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ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Dr. R. K. Sinha, Chairman, AEC

Dr. P. Rama Rao, Chairman, BRNS

Dr. S. Basu, Director, BARC

Dr. S. Ayyappan, DG, ICAR

Dr. C. R. Bhatia, Member, BRNS

Dr. S. K. Apte, Prof. Emeritus, HBNI

Dr. S. R. Wate, Director, NEERI

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Dr. S. P. Kale, Associate Director (A), &

Head NA&BTD & FTD, BARC (Chairman)

Dr. D. P. Fulzele, NA&BTD, BARC

Dr. P. Suprasanna, NA&BTD, BARC

Dr. P. S. Variyar, FTD, BARC

Dr. H. S. Misra, MBD, BARC

Dr. K. S. Reddy, NA&BTD, BARC

Dr. J. S. Melo, NA&BTD, BARC

Dr. A. V. S. S. Narayana Rao, MBD, BARC

Dr. (Smt.) R. Mukopadhyaya, MBD, BARC

Dr. P. K. Mukherjee, NA&BTD, BARC

Dr. (Smt.) H. Rajaram, MBD, BARC

Dr. S. K. Sandur, RB&HSD, BARC

Dr. (Smt.) S. Kulkarni, RMC, BARC

Dr. S. Gautam , FTD, BARC (Convener)

Dr. A. Ballal, MBD, BARC (Co-Convener)

Dr. S. H. Mangoli, MBD, BARC (Treasurer)

Dr. R. Shashidhar, FTD, BARC (Joint Treasurer)

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SCOPE OF THE SYMPOSIUM

Microbiology as a science has expanded by leaps and bounds in the past few decades due to advancements in sophisticated instrumentation and recombinant DNA technology. The understanding of microbial diversity, evolutionary biology, and interaction of pathogenic microbes with their animal and plant hosts at the molecular level have opened new vistas of research. The genomes of a large number of microorganisms including pathogens have been sequenced, which has immense implications for human health.

Understanding mechanisms of microbial adaptation against environmental stresses is important for development of improved strains for use as biofertilizers, biopesticides, or in bioremediation. Recent concepts displaying social behavior of microbial population displaying altruism, and programmed cell death involving molecular players such as toxin-antitoxin pairs in various stress conditions are providing new dimensions to microbiological research.

Microorganisms are associated with various human ailments including chronic diseases, where they interact, either one-on-one basis, or involve microbial communities, particularly the microbiota of the gut. Biofilms provide a mode of microbial survival in hostile environment with activation of quorum sensing machinery.

Microbes play an important role in agriculture. Use of soil microbes as bioinoculants for supplying nutrients and/or stimulating plant growth can help increase crop yield. Unique properties of tolerance of microbes to extreme environments, their ubiquity, genetic diversity, and ability to interact with crop plants can be exploited to develop methods for their successful deployment in agriculture production. Plants are repeatedly attacked by a variety of pathogens and pests leading to the emergence of several resistance mechanisms. The field of host-pathogen interactions has significantly matured in recent years, where major classes of molecular players both from plants and microbes have been revealed.

Enormous quantities of food and agricultural produce are spoiled by microbial activity, which is a major challenge to food security today. Besides, contamination of foods by pathogens and their toxins pose serious problems affecting food safety worldwide. Development of cost effective, reliable, and user friendly methods for detection and identification of microbial pathogens has always remained a challenge in microbiology. Microbial research has also aided development of probiotics, prebiotics and nutraceuticals, which are important for health.

The objective of DAE-BRNS Life Sciences Symposium-2015 is to address and dwell upon the recent advances in some of the above research areas pertaining to microbiology of food, agriculture, heath, and environment.

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I. Scientific Programme Committee

II. Publication Committee III. Exhibition and Poster

Dr. H.S. Mishra, MBD (Convener)

Dr. S. Gautam, FTD (Convener) Dr. J. S. Melo, NA&BTD (Convener)

Dr. P. Suprasanna, NA&BTD Dr. B. K. Das, NA&BTD Dr. S.K. Sandur, RB&HSD Dr. P. K. Mukherjee, NA&BTD Dr. K. Bhainsa, NA&BTD Dr. B.N. Pandey, RB&HSD Dr. (Mrs) S. Kulkarni, RMC Dr. J. Souframanien, NA&BTD Dr. S. B. Ghosh, NA&BTD Dr. A. Ballal, MBD Dr. D. Sharma, RB&HSD Dr. S.N. Jamdar, FTD Dr. S.P.Chawla, FTD Dr. Rajani Kant C, MBD Dr. B.B. Mishra, FTD Dr. S. N. Hajare, FTD Dr. J. Kumar, NA&BTD Dr. A. K. Srivastava, NA&BTD Dr. A. Saini, MBD Dr. (Smt.) S. Chadha, NA&BTD Dr. A. Das, MBD Dr. Y. S. Rajpurohit, MBD Mr. S. Saxena, FTD Mr. S. Kumar, FTD Ms. J. Verma, FTD Dr. R. Checker, RB&HSD Mr. M. Pandey, NA&BTD Dr. Anuj Tripathi, NA&BTD Mr. A. K. Chaubey, FTD Mr. D. Katole, RB&HSD Ms. N. Bhadrige, FTD Ms. V. Gaonkar, FTD Mr. Vishnu Sanap, NA&BTD IV. Hall Arrangement V. Registration Committee VI. Transport and

Accommodation Dr. A.V.S.S.N Rao, MBD (Convener)/ Mr. M. P. Jain, FTD

Dr. (Mrs.) H. Rajaram, MBD (Convener)

Dr. D. P. Fulzele, NA&BTD (Convener)

Dr (Mrs) B. Shankar, RB&HSD Dr. (Mrs.) S. Chatterjee, FTD Dr. S. Jambhulkar, NA&BTD Dr. (Mrs.) A. Ghosh, RB&HSD Dr. (Mrs.) M. Karani, FTD Dr. J. Souframanien, NA&BTD Dr. (Mrs) C. Acharya, MBD Dr. (Mrs.) B. Basu, MBD Dr. S. N. Jamdar, FTD Dr. S.N. Hajare, FTD Mrs. V. More, FTD Dr. D. Sharma, RB&HSD Dr. N.K. Sharma, RB&HSD Mr. M.K. Ray, RMC Dr. Sudhir Singh, NA&BTD Dr. S. Mehetre, NA&BTD Dr. (Mrs) N. Khairnar, MBD Dr. D. Rath, MBD Mrs. S. Wadhawan, FTD Mrs. J. Tripathi, FTD Mr. V. Prakasan, FTD Mrs. N. Bandyopadhyaya, FTD Ms. S. Bhoir, FTD Mr. R. K. Gautam, FTD Ms. Vanshika J. Adiani, FTD Ms. S. Kulkarni, MBD Mr. A. Ram, FTD Ms. Jyoti Verma, FTD Mr. G. Wilton, MBD Mr. N. Sidnalkar, RB&HSD Mr. M. Padwal, MBD Mr. S. Alam, FTD Mr. N. Tekade, MBD Mr. B. Naidu, RB&HSD Mr. S. Jadhav, NA&BTD Mr. A. Priyoda , MBD Mr. A. K. Chaubey, FTD Mr. P. Nimje, MBD VII. Catering and Refreshment Dr. T.R. Ganapathi, NA&BTD (Convener) Mr. M.K. Ray, RMC Dr. S.R. Kanatt, FTD Mrs. S. Marathe, FTD Mr. S. Saxena, FTD Mr. S. Kumar, FTD Mrs. P. Mukherjee, NA&BTD Mr. A. Priyoda, MBD Mr. S. Dhotre, MBD

Local organizing committee (LSS- 2015)

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TECHNICAL PROGRAM

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 03, 2015 REGISTRATION 0900-0930 INAUGURAL PROGRAM (0930-0955) WELCOME ADDRESS

Kale SP Chairman, Organizing committee

INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS Bhatia CR, Member, BRNS & LSS Advisory Committee

INAUGURAL ADDRESS Basu S Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre

VOTE OF THANKS Gautam S Convener, Organizing committee

High Tea (0955-1015) Keynote Address

Optimising innovation for make and design in India for varied market needs in biotherapeutics: Some personal insights Sahni G; Director, IMTECH, Chandigarh

1015-1115

Plenary Lecture Future challenges to food safety Sharma AK; Ex-Head, FTD, BARC

1115-1200

Session I (1200-1315) IL-1 Production of glycine betaine and trehalose by Actinopolyspora halophila

(MTCC 263) using acid whey: process details and cell disruption Jayaranjan RK, Singhal R; ICT, Mumbai.

1200-1225

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IL-2 Post harvest management for improving food and nutritional security. Mishra HN; IIT-Kharagpur. 1225-1250

IL-3 Bioremediation a promising technology for nuclear waste treatment Rao S; IGCAR, Kalpakkam. 1250-1315

Lunch (1315-1400, Dining Hall-TSH)

POSTER SESSION I: P1-P36 (1400-1545)

Tea (1545-1600)

Session II (1600-1810)

IL-4 Hemoglobin receptor in Leishmania:a novel vaccine candidate. Mukhopadhyay A; NII, New Delhi. 1600-1625

IL-5 Two component systems: New drug target for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Kundu M; Bose Institute, Kolkata. 1625-1650

IL-6 In quest of anti-bacterials: Exploiting a mycobacterial eukaryotic-type Serine/Threonine kinase Chakraborty PK; IMTECH, Chandigarh.

1650-1715

IL-7 Biochemical and microbial processes in salt fermentation of fish Nayak BB; CIFE, Mumbai 1715-1740

OP-1 Bile in regulating small RNA expression in Salmonella typhi :A factor for chronic infection within gallbladder? Walawalkar YD, Nayak V; BITS-Pilani, Goa.

1740-1755

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OP-2 Radiorespirometry in TB diagnosis & drug discovery Ray MK, Kulkarni S, Rajan MGR; BARC, Mumbai. 1755-1810

Cultural Program (1830-2000) Dinner: (2000-2200, Dining Hall-TSH) WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 04, 2015 Plenary Lecture

Bioremediation/Biorecovery of uranium from aquatic resource/waste : the Cyano-Deino story Apte SK; Prof. Emeritus HBNI & Ex-Director, Bioscience Group, BARC, Mumbai

0900-0945

Session III (0945-1105) IL-8 Preferential utilization of aromatic compounds over glucose in

Pseudomonas putida CSV86 Phale P; IIT-Bombay, Mumbai.

0945-1010

IL-9 Native and recombinant endoxylanase and β-xylosidase of the extremely thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus thermodenitrificans: Applicability in generating xylose, prebiotic xylooligosaccharides and alkylxylosides Satyanarayan T; DU, New Delhi.

1010-1035

OP-3 Lead resistant bacteria,resistance mechanisms and lead bioremediation- An overview Naik MM, Dubey SK; Goa University

1035-1050

OP-4 Spectroscopic method for identification of bacteria from predigester of Nisargrunna biogas plant-a functional approach Ghosh SB; BARC, Mumbai

1050-1105

Tea (1105-1125) Session IV (1125-1315)

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IL-10 Ushering second green revolution in South Asia: Stress tolerant rice varieties Singh US; GBPUAT, Pantnagar

1125-1150

IL-11 Synthesis of chitooligosaccharides by transglycosylation and scope of application for crop protection Podile AR; University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad

1150-1215

OP-5 Electron Beam Irradiation: Laboratory and field studies of cowpea seeds Srinivasan K, Chauhan SK,Prasad TB, Pramod R

1, Verma

VP2, Petwal V

1, Dwivedi J

1,Bhalla S

1 ;

1NBPGR;

2RRCAT Indore

1215-1230

OP-6 Fluorescent aptasensor for the detection of Aflatoxin B1 Rayavara S, Krishna H, Mukherjee M, Bhatia P; CFTRI, Mysore

1230-1245

OP-7 Whole cell Deinococcus radiodurans ameliorates salt stress in Indian mustard through pyrroloqinoline qinone Srivastava AK, Rajpurohit YS, Jadhav P, Misra HS, Suprasanna P; BARC, Mumbai

1245-1300

OP-8 Laxmanbhog- A bright future for mango industry yet to explore Chakraborty I, Singh H, Rai S; BCKV, Kalyani (W. B.)

1300-1315

Lunch (1315-1400, Dining Hall-TSH) POSTER SESSION II (P37-P76): 1400-1530

Plenary Lecture Precision Biology Inspired by Microbes Tuli R; UIET, Punjab Univ., Chandigarh

1530-1615

Tea (1615-1630)

Session V (1630-1845)

IL-12 Regulation of photooxidative stress response by two pairs of extra-cytoplasmic function sigma factors (RpoE) and Zinc-binding anti-sigma factors (ChrR) in Azospirillum brasilense Gupta N

1,Gupta A

1, Kumar S

1, Mishra R

1,TripathiAK

2 ;

1BHU Varanasi;

2CIMAP, Lucknow

1630-1655

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IL-13 Sequestration of carbon dioxide by chemolithotrophic bacteria for production of biomaterials Thakur IS, Kumar M; JNU, New Delhi

1655-1720

IL-14 Heavy metal removal by bioaccumulation and biosorption using Nostoc muscorum, a cyanobacterium isolated from a coal mining area in Meghalaya, India Manikandan AN

1, Pakshirajan K

1, Syiem MB

2;

1IIT, Guwahati;

2NEH Univ, Meghalaya

1720-1745

OP-9 Bacterial lipopeptide and its diverse bioactivities Hajare S; BARC, Mumbai. 1745-1800

OP-10 Measurement of phagocytises and killing of serum opsonised Staphylococcus epidermidis by human polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) Agarwal V, Singh PK, Yadav VK, Kalia M, Dohare S; MNNIT, Allahabad

1800-1815

OP-11 Microbial interactions with uranium: Implications for uranium bioremediation Acharya C; BARC, Mumbai.

1815-1830

OP-12 Stability of Azadirachtin (Neem) based bio-pesticides: challenges and remedies Tajane S

1, Dahe P

1, Mehetre S

2, Mandavgane SA

2 1VNIT, Nagpur;

2BARC, Mumbai

1830-1845

Dinner (1900 -2200) (ABBOTT Hotel, Vashi, Navi Mumbai)

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 05, 2015

Plenary Lecture Engineering and microbiological aspects of developing MSW treatment technology Vaidya AN; NEERI, Nagpur.

0900-0945

Session VI (0945-1105)

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IL-15 PGPR from rice rhizosphere contributes to stress alleviation in rice plants Adhya TK; KIIT, Bhubaneswar.

0945-1010

IL-16 Regulation of CspA family genes during stress adaptation in Escherichia coli Jawali N, Uppal S; Ex-BARC, Mumbai.

1010-1035

OP-13 Understanding extreme resistance to DNA damage in D. radiodurans: Genomic inputs and proteomic insights into extraordinary DNA repair Basu B; BARC, Mumbai.

1035-1050

OP-14 Serine/threonine protein phosphorylation role in radioresistance in Deinococcus radiodurans Rajpurohit Y, Misra HS; BARC, Mumbai.

1050-1105

Tea: 1105-1120

Session VII (1120-1305) IL-17 Bacterial food-borne pathogens in Indian food

Bandekar JR; Ex-BARC, Mumbai. 1120-1145

IL-18 Probiotics and prebiotics: Research and industrial perspectives Prapulla SG; CFTRI, Mysore.

1145-1210

IL-19 Genetic manipulation of probiotic Escherichia coli CFR 16 effective against oxidative damage and sucrose induced metabolic disorder Kumar N; MSU, Baroda

1210-1235

OP-15 Effect of different antimicrobial treatments of sugarcane stem on microbiological quality of extracted juice for fresh consumption Mishra BB, Gautam S; BARC, Mumbai.

1235-1250

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OP-16 Use of Nisargruna Biogas manure to enhance fertility and productivity of soil for achieving goal of sustainable agriculture Mehetre S, Kale SP; BARC, Mumbai.

1250-1305

Lunch: 1305-1400 (Dining Hall, TSH)

Session VIII (1400-1535) IL-20 Mycobacterium tuberculosis DinG is a structure-specific

helicase that unwinds G4 DNA: Implications for targeting G4 DNA as a novel therapeutic approach Thakur S, Desingu A, Basavaraju S, Subramanya S, Rao DN, Nagaraju G; IISC , Bangalore

1400-1425

OP-17 Electron beam Irradiaton: Novel technology for phytosanitary purposes Bhalla S

1,Srinivasan K

1, Dwivedi J

1, Gautam S

2, Sharma A

2

; 1NBPGR ;

2BARC, Mumbai

1425-1450

OP-18 Crystal structure analysis of KatB, a novel manganese catalase from Anabaena Bihani S, Chakravarty D, Ballal A; BARC, Mumbai.

1450-1505

OP-19 IPM – An advocacy tool for sustainable agriculture Gupta SP; RAU Pusa, Bihar 1505-1520

OP-20 Mycofumigation potential of novel Indian Muscodor isolates Saxena S; Thapar University, Patiala

1520-1535

Tea (1535-1555)

Session IX (1555-1655)

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IL-21 Extracellular Membrane Vesicles: A new weapon in the armory of Group B Streptococcus Banerjee A; IIT-Bombay, Mumbai

1555-1620

OP-21 Repurposing a CRISPR-Cas ribonucleoprotein complex for programmable gene silencing Rath D; BARC, Mumbai

1620-1635

OP-22 Automation for analytically clean glassware Meyer T; Biolinx, Mumbai 1635-1655

Concluding Session (1655-1830)

Dr. S. K. Mahajan First Memorial Lecture Chattoo BB; MSU, Baroda 1655-1740

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KEYNOTE ADDRESS Optimising innovation for make and design in India for varied market

needs in biotherapeutics: Some personal insights

Sahni Girish

Director, IMTECH, Chandigarh

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PLENARY LECTURES

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Future Food Safety Challenges

Sharma Arun Ex OS & Head, FTD, BARC

Email: mail.ksarun@gmail.com

India’s growing industrialization and urbanization creates pressure not only on its food

supply but also is instrumental in creating conditions conducive for compromising food

safety. The food safety challenges start right in the cultivator’s field at the pre-harvest

stage. The inherent presence of toxic pollutants, metals, and microbes in the field, water

of irrigation, and the surrounding air are the major cause of contaminants in food chain.

Another major factor is the postharvest handling and storage of commodities and the

lack of cold chain. The awareness and education of food handlers can make a

difference. The intentional use of chemicals and biocides for extending the freshness

and durability of food is another major factor in compromising food safety. Food may

also serve as attractive vehicle for delivery of NCB weapons by terrorists. A

comprehensive strategy is required in dealing with the future food safety challenges in

India.

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Bioremediation/Biorecovery of uranium from aquatic resource/waste :

the Cyano-Deino story

Apte Shree Kumar Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai - 400 085

Email: aptesk@barc.gov.in

Terrestrial sources of uranium are getting depleted fast and may be exhausted in the

next few decades. This has triggered a search for alternate or secondary resources for

this precious metal. Nearly 4.5 billion tons of uranium on our planet resides in sea-

water, albeit at very low concentrations of 3 ppb. Recovering uranium from such low

concentrations is a major challenge. Two marine cyanobacteria, the unicellular

Synechococcus elongatus and the filamentous Anabaena torulosa, were found to be

capable of rapidly sequestering uranyl carbonate (the predominant uranyl species at the

sea-water pH of 7.8) from aqueous solutions, including simulated sea-water. While

Synechococcus strain adsorbed the metal as carbonato complexes on cell surface

ligands, A. torulosa trapped it in novel surface-associated polyphosphate bodies. The

uranium binding potential of cyanobacterial biomass was comparable to, if not better

than, the currently in use polyamidoxime resin. The bound uranium could be desorbed

easily and the biomass reused a few times. The method has eminently higher

application potential in uranium-contaminated terrestrial waters, where the metal

concentration is several times higher.

Low concentrations (<1 to few mM) of uranium are also found in acidic/alkaline nuclear

waste and arise from metal extraction or during reprocessing of fuel. Removal of

uranium from such solutions is very desirable for safer disposal of such waste.

Biological agents to be employed in such situations also need to be tolerant to and

stable in high radiation environments, unless dead cells can be used. To address such

bioremediation, the extremely radio-resistant microbe Deinococcus radiodurans was

genetically engineered to express either a non-specific acid phosphatase PhoN or a

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highly active novel alkaline phosphatase PhoK. Apart from the need for high expression

of desired protein, such engineering is also fraught with problems of stability,

localization and activity of the expressed protein in the new organism. Nevertheless,

successful bioprecipitation of >95% of 0.2-20mM input uranium as phosphate has been

demonstrated, resulting in high uranium loading of the biomass used, using both the

strains at appropriate pH and with relevant uranyl species. Highlights of these studies

will be presented. Immense possibilities for further improvement, through relevant basic

and applied research exist and the presentation will discuss some of theses.

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Precision Biology Inspired by Microbes

Tuli Rakesh UIET, Panjab University, Chandigarh

Email: rakeshtuli@hotmail.com

The principles of life learnt from microbes; and their genes, proteins and pathways have

guided the designing of improved plants and animals. In our laboratory, the principles

and tools developed from micro-organisms have been used to develop artificial

promoters and genes, and develop insect resistant transgenic crop plants for improved

yields and safer environment. Now that the sequencing of genomes has become fast

and easily affordable, the attention has moved to precision genome engineering. Some

of the recent findings in microbes have come out exceedingly handy in providing tools

for targeted correction of genetic defects and the improvement of metabolic pathways.

The most promising technique developed from microbes, and applied to plants and

animals during the last 2 years, is the CRISPR-Cas system. This is expected to

transform the way genetic engineering was envisaged to lead to the improvement of life

forms. The approach promises efficient correction of genetic defects in animals, plants

and human. Precision genome engineering is poised to correct human genetic

diseases, pathogenic infections and improve crops for food and nutritional security. The

approach leads to only altering a few nucleotides in the natural genes, rather than

introducing foreign genes. It has been applied in our laboratory to wheat and tobacco.

Microbes have provided a framework of diverse pathways and genes, for designing

metabolism of interest to man, and to improve crop plants for nutrition and field

performance. The early efforts on putting all the genes together to create synthetic

functional genomes have been successful. Synthetic genomes have been demonstrated

to function well in the scaffold of a bacterium. The next big hope is to learn how to

create an artificial cell or a complete bacterium. Ambition is to create synthetic

organisms who could perform novel metabolic tasks, and to create tissues and organs

that could provide therapeutic alternatives. The learnings from single cell microbes are

now moving forward to communals and consortia, and to understand how the emergent

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properties become so different in complex life forms. Aim is to be able to create artificial

tissues and organs to devise previously unthought-of ways to study, improve and create

life.

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Engineering and Microbiological Aspects of Developing MSW Treatment Technology

Vaidya A.N. Solid and Hazardous Waste management Division

NEERI, Nagpur Email: vaidya@neeri.res.in

India is the fast growing economy in the world. By the time the country celebrates 75

years of independence in 2022, it has to efficiently deal with the challenges of

increasing population, urbanization and environmental concerns vis-a-vis the increasing

energy demands under the scenario of changing lifestyle and depleting fossil fuel

resources. Waste management and exploiting new energy avenues are the key issues

to be addressed so as to cope up these challenges and making the economic growth

sustainable. Major concern in waste management in coming years would be Municipal

Solid Waste as the quantities are increasing owing to rapid urbanization. However,

waste can be considered as resource for energy and material, if processed and

managed in appropriate scientific way. The comprehensive and structured management

of the solid waste can lead to greener energy production and cleaner environment. In

Indian Scenario, on an average, MSW generation rate is in the range of 0.35 to 0.55 kg

per capita per day depending upon the socio-economic status of the concerned.

Accordingly, the current annual MSW generation in India is beyond 50 million ton. The

organic fraction, on an average, is around 40 % and offers a potential for recovery of

energy and useful products. Composting, biomethanation, gasification, and incineration

are the prominent processes for the exploitation of this potential. Biomethanation, which

is a well established process, plays a key role in cleaner energy production from MSW

simultaneously attaining a goal of MSW management. Biomethanation is successfully

applied to highly concentrated organic wastewaters like distillery effluents; however,

when it is applied to solid wastes success stories are very few in India. Feed

characteristics, process mechanism and kinetics, microbial community involved,

digester design, operational procedures, residue management and utilization are the

different components directly influencing the overall performance of the biomethanation

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of solid organic wastes. These different aspects are radically different from the similar

ones involved in wastewater treatment and are needed to be addressed in the process

and engineering developments of solid waste biomethanation. In fact, unless all these

issues and challenges are resolved, viable MSW management systems cannot be

established successfully. This paper rationally analyzes the existing status of

biomethanation of MSW in India, associated problems and challenges, insight into the

newer and better digester designs, and R&D efforts needed along with necessary field

and laboratory data.

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INVITED LECTURES

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Production of glycine betaine and trehalose by Actinopolyspora halophila (MTCC 263) using acid whey: process details and cell

disruption

Kar Jayaranjan R. and Singhal Rekha S. Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology,

N.P Marg, Matunga, Mumbai-400019, Maharashtra, India Email: rsinghal7@rediffmail.com

Extreme halophiles such as Actinopolyspora halophila counter osmotic stress by

producing co-solutes such as glycine betaine and trehalose. These osmolytes have

multifarious applications in medicine, agriculture, and animal husbandry. Production of

these osmolytes using dairy effluents that release a large amount of acid whey which

presents environmental hazards due to very high BOD values and problems of disposal

in landfills can be commercially attractive. This paper reviews the co-solutes produced

by different halophiles, their mechanisms of combating osmotic stress, and their

potential to produce co-solutes commercially. It further presents experimental on

utilizing acid whey for fermentative production of glycine betaine and trehalose by

Actinopolyspora halophila using inputs from bioinformatics. The work comprised of

sequential media optimization by classical one factor at a time approach, orthogonal

array and response surface methodology. Production of 9.0710.25 g/L glycine betaine

and 2.4910.14 g/L trehalose production was achieved by following this strategy. Various

cell disruption techniques were tried for efficient release of intracellular osmolytes from

A. halophila of which osmotic shock was found to be an ideal, economical, and had the

potential to be scaled up. The release kinetics of the osmolytes and the pressures

generated by the organism due to osmotic shock would be presented in this paper.

Keywords: Glycine betaine; Trehalose; Acid whey; Cell disruption; Osmotic shock;

Morse equation.

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Post-harvest management for improving food and nutrition security

Mishra H.N. Agricultural and Food Engineering Department

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Kharagpur-721302, India

Email: hnm@iitkgp.agfe.ernet.in

The postharvest sector includes all points in the value chain from production in the field

to the food being placed on a plate for consumption. This includes harvesting, handling,

storage, processing, packaging, transportation and marketing. Main concern is the post-

harvest loss (PHL) which happens at every stage of the supply chain. Eliminating those

losses is a way to increase food availability without requiring additional resources or

placing additional burdens on the environment. The causes of PHL, which some

estimates suggested could range from 15 to as high as 40 percent of production, are

manifold. Food losses contribute to high food prices by removing part of the supply from

the market. One of the surest – and arguably most affordable – ways to feed more

people sustainably is to ensure that the food already produced is not lost or wasted

between the farm and table. There are a wide range of postharvest technologies that

can be adopted to improve losses throughout the process of pre-harvest, harvest,

cooling, temporary storage, transport, handling and market disbursement. Some of the

novel thermal and non-thermal food processing techniques can be employed to ensure

the food and nutritional security which ultimately have profound effect in post-harvest

management. In addition, the fortification and value addition to food and food by-

products, respectively, can be employed to minimize the waste production. The joint

venture between technological interventions and appropriate retail management

approach is required to achieve the aforementioned task of post-harvest management

and ensuring food and nutritional security.

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Bioremediation a Promising Technology for Nuclear Waste Treatment

Rao T. Subba Biofouling & Biofilm Processes Section, WSCD, BARC Facilities

Kalpakkam – 603102 Email: subbarao@igcar.gov.in

Microbes play a primordial role in completing various elemental cycles namely carbon,

nitrogen, Sulfur, which are necessary for sustainability of planet Earth. This natural

capability of microbes is employed to transform manmade compounds to their elemental

forms. Redeployment of microbes for specific tasks needs a re-engineering of microbial

metabolism to accelerate transformation. The most widely used approach is genetic

modification but this approach has resulted into grievous failures due to inability of

genetically modified organism to survive in natural environment. Consequently,

development of new approach towards bioremediation was conceptualized, where

desired metabolic capability were achieved using consortia of microorganisms having

complementary metabolism. Of late, the potential of biofilm communities for

bioremediation processes has been realized since it has many advantages over whole

cells, used as biocatalysts. Naturally immobilized microbial biofilms exclude the

necessity of cell-immobilization as biofilm cells are already embedded in self-produced

exopolymers. Moreover, biofilm-mediated bioremediation offers a proficient and safer

alternative to planktonic cells-mediated bioremediation because cells in a biofilm are

more robust to toxic materials present in the waste as they are embedded in the matrix

that provides a physical barrier. This presentation will highlight the importance of

planktonic and sessile bacteria in bioremediation of a few nuclear waste compounds.

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Hemoglobin receptor in Leishmania:a novel vaccine candidate

Mukhopadhyay Amitabha National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi

Email: amitabha@nii.res.in

Leishmaniasis is a severe parasitic disease causing mortality worldwide. Drugs used for

leishmaniasis are toxic and no vaccine is available. Therefore, major thrust is to identify

novel target. We have identified and characterized an endocytic receptor (HbR) for

hemoglobinon Leishmania and found that internalized hemoglobin is targeted to the

lysosomes via rab5 and rab7 dependent pathway where it is degraded to

generateheme. Parasites use this hemeas they lack complete heme biosynthetic

pathway.Moreover, parasite growth is found to be significantly inhibited by anti-HbR

antibody,depolymerization of Leishmaniaclathrin by chlorpromazine, or inhibition of

lysosomal degradation of internalized hemoglobin by chloroquine; demonstrating that

HbR is a novel target against Leishmania. Finally, we have demonstrated

thatimmunization of micewith hemoglobin-receptor elicits Th1 response and completely

protect against virulent Leishmaniadonovani infection in mice and hamster. These

results demonstrate thatHbRis a novel vaccine candidate against visceral leishmaniasis.

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Two component systems: New drug target for Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Kundu Manikuntala

Department of Chemistry, Bose Institute, Kolkata

Email: manikuntala.kundu@gmail.com

Tuberculosis is one of the major killer diseases worldwide. Identification of new targets

for the development more effective therapeutic intervention is necessary in order to

combat drug resistant mycobacteria. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb.) has

developed signaling mechanisms to survive under the various conditions of stress

inside the human host. A significant part is played by the mycobacterial two component

signalling systems (TCSs). These systems comprise a membrane bound signal receptor

kinase (HK) that autophosphorylates at histidine residue and a cytosolic response

regulator (RR) that receives the phosphate from the HK at aspartate residue. The

phosphorylated RR then brings about changes in gene expression which is considered

‘the response’ to the signal received. The specificity of phospho-relay between HKs and

their cognate RRs is a notable feature of TCSs. So far, there are 11 known paired

TCSs in M. tuberculosis.

The SenX3-RegX3 TCS participates in regulating the response to phosphate stress in

M.tb. The MtrA-MtrB TCS is essential in M.tb. Persistence of M.tb has also been

attributed to the TCS MprA-MprB. RRs of the above mentioned TCSs belong to the

same family of DNA binding proteins called the OmpR family and contain distinct

regions of homology in their DNA binding C-terminal domains. DNA binding analyses by

EMSA or surface plasmon resonance, confirmed the importance of key amino acid

residues in DNA binding function of all three RRs. The relevance of the identified

conserved amino acid residues in RegX3 function have been confirmed in vivo using a

regX3 knockout mutant of M.tb. complemented with wild type or mutant genes. By

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identifying a conserved DNA binding region of the OmpR family of response regulators

in M.tb. we hope to have opened up an avenue for therapeutic intervention. In addition

we have also observed that knockout of regX3 influences the host immune response

elicited by M.tb. These findings will be discussed.

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In quest of anti-bacterials: Exploiting a mycobacterial eukaryotic-type Serine/Threonine kinase

Ravala Sandeep K. and Chakraborti Pradeep K. CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology Sector 39-A, Chandigarh 160036, India

Email: pradip@imtech.res.in

Therapeutic intervention of tuberculosis has become a complex phenomenon because

of the emergence of drug resistant strains of the causative agent, Mycobacterium

tuberculosis. To overcome the situation, there is a need to have novel drug intervention

strategies. In this direction, our work is focused on the biology of mycobacteria ranging

from basic characterization of a eukaryotic-type serine/threonine kinase, PknA, and

demonstration of its association with mycobacterial cell division as well as

peptidoglycan synthesis. Now, with biochemical and structural analysis of activation

mechanism of PknA, our findings besides their fundamental mechanistic contributions

hold great promise of a new drug target for screening of novel anti-mycobacterials.

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Biochemical and microbial processes in salt-fermentation of fish

Nayak B.B. Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Versova, Mumbai-400061

Email: nayakbb@gmail.com

Salt fermentation of fish brings about controlled degradation of fish tissue by the

microbial enzymes. We fermented Indian mackerel, a highly fatty fish in the presence of

saturated salt and studied the microbial a well as biochemical changes taking place in

fermentation system during the 120days of fermentation. The biochemical parameters

indicated a 3phase fermentation consisting of a typical salt-penetration phase of first

30days, followed by an equilibrium stage of another 30days and rest 60 days of

maturation phase. The microbial diversity tapered as the fermentation progressed. A

single bacterium dominated the microbial population in all samplings during maturation

phase. Tetragenococcushalophilus,Kushneriaaurantia, Lentibacillussalicampi,

Marinococcusalbus, andLentibacillushalophilus were prominent halophilic bacteria,

while Halococcus, Halobacterium, Halorubru, represented the archaeal genera. Seeding

experiment with the dominant flora resulted in shortening of fermentation time. While

salt and moisture levels in the muscle fluctuated, protein and fat levels slowly reduced

indicating their degradation. The fat and protein degradation products on the other hand

increased steadily. Presence of low levels of volatile bases and low fat oxidation

products indicated reduced environment inside the fermentation vat. Several

halophilicarchaea and bacteria were isolated, identified by rDNA sequencing and tested

for their proteolytic and lipolytic activities. Though the dominant bacteria

Tetragenococcushalophilus had very high lipolytic and proteolytic activities, many

archaea could also produce these enzymes in more than 14% salt. This indicated

involvement of different microbes at different stages of fermentation, whereas

Tetragenococcuspersisted till the end of the fermentation.

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Preferential Utilization of Aromatic Compounds Over Glucose in

Pseudomonas putida CSV86

Phale Prashant S. Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT-Bombay, Mumbai.

Email: pphale@iitb.ac.in

Pseudomonas putida CSV86 preferentially utilizes aromatics over glucose and co-

metabolizes aromatics with organic acids. Substrate-dependent modulation of transport

as well as metabolism was thought to be responsible for this novel property. However,

information pertaining to the expression and the modulation of the transporter activity on

the double carbon source as well as their genomic and structural organization is not

available. Here, we demonstrated for the first time the modulation of glucose and

benzoate transport system in CSV86 upon growth on double carbon sources. The

expression of glucose and benzoate transport genes, organized in operonic

arrangement, was found to be induced by their respective substrates as part of

polycistronic messages. Models of glucose transporter along with periplasmic glucose-

binding protein were generated for different conformational states of the transport cycle

to understand its molecular mechanism.

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Native and recombinant endoxylanase and β-xylosidase of the extremely thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus thermodenitrificans: Applicability in generating xylose, prebiotic xylooligosaccharides

and alkylxylosides

Satyanarayana T. Department of Microbiology, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi-110021

Email: tsnarayana@gmail.com

Xylan is the most abundant non-cellulosic polysaccharide in hard woods as well as soft

woods that constitutes approximately one-third of all renewable organic carbon sources

on the Earth. The hydrolysis of xylan is one of the important steps towards utilization of

lignocellulosic materials in nature. Chemical hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials

produces hazardous byproducts, forcing the use of enzymatic methods under mild

conditions. For the hydrolysis of xylan, the synergistic action of several enzymes is

needed, and among these, the most important one is endo-β-1, 4-xylanase that initiates

the degradation of xylan into xylooligosaccharides (XOs). The current trend of

agricultural production, recyclability and renewability of lignocellulosic materials, the

development of technology for producing a wide spectrum of products ranging from

inexpensive composite materials to high-value prebiotics like XOs is being encouraged.

The combined action of xylanase and β-xylosidase generates fermentable sugars from

xylan component of lignocellulosics.

The extremely thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus thermodetrificans was isolated from

a compost sample collected from Saga high temperature compost plant, Fukuoka

(Japan). The endoxylanase of Geobacillus thermodenitrificans is optimally active at pH

9.0 and 70 °C, while the β-xylosidase is active at pH. 7.5 and 70 °C. The enzyme titres

attained with the native strain of G. thermodenitrificans TSAS1 are low. In order to

enhance the production of enzymes, both xylanase and β-xylosidase encoding genes

from G. thermodenitrificans have been cloned and expressed heterologously in

Escherichia coli. The recombinant and native xylanases and β-xylosidases are

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useful in generating xylooligosaccharides and fermentable sugars. The comparison of

characteristics confirmed that the recombinant enzymes behave like native enzymes.

The β-xylosidase displays transxylosidase activity, and thus, proved useful in

synthesizing methylxylosides. This enzyme is also useful in synthesizing

transxylosylation products from the wheat bran hydrolysate.

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Ushering Second Green Revolution in South Asia: Stress tolerant rice varieties

Singh U.S. Senior Scientist-II & South Asia Regional Coordinator, Stress Tolerant Rice

Programme. International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Office, New Delhi, India

Email: u.singh@irri.org Rice is a staple food for more than half of the humanity. More than 90% of the world’s

rice is produced and consumed in Asia. South Asia constitutes 37% of total rice area,

half of that is rainfed. Rainfed rice areas frequently suffer from abiotic stresses like

flood, drought and/or soil salinity. Out of 57.8 million ha rice area in India, Bangladesh

and Nepal, 9.0, 11.1 and 5.9 million ha area are frequently affected by flood, drought

and soil salinity, respectively. Almost 60% geographical area in Bangladesh is

potentially prone to flooding. First Green Revolution was more confined to irrigated

ecosystem with little benefit to stress-prone rainfed areas. Rainfed rice areas are

characterized by low and fragile rice productivity, low input use & high poverty level.

However, they offer high potential for increasing both rice production and productivity.

