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Prostate cancer has been recently considered the most diagnosed cancer in male. DLL3 is overexpressed in CRPC-NE but not in localised prostate cancer or BPH. There are no effective treatments for neuroendocrine differentiated prostate cancer due to a lack of understanding of DLL3 structure and function. The structure of DLL3 is not yet determined using any experimental techniques. Hence, the structure-based drug discovery approach against prostate cancer has not shown great success. In present study, molecular modelling techniques were employed to generate three-dimensional structure of DLL3 and performed its thorough structural analysis. Further, all-atom molecular dynamics simulation was performed to obtain energetically favourable conformation. Further, we used a virtual screening using a library of13800 phytochemicals from the IMPPAT database and other literature to select the best possible phytochemical inhibitor for DLL3 and identified the top five compounds. Relative binding affinity was calculated using the MM-PBSA approach. ADMET properties of the screened compounds reveal the toxic effect of Gnemonol C. We believe these studied physicochemical properties, functional domain identification, and binding site identification would be very useful to gain more structural and functional insights of DLL3; also, it can be used to infer their pharmacodynamics properties of DLL3 which was recently reported as an important prostate cancer target. The current study also proposes that Ergosterol Peroxide, Dioslupecin A, Mulberrofuran K, and Caracurine V have strong affinities and could serve as plausible inhibitors against DLL3. We believe this study would further help develop better drug candidates against neuroendocrine prostate cancer.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

A study was conducted to examine the effect of locally isolated rhizospheric strain, Acinetobacter sp RSC9, on sugarcane plant growth, under salt stress glasshouse conditions. The selected isolate in this study was characterized based on morphology, cultural, biochemical and molecular level and identified as Acinetobacter sp RSC9 (accession number KX168051). Screening of plant growth-promoting traits revealed that the strain is able to produce IAA, solubilize phosphate, potassium and zinc and fix atmospheric nitrogen under 1% and 2% NaCl stress conditions. In a pot experiment study supplemented with 1% NaCl, the alleviation of salt stress and plant growth parameters such as plant height, the number of leaves, root fresh/dry weight and shoot fresh/dry weight were significantly improved compared to positive control. In 1% NaCl, the sugarcane treated with Acinetobacter sp RSC9 showed 39.62% and 10.22% improvement in shoot and root length, respectively, compared to the control plant. Acinetobacter sp RSC9 also showed a higher fresh weight of shoot (69.68%) and root (69.94%) in 1% NaCl salt-stressed plants. In the case of 2% NaCl, there was no seed germination due to higher salt stress; however, the pot inoculated with Acinetobacter sp RSC9—showed 100% germination. It reveals that Acinetobacter sp RSC9 has protected the plant from salinity stress and showed corresponding enhancement in growth parameters studied. Overall, the present study depicts that the Acinetobacter sp. RSC9 strain could be used as a biofertilizer for sugarcane crops grown in saline soils.

This study assessed the genetic diversity of African yam bean (AYB) accessions using morphological and molecular markers. The accessions were grown, and morphological data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and multivariate analyses. Genomic DNA extracted from the accessions were amplified with inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. The diversity analysis was conducted using MEGA4 software. The accessions varied significantly (P < 0.05) in growth, flowering and seed-related parameters. Flowering commenced early in most accessions. Weight of 100-seed range from 15.01 to 21.15 g with the mean value of 18.30 g. Significant correlations existed between stem height, the number of leaves and leaf dimensions. Also, days to flowering correlated with pod formation; likewise, seed dimension had a positive association with seed weight. The principal biplot revealed that two components accounted for 41.77% of the observed variation. Analysis of the electropherogram showed 95 loci comprising 1351 alleles were detected by the ISSR markers with 65.26% polymorphism and combined polymorphic information content of 0.85. The principal coordinate analysis placed accessions together on a plane based on their spatial relationship. The dendrogram showed accession pairs (TSs-77, TSs-95) and (TSs-111, TSs-84) are closely related. The phylogram identified three kinships with a total length of 454. Accession TSs-115 is likely the progenitor while TSs-82 and TSs-86 are the most recent. The study concluded that a combination of morphological and ISSR markers is effective for the diversity study of AYB and the existing, genetic diversity in the accessions could be harnessed for its improvement, conservation and utilization.

