Research Perspectives of Microbiology and Biotechnology Vol. 1

The utilization of herbal products as therapeutics and nutraceuticals is becoming more prevalent in today’s world. Novel medicinal plants with their natural biomolecules are being analysed to provide effective alternative to the synthetic chemical drugs being used in disease treatments. The present review is a comprehensive enumeration of the reports of antibacterial potential of turmeric - Curcuma longa L., which also has a number of other various pharmacological activities. The significant pharmacological properties of the plant are by virtue of the polyphenolic compounds, curcumin. The investigations already done by different workers have emphasized the remarkable potential of turmeric extract, both aqueous and alcoholic, to inhibit bacterial growth. The essential oil extract of the rhizome and leaves of turmeric have been reported to show remarkable inhibitory effect on a wide spectrum of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. This plant proved to be a promising candidate for usage as an antibacterial product in many endodontic treatment cases. The evidences provided in this review would encourage more experimental approaches regarding the antibacterial activity of C. longa in diverse fields using modern techniques like nanotechnology.

Melanoma has the highest mortality rate among all the dermatological cancers and shows poor prognosis if metastasis and secondary tumour formation occur. Deregulation of cellular signalling pathways like the phosphatidylinositol 3' kinase (PI3K) / Akt pathway, extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) pathway and the nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-\(\kappa\)\(\beta\)) pathway play important roles in development, progression and metastasis of melanomas. This article focuses on how such signalling pathways could be possible therapeutic targets for treatment of melanomas by the use of natural phytochemical compounds. Studies indicate that many natural phytochemical compounds such as all-trans retinoic acid, kaempferol, curcumin, betulinic acid, parthenolide and epigallocatechin gallate appear to have good potential to act as signalling pathway inhibitors for melanoma therapy. As many of these phytochemicals and their plant sources are already a part of human diet, using these natural compounds could help in reducing side effects and lowering treatment costs. Thus, targeting cellular signalling pathways with natural phytochemical compounds could lead to development of effective clinical strategies for melanoma treatment.

This study investigated the effectiveness of triple-action antifungals containing azoles, gentamicin, and corticosteroids for superficial mycoses treatment. The antifungal association on the one hand with antibacterials will reduce the composition of the colonizing microbiota and promote fungal growth and improve fungal pathogenicity indirectly. The study identified 34 different antifungals in 588 pharmacies, with 47.05% being triple-action. While these combinations were expected to have excellent antifungal activity and prevent resistance, concerns arise regarding their impact on microbiota and potential for promoting fungal growth and pathogenicity. We suggest prioritizing antifungals without antibiotic and anti-inflammatory combinations to reduce recurrence rates.

Copper (Cu) is considered as an essential micronutrient that is required in minute quantity for proper functioning of physiochemical reactions in the body of an organism. This microelement plays a significant role during growth and development in plants through different cellular processes. Although, if present in higher quantities can result in toxic effects. Current study was undertaken to view the effect of different ppm concentrations of Cu (II) ions upon the growth and biochemical parameters of Anabaena azollae. Results have disclosed that exposure to a high concentration of Cu causes an evidential effect in growth and biochemical parameters in the test organism.

Colibacillosis is any diseased condition caused by avian pathogenic E. coli, a Gram negative, non-acid-fast, uniform staining, and non-spore-forming bacillus. It is the most common, prevalent, and important bacterial disease of poultry in the world. E. coli produces toxins like endotoxin, enterotoxin, cytotoxin, hemolysins, hemagglutinins and virulence factors like adhesins. The common predisposing factors include mismanagement in humidity, temperature, ventilation and litter and immunosuppression. The sources of infection are contaminated feed, water and air while route of infection can be aerosol, oral, defected navel and infected egg with incubation period 5-7 days. It commonly causes Colisepticemia, Coligranuloma, Omphalitis, Salpingitis and Peritonitis, etc. Specific diagnosis can be done by identification, isolation and genotyping of E. coli. Suitable susceptible antibiotic can be used for treatment. Control of colibacillosis can be successfully done by proper management, vaccination and biosecurity protocol.

Metals are natural components in soil with a number of heavy metals being required by plants as micronutrients. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, there has been a dramatic increase in toxic metal pollution of the biosphere. Roots are the plant parts, which facilitate the primary contact between a plant and a pollutant. Culture of genetically transformed hairy roots of hyperaccumulator plant sp. Brassica juncea L. grown in vitro was established to study the potential of in vitro hairy root cultures for the uptake and accumulation of heavy metals (Ni and Zn) for their growth and biomass from an aquatic environment. All the chemicals and reagents in this experiment were of Analytical grade and were obtained from Hi Media Laboratories Pvt ltd., Mumbai, India. At elevated concentrations of Ni and Zn metals, hairy roots showed exponential growth and accumulation. In lower concentrations, Zn might have no effect on the growth of root biomass and also found to be it cause no dramatic decrease in root growth even if they are accumulated. At higher concentrations of Zn, B. Juncea hairy roots were not only found to be tolerant to Zn and also had the capacity to increase their root biomass and no growth retardation was seen. All concentrations of Ni showed a drastic change in root biomass growth irrespective of the duration of incubation periods. Ni in higher concentrations caused an exponential increase in root biomass growth and Ni showed no toxicity symptoms in hairy roots even at higher concentrations for a longer time up to 8 weeks of our study period. Ni was found to be an essential micronutrient for the growth of hairy root biomass. From this study, it was cleared and concluded that hairy roots of in vitro grown hyperaccumulator plant culture system could be a useful and effective model (as it needs metals for their root biomass growth) to study the metal uptake and accumulation from an aquatic environment.

This book chapter focuses on the environmental issues linked with the wine industry, mainly the amount of waste it generates. However, studies have shown that the by-products of this waste, including grapes, skins, seeds, and leaves, contain essential biocompounds and nutrients like phenolic compounds, flavonoids, procyanidins, and vitamin C that are beneficial to human health. These by-products have been found to possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, anti-aging, and anti-cancer properties. However, due to their perishable nature, they need preservation methods. This chapter recommends using edible films and coatings, a novel and eco-friendly post-harvest preservation technique. This method helps maintain the quality of lightly processed foods, preserve essential nutrients, protect against microorganisms, and maintain their original appearance. Therefore, this review aims to explore different techniques and types of edible coatings like chitosan, agar-agar, gelatin, alginate, guar gum, soy lecithin, maltodextrin, inulin, and propolis for the preparation of grape by-products in foods and drinks. More research is required to optimize coating formulations for the best quality.

The present study highlights about Fungal Glycosidases in Sporothrix Species and Candida albicans. Through the hydrolysis of glycosidic bonds in glycosides, enzymes known as glycoside hydrolases (GHs) take part in a variety of biological activities in fungi and other organisms. They are substantial topics of research in molecular biology and biochemistry and have essential functions in the breakdown of carbohydrates and the building of glycoproteins. Based on amino acid sequence similarities and 3-dimensional structures in the carbohydrate-active enzyme (CAZy), they have been classified in 171 families. Members of some of these families also exhibit the activity of trans-glycosydase or glycosyl transferase (GT), i.e., they create a new glycosidic bond in a substrate instead of breaking it. Fungal glycosidases are important for virulence by aiding tissue adhesion and colonization, nutrition, immune evasion, biofilm formation, toxin release, and antibiotic resistance. Here, we review fungal glycosidases with a particular emphasis on Sporothrix species and C. albicans, two well-recognized human pathogens. Covered issues include a brief account of Sporothrix, sporotrichosis, the different types of glycosidases, their substrates, and mechanism of action, recent advances in their identification and characterization, their potential biotechnological applications, and the limitations and challenges of their study given the rather poor available information. The study approaches will strengthen genetic glycoengineering, as glycosylation/deglycosylation can be used to modulate the efficiency of protein pharmaceuticals, the modification of glycoprotein antibodies by adding or changing the position of some sugars, changing the properties of recombinant proteins, etc. These achievements will impact the areas of biotechnology, biomedicine, and consequently, human health.

The study was conducted to identify the prevalence of Staphylococcal mastitis in bovines from Namakkal region and the therapeutic response of antibiotics to Staphylococci by assessing the antibiotic sensitivity pattern in clinical settings. Milk samples (n= 241) were collected from clinical and subclinical mastitic cows which were brought to teaching veterinary clinical complex (TVCC), Veterinary College and Research Institute (VC&RI), Namakkal, Tamil Nadu and subjected to isolation on mannitol salt agar, Gram’s staining and confirmation by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers. The prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus at cow level was 61.5 and 57.4 per cent in clinical and subclinical cases, respectively, and at quarter level was 58.8 and 57.4 per cent in the clinical and subclinical cases, respectively. Antibiotic sensitivity pattern revealed a high sensitivity to enrofloxacin (100.0%) and a high resistance to methicillin (100.0%) by S. aureus isolates, and multidrug resistance by S. aureus isolates was also observed. Though enrofloxacin was found to be very effective in therapeutic management of most staphylococcal mastitis cases, antibiogram of milk sample from each mastitis cow is essential to monitor the development of resistance of Staphylococcus aureus in clinical or subclinical mastitis to the range of antibiotics commonly used. This would help in the early treatment of mastitis with sensitive antibiotics and prevent the case entering into the chronic stage, failure of treatment and loss of the value of cow.

Flowering time is one of the important target traits in a soybean breeding program. Photoperiod and temperature influence the vegetative and reproductive development from emergence to maturity in soybean. The objective of this study was to analyze genetic variation in flowering time based on agronomic performance and SSR marker. About 108 soybean cultivars were used for this study. Eight primers relating flowering genes were selected based on soybean cDNA library from NCBI and TIGR. These primers were designed by using Primer 3 [1] to amplify fragments of 500-800bp. The optimum melting temperature was observed for each primer between 58^o to 68^oC. PCR was followed by protocol of Crop Genomics Laboratory. PCR products producing a single discrete band were purified by AccuPre\(\circledR\) PCR purification kit (Bioneer, Korea). The purified PCR product was directly sequenced using one of the PCR primers with BigDye Terminator Cycle Sequenceing Kit (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA). The labeling reaction mixture was ethanol-preciputated, and resuspended in 10\(\mu\)l of water. The sequence was analyzed using ABI 3700 sequencer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA). In conclusion, there was wide variation in flowering time of soybean. Gene diversity at nucleotide level will be useful for breeders to make strategy for soybean improvement in future.