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Cells sustain constant oxidative stress from both exogenous and endogenous sources. When unmitigated by antioxidant defenses, reactive oxygen species damage cellular macromolecules, including DNA. Oxidative lesions in both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA are repaired via the base excision repair (BER) pathway, initiated by DNA glycosylases. We have previously demonstrated that the BER glycosylase 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1) plays a novel role in body weight maintenance and regulation of adiposity. Specifically, mice lacking OGG1 (Ogg1&minus, /&minus, ) are prone to increased fat accumulation with age and consumption of hypercaloric diets. Conversely, transgenic animals with mitochondrially-targeted overexpression of OGG1 (Ogg1Tg) are resistant to age- and diet-induced obesity. Given these phenotypes of altered adiposity in the context of OGG1 genotype, we sought to determine if OGG1 plays a cell-intrinsic role in adipocyte maturation and lipid accumulation. Here, we report that preadipocytes from Ogg1&minus, mice differentiate more efficiently and accumulate more lipids than those from wild-type animals. Conversely, OGG1 overexpression significantly blunts adipogenic differentiation and lipid accretion in both pre-adipocytes from Ogg1Tg mice, as well as in 3T3-L1 cells with adenovirus-mediated OGG1 overexpression. Mechanistically, changes in adipogenesis are accompanied by significant alterations in cellular PARylation, corresponding with OGG1 genotype. Specifically, deletion of OGG1 reduces protein PARylation, concomitant with increased adipogenic differentiation, while OGG1 overexpression significantly increases PARylation and blunts adipogenesis. Collectively, these data indicate a novel role for OGG1 in modulating adipocyte differentiation and lipid accretion. These findings have important implications to our knowledge of the fundamental process of adipocyte differentiation, as well as to our understanding of lipid-related diseases such as obesity.

Insulin resistance is associated with obesity and can lead to several metabolic disorders including type II diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular problems. Search for the small molecules which can either induce or mimic the insulin action are of great interest and can be utilized to manage insulin resistance. There are several dietary phytochemicals which can potentially have insulinomimetic action. Nevertheless, high throughput screening methods to test efficiency of small molecules to act as an insulinomimetic are not fully established. In this paper we have performed chemical screen analysis based on GLUT4 translocation using a cell line CHO-HIRC-myc-GLUT4 eGFP that expresses GLUT4-GFP in association with human Insulin receptor. We have established a high content screening-based method which can track and quantify the GLUT4 translocation from perinuclear area to the cell membrane. The assay involves measuring fluorescence intensity in a defined perinuclear area and a defined area along the cell membrane; and the results are expressed as the ratio of fluorescence intensity in the perinuclear to membrane area. The assay could collect real time data of GLUT4 translocation from thousand of cells/ sample and from many such samples in one experiment. We validated the assay using Insulin, insulin mimics/sensitizers and insulin inhibitors. The agonist or antagonists were analyzed for their ability to enhance or block the GLUT4 translocation independent of insulin. The outcome of the assay was correlated by performing glucose uptake assay using differentiated 3T3L1 cells. Using this platform we further identified several plant extracts which had the insulin mimetic action. We confirmed that these plant extracts were non-toxic to the beta cells using RIN mf5cells and 3T3L1 cells. We have identified plant extracts with the potential insulinomimetic action using novel high-content screening approach; these can be further tested for their efficiency in-vivo in pre-clinical trials.

