Nicotiana Tabacum

This paper reports an efficient protoplast culture technique, the “extra thin alginate film” technique. The development of this improved method of protoplast culture was an outcome of an assessment of the efficiency and shortcomings of various protoplast culture techniques. The efficiency of this technique was evaluated with two model plant systems, viz., Nicotiana tabacum and Lotus corniculatus, and a comparison was made with the “thin alginate layer” technique, another efficient protoplast culture system. Results indicate that the culture technique with extra thin alginate film is as efficient as the technique with thin alginate layer, with many additional advantages. The present innovation overcomes most of the limitations of protoplast culture techniques described so far and can now be applied to a wide variety of crops to check its general applicability.

This study investigates the larvicidal potential of indigenous plant extracts from commonly used medicinal herbs as an environmentally safe measure to control the filarial vector, Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae). The early fourth-instar larvae of C. quinquefasciatus, reared in the laboratory, were used for larvicidal assay with water, hot water, acetone, chloroform, and methanol leaf, stem-bark, and flower extracts of Acacia arabica Willd. Sans, Cedrus deodara Roxb, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L., Mangifera indica L., Nerium indicum Mill., Nicotiana tabacum Linn., Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre, and Solanum nigrum Linn. All plant extracts showed moderate larvicidal effects after 24 h of exposure at 1,000 ppm; however, the highest larval mortality was found in stem-bark hot water, acetone, and methanol extracts of C. deodara (LC50 = 133.85, 141.60, and 95.19 ppm, LC90 = 583.14, 624.19, and 639.99 ppm) and leaf hot water, acetone, methanol, and chloroform extracts of N. tabacum (LC50 = 76.27, 163.81, 83.38, and 105.85 ppm, LC90 = 334.72, 627.38, 709.51, and 524.39 ppm) against the larvae of C. quinquefasciatus, respectively. This is an ideal ecofriendly approach for the control of lymphatic filariasis vector, C. quinquefasciatus.

This study aims to assess the germinative behaviour of Nicotiana rustica seeds under saline conditions (NaCl, seawater and Chott water) at various concentrations. Seed germination was estimated by the final germinated seed rate during a period of 7 days in Petri dishes at 25℃ (3 replicates of 50 seeds).

Summary Chili pepper is an important horticultural crop that can surely benefit from plant biotechnology. However, although it is a Solanaceous member, developments in plant cell, tissue, and organ culture, as well as on plant genetic transformation, have lagged far ...

Numerous taxa within the Solanaceae family are economically important today, and for New World taxa such as chilies and tomatoes, their histories are particularly well documented. What remains less clear, however, is the extent of nightshade used by the ancient Maya. This article reviews the ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and archeological evidence of some of the major taxa in this large family, as well as providing new archeobotanical evidence in the form of macro- and microbotanical remains from Maya sites in northwestern Petén, Guatemala. This new evidence sheds additional light on the Solanaceae used by the ancient Maya in both domestic and ritual contexts. The absence of certain taxa in this family in the archeobotanical record of this region does not necessarily imply that these were not used in the past. Instead, it indicates that systematic collection of samples needs to be implemented if archeologists are to fully characterize past plant use among the ancient Maya.

Transgenic tobacco plants capable of over-expressing Xenopus PPARα (xPPARα), a transcription factor known to be required for peroxisome proliferation in animals, were recently generated. These plants (herewith referred to as PPAR-OE) were found to have increased peroxisome abundance, higher peroxisomal acyl-CoA oxidase and catalase activity and modified fatty acid metabolism. Further characterization of PPAR-OE plants revealed a higher susceptibility to virulent and a partial loss of resistance to avirulent Pseudomonas syringae pathogens, whereas the basal resistance response remained unaffected. Biochemical- and defense-related gene expression analyses showed that increased susceptibility to bacterial invasion coincided with the generalized reduction in H2O2 and salicylic acid (SA) levels observed within the first 24 h of bacterial contact. Decreased H2O2 levels were correlated with modified activity levels of catalase and other antioxidant enzymes. A correspondence between a rapid (within 1–24 hpi; ACCO and AOC) and sustained increase (up to 6 days pi; ACCO) in the expression levels of ethylene (ACCO) and jasmonic acid (AOC) biosynthetic genes and a higher susceptibility to virulent bacterial invasion was also observed in PPAR-OE plants. Conversely, no apparent differences in the short- and/or long-term expression levels of markers for the hypersensitive-response, oxidative burst and systemic-acquired resistance were observed between wild type and PPAR-OE plants. The results suggest that peroxisome proliferation could lead to increased susceptibility to bacterial pathogens in tobacco by altering the redox balance of the plant and the expression pattern of key defense signaling pathway genes.

