Patente extraída del Chemical Abstracts

Serpins from various plants, their sequences, recombinant forms involving reactive center loop, and use in limiting insect and/or mite damage in transgenic plants.      Van Breusegem, Frank; Vercammen, Dominique; Smagghe, Guy; Alvarez, Fernando.  (VIB VZW, Belg.; Universiteit Gent).    PCT Int. Appl.  (2009),     31pp.  CODEN: PIXXD2  WO  2009056597  A1  20090507  Designated States W: AE, AG, AL, AM, AO, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BH, BR, BW, BY, BZ, CA, CH, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, DO, DZ, EC, EE, EG, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, GT, HN, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KM, KN, KP, KR, KZ, LA, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LY, MA, MD, ME, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MY, MZ, NA, NG, NI, NO, NZ, OM, PG, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, RU, SC, SD, SE, SG, SK, SL, SM, ST, SV, SY, TJ, TM, TN, TR.  Designated States RW: AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, IS, IT, LU, MC, MT, NL, NO, PT, SE, TR, BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG.  Patent  written in English.    Application: WO  2008-EP64728  20081030.  Priority: EP  2007-119602  20071030; US  2007-1218P  20071030; WO  2008-EP64728  20081030.  CAN 150:507882    AN 2009:549169    CAPLUS   (Copyright (C) 2011 ACS on SciFinder (R))  

The invention provides for the use of recombinant/mutant plant serpins for limiting insect and/or mite damage in transgenic plants.  The invention relates that the recombinant/mutant plant serpins have amino acid sequence changes in the reactive center loop compared to the wild-type.  Preferably, said recombinant/mutant serpins use an Arabidopsis thaliana serpin-1 backbone, or a homolog thereof.  The invention also provides the amino acid sequences of A. thaliana serpin-1 and Brassica napus serpin, and provides GenBank GI nos. for other serpins that may be used in construction of the disclosed recombinant/mutant proteins.  The invention also relates that the disclosed recombinant/mutant serpins have an activity that differs from the wild type serpins and can inhibit specific proteases (such as trypsin, chymotrypsin, elastase, cathepsin B and cathepsin L) found in insects and/or mites.

PARTE UTILIZADA= Used part: Yemas antes de que abran, madera, hojas frescas.

ACCIÓN FARMACOLÓGICA= Pharmacological action: Desinflamante estomacal, diurético, sudorífico, contra flatulencias en intestinos, dispecias, colitis, antiséptico, en quemaduras y llagas, lavajes de úlcera, heridas enconadas con fines cicatrizantes, calmante y reductor de hemorroides.

POSOLOGÍA= Posology: Las yemas de Álamo recolectadas antes que se abrann (en el momento que tiene mayor cantidad de resina), sirven para preparar una infusión eficaz como desinflamante estomacal, diurética y sudorífica. La infusión se prepara hirviendo 40 gramos de yemas en un litro de agua. Se aconseja tomar una taza cuatro veces por día. Los baños de asiento con esta infusión son un eficaz calmante y reductor de hemorroides.

COMPOSICIÓN QUÍMICA= Chemical composition: The compn. of hexane and ether exts. from buds of two poplar species (Populus balsamifera and P. nigra) was investigated by GC-MS method.  In hexane exts., 54 "neutral" compds. were recorded.  The greatest amts. of them were sesquiterpenes and n-alkanes.  Among 56 components of ether exts., many aliph. acids and hydroxyacids were detected.  However, the main fraction consists of phenolcarboxylic acids, substituted cinnamic acids, and their esters.  It was established that chemotaxonomic differences between Populus balsamifera and P. nigra are obsd. in the case of both hexane and ether bud exts.

ZONA GEOGRÁFICA= Geografical zone: Argentina.

