Disease suppression, growth promotion and colonization attributes of resident endophytic bacteria against white root rot (Dematophora necatrix Hartig) of apple.

The inherent potential of apple plants was investigated to explore bacterial endophytes and their role in suppressing Dematophora necatrix, the causative pathogen of white root rot disease. Resultantly 34 endophytic bacteria isolated from healthy apple plants, and subsequently 6 most efficient isolates viz., Bacillus megaterium strain EA3, Enterobacter sp. strain EA7, Bacillus megaterium strain EK2, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strain EK6, Acinetobacter nosocomialis strain ES2 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain ES8 depicting anti-pathogen interactions through preliminary screening were assessed further under in vitro, glasshouse and field conditions against white root rot pathogen/disease. Maximum mycelial growth inhibition (80.37%) was obtained with S. maltophilia strain EK6 encouraging for its seed treatment and soil application thereby providing significant effective control (87.91%) of white root rot under glasshouse conditions to other five bacterial endophytes evaluated simultaneously, followed by field efficacy of 83.70%. In addition, it has significantly enhanced the growth parameters of apple trees under both glasshouse and field conditions. The inoculated healthy plants were assessed for endophytic colonization which revealed maximum endosphere colonialism by S. maltophilia strain EK6. Additionally, confocal microscopic images of transverse sections of root cells colonized by bacterial endophytes as compared to untreated control implied their persistence and establishment in endosphere of apple seedlings. The study provides the first report on interaction between apple associated bacterial root endophytes and D. necatrix. The obtained endophytic strains could be employed as alternative for mitigating white root rot disease in future.

Molecular Detection of Foodborne Pathogens: A Rapid and Accurate Answer to Food Safety.

Food safety is a global health concern. For the prevention and recognition of problems related to health and safety, detection of foodborne pathogen is of utmost importance at all levels of food production chain. For several decades, a lot of research has been targeted at the development of rapid methodology as reducing the time needed to complete pathogen detection tests has been the primary goal of food microbiologists. With the result, food microbiology laboratories now have a wide array of detection methods and automated technologies such as enzyme immunoassay, polymerase chain reaction, and microarrays, which can cut test times considerably. Nucleic acid amplification strategies and advances in amplicon detection methodologies have been the key factors in the progress of molecular microbiology. A comprehensive literature survey has been carried out to give an overview in the field of foodborne pathogen detection. In this paper, we describe the conventional methods, as well as recent developments in food pathogen detection, identification, and quantification, with a major emphasis on molecular detection methods.

Non-dairy Based Probiotics: A Healthy Treat for Intestine.

Dairy-based fermented products and yoghurts have been utilized as potential probiotic products since ancient times. However, recent upsurge in interest of consumers towards dairy alternatives has opened up new vistas for non-dairy probiotic research and development. Various matrices and substrates such as cereals, fruit juices, or mixture thereof are being utilized for delivering these beneficial microorganisms. Each matrix offers some advantages over the other. Vast knowledge available on a number of conventional fermented foods can also be utilized for future research in this area. The present review provides an insight on the recent research/developments in the field of non-dairy probiotic foods with particular reference to the foods consumed conventionally, in addition to their commercial availability and a way forward.

Reduction of non-enzymatic browning of orange juice and semi-concentrates by removal of reaction substrate.

A study was conducted to standardize the technology for the removal of amino acids (one of the browning reaction substrates) from sweet orange cv. Malta Common juice to reduce colour and quality deterioration in single strength juice and during subsequent concentration. Juice of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) cv. Malta Common fruits was extracted by screw type juice extractor, preserved in 500 ppm SO2 and clarified by using "Pectinase CCM" enzyme (0.2% for 2 h at 50 ± 2 °C). For removal of amino acids juice was passed under gravity through a glass column packed with an acidic cation exchange resin (CER), Dowex-50 W and quantity to be treated in one lot was standardized. The CER treated and untreated juices were concentrated to 15 and 30°Brix in a rotary vacuum evaporator. Results indicate that 121 ml of orange juice when passed through a glass column (5 cm internal diameter) packed with cation exchange resin (Dowex-50 W) upto a height of 8 cm, could remove about 98.4% of the amino acids with minimum losses in other juice constituents. With cation exchange resin treatment, the non-enzymatic browning and colour deterioration of orange juice semi-concentrates was reduced to about 3 folds in comparison to untreated counterparts. The retention of vitamin C and sugars was also better in semi-concentrates prepared from cation exchange resin treated juice. Thus, cation exchange resin treatment of orange juice prior to concentration and storage is highly beneficial in reduction of non-enzymatic browning, colour deterioration and retention of nutritional, sensory quality of product during preparation and storage.

