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To understand the scavenging action of chlorophyll found in most of the vegetables towards hydroxyl (OH•) radicals, its reactions with hydroxyl (OH•) radicals via RAF, HAT and SET mechanisms have been investigated theoretically using two layer ONIOM [M06-2X/6-31G(d) (High):M06-2X/3-21G (Low)] method and M06-2X/6-311 + G(d,p) level of density functional theory.It is found that RAF and HAT reactions are exergonic in both gaseous and aqueous media whereas SET reactions are endergonic in both media. However, all the RAF, HAT and SET reactions studied here are found to be more favourable in aqueous media vs. gas phase. This study concludes that chlorophyll can efficiently scavenge OH• radicals preferably via RAF and HAT mechanisms and intake of water with chlorophyll can enhance its scavenging actions.

It is reported that NAMI-A and other Ru-anticancer complexes preferably bind with the N7 site of guanine and can also form DNA inter-strand cross-links. Therefore, in order to understand the DNA cross-link formation capability of NAMI-A, we have investigated here the structure and energetics of the reactions of the GN7-NAMI-A (a monofunctional adduct of NAMI-A with the N7 site of guanine) with the N3, N7 and O6 sites of guanine, the N1, N3 and N7 sites adenine, the O2 and N3 sites of cytosine and the O2 and O4 sites of thymine, using the M06-2X functional of density functional theory. It is found that the GN7-NAMI-A can form stable cross-linked products at all the sites studied here except at the N3 site of cytosine and O2 site of thymine. The calculated reaction free energies and reaction enthalpies indicate that the N3 site of adenine (AN3) and N7 site of guanine (GN7) are most exothermic among all the studied reactions. This study shows that NAMI-A would favorably form the cross-linked products involving the N7 site of guanine at one side and the N7 site of guanine or the N3 site of adenine at the other side.

The curcumin is a well-known antioxidant that can scavenge free radicals efficiently. The methyl free radicals, generated by the metabolism of various genotoxic compounds such as hydrazines and peroxides, can methylate various sites in DNA. Herein, we have carried out density functional theory calculations to investigate the scavenging activity of curcumin toward the methyl and ethyl radicals through radical adduct formation (RAF), hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) and single electron transfer (SET) mechanisms. The SET mechanism is found to be highly endergonic and so not viable. Our calculations show that the curcumin can scavenge methyl radicals through both RAF and HAT mechanisms but RAF would be preferred over the HAT. Further, it is found that the curcumin can scavenge methyl radicals more efficiently as compared to ethyl radicals through RAF mechanism.

TiO2 nanoparticles are highly stable, ecofriendly in nature, having low cost, act as a photo catalyst also having antimicrobial properties. Considering the effect of TiO2 nanoparticles on seeds, a study was conducted during March 2022 to June 2022 at Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, SHUATS, Prayagraj (U.P). In this study onion seeds of variety Nasik Red N-53 were collected to investigate the effect of TiO2 nanoparticles on the seedling characters as well as on the biochemical characters under storage in ambient conditions. Onion seeds were treated with different concentration of TiO2 nanoparticles (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130 and 140 ppm) along with control and stored in two containers; viz. tin container (C1) and aluminum foil pouch (C2). All the seedling parameters were evaluated every month during storage. The experiment was conducted in factorial CRD with 4 replications. The experimental result showed that the storage containers influenced the seedling characters of onion. Seeds stored in aluminum foil pouch (C2) exhibited highest seedling characters and highest enzymatic activities throughout the storage period and exhibited lowest moisture per cent (8.05%) and lowest electrical conductivity (0.970 dSm− 1) as compared to tin container at the end of 3 months of storage. A significant difference was observed with the seed treatments. Seed treated with TiO2 nanoparticles @40ppm (T4) for 2 hours performed better in terms of seedling characters; viz. germination per cent, speed of germination, first count per cent, root length, shoot length, seedling length, fresh weight, dry weight, vigour indices, seed density and enzymatic activities; viz. dehydrogenase activity and catalase activity and recorded lowest moisture per cent (8.04%) and lowest electrical conductivity (0.951 dSm− 1) as compared to control after 3 months of storage. The study concluded that seed treated with TiO2 @40 ppm and stored in aluminum foil pouch can be used to expand the storability of onion seeds under ambient condition.

