Isolation and gene expression analysis of a papain-type cysteine protease in thermogenic skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus renifolius).
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Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus renifolius) spadices contain abundant transcripts for cysteine protease (CP). From thermogenic spadices, we isolated SrCPA, a highly expressed CP gene that encoded a papain-type CP. SrCPA is structurally similar to other plant CPs, including the senescence-associated CPs found in aroids. The expression of SrCPA increased during floral development, and was observed in all floral tissues except for the stamens. (+info)
Free radical scavenging and total antioxidant capacity of root extracts of Anchomanes difformis Engl. (Araceae).
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Antioxidants activities from plants sources have attracted a wide range of interest across the world in recent times. This is due to growing concern for safe and alternative sources of antioxidants. The free radical scavenging activity using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), reducing power assay, total antioxidant capacity of the phosphomolybdenum method and the total phenolics content using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent were carried out on the acetone, n-butanol and methanol root extracts of Anchomanes difformis. The results of the total phenolics content expressed in mg/100 g of gallic acid equivalent (GAE) showed that the n-butanol extract has significantly (p < 0.05) higher phenolics content (381 +/- 1.13) than the methanol and acetone extracts. All the extracts displayed strong concentration dependent radical scavenging activity. It was also observed that the n-butanol extract showed higher activity of 70.87% and 78.59% at low concentrations of 31.25 microg/mL and 62.5 microg/mL, respectively, than methanol and acetone extracts. The results also showed that the n-butanol extract has strongest reducing ability which is comparable to that of gallic acid at all the concentrations tested. Phytochemical screening on the extracts revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, and tannins. The results suggest that n-butanol extract of the plant is very rich in antioxidant compounds worthy of further investigations. (+info)
Functional analysis of a Lemna gibba rbcS promoter regulated by abscisic acid and sugar.
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Photosynthesis-associated nuclear genes (PhANGs) are able to respond to multiple environmental and developmental signals, including light, sugar and abscisic acid (ABA). PhANGs have been extensively studied at the level of transcriptional regulation, and several cis-acting elements important for light responsiveness have been identified in their promoter sequences. However, the regulatory elements involved in sugar and ABA regulation of PhANGs have not been completely characterized. A ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase small subunit gene (rbcS) promoter (SSU5C promoter) was isolated from duckweed (Lemna gibba). A series of SSU5C promoter 5' deletion fragments were fused to an intron-gus gene, and transgenic tobacco suspension cell lines were generated. Assay of tobacco suspension cell line harbouring the complete promoter in the fusion construct indicated that SSU5C promoter was negatively regulated by sugar and ABA under the condition of regular photoperiod. 5' deletion analysis of SSU5C promoter in transgenic tobacco suspension cell lines confirmed that a region between positions -310 and -152 included the ABA-response region, and that sugar-response cis-acting elements might be located in the region between -152 and -117. Taken together, our results confirmed that the cis-regulatory region responsible for repression by ABA and sugar in the SSU5C promoter was located between -310 and -117. (+info)