Production and characterization of a thermo-pH stable pectinase from Bacillus licheniformis UNP-1: A novel strain isolated from Unapdev hot spring

670-677An efficient thermostable pectinase producer was isolated from the hot water spring of Unapdev and identified as Bacillus licheniformis UNP-1 using culture-dependent techniques by its morphological, microscopic, biochemical, physiological and molecular characteristics. Thermostable pectinase production was optimized in a submerged fermentation system using modified fermentation medium (MFM). The optimized components of MFM performed by changing one parameter at a time were pectinase defined liquid medium containing (g/L) 10 pure Pectin, 2.0 KH2PO4, 6.0 K2HPO4, 2.0 MgSO4·7H2O Optimized culture conditions were used for thermostable pectinase production. Bacillus licheniformis UNP-1 produced 55.2 U/mL of pectinase. Optimum pH and temperature for the production were 9 and 60 oC, respectively with 48 hours of incubation. The pectinase enzyme showed maximum activity at pH 11 and at 80 oC. Pectinolytic activity was the highest in the presence of Fe3+ metal ion. Optimum catalytic activity was recorded at substrate concentration of polygalacturonic acid of 3.5% after 90 min of incubation. The molecular mass of the dialyzed thermostable pectinase was 35 kDa. Partially purified pectinase enzyme was used for fruit juice extraction and clarification

Thermostable pectinase mediated enhanced antimicrobial activity of Emblica Officinalis: A novel application

1404-1410Four efficient pectinase producing thermophiles were isolated from Unhala hot water spring (16°35' N, 73°30' E) of Rajapur located in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. The isolates were identified as Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus Firmus, and Bacillus brevis using morphological and biochemical techniques. Being an efficient pectinase producer, Bacillus licheniformis was selected for pectinase production and further identified using 16s rRNA molecular analysis and sequence was deposited to GenBank nucleotide repository under accession number KT373817. Pectinase produced by Bacillus licheniformis using optimized condition was partially purified and molecular weight was determined as 66kda. Characterization of partially purified pectinase was carried out where it showed remarkable pectinolytic activity at 80oC temperature and pH 10.0. The extracted pectinase showed stability in presence of solvents and surfactants such as chloroform, ethanol, butanol, acetone, Tween-80 and Triton X-100 at 1% (v/v) concentration. Enhanced pectinolytic activity was observed in presence of Fe3+ ions (10 mM). Increase in antimicrobial activity of amla (Emblica Officinalis) was recorded after treatment with partially purified pectinase as a novel application for the first time

Isolation and identification of thermo stable multi catalytic Bacillus licheniformis strain V7 from Ganeshpuri hot spring

An efficient extracellular multi enzyme producer strain was isolated from Ganeshpuri hot spring located near Vajreshwari in Thane district Maharashtra. It was identified by the cultural, biochemical, MALDI-TOF MS analysis and 16sRNA sequencing as strain of Bacillus licheniformis. It was isolated at the incubation temperature of ≥ 50ºC and showed luxuriant growth and enzyme production ability in the similar temperature range. The multi enzyme producer strain was checked for amylase, mannanase, pectinase, lipase, and cellulase production ability. Its hydrolytic index was measured by taking the ratio of zone of substrate clearance to the colony size diameter. The observed hydrolytic index for cellulase was 5, for pectinase 2.75, for lipase 1.4 after incubation at 52°C for 72 h. Similarly observed hydrolytic index for mannanase was 2.8 and for amylase 3.5 after incubation at 52°C for 24 h. The study resulted in isolation of an efficient thermo stable multi enzyme producer strain of Bacillus licheniformis from Ganeshpuri hot water spring which encourages future studies to explore various whole cell and enzyme applications

Relationship between polymorphisms of leptin gene with growth, fertility and milk production traits in Sahiwal cows

118-124The present study investigated the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in leptin gene with various economic traits (body weight at different age, first lactation reproduction and production traits) in Sahiwal cows. In order to detect genetic variants in intron 2 (422 bp), exon 2 (94 bp) and two regions of exon 3 (331 and 317 bp) of leptin, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was used and revealed two transitions at positions T93262901C of intron 2 and C93263979T of exon 3. General linear model (GLM) analysis revealed significant association of T93262901C SNP with weight at first service (WFS), weight at first calving (WFC), first service period (FSP), first calving interval (FCI) and FL305DMY while SNP C93263979T was found to be significantly associated with birth weight (wt), 30 months wt, AFS and AFC. The investigation indicated that heterozygous genotype had a trend for better production with optimum growth and reproduction as compared to homozygote. The present study supports that SNP in leptin gene can be used as an aid to selection for improving different economic traits in Sahiwal cows

Far-Ultraviolet to Near-Infrared Observations of SN 2023ixf: A high energy explosion engulfed in complex circumstellar material

We present early-phase panchromatic photometric and spectroscopic coverage spanning far-ultraviolet (FUV) to the near-infrared (NIR) regime of the nearest hydrogen-rich core-collapse supernova in the last 25 years, SN~2023ixf. We observe early `flash' features in the optical spectra due to a confined dense circumstellar material (CSM). We observe high-ionization absorption lines Fe II, Mg II in the ultraviolet spectra from very early on. We also observe a multi-peaked emission profile of H-alpha in the spectrum beginning ~16 d, which indicates ongoing interaction of the SN ejecta with a pre-existing shell-shaped CSM having an inner radius of ~ 75 AU and an outer radius of ~140 AU. The shell-shaped CSM is likely a result of enhanced mass loss ~ 35 - 65 years before the explosion assuming a standard Red-Supergiant wind. Spectral modeling of the FUV, NUV, and the optical spectra during 9-12 d, using the radiative transfer spectrum synthesis code TARDIS indicates that the supernova ejecta could be well represented by a progenitor elemental composition greater than solar abundances. Based on early light curve models of Type II SNe, we infer that the nearby dense CSM confined to ~7+-3e14~cm(~45 AU) is a result of enhanced mass loss ~1e-(3.0+-0.5) Msol/yr two decades before the explosion.Comment: Submitted to AAS Journals, 4 figures, 2 table

