The universal stress protein (USP) is a ubiquitous protein and plays an indispensable role in plant abiotic stress tolerance. The genome of Salicornia brachiata contains two homologs of intron less SbUSP gene which encodes for salt and osmotic responsive USP. In vivo localization reveals that SbUSP is a membrane bound cytosolic protein. The role of the gene was functionally validated by develop...

Heavy metals are common pollutants of the coastal saline area and Salicornia brachiata an extreme halophyte is frequently exposed to various abiotic stresses including heavy metals. The SbMT-2 gene was cloned and transformed to tobacco for the functional validation. Transgenic tobacco lines (L2, L4, L6 and L13) showed significantly enhanced salt (NaCl), osmotic (PEG) and metals (Zn++, Cu++ and ...

Cumin is an annual, herbaceous, medicinal, aromatic, spice glycophyte that contains diverse applications as a food and flavoring additive, and therapeutic agents. An efficient, less time consuming, Agrobacterium-mediated, a tissue culture-independent in planta genetic transformation method was established for the first time using cumin seeds. The SbNHX1 gene, cloned from an extreme halophyte Sa...

BACKGROUND Marine algae, also called seaweeds, are abundantly present in the coastal area of Iran, especially in Persian Gulf. These plants contain important phytochemical constituents and have potential biological activities. The present study investigated the presence of phytochemical constituents and total phenolic quantification of the seaweeds Gracilaria salicornia and Gracilaria corticata...

The plasma membrane Na + /H + -antiporter SOS1 is essential for salt tolerance in plants. In Chapter 4, we observed a ten-fold higher constitutive expression of SOS1 in the highly salt tolerant salt-accumulating halophyte Salicornia dolichostachya in comparison with a lower inducible SOS1 expression in its glycophytic family member Spinacia oleracea. The objective of this study was to investiga...

Reactive oxygen or nitrogen species are generated in the plant cell during the extreme stress condition, which produces toxic compounds after reacting with the organic molecules. The glutathione-S-transferase (GST) enzymes play a significant role to detoxify these toxins and help in excretion or sequestration of them. In the present study, we have cloned 1023 bp long promoter region of tau clas...

A novel Salicornia brachiata Salt Inducible (SbSI-1) gene was isolated and overexpressed in tobacco for in planta functional validation subjected to drought and salt stress. SbSI-1 is a nuclear protein. The transgenic tobacco overexpressing SbSI-1 gene exhibited better seed germination, growth performances, pigment contents, cell viability, starch accumulation, and tolerance index under drought...

Vacuum drying of Salicornia herbacea L. was performed at different drying temperatures (50, 60, 70, and 80°C) to evaluate the drying characteristics and the effect of drying temperatures on the quality of Salicornia. As the drying temperature increased, the drying time decreased significantly (P< 0.05). The drying rate decreased with decrease in moisture content and increase in drying time. On ...

The red alga Gracilaria salicornia (c. Agardh) E. Y. Dawson was introduced intentionally to two reefs on O'ahu, Hawai'i, in the 1970s for experimental aquaculture for the agar industry. Some 30 yr later, this species has spread from the initial sites of introduction and is now competing with native marine flora and fauna. The goals of this study were to quantify various aspects of G. salicornia...