Microbial conversion of Cr (VI) in to Cr (III) in industrial effluent

Bacterial strains (CrT-11, CrT-12, Bravibacterium sp. CrT-13, CrT-14) were isolated from the effluents of tanneries. All strains could resist very high concentration of K2CrO4 that is up to 40 mg ml-1 on nutrient agar and 25 mg ml-1 in nutrient broth. They have wide pH (5 to 9) and temperature (24 to 42˚C) growth range. They exhibited multiple metals (Ni, Zn, Mn, Cu, Co, Pb) and antibiotics (streptomycin, ampicillin, tetracycline, kanamycin, chloramphenicol) resistances. All the strains were able to reduce Cr (VI) in to Cr (III) aerobically. Bravibacterium sp. CrT-13 accumulates and reduce more Cr (VI) at all the concentrations applied in comparison to the other strains. These bacterial strains also take up and reduce Cr (VI) present in industrial effluents, and their reduction potential was not significantly affected in the presence of different metallic salts. Key Words: Cr (VI) reduction, bacteria, industrial effluent, heavy metals. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(11) 2004: 610-61

High-yielding Wheat Varieties Harbour Superior Plant Growth Promoting-Bacterial Endophytes

Background and Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the endophytic microbial flora of different wheat varieties to check whether a better yielding variety also harbours superior plant growth promoting bacteria. Such bacteria are helpful in food biotechnology as their application can enhance the yield of the crop.Material and Methods: Three wheat varieties (Seher, Faisalabad and Lasani) were selected, Seher being the most superior variety. endophytic bacteria were isolated from the histosphere of the leaves and roots at different growth phases of the plants. The isolates were analyzed for plant growth promoting activities. Isolates giving best results were identified through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Statistical analysis was done using Microsoft Excel 2013. All the experiments were conducted in triplicates.Results and Conclusion: The endophytes of Seher variety showed maximum plant growth promoting abilities. Among the shoot endophytes, the highest auxin production was shown by Seher isolate SHHP1-3 up to 51.9μg ml-1, whereas in the case of root endophytes, the highest auxin was produced by SHHR1-5 up to 36 μg ml-1. The bacteria showing significant plant growth promoting abilities were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. Bacillus, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria species were the dominant bacteria showing all the traits of plant growth promotion. It can be concluded that Seher variety harbours superior plant growth promoting endophytes that must be one of the reasons for its better growth and yield as compared to the other two varieties. The investigated results support possible utilization of the selected isolates in wheat growth promotion with respect to increase in agro-productivity. The application of such bacteria could be useful to enhance wheat yield and can help in food biotechnology.Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Alleviation of cadmium toxicity and growth enhancement of helianthusannuus and triticum aestivum seedlings through bacterial inoculation

Two Cd-resistant bacterial growth strains MA-9 (Aeromonas) and MA19 (affinities uncertain), which were isolated from ICI effluents, were used to inoculate seeds ifTriticum aestivum (wheat) and Helianthus annuus (sunflower). Both inoculated and non-inoculated seeds were germinated and grown under different concentrations (0, 1, 2 and 3 mM) of CdCl2 for 10 days. Under Cd-stress conditions, bacteria-inoculated plants had better germination and growth than non-inoculated treatments. Bacterial growth enhancement if seedlings was associated with reduced Cd uptake

Characterization of Diazotrophs associated with roots of Leptochloa fusca (L) Kunth

