Induction of sporulation by sulphate limitation in <i style="">Nostoc ANTH</i>, a symbiotic strain capable of colonizing roots of rice plants

57-62Nostoc ANTH is a symbiotically compatible cyanobacterium that associates with rice plants and carries out associative N2-fixation. Investigations were carried out to induce profuse sporulation in the cyanobacterium for use as inocula in rice paddies. Impacts of pH and temperature changes, addition of various carbon sources and limitation of phosphate and sulphate on akinete formation were studied. Among these, only phosphate and sulphate limitation induced akinete formation in Nostoc ANTH. Under both the conditions all vegetative cells eventually became akinete. However, induction of akinete differentiation was quicker and resulted in more profuse akinetes differentiation in response to sulphate limitation than to phosphate limitation. These akinetes showed long-term viability (upto 5 years) and excellent germination frequency (90-95 %). This is the first report on induction of akinete formation by sulphate limitation

Nitrogen nutrition in the cyanobacterium <i>Nostoc </i>ANTH, a symbiotic isolate from <i>Anthoceros: </i>Uptake and assimilation of inorganic-N and amino acids

163-169Amino acid uptake and utilization of various nitrogen sources (amino acids, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia) were studied in Nostoc ANTH and its mutant (Het-Nif) isolate defective in heterocyst formation and N2-fixation. Both parent and its mutant grew at the expense of glutamine, asparagine and arginine as a source of fixed-nitrogen. Growth was better in glutamine-and asparagine-media as compared to that in arginine media. Glutamine and asparagine repressed heterocyst formation, N2-fixation and nitrate reduction in Nostoc ANTH, but arginine did so only partially. The poor growth in arginine-medium was not due to poor uptake rates, since the uptake rates were not significantly different from those for glutamine or asparagine. The glutamine synthetase activity remained unaffected during cultivation in media containing any one of the three amino acids tested. The uptake of amino acids was substrate-inducible, energy-dependent and required de novo protein synthesis. Nitrate and ammonium repressed ammonium uptake, but did not repress uptake of amino acids. In N2-medium (BG-110), the uptake of ammonium and amino acids in the mutant was significantly higher than its parent strain. This was apparently due to nitrogen limitation since the mutant was unable to fix N2 and the growth medium lacked combined-N

Cyanobacteria: A precious bio-resource in agriculture, ecosystem and environmental sustainability

Keeping in view the challenges concerning agro-ecosystem and environment, the recent developments in biotechnology offers a more reliable approach to address the food security for future generations and also resolve the complex environmental problems. Several unique features of cyanobacteria such as oxygenic photosynthesis, high biomass yield, growth on non-arable lands and a wide variety of water sources (contaminated and polluted waters), generation of useful by-products and bio-fuels, enhancing the soil fertility and reducing green house gas emissions, have collectively offered these bio-agents as the precious bio-resource for sustainable development. Cyanobacterial biomass is the effective bio-fertilizer source to improve soil physico-chemical characteristics such as water-holding capacity and mineral nutrient status of the degraded lands. The unique characteristics of cyanobacteria include their ubiquity presence, short generation time and capability to fix the atmospheric N2. Similar to other prokaryotic bacteria, the cyanobacteria are increasingly applied as bio-inoculants for improving soil fertility and environmental quality. Genetically engineered cyanobacteria have been devised with the novel genes for the production of a number of bio-fuels such as bio-diesel, bio-hydrogen, bio-methane, syngas and therefore, open new avenues for the generation of bio-fuels in the economically sustainable manner. This review is an effort to enlist the valuable information about the qualities of cyanobacteria and their potential role in solving the agricultural and environmental problems for the future welfare of the planet

Nitrogen metabolism, artificial association study in two cyanobacterial isolates and assessment of their potential as biofertilizer

397-403Two strains of cyanobacteria, viz. Nostoc ANTH and Mastigocladus sp, were isolated from local separate temperature zones of Meghalaya, India. Both the strains showed preference for different temperatures for optimum growth [45ºC for Mastigocladus sp.(thermophile) and 25ºC for Nostoc ANTH (mesophile)]. The addition of nitrogen sources in the growth media (nitrate, ammonia and glutamine) supported their better growth but repressed heterocyst development and nitrogenase activity. Nitrate and nitrite uptake rates, NR and NiR activities increased by NO3¯ and decreased by NH4⁺ in Nostoc ANTH. However, such effects were only partial in Mastigocladus sp. The presence of fixed nitrogen sources in the media led to decreased GS activity and repressed methylammonium uptake in both the strains. Glutamine uptake was substrate inducible, energy-dependent and required de novo protein synthesis. Artificial association studies revealed successful establishment of association of rice roots with both cyanobacteria, including prolonged association of Mastigocladus sp. at high temperature (~45ºC). Little modifications in growth temperature and growth media led to profuse akinete differentiation in target cyanobacteria. The replacement of normal cells by akinetes as field inoculants might have profound biotechnological implications in future biofertilizer programme

