Microbial transformation of a potent progestin, norethisterone (17β-hydroxy-19-nor-17α-pregn-4-en-20-yn-3-one) (1) was carried out by using two filamentous fungi Aspergillus niger and Penicillium citrinum.Biotransformation of 1 with A. niger yielded a hydroxylated transformed product 10β,17β-diydroxy-19-nor-17α-pregn-4-en-20-yn-3-one (2) whereas 11β,17β-diydroxy-19-nor-17α-pregn-4-en-20-yn-3-one (3) was obtained through microbial transformation of 1 by P. citrinum. It is the first report of their production from 1 by using A.niger andP. citrinum with complete 1 H- and 13 C-NMR assignment. The structures of both metabolites were characterized by various spectroscopic techniques and reported data.

Wild cotton species can contribute a valuable gene pool for agronomically desirable cultivated tetraploid cultivars. In order to exploit diploid cotton a regeneration system is required to achieve transformation based goals. The present studies aimed at optimizing the conditions for regeneration of local varieties as well as wild species of cotton. Different callus induction media were tested with varying concentrations of hormones in which sucrose was used as nutritional source. Different explants (hypocotyls, cotyledon, root) were used to check the regeneration of both local cotton plants and wild relatives using T & G medium, BAP medium, CIM medium, EMMS medium, and cell suspension medium. Different stages of embryogenicity such as early torpedo stage, late torpedo stage, heart stage, globular stage and cotyledonary stage were observed in wild relatives of cotton. The results of this study pave the way for establishing future transformation methods.
2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid ; Benzyl Compounds ; Cotyledon ; growth & development ; Culture Media ; Gossypium ; embryology ; genetics ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Hypocotyl ; growth & development ; Kinetin ; Naphthaleneacetic Acids ; Plant Growth Regulators ; Purines ; Regeneration ; physiology ; Transformation, Genetic ; Zeatin