Showing papers by "Banaras Hindu University published in 2018"

Induction of abiotic stress tolerance in plants by endophytic microbes.

Abstract: Endophytes are micro-organisms including bacteria and fungi that survive within healthy plant tissues and promote plant growth under stress. This review focuses on the potential of endophytic microbes that induce abiotic stress tolerance in plants. How endophytes promote plant growth under stressful conditions, like drought and heat, high salinity and poor nutrient availability will be discussed. The molecular mechanisms for increasing stress tolerance in plants by endophytes include induction of plant stress genes as well as biomolecules like reactive oxygen species scavengers. This review may help in the development of biotechnological applications of endophytic microbes in plant growth promotion and crop improvement under abiotic stress conditions. Significance and impact of the study Increasing human populations demand more crop yield for food security while crop production is adversely affected by abiotic stresses like drought, salinity and high temperature. Development of stress tolerance in plants is a strategy to cope with the negative effects of adverse environmental conditions. Endophytes are well recognized for plant growth promotion and production of natural compounds. The property of endophytes to induce stress tolerance in plants can be applied to increase crop yields. With this review, we intend to promote application of endophytes in biotechnology and genetic engineering for the development of stress-tolerant plants.

Chronic diseases, inflammation, and spices: how are they linked?

Abstract: Extensive research within the last several decades has revealed that the major risk factors for most chronic diseases are infections, obesity, alcohol, tobacco, radiation, environmental pollutants, and diet. It is now well established that these factors induce chronic diseases through induction of inflammation. However, inflammation could be either acute or chronic. Acute inflammation persists for a short duration and is the host defense against infections and allergens, whereas the chronic inflammation persists for a long time and leads to many chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, respiratory diseases, etc. Numerous lines of evidence suggest that the aforementioned risk factors induced cancer through chronic inflammation. First, transcription factors NF-κB and STAT3 that regulate expression of inflammatory gene products, have been found to be constitutively active in most cancers; second, chronic inflammation such as pancreatitis, prostatitis, hepatitis etc. leads to cancers; third, activation of NF-κB and STAT3 leads to cancer cell proliferation, survival, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis; fourth, activation of NF-κB and STAT3 leads to resistance to chemotherapy and radiation, and hypoxia and acidic conditions activate these transcription factors. Therefore, targeting these pathways may provide opportunities for both prevention and treatment of cancer and other chronic diseases. We will discuss in this review the potential of various dietary agents such as spices and its components in the suppression of inflammatory pathways and their roles in the prevention and therapy of cancer and other chronic diseases. In fact, epidemiological studies do indicate that cancer incidence in countries such as India where spices are consumed daily is much lower (94/100,000) than those where spices are not consumed such as United States (318/100,000), suggesting the potential role of spices in cancer prevention.

New constraints on oscillation parameters from νe appearance and νμ disappearance in the NOvA experiment

Abstract: For full abstract please refer to Official URL link”, or if there is a document attached which contains the abstract, “For full abstract please refer to attached document

Ozone pollution will compromise efforts to increase global wheat production.

Abstract: Introduction of high-performing crop cultivars and crop/soil water management practices that increase the stomatal uptake of carbon dioxide and photosynthesis will be instrumental in realizing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of achieving food security. To date, however, global assessments of how to increase crop yield have failed to consider the negative effects of tropospheric ozone, a gaseous pollutant that enters the leaf stomatal pores of plants along with carbon dioxide, and is increasing in concentration globally, particularly in rapidly developing countries. Earlier studies have simply estimated that the largest effects are in the areas with the highest ozone concentrations. Using a modelling method that accounts for the effects of soil moisture deficit and meteorological factors on the stomatal uptake of ozone, we show for the first time that ozone impacts on wheat yield are particularly large in humid rain-fed and irrigated areas of major wheat-producing countries (e.g. United States, France, India, China and Russia). Averaged over 2010-2012, we estimate that ozone reduces wheat yields by a mean 9.9% in the northern hemisphere and 6.2% in the southern hemisphere, corresponding to some 85 Tg (million tonnes) of lost grain. Total production losses in developing countries receiving Official Development Assistance are 50% higher than those in developed countries, potentially reducing the possibility of achieving UN SDG2. Crucially, our analysis shows that ozone could reduce the potential yield benefits of increasing irrigation usage in response to climate change because added irrigation increases the uptake and subsequent negative effects of the pollutant. We show that mitigation of air pollution in a changing climate could play a vital role in achieving the above-mentioned UN SDG, while also contributing to other SDGs related to human health and well-being, ecosystems and climate change.

