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.

Inventory and Characterization of New Populations through Ecological Niche Modelling Improve Threat Assessment

Abstract: Categorization of species under different threat classes is a pre-requisite for planning, management and monitoring of any species conservation programme. However, data availability, particularly at the population level, has been a major bottleneck in the correct categorization of threatened species. Till date, threat assessments have been mostly based on expert opinion and/or herbarium records. The availability of primary data on distribution of species and their p opulation attributes is limited in India because of inadequate field survey, which has been ascribed to resource constraints and inaccessibility. In this study, we demonstrate that ecological niche modelling (ENM) can be an economical and effective tool to guide surveys overcoming the above two constraints leading to the discovery of new populations of threatened species. Such data lead to improved threat assessment and more accurate categorization. We selected 14 threatened plants comprising 5 trees ( Acer hookeri Miq., Bhesa robusta (Roxb.) Ding Hou, Gynocardia odorata Roxb., Ilex venulosa Hook. f. and Lagerstroemia minuticarpa Debb. ex P.C. Kanjilal), 8 herbs ( Angelica glauca Edgew., Aquilegia nivalis Falc. ex Jackson, Artemisia amygdalina DC., Begonia satrapis C.B. Clarke, Corydalis cashmeriana Royle, Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soo, Podophyllum hexandrum Royle, and Rheum australe D. Don), and 1 pteridophyte ( Angiopteris evecta (Forst.) Hoffm.) having distribution range in North East India, Eastern and Western Himalaya, and Jammu and Kashmir. The study was carried out between 2012 and 2016. ENM-based survey led to the discovery and characterization of 348 new populations. The data so obtained helped in assigning conservation status to 10 species, which earlier were never classified due to data deficiency. Using the new population and distribution data of the remaining four species, only one was confirmed regarding its existing status and two species were classified as ‘Critically endangered’ instead of the present classification as ‘Endangered’. The fourth species was classified as ‘Critically endangered’ against the earlier category of ‘Least concerned’.

Plantlet regeneration of Paris polyphylla Sm. via thin cell layer culture and enhancement of steroidal saponins in mini-rhizome cultures using elicitors

Abstract: An efficient regeneration protocol for the medicinal plant, Paris polyphylla Sm. was developed through the formation of mini-rhizomes (MRs) using transverse thin cell layer (tTCL) culture technique. MRs were induced from tTCL explants derived from the basal and middle stem portions while apical portion failed to show any kind of response. Highest response percentage (86.6 %) of MRs formation with a maximum fresh weight (1.05 ± 0.08 g) was achieved from basal sections cultured on ½ MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). MRs transferred to plant growth regulator free medium gave rise to shoot buds that eventually regenerated into plantlets and were successfully acclimatized with a survival percentage of more than 95 % under greenhouse conditions. Quantification through reverse-phase HPLC showed 1.41-fold higher content of total steroidal saponins in MRs cultured on medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l BAP as compared to the field-grown rhizome. Elicitation of MRs liquid culture with chitosan, salicyclic acid (SA) and yeast extract enhanced the production of steroidal saponins but resulted in reduced growth rate. Highest total steroidal saponins content (87.66 ± 1.66 mg/g DW) was achieved in cultures treated with SA at 50 mg/l after 30 days of elicitation which is 3.6 times higher than the in vivo rhizome. The developed protocol would facilitate the conservation of this valuable medicinal plant and could be used as a ready stock to meet the demands of the pharmaceutical industry for steroidal saponins productions.

Disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Performance: Evidence from India:

Abstract: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a crucial research domain over the last decade due to the imperative that when CSR activities are communicated in the form of a report, it helps...