Arabidopsis telomerase takes off by uncoupling enzyme activity from telomere length maintenance in space

Spaceflight-induced changes in astronaut telomeres have garnered significant attention in recent years. While plants represent an essential component of future long-duration space travel, the impacts of spaceflight on plant telomeres and telomerase have not been examined. Here we report on the telomere dynamics of Arabidopsis thaliana grown aboard the International Space Station. We observe no changes in telomere length in space-flown Arabidopsis seedlings, despite a dramatic increase in telomerase activity (up to 150-fold in roots), as well as elevated genome oxidation. Ground-based follow up studies provide further evidence that telomerase is induced by different environmental stressors, but its activity is uncoupled from telomere length. Supporting this conclusion, genetically engineered super-telomerase lines with enhanced telomerase activity maintain wildtype telomere length. Finally, genome oxidation is inversely correlated with telomerase activity levels. We propose a redox protective capacity for Arabidopsis telomerase that may promote survivability in harsh environments.

Biogenic Synthesis of Fluorescent Carbon Dots at Ambient Temperature Using Azadirachta indica (Neem) gum

Synthesis of fluorescent Carbon Dots (CDs) from various carbonaceous materials apparently has acquired lots of interest amongst researchers as the corollary of the properties of CDs; which are subsequently getting unveiled. In this study we report the use of Azadirachta indica (Neem) Gum as a novel natural pre-cursor for synthesis of CDs at room temperature. Water soluble CDs of around 5-8 nm were obtained after treatment of the gum with ethanol and NaOH. These CDs exhibited green fluorescence in UV-light (λ = 365 nm). These CDs were found to be stable, having many bio-linkers attached on their surface, making it suitable for drug attachment and hence can serve as potential candidates for applications like drug delivery vehicles as well as for biosensors.