White-rot fungal conversion of wheat straw to energy rich cattle feed

In order to improve the digestibility and nutrient availability in rumen, wheat straw was subjected to solid state fermentation (SSF) with white-rot fungi (i.e. Pleurotus ostreatus and Trametes versicolor) and the fermented biomass (called myco-straw) was evaluated for biochemical, enzymatic and nutritional parameters. The fungal treatment after 30 days led to significant decrease (P < 0.05) in cell wall constituents viz, acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), hemicellulose, lignin and cellulose to the extent of 35.00, 38.88, 45.00, 37.48 and 37.86%, respectively in P. ostreatus fermented straw, while 30.04, 33.85, 39.90, 31.29 and 34.00%, respectively in T. versicolor fermented straw. However, maximum efficiency of fermentation in terms of low carbohydrate consumption per unit of lignin degradation, favoring cattle feed production was observed for P. ostreatus on the 10th day (17.12%) as compared with T. versicolor on the 30th day (16.91%). The myco-straw was found to contain significantly high (P < 0.05) crude protein (CP; 4.77% T. versicolor, 5.08% P. ostreatus) as compared to control straw (3.37%). Metabolizable energy (ME, MJ/kg DM), percent organic matter digestibility (OMD) and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs; mmol) production also increased considerably from control straw (4.40, 29.91 and 0.292) to a maximum up to P. ostreatus fermented straw (4.92, 33.39 and 0.376 on 20th day) and T. versicolor fermented straw (4.66, 31.74 and 0.334 on 10th day), respectively. Moreover, the myco-straw had lower organic carbon and was rich in nitrogen with lower C/N ratio as compared to control wheat straw. Results suggest that the fungal fermentation of wheat straw effectively improved CP content, OM digestibility, SCFAs production, ME value and simultaneously lowered the C/N ratio, thus showing potential for bioconversion of lignin rich wheat straw into high energy cattle feed.     

Low-temperature storage of Rauvolfia serpentina Benth. ex Kurz.: An endangered,endemic medicinal plant

On a standard shoot culture medium, nodal cultures of Sarpagandha (Rauvolfia serpentina) could be maintained for nine months at 25° C by replacing cotton plugs with polypropylene caps as enclosures for culture tubes. Low temperature incubation of in vitro cultures appeared highly promising because cultures exhibited normal health even after 15 months of storage at 15° C; while 10°C and 5°C were found deleterious to growth of the cultures of R. serpentina.     

Withania somnifera Root Extract Has Potent Cytotoxic Effect against Human Malignant Melanoma Cells

In Ayurveda, Withania somnifera is commonly known as Ashwagandha, its roots are specifically used in medicinal and clinical applications. It possesses numerous therapeutic actions which include anti-inflammatory, sedative, hypnotic and narcotic. Extracts from this plant have been reported for its anticancer properties. In this study we evaluated for the first time, the cytotoxic effect of Withania root extract on human malignant melanoma A375 cells. The crude extract of Withania was tested for cytotoxicity against A375 cells by MTT assay. Cell morphology of treated A375 cells was visualized through phase contrast as well as fluorescence microscopy. Agarose gel electrophoresis was used to check DNA fragmentation of the crude extract treated cells. Crude extract of Withania root has the potency to reduce viable cell count in dose as well as time dependent manner. Morphological change of the A375 cells was also observed in treated groups in comparison to untreated or vehicle treated control. Apoptotic body and nuclear blebbing were observed in DAPI stained treated cells under fluorescence microscope. A ladder of fragmented DNA was noticed in treated cells. Thus it might be said that the crude water extract of Withania somnifera has potent cytotoxic effect on human malignant melanoma A375 cells.     

Synthesis and evaluation of 3″- and 4″-deoxy and -fluoro analogs of the immunostimulatory glycolipid,KRN7000

Four 3″- and 4″-deoxy and -fluorogalactosyl ceramides were synthesized, and their ability to stimulate iNKT cells, based on levels of IL-2 production, was assessed in three NKT cell receptor hybridomas. In two of the hybridomas, 1.2 and 2H4, all of the analogs were immunostimulatory, while in the 1.4 hybridoma only the 4″-fluoro analog led to the production of significant levels of IL-2.     

Species confirmation of fungal isolates by molecular analysis

Traditional taxonomy of hyphomycetes has been based on conidial morphology and development. In order to confirm species level for the detection and identification of the entomopathogenic fungus, we analysed the species-specific fingerprints to investigate molecular characteristics within isolates of six species and to resolve morphologically atypical isolates. The extent of fingerprint profile observed by RAPD was sufficient to confirm the species level of all the isolates. The genetic similarity among morphologically identified isolates of each species was considerably higher, allowing us to conclude that all the isolates are of same species. These results establish a molecular framework for further taxonomic, phylogenetic and comparative biological investigations.     

Nucleosomal Positioning and Genetic Divergence Study Based on DNA Flexibility Map

Abstract

Based on worm like chain model, DNA structural parameters—tilt, roll and rise, derived from crystallographic database have been used to determine the flexibility of DNA that regulates the nucleosomal translational positioning. Theoretically derived data has been compared to the experimental values available in Ioshikhes and Trifonov's database. The methodology has been extended to determine the flexibility of 18S rRNA genome in eukarya, where yeast shows a distinct difference when compared with mammals like human, mouse and rabbit.     

Receptor-specific targeting with complementary peptide nucleic acids conjugated to peptide analogs and radionuclides

Summary Genomic sequencing makes it possible to identify all the genes of an organism, now including Homo sapiens. Yet measurement of the expression of each gene of interest still presents a daunting prospect. Northern blots, RNase protection assays, as well as microarrays and related technologies permit measurement of gene expression in total RNA extracted from cultured cells or tissue samples. It would be most valuable, however, to quantitate gene expression noninvasively in living cells and tissues. Unfortunately, no reliable method has been available to measure levels of specific mRNAs in vivo. Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) display superior ruggedness and hybridization properties as a diagnostic tool for gene expression, and could be used for this purpose. On the down side, they are negligibly internalized by normal or malignant cells in the absence of conjugated ligands. Nevertheless, we have observed that Tc-99m-peptides can delineate tumors, and PNA-peptides designed to bind to IGF-1 receptors on malignant cells are taken up specifically and concentrated in nuclei. We have postulated that antisense Tc-99m-PNA-peptides will be taken up by human cancer cells, will hybridize to complementary mRNA targets, and will permit scintigraphic imaging of oncogene mRNAs in human cancer xenografts in a mouse model. The oncogenes cyclin D1, ERBB2, c-MYC, K-RAS, and tumor suppressor p53 are being probed initially. These experiments provide a proof-of-principle for noninvasive detection of oncogene expression in living cells and tissues. This scintigraphic imaging technique should be applicable to any particular gene of interest in a cell or tissue type with characteristic receptors.