This study describes the organization of the repetitive pattern in the mtDNA control region of Tomistoma schlegelii. Using newly designed primers, we detected length variations of approximately 50-100 bp among individuals, and only one individual showed a heteroplasmic band. Sequencing the region after CSB III revealed two main patterns: a repeat motif and a variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) pattern. The VNTR region, with a core unit of 104 bp, consisting of four motifs and a short AT chain, is implicated in the length variation seen among individuals of Tomistoma. A conserved motif seen in a family unit indicated that the repeat pattern was stably inherited from the maternal parent to all offspring. A combination of VNTR patterns specific to different crocodilians was seen in Tomistoma, and the overall secondary structure was shown to be similar to that in Crocodylus and Gavialis.
The genetic diversity of the endangered crocodile Tomistoma schlegelii was characterized using the protein coding ND 6-tRNA(glu)-cyt b and the cytochrome b-control region (cyt b-CR) markers. Concatenate data revealed six haplotypes with an overall haplotype diversity of 0.769 ± 0.039; nucleotide diversity was 0.00535 ± 0.00172. A nearest-neighbor analysis showed that all individuals clustered with four geographic regions (Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, and East Kalimantan) and were genetically differentiated. With the exception of the individuals from haplotype H2, which occurred in both Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, all other haplotypes were geographically distinct. The H4 lineage, which was found to be the most divergent, clustered exclusively in the basal clade in all phylogenetic trees, and the haplotype network was unconnected at the 95% reconnection limit, suggesting further investigation to establish its possible status as a distinct evolutionary significant unit or a cryptic species.
This study investigated the association of Uncoupling Protein 2 gene (UCP2) 45-bp I/D polymorphism with obesity and adiposity in 926 Malaysian subjects (416 males;265 obese; 102/672/152 Malays/Chinese/Indians). The overall minor allele frequency (MAF) was 0.14, while MAFs according to Malay/Chinese/Indian were 0.17/0.12/0.21. The polymorphism was associated with ethnicity, obesity and overall adiposity (total body fat percentage, TBF), but not gender and central adiposity (waist-hip ratio, WHR). Gender- and ethnicity-stratified analysis revealed that within males, the polymorphism was not associated with ethnicity and anthropometric classes. However, within females, significantly more Indians, obese and those with high TBF carried I allele. Logistic regression analysis among females further showed the polymorphism was associated with obesity and overall adiposity; however, when adjusted for age and ethnicity, this association was abolished for obesity but remained significant for overall adiposity [Odds Ratio (OR) for ID genotype = 2.02 (CI=1.18, 3.45; p=0.01); I allele =1.81 (CI=1.15, 2.84; p=0.01)]. Indeed, covariate analysis controlling for age and ethnicity also showed that those carrying ID genotype or I allele had significantly higher TBF than the rest. In conclusion, UCP2 45-bp I/D polymorphism is associated with overall adiposity among Malaysian women.
In the past few decades, the pressure of higher food production to satisfy the demand of ever rising population has inevitably increased the use synthetic agrochemicals which have deterioration effects. Biostimulants containing beneficial microbes (single inoculants and microbial consortium) were found as an ideal substitute of synthetic chemical fertilizers. In recent years, microbial consortium is known as a better bioinoculant in comparison to single inoculant bioformulation because of multifarious plant growth-promoting advantages. Looking at the advantageous effect of consortium, in present investigation, different bacteria were isolated from rhizospheric soil and plant samples collected from the Himalayan mountains on the green slopes of the Shivaliks, Himachal Pradesh. The isolated bacteria were screened for nitrogen (N) fixation, phosphorus (P) solubilization and potassium (K) solubilization plant growth promoting attributes, and efficient strains were identified through 16S rRNA gene sequencing and BLASTn analysis. The bacteria showing a positive effect in NPK uptake were developed as bacterial consortium for the growth promotion of eggplant crop. A total of 188 rhizospheric and endophytic bacteria were sorted out, among which 13 were exhibiting nitrogenase activity, whereas 43 and 31 were exhibiting P and K solubilization traits, respectively. The selected three efficient and potential bacterial strains were identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing as Enterobacter ludwigii EU-BEN-22 (N-fixer; 35.68 ± 00.9 nmol C2H4 per mg protein per h), Micrococcus indicus EU-BRP-6 (P-solubilizer; 201 ± 0.004 mg/L), and Pseudomonas gessardii EU-BRK-55 (K-solubilizer; 51.3 ± 1.7 mg/mL), and they were used to develop a bacterial consortium. The bacterial consortium evaluation on eggplant resulted in the improvement of growth (root/shoot length and biomass) and physiological parameters (chlorophyll, carotenoids, total soluble sugar, and phenolic content) of the plants with respect to single culture inoculation, chemical fertilizer, and untreated control. A bacterial consortium having potential to promote plant growth could be used as bioinoculant for horticulture crops growing in hilly regions.
Multidrug resistance (MDR) is one of the key barriers in chemotherapy, leading to the generation of insensitive cancer cells towards administered therapy. Genetic and epigenetic alterations of the cells are the consequences of MDR, resulted in drug resistivity, which reflects in impaired delivery of cytotoxic agents to the cancer site. Nanotechnology-based nanocarriers have shown immense shreds of evidence in overcoming these problems, where these promising tools handle desired dosage load of hydrophobic chemotherapeutics to facilitate designing of safe, controlled and effective delivery to specifically at tumor microenvironment. Therefore, encapsulating drugs within the nano-architecture have shown to enhance solubility, bioavailability, drug targeting, where co-administered P-gp inhibitors have additionally combat against developed MDR. Moreover, recent advancement in the stimuli-sensitive delivery of nanocarriers facilitates a tumor-targeted release of the chemotherapeutics to reduce the associated toxicities of chemotherapeutic agents in normal cells. The present article is focused on MDR development strategies in the cancer cell and different nanocarrier-based approaches in circumventing this hurdle to establish an effective therapy against deadliest cancer disease.
A new area of biotechnology is nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is an emerging field that aims to develope various substances with nano-dimensions that have utilization in the various sectors of pharmaceuticals, bio prospecting, human activities and biomedical applications. An essential stage in the development of nanotechnology is the creation of nanoparticles. To increase their biological uses, eco-friendly material synthesis processes are becoming increasingly important. Recent years have shown a lot of interest in nanostructured materials due to their beneficial and unique characteristics compared to their polycrystalline counterparts. The fascinating performance of nanomaterials in electronics, optics, and photonics has generated a lot of interest. An eco-friendly approach of creating nanoparticles has emerged in order to get around the drawbacks of conventional techniques. Today, a wide range of nanoparticles have been created by employing various microbes, and their potential in numerous cutting-edge technological fields have been investigated. These particles have well-defined chemical compositions, sizes, and morphologies. The green production of nanoparticles mostly uses plants and microbes. Hence, the use of microbial nanotechnology in agriculture and plant science is the main emphasis of this review. The present review highlights the methods of biological synthesis of nanoparticles available with a major focus on microbially synthesized nanoparticles, parameters and biochemistry involved. Further, it takes into account the genetic engineering and synthetic biology involved in microbial nanobiosynthesis to the construction of microbial nanofactories.