-Amylase production by Penicillium fellutanum isolated from mangrove rhizosphere soil

The effects of pH, temperature, incubation time, salinity, sources of carbon and nitrogen were tested in submerged fermentation process in production of -amylase by Penicillium fellutanum isolated from coastal mangrove soil. The production medium without addition of seawater and with provision ofmaltose as carbon source, peptone as nitrogen source, incubated for 96 h, maintained with pH of 6.5 at 30oC, was found optimal for production of -amylase by P. fellutanu

Ethical Studies in Aacharakkovai

Aacharakkovai is a poetic work of didactic nature belonging to eighteen texts anthology of Tamil literature. This book guides man to live his life in a good manner from birth to death. By adapting the book Aaridam, the writer has sung more than hundred songs in this book. This book is written in Venba style and it belongs to the fifth century. The author of this book is Kayathur Mulliyar. Aacharam means the moral standards that people follow in life. This book has been created with the notion that all the people of the world can know the moral standards that should be followed in life. This article examines the values of academic discipline that is prevalent in Aacharakkovai. Education is an important principle of morality. Educated people live with discipline. Academic discipline is a code of conduct that can be cherished at all times. The purpose of this article is to know and explain such educational thoughts through Aacharakkovai

A review on marine based nanoparticles and their potential applications

The increasing demands on nanoparticles have wide pertinent in almost all the fields. Marine ecosystem has variety of living resources, which includes prokaryotes like microorganism to eukaryotic organism like higher plants and animals. The present review dealt with the application of marine organisms in nanotechnology. Our discussion mainly focused on what the marine organisms are involved in and what type of nanoparticles is synthesized, including size and, medical and medicinal applications. Based on our observation through this review, it will be a good reference document for the further research on marine ecosystem to develop drug from sea. Keywords: Nanomaterial, marine animals, mangroves, marine microbe

Chromosome 1p13 genetic variants antagonize the risk of myocardial infarction associated with high ApoB serum levels

PMCID: PMC3480949This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

First record of Coelastrella vacuolata (Chlorophyta: Scenedesmaceae) in Tuticorin coast, Gulf of Mannar

Present study was aimed to isolate marine green algae from the sea water samples of Tuticorin coast, Gulf of Mannar. The collected seawater was maintained in Walne’s medium with optimum conditions (pH: 8.2-8.7, light intensity: 1000 Lux, salinity: 35 ppt and temperature: 18-25 °C and) for obtaining maximum growth. Then the mixed culture was purified by streak plate method and monoalgal sample was isolated. Monoalgal sample was identified as Coelastrella vacuolata by Light Microscope (LM), Fluorescent Microscope (FM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) based on its morphology. It was further confirmed by the molecular identification by 18s rDNA sequencing. Cells were observed either in isolated or in the colony and the size was ranged from 7 to 11 µ. It is the first record for the presence of C. vacuolata in the seawater of Tuticorin coast, Gulf of Mannar

Efficacy of new herbicide (bispyribac sodium 10% SC) against different weed flora, nutrient uptake in rice and their residual effects on succeeding crop of green gram under zero tillage

Field experiment was conducted in the wetland farms of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during rabi season (August to February) of 2011-12 to evaluate the herbicide (Bispyribac sodium 10% SC) on weed control and their nutrient management in direct seeded lowland rice. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. The results revealed that Early Post Emergence (EPOE) application of bispyribac sodium 10% SC 40 g ha-1 recorded higher weed control efficiency and lesser weed density, nutrient uptake at reproductive stage of the crop. Different weed management practices imposed on rice crop did not affect the germination of succeeding green gram

Antifungal activity of mangrove rhizobacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa against certain phytopathogenic fungi and its growth characterization

