Asian Journal of Biology

Hepatic ducts carry bile out of the liver and join together forming the common bile duct also known as extrahepatic bile duct. It then traverses the wall of the duodenum and deliver bile into its lumen.  In species with a gallbladder, the extrahepatic duct flows into the cystic duct, which conveys bile to and from the gallbladder.  In the extrahepatic duct, the submucosa layer forms the furthest internal lining, constituted by loose connective tissue that consist of several diffusing lymphatic aggregations, namely lamina propia.  Telocytes (TCs) are special interstitial cells located in the lamina propia and in the connective tissue spaces between smooth muscle cell bundles. This cells were previously known as “interstitial Cajal like-cells (ICLC)” and they play multiple roles at different parts of physiological systems.

A lipase producing Pseudomonas sp. is isolated from soil and sewage waste water in Hyderabad. The growth curve of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on growth medium is plotted. It is capable of producing the enzyme lipase where the specific enzyme activity is maximum. The optimum hydrolysis conditions for lipase are pH 7.0 to 9.0 and temperature at 450 C. These results show that Pseudomonas aeruginosa may have potential for industrial sewage waste water treatment and recycling of sewage wastes from the environment.

Aims: the aim of the present study was to determine the genetic diversity among the five commercially important species of Calamus using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers.

Study Design: DNA extracted from mature leaves of selected species was used as template DNA for optimization of PCR amplification. Data was analysed with the help of software; numerical taxonomy and multivariate analysis version 2.02e (NTSYSpc) and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA).

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the Department of Botany, Bangalore University, Bangalore 560056, India during 2014.

Methodology: Calamus huegelianus, C. nagabettai, C. prasinus, C. thwaitesii and C. vattayila, known for their good quality canes, are selected for the present study to characterize them through RAPD analysis. Fifteen decamer primers were used for amplification. However, only five primers have generated clear reproducible bands. Simple matching, similarity co-efficient, dendrogram and principal component analysis were composed by using NTSYSpc and UPGMA.

Results: Clear and reproducible 108 bands were scored with 64 polymorphic bands indicating 59.25 percent of polymorphism among the species selected. Higher percent of 76.00 was noted in Calamus prasinus and least of 43.67 in C. huegelianus. Similarity co-efficient value of 0.45 to 0.66 indicates less genetic divergence among the taxa selected. The cluster analysis with the help of dendrogram and principal component analysis has revealed that C. vattayila is distinct from others since it has 6 veined leaflets. The other selected four taxa are having three veined leaflets. Hence, clustering pattern was compared with distinguished phenotypic characters.

Conclusion: The previously mentioned data obtained through cluster, the principal component analysis clearly indicate that the taxa are clustered together based on sharing of common phenotypic characters. The present study is a step forward in understanding the genetic affinities among the selected taxa and their conservation strategies.

The complete mitochondrial circular genome sequence of indigenous Halang pig was first determined with 16,722 base pairs (bp) in length (GenBank accession number: KY800118). The nucleotide composition had the order A>C>T>G feature, namely of these were calculated to be 34.67%, 26.20%, 25.78% and 13.32% respectively. In this genome’s structure, the gene organization was typical of other pigs (Sus scrofa) that contain 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes and one D-loop region with 1,285 bp in size, all of which are arranged similar in other vertebrates. The derived data of this Vietnamese pig’s mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) and others from Asian domestic pigs and wild boars were used to phylogeny reconstruction by Bayesian inference and Maximum likelihood methods. These results show closest evolution relationship between Halang pig and Lantang pig from South China and some domestic and wild pigs from other nearby geographic regions.

Aims: The aim of the present study was to determine common pathogens associated with infected wounds and the phytochemical composition and antibacterial activities of Randia acuminata root extract against isolates associated with infected wounds.

Study Design: The ethanolic extract was used for the phytochemical screening of the root extract. The disc diffusion method was used to assess the antibacterial activities of the alkaloid fraction of the root extract against isolated pathogens.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (Microbiology Laboratory) and Department of Microbiology (Microbiology Laboratory), University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria between the months of April, 2017 – August, 2017.

Methodology: The isolation of infective agents from wound specimens and the phytochemical screening of the root extract were performed using standard methods. The disc diffusion method was used to evaluate the antibacterial activities of the alkaloidal fraction of the root extract on Staphylococcus aureus and species of Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella and Clostridium.

Results: Alkaloid, saponins, phlabotanin, anthraquinone deoxysugar, cardiac glycoside and terpenes constitute the bioactive components of the root extract. The pathogens associated with infected wounds and their frequency of occurrence were Staphylococcus aureus (35%) and species of Streptococcus (15%), Pseudomonas (20%) Klebsiella (20%) and Clostridium (10%). Susceptibility of the organisms to the root extract varied with concentration 30 < 40 < 50mg/ml The antibacterial activity of the extract suggests concentration-dependent inhibitory response by the test organisms.

Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the alkaloid fractions of R. acuminata root extract has potent antibacterial effect and can be incorporated into antiseptics for wound cleaning/dressing.