On the ionic composition of five tropical fish-ponds of Aligarh (U.P.), India

Summary The ionic composition offour very productive and one unproductive fishpond has been investigated. The concentration of various ions is typical of carbonate waters except in two ponds for reasons of pollution. Calcium and bicarbonate are the major cation and anion while inspite of high productivity potassium is not very abundant. Because of the geographical position the area enjoys, the carbonate content seems to be important in productivity evaluation. For the same, its equivalent ratio to calcium and bicarbonate is very significant.     

Aerobic Degradation of N-Methyl-4-Nitroaniline (MNA) by Pseudomonas sp. Strain FK357 Isolated from Soil

N-Methyl-4-nitroaniline (MNA) is used as an additive to lower the melting temperature of energetic materials in the synthesis of insensitive explosives. Although the biotransformation of MNA under anaerobic condition has been reported, its aerobic microbial degradation has not been documented yet. A soil microcosms study showed the efficient aerobic degradation of MNA by the inhabitant soil microorganisms. An aerobic bacterium, Pseudomonas sp. strain FK357, able to utilize MNA as the sole carbon, nitrogen, and energy source, was isolated from soil microcosms. HPLC and GC-MS analysis of the samples obtained from growth and resting cell studies showed the formation of 4-nitroaniline (4-NA), 4-aminophenol (4-AP), and 1, 2, 4-benzenetriol (BT) as major metabolic intermediates in the MNA degradation pathway. Enzymatic assay carried out on cell-free lysates of MNA grown cells confirmed N-demethylation reaction is the first step of MNA degradation with the formation of 4-NA and formaldehyde products. Flavin-dependent transformation of 4-NA to 4-AP in cell extracts demonstrated that the second step of MNA degradation is a monooxygenation. Furthermore, conversion of 4-AP to BT by MNA grown cells indicates the involvement of oxidative deamination (release of NH₂ substituent) reaction in third step of MNA degradation. Subsequent degradation of BT occurs by the action of benzenetriol 1, 2-dioxygenase as reported for the degradation of 4-nitrophenol. This is the first report on aerobic degradation of MNA by a single bacterium along with elucidation of metabolic pathway.     

Proteomic Profiling of the TRAF3 Interactome Network Reveals a New Role for the ER-to-Golgi Transport Compartments in Innate Immunity

Tumor Necrosis Factor receptor-associated factor-3 (TRAF3) is a central mediator important for inducing type I interferon (IFN) production in response to intracellular double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Here, we report the identification of Sec16A and p115, two proteins of the ER-to-Golgi vesicular transport system, as novel components of the TRAF3 interactome network. Notably, in non-infected cells, TRAF3 was found associated with markers of the ER-Exit-Sites (ERES), ER-to-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC) and the cis-Golgi apparatus. Upon dsRNA and dsDNA sensing however, the Golgi apparatus fragmented into cytoplasmic punctated structures containing TRAF3 allowing its colocalization and interaction with Mitochondrial AntiViral Signaling (MAVS), the essential mitochondria-bound RIG-I-like Helicase (RLH) adaptor. In contrast, retention of TRAF3 at the ER-to-Golgi vesicular transport system blunted the ability of TRAF3 to interact with MAVS upon viral infection and consequently decreased type I IFN response. Moreover, depletion of Sec16A and p115 led to a drastic disorganization of the Golgi paralleled by the relocalization of TRAF3, which under these conditions was unable to associate with MAVS. Consequently, upon dsRNA and dsDNA sensing, ablation of Sec16A and p115 was found to inhibit IRF3 activation and anti-viral gene expression. Reciprocally, mild overexpression of Sec16A or p115 in Hec1B cells increased the activation of IFNβ, ISG56 and NF-κB -dependent promoters following viral infection and ectopic expression of MAVS and Tank-binding kinase-1 (TBK1). In line with these results, TRAF3 was found enriched in immunocomplexes composed of p115, Sec16A and TBK1 upon infection. Hence, we propose a model where dsDNA and dsRNA sensing induces the formation of membrane-bound compartments originating from the Golgi, which mediate the dynamic association of TRAF3 with MAVS leading to an optimal induction of innate immune responses.     

Locomotion of an efficient biomechanical sperm through viscoelastic medium

Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology - Every group of microorganism utilizes a diverse mechanical strategy to propel through complex environments. These swimming problems deal with the...     

