Genetic diversity in mitochondrial DNA D-loop region of indigenous pig breeds of India.

India is home for at least 18 indigenous pig breeds; however, the genetic diversity of Indian pig, Sus scrofa domesticus, population is poorly known. Here, the hypervariable region (HVR) of mitochondrial DNA D-loop (~487 bp) of 214 pigs representing five indigenous and three exotic breeds was sequenced and analysed with reference sequences from other countries. A total of 54 segregating sites among the sequences revealed 56 different haplotypes. Two, 11, eight, seven and six haplotypes were identified with some haplotype sharing in indigenous breeds: Doom, Ghungroo, Mali, Niang-Megha and Tenyi-Vo, respectively. Population pairwise differences (PhiST) (0.409) were found significant (P<0.001), and variance within breeds (59.1%) was more than that of among breeds (40.9%). Similar topology was noted in phylogeny and median-joining network. Indian domestic pigs from this study were found to possess unique and highly differentiated haplotypes on network analysis. The diverse haplotypes and phylogenetic lineages identified here is the first report on Indian pig breeds that need to be further explored by complete mitochondrial DNA sequencing and analysis. These findings provide indicative insights for conservation and optimum utilization of the porcine genetic resources.

Evaluation of candidate genes related to litter traits in Indian pig breeds.

Improvement in litter traits is the key to profitable pig farming that directly enhances the economic standing of the farmers in developing countries. The present study aimed to explore oestrogen receptor (ESR), epidermal growth factor (EGF), follicle-stimulating hormone beta subunit (FSHß), prolactin receptor (PRLR) and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) genes as possible candidate genetic markers for litter traits in indigenous pigs of India. The breeds included in the study were Ghungroo, Mali, Niang Megha and Tenyi Vo, and the reproductive traits considered were litter size at birth (LSB), number born alive (NBA), litter weight at birth (LWB), litter size at weaning (LSW) and litter weight at weaning (LWW) at their first parity. PCR-RFLP and primer-based mutation detection methods were used to identify polymorphism, and associations between the genotypes and the traits were analysed using a general linear model. The Ghungroo pigs recorded the best litter performances among the breeds (p < .05, LWB p < .01). Different alleles and genotypes of the genes under study were detected. Short interspersed nuclear element (SINE) -/- genotype of FSHß revealed significantly higher litter traits (p < .05, LSB p < .01). The LWW was also found to be significantly influenced by ESR BB and AB, EGF AB and BB, and PRLR CC genotypes (p < .05). Although we did not find statistically significant and consistently superior litter traits with respect to different genotypes of other studied genes than genotype SINE -/- of the FSHß, PRLR CC genotype demonstrated superior performances for all the litter traits. Our study revealed the FSHß as a potential candidate genetic marker for litter traits in indigenous pig breeds of India.

Morphology-Dependent Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutant and Antibacterial Activity with CdS Nanostructures.

Efficient removal of organic pollutants from waste water by nanostructured photocatalysts has become an emerging research due to its importance in environmental remediation. Herein, CdS nanostructures with different morphologies i.e., spherical, nanopetal and rose-like have been synthesized by wet chemical method using TEA as a structure directing agent. The morphology, crystal structure, composition, surface area and optical properties of the nanostructures are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Brunauer-Emment-Teller (BET) analyser, Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy and Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. XRD patterns indicate the existence of hexagonal phase of CdS in all the three morphologies. The SEM images confirm the morphological transformation of spherical CdS nanoparticles (NPs) to nanopetal and rose-like morphology with the increase in concentration of TEA in the synthesis process. UV-visible absorption spectra show that rose-like CdS nanostructure exhibits red-shift of absorption wavelength compared to spherical and nanopetal CdS nanostructures. The increase in intensity of PL peak of rose-like CdS at 576.6 nm compared to that of spherical and nanopetal CdS, confirms the presence of more S vacancies or defect states. The BET specific surface areas of spherical, nanopetal and rose-like CdS nanostructures are determined to be 4.18, 6.64 and 8.93 m2/g, respectively. The EIS Nyquist plot confirms the higher electron transfer efficiency of rose-like CdS than that of spherical and nanopetal CdS. The photocatalytic activity of these three nanostructures are evaluated for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye in water solution under sunlight irradiation. Among the three structures, rose-like CdS nanostructure shows highest photocatalytic efficiency (96.5%) under sunlight irradiation within 120 min of sunlight irradiation. Antibacterial activity of the synthesized CdS nanostructures is performed against two Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and rose-like CdS shows more activity against both types of bacteria than that of spherical and nanopetal CdS.

Solvatochromicity of 3-hydroxy-4-(1-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-hydroxy-2,2-diphenylethylidene)cyclohexa-2,5-dienone for screening of solvents.

The quinonic compound 3-hydroxy-4-(1-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-hydroxy-2,2-diphenylethylidene)cyclohexa-2,5-dienone (I) is synthesised by the reaction of benzil with 1,3-dihydroxybenzene in basic medium. Solution of this compound shows visibly distinct colour differences in different solvents. From the different absorption maxima of the compound in visible spectra it can be used as an excellent analytical reagent to screen different solvents.

Solvent induced reactivity of 3,5-dimethylpyrazole towards zinc (II) carboxylates.

The reactions of 3,5-dimethylpyrazole with zinc(II)acetate dihydrate and varieties of aromatic carboxylic acids led to formation of mono-nuclear zinc complexes of composition [Zn(HDMP)2(RCO2)2] (R = C6H5, p-CH3-C6H4, p-NO2-C6H4 etc. HDMP = 3,5-dimethylpyrazole) in methanol, whereas the same reactants in dimethylformamide (DMF) gave binuclear 3,5-dimethylpyrazolato bridged zinc carboxylate complexes containing monodentate 3,5-dimethylpyraozole ligands with composition [Zn2(mu-DMP)2(HDMP)2(RCO2)2]. The mononuclear complexes can be converted to the corresponding binuclear complexes by simply dissolving in DMF. The reaction of zinc(II)acetate dihydrate with p-nitrobenzoic acid and 3,5-dimethylpyrazole in different solvents gave solvated mononuclear complexes of the corresponding solvent. All these solvated complexes having the core [Zn(HDMP)2(p-NO2-C6H4CO2)2] contain two structurally independent molecules in the asymmetric unit (Z' = 2).