North Eastern Hill University

About: North Eastern Hill University is a education organization based out in Shillong, Meghalaya, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Ruthenium. The organization has 2318 authors who have published 4476 publications receiving 48894 citations.

In vitro plantlet regeneration from nodal segments and shoot tips of Capsicum chinense Jacq. cv. Naga King Chili.

Abstract: An in vitro regeneration protocol was developed for Capsicum chinense Jacq. cv. Naga King Chili, a very pungent chili cultivar and an important horticultural crop of Nagaland (Northeast India). Maximum number of shoot (13 ± 0.70) was induced with bud-forming capacity (BFC) index of 10.8, by culturing nodal segments in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 18.16 μM Thidiazuron (TDZ) followed by 35.52 μM 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). Using shoot tips as explants, multiple shoot (10 ± 0.37) (BFC 8.3) was also induced in MS medium fortified with either 18.16 μM TDZ or 35.52 μM BAP. Elongated shoots were best rooted in MS medium containing 5.70 μM indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Rooted plantlets thus developed were hardened in 2–3 weeks time in plastic cups containing potting mixture of a 1:1 mix of soil and cow dung manure and then subsequently transferred to earthen pots. The regenerated plants did not show any variation in the morphology and growth as compared to the parent plant.

Plant Growth-Promoting Abilities in Cyanobacteria

Abstract: Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are photosynthetic prokaryotes having oxygenic photosynthesis. Several species of cyanobacteria also carry out N2 fixation. They produce a variety of compounds/products useful to mankind. The association of these microorganisms influences plant growth, development, and susceptibility to pathogens. This chapter focuses on their plant growth-promoting abilities. Cyanobacteria are of great use as biofertilizer particularly for the rice crop. Free-living N2-fixing cyanobacteria as well as Azolla (a symbiotic association of water fern Azolla and Nostoc/Anabaena) are commonly used as biofertilizer for the rice as well as several other crops. In addition, these organisms are also used to improve soil quality, particularly for the reclamation of Usar (alkaline) soils making them suitable for plant growth. Some N2-fixing cyanobacteria occur in symbiosis and in associations with a wide spectrum of plants wherein they provide fixed nitrogen directly to the plant partner enabling them to grow in nitrogen-poor soils. In some symbioses, for example in bipartite lichens, cyanobacterial partner provides both fixed-N as well as fixed-C to the plant partner. Cyanobacteria are also known to excrete a number of other substances that influence plant growth and development. They have been reported to produce growth-promoting regulators (resembling gibberellin, cytokinin, abscisic acid, and auxin), vitamins (particularly vitamin B), amino acids, polypeptides, and exopolysaccharides that act as antibacterial, antifungal, and toxin-like substances. Cyanobacteria also have the ability to mobilize insoluble organic phosphates for the benefit of the crop plants.

The influence of moisture regimes on the population and activity of soil microorganisms

Abstract: This paper deals with the influence of soil moisture on the fungal population, bacterial population, CO2-evolution and dehydrogenase activity. Correlation coefficients of various parameters of the soil with different moisture regimes are given. It is demonstrated that soil moisture significantly alters the microbial population, its activity and the relationships between various parameters.

The effect of temperature, composition and alcohols on the microstructures of catanionic mixtures of sodium dodecylsulfate and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide in water

Abstract: The influence of mixing protocol, composition, temperature, ageing and added alcohols on the characteristics of the microstructures of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) + cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) mixtures has been investigated in this paper. In this catanionic mixture (1 weight% total surfactant content) temperature induced microstructural transition occurs, which is (i) a micelle-to-vesicle transition (MVT) if αSDS (mole fraction of SDS) = 0.7, 0.8 or 0.9 and (ii) a vesicle-to-micelle transition (VMT) if αSDS = 0.1, 0.2 or 0.3. In the mixture of αSDS = 0.7, specific conductivity and dynamic light scattering measurements also support the occurrence of MVT. Transition electron microscopy and small angle neutron scattering measurements were also made to assess the characteristics of the microstructures. Alcohols added to the mixture of αSDS = 0.7 reduced the size of the vesicle, while only monohydric alcohols suppressed the temperature induced transition indicating that the number and location of -OH groups of the alcohols have a dramatic modulating influence on the structural transition occurring in catanionic mixtures. The influence of the alcohols is explained in terms of changes produced in the dielectric constant and hydrophobicity of the medium.

Purification and characterization of intestinal adenosine deaminase from mice.

Abstract: Adenosine deaminase (ADA) was isolated from small intestine of mice and purified to utmost homogeneity. SDS-PAGE of purified ADA gave a molecular weight of 41 kDa. Western blot analyses gave a single reactive band at 41 kDa and the other band was an associated ADA binding protein. The purified enzyme was more stable in the alkaline pH. The optimum pH and the pI values were about 7.0 and 4.96, respectively. Km values of the small intestinal ADA for adenosine and 2′-deoxyadenosine were 23 and 16μM, respectively. Purine riboside was a competitive inhibitor with Ki of 5 μM, whereas 2′-3′-o-isopropylidene adenosine acted as an uncompetitive inhibitor (Ki 66 μM). Activity of ADA was inhibited by the presence of theophylline (-40%), caffeine (-30%), and L-cysteine (-50%). Significantly, Hg2+ (100 μM) inhibited 98% of the initial ADA activity. In addition, various purine analogs such as inosine, purine, α-adenosine and adenine showed variable inhibitions on the activity of ADA. Relative ADA activity towards 3′-deoxyadenosine and 6-chloropurine riboside was lower by 30% and 40%, respectively. However, the activity towards 2′-o-methyl adenosine was higher (30%) compared to the activity obtained using adenosine.