Central Tuber Crops Research Institute

About: Central Tuber Crops Research Institute is a facility organization based out in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Starch & Fermentation. The organization has 475 authors who have published 587 publications receiving 10285 citations.

Fed-Batch Saccharification as a Strategy towards Reducing Enzyme Dosage and Enhancing Fermentable Sugar Yield from Pretreated Lignocellulo-Starch Biomass

Abstract: Lignocellulo-starch biomass (LCSB) comprising root and vegetable processing residues contain starch also along with cellulose and hemicellulose and hence require whole slurry saccharification using an enzyme cocktail containing starch hydrolysing enzyme as well along with cellulase and xylanase. The cost-effective production of ethanol necessitates high fermentable sugar yield (> 80 g/l) in the hydrolysate which is possible through fed-batch saccharification as it overcomes issues such as low mass transfer and high viscosity of slurry encountered on high solids loading. To our knowledge no information is available on the fed-batch saccharification of LCSBs and hence the objective of the study was to investigate the possibility of enhancing the sugar yield at low enzyme dosage through fed-batch saccharification approach. Fed-batch saccharification of pretreated LCSBs [steam (ST), dilute sulphuric acid (DSA) and microwave-assisted DSA (MW-DSA)] in enhancing the sugar yield was investigated using a triple enzyme cocktail at two cumulative loading densities (15 g/100 ml and 20 g/100 ml) and compared with the respective batch system. The hydrolysis yield from ST fed-batch system was very high (84–95%) for the residues followed by 83–90% yield from MW-DSA system at 15 g/100 ml cumulative substrate loading. Glucose and xylose were uniformly present in all the hydrolysates with higher levels of glucose in the steam pretreated fed-batch system SFB1 (15 g/100 ml). High phenolic retention in the hydrolysates did not affect saccharification as detoxification chemicals were supplemented. Fed-batch saccharification enhanced the sugar yield from pretretated LCSBs and based on the hydrolysis yield, 15 g/100 ml cumulative substrate loading was better than 20 g/100 ml loading and steam pretreatment (45 min) emerged as the best. Pulsed addition of substrate with only one-time enzyme feeding at the start resulted in enzyme saving during the fed-batch saccharification.

Performance of Orange and Purple-Fleshed Sweet Potato Genotypes in Coastal Locations of Odisha

Abstract: Orange and purple-fleshed sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas L.) genotypes have immense importance as cheap source of vitamins and antioxidants. Screening and evaluation of these genotypes for stress tolerance further add to their value as biofortified climate resilient food and nutrition source. In the present study, 15 orange-fleshed sweet potato genotypes were initially evaluated for yield and β - carotene content through Initial Evaluation Trial (IET). Based on the yield performance in IET, five genotypes were selected and evaluated along with one check variety (Kamalasundari) in Uniform Regional Trial (URT). Both IET and URT were conducted in the farm of Regional Centre of Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India (RC, CTCRI), under the All India Co-ordinated Research Project (AICRP) on tuber crops. Three genotypes selected through progressive evaluation in URT were tested further along with two check varieties (Kamalasundari and Gouri) by Multi-Location Trials (MLT) at four different locations (Balasore and Kendrapara-under saline conditions and Nuapada and Mangarajpur - under non-saline conditions) across Odisha and the farm of RC, CTCRI (under AICRP). In another study, under AICRP, the performance of four orange (SB-198/115, CIP-420027, CIPSWA-2 and ST-14) and one purple-fleshed (ST-13) genotypes were evaluated under On Farm Trials (OFT) at five different coastal locations (Kendrapara, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Astaranga and Balasore - under saline conditions) across Odisha. Pooled analysis of yield and other characters through MLT and OFT revealed that all the six genotypes, ST-14, SB-198/115, CIPSWA-2, CIP-420027, CIP-440127 and ST-13 showed tolerance to soil salinity (6-8 dS m -1 ) with high tuber yield (16.69-22.49 t ha -1 ), high β -carotene content (4-12 mg 100g -1 ) in orange-fleshed genotypes and anthocyanin content (85-90 mg 100g -1 ) in purple-fleshed genotype. All the six genotypes were found to perform better than the check varieties. The genotypes, ST-14, CIPSWA-2, CIP-420027, CIP-440127 and ST-13 are recommended for cultivation to supplement food and nutrition requirement in the economically backward coastal regions of Odisha.

In Vitro Evaluation of the Antioxidant, 3,5-Dihydroxy-4-ethyl-trans-stilbene (DETS) Isolated from Bacillus cereus as a Potent Candidate against Malignant Melanoma.