Characterizing the Ordinary Broad-line Type Ic SN 2023pel from the Energetic GRB 230812B

We report observations of the optical counterpart of the long gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB 230812B and its associated supernova (SN) SN 2023pel. The proximity (z = 0.36) and high energy (E γ,iso ∼ 1053 erg) make it an important event to study as a probe of the connection between massive star core collapse and relativistic jet formation. With a phenomenological power-law model for the optical afterglow, we find a late-time flattening consistent with the presence of an associated SN. SN 2023pel has an absolute peak r-band magnitude of M r = −19.46 ± 0.18 mag (about as bright as SN 1998bw) and evolves on quicker timescales. Using a radioactive heating model, we derive a nickel mass powering the SN of M Ni = 0.38 ± 0.01 M ⊙ and a peak bolometric luminosity of L bol ∼ 1.3 × 1043 erg s−1. We confirm SN 2023pel’s classification as a broad-line Type Ic SN with a spectrum taken 15.5 days after its peak in the r band and derive a photospheric expansion velocity of v ph = 11,300 ± 1600 km s−1 at that phase. Extrapolating this velocity to the time of maximum light, we derive the ejecta mass M ej = 1.0 ± 0.6 M ⊙ and kinetic energy E KE = 1.3 − 1.2 + 3.3 × 10 51 erg . We find that GRB 230812B/SN 2023pel has SN properties that are mostly consistent with the overall GRB-SN population. The lack of correlations found in the GRB-SN population between SN brightness and E γ,iso for their associated GRBs across a broad range of 7 orders of magnitude provides further evidence that the central engine powering the relativistic ejecta is not coupled to the SN powering mechanism in GRB-SN systems

First report on revelatory prokaryotic diversity of Unkeshwar hot spring (India) having biotechnological potential

195-200Morphologically distinct strains of thermophilic bacteria (17 in number) isolated at 70oC from a hot spring in Unkeshwar (19o 85’ N and 78o 25’ E), Nanded district, Maharashtra state, India. All isolates have been characterized and identified using phenotypic and genotypic characters. Facultative bacterial growth was observed within 12-16 h of incubation at 70°C. The bacterial strains could tolerate temperature between 45-90°C (optimum 45-65°C) and pH between 5-9 (optimum 7-8). Based on morphological characteristics, biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses, isolates belonged to Firmicute, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. This is the first report of microbial diversity associated with Unkeshwar hot spring in Nanded based on wet laboratory results. Our results revealed the presence of different thermophilic and thermoduric industrially important bacteria in Unkeshwar hot spring.Some of these isolates showed resistance to antibiotics, such as, (Bacitracin, 10 units/disc; Ciprofloxacin HCl, 5 mcg/disc; Polymyxin B, 300 mcg/disc & Tetracycline, 30 mcg/disc). All reported isolates had produced products stable at high temperatures, such as, amylase, gelatinase, protease, urease, oxidase and antibiotics having various applications in starch, food, feed, pulp and paper, detergents, leather processing, healthcare-especially dental and skin, and pharmaceutical industries

Isolation and identification of thermo stable multi catalytic Bacillus licheniformis strain V7 from Ganeshpuri hot spring

356-361An efficient extracellular multi enzyme producer strain was isolated from Ganeshpuri hot spring located near Vajreshwari in Thane district Maharashtra. It was identified by the cultural, biochemical, MALDI-TOF MS analysis and 16sRNA sequencing as strain of Bacillus licheniformis. It was isolated at the incubation temperature of ≥ 50ºC and showed luxuriant growth and enzyme production ability in the similar temperature range. The multi enzyme producer strain was checked for amylase, mannanase, pectinase, lipase, and cellulase production ability. Its hydrolytic index was measured by taking the ratio of zone of substrate clearance to the colony size diameter. The observed hydrolytic index for cellulase was 5, for pectinase 2.75, for lipase 1.4 after incubation at 52°C for 72 h. Similarly observed hydrolytic index for mannanase was 2.8 and for amylase 3.5 after incubation at 52°C for 24 h. The study resulted in isolation of an efficient thermo stable multi enzyme producer strain of Bacillus licheniformis from Ganeshpuri hot water spring which encourages future studies to explore various whole cell and enzyme applications

Efficient decolorization of textile dyes by alkaline protease producing bacterial consortia

1468-1477Alkaline protease producers were isolated from poultry farm waste and sea water samples and identified based on a polyphasic approach including 16S rRNA partial gene sequences as Bacillus aryabhattai P1, Bacillus firmus P2, Bacillus sp. P4, Bacillus cereus P5, Bacillus clausii P6, Alkalibacterium kapii MGR70, Halobacillus alkaliphilus MGR92, Alteromonas halophila MGR98 and Bacillus halodurans MGR125. Beside alkaline protease production, these isolates have also shown textile dye decolorization capability. Therefore two consortiums namely, PF1 and SW2 were developed to achieve maximum decolorization of the textile dyes, DR-81 and DO-34. The consortium SW2 has shown highest decolorization of Direct Red-81 (68.88 %) and Direct Orange-34 (70.78 %) at a concentration of 5 g/l after 144 h