International Rice Research Institute identified and characterized flood tolerance gene,

SUB1A, and transferred the same to six mega rice varieties from South and South-East

Asia using marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC). Five of these (Swarna-Sub1, Samba

Mahsuri-Sub1, Ciherang-Sub1, CR1009-Sub1 and BR11-Sub1) are recently released

for commercial cultivation in South Asia. Varieties carrying the SUB1 gene are capable

of tolerating flash flood for 2 to 3 weeks. They had the same agronomic, yield and

quality traits as their non-Sub1 counterparts when grown under non-flooded conditions,

but showed yield advantages of 1 to more than 3 t ha-1 after complete submergence for

various durations at farmers’ fields.

So far 14 QTLs have been identified for the drought tolerance out of which 5 are able to

express in multiple background. Both through conventional and MABC during the last 3

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to 4 years 10 drought tolerant rice varieties are released for the cultivation in South

Asia. They are offering 0.5 to 1 tons yield advantage over normal varieties.

Through conventional breeding several salt tolerant rice varieties were developed and

released in South Asia for the cultivation in salt affected soils. SALTOL 1 gene was

introgressed into a number of high yielding mega varieties from SA, which are being

evaluated under field condition.

Considering the fact that quite often a rice crop may face more than one stresses within

same crop season, in recent years, a lot of emphasis is being given to develop multiple

stress tolerant rice varieties. Some of these are at final stage of their evaluation. One of

the rice variety released in Nepal, Sukha dhan 6, showed tolerance to both flood and

drought.

With financial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, IRRI launched a

project entitled ‘Stress tolerance rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA)’ in October

2007. By sharing the ownership and aligning the project objectives with the national

priorities of target countries, STRASA developed an innovative model system which

addressed the entire seed chain including seed policy issues for rapid out scaling of

stress tolerant rice varieties in South Asia. In this model IRRI played a catalytic but

central role and the entire work was carried out by national partners with strong

physical, financial and policy support from national systems. Project developed a large

network (>550) of national partners involving research institutions, agricultural

universities, federal and state governments, mega schemes/projects addressing food

security, climate change or disaster management, NGOs, public sector seed

corporations, private seed companies, small and medium seed producers, farmers

organizations, mass media, other international organizations etc. Most of the partners

participated using their own resources. Most of the seed companies/corporations and

small and medium seed producers are moving the stress tolerant rice varieties (STRVs)

in business mode. They are playing active role not only in seed production and business

but also awareness creation. Due to all these efforts, catalysed by STRASA, Sub1

varieties (mainly Swarna-Sub1 and BR11-Sub1), which were released in 2009/2010

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have been spreading at an unprecedented speed and in 2014 were grown by >5 million

farmers covering approx. 2.5 million ha rice area in South Asia. One of the drought

tolerant variety, Sahbhagi dhan, is also moving fast in India. Salt tolerant varieties BINA

dhan 8 and 10 are being grown widely by the farmers in Bangladesh. Ministry of

Agriculture, Government of India has recognized stress tolerant varieties as major

technology for promotion in eastern India under National Food Security Mission and

Bringing Green Revolution to eastern India. These varieties have potential to usher

second green revolution in rainfed areas.

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Synthesis of Chitooligosaccharides by Transglycosylation and Scope of Application for Crop Protection

Podile A.R. Department of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad,

Hyderabad – 500 046, India Email: arpsl@uohyd.ernet.in

Plants interact with a wide range of pathogens and have evolved mechanisms to

recognize pathogen-derived molecules to elicit induced resistance. Unlike vertebrate

animals, plants rely solely on innate immunity to ward off pathogenic microbes. The

plants are able to sense evolutionarily conserved general elicitors of pathogens called

pathogen-associated molecular patterns, and activate immune responses, a process

that is known as pathogen-triggered immunity. Chitooligosaccharides (COS), released

during plant fungal interaction, elicit plant defense upon recognition. In this paper, the

progress made towards understanding the mechanism of COS sensing in plants and on

the application of chitin/chitosan/COS in disease management would be focused.

Production of COS is of interest to the food, agriculture, and medicine-related

biotechnology industries in light of the diverse applications for these molecules. The

large-scale production of higher chain length COS is a daunting task, as the available

methods including chemical hydrolysis, direct synthesis, and enzyme-catalyzed

processes result in COS with low degree of polymerization (DP), while high DP COS

(DP≥6) are required for the biological activity. Elicitor activity of COS also varies

depending on the plant. Nevertheless, biological activity of COS increases with the

increase in DP. Highest activity was reported for hexamers to nonamers (DP = 6 to 9)

and little or no activity for small oligomers (DP < 5) in Arabidopsis suspension-cultured

cells. Longer chain chitin oligomer, specifically an octamer, activates the receptor-

mediated defense in Arabidopsis whereas a pentamer - inhibited the receptor activation.

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Transglycosylation (TG) of low DP COS to generate high DP COS by chitinases,

therefore, holds promise. To realize such a potential, sources of chitinases are

available. A suitable bioprocess need to be developed to generate high DP COS for

biological applications that include induction of innate immunity in plants.

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41

Regulation of photooxidative stress response by two pairs of extra-cytoplasmic function sigma factors (RpoE) and Zinc-binding anti-

sigma factors (ChrR) in Azospirillum brasilense

Gupta Namrata, Gupta Ankush, Kumar Santosh, Mishra Rajeev and Tripathi Anil Kumar School of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-

221005 *Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Kukrail Picnic Spot

Road, Lucknow Email: tripathianil@rediffmail.com

Azospirillum brasilense is a non-photosynthetic bacterium, which colonizes the

rhizosphere of several important crops and grasses and stimulates the growth of host

plant by producing phytohormones. It harbors two pairs of ECF sigma factors (RpoE1

and RpoE2) whose transcription and translation are coupled with ChrR-type ZAS family

anti-sigma factors. Both these anti-sigma factors show very high similarity to ZAS family

anti- sigma factor, ChrR of Rhodobacter sphaeroides, and possess amino-acid residues

that are known to coordinate one Zn2+ ion each in Anti-sigma domain (ASD) as well as

in the C-terminal cupin-like domain (CLD) . Both the pairs of RpoE-ChrR in A.

brasilense Sp7 were involved in controlling photooxidative stress response by

synthesizing carotenoids. The two redox-sensitive Zinc-binding anti-sigma factors

(ChrR1 and ChrR2) negatively regulate the activity of their cognate extra-cytoplasmic

function (ECF) sigma factors (RpoE1 and RpoE2) by preventing their binding to the core

enzyme. In silico analysis showed a high sequence similarity between ChrR1 and

ChrR2 proteins, but differences in their redox sensitivity. Using in silico and in vitro

methods of protein–protein interaction, we have shown that both ChrR1 and ChrR2

proteins physically bind to their non-cognate RpoE proteins. Restoration of the

phenotypes of chrR1::Tn5 and chrR2::Km mutants related to carotenoid biosynthesis

and photooxidative stress tolerance by expressing chrR1 or chrR2 provided in vivo

evidence for a cross-talk. In addition, up- or down-regulation of several identical proteins

by expressing chrR1 or chrR2 in the chrR1::Tn5 mutant provided another in vivo

evidence for the cross-talk. The two redox-sensitive ZAS anti-sigma factors in A.

brasilense may interact with their cognate as well as non-cognate ECF sigma factors to

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42

play an important role in redox homeostasis by facilitating recovery from the oxidative

stress

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Sequestration of carbon dioxide by chemolithotrophic bacteria for production of biomaterials

Thakur Indu Shekhar and Kumar Manish School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

E.mail: isthakur@hotmail.com

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an approach to mitigate global warming gases

(GWGs) based on capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from large point sources.

Chemolithotrophic bacteria, algae, and terrestrial plants fix CO2 through carboxylating

enzymes into biomass which can be transformed into biofuel and biomaterials. Carbon

dioxide concentrating bacteria was obtained by enrichment of microbial community and

identified as Serratia sp. Sequestration of carbon dioxide was determined by enzymatic

activity and two dimensional gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF. The carbonic

anhydrase gene cloned and expressed was found to be homologous with Eubacteria.

The recombinant carbonic anhydrase enzyme used for biomineralization-based

conversion of atmospheric CO2 in to valuable calcite minerals was confirmed by using

XRD and SEM analysis. The bacterium also produces a significant amount of

extracellular as well as intracellular lipids, fatty acids and long chain hydrocarbons like

Alkane (C12 to C44), Alkene (C14 to C44), Fatty alcohols and Fatty Aldehydes

analyzed by Transmission Electron Microscopy after Nile red staining, GC-MS and FTIR

analysis. The Fatty acid Methyl Ester obtained after transesterification by methanol and

NaOH was determined by GC-MS, 1HNMR, 13CNMR and FTIR. The fuel value of the

product was evaluated by balanced in terms of FAME composition, K.viscosity, total

acidity, flash point, specific gravity, cetane number, cloud point, pour point and heating

value (GCV) etc. Thus chemolithotrophic bacterium was found to utilize CO2 as a

substrate and produce hydrocarbons which can serve as a direct replacement for diesel

fuels.

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Heavy metal removal by bioaccumulation and biosorption using Nostoc muscorum, a cyanobacterium isolated from a coal mining area

in Meghalaya, India

Manikandan N. Arul1, Pakshirajan Kannan1 and Syiem Mayashree B.2

1Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India.

2Department of Biochemistry, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong 793022, Meghalaya, India.

Email: pakshi@iitg.ernet.in Acid mine drainage treatment for the removal of heavy metals is of heightened interest

owing to its serious environmental threat. Among the available methods to remove

heavy metals from such contaminated streams, biological methods involving

microorganisms are proving more effective. In this study, Nostoc Muscorum, a

cyanobacterium isolated from a coal mining area in Chiehruphi, Jaintia Hills District,

Meghalaya, India, was examined for its potential to remove heavy metals from

wastewater. Following initial identification and characterization of N. muscorum using

biochemical and molecular methods, the effect of growth conditions, namely pH,

inoculum age and volume, were investigated and their levels optimized employing

Taguchi design of experiments. At the optimized settings of these growth conditions, the

cyanobacteria showed a maximum removal of Pb(II) (98%) and Cu(II) (87.8%) followed

by Cd(II) (82%) and Zn(II) (67.2%) at 5 mg/L initial metal concentration in the single

component system. These heavy metal removal values were similar in the multi

component system as well; however, the values were only slightly less than those

observed in the single component system. Thus, among the different heavy metals

examined for their bioremoval by N. muscorum, Pb(II) removal was very high followed

by Cu(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II). To further gain insight into the mechanism of heavy metal

removal by N. muscorum, Cu(II) removal using the acid treated biomass of N.

muscorum was studied employing the statistically valid response surface methodology.

Prior to the Cu(II) removal experiments, detailed surface characterization of the acid

modified biomass was carried out using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy,

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45

Brunauer Emmet Teller (BET) surface area and FESEM analyses. Results showed that

a maximum Cu(II) removal of 89% was achieved at an optimized condition of 5.24 initial

solution pH, 17.33 mg/L initial metal concentration, 1.1 g/L biosorbent dosage and 3h

equilibrium time. FTIR spectroscopy analysis results revealed the presence of N-H, C-

H, CH=CH, CH2, C-O-C functional groups in the acid treated biomass for Cu(II)

biosorption. Hence, the present study demonstrated a very good potential of the N.

muscorum in the bioremoval of heavy metals from wastewater following the initial and

quick binding of the heavy metals onto its surface and then slow uptake inside the cell.

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PGPR from rice rhizosphere contributes to stress alleviation in rice plants

Adhya T.K. Professor, School of Biotechnology, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar – 751024, Odisha

Email: adhyas@yahoo.com

Rice along with wheat ensures food security of India. The country harvests marginally

less than one quarter of the global rice area and produced 91.69 MT of rice in 2013-14,

around one fifth of the world’s rice. However, rice growing is often affected by several

biotic and abiotic stresses especially biophysical ones including drought, submergence

and salinity scaling down the crop’s yield potential.

The bacterial trait that is the key in facilitating plant growth under stress is the

possession of the enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase. ACC

deaminase-producing organisms decrease plant ethylene levels which at high

concentrations results into plant growth inhibition as under various stress situations.

Several PGPR strains have been isolated from the rhizosphere of rice grown in flooded

soils and shown to reduce stress ethylene levels by heightened ACC-deaminase

activity. Inoculation with the ACC deaminase producing strains like Alcaligens sp.,

Bacillus sp. and Ochrobactrum sp. had considerable positive impact on different growth

parameters of rice including germination percentage, shoot and root growth and

chlorophyll content as compared to uninoculated control under salinity stress. Similarly,

rice seeds treated with Microbacterium sp. AR-ACC2, Paenibacillus sp. ANR-ACC3 and

Methylophaga sp. ARACC3 significantly enhanced various growth parameters when

compared with non-bacterized seeds submerged similarly.

Use of strains with multiple PGP traits is expected to help increase crop

productivity on a sustainable basis. While plant breeders are seriously working for

developing and introducing stress-tolerant varieties - a long-drawn strategy, crop

management can provide immediate succor in a sustainable manner.

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Regulation of CspA family genes during stress adaptation in Escherichia coli

Jawali Narendra* and Uppal Sheetal *Former Head

Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, India Email: narendrajawali@gmail.com

In spite of the large number of genes present in the microorganisms, only a part of the

genome is constitutively expressed while the remaining genes are expressed in a

dynamic fashion majorly dictated by the growth phase and environmental conditions.

Such selective expression of a set of genes on a need based system helps to

economize the energy utilization and necessitates the presence of numerous gene

regulatory mechanisms. In a prokaryotic organism like Escherichia coli, gene

expression is regulated by a number of ways that includes mechanisms operating at the

level of transcription, post-transcriptional and translation.

The focus of our studies has been to understand the gene regulation in response to

various environmental stresses in E. coli. Here, I will specifically discuss the gene

regulatory mechanisms during cold stress and nutritional stress. E. coli contains nine

paralogs of CspA, CspA to CspI, collectively known as the CspA family of cold shock

proteins (CSPs). In spite of the considerable sequence similarity among these genes,

the individual genes show significant differences in their expression regulation. We

established that cspE is an early cold-inducible gene. This induction is at post-

transcriptional level and is mediated by decreased susceptibility of cspE transcript to

RNase E degradosome action due to an altered 5’-UTR secondary structure at low-

temperature.

Further, we established that cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP), the global metabolic

transcriptional regulator, plays an important regulatory role during cold adaptation. CRP

was found to regulate multiple cspA family members. Among the five csps’ regulated by

CRP, cspE was found to be regulated by direct binding of CRP to the gene promoter in

a class-I CRP dependent manner. The interaction between various domains of CRP

and RNA polymerase has been studied by analyzing the effect of different functional

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48

mutants of crp and rpoA on PcspE activation. Further, absence of CRP was found to

confer cold sensitivity in E. coli.

In addition to having a role in cold adaptation, CRP was also found to regulate the

starvation induced expression of cspD, a bacterial toxin gene associated with persister

cell formation in E. coli. cspD was found to be regulated by direct binding of CRP at two

class I target sites in the gene promoter, with the promoter-proximal site playing a major

role. In vitro transcription assays demonstrated that CRP activates PcspD transcription

by a class I-type CRP dependent mechanism. Additionally, antibiotic persister assays

indicated involvement of CRP in persister cell formation. It is interesting to speculate

that CRP might act as one of the regulator in coupling cellular metabolic status with

persistence phenomenon.

Overall, these studies demonstrate multiple modes of regulation being employed by

bacteria for cspA family members during adaptation to stress conditions and also

present novel roles for CRP, the global metabolic transcriptional regulator, in cold stress

and antibiotic persistence.

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Bacterial food-borne pathogens in Indian food

Bandekar J.R. Retired Scientist

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Mumbai 400085

Email: bandekarjr@gmail.com

Food technology and food processing techniques have made tremendous advances in

preservation of food and ensuring safety of food by killing food-borne pathogens. In

addition to old techniques such as pasteurization, canning, dehydration, fermentation

and salting, a number of new techniques such as radiation processing, high pressure

technology and pulsed electric field technology are being applied for preservation of

food and to ensure food safety. Total Quality Management (TQM) concepts have been

developed to take care of food safety from farm to table. Hazard analysis at Critical

Control Points (HACCP) is being applied for mass scale production of food to make

food free from pathogens. Despite these advances, food-borne diseases have become

one of the most widespread public health problems in the world.About two thirds of all

the outbreaks are traced to microbial contaminated food. According to World Health

Organization (WHO) estimates, food-borne and waterborne diarrhoeal diseases kill an

estimated 2 million people annually, including many children. Food safety is a major

concern not only for developing countries but also for the developed countries.A number

of factors such as emergence of new food-borne pathogens, development of drug

resistance in pathogens, changing life style, globalization of the food supply etc. are

responsible for the continuous persistence of food-borne diseases. The food-borne

disease outbreaks due to E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and

Campylobacter, are responsible for recall of many foods resulting in heavy losses to

food industry. Due to consumer demand, a number of Ready-To-Eat (RTE) minimally

processed foods are increasingly marketed; however, there is increased risk of food-

borne diseases with these products.Food Technology Division of Bhabha Atomic

Research Centre, Mumbai, has been working on food-borne bacterial pathogens

particularly Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio and Aeromonas

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50

species, their prevalence in export quality sea-foods as well as in food sold in retail

markets such as poultry, fish, sprouts and salads. The isolates from Indian foods were

characterized for the presence of virulence genes, antibiotic resistance pattern as well

as pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. A rapid method for the detection of

Salmonella species from foods was also developed. The radiation doses for the

elimination of these pathogens from various foods were optimized. Details of detection

method, characteristics of the pathogens isolated form Indian foods and radiation

processing for the elimination of these pathogens will be discussed.

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Probiotics and prebiotics: Research and industrial perspectives

Prapulla S.G. Chief Scientist & Head, Fermentation Technology and Bioengineering Dept, CSIR-

Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysuru - 570 020. Email: prapullasg@yahoo.co.in

Probiotics and prebiotics are the leading groups of biologicals that are classified as

nutraceuticals, a product with a rapidly growing market with total value projected for

2016 at USD 207 billion. The principal reasons for the growth of the nutraceutical

market worldwide are the current population and the health trends, which include the

rise in consumption of junk food and the concurrent increase in the onset of obesity and

a variety of lifestyle related diseases. Probiotics are live microorganisms that are

believed to impart positive health benefits to the host by restoring disturbances in

intestinal microbiota and promoting homeostasis. Prebiotics are dietary ingredients that

beneficially affect the host by selectively altering the composition or metabolism of the

gut microbiota. Prebiotics specifically stimulate the beneficial microbiota in the colon.

Probiotics and prebiotics are attributed for imparting a diverse range of health benefits

from improved digestion to treating depression. The wide gap in reporting potential

putative health benefits of probiotics and prebiotics and substantiating the same with

appropriate scientific models is the biggest hurdle in their industrial exploitation. In

addition, probiotics, by definition, are consumed live and it is assumed their viability is

maintained until they reach their site of action in the colon. Hence, an essential

characteristic to enable advanced industrial application of these probiotics is their

robustness towards the stresses in the industrial pipeline, including oxidative,

temperature, osmotic and/or solvent stresses during fermentation as well as processing

stresses, like freeze drying and shelf life stability. Thus, the ability of the probiotic

bacteria to withstand the diverse stresses involved in industrial production and retain not

only their viability but also their putative health benefits is crucial for the successful

industrial application of probiotics.

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Genetic manipulation of Probiotic Escherichia coli CFR 16 effective against oxidative damage and sucrose induced metabolic disorder

Kumar G. Naresh Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, M. S. University of Baroda, Vadodara

Email : gnaresh_k@yahoo.co.in

Gastrointestinal disorders mainly diarrhea is the most common cause of morbidity and

mortality among infants and children in the developing countries occurs due to infection

by enteropathogens. Control of these pathogens could be achieved by nonpathogenic

Escherichia coli producing colicins. For this purpose, E. coli strains were isolated and

tested for probiotic properties such as antimicrobial activity against enteropathogens,

antibiotic susceptibility and resistance to low pH, absence of virulence traits,

susceptibility to proteolytic activity and detection of colicins type. Then effects of

probiotic E. coli CFR 16 (pUC8:16gfp) expressing Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (vgb) gene,

associated with bacterial respiration under microaerobic condition, on gastrointestinal

(GI) colonization and its antioxidant activity on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced

toxicity in Charles Foster rats were tested.. In vitro, catalase activity in E. coli CFR 16

(pUC8:16gfp) was 1.8 times higher compared to E. coli CFR 16 (pUC-gfp) control

thereby prevented CCl4 induced damage. In vivo, E. coli CFR 16 (pUC8:16gfp) not only

was recovered in the fecal matter after 70 days of oral administration but also retained

antibacterial activities, whereas E. coli CFR 16 (pUC-gfp) was not detected.

Inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract is associated with reactive oxygen

species (ROS) genesis. Alleviation of oxidative stress is achieved by using antioxidants

and probiotics. Therefore, effects of probiotic E. coli CFR 16::vgb-gfp (pqq) producing

PQQ as antioxidant on oxidative stress induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) were

studied and significant protection was seen in rats received E. coli CFR 16::vgb-gfp

(pqq). High levels of sucrose consumption are associated with several metabolic

disorders in humans and in laboratory animals, including symptoms of metabolic

syndrome. In addition, it is attributed to hypertriglyceridemia and increase oxidative

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stress. Bacterial inulosucrase utilize sucrose as substrate to produce FOS

(Fructooligosaccharides) by polymerization of fructose which acts as prebiotic and can

be metabolized by the colonic bacteria into Short chain fatty acids like propionate and

butyrate which help in decreasing lipogenesis and cholesterogenesis. Hence, efficacy of

probiotic E. coli CFR 16::vgb-gfp(pqq-inuj) encoding inulosucrase in alleviating the high

sucrose related metabolic disorder in rats was studied and found effective against

sucrose mediated damage. Thus, may provide a natural alternative for the treatment of

diet-induced metabolic syndrome.

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Mycobacterium tuberculosis DinG is a Structure-specific Helicase that Unwinds G4 DNA: Implications for targeting G4 DNA as a novel

therapeutic approach

Thakur Roshan Singh, Desingu Ambika, Basavaraju Shivakumar, Subramanya Shreelakshmi, Rao Desirazu N. and Nagaraju Ganesh

Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560012 Email: ganesh_him@yahoo.co.in

The significance of G-quadruplexes and the helicases that resolve G4 structures in

prokaryotes is poorly understood. The Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome is GC-rich

and contains >10,000 sequences that have the potential to form G4 structures. In

Escherichia coli, RecQ helicase unwinds G4 structures. However, RecQ is absent in M.

tuberculosis, and the helicase that participates in G4 resolution in M. tuberculosis is

obscure. We show that M. tuberculosis DinG (MtDinG) exhibits high affinity for ssDNA

and ssDNA translocation with a 5'→3' polarity. Interestingly, MtDinG unwinds

overhangs, flap structures, and forked duplexes but fails to unwind linear duplex DNA.

Our data with DNase I foot printing provide mechanistic insights and suggest that

MtDinG is a 5'→3' polarity helicase. Strikingly, we find that MtDinG resolves

intermolecular G4 structures. These data suggest that MtDinG is a multifunctional

structure-specific helicase that unwinds G4 structures. Our biochemical and genetic

studies reveal that promoter sequences of M. tuberculosis PE_PGRS2, mce1R, and

moeB1 genes containG4 structures, implying that G4 structures may regulate gene

expression in M. tuberculosis. Our data implicate that targeting G4 structures and DinG

helicase in M. tuberculosis could be a novel therapeutic strategy for culminating the

infection with M. Tuberculosis.

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Extracellular Membrane Vesicles: A new weapon in the armory of Group B Streptococcus

Banerjee Anirban Dept. of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT-Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India

E-mail: abanerjee@iitb.ac.in

Pathogenic bacteria secrete membrane bound vesicles as vehicles for delivery of toxins

and other virulence factors at a site distant from their colonization. However, very little is

known about vesicle production by Gram-positive bacteria, as well as the mechanism of

their biogenesis. Group B Streptococcus (GBS), a gram positive opportunistic pathogen,

colonizes the genitourinary tract of large number of females and high degree of GBS

colonization is well correlated with incidences of preterm premature rupture of amniotic

membrane (PPROM) and subsequent preterm birth. In this work, we demonstrate that

GBS produces membrane vesicles (MVs) in a growth phase and serotype independent

manner. The vesicles were found to contain various virulence factors of GBS including

pore forming toxins, proteases etc. Surprisingly, GBS secreted vesicles were found to

contain DNA and enzymes having gelatin hydrolytic activity. Functional analysis of GBS

MVs revealed that they are cytotoxic and invoke inflammatory response in host cells

following internalization. Our results suggest that production of extracellular membrane

vesicles may be a possible mechanism by which GBS can orchestrate events at the

fetal membrane perturbing its integrity.

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ORAL PRESENTATIONS

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Bile in regulating small RNA expression in Salmonella typhi –A factor

for chronic infection within gallbladder?

Walawalkar Yogesh and Nayak Vijayashree Dept. of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani-KK Birla Goa Campus, Near NH17B,

Zuarinagar, Vasco-Goa 403726 Email: yo.genetech@gmail.com

The human bile which is supposed to have bactericidal activity can regulate a number of

mechanisms for bacterial survival. Salmonella typhi chronically persists within the

gallbladder and is proposed to be a pre-disposing factor for gallbladder cancers. This

study describes the ability of S. typhi to adapt to bile which could regulate stress

responses within the organism via certain sRNAs. The organisms can be resistant even

before they contact bile, and with initial adaptation the occurrence of bile resistant

colonies shows a Poisson distribution with minimal variance, indicating the significance

of bile in regulating survival mechanisms. One such mechanism involves the regulation

of small regulatory RNA’s that function during stress. Expression analysis reveals that

two sRNA’s MicF (targets OmpF) and DsrA (regulates RpoS, motility and drug

resistance) are significantly up-regulated as a response to bile stress. This is consistent

with findings that this organism down-regulates OmpF to inhibit entry of bile salts, is

able to form bio-films by up-regulating RpoS and inhibiting motility and shows multiple

drug resistance. The protein profiles also show alteration in intracellular and outer

membrane proteins; the latter being possibly linked to major Omp’s and drug efflux

pumps regulated by many sRNA’s.

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Radiorespirometry in TB Diagnosis & Drug Discovery

Ray Mukti K, Kulkarni Savita and Rajan MGR Radiation Medicine Centre, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre

Email: muktiray@gmail.com

Tuberculosis remains a major health problem worldwide and especially in India with 1.9

million new cases and 0.35 million deaths per year. Early and rapid diagnosis of

pulmonary tuberculosis is mandatory for controlling the transmission of the disease.

Conventional test like sputum AFB is not sensitive and gold standard culture test is time

consuming. Our laboratory has standardized a Radiorespirometry technique for primary

diagnosis which offers advantage of both less turnaround time and sensitivity.

Radiorespirometry is a true radiotracer technique that detects the presence of live micro-

organism in a biological sample. In this method bacteria (or clinical sample) is inoculated

into a medium supplemented with radiolabelled (14C) carbon compounds. Only

metabolically active organism present in the sample will metabolize the carbon source

and produce radiolabelled carbon dioxide (14CO2 ) . This 14CO2 can be efficiently trapped

in an alkaline-scintillant matrix and counted in a liquid scintillation counter. The whole

thing is suitably assembled in a regular scintillation vial.

We used Radiorespirometry in a retrospective study using culture positive sputum

samples (which was detected positive by culture in 3-8weeks time) and it detected

presence of TB bacilli in 1 to 3 weeks.

Further, series of Phenyl acrylamide derivatives synthesized against RecA of

mycobacteria were evaluated for anti-TB properties using radiorespirometry. More than

90% of the compounds exhibited anti-TB properties with MIC 3.25 to 25µg/ml. Structure

activity relationship of these compound was studied to understand the anti-TB

pharmacophores. Interesting results obtained using radiorespirometry will be discussed.

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Lead resistant bacteria, Resistance mechanisms and

Lead bioremediation- An Overview Naik Milind Mohan , Dubey Santosh Kumar

Laboratory of Bacterial Genetics and Environmental Biotechnology, Department of Microbiology, Goa University, Taleigao Plateau, Goa 403206, India

Email: santoshdubey.gu@gmail.com

Lead (Pb) is non-bioessential, persistent and hazardous heavy metal pollutant of

environmental concern. It is interesting to note that a variety of mechanisms are

employed by lead resistant bacteria to resist high levels of lead which include efflux,

extracellular sequestration, precipitation outside the cell, alteration in cell morphology,

enhanced siderophore production, enhanced EPS production and intracellular

sequestration mediated by bacterial metallothioneins. These lead resistant bacteria

may be used successfully in lead bioremediation in a cost effective and eco-friendly

manner. Thus bioremediation has become a potential alternative to the existing

technologies for the removal and/or recovery of toxic lead from solid or liquid wastes

before releasing it into natural water bodies or land fills for environmental safety. Since

we have isolated and extensively characterized lead resistant bacterial isolates, I will

provide an overview of lead resistant bacteria with their resistance mechanisms and

potential role in bioremediation of lead contaminated environmental sites.

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Spectroscopic method for identification of bacteria from predigester of Nisargruna biogas plant – a functional approach.

Ghosh Sukhendu Nuclear Agriculture & Biotechnology Division

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Mumbai-400085

Email: sbghosh@barc.gov.in

Definitive identification of bacteria, is very important for a wide range of applications

including environmental studies, food safety, microbial forensics, bio-terrorism threats,

criminal investigations and above all disease diagnosis. Although extremely powerful

techniques such as those based on PCR and microarrays exist, they require

sophisticated laboratory facilities along with elaborate sample preparation by trained

researchers. Such technique also depends solely on genetic material irrespective of

viability and biochemical state of the organism. Among different spectroscopic

techniques, FTIR was used in the 1980s and 90s for bacterial identification. In the

present study five species of Bacillus were isolated from the aerobic predigester

chamber of Nisargruna Biogas Plant (NBP) and were identified to the species level by

biochemical and molecular biological (16S ribosomal DNA sequence) methods. Those

organisms were further checked by solid state spectroscopic absorbance

measurements using a wide range of electromagnetic radiation (wavelength 200 nm to

25000 nm) encompassing UV, visible, near Infrared and Infrared regions. UV-Vis and

NIR spectroscopy was performed on dried bacterial cell suspension on silicon wafer in

specular mode while FTIR was performed on KBr pellets containing the bacterial cells.

Consistent and reproducible species specific spectra were obtained and sensitivity up to

a level of 1000 cells was observed in FTIR with a DTGS detector. This clearly shows

the potential of solid state spectroscopic techniques for simple, easy to implement,

reliable and sensitive detection of bacteria from environmental samples. Future efforts

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will concentrate on identifying the biochemical state of the organism using these

different spectroscopic techniques.

Electron Beam Irradiation: Laboratory and Field Studies of Cowpea Seeds

Srinivasan K, Chauhan SK, Prasad TV, R Pramod1, Verma VP1, Petwal V1, Dwivedi J1 and Bhalla S

National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi-110012 1Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore

Email: sbhalla@nbpgr.ernet.in

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) rich in protein and vitamins is emerging as one of the most

important food legumes to tackle malnutrition. Pulse beetles (Callosobruchus chinensis

and C. maculatus) are the pests of economic importance causing enormous losses

during storage. Although various pest management strategies exist for the control of

these pests, environmental concerns necessitate developing ecofriendly strategies.

Electron beam (EB) irradiation has the potential to be a viable, non-chemical, residue-

free strategy for management of pulse beetles during storage, but higher doses affect

seed germination and viability. Hence, the present investigation was taken up to

analyse the dosage effect of the irradiation on seed attributes of cowpea. Healthy

cowpea seeds were irradiated with low energy electrons at different doses viz., 180,

360, 540, 720, 900, 1080, 1260, 1440 and 1620 Gy at 500 keV using the EB

Accelerator facility at Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore. EB

irradiated seeds were tested for physiological viz., germination, seedling vigour and

vigour index and biochemical parameters viz., electrical conductivity of seed leachate,

seed viability/tetrazolium test and dehydrogenase activity. Germination and vigour of the

irradiated seeds were evaluated as per the ISTA Rules (ISTA, 1996). Vigour index was

calculated as the product of germination percentage and seedling vigour. About 3,000

irradiated seeds from each dose were grown in the field at the Experimental farm,

National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi. Seeds harvested from 1500

individual plants of M1 generation from each dose (50 seeds from each plant

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individually) were sown in next season and observed for chlorophyll mutations, if any.

Results revealed that doses upto 1080 Gy (88%) did not affect the germination of

cowpea seeds drastically as compared to untreated seeds (98%). Lower doses viz., 180

and 360 Gy had no impact on vigour components while higher doses (1080Gy onwards)

had significant negative effect. Dose dependent changes in various biochemical

parameters were not observed. No chlorophyll mutation was observed in the M2

generation when seeds were grown in the field. Thus, doses upto 900Gy are safe for

the seed and therefore, can be used for developing the protocols for the management of

pulse beetle infesting cowpea.

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Fluorescent aptasensor for the detection of Aflatoxin B1 Rayavara Shivkumar, Krishna Honnur, Mukherjee Monali, Bhatt Praveena

Fermentation Technology & Bioengineering Department CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI)

Mysore, Karnataka- 570020 Email: krishnachem08@gmail.com

Aptamers (DNA or RNA) are short oligonucleotide sequences or peptide sequences

with high affinity (Kd-µM to nM range) and sensitivity (LOD-nM to pM). Aptamers have

attracted an increasing amount of interest in the development of biosensors for food

hygiene and safety. Relative to antibodies, aptamers have several advantages which

include more specificity, low cost, ease of synthesis. In the present study, a

fluorescence based aptasensor was developed against aflatoxin B1. The 49bp

oligonucleotide sequence generated against aflatoxin was tagged with a fluorescent

molecule (FAM) at the 5' end and a fluorescent quencher (BHQ) at the 3' end. The

detection of the toxin is based on the principle that in the presence of the target ligand

(aflatoxin B1) the aptamer undergoes a structural modification leading to the separation

of the fluorophore and the quencher resulting in a “turn off” of fluorescence. Results in

the study showed that the developed fluorescent aptasensor was able to detect the

toxin in a “turn off” mode linearly over a concentration range of 32 pM to 0.32µM. The

limit of detection was found to be 32 pM (10pg/mL).

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Whole cell Deinococcus radiodurans ameliorates salt stress in Indian

mustard through pyrroloquinoline quinone

Srivastava AK1, Rajpurohit YS2, Jadhav P1, Misra HS2, Suprasanna P1

1Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, India

2Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, India. Email: ashish@barc.gov.in

Salinity stress is considered as one of the major abiotic stresses limiting crop

productivity. A variety of symbiotic and non-symbiotic bacteria are currently being used

worldwide with the aim to boost built-in defense system in plants. Deinococcus

radiodurans is a highly desiccation and radiation tolerant bacterium which synthesizes

PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone) that has been shown to have a versatile role in crop

productivity and as a general stress response regulator in bacteria and mammals. PQQ

also acts as scavenger of reactive oxygen species and hence, can module redox

signaling, one of the major regulator of stress tolerance in plants. In view of this, present

research was conducted to evaluate the potential of whole cell D. radiodurans for

ameliorating salt stress in plants. The soil colonization with wild-type cells led to partial

amelioration of salt stress. The PQQ mutant showed an intermediate phenotype

between wild-type seedlings and those grown on non-colonized soils which confirmed

that the effects are largely associated with PQQ. The differential phenotype was also

correlated with ROS level and ABA accumulation. The flame photometry data showed

that there was no significant reduction in water soluble Na+ level in control plant and

those treated with either wild-type or PQQ mutant. Further, the elevated levels of

antioxidant enzymes and reduced ascorbate in the plants treated with bacterial cells

indicated its positive role in oxidative stress management. Although, the exact molecular

basis to these effects is yet to be understood, present findings support the use of whole

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cell D. radiodurans for managing the growth and productivity of Indian mustard in salt

affected fields.

Lakshmanbhog - A bright future for mango industry yet to explore Chakraborty Ivi, Singh Hemant and Rai Solomon

Department of Post Harvest Technology of Hort. Crops, Faculty of Horticulture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, W.B., India

Email: ivi_pht@yahoo.co.in

India is the leading mango producer in the world but unfortunately only a negligible part

of the total production is exported. Although due to its large domestic production base

and diversity of varieties, tremendous possibilities exist for export of mango from India.

In West Bengal, more than 250 mango varieties are reported to be grown in different

districts. However, the commercial varieties of the state are Himsagar, Fazli,

Lakshmanbhog, Langra and Amrapali. The cultivar Lakshmanbhog which have all the

desired attributes for export and well comparable with Alphonso may easily find its way

to the export market. The other advantage of Lakshmanbhog, being late ripening variety

matures at the end of June hasn’t to compete with Alphonso. With the adoption of

suitable pre and post harvest management protocol, the variety may attain a

tremendous export potential. Moreover, the variety has all sorts of processing

potentials. Several value added products e.g. pulp, squash, nectar, blended beverages,

leather etc. could be prepared and stored for prolong period. The retention of quality

and overall acceptability during storage of the processed products ascertain it as a

suitable variety for consuming both as table and value added processed products as

well. Unfortunately, this regular bearer (Lakshmanbhog) does not yet receive the due

justice what it would deserve. Keeping in mind the above perspective, the present study

was intended to develop value added mango products from cultivar Lakshmanbhog like

protein enriched mango bar and blended mango nectar with other varieties such as

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Himsagar and Amrapali and quality of the processed products during storage was

recorded

Extraction of mango pulp was done with the help of bajaj mixer, strained with net to

remove seed and fibre. Pulp was mixed with other ingredients like sugar, pectin and

pulse powder, citric acid etc. at different proportions and subjected to drying at cabinet

dryer to attain a final consistency of leather/bar. The prepared bar and nectar was

subjected to physico-chemical, microbial and sensory analysis for the conformation of

amount of bioactive metabolites available in the end products freshly after preparation

and six months after storage.

The result revealed that the retention of quality (protein, carotene and organoleptic) was

better in mango bar prepared using milk powder followed by moong powder. On the

basis of organoleptic score of blended mango nectar, it was observed that nectar

prepared from Lakshmanbhog 50% + Himsagar 50%, Lakshmanbhog 50% + Amrapali

50% have higher overall acceptability rating. The microbial load count was below the

critical limit even after 6 months at refrigerated temperature for all treatments; hence the

nectar was safe for consumption within this period.

The protein enriched bar prepared from mango pulp and milk powder showed better

acceptability followed by mango+moong bar, bioactive metabolites like beta carotene

and protein content was also better retained on those bar. Quality of blended mango

nectar from cv. Lakshmanbhog and Amrapali was better retained after 6 months of

storage under refrigerated condition.

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Bacterial lipopeptide and its diverse bioactivities

Hajare Sachin N. Food technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085

Email: shajare@barc.gov.in

Lipopeptides constitute a structurally diverse group of small molecules consisting of 7-

25 amino acids (hydrophilic group), linked to β-hydroxy or β-amino fatty acids

(hydrophobic group), generally in a cyclic manner. Many fungal, bacterial as well as

actinomycete species have been reported to produce lipopeptides. Natural functions of

these lipopeptides are still unclear, however, researchers have shown diverse biological

activities to these molecules. Among bacterial species, lipopeptides from Bacillus are

extensively studied. Many of these lipopeptides have shown antimicrobial activity

against different bacteria as well as plant pathogenic fungi. One such lipopeptide

resembling with bacillomycin D was purified from a newly isolated and characterized

Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain fiply 3A. This lipopeptide showed broad spectrum

antifungal activity against many plant pathogenic as well as mycotoxigenic fungi. One of

the mechanisms of the antifungal activity of lipopeptide was found to be by inhibition of

the β-1, 3 glucan synthesis in the fungal cell wall. Interestingly this molecule was found

to have a selective toxicity against cancer cells. The lipopeptide showed a dose

dependent killing of three different human cancer cell lines viz. A549 (alveolar

adenocarcinoma), A498 (renal carcinoma) and HCT-15 (colon adenocarcinoma), while

not affecting the normal cell line L-132 (pulmonary epithelial cells) when analyzed using

MTT assay and FACS analysis. Staining the cells with H2 -DCFDA showed an increase

in reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation in the lipopeptide treated cell population.

Hoechst 33342 staining of nuclei further indicated apoptosis as a major mechanism of

cell death in lipopeptide treated cells and the typical symptoms of apoptosis including

cell shrinkage, nuclear condensation and fragmentation of nuclei was observed.

Lipopeptide treatment induced extensive DNA damage in the treated cells, which was

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indicated by a TUNEL assay. Thus, present data revealed the diverse properties of the

bacterial lipopeptide.

Measurement of phagocytosis and killing of serum opsonised Staphylococcus epidermidis by human polymorphonuclear neutrophil

(PMN)

Agarwal Vishnu, Singh Pradeep Kumar, Yadav Vivek Kumar, Kalia Manmohit, Dohare Suhaga

Department of Biotechnology, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, India

Email: vishnua@mnnit.ac.in

Staphylococcus epidermidis is an opportunistic pathogen and common gram positive

micro-flora of human skin which causes infection in its biofilm mode of growth. The S.

epidermidis strains are often gain resistance to common antibiotics in its biofilm life

style. The interaction of biofilm residing S. epidermidis with human immune response

particularly with polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN), a cell of innate immunity system

which non-specifically eradicates the bacterial infection by the process of phagocytosis

and killing, is poorly understood. In the present study the quantitative assay for the

measurement of phagocytosis and killing of S. epidermidis by Human PMN was carried

out. The autologous serum was isolated by centrifugation from human blood and S.

epidermidis was opsonised with the isolated autologous serum. Human PMN was

isolated from whole venous blood by using PolymorprepTM and re-suspended in HBSS

buffer followed by incubation at 370C with autologous serum. PMN and opsonised S.

epidermidis was co-incubated for different time periods of 5-40 min. The phagocytic

activity of PMN was accessed by quantifying the PMN intracellular bacterial count by

CFU counting assay in manitol salt agar plate. After differential centrifugation

extracellular and intracellular bacteria was quantified. The data showed that Intracellular

bacterial count was highest at 5 minutes and then start decreasing in time dependent

manner with the reduction in extracellular bacterial count.

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Microbial interactions with uranium: Implications for uranium bioremediation

Acharya Celin Molecular Biology Division,

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai – 400 085, India Email: celin@barc.gov.in

Accidental release of uranium into the environment has the potential of inducing

chemical and radiological toxicity. In situ bioremediation of uranium by microbial

processes has been shown to be effective for immobilizing uranium in contaminated

sites. Such microbial processes are important components of biogeochemical cycles

and regulate the mobility and fate of uranium in the environment. This talk focuses on

the spectrum of mechanisms displayed by various microorganisms in order to alleviate

uranium toxicity which forms the basis of uranium bioremediation.

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Stability of Azadirachtin (Neem) based Bio Pesticides: Challenges and Remedies

Tajane Sonali P, Dadhe Praful, Mehetre Sayaji, Mandavgane Sachin Department of Chemical Engineering, VNIT, Nagpur 440 010

Email: mandavgane@gmail.com

In order to minimize the agro-environmental pollution & health hazards caused by

chemical pesticides, in the present study, the neem seed powder alone with other inert

material has been exploited to develop the new biopesticide. Azadirachtin is the key

ingredient of Neem bio pesticides. It is a powerful –insect antifeedant and growth

regulating substance with exceptional environmental characteristics. However the use

of neem pesticides is limited by azadirachtin storage instability. Generally oil extracted

from neem fruits is blended with other ingredients and sprayed on plants with water

base. It is known fact that azadirachtin is unstable in solution and extensive research is

going on worldwide on making the azadirachtin stable. Looking into drawbacks of the

liquid neem bio pesticide a dry free flowing micro fine whole neem fruit bio pesticide has

developed & characterized in terms of particle size distribution, BET surface area, FTIR

for functional group identification, HPLC, XRD.

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Understanding extreme resistance to DNA damage in D. radiodurans: Genomic inputs and Proteomic insights into extraordinary DNA repair

Basu Bhakti Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, India

Email: bhaktibasu@gmail.com

Deinococcus radiodurans, a model extremophile, tolerates very high doses of virtually

all DNA damaging agents such as ionizing radiations, UV, desiccation or mutagenic

chemicals. It repairs its damaged DNA, from hundreds of fragments to intact

chromosome, with absolute fidelity. Its genome displays acquisition of eukaryotic DNA

repair pathways and deletion of universal prokaryotic DNA repair pathways, along with

several ORFs that encode proteins with unusual domain combinations, expanded gene

families and uncharacterized proteins. Yet, it is one of the most DNA repair efficient

organism known today. To understand gamma radiation responsive global modifications

in the proteome, respective proteome profiles were resolved by 2D electrophoresis and

the gamma radiation responsive differentially expressed proteins were identified by

MALDI mass spectrometry. Exposure to gamma irradiation set in immediate growth

arrest, a phase during which the organism reassembles its shattered genome and

recycles the radiation-damaged biomolecules. A proteomic investigation of this phase

revealed highest up-regulation of DNA repair proteins involved in strand annealing,

nucleotide excision repair, non-homologous end joining and homologous recombination

pathways. Another set of differentially expressed proteins were metabolic enzymes that

appeared to modulate metabolism to utilize stored glycogen and slow down amino acid

biosynthesis. Oxidative stress alleviation machinery, which was constitutively present in

abundance, displayed minor modulation. The gamma radiation responsive proteome

modulations emphasize focused multi-factorial DNA repair and metabolic modulations,

during post-irradiation recovery.

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Serine/threonine protein phosphorylation role in radioresistance in Deinococcus radiodurans

Rajpurohit Yogendra S. and Misra Hari S. Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085

Email: ysraj@barc.gov.in

Deinococcus radiodurans R1 is better known for its extraordinary resistance to the lethal

and mutagenic effects of DNA damaging agents including ionizing radiations and

desiccation. These phenotypes are attributed to highly efficient DNA double strand

break repair and oxidative stress management. Unlike many bacteria, D. radiodurans

does not benefit from the classical SOS repair mechanisms of prokaryotes, as it lacks

LexA mediated transcriptional activation of SOS regulon genes; a sole DNA damage

inducible response mechanism characterized in prokaryotes. Our recent finding

suggests the involvement of eukaryotic type Ser/Thr/Tyr protein kinase (eST/YPK);

RqkA in DNA double strand break repair and gamma radiation resistance of this

bacterium. We demonstrated that some native DNA repair proteins acts as

phosphosubstrates for RqkA kinase and their phosphorylation play important role in

regulating their role in radiation resistance. Our finding suggests the existence of

eST/YPK mediated DNA damage response mechanism in this prokaryote.

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Effect of different antimicrobial treatments of sugarcane stem on microbiological quality of extracted juice for fresh consumption

Mishra Bibhuti Bhusan, Gautam Satyendra Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,

Mumbai-400085, INDIA Email: bimisra@barc.gov.in

High microbial load present on the sugarcane stems used for juice extraction often

causes health problems due to associated pathogenic burden. In current study, different

antimicrobial treatments such as hypochlorite blanching, ozonation, UV treatment,

sonication, or their combinations were evaluated for the efficacy to decontaminate

sugarcane stem before extraction of the juice. The findings of this study resulted in the

optimization of a process protocol including an efficient multi step dip treatment which

includes sodium hypochlorite wash, hot water blanching followed by ozonation. The

microbiological quality of the juice extracted from this processed stem was found to be

of improved without affecting its organoleptic characteristics. The post extraction

browning discoloration in the juice was also found to be inhibited by the developed

process due to inactivation of enzymes namely polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase

(POD), and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL). These treatments improved the

extractability of total and reducing sugars, phenolics, and flavonoids resulting in

enhancement of its antioxidant capacity. As the treatments resulted in reducing

microbes below detection level, the extracted juice is safe for human consumption and

also provides a good nutrient rich and safe option to the patients with week immunity.

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Use of Nisargruna Biogas manure to enhance fertility and productivity of soil for achieving goal of sustainable agriculture.

Mehetre S.T. and Kale S.P. Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai Email: smehetre@barc.gov.in

Nisargruna Biogas technology has been developed at BARC for processing different

types of biodegradable wastes. Nisargruna manure is one of the important byproducts

of this plant apart from biogas. This manure is obtained after drying of the slurry passed

from main digestor. Efforts were made to analyse this manure and its application to the

field to increase soil fertility and plant growth. The test crops used were spinach, maize,

methi and mungbean in single and in sequence. Soil enzymes serve as an important

parameter of soil quality. Effect of manure with respect to Soil dehydrogenase,

protease, phosphatases and arylsulphatase was studied. Studies were also conducted

by enriching this manure with different bio-fertilizers like Azotobacter, Rhizobium and

Trichoderma.

Nisargruna manure has improved the organic matter content of soil in all the

experiments. It increased porosity due to various humic substances and water holding

capacity of soil by providing sponginess which in turn increased microbial population of

soil. The net result was an increase in the crop yield. The uniform stimulation of

bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi and azotobacter during different plant growth period

observed after Nisargruna manure application does not reflect only in the yield but also

in overall fertility of the soil. Thus Nisargruna manure has served multidimensional roles

in maintaining the crop yield, improving the soil quality and sustainability of soil health.

Therefore, the soil problems, which are being encountered after the green revolution,

can be solved using Nisargruna manure, thus making way for a potential Evergreen

Revolution through sustainable agriculture.

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Electron beam Irradiaton: Novel Technology for Phytosanitary Purposes

Bhalla Shashi, Srinivasan K., Dwivedi J.1, Gautam S.2 and Sharma Arun2 National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi-110012, India.

1Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore- 452013, India 2Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai- 400 085, India

Email: sbhalla@nbpgr.ernet.in

In the WTO regime, flow of agricultural commodities has increased, posing risk of

inadvertent introduction of exotic pests. This can be minimized by undertaking

quarantine measures. Quarantine/ phytosanitary disinfestation treatments demand a

very high level of security as the pest tolerance in quarantine is zero. Methyl bromide, a

potent fumigant has been restricted in its use due to ozone depleting effect. Also, the

conventional chemicals/ fumigants being used world over are being restricted globally

because of the various associated problems. Therefore, there is a need for an

alternative ecofriendly strategy for controlling the pests. Irradiation, an approved

technology by International Plant Protection Convention, appears to be a viable, non-

chemical, residue-free strategy. Disinfestation of pulses with low energy electron

irradiation potentially will have less deleterious effects on commodity quality than

irradiation with other sources. Internationally, new radiation generating sources as

Electron beam (EB) are being explored to meet import standards of quality and

quarantine. The EB has a machine source and can be simply switched on or off.

Irradiation of legume seeds viz., blackgram, greengram and soybean infested with pulse

beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus and C. chinensis) at different doses at an energy

level of 500 keV using the Accelerator facility at Raja Rammana Centre for Advanced

Technology, Indore revealed the dose-dependent effects on the insect growth

parameters. Adult emergence from seeds infested with different stages was negligible

and eggs laid by beetles that survived treatment did not develop into adults at higher

doses. The lower doses viz., 170, 340 and 510 Gy on the other hand caused sterility

effect on the insect but showed stimulatory effect on the physiological seed parameters

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viz., seedling vigour and vigour index. Electron beam irradiation has a great potential

for use in the disinfestation for phytosanitary purposes. Nevertheless, there are many

avenues which merit further exploration. The adoption of particular treatment depends

on the nature of pest and commodity to be treated, its level of effectiveness,

convenience and ease of use and economic considerations. These measures need to

be used in developing the disinfestation protocols to meet the international obligations

under the WTO regime.

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Crystal structure analysis of KatB, a novel manganese catalase from Anabaena

Bihani Subhash Chandra1, Chakravarty Dhiman2 and Ballal Anand2 1Solid State Physics Division, 2Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, India

Email: scbihani@barc.gov.in

H2O2 detoxification is a major cell protection mechanism, and catalases play prominent

role in this cellular process. Heme-containing catalases constitute a major class and are

very well understood. Manganese catalases are a separate class containing bi-

manganese active site and are less characterized. Genome of Anabaena PCC7120

shows presence of two ORFs encoding manganese catalases. Recently, we carried out

biochemical and structural investigation of KatB, one of the two manganese catalases

from Anabaena. The expression of KatB was induced in response to salt and osmotic

stresses. Mutant Anabaena strain lacking KatB was salt-stress sensitive and Anabaena

cells, with elevated levels of KatB, showed H2O2 tolerance. Crystal structure of KatB is

determined using data upto a resolution of 1.9Å. The X-ray diffraction intensity data was

collected at Protein Crystallography Beamline (BL-21), Indus-2, RRCAT, Indore. The

structure was refined to high precision with Rfactor of 13.4% [PDB Id 4R42]. KatB adopts

a 4-helix bundle fold characteristic of ferritin superfamily which includes ferritin, bacterio

ferritin among others. The crystal structure shows novel active-site configuration to carry

out H2O2 degradation. The active site bimetallocore is coordinated by two bidentate

glutamates (Glu35 and Glu133), two monodentate histidines (His68 and His166) and

two glutamates (Glu65 and Glu163) in bridging mode (Figure 1). Presence of two

bridging glutamates is a novel feature of KatB which alters the positions of active site

water molecules. The structure also shows presence of unique Ca2+ binding sites,

participating in the oligomerization. The structure helps in understanding the detailed

mechanism of catalysis. The active-site scaffold can act as an alternative template in

understanding photosynthetic oxygen-evolving complex and for designing catalase

model systems.

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Figure 1. Active site of KatB: Mn ions (spheres) and coordinating residues are shown

along with their electron density.

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IPM – An advocacy tool for sustainable agriculture

Gupta S.P. Department of Entomology, R. A. U., Pusa (Samastipur) – 848125, Bihar

E-mail: surya22gupta@gmail.com

Sustainable agriculture is a key element of sustainable development and essential to

the future well being of the planet. One of the major objectives of sustainable

agricultural systems is to reduce or optimize inputs into crop production. One way in

which this objective can be achieved is through integrated pest management (IPM),

rather than sole reliance on pesticides. Increasing agricultural production through heavy

use of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers is now recognized as a threat to the natural

resource base. Environmental concerns such as depletion of natural resources,

pollution of soil, air and water; and chemical residues in foods have become important

topics in agricultural production. Subsequently, the demand for Integrated Pest

Management (IPM) has increased due to negative effects observed from use of

pesticides. IPM can be considered a flexible approach to crop protection; an approach

that makes best use of all available technologies to manage pest problems effectively,

safely and sustainably. IPM programs utilize all possible control strategies, including

biological control, cultural control, environmentally sound chemical control and

ecosystem health techniques, with the goal of reducing purchased inputs while

maintaining the yield, quality and profit of crops. In order to meet the challenges of food

security and food safety, attempts are being made to shift from Economic Threshold

Level (ETL) based IPM strategies to Agro Ecosystem Analysis (AESA) based PHM

strategies. Further Ecological Engineering for Pest Management is emerging as a

strategy to enhance biological control by habitat manipulation through cultural

techniques. The significance of natural enemies in an ecosystem, both below ground

and above ground, is being realized world over and there is need to popularize these

concepts among the farmers. Though there is a long history of using biocontrol agents

for pest management, currently farmers do not have access to biocontrol agents at

appropriate time and at affordable prices. To overcome the existing lacuna there is a

need to develop/modify and popularize simple mass rearing techniques of biocontrol

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agents among farmers. Farmer’s participation is the key of IPM success and can help

obtaining sustainable agricultural. It needs to detect the barriers of adopting integrated

pest management.

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Mycofumigation potential of novel Indian Muscodor isolates Saxena Sanjai, Meshram Vineet and Kapoor Neha

Department of Biotechnology, Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab, 147004 Email: sanjaibiotech@yahoo.com

Muscodor is a genus of sterile endophytic fungi that has been isolated from different

tropical rainforest areas of the world. The fungus possesses a remarkable ability to

produce volatile antibiotics that are lethal against plant and human pathogens,

nematodes and insects. The current study reports six novel Muscodor species from the

cinnamon tree based on ITS sequencing, volatile gas composition and hyphal

structures. All the six Muscodor isolates were initially screened for their antimicrobial

potential against a battery of plant and human pathogens via VOC stress assay. After

72 hours of exposure, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) inhibited the growth of

Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Alternaria alternata, Rhizoctonia solani, Cercospora beticola

and Penicillium chrysogenum by 50–70 % while 30–40% reduction was observed in

Arthrinium phaeospermum, Talaromyces marneffei, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and

Botrytis cinerea. #6610 CMSTITBRT also exhibited significant antibacterial and

antifungal activity whereas #2CCSTITD only showed antifungal activity. Further volatile

treated fruits like apples, grape and strawberries showed 45-65% reduction in infection

from pathogens Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia solani, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and

Cercospora beticola. The volatiles were identified using SPME/GC-MS analysis and

each Muscodor produces a blend of 16 to 22 volatile organic compounds

predominantly producing 4-Octadecylmorpholine, 1,6-Dioxacyclododecane-7, 12-dione

etc. Muscodor isolates also mimicked the property of its host plant by producing

compounds like geranyl linalool isomer. Thus, the volatiles produced by these Muscodor

isolates can be further investigated for its myco fumigantion potential so as to enhance

the shelf life of fruits and vegetable and help to reduce post harvest losses.

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Repurposing a CRISPR-Cas ribonucleoprotein complex for programmable gene silencing

Rath Devashish Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai

Email: devrath@barc.gov.in

Targeted regulation of gene expression is a powerful strategy for perturbing,

interrogating and engineering cellular systems. In eukaryotic systems tools like RNA

interference (RNAi) and engineered DNA-binding proteins such as zinc finger or

transcription-activator-like effector (TALE) proteins are available but suffer from one or

more limitations such as complex design, high cost, toxicity and off-target effects. In

prokaryotic systems a generic strategy for targeted gene regulation was lacking.

Cascade (CRISPR associated complex for anti-viral defense) a ribonucleoprotein

complex involved in adaptive immunity against phages has been re-programmed to

target gene expression. It is demonstrated that the CRISPR-associated DNA-binding

Cascade complex can be used for efficient, long-lasting and programmable gene

silencing. When Cascade is targeted to a promoter sequence the transcription of the

downstream gene is inhibited, resulting in dramatically reduced expression. The

specificity of Cascade binding is provided by the integral CRISR-RNA (crRNA)

component, which can be engineered to target virtually any stretch of DNA. The

system’s efficacy in silencing chromosomal, plasmidic and multiple genes is

demonstrated. Overall as the system can be made inducible and can be programmed to

target any region of DNA, it holds the potential as a general silencing tool for any gene

of interest in tractable bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes.

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*POSTER SESSION I (P01-P36)

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

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P1

Rapid detection of microbial quality of minimally processed pomegranate using GC-MS and FTIR

Adiani Vanshika, Gupta Sumit and Variyar Prasad S. Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, India

Email: vanshika_adiani@yahoo.com

SPME-GC-MS & FTIR techniques in combination with chemometrics were exploited as

rapid detection techniques for microbial quality of minimally processed pomegranate

arils stored at 12 °C. Changes in the volatile profile obtained from GC-MS and FTIR

data were analyzed using Principal component analysis (PCA). A day-wise segregation

of the stored samples was achieved based on GC-MS and FTIR data. Predictive

models were further generated for the total viable count (TVC) and Yeast and mold

count (Y&M)by Partial Least Square Regression. PLS-R models correlating microbial

quality with GC-MS data demonstrated good regression coefficient (R=0.86). Contents

of ethanol, ethyl acetate and 3-methyl 1-butanol were enhanced during storage and

showed high corelations with microbial counts. Thus the possibility of using GC-MS as a

non-destructive method for rapid assessment of microbial quality of minimally

processed fruits is demonstrated.

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P2

Antimicrobial effect of aloe vera treatment on Indian shad (tenualosa ilisha) during chilled storage

Amin Kadri R.M., Zofair S. M., Mulye V. B., Gohel J. K., Baraiya K. G. Department of Harvest and Post Harvest Technology, College of Fisheries, Veraval,

Junagadh Agricultural University, Gujarat, India Email: mulyevijayb@gmail.com

Loss of quality of fresh fish during chilled storage transportation in distant market is a

serious problem. An attempt was made to study the influence of Aloe vera gel extract on

quality attributes of hilsa fish, Tenualosa ilisha, during chilled storage. The fish was

given treatment with different concentrations of Aloe vera gel extract in water (18, 20

and 22%) for 2 hrs and ice stored immediately. The changes in physical, chemical,

microbiological and sensory characteristics were analyzed for a period of 15 days in ice

storage. Notable changes in chemical quality parameters like TMA-N, TVB-N, PV and

FFA along with microbiological and sensory parameters were recorded for quality

assessment. Treated fish were found to be better in terms of chemical, microbiological

and sensory parameters than the untreated controlled fish. 22% gel extract treated

showed the best result followed by 20% and 18%. All the treated fish showed shelf life

of 15 days without noticeable sign of spoilage as compared to 12 days for untreated

fish. Treatment of T. ilisha with 22% Aloe vera gel extract before putting in ice box may

therefore maintain quality of fish for longer period during chilled storage transportation.

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P3

Effect of spice extracts on the biochemical and textural characteristics of Pangasius (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus)

chunks during chilled storage

Annamalai Jeyakumari, Roy Reeshma, Ninan George, Zynudheen Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Vashi, Navi Mumbai- 400 703

Email: jeya131@gmail.com

In the present study, Ginger (Zingber officinale), Mint (Mentha arvensis) and green chilli

(Capsicum annuum) extracts were examined for their antioxidant activity by using

DPPH assay and total phenolic assay. Mint extract showed the highest phenolic content

(87.33± 2.74 mg phenolics / 100 gm) and DPPH Radical scavenging activity

(89.61±0.30 %). Fish chunks were treated with spice extract (20%) for 30min and kept

under chilled condition (4º C). Effectiveness of spice extracts on the quality of fish

chunks were analysed during chilled storage up to 15 days at known intervals. Results

showed that fish chunks treated with spice extracts had lower TVB-N values (6.15-18.2

mg N/100 g) than the control (6.05- 26.6 mg N/100 g). Similar trend was also observed

for PV and TBARS values and was within the range of acceptable limit. Sensory

evaluation revealed that up to 6thday, there is no significant difference (p<0.05) in

overall acceptability of chunks, afterwards gradual decrease in overall acceptance was

observed in the control. Based on the sensory evaluation, samples were rejected on 9th

day, 12th day and 15th day for control, chiilli extract treated, mint and ginger extracts

treated sample respectively. Textural evaluation indicated that fish chunks treated with

ginger extracts and chilly extracts had an improved texture than mint extracts. From the

study it can be concluded that the spice extracts could improve the shelf life of

pangasius fish chunks at the selected concentration and demonstrated the potential to

use as an alternative for synthetic preservatives.

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P4 Preparation of wine from jamun fruit (Syzygiumcumini l.)

Awale Arjun Anil Dept. of Agricultural Microbiology, M.P.K.V., Rahuri

Email: arjunawale24@rediffmail.com The Juice was extracted from fully ripe jamun varieties Local and KonkanBahadoli. It

was adjusted to different pH and levels of inoculums with 0.7 per cent acidity and was

supplemented with ammonium sulphate and potassium dihydrogen phosphate as a

source of nitrogen. The jamun juice was then pasteurized at 85°C for 30 min cooled and

then inoculated with S. cerevisiae var. ellipsoideus strain SC-3045 at the level of 2 and

4 per cent. The fermentation was carried out at 28 ± 2°C for 20 days. The wine was

clarified using bentonite followed by centrifugation.

The wines obtained from these treatments were evaluated for chemical composition and

sensory properties. The Local variety wine contained 7.2 to 9.8 0B TSS, 7.2 to 8.4 per

cent (v/v) alcohol, 48.49 to 71.80 mg/100 ml total anthocyanins and 101.80 to 111.0 mg/

100 ml total polyphenols. Whereas KonkanBahadoli variety contained 6.9 to 10.0 0B

TSS, 7.0 to 8.6 per cent(v/v) alcohol, 0.52 to 0.71 per cent acidity, 52.59 to 71.37

mg/100 ml total anthocyanins and 98.46 to 111.10 mg/ 100 ml total polyphenols. The

results showed that the wine of KonkanBahadoli variety was recorded the higher alcohol

content as compared to Local variety and was also better with respect to sensory score.

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P5 Redox-dependent Chaperone/Peroxidase Function of 2-Cys-Prx from

the Cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC7120: Role in Oxidative Stress Tolerance

Banerjee Manisha, Chakravarty Dhiman and Ballal Anand Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400085, India

E mail: manishab@barc.gov.in

Anabaena PCC7120, a heterocystous, filamentous, cyanobacterium is known to tolerate

different environmental stresses, including radiation and desiccation that generate

reactive oxygen species (ROS). Anabaena possesses a robust mechanism to protect its

cellular machinery from ROS with an arsenal of oxidative stress alleviating genes

including seven genes/ORFs with homology to peroxiredoxins (Thiol peroxidases).

Among them, Anabaena harbours a single gene (alr4641) encoding a typical 2-Cys-

Peroxiredoxin (2-Cys-Prx) which detoxifies peroxides employing its two conserved

cysteine residues.

The purified Alr4641 protein showed redox-dependent dual activities i.e. it functioned as

chaperone as well as a peroxidase. Under reducing conditions, Alr4641 functioned as a

peroxidase, whereas under oxidizing surroundings, it worked as a chaperone.

Interestingly, the peroxidase, but not chaperone activity, was reliant on the catalytic

cysteines. In addition, Alr4641 formed higher oligomeric complexes that were

independent of catalytic cysteines and the oxidation status of the protein. Thus, unlike

other reported 2-Cys-Prxs, redox state and not oligomerization status was shown to

determine the functional switch between peroxidase and chaperone activities of

Alr4641. This protein was found to be a general stress induced protein as diverse

stresses like oxidative, osmotic/salinity and gamma radiation induced its expression in

Anabaena. Also, the alr4641 promoter was active in heterocysts as well as vegetative

cells. Over-expression of Alr4641 in Anabaena (An4641+) resulted in reduced content

of reactive oxygen species (ROS), intact photosynthetic functions and consequently

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better survival than the wild-type Anabaena PCC7120, indicating that Alr4641 can

protect Anabaena from oxidative stress.

The peroxidase/chaperone function of Alr4641, its inherent transcriptional/translational

induction under different abiotic stresses and localization in both vegetative cells and

heterocysts could be an adaptive strategy to battle various oxidative stresses that

Anabaena encounters during its growth.

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P6

Identification of novel secondary-metabolism related gene clusters in Trichoderma genomes

Bansal Ravindra, Sherkhane Pramod and Mukherjee Prasun K.

Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085

Email: ravindra.barc@gmail.com

Trichoderma species are used the world over as plant disease biocontrol agents. These

species are known to produce a large number of chemically characterized secondary

metabolites. However, the biosynthetic pathways are largely unknown. Moreover, in

fungi, many secondary metabolism-related gene clusters are "silent" under standard

laboratory cultivation conditions, and it is possible to discover novel metabolites by

activating these clusters. Genomes of three Trichoderma species (T. reesei, T.

atroviride and T. virens) have been sequenced and analysed earlier. However, there

has been no attempt to identify the gene clusters in these genomes. We report here the

identification of gene clusters related to the biosynthesis of two major groups of

secondary metabolites, the non-ribosomal peptides and the polyketides, in the genome

of three Trichoderma spp. We identified nine, seven and eight PKS genes clusters in

the genomes of T. virens, T. reesei and T. atroviride, respectively. Similarly, eight, three

and six NRPS gene clusters were identified in the genomes of T. virens, T. reesei and

T. atroviride, respectively. We have also studied the expression of all the polyketide

synthase and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase genes of T. virens by RT-PCR. As

expected, majority of the genes were not expressed when cultivated on agar medium.

This opens-up new avenues for discovery of novel secondary metabolites from these

economically important fungi.

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P7

Enzymatic hydrolysis of Bombay duck (Harpodon nehereus) meat using endogenous proteolytic enzymes

Binsi PK, Panda Satyenkumar, Mathew Suseela, Ravi Shankar CN Mumbai Research Centre of ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Vashi,

Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra- 400703 Email: binsipk@yahoo.com

Fish protein hydrolysate was prepared from Bombay duck (Harpodon nehereus) meat

using the endogenous proteolytic enzymes present in the muscle of the same fish. The

maximum activity of endogenous enzyme was found to be at 60°C and pH 7.5.

Hydrolysates were freeze-dried and the powder was characterized with respect to yield,

moisture, nitrogen recovery, amino acid composition and peptide molecular mass

distribution. The progress of hydrolysis process was monitored by estimating the total

protein, alpha-amino nitrogen, non-protein nitrogen content and the absorbance values

at 280nm. Further, the molecular and functional characteristics of the hydrolysate

obtained using endogenous enzyme (EH) was compared against that of hydrolysate

prepared using commercial alcalase enzyme (AH). A nitrogen recovery of more than

65% was obtained with endogenous enzyme, where as about 93% was obtained with

alcalse enzyme. The SDS-PAGE pattern of the hydrolysates indicated the intensification

of peptides mainly in the molecular weight range of 6.5-14 kDa and 1-3.5 kDa in both

the hydrolysate, which is an indication of adequate hydrolysis of fish proteins. The

solubility of both the hydrolysates were found to be more than 90% at room

temperature. The results of the present study suggest that the high proteolytic activity of

the endogenous enzyme in bombay duck muscle can be utilized for the initial recovery

of protein as hydrolysate, and the unhydrolysed residual fraction may be further

hydrolysed with commercial enzyme.

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P8

Bio-efficacy of Gamma Irradiation against Pulse Beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus L. infesting Cowpea Seeds

Chauhan Sumit Kumar, Gautam S1 and Bhalla S National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi-110012

1Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai Email: sameergd6493@gmail.com

The pulse beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus is an important pest of cowpea in storage.

It hascosmopolitan distribution with wide host range and also has different strains. It

causes 20-60 per cent losses during storage of cowpea. Hazardous environmental

effects posed by the chemicals used for its management necessitate the need for an

alternative ecofriendly strategy to control the insect. Gamma irradiation seems to be a

viable, non-chemical, residue-free, ecofriendly strategy. The experimental insect, C.

maculatus was reared on the cowpea seeds under controlled conditions (28±1oC and 65

± 5% RH). The freshly emerged adults (about 24-36 h of age) were exposed in very fine

thin polythene envelops to gamma radiation at different doses viz., 25, 50, 100, 200,

400, 600 and 800Gy using Cobalt-60 Gamma irradiation facility at Food Technology

Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, India. The parameters

observed included adult mortality, longevity, fecundity of the survivors and adult

emergence in F1 generation. Dose dependent insect mortality was observed with

immediate mortality at higher doses. High mortality was observed within 24 hour of

irradiation. However, complete mortality resulted within five days of irradiation at 600

and 800Gy as compared to 12 days in control. Adult longevity decreased with increase

in radiation dose. The mean longevity decreased from 6.00 days in control to 2.48 days

at the highest dose. The eggs laid by the treated adult beetles did not develop into the

adults of next generation. Much higher doses were required to kill the adult while the

complete sterility (100% sterility) was found even at the lowest dose of 25 Gy. Thus,

gamma irradiation has potential to be used as an eco-friendly mitigation measure

against C. maculatus.

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P9

Extraction and HPLC determination of Azadirachtin present in fine powder formulation of whole Neem Fruit

Tajane Sonali1, Dadhe Praful1,Mandavgane Sachin1, MehetreSayaji2, 1Department of Chemical Engineering, VNIT Nagpur, India

2BARC, Mumbai Email: prafulchem15@gmail.com

A high- performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for determination of

azadirachtin (A and B) in fine powder biopesticide formulation using whole dry neem

fruit and inert is developed. The powder is free flowing as the oil released during

grinding get absorbed/adsorbed on the inert. Azadirachtin is the key ingredient of

neembiopesticide and it is tetranortriterpenoid botanical insecticide of limonoid class

extracted from neem tree. The HPLC method developed uses isocratic elution and UV

detector. Ultra sonicator and soxilate extraction method were applied using different

solvents like ethanol, acetonitril, and methanol, hot and cold water. The

chromatographic determination of these components is achieved using C18 analytical

column with water–acetonitril mixture (40:60) as mobile phase , 1ml/min as flow rate,

35° C column temperature and UV detector at λ 215nm.The extraction method

developed in this work allows the quantification of azadirachtin with precision and

accuracy.

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P10

Effect of Sulphur on yield and yield attributes of different varieties of jute

Dey Ranjan Kumar, Mazumdar S. P., Kundu D. K., Biswas Amiyo, Mehetre S.T. and Ghosh Debjani

Division of Crop production, ICAR-Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied fibres. Barrackpore, Kolkata-700120

Email: ranjanag88@gmail.com

One of the most important soil fertility constraints endangering the sustainability of high

production agriculture in post green revolution era is the emergence of secondary and

micronutrient deficiencies. Increasing annual productivity in intensively cultivated areas,

has increasingly removed these nutrients from soils year after year. Use of concentrated

high-analysis NPK fertilisers further worsened the secondary and micronutrient turn-

over in soil plant system by increasing the removal of these nutrients on one hand, and

restricting their inadvertent supply in the form of impurities on the other. Jute is the most

popular fibre crop of commercial importance in West Bengal. Deficiency of S is being

reported from jute growing areas which may be due to use of high analysis fertilisers,

huge crop removal and less addition. Deficiency of S is one among several constraints

in jute production. The present research work was undertaken to investigate the effect

of sulphur fertilization on yield and yield attributes of different jute varieties.

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different doses of sulphur

on growth and yield performances of jute genotypes on a sandy loam soil at CRIJAF

farm, Barrackpore, West Bengal. This included four jute varieties (JRO-204, JRO-524,

JRO-8432 and JBO-1) and four sulphur levels (0, 15, 30 and 45 kg S ha-1). The

experiment was laid out in RBD with three replications and other fertilizers were applied

as per recommended doses. Large genotypic differences were found in dry matter yield,

fibre yield and S uptake. JRO-204 gave the maximum yield and nutrient uptake.

Different doses of sulphur played important roles on growth, yield and yield attributes.

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Application of 45 kg S ha-1 resulted in the highest yield among the different doses of

sulphur.

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P11

Determination of critical concentration using ion chromatography for salinity phenotyping in rice plant

Dudwadkar Ayushi1, Kumar Vikash 2, Das B.K.2, Kumar Sangita D.1, Shenoy N.S.1 and Reddy A.V.R.1

1Analytical Chemistry Division, 2Nuclear agriculture and biotechnology division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085, India

Email: ayushi@barc.gov.in

Rice is a major staple food crop of India and covers two third of area under production.

Rice crop suffers major abiotic stresses during its growth stages specially salinity in

saline and coastal saline areas. To understand the basic mechanism of salinity stress

tolerance, critical concentration needs to be determined. Rice plants were subjected to

different concentrations of NaCl under hydroponic conditions using Hogland solution.

Shoot and root parts of the rice seedlings in three replicates were harvested after 15

days of salinity stress. Samples were homogenized and Cl was extracted by giving

various pretreatment to shoot and root samples. Ion exchange chromatography with

conductometric detection in suppressed mode is a technique used for separation and

quantitative determination of the chloride. The plant extract were diluted as per

requirement to bring the chloride concentration in the linear dynamic range of the

instrument. On Guard-P and RP cartridge were used to remove phenolics, lignins, other

aromatic compounds and complex carbohydrates which are known foulants for anion

exchange resins. A linear calibration plot was obtained for standard concentration range

of 0.1 t0 10 µg ml−1. The limit of detection for chloride was found to be 0.1 µg ml−1 and

the relative standard deviation was 5% for the overall method. Chloride uptake was

found to increase with increase in NaCl concentration till 100 ppm. Beyond this, sharp

decrease in uptake was recorded which could be due to the decrease in fresh weight

and death of the seedlings at higher concentrations. In conclusion, 100ppm NaCl

concentration can be used to work out the basic salt tolerance mechanism in rice plant.

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P12

Prevalence, and molecular characterization of Salmonella serotypes from ready to cook poultry products

Gautam Raj Kamal, Kakatkar Aarti S., Karani Manisha N., Shashidhar R. and Bandekar Jayant R.

Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai PIN -400085 Email: rkgautam@barc.gov.in

The availability and popularity of minimally processed, ready to cook (RTC) poultry

products is increasing in India. Though fresh poultry is known to be contaminated with

Salmonella, the prevalence of Salmonella in RTC poultry products is not reported.

Eighty seven chilled and frozen RTC poultry samples of four different brands procured

from super-markets and departmental stores of Mumbai were analyzed for the presence

of Salmonella. The prevalence of Salmonella was found to be much higher (51%) in

chilled RTC samples as compared to the frozen RTC samples (5%). The frozen RTC

samples of one brand were free from Salmonella. S. typhimurium (75.2%) was the most

prevalent serovar, followed by S. enteritidis (23%) and S. weltevreden (1.7%). High

percentage (81.4%) of the isolates were found to be resistant to 5 or more antibiotics

and Class 1 integron, which has been shown to confer multi-drug resistance, was

detected in 69.9% of the isolates. Multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index of these

isolates was high (0.6) indicating indiscriminate use of antibiotics during poultry farming.

High genetic diversity was observed among the Salmonella serovars based on PFGE

profiles.

