Although translational regulation of maternal mRNA is important for proper development of the Drosophila embryo, few genes involved in this process have been identified. In this report, we describe the role of aubergine in oskar translation. Previously, aubergine has been implicated in dorsoventral patterning, as eggs from aubergine mutant mothers are ventralized and seldom fertilized (Schupbac...

Methanolic (80%) extracts of various parts (green crown, peel and flesh) of selected varieties of round and long aubergine were explored for total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity using a number of colorimetric assays. The results showed that TPC methanolic extracts, of different parts of selected varieties of aubergine, ranged from 16.7225.00 mg GAE/100g DW. The highest amounts ...

Aubergine allergy is rare outside of India and the far east, and very few cases have been reported. We describe a case of aubergine allergy in a 9-year-old girl of Anglo-Indian descent who also had sensitivity to potato, coincidental oral allergy syndrome, and latex sensitisation with mild oral symptoms on consuming kiwi fruit. Specific IgE to aubergine was negative, but skin testing was positi...

In Drosophila oocytes, activation of Oskar translation from a transcript localized to the posterior pole is an essential step in the organization of the pole plasm, specialized cytoplasm that contains germline and abdominal body patterning determinants. Oskar is a component of polar granules, large particles associated with the pole plasm and the germline precursor pole cells of the embryo. aub...

Nuage, a germ line specific organelle, is remarkably conserved between species, suggesting that it has an important germline cell function. Very little is known about the specific role of this organelle, but in Drosophila three nuage components have been identified, the Vasa, Tudor and Aubergine proteins. Each of these components is also present in polar granules, structures that are assembled ...

P elements inserted at the left telomere of the X chromosome evoke the P cytotype, a maternally inherited condition that regulates the P-element family in the Drosophila germline. This regulation is completely disrupted in stocks heterozygous for mutations in aubergine, a gene whose protein product is involved in RNA interference. However, cytotype is not disrupted in stocks heterozygous for mu...

The introduction of semi-dwarfing, high-yielding and nutrients-responsive crop varieties in the 1960s and 1970s alleviated the suffering of low crop yield, food shortages and epidemics of famine in India and other parts of the Asian continent. Two semi-dwarfing genes, Rht in wheat and Sd-1 in rice heralded the green revolution for which Dr. Norman Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 19...

In macronuclear DNA of the ciliated protozoan Paramecium caudatum, we identified a gene homologous to aubergine/piwi in Drosophila and ZWILLE in Arabidopsis, which have recently been shown to regulate the maintenance of stem cell in animals and plants. The DNA sequence was considered to be actually transcribed because it was also obtained from cDNA of vegetative phase cells by RACE-PCR. The gen...

The matrix polysaccharides of plant cell walls are diverse and variable sets of polymers influencing cell wall, tissue and organ properties. Focusing on the relatively simple parenchyma tissues of four fruits - tomato, aubergine, strawberry and apple - we have dissected cell wall matrix polysaccharide contents using sequential solubilisation and antibody-based approaches with a focus on pectic ...