Browsing by Author "Anjali Singh"

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A synergetic approach for quantification and analysis of coal fires in Jharia Coalfield, India
(Elsevier Ltd, 2023) Ashwani Raju; Anjali Singh; Surendra Kumar Chandniha
Temporal monitoring and understanding of the dynamics of coal fires in the Jharia Coalfield (JCF) are required to reduce its effect on sustainable industrial growth, environment & human safety. This research explores temporal dataset of Landsat 8 OLI Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) from 2015 to 2019 to detect, map and quantify coal fire affected areas in JCF at the colliery level. The results indicated that the East Barora, Sijua, Katras, Kusunda, Kustore, Pootkee Balihari, Bastacolla, Jharia, and Lodna are intensely fire-affected collieries with a significant increase in risk area from 4.57 km2 in 2015 to 11.43 km2 in 2019. The central part of the area is highly affected. The extent of coal fire shows temporal fluctuation between 2015 and 2019, but overall exhibit a significant increase from 2.76 km2 to 7.52 km2. Sijua, Katras, Kusunda, Lodna, and Kustor occupying the central and southeastern parts of the JCF, respectively, constitute nearly ∼85% of the total fire. However, in comparison to the information inferred from the field-based knowledge, the results derived from satellite-based observations are slightly underestimated due to the reason that the coal fire-derived thermal anomalies are the function of depth, intensity and proportion of coal fire in a coarse resolution TIR pixel, structural attributes, interventions from the mining operation and regional land use planning. Further, the risk areas map out using the TIR-based approach have been integrated with the prevailing structural attributes and Landsat 8 OLI-derived surface thermal anomalies, which enabled an understanding of the dynamics of coal fire propagation in JCF. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd
Abortions followed by contraceptive failures in Northern India: an analysis of contraceptive histories (2009–2014)
(Springer, 2020) Anjali Singh; Rakesh Mishra; K.K. Singh; Prashant Verma
This study tries to elicit the unexplored nexus between the contraceptive failure and abortions in India’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh. Condom being the most used modern method contributes to 47% of all observed episodes in the calendar period. Of all accidental pregnancies occurred because of modern contraceptive failures, 35.2% terminated with induced abortions. Gross failure rate of modern methods is conspicuously higher for urban poor, uneducated women, and marginalized section of population living in urban area. From a total of 7496 episodes of all reversible methods, abortions are estimated as high as 29.2%, whereas for the traditional method it accounts for around 21%. The empirical evidence of induced abortions due to contraceptive failure put serious concern regarding unintended pregnancies and hence discourages fertility intentions among the potential couples. © 2020, The Author(s).
Assessment of optic disk by disk damage likelihood scale staging using slit-lamp biomicroscopy and optical coherence tomography in diagnosing primary open-angle glaucoma
(Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications, 2022) Kanchan Singh; Prashant Bhushan; Deepak Mishra; Kirandeep Kaur; Bharat Gurnani; Anjali Singh; Swasti Pandey
Purpose: The current study was aimed at assessment of optic disk by disk damage likelihood scale (DDLS) staging using slit-lamp biomicroscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT) in diagnosing primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study of 106 POAG patients, which was conducted from April 2017 to April 2018. All patients underwent slit-lamp fundoscopy with a +78 D lens and high-definition (HD)-OCT, and the vertical cup disk ratios (VCDRs) were recorded. Disk size and neuroretinal rim assessment were done, and the disk was then staged using the recent version, which stages the optic nerve head (ONH) from 1 to 10 as read from the DDLS nomogram table. DDLS scores >5 indicate glaucomatous damage. Pearson coefficient was used to correlate the DDLS staging by slit-lamp biomicroscopy with best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), disk size, and VCDR and VCDR, mean deviation, and DDLS staging by HD-OCT. Results: The mean age of the patients was 59.54 ± 6.61 years. The male: female ratio was 2:1. The mean IOP was 16.04 ± 1.97 mmHg, and BCVA was 0.72 ± 0.13 LogMAR units. The mean VCDR on 78 D slit-lamp biomicroscopy was 0.76 ± 0.09 (standard deviation [SD]) (range 0.1-0.77), whereas on HD-OCT, the mean VCDR was 0.81 ± 0.09 (SD) (range 0.07-0.81). The mean deviation on visual field testing in decibels was -14.43 ± 3.31 (SD). The correlation coefficient between DDLS staging by slit-lamp biomicroscopy and DDLS staging by HD-OCT parameters was r = 0.96. Conclusion: There is a positive correlation between the DDLS system of optic disk evaluation on slit-lamp biomicroscopy and most of the HD-OCT evaluation parameters. © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.
