gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from a Kuwait tidal flat.

A Gram-stain-positive, strictly aerobic, spore-forming, rod-shaped and non-motile bacterium designated strain SIJ1 was obtained from tidal flat sediment collected from the northern shore of Kuwait Bay, northwest of the Arabian Gulf. Strain SIJ1 grew optimally at 30 °C and pH 7-8 in the presence of 6 % (w/v) NaCl. The cell-wall peptidoglycan was based on -diaminopimelic acid and an unsaturated menaquinone with seven isoprene units (MK-7) was the predominant respiratory quinone.

sp. nov., isolated from benthic sediments near coral reefs south of Kuwait.

A Gram-stain-negative, rod and rod-curved shaped motile bacterium designated strain S25 was obtained from benthic sediment collected near the Kubbar Island coral reefs south of Kuwait. Phenotypic analysis revealed that strain S25 was slightly halophilic, mesophilic and facultative anaerobic, fermenting d-glucose, d-ribose, d-mannose, d-mannitol, maltose, fructose, gentiobiose, cellobiose, melibiose, trehalose and sucrose. It was positive for oxidase and indole production and negative for arginine dihydrolase and lysine and ornithine decarboxylases.

High efficiency phytoextraction of uranium using L. Nash.

Uranium uptake, translocation and its effects on leaf anatomy in vetiver grass ( L. Nash) grown in hydroponics were investigated at a wide range of concentrations. At concentrations below 200 ppm (1, 5, 25, 100, and 200 ppm) almost 90-95% of uranium was depleted from the medium within 3 days of treatment, while at other concentrations viz.

Expression of an endochitinase gene from Trichoderma virens confers enhanced tolerance to Alternaria blight in transgenic Brassica juncea (L.) czern and coss lines.

An endochitinase gene 'ech42' from the biocontrol fungus 'Trichoderma virens' was introduced to Brassica juncea (L). Czern and Coss via Agrobaterium tumefaciens mediated genetic transformation method. Integration and expression of the 'ech42' gene in transgenic lines were confirmed by PCR, RT-PCR and Southern hybridization.

Evaluation of transgenic tobacco plants expressing a bacterial Co-Ni transporter for acquisition of cobalt.

Phytoremediation is a viable strategy for management of toxic wastes in a large area/volume with low concentrations of toxic elemental pollutants. With increased industrial use of cobalt and its alloys, it has become a major metal contaminant in soils and water bodies surrounding these industries and mining sites with adverse effects on the biota. A bacterial Co-Ni permease was cloned from Rhodopseudomonas palustris and introduced into Nicotiana tabacum to explore its potential for phytoremediation and was found to be specific for cobalt and nickel.

Production of camptothecin by hairy roots and regenerated transformed shoots of Ophiorrhiza rugosa var. decumbens.

Camptothecin (CPT), the derivatives of which are used clinically for the treatment of metastatic colon cancer, is isolated from intact plants that can be subjected to environmental fluctuations. In vitro cultures may be an alternate and continuous source for year-round production of CPT. Since CPT production by undifferentiated cell cultures is low, differentiated tissues such as root cultures may be a viable alternate source for CPT production.

Transgenic Nicotiana tabacum plants expressing a fungal copper transporter gene show enhanced acquisition of copper.

The diets of two-thirds of the world's population are deficient in one or more essential elements and one of the approaches to enhance the levels of mineral elements in food crops is by developing plants with ability to accumulate them in edible parts. Besides conventional methods, transgenic technology can be used for enhancing metal acquisition in plants. Copper is an essential element, which is often deficient in human diet.

Enhanced tolerance and remediation of anthracene by transgenic tobacco plants expressing a fungal glutathione transferase gene.

Plants can be used for remediation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which are known to be a major concern for human health. Metabolism of xenobiotic compounds in plants occurs in three phases and glutathione transferases (GST) mediate phase II of xenobiotic transformation. Plants, although have GSTs, they are not very efficient for degradation of exogenous recalcitrant xenobiotics including polyaromatic hydrocarbons.

Expression of a human cytochrome P4502E1 in Nicotiana tabacum enhances tolerance and remediation of γ-hexachlorocyclohexane.

