Optimization and effect of dairy industrial waste as media components in the production of hyaluronic acid by Streptococcus thermophilus

Hyaluronic acid (HA) production using a dairy industrial waste is a more cost-efficient strategy than using an expensive synthetic medium. In this study, we investigated the production of HA using Streptococcus thermophilus under shake flask conditions using dairy industrial waste as nutritional supplements, namely whey permeate (WP) and whey protein hydrolysate (WPH). Preliminary screening using Plackett–Burman design exhibited WP, WPH, initial pH, and inoculum size as significant factors influencing HA titer. Response surface methodology design of four factors was formulated at three levels for enhanced production of HA. Shake flask HA fermentation by S. thermophilus was performed under global optimized process conditions and the optimal HA titer (342.93?mg?L^?1) corroborates with Box–Behnken design prediction. The molecular weight of HA was elucidated as 9.22–9.46?kDa. The ultralow-molecular weight HA reported in this study has a potential role in drug and gene delivery applications.     

Molecular organization of great millet (Sorghum vulgare) DNA

Approximately 52% of the nuclear genome of great millet(Sorghum vulgare) consists of repetitive DNA which can be grouped into very fast, fast and slow components. The reiteration frequencies of the fast and slow reassociating components are {dy7000} and 92 respectively. Approximately 90% of the genome consists of repeated sequences interspersed amongst themselves and with single copy sequences. The interspersed repeat sequences are of three sizesviz. > 1·5 kilobase pairs, 0·5–1·0 kilobase pairs and 0·15–0·30 kilobase pairs while the size of the single copy sequences is 3·0 kilobase pairs. Hence the genome organization of great millet is essentially of a mixed type NCL communication No. 3527.     

Population structure and ecology of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer Sparrman, 1779) in Chebera Churchura National Park,Ethiopia

An investigation of population structure and ecology of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer Sparrman, 1779) was carried out in the Chebera Churchura National Park, Ethiopia during the wet and dry seasons of 2005–2006. Sample counts of African buffaloes were carried out in an area of 1,215 km². The estimated population of buffalo was 2,617 individuals. Males comprised 35.0%, while females 52.8% of the population. The remaining 12% of the population was young of both sexes and of all ages of unknown sex. It was difficult to categorize the young into male and female in the field, as their primary sexual characteristics were not easily visible. Male to female sex ratio was 1.00 : 1.51. Age structure was dominated by adults, which constituted 72.06% of the total population. Subadults comprised 22.02%, and young accounted for 5.9% of the population. Larger herds of up to 27 individuals were observed during the wet season and smaller herds of eight individuals during the dry season. The mean herd size during wet and dry seasons was 24.81 and 7.77, respectively. The African buffaloes were distributed in four habitat types such as grasslands, woodlands, montane forests and riverine habitat in the study area. They were observed more in the riverine vegetation types during the dry season. Relative abundance of food resources, green vegetation cover and water availability in the area were the major factors governing their distribution in the present study area. They spent a greater proportion of the time in feeding and resting/ruminating activities. On the average, 49.7% of the daytime was spent in feeding, and 38.75% of the day on resting (lying down and standing). Morning and the late afternoon activity peaks were more pronounced during the dry season than the wet season.     

Micropropagation,encapsulation, and conservation of Decalepis salicifolia,a vanillin isomer containing medicinal and aromatic plant

In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant - An efficient in vitro propagation and synthetic seed production protocol was established for the conservation of Decalepis salicifolia (Bedd....     

Differential regulation of cholera toxin-inhibited Na-H exchange isoforms by butyrate in rat ileum

