Alteration of haematological and biochemical biomarkers after sub-lethal chronic malathion (Elathion®) intoxication in freshwater fish, Labeo rohita (Hamilton, 1822).

The present investigation aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of malathion (Elathion®) at two sub-lethal concentrations (0.36 and 1.84 mgL-1) for 45 days after the determination of 96 h-LC50 value (18.35 mgL-1) in a commercially important aquaculture species, Labeo rohita by assaying multiple biomarker approaches. Total erythrocyte count (TEC), and haemoglobulin count (Hb) were found to be decreased while total leucocyte counts (TLC) were increased (p < 0.05) in malathion-intoxicated fish. Malathion exposure significantly reduced (p < 0.05) serum protein levels while significantly increased (p < 0.05) blood glucose levels. RNA activity in muscle was reduced (p < 0.05) while DNA activity increased (p < 0.05) in malathion-intoxicated fish. Acid phosphatase (ACP) activities in the brain; lacate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities in brain and liver were increased (p < 0.05), while alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities in the brain; succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activities in the brain, liver and kidney; acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity in the brain; and ATPase activities in the brain, liver and kidney were reduced (p < 0.05) in comparison to control. Thus, the alteration in studied biomarkers was in a concentation-time dependent manner; however, it was more pronounced at the higher concentration at 45 days of exposure. The alteration in biomarker activity is probably a defensive mechanism/ adaptive response of fish to overcome the stress induced by malathion, which is a novel insight and possible impact on L.rohita. Our findings suggest malathion-induced stress, therefore, the use of malathion needs to be regulated to safeguard aquatic animals including fish and human health.

Metagenomic study focusing on antibiotic resistance genes from the sediments of River Yamuna.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the major health concerns of the present century. The direct discharge of urban sewage, hospital effluents, and pharmaceutical wastes increases the concentration of antibiotics in riverine ecosystems. This provides selection pressure for the development of novel antibiotic-resistant strains. In this study, metagenomics approach was employed a for constructing a comprehensive profile of the Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs) identified in the sediments of the Yamuna River. A total of 139 ARGs were identified from 39 microbial species. Abundance analysis revealed that, aminoglycoside, beta-lactam, macrolide, and tetracycline resistance genes were highly abundant in the sediment samples obtained from the Yamuna River. The evolutionary relationships among the ARGs were studied by phylogenetic analyses, which revealed that, the identified resistome comprised eight clusters. Network analysis was performed for investigating the broad-spectrum profiles of the ARGs and their enrichment in different biological functions and pathways. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analyses revealed that, 76, 36, 18, and 5 Gene Ontology (GO)-terms were significantly enriched in Biological process, Molecular Function, Cellular Component, and KEGG Pathways analysis, respectively. The present study elucidates the ecology of microbial antibiotic resistance in the riverine ecosystem of the Yamuna River and provides novel insights into the environmental hotspots that are amenable to the emergence of ARGs in the contaminated riverine hydrosphere.

Molecular characterization, constitutive expression and GTP binding mechanism of Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton, 1822) Myxovirus resistance (Mx) protein.

Myxovirus resistance (Mx) proteins represents the subclass of the dynamin superfamily of large Guanosine triphosphates (GTPases), play esential role in intracellular vesicle trafficking, endocytosis, organelle homeostasis and mitochondria distribution. These proteins are key players of the vertebrate immune system, induced by type-I and type-III interferons (IFN) of infected host and inhibit viral replication by sequestering its nucleoprotein. In the present study, we report the sequencing and characterization of Cirrhinus mrigala Mx protein (CmMx) for the first time and observed its constitutive expression in different tissues for a period of fourteen days. The synthetic peptide, LSGVALPRGTGI, was dissolved in PBS and injected into a rabbit and the antibody raised against CmMx was used to study the level of its expression. The full length of the CmMx cDNA is 2244 bp with a molecular mass of 70.9 kDa and a predicted isoelectric point of 8.25. The 627 amino acids polypeptide formed of three main functional domains: N-terminal GTPase domain (GD), a middle domain (MD) and GTPase effector domain (GED) with carboxy terminal leucine zipper motif. The 3D models of CmMx protein was modeled based on available close structural homologs and further validated through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. MD study revealed the importance of G-domain responsible for recognition of GTP, which perfectly corroborate with earlier studies. MM/PBSA binding free energy analysis displayed that van der Waals and electrostatic energy were the key driving force behind molecular recognition of GTP by CmMx protein. The results from this study will illuminate more lights into the ongoing research on myxovirus resistance protein and its role in inhibition of viral replication in other eukaryotic system as well.