A Review on Pharmacological and Analytical Aspects of Naringenin

Abstract: Flavonoids are a widely distributed group of phytochemicals having benzo-pyrone nucleus, and more than 4,000 different flavonoids have been described and categorized into flavonols, flavones, flavanones, isoflavones, catechins and anthocyanidins. Flavonoids occurs naturally in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beverages such as coffee, tea, and red wine, as well as in medical herbs. Flavonoids are responsible for the different colors of plant parts and are important constituents of the human diet. Flavanoids have different pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-allergic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic and anticancer activity. Naringenin belongs to the flavanones and is mainly found in fruits (grapefruit and oranges) and vegetables. Pharmacologically, it has anticancer, antimutagenic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiproliferative and antiatherogenic activities. Naringenin is used for the treatments of osteoporosis, cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and showed lipid-lowering and insulin-like properties. In the present review, detailed pharmacological and analytical aspects of naringenin have been presented, which revealed the impressive pharmacological profile and the possible usefulness in the treatment of different types of diseases in the future. The information provided in this communication will act as an important source for development of effective medicines for the treatment of various disorders.

Closing the global ozone yield gap: Quantification and cobenefits for multistress tolerance

Abstract: Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Increasing both crop productivity and the tolerance of crops to abiotic and biotic stresses is a major challenge for global food security in our rapidly changing climate. For the first time, we show how the spatial variation and severity of tropospheric ozone effects on yield compare with effects of other stresses on a global scale, and discuss mitigating actions against the negative effects of ozone. We show that the sensitivity to ozone declines in the order soybean > wheat > maize > rice, with genotypic variation in response being most pronounced for soybean and rice. Based on stomatal uptake, we estimate that ozone (mean of 2010–2012) reduces global yield annually by 12.4%, 7.1%, 4.4% and 6.1% for soybean, wheat, rice and maize, respectively (the “ozone yield gaps”), adding up to 227 Tg of lost yield. Our modelling shows that the highest ozone-induced production losses for soybean are in North and South America whilst for wheat they are in India and China, for rice in parts of India, Bangladesh, China and Indonesia, and for maize in China and the United States. Crucially, we also show that the same areas are often also at risk of high losses from pests and diseases, heat stress and to a lesser extent aridity and nutrient stress. In a solution-focussed analysis of these results, we provide a crop ideotype with tolerance of multiple stresses (including ozone) and describe how ozone effects could be included in crop breeding programmes. We also discuss altered crop management approaches that could be applied to reduce ozone impacts in the shorter term. Given the severity of ozone effects on staple food crops in areas of the world that are also challenged by other stresses, we recommend increased attention to the benefits that could be gained from addressing the ozone yield gap.

Inflammation, a Double-Edge Sword for Cancer and Other Age-Related Diseases

Abstract: Increasing evidence from diverse sources during the past several years has indicated that long-term, low level, chronic inflammation mediates several chronic diseases including cancer, arthritis, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological diseases. The inflammatory molecules and transcription factors, adhesion molecules, AP-1, chemokines, C-reactive protein (CRP), cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, interleukins (ILs), 5-lipooxygenase (5-LOX), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), nuclear factor (NF)-kB, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are molecular links between inflammation and chronic diseases. Thus, suppression of inflammatory molecules could be potential strategy for the prevention and therapy of chronic diseases. The currently available drugs against chronic diseases are highly expensive, minimally effective and produce several side effects when taken for long period of time. The focus of this review is to discuss the potential of nutraceuticals derived from "Mother Nature" such as apigenin, catechins, curcumin, ellagic acid, emodin, epigallocatechin gallate, escin, fisetin, flavopiridol, genistein, isoliquiritigenin, kaempferol, mangostin, morin, myricetin, naringenin, resveratrol, silymarin, vitexin, and xanthohumol in suppression of these inflammatory pathways. Thus, these nutraceuticals offer potential in preventing or delaying the onset of chronic diseases. We provide evidence for the potential of these nutraceuticals from pre-clinical and clinical studies.

Limits on Light Weakly Interacting Massive Particles from the First 102.8 kg×day Data of the CDEX-10 Experiment.

Abstract: We report the first results of a light weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) search from the CDEX-10 experiment with a 10 kg germanium detector array immersed in liquid nitrogen at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory with a physics data size of 102.8 kg day. At an analysis threshold of 160 eVee, improved limits of 8×10^{-42} and 3×10^{-36} cm^{2} at a 90% confidence level on spin-independent and spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon cross sections, respectively, at a WIMP mass (m_{χ}) of 5 GeV/c^{2} are achieved. The lower reach of m_{χ} is extended to 2 GeV/c^{2}.

