Department of Biotechnology

About: Department of Biotechnology is a government organization based out in New Delhi, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Silver nanoparticle. The organization has 4800 authors who have published 5033 publications receiving 82022 citations.

Identification of miRNA encoded by Jatropha curcas from EST and GSS

Abstract: miRNAs are endogenous approx 22 nucleotide RNA which mediates transcriptional or Post-transcriptional gene regulation and play a critical role in diverse aspects of plant development. miRNA identification in wet lab have various constraints, it is time consuming and expensive. It also faces the limitation of identifying miRNAs expressed at specific time and/or at special conditions. Due to the nature of strong conservation of miRNA in plant species, the use of comparative genomics approach for expressed sequence tags (ESTs), Genome Survey Sequence (GSS) and structural feature criteria filter has paved the way toward the identification of conserved miRNAs from the plant species whose genomes are not yet available in public domain. To identify the novel miRNA from Jatropha curcas, a total of 46862 EST sequences and 1569 GSS were searched for homology to previously known viridiplantae 2502 mature miRNA. After predicting the RNA secondary structure, 24 new potential miRNA were identified in J. curcas. Using the newly identified miRNA sequences, a total of 78 potential target genes were identified for 3 miRNA families. Most of the miRNA targeted genes were predicted to encode transcription factors that regulate cell growth and development, signaling, and metabolism. These findings considerably broaden the scope of understanding the functions of miRNA in J. curcas.

Bioremediation of Organic and Inorganic Pollutants Using Microalgae

Abstract: The buildup of organic and inorganic pollutants in the various ecosystems due to intensive anthropogenic activity causes serious problems to the environment as well the organisms in it. These problems could be solved by the application of bioremediation technologies using algae. Microalgae have become an attractive biotechnological tool for the detoxification of environmental pollutants due to their inexpensive growth requirements (sunlight and carbon dioxide) and the advantage of being concurrently utilized for various other technologies (e.g., biological carbon capture, biofuel production, and bioremediation). This chapter highlights this alternative biological agent abundantly present in nature as a potential sink for the removal of toxic substances from the surroundings. The microalgal biomass has the capability to remove heavy metal and organic pollutants from polluted sites by accumulating, adsorbing, or metabolizing the noxious elements into comparatively safer levels.

Antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts of selected medicinal plants against human pathogens

Abstract: Objective To evaluate the antimicrobial potential of five medicinally important plants namely, Curcuma mangga ( C. mangga ) Valeton & Van Zijp, Ficus racemosa (F. racemosa) Roxb., Vitex negundo ( V. negundo ) L., Ocimum basilicum ( O. basilicum ) L., and Etlingera elatior ( E. elatior ) K. Schum . against the human bacterial pathogens. Methods The Klebsiella pneumonia (K. pneumonia), Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) (ATCC 6538), Salmonella typhi ( S. typhi ) (MTCC 733), Proteus vulgaris (P. vulgaris), Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( P. aeruginosa ) were isolated from clinical samples. The bacteria were identified and confirmed by conventional microbiology procedure. Antimicrobial study was carried out by disc diffusion method against the pathogens by using the crude ethanolic extracts. Results The results of the present study showed the presence of wide spectrum of antibacterial activities against all the above bacterial pathogens studied. The maximum zone of inhibition observed for each bacterium was as follows: S. typhi (12 mm), K. pneumonia (13 mm), P. vulgaris (20 mm), P. aeruginosa (16 mm) and S. aureus (12 mm). Conclusions The present study demonstrates that the C. mangga, F. racemosa, V. negundo, O. basilicum , and E. elatior are potentially good sources of antibacterial agents against the pathogens viz., K. pneumonia, S. aureus, S. typhi, P. vulgaris and P. aeruginosa .

Antioxidant profiling of Hippophae salicifolia growing in sacred forests of Sikkim, India

Abstract: Hippophae commonly known as sea-buckthorn, is a versatile plant with multipurpose uses including the control of soil erosion, biological nitrogen fixation and medicinal properties. In India, two species of sea-buckthorn; namely, Hippophae salicifolia D. Don and Hippophae rhamnoides L., are very common. H. salicifolia has a shrub-to-tree habit and is restricted to the Himalayan region, whereas H. rhamnoides is bushy, growing at higher altitude in India, and widely distributed in Europe and Asia. In this study, aqueous, methanol and acetone extracts of various parts of female and male plants of H. salicifolia were evaluated for total antioxidant activity, phenolic and flavonoid contents, and correlations were made. The total phenolic and flavonoid content in all the samples ranged from 99 ± 32 to 1459 ± 53 mg gallic acid equivalent g–1, 135 ± 12 to 707 ± 62 mg quercetin equivalent g–1 of dry extract, respectively. The highest free radical (DPPH) scavenging activity was found in methanol extracts of female bark and male leaf. Methanol extracts of male bark and male leaf showed maximum H2O2 activity at a concentration of 1 mg mL–1. Antioxidant activity (FRAP method) ranged from 0.021 to 1.041 at concentrations ranging from 20 to 200 µg mL–1 with a reducing capacity of extracts as water > methanol > acetone. Strong correlation (P < 0.05) was observed between DPPH scavenging activity and total phenolic content from all the extracts under study.

NGS Transcriptomes and Enzyme Inhibitors Unravel Complexity of Picrosides Biosynthesis in Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex. Benth

Abstract: Picrorhiza kurroa is an important medicinal herb valued for iridoid glycosides, Picroside-I (P-I) and Picroside-II (P-II), which have several pharmacological activities. Genetic interventions for developing a picroside production platform would require knowledge on biosynthetic pathway and key control points, which does not exist as of today. The current study reports that geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP) moiety is mainly contributed by the non-mevalonate (MEP) route, which is further modified to P-I and P-II through phenylpropanoid and iridoid pathways, in total consisting of 41 and 35 enzymatic steps, respectively. The role of the MEP pathway was ascertained through enzyme inhibitors fosmidomycin and mevinolin along with importance of other integrating pathways using glyphosate, aminooxy acetic acid (AOA) and actinomycin D, which overall resulted in 17%-92% inhibition of P-I accumulation. Retrieval of gene sequences for enzymatic steps from NGS transcriptomes and their expression analysis vis-a-vis picrosides content in different tissues/organs showed elevated transcripts for twenty genes, which were further shortlisted to seven key genes, ISPD, DXPS, ISPE, PMK, 2HFD, EPSPS and SK, on the basis of expression analysis between high versus low picrosides content strains of P. kurroa so as to eliminate tissue type/ developmental variations in picrosides contents. The higher expression of the majority of the MEP pathway genes (ISPD, DXPS and ISPE), coupled with higher inhibition of DXPR enzyme by fosmidomycin, suggested that the MEP route contributed to the biosynthesis of P-I in P. kurroa. The outcome of the study is expected to be useful in designing a suitable genetic intervention strategy towards enhanced production of picrosides. Possible key genes contributing to picroside biosynthesis have been identified with potential implications in molecular breeding and metabolic engineering of P. kurroa.