Project description:Black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) is known to possess a wide variety of antimicrobial peptides belonging to different structural families. Three novel antimicrobial peptides have been isolated from black cumin seeds. Two of them were attributed as members of the non-specific lipid transfer proteins family and one - as a defensin. We have made an attempt of using proteomic approach for novel antimicrobial peptides search in N. sativa seeds as well. The use of well established approach that includes extraction and fractionation stages remains relevant even in case of novel peptides search because the lacking of N. sativa genome data. Novel peptides demonstrate a spectrum of antimicrobial activity against plant pathogenic organisms that may cause economically important crop diseases. These results obtained allow considering these molecules as candidates to be applied in "next-generation" biopesticides development for agriculture use.
Project description:RNAi mediated suppression of MADS29 severely affects seed set; the surviving seeds are smaller in size with reduced grain filling, abnormal starch grains and aberrant embryo development. To identify the affected pathways due to suppression of this transcription factor in the transgenic seeds, transcriptome analysis using microarray was carried out.
