Penaeus monodon postlarvae were fed with different percentages (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) of the herbal appetizer Zingiber officinalis enriched Artemia. After 30 days of culture (i.e. PL-1-30), a very positive result was found in Z. officinalisenriched Artemia-fed postlarvae. The unenriched Artemia-fed postlarvae consumed 91.0 mg/animal/30 days of feed, whereas the Z. officinalis-enriched Artemia increased their consumption to 127.9 mg/animal/30 days. A similar pattern was noticed in feed absorbed (110.2 mg), dry weight growth (26.7 mg) and feed catabolized (83.2 mg) in Z. officinalis-enriched Artemia because of enzymatic activities. The conversion efficiency of unenriched postlarva was 17.19%, whereas in 100% Z. officinalis-enriched Artemia, the maximum conversion efficiency was 20.85%. The net production efficiency increased significantly (P < 0.05) to 22% from that of the unenriched Artemia-fed postlarvae. The administration of Z. officinalis in all levels produced significantly (P < 0.05) higher weight gain and specific growth rate. The utilization efficiency of feed increased proportionately to the percentages of Z. officinalis. Digestive enzyme activity (amylase, protease and lipase) increased significantly (P < 0.05) in the 50%, 75% and 100% enrichment. Among the different percentages of enrichment, the 100% Z. officinalis-enriched Artemia-fed postlarvae performed better in the overall status.KEY WORDS

Next generation DNA sequencing (NGS) technologies have revolutionized the pace at which whole genome and exome sequences can be generated. However, despite these advances, many of the methods for targeted resequencing, such as the generation of high-depth exome sequences, are somewhat limited by the relatively large amounts of starting DNA that are normally required. In the case of tumour analysis this is particularly pertinent as many tumour biopsies often return submicrogram quantities of DNA, especially when tumours are microdissected prior to analysis. Here, we present a method for exome capture and resequencing using as little as 50 ng of starting DNA. The sequencing libraries generated by this minimal starting amount (MSA-Cap) method generate datasets that are comparable to standard amount (SA) whole exome libraries that use three micrograms of starting DNA. This method, which can be performed in most laboratories using commonly available reagents, has the potential to enhance large scale profiling efforts such as the resequencing of tumour exomes.

Arjunolic acid (AA), a triterpenoid, was isolated from the ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Terminalia arjuna core wood. The purity of AA was analysed by its melting point, FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy analyses. In vitro cytotoxicity was assessed using Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) and Dalton's lymphoma (DAL) cell lines by incubating with different concentrations of AA. The cancer cell death percentage at 100 µg concentrations of AA ranged between 66% and 70% on the DAL and EAC cell lines, respectively. This infers that AA causes considerable membrane damage to cancer cells.

This study reports the results on induced meiotic diploid gynogenesis and female homogametic nature in the Indian cat¢sh, Heteropneustes fossilis. The eggs of H. fossilis were inseminated with conspe-ci¢c sperm. The sperm suspension was diluted to 1 Â 10 7 sperm mL À 1 in Hanks balanced salt solution. Sperm were irradiated under UV light, with the exposure time ranging from 15 to 360 s (7500 ergs mm À 2 for 60 s). The genetic inactivation of paternal chromosomes was con¢rmed by chromosome counting from the larval cells and the larvae also had a characteristic haploid syndrome. A typical 'Hertwig e¡ect' in the yield of hatched larvae was observed with doses of UV exposure 475 s (9375 ergs mm 2 ). Larvae resulting from sperm UV irradiated above 120 s (15000 ergs mm 2 ) were 100% haploids. Application of heat shock to the activated eggs was e¡ective in suppressing the release of the second polar body (meiotic gynogenesis) and resulted in diploid gynogenetic larvae morphologically identical to those of the control. The best yield of diploid gynogens (49.3% with respect to the control) was found to be at 6 min after egg activation and the heat shock at 41 1C for a 1-min duration, at an ambient water temperature of 27 1C. A total of 113 diploid gynogenetic fry from seven di¡erent female ¢sh were reared and subjected to sexing. All gynogenetic ¢sh were female in contrast to the control, which had a mean sex ratio of 56.7% females (which was not signi¢cantly di¡erent from 50% female). From these results, the sex determination mechanism in H. fossilis was presumed to be female homogamety.

The aim of this study was to optimize the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using leaves of Aegle marmelos as the primary source. The optimal reaction medium comprised 2:1 concentration of leaf extract and 6mM concentration of silver nitrate solution (pH 7. The biosynthesized silver nanoparticles were confirmed by UV-Vis spectroscopy at 420 nm, XRD and FTIR analysis. The antimicrobial properties of silver nanoparticles were confirmed with Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

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In recent years, numerous research outcomes were established on various naturally occurring compounds that have been shown to have beneficial antioxidant and other biological activities. Antioxidant defence mechanism plays a vital role in combating various diseases mainly due to oxidative stress. However, various models have been utilized to identify their bioactivities using these compounds (quercetin, gallic acid and curcumin). Their toxicity level also has to be explored to determine the threshold levels on the usage of these compounds. In this study, we investigated the lethal concentration of these compounds and abnormalities, biochemical and morphological changes in zebrafish embryo (Danio rerio). Toxicity level was evaluated by calculating the LD 50 on the embryonic stages at 24, 48 and 72 h. Antioxidant parameters such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH) and biological assays such as lipid peroxidation, protein estimation were performed. Microscopic evaluations were also observed to find out morphological abnormalities. However, these naturally derived compounds are reported to have their protective and curative role in many health complications. From the above assays, we are studying the effect of the drugs in both biochemical and molecular way in the zebrafish model organism.

Bixin and crocin are natural apocarotenoids utilized as food colorants and additives in food industries worldwide. For safety assessment, it is necessary to understand the biological interaction of food colorants. In our present study, we report the interaction of two apocarotenoids with bovine serum albumin (BSA) at physiological pH using spectroscopic techniques and in silico tools. The binding constant and the mode of binding sites have been studied. The enthalpic and entropic contribution to the intermolecular binding event was analyzed and it was found that the contribution of hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions was dominant. The adverse temperature dependence in the unusual static quenching is found to be a reasonable consequence of the large activation energy requirement in the binding process, which is required to overcome the fundamental block and is a direct result of the unique microstructure of the binding sites. To confirm the experimental analysis, we investigated the binding patterns using different in silico tools. A combination of molecular docking, molecular dynamics, and toxicity analysis was performed, and the obtained results revealed that both the apocarotenoids had high binding affinity with a binding energy of -5.44 and -5.93 kcal/mol for bixin and crocin, respectively, with no toxic effects and are in accordance with our experimental analysis. The results directly revealed the flexibility of the protein toward bixin and crocin which has a great impact on the interaction. Thus bixin and crocin can guardedly be used as food colorants in food industries.