DIVERSIDAD GENÉTICA Y MEJORAMIENTO DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants and improvement of medicinal herbs:

Background: Cinnamyl Alc. Dehydrogenase (CAD) proteins function in lignin biosynthesis and play a crit. role in wood development and plant defense against stresses.  Previous phylogenetic studies did not include genes from seedless plants and did not reflect the deep evolutionary history of this gene family.  We reanalyzed the phylogeny of CAD and CAD-like genes using a representative dataset including lycophyte and bryophyte sequences.  Many CAD/CAD-like genes do not seem to be assocd. with wood development under normal growth conditions.  To gain insight into the functional evolution of CAD/CAD-like genes, we analyzed their expression in Populus plant tissues in response to feeding damage by gypsy moth larvae (Lymantria dispar L.).  Expression of CAD/CAD-like genes in Populus tissues (xylem, leaves, and bark) was analyzed in herbivore-treated and non-treated plants by real time quant. RT-PCR.  Results: CAD family genes were distributed in three classes based on sequence conservation.  All the three classes are represented by seedless as well as seed plants, including the class of bona fide lignin pathway genes.  The expression of some CAD/CAD-like genes that are not assocd. with xylem development were induced following herbivore damage in leaves, while other genes were induced in only bark or xylem tissues.  Five of the CAD/CAD-like genes, however, showed a shift in expression from one tissue to another between non-treated and herbivore-treated plants.  Systemic expression of the CAD/CAD-like genes was generally suppressed.  Conclusions: Our results indicated a correlation between the evolution of the CAD gene family and lignin and that the three classes of genes may have evolved in the ancestry of land plants.  Our results also suggest that the CAD/CAD-like genes have evolved a diversity of expression profiles and potentially different functions, but that they are nonetheless co-regulated under stress conditions.

ÚLTIMOS AVANCES EN LA QUÍMICA Y ACTIVIDADES BACTERIOLÓGICAS EN LAS PLANTAS MEDICINALES= Medicinal plants, last advances on chemistry and bacteria activities on the medicinal herbs

1) The objectives of the pilot studies are the decontamination of polluted matrixes in order to reduce human exposure risks and to ameliorate soil-sediment matrixes for their safe reuse.  To achieve both goals, a three components system (TRIAS) (a mesobiol. enhanced phytoremediation, assisted by earthworms and not only by plants and microorganisms) is proposed and compared with single or two-component systems.  The plant-microorganism-earthworm assocn. (TRIAS) is a powerful ecol. system contemporaneously working at three levels: plants release org. exudates, microorganisms mineralize them and grow so releasing nutrient for plants, and earthworms feed on microorganisms.  Expts. were conducted at pilot-scale in columns preconditioned biophys. with manure and (only for marine sediments) with inert bulking materials.  The efficacy of the TRIAS in removing hydrocarbons from soil mesocosms was 4-5 times that of the two-component system, while in sediment mesocosms it was increased by a factor of 1.5.  Heavy metals, with few exceptions, dropped below threshold limits indicated by Italian regulations, but only in the TRIAS.  Significant stimulation of ecol. parameters driving bioremediation were obtained in the TRIAS, i.e. available P and N nutrients, microbial DH-ase enzyme, water sol. carbon (WSC), and humic extractable carbon (TEC).  Stepwise regression statistics was used in an attempt to interpret mechanisms of remediation.  Statistical approach confirmed that WSC and TEC, besides being an available nutrient source, were involved in the hydrocarbon biodegrdn. and phytoextn. of heavy metals.

