Genomic Micro AX Plant Gravity

Ethnopharmacological relevance
Viscum album L. (European mistletoe), a member of the Santalaceae, is a hemiparasitic, evergreen shrub growing on deciduous and coniferous trees. In traditional and folk medicine, mistletoe was used for the treatment of central nervous system disorders such as epilepsy, hysteria, insomnia, nervous excitability, neuralgia, headache, dizziness and fatigue. However, relatively little is known of its neuropharmacological activity.

Aim of the study
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of treatment with aqueous and hydroethanolic extracts from Viscum album L. parasitizing birch, linden and pine, on MAO-A and MAO-B activity as well as serotonin, dopamine and serotonin receptor 5-HTR1A levels in Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera) larvae.

Materials and methods
The phytochemical composition of the extracts was characterised using UPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS. To investigate the neuropharmacological activity of Viscum album L. extracts, Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera) larvae were used as a model organism. The inhibitory potential of the extracts against MAO-A and MAO-B was determined by fluorometry. The serotonin, dopamine and serotonin receptor 5-HTR1A levels in larvae hemolymph after treatment were quantified by ELISA.

Results
UPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS analysis allowed the identification of 88 compounds, either full or in part. Most of the characterised phytochemicals were flavonoids, hydroxycinnamic acids and lignans. Screening found that aqueous and hydroethanolic mistletoe extracts inhibited the enzymatic activity of either MAO-A or MAO-B or both. Additionally, mistletoe extract administration increased the levels of serotonin and serotonin receptor 5-HTR1A. None of the tested extracts had any significant effect on dopamine level.

Conclusions
A key novel finding was that the aqueous and hydroethanolic extracts from Viscum album L. inhibited monoamine oxidase activity and increased the levels of serotonin and serotonin receptor 5-HTR1A in Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera) larvae. These properties may be due to the presence of phenolic constituents, particularly flavonoids. Further research based on bioassay-guided fractionation of mistletoe is needed to identify CNS-active molecules.

The main aim of this study was to analyze the genetic diversity of breeding lines derived from bread wheat and spelt (bread wheat cvs. Zebra, Torka and Kontesa; spelt breeding lines S10–S14) in terms of their resistance to infections caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici and Puccinia triticina Eriks. The genomes of all analyzed lines harbored the markers for Pm2a, Pm4b and Pm6a alleles, which confer resistance to the infection caused by B. graminis f. sp. tritici. The markers for Pm4c and Pm4a alleles were also identified in many objects. The high number of Pm markers was noted in the crosses Zebra × S11 and Zebra × S12 whose genomes harbored the markers for Pm2a, Pm3d, Pm4a-4c and Pm6. Most of the studied lines harbored the marker linked to the Lr10 gene, which encodes resistance to the infection caused by P. triticina in wheat. The analysis of the presence of markers linked to the resistance to infections caused by B. graminis f. sp. tritici and P. triticina demonstrated that Zebra × S12 was the most promising breeding line with the highest number of markers for genes/alleles encoding resistance to powdery mildew and leaf rust. This breeding line was also highly resistant to both pathogens under field conditions.