Journal of Applied and Natural Science
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Exploring the mystery of soil carbon mineralization: Insights from incubation experiments and kinetic modeling
Get PDFSoil carbon mineralization is vital for carbon sequestration but affected by factors like soil type and residue quality. Understanding the process and factors is still incomplete, including the interplay between soil properties and organic residues and the need for accurate kinetic models. Research faces significant challenges in describing carbon mineralization dynamics. The present study aimed to investigate carbon mineralization in three soils located in Tamil Nadu, India (S1, S2 and S3) that possess distinct textures. The study also focused on the effects of five different plant residues (Rice, maize, sugarcane, cotton and turmeric) on carbon mineralization in these soils. Incubation experiments were conducted for 150 days, and CO2 evolution was measured at different time intervals of 7, 10, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 days. The performance of three kinetic models (Zero order model, exponential kinetic model and first order model) was also evaluated in predicting carbon mineralization using experimental data. The results showed that the rate and extent of carbon mineralization varied significantly among the different soils and residues. The highest carbon mineralization was observed in rice (989.02 µg C/g/day) and maize (966.53 µg C/g/day) residue, while the lowest was in sugarcane (752.09 µg C/g/day) residue. Among the kinetic models, the first-order kinetic model provided the best fit for all treatments (R2=0.98). The findings suggest that soil texture and residue quality play crucial roles in carbon mineralization. The first order kinetic model can be useful for predicting carbon mineralization in different soil-residue systems. These results have implications for managing soil carbon sequestration and mitigating climate change
Estimation of phenyl alanine ammonialyase (PAL) and some phytoalexins in Vicia faba plants infected with spot disease caused by Alternaria alternata
Get PDFBiological agents are an important approach to controlling many fungal phytopathogens; plants produce phytoalexins such as phenol, alkaloids and tannins as a response to the biotic stresses. The results showed that the addition of the biological control of Trichoderma harzianum to Alternaria alternata caused an increase in the activity of the enzyme phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL) after 20 days from the start of the greenhouse experiment, which was 6.21 mmol/min in the Spinal variety, compared with the enzyme activity in the treatment with A. alternata alone, which was 5.51 mmol/min. The variety Netherland mulch recorded a lower phenolic content in all treatments, and the treatment with biological control T. harzianum in addition to A. alternata had the highest content as it reached 4.50 mg/g on day 20, Netherland mulch variety showed the most amount of alkaloids and tannins than others during different periods. The plants treated with the biological control of T. harzianum contained the most alkaloids on day 20, which was 5.15% It decreased to 3.65% on day 30. The most tannins in Netherland mulch variety were in the plants treated with biological control T. harzianum alone, which was 3.93% on day 20, compared to the plants treated with A. alternata alone, which was 0.71%. The addition of biological control of T. harzianum to A. alternata increased the plant amount of tannins, which was 2.01%. The study would help to understand the role of T. harzianum as a biological control to the response of the varieties to the formation of plant defenses, including phytoalexins.
Isolation and identification of phenolic compounds from Eugenia caryophyllus and study on its biological effect against Macrophomina phaseolina
Get PDFClove is one of the oldest and most famous spices. Its seeds resemble nails. It is used in medicinal fields, but its fungicidal activity is unknown. The aim of the study was to test the inhibitory activity of phenolic extracts of cloves against the pathogenic fungus Macrophomina phaseolina. The research was conducted under laboratory conditions to test the inhibitory ability of Eugenia caryophyllus phenolic extracts on the fungus M. phaseolina, which was partially diagnosed on strawberry plants based on Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, in addition to its morphological and microscopic characteristics. The active compounds present The active compounds (Chlorogenic acid, Qurcetine, Gallic acid, Apigenin, Caffeic acid, Ferulic acid, Kaempferol, Rutin, Catechine) present in the extract of Industrial Methylated Spirit (IMS) separated from cloves were determined using High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). and active compounds of IMS phenols) Qurcetine, Apigenin, Ferulic acid, Kaempferol. (The inhibitory effect of phenols extracted from E. caryophyllus against M. phaseolina was tested. The results showed that the acetone extract and acetone phenols, which were used at concentrations of 10 and 15 mg/ml in PDA medium, had a significant effect on the growth of the fungus by 100%, as these fungi failed to grow. Formation of spores on Peptone dextrose medium (PDA) medium. While the percentage of inhibition of acetone phenols was 25% at a concentration of 5 mg/ml. As for the IMS extract and IMS phenols, it had a significant effect on the growth of the fungus at all concentrations used, but with different inhibition ratios, which increased directly with increasing concentration of the extract.
Comparative analysis of morphological and biochemical properties of some Mulberry (Morus spp.) genotypes
Get PDFMulberry is a multipurpose tree in horticulture. Besides nutritional importance, it is used for raising silkworms, fodder and landscape. These is quite a wide genetic diversity among different mulberry genotypes. The present study was undertaken to evaluate certain morphological and biochemical properties of 20 genotypes of Morus alba, M. rubra, and M. nigra species distributed in Golestan Province, northern Iran. The highest leaf length (15.51 cm), petiole length (5.37 cm), vitamin C (4.34 mg/100 g) and phenol (31.89 mg/g) were recorded in M12 genotype. The highest fruit length (5.52 cm), pedicle length (17 mm), soluble solids (18.26%) and sucrose (31.64 mg/g) were recorded in M10 genotype. The amount of glucose (288.82 mg/g) and fructose (121.97 mg/g) were also dominant in M17 genotype. The utmost fruit fresh and dry weights (0.3-67.80 g), fruit diameter (1.99 cm), leaf width (11.94 cm) and flavonoids (24.67 mg/g) were also observed in the M20 genotype. The M1 and M2 genotypes had higher anthocyanin (1.13 µmol/g) and total antioxidant activity (66.71%) compared to other genotypes. Furthermore, fruit fresh and dry weights were positively correlated with fruit length and diameter, pedicle length, and leaf and petiole length. The highest positive correlation was observed among anthocyanin, vitamin C and phenols. The morphological and biochemical traits explained 99 % of the total variance of four and three main components. The results of cluster analysis grouped these genotypes into 3 main groups. Therefore, the highest heritability and genetic advance were found for fruit weight, petiole length, leaf width, antioxidant activity, fructose and flavonoids. The valuable pomological traits recorded for some genotypes may be useful for future breeding programs.
Molecular cloning, expression and Insilco analysis of drought stress inducible MYB transcription factor encoding gene from C4 plant Eleusine coracana
Get PDFDrought is one of the key abiotic stresses that critically influences the crops by restraining their growth and yield potential. Being sessile, plant tackle the detrimental effects of drought stress by modulating the cellular state by changing the gene expression. The transcriptional syndicate essentially drives such alteration of gene expression. Transcription factors (TF) are the key regulatory protein that controls the expression of their target gene by binding to the cis-regulatory elements present in the promoter region. Myb-TF, ubiquitously present in all eukaryotes belong to one of the largest TF family, and play a wide array of biological functions in plants, including anthocyanin biosynthesis, vasculature system, cell signalling, seed maturation and abiotc stress responses. The present performed isolation and molecular cloning of full length Myb TF from Eleusine corocana. The isolated full-length coding sequence has 1053 bp and 350 aa was submitted to NCBI (Accession number MT312253). The transcript level of EcMYB increases under different abiotic stress treatments including dehydration, salinity, and high-temperature stress. The promoter region of EcMyb1 was found to be enriched in stress-responsive cis-regulatory elements such as DRE, HSE, ABRE etc. In phylogenetic analysis, EcMyb1 appeared to have high homology with its monocot orthologs particularly Sateria italica, Hordeum vulgare, Saccharum barberi and Oryza sativa. The three-dimension protein structure was generated based on homology modeling and structural aspects were discussed. Further, Insilco analysis was conducted to explore the physiological properties, subcellular localization, potential posttranslational modification sites (phosphorylation and glycosylation sites), and molecular and biological function of the full-length protein. Overall, the expression profiling and Insilco analysis of EcMyb1 strongly indicated its potential role in abiotic stress response in Eleusine corocana.
Effect of polyhalite and muriate of potash on quality attributes of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) in Inceptisols
Get PDFPolyhalite is a hydrated sulphate evaporate mineral containing potassium, sulphur, calcium and magnesium that crops require in significant quantities but has limited evaluation as a fertilizer for sugarcane.The sugarcane crop has a high demand for potassium for better quality. To keep the above facts in mind, the present experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of polyhalite and muriate of potash (MOP) on the quality attributes of sugarcane var. Co 11015 (Atulya) in sandy loam soil at Arachalur, Erode district. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design consisting of ten treatments. The treatment included were T1 –control, T2 - 50% K as MOP, T3 - 100% K as MOP, T4 - 100% K as Polyhalite, T5 - 100% K (1:1 ratio of Polyhalite and MOP), T6 - 100% K (1:3 ratio of Polyhalite and MOP), T7 - 150% K as MOP, T8 - 150% K as Polyhalite, T9 - 150% K (1:1 ratio of Polyhalite and MOP), T10 - 150% K (1:3 ratio of Polyhalite and MOP). The application of potassium fertilizers in different levels and ratios significantly (5%) influenced the quality attributes of sugarcane. The results of the experiment revealed that the application of 150% K (169.5 kg K2O ha-1) as polyhalite (T8) recorded maximum brix, pol, purity, CCS%, and extraction% and also this treatment was recorded minimum reducing sugar and fibre%. The present experiment would be helpful to sugarcane farmers for quality improvement through the application of polyhalite as a potassium fertilizer.
