Kemijski sastav i antibakterijsko djelovanje eteričnog ulja iz rizoma biljke Hedychium larsenii

The composition of essential oil from the rhizomes of Hedychium larsenii M. Dan & Sathish was examined by GC-FID and GC-MS techniques. 99% of the oil consisted of monoterpenoids. Sesquiterpenoids were present only in negligible quantities. Linalool and 1,8-cineole identified as the major components. The oil showed moderate antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.Kemijski sastav eteričnog ulja iz rizoma biljke Hedychium larsenii M. Dan & Sathish ispitivan je pomoću GC-FID i GC-MS. Najvažniji sastojci ulja bili su linalol i 1,8-cineol, a na monoterpene otpada 99%. Seskviterpeni su prisutni samo u zanemarivim količinama. Eterično ulje je pokazalo umjereno antibakterijsko djelovanje na Gram-pozitivne i Gram-negativne bakterije

Functional characterization of a small heat shock protein from Mycobacterium leprae

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Small heat shock proteins are ubiquitous family of stress proteins, having a role in virulence and survival of the pathogen. <it>M. leprae</it>, the causative agent of leprosy is an uncultivable organism in defined media, hence the biology and function of proteins were examined by cloning <it>M. leprae </it>genes in heterologous hosts. The study on sHsp18 was carried out as the knowledge about the functions of this major immunodominant antigen of <it>M. leprae </it>is scanty.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The gene encoding <it>Mycobacterium leprae </it>small heat shock protein (sHsp18) was amplified from biopsy material of leprosy patients, and cloned and expressed in <it>E. coli</it>. The localization and <it>in vitro </it>characterization of the protein are detailed in this report. Data show that major portion of the protein is localized in the outer membrane of <it>E. coli</it>. The purified sHsp18 functions as an efficient chaperone as shown by their ability to prevent thermal inactivation of restriction enzymes <it>Sma</it>I and <it>Nde</it>I. Physical interaction of the chaperone with target protein is also demonstrated. Size exclusion chromatography of purified protein shows that the protein can form multimeric complexes under <it>in vitro </it>conditions as is demonstrated for several small heat shock proteins.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The small heat shock protein sHsp18 of <it>M. leprae </it>is a chaperone and shows several properties associated with other small heat shock proteins. Membrane association and <it>in vitro </it>chaperone function of sHsp18 shows that the protein may play a role in the virulence and survival of <it>M. leprae </it>in infected host.</p

Loss of indigenous brine shrimp Artemia parthenogenetica due to the invasion by American species Artemia franciscana at Thamaraikulam salt pan

1712-1715Artemia, a widely used aquatic live feed inhabits hyper saline environments like salt pans. Artemia parthenogenetica is the native species found in Indian salt pans and is being displaced by an exotic species Artemia fracinscana, which is imported as a commercial live feed for aquaculture. The present study provides evidence of complete invasion of Thamaraikulam salt pan by A. franciscana, which in previous studies was found to be inhabited only by native A. parthenogenetica. Artemia nauplii and cysts were collected from Thamaraikulam salterns and cultured in lab. Total RNA was isolated from the cysts produced and cDNA was synthesised. The species was identified to be A. franciscana upon analysis of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene and P26 gene sequences amplified from the cDNA. Presence of native parthenogenetic strain was not detected even on repeated trials

Antibiofilm Activity of Essential Oil from Etlingera elatior Inflorescence against Acinetobacter baumanii

Acinetobacter baumanii, also known as ‘Iraqibacter’ ranked among the top most pathogens causinghospital acquired infections. Acinetobacter baumanii is resistant to most of the antibiotics which isattributed to its ability to form biofilms. The hike in antimicrobial resistance poses and extra ordinarythreat to human life and therefore developing new antimicrobial drugs become a compelling situation forscientific community. Plants are the rich sources of bioactive compounds. Mankind depended on plantsto cure infections ever since life began. Essential oils secreted by the plants have been used since ancienttimes in many traditional therapies. Essential oils are volatile odoriferous oil extracted from deferent plantparts. In this study, the essential oil from inflorescence of Etlingera elatior (Torch ginger) is used to studyits antibacterial and antibiofilm effects on Acinetobacter baumanii. Essential oil was extracted from theinflorescence using the Clevenger apparatus and stored at 40C. The oil was found to be a promisingantibacterial and antibiofilm agent against the selected bacteria. The components of essential oil wereidentified using GC-MS analysis. Further studies are required to develop drug molecule from the selectedplant essential oil

Whole genome sequence data of Streptomyces californicus TBG-201, a chitinolytic actinomycete isolated from the Vandanam sacred groves of Alleppey District, Kerala, India

This study presents the complete genome sequence of Streptomyces californicus TBG-201 isolated from the soil samples of Vandanam sacred groves in Alleppey District, Kerala, India. The organism has potent chitinolytic activity. The genome of S. californicus TBG-201 was sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq-2500 platform with 2 × 150bp pair-end protocol and assembled using Velvet version 1.2.10.0. The assembled genome has a 7.99 Mb total length, a G+C content of 72.60%, and 6683 protein-coding genes, 116 pseudogenes, 31 rRNAs, and 66 tRNAs. AntiSMASH analysis revealed abundant biosynthetic gene clusters, while the dbCAN meta server was used to detect carbohydrate-active enzyme coding genes. The NCBI Prokaryotic Genome Annotation Pipeline was used for genome annotation. The presence of numerous genes coding for chitin degradation indicates the chitinolytic ability of this strain. The genome data have been deposited in NCBI with the accession number JAJDST000000000

Production and purification of alkaline protease from <em>Exiguobacterium indicum</em> TBG-PICH-001 isolated from soil samples of Pichavaram Estuary (Tamil Nadu)

580-586A proteolytic bacterial strain, TBG-PICH-001, was isolated from soil of Pichavaram estuary, Tamil Nadu, and was identified as Exiguobacterium indicum based on 16S rDNA sequence similarity. Parameters such as incubation time, temperature, initial pH, rate of agitation and inoculum required for peak production of the protease by the newly isolated bacterium under submerged fermentation were optimized using one factor at a time method. &nbsp;Maximum protease production was observed after 48 hrs of incubation at 35 oC with constant stirring at 100 rpm, at an initial pH of 10. Reduced incubation time for enzyme production shows the industrial viability of the strain. Purification of enzyme was achieved by ammonium sulphate fractionation followed by ion-exchange chromatography with DEAE-Cellulose, to give total yield of 27%.&nbsp; The molecular weight determined by SDS-PAGE was approximately 60 kDa