Alternaria fungi constitute a major group of plant pathogens. They belong to the phylum Deuteromycetes or Fungi imperfecti due to the lack of sexual stage in their life cycle. Thus, Alternaria species only reproduce asexually by conidiospores, and the process is called an anamorph state. The genus Alternaria has nearly 299 species. They are ubiquitous. …
A pure culture is derived from the solid nutrient medium containing a mixed microbial population. In simple words, pure culture refers to the isolation and culturing of the isolated colony from the mixed microbial population. Isolation of a single colony or pure culturing is necessary to study the morphology and physiology of the microbial colony …
Chemical mutagens refer to the chemical agents that impose severe genetic abnormalities by directly or indirectly interacting with the DNA. DNA damage and alternations in nucleotide sequence prevalently result, after the treatment of nucleobases with base analogues and base altering agents. In addition, some chemical mutagens like intercalating agents may distort the DNA structure. Base …
A laminar airflow chamber refers to an enclosed cabinet, which is equipped with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filtered airflow system. It provides an aseptic environment to perform different experiments. Laminar airflow cabinet circulates unidirectional airflow with little or no turbulence at a uniform velocity between 0.3-0.5 m/s. It is extensively used in laboratories to …
Rho protein or Rho factor is a hexamer complex, which is ATP-dependent. Rho gene synthesizes rho protein to terminate the transcription process in prokaryotes. It is a protein possessing a single polypeptide chain with 419 amino acid residues. It functions as an RNA-binding protein, which primarily recognizes and binds to the rut site of the …
Soil microflora contributes to the biological property of the soil, whose number and activity has a considerable impact on the soil system. The physical and chemical factors like pH, temperature, available moisture, and nutrients influence the growth and activity of the soil microflora. The root system in the soil also influences a wide range of …
General properties of enzyme include all the characteristics (physical and chemical), through which we could define the physical and chemical nature of an enzyme. Enzymes act like a functional biocatalyst that only cause catalysis of distinct substrates into particular products and allow the reaction to occur at an increased rate without being consumed. Thus, the …
The normal flora of the human body refers to the microbial community that colonizes on the skin and mucus membrane. Normal flora is sometimes called indigenous microbiota, as they reside within or on the human’s skin surface. Diverse microflora such as bacteria, fungi and some protists are associated on or within the skin surface. Among …
The mechanism of enzyme action depends upon the two factors, namely enzyme’s specificity and transition state of the reactants or substrates. The enzyme’s specificity is due to its active site, which seems like a small aperture or opening. The enzyme’s active site allows specific binding of an enzyme with the substrate due to residues like …
Physical mutagenesis is a mutation in the cells, tissues and DNA of the organisms induced by physical mutagenic agents like radiation and heat. Thus, mutagenesis (muta: means changes and genesis: means origin or outset) is a phenomenon defined as the origination of any changes that can alter the gene sequence and structure, thereby causing mutation. …