|
Volume 5 Number 1 2011 
CONTENTS AND ABSTRACTS
Renuka Diwan, Nutan Malpathak (India) Ruta graveolens Cultures as Screening Resources for Phyto-Pharmaceuticals: Bio-prospecting, Metabolic Phenotyping and Multivariate Analysis (pp 1-9)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Original Research Paper: Ruta graveolens is a folklore plant, used by ancient Egyptians and Greeks and used in traditional medicine systems like Unani, Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine. The plant has potent anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-HIV activity. In this study, R. graveolens and six in vitro cultures (with varying degrees of differentiation) were screened for biologically active compounds by GC-MS analysis. Non-targeted comprehensive analysis, directed towards extracting broad spectrum biochemical information was used for bioprospecting. The relationship between metabolic components and lines was interpreted with the help of multivariate analysis (hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis). The characteristic metabolic traits underlying clustering and separation of culture lines were also elucidated. Bio-prospecting based on GC-MS analysis indicated the presence of several metabolites with wide range of bioactivities: photobilogical, anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-oxidative, anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, anti-platelet aggregation, anti-HIV, immunomodulatory, estrogenic activity, among others with potential economic importance. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that metabolic traits enabled the discrimination of genotypes that exhibited marked differences in pharmaceutically important metabolites. With the use of metabolic phenotyping, in vitro cultures can be used as novel screening resources for new or improved phyto-pharmacueticals.
A. Ravi Charan, V. Prathap Reddy, P. Narayana Reddy, S. Sokka Reddy, S. Sivaramakrishnan (India) Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Pseudomonas fluorescens using PCR-based Methods (pp 10-16)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Original Research Paper: Biological control of crop diseases and pests using microbial inoculants is being increasingly recognized as a viable, eco-friendly alternative that limits the use of chemical pesticides. A variety of microorganisms inhabit the rhizosphere, and among those certain strains of fluorescent pseudomonads have received much attention because of their potential to function as biological agents for the control of soil-borne pathogenic fungi that cause a number of diseases in crop plants. A number of strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens were isolated from the soil rhizosphere and other sources with a view to use them as biological control agents for different crops. The genetic diversity of P. fluorescens strains was assessed by two PCR-based molecular techniques, RAPDs and Rep-PCR. Both methods effectively assessed the diversity of the 15 P. fluorescens isolates. Though clustering of the various isolates into different groups was not similar, the uniqueness one of the isolates, Pf-6, was demonstrated by the formation of a separate group in both methods. Rep-PCR appears to be more consistent and reliable for diversity assessment as the PCR primers are targeted to a specific region unlike RAPDs, which uses shorter oligonucleotide primers.
Dariush Minai-Tehrani, Saeed Minoui, Asma Ghodsi (Iran) Biotreatment of Aliphatic and Aromatic Fractions of Crude Oil-contaminated Water by Oil-degrading Bacterial Consortium (pp 17-21)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Original Research Paper: Contamination of water by oil or its by-products can damage the environment. Some microorganisms use oil as the sole carbon source and degrade it to simple and non-toxic products. Bioremediation is an economic and efficient method to decrease oil contamination. In this report, bioremediation of aliphatic and aromatic fractions of crude oil in oil-contaminated water obtained from a water well near a Tehran refinery by a bacterial consortium was studied. The reduction of total crude oil, aliphatic and aromatic reduction was 28, 60 and 35% respectively after 96 h. Most aliphatic reduction occurred between C14 and C24. The reduction of phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene and chrysene was studied. The highest reduction was observed in fluoranthene (43%) and phenanthrene (35%). Our results show that the bacterial consortium had a high potential to remove oil from contaminated water in a short period of time.