Polarized Cell Migration during Cell-to-Cell Transmission of Herpes Simplex Virus in Human Skin Keratinocytes

In addition to transmission involving extracellular free particles, a generally accepted model of virus propagation is one wherein virus replicates in one cell, producing infectious particles that transmit to the next cell via cell junctions or induced polarized contacts. This mechanism of spread is especially important in the presence of neutralizing antibody, and the concept underpins analysis of virus spread, plaque size, viral and host functions, and general mechanisms of virus propagation. Here, we demonstrate a novel process involved in cell-to-cell transmission of herpes simplex virus (HSV) in human skin cells that has not previously been appreciated. Using time-lapse microscopy of fluorescent viruses, we show that HSV infection induces the polarized migration of skin cells into the site of infection. In the presence of neutralizing antibody, uninfected skin cells migrate to the initial site of infection and spread over infected cells to become infected in a spatially confined cluster containing hundreds of cells. The cells in this cluster do not undergo cytocidal cell lysis but harbor abundant enveloped particles within cells and cell-free virus within interstitial regions below the cluster surface. Cells at the base and outside the cluster were generally negative for virus immediate-early expression. We further show, using spatially separated monolayer assays, that at least one component of this induced migration is the paracrine stimulation of a cytotactic response from infected cells to uninfected cells. The existence of this process changes our concept of virus transmission and the potential functions, virus, and host factors involved.     

Selective Divalent Cobalt Ions Detection Using Ag2O3-ZnO Nanocones by ICP-OES Method for Environmental Remediation

Here, we have synthesized Ag₂O₃-ZnO nanocones (NCs) by a wet-chemical route using reducing agents at low temperature. The structural, optical and morphological properties of Ag₂O₃-ZnO NCs were investigated by several conventional techniques such as powder XRD, XPS, FESEM, XEDS, FTIR and UV/vis. spectroscopy. The analytical parameters of prepared NCs were also calculated for a selective detection of divalent cobalt [Co(II)] prior to its determination by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The selectivity of NCs toward various metal ions, including Cd(II), Co(II), Cr(III), Cu(II), Fe(III), Ni(II), and Zn(II) was studied. Results of the selectivity study demonstrated that Ag₂O₃-ZnO NC phase was the most selective towards Co(II) ion. The uptake capacity for Co(II) ion was experimentally calculated to be ∼76.69 mgg⁻¹. Moreover, adsorption isotherm data provided that the adsorption process was mainly monolayer on homogeneous adsorbent surfaces of Ag₂O₃-ZnO NCs. Kinetic study revealed that the adsorption of Co(II) on Ag₂O₃-ZnO NCs phase followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. In addition, thermodynamic results provided that the adsorption mechanism of Co(II) ions on Ag₂O₃-ZnO NCs was a spontaneous process and thermodynamically favorable. Finally, the proposed method was validated by applying it to real environmental water samples with reasonable results.     

Biochemical and molecular identification of Xanthomonas translucens pv. undulosa causing bacterial leaf streak of wheat in Punjab,Pakistan

Xanthomonas translucens pv. undulosa, (Xtu.), causal agent of Bacterial leaf streak (BLS) of wheat, was characterised through pathogencity, hypersensitivity, biochemical and molecular assays. Fifty symptomatic leaves of wheat were collected from eight agro-ecological zones of Punjab out of which 25 were isolated and purified. Maximum incidence and severity in Faisalabad were followed by Multan and Rahim Yar Khan. The pathogen isolated from diseased leaves was identified on the basis of colonies pattern, colour, biochemical and pathogencity test as X. translucens pv. undulosa and confirmed its pathogencity through pathogencity test. For molecular characterization, the bacterial 16S–23S rDNA spacer fragments were amplified by PCR with conserved primers (C1 and C2) and then in combination with specific primers (T1 & T2). 300?bp product amplified by C1 and C2 primer pair confirmed the presence of Xanthomonas, while specific primers T1 and T2 amplified a product of 200?bp, confirmed the presence of X. translucens pv. undulosa. This work will be quite helpful for wheat pathologist and breeders for future management strategy for this disease.     

Profiling Deleterious Non-synonymous SNPs of Smoker's Gene CYP1A1

CYP1A1 gene belongs to the cytochrome P450 family and is known better as smokers’ gene due to its hyperactivation as a consequence of long term smoking. The expression of CYP1A1 induces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon production in the lungs, which when over expressed, is known to cause smoking related diseases, such as cardiovascular pathologies, cancer, and diabetes. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the simplest form of genetic variations that occur at a higher frequency, and are denoted as synonymous and non-synonymous SNPs on the basis of their effects on the amino acids. This study adopts a systematic in silico approach to predict the deleterious SNPs that are associated with disease conditions. It is inferred that four SNPs are highly deleterious, among which the SNP with rs17861094 is commonly predicted to be harmful by all tools. Hydrophobic (isoleucine) to hydrophilic (serine) amino acid variation was observed in the candidate gene. Hence, this investigation aims to characterize a candidate gene from 159 SNPs of CYP1A1.     

On two fresh water red algae from Dehradun

Summary The present communication deals with morphological features of a new fresh water species of the genus Acrochaetium Naëg. (A. sarmaii sp. nov.). The occurrence of Compsopogon iyengarii is also recorded for the first time from a locality in North India.