Elevated levels of laccase synthesis by Pleurotus pulmonarius BPSM10 and its potential as a dye decolorizing agent

Laccases (EC 1.10.3.2) are a class of multi-copper oxidases that have industrial value. In the present study, forty-five isolates of wild mushrooms were screened for laccase production. Eight of the isolates exhibited exploitable levels of substrate oxidation capacity. Isolate BPSM10 exhibited the highest laccase activity of 103.50?U/ml. Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) rRNA gene sequencing was used to identify BPSM10 as Pleurotus pulmonarius. The response of BPSM10 to two nutritional media supplemented with various inducers was characterized and the results indicated that Malt Extract Broth (MEB) supplemented with Xylidine increased laccase production by 2.8× (349.5?U/ml) relative to the control (122?U/ml), while Potato Dextrose Broth (PDB) supplemented with xylidine increased laccase production by 1.9× (286?U/ml). BPSM10 has the ability to decolorize seven synthetic dyes in a liquid medium. Maximum decolorization was observed of malachite green (MG); exhibiting 68.6% decolorization at 100?mg/L. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to confirm the decolorization capacity. The present study indicates that P. pulmonarius BPSM10 has the potential to be used as a potent alternative biosorbent for the removal of synthetic dyes from aqueous solutions, especially in the detoxification of polluted water.     

The distribution,diversity and abundance of elasmobranch fishes in a modified subtropical estuarine system in Kuwait

To address the paucity of information on the spatial and temporal composition of elasmobranch fish assemblages in the Arabian region, data from fisheries surveys around Kuwait's Boubyan Island, in the Tigris‐Euphrates‐Karun delta at the head of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf were examined. A total number of 461 elasmobranchs consisting of at least 13 taxa were captured by gillnets (300 m length, 4, 4.5, 5.5, and 5.75 inch stretch mesh) and otter trawls (5‐m chain line length, 34 and 10 mm stretch mesh in body and cod end, respectively) from February 2004 to March 2005. Seventy‐nine gillnet sets averaged 24 min soak time, while 431 5‐min trawl tows averaged 4.1 km h^?1 for a swept area of 1025 m² tow^?1 with a net spread of 3 m. Most taxa were infrequently recorded. Of the six species that accounted for over 90% of individual abundance, the longheaded eagle ray Aetobatus flagellum (170, 269.5 kg) and the scaly whipray Himantura imbricata (137, 17.3 kg) ranked first and second, respectively. Most sharks were Arabian carpetshark Chiloscyllium arabicum (22, 7.7 kg) and milk shark Rhizoprionodon acutus (21, 2.3 kg). Species richness for gillnets was greatest along the main Gulf coast (H' = 1.87), although H. imbricata and A. flagellum were widespread. Based on published birth sizes, neonates or young‐of‐year of several species were recorded. Results indicated that the water temperature strongly determined seasonal distribution: no elasmobranchs were recorded in the winter following a 14°C drop after October, and diversity, abundance and biomass generally increased in summer. While salinity varied from 28.4 to 39.8, major anthropogenic modifications in the upper Tigris‐Euphrates watersheds and development of Boubyan Port will result in higher salinities, which in turn will influence longer‐term patterns of elasmobranch distribution.     

Impact of Anti-Peroxynitrite-Damaged-Thymidine- Monophosphate Antibodies on Disease Activity in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Present study probes the role of peroxynitrite (ONOO^-)-modified thymidine-5′-monophosphate (TMP) in SLE patients with different disease activity scores according to the SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI). Serum analysis showed significant increased number of subjects positive for anti-ONOO^--TMP-protein antibodies in SLE patients with different SLEDAI scores. Interestingly, the levels of these antibodies were significantly higher among SLE patients, whose SLEDAI scores were ≥20. In addition, a significant correlation was observed between the levels of anti-ONOO^--TMP-protein antibodies and the SLEDAI score (r = 0.595, p < 0.0001). In short, this study shows a positive association between anti-ONOO^--TMP-protein antibodies and SLEDAI. The stronger response observed in patients with higher SLEDAI scores suggests that anti-ONOO^--TMP-protein antibodies may be useful in evaluating the progression of SLE and in elucidating the mechanisms of disease pathogenesis.     