To study the bio-efficacy of selected insecticides against earhead caterpillars in finger millet (variety KMR-204) under field conditions an experiment was conducted at Zonal Agricultural Research Station Vishweshwaraiah Canal, Farm, Mandya, during kharif 2018 and 2019, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. The results revealed that, two sprays at dough stage of the crop, all the insecticides viz., thiodicarb 76 WP (1.0 g L-1), acephate 75 SP (1.5 g L-1), profenphos 50 EC (2.0 mL L-1), quinalphos 25 EC (2.0 mL L-1), lambda cyhalothrin 5 EC (0.6 mL L-1), novuluron 10 EC (1.5 mL L-1), fenvelarate 0.4D (25 kg ha-1), chlorpyriphos 1.5D (25 kg ha-1) and chlorpyriphos 20 EC (2.0 mL L-1) were found to be effective in reducing different species of earhead caterpillars viz., Archips micaceana, Somena scintillans, Cryptoblabes angustipennella, Nola analis, Cydia sp., Helicoverpa armigera, Pyrausta phoenicealis, Corcyra cephalonica, Stathmopoda sp. and Spodoptera frugiperda, Eublemma sp., Conogethes punctiferalis, Euproctis similis, Mythimna separate and Ataboruza sp., over untreated control. However, thiodicarb 75 WP @ 1.0 g L-1 and lambda cyhalothrin 5 EC at 0.6 mL L-1 were found to be more effective in reducing the mean larval population and registered higher percentage of recovery with least larval population compared to rest of the insecticides.

Plastic solid waste management is amongst the most menacing issue covered across the globe. Plastic is the material with multiple usages, replacement of plastic is a solution to reduce plastic based pollution but this is not possible in order to gather the needs of humans. Natural resources are depleting worldwide at the same time the generated wastes are expanding substantially. The usage of plastic when looking to its degradation rate has calamitous difference, at present the conversion of plastic into cement can provide an upgrade to environment as well as economic benefits. In this present study the Plastic waste management was done at educational institution in order to manage the huge amount of plastic waste generated everyday by the affiliates.Utilization of plastic waste in preparation of paved blocks originated from the known mechanisms for production of bricks and fly ash blocks. Plastic serves as a bonding agent when heated. Soil serves as binding agent when mixed with melted plastic. Properties of sandy soil shows that after heating it changes the colour, becomes non-sticky, has no effect of weather, compressive strength increases and surface becomes hard. The method used in this study for preparation of blocks from plastic was hypothesized form the technique of production of bricks in which soil is mixed with bonding clay. Sandy soil and clay mixture serves good quality by providing less shrinkage. The aim of this study is to manage plastic waste from depleting the environment.

A field experiment was conducted to validate the cowpea STCR equation developed for Zone 5 in Zone 6 and to assess its performance with foliar application of humic acid and multi-micronutrient mixture during Kharif 2016 on sandy loam soil at college of Agriculture, V.C. Farm, Mandya. The experimental results revealed that significantly higher total N uptake was observed in T12 (142.58 kg ha-1), total P uptake of 14.58 kg ha-1 in T13 and total K uptake in T11 (127.62 kg ha-1). The uptake of all the micronutrients were higher in the treatments with foliar application of MM with humic acid at 30 and 45 DAS, followed by foliar application of MM alone. Available nutrient status of soil after the harvest of the crop showed a significant effect due to treatments. Higher nitrogen status was reported in T11 (257.13 kg ha-1) followed by T12 (250.85 kg ha-1) and least was in control (175.69 kg ha-1). Higher soil P status was recorded in the treatment having RDF + FYM (86.76 kg ha-1) followed by T3 receiving STCR fertilizer dose with 50% RDP without FYM (85.23 kg ha-1). Higher K status of the soil was recorded in T5 (235.34 kg ha-1) with STCR (50% RDP) with FYM. However, lowest was recorded in control (155.89 kg ha-1).

