Effect of temperature and relative humidity on spinning behaviour of silkworm (Bombyx mori.L)

The rate of spinning of silkworm larva (Bombyx mori. L) was slow at 22°C and fast at 38°C. The time taken for completion of cocoon was longest at 98±2% and least at 40± 2% RH. However, good quality cocoons were spun at 22°C and 65±5% RH, hence it would be advantageous to maintain this temperature and relative humidity at the time of cocoon spinning in the case of CB race of silkworm

<span style="font-size: 20.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Effect of temperature and relative humidity on spinning behaviour of silkworm <i>(Bombyx mori.L)</i> </span>

87-89<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""="">The rate of spinning of silkworm larva <span style="font-size:14.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""="">(Bombyx mori.L) <span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman","serif""="">was slow at 22°C and fast at 38°C. The time taken for completion of cocoon was longest at 98±2% and least at 40± 2% RH. However, good quality cocoons were spun at 22°C and <span style="font-size: 14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""="">65±5% RH, hence it would be advantageous to maintain this temperature and relative humidity at the time of cocoon spinning in the case of CB race of silkworm. </span

MTHFR Gene variants C677T, A1298C and association with Down syndrome: A Case-control study from South India

Background: The 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase ( MTHFR ) polymorphisms and low folate levels are associated with inhibition of DNA methyltransferase and consequently DNA hypomethylation. The expanding spectrum of common conditions linked with MTHFR polymorphisms includes certain adverse birth outcome, pregnancy complications, cancers, adult cardiovascular diseases and psychiatric disorders, with several of these associations remaining still controversial. Trisomy 21 or Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of mental retardation. It stems predominantly from the failure of chromosome 21 to segregate normally during meiosis. Despite substantial research, the molecular mechanisms underlying non-disjunction leading to trisomy 21 are poorly understood. Materials and Methods: Two common variants C677T and A1298C of the MTHFR gene were screened in 36 parents with DS children and 60 healthy couples from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The MTHFR genotypes were studied by RFLP analysis of PCR-amplified products and confirmed by sequencing. Results: The CT genotype was seen in three each (8.3%) of case mothers and fathers. One case father showed TT genotype. All the control individuals exhibited the wild type CC genotype. A similar frequency for the uncommon allele C of the second polymorphism was recorded in case mothers (0.35) and fathers (0.37) in comparison with the control mothers (0.39) and fathers (0.37). Conclusion: This first report on MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms in trisomy 21 parents from south Indian population revealed that MTHFR 677CT polymorphism was associated with a risk for Down syndrome

Areca husk: An inexpensive substrate for citric acid production by Aspergillus niger under solid state fermentation

99-102Areca husk was used as a substrate for the production of citric acid under solid state fermentation (SSF) using a new local soil isolate of Aspergillus niger. A. niger produced 119.42±2.5 g citric acid/kg dry areca husk fermented in the presence of 3% w/w methanol at optimum pH 5.0, 50 % moisture content and 30oC incubation temperature in 3 d. The citric acid yield was 66.7±1% based on the amount of fermentable sugars consumed during fermentation

DNA barcoding of authentic and substitute samples of herb of the family Asparagaceae and Asclepiadaceae based on the ITS2 region

Background : Herbal drugs used to treat illness according to Ayurveda are often misidentified or adulterated with similar plant materials. Objective: To aid taxonomical identification, we used DNA barcoding to evaluate authentic and substitute samples of herb and phylogenetic relationship of four medicinal plants of family Asparagaceace and Asclepiadaceae. Materials and Methods : DNA extracted from dry root samples of two authentic and two substitutes of four specimens belonging to four species were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing. Primers for nuclear DNA (nu ITS2) and plastid DNA (matK and rpoC1) were used for PCR and sequence analysis was performed by Clustal W. The intraspecific variation and interspecific divergence were calculated using MEGA V 4.0. Statistical Analysis : Kimura′s two parameter model, neighbor joining and bootstrapping methods were used in this work. Results: The result indicates the efficiency of amplification for ITS2 candidate DNA barcodes was 100% for four species tested. The average interspecific divergence is 0.12 and intraspecific variation was 0.232 in the case of two Asparagaceae species. In two Asclepiadaceae species, average interspecific divergence and intraspecific variation were 0.178 and 0.004 respectively. Conclusions: Our findings show that the ITS2 region can effectively discriminate Asparagus racemosus and Hemidesmus indicus from its substitute samples and hence can resolve species admixtures in raw samples. The ITS2 region may be used as one of the standard DNA barcodes to identify closely related species of family Asclepiadaceae but was noninformative for Asparagaceae species suggesting a need for the development of new markers for each family. More detailed studies involving more species and substitutes are warranted