In Tzotzil and Tzeltal Maya communities throughout the highlands of Chiapas in southeastern Mexico, a potent oral snuff composed of fresh tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) and slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) is used in a wide range of therapeutic, ritual, and protective contexts. The use of this tobacco snuff—referred to in Tzotzil Maya as “angel” (anjel), “elder brother” (bankilal), “great old man” (muk’ta mol), or simply “tobacco” (moy)—appears to date back to the Classic Maya, and represents continuity in Mayan tobacco culture spanning more than a thousand years. Despite the central importance of this plant in highland Maya medicine and ritual, its use has not previously been documented in any systematic manner. Accordingly, this chapter seeks to present a comprehensive overview of traditional highland Maya tobacco culture among the contemporary Tzotzil and Tzeltal Maya of highland Chiapas, exploring the cultural significance in this quintessentially Amerindian plant in the domains of ethnomedicine, ritual, folklore, and mythology.

The intergenic regions of banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) DNA-1 to -5 were fused to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and uidA reporter genes and assessed for promoter activity in transgenic banana (Musa spp. cv. Bluggoe). Promoter activity associated with the BBTV-derived promoters was transgene dependent with greatest activity observed using the GFP reporter. The BBTV promoters (BT1 to BT5) directed expression primarily in vascular-associated cells, although levels of activity varied between individual promoters. Promoters BT4 and BT5 directed the highest levels of GFP expression, while activity from BT1, BT2 and BT3 promoters was considerably weaker. Intron-mediated enhancement, using the maize polyubiquitin 1 (ubi1) intron, generated a significant increase in GUS expression directed by the BBTV promoters in transgenic plants.

The potential for use of the cytochrome-pathway electron-transfer inhibitors antimycin A and myxothiazol in the selection of plant mitochondrial genome transformants was investigated. The net growth of Nicotiana tabacum L. (tobacco) suspension-culture cells was reduced by these inhibitors, but complete repression of cell growth occurred only in the presence of both cytochrome and alternative electron-transfer-pathway inhibitors. Antimycin A and myxothiazol bind to and block electron transfer through different sites in the cytochrome b (COB) subunit of the mitochondrial bc1 respiratory complex (complex III). The nucleotide sequence of the tobacco cob gene was determined and found to predict highly conserved glycine and phenylalanine residues that are associated with sensitivity to antimycin A and myxothiazol, respectively. These residues are altered by mutations that confer resistance to antimycin A or myxothiazol in diverse organisms. Tobacco cob cDNA clones were constructed and sequenced, revealing eight full and 11 partial RNA-editing sites. RNA editing did not, however, alter codons for the conserved glycine and phenylalanine residues associated with sensitivity to the respiratory inhibitors. Antimycin A or myxothiazol, in conjunction with a modified cob gene, may therefore be useful in the selection of tobacco cells carrying a genetically transformed mitochondrial genome.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is involved in plant defense responses that follow mechanical damage, such as those that occur during herbivore or insect attacks, as well as pathogen attack. H2O2 accumulation is induced during wound healing processes as well as by treatment with the wound signal jasmonic acid. Plant polyamine oxidases (PAOs) are H2O2 producing enzymes supposedly involved in cell wall

The antimicrobial activity of aqueous ethanolic extract of two plant species i.e. Nerium oleander L. and Nicotiana tabacum
L. from Multan district were checked, against three pathogenic bacteria viz: Staphylococcus aureus (gram positive),
Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa; (gram negative). Disc diffusion technique was used to check the antimicrobial activity. The bacterial strains under question were found susceptible to plant extracts. Nerium oleander and Nicotiana tabacum
exhibited strong antibacterial action against tested bacteria. The ethanolic extract of Nerium oleander leaves showed highest antibacterial action against Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 900mg/ml concentration, whereas, Nicotiana tabacum showed
maximum zones of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus at 900mg/ml concentration. The results showed that the leaves extracts of these plants have great power as anti-microbial agents against these common bacterial isolates. However, for future
pharmacological implication of these plants more research is needed for the isolation of active ingredient of these plants. The results obtained could be attributed to the differential environmental conditions on the ecology of these plants.

