Isolation and Characterization of Two PHA Producing Strains Isolated from Soil Sample of Nalgonda District

Two whitish-colored gram-positive strains producing Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) were isolated from a soil sample from Nalgonda district in the Telangana state of India. With the help of Sudan black B staining, ten isolates with lipids, which showed bluish black color were selected from twenty-six bacterial strains which were selected randomly and purified from the serial diluted plate. Among ten isolates, 3D1 and 3D10 isolates were confirmed with Nile blue A and Nile Red staining for their PHA granules producing capacity. These two isolates grew optimally at a temperature of 37°C and a pH of 9. Furthermore, these strains were able to resist NaCl up to 10%, whereas, optimum NaCl required for the growth of 3D1 was 2%, but optimum NaCl required for the growth of 3D10 was shown to be 4%. PHAs produced by the two strains, 3D1 and 3D10, were extracted and quantified, which produced 68% PHA with a polymer concentration of 4.902 g/L and 61% PHA with a polymer concentration of 4.023 g/L, respectively. Biochemical, Morphological and Molecular characterization were performed on these two isolates. These two strains, 3D1 and 3D10, were closely related to Bacillus sonorensis with similarity of 99.51% and Bacillus safensis subsp. safensis with similarity of 99.66%, respectively. The 16S rDNA gene sequences of these two isolates were submitted to the NCBI Gene bank and the accession numbers were also sought

Isolation and evolutionary analysis of Australasian topotype of bluetongue virus serotype 4 from India

Bluetongue (BT) is a Culicoides-borne disease caused by several serotypes of bluetongue virus (BTV). Similar to other insect-borne viral diseases, distribution of BT is limited to distribution of Culicoides species competent to transmit BTV. In the tropics, vector activity is almost year long, and hence, the disease is endemic, with the circulation of several serotypes of BTV, whereas in temperate areas, seasonal incursions of a limited number of serotypes of BTV from neighbouring tropical areas are observed. Although BTV is endemic in all the three major tropical regions (parts of Africa, America and Asia) of the world, the distribution of serotypes is not alike. Apart from serological diversity, geography-based diversity of BTV genome has been observed, and this is the basis for proposal of topotypes. However, evolution of these topotypes is not well understood. In this study, we report the isolation and characterization of several BTV-4 isolates from India. These isolates are distinct from BTV-4 isolates from other geographical regions. Analysis of available BTV seg-2 sequences indicated that the Australasian BTV-4 diverged from African viruses around 3,500 years ago, whereas the American viruses diverged relatively recently (1,684 CE). Unlike Australasia and America, BTV-4 strains of the Mediterranean area evolved through several independent incursions. We speculate that independent evolution of BTV in different geographical areas over long periods of time might have led to the diversity observed in the current virus population

Genomic regions associated with resistance to peanut bud necrosis disease (PBND) in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population

Parents and 318 F8 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from the cross, TAG 24 × ICGV 86031 were evaluated for peanut bud necrosis disease (PBND) resistance and agronomic traits under natural infestation of thrips at a disease hotspot location for 2 years. Significant genotype, environment and genotype × environment interaction effects suggested role of environment in development and spread of the disease. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis using QTL Cartographer identified a total of 14 QTL for six traits of which five QTL were for disease incidence. One quantitative trait locus q60DI located on LG_AhII was identified using both QTL Cartographer and QTL Network. Another QTL q90DI was detected with a high PVE of 12.57 using QTL Cartographer. A total of nine significant additive × additive (AA) interactions were detected for PBND disease incidence and yield traits with two and seven interactions displaying effects in favour of the parental and recombinant genotype combinations, respectively. This is the first attempt on QTL discovery associated with PBND resistance in peanut. Superior RILs identified in the study can be recycled or released as variety following further evaluations

Electrical Properties of Co-Doped Ceria Electrolyte Ce0.8−xGd0.2SrxO2−δCe_{0.8-x}Gd_{0.2}Sr_{x}O_{2-δ} (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1)

Effects of strontium doping on electrical properties of gadolinium-doped ceria were investigated. The $Ce_{0.8-x}Gd_{0.2}Sr_{x}O_{2-δ}$ (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) compositions were prepared by sol-gel method and sintered at 1300°C for 8 h, the bulk densities were over 93% of theoretical density. These results were consistent with scanning electron microscope. The crystallite size of these materials was determined using the X-ray powder diffractometer and the sizes range from 19.4 nm to 24.4 nm. From the experimental results, it was observed that the composition $Ce_{0.8-x}Gd_{0.2}Sr_{x}O_{2-δ}$ (x=0.02) exhibits higher conductivity (23.6× $10^{-3}$ S $cm^{-1}$) and minimum activation energy (0.83 eV) at 700°C. This composition is thus a potential candidate for use as electrolyte applications in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Electrical Properties of Co-Doped Ceria Electrolyte Ce 0.8-x

Effects of strontium doping on electrical properties of gadolinium-doped ceria were investigated. The $Ce_{0.8-x}Gd_{0.2}Sr_{x}O_{2-δ}$ (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) compositions were prepared by sol-gel method and sintered at 1300°C for 8 h, the bulk densities were over 93% of theoretical density. These results were consistent with scanning electron microscope. The crystallite size of these materials was determined using the X-ray powder diffractometer and the sizes range from 19.4 nm to 24.4 nm. From the experimental results, it was observed that the composition $Ce_{0.8-x}Gd_{0.2}Sr_{x}O_{2-δ}$ (x=0.02) exhibits higher conductivity (23.6× $10^{-3}$ S $cm^{-1}$) and minimum activation energy (0.83 eV) at 700°C. This composition is thus a potential candidate for use as electrolyte applications in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

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Elastic Properties of Double-Layered Manganite La1.2Sr1.8−xBaxMn2O7La_{1.2}Sr_{1.8-x}Ba_xMn_2O_7 (x=0.0-0.4)

The elastic behavior of the sol-gel prepared double-layered manganite system $La_{1.2}Sr_{1.8-x}Ba_xMn_2O_7$ (x = 0.0-0.4) was investigated at 300 K, employing ultrasonic pulse transmission technique at 1 MHz. The values of elastic moduli and acoustic Debye temperature $(θ_D)$ were computed from longitudinal and shear velocities. The measured values were corrected to zero porosity using Hasselman and Fulrath's formula. The elastic constants of the samples, estimated using Modi's heterogeneous metal-mixture rule, were also reported. The variation of elastic moduli with Ba concentration was interpreted in terms of strength of interatomic bonding

Ligand and base-free Heck reaction with heteroaryl halides

Pd(CH3CN)2Cl2-catalyzed Heck reaction of different heteroaryl halides with olefins is carried out in the absence of both the ligand and base to obtain the corresponding coupling products in good yields

Elastic Properties of Double-Layered Manganite La 1.2

The elastic behavior of the sol-gel prepared double-layered manganite system $La_{1.2}Sr_{1.8-x}Ba_xMn_2O_7$ (x = 0.0-0.4) was investigated at 300 K, employing ultrasonic pulse transmission technique at 1 MHz. The values of elastic moduli and acoustic Debye temperature $(θ_D)$ were computed from longitudinal and shear velocities. The measured values were corrected to zero porosity using Hasselman and Fulrath's formula. The elastic constants of the samples, estimated using Modi's heterogeneous metal-mixture rule, were also reported. The variation of elastic moduli with Ba concentration was interpreted in terms of strength of interatomic bonding