Alterations in liver marker enzymes and recovery ability of cyprinids as indicators of aquatic pollution

Information on the detection of pesticides in fresh water Lakes of Kashmir (Dal and Mansbal) through GC–MS technique is scarce, and also the recovery in biochemical parameters (AST, ALT and ALP) of fish after transferring them to clean media has not been reported yet. The water samples were collected from three sites and analyzed for their pesticide profile by dispersive liquid–liquid micro extraction (DLLME) followed by GC–MS. Influence of pesticides on liver marker enzymes of Cyprinus carpio and Carassius carassius was also investigated. The results obtained showed the presence of three main pesticides viz. chlorpyrifros, dimethoate and dichlorvos in waters of Dal Lake whereas no pesticide was detected in waters of Mansbal. The higher values for AST, ALT and ALP activities and decrease in protein content were obtained in the samples from the Dal Lake compared with those from Mansbal Lake (p < 0.05). These data when compared with the values found in C. carpio and C. carassius from both the Dal Lake and Mansbal Lake kept under laboratory conditions after 15, 30, 45 and 60 days of maintenance in clean media found that during depuration, all the enzyme activities came down significantly (p < 0.05) indicating the compensatory response by the fish against the pesticide stress. Therefore, these parameters could be used as indicators of pesticide pollution in aquatic organisms and were recommended for environmental monitoring for investigating the mechanism involved in the recovery pattern.

     

Alleviation of nickel stress by halophilic bacteria in mungbean(Vigna radiata)

Mungbean is an important, short-duration legume crop with high nutritive value for poor families, where protein and micronutrient scarcity are most pervasive. In developing countries, like Pakistan, where mungbean is one of the greatest sources of protein for underprivileged people, salinity and metal stresses are drastically limiting its yield. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the ways for promoting the growth of mungbean under stressed conditions. This study provides the basis for the use of two previously isolated halophilic and nickel-resistant bacteria [Bacillus subtilis and Halomonas aquamarina(1)] in promoting the growth of mungbean plant under nickel-stressed environments. These bacterial strains were previously found to improve the growth of plants under salinity because of their good biofilm-forming abilities. We hypothesized that these two halophilic and nickel-resistant biofilm-forming bacteria can help the plants to grow under nickel-stressed environments by promoting soil aggregation as they were previously reported to resist salinity and nickel stress, as well as were found to promote plant growth under saline environments. The results revealed that under nickel stress, both bacteria promote plant growth by facilitating the formation of soil aggregates through an increase in their extra polymeric substance(EPS) production.     

Analysis of daily and seasonal variation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) for five cities of China

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Monitoring of air quality is demanding, especially in poor air quality regions. China has been suffering from PM2.5 pollution associated with the fast...