Amity University

About: Amity University is a education organization based out in Noida, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cloud computing. The organization has 7827 authors who have published 12742 publications receiving 86037 citations.

Antimicrobial strategies centered around reactive oxygen species - bactericidal antibiotics, photodynamic therapy and beyond

Abstract: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can attack a diverse range of targets to exert antimicrobial activity, which accounts for their versatility in mediating host defense against a broad range of pathogens. Most ROS are formed by the partial reduction in molecular oxygen. Four major ROS are recognized comprising superoxide (O2•-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydroxyl radical (•OH), and singlet oxygen ((1)O2), but they display very different kinetics and levels of activity. The effects of O2•- and H2O2 are less acute than those of •OH and (1)O2, because the former are much less reactive and can be detoxified by endogenous antioxidants (both enzymatic and nonenzymatic) that are induced by oxidative stress. In contrast, no enzyme can detoxify •OH or (1)O2, making them extremely toxic and acutely lethal. The present review will highlight the various methods of ROS formation and their mechanism of action. Antioxidant defenses against ROS in microbial cells and the use of ROS by antimicrobial host defense systems are covered. Antimicrobial approaches primarily utilizing ROS comprise both bactericidal antibiotics and nonpharmacological methods such as photodynamic therapy, titanium dioxide photocatalysis, cold plasma, and medicinal honey. A brief final section covers reactive nitrogen species and related therapeutics, such as acidified nitrite and nitric oxide-releasing nanoparticles.

Abscisic Acid Signaling and Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants: A Review on Current Knowledge and Future Prospects.

Abstract: Abiotic stress is one of the severe stresses of environment that lowers the growth and yield of any crop even on irrigated land throughout the world. A major phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays an essential part in acting towards varied range of stresses like heavy metal stress, drought, thermal or heat stress, high level of salinity, low temperature and radiation stresses. It also finds its role in various developmental processes including seed germination, seed dormancy, and closure of stomata. Abscisic acid acts by modifying the expression level of gene and subsequent analysis of cis- and trans-acting regulatory elements of responsive promoters. It also interacts with the signaling molecules of processes involved in retorting to stresses and development of seeds. On the whole, the stress to a plant can be susceptible or tolerant by taking into account the coordinated activities of various stress-responsive genes. Numbers of transcription factor are involved in regulating the expression of abscisic acid responsive genes by acting together with their respective cis‑acting elements. Hence, for improvement in stress-tolerance capacity of plants, it is necessary to understand the mechanism behind it. On this ground, this article enlightens the importance and role of ABA signaling with regard to various stresses as well as regulation of abscisic acid biosynthetic pathway along with the transcription factors for stress tolerance.