Antioxidative Properties of Squid Protein Hydrolysates Prepared Using Seer Fish Visceral Enzymes in Comparison with Commercial Enzymes

ABSTRACT

In the present study, antioxidative potential of squid protein hydrolysates (SPH) prepared using endogenous pepsin and trypsin prepared from the stomach and pyloric ceca of seer fish respectively was evaluated, in comparison with commercial enzymes. Degree of hydrolysis (DH) of the pepsin SPH ranged between 8–11% and trypsin SPH between 12–14% after 150 min of hydrolysis. SPH prepared with endogenous enzymes had significantly higher DH than commercial enzymes. Pepsinogen SPH expressed more DH than pepsin SPH. Trypsin SPH exhibited good metal chelating ability (98%), which was equivalent to EDTA at 130 ppm. Pepsin SPH showed higher super oxide anion scavenging activity (75%). Trypsin and pepsin SPH also had high DPPH radical scavenging (85%), ABTS radical scavenging (93%) and ferric reducing (Abs700 = 1.2) abilities. Thus, metal chelating and superoxide anion radical scavenging activities of SPH are dependent on enzymes rather than DH.     

Sorption of sulfuryl fluoride by food commodities

BACKGROUND: The use of sulfuryl fluoride, a structural fumigant for termite and woodborer control, has recently been expanded to treating stored food commodities and food facilities. There is, however, a lack of data on the sorption of sulfuryl fluoride by food commodities. Knowledge about sorption is important in the context of effective treatment and residues.RESULTS: When sulfuryl fluoride was applied at a dose of 50 g m(-3) to various food commodities (total 68) with 300 g per replicate in 0.75 L gas wash bottles (fumigation chambers) at 25 +/- 1 degrees C, in most cases (81%) the gas concentrations in the free space of the commodities exceeded 50 g m(-3) (range 51-80 g m(-3)) at the end of 24 h exposure. In chambers without the substrate, an average concentration of 49.7 g m(-3) was recorded. About 54% of the commodities showed low-level ( < or = 25%) sorption of sulfuryl fluoride, 34% showed medium-level (26-50%) sorption and only 12% were highly sorptive (>50%). The latter include white oats (terminal gas concentration 17.8 g m(-3)), some of the decorticated split pulses (24.0-29.3 g m(-3)), chickpea flour (26.3 g m(-3)), dried ginger (29.0 g m(-3)), refined wheat flour (30.3 g m(-3)) and coriander powder (40.5 g m(-3)). In unfumigated control commodities, owing to interfering volatiles, Fumiscope readings in the range 0-13 were noted.CONCLUSION: Sulfuryl fluoride has the advantage of a low or moderate level of sorption with the majority of the food commodities.     

Polymorphism of growth hormone receptor (<Emphasis Type="Italic">GHR</Emphasis>) gene in Nilagiri sheep

The allelic variation in the regulatory sequence of growth hormone receptor (GHR) gene influences the growth traits of sheep. A study was carried out to find out the polymorphisms associated with exon 10 of GHR gene and its association with growth traits of Nilagiri sheep. The blood samples were collected from Nilagiri sheep (n?=?103) reared at Sheep Breeding Research Station, Sandynallah, Tamil Nadu, India. DNA was isolated using the phenol-chloroform extraction procedure and eight samples having amplified product of part of exon 10 (895 bp) sequenced. The results indicated transitions of nucleotide G>A at loci G177624A and G177878A. The genotyping frequencies estimated using the tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system-PCR for GG, GA and AA were 0.262, 0.544 and 0.194, and 0.349, 0.505 and 0.146, respectively. The estimated allele frequencies of G and A nucleotides were 0.5340 and 0.4660, and 0.6015 and 0.3985, respectively, at loci G177624A and G177878A. The effects of both the mutations on growth-related traits viz., birth, weaning (3 months) 6, 9 and 12 months weight in Nilagiri sheep were found to be non-significant. This can be a novel approach to assess growth of sheep using the mutation in GHR gene. Thus, this approach can be useful for further investigation as a molecular marker associated with genetic improvement.     

