Satinder Kaur Brar

Emerging phytopathogen Macrophomina phaseolina: biology, economic importance and current diagnostic trends

Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid. is an important phytopathogenic fungus, infecting a large number of plant species and surviving for up to 15 years in the soil as a saprophyte. Although considerable research related to the biology and ecology of Macrophomina has been conducted, it continues to cause huge economic losses in many crops. Research is needed to improve the identification and characterization of genetic variability within their epidemiological and pathological niches. Better understanding of the variability within the pathogen population for traits that influence fitness and soil survival will certainly lead to improved management strategies for Macrophomina. In this context, the present review discusses various biological aspects and distribution of M. phaseolina throughout the world and their importance to different plant species. Accurate identification of the fungus has been aided with the use of nucleic acid–based molecular techniques. The development of PCR-based methods for identification and detection of M. phaseolina are highly sensitive and specific. Early diagnosis and accurate detection of pathogens is an essential step in plant disease management as well as quarantine. The progress in the development of various molecular tools used for the detection, identification and characterization of Macrophomina isolates were also discussed.

Recent Development in Applications of Important Biopolymer Chitosan in Biomedicine, Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products

In recent years, considerable attention has been given to functional biomaterials (BMs) for their potential applications in the biomedical field. Among them, the biopolymer chitosan (CTS) has been receiving increasing attention. Owing to its unique and appealing biological properties, such as biocompatibility, tunable biodegradability, antimicrobial, and wound healing activity, it is considered suitable for biomedical applications. CTS and its derivatives are promising candidates as a supporting material for tissue engineering applications due to their porous structure, gel forming properties, ease of chemical modification and high affinity to in vivo macromolecules. These BMs showed great potential due to their polyelectrolyte properties, the presence of reactive functional groups, high adsorption capacity, and anti-tumor effect. Remarkably, the application of CTS has been gaining attention in the regenerative medicine due to its structural similarity to glycosaminoglycans, which are components of a tissue’s extracellular matrix.

Biobutanol—“A Renewable Green Alternative of Liquid Fuel” from Algae

Increasing global energy demand, concern over global climate changes, and unstable and expensive petroleum resources, have led to the development of renewable energy sources that have driven research toward the utilization of biomass resources for the production of energy and fuels. In this context algae appear to be an emerging source of biomass for biobutanol that has the potential to give an alternative green solution to replace fossil fuel and reduce environmental issues. Biochemical production of butanol, a four carbon aliphatic alcohol, is promising due to its superior fuel properties as compared to ethanol. This chapter presents a comprehensive review on sustainable bioproduction and utilization of butanol as a biofuel and provides a glimpse on different potential biomass and microorganism for biochemical production of butanol. Main bottlenecks in biochemical production and recovery using conventional anaerobic acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation and corresponding recent counteractive steps to overcome these challenges were discussed systematically. A special emphasis has been given on the production of butanol a green alternative solution to fossil fuel using both micro- and macroalgae as potential biomass.