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Cantharellus cibarius is a wild edible mushrooms and considered as a plethora of compounds with potential biotechnological applications. This study highlighted the utilization of C. cibarius mushroom in the production of extracellular lipase under submerged fermentation, representing the first report on lipase production by this mushroom. Various physicochemical factors were optimized via one-factor-at-a time (OFAT) method. Maximum enzyme production was recorded when the mushroom mycelium was grown at 30 °C on pH 6.0 for 96 h in the medium supplemented with 1% [(v/v)] olive oil. Productivity of enzyme was affected by variation in the nitrogen sources, carbon sources, metal ions and NaCl salt. Glucose and peptone significantly enhanced enzyme production as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. Stimulatory and inhibitory effects were found by Ca

Background Halophiles are extremophilic organisms represented by archaea, bacteria and eukaryotes that thrive in hypersaline environment. They apply different osmoadaptation strategies to survive in hostile conditions. Habitat diversity of halophilic microorganisms in hypersaline system provides information pertaining the evolution of life on Earth. Main body The microbiome-gut-brain axis interaction contributes greatly to the neurodegenerative diseases. Gut resident halophilic bacteria are used as alternative medication for chronic brain diseases. Halophiles can be used in pharmaceuticals, drug delivery, agriculture, saline waste water treatment, biodegradable plastic production, metal recovery, biofuel energy generation, concrete crack repair and other sectors. Furthermore, versatile biomolecules, mainly enzymes characterized by broad range of pH and thermostability, are suitable candidate for industrial purposes. Reflectance pattern of halophilic archaeal pigment rhodopsin is considered as potential biosignature for Earth-like planets. Short conclusions This review represents important osmoadaptation strategies acquired by halophilic archaea and bacteria and their potential biotechnological applications to resolve present day challenges. Graphical Abstract

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2018 was awarded jointly to Arthur Ashkin, Gerard Mourou and Donna Strickland for giving new beam of light in the field of laser physics. Unravelling new mechanical properties of biological molecule has made an interdisciplinary approach with physics creating significant insight into solving devil diseases.

Nobel committee has awarded William G. Kaelin, Jr., Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza Nobel Prize in Medicine this year for their remarkable discoveries in how cell sense low level of oxygen and rapidly adapts to the changing environment. Hypoxia is often considered to be the main regulator of cancer, since it promotes metabolic changes of the cell. Inhibition of signal transduction pathway and transcriptional regulators can be used as a therapeutic approach to control cancer progression.

Nowadays, nanoscale matter has started a revolution in manufacturing and industrialization processes like metal recovery. However, the chemical synthesis of nanoparticles has several disadvantages such as high initial capital cost, hazardous environmental effects, and slow metal recovery. To overcome these situations, the green synthesis of nanoparticles has gained attention due to its cost-effectiveness and ecofriendly nature. In the present era, nanobiotechnology is a major approach to recover several valuable metals. Different organisms like plants, fungi, algae, and bacteria have the ability to synthesize nanoparticles. Polyphenolic compounds from plant extracts have great antioxidant and reducing properties that can enable the reduction of metal ions into zero-valent metal atoms. NADH-dependent nitrate reductase enzymes act as a stabilizer in the formation of nanoparticles. Microbes like Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Shewanella, Geobacter, Klebsiella, and Desulfovibrio are capable of synthesizing nanoparticles and recover valuable metals like platinum, palladium, gold, silver, selenium, uranium, and copper.

Halophilic bacteria isolated from Indian Sundarban Wetland, identified as Salinicoccus roseus strain RF1H, were screened for extracellular esterase production. Media components for esterase production under submerged fermentation were optimised using Plackett–Burman Design followed by Box-Behnken Design of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) at pH 4.0, 3.5 g/L of MgSO4, and tributyrin concentration of 1(%v/v). The regression model was significant with a determination coefficient (R2) value of 0.826. Using RSM, the experimental value of maximum enzyme activity (2.442 UmL−1) was 1.35 fold increased. The kinetic parameters Km and Vmax for hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate were 9.98 mM and 2.26 µmol/min/mg respectively, establishing a high affinity for the substrate. Further, the enzyme conferred promising results in decolorisation of synthetic dyes -Malachite Green, Congo Red, Brilliant Yellow, and Orange G. Molecular docking was used to investigate the binding pockets of the esterase, enzyme-ligand interactions, and amino acids which played a key role in dye decolorisation. Docking score results and decolorisation percentage were found in good agreement. This is the first report on the biotransformation of synthetic dyes to non-toxic products using esterase from Salinicoccus roseus.

Cancer therapy describes the treatment of cancer, often with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Additionally, RNA interference (RNAi) is likely to be considered a new emerging, alternative therapeutic approach for silencing/targeting cancer-related genes. RNAi can exert antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects by targeting functional carcinogenic molecules or knocking down gene products of cancer-related genes. However, in contrast to conventional cancer therapies, RNAi based therapy seems to have fewer side effects. Transcription signal sequence and conserved sequence analysis-showed that microorganisms could be a potent source of non-coding RNAs. This review concluded that mapping of RNAi mechanism and RNAi based drug delivery approaches is expected to lead a better prospective of cancer therapy.

Castor being a perennial, cross-pollinated, sexually polymorphic crop with high environmental sensitivity, initial plant breeding efforts were restricted to plant height and duration. Domestication of a wild, perennial crop to an annual crop of medium plant height and duration is the first success. Further, development of a two-line breeding system and standard seed production technology led to successful commercial exploitation of heterosis. Being a monotypic genus, diversification of parental base is restricted to intra-generic, intraspecific, or inter-varietal hybridization. Phenotypic expression is highly plastic and varies with locations and seasons. Majority of the morphological characters are monogenic, independently assorted with very limited linkages among the traits. However, information on genetics of major morphological characters is scattered in several old publications. Conventional breeding methods were successful in developing about 40 high-yielding hybrids and varieties with inbuilt resistance to major pests and diseases. An effort is made in the present chapter to consolidate the information on genetics and breeding methods followed in India and elsewhere.