Ruthenium (Ru)-based anticancer drugs are considered to be novel alternatives of platinum-based drugs. They exhibit potent cytotoxicity against the cancer cells and hence are useful for the treatment of cancer. Herein, the density functional theory calculations in the gas phase and aqueous media are carried out to study the reactions of two Ru(III)-based drugs such as KP1019 and KP418 with the N7 site of guanine (G), 2'-deoxyguanosine (dGua), and guanosine (Gua) to understand their reactivity against the DNA and RNA. All the reactions are found to be exothermic. The activation free energies and rate constants of these reactions indicate that KP1019 and KP418 would react with the dGua more readily than Gua. Hence, the binding of these drugs with the DNA would be more preferred as compared to RNA. It is further found that among these drugs, KP1019 would be more reactive than KP418 in agreement with the experimental observation. Thus, this study is expected to aid in the future development of potent anticancer drugs.

In this study, a novel pyridone-based phthalimide fleximer, that is, ethyl 5-cyano-6-(3-(1,3-dioxoisoindolin-2-yl)propoxy)-4-(3-methoxyphenyl)-2-methylnicotinate, was synthesized, and its structure was established by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction method. The supramolecular self-assembly of the titled compound through noncovalent interactions was then investigated thoroughly. The titled compound crystallized with two symmetry-independent molecules (

In many cases over the years the diversity of Isoetes in India has been defined by inconsistent morphological analyses and questionable data. This has resulted in substantial confusion, dramaticall...

Over the past few decades, the man-induced changes in the climate of the earth have become the focus of scientific and social attention. The most imminent of these is the increased levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere leading to global warming. The recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reconfirmed the increasingly strong evidence of global climate change and projected that the global average temperature of the air above the earth's surface would rise by 1.8-6.4oC by the end of the century depending upon the developmental pathways of the countries. For the Indian region (South Asia), the IPCC has projected 0.5-1.2oC rise in temperature by 2020, 0.88-3.16oC by 2050, and 1.56-5.4 oC by 2080, depending on the scenario of future development. Overall, the temperature increase is likely to be much higher in winter (rabi) than in the rainy (kharif) season. Precipitation is likely to increase by 15-40% by the end of the century.

The RNAi-mediated technology has emerged as a powerful platform for developing eco-friendly and stable molecular tools for crop improvement. Both siRNA and miRNA are found in all the kingdoms of eukaryotic life and have been employed for crop improvement by enhancing plant nutritional value, development of seedless fruits, and enhancement of shelf life in various plants. It has also been exploited for elimination of anti-nutritional factors and allergens in the crop plants and in floricultural plants to improve and modify the flower color. RNAi-based host plant-mediated gene silencing technique can be used to combat plant pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, nematodes, fungal, and oomycetes plant pathogens of various agronomically important crop plants. RNA silencing technologies have been used in vegetable plants to enhance pest and disease resistance, alter architectural changes in plant and flowering time, improve commercial traits of fruits and flowers, improve nutritional content, eliminate toxic compounds and allergens, and promote a greater industrial product.

The article presents the results of a study of the ligule morphology of both vegetative and reproductive leaves of four species of Selaginella, i.e. S. delicatula, S. ganguliana, S. plana and S. tenera, occurring in India. Ligules of S. ganguliana, S. plana and S. tenera are described for the first time, and the occurrence of shuttlecock-like ligules is described for the first time. Ligule shape is generally constant across the species studied but some minor morphological variations are observed within species. However, in combination with other morphological characters, the ligule may be a useful tool in the taxonomic delimitation of closely related Selaginella species. In addition, we propose that ligule size may be influenced by the habitat conditions, whereas the presence of glandular cells at their tip margins possibly indicate a water secreting function.

In this paper, we aim to determine whether the N7-methylation can influence the base pairing properties of guanine by promoting the formation of guanine enol-tautomers. The keto- to -enol-tautomerization of N7-methylguanine (N7mG) and its base pairing patterns with all the canonical DNA bases have been investigated at the M06-2X/6-311+G(d,p) level of density functional theory. The barrier free energy calculations reveal that N7-methylation does not promote the keto- to enol- tautomerization of guanine. The Watson-Crick-like enol-N7mG:T1 or enol-N7mG:T2 base pair similar to what is observed experimentally is found to be energetically more stable than the keto-N7mG:T base pairs. However, the keto-N7mG:C1 which is structurally similar to the canonical G:C base pair is the most stable base pair among all the base pairs studied here. Thus, our calculations predict that N7mG would pair preferably with cytosine during DNA replication but there is also a probability that it can cause mutation through mispairing with thymine, in agreement with experimental observations.