Correction to: Hydrogeochemical characterization of groundwater and their associated potential health risks (Environmental Science and Pollution Research, (2022), 30, 6, (14993-15008), 10.1007/s11356-022-23222-2)
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2023) Anjali Singh; Ashwani Raju; Surendra Kumar Chandniha; Lipi Singh; Inderjeet Tyagi; Rama Rao Karri; Ajay Kumar
The correct affiliations for 5th,6th and 7th Author is presented in this paper. © 2022 Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
Cyanobacteria growing on tree barks possess high amount of sunscreen compound mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs)
(Elsevier Masson SAS, 2017) Anjali Singh; Madhu Bala Tyagi; Ashok Kumar
The present study describes cyanobacterial species composition and their dominance in biological crusts from barks of different trees, roof top of building and soil of agricultural field. An attempt was also made to explore the presence of photoprotective compounds such as mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) in the crust samples. Microscopic examination and growth studies revealed the presence of Oscillatoria species in all the crust samples excluding the crust of roof top of a building. Study on the abundance of dominant genera showed marked differences among various crust samples but Hapalosiphon, Lyngbya, Oscillatoria and Scytonema sp. were the most dominant genera, Oscillatoria being dominant in three crust samples. Screening for the presence of photoprotective compounds showed the presence of major peaks in the range of 308–334 nm thereby pointing to the presence of MAAs in all the crust samples. The highest amount of MAAs was found in the crust of Borassus flabellifer (15,729 nmol g dry wt−1 of bark) followed by crust of roof top (14,543 nmol g dry wt−1 of crust). MAAs were separated and partially purified employing HPLC, the most common MAA present in all the crusts was identified as mycosporine-glycine. Presence of mycosporine-glycine (M-Gly) was further confirmed by FTIR and NMR. Test of in vitro colonization on the bark of Mangifera indica and Azadirachta indica by three isolates namely Hapalosiphon, Oscillatoria and Scytonema sp. showed sign of active colonization. It is felt that identification of all the MAAs other than M-Gly may prove useful in future studies especially for assessing their significance in the protection mechanism of cyanobacteria/algae against various types of abiotic stresses. © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS
Desiccation-tolerant rhizobacteria
(Elsevier, 2020) Ajay Shankar; Anjali Singh; Shivani Chaudhary; Vishal Prasad
Keeping in mind the various types of direct and indirect impacts of drought on plant and human, it is necessary to overcome or mitigate the drought stress to fulfil everyone’s needs. Researchers all over the globe are doing rigorous work to find-out strategies to mitigate the drought stress like development of drought-tolerant varieties, shifting the crop calendars, resource management practices, traditional breeding and genetic engineering. Most of these are not cost-effective. Some have time limitations and some have ethical issues. Therefore the ecofriendly approaches are more appreciable nowadays. One such strategy could be stress-tolerant plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) having capabilities to enhance plant growth under stressful environment. Therefore screening and characterization is crucial for selecting the potential drought-tolerant PGPR. This chapter tries to show the significance of bacterial mediated drought tolerance in agricultural crops for agricultural water stress management in a sustainable way. © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Diversity of various symbiotic associations between microbes and host plants
(Elsevier, 2023) Ashok Kumar; Anjali Singh; Neha Kumari; Deepak Kumar; Dhirendra Kumar Yadav
Plants-related microbial diversity encloses symbionts, protecting their host against several antagonisms. Microbial diversity was recognized as a critical factor in neutralizing diseases and can be carried out as a biomarker in plant protection strategies. Microorganism excites germination and plant growth, prevents infections, and incubates stress-related resistance and general fitness. Plants form favorable symbioses with a variety of microbes. Among these, some of the best understood are the root-correlated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, rhizobial, and actinobacterial symbioses. The rhizosphere and the significance of rhizospheric microorganisms in the conservation of roots against soil-borne pathogens were discovered. Also, the connection of microorganisms with their host plant was found. Plant–microbe symbiosis is one of the fascinating