Understanding the dynamics of Meloidogyne incognita infestation in pomegranate orchards of Himachal Pradesh, India (year 2018, 2019 and 2021) and its management strategies.

This study investigates the prevalence and dynamics of pomegranate wilt disease induced by Meloidogyne incognita across the Kullu, Mandi and Solan districts of Himachal Pradesh (India), revealed notable spatial and temporal variations in nematode populations and galling severity across the regions. The highest average nematode infestation of 9.25 % was observed at Nauni with highest counts of average second-stage juvenile (J2) larvae (449 larvae per 100 cc of soil) followed by Hurla (Kullu) with 7.42 % infestation. Correlation analysis reveals a strong positive relationship between larval population and galling severity suggesting a potential link between nematode levels and plant damage. Common disease symptoms were leaf size reduction, yellowing and gradual decline of pomegranate plants, often observed in patches within orchards. Microscopic identification revealed distinctive pear-shaped body of mature females while J2 larvae displayed vermiform shapes and the associated species of M. incognita was confirmed through examination of the perineal pattern. Pathogenicity test reveals initiation of leaf yellowing symptom after 45 days of inoculation of larval suspension and root galling was observed after 60 days onward followed by plant decline under greenhouse conditions. Results from pot and field experiments demonstrated the efficacy of Fluopyram and Fluensulfone in reducing nematode populations and galling severity. Treatment with drenching of Fluopyram at the rate of 2 ml/L reduced 98.56 % larvae under field and 99.00 % larvae/100 cc soil under pot conditions. Statistical analysis (paired t-test and MANOVA) confirms significant differences in galling severity and larval population before and after drenching. The study also underscores the importance of weed management in disease mitigation as several weed species (Chenopodium album and Solanum nigrum) were identified as potential reservoirs for M. incognita in infested pomegranate plant basin. This investigation contributes to the advancement of management practices for pomegranate cultivation that addresses both nematode and weed infestations ultimately enhancing crop resilience and productivity.

Effect of cation exchange resin treatment and addition on sugar as anti-caking agent on retention of nutritional and sensory quality of lemon juice powder during storage.

Lemon juices clarified with enzymatic treatment with and without cation exchange resin treatment were concentrated to 60(o) Brix in a vacuum evaporator and converted into powders by foam mat drying technique. Powders obtained from cation exchange resin treated juice were better in quality with respect to acidity, glucose, fructose, sugars, and ascorbic acid contents as compared to those prepared form non treated juice. Further, during 9 months storage, the powders suffered slight loss of acidity, and increase in reducing sugars i.e. glucose and fructose and considerable loss (31-55%) in vitamin C contents. Storage conditions did not bring about any significant change in the ash and hesperidin content of the product. But some losses were registered in the total phenols (23.69%) and sensory quality (from 7.72 to 7.26) of the powders. Further, the powders prepared from cation exchange resin treated juice and those pulverized with cane sugar suffered overall lesser changes in most of the quality parameters during 9 months of storage, thus indicating that, the treatment of lemon juice with cation exchange resin is beneficial for better initial product quality and pulverization of prepared powder with cane sugar is beneficial in reducing the hygroscopicity and retention of quality in a better way.

Oxidative damage of SP-D abolishes control of eosinophil extracellular DNA trap formation.