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P13

Development and stoage characteristis of shrimp (Solenocera crassicornis) based snack food using extrusion technology

Baraiya K. G., Zofair S. M., Mulye V. B., Gohel J. K., Kadri R. M. and Joshi B. N. Department of Harvest and Post-Harvest Technology, College of Fisheries, Junagadh

Agricultural University, Veraval, Gujarat, India.

Email: kirenbaraiya011@gmail.com

An attempt was made to develop nutrient rich extruded products from lesser utilized

protein rich shrimp (Solenocera crassicornis) flour with rice flour, wheat flour and corn

flour using twin screw extruder. Selected formulation in the ratio of 5:1 (cereal flour :

shrimp flour) were extruded at moisture content of 15%, screw speed at 480 rpm,

sectional barrel temperature maintained at 30º, 60º, 130º and 160º C and 2 mm

diameter of die. Raw product was fried and packed in to High Density Polyethelene

(HDPE) for 50 days. The consequence extrudate were analyzed for physical, texture

profile, proximate composition and sensory characteristics at the interval of 10 days for

a period of 50 days storage at ambient temperature. Experiments showed that the

physical properties of expansion ratio, hardness and crispiness were not significantly

(P<0.05) affected by storage period up to 50 days. Although all three extrudate with rice,

wheat and corn flour were marginally affected in texture attributes during storage but

maintained the physical properties, nutritional quality and overall acceptability. Sensory

acceptability study was conducted to select best product. Rice flour with shrimp flour

combination coextruded has shown the best performance in terms of quality and

acceptability. Storage period of 50 days had no significant effect (P<0.05) on the quality

of extrudate product. This research demonstrated that shrimp flour at 15% can be

successfully incorporated into a rice, wheat and corn flour for extrusion and develop

ready to eat snack food with good acceptability at least for a period of 50 days storage

at ambient temperature.

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P14 Comparative Assessment of Chemical, Biochemical & Microbial

Changes During Vermicomposting and Conventional Composting of Different Organic Waste

Jagtap K.B. , Dhamak A.L., Palwade T.V., Jadhav K.G.

Dept. of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture, VNMKV, Parbhani-431402, India.

Email: kundlikjagtap143@gmail.com

Composting basically being a microbiological process enzymatic activities can be part of

a reliable measure of compost stability and maturity and optimize quality of the end

product. Assay of different chemical, biochemical and microbial properties were studied

during the composting. Therefore, conducted to compare chemical , biochemical and

microbial properties of compost prepared from five organic residue of varying C:N ratios

i.e. Wheat straw. Soybean straw, sugarcane trash, weeds and vegetable market waste.

The microbial numbers and the extracellular enzyme profiles relative variation and were

found increasingly more abundant in vermicompost than the conventional compost. The

result showed that vermicomposting is proffered over composting to overcome the

deficiencies in the long duration for decomposition apart from low nutrient status in

composting. TOC & C:N ratio decreased while Total N content increased with the

passage of time during in all the residues. In among different organic residues used for

the study highest total N was recorded in soybean straw with the low C:N ratio where as

reverse trend was observed in case of Wheat straw compost. The enzyme activities i.e.

Urease acid phosphates alkaline Phosphatase were decreased with the increasing the

composting period in all the organic residues in both of the composting. However,

higher enzyme activity was recorded in vermicomposting over composting of different

organic residues and with in organic residue highest urease activity recorded in

Vegetable market waste due to Low C:N ratio and Both Phosphatase activity which was

higher in soybean residue due to earthworm increasing the Phosphatase activity

indirectly by stimulating microflora. Most of the enzyme showed Correlation with the

change in number and microbial groups like bacteria, fungi and Actinomycetes during

composting with the highest microbial activities found in the 30 days of composting due

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100

to Availability of the half of digested nutrient rich organic wastes by earthworm activity

for the proliferation of aerobic decomposing heterotrophic microbes. Type of organic

residue used for the composting showed significant influence on chemical, biochemical

and microbial properties. Vermicomposting showed by preferred over the conventional

composting with the high N & less C:N ratio apart from high biochemical and microbial

parameters.

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P15

Diversity of bacterial communities in the midgut of Bactrocera cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae) populations: Antibiotic sensitivity

and Attractant potential Hadapad Ashok B, Prabhakar Chandra S., Hire Ramesh S.

Nuclear Agriculture & Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai – 400085, India

Email: ahadapad@barc.gov.in

The gut microbiota plays an important role in insect’s development and fitness.

Understanding the microbiota composition is an essential component for the

development of pest management strategies. The midgut bacteria were isolated from

nine B. cucurbitae populations collected from different agro-ecological zone of India.

Twenty six bacterial isolates were isolated and distributed in 9 genera and 14 species

belonging to families Enterobacteriaceae, Bacillaceae, Micrococcaceae and

Staphylococcaceae based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The dominant

species in the midgut of melon fly were Enterobacter (34.6%), Klebsiella (19.2%),

Citrobacter (7.7%), Bacillus (15.4%), Providencia (7.7%) and 3.8% each of

Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, Leclercia and Exiguobacterium. These isolates were

further characterised for antibiotic sensitivity and attractant potential of fruit fly adults.

Klebsiella variicola isolates exhibited maximum resistance to most of the antibiotics

followed by Leclercia adecarboxylata and Providencia rettgeri, Enterobacter cloacae

and Klebsiella oxytoca isolates. The fruit fly’s attraction bioassays using bacterial whole

cell cultures and their supernatants showed significantly more attraction of B. cucurbitae

and B. dorsalis adults. Bacillus cereus, Enterobacter hormaechei, Klebsiella and

Citrobacter species attracted both male and females of Bactrocera species. The

supernatants of Klebsiella and Citrobacter species attracted significantly more number

of females than males. The results showed that the bacterial endosymbionts associated

with melon fly exhibit attractant potential which could facilitate eco-friendly insect control

strategies.

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P16

Isolation and characterization of halophilicarchaea from fermented fish Indian mackerel (Rastreliger kanagurta)

Kamala K., Ghag A. S., Kumar Sanath H. and Nayak B. B.* ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education

Fisheries University road, Versova, Andheri west, Mumbai, Maharashtra

Email: nayakbb@gmail.com

Little is known about the halophilicarchaeal presence and their role in fermented

seafood. In this study, we isolated the halophilicarchaea& bacteria from samples of

fermented Indian mackerel (Rastreliger kanagutra). These holophiles are strictly aerobic

and grows well in pH range of 5.5 – 8.5 in 20-350C with 27% salt in the medium. The

archaea identified by 16S rRNA phylogenetic analysis included

halophilicarchaea belonging to Aechaeon, Halococcus, Halobacterium, Halorubrum and

most of them are uncultured archaeon. Most of the isolates make pink colour colony

and grew in dark. In the presence of light, the archaea not only grew slowly but also

turned to transparent mutant. It produced extra cellular protease enzyme on gelatin and

extra polymeric substances which are preventing cells from dehydration and salt

crystallization. Salt-fermented fish products carry high concentration of salt and are

suitable for the halophilicarchaeal growth. Presence of high proportion of

halophilicarchaea with proteolytic activities in the salt fermented mackerel, suggests a

definite role of archaea in the fermentation.

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P17

Isolation and characterization of mould fungi & insects infecting saw mill wood from Bangalore, Karnataka

Kalawate Aparna1 and Mehetre Sayaji2 1Western Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Pune

2Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400 085 Email: aparna_ent@yahoo.co.in

Wood as a natural organic material is susceptible to biodeterioration by insects, fungi,

and bacteria. Wide variety of insects bores through bark, sapwood and even heart wood

causing deterioration in the quality of logs. Preliminary surveys to collect wood affecting

fungi and insect from saw mills near Bangalore city (Karnataka State, India) was done in

2013. Woods samples with highest infestations were brought in the laboratory and used

for isolation of fungi. Isolation was done by serial dilution technique and were

characterised by molecular method of sequencing 18S rDNA gene. The fungi were

identified as Hypocrea lixii Pat, Fusarium proliferatum (Matsushima) Nirenberg ex

Gerlach & Nirenberg and Aspergillus flavus Link as the partial 18S rDNA sequence

showed 99% homology for all three cases with these fungi. The 18S rDNA sequence

has been deposited at GenBank viz. Accession number 1743925, 1743939 & 1743940

and the cultures have been deposited at National Fungal Culture Collection of India

(NFCCI), Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, India (Reference No. NFCCI 3267,3270

and 3271 respectively). The insects collected during the survey were identified as

powder post beetles Lyctus africanus and Lyctus brunneus. These insects passes

through four distinct stages in their development, namely egg, larva, pupa and adult.

The adult gravid female beetles crawl or fly to find out starch containing sapwood to lay

eggs into the pores of hardwoods. Within 14 days, eggs hatched out to larva that feed

on starch by making tunnels which were filled with fine powdery frass. When fully

grown, the larvae pupate for 20 days and mature adults emerged which lived for 2 - 3

weeks.

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P18 Radiation processing of leafy vegetables to ensure their microbial

safety

Khade H.D., Jain M.P., Gautam Satyendra Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai PIN -

400085 Email: khadehd@barc.gov.in

Leafy vegetables which are consumed in raw form such as spinach, coriander and mint

were found to be heavily burdened with microbial load including presumptive coliform,

an indicator of pathogenic contaminations. Total aerobic plate counts in fresh spinach,

coriander and mint samples collected from different location of Mumbai and nearby

cities were found to be in the order of ~ 107 to ~ 108 CFU/g. In these samples yeast

and mould count was in the order of ~105 CFU/g and presumptive coliform in the order

of ~ 104 to ~ 105 CFU/g. As per USFDA coliform load in the food commodity should be

nil. The finding thus indicates that these fresh vegetables are not safe for raw

consumption. Hence there is utmost need of process which can ensure the safety by

reducing their microbial load below permissible level (<104 CFU/gm) and coliform load

to nil without affecting the appearance and quality of such produce. In this study gamma

radiation was used for hygienization of leafy vegetables. The sample were first cleaned

in potable water followed by sodium hypochlorite wash (200 ppm for 20 min), air dried,

packed in styrofoam based tray, wrapped with cling film and radiation processed at 1 to

2.5 kGy and stored at 4 and 10°C. Post irradiation microbiological analysis of radiation

processed samples was carried out at in 2 kGy irradiated samples total plate count was

below ~ 103 CFU/g and presumptive coliform count was below detectable level. Yeast

and mould count in these samples also reduced to below ~ 103 CFU/g. Based on the

study the following combination treatment can be given to raw leafy vegetables,

washing with potable water (5 min) → sodium hypochlorite (200 ppm 20 min) wash →

Air drying → Packaging in styrofoam based tray and wrapping with cling film →

Irradiation at 2 kGy → storage at 4°C. Besides ensuring safety the treatment also

resulted in increased shelf life extension of the commodities up to 20 days.

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P19

Ensuring microbiological safety and extending the shelf life of shelled sweet corn kernels using hurdle technology

Kumar Sanjeev and Gautam Satyendra Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400 085, India

Email: san_jeev7814@rediffmail.com

Shelled sweet corn kernels are prone to microbial contaminations due to high moisture

and nutrient contents. Post harvest handling further aggravates the condition and

makes the product highly perishable and unsafe. In freshly shelled kernels total aerobic

plate count, yeast mold count and presumptive coliforms were found to be ~8, 7, and 4

log cfu/g, respectively. IMViC analysis confirmed presence of opportunistic pathogens

like Escherichia coli and Enterobacteraerogenes in these samples. Besides, occurrence

of mycotoxin such as ochratoxin A (OTA), classified as a possible carcinogenic

compound, was found to be high in sweet corn samples spiked with toxigenic strain. To

address this issue, a combination process including NaOCl washing (200 ppm for 5

min), hot water blanching (60°C for 5 min), air drying, LDPE packaging, and finally

gamma radiation (5 kGy) treatment was developed. The developed combination

process was found to reduce microbial load to below detectable level and quite

effectively inactivated Aspergillusochraceus spores as well as pre-formed toxin. These

treatments were not found to affect the contents of biochemical constituents such as

total and reducing sugars, proteins, phenolics, and flavonoids during storage.

Prophylactic properties in terms of antioxidant capacity and potential to suppress

chemical induced mutagenesis were not affected in these samples. Physical properties

and sensory qualities were also found to be similar to fresh (control). Thus, the

developed combination process ensured microbiological safety and extended shelf life

of sweet corn kernels up to 30 days at 4°C.

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P20

Anti-proliferative effect of ascorbyl stearate, a food additive, on cervical cancer cells by modulation of cell signaling pathways

Mane Shirish Dinkar and Naidu K. Akhilender Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition

Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore 570 020 Email: mane.shirish14@gmail.com

Ascorbyl stearate (AS) is a lipophilic, ascorbic acid derivative with anti-proliferative

properties. The effect of AS on proliferation of human cervical cancer cells (HeLa) was

studied and the treatment caused a dose-dependent (0-200 μM) inhibition of cancer cell

proliferation at micro molar concentration when compared to inhibition by its individual

components of AS namely ascorbic acid (AA) and stearic acid (SA). Bio-availability

studies showed the presence of intracellular AA (50%) and SA (25%) of the treated AS

in HeLa cells indicating the permeability of the compound into cells and its hydrolysis

within the cell. Fatty acid analysis indicated an increase in SA content by 12 times in

total fatty acids content of HeLa cells accompanied by an increase in cell membrane

fluidity with respect of time and no significant change in cell membrane permeability at

higher doses of the AS. The anti-proliferative effect was found to be due to modulation

of cytochrome-c cell signaling pathway namely cytochrome-c, pro-caspase 9 and 3 and

Bid proteins involved in apoptosis as inferred from the western blotting profiles. Other

markers such as NF-κB, IκBα, TNF-α, procaspase-8 were found to be reduced and

increase in LC-3 indicating autophagy at higher doses of AS (200 μM) treatment. The

results clearly demonstrate that the anti-proliferative effect of ascorbyl stearate is

mediated by ascorbyl radical and stearate moieties and modulation of caspase pathway

in HeLa cancer cells.

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P21

Evaluation of process scaling for production of xanthan gum using cheap easily available agro product

Varsha More, Hajare Sachin and Gautam Satyendra Food Technology Division BARC, Trombay, Mumbai

Email: vdhokane@barc.gov.in

Xanthan gum is an industrially important biopolymer produced by Xanthomonas

campestris. It is an anionic heteropolysaccharide of pentasaccharide repeat unit

consisting of trisaccharide side chains attached to a cellulosic backbone. Due to its

properties like pseudoplasticity, emulsion stabiliser and stability over a wide range of pH

and temperature, xanthan gum is used in food industries, pharmaceutical formulations,

cosmetics, textile and agricultural products. Increasing market price and demand for

xanthan gum suggested that synthetic medium using glucose as a carbon source may

no longer remain economic as a raw material. The current study is an attempt to

contribute to the search for efficient and cost-effective substrates for xanthan gum

production.

Therefore feasibility of banana (peel, pulp) as a raw material was explored for the

production of xanthan gum using Xanthomonas campestris pv. glycines. Production

media containing banana peel was fortified with various low cost nutrients, yielding

maximum xanthan production of 27 g/L with viscosity of the broth 2800 cP at shake

flask level. The recovered xanthan was purified and analyzed for its quality parameters

such as pyruvate content. This work emphasizes feasibility of low cost agro

produce/waste for xanthan production. Further scale up studies using 20L fermenter is

in progress.

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P22

Zanthoxylum rhetsa: A potential food preservative

Muppalla Shobita Rao and Chawla S. P. Food technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research centre, Mumbai-400085

Email: shobitar@barc.gov.in

Zanthoxylum rhetsa is a spice used in western region of India. In the present study seed

coat and seed were investigated for the antioxidant and antibacterial activity. Water

extracts were prepared by refluxing, concentrating and lyophilisation. The yield obtained

was 128 mg g-1 and 142 mg g-1 for seed cover and seed respectively. The seed cover

had phenolic content of 294 mg g-1 of dry weight in terms of catechin equivalents

where as seed had phenolic content of 112 mg g-1 of dry weight. An IC50 of 43.1 µg

ml-1 and 101.8 µg ml-1 was obtained for DPPH radical scavenging activity for seed

cover and seed respectively. Both the extracts also showed antioxidant potential in

terms of β- carotene bleaching inhibition activity, reducing power and superoxide radical

scavenging activity. Antibacterial potential of both the extracts was analysed by disc

diffusion assay against various food spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. Seed extract did

not show any antibacterial activity whereas seed cover extract was found to be effective

against both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. In tube assay, seed cover

extract led to 4 log cycle reduction in Gram positive bacteria and 3 log cycle reduction in

case of Gram negative bacteria. These findings suggest potential of Zanthoxylum rhetsa

seed cover extract to be used as preservative in food.

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P23

Effect of a natural resin-based edible coating on the quality characteristics of dried Bombayduck (Harpadon nehereus) leaves

Binsi P.K.1, Nayak Natasha1*, Sarkar P.C2., Ravishankar C.N3

1Mumbai Research Centre of ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Vashi, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra- 400703

2ICAR- Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums, Ranchi 3ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Matsyapuri P.O, Willington

Island, Cochin- 682 029 Email: natashanayak24@gmail.com

Edible coating can be used to prevent microbial degradation and oxidative processes in

muscle foods. Dried Bombay duck leaves were subjected to dip treatment with edible

resin at various concentrations. The coated fish samples were further analyzed for

moisture gain, swelling and sensory characteristics. Coating imparted a glossy tint and

improved surface characteristics of the dried fish samples compared to control.

However, coating with a higher concentration of 20% and above imparted yellowish

color to the samples during extended period of storage. The coated fishes were further

stored under exposed and packed atmospheres (conventional polyethylene pouches)

to evaluate their storage stability. The results were further compared against the

uncoated fish samples maintained under similar storage conditions. Coating with natural

resin imparted the antifungal properties to the dried fish. Further, resin coating could

retard lipid oxidation reactions, as indicated by lower free fatty acid, peroxide and

thiobarbituric acid value. The microbial count was significantly lower in resin coated

samples, especially during the later period of storage. The protective effect of resin

coating was more prominent in the case of exposed samples, whereas only marginal

difference was observed in the case of samples packed in PE pouches. The current

study identifies edible resin coating as an effective method for the bulk storage of dried

fish.

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P24 Effect of vacuum-packaging and low dose gamma irradiation on the

microbial, bio- chemical quality and shelf life of peeled shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) during ice storage

Bojayanaik Manjanaika, Naroth Kavyaa, Prasad Surjith a, Shetty Veenab, Hiriyur Somashekarappac, Patil Rajashekara c

a Department of Fish Processing Technology, Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, College of Fisheries, Mangalore – 575002, India.

b Department of Microbiology, K S Hegde Medical Academy, Deralakatte, Mangalore- 575018, India.

c Centre for Application of Radioisotopes and Radiation Technology (CARRT), Mangalore University, Mangalore -574199, India.

Email: surjith046@gmail.com

The present investigation was carried out to see the combined effect of vacuum

packaging and low dose gamma irradiation (3kGy) on the shelf life of peeled and

undeveined shrimp (Litopeanus vannamie) during ice storage. The fresh farm raised

shrimps were peeled and un deveined, packed in high density polyethylene bags

(aerobic and vacuum packaging) and were divided into four groups viz. control (C),

Irradiated (I), Vacuum packed (V) and vacuum –packed with irradiation (VI). The two

groups (I & VI) were irradiated at 3 kGy (Dose rate @ 6.043 kGy/hr) and aseptically

stored in ice in an insulated polystyrene box. All the samples were periodically

analysed for microbial (Total bacterial load, total Coliform, Faecal Coliforms,

Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Vibrios and E. coli) and bio chemical (TVB-N, TMA,

TBARS and pH) quality. The results revealed that the combination of low dose gamma

irradiation and vacuum packaging had a significant effect on microbial load (p>0.05).

The TVB-N, TMA-N, TBARS and pH were significantly lower in vacuum packed with

irradiation when compare to non –irradiated and aerobically packed shrimp (p> 0.05),

and shelf life of peeled shrimp extended up to 21 days in ice storage.

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P25

Collection, identification and shelf life enhancement of wild edible fungi used by ethnic Tribes of Madhya Pradesh, India

Thakur Rajendra Singh, Singh Alpana, Gautam Satendra, Shukla Shashita and Deshmukh Reena

Centre of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221005 Uttar Pradesh

Email: rajputrajendra83@gmail.com

An extensive survey for collection and identification of wild edible fungi was undertaken

in three districts namely Mandla, Dindori & Shahdol of Northern Hill Region of

Chhattisgarh (An Agro-climatic Zone) belonging to Madhya Pradesh. A total of 9

species were documented as wild edible fungi used for food purpose by ethnic tribes of

selected region. These wild edible fungi make a substantial contribution to the food

security of tribal people of Madhya Pradesh. Identification was done on the basis of

morphological characteristics. Termitomyces spp. recorded highest no. of spp. (7)

followed by Scleroderma spp (1spp.) and Russula spp.(1spp). For shelf life

enhancement, wild edible fungi were irradiated with 0,1.0, 1.5 or 2.0 kGy gamma

radiation doses, packed in LDPE bags & stored at 50°C. T. heimii Natrajan showed 15

days, T. radicatus Natarajan 9 days, Scleroderma spp. Showed 24 days of shelf life

treated with 1.5 kGy dose whereas Russula Spp., T. eurhizus (Berk) R.heim treated

with 1.0 kGy radiation dose showed 9 days of shelf life in terms of all sensory attributes.

All the irradiated mushrooms had lower PLW (Physiological Loss in Weight) and better

microbial quality as compared to control. Nutritional quality of wild edible fungi was not

affected adversely by gamma radiation. This type of study could contribute significantly

to improve food security in tribal areas, whose potential as source of nutrition is

currently undervalued.

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P26

Post harvest decay control and quality retention of Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) during storage using biocontrol yeasts.

Saha J., Zhimo V. Y. and Chakraborty I.1 Department of Plant Pathology, Bidhan Chandra KrishiViswavidyalaya, Mohanpur,

Nadia, West Bengal-741252; 1Department of Post Harvest Technology, Bidhan Chandra KrishiViswavidyalaya,

Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal-741252 Email: sahajayanta100@gmail.com

Postharvest loss of litchi is estimated to be 20 to 30%, even as high as 50% prior to

consumption, mainly due to the decay caused by infection of microorganisms. Infection

of litchi fruits by these fungi is a major problem in litchi export industry, because the

current use of sulphur dioxide (SO2) fumigation brings undesirable SO2 and residues,

alters the favorable fruit taste and causes hazards for consumers and pack-house

workers. New methods are urgently needed for effectively overcoming these problems.

Experiments were carried out to assess the effectiveness of biocontrol yeast isolate Y

27 formulations (Y 27+ sorbitol 5%, Y 27 + mannitol 5%, Y 27 + glycerol 5%) for the

control of post harvest decay (disease incidence and disease severity) and quality

retention of litchi fruits (cv. Bombai). The fruits were dipped in water suspension of

formulations @ 5 ml/L (1-4 X 108 CFU) of each formulation and then stored at 30°C for 5

days. The yeast treated fruits showed significant reduction in the incidence and severity

of post harvest diseases which was at par with Carbendazim 0.1% as compared to the

control fruits. In addition, the yeast treated fruits recorded lesser weight loss and

pericarp browning and better retention of total soluble solids, titrable acidity, vitamin C

and anthocyanin content as compared to control fruits.

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P27

Effect of Electron Beam Irradiation on Groundnut kernel kept in Storage

Balakumar S.*1, Saranya Anis Mary 1, Sankareswari R.2 1PSN College of Engineering and Technology, Tirunelveli - 627152

2Pope’s College, Sawyerpuram- 628251 *Email: profbalakumar@gmail.com

Groundnut kernel has been widely used for production of oil and related products.

However the storage is not easy and raises the serious problem of the fungal and

bacterial attack on the kernel. In this study the stored groundnut kernels of TMV13 were

contaminated by Aspergillus Species at the moisture level of 15% or greater and

temperature around 21°C – 40°C. The fungal enumeration was carried out at different

dilutions in the given temperature range. Aspergillus colonized seeds were exposed to

Electron Beam Irrradiation (using Microtron) from 200 Gy to 1 kGy. The minimum

required dose, Dm, that decreases initial Aspergillus population to the desired amount

was calculated from the D10 Value. The optimal dosage was 800 Gy.

Study of Microbial growth after irradiation: Total fungal count was 431 & 267 in 10-1 to

10-2 dilutions and 83 & 49 CFU/g in 10-1 to 10-2 dilutions for non-irradiated and

irradiated groundnut kernels respectively. Compared to non-irradiated sample, microbial

count had decreased to a large extent in irradiated samples. So Electron Beam

Irradiation effectively controls the growth of microbial organisms.

Quality assessment: An assessment of the quality of oil extracted from irradiated

groundnut kernel was carried out by estimating the carbohydrates, proteins and lipids.

There was little effect on the nutritional value of carbohydrates, in the concentration of

protein and in the nutritional content of lipid upon irradiation.

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P28

Enhancement of pangasius (Pangasius hypothalamus) mince emulsion sausages quality during frozen storage

Shitole Snehal Subhash1, Balange Amjad Khansaheb1 and Ranendra Kumar Majumdar2

1Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Off Yari Road, PanchMarg, Andheri (W), Mumbai

2Central Agricultural University, College of Fisheries, Lembucherra, Tripura west Email: snehalshitole98@gmail.com

Fish is an important dietary constituent and has significant nutritional value. It has many

beneficial proteins, vitamins, minerals and lipids as major source of polyunsaturated

fatty acids (PUFA). Pangasius mince emulsion sausages (MES) are presently not

available in the market. In this study, treated MES were prepared to improve the quality.

MES were prepared with microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) and tannic acid (TA)

termed MESMT, also with spice mix termed as MESMTS. Mince emulsion sausages

were prepared with microbial transglutaminase for texture improvement; tannic acid and

spice mix were used as bioactive ingredients for enhancing antimicrobial and

antioxidant property of product. We observed that MESMT and MESMTS had lower

expressible moisture and protein solubility (P > 0.05) up to 5 months indicating

improved gelation as compared MES. The quality of all sausages (MES, MESMT and

MESMTS) during frozen storage (-180C) was found better for 5 months (which can be

extended further) based on sensory evaluation, biochemical parameters (trimethylamine

nitrogen, total volatile base nitrogen, peroxide value, thiobarbituric acid-reactive

substances, pH) and total plate count values. As per sensory evaluation, more overall

acceptance was found for MESMTS. The result of this study indicates addition of tannic

acid, microbial transglutaminase and spice mix showed synergistic effect in improving

the quality and safety of pangasius mince emulsion sausages.

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P29

Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of grape and papaya seed extracts and their application to Indian mackerel preservation

Sofi Faisal Rashid, Raju CV, Lakshmisha IP, Rajkumar RS Department of Fish processing technology, college of Fisheries, Mangalore, 575001

Email: sofifaisal@gmail.com

Seeds from horticultural waste are rich in phenolic compounds that have wide range of

biological functions including antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. In the present

investigation our aim was to evaluate antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of

ethanolic extract of grape and papaya seeds by cold extraction. Total phenolic content

(TPC), total flavanoid content (TFC), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical

scavenging activity, 2,2- azinobis-3 ethyl benxothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS)

cationdecolorization activity, metal chelating activity, ferric reducing power and lipid

peroxidation inhibition by linoleic acid model were conducted to determine the

antioxidant activity. For the analysis of antimicrobial activity, the inhibitory effects of the

extracts against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella

typhium and Pseudomonas fluroscens were evaluated using disc diffusion method.

Among the two extracts tested, grape seed extract (GSE) exhibited outstanding

antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.The influence of these extracts was tested on

the shelf life extension of Indian mackerel. The grape seed extract (GSE), papaya seed

extract (PSE) and butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT, a positive control) was individually

used for dip treatment of Indian mackerel at concentration of 0.5, 1.0 and 0.1 mg/l

respectivelyand was stored in iced condition after packing in polyethylene bags for 15

days. The shelf-life of the Indian mackerel was found to be 8-9 days for untreated group

(control), 11-12 days for PSE treated group and 15 days for GSE treated group,

according to sensory, biochemical and microbiological analysis. Hence the GSE could

be used as potential preservative to enhance the shelf-life of Indian mackerel during ice

storage.

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P30

Optimization of radiation dose and quality parameters for development of ready-to-cook (RTC) drumstick using a statistical

approach

Tripathi J. and Variyar Prasad S. Food Technology Division, BARC, Mumbai

Email: sharmajyoti77@gmail.com

Full factorial design was employed to study the effect of gamma irradiation (0 –2.5 kGy)

and storage (up to 15 d) at 10 °C on quality of RTC drumstick. Microbial quality of the

RTC product was evaluated by mesophilic bacterial and yeast and mould counts. Data

obtained from microbial, color, texture and sensory analysis were fitted into a cubic

model. Resulting equations were solved to assess radiation dose and maximum storage

period for acceptable microbial quality (< 105 CFU g−1) and sensory scores (overall

acceptability > 5). Radiation dose of 1 kGy resulted in a product with desired microbial

and sensory quality up to a storage period of 12 d. The processed product (1 kGy) had

significantly (p < 0.05) higher total antioxidant and vitamin C content as compared to

non-irradiated control after storage of 12 d. HPLC analysis demonstrated no qualitative

changes in phenolic constituents due to radiation processing. Thus radiation processing

was successfully employed to develop RTC drumstick with improved shelf-life.

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P31

Influence of salting and drying, and gamma irradiation on the quality and shelf life of salted and dried Silver belly (Leiognathus spp.)

Uikey Mahendra Dept. of Fish Processing Technology, College of Fisheries, Mangalore- 575002.

Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Bidar, Karnataka, India

Email: manjanaikb@rediffmail.com

In India about 17% of the total fishes caught are being used for salting and drying. On

the global basis, 74% of the marine landings are processed by curing. Fresh Silver belly

(Leognathus spp.) were procured from the fish landing centre and washed with potable

water. Salting was done using food grade salt in the ratio of 1:3 (Fish to salt) in

perforated steel pans by keeping the salt and fish in layer by layer fashion for 24hrs.

Drying of salted fishes was done in solar biomass hybrid drier, the final moisture content

in the dried fish was 20.03%. The quality of both fresh, salted and dried fishes were

analysed for chemical (Protein, fat, moisture, ash, TVB-N, TMA-N, TBARS, FFA, PV,

pH) and microbial quality (TPC, halophilic count). Batches of salted and dried silver

bellies were packed in high density polyethylene bags aseptically and exposed to low

dose gamma irradiation (1and 3 kGy), the non – irradiated samples were kept as control

and stored at room temperature. The irradiated and control samples were analysed

periodically (upto 90 days) for chemical and microbial quality. The results showed that

the combined effect of salting and drying, and low dose gamma irradiation had a

significant effect on microbial load (p< 0.05). The chemical parameters such as TMA-N,

TVB-N and TBARS values for irradiated samples were significantly lower than the non –

irradiated samples (p<0.05). The results revealed that the combination of salting and

drying, and low dose gamma irradiation resulted in a significant reduction of microbial

growth and chemical parameters were within the limit up to 90 days at room

temperature.

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P32

Radiation processing for enhancing shelf life and quality characteristics of minimally processed ready-to-cook (RTC)

cauliflower (Brassica oleracea)

Vaishnav Jasraj, Adiani Vanshika and Variyar Prasad S. Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Mumbai-85, India

Email: pradeep18sep@gmail.com

Minimally processed ready-to-cook (RTC) cauliflower samples were irradiated, stored at

4 0C for 21 days. The samples were analyzed for nutritional, physiochemical and

sensory quality periodically at intervals of 0, 7, 14 and 21 days. An irradiation dose of

0.5 kGy enhanced the microbial quality and extended shelf life by 7 days without

significant losses in quality attributes. Non irradiated control samples showed the

highest total bacterial counts (TBC) and yeast - mold count (YMC), around 5 log cfu g-1

respectively over the period of 21 days of storage, while in all irradiated samples TBC

and YMC were maintained in the range of 1-2 log cfu g-1 till 21st days. Antioxidant

activity and total phenolic content (TPC) were significantly increased on irradiation (0.5

kGy) while no significant effect was noted in texture, total ascorbate content and

flavonoid content.

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P33

Food Irradiation and its role in shelf life extension of horticulture produce: A comprehensive evaluation of studies carried out in India

and abroad

Verma J. and Gautam S. Food technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research centre, Mumbai-400085

Email: jyotiv@barc.gov.in

Food irradiation is the process of treating foods to a controlled source of ionizing

radiation, to reduce post-harvest losses and ensure its safety. With respect to

horticulture produce, the role of food irradiation has been well established to fulfill the

phytosanitary requirement of the importing countries and also to ensure food safety in

certain commodities. Still for establishing its relevance in extending the shelf-life of

horticulture produce, substantial scientific inputs are required. Our objective was

therefore to summarize in brief the research findings where role of radiation processing

in shelf-life extension of horticulture produce has been addressed. Low dose (0.1 kGy)

of γ-radiation resulted in sprout inhibition in potatoes and onions, thus prolonging their

storage life upto 4 months at 11-12°C. Radiation processing also delayed ripening

process in the climacteric fruits by a week upto one month depending on the cultivars

and stored condition. Shelf-life of button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) was extended

up to 10-15 days by γ-radiation treatment of 2-3 kGy and storage at 10 ± 2°C. A 5 kGy

radiation dose and 10°C storage temperature increased the shelf life of peeled ginger

samples upto 70 days. Irradiation of guava fruits with 0.1 kGy γ-radiation increased its

post harvest life by 8 days. Shelf-life of Litchi was increased upto 28 days by radiation

treatment at 0.5 kGy and subsequent low temperature storage. Shelf-life of leafy

vegetables increased upto 20 days by a combination process including γ-radiation

(Khade, et.al., unpublished data). Electron beam irradiation (2 kGy) extended shelf-life

of fresh strawberry fruits upto 4 day. Apples irradiated at 0.2-0.4 kGy showed improved

quality upto 3 months of storage. Shelled sweet corn kernels treated with combination

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process including γ-radiation (5 kGy) treatment showed prolonged shelf-life of 30 days

at 4°C (Kumar S. et.al., unpublished data). In recent study conducted by us on shelf life

extension of fresh date palm fruit using γ-radiation treatment and other hurdles have

shown promising results. Thus, it can be concluded that besides ensuring food safety

and security, radiation processing has tremendous potential of extending the shelf-life of

horticulture produce in its fresh or minimally processed form.

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P34

Dosimetric measurements for seed irradiation experiments using pulse electron beam accelerator

Verma V. P., Petwal V. C., Chaudhary R.S., Yadav S., Dwivedi J. and Thakurta A.C. Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore- 452013, India

Email: vijaypal@rrcat.gov.in

A prototype 10 MeV linear pulsed electron accelerator is operational at RRCAT to

deliver wide dose range 50 Gy -500 kGy. Induced mutations using electron & X-rays is

used for improvement of agronomic & other characters in various crop plants. For

mutation breeding studies, the seed samples were to be delivered precise dose in the

range of 100- 800 Gy in varying steps of 25-100 Gy to determine the GD50 and LD50

doses. The B3 (1-100 kGy)/ Gafchromic films (1-1000 Gy) are used which turns

progressively pink/ blue respectively upon exposure to ionizing radiation. The OD is

proportional to absorbed dose. Alanine EPR (50 Gy- 80 kGy) dosimetry system has

also used for precise dose measurement which overall measurement uncertainty is less

than 3%. The electron beam coming out for accelerator window has size 10-15 mm

which dose per pulse was significantly high that is not suitable for seed irradiation. To

cater requirement of low dose irradiation experiments from pulsed electron beam, dual

beam scattering technique with online dose monitoring and controlling is developed to

achieve uniform radiation field with surface dose uniformity within 5% in a region of 15

cm x 15 cm. Precise dose has been delivered by electron beam to the variety of seeds

such as groundnut, wheat, soybeans, moong beans, black gram, linseed etc. for

mutational studies being carried out at BARC.

Availability of dose delivery in wide range has made the accelerator, an excellent tool

for researchers interested in electron/X-ray beam irradiation for different applications.

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P35

Molecular characterization with special reference to Quorum Sensing in Staphylococcus aureus from food and clinical samples

Vehale Sagar S., Deopurkar R.L., Shashidhar R. and Bandekar J.R. Department of Microbiology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune-7

Email: vehalesagar@gmail.com

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the toughest food-borne pathogens responsible for a

variety of infections and toxic syndromes. Moreover, the emergence of antibiotic

resistant Staphylococci is aggravating the epidemiological scenario. It causes skin

inflammations, mastitis, respiratory infections, wound sepsis and toxic shock syndrome.

Staphylococcal Food Poisoning (SFP) is one of the major causes of foodborne

illnesses. Three hundred and twelve food products were evaluated for prevalence of S.

aureus. Total 65 S.aureus isolates were obtained from these food products. Food

isolates were compared with 53 clinical S. aureus isolates with respect to antibiotic

resistance, virulence factors and types of quorum sensing systems. Methicillin

resistance in clinical isolates was three times greater than that of foodborne isolates.

Foodborne isolates were positive for four different enterotoxins genes (sea, seb, sec,

and sed). However, clinical isolates showed presence of sea and seb enterotoxins.

Type-I quorum sensing system was predominant in foodborne as well as clinical

isolates. Thirty clinical isolates and 25 foodborne isolates were positive for type-I

quorum sensing system. None of the isolates was positive for type-IV quorum sensing

system. Interestingly, eight clinical isolates and seven foodborne isolates were negative

for all four quorum sensing systems.

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P36

Insights into wheat – stem rust host-pathogen interaction using microarray analysis

Vishwakarma G. 1, Saini A. 2, Jawali N. 2, Bhardwaj S. C.3 and Das B. K.1

1 Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai

2 Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 3 DWR Regional Station, Flowerdale, Shimla.

Email: gtmvish@barc.gov.in

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the second major crop in India and third worldwide, in

terms of production and acreage of cultivation. Wheat production is affected by many

biotic constraints, of which rusts (stem, leaf, and stripe rust) caused by fungal pathogen

Puccinia spp are most devastating pathogens. Stem rust caused by Puccinia graminis f.

sp. tritici (Pgt) is a potential threat worldwide and can cause up to 100% loss in yield.

For effective control of stem rust, resistance genes (Sr) are deployed using traditional

breeding approaches or by marker assisted selection. However, due to emergence of

new pathotypes many of these resistance genes become susceptible. Hence,

understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in resistance is of utmost importance

for achieving durable resistance. In the present study, microarray analysis was carried

out to get insights into mechanisms responsible for stem rust resistance conferred by an

important stem rust resistance gene Sr24. Two near isogenic wheat varieties viz. C-306

and Unnath C-306 (C-306+Sr24) were injected with Pgt pathotype 7G-11.

