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Today, oral disorders are the most prominent and common issues in the world. Investigations reveal oral disorders comprising of gum disease, tooth decay, mouth sores, tooth erosion, tooth sensitivity, toothaches, and dental emergencies. Further, in-depth study identifies improper bonding between denture base and denture teeth ending up with costly repair along with mouth sores. This effect is observed from middle age (35 years) to old age (< 80 years) people in the world. Approximately one-third of the population is suffering because of untreated caries of natural teeth (31.2 %). The optimal composition of PMMA as denture base and denture teeth in clinical trials with observation and experimental methodology is yet to be unleashed. An alternative material for denture base or denture teeth is still an unanswered question. Selection of appropriate reinforcement material encompassing the guidelines for liquid/powder ratio, avoids processes terrible for bond strength, the wax free model. The current work focuses on investigation of mechanical properties with/without the reinforcement of a new biomaterial known as limpet teeth (LT). LT is abundantly available in the seashore or intertidal regions. Application of LT in dentistry or as a denture base material is unperceived. A comparative analysis of coupons with/without the reinforcement (in the form of a short/continuous fiber) of LT in PMMA is carried out. The simulation work correlates with experimental work exploring the possibilities of a new material in the field of dentistry. The observed results for mechanical properties such as flexural strength (106 %), microhardness (116 %) and impact strength (125 %) are better in comparison to base PMMA material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group of limpets,Cellana karachiensis, exhibiting phenotypic plasticity were examined from Gujarat coastline India, using molecular phylogeny. Previous examination of the COI genes established the presence of three different haplotypes X, Y and Z, while present study showed three more haplotypes X1, X2and Z1. Thus, a total of six COI gene haplotypes, having 99.23% to 99.85% sequence similarity, were observed with variations at six sites. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis shows divergence of lineages X–Y, X1–X2and Z–Z1. Careful observation of nucleotide alterations showed a nonrandom mutation with more A↔G and C↔T transitions between closely related species of the genusCellana.A stretch of 17 base pair, within COI region, was marked as region with high degree of variability between species ofCellana. Results suggest that this could be the beginning of speciation, with partial or complete reproductive barrier or these are already distinct species in different stages of evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the distribution and population ecology of seven gastropod molluscs in the intertidal areas of Veraval coast off Arabian Sea, Gujarat, India. About three km long rocky intertidal at Veraval was divided into two sampling sites. A total of 38 molluscan species belonging to four different classes, including two species of Bivalvia, one species of Cephalopoda, 32 species of Gastropoda and one species of Polyplacophora were recorded. Seven dominant gastropod species were studied for their spatiotemporal distribution. Cellana karachiensis was dominant in the spray zone, Siphonaria sp. and Cerithium scabridum dominated the upper zone while middle and lower zones were dominated by Turbo coronatus and Onchidium verruculatum respectively. Significant spatio-temporal variations in the population were observed at both the sites. Population abundance and frequency were high in the upper littoral but low in the lower littoral zone during the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular markers like mtDNACOI have proved their identification efficiency in discriminating closely related species which may possibly have a vital effect on biodiversity estimation.Traditional methods based on morphology often fail to identify closely related species causing an over or under estimation of biodiversity. Studies have demonstrated that marine fauna exhibits high degree of cryptism. Thus, a lot of species either remain unidentified or have been identified erroneously. Present study involves the morphological identification of a group of limpet species found in the intertidal zones of Saurashtra coastline Gujarat followed by their COI gene sequence analysis. They were identified as Cellana karachiensis.Interestingly the three sample types: X, Y and Z, sharing the same habitat not only exhibit clear variations in their shell banding pattern but also show minor variations in their COI gene sequence. A total of six COI gene haplotypes were found using DnaSP version 5. A striking association of COI haplotypes to specific morphotypes was seen. Construction of phylogenetic tree using Mr. Bayes 3.2 clarifies the phylogenetic relationships of these samples indicating a split of lineages. This intriguing observation has put forth many possibilities. Is this plasticity due to polymorphism? Could they be a complex of cryptic species undergoing sympatric or peripatric speciation? It is also possible that they had been geographically isolated earlier and after genetic divergence occurred, came back to same location. This study thus points towards the need to reinvent an accurate baseline database of marine speciesand highlights the potential of molecular taxonomy in distinguishing between closely related species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present communication reports the phylogenetic relationship between three groups of a marine limpet having different color banding patterns using COI sequencing. Samples were sequenced for mtDNA COI gene using universal primer. Comparative BLAST revealed that all three types were around 99.59% identical withCellana karachiensis,first record of this species from Indian coasts. Apart from the morphological variations, the mtDNA COI gene analysis revealed around 1% nucleotide variations between these three types. The observed dissimilarity in COI sequences was possibly too little to consider these types as three different species. The derivation of amino acid positions indicated that these types could possibly be a complex of three cryptic species ofC. karachiensis. The study proposes that the Oman and Indian populations ofC. karachiensismight have derived by allopatric speciation due to geographical isolation. The group of these three cryptic species, sharing same habitat between themselves, possibly showed sympatric speciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present communication reports the phylogenetic relationship between three groups of a marine limpet having different color banding patterns using COI sequencing. Samples were sequenced for mtDNA COI gene using universal primer. Comparative BLAST revealed that all three types were around 99.59% identical with Cellana karachiensis, first record of this species from Indian coasts. Apart from the morphological variations, the mtDNA COI gene analysis revealed around 1% nucleotide variations between these three types. The observed dissimilarity in COI sequences was possibly too little to consider these types as three different species. The derivation of amino acid positions indicated that these types could possibly be a complex of three cryptic species of C. karachiensis. The study proposes that the Oman and Indian populations of C. karachiensis might have derived by allopatric speciation due to geographical isolation. The group of these three cryptic species, sharing same habitat between themselves, possibly showed sympatric speciation.