Physiological responses of sub1A QTL under induced dehydration stress for varying days in rice

This study analysed the rice genotype with sub1A quantitative trait loci that may interact with ongoing exposure of dehydration. cv. Swarna Sub1 had more nutrients efficiency with increased membrane permeability than cv. Swarna. sub1A QTL with its expression to water / osmotic deficit, however, indirectly to impede the oxidative stress under dehydration might help cv. Swarna Sub1. At maximum dehydration cv. Swarna Sub1 had 1.12 fold excess electrolyte leakages than cv. Swarna under dehydration. cv. Swarna Sub1 had better Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-malic enzyme activity to secure carbon dioxide exchange. A proportional increase in enzyme activity all through dehydration stress maximize under light in cv. Swarna Sub1. At maximum dehydration cv. Swarna Sub1 at saturating substrate concentration was increased by 1.12 fold than other cultivar. The ratio of glutathione (GSH:GSSG) more depleted in cv. Swarna Sub1 through the dehydration period. cv. Swarna could be more promising to retrieve the activity by 1.80 fold than cv. Swarna Sub1 under maximum dehydration. Dehydroascorbate reductase activity was also maintained in cv. Swarna with 1.20 fold ahead than cv. Swarna Sub1 under same condition. As a biomarker of oxidative stress cv. Swarna Sub1 appeared to be less sensitive with the loss of protein oxidation, however, recorded with 25% less carbonyl content than cv. Swarna. Both the genotypes had scored a significant sensitivity with tissue specific distribution for reactive oxygen species as detected by histochemical assay.

Effects of blueberry leaf and stem extracts on hepatic lipid levels in rats consuming a high-sucrose diet

Background: Blueberry stems, a by-product of blueberry leaf tea production, are typically discarded. We evaluated the effects of hot-water extracts of rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium virgatum Aiton; RB species) leaves and stems on hepatic lipid levels in rats consuming a high-sucrose diet.Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into groups that received a control high-sucrose diet alone or supplementation with 2.0% blueberry leaf extract or 0.5% or 2.0% blueberry stem extract. Blood and hepatic lipid levels, hepatic lipogenic enzyme activity, and hepatic quercetin metabolites were evaluated after 28 days of ad libitum consumption.Results: Supplementation with the extracts did not affect body weight gain, food intake, liver and white adipose tissue weights, or serum lipid levels. Hepatic triglyceride and total cholesterol levels were reduced in the groups that received 2.0% supplementation of either extract. Hepatic malic enzyme activity was also reduced in those groups. Quercetin and its glycosides, the major polyphenols identified in the extracts, accumulated in the liver as quercetin aglycone and quercetin metabolites. Conclusion: We demonstrated how daily consumption of blueberry leaf and stem extracts can decrease hepatic lipid levels, potentially downregulating malic enzyme activity. These effects were intensive in leaf extracts. The active compounds existed in both extracts may be quercetin and its glycosides. Therefore, blueberry stems and leaves may be an attractive candidate novel functional food.Keywords: Blueberry leaf; blueberry stem; quercetin; hepatic lipid; rat; functional food

Reassessment of the Transhydrogenase/Malate Shunt Pathway in Clostridium thermocellum ATCC 27405 through Kinetic Characterization of Malic Enzyme and Malate Dehydrogenase

ABSTRACTClostridium thermocellumproduces ethanol as one of its major end products from direct fermentation of cellulosic biomass. Therefore, it is viewed as an attractive model for the production of biofuels via consolidated bioprocessing. However, a better understanding of the metabolic pathways, along with their putative regulation, could lead to improved strategies for increasing the production of ethanol. In the absence of an annotated pyruvate kinase in the genome, alternate means of generating pyruvate have been sought. Previous proteomic and transcriptomic work detected high levels of a malate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme, which may be used as part of a malate shunt for the generation of pyruvate from phosphoenolpyruvate. The purification and characterization of the malate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme are described in order to elucidate their putative roles in malate shunt and their potential role inC. thermocellummetabolism. The malate dehydrogenase catalyzed the reduction of oxaloacetate to malate utilizing NADH or NADPH with akcatof 45.8 s−1or 14.9 s−1, respectively, resulting in a 12-fold increase in catalytic efficiency when using NADH over NADPH. The malic enzyme displayed reversible malate decarboxylation activity with akcatof 520.8 s−1. The malic enzyme used NADP+as a cofactor along with NH4+and Mn2+as activators. Pyrophosphate was found to be a potent inhibitor of malic enzyme activity, with aKiof 0.036 mM. We propose a putative regulatory mechanism of the malate shunt by pyrophosphate and NH4+based on the characterization of the malate dehydrogenase and malic enzyme.

The localization of nitrite reductase, glutamate synthase and malate metabolism enzymes in Pisum arvense L. roots

Centrifugation of a homogenate made from <em>Pisum arvense</em> L. roots in a sucrose density gradient enabled the separation of the plastid fraction from mitochondria and microsomes. The presence of nitrite reductase and glutamate synthase was demonstrated in the plastids. Malic enzyme activity was not linked with any organelle fraction and was found only in the cytosol. High malate dehydrogenase activity was found in the mitochondria fraction, although its activity was also determined in plastids. The results suggest that malic acid metabolism in plastids may be the source of reduced pyridine nucleotides for reactions catalysed by nitrite reductase and glutamate synthase.