We characterized single primer amplification reaction (SPAR) molecular markers from 20 genotypes of Anthurium andraeanum Lind., including 3 from commercial varieties and 17 from 2 communities in the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil. Twenty-four SPAR, consisting of 7 random amplified polymorphic DNA and 17 inter-simple sequence repeat markers were used to estimate the genetic diversity of 20 Anth...

Nature's particles, such as spores, viruses or cells, are adaptive--i.e., they can rapidly alter major phenomenological attributes such as shape, size, or curvature in response to environmental changes. Prominent examples include the hydration-mediated opening of ice plant seeds, actuation of pine cones, or the ingenious snapping mechanism of predatory Venus flytraps that rely on concave-to-con...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the immunomodulatory activity of ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) extract (IPE) in vitro and in vivo. Raji (a human B cell line) and Jurkat (a human T cell line) cells were treated with various doses of IPE and cell proliferation was measured by WST assay. Results showed that IPE promoted the proliferation of both Raji and Jurkat cells in a ...

Crude protein extracts from the chickpea (Cicer arietinum L .) pathogenic fungus Ascochyta rabiei catalyze the N A D PH dependent conversion of the pterocarpan phytoalexins medicarpin and maackiain to 1) 2'-hydroxyisoflavans, 2) 1 a-hydroxypterocarp-l,4-diene-3-one, and 3) 10,2'dihydroxyisoflav-8-ene-7-one derivatives. A pterocarpan: N A D PH oxidoreductase which cleaves the benzylphenyl ether ...