Role of Bacillus licheniformis in Phytoremediation of Nickel Contaminated Soil Cultivated with Rice

Heavy metal contamination in soil is an important environmental problem and it has negative effect on agriculture. Bacteria play a major role in phytoremediation of heavy metals contaminated soil. In this study, the effect of Bacillus licheniformis NCCP-59, a halophilic bacterium isolated from salt mines near Karak, Pakistan, were determined on a three week old greenhouse grown seedling and germinating seeds of two rice varieties (Basmati-385 (B-385) and KSK-282) in soil contaminated with different concentrations (0, 100, 250, 500, and 1000 ppm) of Nickel. Nickel significantly reduced the germination rate and germination percentage mainly at 500 and 1000 ppm. Significant decrease in ion contents (Na, K, and Ca) was observed while Ni ion concentration in the plant tissues increases as the concentration of Ni applied increases. The photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a (chl a), chlorophyll b (chl b), and carotenoids) were also decreased by the application of different concentrations of Ni. Total protein and organic nitrogen were found to be reduced at higher concentrations of Nickel. Inoculation of Bacillus Licheniformis NCCP-59 improved seed germination and biochemical attribute of the plant under Ni stress. It is clear from the results that the Bacillus Licheniformis NCCP-59 strain has the ability to protect the plants from the toxic effects of nickel and can be used for the phytoremediation of Ni contaminated soil.     

ETHNOBOTANICAL CONSERVATION STATUS OF MARGALLA HILLS NATIONAL PARK, ISLAMABAD

马加拉山国家公园自建立以来,在自然环境保护方面面临着一些问题。园内住民向来使用药用植物治疗各种疾病,长期依赖周围的植物资源提供食品、房舍、饲料、保健品和其他人文生活的需要。然而,工业化的兴起以及随之而来的人们生活方式的改变,使得利用当地植物作医药的情况不断减少。因此,有必要进行民族植物学研究,把本土植物的利用信息在丧失之前记录下来。调查结果表明,ＡｓｐａｒａｇｕｓａｄｅｓｃｅｎｄｅｎｓＲｏｘｂ．,ＢｅｒｂｅｒｉｓｌｙｃｉｕｍＲｏｙｌｅ（柯杞小檗）和ＶｉｏｌａｃａｎｅｓｃｅｎｃｅＷａｌ．ｅｘＲｏｘｂ．只能少量采集,ＡｃａｃｉａｍｏｄｅｓｔａＷａｌ．,Ａ．ｎｉｌｏｔｉｃａ（Ｌ．）Ｄｅｌｉｌｅ（阿拉伯胶金合欢）,ＢｕｘｕｓｐｉｐｉｌｏｓａＣ．Ｋ．Ｓｃｈｎｅｉｄ．和Ｄｏｄｏｎａｅａｖｉｓｃｏｓａ（Ｌ．）Ｊａｃｑ．（车桑子）等作为薪材面临砍伐的压力。而ＧｒｅｗｉａｏｐｔｉｖａＤｒｕｍ．ｅｘＢｕｒｒｅｔ作为持续利用的饲料和制绳用的种类显示良好的前景     

Hematologic abnormalities associated with simian immunodeficieny virus (SIV) infection mimic those in HIV infection

Background Studies of hematologic abnormalities in HIV‐infected patients are confounded by a multitude of factors. A retrospective data analysis of simian immunodeficieny virus (SIV)‐infected rhesus macaques (RM) of Indian origin was performed to determine the prevalence of hematologic abnormalities free of these confounds. Methods Hematologic data from RM inoculated with SIV and without antiviral therapy were examined pre‐inoculation, and throughout infection and the development of AIDS. Results Anemia, thrombocytopenia, lymphopenia, eosinophilia, and neutropenia all increased in prevalence with SIV infection. Significant increases in prevalence for both neutropenia and neutrophilia were also detected in SIV‐infected macaques. SIV‐infected macaques also had lower lymphocyte counts and increased prevalence of lymphopenia compared with non‐infected subjects. The prevalence of eosinophilia was significantly increased during SIV infection. Conclusions Concordance of hematologic abnormalities during SIV infection of macaques with similar changes in HIV infection of humans suggests that, like in HIV infection, hematologic abnormalities are major complications of SIV infection.     

