STUDY ON PHYTO-CHEMICAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF SOME SELECTED MARINE SEAWEEDS AGAINST HUMAN AND FISH PATHOGENS

AbstractSeaweeds are used in pharmaceutical and biochemical applications as they possess interesting biological activities that contribute to the discovery of natural therapeutic agents. In the present work, we used four seaweeds (Sargassum wightii, Ulva fasciata, cauterpa racemosa     and Padina gymnospora), extracted in five solvents (chloroform, methanol, petroleum ether, acetone and butanol) and tested for their antimicrobialactivty against 7 human bacterial pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutants, Bacillus subtilus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, E.coli and Salmonella typhimurium and 6 fish bacterial  pathogens (Aeromonas sp , Pseudomonas sp, Flavobacterium sp, Yersinia sp, and  Vibrio cholera). All the extracts in all the seaweeds were highly effective against bacteria. All the extracted seaweeds contain tannin, phenol, saponins, alkaloids and flavanoids phytochemical compounds. In future, the research may help to preparation of bioactive nanopartical compounds.Keywords: Marine algae, Human and fish bacterial pathogens, solvents, antibacterial activit

Prospects of biodrainage to mitigate problems of waterlogging and soil salinity in context of India - A review

Major parts of agricultural lands in arid and semi-arid regions of India are affected by soil salinity and waterlogging in canal command area and outside. Waterlogging is caused by a rising water table and poor drainage conditions.  Stress due to waterlogging and salinity are serious to plants in all stages from seed germination to active growth and maturity. Unmanaged affected agricultural lands turn into low productive marshlands in the long run. Physical provision of surface or sub-surface drainage structures can rescue in such a situation. Yet, high skill and investment are required in the installation and maintenance of such structures. Alternatively, biodrainage method has been evolved as an effective method recently world over. In biodrainage, plants are raised over a larger area, which can transpire and remove an enormous amount of water from the soil. Plants having adequate adaptive traits and tolerance mechanisms are desirable to mitigate waterlogging and salinity. Biodrainage is suitable in rainfed and irrigated conditions. Planting of right plant species in optimum population and geometry decides the efficiency of biodrainage. Further, combining biodrainage with the conventional drainage can improve land and water productivity. Eucalyptus is the most suitable tree species for biodrainage as it has well performed in versatile environments. It possesses appreciable tolerance to salinity, sodicity and waterlogged conditions of the soil.  Fast-growing with a straight trunk, deep rooting ability, low shading effect and high transpiration capacity are promising characteristics of this tree.  Prominent woody species like Acacia nilotica, Dalbergia sissoo, Hardwickia binata can also be grown for high profit

Effect of soil and crop management practices on sodicity stress alleviation and rice productivity under water scarce condition

The prominent issue faced by the farmers of Cauvery Delta regionin Tamil Nadu particularly Tiruchirapalli District is the lack of timely release of water for rice nursery preparation and transplanting. Hence wet seeding of rice is recommended for timely cultivation. On the other hand, sodic nature of the soil warrants rice cultivation only. Therefore, the present investigation was carried out to study the different soil and crop management practices on alleviating sodicity stress and improving rice (variety ADT 3) productivity under water-scarce conditions. The experiment was laid in a split plot design with six mainplots,including rice wet seeding, daincha (Sesbania aculeata) application as green manure, anti-oxidant microbial consortia (AOMC) spray and four sub-plots with graded levels of NPK based on soil test values with three replication. Results showed that the daincha incorporation @ 6.25 t/ha followed by rice wet seeding + AOMC spray @1.5 % with 125 % soil test based NPK had significantly increased thechlorophyll content, SPAD values, proline content and grain and straw yields which remained on par with daincha incorporation @ 6.25 t/ha followed by rice wet seeding + AOMC spray @1.5 % with 100 % soil test based NPK.Significantly lower ESP at 5% level and higher phosphatase activity in soil was also recorded by daincha incorporation @ 6.25 t/ha followed by rice wet seeding + AOMC spray @1.5 % with 125 % and 100 % soil test based NPK. Gross return, net return and B:C ratio were also higher in the plot, which received daincha incorporation @6.25 t/ha followed by rice wet seeding + AOMC spray @1.5 % with 100 % soil test based NPK. The present study reveals that the inclusion of ectophytic microbial population spray in rice plants and the management practices helps the crop to tolerate the sodicity stress under water-scarce condition by maintaining required physiological functions like proline synthesis and enzyme activities etc which need to be further explored at the genotypic level.

Unveiling the Essence of the American Dream: A Modern Perspective via Philip Roth's The Human Stain

The concept of The American Dream has captivated the attention of scores of people, within and outside of the U.S., generation after generation, for this American Dream is a reality that provides the comfort of a self-sufficient and self-reliant life amongst the highly educated, cultured and like-minded class of people, in one of the highly civilized parts of the world. This ideal and mesmerizing lifestyle has not only encouraged the major white population in the U.S. to strive towards it, but has also earned the attention of the non-white, immigrant communities, many of whom migrate to the U.S. with the hope of making lives better for themselves. The novel The Human Stain by Jewish American author Philip Roth depicts the lives of some such non-white and immigrant characters. While some of them are successful in navigating through a maze of hurdles to experience and relish the reality of the American Dream, there are some who either subject themselves to or are subjected to struggles, challenges and humiliations in the face of their attempt in realizing this dream, with a white supremacist and oft-changing American political scene in the background. This paper attempts to explore and expose the reality of the feasibilities and difficulties behind realizing the American Dream, through the lens of Roth’s The Human Stain

Correlation of soil physico chemical properties with a yield of green gram (Vigna radiata L.) by soil amendments and foliar nutrition under sodic soil condition

In India, about 3.77 million ha of the country's geographical area is affected by sodicity. There is an urgent need to minimize further land degradation and restore the fertility of degraded soils to meet the growing demand for food. The most effective way to overcome salt stress is by applying nutrients through soil and foliar. In this context, a field experiment was conducted at Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute (ADAC & RI), Tiruchirappalli, in the summer of 2022 to study the reclamation potential of soil amendments and foliar nutrition in sodic soil. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with three replications. The treatment comprised of soil amendments viz., M1- Pongamia green leaf manure (GLM) @ 6.25 t ha-1, M2- Pressmud @ 10 t ha-1, M3-CSR GROMOR @ 25 kg ha-1, M4-Gypsum @ 50 % GR, M5-Gypsum @ 50 % gypsum requirement (GR) + Pongamia GLM @ 6.25 t ha-1, M6-Gypsum @ 50 % GR + Pressmud @ 10 t ha-1, M7-Gypsum @ 50 % GR + CSR GROMOR @ 25 kg ha-1 and M8- Farmers practice, in main plots and foliar nutrition viz., S1- Foliar spray (FS) of CSR GROMOR @ 3% @ 30 DAS, S2-FS of Brassinosteroid (BRs) 0.2 ppm @ 30 DAS and S3-FS of Melatonin 60 ppm @ 30 DAS in sub plots. The results showed that gypsum @ 50 % GR + Pressmud @ 10 t ha-1+ FS of Brassinosteroid 0.2 ppm @ 30 DAS(M6S2) registered significantly (P=0.05%) lowest pH (8.07), ESP (11.62%), exchangeable Na+ (2.93 c mol (p+) kg-1) with higher exchangeable Ca2+(11.23 c mol (p+) kg-1), Mg2+ (8.09 c mol (p+) kg-1) and K+(0.82 c mol (p+) kg-1). It also increased soil available nutrients (235.6, 24.57 & 309.6 kg NPK ha-1) and grain yield (1110 kg ha-1) of green gram. However, it was on par with gypsum @ 50 % GR + CSR GROMOR @ 25 kg ha-1 + FS of Brassinosteroid 0.2 ppm @ 30 DAS(M7S2). Hence it was concluded that the application of gypsum along with pressmud or CSR GROMOR combined with FS of brassinostroid had a remarkable effect in reducing soil sodicity and increasing the productivity of green gram.

Functional genetic elements for controlling gene expression in Cupriavidus necator H16

A robust and predictable control of gene expression plays an important role in synthetic biology and biotechnology applications. Development and quantitative evaluation of functional genetic elements such as constitutive and inducible promoters, as well as ribosome binding sites (RBSs), are required. In this study, we design, build and test promoters and RBSs for controlling gene expression in the model lithoautotroph Cupriavidus necator H16. A series of variable-strength, insulated, constitutive promoters exhibiting predictable activity within more than 700-fold dynamic range is compared to the native PphaC, with the majority of promoters displaying up to a 9-fold higher activity. Positively (AraC/ParaBAD-L-arabinose and RhaRS/PrhaBAD-L-rhamnose) and negatively (AcuR/PacuRI-acrylate and CymR/Pcmt-cumate) regulated inducible systems are evaluated. By supplying different concentrations of inducers, over a 1000-fold range of gene expression levels is achieved. Application of inducible systems for controlling expression of isoprene synthase gene ispS leads to isoprene yields that exhibit a significant correlation to the reporter protein synthesis levels. The impact of designed RBSs and other genetic elements such as mRNA stem-loop structure and A/U- rich sequence on the gene expression is also evaluated. A second-order polynomial relationship is observed between the RBS activities and isoprene yields. This study presents quantitative data on regulatory genetic elements and expands the genetic toolbox of C. necator

Functional genetic elements for controlling gene expression in Cupriavidus necator H16

