ANNUAL REPORT - Department of Biotechnology

Biosurfactant
Work on screening of marine Acinetobacter
genospecies for production of biosurfactant/s,
purification and antimicrobial activity was continued
at Pune University. The Acinetobacter strain was
confirmed and DNA transformation was carried out.
Bioemulsifier production by A. haemolyticus grown
on cheaper substrates viz. molasses and whey
reported the best medium for the bioemulsifier
production. Highest yield of bioemulsifier was
obtained with A. junii with 2.5 gm/lit. Marine
Acinetobacter haemolyticus was found to produce
antimicrobial compound and bioemulsifier and
showed wide spectrum activity against Gram positive
and Gram negative bacteria and also inhibited
sporulation in Tramentia serialis, Tramentia spp,
Alternaria solani, and Ustilago medis and human
dermatophyte Microsporum audouinii.
Biosafety and Water Quality
Studies were continued on occurrence of human
pathogenic viruses in coastal marine waters and their
detection using molecular techniques at the College
of Fisheries, UAS, Mangalore. From the oyster, clam
and water samples analyzed, fecal coliforms were
isolated. 88% of shellfish and 84% water samples
showed the presence of coliphages. Enteroviruses
were detected in 32.29% shellfish samples tested
and seasonal variation was observed in the
occurrence of enteric viruses. The samples tested
were negative for Norwalk like viruses and
rotaviruses. The study revealed the possible use of
coliphages as fecal indicators for detecting enteric
viruses.
Raceway for Shrimp Production
A project on the development of a prototype for
raceway based shrimp production technology was
continued at the Fisheries College and Research
Institute, Tuticorin. Nursery raceway trials conducted
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for Penaeus monodon and Fenneropenaeus indicus
showed that the raceway technology found suitable
for successful survival of over 80%. Sustainable
water quality in raceways was possible with the
addition of phytoplankton (Chaetoceros calcitrans)
and yeast based fermented products. Prototype
developed was successfully adopted for sustaining
water quality management and raceways operations
for high stocking densities using bioremediaiton
approach in aquaculture. A training course on
raceway-based shrimp farming technology was
conducted to disseminate the technology to shrimp
farmers. The protocol developed on raceway
technology was under transfer to a private
entrepreneur, M/s. Pancham Aquaculture Pvt. Ltd.,
Mumbai.
Marine Enzymes
Over expression of engineered superoxide
dismutase enzyme in marine cyanobacteria for
bioremediation was undertaken at Bharathidasan
University, Tiruchirappalli. Fifteen species were
screened for their ability to degrade azo dye, Orange
G. Spectral studies showed a 14% reduction in colour
in sulphur deficient condition. SOD profiles of these
species revealed the presence of Ni-SOD. Fe/Mn
SOD of Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1 was
cloned in a pET vector system. Work on marine
cyanobacterial plasmid for vector construction and
plasmid profile was undertaken. Characterization of
superoxide dismutases (SODs) from halophiles was
pursued at Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneshwar
to understand possible role of the enzyme in salt
tolerance. The aquatic plants, N. gramenia and
Chlorella, showed greater tendency to increase the
activity levels of SOD than catalase, while the
terrestrial plant, S. maritima showed greater increase
in the activity of catalase than SOD. Significant
increase in enzyme activity in test plants upon
challenge with salt eloquently indicated the possible
involvement of enzymes in salt tolerance.