Decolourization and biodegradation of Navy blue HER (Reactive Blue 171) dye from Marasmius sp. BBKAV79.

White rot fungus Marasmius sp. BBKAV79 (GenBank accession number-KP455496, KP455497) exhibited decolourization and degradation of Navy blue HER dye (concentration 50 mg l-l) within 24 h under shaking condition. In the present study, various investigated parameters like initial dye concentration, pH, temperature, carbon and nitrogen sources were optimized to develop a faster decolourization process by Marasmius sp. BBKAV79. High-performance liquid chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy analysis of the extracted product confirmed the biodegradation of Navy blue HER. The microbial toxicity and phytotoxicity assay revealed that the degradation of Navy blue HER produced nontoxic metabolites.

Effect of CO2 Concentration on Growth and Biochemical Composition of Newly Isolated Indigenous Microalga Scenedesmus bajacalifornicus BBKLP-07.

Photosynthetic mitigation of CO2 through microalgae is gaining great importance due to its higher photosynthetic ability compared to plants, and the biomass can be commercially exploited for various applications. CO2 fixation capability of the newly isolated freshwater microalgae Scenedesmus bajacalifornicus BBKLP-07 was investigated using a 1-l photobioreactor. The cultivation was carried at varying concentration of CO2 ranging from 5 to 25%, and the temperature and light intensities were kept constant. A maximum CO2 fixation rate was observed at 15% CO2 concentration. Characteristic growth parameters such as biomass productivity, specific growth rate, and maximum biomass yield, and biochemical parameters such as carbohydrate, protein, lipid, chlorophyll, and carotenoid were determined and discussed. It was observed that the effect of CO2 concentration on growth and biochemical composition was quite significant. The maximum biomass productivity was 0.061 ± 0.0007 g/l/day, and the rate of CO2 fixation was 0.12 ± 0.002 g/l/day at 15% CO2 concentration. The carbohydrate and lipid content were maximum at 25% CO2 with 26.19 and 25.81% dry cell weight whereas protein, chlorophyll, and carotenoid contents were 32.89% dry cell weight, 25.07 µg/ml and 6.15 µg/ml respectively at 15% CO2 concentration.

Biodegradation of propiconazole by newly isolated Burkholderia sp. strain BBK_9.

The isolation of propiconazole (PCZ) degrading bacterium BBK_9 strain was done from paddy soil, and it was identified as Burkholderia sp. based on the morphological characteristics and biochemical properties combined with 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. It has been seen that the factors such as temperature and pH influence the biodegradation process. The role of plasmid was studied in the degradation process by plasmid curing method. The PCZ acts as the sole carbon source and as energy substrate which can be utilized by the strain for its growth in Mineral salt medium and degraded 8.89 µg ml-1 of PCZ at 30 °C and pH 7 within 4 days. During the bioconversion process of PCZ, three metabolite were formed such as 1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl) ethanone, 1-[2-(4-chlorophenyl) ethyl]-1H-1,2,4-triazole and 1-ethyl-1H-1,2,4-triazole. The LD50 value of BBK_9 strain was determined with acridine orange which resulted in 40 µg ml-1 at cell density of 0.243 at 660 nm. Furthermore, plasmid curing was done using LD50 concentration and from that three plasmids got cured in the sixth generation. It was found that, cured strain was able to degrade 7.37 µg ml-1 of PCZ, indicating the plasmid encoded gene were not responsible for the PCZ degradation. On the source of these outcomes, strain BBK_9 can be used as potential strain for bioremediation of contaminated sites.

Epidemiology of Bovine Mastitis in Cows of Dharwad District.