A robust and predictable control of gene expression plays an important role in synthetic biology and biotechnology applications. Development and quantitative evaluation of functional genetic elements such as constitutive and inducible promoters, as well as ribosome binding sites (RBSs), are required. In this study, we design, build and test promoters and RBSs for controlling gene expression in the model lithoautotroph Cupriavidus necator H16. A series of variable-strength, insulated, constitutive promoters exhibiting predictable activity within more than 700-fold dynamic range is compared to the native PphaC, with the majority of promoters displaying up to a 9-fold higher activity. Positively (AraC/ParaBAD-L-arabinose and RhaRS/PrhaBAD-L-rhamnose) and negatively (AcuR/PacuRI-acrylate and CymR/Pcmt-cumate) regulated inducible systems are evaluated. By supplying different concentrations of inducers, over a 1000-fold range of gene expression levels is achieved. Application of inducible systems for controlling expression of isoprene synthase gene ispS leads to isoprene yields that exhibit a significant correlation to the reporter protein synthesis levels. The impact of designed RBSs and other genetic elements such as mRNA stem-loop structure and A/U- rich sequence on the gene expression is also evaluated. A second-order polynomial relationship is observed between the RBS activities and isoprene yields. This study presents quantitative data on regulatory genetic elements and expands the genetic toolbox of C. necator

13C-assisted metabolic flux analysis to investigate heterotrophic and mixotrophic metabolism in Cupriavidus necator H16

Introduction. Cupriavidus necator H16 is a gram-negative bacterium, capable of lithoautotrophic growth by utilizing hydrogen as an energy source and fixing carbon dioxide (CO2) through Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle. The potential to utilize synthesis gas (Syngas) and the prospects of rerouting carbon from polyhydroxybutyrate synthesis to value-added compounds makes C. necator an excellent chassis for industrial application. Objectives. In the context of lack of sufficient quantitative information of the metabolic pathways and to advance in rational metabolic engineering for optimized product synthesis in C. necator H16, we carried out a metabolic flux analysis based on steady-state 13C-labelling. Methods. In this study, steady-state carbon labelling experiments, using either D-[1-13C]fructose or [1,2-13C]glycerol, were undertaken to investigate the carbon flux through the central carbon metabolism in C. necator H16 under heterotrophic and mixotrophic growth conditions, respectively. Results. We found that the CBB cycle is active even under heterotrophic condition, and growth is indeed mixotrophic. While Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway is shown to be the major route for sugar degradation, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle is highly active in mixotrophic condition. Enhanced flux is observed in reductive pentose phosphate pathway (redPPP) under the mixotrophic condition to supplement the precursor requirement for CBB cycle. The flux distribution was compared to the mRNA abundance of genes encoding enzymes involved in key enzymatic reactions of the central carbon metabolism. Conclusion. This study leads the way to establishing 13C-based quantitative fluxomics for rational pathway engineering in C. necator H16

RNA Sequencing of Pancreatic Circulating Tumour Cells Implicates WNT Signaling in Metastasis

Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) shed into blood from primary cancers include putative precursors that initiate distal metastases. While these cells are extraordinarily rare, they may identify cellular pathways contributing to the blood-borne dissemination of cancer. Here, we adapted a microfluidic device for efficient capture of CTCs from an endogenous mouse pancreatic cancer model and subjected CTCs to single molecule RNA sequencing, identifying Wnt2 as a candidate gene enriched in CTCs. Expression of Wnt2 in pancreatic cancer cells suppresses anoikis, enhances anchorage-independent sphere formation, and increases metastatic propensity in vivo. This effect is correlated with fibronectin upregulation and suppressed by inhibition of Map3k7 (Tak1) kinase. In humans, formation of non-adherent tumour spheres by pancreatic cancer cells is associated with upregulation of multiple Wnt genes, and pancreatic CTCs revealed enrichment for Wnt signaling in 5 of 11 cases. Thus, molecular analysis of CTCs may identify candidate therapeutic targets to prevent the distal spread of cancer

Community evaluation of glycoproteomics informatics solutions reveals high-performance search strategies for serum glycopeptide analysis

Glycoproteomics is a powerful yet analytically challenging research tool. Software packages aiding the interpretation of complex glycopeptide tandem mass spectra have appeared, but their relative performance remains untested. Conducted through the HUPO Human Glycoproteomics Initiative, this community study, comprising both developers and users of glycoproteomics software, evaluates solutions for system-wide glycopeptide analysis. The same mass spectrometrybased glycoproteomics datasets from human serum were shared with participants and the relative team performance for N- and O-glycopeptide data analysis was comprehensively established by orthogonal performance tests. Although the results were variable, several high-performance glycoproteomics informatics strategies were identified. Deep analysis of the data revealed key performance-associated search parameters and led to recommendations for improved 'high-coverage' and 'high-accuracy' glycoproteomics search solutions. This study concludes that diverse software packages for comprehensive glycopeptide data analysis exist, points to several high-performance search strategies and specifies key variables that will guide future software developments and assist informatics decision-making in glycoproteomics