A group of nine diazotrophs were isolated from the rhizosphere of kallar grass and cultured on nitrogent-jree medium. K 5 , Ks' K9' KlD' Kl2, K13 showed high nitrogenase activity (> 18 n mol C#4 h-I viatl) whereas in K7 and K14 it was comparatively low « 5n mol C#4 h l viatl ). Maximum nitrogenase activity was found in young cultures (after 24 hours of incubation) except for K9 and Kl3 where it was maximum after 36 and 48 h, respectively. All strains were Gram-negat, produced smooth colonies and pellicles on semi-solid media. Cells of K5, K7' KID' KlI, Kl2 and K14 were pleiomorphic: Ks formed long fine rods; K9 was small, round or oval shaped; while KI4 formed beaded rods. Only Ks' K 13 and KI4were found to be motile. All isolates were able to reduce nitrate, and were positive for oxidase an catalese. None of them could denitrify or had urease activity except for K14 which was urease positive. Ks' Kl3 and KI4 were fermentative and produced red pigments. The isolates K5, KIO and KI2 are assigned to the genus Azotobacter while others remained unidentified

Association of variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) and T941G polymorphism of monoamine oxidase (MAO-A) gene with aggression in Pakistani subjects

Background: Human behavioral traits are known to be significantly heritable. Certain individuals have a greater tendency of negative behavioral aspects including aggression. The quest to identify tunderlying genetic causes has led to identification of a number of genetic markers, one of them is the monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) gene. Objective: We aimed to genotype a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) in the promoter region and a functional SNP within this gene (T941G, dbSNP ID: rs6323) in the recruited cohort of 482 subjects. Methods: After DNA isolation, genotyping was done by PCR-RFLP and the results were confirmed by sequencing. Results: For VNTRs, the results showed, highest frequency of 3.5 repeats in males and 4 repeats in females in the promoter region. The genotype frequencies for the SNP in cases were GG=16.3%, TG=20.6% and TT=63.1%, while in controls, the frequencies were GG=12.7%, TG=6.3%, and TT=81.0%. The allele frequencies were significantly different between cases and controls (p=0.015; OR=1.51; CI=1.085-2.102). Conclusion: The selected VNTR and SNP appeared to be significantly associated with aggression. These VNTRs and SNP have not been studied previously in the Pakistani population, hence they represent a unique ethnic group. These results, however, would have to be replicated in larger cohorts

Pleiotropic effects of ACE polymorphism

Angiotenzin-konvertirajući enzim (engl. angiotensin converting enzyme, ACE) ima vitalnu ulogu u normalnoj ljudskoj fiziologiji zbog svojeg izravnog djelovanja u sustavu renin-angiotenzin-aldosteron (RAAS), sustavu kinin-kalikrein, in vitro razgradnji amiloid-beta-peptida, aktivnosti GPI-aze (glikozil-fosfatidilinozitol, GPI) te u signalnoj transdukciji. Budući da na aktivnost ACE snažno utječ e insercijsko-delecijski (I/D) polimorfizam genaACE, prikupljeno je mnoštvo podataka, kako bi se razjasnila udruženost I/D polimorfizma s kardiovaskularnim i ostalim bolestima poput šećerne bolesti, dijabetič ke nefro-patije, dijabetič ke retinopatije, ateroskleroze, koronarne bolesti srca, moždanog udara, hipertenzije, Alzheimerove bolesti, karcinoma i Parkinsonove bolesti. Ovaj će se pregled ogranič iti na uč inak I/D polimorfizma genaACE na dugovječnost s obzirom na patofiziologiju nekih bolesti.Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) has vital role in normal functioning of the human body due to its direct involvement in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), kinin-kallikrein system, in vitro degradation of amyloid beta-peptide, GPIase (glycosylphosphatidylinositol, GPI) activity and in signal transduction. As ACE activity level is strongly influenced by ACE insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism, a huge body of data has been generated to elucidate the association of I/D polymorphism with cardiovascular and non cardiovascular diseases like diabetes, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic retinopathy, atherosclerosis, coronary heart diseases and stroke, hypertension, Alzheimer\u27s disease, cancer and Parkinson\u27s disease. This review will be limited to the effect of ACE I/D polymorphism on longevity considering the pathophysiology of several diseases

Production of surfactin from Bacillus subtilis MZ-7 grown on pharmamedia commercial medium

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