Biotechnology depends on the fundamental principles of biology and envisages its application to develop technology for industrial production of food, agriculture and chemical products. The first article, “In-Silico Identification of Putative p53 Transcription Factor DNA-Binding Sites and Detection of hnRNP Genes Regulated by p53”, by Avirup Dutta, Raghunath Chatterjee, Paromita Roychoudhury, Patanjal Roy and Keya Chaudhuri, focuses on the functional role of p53 factors in various physiological processes by regulating the expression of a number of genes of diverse families and pathways. An algorithm was developed to identify putative p53 DNA-binding elements which was then tested on selected human genes from seven different biological pathways related to various cellular and metabolic pathways and subsequently scored using a reference weight matrix. The role of p53 transcription factor with comparison of evolutionary parameters and its molecular function during regulation of gene expression was described with effective research orientation.

The second article, “Effect of Dairy Effluent on the Morphological and Biochemical Parameters of Black Gram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper)”, by T Sasikala and N Poongodi, studies the effluents from dairy farming in order to assess the seed germination, seedling growth and other parameters like protein, starch and chlorophyll content, etc. The paper focuses on the orientation of different morphological and biochemical parameters of plant growth at different levels.

The third article, “A Novel Approach to Intrude Secondary Metabolites of Pseudomonas fluorescens”, by C N Murugalakshmi and S S Sudha, explains about rhizosphere bacteria and identifying their plant growth promoting properties. The synergistic effects of P. fluorescens strains with hormones were also elucidated. The authors have studied the P. fluorescens being produced physiologically, results in the synthesis of active auxins which in turn showed beneficial effects on plant growth and development. The effective compatibility between phytohormones, especially auxins like IAA and Pseudomonas strains was effectively described with laboratory protocols and evidence-based activity.

The fourth article, “Beta Sheet ABA Block Co-Polypeptides Containing b-Benzyl-L-Aspartate and L-Valine”, by Ajay Kumar, describes synthesis and solid state conformational studies by circular dichroism (CD) and infrared spectroscopy (IR) of the(b-bzl-L-Asp)n– (Val)10-(b-bzl-L-Asp)n block co-polypeptides. The spectroscopic analysis and conformational studies on polypeptides molecules were given prime importance.

The fifth article, “Biodegradation of Bisphenol A by Pseudomonas monteilli Isolated from Effluents of Thermal Paper Industry”, by Vijayalakshmi Gengadharan and V Ramadas, explains the characteristics of P. monteilli in effective degradation of Bisphenol A (BPA) contaminants in the environment and also other effluents released by the thermal paper industry. The pollution control methods suggest the biodegradation of BPA using research methodologies were highly effective. The presentation of data results using HPLC chromatogram is commendable.

The sixth article, “Managing Water Pollution All the Way Through Well-Designed Environmental Biotechnology: A Review”, by Ashok Kumar, Deepika Chandel, Indu Bala,

Ankita Muwalia and Lata Mankotiya, explains the role of Environmental Biotechnology (EB) in wastewater treatment and in pollution control. The bioremedial methods which focus on phytoremediation systems for effective control of water pollution have been suggested.

The production of MFCs, bioplastics and biofuels from different types of plant, fungal and bacterial cells (both aerobic and anaerobic) for waste water cleaning and reusage of water for drinking and irrigation purposes were explained in a lucid manner. It uses bioplastics and biofuels synthesized from plant and microbial cells applied in treatment of wastes and abatement of pollution.

- - R Chakravarthy
Consulting Editor