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Multifaceted utility of nanomaterials is indispensable to meet the environmental challenges across the globe. Nanomaterials substantially contribute in delineating the rapidly advancing field of nanotechnology. Recently, primary emphasis has been laid down on augmenting the biological methodologies for the synthesis of nanomaterials. In this aspect, green nanotechnology has revolutionized the entire process of nanosynthesis. Essentially biofabrication of nanoparticles have long-range applications, primarily in the field of medical applications such as drug delivery, cancer diagnostics and genetic engineering processes. Biocompatible and stable nanoparticles synthesized from biological source can be an effective approach against the chemically synthesized owing to their non-expensive and eco-friendly attributes. Biological systems including bacteria, yeasts, fungi and plants have already been exploited in the field of nanotechnology. Use of fungi seems to be a very effective and economical approach for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles possess anti-oxidation activity, are highly stable and biocompatible in nature. Fungi-mediated nanoparticle biosynthesis is more advantageous as compared to bacterial synthesis. Fungi secrete large amounts of enzymes, whereas the enzyme secretion of yeasts is weak. Here, we have reported the recent advancements and future implications in the field of gold nanoparticle production and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the present investigation was to study the mushroom diversity in Khurda district of Odisha, India with special reference to their distribution and economic value. Field survey was conducted at regular intervals in Khurda district of Odisha, India, from the month of June to October, 2018 and mushroom samples were collected from 12 different sites of varied ecological habitat. Plant materials collected were taxonomically studied for proper identification with the help of available literature. A total number of 108 mushroom samples were collected during the present investigation, of which 92 were morphologically identified and 16 specimens remained as unidentified. All the mushroom specimens were categorised under 34 families belonging to 60 genera. Among the families Agaricaceae and Polyporaceae were found dominant represented by 14 species by each. Clavaria vermicularis, Marasmius haematocephalus, Phellinus gilvus were reported with frequent occurrence and with widely distributed. As regards to the economic use of the collected mushroom samples 32 were found edible, 56 non-edible species and 20 species reported having medicinal properties. Among various sites surveyed during the study Chandaka forest area and RPRC campus were the two places which recorded high species richness which may be due to more green vegetation in the site. Mushroom diversity seems to be higher in moist forest as compared to other and it affected significantly by environmental factor like light, temperature, humidity etc. It can be concluded that the warm and humid climate during the most part of the year favours the distribution of mushrooms which should be exploited further for their nutraceuticals and medicinal properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the floristic exploration and ethnomedicinal uses of common pteridophytes by the tribal communities of the Angul district of Odisha, India, for the treatment of various diseases. Aside from the higher angiospermic plants, the tribal and atribals of the district are found to utilize some pteridophytic plants for their primary healthcare management. The findings of the present work could document the ethnotherapeutic claims for 25 pteridophytic plants collected from the study area along with their taxonomic details and parts used in medicine besides the mode of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of phytoremediation by using aquatic plants is a new, low cost and ecofriendly method for improving water quality and waste water. In the present study the ability of Azolla pinnata R.Br. and Salvinia molesta Mitchell to uptake Cr (VI) from aqueous environment as well as their potential application for phytoremediation were assessed. During 15 days of the experiment the ferns were grown on the nutrient solution containing hexavalent chromium ions, each in a concentration of control, 0.07, 0.09, 0.11 and 0.13 mg/l. The biomass productivity and relative growth of Azolla pinnata R.Br. was increased and in case of Salvinia molesta Mitchell it was decreased with increase in the metal concentration of the treatment medium. The protein content in different concentration of chromium was more as compared to the control but showed a decreasing trend with increasing concentration. After 15 days of treatment, the concentration of Cr (VI) in the medium