Natural products and dietary components have earlier been proven as potential chemoprotective agents, and continuous efforts are in progress to search for such new products. Gentamicin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic, is widely used for treating the infections caused by many gram negative bacteria. However, besides other unwanted effects, the drug causes tubular cell necrosis in the proximal conv...

The increasing interest in the development of novel green solvents has led to the synthesis of benign alternative products with minimized environmental impacts. However, most of published studies on green solvents focus primarily on their physicochemical properties, with limited emphasis on absence of ecotoxicological assessment. In this study, we evaluated the acute ecotoxicity of four levulin...

While graphene has substantial commercial promise, numerous aspects regarding its ecological effects such as its potential for bioaccumulation are not well known. 14C-labeled few layer graphene (FLG) was dispersed in artificial freshwater and uptake of FLG by Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, an oligochaete, was assessed. After exposure for 36 h to a 1 mg/L FLG suspension, the FLG body burden in the or...

Extensive genetic studies (1) and limited nutritional investigations (2, 3) have been accomplished for the wheat smut organism, Tilletia caries, but information is lacking concerning its metabolism and enzyme systems. A more systematic approach to control might be realized by a fuller understanding of the nutrition and metabolism of the smut fungus. Studies designed to elucidate the pathway of ...

ABSTRACT A polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay to distinguish Tilleita walkeri, a rye grass bunt fungus that occurs in the southeastern United States and Oregon, from T. indica, the Karnal bunt fungus, is described. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA repeat unit was amplified and sequenced for isolates of T. indica, T. walkeri,...

Ustilago tritici causes loose smut, which is a seed-borne fungal disease of wheat, and responsible for yield losses up to 40%. Loose smut is a threat to seed production in developing countries where small scale farmers use their own harvest as seed material. The killer protein 4 (KP4) is a virally encoded toxin from Ustilago maydis and inhibits growth of susceptible races of fungi from the Usti...

The influence of exogenic hormones (indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), abscisic acid (ABA) and kinetin) on defense reaction of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) calli to the bunt agent Tilletia caries (D.C.) Tul. & C. Tul. was studied. ABA and kinetin induced the oxalate oxidase activity, increased the Н2О2 level, decreased germination of fungi teliospores and induced on calli the occurrence of dense sites...

ABSTRACT The Karnal bunt pathogen, Tilletia indica, is heterothallic and depends on encounters on wheat spikes between airborne secondary sporidia of different mating types for successful infection and reproduction. This life history characteristic results in reduced reproductive success for lower population densities. Such destabilizing density dependence at low population levels has been desc...