Proceedings of the International Conference on Frontiers in Desalination, Energy, Environment and Material Sciences for Sustainable Development

This proceeding contains articles on the various ideas of the academic community presented at the International Conference on Frontiers in Desalination, Energy, Environment and Material Sciences for Sustainable Development (FEEMSSD-2023) &amp; Annual Congress of InDA (InDACON-2023) jointly organized by the Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology Gorakhpur, KIPM-College of Engineering and Technology Gida Gorakhpur, and Indian Desalination Association, India on 16th-17th March 2023.  FEEMSSD-2023 &amp; InDACON-2023 focuses on addressing issues and concerns related to sustainability in all domains of Energy, Environment, Desalination, and Material Science and attempts to present the research and innovative outputs in a global platform. The conference aims to bring together leading academicians, researchers, technocrats, practitioners, and students to exchange and share their experiences and research outputs in Energy, Environment, Desalination, and Material Science.  Conference Title: International Conference on Frontiers in Desalination, Energy, Environment and Material Sciences for Sustainable Development &amp; Annual Congress of InDAConference Acronyms: FEEMSSD-2023 &amp; InDACON-2023Conference Date: 16th-17th March 2023Conference Location: Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology, GorakhpurConference Organizers: Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology Gorakhpur, KIPM-College of Engineering and Technology Gida Gorakhpur, and Indian Desalination Association, Indi

Doping Liquid Argon with Xenon in ProtoDUNE Single-Phase: Effects on Scintillation Light

International audienceDoping of liquid argon TPCs (LArTPCs) with a small concentration of xenon is a technique for light-shifting and facilitates the detection of the liquid argon scintillation light. In this paper, we present the results of the first doping test ever performed in a kiloton-scale LArTPC. From February to May 2020, we carried out this special run in the single-phase DUNE Far Detector prototype (ProtoDUNE-SP) at CERN, featuring 770 t of total liquid argon mass with 410 t of fiducial mass. The goal of the run was to measure the light and charge response of the detector to the addition of xenon, up to a concentration of 18.8 ppm. The main purpose was to test the possibility for reduction of non-uniformities in light collection, caused by deployment of photon detectors only within the anode planes. Light collection was analysed as a function of the xenon concentration, by using the pre-existing photon detection system (PDS) of ProtoDUNE-SP and an additional smaller set-up installed specifically for this run. In this paper we first summarize our current understanding of the argon-xenon energy transfer process and the impact of the presence of nitrogen in argon with and without xenon dopant. We then describe the key elements of ProtoDUNE-SP and the injection method deployed. Two dedicated photon detectors were able to collect the light produced by xenon and the total light. The ratio of these components was measured to be about 0.65 as 18.8 ppm of xenon were injected. We performed studies of the collection efficiency as a function of the distance between tracks and light detectors, demonstrating enhanced uniformity of response for the anode-mounted PDS. We also show that xenon doping can substantially recover light losses due to contamination of the liquid argon by nitrogen

The DUNE Far Detector Vertical Drift Technology, Technical Design Report

International audienceDUNE is an international experiment dedicated to addressing some of the questions at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics, including the mystifying preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe. The dual-site experiment will employ an intense neutrino beam focused on a near and a far detector as it aims to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and to make high-precision measurements of the PMNS matrix parameters, including the CP-violating phase. It will also stand ready to observe supernova neutrino bursts, and seeks to observe nucleon decay as a signature of a grand unified theory underlying the standard model. The DUNE far detector implements liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) technology, and combines the many tens-of-kiloton fiducial mass necessary for rare event searches with the sub-centimeter spatial resolution required to image those events with high precision. The addition of a photon detection system enhances physics capabilities for all DUNE physics drivers and opens prospects for further physics explorations. Given its size, the far detector will be implemented as a set of modules, with LArTPC designs that differ from one another as newer technologies arise. In the vertical drift LArTPC design, a horizontal cathode bisects the detector, creating two stacked drift volumes in which ionization charges drift towards anodes at either the top or bottom. The anodes are composed of perforated PCB layers with conductive strips, enabling reconstruction in 3D. Light-trap-style photon detection modules are placed both on the cryostat's side walls and on the central cathode where they are optically powered. This Technical Design Report describes in detail the technical implementations of each subsystem of this LArTPC that, together with the other far detector modules and the near detector, will enable DUNE to achieve its physics goals