Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences
School of Biological Sciences
Department of Plant Science
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
In a collaborative study between scientists from Japan, Egypt and UP, a novel chlorophenol, 4-chloro-2-(hepta-1,3,5-triyn-1-yl)-phenol was isolated as the major phenolic compound from a cell culture of Helichrysum aureonitens. This plant is commonly known as one of the everlastings and is used extensively in traditional medicine to treat several diseases. The new chlorophenol is produced in low quantities by the plant under natural conditions, but the authors managed to increase its production significantly by creating tissue cultures and growing it under artificial conditions. The chlorophenol has a similar anticancer activity to some of the most potent anticancer drugs that are unfortunately very expensive. The cost of production of the novel chlorophenol in cell culture suspensions will be significantly less. The discovery of the chlorophenol also contributed to basic biosynthetic knowledge by proving to be the missing link in the biosynthetic pathway of other chlorinated acetylenic compounds in plants.
Contact person: Prof JJM Meyer.
In a collaborative study between scientists from Japan, Egypt and UP, a novel chlorophenol, 4-chloro-2-(hepta-1,3,5-triyn-1-yl)-phenol was isolated as the major phenolic compound from a cell culture of Helichrysum aureonitens. This plant is commonly known as one of the everlastings and is used extensively in traditional medicine to treat several diseases. The new chlorophenol is produced in low quantities by the plant under natural conditions, but the authors managed to increase its production significantly by creating tissue cultures and growing it under artificial conditions. The chlorophenol has a similar anticancer activity to some of the most potent anticancer drugs that are unfortunately very expensive. The cost of production of the novel chlorophenol in cell culture suspensions will be significantly less. The discovery of the chlorophenol also contributed to basic biosynthetic knowledge by proving to be the missing link in the biosynthetic pathway of other chlorinated acetylenic compounds in plants.
Contact person: Prof KJ Kunert.
In a collaborative study between scientists from Japan, Egypt and UP, a novel chlorophenol, 4-chloro-2-(hepta-1,3,5-triyn-1-yl)-phenol was isolated as the major phenolic compound from a cell culture of Helichrysum aureonitens. This plant is commonly known as one of the everlastings and is used extensively in traditional medicine to treat several diseases. The new chlorophenol is produced in low quantities by the plant under natural conditions, but the authors managed to increase its production significantly by creating tissue cultures and growing it under artificial conditions. The chlorophenol has a similar anticancer activity to some of the most potent anticancer drugs that are unfortunately very expensive. The cost of production of the novel chlorophenol in cell culture suspensions will be significantly less. The discovery of the chlorophenol also contributed to basic biosynthetic knowledge by proving to be the missing link in the biosynthetic pathway of other chlorinated acetylenic compounds in plants.
Contact person: Prof N Lall.
Pearl millet is an important staple crop in the semi-arid tropics of Africa and Asia. Its tolerance to heat and drought stress makes it an attractive alternative to other cereals that are unable to withstand climate change due to global warming. An economically important pearl millet disease is rust, which is caused by the fungus Puccinia substriata. Rust on the leaf surface decreases the plant’s photosynthetic capacity and ultimately the crop yield. An exciting discovery made by PhD student Bridget Crampton in the Department of Plant Science was that salicylic acid, a well-known plant hormone treatment of pearl millet plants, protected these plants against subsequent attack by the rust fungus. Microarray expression profiling, using the microarry facilty of the African Centre for Gene Technologies (ACGT) at the University of Pretoria to identify candidate genes that might contribute to this resistance. Dr Crampton was awarded the bronze medal of the Southern African Association of Botanists, which is an award for the best PhD thesis in a given year. Results from this study have a practical application for farmers. Treatment of pearl millet plants with salicylic acid, or its commercial derivative Bion®, could provide a solution for farmers to improve their pearl millet yields under rust disease pressure.
Contact person: Prof DK Berger.
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