Detection of some virulence factors of Pantoea species isolated from urinary tract infections in the Iraqi population
Get PDFPantoea is an opportunistic bacterium primarily involved in nosocomial infections, impacting newborns and immunocompromised patients. The study aimed to investigate the virulence factor of Pantoea in urinary tract infections in hospitals in Al-Nasiriyah City, Iraq. The outcome appeared that 22 isolates out of 100 urine samples had been confirmed as Pantoea species by VITEK- 2. RcsA and hrpA genes were detected using conventional Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR) and specific primers. The distribution of rcsA and hrpA was 40.9% and 59.1% respectively. The Pantoea species were distributed according to age, gender, and ABO blood groups. The percentage was 72.3% for ages 40–70, and females recorded 54.5% more than males. Individuals with the A blood group had a higher percentage (50%) than other blood groups; there were two types of variations (Transversion and Transition) of the16S rRNA gene. It was determined through the sequence alignment, and the symmetry was 90% with the Italian isolate of Pantoea species LL92 (ID: KF202812.1). These variations in the Pantoea local Iraqi isolate were registered in NCBI (ID: OM971851).This bacterial genus recently descended from the species of Enterobacter sp.. The isolation of Pantoea sp.was from UTIs, while previously, in most studies, they were isolated from the surrounding environment.
Efficient Deep Learning model for de-husked Areca nut classification
Get PDFAreca nut is a widely used agricultural product in India and even over the globe. Areca nut, a fruit of areca palm (Areca catechu) is grown widely in the Asia-Pacific region.. Areca nut segregation is of prime importance in the areca nut industry. The quality segregation of peeled/de-husked nuts requires skilled workers. This process of manual segregation is time-consuming and can lead to erroneous classification. Recent deep learning (DL) advances have improved the performance in multi-class problems. The present work presents the classification of de-husked areca nut among five classes using an efficient deep learning customized Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and the results of this model were compared with the standard AlexNet architecture. The new CNN model was customized to obtain classification accuracy higher than the existing ones. A dataset of 300 nuts (60 per class) was created using a specially designed instrumentation setup. The areca nut images were then pre-processed and fed to these models to learn the features of the areca nut from different classes. The confusion matrix and Area Under the Curve - Receiver Operating Characteristics (AUC- ROC) were employed to assess the results of these models and cross-validated with 5 and 10-fold. The experimental results show that the CNN outperformed the AlexNet model with an average accuracy of 97.33% and 98.34%, F1 score of 97.48%, and 98.45% for 5 and 10 folds, respectively.
Factors affecting the ecological habitat of Benthic macro-invertebrate assemblages in Asan wetland, Dehradun in Garhwal Himalaya
Get PDFThe Himalayan region has several freshwater resources, such as rivers, lakes, and wetlands. These freshwater resources have been adversely affected by environmental factors. Freshwater biological systems are defenseless against outcomes of environmental changes that might prompt the irreversible disintegration of these natural surroundings. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of biotic and abiotic factors on the Benthic macro-invertebrate assemblages of the Asan wetland, Dehradun in Garhwal Himalaya. A determination of the physico-chemical health status of the Asan wetland viz., electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and nutrients parameters like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus were investigated during this study. Three sampling sites (Site 1, Site 2 and Site 3) of wetland were selected and the water samples were collected seasonally, i.e., summer, winter, and monsoon from April 2021-March 2022. Maximum values of EC(163.75 µS/cm), TDS (232.78 (mg/l), alkalinity (141.20 mg/l) and pH(7.8) were recorded in the monsoon season (June-September) and minimum values of EC( 135.80µS/cm), TDS (196.80 (mg/l), alkalinity (119.80mg/l) and pH(7.2) were recorded in the winter season (November–February). An overall total of 18 macrobenthos genera belonging to four classes was identified. Maximum communities of macrobenthos were observed during the winter and minimum communities during the monsoon season. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to determine whether microbenthic genera and habitat ecological parameters and showed a positive or negative correlation. Thus, the present study contributed to the status of various factors and their impacts on the Benthic macro-invertebrate structure of the Asan wetland.
Screening of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.) genotypes by inducing systemic resistance against early blight disease caused by Alternaria solani
Get PDFEarly blight of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.) incited by Alternaria solani is highly destructive disease in the world. Environmental factors significantly impact early blight epidemics, leading to the loss of up to 78 per cent of tomato production. Twenty tomato genotypes were used in this study to identify the early blight resistant and susceptible genotypes selected to represent a range of reactions when screened under field conditions. The tomato plants were evaluated for early blight disease by using Per cent Disease Index (PDI). Pusa Uphar (20.18%) and Sankaranti (20.18%) showed resistance to early blight disease among the twenty genotypes. Anaka Kerala (61.25%), Arka Vikas (61.76%), Pusa Rohini (53.65%), Ashoka (50.60%) and Paiyur1 (56.08%) genotypes were found highly susceptible based on early blight disease intensity. Spore inoculation of A. solani was sprayed into tomato plants, it was discovered that the number of defense-inducing compounds viz., total phenols, peroxidase (PO), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) has increased. Among the genotypes, Pusa Uphar (T2) and Sankaranti (T1) genotypes showed a high level of defense enzyme production. After tomato plants were exposed to pathogens through artificial inoculation, the activity of these defensive enzymes and compounds was highly induced in the resistant and sensitive germplasm than in the control.