Effect of metformin on clastogenic and biochemical changes induced by adriamycin in Swiss albino mice

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease that is characterized by deteriorating glycemic control. The disease is known to be caused by imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defense systems. Hyperglycemia is commonly observed in a wide variety of diseases, including cancer. Although, therapy against glycemic control, is used in all these diseases, the diabetic cancer patients are on additional therapy with anticancer drugs. The objective of present study was to study if Glucophage (metformin), a very popular antidiabetic agent can avert the mutagenicity and lipid peroxidation caused by adriamycin (ADR), which is a commonly used cytotoxic drug. The experimental protocol included oral treatment of mice with different doses (62.5, 125 and 250 mg/kg day) of metformin for 7 days. Some mice in each group were injected i.p. with ADR (15 mg/kg). In each case animals were killed, 30 or 24, 48 and 72 h after the last treatment and femurs were excised for cytological studies by micronucleus test. Additional experiments on estimation of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were undertaken in blood and serum, respectively. Twenty-four hour after the treatment, blood from each mouse was collected from heart and preserved for analysis. The results obtained revealed that pretreatment with metformin: (i) reduced the ADR-induced frequency of micronuclei without any alteration in its cytotoxicity and (ii) protected against the ADR-induced increase and decrease of MDA and GSH, respectively. The exact mechanism of action is not known, however, the inhibition of ADR-induced clastogenicity and lipid peroxidation by metformin may be attributed to the antioxidant action of the latter. Our results demonstrate that metformin might be useful to avert secondary tumor risk by decreasing the accumulation of free radicals and inhibition of mutagenicity.     

Bacterial Diversity Associated with Cinachyra cavernosa and Haliclona pigmentifera,Cohabiting Sponges in the Coral Reef Ecosystem of Gulf of Mannar,Southeast Coast of India

Sponges are abundant, diverse and functionally important organisms of coral reef ecosystems. Sponge-associated microorganisms have been receiving greater attention because of their significant contribution to sponge biomass, biogeochemical cycles and biotechnological potentials. However, our understanding of the sponge microbiome is limited to a few species of sponges from restricted geographical locations. Here, we report for the first time the bacterial diversity of two cohabiting sponges, viz. Cinachyra cavernosa and Haliclona pigmentifera, as well as that in the ambient water from the coral reef ecosystems of the Gulf of Mannar, located along the southeast coast of India. Two hundred and fifty two clones in the 16S rRNA gene library of these sponges were grouped into eight distinct phyla, of which four belonged to the core group that are associated only with sponges. Phylogenetic analysis of the core bacteria showed close affinity to other sponge-associated bacteria from different geographical locations. γ-Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Planctomycetes and Deferribacter were the core groups in C. cavernosa while β and δ-Proteobacteria performed this role in H. pigmentifera. We observed greater OTU diversity for C. cavernosa (H^ǀ 2.07) compared to H. pigmentifera (H^ǀ 1.97). UniFrac analysis confirmed the difference in bacterial diversity of the two sponge species and also between the sponges and the reef water (p<0.001). The results of our study restate the existence of a host driven force in shaping the sponge microbiome.     

Assessment of bio-contaminants during COVID-19 outbreak from the indoor environment of Hail city,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Biocontaminants are minute particles derived from different biological materials. Indoor biocontaminants are associated with major public health problems. In Gulf countries, it is more precarious due to the harsh climatic conditions, including high ambient temperatures and relative humidity. In addition, due to COVID-19 pandemic, most of the time public is inside their home. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine the load of biocontaminants in the indoor environment of Hail city. The results showed that most of the bacteria are gram-positive and higher in polymicrobial (87.1%) than monomicrobial (62.7%) association. There was no significant association with sample collection time and types of isolates. The most abundant microbes found in all samples were Staphylococcus aureus followed by Bacillus spp. Among Gram-negative bacterial isolates, E. coli was most common in tested indoor air samples. The study will be useful to find the biocontaminants associated with risk factors and their impact on human health in indoor environment, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. These results indicate the need to implement health care awareness programs in the region to improve indoor air quality.     

