Influence of plant growth regulators on morphogenic response, biomass and camptothecin production in the callus cultures of Chonemorpha fragrans (moon) Alston

In vitro morphogenic response of mature seed embryo-derived callus cultures of Chonemorpha fragrans was studied using solid and liquid Murashige and Skoog medium amended with cytokinins or their combinations with naphthalene acetic acid at 0.5 mg L-1. The plant growth regulators (PGRs) combination and concentrations tested could not stimulate organogenesis after three subcultivations of the callus cultures on the same PGRs-amended solid medium and when cultivated in the liquid but, formation of morphogenic callus was observed. Evaluation of biomass and camptothecin production showed that the PGRs influenced biomass and CPT yield of the callus cultures. The alkaloid yield of various explants of 3-4 weeks old axenic seedlings was higher in roots (0.019% CPT) followed by mature seed embryos (0.0053%), cotyledons (0.0039%), hypocotyls (0.0024%) and leaves (0.0017%), and no significant difference was observed in yield of CPT from callus induced from the various explants. Camptothecin yield of morphogenic callus cultures cultivated in liquid medium was lower than that of solid due to extracellular leaching effect of the alkaloid. Amount of synthesized CPT in the callus cultures also varied with PGR type and concentration amended in the cultivation medium, and was association with biomass production. Results of the present study suggest that callus cultures offer alternative tissue source for in vitro CPT yield enhancement through biotechnological approaches, with application in the large-scale production of the alkaloid to conserve the ever-decimated natural population of the medicinal woody climber for CPT.

Pectin remodeling belongs to a homeostatic system and triggers transcriptomic and hormonal modulations

Pectins occur in primary cell walls and consist of multiblock co‐polymers among which homogalacturonan (HG) is the simplest and most abundant form. Methylesterification patterns of HG are tuned by pectin methylesterases (PMEs), the activities of which are controlled by specific inhibitors (PMEIs). By impacting cell wall mechanical properties, PME‐mediated regulation of HG methylesterification plays a major role in several developmental processes, including seed germination and dark-grown hypocotyl elongation. Arabidopsis PME36 is preferentially expressed during the late stage of seed development and, using the knock‐out mutant pme36-1, we show here that PME36 is required to implement the characteristic pattern of de-methylesterified pectin in the mature seed. Surprisingly, while this pattern is strongly impaired in pme36-1 mature seed, no phenotypical effect is observed in the mutant during seed germination and dark-grown hypocotyl elongation, suggesting the existence of a compensatory mechanism overcoming the defect in pectin de-methylesterification. By analyzing hormone contents and gene expression, a strong, dynamic, and long-lasting physiological disorder is revealed in the mutant. These results suggest the existence of complex connections between pectin remodeling, transcriptomic regulations and hormonal homeostasis, modulating several physiological parameters to ensure the maintenance of a normal seed-to-seedling developmental program in pme36-1. Considered for a long time as an end-point passive effector mainly involved in modification of cell wall mechanics, the role of pectin methylesterification needs to be reconsidered as a modulator acting upstream of diverse regulatory pathways involved in plant development.

Vaccaria segetalis: A Review of Ethnomedicinal, Phytochemical, Pharmacological, and Toxicological Findings

Vaccaria segetalis is a dry mature seed of Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert, which belongs to the genus V. segetalis (Neck.) Garcke. There are multiple medicinal parts of V. segetalis, according to the records, including roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds, which should be used together. Currently, V. segetalis is most frequently used in the treatment of menstruation, dysmenorrhea, breast milk stoppages, and chylorrhea. Numerous studies present historical evidence of the use of V. segetalis to treat several diseases and describe its beneficial effects including prolactin- (PRL-) like, estrogen-like, antitumor, antiangiogenesis, and antioxidant activity. We summarized the period from January 1980 to December 2019 regarding V. segetalis. This review paper indicates that V. segetalis has promising clinical applications. The main active ingredients of the plant have been elucidated in recent years. We summarized the previously and newly discovered pharmacological effects of V. segetalis in addition to its active ingredients, ethnopharmacological uses, and toxicological properties, and provided a focus for future research.

Estimation of correlation and path coefficient for morphological and quality related traits in pea (Pisum sativum L.)

