No abstract

A bacterial consortium BMP1/SDSC/01 consisting of six isolates was isolated from textile effected soil, sludge, and textile effluent from Hudiara drain near Nishat Mills Limited, Ferozepur Road, Lahore, Pakistan. It was selected because of being capable of degrading and detoxifying red, green, black, and yellow textile dyes. The pH and supplements were optimized to enhance the decolorization ability of the selected consortium. The results indicated that decolorizing ability of consortium for the red, green, black, and yellow dyes was higher as compared to individual strains. The consortium was able to decolorize 84%, 84%, 85%, 85%, and 82% of 200 ppm of red, green, black, yellow, and mixed dyes within 24 h while individual strain required 72 h. On supplementing urea, the consortium decolorized 87, 86, 89, 86, and 83%, respectively, while on supplementing sodium chloride the consortium decolorized 93, 94, 93, 94, and 89% of red, green, black, yellow, and mixed dyes, respectively, which was maximum while in the presence of ascorbic acid and ammonium chloride it showed intermediate results. The effect of untreated and treated dyes was investigated on Zea mays L. (maize) and Sorghum vulgare Pers. (sorghum). This study will help to promote an efficient biotreatment of textile effluents.

This study aimed at molecular detection and characterization of Brucella spp from Pakistan. For this purpose, whole blood samples (n=167) were collected from different species of livestock and analysed at Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), United Kingdom. Samples were analysed employing Rose Bengal Test (RBT), Competitive Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA), PCR IS711 and culture examination. We found 1% (2/167) samples positive for infection by culture, 4% (7/167) by RBT, 6% (10/167) by cELISA and 21% (35/167) by PCR IS711. Results were found statistically significant using chi-square test (p-value <0.05). The blood culture positive bacterial isolations were further subjected to classical biotyping and molecular techniques for characterization and found as non-vaccine strains of Brucella melitensis. Molecular characterization using Multilocus Sequence Analysis (MLSA) and Variable Number of Tandem Repeat (VNTR) analysis demonstrated that although there was some similarity in the patterns generated, the isolations were distinct from each other. These isolates were not the part of geographically confined group but were representative of other B. melitensis strains found in the region stretching from southern Europe into South Asia. To our knowledge, this is the first report of molecular characterization of B. melitensis isolates from Pakistan. The molecular methods described in the present study will help to understand the disease dynamics and future brucellosis control in Pakistan.

Urea is the most popular and widely used nitrogenous fertilizer. High soil urease activity rapidly hydrolyses applied urea to ammonia which contributes to soil nitrogen (N) losses and reduces N use efficiency of crop plants. The ammonia losses can be minimized by the inhibition of soil urease activity which has been explored using various potential chemical inhibitors. However, the soil urease activity inhibition potential of plant extracts is rarely explored to date. In the present study, extracts of 35 plant materials were taken and evaluated against jack bean urease. Eleven extracts, showing >50% jack bean urease inhibition, were selected and further investigated in 13 soils collected from various districts of Punjab, Pakistan. Interestingly, except Capsicum annum, Melia azedarach, Citrus reticulata and Quercus infectoria, the plant extracts showed urease inhibition activities in soils, the extent of which was lower as compared to that observed in jack bean urease though. Maximum urea hydrolysis inhibition (70%) was noted with Vachellia nilotica which was 40% more than that of hydroquinone (50%) followed by that of Eucalyptus camaldulensis (24%). The extracts of V. nilotica and E. camaldulensis were coated on urea and applied to soil in the next step. At 21st day, 239% and 116% more urea-N was recovered from soil treated with V. nilotica and E. camaldulensis extracts coated urea, respectively, as compared to uncoated urea. Conclusively, these results indicated that the coating of V. nilotica and E. camaldulensis extracts on urea prills prolonged urea persistence in soil owing to minimum urea hydrolysis, probably, the extracts of V. nilotica and E. camaldulensis showed their urease inhibition potential. The results of this study provide a base line for the identification of new soil urease inhibitor compounds from plant materials in future.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract