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The present research reports the anti-cancer potential of recombinant L-Glutaminase from Streptomyces roseolus. L-Glutaminase gene was synthesized by codon-optimization, cloned and successfully expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). Affinity purified recombinant L-Glutaminase revealed a molecular mass of 32 kDa. Purified recombinant L-Glutaminase revealed stability at pH 7.0–8.0 with optimum activity at 70 °C further indicating its thermostable nature based on thermodynamic characterization. Recombinant L-Glutaminase exhibited profound stability in the presence of several biochemical parameters and demonstrated its metalloenzyme nature and was also found to be highly specific towards favorable substrate (l -Glutamine) based on kinetics. It demonstrated antioxidant property and pronounced cytotoxic effect against breast cancer (MCF-7 cell lines) in a dose dependent behavior with IC 50 of 40.68 μg/mL. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight-mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF-MS) analysis of desired mass peaks ascertained the recombinant L-Glutaminase identity. N-terminal amino acid sequence characterization through Edman degradation revealed highest resemblance for L-glutaminase within the Streptomyces sp. family. The purified protein was characterized structurally and functionally by employing spectroscopic methods like Raman, circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance. The thermostability was assessed by thermogravimetric analysis. The outcomes of the study, suggests the promising application of recombinant L-Glutaminase as targeted therapeutic candidate for breast cancer. [Display omitted] • Glutaminase gene was codon-optimized for successful expression • Purified thermostable recombinant glutaminase revealed stability with superior properties • Recombinant glutaminase demonstrated antioxidant and anticancer potential • MALDI-TOF-MS and N-terminal sequencing revealed identity • Structural analysis was carried out by Raman, CD and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase and dissemination of multi-drug resistant bacteria have presented a major healthcare challenge, making bacterial infections a significant concern. The present research contributes towards the production of bioactive subtilisin from a marine soil isolate Bacillus subtilis strain ZK3. Custard apple seed powder (raw carbon) and mustard oil cake (raw nitrogen) sources showed a pronounced effect on subtilisin production. A 7.67-fold enhancement in the production was evidenced after optimization with central composite design-response surface methodology. Subtilisin capped silver (AgNP) and zinc oxide (ZnONP) nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by UV–Visible spectroscopy. Subtilisin and its respective nanoparticles revealed significant biological properties such as, antibacterial activity against all tested pathogenic strains with potential against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Prospective antioxidant behavior of subtilisin, AgNP and ZnONP was evidenced through radical scavenging assays with ABTS and DPPH. Subtilisin, AgNP and ZnONP revealed cytotoxic effect against cancerous breast cell lines MCF-7 with IC 50 of 83.48, 3.62 and 7.57 µg/mL respectively. Characterizations of nanoparticles were carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and atomic force microscopy analysis to elucidate the structure, surface and thermostability properties. The study proposes the potential therapeutic applications of subtilisin and its nanoparticles, a way forward for further exploration in the field of healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fruits of wild fig, native to Soon valley of Pakistan, were appraised for phenolic compounds and high-value nutrients. These fruits were shade-dried and extracted with different solvents of varying polarity to recover a wide range of antioxidant components, where hydroxyethanol exhibited highest extraction yield of antioxidant compounds. Among others, hydroxyethanol-derived crude concentration extracts (CCEs) and phenolic rich fractions (PRFs) showed greater amount of total phenolic, flavonoids and superior biological properties. The fruits of tested fruits were found to possess potassium (11.34 g/kg) and calcium (4.19 g/kg) as major elements, glucose (5.63g/100g DW) as dominant natural sugar and acetic acid (2.40 mg/100 g of dry matter) as principal organic acid. There was a considerable (p < 0.05) variation in phenolic content and biological properties of various extracts recovered with different solvents. Furthermore, the biological properties of tested fruits were found to be significantly correlated with their intrinsic total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC). Based upon the findings of present study, the fruits of wild fig could be treated as promising source of beneficial nutrients and potent phenolic components for their applications in the development of nutrapharmaceuticals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floodplains and crops are particularly susceptible to alien plant invasion, often leading to negative ecologic and economic impacts. As irrigated crops and riparian habitats are interconnected at the landscape scale, plant species of each habitat may be susceptible to colonizing the other. In order to avoid alien plant invasions of natural habitats and surrounding crops and to develop management practices to face this problem, it is not only essential to understand which traits favour the success of alien plants in irrigated crops and floodplains, but also whether a flow of species between these two habitats actually exists. With this aim, floristic surveys were carried out on riparian habitats (riparian forest, reedbed and muddy line) and on irrigated orchards at a gradient of distance from the river. Differences in weed management techniques applied in orchards were taken into account during the surveys. Plant diversity, composition and invasion levels were evaluated for each habitat and differences in floristic composition were interpreted in terms of functional traits. Natural habitats were well differentiated from crops in terms of native plants, but when considering alien plants, muddy line and flood irrigated orchards showed similar floristic composition. Alien plant community in the muddy line