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Abstract:To create a molecular marker characterization for twenty species of Ficus, eight decamer primers were used to randomly amplify these species genomic DNA producing a total of 172 distinct polymorphic band patterns. One band was chosen to be converted into the more robust sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker format to provide a unique molecular marker characterization for the variety of Ficus hirta. This technique for species identification and characterization provides a morphologically independent test to verify relatedness and provide species information particularly for cases where such identification was previously untenable such as in the case of morphologically indistinguishable plant cuttings.

Thai jasmine rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. KDML105) is highly valued due to its subtle aroma, robust seed characteristics and high nutritional quality. Lowenergy ion-beam bombardment was chosen to improve the quality of jasmine rice by mutation induction. One mutated variety, named BKOS, was found to exhibit a deep purple colour due to an increased accumulation of anthocyanin. The total phenolic content and antioxidant activities of cooked and uncooked rice extracts were compared with KDML105, BKOS and other rice mutants created by a low-energy ion beam. The BKOS extracts showed the highest total phenol content (0.140 and 0.096 mg of gallic acid equivalent (GAE) g À1 dry extract from uncooked and cooked rice, respectively). The BKOS extracts also had improved antioxidant activities, determined using three standard methods: 2,2 0 -diphenyl-1-picrylhdrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, ABTS radical cation (ABTS . þ ) decolourisation and ferric-reducing antioxidant power assays. BKOS extracts showed 2-2.5-fold increased levels for each method. Interestingly, there was no significant difference between the antioxidant activities of the cooked and uncooked BKOS rice extracts. The increased quantity of antioxidants in this anthocyanin-based natural product could allow antioxidants to be consumed by a wider population than what is currently possible.

Cystatins are cysteine protease inhibitors involved in defence mechanisms against pests and pathogens. Here, the cystatin CaCPI gene was isolated from a cDNA library of the Siam tulip (Curcuma alismatifolia cv. Chiang Mai Pink was then transformed into Escherichia coli strain BL21-Star to produce a recombinant CaCPI protein. After induction with 1 mM IPTG, the cell lysate of E. coli-carrying pDEST17-CaCPI generated a CaCPI protein about 12 kDa in size as measured using SDS-PAGE. Pre-incubation of the 5-30 µM CaCPI protein samples with 5 µM papain is known to decrease papain activity. Antifungal activities of the purified recombinant CaCPI protein against phytopathogenic fungi were tested. The CaCPI protein could suppress mycelium growth of Fusarium oxysporum, Colletotrichum capsici, and Pyricularia grisea phytopathogenic fungi.