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are one of the most common form of bacterial infections but the treatment becomes cumbersome as the etiological bacteria are developing resistance against antibiotics. This present study evaluated the efficacy of antimicrobial activity of Urena lobata against uropathogens. Six urine samples from UTI patients were collected from Pathological Laboratory, G.B. Vaghani Multispecialty Hospital, Surat. Bacteria were isolated from these samples using Nutrient agar, Mac Conkey agar plate, Blood agar, Mannitol salt agar, Eosin Methylene Blue agar and King’s agar. The bacterial isolates were identified using cultural characteristics, microscopic features and biochemical characteristics. Leaf extract of Urena lobata was prepared using Soxhlet Extraction Method whereby methanol and distilled water were the extractants used. Herbal extract disc was prepared at concentrations of 50,75, and100 mg/ml and tested against all the isolates. DMSO and antibiotics (Nitrofurantion, Amikacin, Levofloxacin, Norofloxacin, Ofloxacin and Cephalosporins) were used as negative and positive controls respectively.Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella spp. and Brevibacillus panacihumi were isolated from the urine samples. All concentrations of aqueous and methanolic extracts of U. lobata leaf displayed highest zone of inhibition against B. cereus. No inhibitory effect was observed against the growth of Klebsiella except at the highest concentrations. Further study is encouraged on the in-vivo study of efficacy of U. lobata on etiological agent of UTI.

Daniellia oliveri is a tree species belonging to the subfamily Caesalpinioideae (Leguminosae), whose young leaves are used locally to manage type 2 diabetes in Nigeria. This study aims at evaluating the inhibitory potentials of its crude ethanolic extract (Do-C) and solvent-solvent fractions (n-hexane (Do-H), diethyl ether (Do-D), and ethyl acetate (Do-E)) obtained from Do-C on α-amylase, α-glucosidase activities in-vitro and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picraylhydrazine (DPPH) radical scavenging activity using standard protocols. Our findings showed that the Do-C and its fractions had significant TFC and TPC composition. All fractions inhibited DPPH free radicals effectively, with Do-E having excellent inhibition when compared with BHT. In this study, Do-C and its solvent-solvent fractions (Do-D, Do-E, and Do-H) inhibited α-amylase and α-glucosidase in a dose-dependent pattern. However, compared to acarbose, the Do-E exhibited similar inhibitory activity against α-amylase (P≤ 0.05). Nevertheless, the Do-E (IC50 35.02 ± 1.22 μg/ml) and Do-H (IC50 31.28 ± 1.23 μg/ml) had the best inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase comparatively after acarbose (25.97 ± 0.96 μg/ml). The inhibitory potential of Do-E could be linked to its TFC and TPC. Therefore, ethyl acetate fraction obtained from the crude ethanolic extract of D. oliveri could effectively inhibit key enzymes linked to type 2 diabetes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase). Further studies recommended to isolate antidiabetic compounds present.

This study reports occurrence of stem rot in sugarcane by Fusarium solani NVS671 in the south Gujarat, India. To study it, the pathogen was isolated and identified based on the morphology and internal transcribed spacer region. The pathogenicity of F. solani along with Colletotrichum falcatum strain cfNAV as a positive control was evaluated on cultivar CoC671 by cut cane assay and under pot conditions. The pathogenicity recorded for F. solani stain NVS671 and C. falcatum strain cfNAV indicated severe effect on the sugarcane growth in both the experimental runs in comparison with the untreated control. The study showed that F. solani also causes stem rot in sugarcane, and this is the first report on this pathogen causing stem rot in sugarcane.