Analysis of molecular variance and population structure in southern Indian finger millet genotypes using three different molecular markers

The genetic relationship among 42 genotypes of finger millet collected from different geographical regions of southern India was investigated using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR), and simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers. Ten RAPD primers produced 111 polymorphic bands. Five ISSR primers produced a total of 61 bands. Of these, 23 bands were polymorphic. The RAPD and ISSR fingerprints revealed 71.3 and 37.4% polymorphic banding patterns, respectively. Thirty-six SSR primers yielded 83 scorable alleles in which 62 were found to be polymorphic. Out of 36 SSR primers used, 14 primers (46.6%) produced polymorphic bands. The SSR primer UGEP7 produced a maximum number of six alleles. Mean polymorphic information content (PIC) of RAPD, ISSR and SSR were 0.44, 0.28, and 0.14, respectively. Molecular variances among the population were 2, 11, and 1% for RAPD, ISSR, and SSR markers, respectively. SSR produced 99% molecular variance within individuals. RAPD and ISSR markers produced a low level of molecular variance within individuals. The STRUCTURE (model-based program) analysis revealed that the 42 finger millet genotypes could be divided into a maximum of four subpopulations. Based on the Bayesian statistics, each RAPD and SSR marker produced three subpopulations (K=3), while ISSR marker showed four subpopulations (K=4). This study revealed that RAPD and SSR markers could narrow down the analysis of population structure and it may form the basis for finger millet breeding and improvement programs in the future.     

The response of phosphine-resistant lesser grain borer Rhyzopertha dominica and rice weevil Sitophilus oryzae in mixed-age cultures to varying concentrations of phosphine

The response of Rhyzopertha dominica and Sitophilus oryzae (both phosphine-resistant) in mixed-age cultures to phosphine at fixed concentration-time products (CT) of 10,500 to 168,000 microliters litre 1 h (ppm h) with either constant, rising or falling concentrations for 7 days was studied at 27 (+/- 2) degrees C. At lower CT products, rising concentrations of phosphine led to significantly fewer survivors of R dominica and S oryzae. Conversely, exposure to falling concentrations of phosphine resulted in significantly more survivors. The influence of changing concentrations of phosphine was more pronounced in S oryzae than in R dominica. In the latter, at the lower CT products of 21,000 and 42,000 microliters-1 h, the adult stage proved to be most tolerant, contrary to the accepted belief that the egg or pupal stage are always more tolerant to phosphine. The results indicate that application of phosphine in rising concentrations is more effective than in constant or falling concentrations.     

Influence of different diets on the growth,survival, fecundity and proximate composition of brine shrimp Artemia franciscana (Kellog, 1906)

Artemia franciscana was studied under in vitro conditions, and fed with five different microalgae species, two organic diets and one mixed diet to evaluate the nutritional profile and growth performance. The A. franciscana instar‐I nauplii were stocked at a density of 100 per litre of ground borewell water with a salinity of 70 ppt in a plastic container and the culture continued for 12 days. The A. franciscana was fed with five microalgal species, such as Tetraselmis sp., Chaetoceros sp., Isochrysis sp., Thalassiosira sp. and Nannochloropsis sp., and organic diets of rice bran, soybean meal, and a mixture of Tetraselmis sp. and Chaetoceros sp. with rice bran, giving a total of eight experiments. The growth of A. franciscana was measured by length, and was observed to be the greatest (10,850 μm) in the group that was fed the mixed algae combination, and the lowest (7,290 μm) in the group that was fed Nannochloropsis sp. Among the different treatments, the highest survival value of 76% was seen in the group that was fed Chaetoceros sp. The fecundity was higher in A. franciscana that were fed with algae Chaetoceros sp., while the lower rate was observed with the group that was fed Nannochloropsis sp. Analysis of proximate composition showed increased levels in the animals fed with Chaetoceros sp. (lipid, 19.40%; eicosapentaenoic acid, 6.70 mg; docosahexaenoic acid, 10.20 mg; amino acids: proline, 2.06 μg; histidine, 0.77 μg, arginine, 0.65 μg, glycine, 0.80 μg, glutamic acid, 1.75 μg; threonine, 1.42 μg) and the mixed diet (protein, 58.59%; carbohydrate, 21.30%; amino acids: asparagine, 0.90 μg; serine, 1.65 μg; tryptophan, 1.66 μg; leucine, 1.50 μg; phenylalanine, 1.14 μg; valine, 0.66 μg). All components showed the lowest level in the diet fed with Tetraselmis species. These A. franciscana populations showed better survival, higher fecundity and biochemical profiles when cultured with microalgae Chaetoceros sp. These data are useful to improve A. franciscana culture in aquaculture to produce quality cysts and biomass, especially in feeding larvae of marine species.     

