Presence of a blastocyst and mast cell depletion of the mouse uterus

The mast cell population has been studied during early decidualization of the mouse uterus. The number increases in early pregnancy until the attachment phase when a sharp depletion is noticed. This fall has been correlated with stimuli of maternal origin, but at the same time the presence of a blastocyst at the presumptive implantation sites seems to exert a significant effect on the depletion of mast cells. A relationship between the number of mast cells in the uterus and the physiological state of the organ has definitely been established [Harvey, 1964; Likar and Likar, 1964; Gibbons and Chang, 1972; Brandon and Evans, 1983]. The number of mast cells in the pregnant uterus is known to decrease around the time of implantation in the rat [Shelesnyak, 1960; De Feo, 1967; Brandon and Bibby, 1979]. Several workers believe that the mast cell population and histamine content decrease as a result of a rise in circulating estrogen [Westin, 1955; Gibbons and Chang, 1972; Spaziani, 1975]. In the present communication the possibility of a relationship between the decrease in mast cell population and the presence of a blastocyst, whose estrogenic role has been reported [Dickmann and Dey, 1973; Dickmann et al., 1975; Sengupta et al., 1977], in the uterine horn has been discussed.     

Unraveling the camel rumen microbiome through metaculturomics approach for agriculture waste hydrolytic potential

Archives of Microbiology - Cellulose is the most abundant natural polymer present on Earth in the form of agriculture waste. Hydrolysis of agriculture waste for simple fermentable reducing sugars...     

Ancestral haplotype reconstruction in endogamous populations using identity-by-descent

In this work we develop a novel algorithm for reconstructing the genomes of ancestral individuals, given genotype or sequence data from contemporary individuals and an extended pedigree of family relationships. A pedigree with complete genomes for every individual enables the study of allele frequency dynamics and haplotype diversity across generations, including deviations from neutrality such as transmission distortion. When studying heritable diseases, ancestral haplotypes can be used to augment genome-wide association studies and track disease inheritance patterns. The building blocks of our reconstruction algorithm are segments of Identity-By-Descent (IBD) shared between two or more genotyped individuals. The method alternates between identifying a source for each IBD segment and assembling IBD segments placed within each ancestral individual. Unlike previous approaches, our method is able to accommodate complex pedigree structures with hundreds of individuals genotyped at millions of SNPs.We apply our method to an Old Order Amish pedigree from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, whose founders came to North America from Europe during the early 18th century. The pedigree includes 1338 individuals from the past 12 generations, 394 with genotype data. The motivation for reconstruction is to understand the genetic basis of diseases segregating in the family through tracking haplotype transmission over time. Using our algorithm thread, we are able to reconstruct an average of 224 ancestral individuals per chromosome. For these ancestral individuals, on average we reconstruct 79% of their haplotypes. We also identify a region on chromosome 16 that is difficult to reconstruct—we find that this region harbors a short Amish-specific copy number variation and the gene HYDIN. thread was developed for endogamous populations, but can be applied to any extensive pedigree with the recent generations genotyped. We anticipate that this type of practical ancestral reconstruction will become more common and necessary to understand rare and complex heritable diseases in extended families.     

Influence of different Inocula of Meloidogyne arenaria on plant growth parameters and nematode multiplication in balsam (Impatiens balsamina)

Pathogenic effect of root-knot nematode Meloidogyne arenaria was studied on balsam (Impatiens balsamina) by inoculating the different inoculum levels of root-knot nematode. It was observed that the inoculum levels up to 2000 J₂ of root-knot nematode did not show significant reduction in plant growth characters as compared to control. Although the significant reduction in plant growth characters was recorded at and above 3000 J₂ of root-knot nematode, progressive increase in the host infestation as indicated by the number of galls as well as the population of root-knot nematode was recorded with an increase in the level of inoculum. However, the rate of nematode multiplication was reduced with the increase in the inoculum density of M. arenaria. It can be concluded from these results that the damaging threshold level of M. arenaria on balsam was found to be as 3000 J₂/plant.     

RAPD analysis of genetic diversity among the isolates of Aspergillus flavus from different hosts and locations

Aflatoxin contamination is a major problem in maize, groundnut, chillies, cotton and tree nuts. These aflatoxins are low molecular weight toxic and carcinogenic secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus and A. nomius. In the present study, a total of 11 isolates of A. flavus isolated from groundnut, maize and chilli collected from different locations of Tamil Nadu, India were tested for their ability to produce aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in vitro by indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results show that the isolates vary in their level of toxin production. The amount of AFB1 produced by the toxigenic isolates of A. flavus ranged from 6.6 to 108.1?ng?ml^?1. Among the various isolates of A. flavus, the isolate VKR produced the highest amount (108.1?ng?ml^?1) of AFB1. The isolates viz. CBE1, CBE2, BSR1, BSR3 and BSR4 were found to be non-toxigenic. The genetic variability among these isolates was assessed by Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. DNA fragments of between 0.15 and 3.0?kb were obtained using 13 random primers, and each isolate differed in the size and number of PCR products indicating considerable polymorphism. Cluster analysis using Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean clearly separated the isolates into four main clusters confirming the genetic diversity among the isolates of A. flavus. Both toxigenic and non-toxigenic isolates were intermingled in these four groups, indicating that no relationship exists between RAPD profile and the production of aflatoxin by A. flavus.     

Two new fossil woods from the early Miocene of Kutch,Gujarat, India and their significance

The Kutch region of western India (Gujarat State) is today arid to semiarid and characterised by mostly ephemeral streams which carry water during the monsoon. The uneven distribution of rainfall and disturbed topography are the result of climate change during the Cenozoic period. Two fossil woods, namely Bauhinium palaeomalabaricum Prakash and Prasad (Fabaceae) and Ebenoxylon indicum Ghosh and Kazmi (Ebenaceae), are described from Kutch in order to provide insights into the palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate. Because the modern representatives of the present and previously described taxa from the same horizon are thermophilic in nature and grow in evergreen to deciduous forests, a warm and humid climate is interpreted. Furthermore, the finding of some mangrove taxa in the assemblage indicates the lagoonal to intertidal environment at the time of deposition.     

Plant regeneration, genetic fidelity, and active ingredient content of encapsulated hairy roots of Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth.

Among five hairy root lines of Picrorhiza kurrooa that were established through Agrobacterium rhizogenes, one (H7) was selected for encapsulation due to high accumulation of picrotin and picrotoxinin (8.3 and 47.6 μg/g DW, respectively). Re-grown encapsulated roots induced adventitious shoots with 73 % frequency on MS medium supplemented with 0.1 μM 6-benzylaminopurine, following 6 months of storage at 25 °C. Regenerated plantlets had 85 % survival after 2 months. Regenerants were of similar morphotype having increased leaf number and branched root system as compared to non-transformed plants. The transformed nature of the plants was confirmed through PCR and Southern blot analysis. Genetic fidelity analysis of transformed plants using RAPD and ISSR showed 5.2 and 3.6 % polymorphism, respectively. Phytochemical analysis also showed that picrotin and picrotoxinin content were similar in hairy root line and its regenerants.