Phase Transitions of Trace Metals in the Aquatic Environment of Kuttanad, Kerala

This thesis is a modest attempt in assessing the trace metal levels and their behavior in the aquatic environment of Kuttanad, an aquatic system that is severely affected by man’s intervention on natural processes, by study seriously evaluating the levels of trace metals in dissolved and particulate phases and also in the different chemical fractions of the sediments. Understanding of the distributions, variations and transfer processes of trace metals in different environmental phases in the backwaters of Kuttanad is vital for the assessment of the water pollution problems and study the ecology of the area which contributes 20% of the rice production in the State of Kerala. Kuttand is a low-lying, shallow bay formed as a result of geological uplift. The major economic activity is agriculture involving 40% of the population. About 1.5% of the people are engaged in aquaculture. The trace metal distribution in the Kuttand backwaters is considerably influenced by the tropical features of the location and by human activities including agricultural activities and construction of salinity barrier. In this study an attempt is made to differentiate the metals in the sediment into exchangeable, reducible and resistant fractions in the sediments.

Comparative Studies on Arginase of the Liver of Some Vertebrates

The levels and kinetic properties of arginase of the liver of s vertebrates : the fish otifg trhinea e)n, ztyhmee b ias thi(gPhteerro ipnu aslls tph.e), 3t hmeasmqumirarles lin(F cuonmampabruilsuosnp teon tnhaantt oi)f tahned p tohiek iglootahter(Cmaspra s(pC.)atalarec sattulad)i,edth. eT fhreo ga c(tRivaintya greater than that of the frog. The activity ; its activity in the fish is far in the bat and highest in the goat. in the bat is the same as in other mammals. The Km of the enzyme is lowest partially purified enzyme of vertebrates. significant difference in the inhibitory effect of glyoxylic acid on the partially purified enzyme of vertebrates.

Environmental Impacts of Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) Treated Rubber Wood for Aquatic Applications

Faculty of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology

Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) Treatment for Rubber Wood Preservation and its Impact on the Aquatic Biota

Faculty of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology

Hydrogeochemical evaluation of inorganics and bioorganics in selected aquatic environments

The present study is an investigation to address relevant chemical aspects of the three varied aquatic environments, such as mangroves, river and the estuary. The sampling locations include a thick mangrove forest with high tidal activity, a mangrove nursery with minimal disturbances and low tidal inundation, a highly polluted riverine system and an estuarine site, as reference. Nutrients and bioorganic compounds in the water column and surface sediment were estimated in an attempt to understand the regeneration properties of these different aquatic systems.Assessment of the trace metal pollution was also carried out.

Molecular genetic characterization of endemic red -tailed barb,Gonoproktoptems curmuca (Hamilton - Buchanan, 1807)

The family Cyprinidae is the largest of freshwater fishes and, with the possible exception of Gobiidae, the largest family of vertebrates.Various members of this family are important as food fish, as aquarium fish, and in biological research. In this study, a fish species from this family exclusively found in the west flowing rivers originating from the Western Ghat region — Gonoproktopterus curmuca — was taken for population genetic analysis.There was an urgent need for restoration ecology by the development of apt management strategies to exploit resources judiciously. One of the strategies thus developed for the scientific management of these resources was to identify the natural units of the fishery resources under exploitation (Altukov, 1981). These natural units of a species can otherwise be called as stocks. A stock can be defined as a panmictic population of related individuals within a single species that is genetically distinct from other such populations.It is believed that a species may undergo micro evolutionary process and differentiate into genetically distinct sub-populations or stocks in course of time, if reproductively and geographically isolated.In recent times, there has been a wide spread degradation of natural aquatic environment due to anthropogenic activities and this has resulted in the decline and even extinction of some fish species. In such situations, evaluation of the genetic diversity of fish resources assumes important to conservation.The species selected for the study, was short-listed as one of the candidates for stock-specific, propagation assisted rehabilitation and management programme in rivers where it is naturally distributed. In connection with this, captive breeding and milt cryopreservation techniques of the species have been developed by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow. However, for a scientific stock-specific rehabilitation programme, information on the stock structure and basic genetic profile of the species are essential and that is not available in case of G. curmuca. So the present work was taken up to identify molecular genetic markers like allozymes, microsatellites and RAPDs and, to use these markers to discriminate the distinct populations of the species, if any, in areas of its natural distribution. The genetic markers were found to be powerful tools to analyze the population genetic structure of the red-tailed barb and demonstrated clear cut genetic differentiation between pairs of populations examined. Geographic isolation by land distance is likely to be the factor that contributed to the restricted gene flow between the river systems. So the present study emphasizes the need for stock-wise, propagation assisted-rehabilitation of the natural populations of red-tailed barb, Gonoprokfopterus curmuca.