Statistical analysis of variance, correlation and path coefficient for morphological and quality related traits such as number of nodes, pod width, seeds per pod and mature seed length showed significant positive correlation. Furthermore, mature seed weight and 100-seed weight at 13 - 15% moisture content had significant relation with the quality related traits i.e. starch contents, protein contents and zinc contents. Plant height and number of nodes had positive indirect effect on pod length, pod weight, pod thickness, number of seeds per plant, 100-seed weight and other yield related traits. While, mature seed weight, seed length and seed thickness had positive indirect effect on the quality parameters.

In vitro Plant Regeneration from Mature Seed Explants of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, an Important, Rare and Endangered Medicinal Plant

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal a member of the Solanaceae family, is a traditional medicinal plant commonly known in India as Ashwagandha. It is used for different diseases such as hiccup, cough, rheumatism, tuberculosis, and exhibits excellent antitumor and anti-bacterial activities as well. Direct organogenesis of plants using mature seeds provides faster response and is also a time saving approach, thus the present study was conducted to investigate the optimal concentrations and combinations of plant growth regulators with MS medium for the establishment of an efficient regeneration system in W. somnifera using mature seed as an explant. Therefore, an efficient in vitro protocol for high frequency regeneration has been developed using mature seeds as explant. In the present study, the multiple shoots along with embryogenic callus induction was best seen in MS medium supplemented with BAP (1.5 mg/L) and IAA (0.5 mg/L). Furthermore, MS medium fortified with GA3 (0.3 mg/L) and IBA (3.0 mg/L) alone was suited for shoot elongation and rhizogenesis respectively. The rooted plantlets were hardened and successfully established in the soil. The establishment of a highly reproducible regeneration system would greatly influence the efforts of improvement of the hereby studied medicinal plant species through useful gene transfer technology.

Influence of plant growth regulators on morphogenic response, biomass and camptothecin production in the callus cultures of Chonemorpha fragrans (Moon) Alston

Background: In vitro morphogenic response of mature seed embryo-derived callus cultures of Chonemorpha fragrans was studied using solid and liquid Murashige and Skoog medium amended with cytokinins or their combinations with naphthalene acetic acid at 0.5 mg L-1.Results: The tested plant growth regulators combination and concentrations could not stimulate organogenesis after three subcultivations of the callus cultures on the same PGRs-amended solid medium, and when cultivated in the liquid but, formation of morphogenic callus was observed. Evaluation of biomass and camptothecin production showed that the PGRs influenced biomass and CPT yield of the callus cultures. The alkaloid yield of various explants of 3–4 weeks old axenic seedlings was higher in roots (0.019 % CPT) followed by mature seed embryos (0.0053 %), cotyledons (0.0039 %), hypocotyls (0.0024 %) and leaves (0.0017 %). There was no significant difference in yield of CPT from callus induced from the various explants. Camptothecin yield of morphogenic callus cultures cultivated in liquid medium was lower than that of solid due to extracellular leaching effect of the alkaloid. Amount of synthesized CPT in the callus cultures also varied with PGR type and concentration amended in the cultivation medium, and showed association with biomass production.Conclusion: Results of the present study suggest that callus cultures offer alternative tissue source for in vitro CPT yield enhancement through biotechnological approaches, with application in the large-scale production of the alkaloid to conserve the ever decimated natural population of the medicinal woody climber for CPT.

An analysis of the physiological impacts on life history traits of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) related to seed maturity

ABSTRACT Peanut is an important oilseed crop and legume species, with more than 1.9 M tons produced annually in the U.S. Being indeterminate, peanut continually flowers and sets pods throughout the growing season, leading to the potential harvest of both mature and immature pods. To quantify the physiological impacts of peanut seed maturity, a two-year field study was conducted to elucidate the difference in canopy structure and reproductive characteristics, including flower production, yield, and grade between seed obtained from immature and mature seed of two commercial peanut cultivars: TUFRunner™ ‘727’ and FloRun™ ‘107’. Data indicated that seed from the yellow class of pods have lower vigor and overall plant development and performance; further, plants developed from immature seed never achieved a level of performance comparable to that of the mature brown/black pod classes. There were differences between cultivars in the severity of the impact of immaturity, with larger detrimental effects on immature TUFRunner™ ‘727’, which exhibited reduced emergence. Despite these cultivar differences, this study illustrated that mature seed performs better in a field setting than immature seed. These results are critically important to disproving the ‘catch-up' assumption: seed maturity not only has an impact on emergence, but on subsequent life history and performance traits through the remainder of the season.