Antimicrobial substances are widespread and they are likely to play an important protective role. Marine bacterium has been recognized as producer of important antimicrobial substances which has an exceedingly bright future in the discovery of life saving drugs. The present study was carried out to screen the antifungal activity of mangrove rhizobacteria against certain phyto pathogens from Manakudi estuary, Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu. Around 20 colonies obtained in Zobell marine agar plates were screened for antifungal traits. Among the 20 isolates, the candidate bacterial isolate exhibited good anti fungal ability. Identification of strains was carried out and confirmed by cultural, biochemical and 16S rDNA sequences. The potent strain was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Various process factors such as different pH, temperature, carbon and nitrogen sources and NaCl were tested for the bacterial growth in static and shaking conditions. The isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa possesed a variety of promising properties that favoured as a better biocontrol agent. In the present investigation antifungal activity of the mangrove isolate was tested against common pathogens like Penicillium sp., Candida sp., Aspergillus sp., Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Pescalotionbsis sp., Fusarium oxysporum and Glomerella cinculata. The candidate bacterium showed inhibitory action to the tested fungal pathogens except Fusarium oxysporum and Glomerella cinculata.

Disappearing scales in carps: Re-visiting Kirpichnikov's model on the genetics of scale pattern formation

The body of most fishes is fully covered by scales that typically form tight, partially overlapping rows. While some of the genes controlling the formation and growth of fish scales have been studied, very little is known about the genetic mechanisms regulating scale pattern formation. Although the existence of two genes with two pairs of alleles (S&s and N&n) regulating scale coverage in cyprinids has been predicted by Kirpichnikov and colleagues nearly eighty years ago, their identity was unknown until recently. In 2009, the ‘S’ gene was found to be a paralog of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1, fgfr1a1, while the second gene called ‘N’ has not yet been identified. We re-visited the original model of Kirpichnikov that proposed four major scale pattern types and observed a high degree of variation within the so-called scattered phenotype due to which this group was divided into two sub-types: classical mirror and irregular. We also analyzed the survival rates of offspring groups and found a distinct difference between Asian and European crosses. Whereas nude × nude crosses involving at least one parent of Asian origin or hybrid with Asian parent(s) showed the 25% early lethality predicted by Kirpichnikov (due to the lethality of the NN genotype), those with two Hungarian nude parents did not. We further extended Kirpichnikov's work by correlating changes in phenotype (scale-pattern) to the deformations of fins and losses of pharyngeal teeth. We observed phenotypic changes which were not restricted to nudes, as described by Kirpichnikov, but were also present in mirrors (and presumably in linears as well; not analyzed in detail here). We propose that the gradation of phenotypes observed within the scattered group is caused by a gradually decreasing level of signaling (a dose-dependent effect) probably due to a concerted action of multiple pathways involved in scale formation

Photoaffinity labeling with cholesterol analogues precisely maps a cholesterol-binding site in voltage-dependent anion channel-1

Voltage-dependent anion channel-1 (VDAC1) is a highly regulated β-barrel membrane protein that mediates transport of ions and metabolites between the mitochondria and cytosol of the cell. VDAC1 co-purifies with cholesterol and is functionally regulated by cholesterol, among other endogenous lipids. Molecular modeling studies based on NMR observations have suggested five cholesterol-binding sites in VDAC1, but direct experimental evidence for these sites is lacking. Here, to determine the sites of cholesterol binding, we photolabeled purified mouse VDAC1 (mVDAC1) with photoactivatable cholesterol analogues and analyzed the photolabeled sites with both top-down mass spectrometry (MS), and bottom-up MS paired with a clickable, stable isotope-labeled tag, FLI-tag. Using cholesterol analogues with a diazirine in either the 7 position of the steroid ring (LKM38) or the aliphatic tail (KK174), we mapped a binding pocket in mVDAC1 localized to Thr83 and Glu73, respectively. When Glu73 was mutated to a glutamine, KK174 no longer photolabeled this residue, but instead labeled the nearby Tyr62 within this same binding pocket. The combination of analytical strategies employed in this work permits detailed molecular mapping of a cholesterol-binding site in a protein, including an orientation of the sterol within the site. Our work raises the interesting possibility that cholesterol-mediated regulation of VDAC1 may be facilitated through a specific binding site at the functionally important Glu73 residue