Amrita Kumari Panda

Brevibacillus as a biological tool: a short review.

The significance of Brevibacillus has been documented scientifically in the published literature and commercially in heterologous recombinant protein catalogs. Brevibacillus is one of the most widespread genera of Gram-positive bacteria, recorded from the diverse environmental habitats. The high growth rate, better transformation efficiency by electroporation, availability of shuttle vectors, production of negligible amount of extracellular protease, and the constitutive expression of heterologous proteins make some strains of this genus excellent laboratory models. Regarding biotechnological applications, this genus continues to be a source of various enzymes of great biotechnological interest due to their ability to biodegrade low density polyethylene, ability to act as a candidate bio-control agent, and more recently acknowledged as a tool for the overexpression. This article reviews the properties of Brevibacillus spp. as better biological tools with varied applications.

Biochemical Characterization and 16S rRNA Sequencing of Few Lipase-Producing Thermophilic Bacteria from Taptapani Hot Water Spring, Orissa, India

Three lipase-producing thermophilic bacteria (AK-P1, AK-P2, and AK-P3) were isolated from the Taptapani hot water spring in Orissa, India. The crude extra cellular lipases from cell-free culture supernatant were reacted in an olive oil mixture, and their lipolytic activities were compared. Identification of the bacteria was carried out using biochemical tests, 16SrRNA sequencing and sequences submitted to NCBI GenBank. Strain AK-P3, exhibited the highest lipolytic activity of 5.5 U/mL was identified as Porphyrobacter sp. The lipolytic activities of strains AK-P1 and AK-P 2 were 4.5 U/mL and 3.5 U/mL, respectively. Strains AK-P1 and AK-P2 were identified as Acinetobacter sp. and Brevibacillus spp. The GenBank accession numbers of the 16S rRNA gene sequences determined in this study for the strains AK-P1, AK-P2, and AK-P3 are HM359120, HM359119, and HM359118, respectively.

Illumina-based analysis of bacterial community in Khuangcherapuk cave of Mizoram, Northeast India

Bacterial community of the Khuangcherapuk cave sediment was assessed by Illumina amplicon sequencing. The metagenome comprised of 533,120 raw reads with an average base quality (Phred score) 36.75 and G + C content is 57.61%. A total of 18 bacterial phyla were detected with following abundant genus — Mycobacterium (21.72%), Rhodococcus (7.09%), Alteromonas (1.42%), Holomonas (0.7%) and Salinisphaera (0.20%). Majority portion of the sequences (68%) is unclassified at the genus level indicating the possibilities for the presence of novel species in this cave. This study reports the cave bacterial diversity from the biodiversity hotspot region of Eastern Himalayas. Metagenome sequence data are available at NCBI under the Bioproject database with accession no. SRP056890.

Biotechnological Potential of Thermophilic Actinobacteria Associated With Hot Springs

Abstract Actinobacteria is one of the most widely studied taxa of prokaryotes due to its significance in biotechnology, medical science, ecology, and other branches of biology, found ubiquitously in soil, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. Although various reports are available on the ecology of Actinobacteria, information is scant on actinobacterial diversity inhabiting hot springs. Recent advances in genome sequencing technology and multiomics approaches have significantly increased the understanding of actinobacterial diversity from various ecosystems. The present chapter highlights the diversity and biotechnological potential of actinobacteria isolated from various hot springs, with special reference to actinobacterial metabolites, i.e., antibiotics, anticancer compounds, enzymes, and enzyme inhibitors, etc.

DNA Sequencing: Methods and Applications

Determination of the precise order of nucleotides within a DNA molecule is popularly known as DNA sequencing. About three decades ago in the year 1977, Sanger and Maxam–Gilbert made a breakthrough that revolutionized the world of biological sciences by sequencing the 5,386-base bacteriophage φX174. From the year 1977 to till date DNA sequencing came across much advancement in terms of sequencing tools and techniques. The modern era DNA sequencing are dealing with Next generation sequencing and many other advancement are available to the researchers, practitioners, and academicians at a very reasonable cost with highest accuracy. The biological databases are being flooded with a huge flow of sequences coming out from various organisms across the world. Today the researchers and scientists across the various fields are utilizing these data for a variety of applications including food security by developing better crops and crop yields, livestock, improved diagnostics, prognostics, and therapies for many complex diseases.

Comparative Study of Tryptophan Synthase Beta Chain between Pyrococcus furiosus (Archaea) and Salmonella typhimurium (Proteobacteria)

The present investigation deals with comparative study of beta chain of the enzyme tryptophan synthase from Salmonella typhimurium and Pyrococcus furiosus. The study yielded few significant results that the sequence of beta 2 subunit (PF1706) from Pfu is closely related to the beta chain of Salmonella typhimurium in comparison to the beta 1. The phylogenetics of these two strains indicates that the beta 2 subunit plays a vital role in tryptophan synthesis in Pyrococcus furiosus. In the present investigation Salmonella typhimurium was used as a reference organism for comparative genomics of tryptophan synthase beta chain amongst a group of organisms 13 archaea and 41 proteobacteria respectively. The study reveals that most of the sequences of archaea are distantly related and was observed that there are certain sequences like pfu PF1706 which are closer to Stm that is a proteobacteria.

Phytoremediation St udies on Coal Mine Waste and Coal Fly Ash by Leucaena Leucocephala

P ot culture experiments were conducted by using various % of Soil, Coal Fly Ash and Coal Mine waste as contaminant to study the relative growth characteristics and yield potentials of Leucaena leucocephala .The level of different compositions are Soil (100%), Coal Mine Waste (100%), Coal Fly Ash (100%), Soil + Coal Mine Waste (50:50) %, Soil + Coal Fly Ash (50:50) %.The data on seed germination, growth parameters e.g total length, shoot length, root length, leaf number, total biomass production, chlorophyll, carotenoid and protein was recorded. Index Terms—Pot cultu re experiment, Leucaena leucocephala, Coal fly ash, Coal mine waste I. INTRODUCTI ON Coal wh ich used for thermal power generation is known for its high ash content (40-45 %).Due to low grade of coal and use of inferior model of electrostatic precipitators higher amount of fly ash evolves. Emission of particulate matters and noxious gases cause environmental hazards because the ash comprises of SiO2, Al2O3 and oxides of iron and other toxic metals. These oxides change the chemical and biochemical composition of the plant grown on fly ash(1). To mitigate pollution due to thermal power plants particularly fly ash, it is essential to select suitable plant species which can easily colonize in fly ash. Fly ash as such is not suitable for plant growth unless it is weathered for some period and organic amendments are added. (2)- (4).One of the most promising use of fly ash is to utilize it for tree plantation purpose which beside land reclamation also helps to lock up the toxic heavy metal present in the fly ash, in the wood biomass for longer periods as compare to crop plants. Present study highlights how Leucaena leucocephala is utilized for removal of pollutants from fly ash. Coal mine spoils vary from neutral to acidic in nature. They are sandy and subjected to severe erosion by wind and rain. In order to check the erosion re-vegetation of mine spoil has become mandatory. Keeping the reclamation and re-vegetation of coal mine spoil and coal fly ash in view a pot culture experiment has been conducted to study the effect of garden soil amended coal fly ash and coal mine spoil with Leucaena leucocephala.