Microplastic pollution status in the coral reef ecosystems on the Southern and Western coasts of Sri Lanka during the Southwest monsoon.

We investigated the microplastics (MP) abundance, characteristics and pollution severity in the six coral reef ecosystems along the southern and western coasts of Sri Lanka during the southwest monsoon. The small blue-coloured fibres dominated within coral reefs and reef environments. The average coral, surface water and surface sediment MP concentration were 806.

transcriptome analysis of to unravel the biosynthesis of pharmaceutically relevant specialized metabolites.

The tropical tree, , is a prominent source of chromone alkaloid rohitukine, which is used in the semi-syntheses of anticancer molecules such as flavopiridol and P-276-00. The biosynthetic pathway of rohitukine or its derivatives is currently unknown in plants. Here, we explored chromone alkaloid biosynthesis in through targeted transcriptome sequencing.

Impact of Different Combinations of Processing Steps on Product Quality and Proximate Composition of : A Case Study from Sri Lanka.

(dried sea cucumbers) is considered as one of the most luxurious seafood in the world. The market demand for mainly depends on species and product quality. This study is aimed at assessing the effect of different processing methods on the product quality and nutritional composition of .

F18 a new source of camptothecin-producing endophytic fungus from growing in Sri Lanka.

An endophytic fungus producing camptothecin (CPT) was isolated from the leaf of (Sri Lanka), and culture conditions were optimised to enhance the yield of CPT. The TLC, HPLC-PDA, LC-MS/MS and spectroscopic data were used to identify and quantify CPT. Solvent extraction (chloroform: methanol 4:1 v/v) of submerged cultures in Sabouraud Dextrose Broth (SDB) detected CPT in the mycelial extract but not in the culture broth.

Microplastic pollution in Marine Protected Areas of Southern Sri Lanka.

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in marine environment. The prevalence of MPs in coastal and lagoon sediments, and water were studied in two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs); Bundala National Park (BNP) and Hikkaduwa Marine National Park (HNP) in Sri Lanka. Both areas are important for turtles, birds and coral ecosystems, all of which are particularly threatened by MPs.