Lindane (γ-hexachlorocyclohexane), a persistent organo-chlorine insecticide widely used in developing countries, has a negative effect as a polluting agent of soil and surface waters. Plants can be used for remediation of organic pollutants and their efficiency can be enhanced by introduction of heterologous genes. Mammalian cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1), an important monooxygenase is involved in the degradation of a wide range of xenobiotics including environmental pollutants/herbicides and pesticides.

Pollen grains as a target for introduction of foreign genes into plants: an assessment.

Introduction of foreign genes and development of transgenic plants have become an integral part of crop improvement programmes in the last decade. However, most of the present day plant transformation protocols require long periods for development of transgenic plants and need skilled personnel. Development of alternate, simple and rapid transformation protocols for development of transgenic plants can overcome the constraints of in vitro culture, regeneration and associated problems.

Glutathione transferase from Trichoderma virens enhances cadmium tolerance without enhancing its accumulation in transgenic Nicotiana tabacum.

Background: Cadmium (Cd) is a major heavy metal pollutant which is highly toxic to plants and animals. Vast agricultural areas worldwide are contaminated with Cd. Plants take up Cd and through the food chain it reaches humans and causes toxicity.

Copper tolerance and response of antioxidative enzymes in axenically grown Brassica juncea (L.) plants.

Copper is an essential element for proper functioning of all living organisms including plants, but it can cause toxicity at elevated concentrations. In the present study, two varieties of Brassica juncea L. i.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) with an insecticidal protein gene: optimisation of different factors.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in chickpea was developed using strain LBA4404 carrying nptII, uidA and cryIAc genes and transformants selected on Murashige and Skoog's basal medium supplemented with benzyladenine, kinetin and kanamycin. Integration of transgenes was demonstrated using polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot hybridization of T0 plants. The expression of CryIAc delta endotoxin and GUS enzyme was shown by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and histochemical assay respectively.

Expression of a Neurospora crassa zinc transporter gene in transgenic Nicotiana tabacum enhances plant zinc accumulation without co-transport of cadmium.

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient required for growth and development of all organisms. Deficiency of Zn in humans is widespread, affecting 25% of world population and efforts are underway to develop crop plants with high levels of Zn in their edible parts. When strategies for enhancing Zn in crop plants are designed, it is essential to exclude cadmium (Cd), a toxic analogue of Zn.

Expression of a fungal endochitinase gene in transgenic tomato and tobacco results in enhanced tolerance to fungal pathogens.

Development of transgenic Nicotiana tabacum and Lycopersicon esculentum expressing an endochitinase (ech42) gene from biocontrol fungus Trichoderma virens using Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation is reported in this paper. Integration of transgene in the genome of transgenic plants was demonstrated using polymerase chain reaction and Southern-blot hybridization, while expression was ascertained by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Histochemical analysis confirmed the expression of GUS enzyme in transformed shoots.

Potential of Chromolaena odorata for phytoremediation of (137)Cs from solution and low level nuclear waste.

Potential of Chromolaena odorata plants for remediation of (137)Cs from solutions and low level nuclear waste was evaluated. When plants were exposed to solutions spiked with three different levels of (137)Cs, namely 1 x 10(3) kBqL(-1), 5 x 10(3) kBqL(-1) and 10 x 10(3) kBqL(-1), 89%, 81% and 51% of (137)Cs was found to be remediated in 15 d, respectively. At the lowest Cs activity (1 x 10(3) kBqL(-1)), accumulation of Cs was found to be higher in roots compared to shoots, while at higher Cs activities (5 x 10(3) kBqL(-1) and 10 x 10(3) kBqL(-1)), Cs accumulation was more in shoots than roots.

Potential of vetiver (Vetiveria zizanoides L. Nash) for phytoremediation of phenol.

Aseptically grown Vetiveria zizanoides were evaluated for their potential for phytoremediation of phenol from Murashige and Skoog's liquid medium. Phenol was found to be completely removed from incubation medium at the end of 4 days by V. zizanoides plantlets, when medium was supplemented with 50 and 100 mg L(-1) phenol, while with 200, 500, and 1000 mg L(-1) of phenol, 89%, 76% and 70%, respectively, were removed.