Replication and Relevance of Multiple Susceptibility Loci Discovered from Genome Wide Association Studies for Type 2 Diabetes in an Indian Population

<div><p>Aim</p><p>Several genetic variants for type 2 diabetes (T2D) have been identified through genome wide association studies (GWAS) from Caucasian population; however replication studies were not consistent across various ethnicities. Objective of the current study is to examine the possible correlation of 9 most significant GWAS single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for T2D susceptibility as well as the interactive effect of these variants on the risk of T2D in an Indian population.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Case-control cohorts of 1156 individuals were genotyped for 9 SNPs from an Indian population. Association analyses were performed using logistic regression after adjusting for covariates. Multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) analysis was adopted to determine gene–gene interactions and discriminatory power of combined SNP effect was assessed by grouping individuals based on the number of risk alleles and by calculating area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve (AUC).</p><p>Results</p><p>We confirm the association of <i>TCF7L2</i> (rs7903146) and <i>SLC30A8</i> (rs13266634) with T2D. MDR analysis showed statistically significant interactions among four SNPs of <i>SLC30A8</i> (rs13266634), <i>IGF2BP2</i> (rs4402960), <i>HHEX</i> (rs1111875) and <i>CDKN2A</i> (rs10811661) genes. Cumulative analysis showed an increase in odds ratio against the baseline group of individuals carrying 5 to 6 risk alleles and discriminatory power of genetic test based on 9 variants showed higher AUC value when analyzed along with body mass index (BMI).</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>These results provide a strong evidence for independent association between T2D and SNPs for in <i>TCF7L2</i> and <i>SLC30A8</i>. MDR analysis demonstrates that independently non-significant variants may interact with one another resulting in increased disease susceptibility in the population tested.</p></div

Genetic variation in genes involved in folate and drug metabolism in a south Indian population

Background: Genetic variations represented as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) vary across the world population. This genetic polymorphism (such as SNPs) plays an important role in pharmacogenomics. SNPs that affects cellular metabolism, by altering the enzyme activity, have an important role in therapeutic outcome. Allele frequencies in number of clinically relevant SNPs within south Indian populations are not yet known. Hence, we genotyped randomly selected unrelated south Indian subjects from different locations of south India representing the heterogeneous ethnic background of the population. Materials and Methods: Common variants of MTHFD1, TYMS, SHMT1, MTR, MTRR, CBS and SULT1A1 gene polymorphisms were screened from healthy unrelated south Indian volunteers. Genotypes were determined using RFLP analysis of polymerase chain reaction-amplified products and confirmed by DNA sequencing. Chi-square test was performed to test for deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for each locus. Results: Gene allele frequency for several polymorphisms in our study differed significantly between the populations of other nations reported for several of the SNPs. These results demonstrate that the populations in different geographic regions may have widely varying genetic allele frequencies for clinically relevant SNPs. Conclusion: The present study reports, for the first time, the frequency distribution of MTHFD1, TYMS, SHMT1, MTR, MTRR, CBS and SULTIA1 gene polymorphisms in a south Indian population. Population-specific genetic polymorphism studies will help in practicing pharmacogenomic principles in the clinics

Comparison of risk allele frequency and Population-Attributable Risk (PAR) between South Indian and Caucasian populations.

<p>Comparison of risk allele frequency and Population-Attributable Risk (PAR) between South Indian and Caucasian populations.</p