No abstract

The cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii (Homoptera: Aphididae), is increasing in importance as a pest worldwide since the introduction of Bt-cotton, which controls lepidopteran but not homopteran pests. The chemical ecology of interactions between cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (Malvaceae), A. gossypii, and the predatory lacewing Chrysoperla lucasina (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae), was investigated with a view to providing new pest management strategies. Behavioral tests using a four-arm (Pettersson) olfactometer showed that alate A. gossypii spent significantly more time in the presence of odor from uninfested cotton seedlings compared to clean air, but significantly less time in the presence of odor from A. gossypii infested plants. A. gossypii also spent significantly more time in the presence of headspace samples of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) obtained from uninfested cotton seedlings, but significantly less time with those from A. gossypii infested plants. VOCs from uninfested and A. gossypii infested cotton seedlings were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and coupled GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), leading to the identification of (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT), methyl salicylate, and (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyl-1,3,7,11-tridecatetraene (TMTT), which were produced in larger amounts from A. gossypii infested plants compared to uninfested plants. In behavioral tests, A. gossypii spent significantly more time in the control (solvent) arms when presented with a synthetic blend of these four compounds, with and without the presence of VOCs from uninfested cotton. Coupled GC-electroantennogram (EAG) recordings with the lacewing C. lucasina showed significant antennal responses to VOCs from A. gossypii infested cotton, suggesting they have a role in indirect defense and indicating a likely behavioral role for these compounds for the predator as well as the aphid.

ABStrACt. Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., commonly called jackfruit, is a medium-sized evergreen tree that bears high yields of the largest known edible fruit. Yet, it has been little explored commercially due to wide variation in fruit quality. The genetic diversity and genetic relatedness of 50 jackfruit accessions were studied using amplified fragment length polymorphism markers. Of 16 primer pairs evaluated, eight were selected for screening of genotypes based on the number and quality of polymorphic fragments produced. These primer combinations produced 5976 bands, 1267 (22%) of which were polymorphic. Among the jackfruit accessions, the similarity coefficient ranged from 0.137 to 0.978; the accessions also shared a large number of monomorphic fragments (78%). Cluster analysis and principal component analysis grouped all jackfruit genotypes into three major clusters. Cluster I included the genotypes grown in a jackfruit region of Karnataka, called Tamaka, with very dry conditions; cluster II contained the genotypes collected from locations having medium to heavy rainfall in Karnataka; cluster III grouped the genotypes in distant locations with different environmental conditions. Strong coincidence of these amplified fragment length polymorphism-based groupings with geographical localities as well as morphological characters was observed. We found moderate genetic diversity in these jackfruit accessions. This information should be useful for tree breeding programs, as part of our effort to popularize jackfruit as a commercial crop.

Introduction: The present study aims to standardize a polyherbal formulation (HC9) that was previously shown to exhibit excellent antioxidant and cytotoxic activity in breast cancer cells. Here, we have compared the cytotoxic activity of HC9 with its individual components in breast cancer and non-cancerous cells. Methods: Physico-chemical and phytochemical evaluation of HC9 was performed. Qualitative and quantitative HPTLC analysis of component herbs and HC9 was done by using specific markers. The cytotoxic activity of HC9 with its individual components was evaluated in breast cancer (MCF-7 and MDA MB-231) and non-cancerous cell lines (HEK-293, HaCaT and MCF-10A) by MTT dye uptake. Results: Physico-chemical results revealed that HC9 contained 7.24% total ash content, 9.52% of alcohol-soluble extractive, 0.801 specific gravity, 0.50g/ml bulk density and exhibited 7.18% loss on drying. Phytochemical results revealed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavanoids, saponins, tannins and phenolic compounds, and absence of terpenoids. The individual herbs of HC9 and the formulation showed the presence of marker compounds such as picroside-I, nootkatone, 6-gingerol, matairesinol, swertiamarin, berberine, connesine and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde. At 160µg/ml concentration, HC9 exhibited cytotoxicity in both MCF7 and MDA MB231 with no cytotoxicity in MCF-10A, HaCaT and HEK-293. In contrast, at this concentration, the individual herbs of HC9 exhibited cytotoxicity not only in cancerous cells, but also in non-cancerous cells. Conclusion: These results suggest that the standardized HC9 formulation was safe to non-cancerous cells and exhibited significant antineoplastic potential in breast cancer cells. Thus, HC9 could be a potential drug candidate in breast cancer.