Genomics analyses in kelp species

Kelps are large brown algae in the order Laminariales. Kelp species have different distribution ranges along temperate to Polar rocky coastal lines. We sequenced DNA from three Laminaria species namely Laminaria digitata, Laminaria solidungula and Laminaria rodriguezii. Laminaria digitata is found in the Northern Atlantic region with a southern boundary in Brittany (France) or Massachusetts (USA) and a northern boundary in the Artic. Laminaria solidungula is endemic to the Artic and Laminaria rodriguezii is restricted to deep waters of Mediterranean Sea. Currently, not much is known about the nuclear and organellar genomes of kelp species. To initiate the analysis of sequencing data in kelp species the organellar genomes of Laminaria species were generated. The mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes of Laminaria rodriguezii and Laminaria solidungula, and chloroplast genome of Laminaria digitata were analysed and compared with phylogenetic trees derived from publicly available complete mitochondrial and chloroplast kelp genomes. All analysed kelp organellar genomes were found collinear, where large insertion, deletion (indels) or rearrangements were rare with some essential exceptions. Laminaria rodriguezii is very closely related to the North Atlantic temperate to Arctic Laminaria digitata according to the chloroplast and mitochondrial phylogeny. In the mitochondrial genome of Laminaria rodriguezii a stretch of more than 700 base pairs was found, which was not present in any other kelp sequenced so far. The translated Open Reading Frame (ORF) matches a protein coding region in the mitochondrial genome from Desmarestia viridis, a brown seaweed with a cold-temperate to Arctic distribution in the order Desmarestiales, which is closely related to the Laminariales. The high similarity of overlapping parts of two ORFs suggests that it originated through independent introduction, potentially by infection with similar mitoviruses, which is currently known in fungi and plants only. In the chloroplast genomes of Laminaria solidungula a small rearrangement at the inverted repeat regions was found. These rearrangements led to the pseudogenisation of ycf37 gene in Laminaria solidungula, a gene possibly required under high light conditions. This defunct gene might be one of the reasons why the habitat ranges of Laminaria solidungula is restricted to lowlight sublittoral sites in the incomplete lineage sorting of chloroplast genomes in kelp species. This work laid the foundation for analysis of nuclear genome (ca. 400Mb) of Laminaria digitata. The Single nucleotide polymorphism analysis yielded a first glimpse into the population diversity of this species. The draft genome analysis of Laminaria digitata will be part of the comprehensive analysis of brown algal genomes in the framework of the international Phaeoexplorer project led by the Biologigue de Roscoff in France

Isolated tuberculous epididymo-orchitis masquerading as testicular tumor: a diagnostic dilemma

Isolated tuberculous epididymo-orchitis is rare and may present with clinical and radiological features similar to those of testicular tumor. It is thus a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. A 40 yrs old male presented with left sided mass in scrotum for past 6 months, which was clinically and radiologically diagnosed as testicular tumor with hydrocele. FNAC was attempted twice but was inconclusive. Left sided orchiectomy was done. However, the histopathological findings of testicular mass revealed features consistent with tuberculous epididymo- orchitis (TEO). This case emphasizes that patient may present with isolated TEO, which is considered an unusual presentation of tuberculosis and can masquerade as testicular tumor clinically and radiologically. But in countries where prevalence of tuberculosis is high, tuberculous orchitis must be considered in the differential diagnosis of testicular swellings

Pulmonary blastomycosis on autopsy: a rare case report

A case of pulmonary blastomycosis on autopsy in a middle aged male from rural background is presented herewith. Blastomycosis is a pyogranulomatous disease caused by the dimorphic fungus blastomyces dermatitidis. Blastomycosis is endemic in regions of North America that border the Great Lakes. It is one of the great mimickers in medicine. Pulmonary blastomycosis has a broad range of clinical presentations, varying from completely asymptomatic pulmonary infiltrates to diffuse and massive parenchymal involvement that can lead to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Human infection occurs when soil containing microfoci of mycelia is distributed and airborne conidia are inhaled. If natural defences in the alveoli fail to contain the infection, lymphohematogenous dissemination ensues. Diagnosis is based on culture and direct visualization of round, multinucleated yeast forms that produce daughter cells from a single broad- based bud. Most of the cases of blastomycosis reported in India are imported from the endemic areas of the World except a few authochthonous cases in North India

Inferior turbinate osteoma: a case report

Osteoma is the most common benign tumor of the paranasal sinuses. Turbinate osteomas are very rare and only five middle turbinate, two inferior turbinate and one superior turbinate osteoma cases have been reported. We present a rare case of osteoma of the left inferior turbinate in a patient presented with unilateral nasal obstruction that was removed endoscopically and conduct a literature review on turbinate osteomas arising from different turbinates

Impact of elevated carbon dioxide and temperature on wheat production under sub temperate climate in north western Himalayas, India

Wheat is the second most important cereal crop and plays a key role in food and nutritional security. The study examines the impact of elevated carbon dioxide and temperature under limited irrigations on wheat crop using crop growth simulation models under sub temperate climate. The Info Crop model was validated using the historical data generated by the research trials of All India Coordinated Research Improvement Project at Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. The model was run for 20 years from 1991 to 2010 for Palampur weather station. The results revealed 3.6 to 4.0 percent and 1.7 to 7.5 percent increase in simulated crop yield with 420 and 470 ppm CO2 respectively. The elevated maximum and minimum temperature by 1 and 20C with 370 ppm carbon dioxide reduced the anthesis period by 5-7 and 9-11 days respectively over the sowing window of November 15th to December 30th. Similarly, days to maturity also reduced by 4-5 and 7-8 days with 1 and 20C rise in temperature respectively. The simulated crop yield showed increase by 17.9 to 63.0 and 33.2 to 133.4 percent with 1 and 20C rise in temperature at 370 ppm CO2 under limited irrigations. The simulated grain yield at 420 ppm CO2 showed an increase of 23 to 69.7 percent with 10C and 39.5 to 123.5 percent with 20C whereas at 470 ppm CO2 level the increase was 27.9 to 76.1 at 10C and 46.4 to 133.0 percent with 20C rise in maximum and minimum temperatures respectively. Hence, simulated results of elevated temperature and CO2 levels proved to be beneficial in rabi wheat with adaptations strategy of limited irrigations under sub temperate climate of North Western Himalaya

Spectrum of lymph node lesions on cytology in rural Haryana: a retrospective analysis

Background: Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) is a simple, rapid, cost effective and reliable technique which can be used as a routine outpatient department (OPD) procedure and first line of investigation in diagnosing a variety of superficial and deep lesions. Lymphadenopathy is of great clinical significance and the underlying cause may range from a treatable infectious etiology to malignant neoplasms. In this study, we describe the diagnostic utility of FNAC in the assessment of lymph node lesions with an emphasis on the diagnosis of non-neoplastic, benign and malignant neoplastic processes. Cytomorphological patterns of tuberculous lymphadenitis were also observed.Methods: This was a retrospective study and a total of 736 patients including all age groups and both sexes presenting with palpable or deep lymph nodes in FNAC clinic of our institute over a period of 2 years were included in our study. FNAC was conducted with 22-24 Gauge disposable needles attached to 20c.c syringes. Smears were fixed in 95% ethyl alcohol and stained with Papanicolaou stain. Leishman stain was done on air dried smears. Ziehl- Neelsen (ZN) staining was done wherever required.Results: Out of 736 aspirations from lymph nodes, the most frequent cause of lymphadenopathy was found to be Tuberculosis with 419 cases (56.92%). The next frequent diagnosis was reactive lymphadenitis with 193 cases (26.22%) followed by metastatic lymphadenopathy in 47 cases (6.38%). A diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disorder was rendered in 20 cases (2.71%). In 10 cases (1.35%) FNAC was inconclusive.Conclusion: In our study, the predominant cause of lymphadenopathy was tuberculous lymphadenitis, seen in more than half of total cases, followed by reactive lymphadenopathy and malignant neoplasms. FNAC was helpful in establishing the diagnosis in 98.65% of the cases.

Jasmonates: An Emerging Approach in Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance

Plant hormones acts as key signaling compounds in plant stress responses and development under biotic and abiotic stresses. The potential roles of phytohormones had been considered so far and copious investigation is going on in finding the impending role of phytohormones in abiotic and biotic stresses. In the list of known classical plant hormones, Jasmonates, [jasmonic acid and its methyl ester (methyl Jasmonates)] have been recently added and shown as potential tool in enhancing tolerance of plants against various physiological processes. These are oxidized lipids (oxylipins) mainly derived from α-linolenic acids (α-LAs), play an active role in senescence through signaling, flower nectar secretion, Gprotein signaling, physiological activities and development in plants. Exogenous application of jasmonates on different plant parts have proved effective in improving plant abiotic stress tolerance particularly salinity, drought, and temperature (low/high) conditions and also in biotic stress tolerance like pathogen attack or wounding by production of defensive secondary metabolites, through the stimulation of phenyl-propanoid metabolism resulted from accumulation of JA in plant cells or tissues. Based on this prolific role of Jasmonates and its derivatives in different fields of biological sciences these phytohormones have opened new vistas and increasing interest in future Agricultural, Biotechnological and Physiological researches

Agro-industrial byproducts as alternate cost-effective medium components for production of polyhydroxybutyrate