Phenotypic observation of disease development in the two varieties was studied up to

14 day post inoculation (dpi). Visible symptoms of disease development started to

appear after 04 dpi in both the varieties. However, after 14 dpi Unnath C-306 showed

resistant type of reaction (minimal growth of fungus), whereas C-306 showed

susceptible reaction (profuse growth of fungus). Microarray analysis of wheat

transcriptome was done at three time points: 0h time-point and 10h, 72h post

inoculation (pi). Results showed only few transcriptomic differences between the two

genotypes at 0h. At 10h pi more than 308 genes were up-regulated in Unnath C-306

(resistant) as compared to C-306 (susceptible), indicative of major defence response

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against pathogen. At 72h pi, number of differentially expressed genes was considerably

reduced. Differentially expressed transcripts in the resistant genotype belonged to

following categories: pathogenesis related (PR) proteins, phytoalexins, transcription

factors, biotic stress, cell membrane transporters, kinases, xylan synthase etc. Many of

these genes are known candidates in disease resistance in plants and may also

contribute to resistance against stem rust pathogen. A significant number of transcripts

are still unannotated in wheat, and hence their role in resistance against stem rust

needs to be studied. Validation of transcription levels of important transcripts is being

carried out using quantitative real time PCR.

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**POSTER SESSION II (P37-P76)

HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

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P37 Microbial biotransformation of caffeine for industrial decaffeination process,

therapeutically valuable products and environmental remediation Adsare Sachin R., Yadav Dharmendra and Talib M. I.

Fermentation and Bioengineering Department, CSIR - Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore.

Email: sach.adsare@gmail.com

The objective of the present study is to investigate the change in caffeine-degrading

abilities of different fungi due to the microbial adaptation against environmental stresses

and to apply this knowledge for large scale production of therapeutic products and to

environmental remediation and industrial decaffeination process. Total 10 caffeine

tolerant fungal strains were isolated from coffee and tea plantation soil samples having

ability to grow in caffeine agar medium (CAM) with high concentration up to 1% and

screened for caffeine degradation in caffeine sucrose liquid (CSL) medium. The caffeine

biotransformed products were determined by using analytical techniques such as TLC,

HPLC and Mass spectroscopy. Results from HPLC data showed that among 10, the

most potent strain was F-7 which was characterized as Fusarium oxysporum showing

81% conversion of caffeine to theophylline compare to other which were less than 50%.

Further biotransformation ability were enhance for strain F-7 by gradually increasing the

caffeine concentration from 0.05% to 0.5% in CLM and CSL media. The potent fungal

strain F-7 shows maximum degradation up to 97% in 120 hours. The degradation of

caffeine with higher theophylline accumulation was optimized by response surface

methodology (RSM) with a four-variable five-level central composite rotatable

experimental design. Optimal conditions for higher caffeine degradation and

theophylline accumulation were pH 7, temperature 250C, inoculum conc. 4.96 x 105

spore/ml and allopurinol conc. 1.66 mM. These caffeine biotransforming strains have

potential use in bio-decaffeination of coffee and tea and their processing waste. Its

ability can be utilized for large scale production of therapeutically important

biotransformed products such as theophylline and other methyl xanthine used in

respiratory disorders and has an anti-cancerous properties.

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P38 Radiation and desiccation response motif mediates radiation induced

gene expression in D. radiodurans Anaganti Narasimha, Basu Bhakti and Apte Shree Kumar

Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai – 400085

Email: anaganti@barc.gov.in

Deinococcus radiodurans is an extremophile that withstands lethal doses of several

DNA damaging agents such as gamma irradiation, UV rays, desiccation and chemical

mutagens. The organism responds to DNA damage by inducing expression of several

DNA repair genes. At least 25 radiation inducible gene promoters harbour a 17 bp

palindromic sequence known as radiation and desiccation response motif (RDRM)

implicated in gamma radiation inducible gene expression. However, mechanistic details

of gamma radiation-responsive up-regulation in gene expression remain enigmatic. The

promoters of highly radiation induced genes ddrB (DR0070), gyrB (DR0906), gyrA

(DR1913), a hypothetical gene (DR1143) and recA (DR2338) from D. radiodurans were

cloned in a green fluorescence protein (GFP)-based promoter probe shuttle vector pKG

and their promoter activity was assessed in both E. coli as well as in D. radiodurans.

The gyrA, gyrB and DR1143 gene promoters were active in E. coli although ddrB and

recA promoters showed very weak activity. In D. radiodurans, all the five promoters

were induced several fold following 6 kGy gamma irradiation. Highest induction was

observed for ddrB promoter (25 fold), followed by DR1143 promoter (15 fold). The

induction in the activity of gyrB, gyrA and recA promoters was 5, 3 and 2 fold,

respectively. To assess the role of RDRM, the 17 bp palindromic sequence was deleted

from these promoters. The promoters devoid of RDRM sequence displayed increase in

the basal expression activity, but the radiation-responsive induction in promoter activity

was completely lost. The substitution of two conserved bases of RDRM sequence

yielded decreased radiation induction of PDR0070 promoter. Deletion of 5 bases from

5’-end of PDR0070 RDRM increased basal promoter activity, but radiation induction

was completely abolished. Replacement of RDRM with non specific sequence of

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PDR0070 resulted in loss of basal expression and radiation induction. The results

demonstrate that the RDRM sequence is essential for radiation-responsive up-

regulation of gene expression during post-irradiation recovery and appears to act as a

negative regulatory element of expression during normal growth.

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P39

Microecology of intestinal digestomes of epigeal termite Odontotermus obesus (Rambur) and their impact on the surrounding

pedons from the Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu

B. Cibichakravarthy and Prabagaran S.R. Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu - 641046

Email: chakravarthybio@gmail.com

The Western Ghats is rich in biodiversity of natural forests with flora and fauna of

various species interspersed over diverse geographical regions. In particular, termites

(Isoptera) are the major ecosystem modulators that are dependent on complex

microbial consortium which assists in the degradation of plant lignocellulose complexes.

Currently, there is limited knowledge on soil mineralogical alteration including the

physical, chemical and biological changes induced in soil by termite nest-building

activity. Therefore, the present study aims at the combined effort to analyse the

structural composition of termitarium and gut microflora of Odontotermes obesus, an

epigeal termite collected from the Siruvani Reserve Forest. To this end, we analysed

the physicochemical and nutritional morphometrics of termitarium and their surrounding

pedons. The results revealed that the physicochemical and the morphological properties

of the mound soils varied from those of adjacent pedons. The Shannon-Weiner diversity

index of the gut bacterial flora was found to be 2.101 while the Simpsons index was

0.141. Further, SEM-EDS results suggest that there is an elevated accumulation of

gold (0.24%) and tungsten (1.79%) in the termitarium when compared to the

surrounding pedons. The FTIR results which confirmed the presence of alkyl halide

stretching moieties (1028.11cm-1) were on par with the samples. Thus, termite nests

act as reliable biological indicators of mineral accumulation. The guild between the

termites and intestinal digestomes is also significant in accumulating high levels of

nutrients, thereby modifying soil properties and mineral contents. It can be concluded

that the termites have a multifaceted role in maintaining the ecosystem.

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P40 Xanthomonas campestris cells undergoing metabolic stress induced

programmed cell death (PCD) displayed the possible existence of extracellular death factor (EDF) in the culture supernatant

Bandyopadhyay N. C., Gautam S. and Sharma A. K. Food technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research centre, Mumbai-400085.

Email: nilantan@barc.gov.in

Xanthomonas campestris cells has been reported in our laboratory, to undergo

programmed cell death like process under various stress conditions, such as nutrient

dependent metabolic stress in protein rich media like Luria Bertani broth and nutrient

broth, as well as oxidative stress including exposure to radiation. Under these

conditions, cells displayed certain well established markers of PCD like activation of

caspase 3 like enzyme, nicking of genomic DNA and externalization of phosphatidyl

serine. The PCD like process was not induced on its natural host i.e. soybean leaves (in

case of X. campestris pv glycines) or in starch medium. Addition of starch or certain

monosaccharides like glucose or mannose was found to inhibit the induction of PCD. In

all these studies, a sub-population of the culture was found to undergo PCD, indicating

the involvement of a possible inter-cellular communication system in this process.

Existence of such signalling compound has been reported earlier in case of E. coli

under antibiotic stress. When the cell free supernatant from a PCD inducing X.

campestris culture was added to a PCD non-inducing media, PCD was found to be

induced. Dialysis of this supernatant resulted in loss of its PCD inducing activity. The

putative extracellular death factor (EDF) was found to be heat sensitive and polar in

nature. The size of this molecule was found to be less than 12 kDa and its absorption

spectrum indicated the possibility of a peptide containing compound.

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P41

Bioinformatic analysis of Escherichia coli promoters for CRISPR-based silencing

Bindal Gargi, Dhamanaskar Ankita, Rath Devashish Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai

Email: gargibindal@gmail.com

CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeats), is a recently

discovered microbial adaptive immune system which protects the host from invading

phages and mobile elements. Three types (I-III) of CRISPR systems have been

identified across a wide range of bacterial species. CRISPR locus is characterized by a)

an array of short repetitive sequences interspaced by unique spacer sequences

(CRISPRs) and b) a cognate set of CRISPR-associated (cas) genes that code for

proteins essential to the immune response. The spacers often derived from nucleic

acids of phages and plasmids, are used to recognize the invaders and destroy them.

The transcript derived from CRISPR locus (crRNA) associates with Cas proteins to form

a surveillance complex. The recognition of the target by the surveillance complex

requires complimentary pairing of crRNA to target DNA as well as the presence of a

signature sequence called the Protospacer Adjacent Motif (PAM). The CRISPR-Cas

systems have been customized for use in genome editing applications and more

recently in silencing of gene expression. Bioinformatic analysis of Escherichia coli

promoters was done to look for conserved motifs that can be utilized for CRISPR-Cas

targeting for expression silencing. A PERL-based program has been designed to find

the PAM (Cascade-mediated targeting) and NGG motifs (for Cas9 mediated targeting)

in any bacterial genome. The program was used to search for these motifs in a

collection of characterized Escherichia coli (MG1655) promoters. The output was used

to identify targets suitable for expression silencing with either Cascade or Cas9 or both.

The analysis showed that certain promoters can be exclusively targeted by either PAM

(Cascade) or NGG (Cas9) motifs. The promoters were clustered to look for conserved

regions which could be potentially co-regulated with CRISPR targeting. However, the

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results showed that the extent of conservation was not sufficient for this purpose. For

any targeted application of CRISPR-Cas system the off-target activity should be

minimized. Hence, we have checked and compared the off-target specificity of PAM and

NGG. This study can be useful to collect and evaluate Escherichia coli promoter

sequences for designing effective targets for transcriptional silencing by Cascade

complex and/or dCas9 as well as for comparison of off-target specificities of Cascade

and dCas9.

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P42

Characterizationof a Salt-Inducible Mn-catalase from the Cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC7120

Chakravarty Dhiman, Banerjee Manisha and Ballal Anand Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Tombay, Mumbai-400

085 Email: dhiman@barc.gov.in

Catalases are enzymes that detoxify hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in various organisms.

Inthe filamentous, heterocystous, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120,

the alr3090 (katB) gene encodes a protein that shows homology to Mn-catalase family

of proteins.The his-tagged KatB protein was over-expressed in E. coli and purified to

near homogeneity by affinity chromatography employing the NiNTA matrix. The purified

protein decomposed H2O2in vitro indicating that KatB was indeed a bona fidecatalase.

Surprisingly, in Anabaena, the katBtranscript was found to be induced in response to

osmotic stress (NaCl/sucrose) but not with H2O2per se. In good agreement with this

result, production of the 25 kDaKatB protein was observed on Western blots when

Anabaena was subjected to NaCl stress. Once synthesized in vivo, the content of the

KatB protein remained fairly constant for 4 days (even after removal of NaCl). The

production of the KatB protein was influenced by the nitrogen status of the medium, with

more KatB being synthesized in nitrogen-supplemented conditions. RACE (rapid

amplification of cDNA ends) analysis identified the KatB transcriptional start to be ~400-

nt upstream of the alr3090 start codon. The alr3090 promoter identified upstream of the

transcriptional start site was fused to gfp gene and introduced into Anabaena.

Interestingly, GFP fluorescence was not observed in heterocysts, indicating that the

katB promoter was active only in the vegetative cells but not in heterocysts.

Remarkably, salt-stressed Anabaena PCC7120 cells, which showed elevated levels of

KatB, tolerated 3-fold more H2O2 than the corresponding untreated cells. Also, the

recombinant AnKatB+ (Anabaena strain over-expressing KatB) showed distinct growth

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advantage over the wild-type Anabaena when treated with H2O2. Finally, the Anabaena

strain lacking the KatB protein was found to be very sensitive to salt stress indicating

that KatB was indispensable for combating salt stress in this cyanobacterium.

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P43

UvrD in Deinococcus radiodurans is optimized for processing G-quadruplex DNA

Das Anubrata, Misra H.S. Molecular Biology Division

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Mumbai- 400085

Email: anubrata@barc.gov.in

Deinococcus radiodurans R1 is a radiation resistant Gram-positive bacterium capable

of tolerating very high doses of DNA-damaging agents such as gamma radiation (D10

~12kGy) desiccation (~ 5% relative humidity), UVC radiation (D10 ~800J/m2) and

hydrogen peroxide (40mM). It achieves this by using a complex regulatory mechanism

and novel proteins. Recently bioinformatic analysis showed several stretches of

guanine runs in D.radiodurans genome, which could form G-quartets. The role of G-

quartets in regulatory processes is well documented in various organisms. The

presence of G –quartets in D. radiodurans means that there are regulatory or structural

proteins which would bind to these elements. Several proteins are known to bind G-

quartets. Finding the proteins which would bind to G4 DNA is difficult as no specific

motifs are available for binding these elements. Also most of the known proteins that

are shown to bind to G-quadruplex DNA are of eukaryotic nature. To overcome these

challenges we defined a set of known G-quadruplex binding proteins and used a smith-

waterman algorithm with our own scoring matrix to homologs of G-quadruplex binding

proteins in D.radiodurans. Using bioinformatics analysis, we showed that UvrD (DR

1775) of D. radiodurans has ability to bind/translocate along G-quadruplex DNA, a

novel feature in prokaryotes. The translocase activity of DR1775 is ATP specific and

this ATPase activity is attenuated by ssDNA. Data supporting UvrD of D. radiodurans

as a G- quadruplex DNA metabolizing proteins would be presented.

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P44 Isolation and screening of drought tolerant Azotobacter and psb from

sorghum rhizosphere [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Monech] Dilpak Shradda

Department of Agricultural Microbiology, MPKV, Rahuri-413722, Maharashtra Email: shraddhadilpak30@gmail.com

The present investigations entitled “Isolation and screening of drought tolerant

Azotobacter and PSB from sorghum rhizosphere” were conducted at Plant pathology,

College of Agriculture, Pune, during 2011-2013. Rhizospheric soil samples of dry-land

sorghum from ten different locations in Solapur district were collected for isolation and

to know the drought tolerance of Azotobacter and PSB isolates.

Out of ten, two soil samples did not show the presence of ‘N’ fixers and PSB.

Eight isolates were studied for their morphological and cultural characteristics. The

screening experiment reveled that, Azotobacter isolate 5 had the higest ‘N’ fixing ability

(31.7 mg / g of sucrose) and PSB isolate 2 had maximum ‘P’ solubilising ability (40.4%)

and zone of clearance (14 mm). Out of all isolates, Azotobacter isolate 5 and PSB

isolate 2 were exhibited beneficial effect with 30 and 50 days dry spell by improving the

growth parameters, soil moisture %, rhizospheric population significantly, thereby

indicating tolerance to moisture stress. In pot culture experiment, dual inoculation of

Azotobacter and PSB isolates with 50 days dry spell recorded significant effect over the

commercial inoculants ‘either single’ or ‘in combination’ and control in respect of growth

parameters. Higher moisture level was recorded at harvest with 50 days dry spell than

30 days dry spell. Dual inoculation of Azotobacter isolate 5 and PSB 2 significantly

increased ‘N’ fixation and ‘P’ solubilization in soil over control but were found to be at

par with commercial inoculants.

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P45

RNA-Seq analysis of D. radiodurans find non coding RNAs expressed in response to radiation stress

Gadewal Nikhil and Mukhopadhyaya Rita Bioinformatics centre, ACTREC, Tata Memorial Centre, Sector-22, Kharghar, Navi

Mumbai-410210 Email: ngadewal@actrec.gov.in

In bacteria discovery of functional RNA molecules that are not translated into protein,

noncoding RNAs, became possible with advent of Next Generation Sequencing

technology. Bacterial non coding RNAs are typically 50 - 300 nucleotides long and work

as internal signals controlling various levels of gene expression. Deep sequencing of

total cellular RNA captures all coding and noncoding transcripts with their differential

levels of expression in the transcriptome. It provides a powerful approach to study

bacterial gene expression and mechanisms of gene regulation.

We subjected the 3 h transcriptome of Deinococcus radiodurans R1 cells post exposure

to 6 KGy gamma radiation to 100 x 2 cycles of deep sequencing on the Illumina HiSeq

2000 to look for ncRNA transcripts. Bioinformatics pipeline for analysis and

interpretation of RNA Seq data was done in house using Softwares available in public

domains. Our sequence data aligned with 21 putative ncRNAs expressed in the

intergenic regions of annotated genome of D radiodurans. Verification of 2 ncRNA

candidates and 3 transcription factor genes by Real Time PCR confirmed presence of

these transcripts in the 3 h transcriptome sequenced by us. Any relationship between

ncRNAs and control of radiation induced gene expression in D radiodurans can be

proved only after specific gene knock outs in future.

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P46

Development of a sensitive nucleic acid amplification assay for detection of SV40 for viral clearance studies in cell lines of human or

animal origin

Gomes David Gomutinayagam Dept. of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Matunga, Mumbai.

Email: davidgomes42@yahoo.com

Viral clearance studies are preconditions that require testing of biopharmaceuticals prior

to its market approval by regulatory agencies that license therapeutics. Although a wide

array of techniques have been employed for detection of viral contaminants, PCR based

testing offers ease of cost effectiveness, rapidity, greater reliability and specificity. A gel-

based PCR assay has been developed aiding viral clearance studies for detection of

Simian Virus–40 (SV–40) in mammalian cell lines such as Human Embryonic Kidney

(HEK) cell lines. The consensus regions of the highly conserved genes that are

essentially critical to the viral particles are targeted in the assay as potential genetic

markers. Virus specific oligonucleotides were designed for detection of SV40. Plasmids

harbouring the gene fragments targeted have been developed as reference positive

controls for the PCR assay. Investigations of three HEK cell lines procured from

different sources were carried out for detection of proviral DNA. These cell lines were

however, found to be negative on testing with the PCR assay in comparison with the

reference control developed. COS-7 cell lines known to contain a single integrated copy

of SV40 genome yielded a positive result, authenticating the validity of primers

designed. Thus, the PCR assay can be potentially exploited towards testing of

mammalian cell substrates used for industrial production, media supplements and

reagents employed in production and also for virus spike recovery experiments (if

coupled to RT-PCR) aiding clearance studies.

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P47

Endophytic Fusarium species producing antiobesity molecule similar to its host plant

Gupta Mahiti, Saxena Sanjai and Goyal Dinesh Department of Biotechnology, Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab, 147004

Email: mahitigupta@gmail.com

Aegle marmelos is a sacred plant with rich medicinal properties from its root to tip and is

native to India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, etc. Various parts of this plant have been used in

Ayurvedic and Unani medicinal preparations to treat diabetes, diarrhoea, dysentery and

dyspeptic symptoms. Recently the leaf extract of the plant has been reported to

possess strong anti-obesity potential. Endophytes are considered fountain heads of new

bioactive molecules because of their special ability to mimic the biological properties of

their host plant. Based on this hypothesis, we screened 125 endophytic fungal isolates

from Aegle marmelos for their pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity using chromogenic

olive plate assays. 12 endophytic fungi showed 35-100% inhibition of the pancreatic

lipase. Endophytic fungal isolate #6 AMLWLS exhibited excellent lipase inhibitory

activity. Spectrophotometrically the inhibitory concentration (IC50) of #6 AMLWLS was

found to be 2.12 µg ml-1 which is better than commercially available drug orlistat (IC50

= 2.79 µg ml-1) under in vitro conditions. The bioactive metabolite was tetra-peptide in

nature based on biochemical and analytical analysis. The bioactive fungus was

identified as Fusarium incarnatum based on molecular and morphotaxonomic approach.

Thus from the above results, we can conclude that Fusarium species, an endophyte of

Aegle marmelos is mimicking the biological property of its host and it is an excellent

example host parasite endosymbiosis relationship.

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P48

Bacillus species as an intrinsic controller of fungal deterioration of archival documents

Jacob Salgo Merin, Bhagwat A.M. and Kelkar-Mane Varsha University Department of Biotechnology, University of Mumbai, Vidyanagari, Kalina,

Santacruz (E), Mumbai-400098, India. Email: varshakelkar@rediffmail.com

Mankind has strived to pass on their knowledge to the forthcoming generations from the

beginning. Besides environmental and chemical factors; biodeterioration of these

archives due to fungal genera like Aspergillus, Penicillium and Cladosporium is a cause

of alarm for libraries as well as archives all over the globe. The present study samples

18th as well as 19th century maps and daptars to isolate varied microbial types and

understand their interactions within that niche. Approximately 55 bacteria and 20 fungi

were isolated from the archival documents. Fungi mainly belonging to the genera

Aspergillus, Penicillium, Trichoderma and Cladosporium were isolated. Amongst the

array of microbial isolates two species Bacillus licheniformis HD2 and Bacillus subtilis

BHM were found to inhibit sporulation as well as growth of Aspergillus and

Cladosporium sp, thus indicating the presence of an intrinsic control of fungal

deteriogens on paper. The present study investigates the antifungal as well as

antibacterial potential of B. licheniformis HD2 (NCBI accession number KM999221),

isolated from one such archival document. With a view to identify its active principal,

partial purification, gel electrophoresis as well as bio-autography was carried out. A 20

kDa extracellular protein with wide range of temperature and pH stability was found to

be the antifungal component secreted by this novel strain B. licheniformis HD2.

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P49

Antimicrobial and mycofumigation potential of endophytic Muscodor species from Western Ghats of India

Kapoor Neha, Meshram Vineet and Saxena Sanjai Department of Biotechnology, Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab, 147004

Email: nehakapoor@thapar.edu

Mycofumigation is the use of antimicrobial volatiles produced by fungi such as

Muscodor species for the control of pathogenic microorganism. In the current study, a

volatile producing endophytic Muscodor species (#16 AMLWLS) was isolated from the

leaf tissues of Aegle marmelos from Western Ghats of India. The VOCs produced by

this fungus when exposed to a spectrum of 36 plant and human pathogenic

microorganisms in a VOC stress bioassay, the growth of 28 pathogens were completely

hindered where as the growth of five microorganisms was retarded by 35-60% and rest

remained unaffected. Botrytis cinerea wounded fruits when kept inside a 10×20 cm box

and exposed to the volatiles produced by #16 AMLWLS, the fruits remained fresh and

unaffected till 10th day of incubation. Similarly when wheat grain colonized Muscodor

species was tested under similar condition complete inhibition of B. cinerea was

observed thereby confirming the shielding effect of VOCs to the tested fruits. The GC-

MS analysis of the VOCs exhibited that the fungus produces mixture of 21 volatile

compounds predominantly producing 3-cyclohexen-1-ol,1-(1,5-dimethyl-4-hexenyl)-4-

methyl; 1,6-dioxacyclododecane- 7,12-dione and 4-octadecylmorpholine. Further the

fungus was identified as novel Muscodor species based on its morphological, molecular

and biochemical features. Thus it can be concluded that volatiles produced by

Muscodor species possess significant mycofumigation potential which can be further

applied for preventing the decay of commercially important fruits and vegetables.

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P50

Effect of speciation of uranium on localisation of uranyl phosphate precipitate in recombinant D. radiodurans expressing PhoN/PhoK Kulkarni Sayali, Misra Chitra Seetharam, Gupta Alka, Ballal Anand and Apte Shree

Kumar Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic research Centre, Mumbai- 400085.

Email: saykul@barc.gov.in

Phosphatase mediated enzymatic bioprecipitation of uranium (U) as insoluble uranyl

phosphate is an attractive bioremediation strategy. Earlier PhoN (a non specific acid

phosphatse) was cloned and over-expressed in Deinococcus radiodurans to achieve

bioprecipitation of U from acidic to neutral conditions. Similarly, a phoK gene encoding

an alkaline phosphatase has now been cloned and overexpressed in this microbe for

bioprecipitation of U from alkaline waste solutions. In case of Deino-PhoK strain, a high

phosphatase activity was detected in the spent medium, while Deino-PhoN cells did not

show any activity in the spent medium, suggesting that PhoK is extracellular in nature

while PhoN is not. Deino-PhoN cells, when incubated with 1 mM uranyl nitrate (pH 6.8)

and 5 mM β-GP as substrate, showed cell surface bound spicule-like precipitate in

SEM/TEM. In contrast Deino-PhoK cells, exposed to 1 mM uranyl carbonate (pH 9) and

5 mM β-GP, showed extracellular precipitate in solution. Localisation of uranyl

phosphate precipitate depended on the precipitation conditions and Deino-PhoN cells

displayed distinct extracellular precipitate crystals with uranyl carbonate (pH 9), while

Deino-PhoK cells clearly displayed cell surface bound crystals of uranyl phosphate,

when employed with uranyl nitrate (pH 6.8). These results suggest that differential

localisation of precipitate may not be affected by localisation of the enzyme alone, but is

mainly governed by the species of uranium being used (which is also dependent on

pH). This work provides a graphic understanding of pH-dependent interactions of

uranium with D. radiodurans cell surfaces.

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P51

In vitro analysis of autoproteolytic activity of LexA of Anabaena PCC 7120

Kumar Arvind and Rajaram Hema Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai –

400085. Email: parvind@barc.gov.in

The nitrogen fixing, photosynthetic cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120

exhibits high tolerance to several abiotic stresses such as radiation and desiccation

stress and is speculated to have an efficient DNA repair system. One of the key

regulators of DNA repair genes in bacteria is LexA, which regulates more than 30 genes

involved in SOS response in Escherichia coli. In Anabaena 7120, the ORF ‘alr4908’

codes for LexA protein. Anabaena LexA shows 54% similarity with E. coli LexA.

Anabaena LexA possesses the conserved cleavage site residues i.e. Ala84-Gly85 as

well as catalytic residues S118 and K159, suggesting that it is a cleavable protein.

Autoproteolytic cleavage of Anabaena LexA was analysed as a function of pH.

Cleavage was initiated at pH 8.5 and the rate increased with increasing pH. The

cleavage was found to be optimal at temperature range of 30°C-47°C and enhanced in

the presence of Ca2+. In order to know the residues involved in autoproteolytic

cleavage, mutants of Anabaena LexA protein were generated. Different LexA protein

mutants were generated to identify the residues involved in cleavage. The data revealed

the importance of the residues A84, G85, 86GLI88, E96, S118 and K159 in the pH-

dependent cleavage of Anabaena LexA.

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P52

Gamma ray induced oxidative damage to human red blood cells proteins under hypotonic conditions and its prevention by natural

phenolic malabaricone compounds

K. Meenakshi1 and Chattopadhyay Subrata2

1N. E. S. Ratnam College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Mumbai – 400 078, India 2Associate Director, Bio-Organic Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai –

400 085, India Email: hibicus1966@yahoo.com

As an oxygen shuttle, Human RBCs must continue to perform the task while being

exposed to a wide range of environments for each vascular circuit and to a variety of

xenobiotics across its life time. The inability to synthesise new protein makes them

uniquely vulnerable to oxidative stress. Antioxidants can help in protecting the RBCs

from oxidative insults. Currently herbal antioxidants gained worldwide popularity as

drugs and food/drug supplements for the treatment of various diseases. The present

effort was aimed at formulating some natural phenolic compounds isolated from

M.malabarica (mal B & mal C) to prevent the biochemical parameters which are

considered as biomarkers of redox balance primarily contribute to alterations in red

blood cells proteins during gamma radiation induced oxidative stress. Compared to

control gamma ray treatment with hypotonic stress resulted in significant haemolysis,

associated with increased MDA (3.3 fold, p<0.001) and met- haemoglobin (7.0 fold,

p<0.001). The structural deformation due to membrane damage was confirmed from

SEM images and Heinz body formation, while the cell permeability was evident from the

K+ efflux (30.4%, p<0.05) and increased intracellular Na+ concentration (5.2%, p<0.05).

The membrane damage, due to the reduction of the cholesterol/ phospholipids ratio and

depletion (p<0.001) of ATP, 2,3- DPG by54.7% and Na+-K+ ATPase activity (48.%)

indicated loss of RBC functionally. Pre-treatment of the RBCs with mal B (5µM), mal C

(2.5 µM) or vitamin E (50 µM) for 1 h reversed these adverse effects of gamma radiation

under hypotonic conditions on all these parameters and provided significant protection

against oxidative haemolysis.

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P53

Antimutagenicity of spinach naphthoquinone extract using Escherichia coli RNA polymerase B (rpoB) based RifS to RifR

(rifampicin sensitive to resistant) forward mutation assay Kumar Sanjeev and Gautam Satyendra

Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400 085, India E. mail: sanjeev@barc.gov.in

Mutations are an important cause of the initiation and progression of many diseases,

including atherosclerosis, heart diseases, and cancer. Phytochemicals that reduce

mutagenesis may offer preventive potential to these diseases. There are limited reports

on antimutagenicity of naphthoquinone extracted from its rich sources such as spinach,

lettuce, iceberg lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, and French bean. Thus, antimutagenic

activity of naphthoquinone extracts from these plants were analyzed using rifampicin

resistance assay which measures acquisition of rifampicin resistance by

Escherichia coli cells due to mutations in the rpoB gene, which encodes the β

subunit of RNA polymerase. The antimutagenicity ranged between 1-72% and was

found to be highest with naphthoquinone extract from spinach. The naphthoquinone

extract from spinach which displayed high antimutagenicity was analyzed for its

bioactive compound. HPLC analysis of the naphthoquinone extract revealed a major

peak at Rt: 7.3 min. During TLC analysis, a fluorescent compound at Rf: 0.93 was

observed. The TLC eluted compound displayed ~58 and 77% antimutagenicity at 1 and

2 mg/ml against ethyl methanesolfonate (EMS) induced mutagenesis, respectively.

Biochemical tests for quinone, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and

proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy indicated the possible

structure of the bioactive compound from spinach as ethoxy substituted phylloquinone

derivative.

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P54

Utilization of Bio-waste to Synthesize Biocompatible Silver Nanoparticles: Its Characterization and Bio-efficacy

Kumar Vivekanand, Chatterjee Suchandra, Variyar Prasad S. Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085

Email: vkumar200207@gmail.com

A simple, biocompatible, eco-friendly method for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles

(NPs) has been developed using bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) peel extract as a

reducing and capping agent. Optimized condition for green synthesis was obtained

when 3% solution of peel extract was added in 0.01 M AgNO3 at 65°C for 5 hours.

The synthetic procedure was monitored using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy,

dynamic light scattering (DLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM). The as-synthesized

silver NPs were of single crystalline phase with a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure and

having size in the range of 5-40 nm with spherical morphology revealed by X-ray

diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM)

respectively.

Cell toxicity was evaluated through changes in cell morphology and cell viability in two

cell lines namely WI-38, a normal human lung fibroblast and L-132, a normal human

embryonic lung epithelial cell line (MTT assay). Results showed that cell viability level

was decreased rapidly in WI-38 cell lines while L-132 cell line was less affected at the

same concentration level and even tolerated high dose of silver nanoparticle which

increased in dose dependent manner.

These particles also showed promising cell viability at reasonable concentrations in

normal human cell lines for the first time. The silver nanoparticles treatment at

concentrations 25, 50 and 75 µg/ml on apoptosis of A549-p53-KD and A549-p53-WT

cells was enhanced by 21%, 25% and 66% and 16%, 18% and 21% respectively when

carried out the sub-G1 population using flow cytometer. These observations have

implications in understanding the basic interactions between nanomaterials and live

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systems and have a huge impact on the fields of nanomedicine and nanobiology. These

results might even propose a new method by which silver NPs used alone as an

anticancer therapeutic material if conjugated to the proper nuclear-targeting ligands.

The antibacterial activity of silver NPs was investigated against some pathogenic

bacteria such as S.aures, B.cerus, E.coli, and S.typhi. The results showed that some

pathogenic bacteria were highly inhibited in a concentration dependent manner while

others were less affected. Among these bacterial strains S.typhi was most susceptible

to silver NPs followed by S. aures and E.coli. In contrast, B. cerus was least prone

towards silver NPs and gave zone of inhibition at a higher concentration of silver NPs (4

mg/ml). Morphological properties of silver NPs known to affect antimicrobial activity are

due to silver ion release. Presence of higher zone of inhibition at lower concentration in

S. typhi showed its vulnerability and could provide an effective solution against S. typhi

infection.

Thus green synthesized silver NPs developed using bottle gourd peel extract may have

potential utility as antimicrobial, non-toxic and anticancer agents in commercialized

products

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P55

Enrichment of ammonia oxidizing archaea (AoAs) with continuous up-flow reactors from paddy field soil

Markande Anoop R., Keluskar Radhika P., Mishra Saurabh S., Karunasagar I. and Nayak Binaya B.

Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Seven Bunglows, Mumbai-400061. Email: amarkande83@gmail.com

Archaea were traditionally considered extremophiles. The discovery and further

understanding of ammonia oxidizing archaea (AoAs) have changed this concept. They

are now known to be ubiquitous and can live in unusual environment. Culture of

ammonia oxidizing archaea is very difficult. They have been so far reported in

enrichment eight times around the world and only two have been obtained in pure form.

Two continuous up-flow reactors were setup with dry and wet paddy field soils and run

continuously with synthetic effluent containing 1mM ammonia. Their microbial presence

was checked at 30 days interval using archaeal and bacterial 16S rRNA and amoA

gene amplification. The gradual weakening and disappearance of bacteria specific

bands on 60th day in wet-soil reactor and 90th day in dry-soil reactor indicated consistent

loss of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOBs) from the system. The archaeal amplification

on the other hand, not only persisted but also became stronger, beyond 60 and 90 days

indicating enrichment of archaea. This population shift in the reactor systems was

confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) studies. Ammonia and

nitrite were measured during the sampling days indicated good remediation ability of the

enriched consortia in the systems.

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P56

The utility of Hpi, the Surface layer protein of D. radiodurans in metal removal from solutions

Misra Chitra Seetharam, Udas Ambuja C, Soundarajan Suvarna, Basu Bhakti and Apte Shree Kumar

Molecular Biology division, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai-400085. Email: chitras@barc.gov.in

Surface (S) layer proteins form the outermost proteinaceous coat in many bacteria and

are present as a regularized array on cell surfaces. The S layer protein of Deinococcus

radiodurans, Hpi was isolated and evaluated for its ability to bind uranium and cadmium.

The Hpi protein could bind around 37% of 1 mM input uranium, resulting in a loading of

around 166 µg uranium/mg Hpi protein, while it did not bind any cadmium. Wild type

cells bound almost two times more uranium than Hpi mutant cells, HMR202, resulting in

a loading of 113 mg uranium/g dry weight cells compared to only 50 mg uranium/g dry

weight of cells bound by HMR202 cells. The hpi ORF was fused to the gene coding for

SmtA, a metallothionien from Synechococcus elongatus and expressed in D.

radiodurans. The Hpi-SmtA fusion protein localized to the cell membrane in

recombinant cells. Such cells removed cadmium from solution to yield a loading of 1.2

mg Cd/g dry weight cells while cells expressing SmtA alone or Hpi alone yielded a

loading of 0.5 mg Cd/g dry weight cells. This showed that surface display of SmtA by

tagging to Hpi increased cadmium binding ability of recombinant D. radiodurans cells.

Thus while the presence of Hpi protein on Deinococcal cell surface contributed to

uranium binding by wild type cells; fusion of the Hpi protein to SmtA by genetic

engineering enhanced the cadmium binding ability of recombinant cells.

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P57

Mycoflora of Eichhornia crassipes infesting Harike wetland and their pathogenicity for prospective application as biological control agents

Meshram Vineet1, Singh Birinderjit2 and Saxena Sanjai1 Department of Biotechnology, Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab, 147004

Department of Civil Engineering, Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab, 147004 Email: vinitmeshramtiet@gmail.com

Water hyacinth is an invasive and noxious aquatic weed posing serious economic and

environmental problems. Water hyacinth continues to be a serious problem in Harike

wetland area, a Ramsar site created in 1953 at the confluence of rivers Sutlej and Beas

in Punjab, India. The present work represents the mycobiota associated with Eichhornia

crassipes infesting Harike wetland and evaluation of their pathogenic potential for their

futuristic application as an innundative biocontrol agent. Out of 29 isolates tested, the

spore suspension of #8 BJSSL exhibited 100% mortality after 144 hours post treatment

(hpt). The symptoms include chlorosis of the leaves and appearance of black and brown

spots due to necrosis. The area under disease progressive curve also indicated #8

BJSSL to be the most pathogenic isolate followed by #7 BJSSL and #5 BJSSL. In the

whole plant bioassay, the disease onset began after 48 hpt. 50% damage of the whole

plants was observed at 84 hpt and above 90% death by 144 hpt after spore application.

Further, when the culture filtrate of #8 BJSSL was sprayed, the phytotoxic symptoms

started appearing after 48 hpt and complete death occurred by 144 hpt. #8 BJSSL was

found to be host specific and did not cause infection to other economically important

crops and plants when tested under in vitro conditions. #8 BJSSL was identified as

Phaeoacremonium rubrigenum based on molecular and morphotaxonomy. Thus the

biological control method is an effective and a host specific approach to manage and

rejuvenate the water bodies of Punjab.

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P58

Sensitivity of planktonic and biofilm-associated Aeromonas spp. to Ionizing Radiation

Nagar Vandan and Bandekar J. R. Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai - 400085, India.

Email: vnagar@barc.gov.in

Genus Aeromonas has emerged as an important human pathogen because it causes a

variety of diseases including gastroenteritis and extra-intestinal infections. Aeromonas

have the ability to adhere and form biofilms on food surfaces and food contact surfaces.