Cyanobacterial Farming for Environment Friendly Sustainable Agriculture Practices: Innovations and Perspectives

Abstract: Sustainable supply of food and energy without posing any threat to environment is the current demand of our society in view of continuous increase in global human population and depletion of natural resources of energy. Cyanobacteria have recently emerged as potential candidates who can fulfil abovementioned needs due to their ability to efficiently harvest solar energy and convert it into biomass by simple utilization of CO2, water and nutrients. During conversion of radiant energy into chemical energy, these biological systems produce oxygen as a by-product. Cyanobacterial biomass can be used for the production of food, energy, biofertilizers, secondary metabolites of nutritional, cosmetics and medicinal importance. Therefore, cyanobacterial farming is proposed as environment friendly sustainable agricultural practice which can produce biomass of very high value. Additionally, cyanobacterial farming helps in decreasing the level of greenhouse gas, i.e., CO2, and it can be also used for removing various contaminants from wastewater and soil. However, utilization of cyanobacteria for resolving the abovementioned problems is subjected to economic viability. In this review, we provide details on different aspects of cyanobacterial system that can help in developing sustainable agricultural practices. We also describe different large-scale cultivation systems for cyanobacterial farming and discuss their merits and demerits in terms of economic profitability.

Fungal infections in animals: A patchwork of different situations

Abstract: The importance of fungal infections in both human and animals has increased over the last decades. This article represents an overview of the different categories of fungal infections that can be encountered in animals originating from environmental sources without transmission to humans. In addition, the endemic infections with indirect transmission from the environment, the zoophilic fungal pathogens with near-direct transmission, the zoonotic fungi that can be directly transmitted from animals to humans, mycotoxicoses and antifungal resistance in animals will also be discussed. Opportunistic mycoses are responsible for a wide range of diseases from localized infections to fatal disseminated diseases, such as aspergillosis, mucormycosis, candidiasis, cryptococcosis and infections caused by melanized fungi. The amphibian fungal disease chytridiomycosis and the Bat White-nose syndrome are due to obligatory fungal pathogens. Zoonotic agents are naturally transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans and vice versa. The list of zoonotic fungal agents is limited but some species, like Microsporum canis and Sporothrix brasiliensis from cats, have a strong public health impact. Mycotoxins are defined as the chemicals of fungal origin being toxic for warm-blooded vertebrates. Intoxications by aflatoxins and ochratoxins represent a threat for both human and animal health. Resistance to antifungals can occur in different animal species that receive these drugs, although the true epidemiology of resistance in animals is unknown, and options to treat infections caused by resistant infections are limited.

Modelling of land use land cover change using earth observation data-sets of Tons River Basin, Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract: An integrated Markov Chain and Cellular Automata modelling (CA MARKOV), multicriteria evaluation techniques have been applied to produce transition probability. The unsupervised method was employed...

Acquisition and Homeostasis of Iron in Higher Plants and Their Probable Role in Abiotic Stress Tolerance

Abstract: Iron (Fe),a micronutrient,plays an important role in agriculture world wideand its smaller amount because a small amount is required for plant growth and development.All major functions in thea plant’s life from chlorophyllbiosynthesisto energy transfer are performed by Fe.Iron also acts as a major constituent of many plant proteins and enzymes. The Acacquisition of Fein plants occurs throughby two strategies i.e. stragegystrategy I and strategy II. Under various stress conditions, Nramp and the YSL gene families help in translocation of Fe,which further actsas amineral regulatory element and defends plants against stresses.Iron plays an irreplaceable role in alleviating stress imposed by salinity,drought, and heavy metal stress. This is because,as it activates plant enzymatic antioxidants like catalase (CAT),peroxidase, andone anisoform of superoxide dismutase (SOD) whichthat act as a scavengers of reactive oxygen species (ROS).In contrast, both its deficiency and excess amount can disturb the homeostasis of the a plant’s cell as a result of via decliningits declining the photosynthetic rate, respiration, and increased accumulation of Na+ and ClCal- ions which ultimately resulted intoculminate in an excessive formation of ROS. The short-range-order hydrated Fe oxides and organic functional groups show affinities for metal ions. Iron plaque biofilm matricesx could sequester a large amount of metals at the soil-root interface.Hence, it has attracted the attentions of plant physiologists and agricultural scientists for who are discovering more exciting and hidden applications of Fe and its potential in the development of bio-factories.This review looks into recent progress made in putting forward the role of Fe in plant growth, development, and acclimation under major abiotic stresses i.e.salinity, drought, and heavy metals.