Pennisetum glaucum (Pearl millet) and P. purpureum (Napier grass) are economically important members of the genus Pennisetum. The knowledge of variability in chromosome number, size and genomic content of the species could provide clues on the mechanisms responsible for decrease or increase in genomic content in the evolutionary pathway. In the present study, twenty nine genotypes consisting of 24 pearl millet and 5 Napier grass were assessed for inter- and intra-variations in chromosome number, ploidy status and genome content. Conventional cytogenetic was used for chromosome counting and flow cytometry technique for assessing genomic contents of the genotypes. Pearl millet genotypes were diploid (2n = 14) while Napier grass were mainly polyploid (2n = 28). Despite differences in the ploidy levels, the basic chromosome number was 7. The average 2C values was 4.86 pg and 4.58 pg for pearl millet and Napier grass genotypes respectively. The DNA content per haploid cell was higher among pearl millet genotypes and the genomic size were negatively related to chromosome number and ploidy levels, meanwhile, the GC richness was directly proportional to genomic size of the genotype. The mean channel values showed that the genotypes were nuclear haploid. The present study suggests that evolution and development of polyploidy was accompanied with loss in genomic content in Napier grass. It was also discovered that pearl millet with less number of chromosome, had higher genome size than Napier grass.

The present study evaluates the antidiabetic effects of aqueous (CPAQ) and methanolic (CPME) extract ofCPAQ and CPME (400 mg/kg dose), metformin (120 mg/kg) and two different combinations of plant extracts and metformin (200 + 60 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg + 60 mg/kg) were orally given to alloxan-induced diabetic rats for 21 days. At 0, 7, 14, and 21 days, body weight and blood glucose levels were measured.After 21 days of treatment, biochemical profiling and histopathology analysis were carried out. CPAQ and CPME, when administrated separately, could decrease blood glucose levels (P ≤ 0.05). CPME showed more promising results (P ≤ 0.05) compared to the diabetic control group. Extracts co-administrated with metformin showed dose-dependent significant recovery of hypoglycemic activity of metformin. Fasting blood glucose levels, body weight, protein, and lipid profile of the treatment group were compared to the diabetic and normal control groups. Animal groups co-administered with CPME and metformin showed more significant effects on the recovery of tissue damages. The synergistic effect of plant extracts with metformin has positive effects on all the parameters and enhanced the efficiency and reduction of blood glucose levels.

The recent pandemic created due to Novel Coronavirus (nCOV-2019) from Wuhan, China demanding a large scale of a general health emergency. This demands novel research on the vaccine to fight against this pandemic situation, re-purposing of the existing drugs, phylogenetic analysis to identify the origin and determine the similarity with other known viruses, etc. The very preliminary task from the research community is to analyze the wide verities of existing related research articles, which is very much time-consuming in such situations where each minute counts for saving hundreds of human lives. The entire manual processing is even lower down the efficiency in mining the information. We have developed a complete automatic literature mining system that delivers efficient and fast mining from existing biomedical literature databases. With the help of modern-day deep learning algorithms, our system also delivers a summarization of important research articles that provides ease and fast comprehension of critical research articles. The system is currently scanning nearly 1,46,115,136 English words from 29,315 research articles in not greater than 1.5 seconds with multiple search keywords. Our research article presents the criticality of literature mining, especially in pandemic situations with the implementation and online deployment of the system.