connections in the living world. It must be harnessed to feed an ever-increasing human population while preserving the agroecosystem’s balance, diversity, and productivity in an environmentally benign manner. High crop yields in an ecologically sustainable way are an urgent requirement today. Using helpful and diverse plant growth–promoting microorganisms can help tackle the challenge of increasing yields without disrupting the environment, resulting in long-term sustainability. How microbes and plants communicate shows that root exudates initiate and modify communication between plant roots and soil microorganisms. This chapter aims to demonstrate rhizosphere communications, particularly between plants and microbes and, more specifically, signaling pathways that allow bacteria to sense a wide variety of plant signals to coordinate gene expression at the population and community level. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Effect of Chanaka Yoga as a dietary supplement in the management of Type II diabetes mellitus patients
(BRNSS Publication Hub, 2016) Anjali Singh; K.R.C. Reddy
Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the antidiabetic effect of Chanaka Yoga in Type II diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. Materials and Methods: Fifty-six patients of Type II DM were registered from the Outpatient Department of Rasa Shastra, Sir Sunderlal Hospital, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Patients were randomly divided into two groups for treatment of two different medicine groups (Group A - Chanaka Yoga [10 g 1 time a day]; Group B-Glimepiride treated [1 mg]). The treatment was given for 3 months. Fasting blood sugar, post prandial sugar, hemoglobin A1c, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase, serum creatinine, and lipid profile level were estimated biochemically. Result: The results were promising and revealed that Chanaka Yoga can be a safe, acceptable, and effective alternative to the conventional oral hypoglycemic. Conclusion: Holistic principles of Ayurveda when used as supplementary for modern drugs in diabetes show its effects on all body symptoms and help minimize them in which modern drug fails. Hence, it is the need of time to support the modern medications with Ayurvedic therapy. © 2016 BRNSS Publication Hub. All rights reserved.
Enhanced resistance to fungal pathogens through selective utilization of useful microbial genes
(Elsevier, 2018) Anjali Singh; Shivani Chaudhary; Ajay Shankar; Vishal Prasad
Fungal pathogens of crop plants are responsible for huge losses in crop productivity worldwide. By selective utilization of useful microbial genes in plant systems through the transgenic approach these fungal pathogens can be effectively managed and loss in crop productivity can be minimized. Microbial genes coding for mitogen-activated protein kinases, chitinases, glucanases, and peroxidases have effectively been overexpressed in plants and successful control of fungal pathogens have been achieved along with reductions in losses to the crop yield. This chapter aims to highlight several of such useful microbial genes effective against fungal pathogens of plants and their selective utilization. © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Functional metagenomics: A potential tool for mining of biomolecules from environmental samples
(Elsevier Inc., 2025) Vivek Kumar; Anjali Singh; Vijay Shankar Singh; Rajan Chaurasia; Mahesh Rao; Pramod Kumar Sahu; Durgesh Kumar Jaiswal
Functional metagenomics is emerging as a transformative tool for discovering biomolecules from environmental samples, offering unprecedented insights into microbial diversity and functionality. This review explores the potential of functional metagenomics to uncover novel enzymes, antibiotics, and therapeutic compounds by analyzing environmental DNA (eDNA) without the constraints of traditional culture-based methods. The vast microbial biomass in diverse ecosystems, from soil to extreme habitats, harbors a wealth of genetic resources that can be harnessed for biotechnological applications. Researchers can use modern sequencing techniques and functional screening approaches to find and characterize genes with advantageous features, such as bioremediation capacities and industrially relevant enzymes. Despite challenges in DNA extraction and host expression systems, integrating functional metagenomics with multi-omics approaches promises to enhance our understanding of microbial interactions and facilitate the development of eco-friendly bioprocesses. This review underscores the importance of functional metagenomics in expanding our repertoire of biomolecules and highlights its potential to significantly impact biotechnology and environmental sustainability. © 2025 Elsevier Inc.
