Proteomic analysis of wild type and arsenite-resistant Leishmania donovani

Leishmania donovani, causative organism for visceral leishmaniasis, is responsible for considerable mortality and morbidity worldwide. Generation of drug-resistant variants continue to challenge the chemotherapy, the mainstay to fight the disease. The aim of current study was proteomic profiling of wild type (Ld-Wt) and arsenite-resistant (Ld-As20) L. donovani. Significant differences in protein profiles were observed between Ld-As20 and its parent Ld-Wt strain. Proteomic analysis of 158 spots from Ld-Wt and 144 spots from, Ld-As20 identified 77 and 74 protein entries, respectively, through MALDI-TOF/TOF based mass spectrometry and database search. A shift in the isoelectric point of few proteins was observed both in Ld-Wt and Ld-As20, which raises the possibility of continuous arsenite stress, resulting in the differences in the protein profiles of drug-resistant strain from its parent wild type strain. The comparative proteomic data holds the key for elucidation of the multifactorial and complex drug resistance mechanism, like arsenite resistance, in the parasite.     

Dental Variation in Megabats (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae): Tooth Metrics Correlate with Body Size and Tooth Proportions Reflect Phylogeny

Journal of Mammalian Evolution - Variation in the dentition yields insight into the evolutionary history of Mammalia. However, to date, there has been limited research on the dental variation in...     

Somatic Embryogenesis in Capparis decidua (Forsk) Edgew — A Multipurpose Agroforestry Plant

An efficient protocol for direct somatic embryogenesis in Capparis decidua has been developed. Mature zygotic embryos cultured in Murashige and Skoog (MS) liquid medium with 2,4-0 (0.1 mg l^?1) and BA (0.5 mg l^?1) produced somatic embryos directly without an intervening callus phase from the subepidermal cells. Treatment with ABA promoted maturation of somatic embryos and BA (1 mg l^?1)promoted germination. One zygotic embryo produced approximately 230 somatic embryos within 14 to 15 weeks. Embryos germinated in eight weeks and acclimatized plants were transferred to pots.     

Hyperproduction of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase from Bacillus licheniformis ER15 in the presence of high salt concentration

Background: Microbial γ-glutamyl transpeptidases (GGTs) have been exploited in biotechnological, pharmaceutical, and food sectors for the synthesis of various γ-glutamyl compounds. But, till date, no bacterial GGTs are commercially available in the market because of lower levels of production from various sources. In the current study, production of GGT from Bacillus licheniformis ER15 was investigated to achieve high GGT titers. Results: Hyperproduction of GGT from B. licheniformis ER15 was achieved with 6.4-fold enhancement (7921.2?±?198.7?U/L) by optimization of culture medium following one-variable-at-a-time strategy and statistical approaches. Medium consisting of Na₂HPO₄: 0.32% (w/v); KH₂PO₄: 0.15% (w/v); starch: 0.1% (w/v); soybean meal: 0.5% (w/v); NaCl: 4.0% (w/v), and MgCl₂: 5?mM was found to be optimal for maximum GGT titers. Maximum GGT titers were obtained, in the optimized medium at 37°C and 200?rpm, after 40?h. It was noteworthy that GGT production was a linear function of sodium chloride concentration, as observed during response surface methodology. While investigating the role of NaCl on GGT production, it was found that NaCl drastically decreased subtilisin concentration and indirectly increasing GGT recovery. Conclusion: B. licheniformis ER15 is proved to be a potential candidate for large-scale production of GGT enzyme and its commercialization.