Plants of Viola cornuta displaying typical virus symptoms were observed during spring 2003 in a plant nursery in Córdoba, central Argentina. Electron microscopic examinations of symptomatic leaf samples revealed the presence of isometric virus-like particles about 30 nm in diameter. Subsequent serological analysis allowed the identification of the pathogen as a subgroup I strain of Cucumber mos...

We studied the within-population genetic structure and the clonality extent of Viola calaminaria, a rare endemic species of calamine soils, by means of RAPD markers in two populations (one recent and one ancient) with expected harsh and heterogeneous heavy-metal stress. At a very local scale (0.2-3 m), clonal propagation was detected in both populations, but the levels of clonal diversity were ...

Much interest has been generated by recent reports on the discovery of circular (i.e. head-to-tail cyclized) proteins in plants. Here we report the three-dimensional structure of one of the newest such circular proteins, MCoTI-II, a novel trypsin inhibitor from Momordica cochinchinensis, a member of the Cucurbitaceae plant family. The structure consists of a small beta-sheet, several turns, and...

Eastern Madagascan Lowland Rain Forest Below an altitude of about 800 m this unique tropical rain forest once extended along the entire east coast of Madagascar. Compared to its counterpart in the Guineo-Congolian BioProvince the canopy of these forests are generally lower and the foliage is much more coriaceous and xeromorphic. They are extremely species-rich and show great variation in specie...

The tropical plant Clitoria ternatea is a member of the Fabaceae family well known for its medicinal values. Heat extraction of C. ternatea revealed that the bioactive fractions contained heat-stable cysteine-rich peptides (CRPs). The CRP family of A1b (Albumin-1 chain b/leginsulins), which is a linear cystine knot CRP, has been shown to present abundantly in the Fabaceae. In contrast, the cycl...

In the present study, different aerial parts from twelve Amazonian plant species found in the national Institute for Amazon Research’s (InpA’s) Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve (in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil) were collected. Separate portions of dried, ground plant materials were extracted with water (by infusion), methanol and chloroform (by continuous liquidsolid extraction) and solvents were remov...

BACKGROUND Viola yedoensis (VY, Violaceae) is a popular medicinal herb used in traditional eastern medicine for treating lots of diseases, including inflammation and its related symptoms. However, the anti-inflammatory properties of VY have not been demonstrated. In the present study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of VY ethanol extract (VYE) on macrophages and attempted to ident...

The plant cyclotides are a family of 28 to 37 amino acid miniproteins characterized by their head-to-tail cyclized peptide backbone and six absolutely conserved Cys residues arranged in a cystine knot motif: two disulfide bonds and the connecting backbone segments form a loop that is penetrated by the third disulfide bond. This knotted disulfide arrangement, together with the cyclic peptide bac...