Light is a survival quotient for all photosynthetic plants and its reception is very complex due to direct regulation by photoreceptors and their downstream transcriptional factors or indirectly by circadian rhythm. Shade-grown coffee cultivation though less productive than the sun tolerant varieties, pose high potential as benefit to the environment. Other than high nutrient soil associated with shade-cultivated coffee, light is another important difference when compared to full sun cultivation practice. It is thus important to study if light has a role in accumulation of caffeine - the most undesired compound in coffee. Light irradiation of suspension cultures of Coffea arabica enhances caffeine content. However, no such study is available on whole plants, which are anticipated to act in accord with organismal homeostasis. Moreover, the promoter of theobromine synthase-like gene involved in caffeine biosynthesis carries several light responsive motifs. In this report, it is shown that in complete darkness the caffeine content in young leaves of 1 year old seedlings is very low (0.094±0.003 mg/100 mg tissue dw.). However, it increases to 5.9 folds within 6hrs of exposure to light. In addition, caffeine content drops (0.218±0.03; mg/100 mg tissue dw.) when light exposed plants are returned to complete dark. Transcript analysis further reveals that this difference is due to regulation of the caffeine biosynthetic genes. A further discussion to the effect of dark and light on levels of caffeine is also provided. Though cup quality of shade-grown coffee is indefinite, this study clearly demonstrates the role of light in regulation of caffeine biosynthesis.
The present study was carried out to document of the aquatic avifaunal diversity of Shetrunji River, Dhari located in the Amreli District of Gujarat State. A total of 18 species of birds belonging to 8 families viz. Ciconiidae, Phoenicopteridae, Phalacrocoracidae, Podicipedidae, Anatidae, Ardeidae, Threskiornithidae and Alcedinidae were recorded in the study area from October 2013 to December 2013. 14 species of these were residents and 2 were residents with local migrants. Ardeidae was highest in dominance family followed by Anatidae, Ciconiidae and Threskiornithidae, where as in concern of the order Ciconiiformes was highest in dominance of species followed by Anseriformes. During winter the maximum birds were observed from recorded species due to easy accessibility of food. Among all the bird species recorded in this area, 16 were least concern and 2 species of birds such as Black Headed Ibis ( Threskiornis melanocephalus ) and Painted Stork ( Mycteria leucocephala ) are Near Threatened under Red List category of IUCN 2013.
The study was carried out with intents to measure the relative bioconcentration of chromium (Cr 6+ ) in different vital organs, and to assess the effect of chromium on hematology in Cirrhinus mrigala. The fingerlings of C. mrigala were exposed to different concentrations of Cr 6+ (LC 50 for 96 h was estimated as 52.187 mg L -1 ) in the form of K 2 Cr 2 O 7 . For sub-lethal toxicity test, the fish were exposed to different concentrations of T0 (without chromium), T1 (3.479 mg L -1 Cr 6+ ), T2: 5.218 mg L -1 Cr 6+ ), and T3 (10.437 mg L -1 Cr 6+ ) for 60 days. For estimation of bioaccumulation, the various vital organs (muscle, gills and liver) and haematological parameters, peripheral blood was collected. The chromium-exposed fish showed significantly (p 0.05) decreased in the red blood cells (RBC), haemoglobin (Hb) content and packed cell volume (PCV) at the end of 60 days when compared to the control, whereas the white blood cells (WBC) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) significantly (p<0.05) increased in the Cr 6+ exposed groups. The abnormalities measured during this study are principally imperative because they are associated with bioaccumulation in vital tissues, impaired haematology at sub-lethal concentrations of Cr 6+ which provides the early diagnostic tools to detect the toxicity of chromium pollution in aquatic environment.
The effect of a combination of known beneficial microorganisms and vermicompost was studied on growth enhancement and yield parameters of two varieties of tomato. Microorganisms used were Bacillus pumilus, Glomus mosseae and Trichoderma harzianum . Vermicompost was prepared using cow dung and aquatic weeds i.e., Eichhornia using earthworms ( Eisenia fetida ). The experimental results showed significant variations in plant growth and yield according to the different treatments. The growth parameters such as plant height, number of fruits were observed at 15 days interval form the date of transplanting seedlings to the field. Maximum enhancement of growth and yield was observed in tomato plants treated with vermicompost alone followed by vermicompost along with all microorganisms and then vermicompost + plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPR). Biochemical components of leaves such as total soluble protein, phenols and chlorophyll as well as antioxidants such as ascorbate and carotenoids were also enhanced to varying degrees by the treatments. Besides, lycopene content of fruits also increased by different treatments. Results clearly indicate that vermicomposting alone or with additional microorganisms not only increase growth and yield but also enhance the quality parameters.
This study was done to check the intensity and mode of action of plant origin and synthetic pesticide, which is generally, apply as piscicide for cleaning the fish culture pond. In this study plant, origin piscicide Apigenin extracted from leaves of Jatropha gossypifolia , and Rutin from leaves of Codiaeum variegatum plants of family Euphorbiaceae and synthetic pyrethroid pesticide (Cyperstar) purchased from market. The LC 50 values of Apigenin (83.26, 68.56, 62.11 and 44.92 mg/L), Rutin (58.43, 52.32, 44.40 and 43.62 mg/L) and Cyperstar (0.009, 0.007, 0.006 and 0.005 mg/L) at exposure of 24h, 48h, 72h or 96h, respectively. It is also evident from this study; all these plant origin and synthetic pesticide significantly inhibit the activities of enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), acid and alkaline phosphatase. The anti-enzymatic activity as well as the mortality caused by the Apigenin, Rutin and Cyperstar were time as well as dose dependent. In another experiment 7 th day after withdrawal of treatment, activity of all the enzymes come back to nearly normal. The above study concluded that the Cyperstar is highly toxic to the fish in comparison to Apigenin and Rutin but all are metabolized in body of fish within seven days of withdrawal of treatment.
The freshwater snail Lymnaea acuminata is the intermediate host of Fasciola gigantica which cause animal and human fasciolosis, respectively in different part of India. Vector snail Lymnaea acuminata is fast breeder and it lays eggs round the year. Temperature is an important abiotic factor which controls the metabolism of snail. High temperature increases fecundity of the snails. A population of glial cells in the central nervous system of the gastropod mollusk L. acuminata produces a soluble protein that specifically binds acetylcholine and alters the reproductive capacity of the snail keeping in different temperature in different months of the year Nov-2011- Oct- 2012.
The term morphometry is used in several disciplines to mean the measurement and analysis of form characteristics. This study incorporates morphometric linear, aerial and relief aspect of fluvial characteristics of Paisuni river basin. Paisuni river basin covers 571.44 sq km area. Entire drainage network is spread over Sandstones, Limestone and Alluvium with undulating topography. Paisuni river has dendritic drainage pattern. Bifurcation ratio is above 3 which indicate that basin has undulating topography. Mean bifurcation ratio is 3.59 which shows that basin is highly structurally distorted. Relief ratio is 8.8 m/km which shows moderate to high relief of basin. Drainage density & frequency are more and drainage texture is fine which shows that basin is impermeable and having low ground water recharging characters with sparse vegetation. Form factor and circulatory ratio indicates basin shape is elongated. Longitudinal profile shows that basin has high relief in first order drainages and as drainage order increases, relief decreases and finally converts into flat basin at the outlet. Present study is useful to identify the sites for artificial recharging structures to reduce the surface runoff.
The Garoua sedimentary basin is the eastward branch of the Benue Trough in north Cameroon and is characterized by its potential hydrocarbons resources. Statistical spectral analysis of the residual gravity field values obtained by bandpass filtering of Bouguer gravity anomalies was employed to determine the depth to the basement rocks of parts of Garoua Basin. The depth to basement in the area is found to be 4.4 km to 8.9 km. This represents the thickness of the sedimentary formation overlying the basement complex. This increases the possibility of hydrocarbon accumulation in the area. Horizontal gradient analysis enabled tracing deep faults that are mainly striking in the NW-SE direction. Interpretation of horizontal gradient of the gravity data indicated that the potential hydrocarbon field area is structurally controlled. Euler deconvolution method has been applied to the gravity data and provided information about both the depth and trends of the subsurface faults structures in the area.
