Frequency and genotype distribution of ABCB1 gene polymorphisms among Maharashtrian population of Central India.

1. Apart from conferring multidrug resistance to cancer cells, P-glycoprotein (P-gp) encoded by the gene ABCB1 (also, known as Multidrug resistance gene, MDR1), plays a major role in drug disposition. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ABCB1 gene might contribute to inter-individual and ethnic differences in drug disposition and thereby, could influence the outcome and prognosis of certain diseases. 2. India is one of the most ethnically and genetically diverse regions of the world. This study was undertaken with a view to determine the allele and genotype frequencies of C3435T and C1236T polymorphisms in the ABCB1 gene among the Maharashtrian population, residing in the Vidarbha region of central India and compare them with HapMap and other Indian populations. The common synonymous C3435T polymorphism has been found to be associated with lower P-gp functional expression and drug uptake, alone or in conjunction with a few other linked SNPs like C1236T. 3. The genotypes of C3435T and C1236T SNPs were determined by PCR-RFLP in 222 healthy and unrelated Maharashtrian individuals. 4. According to the findings of this study, the Maharashtrians were found to be not significantly different from the Gujarati Indians in Houston, Texas in the HapMap database.

Microbial Treatment of Raw and Primary Treated Sanitary Landfill Leachate by Indigenous Strain Brevibacillus agri.

Landfill leachate is a potential environmental threat. Sanitary landfills are model sites which contains a leachate collection pool and a processing facility to treat it up to environmental standards before discharge. The present study is the very first endeavor to establish leachate treatment efficiency of indigenous microbial strain Brevibacillus agri. Leachate samples were inoculated with isolated strain and incubated for 41 days in an orbital shaker. Percent reduction in major water quality parameters was assessed after 0, 7, 21, and 41 days of incubation, for understanding the degradation kinetics. Results of the study demonstrate that Brevibacillus agri was effective in improving the wastewater quality of both raw and primary treated leachate. Overall reduction for different water quality parameters was found to be 50% higher for primary treated leachate than that for raw leachate within 21 days of incubation. Microbial degradation followed first-order kinetics with rate constants in the range of 0.0047-0.03 and 0.0061-0.074 day-1 for raw and primary treated leachate respectively. Calculated half-life of each pollutant parameter was significantly higher in the raw sample (23-147 days) as compared to the primary treated one (27-112 days). The leachate pollution index (LPI) value of the raw leachate was also found to be > 25% higher than primary treated leachate sample after microbial treatment. Hence, it can be concluded that on site application of primary treatment technology followed by secondary microbial degradation by indigenous microflora, viz., Brevibacillus sp., may prove effective to achieve desirable water quality for safe environmental discharge.

Polymorphisms in DNA repair and multidrug resistance genes among Sindhis of Central India.

Polymorphisms in DNA repair and multidrug resistance genes might contribute to interindividual and interethnic differences in DNA repair capacity and drug disposition respectively. In the present study, we determined the allele and genotype frequencies of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in the DNA repair genes, XRCC1, XRCC3, XPD, OGG1, namely XRCC1 Arg399Gln, XRCC3 Thr241Met, XPD Lys751Gln, and OGG1 Ser326Cys, respectively and two SNPs located in the multidrug resistance gene, ABCB1, namely ABCB1 C3435T and ABCB1 C1236T, in 33-35 healthy and unrelated Sindhi individuals, residing in the Vidarbha region of Central India and compared them with the Maharashtrian population from the same geographical region and some other HapMap populations from the HapMap database. The study findings reveal that the Indian Sindhis are closely related to the Maharashtrians as well as Utah residents with Northern and Western European ancestry and Gujarati Indians in Houston, Texas in the HapMap database.

DNA repair gene polymorphisms at XRCC1, XRCC3, XPD, and OGG1 loci in Maharashtrian population of central India.

Reduction in DNA repair capacity is associated with increased rates of birth defects, cancer, and accelerated ageing. Genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair genes might influence the repair activities of the enzymes predisposing individuals to cancer risk. Owing to the presence of these genetic variants, inter-individual and ethnic differences in DNA repair capacity have been observed in various populations. India harbors enormous genetic, cultural and linguistic diversity. The present study was undertaken to determine the allele and genotype frequencies of four non-synonymous SNPs, XRCC1 Arg399Gln (C>T, rs25487), XRCC3 Thr241Met (G>A, rs861539), XPD Lys751Gln (T>G, rs13181), and OGG1 Ser326Cys (C>G, rs1052133) in the Maharashtrian population, residing in the Vidarbha region of central India and to compare them with HapMap and other Indian populations. The variant alleles of these polymorphisms have been found to be positively associated with different forms of cancer in several genetic epidemiological studies. The basic prevalence of these polymorphisms in the general population must be known to evaluate their significance in risk assessment in cancer and other phenotypes. About 215 healthy and unrelated individuals from the Maharashtrian population were genotyped for each of these four polymorphisms using PCR-RFLP. The allele and genotype frequency distribution at the four DNA repair gene loci among Maharashtrians revealed a characteristic pattern. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of these DNA repair gene polymorphisms in a central Indian population.