Process optimization and partial purification of a highly catalytic xylanase from high-altitude novel Bacillus altitudinis strain for efficient production of functional prebiotic xylooligosaccharides.

This study reports the production, statistical optimization, partial purification and characterization of a highly efficient xylanase from a high-altitude soil bacterium, Bacillus altitudinis XYL17, for the enzymatic valorization of agrowaste. A two-step optimization approach combining Plackett-Burman Design (PBD) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) enhanced xylanase production with minimal resource utilization. The partially purified enzyme exhibited optimal activity at 50-55 °C and pH 6.

Curdlan: a microbial biopolymer of multifarious applications for a sustainable environment.

Curdlan, an exopolysaccharide, has gained sufficient attention in recent years due to its potential health benefits. Its unique physico-chemical and rheological properties create an appropriate substitute for diverse applications in agriculture, food, and pharmaceutical industries. This review begins with an overview of bioactive properties, structural characteristics, curdlan biosynthesis, and its production technologies.

Isolation of a strain and identification of methyltransferase genes conferring the high arsenic volatilizing ability.

Microbial arsenic (As) volatilization plays a significant role in the global As biogeochemical cycle and presents a promising approach for bioremediation. In this study, an autotrophic strain of was isolated from sewage water containing 75 ppb of arsenic, exhibiting a high arsenic metabolism and volatilization rate. This strain tolerated arsenic concentrations ranging from 10 to 500 ppm.

Novel Cellobiose 2-Epimerase from Thermal Aquatic Metagenome for the Production of Epilactose.

Epilactose is a prebiotic molecule that exerts a bifidogenic effect and increases calcium and iron absorption in the small intestine. This study identifies a novel cellobiose 2-epimerase gene () by investigating metagenomic data generated from a thermal aquatic habitat. The computation of secondary and tertiary structure analysis, molecular docking, and MD simulation analysis indicated the protein CE to be a novel cellobiose 2-epimerase.

Unearthing novel and multifunctional peptides in peptidome of fermented chhurpi cheese of Indian Himalayan region.

Fermented foods of the Indian Himalaya are unexplored functional resources with high nutritional potential. Chhurpi cheese, fermented by defined native proteolytic lactic acid bacteria of Sikkim was assessed for ACE inhibitory, HOCl reducing, and MPO inhibitory, activity across varying stages of gastrointestinal (GI) digestion. The enhanced bioactivity of Lactobacillus delbrueckii WS4 chhurpi was associated with the generation of bioactive and multifunctional peptides during fermentation and GI digestion.

Spatiotemporal regulation of anther's tapetum degeneration paved the way for a reversible male sterility system in cotton.

Male sterility is an important agronomical trait in self-pollinating plants for producing cost-effective F1 hybrids to harness the heterosis. Still, large-scale development and maintenance of male sterile lines and restoring fertility in F1 hybrids pose significant challenges in plant hybrid breeding. Cotton is a self-pollinating crop and exhibits strong hybrid vigor.

NGS-Based Metagenomics Depicting Taxonomic and Functional Insights into North-Western Himalayan Hot Springs.

Unlabelled: Hot springs have tremendous significance due to their divulging physiochemical features. In the recent past, metagenomics has emerged as a unique methodology to explore microbiota as well as new biocatalysts possessing advantageous biochemical properties from hot springs. In the present study, metagenomics has been employed for microbial diversity exploration and identification of genes involved in various metabolic pathways among two hot springs, Manikaran and Tatapani, located in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Exploring peptidomes of by-products generated during production using WS4 for identification of novel bioactive peptides.

The considerable value of whey is evident from its significant potential applications and contributions to the functional food and nutraceutical market. The by-products were individually obtained during functional and novel soy cheese production using defined lactic acid bacterial strains of Sikkim Himalaya's traditional . Hydrolysis of substrate proteins by starter proteinases resulted in a comparable peptide content in whey and soy whey which was associated with antioxidant and ACE inhibition potential.

A novel thermotolerant L-rhamnose isomerase variant for biocatalytic conversion of D-allulose to D-allose.

A novel L-rhamnose isomerase was identified and cloned from an extreme-temperature aquatic habitat metagenome. The deduced amino acid sequence homology suggested the possible source of this metagenomic sequence to be Chloroflexus islandicus. The gene expression was performed in a heterologous host, Escherichia coli, and the recombinant protein L-rhamnose isomerase (L-RI) was extracted and purified.

Structural Characteristics, Physicochemical Properties, and Digestibility Analysis of Resistant Starch Type-V Prepared from Debranched Corn Starch and Fatty Acid Complexation.

Corn starch was gelatinized and treated with a metagenomic type 1 pullulanase (Pul), increasing the proportion of linear glucan chains. The debranched corn starch (DCS), containing amylose helices, was subjected to complexation with fatty acid molecules at moderate temperatures (50-60 °C). The amylose-lipid complexes prepared using saturated fatty acids, e.

Lactic acid bacteria in the functional food industry: biotechnological properties and potential applications.

With the growing demand for functional foods having better nutraceutical properties, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has become an important industrial microorganism. LAB play a significant role in the functional food industry by exhibiting probiotic properties and has the ability to produce various biologically active metabolites such as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), exopolysaccharides (EPSs), conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), bacteriocins, reuterin and reutericyclin, which provides enhanced nutraceutical properties to the final food products. LAB are also known to produce several specific enzymes essential for producing substrate-derived bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, bioactive peptides, inulin-type fructans and β-glucans, fatty acids, and polyols.

Editing of TOM1 gene in tobacco using CRISPR/Cas9 confers resistance to Tobacco mosaic virus.