Sugarcane is susceptible to red rot disease caused by phytopathogenic fungus Colletotrichum falcatum Went which ultimately affect the economy of farmers as well as sugar based industry. One of the various ways to control this devastating disease is to develop disease resistance sugarcane cultivar and this requires the complete understanding of genetic makeup of pathogen. Although South Gujarat is well known sugarcane cultivating area, less published data can be found about PCR-based genetic diversity in prevalent C. falcatum accessions. So, present investigation aims at finding molecular variation among the ten accessions of C. falcatum using RAPD and ISSR molecular markers. A total of 35 RAPD and 39 ISSR primers were screened across 10 C. falcatum accessions, of which 15 RAPD and 21 ISSR primers have showed consistent amplification. Statistics related to genetic variation were estimated using NTSYS-PC by means of Dice’s coefficient. The results revealed 80.6% and 68.07% polymorphism and similarity coefficient ranged from 0.43 to 0.91 and 0.73 to 0.93 in RPAD and ISSR analysis respectively. The dendrogram generated using RAPD, ISSR and combined RAPD-ISSR grouped accessions into different clusters which reveal considerable level molecular variation among the C. falcatum accessions. It is also evident from PCA plots that accessions are rather dispersed with tested marker systems indicating good genetic base. So, in nut shell, we found considerable genetic variation and relatedness within C. falcatum accessions collected from different areas of south Gujarat, India using RAPD and ISSR markers. Keywords: Colletotrichum falcatum, ISSR, Polymorphism, RAPD, Red rot, Sugarcane

Red rot of sugarcane caused by the fungus Colletotrichum falcatum Went is the most destructive and severe disease worldwide. The present study identifies the C. falcatum which causes sugarcane red rot in the south Gujarat province of India. A survey was carried out in different sugarcane cultivars region, and nine strains isolated were identified as C. falcatum by using the sequencing of ITS rRNA gene. Pathogenicity tests validated on nine different sugarcane cultivars showed strain cfCHA infected maximum seven cultivars (virulence frequency 77.9 %). Interestingly, none of the C. falcatum isolates were able to infect the Co94004 cultivars, whereas Co671 cultivars infected by all the isolates of C. falcatum. This result has important implications for sugarcane breeding programmes in which Co94004 can be recommended to the farmers of south Gujarat regions, India.

Sweet flag (Acorus calamus L.), is a critically endangered species of mountainous regions of India. In order to evaluate and preserve the endangered medicinally important plant Sweet flag. We investigated the variation by collecting the whole plant from different geographical regions. Genetic variability among 20 accessions of this species was assessed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) (25 primers) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers (17 primers).The results showed 33.7% of bands formed by RAPD markers and 63.7% for ISSR were polymorphic. The Shannon’s indices (I) and Nei’s genetic diversity (h) among all the accessions were estimated for RAPD and ISSR respectively at 0.58 (SD = 0.07), 0.57 (SD = 0.13) and 0.40 (SD = 0.06), 0.33 (SD = 0.11) respectively. The similarity coefficient ranged from 0.72 to 0.94. The results revealed that genetic variation is much low among accessions. Since genetic variation within collected accessions is homogenous, the pattern of low genetic diversity within the accessions specifies that they are monoclonal. Therefore, we proposed that studies of intraspecific variation could be utilized in the development of conservation strategies, by identifying appropriate units of A. calamus for conservation.

Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) is the most prevalent plant hormone of the auxin family that occurs naturally in the environment and regulates the plant growth and development. The bacteria were isolated from the tomato rhizosphere soils and screened for IAA production. Among the all isolates, the isolate designated as 7MM11 showed maximum amount of IAA (89.22 μg/mL) production in short incubation period (24 h) by HPLC. The isolate was identified as Providencia sp. by its morphological characteristics and 16S rRNA sequence study. Further, optimal conditions such as l -tryptophan concentration, incubation time, agitation, pH, carbon sources, and nitrogen sources, were identified for IAA production. The optimization results suggested that the IAA production increased with medium supplemented with sucrose (0.1%), urea (0.1%), and tryptophan (0.1%) with pH 8.0 at 30 ± 2 °C on a shaker at 150 rpm after 24 h of incubation. The production of IAA by Providencia sp. was further confirmed and characterized with help of thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. In an in vivo experiment, the tomato seedlings treated with Providencia sp. showed improved germination, seedling vigor index, and enhanced growth promotion compared to un-inoculated control. Thus, the results of this study suggest that Providencia sp. strain 7MM11 is a potent isolate for the maximum production of IAA in short period, which may help in achieving the plant growth promotion.