Bovine mastitis is very common in cows of both developed and developing countries. The prevalence of clinical and subclinical mastitis (SCM) varies from region to region. Hence, the present study was carried out to determine the prevalence of mastitis using three diagnostic tests by considering different risk factors like age, lactation, breed, season, quarters, and herd. The results showed that surf field mastitis test (SFMT) is the most sensitive test for diagnosis of bovine mastitis, the older age and cows with later part of lactation period were more prone to bovine mastitis, and exotic breeds like Holstein freshen (HF) were more susceptible to bovine mastitis. The highest incidence of mastitis was recorded in monsoon season. The prevalence of subclinical and clinical mastitis was more in single and two quarters, respectively, and the rate of bovine mastitis was more in unorganized herds. The study concluded that SCM is directly associated with age, lactation period, and environmental factors of the cow and clinical mastitis is more associated with breed of the cow and environmental conditions.

In silico characterization of putative drug targets in Staphylococcus saprophyticus, causing bovine mastitis.

The bovine mastitis caused by coagulase negative staphylococci (CNS) has increased in many herds of urban and rural areas of India. Emergence of multi drug resistant bacteria has further made its management more complex and serious. Therefore, innovation of novel specific drug for the treatment of disease caused by particular organism remained to be a challenge. Hence, in the present study a bacterium was isolated from milk of the cow with bovine mastitis and was identified as S. saprophyticus, 44 pathways of S. saprophyticus retrieved (KEGG) from web server were found to be non homologous to the host Bos taurus, out of which 39 pathways were found to be in cytoplasm, 2 in cell wall and 3 in the cell membrane. The knowledge of the present study could make the drug discovery easier which have high affinity to the target site of the causative organism.

Identification and analysis of putative promoter motifs in bovine herpes virus.

The purpose of this study is to identify and analyse the putative promoter motifs in the bovine herpes virus which causes several diseases in cattle worldwide including bovine mastitis with large economic impact on dairy industry. Bovine mastitis caused due to virus is often neglected as bacterial infections are held mainly responsible for the disease. Therefore, in this in silico investigation with all the existing experimental data a total of 147 promoter were identified along with their sequences from three genome viz bovine herpes virus 1 (BHV), bovine herpes virus 4 and bovine herpes virus 5, out of which 39 promoters were from bovine herpes virus 4 (BHV 4), 95 from BHV1 and 13 from BHV5 and it was observed that BHV1 and BHV5 have a close evolutionary history. However, they belong to the same subfamily and size of the genome and GC% of BHV1 and BHV5 was almost equal and very high compare to that of BHV4. This analysis may help in designing the live attenuated vaccine against BHV causing bovine mastitis that reduces the incidence of bovine mastitis. Identification of promoters may also help in designing of expression vectors which help in better understanding of the regulation of gene expression. In the era of large genomics and proteomics prediction of promoters in the whole genome is crucial for the advancement of drug discovery and gene therapy.

Effects of carbosulfan administration schedules on estrous cycle and follicular dynamics in albino mice.

Carbosulfan an acaricide was orally administrated at 48 mg/kg body weight/day to female swiss albino mice for 5, 10, 20 and 30 d. Daily vaginal smear and body weight was recorded. The mice were sacrificed by cervical dislocation after 24 h of terminal exposure to carbosulfan. The results of the present study indicated that there was a significant decrease in the number of estrous cycle and phases with a concomitant increase in the length of the estrous cycle and diestrus phase with carbosulfan treatment for 10, 20, and 30 d. There was a significant decrease in the weight of the ovary, uterus, number of healthy follicles and increase in the number of atretic follicles with 20 and 30 d carbosulfan treatment when compared with the control. There was a significant decrease in the level of sialic acid with an increase in the level of cholesterol by carbosulfan treatment for 20 and 30 d. The decreased level of sialic acid indicates the decreased level of circulating FSH/LH. The ovary 3beta HSD activity decreased significantly with 20 and 30 d carbosulfan exposure mice indicating its effect on steroidogenesis, when compared to controls. The above findings may be due to direct effect on the ovary or on the gonadotrophins secretion via central nervous mechanism in mice.

Effect of different schedules and efficacy of progesterone on implantation in dimethoate treated albino mice.