Selaginella odishana (subg. Stachygynandrum) is described as a new terrestrial species (probably a local endemic) from the Sal tree (Shorea robusta) forest on hill slopes of Daringbadi, Daringbadi Udayagiri forest range, Kandhamal district, Odisha state, Eastern Ghats region of India, and compared to morphologically close taxa (S. reticulata and its allied taxa). The new species is characterised by sub-erect stems, membranous leaf, lateral and axillary leaf, ciliate at the base and serrate distally (towards stem tips) and only serrate (outside face) or serrate margin, lanceolate median leaf with entire-serrate margins, dorsal sporophyll with serrate margins and laminar flap up to ¾ as long as lamina length with ciliate margins, ventral sporophyll ciliate along basal ½ and serrate along distal ½, creamy white megaspores with foveolate surface ornamentation and microspores with smooth surface ornamentation. The conservation status of S. odishana is assessed as Critically Endangered.

In the present study Isoetes coromandelina ssp. thanensis S.K. Shukla, S.K. Singh, P.K. Shukla, N.K. Dubey, H. Khanam & G.K. Srivastava a micro endemic new subspecies is described from the Than in Rajkot District of Gujarat state in coastal zone of India. Morphologically, the new subspecies is most similar to I. coromandelina ssp. coromandelina but differs in its microspore with levigate surface ornamentation and chromosome number 2n = 22 + 1. Different morphological features of I. coromandelina ssp. thanensis are discussed. Images and a distributional map are also provided. In the present study, we made a correlation between microspore ornamentation and ploidal status at the infra-specific level which helpful in taxonomy of closely related taxa.

A new umbellate ornamentation pattern is described in Isoetes megaspores based on scanning electron microscopy and thorough comparisons with sculptural patterns documented in lycophytes and ferns. The umbellate ornamentation is quite distinct from other vertically projected megaspore sculptural patterns (baculate, clavate, gemmulate, pustulate, tuberculate, saccate and verrucate). In addition, megaspore ornamentations described previously for I. dixitei as tuberculate or pustulate have now been corrected as umbellate. This species also possesses a rudimentary velum and internal pigmentation in sporangial wall which has not been reported in other Indian species of the genus. Further, this taxa has a range restricted to the Western Ghats and is confined to a higher elevational range than Indian species characterised by vertically projected megaspore surface ornamentation patterns.

Ralstonia solanacearum is the causative agent of bacterial wilt that causes considerable damages in the yield of various crop plants. The intent of the study was to evaluate potential of bacterial antagonists to suppress bacterial wilt disease development and evaluate the role of the strains as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in tomato. One hundred rhizosphere bacterial isolates were screened against virulent strain of Ralstonia solanacearum . After in vitro screening 10 antagonistic strains designated PR3, PR17, PR26, 1NAB15, 1NAB20, 3NAA1, 3NAA2, 2CBA2, 2CBA4, 2CBA18 showed antagonistic effect by producing inhibition zone supressing the growth of R. Solanacearum . The isolate PR3 showed the highest inhibition zone measuring 33.3mm whereas 1NAB15 showed the lowest zone measuring 10mm. The present study, therefore, suggests that the use of PGPR isolates which showed the antagonistic activity can be used as inoculants/ bioantagonists might be beneficial for the control of bacterial wilt of tomato in field studies.

Salt stress is a major environmental constraint limiting plant productivity. Tomato ( Lycopersicum esculentum) is one of the commodity vegetable that has recently been added to the list of the world's major food crops and is considered as one of the most popular vegetable. An experiment was conducted to study the effect of salicylic acid (SA) on tomato varieties grown in different levels of salt stress. Salicylic acid (SA) is a plant growth promoting compound relatively inexpensive and enhances growth and yield of crops under saline conditions. The effect of exogenous salicylic acid (25μM) application of with four NaCl concentrations (50mM,100mM, 150mM and 200mM) stressed tomato varieties was investigated. Results on some morphological parameters as plant-height and number of leaves revealed that, salt stressreduced plant-height and number of leaves. While, exogenous application of salicylic acid promoted plant-height and number of leaves and counteracted the salt stress-induced inhibition of plant-height and number of leaves.

Photosynthetic pigments are responsible for conversion of light energy into a form of chemical energy in the plants. The most important pigment in the light harvesting machinery of the plant is chlorophyll and Carotenoids play an important role in photo-protection of chlorophyll molecules. Cowpea responds to survive under water-deficit conditions via a series of physiological, cellular and molecular processes culminating in stress tolerance. Most cowpea is produced in arid and semi-arid zone. This experiment was conducted in the research field of Department of Biological Sciences, Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agricultural Technology and Sciences, Allahabad. To study the chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoid content of three cowpea varieties (UU-0, VU-89 and KK-6) subjected to the different level of watering (daily watering, 2 days interval, 4 days interval and 6 days interval of watering). The experimental materials were arranged inRandomize Complete BlockDesign. The results indicate that the all photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoid content maximum in daily watering whereas at 6 days interval of watering observed minimum.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir is bestowed with diverse variety of plant species especially medicinally important plants due to wide variations in its topography and microclimatic conditions. Lavatera cashmeriana Camb. (Malvaceae), which is endemic and endangered to Kashmir valley, has great medicinal importance. Its parts are being used to treat sore throat and common cold. In the present study various phytohormones auxins and cyotkinins either alone or in combination were used for the in vitro callogenesis of medicinally important herb of Kashmir. The excellent results from the seeds of Lavatera cashmeriana were observed on the Murashaige and Skoog medium supplemented with 2,4D and BAP. In future a fine tune and refinement of phytohormones are required in terms of the concentration for the organogenesis of medicinally important plant.