Bacterial leaf spot disease has been the major problem in cultivation of Acorus calamus L., in India. In this study, laboratory experiments were conducted to detect and identify the causative pathogens on the leaves collected from experimental field plants. Twelve different colonies of bacteria were isolated and cultured from affected plants. The colonies were selected on the basis of their characteristic morphology and pigment production on nutrient agar. The colonies observed ranged from light yellow, white and orange mucoid. Some colonies were round and smooth while some are whitish, mucoid and smooth circular colonies were also observed. Twelve bacteria isolates were recovered on the basis of colony morphology for further studies. All the isolates were primarily screened for pathogenicity test. Out of the 12 isolates evaluated, two of them produced clear disease symptoms. The strains were identified using morphology, physiology and biochemical tests and further the isolates were identified and characterized using16S rDNA sequencing. Based on maximum identity score, first ten sequences were selected and aligned using multiple alignment software program (Clustal W). Distance matrix was generated using the (RDP) database and the phylogenetic tree was constructed using (MEGA 4). The strains were observed to be homologous to the sequences of GenBank Accessions No. HM449703.1 and KJ200391.1. They were identified as Microbacterium testaceum and Burkhoderia gladioli respectively. This study suggests that Microbacterium testaceum and Burkhoderia gladioli species are involved in causing bacterial leaf spot disease in A. calamus studied in South Gujarat region of India.

Costus pictus, belonging to the family Costaceae, is one of the valuable medicinal plants with its anti-diabetic property. Despite ever-increasing demand from the pharmaceutical industry, this species is being less exploited at molecular level. Hence, an effort has been made in the present study to characterize the 15 accessions of C. pictus collected from different geographical regions of India through random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers. A total of 25 RAPD and 20 ISSR primers were used in the present study. The RAPD analysis generated 343 loci, of which 124 were polymorphic with an average of 4.96 loci per primer. While, ISSR primers produced 177 loci, of which 77 were polymorphic with an average of 3.85 loci per primer. The similarity coefficients ranged from 0.86–0.99, 0.84–0.95 and 0.86–0.96 for RAPD, ISSR and combined RAPD-ISSR, respectively. The UPGMA dendrogram generated using these data showed low level of divergence among the accessions from South and West regions. Further, accession-specific bands were also revealed by RAPD and ISSR markers which might be contributed to specific trait. This investigation was an understanding of genetic variation within the C. pictus accessions. The present finding indicates that both the marker tools RAPD and ISSR combined or individually can be used in determining the genetic relationship between the accessions. It may be concluded that data of hereditary differences appeared among the C. pictus accessions could be utilized for their conservation and reproducing programs.

The genetic variations were studied in different populations of Dipcadi filamentosum Medik collected from various geographical locations in Nigeria using 12 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Genomic DNA extraction was carried out using DNeasy Plant Mini Kit (QIAGEN, USA) and amplification of fragments was performed by Polymerase Chain Reaction. Amplification by 9 primers resulted in the detection of 95 loci and this represented 100% polymorphism. The sizes of the bands ranged between 1500-50bp in OPAE-14 and OPAC- 11.The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that the genetic variation observed were accounted for by the first three components (81.14%). Biplot analysis indicated that the markers effectively separated the populations into groups based on genetic similarity. The cluster analysis classified the populations into two major clusters with nine groups. The Neighbour joining clustered populations from YOB (north east,), OYO (south west) and KBA (north central) as genetically related and close neighbours.