Biofilm formation on foods and food contact surfaces is the major reason for

contamination, cross contamination and post-processing contamination of the final food

product leading to food spoilage, product rejection, economic losses and food-borne

diseases. Biofilms have shown high resistance to heat, desiccation, acidic condition,

high salt concentration, antibiotics and other food preservatives. Earlier studies in our

laboratory have shown that ionizing radiation effectively inactivates Aeromonas in

different food products. However, the relative efficacy of this process against biofilm-

associated cells versus free-living planktonic cells of Aeromonas is not well

documented. Therefore, the dose of gamma radiation required to reduce the population

by 90% (D10) was calculated for planktonic and biofilm-associated A. salmonicida Y567

and A. hydrophila A331 cells. Both A. hydrophila A331 and A. salmonicida Y567

expressed significant ability to attach and grow on glass surface following incubation at

30°C in TSB. Ionizing radiation effectively reduced the populations of both planktonic

and biofilm-associated cells for both the strains. Mean cell counts of survivors and

surviving fraction of planktonic and biofilm-associated cells decreased with increased

irradiation doses. The D10 values of planktonic cells and biofilm cells for A. salmonicida

(Y567) were 232.65 Gy and 248.41 Gy, respectively; whereas, the D10 values of

planktonic cells and biofilm cells for A. hydrophila (A331) were 249.2 Gy and 240.2 Gy

respectively. No significant difference in the D10 values of planktonic and biofilm-

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associated Aeromonas was observed. The influence of the cultured state of the

organism, i.e., planktonic versus biofilm associated Aeromonas cells, on radiation

sensitivity is isolate specific.

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P59

Incidence, antibiotic resistance and molecular characterization of micro-organisms isolated from chicken

Naik Onkar1, Shashidhar R.2, Bandekar J. R.2 and Rath Archana1

1Department of Biotechnology, University of Mumbai, Vidyanagari, Santacruz (East), Mumbai-400098, INDIA.

2Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai-400085, INDIA

E-mail: arath09@gmail.com

With the increase in use/mis-use of antibiotics there has been a phenomenal rise in the

incidences of antibiotic resistance and emergence of antibiotic resistant (AR)

pathogens. These AR pathogens do not respond to conventional antibiotic treatment

underscoring the need for new antibiotics and better understanding of origin of antibiotic

resistance.

Antibiotics are widely used for growth promotion, disease prophylaxis, metaphylaxis and

for treatment in animal husbandry. Such extensive use of antibiotics in animal food can

indirectly lead to antibiotic resistance in humans and is a concern for human health.

Food-chain is the major route for the introduction of animal and environment

associated AR bacteria into humans. Food-producing animals, including swine, poultry,

and cattle, account for reservoirs of AR bacteria, that can spread via undercooked food

and cross-contaminationof workers hands, working equipment and utensils. Once inside

the human body, AR traits of these resistant bacteria get transferred to commensals of

human gastro-intestinal tract, leading to higher antibiotic resistance in humans.

The vast majority of micro-organisms are non-pathogenic, yet they contribute to the

evolution of antibiotic resistance in pathogens by horizontal gene transfer mechanisms.

Therefore it is necessary to study the antibiotic resistance pattern of total microbial

population (including pathogenic, non-pathogenic; both culturable and non-culturable).

In the present study common antibiotic resistance of micro-organisms from poultry in

and around Mumbai has been investigated and the resistant genes characterized at the

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molecular level. Both conventional culture methods as well as metagenomic analysis

has been used in order to target the total pool of AR micro-organisms. The study will

lead to an understanding of the type, distribution, and horizontal transfer of AR genes of

food origin. This will further help in developing strategies to counteract spread of food

associated AR micro-organisms.

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P60

SRM assay designing for Deinococcus radiodurans radiation responsive proteins

Padwal Mahesh and Basu Bhakti Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai –

400085 Email: padwalmk@gmail.com

Deinococcus radiodurans is a robust organism, with extraordinary ability to tolerate

various DNA damaging stresses such as exposure to ionizing radiation, desiccation,

chemical mutagens etc. Gamma radiation stress responsive changes in gene

expression have been well studies and detected by transcriptomic and proteomic based

approaches. These approaches have revealed presence of an extraordinary and

sequential DNA repair mechanism that utilizes both gamma-irradiation induced as well

as constitutive proteins. However, response of the organism to the other DNA damaging

stresses is not yet investigated in details. Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) is a mass

spectrometry-based targeted proteomics approach which measures the change in the

abundance of selected proteins of user interest. Here, we have designed SRM assay for

selected target proteins which are known to be differentially expressed in response to

DNA damage inflicted by gamma irradiation. For SRM designing, MS/MS spectra for all

Deinococcus radiodurans proteins were downloaded from the NIST mass spectrometry

peptide library database and filtered using the SKYLINE tool to select best 3 transitions

for each protein of interest, on the basis of the peak intensity ranking. SRM assay

transition list was then used to design SRM method. The SRM assay, reported here, is

an independent platform and can be used for further validation and refinement. It could

be further applied to quantitate differential expression of selected proteins of

Deinococcus radiodurans to other DNA damaging stresses.

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P61

Crystal structure of FrnE, a disulfide oxidoreductase from Deinococcus radiodurans

Panicker Lata1, Bihani Subhash Chandra1, Misra Hari Sharan2, and Kumar Vinay1 1Solid State Physics Division, 2Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research

Centre (BARC), Trombay, Mumbai - 400085, India Email: lata@barc.gov.in

Deinococcus radiodurans is an extremophile, which shows unparalleled resistance to

ionizing radiation and oxidative stress. Recently, it has been argued that the protection

of proteins from oxidative damage is the key to radiation resistance shown by D.

radiodurans. Dsb (for disulfide bond) proteins have been shown to be the part of cell

machineries that protect proteins from oxidative damage in other systems. Dsb proteins

have been best characterized in Escherichia coli, and six members named DsbA to

DsbE and DsbG have been identified in different bacteria. Dsb proteins are part of the

thioredoxin superfamily, which is characterised by a conserved thioredoxin fold and a

thiol rich active site motif CXXC. The genome of Deinococcus shows presence of FrnE,

a Dsb protein homologue potentially providing oxidative stress tolerance to the

bacterium. FrnE has been shown to be involved in cadmium tolerance, radiation

resistance and oxidative stress protection. However, the exact mechanism how drFrnE

provide oxidative stress tolerance is not known and therefore structure elucidation of

drFrnE was undertaken. We have elucidated the crystal structure of FrnE at a resolution

of 1.6Å. The present model is refined to high precision with Rfactor of 15.9%. The X-ray

diffraction intensity data was collected at Protein Crystallography Beamline (BL-21),

Indus-2, RRCAT, Indore. The structure shows a fold which is similar to DsbA like

proteins but with a unique C-terminal domain that possibly is involved in the regulation

of enzyme activity. FrnE was also studied using several other techniques such as

Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC), Circular

Dichroism (CD) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). DLS and SEC data

suggest that FrnE is a homodimer differentiating it from DsbA like proteins which are

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monomers. Crystal structure analysis suggests that the unique C-terminal domain is

potentially involved in the dimerisation of FrnE. Melting temperature analysis using CD

and DSC reveals that active site cysteines in purified FrnE is in disulfide bonded form.

In the crystal structure also, Cys22 and Cys25 are found to be in disulfide bonded form.

FrnE has also been crystallized in presence of different reducing agents. These

structures shall help in detailed understanding of the disulfide bond formation (Dsb)

system and its role in oxidative stress tolerance in bacteria belonging to the

Deinococcaceae family.

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P62

In vitro characterization of chaperonin activity of two Hsp60 chaperonins from the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain L-31

Potnis Akhilesh Ashok Rajaram Hema, Apte Shree K. Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai –

400085. Email: potnisaa@barc.gov.in

Hsp60 proteins, though designated as Heat Shock Proteins, are expressed under most

abiotic stresses in nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, Anabaena. In general, Hsp60 proteins

act as molecular chaperonins aiding in the correct folding of non-native protein

substrates. The nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium, Anabaena L-31 has two Hsp60

proteins, 59 kDa GroEL coded by the second gene of groESL operon and 61 kDa

Cpn60 coded by the cpn60 gene, both essential for stress tolerance. Biochemical

characterisation of the two proteins revealed (i) GroEL forms a multimer (>12-mer)

similar to most bacterial GroEL proteins, while Cpn60 exhibited only a monomeric form,

(ii) GroEL exhibited superior chaperonin activity assessed in terms of the ability to refold

thermally and chemically denatured Malate Dehydrogenase (MDH). Thermally

denatured MDH possessing <40% activity could be refolded to regain >90% activity in

the presence of GroEL, while Cpn60 could aid in restoring only 60% activity. However,

the ability of the two proteins to aid in refolding of chemically denatured MDH was

similar. Though, GroEL and Cpn60 co-exist in vivo, in vitro Cpn60 inhibited the refolding

ability of GroEL. The heptameric GroES of Anabaena did not aid refolding by either of

the two Hsp60 proteins in vitro, and no did not contribute to the enhanced

thermotolerance of recombinant Anabaena cells upon overexpression of GroEL

assessed in vivo. The role of GroES and ATP in aiding refolding of denatured

substrates by GroEL may have been added during the course of evolution, thus aiding

in refolding of even extensively denatured substrates by GroEL in bacteria

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P63

N-Terminal processing of MnSOD is essential for conferring oxidative stress tolerance in nitrogen fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena 7120

Raghavan S.Prashanth, Rajaram Hema and Apte S.K. MBD, BARC, Trombay, Mumbai-400085.

Email: prash@barc.gov.in

Anabaena PCC7120, a nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium, posseses a membrane-

targeted and 30 kDa Mn-superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), that undergoes cleavage

proteolytically resulting in 24 and 27 kDa forms. These are forms are present in the

cytosol and thylakoid /periplasmic lumen. The cleavage of signal and linker peptides at

the N-terminus differs depending on N-status during growth. While under nitrogen-fixing

conditions, the 24 and 27 kDa forms are present in near equal proportions, the 24 kDa

form is more predominant under nitrogen-supplemented conditions. The role of these

individual cleaved forms of MnSOD to oxidative stress tolerance was studied by using

recombinant Anabaena strains overexpressing either different molecular forms of

MnSOD or MnSOD defective in cleavage of signal/linker peptide and subjecting each of

these recombinant strains to MV mediated oxidative stress. Membrane targeting of

MnSOD and subsequent cleavage and release of both the lower forms conferred better

oxidative stress tolerance under nitrogen-fixing conditions. However, under nitrogen-

supplemented conditions, the cleavage of linker peptide was required, and the cytosolic

24 kDa form of MnSOD was preferred for oxidative stress tolerance. Such preference

for the cytosolic 24 kDa MnSOD under nitrogen supplemented conditions possibly has

given rise for the presence of only the cytosolic Mn/FeSOD in most non-nitrogen-fixing

cyanobacterial strains, though certain exceptions do exist. The differential contribution

of two distinct forms of MnSOD to oxidative stress tolerance based on nitrogen status

can be used to generate recombinant Anabaena strains as per the need i.e. in

agricultural fields contaminated with weedicide or for bioremediation, since oxidative

stress is perceived under these conditions.

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P64

Molecular basis of TBP biodegradation in Sphingobium sp. strain RSMS

R. Shyam Sunder 1, Basu Bhakti1, Muralidharan Bindu2, Tripathi S. C.2 and Apte S. K.1 1 Molecular Biology Division, 2 Fuel Reprocessing Division, Bhabha Atomic Research

centre, Mumbai Email: shyams@barc.gov.in

A tributyl phosphate (TBP) non-degrading mutant SS22 was obtained in Sphingobium

sp. RSMS by Tn5 mutaganesis. Unlike the RSMS strain, the mutant SS22 did not

degrade TBP or dibutyl phosphate (DBP) and could not use them as the sole source of

carbon or phosphate. Gas chromatography revealed that the mutant SS22 did not

generate any intermediates or products of the TBP or DBP degradation, namely DBP,

butanol or inorganic phosphate. Protein profiling by two-dimensional electrophoresis

showed absence of two proteins in mutant SS22 in comparison to wild type. Peptide

mass finger printing by MALDI-TOF-MS showed similarity of these proteins to

phosphohydrolase and exopolyphosphate like proteins, which respectively show

phosphodiesterase (PDE) and phosphomonoesterase (PME) like activities in other

bacteria. Mutant SS22 showed no measurable activity towards phosphodietsers (Bis-

pNPP) or monoesters (pNPP) at pH 7. Cell free extracts of mutant SS22 showed ~5 and

~2 times less DBP (phosphodietser) or MBP (phosphomonoester) degradation activity,

respectively, in comparison to the wild type. The unraveled biochemical pathway of TBP

degradation strongly suggests involvement of phosphoesterases in TBP/DBP

degradation. The proteomic data and absence of PME/PDE activities in the mutant

revealed potential candidate proteins likely to be involved in TBP/DBP degradation in

this microbe.

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P65

Mechanism of cadmium tolerance and bioaccumulation by Providencia rettgeri KDM3, a novel heavy metal tolerant bacterium

Salaskar Darshana, Ghosh Sukhendu, Gupta Alka and Kale Sharad Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,

Trombay, Mumbai. Email: darshanasalaskar@gmail.com

Cadmium is one of the most toxic heavy metal that is widely used in industrial

processes. Causes of ionic Cd2+ contamination in soil are excessive use of phosphate

fertilizers, industrial emission and disposal of sewage sludge and electronic components

including batteries. Microorganisms living in heavy metal polluted soils have evolved

different cellular and molecular mechanisms to adapt and survive in these harsh

environments. In an effort to explore the Cd resistance mechanism of a previously

identified metal tolerant organism Providencia rettgeri KDM3, protein expression studies

and electron microscopy were performed. In response to 100 µg ml-1 of Cd2+, heat

shock proteins Chaperonin Gro L and Dna K were overexpressed along with key

catabolic pathway enzymes oxoglutarate dehydrogenase, pyruvate dehydrogenase,

aconitate hydratase 2, dihydrolipoyllysine-residue succinyltransferase while flagellin 2

protein was down regulated. SEM studies revealed that in response to cadmium stress

rod shaped Providencia rettgeri cells changed to nearly spherical structures. TEM and

energy filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) studies indicated a receded

cytoplasm with intracellular Cd-containing electron dense deposits. By growing the

bacteria at 500 µg ml-1, 4mg of Cd could be entrapped in 1 gm of bacterial dry biomass

after overnight growth. This study demonstrates immense potential of Providencia

rettgeri KDM3 for bioremediation of cadmium contaminated waste water.

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P66

Biosorption of azo dyes by spent Rhizopus arrhizus biomass

Salvi Neeta A. and Chattopadhyay Subrata Bio-Organic Division, BARC, Mumbai-400085

Email: nasalvi@barc.gov.in

In the present work, spent Rhizopus arrhizus biomass was used as a biosorbent for

removal of six azo dyes of industrial interest from aqueous solutions. Nowadays, dyes

have created serious environmental problems as they are used as colorant in various

industries like textile, pharmaceuticals, plastics, leather, paper, mineral oils, wax,

cosmetics and even selected food stuffs. As a result, considerable amount of polluted

waste water is generated. Most of these colored dye effluents are toxic, mutagenic and

carcinogenic and can cause great threat to human health and ecology. Among various

conventional methods, biosorption is becoming an attractive technique and found to be

promising by virtue of its easy operation, cost effectiveness and good removal

performance. The dye removal capacity of this biomass was evaluated by conducting

batch tests as a function of time, pH, biomass dosage and initial dye concentrations.

Batch kinetic experiments showed that the adsorption followed pseudo-second order

kinetic model with correlation coefficients greater than 0.999. This equilibrium sorption

data followed Langmuir adsorption isotherm suggesting the monolayer coverage of

above dyes under experimental conditions. The maximum adsorption capacities 46.7,

108.8, 48.95, 33.8, 128.5, 51.9 and 76.4 mg/gm was obtained for Amaranth, Fast Red

A, Congo red, Tartrazine, Metanil Yellow, Sunset Yellow FCF and the multicomponent

solution of these dyes respectively. These encouraging results suggested that the

fungus Rhizopus arrhizus is the potential and versatile candidate for removal of azo

dyes from aqueous solution. This spent biomass could be used as a low cost, effective

and eco-friendly biosorbent as it does not pose any threat to environment. Thus, this

biomass can be considered as a promising and practical alternative to supplement

present wastewater treatment in cleaning up dye pollution.

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P67 Production of Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids under cold

temperature from native isolate, Cunninghamella elegans CFR-C07 and its health benefit

Santhosh R, Vadivelan G and Venkateswaran G Food Microbiology Department, CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute,

Mysore - 570020, Karnataka. Email: vishnusanthosh2017@gmail.com

Certain species of zygomycetes fungi are the known sources of Long Chain Poly

Unsaturated Fatty Acids (LCPUFAs) especially the ω-6 and ω-3 fatty acids. These

essential fatty acids normally act as precursors of many lipid derived signalling

molecules. Humans are unable to synthesize PUFAs, therefore intake of these

speciality lipids are necessary through food. The oleaginous fungi such as

Cunninghamella, Mortierella, Mucor, Pythium and Thamnidium spp. have been

considered for the production of microbial lipids containing PUFAs. A balanced ω-6:ω-3

PUFA ratio has been linked to health benefits and it prevents chronic diseases such as

heart disease, hypertension, inflammation and other auto immune disorders. The native

isolate Cunninghamella elegans CFR-C07 (GenBank ANo. KF916583, NCBI) produced

maximum biomass of 11.28 g/L (DW), total lipid yield of 38.52% and the concentration

of GLA (Gamma Linolenic Acid; ∆6,9,12 C18:3) was observed as 21.72% v/w of the

total lipid obtained at 28ºC, 180 rpm and pH 5.5 for 132 hrs. This strain was further

subjected to grow for another 132 hrs at 20ºC to obtain the maximum yield of GLA. Our

observation indicated that the native isolate C. elegans CFR-C07 produced 11.84 g/L

(DW) biomass, 20.60% total lipid, 12.81% v/w GLA and surprisingly 2.05% v/w ALA

(Alpha Linolenic Acid; ∆9,12,15 C18:3) also and this was conformed with GC and GC-

MS chromatograms. The growth of this fungus at low temperature (20ºC), which altered

the biosynthetic pathway and for the production of ω-6 and ω-3 fatty acids which

includes GLA and ALA.

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P68

Antimutagenic and Antibacterial Properties of Honey & Effect of Radiation Hygienization

Saxena Sudhanshu and Gautam Satyendra Food Technology Division, BARC

Email: sudhanshu_usa@yahoo.com

As mutation is the well known mechanism of neoplastic induction, therefore foods

having bioactive compounds with potential to combat mutagenesis are of immense

significance. Although honey is a well known natural functional food with associated

health supporting quality attributes, there are limited reports with respect to its

antimutagenic potential and the effect of floral type on the same. Antimutagenicity or the

ability to prevent neoplastic inductions is being considered as an effective strategy to

combat mutagen associated diseases. Therefore different regional Indian honeys

varying in natural floral types procured were evaluated for their comparative

antimutagenicity using a novel E. coli based forward mutation detection assay where

mutation(s) in rpoB gene abolishes its interaction with rifampicin and thus confers

rifampicin resistant mutator phenotype (RifR) to E. coli cells. Honey displayed wide

variation in their ability to prevent induced mutagenesis and among 24 honey samples

collected, ‘Karanj’ honey (Pongammia pinnata) displayed prominent (~80%)

antimutagenicity. Besides, honeys were also evaluated for their comparative

antibacterial activity against various bacteria such as S. typhimurium, S. aureus, P.

syringae etc. Surprisingly, honey of same floral type differed in their antibacterial

potentials. Although honey is acidic in nature, the acidity of honey was not found to be

the contributing factor of antibacterial activity. Instead, in almost all the cases the

antibacterial activity was attributed to the peroxide component of honey. Besides,

gamma radiation treatment was also standardized to ensure microbial safety of honey

as it may contain burden of pathogenic microbial spores. Radiation (15 kGy) treatment

of honey did not affect its antimutagenicity and antibacterial activity. Thus, the current

findings provide credible evidence supporting health protective effects of honey and its

retention in radiation hygienized honey.

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P69 Study of cellulases from extremophiles

Shetty Sangeeta and Sundarrajan Priya Department of Life Science and Biochemistry St. Xavier's College – Autonomous 5,

Mahapalika Marg, Mumbai- 400001. Email: priya.s@xaviers.edu

Conversion of plant biomass into fuels is being considered as a means of sustainable

green energy technologies. Extremophiles are organisms capable of growing under

extremes of temperature, pH, salinity, pressure etc. Enzymes from these organisms can

be harnessed for industrial applications because of their higher stability and efficiency in

unusual conditions. The objective of this study was to screen for celullolytic

extremophiles and improve the production of cellulases by optimizing their cultivation

conditions. Towards this end, work was initiated to isolate bacteria with high cellulolytic

activity. Three soil samples were plated on CMC-agar plates and the cellulose-

degrading bacteria were detected by the Congo red staining method. Out of 500

isolates, 47 were found to be cellulase positive. The positive isolates could grow at a pH

range of 5 to 11. The enzymes produced by these were assayed qualitatively from pH 5

to 11 using the supernatants and the pellets of the bacterial cultures, separately.

Biochemical and morphological tests were also performed on the isolates. The

cellulases produced by these were extracellular and constitutive. Some of the cellulase-

positive isolates were found to be Gram-positive bacilli. Molecular phylogenetic

characterization of some isolates were carried out using bioinformatic tools to analyze

the 16s rRNA gene sequences. Some of the isolates could have a potential application

in industry for biofuel production, as they can tolerate pH up to 11.0 and/or temperature

of 50°C.

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P70

Acetate kinase expression profile during acidogenesis phase of Nisargruna biogas technology

Singh Reemadevi 1, Ghosh S.B.1, Nayak S.2, and Kale S.P.1 1 Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,

Trombay, Mumbai 400085. 2Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil College, Sector 10, Vashi, New Mumbai-400703.

Email: reema2929@gmail.com

Nisargruna biogas plant (NBP) is a biphasic technology developed in BARC for treating

biodegradable waste. It consist of an aerobic phase where hydrolysis and acidogenesis

occurs followed by an anaerobic phase where acetogenesis and methanogenesis takes

place. This technology enables degradation of all possible biodegradable material

including kitchen waste, agricultural waste, animal dung, paper, leaves, abattoir waste

etc. The aerobic phase is carried out in a pre-digester for 72 to 96 hrs and complex

materials are broken down. The analysis of pre-digester slurry shows that it is highly

acedic (pH ~4) and contains mixture of short chain organic acids consisting of acetic

acid, propionic acid , butyric acid and formic acid. Among those acids, acetic acid

predominates. A close look at the prokaryotic organic acid biosynthesis pathway reveals

that the enzyme acetate kinase has a very broad regulatory role. Previous microbial

characterization of some of the NBPs, revealed predominance of Bacillus genus. Many

individual Bacillus sp have been isolated and characterized from NBP predigester

slurry. In the present study, the acetate kinase expression profile in Bacillus sp has

been investigated by Real Time PCR.

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P71

Investigation of bacterial soft rot of Aloe vera caused by Pectobacterium chrysanthemi

Suryawanshi S. D. and Ingle R. W. Department of Plant Pathology and Agril. Microbiology, MPKV, Rahuri-413722, MS

Email: suryawanshi.sonam@gmail.com

Soft rot of Aloe vera has a long botanical and medicinal history around world. The soft

rot disease of Aloe caused due to Pectobacterium chrysanthemi which was confirmed

by different parameters i.e. morphological and biochemical characterization and

pathogenicity test. It is difficult to control by fungicides, bactericides treatments or

cultural practices. In present investigation, studies were undertaken to control this

disease through the use of chemicals as well as bioagents. In vitro control of

Pectobacterium chrysanthemi treatment with streptomycin sulphate at 100 ppm, 200

ppm, 300 ppm and copper oxychloride at 0.1 %, 0.2 % and 0.3 % were used. The

results showed growth of Pectobacterium chrysanthemi in control plate. The fungicide

copper oxychloride @ 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3% showed 14.50 mm, 16.00 mm and 17.50 mm

resp. zone of inhibition for Pectobacterium chrysanthemi pathogens. The bactericide

streptomycine sulphate at 100 ppm, 200 ppm, 300 ppm showed 15.80 mm, 17.60 mm

and 18.50 mm resp. zone of inhibition for this pathogen. However, the highest colony

count of Pectobacterium chrysanthemi was observed in control plate. The bioagents viz.

Trichoderma viride, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis were used for

control of Pectobacterium chrysanthemi. Per cent growth inhibition of bacterium was

observed with Bacillus subtilis (86.77%) followed by Pseudomonas fluorescens

(77.17%) and minimum growth inhibition of 60.90% was observed with Trichoderma

viride.

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P72

Anticancer and antioxidant properties of microalgae grown in Nisargruna biogas effluent

Tale Manisha P.1, Ghosh S. B.1, Ghosh A.3, Maurya D. K.3, Kapadnis B. P.2, Kale S. P.1

1Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India

2Department of Microbiology, University of Pune, Pune, India 3Radiation Biology and Health Science Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,

Mumbai, India E-mail: manisha.tale9@gmail.com

Microalgae are considered promising bioresources and are currently receiving a lot of

attention due to their wide applications in biotechnology. These are being mass cultured

for biofuel production, health food, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and bioactive

compounds as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. Five previously isolated and

identified microalgae with immense potential for biodiesel production using Nisargruna

biogas effluent as growth medium were further biochemically characterized in the

present study. Current study is focused on the biomass properties and biochemical

characteristics of these five microalgae to explore their potential as renewable energy

feedstock and other bio-applications. In these five microalgae, carbohydrates range

from 14% to 19% and proteins from 35% to 42%, while total lipids were found to vary

from 20% to 35%. The highest protein (44.98 ± 0.21%) and carbohydrate content

(32.61± 0.36%) was observed in Chlorella sp. KMN3, while Monoraphidium sp. KNM5

showed maximum lipid accumulation (35.03 ± 0.22%). All five microalgae were

screened for their anticancer and antioxidant properties. The anticancer efficiency of

aqueous and methanolic extracts of microalgae were tested on human non-small cell

lung carcinoma cells A549 and human hepatocellular liver carcinoma cells HepG2. Both

aqueous and methanolic extract of Chlorella sp. KMN1 showed high anticancer property

in A549 cells even at a very low concentration of 5µg/µl, while only aqueous extract of

KMN1 exhibited high anticancer activity in HepG2 cells. Methanolic extracts of KMN1

and Monoraphidium sp. KMN5 also showed significantly high antioxidant activity when

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measured using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH˙) and 2, 2'-azinobis (3-ethyl

benzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS˙) radical scavenging assays.

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P73

A novel Prx-like peroxiredoxin (Alr4642) protects the cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC7120 from oxidative stress

Tailor Vijay and Ballal Anand Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai

400085 Email: vijaytaylor@gmail.com

Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are ubiquitous proteins that detoxify reactive oxygen species

using conserved cysteine residues. Cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC7120 encodes an

ORF alr4642 that shows homology to Prx-like proteins. Northern/Western blotting

analysis showed the alr4642/Alr4642 to be not expressed in Anabaena, possibly due to

the presence of a weak promoter and repression by the LexA protein. Therefore, to gain

insight into its possible functions in the oxidative stress management, the Alr4642

protein was over-expressed in Anabaena PCC7120. Sequence analysis showed

presence of two methionine residues at position 1 and 36 of the polypeptide chain.

When overexpressed in E. coli, the full-length Alr4642 or the truncated Alr4642

(AlrT4642, initiating from second methionine residue at 36th position) remained insoluble

and could not be purified. Expression of the complete alr4642 ORF in Anabaena led to

production of the AlrT4642 protein, suggesting that the second ATG was the actual in

vivo start codon of alr4642 in Anabaena. Interestingly, when over-expressed in

Anabaena, AlrT4642 remained soluble and could be purified by affinity chromatography

using the Ni-NTA matrix. The purified AlrT4642 showed DTT-dependent peroxidase

activity and protected the plasmid DNA from oxidative damage in vitro. When exposed

to 1mM H2O2, the AnT4642+ strain, Anabaena strain over-expressing AlrT4642, showed

(1) 2-fold lower reactive oxygen species and (2)improved resistance to H2O2,as

compared to the wild-type Anabaena. This indicates that AlrT4642 is indeed an

antioxidant protein that is capable of defending Anabaena from oxidative stress. This is

the first instance wherein a Prx-like family protein has been functionally characterized.

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P74 The two OB folds of the unique single stranded DNA binding protein

(SSB) of Deinococcus radiodurans functionally complement the ssDNA binding activity

Ujaoney Aman Kumar, Basu Bhakti and Apte Shree K. Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai –

400085. Email: aman@barc.gov.in

Single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB) is an essential housekeeping protein

involved in DNA replication, recombination and repair. Ssb protein of Deinococcus

radiodurans is unique as it comprises of two oligonucleotide / oligosaccharide binding

(OB) folds, located at N- and C-termini and connected by a beta hairpin connector, and

is twice the size of conventional eubacterial Ssb proteins. To assess individual

functional roles of each OB fold, 3 Ssb variants, namely SsbN (N-terminal without

connector), SsbNC (N-terminal with connector) and SsbC (C-terminal), each harboring

one OB fold were generated, and corresponding proteins were over-expressed and

purified. SsbC and SsbFL predominantly existed as homo-dimers while SsbNC/SsbN

formed different oligomeric forms of dimer and complex multimers respectively. The

ssDNA binding activity of SsbN and SsbNC was weak while that of SsbC was

intermediate, compared to the full-length Ssb (SsbFL). In vitro SsbC physically and

functionally interacted with SsbN or SsbNC, and displayed enhanced ssDNA binding

activity in comparison to individual domains. The results show that C-terminal region is

primarily responsible for binding to ssDNA and N-terminal region serves two functions:

(a) it facilitates oligomerization, and (b) interacts with SsbC to enhance the affinity of the

protein complex for ssDNA.

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P75

Metabolic Engineering and blended Oil Supplementation of Mortierella alpina for improved production of omega-3 fatty acids

Vadivelan G and Venkateswaran G Food Microbiology Department, CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute,

Mysore - 570020, Karnataka Email: roshanvadi@gmail.com

Investigation on the effect of culture conditions on biomass, lipid, and omega-3 fatty

acid production in the novel isolate oleaginous fungus Mortierella alpina CFR-GV15

(Gene Bank ANo: KF561137) under submerged fermentation has been studied. Our

experiment revealed that the blend oil and temperature were the most effective

additional carbon source for omega-3 fatty acid production in addition to followed by

different optimization of cultural conditions. M.alpina CFR-GV15 when grown in a fat-

producing basal medium, a maximum lipid content of 44.0 ± 1.32% in its biomass was

obtained. GC analysis of total fatty acid revealed the presence of EPA 3.46±0.75%,

DHA 4.03±0.90%, AA 56.82% ± 0.24% and ETA, 2.6% were also obtained during the

fermentation period. In order to enhance the omega-3 fatty acid production, the

supplementation of basal medium with Linseed oil (LSO) and Garden cress oil (GCO)

oil were used as additional carbon source. The addition of ALA-rich LSO and GCO in

the ratio of 1:1 to the basal medium for four days at 20°C and another five days at 12°C

increased the total dry biomass to 55.5% (v/w) and ω-3 fatty acid by (ALA-33.5%, ETA-

2.6% intermediate product, EPA-7.89% and DHA-3.09%) of total lipid obtained.

However, AA content was found to be reduced in this condition by 3.16%. This novel

isolate Mortierella alpina CFR-GV15 was found to be a promising culture for the

development of an economical method of commercial production of omega-3 fatty acid

for food and therapeutical application.

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P76

Does UV radiation induce programmed cell death in E. coli?

Wadhawan Surbhi, Gautam Satyendra and Sharma Arun Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085,

Maharashtra, India. Email: surbhiw@barc.gov.in

As observed in case of E. coli cells and some other bacteria where cells were found to

undergo caspase dependent programmed cell death (PCD) upon gamma radiation

exposure, somewhat similar phenomenon was observed upon UV radiation exposure

too. The E. coli cells displayed activation of caspase-3-like protein (CLP). The CLP

activity was found to increase in a dose dependent manner in UV exposed E. coli cells.

PCD process was inhibited in the presence of a cell permeable caspase-3 inhibitor (Ac-

DEVD-CMK). A fluorescent dye tagged with an irreversible caspase-3 inhibitor (FITC-

DEVD-FMK) detected the cells expressing active CLP upon in situ labelling of E. coli.

Three different populations of cells were observed when they were stained with both

FITC-DEVD-FMK and Propidium iodide (PI). Some cells (~34%) had taken up only the

former dye and fluoresced green indicating live cells with active CLP. Around 31% cells

fluoresced red indicating dead population. Interestingly, a few cells (~ 35%) were

observed to fluoresce both red (in the middle segment of the filament) and green

(towards the ends of the filament), suggesting that the cell death had begun in such

filaments. The cell filamentation was observed to be inhibited by caspase-3 inhibitor.

Further, a SOS reporter assay known as SIVET (Selectable In Vivo Expression

Technology) assay was performed to reconfirm and quantify the extent of inhibition of

SOS induction in the presence of caspase-3 inhibitor. The SIVET induction frequency

i.e. the ratio of SIVET induced cells to total viable cells, increased around tenfold upon

UV exposure. The induction frequency was found to decrease significantly (from 80% to

51%) in the cells pre-incubated with caspase-3 inhibitor. The findings indicated a

possible linkage of programmed cell death and SOS response in E. coli cells exposed to

UV radiation.

.

174

AUTHOR’S INDEX

Acharya C Bihani S

Adhya TK Binsi PK

Adiani V Chakraborty I

Adsare SR Chakraborty PK

Agarwal V Chakravarty D

Amin Kadri RM Chauhan SK

Anaganti N Dadhe P

Annamalai J Das A

Apte SK Dey RK

Awale AA Dilpak S

B Cibichakravarthy Dubey SK

Bandekar JR Dudwadkar A

Bandyopadhyay NC Gadewal N

Banerjee A Gautam RK

Banerjee M Ghosh SB

Bansal R Gomes D

Baraiya KG Gupta M

Basu B Gupta SP

Bhalla S Hadapad AB

.

175

Bindal G Hajare S

Jacob MS Mishra HN

Jagtap KB Misra CS

Jawali N More VS

K Meenakshi Mukhopadhyay A

Kalawate AS Muppalla SR

Kamala K Nagar V

Kapoor N Nagaraju G

Khade HD Naik O

Krishna H Nayak BB

Kulkarni S Nayak N

Kumar A Padwal M

Kumar GN Pakshirajan K

Kumar S Panicker L

Kumar S Phale P

Kumar V Podile AR

Kundu M Potnis AA

Mandavgane SA Prapulla SG

Mane SD Prasad S

Markande AR Raghavan SP

Mehetre S Rajpurohit Y

.

176

Meshram V Rangu SS

Mishra BB Rao S

Rath D Tale MP

Ray MK Thakur IS

Salaskar DS Thakur RS

Saha J Tripathi AK

Sahni G Tripathi J

Salvi NS Tuli R

Santhosh R Uikey M

Saranya AM Ujaoney AK

Satyanarayan T Vadivelan G

Saxena Sanjai Vaidya AN

Saxena Sudhanshu Vaishnav J

Sharma AK Vehele S

Shetty S Verma J

Shitole SS Verma VP

Singh RR Vishwakarma G

Singh US Wadhawan S

Singhal R Walawalkar YD

Sofi FR

Srinivasan K

Srivastava AK

.

177

Suryawanshi SD

Tailor V

Controlled Environment, Laboratory and Pharmaceutical Equipment Solutions for Life Science, Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Industrial Research Applications

Worldwide Edition, 2013/2014

Guide to Esco Products and Services

Esco Product Guide

Guide to Esco Products and Services

Corporate Profile ................................................................. 3

Life Science Sample Preparation

Biological Safety Cabinets ................................................................7

Laminar Flow Clean Benches ............................................................8

Lab Animal Research Products .........................................................9

PCR Cabinets, Microplate Shakers and Freeze Dryers...................10

Sample CultivationCO2 Incubators ................................................................................11

Sample AnalysisPCR Thermal Cyclers .......................................................................12

Sample StorageUltra-low Temperature Freezers ....................................................13

Laboratory Refrigerators and Freezers ..........................................14

SoftwareVoyager ...........................................................................................15

Chemical ResearchDuctless Fume Hoods ......................................................................16

Laboratory Fume Hoods .................................................................17

Fume Hoods Accessories .................................................................18

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)ART Workstations ...........................................................................19

Multi-room Incubators ...................................................................20

Pharmaceutical Equipment ........................................... 21

General EquipmentLaboratory Ovens and Incubators ..................................................22

After Sales Services .......................................................... 23

2

Table of Contents:

• Foundedin1978.

• Aleaderinthedevelopmentofcontrolledenvironment,

laboratoryandpharmaceuticalequipmentsolutions.

• Aworldleaderinbiologicalsafetycabinets.

• Escohasestablishedofficesin13countriessuchasBahrain,China,India,Japan,Korea,Malaysia,

Philippines,Singapore,SouthAfrica,UK,US,Indonesia

andVietnamandiscontinuallyexpanding.

• NorthAmericanfacilitiesinPennsylvania;sales,

service,logisticsforUS&Canada.

• Grouptotalofmorethan600employees.

• Distributorsinmorethan110countries.

• Productsindependentlytestedtointernationalstandards.

• LargeR&Dinvestments,worldleadingtechnologies.

• State-of-the-artproduction;verticallyintegratedmanufacturingfloorspace.

• Worldwideserviceplayedoutoverageographicexpanse

sobroadthatthesunneversetsonwhatwedo.

Welcome to Esco

Pictured: Esco Micro Pte. Ltd. is headquartered in Singapore, a modern city state located in Southeast Asia with a population of more than 4 million. From Singapore, Esco manages operations throughout the world.

Esco’s Vision is to provide enabling technologies for scientific discoveries to make human lives healthier and safer.

Pictured: Esco's state-of-the-art primary manufacturing facility, the world's largest manufacturing base for LAF/BSC cabinets.

3

Esco Product Guide

2004

2010

2012

4

Escomanufacturesthefirstlaminarflowcleanbench;designsandbuildsitsfirstmicroelectronicsClass

10,000cleanroomforSiemensCorporation.

1978

2001

2009

EscoearnsfirstEN12469certificationforbiologicalsafetycabinet.

TheChineseFoodandDrugAdministrationinvitesEscotoparticipateinajointcommitteetodeveloptheNationalStandardforBiologicalSafetyCabinets.

EscolaunchesCelCulture®NewCO2incubator.

EscolaunchestheEscoMedicalDivision,providingworldclassART/IVFsolutions

worldwide,withafocusonthenewMiri®Multi-·roomIncubator.

