The Gujarat University is a public state university located at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The university is an affiliating university at the under-graduate level and a teaching university at the postgraduate level. It is accredited B++ by NAAC. It was established in 1949.
Environmental pollution is a major global problem threatening human health, wildlife, and ecosystems. It arises from human-induced changes in the chemical and physical properties of the environment. Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) are released through industrial wastewater and agricultural fertilizers, contaminating soil and water. Rapid urbanization, industrialization, and the improper use of pesticides and pharmaceuticals have intensified environmental degradation. Increasing agricultural demand has further driven pesticide usage, leading to their accumulation in water bodies and associated ecological risks. Oxidative stress is a common mechanism underlying the toxicity of many anthropogenic pollutants and contributes to various diseases. While acute effects of pollutants on large wildlife are often visible, impacts on smaller animals and long-term ecological consequences remain poorly studied. This chapter examines air, water, and soil pollution and demonstrates their significant harmful effects on human health, animal life, and plant growth.
ACC deaminase producing plant growth promoting bacteria have emerged as an effective biological solution to alleviate ethylene inhibition in plants exposed to stress. Central to stress mitigation, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase (AcdS) cleaves ACC to α-ketobutyrate and ammonia lowering stress-ethylene and sustaining growth. This review emphasis on advances in the structure, function, regulation of ACC deaminase and enzymatic control of ACC under diverse environmental conditions. It provides an insight of how ACC is released by roots, transported in the rhizosphere and taken up by beneficial bacteria. The AcdS activity influences auxin–ethylene balance to support better root growth and stress tolerance. ACC deaminase-producing PGPB belonging to genera such as Enterobacter, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Lysinibacillus, Methylobacterium, Achromobacter, and Halobacillus have been widely reported to alleviate abiotic stresses including salinity, drought, temperature extremes, and heavy metal toxicity in major crops like wheat, rice, maize, and tomato. Future prospects include enhancing AcdS efficiency and stability through advanced molecular approaches and developing robust bioformulations for scalable field distribution in stress-resilient agriculture. The present review integrates structural, mechanistic and translational insights to guide scalable deployment of ACC deaminase producing PGPB for stress management.
This research investigates the influence of l-amino acid side chain variations on iron oxide nanoparticles, focusing on their formation dynamics and biological functionalities. Utilizing a co-precipitation method, magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) were synthesized and functionalized with l-glutamic acid, l-glutamine, l-glycine, and l-asparagine. The resultant amino acid-modified MNPs (AA@MNP) were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), revealing distinct chemical, morphological, and crystalline properties. The AA@MNP demonstrated superparamagnetic behavior and enhanced biocompatibility. Their biomedical applications were evaluated, revealing significant antioxidant activity, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) binding affinity, and antimicrobial efficacy against E. coli and C. albicans. Notably, Gly@MNPs exhibited both antibacterial and antifungal properties, while Glu@MNPs showed marked antibacterial activity. Furthermore, cytotoxicity assays on A549 lung cancer cells indicated promising anticancer potential, with all AA@MNPs exhibiting substantial growth inhibition. This research underscores the potential of amino acid functionalized MNPs in diverse biomedical applications, including drug delivery, bioimaging, and biosensing, attributed to their tailored surface properties and biological interactions.
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains are a group of probiotics that have gained significant attention due to their potential to modulate the gut microbiota and promote human health. This study aims to characterize the commendable probiotic properties of LAB isolated from Fragaria ananassa (strawberry) samples collected in Navsari, South Gujarat, India. LAB strains are essential for gastrointestinal health and were meticulously assessed for critical probiotic traits, including bile and acid resistance, bile salt hydrolysis activity (BSH), resistance to antibiotics and lysozyme, exopolysaccharide (EPS) production, alpha-glucosidase activity, antibacterial activity, and diverse cell surface properties. The LAB strains exhibited varying survival rates in simulated gastric (3.55-7.05 log CFU/mL) and intestinal environments (1.86-6.40 log CFU/mL). Moreover, the ability of the bacteria to survive in bile salts varied from 26.10% to 96.55% for 0.3% oxgall and from 15.69% to 79.69% for 1.0% oxgall. Auto-aggregation rates significantly increased after 24 h for all isolates. ST3 displayed the highest hydrophobicity values (75.28% with xylene and 92.12% with chloroform). All isolates demonstrated resistance to lysozyme, vancomycin, and kanamycin. ST3 exhibited notable exopolysaccharide production (0.61 mg/mL) and displayed 46.55% alpha-glucosidase activity. Molecular characterization confirmed the identities of potent LAB isolates ST2 as Lactobacillus acidophilus and ST3 as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum. These findings illuminate the significant probiotic potential of these specific LAB isolates, providing valuable insights for further research and the development of probiotic-based interventions targeting gastrointestinal disorders.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most highly aggressive and fatal malignancies. It ranks as the sixth most common tumor in the world and, more importantly, it occupies the third position among cancer-related deaths. Centella asiatica is a medicinal plant widely pharmacologically potent which may include anti-inflammatory, anticancer, hepatoprotective as well as wound healing activity. Increasing evidence supports cross-kingdom regulation for plant-origin microRNAs (miRNAs), delivered into host cells through dietary intake to regulate gene expression levels involved in pharmacological actions from medicinal plants. An in silico homologous miRNA screening method was applied to identify potential Centella asiatica miRNAs targeting HCC genes. Homologous miRNA sequences were first identified from the Centella asiatica genome with BLASTN, and their secondary structures were predicted with MFold server. Putative human targets were then predicted using psRNATarget and only those retained that could be cross-referenced with known HCC-associated genes. These targets were subjected to Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway analysis in Enrichr and DAVID, respectively. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were then constructed in Cytoscape for hub gene identification using cytoNCA while survival and expression analyses were implemented in GEPIA2.49 C.asiatica miRNAs were identified with 63 target genes overlapping the HCC-associated gene set. CDKN1A, IRS1, MAPK14, SSB, and TARDBP were found as hub genes from PPI network analysis among the targets. Further filtering of these hubs through survival analysis revealed them as prognostic hubs possibly regulated by cai-miR393a and cai-miR156a. This is the first comprehensive study to predict that Centella asiatica-derived miRNA particularly cai-miR393a and cai-miR156a may play a role in HCC by targeting SSB and TARDBP. Therefore, results of the present study add a novel cross-kingdom regulatory mechanism and place Centella asiatica miRNAs as potential candidates for translational developments in HCC therapy.