Hydrological inferences through morphometric analysis of lower Kosi river basin of India for water resource management based on remote sensing data

Abstract: Satellite based remote sensing technology has proven to be an effectual tool in analysis of drainage networks, study of surface morphological features and their correlation with groundwater management prospect at basin level. The present study highlights the effectiveness and advantage of remote sensing and GIS-based analysis for quantitative and qualitative assessment of flood plain region of lower Kosi river basin based on morphometric analysis. In this study, ASTER DEM is used to extract the vital hydrological parameters of lower Kosi river basin in ARC GIS software. Morphometric parameters, e.g., stream order, stream length, bifurcation ratio, drainage density, drainage frequency, drainage texture, form factor, circularity ratio, elongation ratio, etc., have been calculated for the Kosi basin and their hydrological inferences were discussed. Most of the morphometric parameters such as bifurcation ratio, drainage density, drainage frequency, drainage texture concluded that basin has good prospect for water management program for various purposes and also generated data base that can provide scientific information for site selection of water-harvesting structures and flood management activities in the basin. Land use land cover (LULC) of the basin were also prepared from Landsat data of 2005, 2010 and 2015 to assess the change in dynamic of the basin and these layers are very noteworthy for further watershed prioritization.

Enhanced photoluminescence in Tm3+, Yb3+, Mg2+ tri-doped ZnWO4 phosphor: Three photon upconversion, laser induced optical heating and temperature sensing

Abstract: Three photon upconversion photoluminescence has been observed in Tm3+, Yb3+ co-doped ZnWO4 phosphor synthesized through solid state reaction method. The structural measurements reveal an increase in crystallinity and particles size on Mg2+ incorporation. The EDS spectrum shows the presence of Zn, W, Tm, Yb, Mg and O elements in the phosphor. The UV–vis-NIR absorption spectra contain CTB and 4f-4f transitions due to Tm3+ and Yb3+ ions, respectively. The Tm3+, Yb3+ co-doped phosphor gives intense blue and NIR emissions alongwith a weak red emission due to 1G4→3H6, 3H4→3H6 and 1G4→3F4 transitions, respectively upon 976 nm excitation. The emission intensity of the phosphor is found optimum at 2 mol% concentration of Yb3+ ion. When the Mg2+ ion is incorporated in the co-doped phosphor, the emission intensity enhances upto two times. This may be due to improved crystal structure and an increase in the intensity of absorption bands. The FIR analysis in the Stark components of 1G4 level suggests an efficient optical heating and temperature sensing ability. The temperature sensing sensitivity is found to be 34 × 10−4 °K-1 at 300°K. Thus, the Tm3+, Yb3+, Mg2+ tri-doped ZnWO4 phosphor may be used in photonic devices, NIR source, as an optical heater and temperature sensor purposes.

Bacterial endophytes from rice cut grass (Leersia oryzoides L.) increase growth, promote root gravitropic response, stimulate root hair formation, and protect rice seedlings from disease

Abstract: Leersia oryzoides, a wild relative of rice (Oryza sativa), may carry potential seed-borne bacterial endophytes which could be used to enhance growth of rice. We hypothesized that seed-associated bacteria from L. oryzoides would be compatible with rice and promote seedling growth, development, and survival. We isolated bacteria from seed of L. oryzoides and checked compatibility with rice as well as Bermuda grass seeds for seedling growth promotion. Internal colonisation of bacteria into root cells was observed by ROS staining and microscopic observation. Growth promoting bacteria were evaluated for IAA production, phosphate solubilization and antifungal activities. Overall, ten bacteria were found to be growth promoting in rice seedlings with effects including restoration of root gravitropic response, increased root and shoot growth, and stimulation of root hair formation. All bacteria were identified by 16S rDNA sequencing. Six bacteria were found to become intracellular in root parenchyma and root hairs in rice and in Bermuda grass seedlings. Six bacteria were able to produce IAA in LB broth with highest (47.06 ± 1.99 μg ml−1) by LTE3 (Pantoea hericii). Nine isolates solubilized phosphate and inhibited at least one soil borne fungal pathogen. Seed bacteria of L. oryzoides are compatible with rice. Many of these bacteria become intracellular, induce root gravitropic response, increase root and shoot growth, and stimulate root hair formation in both rice and Bermuda grass seedlings. Presence of bacteria protects seedlings from soil pathogens during seedling establishment. This research suggests that bioprospecting microbes on near relatives of rice and other crop plants may be a viable strategy to obtain microbes to improve cultivation of crops.