The use of Rhizobium inoculants in chickpea is well established; however, meagre efforts have been directed towards the use of other microbial supplements for improving nutrient uptake and yields. A set of novel cyanobacterial and biofilmed inoculants were evaluated in chickpea under field conditions. A significant two-fold enhancement in leghaemoglobin content of nodules and plant biomass was recorded with Anabaena laxa treatment. The inoculants - Anabaena laxa and Anabaena - Rhizobium biofilmed formulation proved to be the top-ranking treatments. Soil chlorophyll, nitrogen-fixation and available N possessed high positive direct effects on grain yield through positive - correlations and - high direct effects and also had high positive indirect effects through other component traits. The cumulative effect of improved plant growth and nutrient uptake exhibited a positive correlation with microbiological activity, especially nitrogen fixation, soil chlorophyll and soil available nitrogen. This may account for the significantly higher yield parameters in the A. laxa treatment, which recorded 50% higher grain yield (1724kgha(-1)) as compared to control (847kgha(-1)).

Cyanobacteria-rice plant interactions were analyzed using a hydroponics experiment. The activity of plant defense and pathogenesis-related enzymes, scanning electron microscopy, growth, nitrogen fixation (measured as ARA), and DNA fingerprinting assays proved useful in illustrating the nature of associations of cyanobacteria with rice plants. Microscopic analyses revealed the presence of short filaments and coiled masses of filaments of cyanobacteria near the epidermis and cortex of roots and shoot tissues. Among the six cyanobacterial strains employed, Calothrix sp. (RPC1), Anabaena laxa (RPAN8), and Anabaena azollae (C16) were the best performing strains, in terms of colonization in roots and stem. These strains also enhanced nitrogen fixation and stimulated the activity of plant defense/cell wall-degrading enzymes. A significantly high correlation was also recorded between the elicited plant enzymes, growth, and ARA. DNA fingerprinting using highly iterated palindromic sequences (HIP-TG) further helped in proving the establishment of inoculated organisms in the roots/shoots of rice plants. This study illustrated that the colonization of cyanobacteria in the plant tissues is facilitated by increased elicitation of plant enzymes, leading to improved plant growth, nutrient mobilization, and enhanced plant fitness. Such strains can be promising candidates for developing "cyanobacteria colonized-nitrogen-fixing rice plants" in the future.

Vanillic acid (VA), a flavoring agent used in food and drug products, obtained naturally from the plant Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels (Apiaceae), used in the traditional Chinese medicine. It is reported to possess strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. However, the pharmacological effects on oxidative stress-induced neurodegeneration are not well investigated.This study investigates the neuroprotective effect of VA on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced neurodegeneration in mice through behavioral and biochemical parameters.The behavioral effects were determined using the Y-maze and open-field habituation memory. In biochemical parameters, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), corticosterone, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and antioxidants (superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase) were measured. Five groups of animals used were of control, negative control, and three separate groups treated with 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg of VA, respectively, for 28 d. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections of STZ were performed for all groups except control on 14th and 16th of 28 d of VA treatment.VA improved spatial learning and memory retention by preventing oxidative stress compared with control animals. VA at 50 and 100 mg/kg dose significantly (p0.001) improved the habituation memory, decreased the AChE, corticosterone, TNF-α, and increased the antioxidants (p0.001). VA (100 mg/kg) exhibited dose-dependent effect in all parameters with p0.001 except antioxidants in which VA showed the significance of p0.01.VA exhibited reduction in AChE, TNF-α, and corticosterone with improved antioxidants to contribute neuroprotection and could be an effective therapeutic agent for treating neurodegenerative disorders.

The modulation in physiological and metabolic attributes associated with colonisation by cyanobacteria in wheat has been little explored. In the present investigation, the performance of six selected cyanobacterial strains was evaluated with wheat (variety HD2687). The fresh weight of plants, measured after 2 weeks, exhibited a 30–60 % increase, while 14–40 % increase in plant dry weight was also recorded, as compared to uninoculated control. The nitrogen-fixing potential (expressed as acetylene-reducing activity or ARA) was 20-fold higher in the treatment involving inoculation of Anabaena laxa RPAN8 as compared to that in the uninoculated control. The inoculation of Calothrix sp. RPC1 brought about a more than 90 % increase in endoglucanase activity and root chlorophyll. Comparison of DNA fingerprints (highly iterated palindrome (HIP)-TG profiles) of wheat roots with those of corresponding pure cultures revealed a high degree of similarity, confirming the colonisation. Significant correlation of plant parameters with nitrogen-fixing potential and growth attributes and fingerprints of cyanobacteria from roots further illustrated the novelty of our results. This represents a first report on understanding hydrolytic enzyme-mediated colonisation of cyanobacteria on roots of wheat plants using plant growth parameters and DNA fingerprints. Such synergistic combinations of cyanobacterium and wheat can lead to savings of nitrogen and increased yields, besides being a prelude to generating nitrogen-independent wheat plants.