Seventeen species of Fusarium were recorded on maize (6 species) and sorghum (12 species) grains, and lentil (7 species) and sesame (7 species) seeds on Dichloran chloramphenicol peptone agar medium (DCPA) using the seed/grain-plate method. The moisture contents of most cereal grains were higher than those of seeds. Maize grains gave the highest colony forming units of Fusarium followed by sorghum, sesame and lentil. The frequency of occurrence of Fusarium species depended on the type of seeds and grains. The most frequently encountered species were F. oxysporum , F. verticillioides , F. solani and F. proliferatum on maize; F. nygamai, F. solani and F. verticillioides on sorghum, F. nygamai and F. oxysporum on lentil; and F. solani , F. chlamydosporum and F. verticillioides on sesame. Aspergillus (with A. flavus and A. niger being the most common) followed by Penicillium and Alternaria were recorded from the 4 substrates.
The concentration of different ions and minerals in groundwater depend on the aquifer mineralogy through which the water passes and the speed of its migration along the flow path. Applications of the software package Mass-Balance Model (NETPATH for windows) to evaluate geochemical evolution of groundwater in Quaternary aquifer is the main target in this study. NETPATH was used to perform a variety of aqueous geochemical calculations including; the saturation indices (SI) of the major mineral phases, testing of water corrosivity, influencing of the River Nile on the groundwater and to apply water mixing models. In this study, the forward method of geochemical modeling applies to situation (NETPATH) was used to interpret net geochemical mass-balance reactions between initial and final waters along a hydrologic flow path. This technique was utilized to deduce the geochemical evolution of Na-Cl and Na-SO 4 water types along flow path in the Quaternary aquifer system in Belbies area, east Nile Delta, Egypt. The results indicate that the ion exchange and dissolution are the main processes along flow path respect to Na-Cl water type. The cation exchange process proceeds by uptake of Ca 2+ to release more Na + in groundwater. The Na-SO 4 flow path is characterized by the dissolution of dolomite to dedolomitization process, where CaCO 3 0 aq decrease and Ca 2+ increases with an increasing gypsum saturation index.
Cercaria of Fasciola gigantica differentiate the spectral variation of 150 flux visible light, whereas at 300 flux there was no significant variation in number of attracted cercaria at different wavelength. Attraction of cercaria towards different wavelength of visible light is time and intensity dependent. Red light (650 nm) caused maximum attraction (27.69%) after 60 minute observation. Cercaria was not attracted by green light. Combination of photo and chemo stimulant caused more attraction of cercaria than only photo stimulation. Maximum attraction (47.86%) of cercaria was observed when photo stimulus of red light and chemo stimulation of serine were given simultaneously. Higher acetylcholinesterase (AChE, 103%) and cytochrome oxidase (118%) activities were noted in the cercaria exposed to red and violet light, whereas significant low AChE and cytochrome oxidase were observed in blue, yellow and orange light. Visible light directly stimulate the photoreceptors in eye which transmit the signals through nerves to the brain and snail response accordingly. In this signal transmission, AChE is one of the important enzyme involve in this process. Higher activity of cytochrome oxidase enzyme indicate that red and violet monochromatic lights affect the activity of electron transport system in cercarial body, which ultimately increases the cercarial movement in searching suitable substratum/host. This type of behavior can be used as an effective tool for trapping cercaria in fasciolosis control program and save many cattle/human life without polluting the aquatic ecosystem.
Epinephelus diacanthus was studied for the spatial (south west and south east coasts of India), annual (2008-2011) and seasonal (pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon) variations of total protein, amino acids, minerals and vitamins. These nutrients have been correlated with the chlorophyll-a concentration and sea surface temperature of its habitat. Mean protein content attained highest values during pre-monsoon along both the SW and SE coasts, with high proportions of essential amino acids. Essential to non-essential amino acid ratio, total aromatic and total sulphated amino acids recorded monsoon maxima, and were independent of the sampling locations. Amino acid scores observed monsoon and post-monsoon maxima along the SW and SE coast, respectively. Minerals were significantly higher during the monsoon season along the SE coast (P<0.05). Significant seasonal variations in vitamin content were observed along the coasts with high vitamin A, D3 and C in south west coast and higher vitamin E and K in south east coast.
