Genetic identification of marine eels (Anguilliformes: Congroidei) through DNA barcoding from Kasimedu fishing harbour.

Along with the mysteries of their body's shape like snakes, marine eels have fascinated biologists for centuries. Information on the molecular taxonomy of marine eels is scarce from the Southeast Indian region and hence, the present study aimed to barcode marine eels collected from Kasimedu fishing harbor, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. A total of 44 specimens were collected and DNA barcoding was done with a COI marker.

A new species Ophichthus chennaiensis sp. nov. (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from the southeast coast of India.

A new species of snake eel, Ophichthus chennaiensis sp. nov. (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae: Ophichthinae), is described on the basis of a specimen collected from dumped fish disposed of by bottom trawlers at Kasimedu fishing harbour, Chennai.

Night Migratory Songbirds Exhibit Metabolic Ability to Support High Aerobic Capacity during Migration.

Aerobic metabolism in night migratory songbirds exhibit seasonal plasticity, which depends not only on annual life history stages (LHSs), viz., migratory/nonmigratory or breeding/nonbreeding, but also on the time of the day. Initially, we studied daily changes in behavior/physiology alongside aerobic metabolism intermediates using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based chemometric analyses of serum of migratory male redheaded buntings during low-energy wintering, that is, the nonmigrating LHS.

Global Urine Metabolomics in Patients Treated with First-Line Tuberculosis Drugs and Identification of a Novel Metabolite of Ethambutol.

Population level variation of drug metabolism phenotype (DMP) has great implications in treatment outcome, drug-related side effects, and resistance development. In this study, we used a gas chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS)-based untargeted urine metabolomics approach to understand the DMP of a tuberculosis (TB) patient cohort (n= 20) from Tripura, a state in the northeastern part of India. Urine samples collected at different postdose time points (2 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 36 h, and 48 h) from these newly diagnosed TB patients receiving first-line anti-TB drugs were analyzed, and we have successfully detected three of the four first-line drugs,viz, isoniazid (INH), ethambutol (ETB), and pyrazinamide (PZA).

Deregulated tyrosine-phenylalanine metabolism in pulmonary tuberculosis patients.

Metabolic profiling of biofluids from tuberculosis (TB) patients would help us in understanding the disease pathophysiology and may also be useful for the development of novel diagnostics and host-directed therapy. In this pilot study we have compared the urine metabolic profiles of two groups of subjects having similar TB symptoms and categorized as active TB (ATB, n = 21) and non-TB (NTB, n = 21) based on GeneXpert test results. Silylation, gas chromatography mass spectrometry, and standard chemometric methods were employed to identify the important molecules and deregulated metabolic pathways.

Investigation of gender-specific exhaled breath volatome in humans by GCxGC-TOF-MS.

Exploring gender-specific metabolic differences in biofluids provides a basic understanding of the physiological and metabolic phenotype of healthy subjects. Many reports have shown gender-specific metabolome profiles in the urine and serum of healthy subjects; however, limited studies focusing on exhaled human breath are available in the literature. In this study, we profiled the exhaled breath (~450 mL) volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of 47 healthy volunteers (age: 19-47; 23 male (M) and 24 female (F)) using a multidimensional gas chromatography and mass spectrometry and employed chemometric analysis to identify gender-specific VOCs.

A new species of water mite (Acari, Hydrachnidia) from Assam, India, found in the gut contents of the fish Botia dario (Botiidae).

Water mites (Hydrachnidia) occur sporadically in the gut of freshwater fishes. In this study, nine water mite items were found in the gut contents of the fish Botia dario (Hamilton, 1822) (Botiidae) collected in a floodplain wetland (beel) in the river island Majuli, Assam, India. Torrenticola episce is described as new to science; Torrenticola haliki Pešić & Smit 2010, Monatractides oxystomus (K.

Induction of apoptosis by ribosome inactivating proteins: importance of N-glycosidase activity.

Apoptotic cell death is a fundamental process in the development and physiological homeostasis of multicellular organisms. It is associated with control of cell numbers in tissues and organs during development, with cell turnover, and with response to infection. Molecules that trigger this process in continuously proliferating cancer cells can be used as chemotherapeutic agents.

A cytotoxic type-2 ribosome inactivating protein (from leafless mistletoe) lacking sugar binding activity.

Articulatin-D, a 66 kDa ribosome inactivating protein (RIP) comprised of 29 kDa A-chain linked to 35 kDa B-chain, is purified from leafless mistletoe (Viscum articulatum) parasitic on Dalbergia sp. from Western Ghats (India). N-terminal sequence and LC-MS/MS analyses of A- and B-chain confirmed that articulatin-D is a type-2 RIP having high homology with other mistletoe lectins.