Browsing by Author "Rusi Lata"

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Antibacterial and antioxidant potentials, detection of host origin compounds, and metabolic profiling of endophytic Bacillus spp. isolated from Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz
(Nature Research, 2025) Rusi Lata; Surendra Kumar Gond
The research highlights the importance of exploring endophytic microbiomes of medicinal plants to uncover their potential for secondary metabolite production and their role in the biosynthesis of host-derived compounds. This study was aimed to isolate leaf endophytic bacteria of Rauvolfia serpentina, investigate their antibacterial, antioxidant potentials and detect host-origin compound reserpine using Reverse Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (RPHPLC). Untargeted analysis via Ultra High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS) was conducted for profiling main phytochemicals in the leaves and to explore potential bioactive compounds in bacterial extracts. Nine bacterial isolates were obtained from R. serpentina leaves. These isolates exhibited positive results in various biochemical tests including indole production, methyl red, Voges-Proskauer, citrate utilization, catalase and oxidase production, nitrate reduction, oxidative fermentation, and citrate reduction tests. Endophytic isolates RSLB3 and RSLB18 exhibited most potential antibacterial activity against tested human pathogenic bacteria and were identified as Bacillus sp. The extract of RSLB3 and RSLB18 also showed significant antioxidant activity compared to leaf extract. The total phenol content was similar in both these isolates while flavonoids content and DPPH scavenging activity was higher in isolate RSLB3. RPHPLC analysis confirmed the presence of reserpine in bacterial metabolites when compared to a standard reference. UHPLC-HRMS profiling unveiled a diverse range of host-derived compounds and reaction intermediates with known and unknown bioactive properties in leaf extract, RSLB3, and RSLB18. To our knowledge, this is the first study to achieve a comprehensive profiling. © The Author(s) 2025.
Biotechnological approaches for crop movement and production
(De Gruyter, 2024) Hemant Kumar; Rusi Lata; Uzma Khan; Surendra K. Gond
The effects of global warming play a crucial role in increasing the global food and nutrition crisis. The reason for this phenomenon is that the increasing rate of climate change has a detrimental impact on crop productivity and the overall availability of food resources. Despite ongoing activities aimed at tackling the issue of food insecurity, a significant number of individuals continue to experience malnutrition as a result of limited access to adequate food and nutrition. Therefore, in order to achieve the objective of reducing global malnutrition completely, it is essential to improve agricultural productivity in an environmentally friendly way. Biotechnology holds great potential for enhancing the agricultural sector by providing viable solutions to address the challenges of crop productivity. A fundamental element of agricultural biotechnology is the utilization of biotechnological methodologies, which encompass a diverse range of techniques such as genetic engineering, microbialassisted processes, plant tissue culture, molecular breeding, precision agriculture, and omics applications. These approaches are employed to enhance crop improvement and optimize production in the agricultural sector. Modern biotechnological methodologies offer a highly effective means of enhancing the production of agricultural plants with commercially advantageous traits, encompassing enhanced resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses, increased tolerance, greater nutritional content, increased productivity, and enhanced quality. Currently, in the post-genomics era, there has been a notable rise in advanced technologies such as next-generation sequencing. These technologies offer cost-effective and high-throughput methods for the molecular characterization of specific cellular or organismal processes. The main focus of this chapter is on the variety of biotechnological methodologies employed in the enhancement and production of crops under stress conditions. © 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. All rights reserved.
Exploration of oncolytic drugs from endophytic fungi of Catharanthus roseus
(Elsevier B.V., 2024) Uzma Khan; Rusi Lata; Hemant Kumar; Surendra Kumar Gond
The management and treatment of cancer and related disorders is still a challenging goal for the scientists. The current global scenario of cancer mortality is demanding to discover and develop new, safe, cost effective and potent anticancer medications. The anticancer drugs vinblastine and vincristine are solely produced by medicinal herb Catharanthus roseus. These drugs are second most widely consumed anticancer drugs after Taxol in the world; however, the plant is well recognised to produce very modest levels of these important compounds (0.0002–0.0005 %). To address this issue, the review delves into the promising alternative of using endophytic fungi which reside within the healthy plant tissues and have ability to produce host-specific bioactive compounds including vinblastine and vincristine. An endophytic fungus Talaromyces radicus is reported to produce vincristine up to 670 µg/L while Curvularia verruculosa is able to secret vinblastine at a concentration of 182 µg/L in liquid cultures respectively. Some other fungal species reported to produce either vincristine or vinblastine includes Fusarium, Alternaria, Chaetomium, Nigrospora and Eutypella. The review begins by discussing the therapeutic importance of vinblastine and vincristine, highlighting their mechanisms of action and their critical roles in chemotherapy regimens for various types of cancer. Next, the review also provides an in-depth analysis of various endophytic fungi producing vinblastine and vincristine detailing their identification, characterization, biosynthetic ability and strain improvement processes. It aims to contribute to the ongoing efforts to develop more effective and sustainable strategies for producing these critical anticancer agents, ultimately enhancing cancer treatment options and outcomes. © 2024 SAAB
Functional characterization of endophytic bacteria isolated from feather grass (Chloris virgata Sw.)
