Neo Planta, June 2019 (2)

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Microorganisms for you

Structure and Composition of Biosphere Medicinal Plants of the Month

Research Methodology— Electrochemical Techniques for determining antioxidant capacity.

Facts: Inventions and Discoveries related to Plant Science.

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Bradyrhizobium japonicum It is a species of legume root nodulating microsymbiotic nitrogen fixing bacterium. It is one of many gram negative, rod shaped bacteria commonly referred to as rhizobia. It is added to legume seed to improve crop yields. It is able to degrade catechin with the formation of phloroglucinol carboxylic acid, further decarboxylated to pholoroglucinol which is dehydroxylated to resorcinol and hydroxyquinol. It develops a symbiotic association with the soybean plant Glycine max. Within the developing root nodule, bacteria divide and begin to differentiate into a bacteroid which is capable of fixing nitrogen. The bacteroids are located inside a structure referred to as a symbiosome that is desired from plant membrane. The nodule that results from this process is a highly specialized structure. It provides a physical barrier which keeps the free oxygen concentration low. The plant cells within the nodule produce leghaemoglobin which serves as an oxygen carrier to the bacteria within the nodule. This enables the bacteria to obtain enough oxygen for respiration but ensures that the oxygen is inbound form so that it cannot harm nitrogen fixing enzymes inside the bacteria. It is a strictly respiratory organism. It can synthesize a variety of cell surface carbohydrates. These carbohydrates include lipopolysaccharides, capsular polysachharide, exopolysaccharide, nodule polysaccharide, lipochitin oligosaccharides and cyclic glucans, soem of which may provide functions important to symbiosis. It uses carbohydrate structures to obtain the carbon energy sources from the soybean plant as well as gain entry.

Burkholderia MICRO ORGANISMS FOR YOU

NEO

It is a gram negative, obligately aerobic, rod shaped bacterium.

The species are motile by means of single or multiple polar flagella except B.mallei which is non motile. The members belonging to the genus do not produce sheaths and are able to utilize poly beta hydroxybutyrate (PHB).

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Brevibacterium linens It is a gram positive rod shaped bacterium. It is present on the human skin, where it causes foot odour.

Teh familiar odour is due to sulphur containing compounds known as S-methyl thioesters. The same bacterium is employed to ferment several cheeses such as Munster, limburger, port-du-salut, raclette, livarot, pont I eveque and nasal. Its aroma also attracts mosquitoes. The cell wall consists of teichoic acids that have neutral sugars, aminosugars and sugar alcohols which provide support to the cell wall.

It can hydrolyze casein, gelatine and milk. It plays a huge role in the metabolism of cheese. The ripening o the cheese goes from a yeast and mold flora to a bacterial flora. Teh yeasts utilize the lactate in the curd for energy purposes, increasing the pH, allowing the growth of B.linens. these cheeses are rich in salt concentration which allows only halotolerant microorganisms to grow on their surface.

Burkholderia cepacia It is an aerobic, gram negative Bacillus found in various aquatic environments.

Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) is a group of catalase producing, lactose non fermenting bacterium.

Candida krusei It is budding yeast involved in chocolate production. Cocoa beans have to be fermented to remove the bitter taste and break them down. This takes place with the help of two fungi C.krusei and Geotrichum. Most of the time, the two fungi are already present on the seed pods and seeds of the cocoa plants but specific strains are used in modern chocolate making. The yeasts reproduce every few hours and soon there are thousands of individual yeast cells in a small area, which produce enzyme to breakdown the pulp on the outside of the beans. The result is the production of acetic acid, killing the cocoa embryo inside the seed, developing a chocolatory aroma and eliminating the bitterness in the beans. The preferred temperature for growth is 43-45ºC. It is grown in a vitamin free media. It is the only species that grows on Sabouraud’s dextrose agar as spreading colonies with a mattle or a rough white and yellow surface. When C.krusei is cultured in saliva supplemented with glucose, it produces a number of short chain carboxylic acids.

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DALBERGIA LATIFOLIA Roxb Family : Fabaceae Medicinal properties: Stimulant, appetizer, anthelmintic, spasmogenic, used to treat dyspepsia, diarrhea, obesity, cutaneous infections and leprosy Phytochemicals reported from the plant: Hentriacontane, latifolin, beta sitosterol and tannin.

Facts

Medicinal plants of



the Month

Quantitative measurements of DNA have been made in a large number of cases which are reviewed by H. Rees and R.N. Jones in 1972.

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CROTALARIA VERRUCOSA L. Family : Fabaceae Medicinal properties: Juice of leaves is used to treat biliousness, dyspepsia, blood impurities, scabies, impetigo Phytochemicals reported from the plant: Taraxerol, beta sitosterol, linoleic, palmitic, stearic, lauric, oleic, arachidic, myristic, ricinoleic acids.

Facts



Chromatin reconstitution experiments described in

1973 by R.S. Gilmour and J.Paul established that specific

non histone proteins switch on specific genes. 

In 1974, R.D. Kornberg and J.O. Thomas proposed an attractive model for basic chromatin structure involving DNA and histones.



Stern and Hotta in 1969 hae shown that pre meiotic S– Phase, unlike premitotic one does not include complete chromosome replication.



Moses in 1956 first discovered synaptonemal complex (SC), a feature of meiotic prophase.

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CLITORIA TERNATEA L. Family : Fabaceae Medicinal properties: Root– cathartic and used to treat ascites. Root bark– diuretic and its infusion is used to treat irritation of the bladder and urethra. Root juice is given in cold milk to liquefy phlegm in chronic bronchitis. Root, bark, seeds and leaves are used for gastric acidity. Root is administered with honey as a general tonic to children to improve mental ability.