MFG-E8 regulates the immunogenic potential of dendritic cells primed with necrotic cell-mediated inflammatory signals

Dendritic cells (DC) manipulate tissue homeostasis by recognizing dying cells and controlling immune functions. However, the precise mechanisms by which DC recognize different types of dying cells and devise distinct immunologic consequences remain largely obscure. Herein, we demonstrate that Milk-fat globule-EGF VIII (MFG-E8) is a critical mediator controlling DC immunogenicity in inflammatory microenvironments. MFG-E8 restrains DC-mediated uptake and recognition of necrotic cells. The MFG-E8-mediated suppression of necrotic cell uptake by DC resulted in the decreased proinflammatory cytokines production and activated signal components such as STAT3 and A20, which are critical to maintain tolerogenic properties of DC. Furthermore, the DC-derived MFG-E8 negatively regulates the cross-priming and effector functions of antigen-specific T cells upon recognition of necrotic cells. MFG-E8 deficiency enhances an ability of necrotic cell-primed DC to stimulate antitumor immune responses against established tumors. Our findings define what we believe to a novel mechanism whereby MFG-E8 regulates the immunogenicity of DC by modulating the modes of recognition of dying cells. Manipulating MFG-E8 levels in DC may serve as a useful strategy for controlling inflammatory microenvironments caused by various pathological conditions including cancer and autoimmunity.     

Ethnobotanical studies of plants of Charkotli Hills, Batkhela District, Malakand, Pakistan

A survey was conducted with the aim to document the indigenous information of Charkotli Hills, Batkhela District, Malakand, Pakistan. The area has rich vegetation and a high potential for ethnobotanical utilization. Information was collected on various traditional uses of 100 plants distributed over 49 families, of which 43 families were of dicot, 2 of monocot, 2 of pteridophyta, and 1 of gymnosperms. Most plants have more than one local use. Sixty-six plants were found to be medicinal species, 21 fruit and edible seed species, 11 furniture species, 18 fodder or forage species, 12 vegetable species, 12 fuel species, 11 thatching and building species, 5 hedge or fencing species, 5 timber wood species, 5 poisonous plants, 3 species used in ketchup, 2 fixed oil yielding species, 2 miswak species, 2 species for making sticks for cattle and defense purposes, 2 species cultivated for ornamental purposes, 2 species used as mehindi by girls, 1 irritant species, 1 species for the making of Salai (a little stick for applying ‘surma’ to the eyes), 1 species for tanning, 1 species used as refresher in milk pots, 1 species giving gum used as chewing gum, and 1 species used as insect repellent. The area is under heavy pressure of deforestation and overgrazing, which have reduced the regeneration of woody plants. Proper ecological management is required to protect the wildlife and ethnobotanical resources for the coming generations.     

Characterization of fusarium wilt-resistant and fusarium wilt-susceptible somaclones of banana cultivar rastali (Musa AAB) by random amplified polymorphic DNA and retrotransposon markers

Two DNA fingerprinting techniques, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphism (IRAP), were used to characterize somaclonal variants of banana. IRAP primers were designed on the basis of repetitive and genome-wide dispersed long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposon families for assessing the somaclonal variation in 2Musa clones resistant and susceptible toFusarium oxysporum f. sp.cubense race 4. RAPD markers successfully detected genetic variation within and between individuals of the clones. IRAP makers amplified either by a single primer or a combination of primers based on LTR orientation successfully amplified different retrotransposons dispersed in theMusa genome and detected new events of insertions. RAPD markers proved more polymorphic than IRAP markers. Somaclonal variation seems to be the result of numerous indels occurring genome-wide accompanied by the activation of retroelements, as a result of stress caused by micropropagation. It is concluded that characterization of the somaclonal variants requires more than one DNA marker system to detect variation in diverse components of the genome.     

Association of Escherichia coli O157:H7 with Houseflies on a Cattle Farm

The ecology of Escherichia coli O157:H7 is not well understood. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of and characterize E. coli O157:H7 associated with houseflies (HF). Musca domestica L. HF (n = 3,440) were collected from two sites on a cattle farm over a 4-month period and processed individually for E. coli O157:H7 isolation and quantification. The prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 was 2.9 and 1.4% in HF collected from feed bunks and a cattle feed storage shed, respectively. E. coli O157:H7 counts ranged from 3.0 × 10¹ to 1.5 × 10⁵ CFU among the positive HF. PCR analysis of the E. coli O157:H7 isolates revealed that 90.4, 99.2, 99.2, and 100% of them (n = 125) possessed the stx1, stx2, eaeA, and fliC genes, respectively. Large populations of HF on cattle farms may play a role in the dissemination of E. coli O157:H7 among animals and to the surrounding environment.     

