Current Trends in Usage of Traditional System of Medicine in Tamilnadu, India - From the Perspective of Occupation

Socio-economic parameters have significant impact on consumer’s attitude towards the usage of traditional system of medicine in Tamilnadu, India. Though traditional systems of medicine have made significant contributions towards fulfilling healthcare needs of the people in the past, impacts of modern medicine have been so large that traditional medicine witnessed a dark period in India. While such practices are common in the rural/ remote areas, off late, change in the trend with respect to the usage of Siddha medicine as complementary alternative therapy among urban population has been observed. Present study aims to evaluate the resurgence of interest in Siddha medicine among the people working in different sectors (occupation) in Tamilnadu, India

RESEARCH AND REVIEWS: JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY Farewell, Chloramphenicol? Is this True?: A Review

ABSTRACT Chloramphenicol has remained as a potent broad spectrum antibiotic over decades and due to its side effects its usage has been limited. In an era of increasing resistance to many antibacterial agents, chloramphenicol might have a role in the treatment of intra abdominal infections and respiratory tract infections caused by multi drug-resistant pathogens. This review article focuses on the spectrum of activity of chloramphenicol, mechanism of action , side effects , its parentral and oral use, its resistance mechanisms, toxicity elucidated by enteric pathogens against it and also on the possibility of its therapeutic use in treatment of multi -drug resistant bacterial infections

Characterization, hemolysis and multidrug resistance among Aeromonas spp. isolated from Bhavani river, Erode, South India

A total of 87 strains of Aeromonas spp. were identified biochemically. The strains were isolated from 50 samples of water from Bhavani river Erode, Tamil Nadu, India. In the present study among 87 Aeromonas spp. the prevalence strain was identified as A.hydrophila (60.9%), while the other strains belonged to the species A. sobria (20.7%), A. caviae (11.5%) and A.salmonicida (6.9%). The virulence factors like hemolysin, lipase, and serine protease were present in 96%, 93% and 94% of the strains respectively. Antibiotic susceptibility of Aeromonas spp. was determined by disc diffusion method. All Aeromonas spp. were examined for resistance against 16 antibiotics. All strains showed 100% of resistance to Ampicillin,Carbenicillin and Cephalothin. The highest resistances encountered were 91.9% to streptomycin,90.8% to polymyxin-B, 85% to rifampicin while the rest were under 50%.In contrast all the strains were sensitive to cefotaxime.The present work highlights the important incidence of Aeromonas spp., with virulence potential and antimicrobial resistance, isolated from river bhavani

Effects of biofertilizer containing N-fixer, P and K solubilizers and AM fungi on maize growth: A greenhouse trial.

An in vitro study was undertaken to evaluate the compatibility of indigenous plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) with commonly used inorganic and organic sources of fertilizers in tea plantations. The nitrogenous, phosphatic and potash fertilizers used for this study were urea, rock phosphate and muriate of potash, respectively. The organic sources of fertilizers neem cake, composted coir pith and vermicompost were also used. PGPRs such as nitrogen fixer; Azospirillum lipoferum, Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB); Pseudomonas putida, Potassium Solubilizing Bacteria (KSB); Burkholderia cepacia and Pseudomonas putida were used for compatibility study. Results were indicated that PGPRs preferred the coir pith and they proved their higher colony establishment in the formulation except Azospirillum spp. that preferred vermicompost for their establishment. The optimum dose of neem cake powder

In-vitro susceptibility testing by agar dilution method to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations of amphotericin B, fluconazole and ketoconazole against ocular fungal isolates

Purpose : To standardize in-vitro antifungal susceptibility testing by agar dilution method to find out the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of amphotericin B, fluconazole and ketoconazole on ocular fungal isolates. Methods: A total of 180 ocular fungal isolates (130 filamentous fungi and 50 yeasts) were included. The antifungal drugs such as amphotericin B (0.0625-8 μg/mL), fluconazole (0.2-819.6 μg/mL) and ketoconazole (0.025-6.4 μg/mL) were incorporated in doubling dilutions in the yeast nitrogen base medium. The MIC was determined as the lowest concentration of the antifungal drug preventing growth of macroscopically visible colonies on drug containing plates when there was visible growth on the drug - free control plates. Results: All 50 ocular isolates of yeast were susceptible to amphotericin B, while two (4%) and five (10%) strains were resistant to fluconazole and ketoconazole respectively. Of the 130 filamentous fungi tested, six (4.6%) were resistant to amphotericin B, 49 (37.7%) and 10 (7.6%) were resistant to fluconazole and ketoconazole respectively. Percentile 50 (MIC 50) and Percentile 90 (MIC 90) for all the three antifungal agents were calculated. Aspergillus niger , Aspergillus terreus and Candida krusei were found to be resistant to fluconazole and ketoconazole. Conclusion: This technique was found to be reliable, cost effective and easy to perform with consistent results

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Not AvailableIn the present study, P1 gene of Sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SCSMV) has been proved to govern the RNA silencing suppressor activity. Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression assay with Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) has confirmed the RSS activity of P1 gene in the model plant Nicotiana tabaccum. The qRT-PCR analysis also confirmed the RSS activity of P1 gene of SCSMV infecting sugarcane. Further, the presence of conserved motif “WG” in the P1 protein across the 10 Indian isolates of SCSMV reiterates its role as RNA silencing suppressor of the Poacevirus. Although the Helper Component-Proteinase gene (HC-Pro) has been reported to govern the RSS activity in most of the viruses of the family Potyviridae, it does not show any such activity in the SCSCMV infecting sugarcane. The absence of “WG” motif across the 16 Indian isolates of SCSMV and low level of GFP expression in the Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression assay have clearly demonstrated lack of RSS activity in the HC-Pro gene of SCSMV. Thus, mosaic-resistant cultivars can be developed by targeting the P1 gene of SCSMV through RNAi approach.Not Availabl

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DBT grant number BTPR4978-AGR-36712-2012Sugarcane mosaic disease is a major threat to sugarcane cultivation worldwide. Under Indian conditions, mosaic disease is caused by Sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SCSMV) and Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) either alone or together. A ‘‘0–6’’ scale mosaic severity grading system has been developed after analysing the phenotypic expression of mosaic symptoms in * 210 genotypes comprising of cultivated species (Saccharum officinarum, S. sinense and S. barberi), wild species (S. spontaneum and S. robustum) and hybrid-varieties at two diverse environments over a period of three years. They were also screened for the presence of SCSMV and SCMV by RTPCR assays. Out of the 210 genotypes, only 7 were free of mosaic viruses, indicating the rare possibility of getting resistant genotypes among the world collection of sugarcane germplasm. It also clearly indicates that the mosaic disease is widespread in occurrence and nearly 97% of the varieties/genotypes were infected with mosaic viruses. Overall, the presence of SCSMV, SCMV and both the viruses were recorded in 77 (87.5%), 51 (58%) and 46 (52%) of the 88 species-clones indexed through RT-PCR assays. The hybrid-varieties with mosaic grade of 6 often had mixed infections of both the mosaic viruses, resulting in severe symptom expression and degeneration. The 0–6 scale mosaic phenotyping developed in this study will be useful to screen the world sugarcane germplasm collections against the mosaic disease. The study identified three S. robustum genotypes as resistant to mosaic, indicating the possibility of identifying resistant sources and these may serve as donors for mosaic resistanceDepartment of Biotechnology, New Delh

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Not AvailableSugarcane mosaic disease is a major threat to sugarcane cultivation worldwide. Under Indian conditions, mosaic disease is caused by Sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SCSMV) and Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) either alone or together. A “0-6” scale mosaic severity grading system has been developed after analysing the phenotypic expression of mosaic symptoms in ~210 genotypes comprising of cultivated species (Saccharum officinarum, S. sinense and S. barberi), wild species (S. spontaneum and S. robustum) and hybrid-varieties at two diverse environments over a period of three years. They were also screened for the presence of SCSMV and SCMV by RT-PCR assays. Out of the 210 genotypes, only 7 were free of mosaic viruses, indicating the rare possibility of getting resistant genotypes among the world collection of sugarcane germplasm. It also clearly indicates that the mosaic disease is widespread in occurrence and nearly 97% of the varieties/genotypes were infected with mosaic viruses. Overall, the presence of SCSMV, SCMV and both the viruses were recorded in 77 (87.5%), 51 (58%) and 46 (52%) of the 88 species-clones indexed through RT-PCR assays. The hybrid-varieties with mosaic grade of 6 often had mixed infections of both the mosaic viruses, resulting in severe symptom expression and degeneration. The 0-6 scale mosaic phenotyping developed in this study will be useful to screen the world sugarcane germplasm collections against the mosaic disease. The study identified three S. robustum genotypes as resistant to mosaic, indicating the possibility of identifying resistant sources and these may serve as donors for mosaic resistanceNot Availabl