Antarctica is the coldest and driest continent globally and has always been an exciting habitat to study extremophiles. The study reveals a monostromatic nitrophilic green alga Prasiola crispa (Trebouxiophyceae) growing on Adelie penguin guano at a penguin rockery, Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica. This study is the first report of the barcode of this algal genus from Eastern Antarctica in general and the Larsemann Hills in particular. There are 35 species currently accepted in this genus, while four were reported from Antarctica. The present study relied on morphological diagnoses as well as the phylogenetic inference based on nuclear-encoded ITS gene and plastid-encoded tufA gene for species identification. The study generated phylogenetic reconstruction at the two selected loci for the first time for this species from Antarctica.
This paper highlights a description of wild rose species Rosa brunonii syn moschata found in the Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh along with its traditional uses to cure joint pain. It also describes the future potential to develop wild rose based enterprise to add some economic benefit to the rural community of the valley especially women.
Gram-positive, aerobic, motile, rod-shaped, mesophilic epiphytic bacterium Planomicrobium okeanokoites was isolated from the surface of endemic species Himantothallus grandifolius in Larsemann Hills, Eastern Antarctica. The diversity of epiphytic bacterial communities living on marine algae remains primarily unexplored; virtually no reports from Antarctic seaweeds. The present study used morpho-molecular approaches for the macroalgae and epiphytic bacterium characterization. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using mitochondrial genome encoded COX1 gene; chloroplast genome encodes rbcL; nuclear genome encoded large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (LSU rRNA) for Himantothallus grandifolius and ribosomal encoded 16S rRNA for Planomicrobium okeanokoites. Morphological and molecular data revealed that the isolate is identified as Himantothallus grandifolius, which belongs to Family Desmarestiaceae of Order Desmarestiales in Class Phaeophyceae showing 99.8% similarity to the sequences of Himantothallus grandifolius, from King George Island, Antarctica (HE866853). The isolated bacterial strain was identified on the basis of chemotaxonomic, morpho-phylogenetic, and biochemical assays. A phylogenetic study based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the epiphytic bacterial strain SLA-357 was closest related to the Planomicrobium okeanokoites showing 98.7% sequence similarity. The study revealed the first report of this species from the Southern Hemisphere to date. Also, there has been no report regarding the association between the Planomicrobium okeanokoites and Himantothallus grandifolius; however, there are some reports on this bacterium isolated from sediments, soils, and lakes from Northern Hemisphere. This study may open a gateway for further research to know about the mode of interactions and how they affect the physiology and metabolism of each other.
The paper enumerates 95 plant species of medicinal importance used by the inhabitants of the villages around the Changthang plateau of Ladakh Union Territory, India. Leaves (27 spp.), shoots (23 spp.), flowers and root (19 spp., each) were utilized in majority cases. Maximum species were used for gastrointestinal diseases followed by cold, cough, flu, fever & headache. Twenty species have been recorded threatened from the Changthang landscape. Habitat degradation, over exploitation and changing environmental conditions have been observed main drivers for decreasing the diversity and populations of medicinal plants in the landscape. Therefore, there is urgent need of formulation of appropriate in-situ and ex-situ conservation and management strategy for preservation of rich medicinal and aromatic plants of the Changthang landscape of the Ladakh Union Territory.
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