Absract Archive   Septembr 2010 Report Report on Annual Conference of the Association of Microbiologist of India A four-day 50th Annual Conference of the Association of Microbiologist of India (AMI) was held from December 15, 2009 at the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), a constituent laboratory, of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi. AMI holds its National Conference annually at one of the well established centers of microbiology in the country. The theme of this year's conference was Third Golden Era of Microbiology. At the inaugural event Dr. M.V. Deshpande, Organizing Secretary giving background of the conference said that with the distinction of organizing this conference we have achieved a “hat-trick” for the Pune Unit of AMI as the Annual AMI Conferences were earlier organized at Pune in 1973 and 1988. Microbiology education and research in Pune and its neighborhood has increased phenomenally in the past decade, both in application and job potential, with the advent of several biotechnological institutions and industries. Dr. S. Sivaram, Director, NCL in his welcome remarks said that we are celebrating Diamond Jubilee of the NCL by organizing as many workshops, conferences, symposia and seminars by bringing together as many practitioners of science from industry, academia and Government to NCL for scientific discussions and interactions. He further said that NCL has contributed to the growth of Indian science as well as to the industry in innumerable ways over the last six decades. We look forward to the future with great optimism and a greater role this lab will play for ensuring the well being of the fellow citizens and our nation..................... Authors : M.V. Deshpande1, Anuradha Jape2, Vandana Ghormade3, and P.K. Ingle1 *Corresponding Author: pk.ingle@ncl.res.in Review Nutrigenomics: A Nutrition Advice Through Genomics Abstract The interface between the nutritional environment and cellular/genetic processes is being referred to as “nutrigenomics.” Nutrigenomics seeks to provide a molecular genetic understanding for how common dietary chemicals (i.e., nutrition) affect health by altering the expression and/or structure of an individual's genetic makeup. The fundamental concepts of the field are that the progression from a healthy phenotype to a chronic disease phenotype must occur by changes in gene expression or by differences in activities of proteins and enzymes and those dietary chemicals directly or indirectly regulate the expression of genomic information. Reluctance to embrace these new fields exists primarily due to the fear that producing overwhelming quantities of biological data within the confines of a single study will submerge the original query; however, the current review aims to position nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics as the emerging faces of nutrition that, when considered with more classical approaches, will provide the necessary stepping stones to achieve the ambitious goal of optimizing an individual's health via nutritional intervention. Keywords: Nutrigenomics, Nutrigenetics, Metabolomics, Polymorphism, Personalized Nutrition. Authors : *S.Karthikeyan, N.G.Ramesh Babu and C.Saravanakumar *Corresponding Author:karthik_gene@yahoo.co.in Tutorial Review Fermented Dairy Foods as a Source of Probiotics Abstract Probiotics are the latest category of good food, for health. Basically they are good bacteria added to foods are occurring naturally in certain fermented milk products. Probiotics have been used to treat for a variety of gastrointestinal diseases and they indirectly increase the resistance of body of the body by modulating the immunogenic response. Fermented dairy products and lyophilise Lactobacilli have been used as a source probiotics to treat many gastrointestinal disorders. Replenishing these beneficial bacteria in the form, intake of a fermented food products May health prevents the opportunistic infections. These probiotics supplements and in digestion and are also important colonizing the intestine during and after antibiotic uses. The main purpose of using probiotics is that the body contain a maintain ecology of a number of bacteria known as normal flora. The flora can be thrown out of balance by a wide range circumstances including using of antibiotics or other drugs, excess alcohol, tress and disease and these circumstances symbiotic bacteria increase in number and allow to thrive pathogenic organism, which are detrimental to health. Keywords: Lactobacillus spp; probiotics; Lactic acid bacteria; fermented milk. Authors : *A.Lakshmi Bhavani and G. Kaaviya *Corresponding Author: albhavani@gmail.com Full Length Article Antigen–Antibody Interactions of DJ-1 Epitopes in PARK7-linked Parkinson's Disease Abstract Antigen–Antibody interaction is a non-covalent interaction, similar to lock and key substrate. It does not lead to irreversible alteration of antigen or antibody. Parkinsonism is a clinical syndrome dominated by a disorder of movement consisting of tremor, rigidity, elements of Brady kinesis (slowness of movement), hypokinesia (reduced movement), akinesia (loss of movement), and postural abnormalities. Parkinson's disease consists of the clinical syndrome of Parkinsonism associated with a distinctive pathology consisting of degeneration of pigmented brain stem nuclei. The disease gene responsible for PARK7-linked Parkinson's disease is DJ-1. It protects cells from toxic stresses. To explore the interaction of the DJ-1 protein with the antibody, docking studies are performed. Key words: PARK-7 linked Parkinson's disease; DJ-1 Protein; Hex; 1P5F; 2FIC Authors : K. Aysha Siddique and *P. Tamizhmuhil *Corresponding Author: sakthi_bioinformatics@yahoo.co.in Full Length Article Studies on Antibacterial Activity and Phytochemical Analysis of Datura metel L against Bacterial Pathogens Associated with HIV Abstract Datura metel Linn is an Indian medicinal plant widely used in Phytomedicine to cure diseases such as asthma, cough, convulsions and other various human ailments. Antimicrobial activity of ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of plant was investigated by agar disc and well-diffusion method against HIV associated opportunistic infections causing bacterial pathogens. The plant extracts showed better inhibitory activity against the tested organisms. Phytochemical screening of the plant revealed the presence of Saponins, Tannins, Phenolic compounds, Alkaloids, Carbohydrates, Anthraquinones, Protein and aminoacids, fixed oil and fats, Glycosides. This study creates social awareness among the HIV patients who were infected by various opportunistic bacterial pathogens. Keywords: Datura metel; HIV associated opportunistic infections; Antibacterial activity; Social awareness Authors : *B.Bharathi, R.Sharmiladevi and G.Swamidoss Daniel *Corresponding Author: bharathikarnan@gmail.com Full Length Article Utilization of Flour-mill Effluent for the Production of (PHB) Bioplastics Abstract Flour-mill effluent which harbours various bacteria also acted as a source of Bacteria capable of producing PHB. Flour-mill effluent used as the sample was collected from various places of Kanchipuram District. From the effluent the bacterial isolates such as Pseudomonas sp. Azotobacter sp., and Bacillus sp. were identified. Using this effluent as the production media with an addition of various sugars such as Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose, Maltose, Mannitol, Glycerol and Succinate, Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production was estimated every 24 hrs for 3 days. Maximum PHB production was observed during third day harvest, i.e., after 72 hrs from the effluent with glucose as the added sugar by Bacillus sp. Keywords: Flour-mill effluent; PHB; Bacillus sp.; Pseudomonas sp.; Glucose Authors : *P. Malaiyarasa Pandian1, R. Chandrasekaran2, Sarobara Lama1 *Corresponding Author: pmpandian77@gmail.com Short communication The Role of Earthworm (Lamptio mauritii (Kinb.) Coelomic Fluid Against Clinical Isolates Bacterial Pathogens Abstract The different strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus species, E.coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated from clinical samples. The antibiotic susceptibility pattern of different isolates with special reference to Coelomic fluid was studied by the disc diffusion and Microtitre plate method. The results were compared with the antibiotic amikacin. The present investigation proved that the Coelomic fluid of Lamptio mauritii showed the high antibacterial activity against the isolated pathogens. Key words: Coelomic fluid, amikacin, pathogens, antibacterial activity. Authors : *N. Packialakshmi *Corresponding Author: packia_lakshmi_1977@yahoo.com Short communication Antimicrobial Activity Screening of Marine Bacteria Associated with Echinoderms Abstract The bacteria associated with marine invertebrates are considered as a potential source for the isolation of