Pollen tube cell volume changes rapidly in response to perturbation of the extracellular osmotic potential. This report shows that specific phospholipid signals are differentially stimulated or attenuated during osmotic perturbations. Hypo-osmotic stress induces rapid increases in phosphatidic acid (PA). This response occurs starting at the addition of 25% (v/v) water to the pollen tube cultures and peaks at 100% (v/v) water. Increased levels of PA were detected within 30 s and reached maximum by 15 to 30 min after treatment. The pollen tube apical region undergoes a 46% increase in cell volume after addition of 100% water (v/v), and there is an average 7-fold increase in PA. This PA increase appears to be generated by phospholipase D because concurrent transphosphatidylation of n-butanol results in an average 8-fold increase in phosphatidylbutanol. Hypo-osmotic stress also induces an average 2-fold decrease in phosphatidylinositol phosphate; however, there are no detectable changes...

English Summary: Thirty years ago, a German team of scientists let the world think over the tremendous consequences of cutting-edge research findings related to the presence of substances such as cocaine, nicotine and cannabis in Pre-Columbian mummies. The first outcome was the rebuttal of the official universal history of tobacco supposed to have begun in the Old World in the wake of Columbus’ discovery of the Americas. Most recent findings confirm the presence of nicotine without totally discarding the possibility of environmental tobacco contamination, not to mention, at a more or less remote date, the use of the latter as a preservation insecticide. Nevertheless and as a whole, the results reviewed in this article, further to being contextualised with anthropological discoveries related to “exotic” forms of smoking such as the mysterious hookah (narghile, shisha) and the “dissenting” though cogent views on tobacco history, elicit an unexpected turn to the debate. For instance, leaving aside the question of actual linguistic convergences between both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, a variety of forest tobacco of the Nicotiana rustica species (vs. Nicotiana tabacum, that of the New World) was widely known in Africa long before Columbus’ discovery. The mysterious origin of the water pipe (so different by its shape and smoking techniques) also represents an extra argument supporting early transoceanic (Africa/America) Pre-Columbian contacts. Anthropological research led by separate teams from the USA, South Africa, and Tunisia, unfailingly agree on this point.

Résumé en français: Il y a 30 ans, une équipe de recherche allemande eut la surprise de trouver des substances telles que la cocaïne, la nicotine et le cannabis dans des momies précolombiennes. Ces découvertes suscitèrent de nombreuses remises en question de l’histoire universelle officielle du tabac censée avoir commencé dans l’Ancien Monde après la découverte des Amériques par Christophe Colomb. Des analyses plus récentes confirment la présence de nicotine sans que soit exclue la possibilité d’une contamination environnementale par la fumée du tabac, voire de l’usage de ce dernier comme insecticide à des fins de préservation, à une date plus ou moins lointaine. Toutefois, pris dans leur ensemble, les résultats des diverses recherches passées ici en revue et une fois mises en contexte avec des découvertes anthropologiques relatives à des formes “exotiques” de tabagisme comme le mystérieux narguilé (houka, shisha/chicha), puis couplées à la prise en compte des voix de chercheurs s’opposant à l’histoire officielle du tabac, permettent d’aboutir à des conclusions iconoclastes. Par exemple, outre les convergences linguistiques de part et d’autre de l’océan atlantique, une variété de tabac forestier de l’espèce Nicotiana rustica (par opposition à Nicotiana tabacum, celle du Nouveau Monde) était largement répandue en Afrique bien avant la découverte de Colomb. L’origine mystérieuse du narguilé (si différent par sa forme et ses techniques d’usage) constitue également un argument supplémentaire en faveur de l’hypothèse, de plus en plus plausible, de voyages précolombiens transocéaniques entre l’Afrique et les Amériques. Des recherches anthropologiques menées séparément par des chercheurs aux Etats-Unis d’Amérique, en Afrique du Sud et en Tunisie, convergent inexorablement sur ce point.