A comparative study on effect of chemical fertilizer and biofertiliser on Plumbago zeylanica for growth, yield and bioactive component was conducted at Bardoli (district-Surat), India between 2012 and 2013 using Random Block Design method and monthly observation of growth parameters. Application of biofertiliser Azotobacter, Azospirillum, Phosphate solubilizing Bacteria and mixture of Aza + Azo + PSB increased plant height, number of branches, number of leaves, length of root, fresh weight, dry weight and bioactive component (plumbagin). Highest effect on height (91.33±10.13) of plant was obtained with PSB applied biofertiliser whereas the number of branches (14.67±0.47) and number of leaves (25.60±13.17) was obtained with Azospirillum biofertilizer application. The length PSB (33.33±1.32), fresh weight (26.44±1.32) and dry weight of roots (24.66±1.13) was realized with application of mixture of Aza + Azo + PSB. The bioactive component (plumbagin) was high with application of Azospirillum (0.026%w/w) using HPLC. The results of this study suggest that biofertiliser have the potential to increase the growth, yield and bioactive component of Plumbago zeylanica.

Three cultivars of rice (Oryza sativa L.) were exposed to the polluted environment of a fertilizer plant to evluate the changes in the phenolic contents due to air pollution. Two soil N regimes under normal watering and water stressed (half-field capacity) conditions were imposed on 30-day old plants. Controls were maintained 10 km away from the factory in an unpolluted area using the same cultural practices. As the main effects, air pollution decreased the levels of phenolic content at 55 days and increased at 70 days. The cv. GR 3 appeared to accumulate high phenolic contents at the later stage while cv. CO 43 decreased the same. The cv. TKM 9 showed the similar pattern as that of cv. GR 3. The interaction of cultivar with nitrogen and cultivar with water produced no significant effect. It was concluded that the main effect of air pollution appeared to be the increased amount of phenolic contents towards growth and the accumulation was high only in tolerant cultivars.

The effect of NaCl on the endogenous levels of diamine, putrescine and polyamines, spermidine and spermine, was studied in the shoot system of salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive lines of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars during three growth stages. Salt stress increased the levels of diamine and polyamine in varying degrees among nine rice cultivars investigated. Salt tolerant AU1, Co43, and CSC1 were effective in maintaining high concentrations of spermidine and spermine, while the content of putrescine was not significantly altered in all the growth stages when plants were exposed to salinity. The salt sensitivity in rice was associated with excessive accumulation of putrescine and with low levels of spermidine and spermine in the shoot system of salt-sensitive cultivars Co36, CSC2, GR3, IR20, TKM4, and TKM9 under saline condition. One of the possible mechanisms of saline resistance was observed to be due to the highly increased polyamines against the low increase in diamines. Alternatively, the salt sensitivity could be due to high increase of diamines and an incapacity to maintain high levels of polyamines.

The effects of three cultivars, two water regimes and two rates of applying nitrogen fertilisers were tested when studying the performance of rice (Oryza sativa L.) near to, and distant from, a fertiliser plant emitting atmospherically dispersed pollutants. The atmosphere near the fertiliser plant had average daily peak concentrations of 144 and 210 microg m(-3) of SO(2) and NO(2), respectively. Growth was less near to, than at a distance from, the fertiliser plant. On average it was decreased by water stress while the effects of different amounts of nitrogen fertiliser were variable. Whilst there were a number of interactions involving nitrogen and water treatments, the most consistent were associated with the responses of the three cultivars at the two locations. The three cultivars performed similarly at the unpolluted control site, but there were major differences at the polluted site. These were most clearly exemplified by changes in the proportion of dry matter allocated to yields of grain and straw. At the unpolluted site, grain accounted for about 30% of the combined yields of grain and straw. At the polluted site, grain accounted for 1, 23 and 31% of the combined grain and straw yields of cultivars CO 43 (the most sensitive), TKM 9 and GR 3 (the most tolerant). Grain yields were closely related to numbers of filled grains per plant. At the polluted site, 98% of grains failed to develop in CO 43, whereas in GR 3, the number of panicles, and therefore the potential number of grains, was significantly enhanced.

Summary Proline behaved as a biochemical marker to air pollutants and the accumulation was rich in accordance with their tolerance nature.