bioactive metabolites. In the present study, nine bacterial strains isolated from the surface of echinoderms were screened for their antibacterial activity against Bacillus sp., Klebisella sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Staphylococcus sp. Results showed that the extracts of surface associated bacteria have antibacterial activity against most of the pathogens. The extract of strain-C, strain-D and strain-G showed relatively higher inhibitory activities. Strain-A and strain-F were the other bacterial strains, which showed strong inhibitory activity against the target bacteria. In general, results of the present study indicate that epibiotic bacteria associated with echinoderms could be used as a promising source for the search of biopharmaceuticals from marine waters. Further studies are required in order to identify the compounds being responsible for the results observed in this study. Keywords: Bioactive compounds; Epibiotic bacteria; Antimicrobial activity; Starfish; Sea urchins Authors : *C.V. Sunjaiy Shankar and S. Mary Josephine Punitha *Corresponding Author: cvsunjaiyshankar@gmail.com Short communication Molecular Screening of Marine Azotobacter sp. using nifH Gene Abstract The nitrogenase enzyme is present in diverse lineages of prokaryotes and is generally believed to be within the nif gene. nifH Gene, which encodes the Fe protein component of nitrogenase enzyme. The DNA samples of isolates (11 Azotobacter strains) were subjected for the amplification of nifH gene with genus specific (primer 3 and 4), non-specific (primer 1) and universal (primer 2) primers. It was revealed that the nifH gene was amplified by specific and universal primers whereas; non-specific primer does not amplify the gene. The genus specific primer (primer 3) produced band at the range of 390 bp for all the isolates. This showed 100% homogeneity with nifH genes among marine Azotobacter sp. Primer 4 was more specific and amplified at the range of 370 bp for the most of the isolates. It was analogous to that of primer 3 by producing clear identical bands however synthesis of sequences (370 bp) resembled that of primer 2. It was also observed that there was no substantial difference between the banding pattern among the marine isolates and TA1. It was clearly expressing a high degree of homogeneity among the strains. Keywords: Homogeneity; Amplification; Primers, Azotobacter sp. Authors : *V.Kalaigandhi, E.Kannapiran, Hari Muraleedharan and V.Thirumalai Arasu *Corresponding Author:lvkalai2001@yahoo.com Short communication Biosorption of Synthetic Dye using Dead Fungal Biomass Abstract Biosorption potential of dead fungal biomass Aspergillus niger for synthetic acid dye (Acid Violet 17) was studied with respect to equilibrium time, adsorbent dosage, pH and initial dye concentration to determine equilibrium and kinetic models. The percent removal of the dye were obtained maximum at an adsorbent dose of 250 mg for 25 mg/L. The adsorption followed both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm. Adsorption capacity Qo of the adsorbent was found to be 13.31 mg/g. The percent removal at the lowest pH 2.0 for the dye was 100% for 25 ppm and the percent removal at the pH 11.0 was 22.46% a decrease in the percent removal of dyes with pH was evident with increase in the concentration. Desorption was insignificant with change in pH which indicate chemisorption is the major mode of adsorption. Keywords: Dead Fungal Biomass; Synthetic dye; Biosorption studies; Decolorization study Authors : *G.Lalitha and Rajeshwari Sivaraj *Corresponding Author: lalitha_govindaraj@yahoo.com Short communication Assessment and Optimization of Pesticide Degradation by Pseudomonas putida Abstract Number of bacterial species isolated from the highly pesticide pollution soil. Among the several isolate Pseudomonas putida grown well on the various pesticide containing medium (Pentachlorophenol and Chlorpyrifos) produced bluish green color, pesticide used as sole source of carbon energy and releasing chloride compound. Biodegradation of pesticide were optimized. Maximum degradation was found on the glucose substrate with co-substrate pantothenic acid and pH of 7 was found to be optimum and the P. putida degraded 70% and 75%, Pentachlorophenol and Chlorpyrifos respectively at 37ºC±2 for 10 days. Key words: Pestide, Biodegradation, Pentachlorophenol, Chlorpyrifos, Pseudomonas putida Authors : *C. Arunachalam and R.Rajasekaran *Corresponding Author: agro_arun@rediffmail.com