Taxonomic studies on the occurrence of the snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in the agroecosystem

“” JBES welcome all of you to submit your research paper for publication in the field of Environmental sciences, Biodiversity etc. Please submit your manuscripts via Online submission panel .“” Gastropods have a very important position in our ecosystem as pest, intermediate host, food source and as bioindicators for environmental quality but the taxonomic work regarding snail species has not been carried out in this part of the world after 19th century. Total 19290 snails were collected from agro ecosystem of Faisalabad for their taxonomic characterization. The identification of the specimens was made on the basis of number of whorls, coiling of the shell, umbilicus, shape, colour, shape of the aperture, presence or absence of operculum, height (mm), diameter (mm) and the diameter of the aperture (mm) using vernier caliper. Microscopic identification was done by using recent identification keys and diagrammatic description provided in them. We found snails belonging to 2 orders 7 families 9 genera and 15 species. This is a baseline study to get the basic information about the malacofaunna of Faisalabad which will be important in various applied fields. However, new sibling species might be proposed of Zooctecus insularis after molecular characterization. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences-JBES is an open-access scholarly research journal, published by International Network for Natural Sciences-INNSPUB. JBES published original scientific articles in different field of Environmental Sciences and Biodiversity. JBES published 2 Volume and 12 issue per calendar year

Screening of Arabidopsis mutants for functional genomic studies

Eight photosynthetic Arabidopsis mutants were screened for co-segregation of a photosynthetic phenotype with the T-DNA insertion. These mutants were selected from 80 photosynthetic mutants with genetic background of Columbia-0. Two different screening approaches were used to study the T-DNA insertion in the genome of mutant Arabidopsis lines. The sulphonamide sulfadiazine was found to be an effective selective agent and a single copy of sulfonamide resistant gene was found to be completely resistant to the optimal concentration i.e., 5mg mL-1. The maximum number of Arabidopsis mutant plants had confirmed insertions. Some of the plants did not show any amplification with gene specific primer combination, and it was assumed that either they were wild type plants or they had random T-DNA insertion and the insertion was not found in the gene under study but it could be found in any where in the genome. Some mutant plants were morphologically different from the wild type plants e.g., ALP105. These plants grew as small in size and dark green in color. After PCR screening with gene specific and T-DNA border primers all such mutant plants were confirmed as heterozygous T-DNA insertion plants

Genetic Variability through Induced Mutation

The success of plant breeding is based on the accessibility of genetic variation, information about desired traits with well-organized approach that make it likely to develop existing genetic resources. Food security demands to break the yield barrier through increasing new cultivars which can adapt to wide range of environment. It is especially important to observe the character association for yield along with its components before recognizing novel technique to break the yield barrier. There are numerous methods for improved exploiting of the inherent genetic makeup of crops with heritable variations. It is recommended that recognized parental resources can also be induced to mutate for unmasking novel alleles of genes that organize the traits suitable for the crop varieties of the 21st century world. Chemical mutagens have extensively been applied to make genetic changes in crop plants for breeding investigation as well as genetic studies. Ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) is the most frequently applied as chemical agents in plants. EMS normally induces GC → AT transitions in the genome causing mutated protein that performed different functions rather than normal. It is exposed that the utilization of EMS is an efficient approach for developing novel gene pool

Exploring Plant Genetic Variations with Morphometric and Molecular Markers

For centuries, crop improvement has served as the basis of food security of ever increasing human population. Though vast germplasm collections are available; their exploitation for crop improvement still depends upon efficient assessment of genetic diversity. Genetic variability is the key element in adaptation of plants to varying climates. While crops with narrow genetic diversity are vulnerable to stresses. The estimation of extent and pattern of genetic variability is a prerequisite for generating superior varieties. Genetic diversity analysis generates key information to dissect genetic variations in crop germplasm with the help of morphometrical, biochemical and molecular tools. Among these, DNA markers provide a reliable and detailed insight into the similarities and differences among crops. In this chapter, we discuss the applications of phenotypic and molecular markers to probe genetic divergence in crops and present case studies that describe the significance of these tools to characterize sorghum germplasm. Furthermore, we spotlight sorghum biodiversity exploration efforts worldwide and propose future directions