Gopalakrishnan Suresh, Nagaiya Ravichandran, Balasubramanian Ramesh, Arumugam Suresh, Ganesan Vijaiyan Siva (India) Isolation and Characterization of Chromium-Tolerant Bacteria from Chromium-Containing Waste Water (pp 22-27)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Original Research Paper: Serious chromium (Cr6+) contamination of both surface water and ground water has been reported in the Palar River Basin of Vellore District (Tamil Nadu), India due to the discharge of improperly treated effluents from tanneries and other industries in and around Ranipet. The primary objective of this study was to isolate and identify a potent chromate-reducing bacterial strain. Treated and untreated tannery effluent samples were collected from Ranipet at three different locations for Cr6+ analysis and the bacterial population was enumerated. The effluents characteristically contained high levels of Cr. Hence in the present study attempts were made to isolate and characterize chromate-resistant and -reducing bacterial strains. The majority of the chromate-resistant bacterial isolates from the tannery effluents showed a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Cr6+ ranging from 100 to 1500 mg/l. About 32.14% of the total 56 isolates of bacterial strains were able to grow at 200 mg/l Cr6+. The potent Cr6+-resistant strains of Proteus sp. V16and Pseudomonas mendocina V42 showed a very high tolerance level to 1500 mg/l and were able to show 100% Cr6+ reduction up to 400 mg/l within 80 and 75 h, respectively. The present study conclusively demonstrates the ability of native microbial population present in tannery effluent to reduce Cr6+ compounds and is the first report on chromate-reducing bacterial strains from Ranipet tannery effluents showing tolerance up to 1500 mg/l. Proteus sp. V16and Pseudomonas mendocina V42 have great potential for bioremediation of Cr6+-containing wastes. This approach permits the selection of bacterial strains which could be used for specific environmental clean up operations.
Jude C. Igwe, Augustine A. Abia, Stanley O. Nwankwo (Nigeria) Bioremediation of Al (III), Cr (VI) and Ni (II) Ions from Aqueous Solution using Cocoa Pod Husk: Kinetics and Intraparticle Diffusivities (pp 28-35)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Original Research Paper: The occurrence of heavy metals (HMs) in aquatic ecosystems in excess of natural background loads has become a problem of increasing concern. As a result of the toxicity of these HMs on humans and other forms of life, their removal has become very important. Bioremediation vis-à-vis the kinetics of sorption, intraparticle diffusivities and mechanisms of Cr (VI), Ni (II), and Al (III) ions removal using two different particle sizes of cocoa pod husk (CPH) was studied. The amount of HM ions adsorbed increased with time. At initial HM ion concentration of 1000 mg/L, pH of 7.5 and temperature of 30°C, the highest sorption rates of the HM ions on size I and II of CPH were 97% for Al3+, 88% for Cr6+ and 86% for Ni2+; and 100% for Ni2+, 99% for Cr6+ and 97% for Al3+, respectively. The sorption process was modeled using the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order and Ritchie’s second order kinetic equations. The pseudo-second order gave a better fit to the kinetic sorption data especially for Al (III) ion with an R2 value of 0.9999. The intraparticle diffusion equation was used to develop the mechanism of sorption, i.e., whether the sorption process was controlled by film diffusion or particle diffusion. The sorption of Cr6+, Ni2+ and Al3+ ions on CPH was controlled by film diffusion since the R2 values for the intraparticle diffusion equations were very low given as 0.6532 for Cr (VI), 0.4298 for Ni (II) and 0.0000 for Al (III). Therefore, this study shows that the contact time between the adsorbent and metal ions is a design parameter in the removal of Cr6+, Ni2+ and Al3+ using CPH.
Nnenna E. Okoronkwo, Jude C. Igwe, Chibuike C. Aniekwu (Nigeria) Effects of Adsorbent Activation on Bioremediation of Hg (II) and Cd (II) Ions from Aqueous Solution using Boiler Fly Ash (pp 36-45)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Original Research Paper: Heavy metal (HM) removal from wastewater has attracted much attention in the past few decades. The search for low cost sorbents became the focus recently as a result of the expensive nature of conventional adsorbents. The use of unactivated and nitric acid activated boiler fly ash an agricultural by-product in the bioremediation of mercury (Hg) (II) and cadmium (Cd) (II) ions from aqueous solution was investigated in this work. The amount adsorbed increased as the initial metal ion concentration was increased. For unactivated boiler fly ash (BFA), the amount of Hg (II) ion adsorbed was higher than the amount of Cd (II) ion that was adsorbed. The acid-activated BFA adsorbed more than the unactivated BFA, with the influence of activation much more on the amount of Cd (II) ion adsorbed. The sorption process was modeled using two kinetic models: pseudo-first order and the pseudo-second order equations; and also six isotherm models namely Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R), Temkin, Harkins-Jura (H-J) and Smith equations. For the kinetic models, the pseudo second-order equation gave a better fit to the sorption process. The differences in fitness of the isotherm models to the sorption process were not significant by two-way ANOVA. Also, analysis of the equilibrium sorption data in accordance with the six isotherm models and applying a normalized standard deviation Δq revealed that the Harkins-Jura isotherm model gave a better fit to experimental data. The apparent energy of sorption E (KJ mol-1) from the D-R equation gave values of 26.72, (unactivated), 223.61 (activated) for Cd (II) ion and 50.00 (unactivated), 158.11 (activated) for Hg (II) ion, all in KJ mol-1. Hence, activation increased the sorption capacity of the adsorbent and the values of apparent energy of sorption. Also, from the values of E, the sorption process could be said to follow a chemisorption mechanism.
Adewuyi Gregory Olufemi, Etchie Ogbemi Tunde, Ademoyegun Olufemi Temitope (Nigeria) Determination of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Heavy Metals in Surface Water and Sediment of Ubeji River, Warri, Nigeria (pp 46-51)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Original Research Paper: This study discusses the determination of petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals in the surface water and sediment of Ubeji River. This was done to assess the level of pollution of the river. In early October 2008, 50 surface water and sediment samples were collected randomly from the study area and likewise from the control site (Awba Dam in University of Ibadan). Gravimetric analysis was used to determine total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), while heavy metals were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The mean values obtained for surface water and sediment for the studied site are: Surface water: pH = 5.6 ± 0.2, oil and grease = 209.3 ± 15.4 mg/l, TPH = 73.5 ± 4.8 mg/l, cadmium (Cd) = 0.285 ± 0.001 mg/l, chromium (Cr) = 0.845 ± 0.009 mg/l, copper (Cu) = 0.572 ± 0.003 mg/l, lead (Pb) = 1.55 ± 0.01 mg/l, nickel (Ni) = 0.632 ± 0.042 mg/l, zinc (Zn) = 2.33 ± 0.02 mg/l. Sediment: Oil and grease = 3234.3 ± 205.2 mg/kg, TPH = 1602.4 ± 115.3 mg/kg, Cd = 0.050 ± 0.000 mg/kg, Cr = 50.6 ± 1.68 mg/kg, Cu = 45.2 ± 3.1 mg/kg, Pb = 49.5 ± 2.0 mg/kg, Ni = 42.6 ± 16.4 mg/kg and Zn = 185 ± 3 mg/kg. Unpaired t-test at 95% confidence limit showed a significant difference between the values obtained for the study area and the control site. The study location was found to have a higher concentration of oil and grease, TPH and heavy metals than the control site. The value obtained for the study location also exceeded the WHO (1991) water quality criteria for drinking, aquatic life support and recreation, while sediment values exceeded the interim sediment quality guidelines (ISQG) (CCME 1996). Hence, the results revealed that the Ubeji River is under pollution threat and underscore the need for early remediation if adverse health defects are to be prevented.
A. Ananda Rao, S. S. Chauhan, R. Radhakrishnan, A. Tikader, M. M. Borpuzari, C. K. Kamble (India) Distribution, Variation and Conservation of Mulberry (Morus spp.) Genetic Resources in the Arid Zone of Rajasthan, India (pp 52-62)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Original Research Paper: Biodiversity mapping, collection, characterization and conservation of mulberry (Morus spp.) in different geographical regions of India have been given greater input. Three survey and exploration activities for diverse mulberry genetic resources in 19 districts of the arid zone of Rajasthan resulted in the collection of 75 accessions (Morus indica - 37; Morus laevigata - 23; Morus alba - 7; Morus hybrids - 8 accessions). The collections, which have wide variation in morpho-reproductive characters, are being conserved in the ex situ field gene bank of CSGRC, Hosur and evaluated for different leaf histological and growth parameters. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) on different leaf histological and growth parameters exhibited significant variation among the accessions. Promising accessions have been identified for developing drought-tolerant lines. Potential areas have been identified based on the variation and abundance of mulberry genetic resources for in situ conservation and promotion of sericultural activities.
Naveen Danesh, Eralagere Thimmanaik Puttaiah (India), Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva (Japan), Bachi Eshwarappa Basavarajappa, Kanivebagilu Shankaranarayana Vinayaka (India) Sensitivity of Lichens to Air Pollution around the Industrial Area of Bhadravathi Town, India (pp 63-67)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Research Note: Ambient air quality monitoring was carried out for two consecutive years (2006-2008) to assess the concentration of suspended particular matter (SPM), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) at an industrial area of Bhadravathi town and at Kuvempu University campus (15 km away from Bhadravthi town). Epiphytic lichens were monitored according to EU guidelines. The concentration of SPM (232.30-236.56 μg/m3) was highest of the three analyzed air pollutants, although all three were well within the threshold limit at both sites. Lichen species belonging to 9 genera were identified on the tree barks of Mangifera indica and Pongamia pinnata in the control area while sensitive lichen species were absent in the industrial area. The varied response of lichen species may be directly attributed to air pollution in Bhadravathi town.