Phytoremediation of landfill leachate waste contaminants through floating bed technique using water hyacinth and water lettuce

Abstract

In the present study, the effectiveness of water hyacinth and water lettuce was tested for the phytoremediation of landfill leachate for the period of 15?days. Fifteen plastic containers were used in experimental setup where aquatic plants were fitted as a floating bed with the help of thermo-pole sheet. It was observed that both plants significantly (p?<?0.05/p?<?0.01/p?<?0.001) reduce the physicochemical parameters pH, TDS, BOD, COD and heavy metals like Zn, Pb, Fe, Cu and Ni from landfill leachate. Maximum reduction in these parameters was obtained at 50% and 75% landfill leachate treatment and their removal rate gradually increased from day 3 to day 15 of the experiment. The maximum removal rate for heavy metals such as for Zn (80–90%), Fe (83–87%) and Pb (76–84%) was attained by Eichhornia crassipes and Pistia stratiotes. Value of bioconcentration and translocation factor was less than 1 which indicates the low transport of heavy metals from roots to the above-ground parts of the plants. Both these plants accumulate heavy metals inside their body without showing much reduction in growth and showing tolerance to all the present metals. Therefore, results obtained from the study suggest that these aquatic plants are suitable candidate for the removal of pollution load from landfill leachate.     

Regulation in Plant Stress Tolerance by a Potential Plant Growth Regulator, 5-Aminolevulinic Acid

Exogenous application of different plant growth regulators is a well-recognized strategy to alleviate stress-induced adverse effects on different crop plants by regulating a variety of physiobiochemical processes such as photosynthesis, chlorophyll biosynthesis, nutrient uptake, antioxidant metabolism, and protein synthesis, which are directly or indirectly involved in the mechanism of stress tolerance. Of various environmental factors, salinity, drought, and extreme temperature (low or high) considerably diminish plant growth and yield by modulating endogenous levels as well as signaling pathways of plant hormones. Of various plant hormones/regulators, a potential plant growth regulator, 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), is known to be effective in counteracting the injurious effects of various abiotic stresses in plants. Until now the mechanisms behind ALA regulation of growth under stress have not been fully elucidated. It is also not yet clear how far growth and yield in different crops can be promoted by exogenous application of ALA and whether this ALA-induced growth and yield promotion is cost-effective. Thus, in this review we discuss at length the effects of ALA in regulating growth and development in plants under a variety of abiotic stress conditions, including salinity, drought, and temperature stress. Furthermore, advances in the functional and regulatory interactions of this plant growth regulator with plant stress tolerance, as well as the effective mode of exogenous application of ALA in inducing stress tolerance in plants are also comprehensively discussed in this review. In the future, overaccumulation of ALA in plants through manipulation of gene(s) could enhance plant stress tolerance. Thus, genetic manipulation of plants with the goal of attaining increased synthesis/accumulation of ALA and hence improved stress tolerance under stress conditions is an important area for research.     

Genetic diversity and population structure of Moringa oleifera

Moringa is a genus of the tropical flowering plant family Moringaceae containing 13 diverse species. Among the different species, only Moringa oleifera L. is cultivated. This species has great potential in serving as a high-value crop for food, medicinal products, as well as fodder for animals, particularly in developing tropical regions of the world. In this study, the genetic diversity and population structure of world-wide collections of M. oleifera were investigated using DNA markers. A total of 19 microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers along with a partial sequence of the chloroplast gene atpB were used to study genetic diversity within 161 accessions of M. oleifera collected from Asia, Africa, North and South America, and the Caribbean. On average, 8.3 alleles/per SSR were amplified in each accession. A total number of 158 alleles were detected in 131 accessions collected from the wild in Pakistan and from 30 accessions obtained from ECHO (Florida). Observed heterozygosity varied from 0.16 to 0.86, with an average of 0.58, while the average PIC value was 0.59. Partial sequencing of chloroplast genes of 43 of 161 plants generated mixed patterns. These findings have demonstrated that there is a large genetic diversity present in wild collections of M. oleifera collected in Pakistan; whereas low genetic diversity is detected in cultivated accessions obtained from ECHO. Taken together, these results agree with previous reports that M. oleifera is native to the Indo-Pakistan ecological region, and provides sufficient diversity for genetic exploration as well as for genetic improvement efforts.