Genetic and biological variations amongPlutella xylostella granulovirus isolates

Success of a baculovirus in the field depends on the selection and utilization of effective isolates of viruses with increased pathogenicity and virulence. Isolates ofPlutella xylostella granuloviruses collected from Kenya and India were compared for genetic variations by restriction endonuclease enzyme analysis and for biological activity based on their median lethal concentration and time-to-kill early- and late-third instars. TheP. xylostella granulovirus isolates in Kenya were more diverse than those in India and were considerably different from the latter, with only 53–61% similarity. The Kenyan and Indian isolates did not differ significantly for their median lethal concentration, but the Kenyan isolate collected from Kibwezi was significantly faster than other isolates in killing early- and late-third instarP. xylostella. Cluster analysis of restriction fragment marker profiles of theP. xylostella granulovirus with other granuloviruses revealed that it grouped into a cluster with Spodoptera litura granulovirus, whereasHelicoverpa armigera andChilo infuscatellus granuloviruses grouped into another cluster. Results of the present study indicate the existence of genetically and biologically diverse isolates ofP. xylostella granulovirus which could be further developed into effective biopesticides for the management of diamondback moth. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting May 21, 2008.     

Carbon footprint reduction in the textile process chain: Recycling of textile materials

It is an important task of people connected with the textiles and clothing sector to work on the feasible ways to trim down the carbon footprint in each phase of a textile product??s life cycle. One of the possible ways to decipher the reduction of carbon footprint of textiles and clothing sector is to recycle the textile process waste and also to recycle at the end-of-life of textile products and these aspects are exemplified in this paper in detail. Detailed investigation of the possibilities, barriers, challenges to recycle textile waste materials are discussed in this paper with relevant case studies. For recycling of process waste, an example was modelled by recycling the process waste and the carbon footprint results were demonstrated with the aid of 7.3 version of SIMAPRO LCA (Life cycle assessment) software. From the results of this case study, it was understood that recycling of process waste would contribute to the direct reduction of carbon footprint. For the second case of recycling at the end-of-life, there are many barriers and challenges to the textile products to be recycled, which are discussed in detail. For this case, two hypothetical situations were defined and the carbon footprint results of them were modeled and demonstrated with the aid of 7.3 version of SIMAPRO software to illustrate the benefits of recycling to reduce the carbon footprint. Designers need to conisder, ??Ecological Design?? in design phase to address most of the difficulties faced by recycling of textile products at the end-of-life, which will of certain help to reduce the carbon footprint of the textile products.     

Characterization of Shrimp Oil from Pandalus borealis by High Performance Liquid Chromatography and High Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, was recovered from the cooking water of shrimp processing facilities. The oil contains significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids in triglyceride form, along with substantial long-chain monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). It also features natural isomeric forms of astaxanthin, a nutritional carotenoid, which gives the oil a brilliant red color. As part of our efforts in developing value added products from waste streams of the seafood processing industry, we present in this paper a comprehensive characterization of the triacylglycerols (TAGs) and astaxanthin esters that predominate in the shrimp oil by using HPLC-HRMS and MS/MS, as well as ¹³C-NMR. This approach, in combination with FAME analysis, offers direct characterization of fatty acid molecules in their intact forms, including the distribution of regioisomers in TAGs. The information is important for the standardization and quality control, as well as for differentiation of composition features of shrimp oil, which could be sold as an ingredient in health supplements and functional foods.     

Adélie penguins and temperature changes in Antarctica: a long-term view

During the summer months, Adélie penguins represent the dominant biomass of terrestrial Antarctica. Literally millions of individuals nest in ice-free areas around the coast of the continent. Hence, these modern populations of Adélie penguins have often been championed as an ideal biological indicator of ecological and environmental changes that we currently face. In addition, Adélie penguins show an extraordinary record of sub-fossil remains, dating back to the late Pleistocene. At this time, temperatures were much lower than now. Hence, this species offers unique long-term information, at both the genomic and ecological levels, about how a species has responded to climate change over more than 40 000 years.     