Tissue culture and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium</Emphasis>-mediated genetic transformation studies in four commercially important indica rice cultivars

This research was undertaken to find an efficient tissue culture system and Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation method for recalcitrant indica rice cultivars. For this, mature seeds of commercially important indica rice varieties, ASD16, ADT43, IR 64, and Pusa Basmati were cultured on MS and N6 medium supplemented with 2 mg l^-1 2, 4-D + 30 g l^-1 sucrose. The calli grown in N6 medium showed better friability and embryogenic response. Out of the four varieties tested, ASD16 and IR64 showed better callusing and embryogenic capacity as compared to ADT43 and Pusa Basmati. For genetic transformation studies, embryogenic calli of all the cultivars were co-cultivated with the Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA 4404 harboring the binary vector pCambia 1305.1 with GUS gene. GUS assay was performed for the putative transformed calli and its activity was found to be qualitatively higher in ASD16 and IR64 than the other two varieties. The best responsive ASD16 transformed calli was regenerated and the putative transgenic lines were regenerated. ASD16 transformed calli were confirmed by GUS assay. PCR analysis confirmed the presence of both GUS and HPT genes in ASD16 transgenic lines.     

Specific immune response in mucosal and systemic compartments of Cirrhinus mrigala vaccinated against Edwardsiella tarda: In vivo kinetics using different antigen delivery routes

Mucosal immune barriers confer protection against invading fish pathogens. Here, we conducted an experiment for 60 days to assess the mucosal and systemic immune response in Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala), an Indian major carp. Fish were immunized with inactivated Edwardsiella tarda by four different routes, namely, oral, immersion, injection, and anal intubation. An indirect enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure the specific immune response (antibody) in serum and mucus (collected from skin, gill, and gut) of the fish on 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 days postimmunization. For specific immune response in the serum, significantly higher (p < 0.05) optical density (OD) values were obtained in the anal group (0.52 ± 0.03) and in the oral group (0.48 ± 0.03). In the skin mucus, significantly higher OD values were obtained in the oral group (0.48 ± 0.04) and immersion group (0.32 ± 0.03). In the gill mucus, significantly higher OD values were obtained in the oral group (0.82 ± 0.08) and the immersion group (0.73 ± 0.03). In the gut mucus, significantly higher OD values were obtained in the immersion group (0.080 ± 0.007) compared to the rest of the treatments. Fish from all the groups were challenged with LD₅₀ dose of E. tarda at the end of the experiment. We conclude that oral and immersion immunization routes offer better protection of C. mrigala compared to other antigen delivery routes.     

Bioscouring of cotton fabrics using pectinase enzyme its optimization and comparison with conventional scouring process

The conventional scouring process involving the harsh environment is slowly being replaced with environment friendly approach using enzymes. These enzymes remove the non cellulosic impurities present in the fabric. Such a process would enhance the absorbency of the fabric without appreciable strength loss and also would help in the proper dyeing and finishing of the fabric. In the present work pectinase enzyme was isolated from Fusariumn sp. and was optimized under different cultural conditions. The partially purified pectinase enzyme was used in the scouring of cotton fabric. The efficiency of the bioscoured cotton fabric was compared with that of the conventionally scoured fabric. It was found that the water absorbing character of the bioscoured fabric was found to be considerably higher than that of the conventionally scoured fabric. Also, the tensile strength of the cotton fabric was found to be higher for the sample treated using pectinase enzyme than the sample treated conventionally. The results of FTIR confer that the pectin and wax impurities were removed from the cotton surface in both the conventionally scoured and bioscoured fabrics.     

Expression of andromonoecy in coriander,Coriandrum sativum L.

Summary The expression and probable genetic control of andromonoecy has been reported in coriander. Highly significant varietal differences were observed in respect of all the characters under study. Male flowers occur intermixed throughout the coriander inflorescence. Early opening flowers in an umbellet are generally hermaphrodite. Decondensing the umbellet, as it were, by using the order of anthesis, it appeared that there is a sharp transition from an earlier hermaphrodite phase to a succeeding male phase in the coriander umbellet. Use of plant growth regulators and gametocide altered the ratio of male to perfect flowers, lowering it. The differentiation of the two types of flowers has been considered as an epigenetic phenomenon and the genetic control of this phenomenon has been discussed.