Kanivebagilu S. Vinayaka, Yelugere L. Krishnamurthy (India) Ecology and Distribution of Lichens in Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, Central Western Ghats, Karnataka, India (pp 68-72)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Research Note: This paper deals with the distribution and ecology of 152 species of lichens in different vegetation types of Bhadra wildlife sanctuary, central Western Ghats, South India. The study area covers moist and dry deciduous, semi-evergreen and montane type of vegetation. Bhadra sanctuary covers a total of 492 km2 in which 67 macrolichen and 85 micro lichen species belong to 49 genera placed in 27 families were recorded. Among 152 species, 85 were crustose, 49 were foliose and 18 were fruticose. Deciduous forests represented a higher number of macrolichen (67) species followed by semi-evergreen and montane forests. Interestingly, microlichens were abundant in montane (43) and semi-evergreen (22) forest than in deciduous forest. Information of this study provided baseline data on lichen diversity in the Bhadra wildlife sanctuary, Karnataka, India.
Rajendra S. Chauhan, Mohan C. Nautiyal (India), Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva (Japan), Pratti Prasad, Harish Purohit (India) Habitat Preference, Ecological Parameters and Conservation of Fritillaria roylei Hook., an Endangered Medicinal Herb of the Astavarga Group (pp 73-76)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Research Note: Fritillaria roylei is a perennial, threatened medicinal plant of the Astavarga group growing in open sunny slopes of temperate to alpine regions of the Himalayas. During the last few years a decrease was felt in natural populations of this species. The present study deals with habitat preference, multiplication and conservation methods. Open sunny meadows with moderate slope, rich in humus are the preferred habitat of F. roylei. The density of species was between 0.40-4.20 plant m-2 among studied populations. Heavy harvesting pressure, anthropogenic activities, competition with other associated species and low seedling establishment are the major threats. A 58-77% population reduction was recorded during the last 20-30 years. Being a medicinally important plant, such species should be given priority for conservation through both in situ and ex situ methods.
Santhebennur Jayappa Veeresh, Jogattappa Narayana (India), Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva (Japan) Agricultural Bio-Waste Management in the Bhadrawathi Taluk of Karnataka State, India (pp 77-80)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Research Note: A survey was carried out in the rural areas of Bhadravathi Taluk during 2006-07 to determine the extent of agricultural bio-waste generation/utilization technologies and also the status of vermitechnology practiced. Data was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire/interview. A total of 1.11 MT of agricultural bio-waste was generated during that period. Most of the farmers in the study area practiced conventional bio-waste management, but were aware of vermitechnology.
Deepshikha Verma, Shweta (India) A Contribution to the Earthworm Survey Fauna of Doon Valley in Uttarakhand, India with Special Reference to a Search for Vermicomposting Species (pp 81-86)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Research Note: Based on a survey of earthworms in Doon valley of Western Himalayan region conducted in September 2009, the present report enlists 12 species belonging to 7 genera and 4 families. Information on earthworms’ scientific name, family, origin, locality and voucher specimen number, date of collection, general habitat are given for each species discussed in the text. Drawida nepalensis, Entyphoeus orientalis, Lampito mauritii and Perionyx sansibaricus have been identified as potential species for vermicomposting with a preference for dung heap. The study provides contemporary information on earthworm biodiversity in the study area with particular reference to vermicomposting species.
G. Jasmin Bilba Rani, S. Viveka (India) Microbiota Diversity, Screening and Molecular Characterization of Shigella sp. from Estuarine Fishes (pp 87-92)
Full Text [PDF]
ABSTRACT
Research Note: An attempt has been made in the present study to assess the gut microbial diversity of fishes through biochemical and molecular approaches. Fishes such as Mugil cephalus, Tilapia mosambicus, Etroplus suratensis, Mystus gulio and Cranx ignobilis were collected from an estuarine environment. The influence of UV mutation on enzymatic activity was studied. Finally, the variation in molecular genetics of both wild and mutant Shigella sp. was assessed by RAPD-PCR analysis. Total viable colonies in the gastro-intestinal tract varied considerably. The average CFU/g gut sample was maximum (3.0 CFU/g) in M. cephalus and minimum (0.76 CFU/g) in M. gulio. Altogether 12 bacterial genera were identified and Shigella sp. was characterized for its extracellular enzyme production, indicating that production was dependent on host species. Further, a study of mutagenesis in this species indicated that non-producers of enzyme turned to producers. The RAPD-PCR profile of wild and mutant strains of Shigella sp. indicated the existence of 6 bands with a base-pair range of 233 to 1871. Thus, UV mutagen altered the enzymatic characteristics as well as the amplification of DNA fragments in Shigella sp.
|
