Prospects in Bioscience: Addressing the Issues

423 Pages·2013·11.43 MB·English

by  H. Nagaraja Viswanatha

Prospects in Bioscience: Addressing
the Issues

Abdulhameed Sabu (cid:129) Anu Augustine
Editors
Prospects in Bioscience:
Addressing the Issues
Editors
Abdulhameed Sabu Anu Augustine
Department of Biotechnology Department of Biotechnology
and Microbiology and Microbiology
Kannur University Kannur University
Kannur, Kerala, India Kannur, Kerala, India

ISBN 978-81-322-0809-9 ISBN 978-81-322-0810-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-0810-5
Springer New Delhi Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
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Foreword
In late 2011, I was very lucky to be invited to be a speaker at the International
Conference on Advances in Biological Sciences (ICABS – 2012), which was
organized by the Department of Biotechnology and Microbiology and the
Inter University Centre for Bioscience, Kannur University from March 15 to
17, 2012. As for the meeting, I can say that it was a very well-organized and
convivial conference and a highly vibrant scienti fi c gathering. I was extremely
impressed with both the quality and the very wide diversity of presentations,
which were given in both oral and poster form. I was also pleasantly surprised
by the quality of the students who were present in large numbers at the meet-
ing. During the conference, I learned a tremendous amount about the diver-
sity of Indian science in the biological area, but I also learned a lot about how
Indian scientists themselves regard the Indian biological research arena.
There were some interesting historical perspectives given at the beginning of
the conference, such as one entitled the “Development of Structural Biology
in India: A Personal Perspective” by Professor M. Vijayan from the Indian
Institute of Science.
We live in an age of increasing threats to our fragile environment, and we
hear a great deal about the future impact of the rapidly increasing populations
in India, other parts of SE Asia, and Africa. It is therefore gratifying that
many of the talks addressed the questions of how to increase crop and domes-
tic animal productivity, how to ameliorate the environmental effects of human
activity, how to provide more food and energy for the future, and how to
assess the biodiversity of many of India’s important plant and animal species.
It is also encouraging that native species are being screened for potentially
useful bioactives and other potentially useful compounds.
This book Prospects in Bioscience: Addressing the Issues is a compen-
dium of papers presented at the conference, representing a set of 50 papers
which really illustrate well the diversity of Indian science and how it is going
about addressing the issues which face us at this critical time in human his-
tory. The topics range widely and include immunology, molecular biology,
structural biology, agricultural biotechnology, and microbial technology.
They re fl ect the results of research conducted in highly specialized areas of
biology. Some of the chapters cover topics such as partitioning of proteins
from fi sh ef fl uents using aqueous two-phase systems, Naїve Bayes – a novel
method for prediction of short genes from noncoding DNA, RFLP of 16S
RNA for detection of porcine meat, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor from a
plant source, immunoglobulin level studies in vitiligo patients, development
v
vi Foreword
of SSR markers in bambara groundnut, novel antimicrobial peptides from
Clitoria ternatea , a plate assay for b -lactamase inhibitors from natural
sources, isolation of a P seudomonas sp. against sheath blight of rice, immu-
noinformatics prediction of HLA-II binding epitopes of S . aureus , and role of
lymphocytes in tumor rejection. The scienti fi c content in the various chapters
of this book is certainly worth exploring, and this book will serve as a good
reference source. This book is further designed to give its readers a unique
exposure to the emerging prospects of modern biology.
Group Leader – Potato Genetics and Breeding Dr. Glenn Bryan
The James Hutton Institute
Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA
Scotland, UK, July 2012
Preface
Throughout the past century, researchers have made considerable efforts to
learn the biological intricacies of nature for making the existence of human-
kind more and more comfortable and sustainable. It started with the traditional
fermentation of food to the commercial exploitation of all types of biological
cells and molecules. However, research has quite often neglected opportuni-
ties to develop technologies for the upliftment of the rural poor, representing
approximately 80% of the world population. A change in biotechnology con-
cepts, which are now commercially driven, to a more human-oriented future,
combining “old” and “modern” biology for the improvement in the socioeco-
nomic status of our rural population, is very much required these days.
Developments in modern biology including environmental and industrial
biotechnology, food and agricultural biotechnology, medical biotechnology,
and advances in cell and molecular biology are of high relevance in the current
global context. The world is striving hard to manage the adverse impacts due
to the discharge of toxic ef fl uents to the environment as a result of urbaniza-
tion and industrialization. Diseases due to adoption of modern lifestyle and
environmental stress are emerging along with reemergence of contagious dis-
eases. Equally important are the socioeconomic problems created by reckless
utilization of food grains for fuel production. To feed the growing population,
we need to have our warehouses fi lled with quality food grains, and there is a
need for advanced postharvest technology also. Advances in cell and molecu-
lar biology armed with the breakthroughs in structural biology are extending
services to mankind in combating many grave problems it is facing today.
In this volume, the editors have organized a series of research-based
articles which seek to address the hot issues in biosciences the whole world
is facing due to urbanization and industrialization. The scienti fi c content in
the book is expected to help the researchers in bioscience across the globe in
orienting their perspective for developing advancements in the fi eld which
will help us in fostering sustainable development of the global society. What
we are proposing through this book is that the philosophy of science and
scienti fi c research need to orient toward nature.
Dr. Abdulhameed Sabu
Dr. Anu Augustine
vii

About the Editors
Dr. Abdulhameed Sabu is currently teaching Biotechnology at the Department
of Biotechnology and Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Kannur
University, Kerala, India and earned his doctorate in Biotechnology from
Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), India. Prior to joining
Kannur University, he was a scientist at the National Institute for Interdisciplinary
Science and Technology (CSIR). He has published several research papers in
reputed Indian and international journals and owns a patent to his credit. He
along with his colleagues Dr. S Roussos and Dr. CN Aguilar edited the volume
“Chemistry and Biotechnology of Polyphenols” in 2011. Dr. Sabu has also
worked at Kerala Biotechnology Commission, India; Technical University of
Budapest, Hungary; University of Georgia, USA; University of Mediterranean,
Marseilles, France; and University of Paul Cezanne, France. His current
research interest includes production, purifi cation, and characterization of
industrial enzymes and isolation of bioactive molecules from microorganisms.
Dr. Sabu is a member of the panel of experts, IUCN, Switzerland; ecosystem
service expert of World Resources Institute, USA; life member of Association
of Microbiologists of India; life member of Society for Biotechnologists, India;
member of Board Studies in Biotechnology and Faculty of Science of Kannur
University; and life member of Biotech Research Society of India. He also
served as member of the Academic Council and Senate of Cochin University of
Science and Technology (e-mail: [email protected]).
Dr. Anu Augustine is teaching biotechnology at the Department of
Biotechnology and Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Kannur University,
Kerala, India. She did her Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Spices Research,
Calicut. She has 17 years of research experience in tissue culture of
spices and has published several papers in reputed international journals.
Dr. Anu Augustine did her postdoctoral studies at the James Hutton Institute,
Dundee, UK, as a Boyscast Fellow of Department of Science and Technology,
Govt. of India. Her areas of research interest include investigations into
the genome of Graminae members, conservation, micropropagation, and
characterization of important medicinal plants/RET plants, anti-obesity and
anti-cholesterol principles from plant sources, overexpression of glyoxylase
I gene in H evea brasiliensis , and alpha-amylase inhibitors from Zingiberaceae
members. She is a member of board of studies in Kannur University and
external examiner in the universities of Kerala, and Calicut.
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