V. R. Parshad

Rodents as reservoirs of parasites in India.

We monitored the prevalence of endoparasitic infections of rodents in Punjab State, India, between January 2004 and December 2005. Three species of wild rodents, namely the house rat, Rattus rattus (n= 42), the lesser bandicoot rat, Bandicota bengalensis (n= 34) and the Indian gerbil, Tatera indica (n= 15), were live-captured from houses and crop fields. Examination of various organs revealed that the highest rates of endoparasitic infection occurred in R. rattus (40.5%), followed by B. bengalensis (35.3 %) and then T. indica (20.0%), with an overall infection rate of 35.2%. All three rodent species were found naturally infected with one or more species of helminths. Metacestodes (1-6) of Cysticercus fasciolaris (larvae of Taenia taeniaeformis) were found in all three rodent species (in the liver). In one male T. indica, numerous robust T. taeniaeformis metacestodes were found in oval sacs attached to the mesentery and the abdominal wall, an unusual site. The cauda epididymal fluid of the same gerbil was also found to be infected with a very rare species of strongylid nematode, which could not be identified to genus or species level. It is possible that this nematode is transmitted sexually and thus may affect the reproductive potential of gerbils. This appears to be the first report of this phenomenon. In one B. bengalensis individual, the intestine was found to be obstructed with an acanthocephalan, Moniliformis moniliformis, with concurrent infection with C. fasciolaris in the form of multiple cysts in the liver. Although no natural protozoan infection was found in these field rodents, experimental Trypanosoma evansi infection has been established in all three species with high pathogenicity, and the possibility of sexual transmission was supported by the presence of T. evansi in the cauda epididymal fluid of male rats.

Novel Trends to Revolutionize Preservation and Packaging of Fruits/Fruit Products: Microbiological and Nanotechnological Perspectives

Fruit preservation and packaging have been practiced since ages to maintain the constant supply of seasonal fruits over lengthened periods round the year. However, health and safety issues have attracted attention in recent decades. The safety and quality assurance of packaged fruits/fruit products are vital concerns in present day world-wide–integrated food supply chains. The growing demand of minimally or unprocessed packaged fruits has further aggravated the safety concerns which fuelled in extensive research with objectives to develop novel techniques of food processing, preservation, and packaging as well as for rapid, accurate, and early detection of contaminant products/microbes. Nevertheless, fruits and fruit-based products have yet to observe a panoramic introduction. Tropics and subtropics are the stellar producers of a variety of fruits; majority if not all is perishable and prone to postharvest decay. This evoked the opportunity to critically review the global scenario of emerging and novel techniques for fruit preservation and packaging, hence providing insight for their future implementation. This review would survey key nanotechnology innovations applied in preservation, packaging, safety, and storage of fruits and fruit-based products. The challenges and pros and cons of wider application of these innovative techniques, their commercial potential, and consumer acceptability have also been discussed.

Efficacy of acute and anticoagulant rodenticide baiting in sugarcane fields of Punjab, India.

The aim of this study was to recommend locality-specific rodent pest management techniques for sugarcane using acute and anticoagulant rodenticides during the months when maximum damage is inflicted on the crop in Punjab, India. Sugarcane crops were found to be infested with four rodent species namely: Bandicota bengalensis (Gray and Hardwicke); Mus booduga (Gray); Millardia meltada (Gray) and Golunda ellioti (Gray), with B. bengalensis being the most prevalent species (accounting for 69.45–83.36% of the total catch). Surveys in 11 villages of three districts of Punjab (India) revealed 19.12 ± 12.22% rodent damage to the sugarcane crop during the months of December–January. Rodenticide treatments were conducted in farmers fields in two districts of Punjab from December 2003 to January 2007. The results revealed that, to protect the sugarcane crop from rodent damage during the months of December–January, the rodenticide treatment may be applied either: (1) by double-baiting with 2% zinc phosphide followed by 0.005% bromadiolone after 15d at 1 kg/ha each, or (2) by single-baiting with 0.005% bromadiolone at 2 kg/ha. The impact of rodenticide treatment in canefields was also evident in the adjoining wheat crop fields where the incidence of rodent damage was less (0.97–3.24%) than in the fields surrounding untreated canefields (3.53–6.22%).

Effects of previous and alternative feeding on the acceptance of Flocoumafen baits by the lesser bandicoot rat, Bandicota bengalensis and the Indian gerbil, Tatera indica

Abstract In multi‐choice feeding experiments in which freshly prepared loose grain bait (FB) in a mixture of wheat, sugar and peanut oil (WSP, 96:2:2) containing 0.005% of an anticoagulant rodenticide Flocoumafen and its ready‐to‐use wax cake formulation (RUC) were offered in choice with plain bait in an experimental pen, the lesser bandicoot rat, Bandicota bengalensis after initial sampling, rejected and displaced the RUC, whereas the Indian gerbil, Tatera indica nibbled it into small pieces at its original location. Previous feeding experience of rats on WSP or plain millet and the availability of these foods as alternatives to toxic baits during their treatment had no effect on the preference of B. bengalensis for FB over RUC, which happened in the case of T. indica. Mean daily consumption (g/100g body weight) of FB by B. bengalensis and T. indica was 2.31 ± 0.33 and 1.75 ± 0.29 respectively and the corresponding values for RUC were 0.23±0.08 and 1.12 + 0.13 in the experiment in which the previous and ...

Advanced Molecular and Microspectroscopy Toolbox for Deciphering Soil Diazotroph Diversity

Microbial diversity is microbial species richness and evenness in a given niche at particular time. Microbes represent richest diversity including members which may be cultured or cannot be cultured on defined media. Accurate identification and characterization of both culturable and unculturable microbes require employing diverse phenetic, molecular, and system biology tools. However, certain advanced molecular approaches not only unravel microbial diversity but also the microbial community structure and functions performed by specific group or genera of microbes. Molecular toolbox is instrumental in deciphering unculturable microbial diversity paving toward discovery of new genera or species. Molecular microbial ecology has increased our understanding of the role and phylogeny of several bacterial populations, their interdependencies, and functional networks with other genera/species. These include nucleic acid hybridization methods evolving to high throughput, automated, and versatile gene amplification and marker-assisted selection methods like RFLP, r-DNA profiling, nif H gene profiling, and FISH that aim to investigate community diversity using specific signature gene sequences. Today, brigade of novel techniques like single cell microecophysiology are available which can be useful for directly observing as well as quantifying the metabolic activities of microbes in their natural environment. These techniques would further enhance our understanding of relative contribution of various microbial groups to specific microbially catalyzed processes such as biogeochemical cycling (nitrogen fixation).