In recent years, the green synthesis of gold (GNPs) and silver (SNPs) nanoparticles has gained great interest among chemists and researchers. The present study reports an eco-friendly, cost-effective, rapid and easy method for the synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles using the seed extract of Embelia ribes (SEEr) as capping and reducing agent. The synthesised GNPs and SNPs were characterised using the following techniques: UV–vis spectroscopy, DLS, HR-TEM, FT-IR and XRD. The free radical scavenging potential of GNPs and SNPs was measured by DPPH assay and Phosphomolybdenum assay. Further, the antimicrobial activity against two micro-organisms were tested using disc diffusion method and cytotoxicity of GNPs and SNPs was determined against MCF-7 cell lines at different concentrations by MTT assay. Both the GNPs and SNPs prepared from E. ribes comparatively showed promising results thereby proving their clinical importance.

Begomovirus (family-Geminiviridae) infects a wide range of commercial crops like tomato, bean, cassava, cotton, cucurbits and chilli. Purification of begomoviruses from the infected plants, in particular from vegetable crops remains challenging. The conventional process of begomovirus purification requires sophisticated instruments and moreover, it is time-consuming. Herein, we used antibody-conjugated magnetic nanoparticles (Ab-MNPs) to purify begomoviruses from the infected plants. MNPs were prepared using the co-precipitation method (at pH between 8 and 12 & size 25 nm). The prepared MNPs were functionalized with APTES (at pH 7) and confirmed with FTIR. Thus functionalized MNPs were conjugated with polyclonal antibodies (pAbs) using EDC–NHS chemistry (size = 80 nm). The crude extract prepared from the infected plants was suspended in the solution of Ab-MNPs and separated using a magnet. The captured virus particles were released into the aqueous solution (at pH 10). SDS-PAGE analysis and PCR analysis were done to confirm the presence of viral infection.

The DNA templated self-assembly of gold nanoparticles clustered in different configurations (nn = 2–∞) was investigated in the colorimetric detection of ToLCNDV DNA using a gold nanoparticle conjugated bifunctional oligonucleotide probe.

Recent advances in high-throughput genome sequencing technologies are now making the genetic dissection of the complex genome of cultivated strawberry easier. We sequenced Maehyang (short-day cultivar) × Albion (day-neutral cultivar) crossing populations using double digest restriction-associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing technique that yielded 978,968 reads, 80.2% of which were aligned to strawberry genome allowing the identification of 13,181 high quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Total 3051 SNPs showed Mendelian segregation in F₁, of which 1268 were successfully mapped to 46 linkage groups (LG) spanning a total of 2581.57 cM with an average interval genetic distance of 2.22 cM. The LGs were assigned to the 28 chromosomes ofFragaria × ananassaas determined by positioning the sequence tags onF. vescagenome. In addition, seven QTLs namely,qRU-5D, qRU-3D1, qRU-1D2, qRU-4D, qRU-4C, qRU-5CandqRU-2D2were identified for runner production with LOD value ranging from 3.5–7.24 that explained 22–38% of phenotypic variation. The key candidate genes having putative roles in meristem differentiation for runnering and flowering within these QTL regions were identified. These will enhance our understanding of the vegetative vs sexual reproductive behavior in strawberry and will aid in setting breeding targets for developing perpetual flowering and profuse runnering cultivar.

We demonstrated citrate-capped gold nanoparticles assisted characterization of amine functionalized polystyrene plate and glass slide surfaces through AuNPs staining method. The effect of AuNPs concentration on the characterization of amine modified surfaces was also studied with different concentration of AuNPs (ratios 1.0–0.0). 3-Aminopropylyl triethoxy silane has been used as amine group source for the surface modification. The interactions of AuNPs on modified and unmodified surfaces were investigated using atomic force microscopy and the dispersibility, and the aggregation of AuNPs was analyzed using UV–visible spectrophotometer. Water contact angle measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to further confirmation of amine modified surfaces. The aggregation of AuNPs in modified multiwell plate leads to the color change from red to purple and they are found to be adsorped on the modified surfaces. Aggregation and adsorption of AuNPs on the modified surfaces through the electrostatic interactions and the hydrogen bonds were revealed by XPS analysis. Remarkable results were found even in the very low concentration of AuNPs (ratio 0.2). This AuNPs staining method is simple, cost-effective, less time consuming, and required very low concentration of AuNPs. These results can be read out through the naked eye without the help of sophisticated equipments.