Health risk assessment from exposure to dissolved trace element concentration in drinking groundwater resources of Central Ganga Alluvial Plain: a case study of Lucknow region
(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2022) Praveen Kumar Kannojiya; Ashwani Raju; Anjali Singh; Nupur Srivastava; Sandeep Singh; Munendra Singh
This study explores ‘Indicator Kriging’ approach for assessment of health risk from exposure to trace elements concentration (Formula presented.) in drinking water resources of the Central Ganga Alluvial Plain (CGAP), northern India. The estimates for (Formula presented.) were generated using analysis of groundwater samples (n = 100) collected from the Lucknow monitoring area to map the predicted area of health risk. The predicted probability maps have reclassified into a unified scale to generate Trace Element Risk Index (TERI), which has further integrated with human population count data to generate Health Risk Index of Lucknow. The results indicate that the risk is potentially alarming in urban areas as relatively high (Formula presented.) there are referring to the local (point) sources of contamination. Approximately 23.15% human population residing in about 69.77% of the total area is at moderate-to-high health risk probability. The findings of this study could help planning substantial remediation measures on long-term basis. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Hydrogeochemical characterization of groundwater and their associated potential health risks
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2023) Anjali Singh; Ashwani Raju; Surendra Kumar Chandniha; Lipi Singh; Inderjeet Tyagi; Rama Rao Karri; Ajay Kumar
The present study assessed the human health risk exposure from the consumption of poor quality groundwater in the Lucknow area, a part of Central Ganga alluvial plain in India. Around 27 (n = 27) groundwater samples were collected from the study area. The analytical results of the samples (n = 27) collected indicate silicate and carbonate weathering is the dominant process along with cation exchange, sulfide oxidation, and reverse ion exchange. The type of groundwater is Ca2–Na–HCO3− type having all cations and anions within permissible WHO limits except for iron (Fe2+) and nitrate (NO3−). The high concentrations of Fe2 and NO3− in samples indicate the possibility of a non-geogenic point source for the same in an urban-influenced environment. The ionic concentration of dissolved constituents is used in weighted overlay analysis to generate the water quality index (WQI). WQI indicates that most urban areas (~ 98.52%) have fallen in the good to excellent category except few situated in the highly populated parts of Lucknow. The ionic concentrations of Fe2+ and NO3− have been further used to estimate human health risk by integrating regional urban population density data in Lucknow. The risk map shows alarming risks in the west-central part, where nearly ~ 35% of the total area is at moderate to high health risk. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
Hydropriming and biopriming improve medicago truncatula seed germination and upregulate dna repair and antioxidant genes
(MDPI AG, 2020) Chiara Forti; Ajay Shankar; Anjali Singh; Alma Balestrazzi; Vishal Prasad; Anca Macovei
Seed germination is a critical parameter for the successful development of sustainable agricultural practices. While seed germination is impaired by environmental constraints emerging from the climate change scenario, several types of simple procedures, known as priming, can be used to enhance it. Seed priming is defined as the process of regulating seed germination by managing a series of parameters during the initial stages of germination. Hydropriming is a highly accessible and economic technique that involves soaking of seeds in water followed by drying. Biopriming refers to the inoculation of seeds with beneficial microorganism. The present study aims to investigate whether hydropriming and biopriming could enhance seed germination. Thereby, the germination of Medicago truncatula seeds exposed to hydropriming and/or Bacillus spp. isolates was monitored for two-weeks. The seeds were sown in trays containing two types of in situ agricultural soils collected from Northern India (Karsara, Varanasi). This region is believed to be contaminated by solid waste from a nearby power plant. Phenotypic parameters had been monitored and compared to find the most appropriate combination of treatments. Additionally, qRT-PCR was used to evaluate the expression levels of specific genes used as molecular indicators of seed quality. The results show that, while hydropriming significantly enhanced seed germination percentage, biopriming resulted in improved seedling development, represented by increased biomass rather than seedling length. At a molecular level, this is reflected by the upregulation of genes involved in DNA damage repair and antioxidant defence. In conclusion, hydropriming and biopriming are efficient to improve seed germination and seedling establishment in soils collected from damaged sites of Northern India; this is reflected by morphological parameters and molecular hallmarks of seed quality. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Interpretation of Chanaka Yoga by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
(Medknow Publications, 2016) Anjali Singh; K.R.C. Reddy
Aim: To evaluate possible interaction in Chanaka Yoga, which is used in Prameha Prakaran. Materials and Methods: For IR scanning, the samples were mixed with KBr in proportion to 1:100 ratio and compressed to form pellet using hydraulic compression machine. All the samples were analyzed for variation in the functional group and bonding pattern since the final sample is the mixture of all the six ingredients. Results and Discussion: The peaks found in FTIR spectra of Chanaka Yoga shows the presence of hydrogen-bonded alcohol and phenols, hydrogen-bonded acid, aldehydes and ketones, aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones, esters and aldehydes, alcohol and ether, alkenes and alkenes. Conclusion: Peaks of Chanaka Yoga were found similar in pattern, and the absorbance corresponding to the allotted chemical constituents was similar with the ingredients analyzed separately. This study shows a pathway for the chemical basis of similarity in a pattern in inference when ayurvedic formulation has a multi-ingredient concept.