Sprouted Sorghum Extract Elicits Coleoptile Emergence,Enhances Shoot and Root Acclimatization,and Maintains Genetic Fidelity in indica Rice

The high growth-stimulating effect of plant extract has urged the plant biotechnologists to use natural supplements in the culture media instead of synthetic phytohormones. We advocated the effect of sprouted sorghum extract(SSE) on emergence, in vitro acclimatization, and genetic fidelity in coleoptile derived callus of indica rice variety ADT36. The use of SSE with Murashige Skoog medium efficiently acclimatized the root and shoot apical systems. A higher mat and seminal roots(3.4 g biomass) with an efficient shoot primordium elongation were observed with an increase in the concentration of SSE. Seeds treated with SSE medium showed higher germination and earlier coleoptile maturation about 48 h compared to untreated seeds, and there was a higher expression of e EF-1α with an increase in coleoptile length. B5 medium was effective on inducing embryogenic and nodular callus from 3-day-old coleoptile with 3.0 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and further proliferated effectively with 0.8 mg/L kinetin with a fresh weight of 180 mg. Highly significant regeneration was observed with combination of 2.5 mg/L 6-benzylamino purine and 3.0 mg/L α-naphthaleneacetic acid. The metabolic and genetic profiles of in vitro and directly cultivated plants were the same, examined through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, random amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD), inter-simple sequence repeat(ISSR) and R-ISSR(combination of RAPD and ISSR) markers, respectively, and thus confirming the significant efficacy of the SSE incorporated medium. Disarmed T-DNA was transformed to coleoptile derived callus through Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404 and confirmed by GUS assay. The T-DNA integration was confirmed by DNA blot analysis using DNA from transient GUS-expressed explants. Thus, SSE can be used as a natural and organic supplement for organogenesis and efficient acclimatizations of shoot and root apical meristems in regenerated plants.     

Development of slow release Zn fertilizer using nano-zeolite as carrier

Zinc (Zn) use efficiency hardly exceeds 2–3% and major portion of added Zn gets fixed in the soil. In order to improve the Zn use efficiency by crops, a laboratory study was undertaken at the Department of Nano Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India, to develop Zn fertilizer using nano-zeolite as a substrate. The natural zeolite (clinoptilolite) was ball milled to achieve nano-dimension (90–110 nm) and fortified with Zn by loading Zinc sulphate (ZnSO₄). The zeolite was characterized before and after loading of Zn using particle size analyzer, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Raman Spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscope and Transmission Electron Microscope. The data clearly indicated that the nano-zeolite was loaded successfully loaded with Zn to the tune of 14% and Zn presence in the substrate was confirmed by Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. After the synthesis, sorption and desorption pattern of Zn of the nano-zeolite was examined using a percolation reactor. The results showed that Zn release from the nano-zeolite substrate has prolonged for a period of 1,176 hrs, while the Zn release from the ordinary ZnSO₄ ceased to exist within 216 hrs. The data suggest that the nano-sized zeolite is capable of retaining Zn and slowly release into the soil solution, which may be served as a slow release Zn fertilizer and improve use efficiency by crops.     

Characterization of culturable gut bacterial isolates from wild population of melon fruit fly (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bactrocera cucurbitae</Emphasis>) and assessing their attractancy potential for sustainable pest management

