Microbial Production of Amylase from Cassava Waste

Bacterium mura was isolated from cassava waste, (Tamil Nadu, India) for the production of extracellular amylase. On screening for amylase producing bacteria, 5 isolates showed positive results, of which Bacterium mura showed best amylase activity. The optimal conditions for the amylase activity were found at pH 6.0 (39 U/ml) and at temperature 37°C. Amylase activity was found to be higher when lactose (31 U/ml), casein, barley (42 U/ml) and SDS (32 U/ml) were used as the carbon source, nitrogen source, agro waste source and as additives respectively. The enzyme was partially purified by dialysis and the molecular mass was found to be 65kDa by SDS-PAGE. The partially purified and crude amylase was confirmed by zymogram. The partially purified amylase was used in bread making, which improved the softening of the bread and was used as a de-sizing agent

Occurrence of Philometra sp. and its impact on ovary of Mugil chephalus

The aim of this work was to study the occurrence and impact of the Philometra sp. infestation in ovaries of Mugil chephalus from two different landing centers in Tamil Nadu of southeast coast of India. The samples were collected from Parangipettai and Nagapattinam. The prevalence and mean intensity of nematode infection and description were investigated. Based on the light and SEM microscopical examination, this species differs from other Philometra sp. in morphological and biometrical measurements by type of the infected fish family and by the ecological distribution. The study reveals that maximum (77%) prevalence of parasitic infestation was observed during monsoon 2017 in Parangipettai, whereas minimum (2%) was during the postmonsoon 2018 in Nagapattinam. The higher (7) mean intensity of parasitic infestation was noted during postmonsoon 2017 in Nagapattinam, whereas minimum (2) was during premonsoon 2018 in Parangipettai. The results of the ANOVA showed that there was no significant variation found prevalence and mean intensity of parasitic infestations between the stations. But there was a significant variation found between the season in the both stations. This is the first report of Philometra sp. in the ovary of Mugil chephalus. On the basis of nematode, infestation may cause a serious damage to ovary by slurping the blood, causing atrophy of developing ova, fibrosis, increasing granulocytes and hemorrhages, thus harmfully affecting the fish reproduction and indirectly affecting the fisher men communities