Characterization of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) isolated from the rhizosphere of Vigna radiata (mung bean)

Abstract: The rhizosphere is the zone under influence of plant roots where various kinds of microbial activities occur which perform important functions such as increase uptake of nutrients for the host for their better growth and protection from several diseases caused by various phytopathogens. Keeping in this vital role performed by rhizospheric microbes, thirty-nine bacterial isolates were isolated on King's B and nutrient agar media from the rhizosphere region of mung bean plants. Among these isolates, foure were identified as Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus sp., Acinetobacter sp. on the basis of biochemical and 16 S rDNA gene sequencing analysis. All the isolates were screened in vitro for plant growth promoting attributes such as IAA production, phosphate solubilization, ammonia production, catalase production, siderophore production, and antagonistic activity against phytopathogenic Rhizoctonia solani, the causal organism of root rot in mung bean. All the bacterial strains showed significant PGPR attributes and were able to produce indole-3 -acetic acid (ranging from 45.66 µg/ml to 111.94 µg/ml). In addition, the isolated strains enhanced phosphate solubilization activity (ranging from 952.91 µg/ml to 1341.24 µg/ml). Out of all, Pseudomonas spp. showed most potent antifungal activities against R. solani. Thus, the current study has focused on the characterization of rhizobacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of healthy mung bean plant. The results showed that the isolates posses, multiple plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits and can be used as a potential candidate on the soil-plant system to increase their growth as well as productivity.

Genetic dissection of grain zinc concentration in spring wheat for mainstreaming biofortification in CIMMYT wheat breeding

Abstract: Wheat is an important staple that acts as a primary source of dietary energy, protein, and essential micronutrients such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) for the world’s population. Approximately two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiency, thus breeders have crossed high Zn progenitors such as synthetic hexaploid wheat, T. dicoccum, T. spelta, and landraces to generate wheat varieties with competitive yield and enhanced grain Zn that are being adopted by farmers in South Asia. Here we report a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using the wheat Illumina iSelect 90 K Infinitum SNP array to characterize grain Zn concentrations in 330 bread wheat lines. Grain Zn phenotype of this HarvestPlus Association Mapping (HPAM) panel was evaluated across a range of environments in India and Mexico. GWAS analysis revealed 39 marker-trait associations for grain Zn. Two larger effect QTL regions were found on chromosomes 2 and 7. Candidate genes (among them zinc finger motif of transcription-factors and metal-ion binding genes) were associated with the QTL. The linked markers and associated candidate genes identified in this study are being validated in new biparental mapping populations for marker-assisted breeding.

A study of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based biosensor with improved sensitivity

Abstract: In the present study, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based biosensor with SF-10 glass prism/zinc oxide/gold/MoS 2 /graphene hybrid structure is reported. The angular interrogation method is used for the reflectance spectra analysis. From the spectral analysis, we study the different performance parameters like sensitivity, detection accuracy, quality parameter and electric field intensity enhancement factor (EFIEF) of the proposed SPR based biosensor. Numerical results show that the base ZnO (zinc oxide) layer which have a large real value of the dielectric constant in combination with gold, MoS 2 and graphene, is responsible for enhancing the sensing performance of the proposed SPR based biosensor. The present biosensor can attain a maximum sensitivity (101.58 deg/RIU), detection accuracy (1.81) and quality parameter (15.11 RIU -1 ) for a large dynamic range of refractive index change from 1.33 to 1.45.

Utilizing the Potential of Microorganisms for Managing Arsenic Contamination: A Feasible and Sustainable Approach

Abstract: Arsenic (As) contamination is a serious issue throughout the world. The scale of problem is being realized to be even greater with the discovery of new As contaminated regions with time. Rice is a staple crop across the world with approximately half of the world population dependent on rice for their daily dietary intake especially in Southeast Asian countries. It is not only the consumption of rice grains but also food products based on rice, which contribute towards As exposure to humans. Plant growth promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) constitute a diverse group of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi and microalgae. These are associated with the rhizospheric zone of plants. They improve plant growth through different mechanisms like increase of nutrients level in plants, improved soil quality, siderophore and hormone production, changes in biochemical properties of plants etc. Another important assistance imparted by PGPMs is the altered speciation of As in the soil through methylation and subsequent change in the bioavailability of As to the plants. Further, a change in As speciation also affects As uptake and transport in plants. The purpose of this review is to discuss importance of PGPM association in As toxicity amelioration in plants along with favourably reducing As concentrations in crop plants or increasing As accumulation in phytoremediator plants. This review also presents mechanisms of action of PGPMs and describes both laboratory- and field-studies on the application of PGPMs for tackling As-contamination. The future prospects of successful utilization of PGPMs are also discussed.