Lignocellulosic Biomass-Derived Graphene: Fabrication, Challenges and Its Potential for Hydrogen Storage Application
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2024) Anjali Singh; Aman John Tudu; Basant Lal; Shafiul Haque; Bhawna Verma
This review explores the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) waste in the fabrication of graphene and its applications in hydrogen storage. Several LCB wastes, such as rice straws, coconut shells, wheat straws, and sugarcane bagasse, along with the methodology used and the characteristics of the final graphene, have been discussed in detail. It was found that the coconut shells produced crumpled multilayered graphene, rice husks (RHs) provided a mix of graphene layers and amorphous carbon, wheat straw yielded few-layered graphene, and sugarcane bagasse contributed to different graphene-like materials. This review has also focused on the various synthesis processes, such as carbonization, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), chemical activation, pyrolysis, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and Hummers' method for graphene fabrication from LCB waste, along with their advantages and disadvantages, for a better understanding. Various results have been discussed exploring the use of lignocellulosic biomass-derived graphene (LCB-G) and its various modified forms for hydrogen storage applications. Various challenges in graphene fabrication from LCB, such as low yield, product quality, scalability, use of expensive synthesis methods, and toxic chemicals, along with some potential solutions, have been mentioned. Finally, the review concludes with insights into the future of LCB-G and its role in hydrogen storage while identifying some gaps, such as scalability and product quality, for further research and development. © 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Linking mother’s demographic disadvantages with children’s demographic outcomes in India: a pseudo cohort study
(BioMed Central Ltd, 2025) Anjali Singh; Dil Bahadur Rahut; Kaushalendra K. Singh
Many studies have recognized that a woman’s reproductive history influences the survival status of her fetus and the newborn. In the esteemed literature of demography, abundant evidence acknowledges the linkage between maternal exposure to offspring and their associated adult outcomes and the other way around. This study examines the link between maternal risk factors at birth and long-term outcomes for daughters in India. Using national health survey data, it focuses on three maternal risks: young age, high parity, and short birth intervals. Applying regression analysis to cohort data, the study finds these early-life disadvantages are associated with daughters experiencing stunted growth, undernutrition, child mortality, and low birth weight, as well as limited education and employment. Conversely, daughters of educated mothers have better outcomes, highlighting the importance of maternal education. The pseudo-cohort approach provides valuable longitudinal insights from cross-sectional surveys. The study underscores the need for policies promoting healthy reproductive practices and education access to improve long-term outcomes for women in India. © The Author(s) 2025.
Mapping human health risk by geostatistical method: a case study of mercury in drinking groundwater resource of the central ganga alluvial plain, northern India
(Springer International Publishing, 2019) Ashwani Raju; Anjali Singh; Nupur Srivastava; Sandeep Singh; Dharmendra Kumar Jigyasu; Munendra Singh
Human health is “at risk” from exposure to sub-lethal elemental occurrences at a local and or regional scale. This is of global concern as good-quality drinking water is a basic need for our wellbeing. In the present study, the “probability kriging,” a geostatistical method that has been used to predict the risk magnitude of the areas where the probability of dissolved mercury concentration (dHg) is higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limit. The method was applied to geochemical data of dHg concentration in 100 drinking groundwater samples of Lucknow monitoring area (1222 km2) located within the Ganga Alluvial Plain, India. Threefold (high to extreme risk) and twofold (moderate risk) higher dHg concentration values than the WHO permissible limit were observed in all of the groundwater samples. The generated prediction map using the probability kriging method shows that the probability of exceedance of dHg is the highest in the northwestern part of the Lucknow monitoring area due to anthropogenic interferences. The hotspots with high to very high probability are potentially alarming in the urban sector where 32.4% of the total population is residing in 6.8% of the total area. Interpolation of local estimates results in an easily readable and communicable human health risk map. It may help to consider substantial remediation measures for managing drinking water resources of the Ganga Alluvial Plain, which is among the anthropogenic mercury emission–dominated regions of the world. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Menstrual cycle as protective factor and increasing risk factor of diabetes mellitus in male persons proved according to the ancient ayurvedic literature