(Maximum Academic Press, 2024) Rusi Lata; Sandip Chowdhury; Surendra Kumar Gond
The objective of this research was to isolate, identify, conduct biochemical characterization, and evaluate the plant growth-promoting (PGP) characteristics of endophytic bacteria obtained from various parts of feather grass collected from waterlogged rice fields. A total of 43 bacterial isolates from roots, rhizome and leaf of Chloris virgata were isolated. They were subjected to biochemical characterization (Catalase, Oxidase, Indole, Methyl red and Vogues Prausker, oxidative fermentation test). The isolates were tested qualitatively and quantitatively for PGP traits including indole acetic acid (>0.2·µg mL−1), gibberellic acid production (> 21.03 µg·mL−1), inorganic phosphate solubilization (PSI), siderophore production (> 26.5 PSU), ammonia production (>120.0 µg·mL−1) and HCN production. The isolates were also subjected to salt (NaCl) and osmotic stress (PEG-6000). Endophytic bacteria were morphologically grouped and selected on the basis of their PGP traits for identification via 16s rRNA sequencing. The identified isolates belonged to two genera namely Bacillus and Glutamicibacter with the former being dominant in the plant. A total of 30 endophytic bacterial isolates identified by 16s rRNA gene sequencing were found to be of Bacillus spp. (25 isolates) and Glutamicibacter spp. (five isolates). © 2024 by the author(s).
Microbial endophytes of maize seeds and their application in crop improvements
(Springer International Publishing, 2019) Sandip Chowdhury; Rusi Lata; Ravindra N. Kharwar; Surendra K. Gond
Maize is one of the main cereal crops grown all over the world. The presence of microbial endophytes which reside asymptomatically inside maize seeds may influence the yield and quality of crop. The present review concentrates on underexplored endophytes, such as seed-borne bacterial and fungal endophytes. The review encompasses the role of maize seed's endophytes in enhancing crop efficiency, the nature of vertical transmission and secondary metabolites production, their belowground function, and the aboveground response. The diversity of endophytes in maize seed is discussed in detail focusing also on methodology applied for their isolation. This review may render help for the researchers working on the improvement of crops modulated through seed endophytes. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.
Plant growth-promoting microbes for abiotic stress tolerance in plants
(Elsevier, 2019) Rusi Lata; Surendra K. Gond
Microorganisms play a major role in the growth and development of plants. Plants interact with these microorganisms found in soil, on the surface of plants, or within the plant tissue. Plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM) composed groups of microbes, mostly bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes, that are rhizospheric, endophytic, or mycorrhizal in nature. Many biotic and abiotic factors affect the health of plants and eventually their yields. This chapter discusses the effects of major abiotic stresses on plants including the role of different PGPM in the management of stress tolerance of plants. © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Potential application of endophytic bacteria for induction of abiotic stress tolerance in plants
(Springer Science and Business Media B.V., 2025) Hemant Kumar; Rusi Lata; Uzma Khan; James F. White; Surendra Kumar Gond
Abiotic stress is one of the main problems in agriculture worldwide. Plants under abiotic stress suffer from a variety of morpho-anatomical, physiological, and biochemical changes that impact plant growth and development and have the possibility of significantly reducing the economic yield. Researchers have better-understood plant-microbe interactions under biotic and abiotic stress in the last several years. Endophytes are microorganisms that establish a symbiotic relationship with the host plant, exerting their presence without inducing any detrimental effects. Endophytic bacteria (EB) can regulate plant tolerance through different mechanisms, such as nutrient uptake, antioxidant enzyme activity, induction of plant development through phytohormones, and the synthesis of stress-responsive substances. Recent studies demonstrated that EB possesses the ability to elicit abiotic stress responses. EB has become a viable approach to augmenting agricultural yield and safeguarding plants against abiotic stresses. The present study provides an in-depth analysis of the significant EB contribution in facilitating plant growth and enhancing plant tolerance to abiotic stress such as drought, salinity, temperature fluctuations, heavy metal exposure, and nutrient-deficient conditions. This review addresses the role of EB in minimizing abiotic stress in plants. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2025.