Advances in development of transgenic pulse crops.

It is three decades since the first transgenic pulse crop has been developed. Todate, genetic transformation has been reported in all the major pulse crops like Vigna species, Cicer arietinum, Cajanus cajan, Phaseolus spp, Lupinus spp, Vicia spp and Pisum sativum, but transgenic pulse crops have not yet been commercially released. Despite the crucial role played by pulse crops in tropical agriculture, transgenic pulse crops have not moved out from laboratories to large farm lands compared to their counterparts - 'cereals' and the closely related leguminous oil crop - 'soybean'.

Advances in development of transgenic plants for remediation of xenobiotic pollutants.

Phytoremediation-the use of plants for cleaning up of xenobiotic compounds-has received much attention in the last few years and development of transgenic plants tailored for remediation will further enhance their potential. Although plants have the inherent ability to detoxify some xenobiotic pollutants, they generally lack the catabolic pathway for complete degradation/mineralization of these compounds compared to microorganisms. Hence, transfer of genes involved in xenobiotic degradation from microbes/other eukaryotes to plants will further enhance their potential for remediation of these dangerous groups of compounds.

Phytoremediation of 137cesium and 90strontium from solutions and low-level nuclear waste by Vetiveria zizanoides.

Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanoides) L. Nash plantlets when tested for their potential to remove (90)Sr and (137)Cs (5 x 10(3) k Bq l(-1)) from solutions spiked with individual radionuclide showed that 94% of (90)Sr and 61% of (137)Cs could be removed from solutions after 168 h. When both (90)Sr and (137)Cs were supplemented together to the solution, 91% of (90)Sr and 59% of (137)Cs were removed at the end of 168 h.

Genetic transformation of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) with insecticidal crystal protein gene using particle gun bombardment.

Here, we report the establishment of an efficient particle gun bombardment mediated genetic transformation in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) using cryIAc gene of Bacillus thuringiensis. Explants were bombarded with recombinant plasmids engineered for the expression of cryIAc transgene in plants and stable transformants regenerated in presence of benzyladenine, kinetin and kanamycin.

Enhanced production of azadirachtin by hairy root cultures of Azadirachta indica A. Juss by elicitation and media optimization.

Azadirachtin is one of the most potent biopesticides so far developed from a plant sources. Influence of different culture media and elicitation on growth and production of azadirachtin by hairy root cultures of Azadirachta indica was studied. Out of the three media tested, namely Ohyama and Nitsch, Gamborg's and Murashige and Skoog's basal media, hairy roots cultured on Ohyama and Nitsch's basal medium produced maximum yield of azadirachtin (0.

Phytoremediation of radiostrontium ((90)Sr) and radiocesium ((137)Cs) using giant milky weed (Calotropis gigantea R.Br.) plants.

Potential of plants to remove radionuclides/toxic elements from soils and solutions can be successfully applied for removal of important radionuclides such as strontium-90 ((90)Sr) and cesium-137 ((137)Cs). When uptake of (137)Cs and (90)Sr by Calotropis gigantea plants incubated in distilled water spiked with the radionuclides either alone or in combination was studied, it was found to have a high efficiency for the removal of (90)Sr, with 90% being removed from solutions (5 x 10(3)kBql(-1)) within 24h of incubation. However, in case of (137)Cs, about 44% could be removed from solutions (5 x 10(3)kBql(-1)) at the end of 168h of incubation.

Phenol removal using Brassica juncea hairy roots: role of inherent peroxidase and H(2)O(2).

Removal of phenol, a major pollutant in aqueous effluents was studied using plant hairy root cultures. Among four different species of hairy roots tested, Brassica juncea showed the highest potential for phenol removal. The effect of phenol concentration and reuse in a batch system was studied using B.

Cadmium accumulation and its influence on lipid peroxidation and antioxidative system in an aquatic plant, Bacopa monnieri L.

Bacopa monnieri L. plants exposed to 10, 50, 100 and 200 microM cadmium (Cd) for 48, 96 and 144 h were analysed with reference to the accumulation of metal and its influence on various enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), photosynthetic pigments and protein content. The accumulation of Cd was found to be increased in a concentration and duration dependent manner with more Cd being accumulated in the root.