The melon fruit fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) poses a serious threat to cucurbit production worldwide. Its management by conventional means remains difficult due to their proclivity to oviposite in fruit. In view of the increasing environmental safety concerns, use of biocontrol agents for sustainable pest control holds immense potential. Given this, the study intended to identify the cultivable bacteria inhabiting the intestinal tract of adult male and female melon fruit flies (Bactrocera cucurbitae) separately from field-collected population, and to assess the attractiveness of these bacteria to the fly. All selected bacterial isolates were identified and characterized based on morphological, biochemical and 16S rRNA gene sequence. Bacterial community identified in the gut of B. cucurbitae predominantly composed of Enterobacteriaceae followed by Staphylococcaceae, Enterococcaceae, Bacillaceae and Brucellaceae. Further, the laboratory bioassay was employed to examine the attractiveness of the supernatant as well as whole culture broth of 10 different species of bacteria to B. cucurbitae adults. Among these, Klebsiella oxytoca and Citrobacter freundii followed by Bacillus cereus were found highly attractive to fruit flies. The field experiment using supernatant of two bacteria demonstrated that the K. oxytoca was significantly more attractive to female flies followed by C. freundii.     

Interspecific rice hybrid of Oryza sativa x Oryza nivara reveals a significant increase in seed protein content

Wild species offer a potential reservoir of genetic variation for crop improvement. Besides the valuable genes for disease resistance that the wild species have provided for rice improvement, recent studies have shown that these wild species could also provide favorable alleles for the improvement of yield and yield-related traits. The present study reports yet another potential of wild relatives of rice, which involves the improvement of seed protein content. A significant increase in seed protein content was observed in an interspecific hybrid between Oryza sativa ssp. indica and the wild species Oryza nivara. The hybrid showed a protein content of 12.4%, which was 28 and 18.2% higher than those of the parents O. nivara and IR 64, respectively. The increase in protein content was dependent on the genetic background of the rice variety used in the hybridization. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of seed storage proteins demonstrated that a significant increase in prolamins and glutelins was mainly responsible for the elevated protein content of the hybrid. Amino acid analysis of seed proteins revealed that the hybrid had net gains of 19.5% in lysine and 19.4% in threonine over the O. nivara parent on a seed dry weight basis. Molecular analysis indicated that the increase in protein content of the hybrid was not a result of chromosomal rearrangements or transposable element activation, at least in the chromosomal regions containing seed storage protein genes. A preliminary genetic analysis of the F 2 segregating population showed that the inheritance of the increased protein content was polygenic in nature. The development of this interspecific hybrid offers a great potential for selecting new rice cultivars that combine the high yield and superior cooking quality of IR 64 with improved seed protein content.     

Structure and regeneration status of mangrove patches along the estuarine and coastal stretches of Kerala,India

This study presents the structural characteristics and regeneration potential of mangrove patches in the estuarine and coastal areas of Kerala, a tropical maritime state in India. Field surveys were carried out at 46 selected sites during August 2015 to May 2016. In each site, the vegetative structure and regeneration status were assessed using the quadrat method. Altogether 219 quadrates were laid out and a total of 13 true mangrove species, belonging to 5 families and 8 genera, were recorded. The total tree density and stand basal area of the study region was1678.08/ha and 20.33 m^2/ha respectively. The low basal areas indicate the reduced structural development in mangroves. Of the 13 tree species, Avicennia constitutes 56%of the total Important Value Index(IVI) and Avicennia officinalis represents 41% of the IVI in Kerala, followed by Avicennia marina(15%), Rhizophora mucronata(15%),Sonneratia alba(8%) Rhizophora apiculata(7%) and Excoecaria agallocha(7%). The diameter at breast height(DBH) in the study area revealed that 47% of the tree species came under the 1–10 cm DBH class. Total sapling and seedling density in Kerala was 2238.35 and 3232.42 individuals/ha respectively. Density of young plants(seedlings ? saplings) was only 31% greater of tree density and varied from 3–63%, which indicates poor regeneration potential. The Maturity index value(MIV) and complexity index(Ic) value of mangroves were 18.30 and 109.81 respectively. However, the low Ic value(\ 10) observed in seven out of ten coastal districts indicated poor structural development of mangroves in Kerala. Therefore, locationspecific conservation and management measures, guided by the knowledge on spatial distribution and habitat requirements of mangrove varieties should be taken to preserve the mangrove diversity of Kerala.