Endoparasites of some economically important food fishes of River Jhelum, Kashmir (India).

During the present study endo-parasitic fauna of fish at different sites of River Jhelum were analysed. Four different species of endoparasites were recovered from Schizothorax species which include Adenoscolex kashmirensis Mehra, 1930, Bothriocephalus acheilognathi Yamaguti, 1934, Echinorhynchus sp., Pomphorhynchus kashmirensis Kaw, 1941, belong to Phylum Platyhelminths and Phylum Acanthocephala. Prevalence and generation time were inversely proportional to each other. Prevalence and mean abundance were highest at Qamarwari. Diversity was more at Tengpora. Cestodes including Adenoscolex kashmirensis and Bothriocephalus acheilognathi were more dominant than Pomphorhynchus kashmirensis and Echinorhynchus sp.

Population analysis of the genera buildup on some commercially important vegetable crops grown in Kashmir Valley.

In order to list the genera buildup on Brassica oleracea (Cauliflower), Capsicum frustscens (Chillies), Spinacia oleracea (Spinach) and Phaseolus vulgaris (Farash bean) a general survey was carried in the summer season of 2013. On examining the soil samples as well as root samples of Cauliflower Boleodorus, Psilenchus, Helicotylenchus, Merlinius, Aglenchus and Filenchus were encountered with their absolute density of 18, 31, 34.5, 35, 35 and 31.5 %. On Chillies, Tylenchus, Helicotylenchus, Psilenchus, Pratylenchus and Hirschmaniella with their absolute frequency of 86, 96.6, 100, 100 and 96.6 % respectively were collected. Among these five genera recorded on Chillies the Relative prominence value of 16 % is lowest for Psilenchus and 26.7 % for Helicotylenchus. Merlinius, Psilenchus, Aglenchus, and Boleodorus were encountered on examining the soil and root samples of Spinach during the period of study. Boleodorus was met with the highest percentage of frequency of 90 % as well as highest proportion of absolute density of 37 % and lowest value of 24 % in case of Merlinius and Psilenchus. Soil samples as well as root samples of Farash bean, Aglenchus, Tylenchus, Hirschmaniella, Helicotylenchus and Psilenchus were encountered with their absolute density of 27, 19.5, 33, 33 and 35.4 %. The absolute frequency of 100 % was found in Tylenchus with the lowest frequency of 70 % in Helicotylenchus. Among the genera recorded on Farash bean relative prominence value happened to be highest in Hirschmaniella with the value as 23.6 % and lowest on Tylenchus with the value of 14.2 %.

First record of protozoan parasites in cyprinid fish, Schizothorax niger Heckel, 1838 from Dal lake in Kashmir Himalayas with study on their pathogenesis.

Trichodina heterodentata Duncan, 1977 and Ichthyophthirius multifiliis Fouquet, 1876 obtained from gills during a parasitological survey conducted for the protozoan parasitic fauna of Schizothorax niger a snow trout in Dal Lake, Kashmir, India during the period October 2013 and March 2015. Thirty out of 180 fish were found infected with protozoan parasites. During the study of their pathogenecity the most common deteriorating signs observed in gill tissue were necrosis, hypertrophy, hyperplasia and fusion of secondary lamellae. Prevalence of infection was found to be 16.66%. This is the first record of the protozoan fauna of the schizothoracines from Kashmir valley, India.

Protein profiling of Haemonchus contortus found in sheep of Kashmir valley.

Economic losses due to helminth parasites in sheep throughout the world are considerable. Haemonchus contortus is a blood sucking intestinal helminth that lives in the abomasum of small ruminants worldwide. This parasite can be devastating to producers as it causes decreased production levels due to clinical signs such as anaemia, edema and death. For isolation of the proteins of the parasite, a well defined methodology was adopted. The abomasae of sheep in which this parasite resides were collected from abattoirs of various districts and were then carried to laboratory for screening. In case of collection sites falling in far areas, the organs were screened on spot. The parasites were collected in normal saline, washed and stored in 0.05 M PBS with pH of 7.4 at 0 °C. After refrigeration, frozen nematodes were thawed, homogenized and centrifuged at 1,000-15,000 rpm for 15 min. The supernatant was thus collected as a protein mixture and stored at -20 °C. Protein concentration of the samples was estimated by Lowry method. The samples were then analyzed through PAGE and then through SDS-PAGE. Protein estimation of the samples was estimated to be 4.2 mg/ml. The processed parasite samples were then subjected to PAGE and SDS-PAGE to determine the presence of the proteins. It showed high concentration of proteins in its whole protein profile. The proteins were seen as continuous bands intermixing with each other in PAGE analysis. The present study revealed two bands of molecular weights-55 and 33 kDa in PAGE analysis. The proteins when analyzed through SDS-PAGE were mostly found in the range of 25-70 kDa. The SDS-PAGE analysis showed four prominent bands. These bands were of the molecular weights of 66, 40, 33 and 26 kDa. The present work was a challenging one since only a single study was conducted in this region on this aspect and thus obviously was a big task to peep into the field where scanty input was available.