Phytochemicals reported from the plant: Cinnamic acid, flavonol glycoside, glycosides of kaempferol.

Facts



In 1970, King presented a hypothsis

for the formation of synaptonemal

complex which is known as “The synaptomere zygosome hypothesis”

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BUTEA SUPERBA Roxb Family : Fabaceae Medicinal properties: Seeds– sedative and anthelmintic; decoction emollient. Seeds used topically for piles. Seed oil is anthelmintic and hypotensive. Seeds exhibit haemagglutinating activity against human ABO red cells. Roots– hypotensive. Bark is used in tonics and elixirs.

Facts 

In 1903, W.S. Sutton, an American graduate student and T.Boveri, a German Biologist independently showed a parallelism between behavior of chromosomes and Mendelian characters.



Carl Neuberg in 1903 proposed the term Biochemistry.



Antonie Lavoisier is the father of Biochemistry.

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Structure and composition of biosphere Biosphere represents all living components of Earth. All plants, animals and microbes and their surroundings are termed as biosphere. Environment contains 2 components, abiotic (physical and non living) and biotic (biological and living) components.

Ecological system: Interactions of a particular group of organisms with abiotic factors resulting in clearly defined energy flows and material cycles on land, water and air. The study of these interactions between living organisms and their physical environment is known as science of ecology.

The environment in which the living organisms live is called habitat. Ecosystem is a system in which the biotic and abiotic components interact with each other. The adaptation of plants and animals to various environmental conditions is called environmental adaptations.

Flow of energy: The energy flow in the ecosystem involves the transfer of energy from one tropic level to another (producer– consumer– decomposer). The sequence of transfer of energy from the organism in one tropic level to another level is called food chain.

Plants (producers)- Goat (herbivores)- Fox (Primary carnivores) - Lion (Secondary carnivores)- Decomposers.

The cyclic movement of chemical elements of biosphere between the organisms and environment is called biogeochemical cycle. These cycles involve the circulation of nutrients (soluble inorganic substances) that are derived from soil and atmosphere. The biogeochemical cycles are of two types– gaseous cycle and sedimentary cycle.

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Facts 

Justus Von Liebig was the father of Agricultural Biochemistry.

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The knowledge of biochemistry started with the writings of Paracelsus (1493– 1514) on chemistry.

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Jan Bapist Van Helmont amalgamated the science of chemistry with medicine and the branch of medical chemistry started.

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Karl Wilhelm Scheele isolated citric acid from lime juice, lactic acid from sour milk, malic acid from apple and uric acid from urine.

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Antoine Lavoisier developed the concept of oxidation and also animal respiration. He equated respiration with combustion.

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Friedrich Wohler synthesized urea, the end product of nitrogenous metabolism.

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Justus Von Liebeg stated hat the nutritive materials of green plants are inorganic substances.

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Facts 

Michel Chevreul demonstrated that fats are composed of glycerol and fatty acids.



Emil Fischer established the structure of carbohydrates, aminoacids and fats.

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Friedrich Meischer in 1871 discovered nucleic acids in the nucleus of pus cells.

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Mayer and Von Helmholtz formulated the laws of thermodynamics.



Claude Bernard discovered the liver glycogen and its relation to blood sugar.

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Theodor Schwann discovered the process of fermentation.

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Louis Pasteur established the branch of microbiology in 1857.

Pasteur introduced the concept of aerobic and anaerobic organisms and their associated fermentations

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Facts 

Edward Buchner in 1887 demonstrated that sugars could be fermented by cell free extracts of yeast. Sorensen developed the concept of pH.



Loeb studied the colloidal behavior of proteins and their effect on the cell.



Urey and Schoenherimer demonstrated the use of isotopes in biochemical research.



Martin and Synge invented chromatography.



The

concept

of

deficiency

disease

was

developed

by

F.G. Hopkins. 

Funk recognized and isolated Vitamins.



Embden and Meyerhof elucidated glycolysis.



Freserick Sanger established the amino acid sequence of insulin

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Electrochemical Techniques for determining Antioxidant capacity Cyclic Voltammetry: It

is

a

type

of

potentiodynamic

electrochemical

measurement. In this experiment, the working electrode is ramped linearly versus time. In this, the potential of a working electrode is linearly scanned from an initial value to a final value and back, while recording the respective current intensity.

When the value of a set potential is reached, the working electrode’s potential ramp is inverted. This inversion can happen multiple timed during a single experiment. The current at the working electrode is plotted versus the Research methodology

applied voltage to give the cyclic voltammogram. The important

parameters

obtained

from

a

cyclic

voltammogram are the intensities of the cathodic and anodic peaks Ia, Ic, the anodic oxidation potential (Ea) and the cathodic oxidation potential (Ec). All these values can be readily obtained from voltammogram. In the case of reversible system, the values of the intensities of the cathodic and anodic peaks

are equal. For irreversible

system, only the presence of one peak is noticeable on voltammogram.

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Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) is shown to be the convenient methodology and has been validated for the quantitation of the low molecular weight antioxidant capacity of blood plasma, tissue homogenates and plant extracts. Analysis of the CV tracing yields the value of the biological oxidation potential ( E and E1/2), which relates to the nature of the specific molecules, the intensity (Ia) of the anodic current and the area of the anodic wave (S).

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Darani Vasudevan daraniauthor.ga

Hi readers, I am a Botanist and writer. This magazine is an outcome of the topics that interested me a lot while doing my research works. I chose this magazine as a platform for sharing many interesting facts related to plant Science and microorganisms.