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Synthesis, antibacterial activity and docking studies of chloroacetamide derivatives

Structural modification of lead compounds is a great challenge in organic synthesis. Introduction of different functional groups not only modify the structure of starting material but also improve their biological activeness. Small synthetic molecules are favored in spite of the reality that majority of drug molecules derived from natural sources, are in vogue. In the present work, acetamide derivatives were synthesized using chloroacetyl chloride. After synthesizing targeted series of acetamide derivatives these compounds were further modified using different amines including 2-aminobenzene thiol, benzyl amine, benzene 1,4-diamine, 4-amino-1,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-3(2H)-one, 4-aminophenol, hydrazine and 4-amino-N-(5-methylisoxazol-3-yl)benzenesulfonamide. All of these synthesized compounds were characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and X-ray crystallography. The compounds were assessed for their anti-bacterial activity using disc diffusion method against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The compounds were found to exhibit comparable activity to the standard drug used. This was further supported by molecular docking studies using bacterial DNA gyrase and Topoisomerase II targets causing bacterial death as they are major bacterial proteins known to be involved in transcription and replication process. Results proved that the compound 2b was the most efficacious antimicrobial compound among the synthesized set of compounds. To tackle the growing drug resistance acetamide based functionalities can be regarded as the active lead compounds to target different drug resistance microorganism

Effects of Seed Priming with Zinc Sulfate on Nutritional Enrichment and Biochemical Fingerprints of Momordica charantia

Zinc is an essential element for plant growth and development as it plays an important role in various metabolic processes with nutritional enrichment. The treatment with zinc sulfate is also economic. Momordica charantia is an economically important medicinal plant reported for a range of pharmaceutical and pharmacological properties. In this study, nutripriming with zinc sulfate (0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% solution) was applied to M. charantia seeds to optimize better dose. Based upon seedling establishment, 0.3% zinc sulfate was selected for final field experiment with randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five replications. Improved germination percentage, vigor, total soluble sugars, chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, total chlorophyll content, and peroxidase activity were observed variably in leaves, fruit, and peel. Other nutritive components showed maintenance in fruits of treated plants indicating that the treatment did not cause any nutritive loss. Antimicrobial activity of leaves (in terms of the minimum inhibitory concentration) against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was positively correlated with sinapic acid, vanillic acid, cinnamic acid, syringic acid, chlorogenic acid, benzoic acid, and ferulic acid. It has been concluded from this study that seed priming with zinc sulfate can improve seedling establishment, photosynthetic pigments, and stable nutritive value. Therefore, zinc from zinc sulfate priming has been proved as a beneficial fertilizer for M. charantia plant growth, yield, and nutraceutical potential

Sugarcane bagasse as a novel low/no cost organic carbon source for growth of Chlorella sp. BR2

The most sustainable and eco-friendly approaches for biodiesel production now a days is microalgae farming due to its prompt growth rate, not affecting food chain and high oil yields. However, pilot scale harvesting is not economically feasible. Cultivating microalgae on food wastes/food industrial wastes will help improving the problem significantly. Microalgae have been employed on various wastes/industrial effluents which have been proved to be valuable nutrient sources. Sugarcane bagasse was utilized as low-cost carbon source in the present study which is one of abundantly available, biodegradable and cheap agro-industrial food waste. The highest productivity of 0.056 g L d , lipid contents of 13.55% and protein contents of 31.5% were observed when Chlorella sp. BR2 was grown mixotrophically in bagasse. Fatty acids analyzed via GCMS, showed that the C16 and C18 were predominating fatty acids in Chlorella grown mixotrophically in bagasse and hence make it a suitable feedstock for the production of a good quality biodiesel. Thus the present study proved that Chlorella sp. BR2 appears potential candidate for biodiesel production while utilizing sugarcane bagasse as an organic carbon substrate