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Growth data from birth to one year of age on 120 Beetal goats, 30 animals on each farm, including Livestock Experiment Station (LES) Rakh Kheirewala, LES Rakh Ghulaman, LES Alladad and LPRI Bahadurnagar, Okara, Pakistan, were recorded and analysed for estimating growth curve parameters: predicted live weight, »a«, turning point of growth, »b« and rate of growth »k« by using Brody and Gompertz mathematical functions employing non-linear regression models. Estimates of the growth curve parameters »a«, »b« and »k« were 29.1, 0.916 and 0.108 for Brody and 23.4, 1.984 and 0.258 for Gompertz functions, respectively. The corresponding values of determination coefficient and mean absolute deviation for these models were 99.8 and 99.8 percent and 0.0061 and 0.0050, respectively. Flock significantly affected parameter »b« of Brody and Gompertz models. Sex did not affect any of the parameters in both models. Type of birth was a significant source of variation for parameter »b« in the Brody model. The determination coefficient showed that both the models efficiently explained the growth of Beetal kids.

Screening of available local/exotic germplasm of a crop for salinity tolerance is of considerable value for the economic utilization of salt-affected soils of arid and semi-arid regions.The response of 133 lentil (Lens culinaris Medic.) accessions, to NaC1 at the germination and seedling stage, was examined. A great amount of variation of NaC1 tolerance in lentil was observed at both the growth stages but, in general, there was no consistent relationship between tolerance assessed at germination or at the seedling stage. In the NaCI treatment five accessions, ILL 5845, ILL 6451, ILL 6788, ILL 6793, and ILL 6796 produced significantly greater fresh and dry plant biomass in both absolute and relative terms than the others, but these accessions performed as well as other intermediate or low biomass producing accessions in total germination percentage and rate of germination. In view of the existence of the great amount of variability of tolerance to NaCI among lentil varieties improvement in NaC1 tolerance in this species is possible.

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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Identifying and characterizing potential new therapeutic agents to target cell proliferation may provide improved treatments for neoplastic disorders such as cancer and polycystic diseases. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH We used the simple, tractable biomedical model Dictyostelium to investigate the molecular mechanism of naringenin, a dietary flavonoid with antiproliferative and chemopreventive actions in vitro and in animal models of carcinogenesis. We then translated these results to a mammalian kidney model, Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) tubule cells, grown in culture and as cysts in a collagen matrix. KEY RESULTS Naringenin inhibited Dictyostelium growth, but not development. Screening of a library of random gene knockout mutants identified a mutant lacking TRPP2 (polycystin-2) that was resistant to the effect of naringenin on growth and random cell movement. TRPP2 is a divalent transient receptor potential cation channel, where mutations in the protein give rise to type 2 autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Naringenin inhibited MDCK cell growth and inhibited cyst growth. Knockdown of TRPP2 levels by siRNA in this model conferred partial resistance to naringenin such that cysts treated with 3 and 10 μM naringenin were larger following TRPP2 knockdown compared with controls. Naringenin did not affect chloride secretion. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The action of naringenin on cell growth in the phylogenetically diverse systems of Dictyostelium and mammalian kidney cells, suggests a conserved effect mediated by TRPP2 (polycystin-2). Further studies will investigate naringenin as a potential new therapeutic agent in ADPKD.

Background Zanthoxylum armatum DC has been an important traditional plant known for its medicinal properties. It is well known for its antimicrobial, larvicidal and cytotoxic activities.MethodsThe potential anticancer effects of the methanol extract and the crude saponins from fruit, bark and leaves of Z. armatum on breast (MDA-MB-468 and MCF-7) and colorectal (Caco-2) cancer cell lines using MTT, neutral red uptake(NRU) and DAPI stain assays were evaluated.ResultsIn MTT assay the methanol extract of fruit (Zf), bark (Zb) and leaves (Zl) of Zanthoxylum armatum, showed significant and dose dependent growth inhibition of MCF-7, MDA MB-468 and Caco-2 cancer cell lines in a dose of 200 μg/ml and above. The saponins (Zf.Sa, Zb.Sa and Zl.Sa) showed significant activity against MDA MB-468 (95, 94.5 and 85.3%) as compared to MCF-7 (79.8, 9.43, 49.08%) and Caco-2 (75.8, 61.8, 68.62%) respectively. The extracts were further tested in more sensitive NRU assay and its was found that Zf extract showed higher cytotoxic activity as compared to Zb and Zl extracts with 100 μg/ml concentration. The breast cancer cell lines showed more sensitivity toward the crude saponins from fruit and bark with maximum inhibition of up to 93.81(±2.32) % with respect to 71.19(± 2.76) of Actinomycin-D. DAPI staining experiment showed that saponins from fruit induced apoptosis mode of cell death in all three types of cell lines while saponins form leaves and bark showed similar results against MDA MB-468 indicated by nuclear fragmentation and chromatin condensation. The effect of saponins from fruit, bark and leaves (Zf.Sa, Zb.Sa and Zl.Sa) against Caco-2 cell lines inhibited the growth of Caco-2 by 53.16 (±3.31) %, 66.43 (± 3.24) and 45.96 (± 10.67) respectively with respect to Actinomycin-D (4 μM) which showed the growth inhibition of 65.40(±4.29) %.ConclusionThe current study clearly demonstrates that the extract and crude saponins from fruit, bark and leaves of traditional medicinal plant Zanthoxyllum armatum DC., has the potential to exert its cytotoxic effect on cancer cell lines isolated form human by a mechanism involving apoptosis. The overall finding demonstrate that this plant specially fruits, could be potential source of new anticancer compounds for possible drug development against cancer.

The salt tolerance of three tolerant accessions of chick pea, CM 663, 10130 and 10572 and three sensitive accessions 10582, 12908 and 12909 selected at the germination and seedling stage was assessed at the adult stage using sand culture salinized with 0, 40 or 80mol m -3 NaC1. The two tolerant accessions, CM 663 and 10572 and one sensitive, 12908 showed consistent correlation between the degrees of salt tolerance at the early growth stages and adult stage as the former two produced significantly higher seed yield compared with the other accessions and the latter did not survive till seed setting in the salt treatments. By contrast 10130 which was found relatively salt tolerant at the two early growth stages could not survive in 40 tool m -3 NaCI till seed setting. Similarly two sensitive accessions, 10582 and 12909 not only survived at the adult stage but produced some yield as well. On the basis of performance of the six accessions at three different stages, accessions CM 663 and 10572 can be categorised as relatively salt tolerant, 12908 as sensitive and 10130, 10582 and 12909 as moderately tolerant. The tolerant accession CM 663 had high Na + and CI-in the leaves but maintained high K : N a ratios and high K + versus Na + selectivity. This accession had relatively low leaf osmotic potential which may be due to its high accumulation of Na + and CI-in the leaves. By contrast the second tolerant accession 10572 had lowest Na + and moderate CI in the leaves of all accessions but had highest K + versus Na + selectivity, although its leaf K : N a was intermediate. It had also relatively low osmotic potential which cannot be related to different ions determined in this study. The salt sensitive accession 12908 had high leaf Na + and moderate C1 but had very low K : N a ratio (less than one) and K + versus Na + selectivity. The remaining accessions as a whole did not show any consistent pattern of uptake of different ions. The positive correlation between the degree of salt tolerance at different growth stages do exist in some accessions of chick pea examined in the present study, but for others in which no positive correlation was observed suggests that a combination of certain characters can be used as selection criterion for improving salt tolerance in chick pea.

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