Dimethoate, an organophosphorus pesticide, was administered orally at a dose of 28mg/(kg body weight day) to nulliparous pregnant albino mice on day 3 only and for days 3, 5 and 7 to examine the possible mechanisms for the time dependent and efficacy of progesterone on implantation in dimethoate treated animals. Control mice received similar quantities of distilled water. Autopsy on day 8 revealed that the distilled water treated mice were pregnant and had a normal number of implantations and a normal duration of diestrus. Treatment with dimethoate on day 3 only and for days 3 pregnancy caused a partial inhibition of implantation wherein 6 and 4 out of 10 mice were pregnant with 68.04 and 83.69% pre-implantation loss, respectively. However, treatment with 28mg/(kg body weight day) dimethoate for days 5 and 7 caused complete inhibition of implantation in all the mice with 100% pre-implantation loss and the uterus showed no implantations. There was a significant decrease in the body weight, ovaries and uterine weights in 28mg/(kg body weight day) dimethoate treatment for days 7 of pregnancy in mice as there was complete inhibition of implantations. These groups exhibited an increase in the estrus phase. However, there was no significant change in the weight of other organs in dimethoate treated mice. Inhibition of implantation by dimethoate may be due to imbalance in the estrogen:progesterone ratio, essential for implantation. Based on this hypothesis 4, 9 and 12mg/(kg body weight day) progesterone was administered subcutaneously along with 28mg/(kg body weight day) of dimethoate for days 7 of pregnancy to counteract the effect of dimethoate and to maintain the implantations. Mice treated with 4, 9 and 12mg/(kg body weight day) progesterone along with 28mg/(kg body weight day) dimethoate for days 7 of pregnancy was unable to maintain the implantation with the result there was a 100% pre-implantation loss. There was a significant decrease in the body weight with all the dimethoate and progesterone treated mice. However, uterine weight was significantly decreased with 12mg/(kg body weight day) progesterone along with dimethoate treated mice when compared to controls.

Temporal effects of mancozeb on testes, accessory reproductive organs and biochemical constituents in albino mice.

Mancozeb, a fungicide of ethylenebisdithiocarbamate group was orally administered at 800 mg/kg body weight to male Swiss albino mice for 5, 10, 20 and 30 days. Daily body weight of the mice were recorded. The mice were sacrificed by cervical dislocation after 24 h of terminal exposure of mancozeb. Testes weight decreased significantly in 20 and 30 days mancozeb treated mice. However, there was a significant decrease in the number of spermatogonia, diameter of spermatocytes and spermatids in 20 days and number of spermatids in 10 days mancozeb treated mice. Histologic studies of the testis of the mice treated with mancozeb for long duration revealed spermatogenesis inhibition reflected by significant decrease in the number of spermatogenic cells and sperms, when compared with that of controls. In the mice treated with mancozeb for 20 and 30 days showed significant decrease in the weight of the prostate gland. However weight of Cowper's glands decreased significantly in 30 days mancozeb treated mice. There was significant decrease in the kidney, spleen and liver weight, where as thyroid weight increased significantly in mice treated with mancozeb for 30 days. However, thymus weight increased significantly only in the mice treated with mancozeb for 10, 20 and 30 days. In mice treated with mancozeb for 20 days caused significant decrease in the level of protein and a significant increase in the level of total lipids in the testis. However, there was significant decrease in the level of glycogen in the kidney. In mice treated with mancozeb for 30 days caused significant decrease in the levels of protein and glycogen and significant increase in the level of total lipids in the testis and liver and a significant decrease in the protein, glycogen and total lipids in the kidney. These observed effects of mancozeb on testis and biochemical constituents may be due to hormonal imbalance in any of the stages in the hypothalamo-hypophysial-testicular axis.

Reproductive toxicity of carbofuran to the female mice: effects on estrous cycle and follicles.

