A SIMPLE AND EFFICIENT MICROPROPAGATION PROTOCOL FOR DEVELOPING PLANTLETS OF EXACUM BICOLOR ROXB. – AN ENDANGERED, ORNAMENTAL, AND ANTIDIABETIC HERB

Objective: Exacum bicolor Roxb. is an endangered medicinal herb due to overexploitation by humans and its inefficient vegetative reproduction. Here, we report an efficient and simple procedure for the regeneration of E. bicolor Roxb. using leaf as an explant. Methods: The optimal concentrations of the hormones needed for callus induction were determined by full factorial method using DOE (Design expert ver. 8.0). The hormones selected based on literature were kinetin, indole acetic acid, and 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP). Multiple shoot regeneration was carried out in liquid and solid media with the optimal concentrations of the hormones obtained by DOE. Rooting was initiated using Murashige and Skoog media containing naphthalene acetic acid 0.5 mg/l, indole butyric acid (IBA) 1.0 mg/l, and gibberellic acid 3 0.5 mg/l along with 0.2% of activated charcoal. Results: Analysis of full factorial design run showed that BAP in combination with kinetin was effective for the growth of callus and multiple shoot regeneration was higher in liquid media (81.25%). The rate of rooting was observed to be 88.23% and the average number of roots was 0.26. Plantlets with budding apical region and well-established leaves and roots were observed in 30 days. Conclusion: The protocol reported here can be used for effective production of E. bicolor plants in a shorter duration compared to the conventional approach

Promising antimicrobial protein from Klebsiella

834-841Increasing antibody resistance necessitates the use of new antimicrobial products. Antimicrobial peptides (AMP`s) And Proteins are a promising alternative to antibiotics currently being used due to their high degree of specificity & wide range of action Here we report a novel antimicrobial protein from iron reducing bacteria isolated from the coffee estate soils of Coorg district, Karnataka, India. Iron reducing bacteria are known to be antagonistic to others due to the presence of Pseuderophores. It makes them a good source of antimicrobial active principles. Fifteen isolates were obtained by selectively screening for iron reduction. These isolates were tested for antimicrobial activity against Gram positive [Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC3160), Bacillus cereus (MTCC6620)] & Gram negative [Escherichia coli (MTCC1650), Salmonella typhi (MTCC3224) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MTCC2453)] bacteria. Of the 15 isolates, one isolate, CBI-8, which showed good antimicrobial activity, was selected for further studies. The isolate was identified by MALDI-TOF & 16S rDNA sequencing as Klebsiella variicola/quasipneumonae (strain IS93) (genebank - MN814029). To induce and augment the production of antimicrobial molecules, CBI-8 was grown in the presence of Salmonella typhi and the spent medium was subjected to ammonium sulphate precipitation. The fractions which showed promising activity were further subjected to preparatory HPLC. The distinct bands obtained in the SDS-PAGE corresponding to the HPLC peak that showed antimicrobial activity from the induced sample was analyzed by Mass Spectrometry. Antimicrobial Peptide Database (APD3) calculator, Collection of Anti-Microbial Peptides (CAMPR3) software used to predict AMPs in the proteins identified from MS data

Promising antimicrobial protein from Klebsiella

Increasing antibody resistance necessitates the use of new antimicrobial products. Antimicrobial peptides (AMP`s) And Proteins are a promising alternative to antibiotics currently being used due to their high degree of specificity & wide range of action Here we report a novel antimicrobial protein from iron reducing bacteria isolated from the coffee estate soils of Coorg district, Karnataka, India. Iron reducing bacteria are known to be antagonistic to others due to the presence of Pseuderophores. It makes them a good source of antimicrobial active principles. Fifteen isolates were obtained by selectively screening for iron reduction. These isolates were tested for antimicrobial activity against Gram positive [Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC3160), Bacillus cereus (MTCC6620)] & Gram negative [Escherichia coli (MTCC1650), Salmonella typhi (MTCC3224) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MTCC2453)] bacteria. Of the 15 isolates, one isolate, CBI-8, which showed good antimicrobial activity, was selected for further studies. The isolate was identified by MALDI-TOF & 16S rDNA sequencing as Klebsiella variicola/quasipneumonae (strain IS93) (genebank - MN814029). To induce and augment the production of antimicrobial molecules, CBI-8 was grown in the presence of Salmonella typhi and the spent medium was subjected to ammonium sulphate precipitation. The fractions which showed promising activity were further subjected to preparatory HPLC. The distinct bands obtained in the SDS-PAGE corresponding to the HPLC peak that showed antimicrobial activity from the induced sample was analyzed by Mass Spectrometry. Antimicrobial Peptide Database (APD3) calculator, Collection of Anti-Microbial Peptides (CAMPR3) software used to predict AMPs in the proteins identified from MS data

Resistoflavine, cytotoxic compound from a marine actinomycete, Streptomyces chibaensis AUBN(1)/7

In our systematic screening programme for marine actinomycetes, a bioactive Streptomycete was isolated from marine sediment samples of Bay of Bengal, India. The taxonomic studies indicated that the isolate belongs to Streptomyces chibaensis and it was designated as S. chibaensis AUBN(1)/7. The isolate yielded a cytotoxic compound. It was obtained by solvent extraction followed by the chromatographic purification. Based on the spectral. data of the pure compound, it was identified as quinone-related antibiotic, resistoflavine (1). It showed a potent cytotoxic activity against cell lines viz. HMO2 (Gastric adenocarcinoma) and HePG2 (Hepatic carcinoma) in vitro and also exhibited weak antibacterial. activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. (C) 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved