Drug resistance of bacteria isolated from the intestine of yellowtail cultured with feeds containing various drugs

ABSTRACT: In order to ascertain whether the use of drugs as feed additive for fish may cause drug resistance of bacteria in the intestinal tract, viable counts and bacterial flora in the intestine of yellowtail cultivated with the feeds in the presence or absence of various drugs, drug resistance of the flora were determined. Viable counts in the intestine were lowered remarkably by the administration of each drug, suggesting that bacterial growth in the intestinal tract was inhibited by various drugs. Bacterial flora in the intestine consisted mainly of coryneform bacteria, Staphylococcus and Bacillus regardless of whether drugs were administered or not. In these floras, significant differences could not be observed for their resistance to respective drugs among the isolates from fish cultivated with feeds containing or not containing each drug. In addition, these floras mainly showed resistance to various combinations comprising from one to seven drugs; moreover, the majority of resistant strains were multidrug-resistant.     

Evaluation of direct and indirect measures of quarter milk from crossbred buffaloes

Somatic cell count (SCC), bacteriological findings and electrical conductivity (EC) were measured in milk from 216 quarters of 54 Murrah crossbred buffaloes for characterization of buffalo milk. Mean SCC in normal, subclinical and clinical mastitic milk was 171, 799 and 6039 × 10³/mL, respectively. Coagulase negative Staphylococci (CNS) were the major organisms associated with subclinical mastitis, whereas CNS and coliforms were the predominant organisms in clinical mastitis. EC values were found to be significantly higher in buffalo milk with mammary infection. The best trade-off between sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing mastitis in buffaloes by EC score was found at the cut-off value of 3.7 mS/cm. The direct measures such as SCC, EC, bacteriological findings, and appearance of milk were found to be useful for the evaluation of udder health of buffaloes and categorization of milk.     

Rethinking organic aerosols: semivolatile emissions and photochemical aging

Most primary organic-particulate emissions are semivolatile; thus, they partially evaporate with atmospheric dilution, creating substantial amounts of low-volatility gas-phase material. Laboratory experiments show that photo-oxidation of diesel emissions rapidly generates organic aerosol, greatly exceeding the contribution from known secondary organic-aerosol precursors. We attribute this unexplained secondary organic-aerosol production to the oxidation of low-volatility gas-phase species. Accounting for partitioning and photochemical processing of primary emissions creates a more regionally distributed aerosol and brings model predictions into better agreement with observations. Controlling organic particulate-matter concentrations will require substantial changes in the approaches that are currently used to measure and regulate emissions.     

Co-inoculation of the endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica with the phosphate-solubilising bacterium Pseudomonas striata affects population dynamics and plant growth in chickpea

In this study, inoculation of the chickpea (Cicer arietinum) with the novel symbiotic fungus (Piriformospora indica) was analysed in combination with the Tn5-lacZ-tagged phosphate-solubilising bacterium Pseudomonas striata. This study aims to evaluate whether the co-inoculation of these two species would enhance the population buildup of P. striata in the rhizosphere, P uptake, growth and yield of chickpea. Single inoculation of P. indica and P. striata has a negative effect on plant growth and yield of chickpea. Data showed that the combination of the two microorganisms had a synergistic effect on population buildup of P. striata and plant dry biomass with respect to their single inoculation. However, the P uptake was not significantly influenced by single or combined inoculation of two species. At 20 days after sowing, the influence of combined inoculation on the population of P. striata was positive; at 60 days after sowing, it was neutral as the populations in treatments with single and combined inoculation were at par; and at harvest, it was negative The population of P. striata was higher at flowering stage as compared to 20 days after sowing and at harvest.     

Development of novel chromosome doubling strategies for wheat × maize system of wheat haploid production

Two chromosome doubling strategies were evaluated for producing wheat doubled haploids from wheat x maize crosses: (i) in vitro colchicine application to haploid embryos and (ii) colchicine treatment through postpollination tiller injections. In the in vitro approach the haploid embryos were rescued on medium containing colchicine (at concentrations of 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5%) and moved to a colchicine‐free regeneration medium 48 h later. Embryos exposed to 0.5% colchicine had 91.67% of their regenerated plants showing chromosome doubling. In the tiller injection approach, different concentrations (0.5, 0.75 and 1.0%) of colchicine solution, which also contained 2,4‐D (100 ppm), were injected into the uppermost inter‐node of crossed tillers 48 and 72 h after pollination. The chromosome doubling efficiency varied from 33 to 100%, with 1% treatment being the most effective. No chimeras of doubled/haploid sectors were observed in the case of the tiller injection treatment and all the florets showed seed set in the doubled plants. Stomatal guard cell length provided rapid, early‐stage and unambiguous analysis of ploidy level on the basis of 10 guard cell observations per plant.     

Formulation and pharmacokinetic evaluation of hard gelatin capsule encapsulating lyophilized Vasa Swaras for improved stability and oral bioavailability of vasicine

The oral bioavailability of vasicine (1) was investigated in hard gelatin capsules of lyophilized Vasa Swaras (aqueous extract of Adhatoda vasica Nees.,Fam.: Acanthaceae) The rat pharmacokinetic profile of lyophilized Vasa Swaras, Vasa Swaras, vasicine (1) (chief marker compounds of A. vasica) and a marketed capsule formulation of A. vasica were compared. Vasicine (1) was found to be more orally bioavailable from lyophilized Vasa Swaras, with an overall minor conversion to vasicinone (2).     

Seed protein fractions and amino acid composition in gram (Cicer arietinum)

Six chickpea strains were analysed for their protein content and various protein fractions. The protein content ranged from 20.9–25.27%. Albumin, globulin, prolamin and glutelin contents ranged from 8.39–12.31%; 53.44–60.29%; 3.12–6.89% and 19.38–24.40% respectively. Salt soluble proteins (albumin + globulin) and globulins resolved into 19–23 bands whereas albumin proteins resolved into 30–34 bands. The molecular weights of various polypeptides ranged from 10–91 kD. Amino acid analysis of total proteins revealed that glutamic acid was present in maximum concentration followed by aspartic acid and arginine. Just like other pulse proteins, chick pea proteins were also found deficient in sulphur containing amino acids.     

Biochemistry of Fruit Ripening of Guava (Psidium guajava L.): Compositional and Enzymatic Changes

Changes in chemical composition and the activities of hydrolytic enzymes during four different stages of maturity, viz. mature green (MG), color turning (CT), ripe (R), and overripe (OR), have been studied in guava fruits cv. Banarsi Surkha. Chlorophyll content decreased while carotenoid content increased during ripening. Starch content decreased with concomitant increase in alcohol-soluble sugars. Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin also decreased up to ripe stage, while pectin continued to decrease up to OR stage. PG (polygalacturonase) and cellulase exhibited progressive increase in activity throughout ripening, whereas pectin methyl esterase (PME) activity increased up to CT stage and decreased at R stage. The activities of alpha-amylase and beta-amylase decreased significantly with ripening. The most notable metabolic changes occurred between MG and CT stage, implying that for improved postharvest handling, guava fruits may be harvested at CT stage.     

Screening of pea germplasm for resistance to powdery mildew

Powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe pisi DC results heavy losses in the yield and quality of pods and seeds of pea crop. Germplasm comprising 701 accessions of garden and field pea originating from 60 countries were screened for powdery mildew resistance under natural epiphytotic conditions and 64 accessions found resistant in field screening for 2?years at one location were further screened both in field at two locations and artificially in laboratory to four isolates. The information was also obtained on the amount of genetic diversity and agronomic superiority in resistant accessions. Fifty-seven accessions showed resistant reaction for 3 consecutive years in field screening but only 14 accessions originating from 10 countries showed resistant reaction in laboratory screening against the four most prevalent isolates of E. pisi collected from different places in the area of experiment. Germplasm lines showed both complete and incomplete levels of resistance and variable reactions to different isolates. There was sufficient genetic diversity and agronomic superiority in the resistant accessions e.g. EC598655, EC598878, EC598704, IC278261, and IC218988, which may serve as useful genetic material to plant breeders for breeding pea varieties for powdery mildew resistance and high yield.