was a subset of that of flooded orchards and it was composed by C4 species, with clonal growth, perennial graminoids and water seed dispersal. This work proves that, unlike native species, alien species are shared between irrigated orchards and adjacent floodplains, which is favoured by a set of traits that allows them to colonize and establish new populations there. These results can help to develop strategies for preventing the establishment of alien plants in these habitats and to manage already present populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, wild olive fruits were evaluated for the occurrence of phenolic antioxidant components and valuable nutrients which are distributed wildly in Soon valley of Pakistan. The shade-dried fruits of wild olive were extracted using different solvents to recover phenolic antioxidants. The highest concentration of extractable antioxidant components was recovered from tested fruits using aqueous ethanol compared to other solvents used. Crude concentrated extracts (CCEs) and phenolic rich fractions (PRFs) of tested fruits using hydroxyethanol were found to contain higher amount of total phenolic compounds and total flavonoid compounds along with superior biological attributes. According to ICP-OES analysis, potassium (17.96 g/kg) was the dominant macro element among other identified twenty-five minerals. The tested wild olive fruits juice was found to contain individual natural sugars including galactose (4.92 g/100 g dry weight), sucrose (2.75 g/100 g dry weight), glucose (0.73 g/100 g dry weight); and succinic acid (8.80 mg/100 g of dry matter) as major organic acid when analyzed on HPLC. Oleic acid (47.41 %) was the major monounsaturated fatty acid in the oil extracted from tested fruits. The concentration of phenolic antioxidants and biological activities vary significantly (p < 0.05) among extracting systems used. A strong correlation was also recorded among total phenolic (TP), total flavonoids (TF) and biological attributes of tested wild olive fruits. The results of this study explored wild olive fruits as a propitious source of natural phenolic components and valuable nutrients which reveal its potential use in the development of functional food and nutra-pharmaceuticals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study reports the phenolic antioxidants and phytonutrients profiling in the wild jujube fruits which are naturally grown in Soon valley of Pakistan. Phenolic antioxidant components were recovered from shade-dried wild jujube fruits using various extracting solvents. Among all extracting solvents tested, aqueous ethanol recovered the maximum amount of extractable antioxidant compounds from the fruits of wild jujube. Crude concentrated extracts (CCEs) and phenolic rich fractions (PRFs) recovered from wild jujube fruits using aqueous ethanol contained higher concentration of total phenolics and flavonoids along with superior biological potential. ICP-OES analysis disclosed the occurrence of twenty-five minerals, where potassium (14.80 g/kg) and calcium (1.81 g/kg) were the dominant macro elements. The tested wild fruits juice was found to contain individual natural sugars including galactose (1.27 g/100 g dry weight), glucose (1.07 g/100 g dry weight), sucrose (0.70 g/100 g dry weight) and xylose (0.04 g/100 g dry weight); and gluconic acid (2.10 mg/100 g of dry matter) as dominant organic acid when analyzed on HPLC. The concentration of phenolic antioxidants and biological activities vary significantly (p < 0.05) among extracting systems used. A strong correlation was also recorded among total phenolic (TP), total flavonoids (TF) and biological attributes of tested wild fruits. The results of this study explored wild jujube fruits as a propitious source of natural phenolic components and valuable nutrients which advocate its potential use in the development of functional food and nutraceutical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capparis species, also known as Caper plants, are recognized as a potential source of valuable nutrients and biochemical compounds with physiological functions. The multiple biological activities including antibacterial, antifungal, hepatoprotective, anthelmintic, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and antihyperlipidemic as well as folk medicinal uses of Caper plants have been ascribed to the presence of functional bioactives, such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids, phytosterols, natural sugars, vitamins, and organic acids. In view of the high nutritional value and traditional food and folk medicinal uses of Capparis species, it is important to compile a comprehensive review on related aspects of these multipurposes plants. Hence, the present review manuscript focuses on the detailed profile of valuable nutrients and biochemical compounds as well as medicinal health functions and biological activities of selected species of Capparis, so as to explore their potential uses as ingredients of functional food and nutraceuticals and natural pharmaceutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vermilion rockfish complex consists of two distinct species, vermilion rockfish (Sebastes miniatus) and sunset rockfish (S. crocotulus) with clear haplotypic differences. Due to a one-way mitochondrial introgression from vermilion into sunset rockfish a high proportion (20–30%) of fish with a vermilion haplotype are characterized as sunset based on nuclear genotype (introgressed sunset, hereafter, introgressed). Here we examined differences in the distribution and biological attributes of vermilion and sunset rockfish (including introgressed individuals) collected during a fisheries independent groundfish survey conducted with hook and line gear in the Southern California Bight in 2014. We saw significant differences in spatial distribution (latitude, depth, and distance from the nearest port and mainland) and biological characteristics (average size, size frequency distribution, weight-length and size-depth relationships) between vermilion rockfish and both introgressed and sunset rockfish but no differences between sunset and introgressed fish. Our analyses established that introgressed and sunset rockfishes shared similar biological and geographic characteristics, with no significant differences based on the features we examined. Consequently, we explored the relationship between the catch of vermilion rockfish collected per site, relative to the combined presence of vermilion, introgressed and sunset rockfishes, and a suite of co-located environmental and geographic variables using binomial generalized additive models (GAMS). The best model explained 95.0% of the deviance, indicating that the occurrence of vermilion, introgressed, and sunset rockfishes depended on latitude, longitude, depth, dissolved oxygen, temperature and distance from port. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Streambed colmation by fine sediment, e.g. the deposition, accumulation and storage of fines in the substrate, is known to have severe effects on invertebrate assemblages in both the benthic and hyporheic zones but the changes in biological attributes of invertebrate assemblages related to colmation have never been considered simultaneously for these two zones. We studied the effects of colmation on the invertebrate assemblages of three rivers, testing a priori hypotheses on the biological attributes that should be more selected in communities subjected to different levels of colmation in both zones. Only the proportion of organisms with high fecundity increased and the proportion of small-sized organisms decreased along the colmation gradient in both zones simultaneously. As expected, a higher number of traits were significantly modified with colmation in the benthic vs. hyporheic assemblages. Most of the biological attributes impaired were different in the two zones. In the benthic zone, colmation mainly selected particular physiological or trophic characteristics of species and features related to their resistance or resilience capacities. In contrast, the morphological attributes of species were much more impaired by colmation in the hyporheic zone than in the benthic zone. In clogged benthic habitats, traits seemed to be more impaired by an increase in physico-chemical constraints (e.g. the reduction of oxygen availability) and a reduction of potential exchanges (including exchanges of food resources) due to a decline in stream bed conductivity. The morphological attributes of the hyporheic species were probably more influenced by changes in interstitial space characteristics. A potential indicator of the effects of colmation on river health may be based on the functional traits of benthic communities because they (i) satisfy the WFD recommendations, (ii) respond consistently along a colmation gradient and (iii) are comparable among assemblages even across ecoregions that differ in their taxonomic composition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Coral reef ecosystems are declining due to multiple interacting stressors. A bioassessment framework focused on stressor-response associations was developed to help organize and communicate complex ecological information to support coral reef conservation. This study applied the Biological Condition Gradient (BCG), initially developed for freshwater ecosystems, to fish assemblages of U.S. Caribbean coral reef ecosystems. The reef fish BCG describes how biological conditions changed incrementally along a gradient of increasing anthropogenic stress. Coupled with physical and chemical water quality data, the BGC forms a scientifically defensible basis to prioritize, protect and restore water bodies containing coral reefs. Through an iterative process, scientists from across the U.S. Caribbean used fishery-independent survey data and expert knowledge to develop quantitative decision rules to describe six levels of coral reef ecosystem condition. The resultant reef fish BCG provides an effective tool for identifying healthy and degraded coral reef ecosystems and has potential for global application. • An integrated ecologically-broad systems approach enhances coral reef ecosystem protection. • Biological Condition Gradients track ecosystem status as a function of anthropogenic stress. • The reef fish BGC model was effective in identification of impaired coral reef ecosystems • The reef fish BGC model has potential global application when calibrated with local data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nearshore ecosystem is an important nursery ground for many fish species. Considering that these areas have a considerable economic value because they support a wide variety of highly valuable species, it is essential to study the structure of their fish communities and the factors that may inlfuence them. The nearshore fish assemblages were studied from March to November of 2015 at 15 sandy beaches, arranged in 6 seaports, along 700 Km in the coast of Portugal. This Atlantic coastline is an important geographical transition area between cold-temperate and warm-temperate regions. Sampling was performed by the beach seine fishery, an artisenal fishery that operates in these areas. The fish assemblage was studied according to its species richness, biogeographical origin, habitat use and resource exploitation, in both biomass and number of individuals. The nearshore fish assemblage was diverse with 70 species belonging to 32 families, though a few species dominated the community: Engraulis encrasicolus , Trachurus trachurus , Sardina pilchardus and Scomber colias. Results indicated that the structure and composition of the fish assemblage from northern and southern seaports are different. Overall, species richness was higher in the southern seaports. Planktivorous species dominated the community in the northernmost seaport, and piscivorous species dominated the community in the remaining seaports. As expected, cold-temperate species presented higher abundance in the northern seaports, and both warm-temperate and sub-tropical species increased in number towards the southern limits. Tropical species were only present in the southernmost area. The main driver for variations in the fish community structure and composition was the water temperature gradient imposed by latitude, highlighting the environmental control in shaping marine biological communities. • Trait analysis was conducted in nearshore fish community. • Latitude and temperature influenced fish community structure and composition. • The fish community was dominated by temperate, pelagic and demersal species. • Planktivorous abundance was higher in the north, whereas piscivorous was higher in the south. • Distinct latitudinal separation between north and south coasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]