Therapeutic molecules for multiple human diseases identified from pigeon pea(Cajanus cajan L.Millsp.)through GC–MS and molecular docking

Molecular mechanism behind the therapeutic potential of pigeon pea over the human diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis,breast cancer,type II diabetes,malaria,measles and sickle cell disease were revealed through docking of GC–MS identified phyto-compound ligands with candidate disease proteins.Of the 242 ligands,three dimensional structures of 47 compounds had to be drawn using ChemSketch and the remaining structures were retrieved from PubChem and docked with the active sites of candidate proteins.The molecules identified through docking were further subjected to ADMET analysis and promising drug candidates were identified for each disease.This paper presents a precise account of the chemoprofile of pigeon pea leaves,stems and seeds,interaction of these molecules with target proteins and suggests 26 highly potential molecules which are drug candidates for multiple human diseases.Pigeon pea seeds are especially proven as invaluable source for therapeutic molecules.

Identification and Characterization of Genes Responsible for Drought Tolerance in Rice Mediated by Pseudomonas fluorescens

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses which adversely affect crop plants limiting growth and yield potential.Structural and functional characterization of drought stress-induced genes has contributed to a better understanding of how plants respond and adapt to the drought stress.In the present study,differential display technique was employed to study the gene expression of rice plants at the reproductive stage that were subjected to drought stress by withholding water,Pseudomonas fluorescens strain(Pf1) treated plants subjected for drought stress by withholding water and control(well-watered).Differentially expressed c DNAs of six genes(COX1,PKDP,b ZIP1,AP2-EREBP,Hsp20 and COC1) were identified,cloned and sequenced.Real-time q PCR analysis showed that all the six genes were upregulated in drought-stressed plants treated with Pf1.This revealed that the remarkable influence of Pf1 colonization leads to drought tolerance at the reproductive stage.These results showed that high levels of gene expression in plants lacking adequate water can be remarkably influenced by Pf1 colonization,which might be a key element for induced systemic tolerance by microbes.

Genetic and morphological variation in natural teak(Tectona grandis) populations of the Western Ghats in Southern India

Teak(Tectona grandis L.f.) is a popular hardwood species native to South and South-East Asia. The possible association of amplified fragment length polymorphism(AFLP) marker with morphological variables of eleven important characters viz. girth at breast height(GBH), height of tree, bole height, branch knots, presence of fluting, spiral stem, leaf hair, leaf length/breadth ratio, branching pattern, bark colour and petiole shape for nine natural populations comprising 180 genotypes of teak(9 populations × 20 trees). The phenogram constructed using Euclidean distances for the eleven morphological characters showed that the populations were not grouped according to their geographical origin. The Mantel's test for pairwise correlation between Euclidean distances of different morphological variables and genetic distances from AFLP data revealed that only petiole character(r =0.269; p =0.046) and height of tree(r =0.200; p =0.001) were significantly correlated with that of AFLP data matrix. The nine populations in this study covered a geographic area of about 1000 km stretch along the Western Ghat of South India. A test of correlation between genetic and geographic distance matrices revealed a significant positive correlation(r =0.475; p =0.009). The lack of perfect congruence between morphological and molecular data except for geographic distance, tree height and petiole character suggested that the morphological system might be useful for the morphotypes management but not appropriate to study the genetic structure of the teak populations.

Chloroplast gene matK holds the barcodes for identification of Momordica(Cucurbitaceae) species from Indian subcontinent

DNA barcoding is a supplementary tool in plant systematics,extensively used to resolve the species level controversies.This paper details the identification of DNA barcodes for seven species of Momordica,using the chloroplast gene mat K.Since the species M.cymbalaria has been confused as a member of the genus Luffa,26 accessions of Momordica belonging to seven Indian species and two accessions of Luffa acutangula were included in this study.Analysis of mat K sequences has yielded distinct barcodes in M.charantia var.charantia,M.subangulata subsp.renigera,M.cochinchinensis,M.balsamina,M.cymbalaria and also in Luffa acutangula.Evolutionary status of each species was reflected as nucleotide polymorphisms in each sequence.The wild species M.dioica and M.sahyadrica have yielded one barcode but failed to get differentiated.Further,this study provides conclusive proof that M.cymbalaria is a member of Momordica genus.The phylogram generated was successful to distinguish the monoecious species of this genus,M.charantia,M.balsamina and M.cymbalaria,from the dioecious species M.dioica,M.sahyadrica,M.subangulata subsp.renigera and M.cochinchinensis.Thus,mat K locus,by accumulating the evolutionary sequence variations,is proven efficient to differentiate the Momordica species and to reveal their relatedness.