Abstract: 3,5-dihydroxy Q1 -4-ethyl-trans-stilbene (DETS) is a natural stilbene, which was first identified as bioactive bacterial secondary metabolite isolated from Bacillus cereus associated with a rhabditid entomopathogenic nematode. The present study was intended to investigate the antioxidant and anticancer activity of this compound in vitro. Antioxidant activity was investigated by assaying DPPH free radical scavenging, superoxide radical-(O2..) scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging and metal chelating activity, which proved that the compound is a powerful antioxidant. The metal chelating activity of DETS was higher than butylated hydroxyanisol (BHA) and gallic acid, two well-known antioxidants. As the molecule exhibited strong antioxidant potential, it was further evaluated for cytotoxic activity toward five cancer cells of various origins. Since the compound has a strong structural similarity with resveratrol (trans- 3,4,5-trihydroxystilbene), a well-studied chemopreventive polyphenolic antioxidant, its anticancer activity was compared with that of resveratrol. Among the five cancer cells studied, the compound showed maximum cytotoxicity toward the human melanoma cell line, [A375, IC50: 24.01 μM] followed by cervical [HeLa-46.17 μM], colon [SW480- 47.28 μM], liver [HepG2- 69.56 μM] and breast [MCF-7- 84.31 μM] cancer cells. A375 was much more sensitive to DETS compared to the non-melanoma cell line, A431, in which the IC50 of the compound was more than double (49.60 μM). In the present study, the anticancer activity of DETS against melanoma was confirmed by various apoptosis assays. We also observed that DETS, like resveratrol, down-regulates the expression status of major molecules contributing to melanoma progression, such as BRAF, β-catenin and Brn-2, all of which converge in MITF-M, the master regulator of melanoma signaling. The regulatory role of MITF-M in DETS-induced cytotoxicity in melanoma cells was confirmed by comparing the cytotoxicity of DETS in A375 cells (IC50-24.01 μM), with that in SK-MEL-2 (IC50-67.6 μM), another melanoma cells which highly over-express MITF-M. The compound arrests the cells at S-G2 transition state of the cell cycle, as resveratrol. Our results indicate that DETS is a powerful antioxidant, having anticancer efficacy comparable with that of resveratrol, and is a potential candidate to be explored by in vivo studies and in-depth mechanistic evaluation. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the antioxidant and anticancer properties of DETS.

Influence of carbon and nitrogen sources on antifungal metabolite production by bacterium associated with entomopathogenic nematode against Penicillium expansum.

Abstract: A specific symbiotic Bacillus sp. isolated from a rhabditid entomopathogenic nematode, Rhabditis (Oscheius) sp. was found to produce large number of bioactive compounds. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of carbon and nitrogen sources for the production of antimicrobial substances by Bacillus sp. The yield of the crude antimicrobial substances and antimicrobial activity against the test micro-organism also differed significantly when carbon and nitrogen sources in the fermentation media were changed. The antifungal activity was significantly high in yeast extract plus fructose (46.5 ± 2.12 mm) followed by yeast extract plus maltose, beef extract plus fructose and meat infusion plus glucose. High pressure liquid chromatography analysis of the crude antimicrobial substances revealed different peaks with different retention time indicating that they produced different compounds. When the carbon source was not included in the fermentation media, the antimicrobial production was substanti...

Impact of climate change on the potential geographical suitability of cassava and sweet potato vs. rice and potato in India

Abstract: The current study focused on determining the potential geographical suitability of cassava and sweet potato, two major tropical root crops of India, using the species distribution model, MaxEnt and QGIS. The model showed excellent performance based on the AUC (area under the ROC curve) values (> 0.8) obtained during training and testing. District wise geographical suitability is analysed, and the results indicate an increase in the geographical suitability of cassava in the future with a percentage increase of 42, 41; 32, 43; and 33, 32 for 2030, 2050, and 2070, respectively, for the two representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5. The same for sweet potato is 32, 25; 27, 31; and 23, 21, respectively. The geographical suitability of rice and potato is also tested in India in the future to compare the results of cassava and sweet potato. The percentage increase in rice suitability is 17, 15; 15, 17; and 13, 11 for 2030, 2050, and 2070, respectively, for the two RCPs about its current growing locations. The increase in geographical suitability of potato is 10, 11; 10, 9; and 10, 9%, respectively. The outcome of this study shares information about the highly suitable districts for cassava, sweet potato, rice, and potato across the Indian subcontinent in the future. It can assist the decision managers in diversifying crops to highly suitable areas to ensure food security.