Plant indicators in Iraq

Summary Native plants of Iraq have shown considerable variation in their ability to accumulate mineral elements. Halophytes such asSeidlitzia rosmarinus andHalocnemum strobilaceum indicate very high soil sodium contents, and others high magnesium and sulphate contents. Selectivity in the uptake and accumulation of mineral elements was exhibited by many native plants. Surprisingly high or low concentrations of particular elements were found in certain species in comparison with other species collected from the same site and at the same time. Magnesium and sulphate concentrations were as high as 5.80 and 12.16 per cent, respectively, when the concentrations in other species growing on the same site were as low as 0.59 and 1.29 per cent respectively. Selectivity was also indicated by the ability of certain species to accumulate a specific element from soils with high or low concentration of that element.     

Production of biologically active non-woven textiles from recycled polyethylene terephthalate

Recently, various studies have focused on the development of multifunctional non-woven polyethylene terephthalate (PT; polyester) textiles. Herein, we introduce multifunctional non-woven polyester fabrics by pad dry curing silver nitrate (AgNO₃) and aniline monomer into plasma-pretreated non-woven PT textile. This creates a nanocomposite layer of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and polyaniline (PANi) on the fabric surface. In order to prepare a non-woven fibrous mat, we applied the melt-spinning technique on previously shredded recycled PT plastic waste. On the surface of the cloth, PANi was synthesized by REDOX polymerization of aniline. Due to the oxidative polymerization, the silver ions (Ag⁺) were converted to Ag⁰NPs. PANi acted as a conductor while AgNPs inhibited the growth of microorganisms. Microwave-assisted curing with trimethoxyhexadecylsilane (TMHDS) gave PT textiles with superhydrophobic properties. The morphological studies were performed using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The stiffness and breathability of finished non-woven PT textile materials were analyzed to establish their comfort levels. Both of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were used to test the efficacy of the AgNPs-treated textiles as antimicrobial materials. Moreover, the processed polyester textiles showed excellent electrical conductivity and great ultraviolet-ray blocking.     

Micropropagation of grey mangrove Avicennia marina

This study was conducted to develop a micropropagation protocol for grey mangrove, Avicennia marina (Forsk.)     

Trichoderma Harzianum WKY1: an indole acetic acid producer for growth improvement and anthracnose disease control in sorghum

The efficiency of two isolates of Trichoderma harzianum (WKY1 and WKY5) as bio-control agents against anthracnose disease in sorghum was investigated. In vitro, T. harzianum WKY1 isolate showed superiority in terms of inhibition of both mycelial growth and spore germination of Colletotrichum sublineolum, the causative agent of sorghum anthracnose, as well as induction of the sorghum seed germination over T. harzianum WKY5 isolate. The culture filtrate of the selected isolate (T. harzianum WKY1) was analysed using GC-MS system to determine their chemical constituents. Twenty-nine components with varied existence percentages were identified. Although T. harzianum WKY1 produced the phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) on tryptophan free medium, a marked dependency on tryptophan for the production of IAA was noticed. Nutritional components were optimized for maximizing IAA production using the central composite design. The optimum levels were 1.06, 29.86 and 2.93?g?L^?1 from tryptophan, sucrose and NaNO₃, respectively, with a maximum IAA biosynthesis (138.9?µg?mL^?1) after five days of incubation. Production of IAA in the culture filtrate of T. harzianum WKY1 was qualitatively and quantitatively analysed by LC-MS system using a reference standard of IAA. Under greenhouse conditions, application of T. harzianum WKY1 and/or its filtrate reduced greatly the disease severity as well as improved the plant growth of sorghum. From the present data, we can recommend the application of T. harzianum WKY1 as a dual purpose bio-agent for biological control of anthracnose disease and plant growth promotion.