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Boophone disticha (B. disticha) is a bulbous tropical and subtropical flowering plant widespread in Africa, which is frequently used to treat several human ailments. Until the present, there is no scientific validation on the biological activity of this plant from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and as a result, this study aimed to assess the bioactive compounds, free radicals scavenging and anticancer potentials of crude bulb extracts (chloroform, acetone, and ethanol) of Boophone disticha obtained from this geographical location. Standard biochemical techniques and Gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis were used to pinpoint the bioactive compounds in the crude extracts sequel to their antioxidant potentials against radicals such as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), hydrogen peroxide and nitric oxide as well as their ferric ion reducing power. In addition, their cytotoxicity effects against Human cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells were assessed as an in vitro model for anticancer. The phytochemical evaluation of the crude extracts showed the presence of phenolics, flavonoids, and alkaloids. GCMS profiles confirmed the presence of some bioactive compounds in the crude extracts of B. disticha that could be responsible for their biological activities. The plant extracts possessed considerable antioxidant activity and exhibited dose-dependent radicals’ inhibition from all assays carried out. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity effects against HeLa cells recorded inhibition concentration (IC50) of 1.5, 1.6, and 1.9 µg/mL for acetone, chloroform, and ethanolic extracts of B. disticha, respectively. Findings from the present study suggest that B. disticha could be a good prospective source of antioxidant and anticancer agents. Therefore, further research on the isolation and purification of compounds from these extracts are indispensable.The haptophyte microalga Tisochrysis lutea was heterotrophically grown in F2 medium with different combinations of pH and salinity. Growth, oil content and fatty acids (FAs) profile were determined under each set of conditions. The salinity was adjusted using NaCl at concentrations of 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, or 1.0 M, while pH was adjusted at 7, 8, or 9, and heterotrophic growth was performed using organic carbon in the form of sugar cane industry waste (CM). Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were identified by gas chromatography. The results showed that pH of 8.0 was the optimal for dry weight and oil production, regardless of the salinity level. At pH 8.0, growth at a salinity of 0.4 M NaCl was optimal for biomass accumulation (1.185 g L-1). Under these conditions, the maximum growth rate was 0.055 g L-1 d-1, with a doubling time of 17.5 h and a degree of multiplication of 2.198. Oil content was maximal (34.87%) when the salinity was 0.4 M and the pH was 9.0. The ratio of saturated to unsaturated FAs was affected by the pH value and salinity, in that unsaturated FAs increased to 58.09% of the total FAs, considerably greater than the value of 40.59% obtained for the control (0.4 M NaCl and pH 8.0).This paper presents the results of research on nuclear DNA polymorphism in six apomictic species of marsh dandelions (Taraxacum sect. Palustria) Taraxacum bavaricum, T. belorussicum, T. brandenburgicum, T. paucilobum, T. subdolum and T. vindobonense. The studies demonstrated the existence of clear genetic differences between species and the existence of nuclear DNA polymorphism within each of the studied species.Pectinases are enzymes which are widely distributed in microbes that are present in pectin enriched sites. The agro-industrial residues can be utilized in the industrial scale for low-cost and efficient pectinase production in an eco-friendly approach. This study employs low-cost substrates (i.e. culinary fruit peels) for maximum pectinase production from novel Streptomyces fumigatiscleroticus VIT-SP4. The extraction and characterization of pectin from different fruit peels were investigated and pectinase activity was analyzed. ONO-7475 cell line The orange pectin gave maximum pectinase activity of about 45.93 (U/mL). Further, statistical optimization of process parameters was studied by using Taguchi method showed optimum values of pH-6, temperature -35 °C, orange pectin% – 2.5, incubation time- 48 h and RPM- 200 rpm and pectinase activity was found to be 98.65 (U/mL). The response surface methodology (RSM) was used for the optimization of media components which revealed that starch -1.17%, yeast extract-2%, and orange pectin% – 0.75% produces maximum pectinase of about 170.05 (U/mL). The drug-delivery study showed drug release was not observed at initial pH 3 after 4 h. The immediate drug release was noted at pH 6 caused due to disintegration of pectin by the pectinase activity. The self-healing of cracks by spray culture technique was investigated. The crack healing was observed up to 0.50 mm wide after 12 days. This confirms the ability of actinomycete spores to survive and they react to form calcite complex directly helps in crack healing process. This low-cost microbial pectinase can be used in drug delivery and concrete crack-healing applications sectors in future.Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an important fruit crop, rich in fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and source of different biologically active compounds. The bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas axonopodispv. punicae is a serious threat to the crop leading to 60-80% yield loss under epiphytotic conditions. In this work, we have generated comparative transcriptome profile to mark the gene expression signatures during resistance and susceptible interactions. We analyzed leaf and fruits samples of moderately resistant genotype (IC 524207) and susceptible variety (Bhagawa) of pomegranate at three progressive infection stages upon inoculation with the pathogen. RNA-Seq with the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform revealed 1,88,337 non-redundant (nr) transcript sequences from raw sequencing data, for a total of 34,626 unigenes with size >2 kb. Moreover, 85.3% unigenes were annotated in at least one of the seven databases examined. Comparative analysis of gene-expression signatures in resistant and susceptible varieties showed that the genes known to be involved in defense mechanism in plants were up-regulated in resistant variety.