Our study focused towards screening the modes of nutrition of Chlorella sorokiniana under standard laboratory conditions and its upscaling in a photobioreactor for enhanced lipid productivity. Time course studies using glucose under mixotrophic and heterotrophic conditions vis a vis autotrophy revealed highest values of growth, lipid productivity (29.33% DCW) and lipid content (755. 00 mg/L) under mixotrophic conditions on the 14th day of growth. Upscaling in a photobioreactor with selected substrates (Glucose and tryptophan), along with sodium thiosulphate as a reducing agent was undertaken. Lipid productivity of 34.16% and 36.49% was recorded after 4th and 8th day, respectively, in both substrates, vis a vis 11% with glucose alone. FAME analyses revealed a 2% enhancement in total saturated fatty acids (SFA) in tryptophan supplemented culture, which also exhibited an almost ideal fatty acid ratio for use as biodiesel (2.6:4:1 of 16:1.18:1 and 14:1). Interestingly, glucose+sodium thiosulphate grown culture exhibited an almost 2 folds enhancement in PUFA content (especially 18:1 and 18:2), illustrating its promise for use as an edible oil blend. Our study revealed the step-wise scale up and promise of substrate amendment and mixotrophy as promising tools for valorization of microalgal lipids.

Microalgae possess the ability to grow and glean nutrients from wastewater; such wastewater-grown biomass can be used as a biofertilizer for crops. The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate two formulations (formulation with unicellular microalgae (MC1) and formulation with filamentous microalgae (MC2); T4 and T5, respectively), prepared using wastewater-grown microalgal biomass, as a biofertilizer (after mixing with vermiculite/compost as a carrier) in wheat crop (Triticum aestivum L. HD2967) under controlled conditions. The highest values of available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) in soil and nitrogen-fixing potential were recorded in treatment T5 (75% N + full-dose PK + formulation with filamentous microalgae (MC2). Microbial biomass carbon was significantly enhanced by 31.8-67.0% in both the inoculated treatments over control (recommended dose of fertilizers), with highest values in T4 (75% N + full-dose PK + formulation with unicellular microalgae (MC1)). Both the microalgal formulations significantly increased the N, P, and K content of roots, shoots, and grains, and the highest total N content of 3.56% in grains was observed in treatment T5. At harvest stage, the treatments inoculated with microalgal formulations (T4 and T5) recorded a 7.4-33% increase in plant dry weight and up to 10% in spike weight. The values of 1000-grain weight showed an enhancement of 5.6-8.4%, compared with T1 (recommended doses of fertilizers). A positive correlation was observed between soil nutrient availability at mid crop stage and plant biometrical parameters at harvest stage. This study revealed the promise of such microalgal consortia as a biofertilizer for 25% N savings and improved yields of wheat crop.

No evidence of long-range spin ordering or spin glass behavior was found in well-processed Mn-doped KTaO3. If the magnetic anomaly is detected it is of an extrinsic nature from Mn clustering inside the KTaO3 lattice or Mn-oxide precipitates. Incomplete processing results in an antiferromagnetic response due to a presence of residual Mn3O4.

The title compound is synthesized by solid state reaction of a stoichiometric mixture of Bi2O3, TeO2, and Fe2O3 (O2 atmosphere, 530 and 840 °C for 5 h each).