In Vitro Regeneration of Coral Tree from Three Different Explants Using Thidiazuron

The coral tree (Erythrina variegata) is a multipurpose horticultural plant with a plethora of medicinally important alkaloids. Regeneration via tissue culture can provide an efficient alternative to seed-grown plantlets and reduce the cost of the plant significantly. Thidiazuron (TDZ) is an efficient plant growth regulator and is effective in numerous species. However, the response to it varies with the type and position of the tissue on the plantlet treated. This study was carried out to ascertain the best tissue types for micropropagation of the coral tree using TDZ. Three tissue types (shoot tip, nodal, and hypocotyl), originating from different strata of the plantlet were evaluated. Adventitious shoots were observed in all three explants at the tested concentrations. However the quality and the shoot number varied significantly with the type of explant. Explants with a meristematic zone (shoot tip and nodal) were more responsive to the treatment compared with hypocotyl tissue lacking preexisting meristem. Nodal explants produced the maximum number of shoots (about eight) per explant after 4 weeks of culture, whereas shoot tips produced about only five shoots per explant at an equimolar concentration (1.5 µm). Approximately three shoots were observed in hypocotyl explants. Moreover, growth and rooting of the regenerated shoots was influenced by the origin of the explants. The molecular characterization of the regenerants using intersimple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers revealed genetic homogeneity among regenerants. An efficient micropropagation method for the coral tree is described.

Erythrina suberosa: Ethnopharmacology, Phytochemistry and Biological Activities

Plants are a great and irreplaceable source of medicines, fuel, food, energy and even cosmetics. Since prehistory, humans have learned to use plants for survival, growth and proliferation and still today it relies on natural and cultivated vegetables for food and the source of novel compounds with pharmacological activity. Not only herbs and flowers, but also trees are used. Indeed, Erythrina suberosa Roxb. is a deciduous tree of the family Fabaceae, common in Southeast Asia. In India, E. suberosa is called the “corky coral tree” or simply the “Indian coral tree”, given its peculiar red-orange flowers that can flower throughout the year and its corky irregular bark covered by prickles. It is a plant commonly used as an ornamental tree, but it also holds ethnopharmacological and socioeconomic uses. This article explored phytobiological features of E. suberosa, analysing its taxonomy, examining its traditional and common uses and investigating its bioactive components and pharmacological properties.

Building Bridges and Trees

Ken Nedimyer is founder and president of the Coral Restoration Foundation. He has lived and worked in the Florida Keys for over forty years and has witnessed firsthand the degradation of the Florida Reef Tract. He established one of the largest coral nurseries in the world and has been training restoration groups, especially in the Caribbean, on how to use his unique coral tree technique. Nedimyer won multiple awards, including a CNN Hero in 2012 and a Disney Conservation Hero in 2014. I first interviewed him over the phone on January 4, 2016, then met him in person in Hawai‘i, and finally interviewed him a couple of weeks after Hurricane Irma hit the Florida Keys. Nedimyer is the only nonscientist among the interchapter interviews. His narrative is important, in my view, precisely because he is an outsider to that world, therefore providing a fresh reflection on both scientists and the existing legal regimes....

Consideraciones para la aplicación del método Coral Tree Nursery en la recuperación de poblaciones de Acropora valida (Acroporidae) en dos zonas neríticas de Galápagos, Ecuador

Resumen: el presente documento describe diferentes aspectos técnicos que se deben considerar para implementar el método de reproducción asexual Coral Tree Nursery y efectuar el seguimiento de su grado de éxito al trabajar con la recuperación de poblaciones del coral Acropora valida, presente en zonas coralinas de aguas neríticas de las Islas Galápagos. Se analiza el contexto teórico del desarrollo de este método, así como la descripción física del mismo, las zonas de Galápagos en las cuales podría ser aplicado y la forma de seguimiento y análisis técnico de la información relacionada con la supervivencia, crecimiento y prendimiento de los fragmentos de coral incluidos en los viveros propuestos. Palabras Clave: Islas Galápagos, corales, Acropora valida, zona nerítica, Coral tree nursery.

Insight into Erythrina Lectins: Properties, Structure and Proposed Physiological Significance

The genus Erythrina, collectively known as “coral tree”, are pantropical plants, comprising of more than 112 species. Since the early 1980s, seven of these have been found to possess hemagglutinating activity, although not yet characterized. However, around two dozen galactose-binding lectins have been isolated and fully characterized with respect to their sugar specificity, glycoconjugates agglutination, dependence of activity on metal ions, primary and secondary structures and stability. Three lectins have been fully sequenced and the crystal structures of the two proteins have been solved with and without the haptenic sugar. Lectins isolation and characterization from most of these species usually originated from the seeds, although the proteins from other vegetative tissues have also been reported. The main objective of this review is to summarize the physicochemical and biological properties of the reported purified Erythrina lectins to date. Structural comparisons, based on available lectins sequences, are also made to relate the intrinsic physical and chemical properties of these proteins. Particular attention is also given to the proposed biological significance of the lectins from the genus Erythrina.