Production of bioactive cyclotides in somatic embryos of Viola odorata.

Viola odorata L. (Violaceae), an Indian medicinal plant, contains a plethora of cyclotides, which are a class of cyclic peptides derived from plants, possessing several applications. Somatic embryo culture of V.

Cyclotides from the Indian Medicinal Plant Viola odorata (Banafsha): Identification and Characterization.

Cyclotides are cyclic cystine knotted macrocyclic plant peptides that have several promising applications. This study was undertaken to detect and identify known and new cyclotides in Viola odorata, a commercially important medicinal plant, from three geographical locations in India. The number of cyclotides in the plant varied with the tissue (leaves, petioles, flowers, runners, and roots) and with geographical locations in India.

PBP deletion mutants of Escherichia coli exhibit irregular distribution of MreB at the deformed zones.

MreB is a cytoskeletal protein, which is responsible for maintaining proper cellular morphology and is essential for cell survival. Likewise, penicillin-binding protein 5 (PBP5) helps in maintaining cell shape, though non-essential for survival. The contradicting feature of these two proteins paves the way for this study, wherein we attempt to draw a relation on the nature of distribution of MreB in PBP deletion mutants.

Reduction of hexavalent chromium by a novel Ochrobactrum sp. - microbial characteristics and reduction kinetics.

A Gram negative hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) reducing bacteria, Ochrobactrum sp. Cr-B4 (genbank accession number: JF824998) was isolated from the aerator water of an activated sludge process of a wastewater treatment facility of a dye and pigment based specialty chemical industry. It showed a resistance for 1000 mg L(-1) Cr(VI).

Characteristics of a novel Acinetobacter sp. and its kinetics in hexavalent chromium bioreduction.

Cr-B2, a Gram-negative hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] reducing bacteria, was isolated from the aerator water of an activated sludge process in the wastewater treatment facility of a dye and pigment based chemical industry. Cr- B2 exhibited a resistance for 1,100 mg/l Cr(VI) and, similarly, resistance against other heavy metal ions such as Ni2+ (800 mg/l), Cu2+ (600 mg/l), Pb2+ (1,100 mg/l), Cd2+ (350 mg/l), Zn2+ (700 mg/l), and Fe3+ (1,000 mg/l), and against selected antibiotics. Cr-B2 was observed to efficiently reduce 200 mg/l Cr(VI) completely in both nutrient and LB media, and could convert Cr(VI) to Cr(III) aerobically.