decreased between 72.86 - 97.69 % and 75.71 - 90 % by Azolla pinnata R.Br. and Salvinia molesta Mitchell respectively. Both the fern took a lesser quantity of metal from 0.07 mg/l treatments compared to 0.09 mg/l, 0.11 mg/l and 0.13 mg/l treatments. In the Azolla pinnata R.Br. tissue the concentration of heavy metal under investigation ranged from 0.106 - 0.216 mg/gm dry weight and for Salvinia molesta Mitchell ranged from 0.094 - 0.321 mg/gm dry weight. Increasing concentration of Cr (VI) in the growth medium increased the bioconcentration factor of Azolla pinnata R.Br. and Salvinia molesta Mitchell up to an optimum value of 1630.76 and 2469.23 respectively. In the present study the higher BCF of Salvinia molesta Mitchell shows that it is a better candidate for phytoremediation of Cr (VI) from the treatment solution than Azolla pinnata R.Br. Overall results indicate that Azolla pinnata R.Br. and Salvinia molesta Mitchell can be used for phytoremediation of Cr (VI) from polluted water as it is a low cost method satisfying the discharge standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants are constantly exposed to pathogens, which lead to decrease in the productivity that would threaten food security. Sophisticated mechanisms have been evolved in plants to recognize and respond to such invading pathogens. Primary sensitization of plants to microbes is mediated largely by defense related genes and resistance (R) genes, whose protein counterparts' associate with avirulence (Avr) proteins secreted by the pathogens. Regulation of R genes has not been clearly understood. R genes and defense related genes are supposedly post-transcriptionally regulated by a eukaryotic surveillance mechanism known as nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD). NMD is a quality control process that causes the shutting off of aberrant messenger RNAs (mRNAs) expression, thus enabling the cell to escape from any deleterious effect that might have resulted from the expression of faulty mRNAs. Excitingly, many defense related genes, which are involved in plant immunity, harbour NMD features that make their protein counterparts unavailable during normal growth conditions of a cell, suggesting the significance of NMD in plant immunity. NMD-defective mutants in Arabidopsis, shows concurrent phenotypes as those of pathogen resistant mutants. Also, the core NMD factors, UPF1 and UPF3 are known to be involved in plant defense. Still, details of NMD-mediated plant defense mechanism are less explored. Extensive studies would be needed to understand the role of NMD in plant immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in incidence of Diabetes mellitus is becoming a serious threat to the people all over the world. It is considered as one of the most common non-communicable diseases globally. Till recent times the treatment of the disease by allopathic or synthetic drugs either has undesired side effects or are not cost effective to the population. Hence, the present paper reviews on the herbal formulations of plants with their mechanism of action and pharmacological test results. A total of 50 plants belonging to 40 genera under 29 families are found useful against Diabetes. The majority of the medicinal plants under review in the present article belongs to the family Menispermaceae and Verbenaceae followed by Combretaceae and Moraceae. It is said that the herbal approach of management of disease may have late response but it corrects the related metabolic abnormalities. Therefore, now-a-days much attention is drawn towards identification of plants and their pharmacological evaluation for herbal formulations before recommended to prove their efficacy in human system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water crisis in today's society is challenging not only for humans but also for all living creatures. Water being the basis of life has become a sparse resource. To circumvent this situation, reusability of water can be one of the suited alternatives. In order to achieve this goal, many techniques prevail, of which phytoremediation is considered to be more effective and significant. Essentially, the major water pollutant sources are generated from domestic, commercial and industrial usages were the pollutants are discarded without any sort of pre-treatments, resulting in an increased risk of environmental pollution. Primarily, phytoremediation process converts the waste water into usable water essentially by the help of plants. The breakthrough advantage of phytoremediation is attributed for its economical and environmental friendly processes. But, selection of plants to be used for the phytoremediation process is tricky. A number of plants are available which can be used for the detoxification process. Among several, Azolla, a potent biofertilizer is well known for its phytoremediation activity. Essentially, the water fern Azolla associates with an algal symbiont - Anabaena azollae and carries out the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. Till date, the basis of phytoremedial activity displayed by Azolla is limited. It would be quite revealing to expose the role of Azolla in the phytoremediation process. This review article emphasizes on phytoremediation, plausible role of Azolla in this process and tried to arrive at strategies for developing better scientific models to handle abundant quantities of wastewater with the use of this water fern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exclusively in eukaryotes, turnover of messenger RNA (mRNA) involves the expulsion of methylated-7-guanosine-diphosphate (m7GDP) present at the 5' end, referred to as decapping of mRNA. The decapping event modulates plant developmental processes. Primarily the decapping process is executed by several decapping complex protein factors, of which DCP1, DCP2 and DCP5 are indispensable. In plants, DCP5 participates in proper functioning of processing bodies (P bodies), whereby the aberrant mRNAs are accumulated for decay. The molecular mechanisms underlying the DCP5 mediated processing of mRNAs are appealing. The results of the present investigation showed that DCP5 physically interacts with Ubiquitin 5. The ubiquitin is a 76-amino acid polypeptide that acts as a covalent modifier of innumerable proteins, resulting in cellular homeostasis. Ubiquitin protein initiates the process of ubiquitination resulting in paving path for the proteins to their final destination, protein decay. Future studies may reveal novel role of ubiquitin proteins in the process of mRNA decay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dhauligiri hill (Latitude 20o112 32.633 N; Longitude 85o502 21.353 E) lying on the bank of the river Daya, is situated 8 km south of the state capital, Bhubaneswar in Odisha. The hill has historical significance for the site of famous Kalinga war and Buddhist monument, 'Shanti Stupa' or Peace Pagoda. Floristic study conducted in the area revealed that a total of 276 plant species belonging to 199 genera under 77 different families were recorded. Habit wise grouping showed that 86 (31%) were herbs followed by 54(20%) grasses, 51(19%) trees, 39(14%) shrubs, 19 (7%) climbers, 15 (5%) hydrophytes, 6(2%) pteridophytes, 3(1%) parasites, 2(1%) bryophytes and 1 gymnosperm. Among the families of plant species, Poaceae with 36 species was the dominant family followed by Cyperaceae (19), Euphorbiaceae (16), Fabaceae (14) and Asteraceae (11). Cyperus was the dominant genus with 13 species followed by Ficus (6), Phyllanthus (5) and Cassia, Crotalaria, Sida, Panicum (4) species each. Important medicinal plant species include Gymnema sylvestre, Saraca asoca, Tinospora cordifolia, Desmodium gangeticum, Evolvulus alsinoides, Wedelia chinensis, Bombax ceiba, Vetiveria zizanioides, Pandanus fascicularis, Andrographis paniculata, Adiantum phillippense, etc. Total 49 invasive alien species belonging to 43 genera under 25 families were documented. Invasive plant species include Eichhornia crassipes, Monochoria vaginalis, Lantana camara, Mikania micrantha, Parthenium hysterophorus, Emilia sonchifolia etc. Among the plants Wedelia chinensis, Anacardium occidentale, Panicum brevifolium, Saccharum spontaneum, Echinochloa colona, Parthenium hysterophorus and Blepharis maderaspatensis were predominant. Saraca asoca critically threatened species in Odisha and endangered species like Crateva magna, Cycas circinalis (Endemic) and threatened species Microccocca mercurialis of Odisha were recorded. Uncommon plant species found were Kigelia africana, Limnophila heterophylla, Acacia obtusifolia, Hygrophila auriculata, Dentella repens, Hydrocera trifolia etc. The presence of rich phytodiversity and dense vegetation cover provides an excellent carbon sink to the city, Bhubaneswar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satkoshia Hill range is one of the prominent range of Odisha rich with a huge diversity of phanerogams. While exploring the floristic composition of the area 10 species of unknown lichen samples were collected which were critically studied for their taxonomic characterization and were found to be new records for Odisha. The newly identified lichen taxa included Anisomeridium biforme (Borr.) R.C. Harris, Anisomeridium tamarindi (Fee) R.C. Harris, Arthonia radiata (Pers.) Ach., Dirinaria picta (Sw.) Clem. & Schear, Lecanora achroa Nyl., Lecanora helva Stizenb., Lecanora interjecta Müll.Arg., Lecanora leprosa Fée, Lecanora pseudistera Nyl., Letrouitia transgressa (Malme) Hafel. & Bellem which were recorded for the first time as not reported earlier. This paper presents a detailed taxonomic enumeration, photographs and pertinent information based on collections of lichen specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]