ABSTRACT
Several parasites have been shown to induce genotoxicity in humans and fish are important intermediate hosts for completing the life cycle of many parasites, posing a huge economic loss worldwide through the ecosystem food chain. In the present study, we assessed the genotoxic potential of helminth Rostellascaris sp. through a benchmark of comet assay and micronucleus (MNi) tests on the hepatocytes, muscle, and whole blood of infected fish Bagarius bagarius (Hamilton) collected from different sites of the river Ganges. The percentage of the mean tail length of the comet was 10.28±0.36 in the reticulocytes of the infected fish which was significantly (P ?0.05) longer compared to the control (2.86±0.12). Similarly, a significantly (P ?0.05) higher DNA damage was observed in hepatocytes of parasite-infected fish (12.15±0.24) when compared to the control (3.024±0.013). A comparatively higher DNA damage was observed in the hepatocytes than the reticulocytes, indicative of tissue-specific DNA damage as hepatocytes are the biomarkers of metabolic functions prone toward biotic stress. A higher induction of MN was observed in infested fish (0.18±0.07) as compared to the control. Our results suggest that parasites contribute to the induction of cellular and DNA damage in fish during the progression of the host-parasite interaction.
ABSTRACT
The strigolactones (SLs) are plants hormones that have multiple functions in architecture and development. The roles of SLs in shoot branching and stem secondary growth of autotrophic plants are established. SL is also involved in the interaction between root parasitic plants and their host plants. SLs are exudates by the root of the host plant in search of a fungal partner for symbiotic association, while parasitic plants utilize this facility to detect the host root. The first formed tubercle of Philapanhche, whose germinations are driven by host-derived SLs, exudates parasitic derived SLs (PSLs) and could encourages germination of the adjacent parasitic seeds, resulting in parasite cluster formation. The existence of aboveground spikes in clusters suggests an intriguing approach for increasing parasite population by amplifying PSLs, which result in massive parasitic seed germination. PSLs probably have a role in the increased branching of Broomrapes opposing the host plant, resulting in the parasites' clustered appearance aboveground. This review highlights the distinct roles of SLs and PSLs, and their potential role in host-parasitic interaction.
ABSTRACT
Background: Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death in most industrialised countries (about one-third of all deaths) and somewhat low incidence is observed in the developing countries. Aims & Objective: To study age wise distribution of Coronary Artery Disease risk factors. Material and Methods: The data for this study was collected from Baroda Heart Institute & Research Centre (BHIRC). The total 208 patients were considered for study of CAD. Results: The majority of our patients were from age group of 60-69 years i.e. 67 (32.21%) and only 10 patients (4.32%) were in the age group of ≥80 years. Amongst all patients, 93.27% were lacking exercise, 39.42% were hypertensive, 28.85% were obese, 27.88% diabetic, 10.58% had family history of CAD and 5.28% were smokers. Conclusion: It is essential to identify CAD risk factors amongst the Indians to tackle the problem. So this study would be of great help in this direction.