In vitro production of capsaicin through plant tissue culture

Capsaicin, a secondary metabolite produced in capsicum, is in high demand in pharmaceutical industry because of its various medicinal properties. Currently, the supply of capsaicin depends upon its extraction from capsicum fruits. This limits the production of capsaicin as it depends upon agricultural produce. The current review has compiled information from various literature published on chemistry and importance of capsaicin along with its method of production. It also reviews the process of in vitro production of capsaicin through plant tissue culture, strategies of increasing capsaicin accumulation and its advantages over extraction from fruits and artificial synthesis

Occurrence of Toxigenic Microcystis spp in Major Water Bodies of North East India

Toxigenic cyanobacterial blooms in the water bodies represent a major ecological problem around the world. Some species produces a diverse range of toxins that have hepatotoxic, neurotoxic, cytotoxic and dermatoxic activity and hence have deleterious effect on humans, animals and fishes leading to death as well. Cultural eutrophication of water bodies leads to increased incidence of these harmful cyanobacterial blooms worldwide. North-East India being a biodiversity hotspot harbor many species of cyanobacteria. Few reports suggested presence of few toxigenic cyanobacteria in the water bodies of Assam, but no systematic studies have been undertaken to evaluate their toxicity. This work is being conducted to gather information on major toxigenic cyanobacteria, with special emphasis to microcystin (a cyclic heptapeptides with high acute and chronic toxicities to humans and animals) producing strains. Water samples have been collected from few water bodies of North-East and enriched in specific media. The toxin Microcystin was detected using specific ELISA kit and positive results have been obtained. Further, 16s rDNA sequencing was employed for molecular identification of the strains

Performance Evaluation of Cabbage Cultivars under Open Field Cultivation in High Altitude of Tawang Arunachal Pradesh

The study has been undertaken to evaluate the performance of locally available commercial cultivars of cabbage in open field during summer season of 2019 at Defence Research Laboratory Research and Development Centre Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh). The commercial cultivars of these vegetables were evaluated based on the growth parameters and their yield performance under open field with paired row system of planting. It was found that the cultivar Green Express performance was outstanding among test edcultivars and it superseded cv. Royal Ball BC-51 and cv. Blue Jayes in terms of growth parameters as well as marketable yield (2.62 kg/m2) and biological yield (3.47 kg/m2). The cv. Royal Ball BC-86 was also found next best performing cultivar after cv. Green Express as former was at par with growth and yield parameter and harvest maturity of later. The head of cv. Green express attended harvest maturity (149.25 days) approximately one week earlier as compared to cv. Blue Jayes (155.0 days). However, the productivity of cultivars Green Express and Royal Ball BC-86 was found within the range of national average, therefore, these two cultivars could be recommended for the commercial cultivation with paired row system of planting under open field cultivation during summer season in high altitude areas of Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh)

Molecular characterization of midgut microbiota of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti from Arunachal Pradesh, India

Abstract Background Microbiota inhabiting midguts of mosquitoes play a key role in the host - parasite interaction and enhance vectorial capacity of viral diseases like dengue and chikungunya fevers. Mosquito midgut is considered to be an important site for host-pathogen interaction and pathogen survival is thought to be an outcome of this interaction. In the present study we examined the bacterial community in the midgut of Aedes mosquitoes in Arunanchal Pradesh, India, a subtropical zone where dengue fever is reported to be emerging. Method Larvae and pupa of Aedes mosquitoes were collected from a biodiversity hotspot, Bhalukpong, Arunachal Pradesh, India. 16S rRNA gene sequences were used for identification of isolated bacterial population from each species of mosquitoes. We used various diversity indices to assess the diversity and richness of the bacterial isolates in both mosquito species. Result On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis a total of 24 bacterial species from 13 genera were identified belonging to 10 families of four major phyla. Phylum Proteobacteria was dominant followed by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria. The midgut bacteria belonging to the phylum Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were isolated from both Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti, whereas, bacteria belonging to phylum Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria were isolated only from Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti respectively. Enterobacter cloacae was the dominant bacterial species in both Ae. albopictus (33.65 %) and Ae. aegypti (56.45 %). Bacillus aryabhattai (22.78 %) was the second most common bacterial species in Ae. albopictus whereas, in Ae. aegypti the second most common bacterial species was Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (7.44 %). Conclusion The family Enterobacteriaceae of phylum Proteobacteria was dominant in both species of Aedes mosquitoes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to study midgut microbiota from a biodiversity hotspot in Northeastern India. Some bacterial genera Enterobacter and Acinetobacter isolated in this study are known to play important roles in parasite-vector interaction. Information on midgut microflora may lead towards the development of novel, safe, and effective strategies to manipulate the vectorial capacity of mosquitoes

Diversity of Cultivable Midgut Microbiota at Different Stages of the Asian Tiger Mosquito, <i>Aedes albopictus</i> from Tezpur, India

<div><p><i>Aedes aegypti</i> and <i>Ae</i>. <i>albopictus</i> are among the most important vectors of arboviral diseases, worldwide. Recent studies indicate that diverse midgut microbiota of mosquitoes significantly affect development, digestion, metabolism, and immunity of their hosts. Midgut microbiota has also been suggested to modulate the competency of mosquitoes to transmit arboviruses, malaria parasites etc. Interestingly, the midgut microbial flora is dynamic and the diversity changes with the development of vectors, in addition to other factors such as species, sex, life-stage, feeding behavior and geographical origin. The aim of the present study was to investigate the midgut bacterial diversity among larva, adult male, sugar fed female and blood fed female <i>Ae</i>. <i>albopictus</i> collected from Tezpur, Northeastern India. Based on colony morphological characteristics, we selected 113 cultivable bacterial isolates for 16S rRNA gene sequence based molecular identification. Of the 113 isolates, we could identify 35 bacterial species belonging to 18 distinct genera under four major phyla, namely Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Phyla Proteobacteria and Firmicutes accounted for majority (80%) of the species, while phylum Actinobacteria constituted 17% of the species. Bacteroidetes was the least represented phylum, characterized by a single species- <i>Chryseobacterium rhizoplanae</i>, isolated from blood fed individuals. Dissection of midgut microbiota diversity at different developmental stages of <i>Ae</i>. <i>albopictus</i> will be helpful in better understanding mosquito-borne diseases, and for designing effective strategies to manage mosquito-borne diseases.</p></div

Occurrence of identified bacterial species from the midgut of A. sugar fed female, B. blood fed female, C. male and D. larvae <i>Ae</i>. <i>albopictus</i>.

<p>Occurrence of identified bacterial species from the midgut of A. sugar fed female, B. blood fed female, C. male and D. larvae <i>Ae</i>. <i>albopictus</i>.</p

Diversity indices, total taxa, and Good’s coverage of midgut bacterial isolates of <i>Ae</i>. <i>albopictus</i> from different life stages.

<p>Diversity indices, total taxa, and Good’s coverage of midgut bacterial isolates of <i>Ae</i>. <i>albopictus</i> from different life stages.</p

Phylogenetic analysis of bacterial isolates from midgut of <i>Ae</i>. <i>albopictus</i>.

<p>Phylogenetic tree based on partial 16S rRNA gene sequences, reconstructed through neighbor joining algorithm using Kimura 2 distance parameter method. The percentage bootstrap values obtained with 1000 replications are denoted at branch node.</p