The alkaloids characteristically produced by the subfamily Amaryllidoideae of the Amaryllidaceae, bulbous plant species that include well know genera such as Narcissus (daffodils) and Galanthus (snowdrops), are a source of new pharmaceutical compounds. Presently, only the Amaryllidaceae alkaloid galanthamine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor used to treat symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, is pr...

BACKGROUND A very common protein modification in multicellular organisms is protein glycosylation or the addition of carbohydrate structures to the peptide backbone. Although the Class of the Insecta is the largest animal taxon on Earth, almost all information concerning glycosylation in insects is derived from studies with only one species, namely the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. METHO...

(-)-Galanthamine (GAL), an alkaloid from the flower, the common snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis), shows anticholinesterase activity. This property has made GAL the target of research as to its effectiveness in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. We have solved the X-ray crystal structure of GAL bound in the active site of Torpedo californica acetylcholinesterase (TcAChE) to 2.3 A resolution. The ...

Ovo istraživanje potaknuto je istraživačkim pitanjem postoje li neki konkretni problemi pri provođenju Zakona o zaštiti prirode i Plana upravljanja u samom Parku Medvednica, koji ujedno sastavni dio ekološke mreže Natura 2000. U radu su prikazani rezultati istraživanja stavova predstavnika Javne ustanove PP Medvednica te anketirani stanovnici rubnih zona vezano uz tematiku korištenja gospodaren...

Collembolans are common soil arthropods that may be exposed to insecticidal proteins produced in genetically engineered (GE) plants by ingestion of crop residues or root exudates. In the present study, a dietary exposure assay was validated and used to assess the lethal and sublethal effects of two Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticidal proteins, Cry1C and Cry2A, on Folsomia candida. Using th...

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) specifically recognizes high-mannose type glycans with five or six mannosyl residues. To determine whether the carbohydrate recognition activity of IL-2 contributes to its physiological activity, the inhibitory effects of high-mannose type glycans on IL-2-dependent CTLL-2 cell proliferation were investigated. Man(5)GlcNAc(2)Asn added to CTLL-2 cell cultures inhibited not on...

Genetically modified plants expressing insecticidal traits offer a new strategy for crop protection, but at the same time present a challenge in terms of food safety assessment. The present 90-day feeding study was designed to assess the safety of a rice variety expressing the snowdrop Galanthus nivalis lectin (GNA lectin), and forms part of a EU-funded project where the objective has been to d...

BACKGROUND Despite evidence suggesting a role in plant defence, the use of plant lectins in crop protection has been hindered by their low and species-specific insecticidal activity. Snowdrop lectin (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin; GNA) is transported to the haemolymph of insects after oral ingestion, and can be used as a basis for novel insecticides. Recombinant proteins containing GNA expressed...