Search

A wild elephant calf of 6-8 months of age was brought to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), Bokakhat, Assam, India, having symptoms of diarrhea and debility. The fecal sample was collected and studied for isolation and identification of bacteria. Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) agar media showed moderate growth of bacterial colonies with a characteristic green metallic sheen. The isolates were subjected to Gram stain and biochemical tests (lactose, sucrose, and sorbitol). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification with universal primers showed an amplicon of 300 bp. The PCR amplified product after nucleotide BLAST showed 98.95 % similarity with the sequence of enteropathogenic Escherichia fergusonii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A species complex group Litsea is a dioecious tree species characterized by having aromatic leaves, coriaceous inflorescence, introse anthers with hairy stamens. In the Western Ghats areas of Karnataka state, India; 12 species of Litsea are distributed. These species are almost identical in nature and are difficult to identify using only the morphological characters that to when they are not bloomed. Many researchers are trying to resolve the systematic complexity of the genus by different approaches. In the present study, morphological and molecular data were used to explain the systematic complexity and phylogeny of the group. In this study we have used both morphological characters as well as molecular phylogeny characterization by using certain primers. For morphological data set we have used 16 phenotypic characters among 12 Litsea species along with two outgroup species collected from Central Western Ghats. For molecular studies total genomic DNA was isolated by freshly collected leaf samples, amplified and sequenced by using different primer combination for comparing the phylogeny results. The sequence fragments of each taxon were first edited individually then analysed and aligned in the software Sequencher 5.2. The combination of ITS1, ETS1 and 18S-IGS primers data was found to be very useful to get phylogenetic tree. Addition of more species from different geographical regions may yield a clear phylogeny of the genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was carried out to detect the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) from various field outbreaks in Assam. Nine hundred ninety-two clinical and post -mortem samples during 2018-2021 were collected from the backyard and commercial poultry farms and subjected to molecular diagnosis of NDV by Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). NDV could be detected in 58.78% tissue samples and 22.55% cloacal swabs collected from suspected poultry cases by RT-PCR. Organ wise study suggests that highest NDV (92.94%) was detected in trachea followed by spleen (90.62%), lung (86.95%), caecal tonsils (77.08%), proventriculus (60.81%), brain (48.91%), intestines (31.50%) and kidney (23.07%). Hence, the collection of specific tissue samples from field outbreaks for the detection of NDV is of paramount importance. In addition, RT-PCR can be considered a highly sensitive detection method for rapid and confirmative diagnosis of Newcastle disease virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) and ISSR (inter simple sequence repeats) markers were used to study DNA polymorphism of 48 assorted accessions (plus trees) of Tectona grandis at the National Teak Germplasm Bank, Chandrapur, India. In general, the germplasm exhibited a very high level of molecular diversity and DNA polymorphism. Molecular diversity based on Jaccard's similarity coefficients among 48 plus trees ranged from 0.31-0.85 in RAPD assay and 0.27-0.88 in ISSR assay. RAPD primers amplified more loci than ISSR primers. However, RAPD and ISSR primers amplified 93.2 and 95.9% polymorphic loci respectively. Jaccard's similarity coefficient matrices for both molecular marker systems exhibited a poor correlation (r = 0.36) among themselves and clustering pattern of plus trees did not strictly follow their territorial distribution, possibly due to frequent movement of seeds/planting stocks across localities/regions. From application point of view, RAPD primers amplified several loci specific to 16 plus trees while ISSR primers, few loci specific to three plus trees. These loci can be sequenced and developed into SCAR (sequence characterized amplification region) markers for genotype fingerprinting or development of specific DNA probes for identification of clones or ramets of teak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Costus speciosus, an important medicinal plant species found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, was collected from 14 localities through recurrent survey. RAPD-PCR analysis involving 12 decamer random primers was used to assesses the quantum of genetic variation at genomic level. Four primers showed appreciable intra-species variation or molecular polymorphism at amplicon levels. Despite morphological identity, a great deal of polymorphism was observed among the accessions. UPGMA analysis showed ~35% variation in the collections, which is deemed to be useful in formulating sound conservation strategies for this precious medicinal plant species under the humid tropics of Bay Islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]