05. Department of Microbiology

Purification of β-ketothiolase from halophilic archaea haloarcula sp.1 isolated from Bhavnagar coast, Gujarat, India.

2023-05-10T07:19:05Z

Purification of β-ketothiolase from halophilic archaea haloarcula sp.1 isolated from Bhavnagar coast, Gujarat, India. Patadia, Apexa; Dave, Bharti P Members of the Archaeal family have been determined to accumulate Poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) during their growth. A total of 13 extremely Halophilic Archaeal isolates designated as NPW-1 to NPW-13 were capable of accumulating large amounts of PHB. Out of which best four isolates were selected from enzyme assay. Since measurements of enzyme activities related to Archaeal PHB biosynthesis have never been achieved, we investigated the first enzyme of PHB biosynthesis in Haloarcula sp.1 i.e., β-ketothiolase. Crude extracts of strain cultivated under accumulating conditions showed maximum β-ketothiolase activity. β ketothiolase was partially purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation and highest activity was obtained in 60% saturation fraction. This is the first description of an archaebacterial β-ketothiolase . Silver staining of the purified enzyme (fraction 8) with SDS – PAGE showed that enzyme subunited molecular weight putatively identified was 45 kDa.

Isolation, screening and quantification of Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) from extreme halophilic Archaea

2023-05-10T07:12:04Z

Isolation, screening and quantification of Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) from extreme halophilic Archaea Patadia, Apexa; Dave, Bharti P The Archaea remain the most enigmatic of life’s three domains and halophiles constitute a very heterogeneous group of extremophiles in this domain. Due to their special characteristics, they have been suggested to hold potential for a variety of biotechnological applications such as production of enzymes, compatible solutes, degradation of toxic compounds and polymer production. The study aimed at efficient production and screening of thirteen haloarchael strains isolated from saltpans at Newport and Nari for their ability to produce PHB. The production by these strains was determined by the spectrophotometric method and results suggest that all the thirteen haloarchaeal isolates exhibited the ability to produce PHB, though to a varying extent. It was found that PHB yield ranged from 0.01-1.17%. All the thirteen isolates were then subjected to secondary screening for examining DCW, PHB production and yield as a function of incubation time. The maximum PHB production was by four haloarchaeal isolates viz., Haloarcula sp. 1 (3.77%), Halorubrum sp. 2 (2.07%), Halobaculum sp. (2.02%) and Halobacterium salinarum (0.75%). The growth almost became constant after its optimum period whereas, PHB yield declined.

Prevalence of High-Risk Human Papilloma Virus (HR-HPV) as a risk factor in HNSCC patients of Saurashtra region of Gujarat

2023-05-10T05:49:47Z

Prevalence of High-Risk Human Papilloma Virus (HR-HPV) as a risk factor in HNSCC patients of Saurashtra region of Gujarat Parmar, Minaxi; Pandhi, Neepa; Patel, Prabhudas; Gupta, Vijaykumar Background: In India HNSCC comprises the largest group of malignancies with an incidence rate as high as 30-40%.The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence of high-risk human papilloma virus (HR-HPV) as a risk factor in HNSCC patients of Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Method: Newly diagnosed 200 HNSCC patients were selected for the study. Sociodemographic and clinical data were obtained through questionnaire. Detection of HPV-DNA was done from cancer tissues by PCR amplification method using GP5+/GP6+ primers, E6 and E7 primers for HPV 16 and HPV 18 genotypes. Result: The prevalence of HPV high-risk (HR) types was 2% in HNSCC cancer cases. HPV 16 genotype was identified while HPV 18 was absent in all the patients. The risk factor of HPV-HR included younger age (<55 years) and early age at first sexual intercourse. The other risk factors like tobacco and alcohol were absent in these patients. The site of cancer was found to be base of tongue and tonsil. Conclusion: The specific characteristics found in HPV positive HNSCC cases are in accord with distinctive characteristics of HPV positive HNSCC found worldwide. We can conclude that HR-HPV infection may be responsible for HPV-positive HNSCC. However, the prevalence of HPV among HNSCC is negligible which indicates that HPV is not an influential risk factor for oral cancer in this region. We gratefully acknowledge the funding agency, the University Grant Commission (UGC) of the Government of India, for providing financial support in the form of minor research project. We thank Head and Neck cancer patients who participated in the study for their co-operation. We are grateful to Dr. Geet Gupta and Dr. Khyati Babaria from department of pathology and Dr. Nirav Modi from department of Head and Neck Surgery at Smt V.R. Desai Cancer Research centre, Rajkot and their hospital staff for providing the HNSCC tumor samples.

Clinical evaluation of sialic acid in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients and tobacco chewers or smokers with no cancer

2023-05-10T05:43:40Z

Clinical evaluation of sialic acid in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients and tobacco chewers or smokers with no cancer Parmar, Minaxi; Pandhi, Neepa; Patel, Prabhudas Sialic acid plays a significant role in cancer due to increased sialylation and sialyltransferase activity. Patients with cancer have been reported to have significant elevations of serum Total Sialic Acid (TSA) and Lipid Bound Sialic Acid (LBSA) levels as compared to control persons. The present study was carried out to evaluate sialic acid levels in control, non-cancer smokers or tobacco chewers and Head and Neck Squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cancer patients. Blood samples were obtained from the histopathologically diagnosed HNSCC patients, healthy controls and those persons who were either smokers or tobacco chewers with no oral cancer. Serum TSA and LBSA were measured spectrophotometrically. Serum TSA and LBSA levels were significantly elevated in HNSCC patients compared to healthy control with P<0.0001. These levels were also significantly increased in individuals who were smokers or tobacco chewers with no cancer compared to healthy control (P<0.0001). Our results found significant elevation of serum sialic acid levels in HNSCC patients and in smokers and tobacco chewers with no cancer as compared to control individuals. These findings suggested role of tobacco in biochemical changes during the malignant transformation. These results also indicate that these parameters can be utilized in diagnosis of the HNSCC. I am grateful to Dr. Gupta VK, Medical Director of Smt V. R. Desai Cancer Research centre, Rajkot and hospital staff for providing necessary samples.