Length-weight relationship in three species of silverbellies from Chennai coast

Length-weight relationship in three species of silverbellies - Photopectoralis bindus, Secutor insidiator and Gazza minuta was studied based on the data obtained from 742, 862 and 1900 samples of each species respectively, collected during the period January 2004 -February 2006. Analysis of covariance revealed no significant difference between males, females and indeterminates in all the three species. The coefficients ‘a’ and ‘b’ of the LW equation were derived as 0.000011989 and 3.0515 for P. bindus, 0.00002369 and 2.905 for S. insidiator and 0.00002088 and 2.9228 for G. minuta. Statistical test for isometric growth (H0:b=3) carried out using student’s ‘t’-test on the regression coefficient ‘b’ revealed that the values of b estimated for the three species do not deviate significantly from the isometric value of ‘3’ at 5% level

In vitro cell culture of Charybdis congesta for enhanced production of secondary metabolites: Proscillaridin A, Scillaren A and Scilliroside

Callus cultures of Charybdis congesta were initiated in vitro and the effect of growth regulators was tested on callus growth and secondary metabolite production. Among several standard media formulated for use in the present study, MS and B5 were found to be potentially active and facilitated the calculation of callus induction frequency (CIF). The CIF was higher in both MS (70%) and B5 (63%) media supplemented with 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) (9.0 μM) and benzyl amino purine (BAP) (0.9 μM). However, with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (9.0 μM) and BAP (0.8 μM), less amount (22.6%) of CIF was observed in MS medium but no callus formation was noticed in B5 medium. Rapid high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) screening of callus extracts revealed that the callus established in MS medium supplemented with 4.5 μM NAA and 0.46 μM BAP produced the highest yield of Proscillaridin A (4.51 mg/g DW), Scilliroside (3.3 mg/g DW), Scillaren A (2.35 mg/g DW) and desacetylscilliroside (8.62 mg/g DW), which was higher than from the intact plants. The results obtained indicate that the in vitro cultures of C. congesta might be an excellent source of secondary metabolites and further metabolic profiling may provide insights into up scaling of the compounds which lead to greater commercial interest and continuous supply of cultures.Keywords: Squill, Charybdis congesta, bufadienolides, callus cultures, reflectance scanning densitometryAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(15), pp. 1754-17

Altered Nuclear Functions in Progeroid Syndromes: a Paradigm for Aging Research

Syndromes of accelerated aging could provide an entry point for identifying and dissecting the cellular pathways that are involved in the development of age-related pathologies in the general population. However, their usefulness for aging research has been controversial, as it has been argued that these diseases do not faithfully reflect the process of natural aging. Here we review recent findings on the molecular basis of two progeroid diseases, Werner syndrome (WS) and Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), and highlight functional connections to cellular processes that may contribute to normal aging

Acute guinea-worm synovitis of the knee joint

Fourteen cases of acute guinea worm synovitis are described. The complete clinical picture, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up are presented. That the guinea worm can cause a specific type of synovitis and that the causation of the synovitis is chemical in nature are demonstrated

First report on the philopatric migration of bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas in the Pulicut lagoon

Bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas were captured by a modified gillnet, made of cotton twine from Pulicat lagoon during 2005-06. The bull sharks exhibit unique philopatric behaviour in the lagoon for parturition. The four specimens caught were all pregnant. The value of the sharks ranged from Rs. 20000-22000

Loss of muscleblind-like 1 results in cardiac pathology and persistence of embryonic splice isoforms.

Cardiac dysfunction is a prominent cause of mortality in myotonic dystrophy I (DM1), a disease where expanded CUG repeats bind and disable the muscleblind-like family of splice regulators. Deletion of muscleblind-like 1 (Mbnl1(ΔE2/ΔE2)) in 129 sv mice results in QRS, QTc widening, bundle block and STc narrowing at 2-4 months of age. With time, cardiac function deteriorates further and at 6 months, decreased R wave amplitudes, sinus node dysfunction, cardiac hypertrophy, interstitial fibrosis, multi-focal myocardial fiber death and calcification manifest. Sudden death, where no end point illness is overt, is observed at a median age of 6.5 and 4.8 months in ~67% and ~86% of male and female Mbnl1(ΔE2/ΔE2) mice, respectively. Mbnl1 depletion results in the persistence of embryonic splice isoforms in a network of cardiac RNAs, some of which have been previously implicated in DM1, regulating sodium and calcium currents, Scn5a, Junctin, Junctate, Atp2a1, Atp11a, Cacna1s, Ryr2, intra and inter cellular transport, Clta, Stx2, Tjp1, cell survival, Capn3, Sirt2, Csda, sarcomere and cytoskeleton organization and function, Trim55, Mapt, Pdlim3, Pdlim5, Sorbs1, Sorbs2, Fhod1, Spag9 and structural components of the sarcomere, Myom1, Tnnt2, Zasp. Thus this study supports a key role for Mbnl1 loss in the initiation of DM1 cardiac disease

Muscleblind-like 3 deficit results in a spectrum of age-associated pathologies observed in myotonic dystrophy.

Myotonic dystrophy type I (DM1) exhibits distinctive disease specific phenotypes and the accelerated onset of a spectrum of age-associated pathologies. In DM1, dominant effects of expanded CUG repeats result in part from the inactivation of the muscleblind-like (MBNL) proteins. To test the role of MBNL3, we deleted Mbnl3 exon 2 (Mbnl3(ΔE2)) in mice and examined the onset of age-associated diseases over 4 to 13 months of age. Accelerated onset of glucose intolerance with elevated insulin levels, cardiac systole deficits, left ventricle hypertrophy, a predictor of a later onset of heart failure and the development of subcapsular and cortical cataracts is observed in Mbnl3(ΔE2) mice. Retention of embryonic splice isoforms in adult organs, a prominent defect in DM1, is not observed in multiple RNAs including the Insulin Receptor (Insr), Cardiac Troponin T (Tnnt2), Lim Domain Binding 3 (Ldb3) RNAs in Mbnl3(ΔE2) mice. Although rare DM1-like splice errors underlying the observed phenotypes cannot be excluded, our data in conjunction with the reported absence of alternative splice errors in embryonic muscles of a similar Mbnl3(ΔE2) mouse by RNA-seq studies, suggest that mechanisms distinct from the adult retention of embryonic splice patterns may make important contributions to the onset of age-associated pathologies in DM1