Improving water productivity in agriculture in developing economies: in search of new avenues

Water ProductivityCrop productionWheatCottonEvapotranspirationEcnomic aspects

Overview of the Fish Diversity of Indian Waters

Fishing is one of the oldest human activities and it developed gradually, when our ancestors moved from the collection of plants and animals to hunting by using tools and weapons. The oldest fishing implements so far identified are harpoons, found in the territory of Congo, and dating about 90,000 years. Interestingly, these harpoons were found associated with the bones of a species of now extinct giant catfish. In India too, it is believed that the development of fishing must have been parallel. There are reports that fishes were grown in reservoirs as early as 320 BC. There are several evidences of fish capture and culture since then. There were evidences to indicate over-fishing in the River Ganges as early as 1785. Russell made the first systematic study of the Indian fish fauna from 1785 to 1789 AD. Sir Francis Day studied the systematics of Indian fishes for over 20 years and listed 351 genera and 1418 species of marine, brackish water and freshwater fishes in 1868. Later, Alcock added 86 new genera and 200 species to the list. Jones and Kumaran (1980) recorded 603 species of fish from the Laccadive archipelago. Of the 603 species of marine fishes belonging to 126 families that are reported from the islands, at least 300 species belong to the ornamental fish category. At present, of the recorded 24,000 species of finfishes in the world, about 2364 species are known to occur in India (www. fishbase. org). Rao (2009) recorded 1371 species in 77 families from the Andaman and Nicobar islands

A novel role for the TIR domain in association with pathogen-derived elicitors

Plant innate immunity is mediated by Resistance (R) proteins, which bear a striking resemblance to animal molecules of similar function. Tobacco N is a TIR-NB-LRR R gene that confers resistance to Tobacco mosaic virus, specifically the p50 helicase domain. An intriguing question is how plant R proteins recognize the presence of pathogen-derived Avirulence (Avr) elicitor proteins. We have used biochemical cell fraction and immunoprecipitation in addition to confocal fluorescence microscopy of living tissue to examine the association between N and p50. Surprisingly, both N and p50 are cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins, and N's nuclear localization is required for its function. We also demonstrate an in planta association between N and p50. Further, we show that N's TIR domain is critical for this association, and indeed, it alone can associate with p50. Our results differ from current models for plant innate immunity that propose detection is mediated solely through the LRR domains of these molecules. The data we present support an intricate process of pathogen elicitor recognition by R proteins involving multiple subcellular compartments and the formation of multiple protein complexes. © 2007 Burch-Smith et al

First report of dwarf monocle bream Parascolopsis capitinis (Teleostei: Nemipteridae) from South-west coast of India

The dwarf monocle breams of Genus Parascolopsis are bottom living small fishes generally seen in the outer shelf and continental slope waters and are represented worldwide by 12 species. Morphometric measurements, meristic counts and identification of the specimens follows standard methods. Parascolopsis capitinis Russell (J South Asian Nat Hist. 2:63–6, 1996), is reported for the first time from Indian waters based on 22 specimens (192–232 mm total length) collected from Cochin fisheries harbour in the South-west coast of India on 5 November 2012. This is the first report of the fish from Indian waters and adds to the five species already reported from this genus from Indian waters. Full description of the species is provided

Studies on the Thermodynamics of Exchange in Clays: Part II - Zinc Exchange on Na- & Ca-Illites

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EVALUATION OF HEPATOPROTECTIVE AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF Avicennia alba (BLUME) ON PARACETAMOL INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY IN RATS

Objective: To study the hepatoprotective activity of ethanolic extracts of Avicennia alba leaves against paracetamol induced liver damage in rats. Methods: Hepatotoxicity was induced by paracetamol and the biochemical parameters such as serum aspartate amino transferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine amino transferase (ALT) and total bilirubin (SB) and the antioxidant such as Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx), Glutathione (GSH), Vitamin-C & E and Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were recorded and histopathological changes in liver were studied along with silymarin as standard hepatoprotective agents. Results: The phytochemical investigation of the extracts showed presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, proteins and steroids. Treatment with herbal extract to paracetamol administered rats caused a significant reduction in the values of AST, ALP, ALT and total bilirubin (P < 0.05) almost comparable to silymarin. The hepatoprotective was confirmed by histopathological examination of the liver tissue of control and treated animals. Conclusion: From the results it can be concluded that A.alba leaves possesses hepatoprotective effect against paracetamol-induced liver damage in rats

A note on the eight bar grouper, Hyporthodus octofasciatus (Griffin, 1926) (Pisces: Serranidae) from Indian waters

A single specimen of a serranid fish Hyporthodus octofasciatus of length 213 mm TL was collected during a commercial trawl operation off the South western coast of India, during March 2011 from a depth of 200 m. The present paper provides description, morphometric and meristic features of specimen and comparative account with earlier descriptions