Escomanufacturedthelowestnoise(45dBA)BSCintheworldforalarge

installationinKarolinskaInstitute,Sweden.

A Tradition of Quality

Escoexpandsdistributiontopharmaceutical,lifescience,biotechnologyandmedicalresearchmarkets.

1990

Isotherm®-newLaboratoryOvensandIncubators.

PharmaconTMnewDownflowBooths.

1984 EscodesignsandbuildsClass100laundryandbecomesthefirstcompanyintheregiontoenterthecleanroomlaundrybusiness.

Swift®MaxProandMiniPronewgenerationPCRthermalcyclers

2011

2013

EscolaunchesLexicon®rangeofUltra-lowTemperatureFreezers.

EscolaunchesAirstream®G3ClassII,thegreenestlownoisebiologicalsafetycabinetintheworld.

EscolauncheseSafe,thetechnologicallyandergonomicallyadvancedTÜV-NORDcertifiedBSC.

EscolaunchesSubliMate®BenchTopFreezeDryers.

EscolaunchesCelCulture®CO2incubatorwithSuppressedO2feature.

EscolaunchesLabculture®InVitroFertilizationWorkstations.

2007

Infinity®–theworld’sfirstbiologicalsafetycabinetdesignedwitharedundantdualfansystemthat

guaranteesoperatorprotectionevenincaseofasinglefanfailure.

EscolaunchesVIVAAnimalContainmentWorkstations.

2008Isoclean®-newcompoundingpharmacyisolators.

FrontierAcela®-theworld'sfirstergonomicallydesigned,angledfront,

highperformancelowflowfumehood.

Labculture®ClassII(LowNoiseSeries)–introducedastheindustry'slowest

noise(~50dBAperEN)biologicalsafetycabinet.

Escoearnson-siteULaccreditation.

2005

2006

EscoearnsfirstNSF/ANSIcertificationforbiologicalsafetycabinet.

EscolaunchesitsfirstlineofDuctlessFumeHoods.

EscoPharmaequipmentwaslaunchedatPMECChinaexhibition.

EscobecamememberofNSFJointCommitteeandJACACommittee.

5

Global Network

Products and Application

Sample Preparation

•ClassIITypeA2BiologicalSafetyCabinets

•ClassIITypeB2BiologicalSafetyCabinets

•ClassIIIBiologicalSafetyCabinets

•HorizontalLaminarFlowCleanBenches

•LaboratoryAnimalResearchWorkstations

•VerticalLaminarFlowCleanBenches

•PCRCabinets

•FreezeDryers

Esco Life Science Tools

Software

General Equipment

Life Science

Sales/ServiceSubsidiaryCompanies

Distributors

R&DCenters

Factories

RegionalDistributionCenters

•LaboratoryOvens

•LaboratoryIncubators

•RefrigeratedIncubators

•MicroplateShakers

•DuctlessFumeHoods

•LaboratoryFumeHoods

•ExhaustBlowers

•FumeHoods

•FumeHoodAirflow Monitors

Pharmaceutical Equipment

Assisted Reproductive Technology

(ART)

Chemical Research

•AsepticCytotoxicIsolators (ACTI)

•Containment

•PowderWeighing

•Cleanroom

•IVFWorkstations

•Multi-roomIncubators

Sample Cultivation

•CO2 Incubators

•CO2 Incubators with Copper Interior Chamber

•CO2 Incubators with UV Lamp

•CO2 Incubators with Suppressed O2

Sample Analysis

•Conventional Thermal Cyclers

•Real-time PCR Systems

Sample Storage

•Upright Ultra-low Temperature Freezers

•Laboratory Refrigerators and Freezers

•Voyager

Esco Product Guide

AnintegralpartofourbusinessplanningeffortisbasedonmanagingarobustresearchanddevelopmentprograminSingapore,China,EuropeandtheUSA,balancedagainstaninvestmentinservicesupport,trainingandcustomereducation. Compared to industryaverages,Esco investsa significantpercentage of annual revenues inresearchanddevelopment.Asaresultofourinvestment,andwithcontinuous

feedbackandideaevaluationamongourresearch,globalsales,marketing,purchasing and manufactur ingteams;Escoproductsreflectthebestcontemporarydesignsinperformance,ergonomicsandcustomersatisfaction.

• 70engineerslocatedintechnologycentersinSingapore,China,EuropeandtheUSA

•Growingpatentportfolio

•Corecompetencies:

- Embedded system, sensor andsoftware development andintegration

- Containment engineering forbiohazards,chemicalvaporsandhazardouspowders

- Temperature,humidity,gasand environmentalcontrol

- Computationalfluiddynamics

- Andmanymore

Continuous Research and Development

Product Development and Innovation

Esco'smanufacturingadvantagestemsfromourextensivedegreeofverticalintegration,enabledbyourworld-leadingthroughput.Allprocesses,withafewexceptions,areperformedin-house.Thisallowsustoachievequalityandreliabilitythatistrulyworld-class.Ourplantcapabilitiesinclude:• Incomingmaterialsinspectionandwarehousing

•CNC-contro l led sheet meta lfabricationandwelding

• Environmentally-friendly powdercoatinglines

• Electromechanical final productassembly

• Electrical/electronicssub-assembly•Multi-stepelectrical andphysicalperformancetesting

• Independentqualitycontrolateachstepintheproductioncycle

•Microbiology,chemistry,containmenttestlabs

Esco'sfocusonqualityandtimelinessisrelentless.Continuousimprovementisamantra.CrossfunctionalteamsfromEscoProduction,R&D,QualityAssurance,SeniorManagement,areregularly assembled to review andimplementareasforimprovement.

Quality,Cost,Productivity,Effectiveness,Timeliness

Manufacturing6

7

Life Science

Esco Biological Safety Cabinets represent more than 20 locally, regionally and internationally-recognized certifications. These accreditations testify to the enhanced performance of Esco products in biological and microbiological applications.Introduction: Escoisaworldleaderinbiologicalsafetycabinets,offeringthe industry'swidest product range,with thousandsofinstallationsinleadinglaboratoriesinmorethan100countriesaroundtheglobe.Esco'sbiologicalsafetycabinetshaveearnedmore independentcertifications, inmorecountries, inmore languages,thananyotherproduct,demonstratingourcommitmenttotheindustry'sbestsafetyandquality.

Features: • EnergysavingECMblower.*• ISOCIDEantimicrobialpowdercoating.• ULPAFilterwith>99.999%efficiency@0.1–0.3µm.• Largeperformanceenvelope.• Ergonomicdesign.• Lownoise.• Easytoclean.

Product Lines:•ClassII,TypeA2BiologicalSafetyCabinets.•ClassII,TypeB2BiologicalSafetyCabinets.• ClassIIIBiologicalSafetyCabinets.• FormalinVaporizers.•OptionsandAccessories.

*Most Models

The World's Most Certified CabinetsBiological Safety Cabinets

• NSF/ANSI49

• UL61010

• JISK3800

• SFDAYY-0589

• EN12469

• SANS12469

Certifications:

Sample Preparation

PublicHealthofEngland

Esco Product Guide

8

Life Science

Introduction: Escoisanindustryleaderinthedevelopmentofprofessionalqualitylaminarflowcleanbenches.Withtensofthousandssoldthroughoutthelifesciencesmarketworldwide,Escohasreinforceditsreputationfordependabilitybyprovidingreliableprotectionforsamplesandworkprocesses inamultitudeofapplications.

OurselectionofVertical,HorizontalandSpecialtycleanbenchesoffersavarietyofchoicesforinstallationswherehighqualityconstructionisessential.OurcleanbenchesareaerodynamicallyengineeredanduseonlypremiumqualityULPAfilterswithintegratedmotor/blowerassembliesforquietoperationandlongservicelife.

Since1978,Escohasemergedastheindustryleaderproducinglaminarflowcabinetsthatarethepremiumselectionforthediscerningresearcherandofferingacombinationofvalue,highqualityconstruction,lowoperatingnoiselevels,andawideproductrangetosuitallbudgets.

Esco is the world leader in premium laminar flow cabinets for the global life sciences market.

The Leading Solution for Research LaboratoriesLaminar Flow Clean Benches

Sample Preparation

VerticalLaminarFlowCabinet

• Airdoesnotblowstraighttouser’sface.

• Aircurtainisnotdisruptedbylargeobject.

HorizontalLaminarFlowCabinet

• Easiertoputsensitivematerialnearcleanairsource.

• Contaminant is not blowntowardssensitivematerial.

9

Life Science

EscoSolutionforAnimalResearchLaboratoriesLab Animal Research Products

Animal research, cage changing and bedding disposal procedures are now simpler,

safer and more productive with the Esco range of VIVA® Lab Animal Research Products.

Introduction: Esco’sexperienceincleanairandcontainmenttechnologiesextendstolabanimalresearchproductstohelpprotectthe investigator, animal technicians, animals, and theenvironmentduringresearch,cagechangingandbeddingdisposalprocedures.

VIVAlabanimalresearchproductshelplaboratoriescomplywithNIOSHrecommendationstocreateasafer,healthier,moreproductiveworkenvironmentandtoensurethatthisisachieved,operatorandenvironmentprotectionofeachVIVAworkstationwasevaluatedthroughtheELISAanalysis.

Actualcagechangingandbeddingdisposaloperationswereperformedtosimulatehowtheworkstationsareused,andallergenconcentrationatdesignatedareaswassampled.TheallergenconcentrationwasquantifiedusingsandwichELISAmethod.

Theresult:VIVAWorkstationsofferhighlevelsofoperatorandenvironmentprotectionthatcansubstantiallyhelptominimizeallergenexposure.

Product Lines:•UniversalAccessAnimalContainmentWorkstations.• DualAccessAnimalContainmentWorkstations.• BeddingDisposalAnimalContainmentWorkstations.• AirShowers.

Sample Preparation

Esco Product Guide

10

Life Science

Sample Preparation Equipment

PCR Cabinets

Introduction: PolymeraseChainReaction* (PCR) isaprocesswheremillionsofcopiesofDNAareamplifiedfromasinglecopyorlowcopynumbertemplate.BecauseofthehighcopynumbergeneratedduringPCR,itisalsoessentialtopreventpossiblecontaminationofthePCRsamples.

ContaminationcontrolandPCRprocessrepeatabilityissimplifiedwiththeEscorangeofPCRCabinets.EachEscoPCRCabinetprovidesULPA-filteredverticallaminarflowtopurgetheworkareaofcontaminantsbetweenamplificationsandduringpreparatoryprocedures.AnintegratedUVlampenablesrapiddecontaminationoftheworkzonebetweenexperimentsandpreventscross-contamination.Escoofferspremiumperformanceforapricethatiscompetitivewithconventional"dead"airboxes.

Features:•Greater protection against contamination from theambientenvironmentandcross-contaminationwithinthemainchamber.

• Highqualitypolyesterpre-filterandmainHEPAfilterwithatypicalefficiencyof>99.99%at0.3microns.

• Built-inUVlampwithtimertofacilitatedecontaminationbetweenPCRcycles.

• Availablein0.6,0.9and1.2metermodels(2’,3'and4').

Freeze Dryers

Introduction: Esco,aworldleaderincleanairequipmentandrefrigerationcontrolareproudtoannouncethelaunchofanewrangeof“stateoftheart”BenchTopFreezeDryers.Designedtomeettherequirementsofmodernresearch.

Features:• 3modelsareavailablewithcompactdesign,andcanachievelowcondensertemperaturedownto-90C.

• 2Kgand5Kgicecapacityallowingformultiplecyclesbeforedefrosting.

• LusterClear™fullyflushedandcleancondensersurfacedesignallowingforeasycleaningandpreventingdamagetocoolingcoilsduringicecoreremoval.

• SmarTouch™ large touch screen controller deliversergonomic, intuitive interfaces and easy-to-useprograming for freezedrying,defrosting, languageselection,pressure,temperatureunits,dataloggingfilesandrealtimeclock.

• ANewinnovativeEzySeal™rubbervalvedesignforeasierflaskfitting,sealing,dryingandremoval.

• PressuresensorandIceOut™defrostsystemareequippedasstandardforthediscerningresearchers.

Microplate Shakers

Introduction:TheEscoProvocellShakingMicroIncubatorisdesignedforawidevarietyofmixingapplicationsforaccurateincubationofreactionsanddenaturationofnucleicacidsandproteins.Provocellcombinesanadvancedmicroprocessor-basedcontrollerwith Peltier heating and cooling to deliver

outstandingreliability,safetyandoverallperformance.

Sample Preparation

DesignedandMadeintheE.U.

11

Life Science

Sleek, reliable and intuitive, Esco CelCulture CO2 incubators provide comprehensive

sample protection that brings your scientific dreams one step closer to reality.

Introduction: EscoCelCulture-worldclassCO2IncubatorfromEscowiththebesttemperatureandCO2controlprovidingsuperiorprotectionandthebestenvironmentforcellcultures.

Features:•Precise Parameter Control:-bestuniformityandcontrolamongcompetition,whichmeanssamplesareevenlyheated.

-fastrecoverywithoutovershoottoensureuniformCO2levelsevenwithfrequentdooropening.

-directheatandairjacketforrapidtemperaturerecoveryand provide isolation from ambient temperaturefluctuations.

- forced convection systemaccelerates recovery ofchamberairafterdoorclosingtopreventcontamination.

•Robust Contamination Control for optimum protection of your samples using:-ULPAfilter-validated90ºCmoistheatdecontamination-filteredgasinjectionlines-IsocideTMantimicrobialcoating

•Toprovidemaximum safeguardingof your cellcultures, all CelCulture® CO2 incubators can be used with Voyager Software:-allowsautomatic,continuousmonitoringofdeviceparameters.

-withalarmstoalertuserwhenexceedingpre-defineparameterlimits.

-allowsusertoconfiguredevicesremotely.•User friendly controller software interface:-Comprehensive,user-configurablealarms.-CelAlert™alarmsystemremindsusertoreplaceparts.-Intelligentdataandeventloggerrecordsallincubatorparametersforonscreenrecall.A16Mbbuilt-inflashmemoryguaranteeslongtermstorageofdata.

Certifications:•HPA(MoistHeatDecontamination)

• ULListed

•MEA(MouseEmbryoAssay)

Cradle for Beautiful CellsCO2 Incubators

Sample Cultivation

Esco Product Guide

12

Life Science

PCR Thermal Cyclers

Esco PCR products are used in genomics, proteomics, molecular biology and forensic sciences where DNA amplification is required.

Conventional Thermal Cyclers

Introduction: PolymeraseChainReaction(PCR)isfundamentaltoalmostallapplicationsrequiringahighcopynumberofgeneticmaterialanditisusedinalllaboratoriesworkingwithDNAandRNA.

EscooffersachoiceofConventionalThermalCyclermodelsdesignedtomeetcriticalrequirementsforalmostallkindsofPCRvariantssuchasGradientPCR,TouchdownPCR,High-throughputPCR,InsituPCR,andsoon.BlockconfigurationsareavailableforanumberofsampleformatsofPCRtubes,strips,platesandslides.

ChoosetheSwiftMiniProorthenewAerismodelforreliableconventionalthermalcycling.

Features:•Excellenttemperatureuniformityandstability.• Suitableforvarioussampleformats,whichcansimplifyexperiments.

•Userfriendlycontrolsandoperation.•Longwarrantyperiodwipesyourworriesaway.

Real-time PCR Systems

Introduction:Overthe last5years,EscoThermalCyclershavebeenknownundertheSwiftbrandthatalsoincludesRealTime(Quantitative)PCRsystemsundertheSpectrumproductline.

TheEscoSwiftSpectrumqPCRmachinescomein48-and96-wellformatsandhavefullfunctionality.Notably,theseareopensystemsdesignedforusewithmostcommonlyavailabledyesthataresuitabletoapplicationssuchasdiagnostics,research,andquarantineproducttesting.Theincludedsoftwareisverypowerfulandseamlesslyperformsabsoluteorrelativequantification,andevenSNPanalysis.

ChoosetheSwiftSpectrumRealTimeThermalCyclersforDNAquantificationatyourfingertips.

Features:• Best uniformity and accuracy ensure reliability andexcellentperformance.

•Open systemwithwide selectionof excitation andemissionwavelengthoptions.

• User-friendlywith three language choices (English,ChineseandSpanish)onthecontrolsystem.

• Industry-leadingwarrantyforpeaceofmind.

Sample Analysis

13

Life Science

Incorporates the best and most complete sample protection and sample organization system of any ULT manufacturer

Highest Reliability, Top PerformanceUltra-low Temperature Freezers

Introduction: Ultra-lowtemperature(ULT)freezersarewidelyusedinscientificresearchforlong-termstorageofsamples.AsULTfreezersareoftenoperatedat-80°Ccontinuouslyforyears,reliabilityisofparamountimportancetoresearchers.

Escohasusedindustry-acceptedHighlyAcceleratedLifeTesting(HALT)tostresstesta largenumberofLexiconFreezersatextremeconditions.AllLexiconfreezerspassedtheseextremestresstestsinsuringadesignthatisoptimizedtoprotectyourprecioussamples.

InaccordancewithANSI/ASHRAE72-2005andARI1200-2006/2008guidelinesandastestedbyaULvalidatedthirdparty test lab,DNSUSA,theEscoLexiconULTFreezersurpassedtheperformanceof5majorcompetitorswithlowerenergyconsumption,superiorcabinetperformance(asmeasuredbywarm-uptime),anddemonstratedalargerBTUrefrigerationreservecapacitytoinsurethehighestlevelofperformanceandprotectionofyoursamples.

Features:• ExcellentVialCapacityWithAMinimalFootprint.• ThreeControllersAreAvailableInEverySizetoMeetEveryCustomerNeeds.

• CompleteEventMonitoringandLoggingSystem.• EmailAlertsViaWi-FiandNetworkCableinCaseofSampleThreateningAlarms.

• UniquePredictiveFailureManagementandFreezerHealthMonitoringSystem.

• BatteryBack-Upto72HoursandAvailableCO2andLN2

BackupSystems.• CompatiblewithVoyagerSoftwarethatAllowseasy,unifiedlocalfreezercontrolandmonitoringforproperoperationfromacentrallocationviauserestablishedorlocalnetwork.

• SampleTrackerInventoryManagementSystemtoTrackallStoredSamples.(PatentPending).

• iRMAPallowsforanadditionaloptionalEscoservicetoallowEscotomonitorfreezersfromaremotelocation.

• PROtectRedunduntWirelessSampleMonitoringSystem.

Certifications:•ULListed

Sample Storage

DesignedintheUSA

Esco Product Guide

14

Life ScienceSample Storage

High Performance SeriesLaboratory Refrigerators and Freezers

Introduction: EscoHPSeriesLaboratoryRefrigeratorsandFreezersarehighperformancemodelsdesignedtoprovideahighlevelofprotectiontosamplesusedinlifescienceresearchandclinicalapplications.Whenthehighestlevelofcoldstorageperformance,reliability,andflexibilityisneeded,theEscoHPseriesofLaboratoryRefrigeratorsandFreezersisthebestchoice.AllproductshavetheCEmarkasademonstrationofquality.

Features:•Robust and functional construction:-Exteriorofallmodelshaveananti-bacterialcoatingtominimizecontamination.

-Allmodelsincludeastainlesssteelinteriorthatprotectsthecabinetfromrustandcorrosivereagents.

- Insulating and anti-mist tempered glass door onrefrigeratorsoffersexcellentvisibilityandmaintainssuperiorthermalperformance.

-Doorautomaticallycloseswhenreleasedtomaintaintemperatureandtoprotectsamples.

-Allunitsincludeakeylockforaddedsamplesecurity,shelves,mountedonanti-tiltclipsandlockingwheelsorcastersforeasymovement.

• Safety features:-Opendooralarm.-Hightemperaturealarm.-Lowtemperaturealarm.-Powerfailurealarm.-Condenserfilteralarm.-Drycontacttoconnecttoremotealarms.

•Environment-Friendly:- Standard internal LED lighting saves 70%energycomparedtoordinary lightingandhasavery long

lifetime.-Allunitsfeaturelowenergyconsumption.Savesmoney!-Useofecofriendlyrefrigerants-Recyclableandeco-friendlymaterials.

-CFCfree-Verylownoiselevel.

•Advanced electronic control system:-Electroniccontrollerwith0.1°Cresolution.Bestintheindustry!

- Automatic defrost eliminates ice in almost allenvironments.

-Controlsareavailablein5languages.-Controllercanincorporatepasswordprotectionforgreatersecurity.

-Theinteractivedisplaymaybecustomized.•Easytocleanandservice:-Stainlesssteelchamberresistscorrosionandiseasilycleaned.

-Automaticdefrost.-Servicecanbecarriedoutfromthetop/front.-Diagnostic functions inthemicroprocessor includehistoricalread-outoftheparameters.

-Lowservicecosts.•Optional accessories:-Additionalshelvesandaluminumdrawersareavailable.Thedrawersarelightweight,chemicalresistant,andaresuppliedwithpartitions.

Product Line:• HPseriesRefrigerator:140liter,400liter,700liter,1500liter.• HP seriesFreezer (-25°C):140liter,400liter,700liter,1500liter,HPseriesFreezer(-40°C):400liter,700liter.

• HPseriescombinedRefrigeratorandFreezer:400liter,700liter.

Software

15

Remote Monitoring, Datalogging, Programming SoftwareVoyager

•Ability to generate reports and graph ofdifferentdeviceparameters.

•Abilitytosaveandreportlogdatainvariousformats.

• Easy PC interfaceusingUSB, LAN cablesorviaWi-Fi.

•Protectthesamplesbyprovidingalarmswhenexceedingauser-definedparameterlimitviaautomaticemailalerts.

•AllowsallEscothermostaticproductstobeconnectedandmonitoredforproperoperationfromacentrallocation.

Compatible Esco Equipment (Clockwise from top):

LexiconUltra-lowTemperatureFreezer(UUS)

IsothermRefrigeratedIncubator(IFC)

IsothermForcedConvectionIncubator(IFA)

CelCultureCO2Incubator(CCL)

Introduction: EscoVoyager® isaPC-basedsoftwarepackage developed for the remotemon i t o r i n g , d a t a l o gg i n g , a n dprogramming/deviceconfigurationofEscocontrolledenvironmentlaboratoryequipment. Compatible equipmentincludeslaboratoryovens,microbiologyincubators,CO2incubatorandultra-lowtemperaturefreezer.Voyager®interfaceswith individual Esco equipment overRS485usingtheEscoBUScommunicationsprotocol.

Esco Product Guide

16

Chemical Research

TheSafe,EnergyEfficientSolutionforModernChemistryDuctless Fume Hoods

Esco Ascent Ductless Fume Hoods provide protection to both

laboratory personnel and the environment from toxic fumes.

Introduction: EscoAscentDuctlessfumehoodsareasensiblebalanceofquality,performanceandcost-effectiveness.Theyprovideprotectiontobothlaboratorypersonnelandtheenvironmentfromtoxicfumes.Unlikeconventionalfumehoods,thesehoodsfilteroutchemicalfumesandrecycleairdirectlybacktothelaboratory,providingenergysavings,personnelandenvironmentalprotection,mobility,andconvenienceasyoudonothavetodealwithcomplicatedductingsystems.

EscoDuctlessfumehoods’fumecontainmentandairflowuniformitymeettherequirementsofASHRAE110-1995,BS7258,EN14175-3andAFNORNFX15-203.

Key Benefits:•Lowcost:-Noductworkrequired.-Noexhaustsystemrequired.-Savestheneedforelaboratemake-upairsystems,inturnsavingrunningcostsrequiredtoconditionmake-upair.

•Convenience:-Minimalinstallationexpense.-Mobile,flexibleandcanbeeasilyrelocated.

•Environmentallyfriendly:-PersonnelandenvironmentalprotectionwiththeuseofNanocarb™carbonfilters.

-Savesenergyasthereisnoneedforcomplicatedductingandmake-upairsystems.

Product Lines:•TheStandardAscentMaxDuctlessFume.•TheAscentMaxDuctlessFumeHoodwithsecondarybackupcarbonexhaustfilter.

•TheAscentMaxDuctlessFumeHoodwithtransparentglassbackwall.

•TheAscentMaxDuctlessFumeHoodwithsecondarybackupHEPAfilter.

Ascent Max Ductless Fume Hood Powder Max Powder Weighing Enclosure

Ascent Opti Ductless Fume Hood

Ductless Fume Hoods

17

Chemical Research

Laboratory Fume Hoods

Laboratory fume hoods serve to control exposure to toxic, offensive or flammable vapors, gases and aerosols.

Frontier Duo Fume Hood

Laminar Topography and Perfect Protection PerimeterLaboratory Fume Hoods

Introduction: EscoLaboratoryFumeHoodsareamongthebestintheworld,compliantwithinternationalstandardssuchastheAmericanASHRAE110-1995andtheBritishBS7258,independentlytestedbyINVENT-UK.TheyhavealsobeensuccessfullytestedforfumecontainmentspecifiedintheEuropeanStandardEN14175-3andreceivedUnderwritersLaboratories,USAClassificationunder thefumehoodstandardUL1805,testedforfire,electrical,andmechanicalhazards.

Features:•Durableconstructionmadeofindustrial-gradeelectro-galvanizedsteelwithcorrosionandabrasionresistant,oven-baked,powder-coatedfinish.

• Precisely tuned aerodynamic design eliminates airturbulence,minimizesnoiselevelsandstaticpressurelosses.

•Constantvolume/highperformanceconcepteliminatestheneedforcomplexVAVsystems.

•Designedwithcomputationalfluiddynamicsensuringmaximumcontainment,thereforeenhancingsafety.

• Ergonomically designed for operator comfort andconvenience.

• Isocide antimicrobial coating prevents surfacecontaminationandinhibitsbacterialgrowth.

•ASHRAE110andEN14175certifiedandULclassified.

Product Lines:•GeneralPurposeBenchtopHoods.•AcidDigestionHoods.• PerchloricAcidHoods.•RadioisotopeHoods.• FloorMountedHoods.•HighPerformance,LowFlowHoods.• PolypropyleneHoods.• ChemicalFumeScrubbers.• ExhaustBlowers.

Certifications:•ASHRAE110

•EN14175

•ULclassified

Frontier Floor MountedFume Hood

Frontier Acid DigestionFume Hood

Frontier RadioisotopeFume Hood

Esco Product Guide

18

Chemical Research

Fume Hoods Accessories

Fume Scrubbers

Introduction: Aproperly used andproperly functioning fumehoodexhaustshazardousgases,dusts,mists,andvaporsfroma confined location and helps protect workers frominhalationexposure.Tobeabletoprovidethebestfumeexhaustsystem,Escooffersfumehoodsaccessoriessuchasfumescrubbers,exhaustblowers,andairflowmonitorscompatiblewithmostEscofumehoods.

Esco'sFumeScrubberprovidesexcellentairpollutioncontrolforwatersolublechemicalspresentinthelaboratoryfumehoodexhaustfumes.Moreandmorelaboratorydesignersandfacilityoperatorsareconsideringtheuseofscrubbersfortheirfumehoodstoaddresslaboratoryoperatorsafetyandenvironmentalconcerns.

Key Benefits:•Excellentremovalefficiencieswith95-98%efficiencyformostwater-solubleacidandbaseladenairstreams.

•Durablebodymadeofchemicalandcorrosionresistantpolypropylene.

•Thepacking,spraymanifoldandmisteliminatorcounted

ontopoffumehood,pumpandreservoirinthebasecabinet.Thisarrangementensuresthatminimalextraspaceisrequiredforthescrubbersystem.

Exhaust Blowers

Introduction: TheEscoExhaustBlowerisspecificallydesignedforcorrosivefumehoodapplications.

Key Benefits:•Plasticimpellerandcasingthatarehighlyresistanttochemicalsandcorrosion.

•PerformanceinaccordancewithAMCA210-85andISO5801.

• Single block, strong, high density, UV-treated andrecyclablepolypropylene(PPH),noweldedjoints.

Fume Hood Airflow Monitors

Introduction: Esco®SentinelXL™FumeHoodMonitormeasuresandmonitorsthe"facevelocity"insideafumehood.Thesystemwillgenerateanalarmifthefacevelocitydropslowerthanthelowalarmpointorriseshigherthanthehighalarmpoint.

Allofthefeaturesinthismonitorsystemwillprovidetheuserwithahigherlevelofconfidenceinhisorhersafetywhenusingthefumehood.

Assisted Reproductive Technology(ART)

19

The Esco suite of ART equipment is the best choice for proven safety and performance

for the fertility laboratory.

EscoAssistedReproductiveTechnology(ART)EquipmentART Workstations

Introduction: TheFertilisafeMulti-Zone (MZ)ARTWorkstation isanadvancedworkstation specially designed forAssistedReproduction Techniques (ART) such as gamete orembryomanipulationduringIVF.Aprecision-controlledheatedtabletopprovidestheusertotalcontrolovertheenvironmental conditions required for embryologicalprocedures.

TheFertilisafeMZhasother features thatmake it theperfectsystemforfertilitylabs.Itincludesahumidificationsystem,provisionforstereomicroscopes,integratedlightsource,andheatedglassstage.WhatmakestheFertilisafeuniquehoweveristhesurveillancesystemprovidedontheintegratedtouchscreenmonitor.Thesurveillancesystemprovidesgraphicalinformationofthe10heatedzones(4ftwidthmodel)or20heatedzones(6ftwidthmodelwithdualmicroscopesetup).

Key Benefits:• Next-generation temperature regulation for ARTapplications.

• Real-time feedback of workstation performanceparametersviathesurveillancesystem.

•Lownoiseandvibration.

Features:•Advancedsmartpowerinjectionmulti-Zoneheatedtableplate(9+1zones)keepssampleswarm.

• Surveillance system running data logger (included)constantly displays important parameters such astemperatureofeachzoneandhumidifiedgasflowrate.

•Atouchscreenmonitorisbuilt-inandrunsthesystemsoftware.

•Provisionforintegrationofmostcommonmicroscopescomesstandard.

•Integratedheatedglassstageandintegratedtransmittedlightsourcewithdual-sidedmirrorandintensitycontrolknobscompletethesystemformicroscopywork.

• PT1000 temperature validation ports allow easytemperaturevalidation.

•Thehumidificationsystemprovidesdigitalflowcontrolofpre-mixedgas thatkeepssamples inacontrolledenvironmenteliminatingdeadairzones,prolongingmainfilterlifeandenhancingproductandcross-contaminationprotection.

DesignedinDenmark

Assisted Reproductive Technology(ART)

Esco Product Guide

20

Multi-room Incubators

Designed for the fertility laboratory, the new Esco Miri delivers features that not only

make sense, but deliver top performance making it the perfect choice for routine

incubation of embryos during IVF.Introduction: TheEscoMiri isarevolution informandfunctionalityforCO2incubatorsforinvitrofertilization(IVF).With6chambers,theMiriisamulti-roomincubatorthatallowsusers toaccess theircultures inonechamberwithoutaffectingtheneighboringchambers.Thus,theharmfuleffectsoffluctuationsintemperatureandgascausedbyfrequentincubatoraccessareavoided.

BuiltspecificallytoequipIVFlaboratoriesandclinicstoprovidethebeststandardsofcare,itboastsauniquesetoffeaturesthatcannotbefoundelsewhere.

Features: •6chambersarecompletelyindependentfromeachotherpreventingcross-contamination.•MixedgasNOTrequired=reducedoperatingcosts.•Heatinginthelid(oiloverlaynotrequired).preventscondensationandenhancestemperatureregulation/recovery.•DocumentedUVCdecontaminationofrecirculatedgas.•MEAtestedanddocumented.

•12xPIDregulationsystem,themostadvancedintheworld.

•Built-intemperaturevalidation.•Fullparameterdisplayatadistance.•Pressuresensorsonexternalgas.

Certifications:•IEC/EN60601-13rdedition

•EUMDDClassIIaMedicalDevice

DesignedinDenmark

MadeintheE.U.

Pharmaceutical Equipment

21

Pharmaceutical Equipment

For decades, Esco has been a pioneer in the development of clean air / containment

technology, earning a reputation for innovation in the worldwide laboratory and

cleanroom industry. Esco utilizes this wealth of knowledge and experience to expand

its cleanroom range into what is now the Pharma Division.

Introduction: OurEscoPharmaDedicatedR&DEngineershaveacombined30yearsofexperienceinsystemsdesignofavarietyofcontainmentandasepticprocessequipment.Thisteamofengineershashelpedtogrowthepharmalineofproductsfrombasiccleanroomequipmenttomorestate-of-the-artproducts,fromhospitalpharmacyisolatorstoadvancedcontainmentisolatorsystems,includingnewproductstomeetvariousneeds.

EscoPharmaceuticalEquipment isdivided into3maincategories:

- AirflowContainment.- IsolationContainment.- CrossContaminationFacilityIntegratedBarriers.

Airflow Containment Products:

•PharmaconDownflowBooths.•EscoStraddleUnitSingle,EscoStraddleUnitDouble,CustomLFCabinets.

•EscoGarmentStorageCabinet,LaminarFlowStorageCabinet.

•LaminarFlowVerticalTrolleys,LaminarFlowHorizontalTrolleys.

•CeilingSuspendedLaminarAirFlows,FanFilterUnits.•LaminarFlowBooths,ModularEnclosures.

Isolation Containment:

•AsepticContainmentIsolator(ACTI).•Weigh/DispenseContainmentIsolator(WDCI).•CAIandCACI.•CustomIsolators.

Cross Contamination Facility Integrated Barriers:

•StaticBarriers.•DynamicAirflowBarriers.•BiodeconBarriers.

DesignedintheUSA

General Equipment

Esco Product Guide

22

Introducing Esco Isotherm® - world class laboratory ovens and incubators from Esco with the technologies and compliance to prove it.

Reliable Performance For Universal ApplicationsLaboratory Ovens and Incubators

Introduction:IntroducingEscoIsotherm®-worldclasslaboratoryovensfromEscowiththetechnologiesandcompliancetoproveit. Ergonomic, intuitive interfaces,microprocessorPIDcontrolswithprogrammingoptions,4-zoneheatedairjacket,preciselytunedandtestedventilationandinsulationpackage,allsupportedbyEsco’ssolutions-basedsalesandservicerepresentativesworldwide.

Features:•SolarisTMPre-HeatChamberTechnology.•Forcedconvectiondesignproducesfastertemperatureresponse rates, improved uniformity, and reducedfluctuation.

•Fanspeedandairexchangeratesareadjustable.•WideRangeofProgrammingOptions.

•Multipleredundantover-temperatureprotectionsystemstoguaranteemaximumsampleanduserprotection.

•AccessportforTemperaturevalidationandmapping.•ErgonomicDoorHandlewithKeylock.

Product Lines:• ForcedConvectionLaboratoryOvens.• ForcedConvectionLaboratoryIncubators.• RefrigeratedIncubators.• StainlessSteelOptionsforallsizesofOvens,Incubators&LowTemperatureIncubators.

EscoAfterSalesServices

After Sales Services

Parts Availability

Wheneverserviceisneededandpartsarerequired,minimizingdowntimeisacriticalobjective.StatisticalusageanalysishelpsEscopredictpartslife,permittingEscotomanagelogisticsandstageproperinventoriesaroundtheworld.Thecombinationofpredictivemaintenance,historicaldataandgeospecificproximityassuresourcustomersthatpartsand

laborareavailablewheneverserviceisscheduledthroughthelocalsalesorganization.

Registration, Documentation and Instruction

QualitycontrolatEscoextendsfromresearchanddevelopmentthroughengineering,manufacturing,shipment,deliveryandcustomerfeedback.Escomaintainsanaggressiveprogramtoencouragewarrantycardregistrationbymail,emailoronlinesubmittalsothatweknowwhereEscoproductsarelocatedandhowtheyarebeingused.DatafromourwarrantyregistrationprogramisconfidentialandprovidesuswithvaluablecontactinformationshouldweeverneedtonotifyyouaboutyourEscoproduct.

AllEscoproductsincludeuniqueserialnumbersforidentification.

Documentationforallperformancetests isarchivedandmaintainedforcustomerreference.

Online Technical Information

Sitepreparationinstructionsareusefulbeforeproductarrivalandinstallation.Installationandstart-upmanuals,operationmanualsandquickreferenceguidesareavailableanytimefromtheEscoresourcesonline.AninteractiveonlineLiveSupport™conciergecenteraccessiblethroughtheEscowebsiteoffersextendedhoursofoperation.LiveSupportpermitsuserstodialoguedirectly

withEscopersonnel.

References and Links

FormoreaboutEscoproducts,markets,employmentopportunities,history,education,informationresources,andSingapore,visitourinformationportal

atwww.escoglobal.com.

LIVE SUPPORTescoglobal.com

LIVE SUPPORTescoglobal.com

23

EscoTechnologies,Inc.•2940TurnpikeDrive,Units15-16•Hatboro,PA19040,USAToll-FreeUSAandCanada877-479-3726•Tel215-441-9661•Fax215-441-9660us.escoglobal.com•usa@escoglobal.com

EscoMicroPte.Ltd.•21ChangiSouthStreet1•Singapore486777Tel+6565420833•Fax+6565426920•mail@escoglobal.comwww.escoglobal.com

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Esco Global Offices|Beijing,China|Chengdu,China|KualaLumpur,Malaysia|Manama,Bahrain|Guangzhou,China|Hanoi,Vietnam|Melaka,Malaysia|Mumbai,India|Hatboro,PA,USA|Salisbury,UK|Shanghai,China|Seoul,SouthKorea|

Delhi,India|Osaka,Japan|Manila,Philippines|Midrand,SouthAfrica|Singapore

Laboratory Equipment Division

Nurturing Science.......

Quality Policy

We, the employees of Saksham Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

proudly pronounce our resolution to be a Customer Centric Organization and a Reliable Solution Provider to

Life Sciences & Healthcare segments by - Offering good quality, innovative, cost

effective Laboratory Instruments and Process Equipments,

- Delivering efficient and effective service to ensure Customer

Delight and - Continual improvement of our

systems for better efficiency.

With over two decades of focused dedication, thousands of installations and trusted relationships with leading Life Sciences and Healthcare Companies, Research Organisations and Educational Institutes.

Saksham Technologies have grown up to become a preferred supplier of world class laboratory equipment for various scientific applications.

Since inception, we have been working very closely with our customers to understand their needs and requirements to suggest appropriate solutions for their respective applications.

Our reputation for problem solving has been earned through timely support on service and application engineering with in-house capabilities for critical jobs of Refrigeration, Clean Air, High Pressure And Vacuum Engineering. We have also developed an expertise on Validation Services for various equipment with Comprehensive Documentation capabilities.