Electroneutral Na absorption occurs in the intestine via sodium-hydrogen exchanger (NHE) isoforms NHE2 and NHE3. Bicarbonate and butyrate both stimulate electroneutral Na absorption through NHE. Bicarbonate- but not butyrate-dependent Na absorption is inhibited by cholera toxin (CT). Long-term exposure to butyrate also influences expression of apical membrane proteins in epithelial cells. These studies investigated the effects of short- and long-term in vivo exposure to butyrate on apical membrane NHE and mRNA, protein expression, and activity in rat ileal epithelium that had been exposed to CT. Ileal loops were exposed to CT in vivo for 5 h and apical membrane vesicles were isolated. 22Na uptake was measured by using the inhibitor HOE694 to identify NHE2 and NHE3 activity, and Western blot analyses were performed. CT reduced total NHE activity by 70% in apical membrane vesicles with inhibition of both NHE2 and NHE3. Reduced NHE3 activity and protein expression remained low following removal of CT but increased to control values following incubation of the ileal loop with butyrate for 2 h. In parallel there was a 40% decrease in CT-induced increase in cAMP content. In contrast, NHE2 activity partially increased following removal of CT and was further increased to control levels by butyrate. NHE2 protein expression did not parallel its activity. Neither NHE2 nor NHE3 mRNA content were affected by CT or butyrate. These results indicate that CT has varying effects on the two apical NHE isoforms, inhibiting NHE2 activity without altering its protein expression and reducing both NHE3 activity and protein expression. Butyrate restores both CT-inhibited NHE2 and NHE3 activities to normal levels but via different mechanisms.     

Development of high oleic and low linoleic acid transgenics in a zero erucic acid Brassica juncea L. (Indian mustard) line by antisense suppression of the fad2 gene

A zero erucic acid (C22:1) line of Brassica juncea (VH486), adapted to the agronomic conditions of Northern India, has been modified for its fatty acid composition in the seed oil with antisense constructs using the sequence of fad2 gene of B. rapa. The full-length B. rapa fad2 cDNA sequence was determined by 5 and 3 RACE of a partial sequence available in the EST database. Construct pASfad2.1 contained 315 to 1251 bp and construct pASfad2.2 contained 1 to 1251 bp fragment of the fad2 gene, both in antisense orientation, driven by a truncated napin promoter. Analysis of the levels of linoleic acid (C18:2) in the BC1 seeds of single-copy transgenics showed that the construct pASfad2.2 gave better suppression of the fad2 gene as compared to the construct pASfad2.1. The BC1 transgenic seeds containing the pASfad2.2 construct segregated into two distinct classes of C18:2>20% (putative null homozygotes) and C18:2<20% (putative heterozygotes) in a 1:1 ratio, while the T1 seeds segregated into three classes, C18:2>20%, C18:2 between 12% and 20%) and C18:2<12% (putative homozygotes) in a 1:2:1 ratio. Putative homozygous T1 seeds (C18:2<12% analyzed by the half-seed method) of four of the transgenic lines were grown to establish T2 homozygous lines. These had ca. 73% C18:1 and 8 to 9% each of C18:2 and C18:3 (-linolenic acid) fractions in comparison to ca. 53% C18:1, 24% C18:2 and 16% C18:3 in the parental line VH486.     

Discovery of a small-molecule inhibitor and cellular probe of Keap1–Nrf2 protein–protein interaction

A high-throughput screen (HTS) of the MLPCN library using a homogenous fluorescence polarization assay identified a small molecule as a first-in-class direct inhibitor of Keap1–Nrf2 protein–protein interaction. The HTS hit has three chiral centers; a combination of flash and chiral chromatographic separation demonstrated that Keap1-binding activity resides predominantly in one stereoisomer (SRS)-5 designated as ML334 (LH601A), which is at least 100× more potent than the other stereoisomers. The stereochemistry of the four cis isomers was assigned using X-ray crystallography and confirmed using stereospecific synthesis. (SRS)-5 is functionally active in both an ARE gene reporter assay and an Nrf2 nuclear translocation assay. The stereospecific nature of binding between (SRS)-5 and Keap1 as well as the preliminary but tractable structure–activity relationships support its use as a lead for our ongoing optimization     

On the Breeding Biology of Glyphidrilus annandalei MICHAELSON (Haplotaxida: Glossoscolecidae) and its Relation to the Various Physical and Chemical Factors

Glyphidrilus annandalei Michaelson exhibits a pronounced breeding period extending from September to November. Breeding individuals achieve their maximum frequency in September, when 50 per cent of the whole population was with fully developed clitellum. Studies on the physical and chemical conditions of the habitat revealed that breeding in this worm depends the monsoon of the area creating optimum conditions for the life and activities of the organism.