Nanoparticles can influence key physiological processes including seed germination, photosynthesis, and thereby plant growth and yield. Despite several studies have addressed the effects of nanoparticles on crops, data for woody plant species is still scarce. In this report, the effects of silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) application, as potentially toxic elements, on physiological performance of 1-year-old woody plants, namely, hawthorn (Crataegus aronia L.) and mahaleb (Prunus mahaleb L.), were evaluated. Plants were irrigated with different concentrations of SiO2 NPs (0, 10, 50, and 100 mg L−1) for 45 days, and gas exchange parameters, relative water content (RWC), xylem water potential, growth, biomass allocation, and nutrient balance were recorded. Si concentration in leaves and its presence over the root surface were analyzed by XRF and SEM, respectively. Results showed diminishing RWC and xylem water potential with the increasing concentrations of SiO2 NPs, thereby confirming detrimental effects of SiO2 NPs irrigation on water status of the plants. Despite the poorer water status, photosynthesis rate (A), stomatal conductance (gs), and transpiration rate (E) were not affected by SiO2 NPs treatments but improved marginally in both species. Overall, the application of SiO2 NPs slightly enhanced plant growth in both species, more evidently in hawthorn, particularly because roots were benefited in growth and length. The presence of SiO2 NPs on the root surfaces was pragmatic in both the species using SEM. XRF analysis of the leaf tissue confirmed that Si concentration in leaf tissues increased at increasing levels of SiO2 NPs, whereas concentrations of examined macronutrients, i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, remain unaffected at increasing levels of SiO2 NPs application. In conclusion, although water status of the woody plants was slightly disrupted by SiO2 NPs, such negative effects were not reflected on plant physiological performance. Therefore, the results should be carefully interpreted as current research reveals that SiO2 NPs application to a certain extent can (contrary to expected) aid slight improvement in leaf physiological performance as well as in root elongation, finally contributing to enhanced plant growth. However, toxic effects, as exhibited by exposure of longer duration and/or higher concentrations of SiO2 NPs, cannot be ruled out in plants, a topic that unavoidably merits further experimental investigation in woody species.

During survey of papaya fields in Meerut, severe symptoms of leaf yellowing, intervenial chlorosis, and curl apical necrosis were observed in approximately 25 per cent of plants in each of the papaya fields. DNA extracted from leaf, midrib and bark of symptomatic and healthy plants of papaya were preceded with universal primer pairs. Expected ~1600 bp fragments were amplified with primer pair P1/Tint in diseased plants. Infection of phytoplasma disease in papaya plants was confirmed by the PCR.

Flowering plants Calendula officinalis with phyllody and virescence and Dendranthema grandiflora with little leaf and formation of bladder like silique symptoms observed in Uttar Pradesh, India. The presence of phytoplasmas in diseased plants was detected by direct and nested polymerase chain reaction assays using phytoplasma-specific primer pairs P1/P7 and R16F2n/R2. In both flowering plants presence of phytoplasma was confirmed by amplification of 1200 bp product of phytoplasma 16S rRNA region with nested primer R16F2n/R2. This is the first report of phytoplasma associated with Calendula officinalis from India.

Twenty Indian species of the lycopod genus Selaginella are studied using both light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy to resolve the variability in the number of megaspores per megasporangium and size, surface ornamentation and micro-sculpture of the megaspores. Comparisons between the new results and previous findings suggest that spore morphology and size are consistent for some species but variable within others.

The present study provides a comparative morphological analysis of spikes in different Indian species of Selaginella. The salient features of spikes including their types and also the shape and margin of sporophylls of the closely related taxa are characteristically useful in taxonomic delineation. We have used the term Leaf-flap, for the first time, and the Sporophyll-pteryx to denote the occurrence of vertical/oblique projection on the dorsal surface of leaf and sporophyll, respectively. The shape and colour of both mega- and micro-sporangia are also helpful in taxonomy; however, their size is not much significant as these are variable within the same spike of the species. A new pattern of sporangial distribution is being reported for the first time in the spike of S. plana (Desv. ex Poir.) Hieron.