll synthesis. Its activity has been reported in both plastids and mitochondria of higher plants, but the relative amounts of the enzyme in the two organelles are unknown. Ferrochelatase is difficult to assay since ferrous iron requires strict anaerobic conditions to prevent oxidation, and in photosynthetic tissues chlorophyll interferes with the quantification of the product. Accordingly, we developed a sensitive fluorimetric assay for ferrochelatase that employs Co2+ and deuteroporphyrin in place of the natural substrates, and measures the decrease in deuteroporphyrin fluorescence. A hexane-extraction step to remove chlorophyll is included for green tissue. The assay is linear over a range of chloroplast protein concentrations, with an average specific activity of 0.68nmol·min−1·mg of protein−1, the highest yet reported. The corresponding value for mitochondria is 0.19nmol·min−1·mg of protein−1. The enzyme is inhibited by N-methylprotoporphyrin, with an estimated IC50 value of ≈ 1nM. Using this assay we have quantified ferrochelatase activity in plastids and mitochondria from green pea leaves, etiolated pea leaves and pea roots to determine the relative amounts in the two organelles. We found that, in all three tissues, greater than 90% of the activity was associated with plastids, but ferrochelatase was reproducibly detected in mitochondria, at levels greater than the contaminating plastid marker enzyme, and was latent. Our results indicate that plastids are the major site of haem biosynthesis in higher plant cells, but that mitochondria also have the capacity for haem production.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
Maria Chrysina ◽  
Georgia Zahariou ◽  
Nikolaos Ioannidis ◽  
Yiannis Sanakis ◽  
George Mitrikas

The biological water oxidation takes place in Photosystem II (PSII), a multi-subunit protein located in thylakoid membranes of higher plant chloroplasts and cyanobacteria. The catalytic site of PSII is a Mn4Ca cluster and is known as the oxygen evolving complex (OEC) of PSII. Two tyrosine residues D1-Tyr161 (YZ) and D2-Tyr160 (YD) are symmetrically placed in the two core subunits D1 and D2 and participate in proton coupled electron transfer reactions. YZ of PSII is near the OEC and mediates electron coupled proton transfer from Mn4Ca to the photooxidizable chlorophyll species P680+. YD does not directly interact with OEC, but is crucial for modulating the various S oxidation states of the OEC. In PSII from higher plants the environment of YD• radical has been extensively characterized only in spinach (Spinacia oleracea) Mn- depleted non functional PSII membranes. Here, we present a 2D-HYSCORE investigation in functional PSII of spinach to determine the electronic structure of YD• radical. The hyperfine couplings of the protons that interact with the YD• radical are determined and the relevant assignment is provided. A discussion on the similarities and differences between the present results and the results from studies performed in non functional PSII membranes from higher plants and PSII preparations from other organisms is given.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel K. N’Woueni ◽  
Orou G. Gaoue

AbstractThe conversion of natural systems into farms and agroecosystems is the main cause of biodiversity loss. In human-dominated landscapes, understanding the interactions between agroforestry systems and adjacent natural vegetation is fundamental to developing sustainable agricultural systems. Species can move between these two systems with natural systems providing the regional pool of species that shape the agricultural values and conservation value of the agroforestry systems. We investigated the influence of neighboring natural habitats on traditional agroforestry systems in the buffer zone of Pendjari Biosphere Reserve in Benin to understand the contribution of regional processes on the quality of agroforestry systems. We expected that agroforestry parklands adjacent to natural vegetation with high species diversity will also have higher plant species diversity. We found no similarity in plant species composition between agroforestry systems and adjacent natural habitats. A small proportion of species in adjacent natural habitats were found in agroforestry systems. The proportion of shared species was not significantly influenced by plant diversity in adjacent natural habitats or the distance from the agroforestry systems to the natural adjacent habitat. However, plant diversity in agroforestry systems was strongly associated with site ethnobotanical values indicating that farmers act as a supplemental but severe environmental filter of the regional species pool. Our study suggests that promoting the plantation of plants with high ethnobotanical use-value is a potentially viable strategy for sustainable agriculture and ecological restoration in Biosphere reserves.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-162
Author(s):  
Vera Valentinovna Solovieva

The study covered 10 small rivers in the North-Eastern part of the Samara Volga region. The author studied the vegetation cover, which is understood as a set of phytocoenoses and their constituent plant species. On the territory of Pokhvistnevsky District, there are two groups of river valleys that are heterogeneous in geobotanical terms. The first group includes the rivers with forested valleys (Kutlugush, Murakla, Karmalka). Their slopes are more or less symmetrical and steep. The vegetation cover of an undeveloped floodplain is usually uniform, and there is usually no belt. The valleys of the second group are treeless; their slopes are sharply asymmetrical (Amanak, Tergala, Talkish). The right-bank tributary of the Maly Kinel River the Lozovka River with its length of 20 km and the left tributary Kuvayka River with its length of 16 km were studied on the territory of Kinel-Cherkassky District. The Padovka and Zaprudka rivers and the right tributaries of the Bolshoi Kinel River (Kinelsky District) were also studied. The most common associations are (Salix fragilis heteroherbosa, Scirpus sylvaticus purum, Agrostis stolonifera Amoria repens, Elytrigia repens + Poa angustifolia heteroherbosa). In total, 19 types of phytocoenoses were noted, 4 of them are found in half of the studied rivers. In the plant communities of small river valleys there are 232 species of higher wild plants, which belong to 139 genera from 48 families. This is 60% of the total number of higher plants registered in the flora of small river valleys of the Samara Region. Rare protected plant species are registered here: Adonis volgensis Steven ex DC., Cacalia hastata L., Delphinium cuneatum Stev. ex DC., Globularia punctata Lapeyr.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document