Studies on nutrient solubilization, biocontrol and plant growth promoting traits of Burkholderia cepacia from tea soil

A study was undertaken to isolate a novel indigenous bacterial strain namely Burkholderia cepacia from tea soils to solubilize potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) sources respectively. The isolated strain was screened based on its solubilization potential in both broth and agarized medium amended with various K and P sources. Plant growth promoting traits and biocontrol activity of the purified strain against tea pathogens such as Pestalotiopsis theae, Glomerella cingulata, Poria hypolateritia, Phomopsis theae and Hypoxylon serpens were studied. Results revealed a significant solubilizing zone in agar medium blended with muriate of potash (MOP) (2.0 cm), sulphate of potash (SOP) (1.2 cm), rock phosphate (1.6 cm) and single super phosphate (0.8 cm). The release of available K was quantified in liquid medium supplemented with MOP and was found to be higher (41.5 mg L-1) than SOP. Among different P sources, rock phosphate (35.2 mg L-1) showed higher solubilization than single super phosphate (30.2 mg L-1) by the test organism on 5th day of incubation. B. cepacia was found to produce a large amount of bioactive compounds like siderophore (12.3 μg mL-1), IAA (263.3 μg mL-1) and GA3 (14.9 μg mL-1) including exo-polysaccharides (46.8 ppm). The test organism also showed a remarkable biocontrol activity against P. theae (52.5%), G. cingulata (42.5%), H. serpens (47.5%), Phomopsis theae (32.7%) and P. hypolateritia (30.9%). The secondary metabolites production by an efficient strain B. cepacia revealed that the strain could produce a wide range of volatile compounds

Antimicrobial activity of important Indian medicinal plants against Pyogenic infection

The antimicrobial activity of crude extracts of five medicinal plants used in traditional Indian medicine was tested against five   important  pyogenic bacteria.They are Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Streptococcus pneumoniae. Of the five medicinal plants used only three were showed considerable antimicrobial activity against one or more species of microorganisms tested. Among the three solvents used the most effective extract was found to be methanol extraction. The most effective antimicrobial plant was identified as Glycyrriza glabra followed by Dathura metal, Coccinia grandis. Least activity was observed in  Sida spinosa, and Lab lab purpureus.       ÂÂ

Current Trends in Usage of Traditional System of Medicine in Tamilnadu, India - From the Perspective of Occupation

Socio-economic parameters have significant impact on consumer’s attitude towards the usage of traditional system of medicine in Tamilnadu, India. Though traditional systems of medicine have made significant contributions towards fulfilling healthcare needs of the people in the past, impacts of modern medicine have been so large that traditional medicine witnessed a dark period in India. While such practices are common in the rural/ remote areas, off late, change in the trend with respect to the usage of Siddha medicine as complementary alternative therapy among urban population has been observed. Present study aims to evaluate the resurgence of interest in Siddha medicine among the people working in different sectors (occupation) in Tamilnadu, India

Characterization, hemolysis and multidrug resistance among Aeromonas spp. isolated from Bhavani river, Erode, South India

A total of 87 strains of Aeromonas spp. were identified biochemically. The strains were isolated from 50 samples of water from Bhavani river Erode, Tamil Nadu, India. In the present study among 87 Aeromonas spp. the prevalence strain was identified as A.hydrophila (60.9%), while the other strains belonged to the species A. sobria (20.7%), A. caviae (11.5%) and A.salmonicida (6.9%). The virulence factors like hemolysin, lipase, and serine protease were present in 96%, 93% and 94% of the strains respectively. Antibiotic susceptibility of Aeromonas spp. was determined by disc diffusion method. All Aeromonas spp. were examined for resistance against 16 antibiotics. All strains showed 100% of resistance to Ampicillin,Carbenicillin and Cephalothin. The highest resistances encountered were 91.9% to streptomycin,90.8% to polymyxin-B, 85% to rifampicin while the rest were under 50%.In contrast all the strains were sensitive to cefotaxime.The present work highlights the important incidence of Aeromonas spp., with virulence potential and antimicrobial resistance, isolated from river bhavani

Effects of biofertilizer containing N-fixer, P and K solubilizers and AM fungi on maize growth: A greenhouse trial.

An in vitro study was undertaken to evaluate the compatibility of indigenous plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) with commonly used inorganic and organic sources of fertilizers in tea plantations. The nitrogenous, phosphatic and potash fertilizers used for this study were urea, rock phosphate and muriate of potash, respectively. The organic sources of fertilizers neem cake, composted coir pith and vermicompost were also used. PGPRs such as nitrogen fixer; Azospirillum lipoferum, Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB); Pseudomonas putida, Potassium Solubilizing Bacteria (KSB); Burkholderia cepacia and Pseudomonas putida were used for compatibility study. Results were indicated that PGPRs preferred the coir pith and they proved their higher colony establishment in the formulation except Azospirillum spp. that preferred vermicompost for their establishment. The optimum dose of neem cake powder

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Not AvailableYellow leaf (YL) caused by Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV) has become a serious constraint for sugarcane growth in different countries. Worldwide seven genotypes have been reported, with five based on complete and two based on partial genome characterization. We have previously reported the occurrence of three different SCYLV genotypes in India based on their partial genome sequences. A further four SCYLV isolates from sugarcane from Coimbatore in India were characterized after complete genome sequencing (~ 5875 nt). These isolates (SCYLV-IND) exhibited amino acid (aa) sequence differences of 29.2-31.8, 28.1-34.4 and 30.7-33.4% with REU, HAW-PER and BRA in partial ORF0 sequences, respectively. Similarly IND isolates have 21.4-23.7, 22.5-25.0 and 21.4-23.9% aa sequence differences with REU, HAW-PER and BRA, respectively in partial ORF1. However, the difference was found to be least in ORF5. The genotype reported from China, CHN1 shared a very close relationship with IND isolates with minimum differences of 4.3-5.3%, 4.8-5.8% and 2.5-3.0% in ORF0, 1 and 5 in aa sequences, respectively and 4.4-5.3% in complete nucleotide sequences. Phylogenetic analyses showed a separate lineage for IND isolates. Evidence of recombination was found in ORF1 to ORF5 with the maximum number of sites occurring in ORF2. The high incidence of SCYLV recombination suggests that recombination plays an important role in SCYLV evolution.Not Availabl