Endophytes are the microorganisms that exist inside the plant tissues without having any negative impact on the host plant. Medicinal plants constitute the huge diversity of endophytic actinobacteria of economical importance. These microbes have huge potential to synthesis of numerous novel compounds that can be exploited in pharmaceutical, agricultural and other industries. It is of prime importance to focus the present research on practical utilization of this microbial group in order to find out the solutions to the problems related to health, environment and agriculture. An extensive characterization of diverse population of endophytic actinobacteria associated with medicinal plants can provide a greater insight into the plant-endophyte interactions and evolution of mutualism. In the present review, we have discussed the diversity of endophytic actinobacteria of from medicinal plants their multiple bioactivities.

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Background Continuous efforts from scientists of diverse fields are necessary not only to better understand the mechanism by which multidrug-resistant (MDR) cancer cells occur, but also to boost the discovery of new cytotoxic compounds to fight MDR phenotypes. Objectives The present review reports on the contribution of African flora in the discovery of potential cytotoxic phytochemicals against MDR cancer cells. Methodology. Scientific databases such as PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Knowledge were used to retrieve publications related to African plants, isolated compounds, and drug resistant cancer cells. The data were analyzed to highlight cytotoxicity and the modes of actions of extracts and compounds of the most prominent African plants. Also, thresholds and cutoff points for the cytotoxicity and modes of action of phytochemicals have been provided. Results Most published data related to the antiproliferative potential of African medicinal plants were from Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria, or Madagascar. The cytotoxicity of phenolic compounds isolated in African plants was generally much better documented than that of terpenoids and alkaloids. Conclusion African flora represents an enormous resource for novel cytotoxic compounds. To unravel the full potential, efforts should be strengthened throughout the continent, to meet the challenge of a successful fight against MDR cancers.

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Background Medicinal plant trade is important for local livelihoods. However, many medicinal plants are difficult to identify when they are sold as roots, powders or bark. DNA barcoding involves using a short, agreed-upon region of a genome as a unique identifier for species- ideally, as a global standard. Research question What is the functionality, efficacy and accuracy of the use of barcoding for identifying root material, using medicinal plant roots sold by herbalists in Marrakech, Morocco, as a test dataset. Methodology In total, 111 root samples were sequenced for four proposed barcode regions rpoC1, psbA-trnH, matK and ITS. Sequences were searched against a tailored reference database of Moroccan medicinal plants and their closest relatives using BLAST and Blastclust, and through inference of RAxML phylograms of the aligned market and reference samples. Principal findings Sequencing success was high for rpoC1, psbA-trnH, and ITS, but low for matK. Searches using rpoC1 alone resulted in a number of ambiguous identifications, indicating insufficient DNA variation for accurate species-level identification. Combining rpoC1, psbA-trnH and ITS allowed the majority of the market samples to be identified to genus level. For a minority of the market samples, the barcoding identification differed significantly from previous hypotheses based on the vernacular names. Conclusions/significance Endemic plant species are commercialized in Marrakech. Adulteration is common and this may indicate that the products are becoming locally endangered. Nevertheless the majority of the traded roots belong to species that are common and not known to be endangered. A significant conclusion from our results is that unknown samples are more difficult to identify than earlier suggested, especially if the reference sequences were obtained from different populations. A global barcoding database should therefore contain sequences from different populations of the same species to assure the reference sequences characterize the species throughout its distributional range.

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Background and aims The amount of DNA in an unreplicated gametic chromosome complement is known as the C-value and is a key biodiversity character of fundamental significance with many practical and predictive uses. Since 1976, Bennett and colleagues have assembled eight compilations of angiosperm C-values for reference purposes and subsequently these have been pooled into the Angiosperm DNA C-values Database (http://data.kew.org/cvalues/). Since the last compilation was published in 2005, a large amount of data on angiosperm genome size has been published. It is therefore timely to bring these data together into a ninth compilation of DNA amounts. Scope The present work lists DNA C-values for 2221 species from 151 original sources (including first values for 1860 species not listed in previous compilations). Combining these data with those published previously shows that C-values are now available for 6287 angiosperm species. Key findings Analysis of the dataset, which is by far the largest of the nine compilations published since 1976, shows that angiosperm C-values are now being generated at the highest rate since the first genome sizes were estimated in the 1950s. The compilation includes new record holders for the smallest (1C = 0·0648 pg in Genlisea margaretae) and largest (1C = 152·23 pg in Paris japonica) genome sizes so far reported, extending the range encountered in angiosperms to nearly 2400-fold. A review of progress in meeting targets set at the Plant Genome Size meetings shows that although representation for genera, geographical regions and some plant life forms (e.g. island floras and parasitic plants) has improved, progress to increase familial representation is still slow. In terms of technique it is now clear that flow cytometry is soon likely to become the only method available for plant genome size estimations. Fortunately, this has been accompanied by numerous careful studies to improve the quality of data generated using this technique (e.g. design of new buffers, increased awareness and understanding of problems caused by cytosolic inhibitors). It is also clear that although the speed of DNA sequencing continues to rise dramatically with the advent of next-generation and third-generation sequencing technologies, 'complete genome sequencing' projects are still unable to generate accurate plant genome size estimates.

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An ethnobotanical survey of wild edible plants of Cyprus was carried out in two sites, Paphos vine zone and Larnaca mixed farming zone. These are among the areas in Cyprus whose inhabitants subsisted primarily on pastoralism and agriculture and therefore still preserve the traditional knowledge on wild edible plants. The information was collected for three-year period, in the framework of the EU-funded RUBIA Project. Four hundred and thirteen interviews have been administered to 89 informants of various ages and background categories in 29 villages of Paphos site, and 8 in Larnaca site. A total of 78 species were recorded. Ethnographic data related to vernacular names, traditional tools and recipes have also been recorded. A comparison of the data collected from the two sites is undertaken. During this ethnobotanical research it was verified that wild edibles play an important role in Cyprus in rural people, however, it was realized that the transmission of folk uses of plants decreased in the last generations. The research of ethnobotany should be extended to other areas of Cyprus in order not only to preserve the traditional knowledge related to plants but to make it available to future generations as well.

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