We are now a team of professionals committed to provide eff icient and effective services. With headquarters in Mumbai, Saksham Technologies has branched out to all part of the country with Regional Offices in Bangalore and Delhi.

We shall continue to strive for excellence in customer satisfaction and contribute significantly towards the success of plans and activities of our customers.

Gram Commercial

Esco

Chemometec Automated Advanced Cell Analysis System Automated Mammalian Cell Counters Automated Yeast Cell Counters Automated Sperm Cell Counters Automated Somatic Cell Counters Automated Animal Cell Counters

Refrigerators for Biostorage Freezers for Biostorage Blood Bank Refrigerators Blood Bank Freezers

Vertical and Horizontal Laminar Airflow Cabinets Biosafety Cabinets CO Incubators 2

Multi Room CO Incubators for ART2

Multi zone ART Workstation Ultra Low temperature Freezers Laboratory Incubators, BOD Incubators & Ovens Laboratory Freezer Dryers Refrigerators & Freezers PCR Thermal Cyclers & RTPCRS Shaking Micro Incubators PCR Cabinets Fume Hoods - Ducted & Ductless Cytotoxic Cabinets & Pharmacy Compounding

Isolators Powder Weighing Balance Enclosures

Biolog

Awel International Centrifuges Automatic Air Samplers (Bio Collectors) Media Blenders & Diluters Media Preparators Media Distributors & Pourer Stacker H2O2 Decontaminator

Microbial ID / Charecterisation Microbial Detection using Chromogenic Media Microbial Community Analysis with EcoPlates™ Phenotype MicroArrays for Microbial Cells Phenotype MicroArrays for Mammalian Cells Phenotype MicroArray Services

Optika Laboratory Microscopes Industrial Microscopes Digital Microscopes Refractometers & Polarimeters

PG Instruments UV - Visible Spectrophotometer UV - Visible Double Beam Spectrophotometers Visible Portable Spectrophotometer Atomic Absorption Spectrometer Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometer Flame Photometer

Steelco

Laboratory Glassware Washers Laboratory Glassware Dryers

Scigenics Biotech Shakers Incubator Shakers Illuminated Shakers Hybridization Chambers

Scigenics India Laboratory Fermentors Downstream processing equipments

Tuttnauer

Bench top Autoclaves Vertical Autoclaves

Laboratory Viscometers Process Viscometers

proRheo

RheoSense, Inc.

Portable Small Sample Viscometers

Castel MAC

Ice Flaking Machines

Hielscher

Ultrasonic Homogenizers Ultrasonic Disruptors

SteroGlass

Laboratory Rotary Evaporators Pilot Scale Rotary Evaporators Reactor Systems (Lab & Plant Scale) Trace Metal Analysers Potentiometric Titrators

Jeiotech Aspirator Pumps Baths & Circulators Desiccators Environmental Chambers Incubators & Ovens Magnetic Drives Vacuum Ovens Recirculating Coolers (Chillers) Shakers & Incubator Shakers Stirrers Vortex Mixers Ultrasonic Cleaners

Table of Content

Noblegen

Nitrogen Gas Generators Liquid Nitrogen Generators

AWEL International has 20 years of experience in the field of Biotechnology. The team is composed of experienced professionals who hold masters degrees in the sciences and international business. Our people understand your needs and are dedicated to meeting your project deadlines and achieving customer satisfaction. It is through our dedication and professionalism that we are able to develop long-term relationships with our customers

Centrifuges

Top & Floor Standing Models in Refrigerated (-20 to 60 Deg) & Non Refrigerated versions 4000 to 17800 RPM (3000 Xg to 20350 Xg) Wide range of rotors to accommodate Test Tubes& Buckets of different sizes & Capacities, Standard SBS, Deep well plates High User Safety: End of Run Indication, Level Detection Easy Operation: Rotor Exchange without tools, Informative Multi color Display Ergonomic Design.

H2O2 Decontaminators

Innovative Technology to get rid of micro organisms Harmless for operator Reduced Down Time of Equipments No rinsing, no wiping required Compact Size, can easily fit into Bio Safety Cabinets and most CO2 incubators

Automatic Air Samplers (Bio Collectors)

Portable (Battery Operated), High Flow Instruments Delayed Start or Remote Start Collection efficiency (micro Organisms >99%) far superior to simple sedimentation Auto clavable stainless steel sampling grid FDA Compliant Traceability functions with PC or printer

Automate Blending, Dilution & Distribution of Media while ensuring sterility and utmost user Safety:

Media Blender BL 400

High Speed: Treats up to 60 Samples per hour Perfect decontamination & guaranteed quality of blending / optimized micro organism

recovery level High Blender Bag Capacity (80ml to 400ml)

Media Diluters DI 400

Automated and Fast dilution (< 20sec/sample) & controlled process eliminate all risks of human error

Dilution factor of 1/2 to 1/99 (Sample Weight of minimum 1 g to maximum 2500 g) Option of Connecting to two or four broths: Prevents Contamination Can be coupled with Media Preparator for Fast Automated & Contamination free

Media Preparation & Dilution Connectivity with Printer & PC for traceability

Media Preparator MP 9

All in one operation - homogenization, heating, sterilization, cooling and maintaining at pouring temperature.

Ideal for the preparation of all types of fresh media (blood agar, media with supplements,..)

Excellent temperature homogeneity : Guarantees sterility better than an Autoclave Different Models to choose from : 28 liters (up to 9 Liter in One Hour) & 60 Liters Models

(up to 3500 Dishes in 1hr30 min.)

Awel Media Distributor MD 320

Accommodates dishes (90 mm, 55 mm) tubes & flasks High Capacity-Prepares up to 7500 x 90 mm dishes per day Allows loading/unloading of up to 320 dishes in less than 30 minutes UV Irradiation to ensure sterilization Printer (option) for 90 Petri dishes

Awel International, France

www.awelinternational.com

i n ternat iona l

TM

Biolog is a pioneer and world leader in cell-based phenotypic testing technologies and assays. We have focused our efforts on developing technologies and products to test properties of cells (phenotypes) very simply and efficiently.

A powerful technology platform for a wide range of Cell Phenotyping and Identification Applications with Bacterial, Fungal, Yeast and Mammalian cells.

World leaders in cell phenotyping technology with Bacterial, Fungal, Yeast and Animal Cells for major applications including:

Microbial species identification Cell fingerprinting, analysis, and quality control Analyzing effects of genetic changes on cells Analyzing effects of chemicals on cells Optimizing culture conditions of cells in research, bioprocess development,

and stem cell studies

The areas of Application include:

Microbial ID / CharecterisationThe Biolog Microbial ID System can rapidly identify over 2,500 species of Aerobic and Anaerobic Bacteria, Yeasts and Fungi. These easy to use Systems provide reference laboratory quality identifications. The GEN III redox chemistry is applicable to an unprecedented range of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.

Microbial Detection using Chromogenic Media®Rainbow Agars offer a simple selective and chromogenic medium to help you

conveniently detect strains of E.coli O157, Salmonella, Shigella and Aeromonas with results in less than 24 hours.

Microbial Community Analysis with EcoPlates™Created in accord with recommendations of microbial ecologists specifically for community analysis and microbial ecological studies Biolog EcoPlates have been ™found to provide a sensitive and reliable index of environmental change.

Phenotype MicroArrays for Microbial CellsPhenotype MicroArray technology enables researchers to evaluate nearly 2000phenotypes of a microbial cell in a single experiment through comprehensive andprecise quantitation of phenotypes, researchers are able to obtain an unbiasedperspective of the effect on cells of genetic differences, environmental change,and exposure to drugs and chemicals.

Phenotype MicroArrays for Mammalian CellsPMM assays are cell-based assays provided in five categories and used to determine up to 1,400 metabolic and chemical sensitivity phenotypes of mammalian cells.

Microbial ID, Taxonomy, and Miscellaneous

Veterinary Microbiology

Plant Microbiology

Biodegradation, Soil and Water Microbiology

Food Microbiology

Marine and Hypersaline Microbiology

Microbial Communities

Yeast and Fungi

Anaerobic Microbiology

Medical Microbiology & Evaluations

Rainbow Agar®

Computer Programs/Statistical Analysis (Microbial ID Products Not for Human In Vitro Diagnostic Use)

www.biolog.com

BIOLOG

Founded in 1997, ChemoMetec A/S works closely with Hospitals, Research Institutes and Universities in order to maintain focus on recent developments and customer needs. It strives to establish a solid strategic foundation through extensive patenting of its core technologies.

Since 2002 ChemoMetec has introduced the NucleoCounter® family, with applications in the field of cell counting for biotechnology, food industry and beverages.

Technology that counts

NucleoCounter NC 3000 for Advanced Cell Analysis.Next Generation Cell Analysis and High Speed Cell Count in one instrument The NucleoCounter® NC-3000™ is a full-spectrum fluorescence microscope which providesprecise automated detection, quantification and analysis of fluorescence at the single celllevel. The main advantages are:

- Automated Advanced Cell Analysis System - Full-spectrum: 7 light sources covering from UV to far red. - Avoid calibration, rinsing and clogging. - No need for maintenance and service. - Get visual inspection of your analyzed cells. - Superior data visualization with the Plot Manager. - Low running costs.

Fixed Analytical Assays Suitable for :- Apoptosis Detection.

Viability and Cell Count Assay.

Two-step Cell Cycle Assay.

Cell Cycle Analysis of Fixed Cells.

Mitochondrial Potential Assay.

Annexin V Assay.

Caspase 3/7, 8 & 9 Assay.

Cell Vitality Assay.

DNA Fragmentation Assay.

GFP Transfection Efficiency Assay.TM

User Defined Protocols with FlexiCyte

NucleoCounter NC 250 - Counting of Mammalian Cells, Viability Assay, Vitality Assay and Cell Cycle Assay. - Upto 8 Samples in one run.

NucleoCounter NC 200 - One Step Viability and Cell Count. - Total Count, Viability, Cell Diameter and Percentage of Cells in Cell Clump. - All in less than 50 Seconds.

NucleoCounter NC 100 - A Standard for Counting Mammalian Cells.

NucleoCounter NC 100+ - For Counting Mammalian Cells, Avian Cells, Insect Cells, Fish Cells and Plant Cells.

NucleoCounter YC 100 - Total Count of Yeast Cells and Viability.

NucleoCounter SP 100 - Total Count of Sperm Cells and Viability for Boar, Bull, Stallion, Canine & Buck.

NucleoCounter SCC 100 - For Counting of Somatic Cells in Milk.

NewCell Counter

Determine your

cells' health

BEFORE they die!

Chemomete A/S, Denmark

www.chemometec.com

Gram Commercial has applied all its vast range of refrigeration and freezer know-how to providing the ultimate in meticulously controlled, highly dependable biostorage.

Gram has worldwide presence with subsidiaries in the UK, Germany and Netherlands and branches in Norway, Sweden and France.

The BioLine range

The BioLine range has been designed with all the mission-critical components and systems to exceptional specifications, with every detail super-optimised to tackle the exceptional demands of discerning bioscience customers. BioLine cabinets and systems are supremely reliable, so you can be sure of keeping delicate, high-value bioscience materials under perfect conditions at all times, with a minimum of effort or concern.

Maximum Reliability Stringent Control Optimised Airflows Responsible Environmental Profile Easy Customisation Rapid Support from Trained Staff Reference Standard Storage

There are five entirely separate models in the BioLine range of controlled biostorage solutions. Together, these cover everything from high–specification biostorage designed for “mission–critical” work to general–purpose refrigeration and freezer units. BioLine products have been assessed to ATEX requirements by TUV NORD

Features: Access port Self-closing door with key lock Voltage-free contact Acoustic and visual door alarm E-sensor Acoustic and visual temperature alarm Alarm recording Foot pedal RS 232 port nly available in select models.Gram Monitor Data Logger o

Bioline GrossVolume Capacity (Ltrs) Temp. Range available

0 0 0 0Refrigerators 125 to 1400ltrs -2 C/+15 C, +2 C/+15 C,

0 0 0 0 0 0Freezers 125 to 1400ltrs -25 C/-5 C, -35 C/-5 C, -40 C/-5 C

0 0Bioblood Refrigerators 500 to 1400ltrs +2 C/+6 C

0 0 0 0 0 0Bioblood Freezers 425 to 1400ltrs -25 C/-5 C, -35 C/-5 C, -40 C/-5 C

Gram Commercial A/S, Denmark

www.grambioline.com

Vertical and Horizontal Laminar Air flow Cabinets- Choice of HEPA or ULPA filter.

Biosafety Cabinets : Class II A2, Class II B2 and Class III- Designed for operator, product and environment protection.- For working with agents assigned to Biosafety level 1,2,3 and 4.- Microprocessor controlled and digital display.- ULPA filters for better efficiency.- NSF 49, EN 12469 and UL certified and listed.- ISOCIDE antimicrobial powder coating.- The Most Energy Efficient ECM Blower System.

CO2 Incubators- For Mammalian Cell Culture, Tissue Engineering, In-Vitro Fertilisation etc.- 50 L, 170 L & 240 L volume.- Precise Temp, CO , O control and humidity display.2 2

- Direct heat - forced convection fan for faster recovery and better uniformity.- Unique quadruple contamination control with ULPA filter, UV lamp, high temp. decontamination & ISOCIDE antimicrobial powder coating.- Intuitive user interface with LCD display.- Built - in digital data logger & Voyager Software for data logging.- Copper Interior option available.

Multi-Room Incubators for IVF- 6 chambers are completely independent from each other preventing cross contamination.- Mixed gas NOT required. Reduced operating costs.- Heating in the lid (oil overlay not required) prevents condensation and enhances temperature regulation- Documented UV decontamination of recirculated gas.- MEA tested and documented.- IEC/EN 60601-1 3rd edition & EU MDD Class IIa Medical Device certified

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Workstations- Advanced smart power injection Multi-Zone heated table plate (9+1 zones) keeps samples warm.- Surveillance system running data logger (included) constantly displays important parameters such as temperature of each zone and humidified gas flow rate.- Touchscreen monitor is built-in and runs the system software.- Provision for integration of most common microscopes comes standard.- Integrated heated glass stage and integrated transmitted light source with dual-sided mirror and intensity control knobs complete the system for microscopy work.- PT1000 temperature validation ports allow easy temperature validation.- Low noise and vibration.

Deep Freezers :- Capacity 439 L - 793 L- High Sample Capacity per Unit Volume.- Fast pull down, low energy consumption & Excellent uniformity.- Efficient cooling technology with 2-stage cascade refrigeration system.- Mullion Heater for Gasket Heating to Avoid Vacuum Buildup.- Advanced alarm systems for sample protection.- Voyager Software for data logging.

Voyager: PC-based software package- Remote monitoring, data logging, programming software- Up to 16 devices of equipment may be interfaced to a single PC- Compatible with select ESCO equipment

A leader in the development of controlled environment, laboratory and cleanroom equipment solutions. Distribution in more than 110 countries. All products independently tested to international standards. Large R & D investments, World leading technologies. State-of-the-art vertically integrated, 300,000 sq. ft. floor space manufacturing unit. Worldwide service. ESCO Pte. Ltd., Singapore

www.escoglobal.com

Laboratory Incubators, BOD Incubators & Ovens- Isotherm Forced Convection Laboratory Incubators and Ovens.- 32 L, 54 L, 110 L, 170 L, 240 L

0- Temperature range 0 to 100 C for BOD Incubators0 0 Temperature range above ambient + 7.5 C to 100 C

0- Temperature range up to 300 C for Ovens- Programmable - 10 programs with 5 steps

Laboratory Refrigerators & Freezers- High performance models.- 140 L, 400 L, 700 L, 1500 L

0 0- 2 C to 15 C for Refrigerators.0 0- -25 C / -40 C for Freezers.

- Combo systems available.

Laboratory Freeze Dryers

Thermal Cyclers (PCR Machines)TM TMSwift Thermal Cyclers / Swift Real Time Thermal

Cyclers- Advance peltier technology- Five inter changeable blocks- Stores up to 100 individual programs

Shaking Micro Incubators

- Fully programmable- 1500 RPM for microtubes & testubes- 4 easily interchangeable blocks.- Advanced Peltier heating and cooling technology

RTPCRS- Volume sensors, gradient function- Fibre optics, automatic amplitude adjustment- Proprietory block designs

PCR Cabinets :- Dedicated bench top laminar airflow system for PCR work.- ULPA filters.- IIIumination and UV lamp with count down time & interlockFume Hoods :- Ducted and Ductless Fume Hoods.- Progressive bypass airflow system.- Microprocessor controlled and digital display.- Certified according to ANSI / ASHRAE 110-1995 and EN 14175 - 3

Cytotoxic Cabinets & Pharmacy Compounding Isolators- For Cytotoxic drugs & compounding applicators- Includes additional HEPA filter / ULPA filters.- Lead shielding option for radio nucleotide work.

Powder Weighing Balance Enclosure - Designed specifically for Powder Containment applications.- Suitable for laboratory operations involving weighing, mixing and dispensing of hazardous powders.- Unique design maintains balance stability to 6 decimal places without compromising containment.- Operator protection as per ANSI / ASHRAE 110.- Chemical and abrasion resistance removable phenolic worktop

Airstream

Leading manufacturer of Laboratory equipment in Korea since the past 20 years. A supplier of equipment to National & Public Research Institutes and companies like Samsung, Hyundai, Kia, etc. A supplier of reliable Laboratory equipment in more than 70 countries.

Jeiotech CO. Ltd., Korea

www.jeiotech.co.kr

Onestop Solution for all your laboratory needs from scientific research and development to perfect simulation of environmental condition.

High Quality

High-grade stainless steelUser-friendly designMMI based control displayVariety of options

Auto-safety functionThermal securityCLS-Logic control systemBDBC2-Fussy control system

Maximum Security

RS-232, 485 interfacePC monitoringLong-term reportInterface for programming

Ideal Performance

� Aspirator Pumps 9.5ltrs/0.3cu ft. Max. Vacuum: 0.0998Mpa/29.5”Hg

� Baths & Circulators 5 ltrs to 30 ltrs -35°C to 150°C, ± 0.1°C

� Desiccators 6ltrs/0.2cu ft. to 45ltrs/1.6cu ft. Vacuum Range: 1.33 x 10-4 A

� Environmental Chambers Temperature Chambers 25 ltrs to 1500 ltrs Range -35°C to 150°C Humidity full range: 10 to 95 % RH

� Stability Chambers 25 ltrs to 1000 ltrs -40°C to +150°C, ±0.3°C 20 to 95 % RH + 3%

� Plant Growth Chambers 300 ltrs to 1000 ltrs Humidity range 40 to 80% / 50 to 90% RH (at 20~35°C)

� Incubators 65 Ltrs, 150ltrs, 205ltrs Ambient +3°C to 60°C, ± 0.1°C

• Magnetic Drives Max. 70°C (without cooling) to Max.300°C (with cooling) Vacuum: Max. 1x 10-4mmHg

• Ovens 50 ltrs to 150ltrs Amb +10°C to 250°C, ±1°C

• Vacuum Ovens 28 ltrs to 65 ltrs Amb +5°C to 250°C, ±2°C

• Recirculating Coolers (Chillers) -20°C to 80°C Cooling capacity at 20°C: 0.6 Kw to 7.Kw

• Shakers 8.16 lbs to 165.4lbs 10 to 1200 RPM

• Incubator Shakers Amb. +5°C to 60°C 10 to 300 RPM Orbital & Reciprocating motion type

• Stirrers 20ltrs to 50 ltrs Amb. To 350°C/662°C Speed range: 30 to 2,000 RPM

• Vortex Mixers Max. Load: 0.5 kg Speed range: 0 to 3,000 RPM

• Ultrasonic Cleaners 2 to 20 ltrs/0.07 to 0.70 cu ft. Amb. ~ to 50°C/70°C/158°C

Reliable and efficient alternative to your High pressure cylinder & Liquid Gas Supplies, which takes away on going costs, Safety considerations & delays associated with transportation of conventional Gas cylinders. Labgen+ Utilizes reliable and efficient PSA technique of separating Nitrogen and Oxygen to produce high quality Nitrogen Gas at various flows as per table below

‘LABGAS+’ on-site Nitrogen systems are some of the most advanced andIntelligent system, which ensure an efficient and consistent supply of gas is always available. And are perhaps the quietest Nitrogen Generation system available in the market

The liquid nitrogen produced by the ‘Khione’ LN2 system is made within a closed loop and clean system. The resultant nitrogen gas produced is as clean as it can be. The nitrogen gas is 98% pure with a dew-point of -60°c, to give 99.999% liquid nitrogen purity. Various Models to choose from a Range of Flow – 10 to 240 L/day. Built in nitrogen PSA gas generator, HMI touch screen display / control, Automatic operation – ECO mode, Internal LN2 Dewar (various sizes), Additional N2 gas outlet, Autoclave air inlet filter, Medical sterile N2 gas filter, Liquid level display, External LN2 transfer hose, Compact and quiet design are few of the standard features

COOLINGWATER*

L/MIN @ 27°C

2.8

4.5

6.0

7.6

11.4

MODEL

LN10

LN20

LN40

LN60

LN120

LN240

FLOWL/DAY

10

20

40

60

120

240

FLOWL/HR

0.42

0.83

1.70

2.50

5.0

10.0

DEWARCAPACITY

35

100

160

210

300

500

N2GAS(L/MIN)

5.5

11.0

13.0

33.0

65.0

130.0

POWER(Kw)

2.2

4.0

5.5

7.5

15.5

31.0 18.5

�Khione� Liquid Nitrogen Generation Plants

Labgen+ Nitrogen Generators from Noblegen

Noblegens products are market leaders in the design, development and supply of laboratory and industrial PSA Nitrogen Gas Generators to give ultra-clean reliable gas and liquid gas generation systems. LABGAS+ range, is the latest in laboratory nitrogen gas generators, the units are controlled by an HMI touchscreen, featuring flow rate, pressures, trend graph, auto-start / stop, with the option of oxygen analyser. ‘KHIONE’ is latest in liquid nitrogen generators designed to give the customer constant on-site supply.Noblegen, UK

www.noblegen.co.uk

Nitrogen Outlet Flowrate - Nl/min vs Oxygen Concentration

Model 5ppm 100ppm 0.1% 0.5% 1.0% 2.0%outlet

pressure(barg)

Dims-0

Dims-1

NG1 1.0 - - - - - 5.0 size 1 size 1

NG3 3.0 - - - - - 5.0 size 3 size 3

NG4 - - 3.0 4.0 - - 5.5 size 1 size 1

NG5 - 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 5.0 size 3 size 3

NG6 - - 16.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 7.0 size 3 size 3

NG7 - - 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 7.0 size 3 size 3

Optika Microscopes offers more than 80 different microscopes models with complete range of accessories and analyzing softwares for the field of Microscopy. Easy to use measurement functions to produce highly accurate image inspections.

0 360 rotating Monocular, Binocular, Trinocular head. 4X/ 10X/ 40X/ 60X/ 100X (Telescopic) achromatic zoom objectives Latest LED powered illumination system

Educational Microscopes: - Advanced stereo microscopes - Biological microscopes with magnification upto 600x - High efficient LED light source.

Lab Microscopes: - Magnification upto 1000x - Laboratory polarized microscopes. - Darkfield microscope for Live Blood Analysis - Upright &Inverted microscopes for most demanding fluorescence applications - LED system with adjustable illumination intensity

Industrial Microscopes: - Magnification upto 1000x - Trinocular stereo zoom Microscope for SMD inspection Gemological Stereo Microscopes Metallurgical and Measuring Microscopes. Discussing HDM Microscope - Wide range of stereo zoom heads and special stands for better operator convenience.

Digital Microscopes: - Wide range of microscopes for fulfilling any requirement in photo video field. - Desktop/Handheld digital microscope - Built-in camera, LCD screen and USB port to connect with PC - Optika software suites/packages for various microscopy applications. Image acquisition Post elaboration & measurement

Refractometers & Polarimeters Hand Refractometers for Salinity/ Urine/ Serum and DI measuring.

Abbe Bench Refractometer Bench Polarimeter

OPTIKA Microscopes belongs to “M.A.D. Apparecchiature Scientifiche” and, with almost 40 years experience in the field of scientific instrumentation, it is known worldwide as a leading company for optical microscopes’ production and distribution.

OPTIKA microscopes excellence, concerning quality, innovation, prices and customer assistance, reaches through a wide network of national and international distributors.

X-LEDTM

www.optikamicroscopes.com

Optika SRL, Italy

UV �Visible Spectrophotometer T60 - T70• Fixed (2nm) or variable (0.5, 1, 2, 5nm) spectral bandwidth.• Wavelength accuracy +/- 1nm to +/- 0.3nm.• a motorised 8 cell changer and pre-aligned Tungsten and Deuterium lamps. • Holographic blazed grating 1200 lines/mm.

UV-Visibile Double Beam Spectrophotometer T80, T90+, T92+ • Czerny-Turner monochromator • Holographic grating to give very low stray light• Excellent spectral resolution. • Variable bandwidth (0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0nm) and wide photometric range (-4.0 to 4.0Abs). • Use of a photo multiplier tube as a detector offers exceptional sensitivity

Visible Portable Spectrophotometer P11• ALL the features of a conventional Spectrophotometer – Quantitative analysis, Kinetics, Photometric and Spectrum Analysis• CCD Detector in C30 model UV-Win 5 offers complete instrument control along with data acquisition and a whole host of mathematical tools for interpretation of measurement results. complies with GLP Protocol and CFR 21 Part 11.

Range for Elemental Spectroscopy:-

Atomic Absorption Spectrometer : AA500Integrated Graphite Furnace AtomiserOperation with Air/Acetylene Flame

Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometer : AF402Analysis of Volatile Elements: Pb, Cd, Hg, Sb, Bi, As, Se, Te, Zn, Ge, Sn

Flame Photometer : FP 902Used for the analysis of the Alkali Metals: Na, Li, K, and Ca

GC600 Gas Chromatograph System:

Cold Septum Purgeless Injection Technology that guarantees of sample integrity, no discrimination of volatiles and high boilers.

Upto 3 injectors and 3 detectors can be installed and operated simultaneously.

EPC with excellent pressure resolution and range.

Low Thermal Inertia Oven for fast heating and cooling with + / - 0.1C accuracy displayed.

Full range of detectors with excellent sensitivity and linearity ranges FID, TCD. ECD, NPD and MS.

User friendly touchscreen interface and programming based on menu-driven windows.

Water Purification System:Flow rate: 18 L to 38 L/hrUpto 4 options based on application for purity requirementsHigh Purity Water from mains Supply or via Reverse Osmosis can be produced.

Products produced to European standard and CE Certified Auto Calibration for Water Purity and set levels for filter change warning

Economical Recurring Consumable Cost.

PG Instruments: Analytical Instruments for Science Offering an extensive range of high quality Scientific and Analytical Instruments to various market sectors such as Chemical, Pharma, Food and Beverage, Petrochemical, Clinical and more. All Instruments are tested by PG Instruments in the UK to ensure Pharmacopeia compliance (European and US) PG Instruments, US

www.pginstruments.com

The Specialist for Viscosity Measurement, proRheo is producer of measuring instruments for rheologic examination of fluid products in laboratory as well as viscometers to be used in production process. These instruments give a online signal that can be used for process regulation. proRheo is certified according DIN EN ISO 9001 in the fields of Development, Production and Calibration of Rheometers.

Pro-Rheo Rotational Viscometers for Laboratory and Process

Various Models to choose from for use in Laboratory and Production Environment.0

Direct measurement into the Samples up to a temperature range of 1800 C.

Wide range of measurement systems for extensive range of samples as per DIN, ISO / ASTM.

Availability of various accessories e.g. thermostating unit, RS 232 interface, Process/Evaluation software, Printer Interface, Rechargeable Batteries etc.

Low Shear Viscometer Model Available for requiring Sample volume as low as 70ul.

proRheo, Germany

www.prorheo.de

With over 20 years of experience in rheology, in both the academic and professional fields, Dr. Baek Developed core manufacturing processes and helped bring several new technologies to market. Upon founding RheoSense, he turned his talents to developing micromanufacturing for rheology and viscometry devices. His innovative approaches to micromanufacturing, microfluidics, and rheology instrument design have enabled RheoSense to succeed where industry giants have failed.

RheoSense, USA

www.rheosense.com

RheoSense Chip based Viscometers-Rheometers for very low Sample Volumes

VROC (Viscometer-Rheometer-on-a-Chip) - the only MEMS microfluidic chip-based Viscometry technology in the world, well known for Simplicity, Fast and accurate measurements.

Requiring sample volume as low as 50µl making it suitable for demanding applications e.g. Proteins, Inks etc. Two different Models to choose from e.g. Battery Operated portable Model or Bench Top Model for a wider dynamic range.

Accuracy for wide dynamic range Sample viscosity as low 0.2 cP and as high as 100,000 cP can be measured with the same high degree of accuracy.

Fast and easy measurement Sample loading and testing take just a few minutes. Microliter sample volume advanced microfludic/MEMS sensor allows viscosity

measurement for samples as small as 50µl. No evaporation The sample is fully contained so that solvent evaporation cannot

affect accuracy, unlike cone and plate viscometers. Increased throughput Enhanced software makes repeat measurement quick and

easy. Characterization of Newtonian and non-Newtonian samples The principle of

measurement ascertains the measured viscosity is “true” even is cases of non-Newtonian behavior, such as shear thinning.

In 1991, a pioneering entrepreneurial venture SCIGENICS (INDIA) PVT. LTD., was conceived by a committed team to indigenously manufacture custom designed and engineered Fermentor. From a small beginning SCIGENICS (INDIA) PVT. LTD., has grown leaps and bounds to acquire leadership position, with several hundred Fermenters installed at prime locations both within India and abroad.

2 Ltrs. to 14 Ltrs. Fermentors.

Autoclavable and sterizable Institute & Laboratory Fermentors.

Fully Automated Systems with Speed, Temp, pH, DO, Foam and Pressure Control with Automatic Sterilisation and CIP.

PLC based SCADA systems with independent or common control panels for multiple fermentors.

Independent PID control options.

CFR 21 part II compliant Computer software for data acquisition and supervisory control.

Customised Fermentors available for Antibiotics, Vaccines, Industrial Enzymes, Biofertilizer, Anaerobic Cultures, Pro Biotics etc.

DQ, IQ, OQ, PQ Available.

Over 500 Fermentors and Mixing Vessels Installed.

Downstream processing equipments for MF, UF and RO with ceramic or polymeric membrances.

003

U K A SQUALIT Y

MANAGEMENT

Scigenics India Pvt. Ltd., India

www.scigenics.in

Scigenics Biotech is the first company to supply Shakers in India. Since its inception in 1997 has been a head start venture in manufacturing of ORBITEK® range of Shakers, specifically addressed to the field of Life Sciences and Biotechnology.

Scigenics Biotech has a global presence with over 2500 Shakers in this ever–expanding segment. An extensive service network, coupled with accessories and spare parts stock to enable easy customer call – trouble shoot – restart cycle.

® ORBITEK is–synonymous for Shakers & Lab Equipment among user

Scientists across India.

Large installation base of Shakers with a prestigious customer bank of Pharma majors, reputed Universities, Research Institutes.

Government of India ( DSIR ) recognized in-house R & D Unit

ISO 9001 : 2008 certified

CE certified assuring product safety standards

Product:®The ORBITEK product range has been expanded to include a wide range of

products. Developing custom-built products through close interaction with customers has been the organisation's forte.

Optional features:

Various options for clamps of holders

Timer

Humidity measurement

Illuminator

Chart recorder

Space saving LE 4676 (Stackable) shaker available with 3.3" coloured LCD display and gassing facility.

Model Flasks Capacity Temp. Range Shaking Frequency

L

LT

LE

LE-4676

PT

PE

INC 100L

Hi-Bi

25x250 ml

25x250 ml

25x250 ml

40x250 ml

64x250 ml

64x250 ml

2 SS

25 x 38mm 1-6 Nos

30-350 RPM

30-350 RPM

30-350 RPM

30-350 RPM

50-300 RPM

50-300 RPM

-

5-15 RPM

-

O O amb. +5 C -60 C

O O 15 C -60 C

O O 5 C -80 C

O O amb. +5 C -60 C

O O 10 C -60 C

O O amb. +5 C -60 C

O O amb. +5 C -80 C

003

U K A SQUALIT Y

MANAGEMENT

Scigenics Biotech Pvt. Ltd.

www.scigenicsbiotech.com

Steelco is a company at the forefront of innovation and technological progress in the Washer/Disinfector arena in the Healthcare, Laboratory and Pharmaceutical sectors. We provide a full technical support service for the machines including system planning for CSSD and customised layout configurations for project installations.

Washing system for Laboratory, Pharma and Animal facilities with Turbo Cycles.

Complete range of washers for cleaning and disinfection for laboratory glassware.

- Capacity: 171 / 200 / 250 / 500 / 600 ltrs

- 0.5 ml to 50 ltrs. glassware washable

- User friendly programming to optimize washing process

- Control systems with auto diagnostic program for monitoring real time cycle and alarms

- Comprehensive range of cassettes to cover diverse load of glassware

- Double liquid detergent dozing systems. (option to add two more)

- LCD display with inbuilt 20 standard and additional 20 customizable programs

- Optional accessories to meet your every requirement such as: Watersoftner, HEPA filter, USB port, etc

- In-built serial interface for documentation

- The parameters of Glassware Disinfection are controlled by means of the AO

Value as per Std. EN 15883-1

- Double door option available only available in select models

- Forced air drying system with adjustable time and temperature setting, to help ensure complete drying of inside and outside of all glassware

- Telescopic bearing rails enables easy and safe loading/unloading of the glassware

- Washing and DI disinfection temperature are fully adjustable upto 90 C temp. is monitored byO

two independent sensors

- Inner cabinet, washing arms and tank filters made of high quality AISI 316L stainless steel

Steelco S.P.A., Italy

www.steelcospa.com

Steroglass is one of the leading, scientific and laboratory equipment manufacturers and specializes in manufacturing Rotary Evaporators, Vacuum Controllers and Cooling Accessories, Potentiometric Stripping Heavy Metal Analyzers, and Electronic Liquids Dispensers, Automatic Titrators for food and beverage applications.

Rotary Evaporators -Laboratory Scale High Safety High Performance 3,5” Touch Sensitive display Maintenance free vacuum sealing Rotating speed of 20-280 rpm Bath temperature up to 185 °C 5 Liter Bath Capacity Wide Range of accessories & Evaporation Flasks (50ml to 3.0 Litre)

Rotary Evaporators -Industrial Scale Models for 6-10-20 Litre & 50-100 Litre Evaporation Flask Full PLC control with Over Heating, Over Pressure & Cut Off Protection with

Bath Lifting Maintenance Free Vacuum Sealing ATEX Certification Available

Reactor Systems (Lab & Plant Scale) Wide Range of Reactor Volumes from 300ml to 200lt Triple Walled Reactors available –0.3lt to 3.0 lt -90 Deg to 220 Deg Temp. Range Glass Baffles in Jackets for Highest efficiency heating/Cooling Same framework & Cover(5port) for 0.3lt to 7lt Reactors wide range of accessories (Chillers , Stirrers, Dosing Pumps, Vacuum Pumps,

Ultrasonic Probes etc.)

Trace Metal Analyser Wide Range of Electrodes (RDE, GC, Au, HDME) Easy Set-up & User friendly operation Vast Application database Wide Range of Accessories for Sample Pre-treatment

Potentiometric Titrators ColourTouch Sensitive

Display High Resolution 48,000

step Titration Burette High Resolution Measuring

Inputs Modular System with user

friendly Operation & GLP Printout

Range of electrodes to choose from for different applications

Auto Samplers, peristaltic Pumps, Barcode Reader, Printers

www.steroglass.it

For over 85 years, Tuttnauer’s sterilization and infection control products have been trusted by Hospitals, Universities, Research Institutes, Clinics and Laboratories throughout the world. Supplying a range of top-quality products to over 100 countries, Tuttnauer has earned global recognition as a leader in sterilization and infection control.

The Advanced Laboratory LineChoosing the right steam sterilizer depends on several considerations: load diversity,

frequency of use available, services and load volumes. The Tuttnauer line of vertical and

bench top autoclaves for the life sciences successfully meets the challenges posted

today. They cover a wide range of applications for laboratories in Research Institutes,

Universities, Pharmaceutical, Food, Medical and Biotechnological Industries.

The advanced laboratory autoclave line features top loading and table top sterilizers

from Tuttnauer with fast cooling, optional drying and waste treatment options. The

advanced laboratory line provides a single solution for the full spectrum of sterilization

needs including liquids, culture media, instruments, glassware, plastics, pipette tips,

biological waste, contaminated media and other laboratory items. The autoclave is

designed to accommodate for a wide range of applications. The user can choose to add

the features needed according to the sterilizer’s intended use. The advanced laboratory

autoclave line is available in an unmatched range of table top and floor standing models

with chamber volumes of 23 to 160 liters.

Fan assisted cooling Efficient air removal by optional vacuum system Optional bio-hazardous waste sterilization Improved drying by vacuum Fast heat up for shorter cycle times

Vertical Autoclaves Bench Top Autoclaves

ModelChamber

Dimensions øxDepthChamber

Volume (Liter)

3150 ELV

3170 ELV

3850 ELV / MLV

5075 ELV / MLV

250 x 400

310 x 700

380 x 490

500 x 750

23

55

62

160

ModelChamber

Dimensions øxDepthChamber

Volume (Liter)

2540 EL / ML

3850 EL / ML

5075 EL / ML

250 x 400

380 x 500

500 x 750

23

62

160

Tuttnauer Ltd., Israel

www.tuttnauer.com

Customer References

Mumbai (H.O.) 101-102, Sita Niwas, Plot No. 94, Road No.1, Liberty Garden, Malad (W), Mumbai-400 064.Tel : (022) 2844 3636 / 2889 3535 / 2880 3636Fax : (022) 2889 3636 / 2880 3738Email : info@saksham.co.in

BranchesDelhi:2nd Floor, 30/29 East Patel Nagar, Opp. Rajendra Place Gurudwara, New Delhi - 110 008.

Tel : (011) 2575 9033 / 34 Fax : (011) 4576 9306Email : delhi@saksham.co.in

Bangalore:1021, 1st Floor, 1st Main, 4th Block, Opp. Suguna Hospital,Dr. Rajkumar Road, Rajaji Nagar, Bangalore - 560 010.Tel : (080) 2340 1544 Tele/Fax : (080) 2340 1545 Email : bangalore@saksham.co.in

I 8S 0O 0 29 :0 10

www.saksham.co.in Mumbai (H.O.) Ahemdabad Banglore Bhopal Chandigarh

Chennai Delhi Hyderabad Jaipur Lucknow Pune