Carbofuran, a systemic N-methyl carbamate pesticide was orally administered with the doses of 0.4, 0.7, 1 and 1.3 mg/kg body weight/day to normal virgin female Swiss albino mice for 30 days. The vaginal smear and body weight of mice were recorded daily and mice were sacrificed on the 31st day. Estrous cycle was effected by showing a significant decrease in the number of estrous cycle and the duration of each phases of estrous cycle with concomitant significant increase in the diestrus phase in 1 and 1.3 mg/kg/d carbofuran treatment when compared with that of control mice. There was a significant decrease in the number of healthy follicles and a significant increase in the number of atretic follicles in 1 and 1.3 mg/kg/d treated groups when compared with the control. The histologic observations of the ovary revealed the presence of less number of healthy follicles and more number of atretic follicles in high dose of carbofuran treated mice. There was a dose dependent decrease in the body weight. The ovary weight was also decreased significantly in 1.3 mg/kg/d carbofuran treatment. There were no significant change in the weight of the organs such as uterus, kidney, adrenal, liver, spleen, thymus and thyroid. These observed effects of carbofuran on the estrous cycle and follicles may be due to a direct effect on the ovary or the hypothalamo-hypophysial ovarian axis causing hormonal imbalance.

Monocrotophos induced dysfunction on estrous cycle and follicular development in mice.

Monocrotophos a organophosphate pesticide was administered orally at doses of 1.6, 3.3, 6.6, 10 and 13 mg/kg body weight/day to normal virgin Swiss albino mice for 30 days. The vaginal smear and body weight of the mice were recorded daily and mice were sacrificed on 31st day. The ovaries from each animal was serially sectioned and stained for follicular studies. Estrous cycle was affected by showing a significant decrease in the number of estrous cycle and duration of proestrus, estrus and metestrus with concomitant significant increase in the duration of diestrus in all the treated groups, except with 1.6 mg/kg body weight/day monocrotophos treated group. There were significant decrease in the small, medium, large and total number of healthy follicles and increase in the medium, large and total number of atretic follicles with 6.6, 10 and 13 mg/kg body weight/day monocrotophos treatment. However, there were no significant change in the number of healthy and atretic follicles with 1.6 and 3.3 mg/kg/bodyweight/day monocrotophos treatment. There was no change organs weight except for a significant decrease in weight of the ovary with 3.3, 6.6, 10 and 13 mg/kg body weight/day and uterus and body weight with 10 and 13 mg/kg body weight/day monocrotophos treatment. Interruption in estrous cycle, decrease in healthy follicles and increase in atretic follicles may be due to harmonal imbalance or toxic effects of monocrotophos, which adversely effects reproductive function, as it has also analgesic and sedative action.

Anti-implantation effect of a carbamate fungicide mancozeb in albino mice.

Mancozeb, an organocarbamate fungicide, was administered to examine the effect on implantation at doses of 18, 24, 30 and 36 mg/kg body weight/d to normal virgin swiss albino mice for 8 days to pregnant mice. The vaginal smear and body weight of the mice were recorded daily and mice were sacrificed on 9th day of pregnancy. There was a complete inhibition of implantation in 36 mg mancozeb treated mice with 100% pre-implantation loss. There was a partial inhibition of implantation in 24 and 30 mg mancozeb treated mice with 53.44 and 90.16% pre-implantation loss respectively. However, implantation was not affected in 18 mg mancozeb treated mice with 4.92% pre-implantation loss when compared to oil treated controls. To study the temporal effect, the effective dose of 36 mg/kg body weight/d mancozeb was administered orally for 3 and 5 days and on day 3 only. There was a complete inhibition of implantation in 5 days treated mice with 100% pre-implantation loss and partial inhibition of implantation of 3 days treated mice with 75% pre-implantation loss. However, implantation was not affected in mice treated on day 3 only with 1.63% pre-implantation loss when compared to control mice. There was a significant decrease in the diestrus phase with the result there was a concomitant increase in the estrus phase and there was a significant decrease in the uterus weight with 24, 30 and 36 mg and for 3 and 5 days with 36 mg mancozeb treatment. Inhibition of implantation by mancozeb may be due to hormonal imbalance or its toxic effects.