631-642Polyhydroxybutyrates (PHBs), biodegradable plastics, having properties similar to conventional plastics, exhibit a high potential for replacing petrochemical-based non-degradable plastics. But a major obstacle in their large-scale commercial production is high production cost, one of the key factors responsible for which is the expensive carbon sources that are currently being used in their manufacturing process. The present work was aimed to study PHB production using cost-effective substrates as carbon sources in the production medium. Inexpensive agro-industrial byproducts (molasses, cheese whey, wheat bran and banana peel, used in different concentrations) were explored for their potential to substitute the conventional costly substrates. Compared to glucose, all the four alternate carbon sources showed an enhancement in PHB production. The mean percent increase in PHB production was in the range of 3.81% to 7.23%. However, some of the bacterial isolates showed an enhancement as high as 23.32% and 19.65%. Highest mean PHB yield was observed in molasses (135.18 mg/mL), followed by cheese-whey (133.79 mg/mL), banana peel, and least in wheat bran based production medium. On dry weight basis, PHB accumulation in cells was observed to be 64.32% and 64.29% of the total dry cell weight with molasses and cheese whey, respectively, as carbon sources. FTIR spectra of extracted PHB were found to be comparable to the spectra of standard PHB, thus, confirming the chemical nature of the extracted polymer

Increased Heat Resilience of Intraspecific Outbred Compared to Inbred Lineages in the Kelp Laminaria digitata: Physiology and Transcriptomics

Marine forests and kelps as their foundation species are threatened by ocean warming especially at the warm distributional edges. Previously identified genetic divergence and ecotypic differentiation within kelp species may allow to produce more resilient lineages by intraspecific outbreeding among populations. In a mechanistic investigation of heat stress, heterosis (hybrid vigour), and underlying gene expression patterns, we assessed the thermal performance of inbred (selfings) and outbred (reciprocal crosses) sporophytes of the N-Atlantic kelp Laminaria digitata among clonal isolates from two divergent populations; one from the temperate North Sea (Helgoland) and one from the Arctic (Spitsbergen). First, we investigated the upper thermal tolerance of microscopic sporophytes in a 14-day experiment applying sublethal to lethal 20–23°C. The upper survival temperature of microscopic sporophytes was lower for the inbred Arctic selfing (21°C) than for the temperate selfing and the reciprocal crosses (22°C). Only in the temperate selfing, 4.5% of sporophytes survived 23°C. We then subjected 4–7 cm long sporophytes to a control temperature (10°C), moderate (19°C) and sublethal to lethal heat stress (20.5°C) for 18 days to assess gene expression in addition to physiological parameters. Growth and optimum quantum yield decreased similarly in the reciprocal crosses and the temperate selfing at 19 and 20.5°C, while inbred Arctic sporophytes died within seven days at both 19 and 20.5°C. In response to 20.5°C, 252 genes were constitutively regulated across all surviving lineages, which we use to describe metabolic regulation patterns in response to heat stress in kelp. At sublethal 20.5°C, ca. 150 genes were differentially expressed by either crossed lineage in comparison to the temperate selfing, indicating that they maintained a growth response similar to the temperate selfing with differential metabolic regulation during sublethal heat stress. Subtle differences in physiology and the differential expression of nine genes between the reciprocal crosses at 20.5°C indicate that female and male gametophytes may contribute differently to offspring traits. We consider potential inbreeding depression in the Spitsbergen selfing and quantify the better performance of both crosses using heterosis-related parameters. We discuss the potential and risks of outbreeding to produce more resilient crops for mariculture and marine forest restoration

Agro-industrial byproducts as alternate cost-effective medium components for production of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate

Polyhydroxybutyrates (PHBs), biodegradable plastics, having properties similar to conventional plastics, exhibit a high potential for replacing petrochemical-based non-degradable plastics. But a major obstacle in their large-scale commercial production is high production cost, one of the key factors responsible for which is the expensive carbon sources that are currently being used in their manufacturing process. The present work was aimed to study PHB production using cost-effective substrates as carbon sources in the production medium. Inexpensive agro-industrial byproducts (molasses, cheese whey, wheat bran and banana peel, used in different concentrations) were explored for their potential to substitute the conventional costly substrates. Compared to glucose, all the four alternate carbon sources showed an enhancement in PHB production. The mean percent increase in PHB production was in the range of 3.81% to 7.23%. However, some of the bacterial isolates showed an enhancement as high as 23.32% and 19.65%. Highest mean PHB yield was observed in molasses (135.18 mg/mL), followed by cheese-whey (133.79 mg/mL), banana peel, and least in wheat bran based production medium. On dry weight basis, PHB accumulation in cells was observed to be 64.32% and 64.29% of the total dry cell weight with molasses and cheese whey, respectively, as carbon sources. FTIR spectra of extracted PHB were found to be comparable to the spectra of standard PHB, thus, confirming the chemical nature of the extracted polymer