The asthmatic airways are highly susceptible to inflammatory injury by air pollutants such as ozone (O3 ), characterized by enhanced activation of eosinophilic granulocytes and a failure of immune protective mechanisms. Eosinophil activation during asthma exacerbation contributes to the proinflammatory oxidative stress by high levels of nitric oxide (NO) production and extracellular DNA release. Surfactant protein-D (SP-D), an epithelial cell product of the airways, is a critical immune regulatory molecule with a multimeric structure susceptible to oxidative modifications. Using recombinant proteins and confocal imaging, we demonstrate here that SP-D directly bound to the membrane and inhibited extracellular DNA trap formation by human and murine eosinophils in a concentration and carbohydrate-dependent manner. Combined allergic airway sensitization and O3 exposure heightened eosinophilia and nos2 mRNA (iNOS) activation in the lung tissue and S-nitrosylation related de-oligomerisation of SP-D in the airways. In vitro reproduction of the iNOS action led to similar effects on SP-D. Importantly, S-nitrosylation abolished the ability of SP-D to block extracellular DNA trap formation. Thus, the homeostatic negative regulatory feedback between SP-D and eosinophils is destroyed by the NO-rich oxidative lung tissue environment in asthma exacerbations.

Direct interaction of soluble human recombinant tau protein with Abeta 1-42 results in tau aggregation and hyperphosphorylation by tau protein kinase II.

We report here that aggregated beta-amyloid (Abeta) 1-42 promotes tau aggregation in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. When Abeta-mediated aggregated tau was used as a substrate for tau protein kinase II (TPK II), an 8-fold increase in the rate of TPK II-mediated tau phosphorylation was observed. The extent of TPK II-dependent tau phosphorylation increased as a function of time and Abeta 1-42 concentration, and hyperphosphorylated tau was found to be decorated with an Alzheimer's disease-related phosphoepitope (P-Thr-231). In HEK 293 cells co-expressing CT-100 amyloid precursor protein and tau, the release of Abeta 1-42 from these cells was impaired. Taken together, these in vitro results suggest that Abeta 1-42 promotes both tau aggregation and hyperphosphorylation.

A scintillation proximity assay for studying inhibitors of human tau protein kinase II/cdk5 using a 96-well format.

Dysregulation of the brain-specific tau protein kinase II (TPK II)/cdk5 is reported to play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. We report here a quantitative scintillation proximity assay (SPA), which is suitable for determining TPK II/cdk5 activity and its inhibition. It depends upon the phosphorylation of a synthetic histone-based peptide substrate (PKTPKKAKKL), which has been biotinylated at its C-terminus. When this biotinylated peptide is incubated with [gamma-33P] ATP and TPK II/cdk5 under defined assay conditions, product formation is linear with respect to time and enzyme concentration. The production of [33P] phosphorylated peptide is inhibited in the presence of a known TPK II/cdk5 inhibitor but is unaffected in the presence of 1% DMSO. A signal-to-noise ratio of 16:1 was obtained in a 60-min assay with an intra-assay variability of <10% in the 96-well microtiter format. The TPK II/cdk5 SPA is very robust, sensitive and simple to perform.

RFID based indoor navigational aid for persons with severe visual impairments.

A flexible, low cost, and portable indoor navigational aid for persons who are blind or have severe visual impairments remains an unmet need and a technical challenge. Whereas devices using global positioning system (GPS) signals hold promise for navigational assistance in the outdoor environment, they do not work where GPS signals are absent or greatly attenuated. Thus a network of navigational beacons is needed for the indoor environment. This paper describes the promise of an indoor navigational aid that relies on a network of custom extended-range RFID tags. RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology has the advantages of being low cost, unobtrusive, and highly flexible in the sense that sight impaired travelers can use personalized RFID tags to mark indoor locations of their particular interest. However, commercially available RFID tags have very short detection ranges. To make them suitable as indoor electronic beacons, their range of detection must be greatly extended. Some of the technical challenges and proposed solutions that can extend the detection range are discussed in this paper following an overview of the proposed RFID based indoor navigational aid.