(Medknow Publications, 2016) K.R.C. Reddy; Guruprasad Nille; Varun Kumar Singh; Anjali Singh; Rakesh Bramhankar; Bhaswati Bhattacharya
Introduction: The current demographic definitions for diabetes mellitus have not cited gender nor accounted for the possibility that healthy menstrual cycles may be a protective factor for the development of Type 2/noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The ancient physician Vallabhacharya posits that the monthly cycle of menstruation rids the blood of toxins that may build up and cause disease and presents this as a reason for less prevalence of Prameha (Madhumeha/diabetes) in women. Aim: The study conducted as a meta-analysis of five clinical studies to observe whether a significant difference in diabetes occurrence exists in menstruating females and similarly-aged males, as well as non-menstruating older females versus 50+ aged males. Materials and Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted with data from a series of clinical studies conducted at the Outpatient Department of SS Hospital, IMS, BHU. The studies were done in conjunction with MD (Ayurveda) and PhD (Ayurveda) studies in the Department of Rasa Shastra, Faculty of Ayurveda, at BHU, Varanasi. Using different Ayurvedic dosage forms, in five different clinical studies, collected data included gender and age group as well as blood sugar levels. Results: The results of each of five studies revealed that the numbers of male patients are more in number. The numbers of females in the study of menstrual age were less than those who had stopped menstruating. Conclusion: The results support the Ayurvedic logic that the menstrual period is an effective physiologic occurrence for regular cleaning of the blood and proposed the male gender as a possible risk factor for diabetes.
Microbial community composition and functions through metagenomics
(Springer Singapore, 2017) Vivek Kumar; Anjali Singh; Madhu Bala Tyagi; Ashok Kumar
Metagenomic approaches have provided a better understanding of microbial diversity and function across the terrestrial biome. Initial studies on soil metagenomics involved construction of libraries and sequencing of cloned genes to know the product encoded, but now a days direct sequence-based information plays an important role in functional profiling of environmental DNA. The rich information obtained from soil metagenome provides new insight into the taxonomic and functional diversity of soil microorganism. Some of the techniques of molecular biology research such as clone-based gene sequence analysis, molecular fingerprinting, next-generation sequencing, and many others have proved very useful in analyzing unknown environmental DNA sample and opened a flux gate of exciting research finding. Additionally, development of new environmental DNA isolation method as well as improved cloning systems has accelerated the pace of research. More importantly, metagenomic tools have resulted in discovery of several novel genes coding for protease, lipase, amylase, alcohol oxi- doreductase, antibiotic resistance, etc., from ecological niches including meadows, crop fields, and others. With metagenomic approaches, new dimension in the characterization of complex microbial community has been attained. Surely, metagenomic approaches can be used to build a predictive understanding of how microbial diversity and function vary across terrestrial biome. © 2017, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
Microbial-mediated management of organic xenobiotic pollutants in agricultural lands
(Springer Singapore, 2016) Anjali Singh; Shivani Chaudhary; Bhawna Dubey; Vishal Prasad
Contamination of agricultural soil by organic xenobiotic compounds is becoming a serious problem in most of the developed and developing countries. Chemicals foreign to an organism or chemicals not natural to an ecosystem are considered as xenobiotic for an organism, and upon exposure they impose toxicity threats to the organism. The term is mainly used in the context of pollutants such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides, dyes, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their side effect on the biota. High concentrations of these xenobiotics create a biological imbalance in soil leading to surface and groundwater pollution. Inside plants they block the functional groups of biologically important molecules like enzymes, transport system of nutrient ions, polynucleotides, etc. The degradation of these organic xenobiotic pollutants in nature is a serious challenge and microorganisms have been observed to play a vital role in their degradation. They transform hazardous organic xenobiotic compound into harmless or less hazardous form, generally carbon dioxide, water, methane, and nitrogen. The different groups of microbes produce different types of enzymes and organic acids that act on recalcitrant compounds and degrade them to simpler forms. As a consequence of biodegradation of xenobiotic compounds, microorganisms are helpful to overcome environmental pollution and considered as eco-friendly. This chapter tries to elaborate some of the mechanisms employed by the microorganisms to carry out the xenobiotic degradation and remediation process along with different genera of microbes involved in the process. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2016.