“Development of lymphoid cell culture system from Penaeus monodon and molecular approaches for its transformation

Unveiling the molecular and regulatory mechanisms that prevent in vitro transformation in shrimp remains elusive in the development of continuous cell lines, with an arduous history of over 25 years (Jayesh et al., 2012). Despite presenting challenges to researchers in developing a cell line, the billion dollar aquaculture industry is under viral threat. In addition, the regulatory mechanisms that prevent in vitro transformation and carcinoma in shrimps might provide new leads for the development of anti-ageing and anti-cancer interventions in human (Vogt, 2011) and in higher vertebrates. This highlights the importance of developing shrimp cell lines, to bring out effective prophylactics against shrimp viruses and for understanding the mechanism that induce cancer and ageing in human.. Advances in molecular biology and various gene transfer technologies for immortalization of cells have resulted in the development of hundreds of cell lines from insects and mammals, but yet not a single cell line has been developed from shrimp and other marine invertebrates. With this backdrop, the research described in this thesis attempted to develop molecular tools for induced in vitro transformation in lymphoid cells from Penaeus monodon and for the development of continuous cell lines using conventional and novel technologies to address the problems at cellular and molecular level.

Aquatic Cyanobacteria Isolated from Cochin: Growth characteristics and bioactive impact on selected microflora

Aquatic ecosystem in the south west coast of India is noted for its diversity of habitats. Very often these environments turn bluegreen when the bloom of bluegreen algae (cyanobacteria) appear consequent to eutrophication. This phenomenon occursin these habitats one after the other or simultaneously. This conspicuousness make one curious enough to know more about these nature’s gift bestowed upon mankind. While persuing the literature on the magnificent flora) it is understood that it may provide food fertilizer, chemicals and bioactive substances. These bioactive substances are likely to be involved in regulating natural populations and are potentially useful as biochemical tools and as herbicidal or biocontrol agents. The role of cyanobacteria in the aquatic food chain and contribution in abatement of heavy metals from the natural environment are well documented. Considering the manifold utilization of the flora and their significance in the food chain, the present investigation has been undertaken

Phase Transitions Of Trace Metals In The Aquatic Environment Of Kuttanad, Kerala

Environmental persistence, fate and interactive effects with living organisms - beneficial or toxic - of trace elements are directly related to the physico-chemical forms in which they occur. Knowledge on the association of trace metals with different environmental compartments in an aquatic system are, therefore, essential for monitoring the trace metal pollution as well as transport, fate and bio-geochemical cycles of trace metals. This thesis is a modest attempt in assessing the trace metal levels and their behaviour in the aquatic environment of Kuttanad, an aquatic system that is severely affected by man's intervention on natural processes, by seriously evaluating the levels of trace metals in dissolved and particulate phases and also in the different chemical fractions of the sediments.

Phytotoxicological Assessment of Two Wetlands in Eloor, Kochi Using Aquatic Macrophyte Spirodela Polyrhiza

In the current study, the duckweed aquatic macrophyte Spirodela polyrrhiza was employed for assessing the toxicity of two wetlands in the Eloor industrial estate, Ernakulam district, Kerala, South India. The assessments were made according to OECD guidelines for testing (2006). The studies involve study of growth parameters, Growth Index, Biomass and changes in productivity. The water samples were collected from two different wetland sites at the same time. The spirodela plants were introduced into several dilutions of wetland water samples. The parameters were measured after 7 days of exposure. All samples except control affected all parameters. The results of this study emphasize the significance of duckweeds as standard and reliable testing material for biological parameters in polluted aquatic ecosystem

Molecular genetic profiling of functional genes of pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata

There are a number of genes involved in the regulation of functional process in marine bivalves. In the case of pearl oyster, some of these genes have major role in the immune/defence function and biomineralization process involved in the pearl formation in them. As secondary filter feeders, pearl oysters are exposed to various kinds of stressors like bacteria, viruses, pesticides, industrial wastes, toxic metals and petroleum derivatives, making susceptible to diseases. Environmental changes and ambient stress also affect non-specific immunity, making the organisms vulnerable to infections. These stressors can trigger various cellular responses in the animals in their efforts to counteract the ill effects of the stress on them. These include the expression of defence related genes which encode factors such as antioxidant genes, pattern recognition receptor proteins etc. One of the strategies to combat these problems is to get insight into the disease resistance genes, and use them for disease control and health management. Similarly, although it is known that formation of pearl in molluscs is mediated by specialized proteins which are in turn regulated by specific genes encoding them, there is a paucity of sufficient information on these genes.In view of the above facts, studies on the defence related and pearl forming genes of the pearl oyster assumes importance from the point of view of both sustainable fishery management and aquaculture. At present, there is total lack of sufficient knowledge on the functional genes and their expressions in the Indian pearl oyster Pinctada fucata. Hence this work was taken up to identify and characterize the defence related and pearl forming genes, and study their expression through molecular means, in the Indian pearl oyster Pinctada fucata which are economically important for aquaculture at the southeast coast of India. The present study has successfully carried out the molecular identification, characterization and expression analysis of defence related antioxidant enzyme genes and pattern recognition proteins genes which play vital role in the defence against biotic and abiotic stressors. Antioxidant enzyme genes viz., Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD), glutathione peroxidise (GPX) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were studied. Concerted approaches using the various molecular tools like polymerase chain reaction (PCR), random amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), molecular cloning and sequencing have resulted in the identification and characterization of full length sequences (924 bp) of the Cu/Zn SOD, most important antioxidant enzyme gene. BLAST search in NCBI confirmed the identity of the gene as Cu/Zn SOD. The presence of the characteristic amino acid sequences such as copper/zinc binding residues, family signature sequences and signal peptides were found out. Multiple sequence alignment comparison and phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences using bioinformatics tools like BioEdit,MEGA etc revealed that the sequences were found to contain regions of diversity as well as homogeneity. Close evolutionary relationship between P. fucata and other aquatic invertebrates was revealed from the phylogenetic tree constructed using SOD amino acid sequence of P. fucata and other invertebrates as well as vertebrates

Utilization of aquatic macrophyte Spirodela polyrhiza as phytotoxicological assessment and phytoremediation tool in selected polluted wetland sites in Ernakulam district

One of the objectives of the current investigation was to evaluate the effectiveness of Spirodela polyrhiza to remove heavy metals and other contaminants from the water samples collected from wetland sites of Eloor and Kannamaly under controlled conditions .The results obtained from the current study suggest that the test material S. polyrrhiza should be used in the biomonitoring and phytoremediation of municipal, agricultural and industrial effluents because of their simplicity, sensitivity and cost-effectiveness. The study throws light on the potential of this plant which can be used as an assessment tool in two diverse wetland in Ernakulum district. The results show the usefulness of combining physicochemical analysis with bioassays as such approach ensures better understanding of the toxicity of chemical pollutants and their influence on plant health. The results shows the suitability of Spirodela plant for surface water quality assessment as all selected parameters showed consistency with respect to water samples collected over a 3-monitoring periods. Similarly the relationship between the change in exposure period (2, 4 and 8 days) with the parameters were also studied in detail. Spirodela are consistent test material as they are homogeneous plant material; due to predominantly vegetative reproduction. New fronds are formed by clonal propagation thus, producing a population of genetically homogeneous plants. The result is small variability between treated individuals. It has been observed that phytoremediation of water samples collected from Eloor and Kannamaly using the floating plant system is a predominant method which is economic to construct, requires little maintenance and eco friendly.