2) Salicylate-contg. phenolic glycosides (PGs) are abundant and often play a dominant role in plant-herbivore interactions of Populus and Salix species (family Salicaceae), but the biosynthetic pathway to PGs remains unclear.  Cinnamic acid (CA) is thought to be a precursor of the salicyl moiety of PGs.  However, the origin of the 6-hydroxy-2-cyclohexen-on-oyl (HCH) moiety found in certain PGs, such as salicortin, is not known.  HCH is of interest because it confers toxicity and antifeedant properties against herbivores.  We incubated Populus nigra leaf tissue with stable isotope-labeled CA, benzoates, and salicylates, and measured isotopic incorporation levels into both salicin, the simplest PG, and salicortin.  Labeling of salicortin from [13C6]-CA provided the first evidence that HCH, like the salicyl moiety, is a phenylpropanoid deriv.  Benzoic acid and benzaldehyde also labeled both salicyl and HCH, while benzyl alc. labeled only the salicyl moiety in salicortin.  Co-administration of unlabeled benzoates with [13C6]-CA confirmed their contribution to the biosynthesis of the salicyl but not the HCH moiety of salicortin.  These data suggest that benzoate interconversions may modulate partitioning of phenylpropanoids to salicyl and HCH moieties, and hence toxicity of PGs.  Surprisingly, labeled salicyl alc. and salicylaldehyde were readily converted to salicin, but did not result in labeled salicortin.  Co-administration of unlabeled salicylates with labeled CA suggested that salicyl alc. and salicylaldehyde may have inhibited salicortin biosynthesis.  A revised metabolic grid model of PG biosynthesis in Populus is proposed, providing a guide for functional genomic anal. of the PG biosynthetic pathway.

3) Aq. ext. of European mistletoe have been widely used for decades as alternative treatment and adjuvant cancer therapy.  The aim of this study was to det. in vitro, the antioxidant activity of different aq. exts. of V. album, depending on the host trees and on the harvesting time, using different methods: TEAC, ORAC and DPPH.  Different V. album plants were harvested in two different seasons (May and July) from five different host trees (Acer campestre, Mallus domestica, Fraxinus excelsior, Populus nigra and Robinia pseudoacacia) located in the N-W region of Romania.  The values obtained by TEAC assay varied from 9.19 ± 0.009 mmol of Trolox equiv./g of fresh leaves for the VAM ext. to 5.93 ± 0.01 mmol of Trolox equiv./g of fresh leaves for the VAP exts.  In the case of values obtained from ORAC assay, no significant differences were obtained between the antioxidant activity of the mistletoe.  The ext. originating from Robinia pseudocacia (VAS) mistletoe host exhibited the highest activity (% DPPH inhibition), while the lowest activity was noticed for the ext. originating from Populus nigra (VAP) mistletoe (42.2 vs. 17.4).  We noticed differences between the antioxidant capacity of mistletoe harvested on the different season as well as from different host trees.

1) CONSELL, Danilo M. Enciclopedia de plantas que curan. Buenos Aires: Ediliba, 1987. 2 volúmenes.

2) ISIDOROV, Valery A.; VINOGOROVA, Vera T. GC-MS analysis of compounds extracted from buds of Populus balsamifera and Populus nigra. Zeitschrift fuer Naturforschung, C: Journal of Biosciences  (2003),  58(5/6),  355-360.        

3) BARAKAT, Abdelali, et al. Phylogeny and expression profiling of CAD and CAD-like genes in hybrid Populus (P. deltoides x P. nigra): evidence from herbivore damage for subfunctionalization and functional divergence.  BMC Plant Biology. 2010, Vol.10, no p.

4) BIANCHI, Veronica; CECCANTI, Brunello.  A three components system (TRIAS) in the phytoremediation of polluted environmental matrices. Toxicological and Environmental Chemistry. 2010, Vol.92, nº3, p.477-493.

5) BABST, Benjamin A.; HARDING, Scott A.; TSAI, Chung-Jui.  Biosynthesis of Phenolic Glycosides from Phenylpropanoid and Benzenoid Precursors in Populus. Journal of Chemical Ecology. 2010, Vol.36, nº3, p.286-297.
 
6) VICAS, Simona; RUGINA, Dumitrita; SOCACIU, Carmen. Antioxidant activities of Viscum album's leaves from various hosts trees. Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Agriculture. 2008, Vol.65, nº1, p.327-332.