Background: Genome editing technology has become one of the excellent tools for precise plant breeding to develop novel plant germplasm. The Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is the most prominent pathogen that infects several Solanaceae plants, such as tobacco, tomato, and capsicum, which requires critical host factors for infection and replication of its genomic RNA in the host. The Tobamovirus multiplication (TOM) genes, such as TOM1, TOM2A, TOM2B, and TOM3, are involved in the multiplication of Tobamoviruses.

Production and characterization of bioactive peptides in fermented soybean meal produced using proteolytic Bacillus species isolated from kinema.

The study aims to enhance the functional properties of soybean meal (SBM) using potent proteolytic Bacillus strains isolated from kinema, a traditional fermented soybean product of Sikkim Himalaya. Selected Bacillus species; Bacillus licheniformis KN1G, B. amyloliquifaciens KN2G, B.

Genome-resolved metagenomics inferred novel insights into the microbial community, metabolic pathways, and biomining potential of Malanjkhand acidic copper mine tailings.

Mine tailing sites provide profound opportunities to elucidate the microbial mechanisms involved in ecosystem functioning. In the present study, metagenomic analysis of dumping soil and adjacent pond around India's largest copper mine at Malanjkhand has been done. Taxonomic analysis deciphered the abundance of phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, and Chloroflexi.

Domestic Violence and Covid-19: Policy and Pattern Analysis of Reported Cases at the Family Counseling Center (FCC) in Alwar, India.

Introduction: The paper aims to assess the pattern of reporting complaints at the Family Counseling Centre (FCC), the nature and form of domestic violence (DV) during the lockdown, and the challenges addressed by the FCC, located in Alwar, India.

Methods: The methodology is considered an event study methodology. The study was conducted using the records available with the FCC.

Metagenomic views on taxonomic and functional profiles of the Himalayan Tsomgo cold lake and unveiling its deterzome potential.

Cold habitat is considered a potential source for detergent industry enzymes. This study aims at the metagenomic investigation of Tsomgo lake for taxonomic and functional annotation, unveiling the deterzome potential of the residing microbiota at this site. The present investigation revealed molecular profiling of microbial community structure and functional potential of the high-altitude Tsomgo lake samples of two different temperatures, harvested during March and August.

An acid-tolerant and cold-active β-galactosidase potentially suitable to process milk and whey samples.

A novel β-galactosidase gene (gal) was cloned from an aquatic habitat metagenome. The analysis of its translated sequence (Gal) revealed its phylogenetic closeness towards Verrucomicrobia sp. The sequence comparison and homology structure analysis designated it a member of GH42 family.

Cold-adaptive traits identified by comparative genomic analysis of a lipase-producing Pseudomonas sp. HS6 isolated from snow-covered soil of Sikkim Himalaya and molecular simulation of lipase for wide substrate specificity.

The genomic analysis of industrially important bacteria can help in understanding their capability to withstand extreme environments and shed light on their metabolic capabilities. The whole genome of a previously reported broad temperature active lipase-producing Pseudomonas sp. HS6, isolated from snow-covered soil of the Sikkim Himalayan Region, was analyzed to understand the capability of the bacterium to withstand cold temperatures and study its lipolytic nature.

Characterization of ACE inhibitory and antioxidant peptides in yak and cow milk hard cheese of the Sikkim Himalayan region.

In this study, simulated GI digestion of the Himalayan hard cheese resulted in the increase of hydrolyzed protein content, antioxidant and ACE-inhibitory activities. LC-MS/MS-based peptidomics revealed a total of 1473 peptides in the samples originating from different milk proteins, including α-S1-casein, α-S2-casein, β-casein, κ-casein, α-lactalbumin, and β-lactoglobulin, out of which 60 peptides have been reported for different functional properties. A total of 101 peptides were predicted to be antihypertensive using the bioactivity prediction web servers, AHTpin and mAHTPred.

Peptide candidates for the development of therapeutics and vaccines against β-coronavirus infection.

Betacoronaviruses (β-CoVs) have caused major viral outbreaks in the last two decades in the world. The mutation and recombination abilities in β-CoVs resulted in zoonotic diseases in humans. Proteins responsible for viral attachment and replication are highly conserved in β-CoVs.

Production and characterization of bioactive peptides from rice beans using Bacillus subtilis.

A bioprocess was developed for production of bioactive peptides on microbial fermentation of rice beans using proteolytic Bacillus subtilis strains. The peptides produced were identified by LC-MS/MS analysis, revealing the presence of many unique peptide sequences to individual hydrolysates. On functional properties prediction, antihypertensive peptides (3.

Transcriptome analysis at mid-stage seed development in litchi with contrasting seed size.

Unlabelled: Litchi is a sub-tropical fruit crop with genotypes that bear fruits with variable seed size. Small seed size is a desirable trait in litchi, as it improves consumers' preference and facilitates fruit processing. Seed specific transcriptome analysis was performed in two litchi genotypes with contrasting seed size to identify the genes associated with seed development.

Molecular dissemination of emerging antibiotic, biocide, and metal co-resistomes in the Himalayan hot springs.

Growing resistance among microbial communities against antimicrobial compounds, especially antibiotics, is a significant threat to living beings. With increasing antibiotic resistance in human pathogens, it is necessary to examine the habitats having community interests. In the present study, a metagenomic approach has been employed to understand the causes, dissemination, and effects of antibiotic, metal, and biocide resistomes on the microbial ecology of three hot springs, Borong, Lingdem, and Yumthang, located at different altitudes of the Sikkim Himalaya.