Papers by Nandkumar Kamat
ABSTRACTCalcimycocavitology deals with the study of hollowing out of spaces in hard calcareous se... more ABSTRACTCalcimycocavitology deals with the study of hollowing out of spaces in hard calcareous seashells by the fungi called calcimycocavites. Endolithic fungi in the shells were first reported and named as the trace fossils in 1889 by Bornet and Flahault. Endolithic fungi bore inside the shell by the process of bioturbation by using organic acids (oxalic acid, citrate) and enzymes (proteases, dehydrogenases and oxidoreductases). Previous reports show the presence of tunnels formed by fungal hyphae in the shells. The present work reports preliminary results of calcimycocavitological studies on the seashells from beaches of north Goa, India. The calcareous sand samples were collected from Arambol, Ashvem, Morjim, Vagator, Anjuna, Baga and Miramar beaches by pool sampling method and were separated into different fractions by using standard sieves. Each fraction of sand was subjected to stereomicroscopic studies which revealed that the sand fraction between 150-250 μm included irregula...
Simple, novel techniques developed for separation and simultaneous direct morphometric study of A... more Simple, novel techniques developed for separation and simultaneous direct morphometric study of Amber micro fragments (AMF) from tropical beach sand are reported yielding rich information on unidentified fossilized microfungi. Sieves of different mesh sizes were used to separate AMF from tropical beach sand. Fractions below 150 μm which proved rich in AMF were used for manual retrieval using stereomicroscope. A handprinted slide microarray having 4 X 12 squares used for microscopic examination of multiple AMF mounts revealed AMF having either rough or smooth surfaces and with or without microinclusions. The microinclusions could be morphologically attributed to fungi. The potential for systematic and comprehensive studies to retrieve and examine AMF at high frequency from tropical beach sand in the world and especially those which are threatened due to sea level rise due to climate change was demonstrated. The potential of retrievable AMF from tropical beach sand in microbiological,...
Biotechnic & histochemistry : official publication of the Biological Stain Commission, Jan 8, 2018
There are gaps in existing understanding of fungal pellet growth dynamics. We used scanning elect... more There are gaps in existing understanding of fungal pellet growth dynamics. We used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for morphological characterization of the biomass organization of Termitomyces pellets for seven species: T. microcarpus (TMI1), T. albuminosus (TAL1, TAL2), T. striatus (TSTR), T. aurantiacus (TAUR), T. heimii (THE1, THE2), T. globulus (TGLO) and T. clypeatus (TCL1, TCL2, TCL3, TCL4, TCL5). We assessed the utility of SEM for morphological and structural characterization of Termitomyces spp. in three dimensional (3D) pellet form to identify ideal pellet morphology for industrial use. Typological classification of Termitomyces species was based on furrows, isotropy, total motifs and fractal dimensions. The pellets formed were entangled and exhibited highly compacted mycelial mass with microheterogeneity and microporosity. The mean density of furrows of Termitomyces species was between 10,000 and 11,300 cm/cm, percentage isotropy was 30-80 and total motifs varied from ...
SSRN Electronic Journal
This work was inspired by recent report by Bell et al., 2015 who studied potentially biogenic car... more This work was inspired by recent report by Bell et al., 2015 who studied potentially biogenic carbon 10 preserved in a 4.1 billion-year-old Zircon and need to assess the potential of Zircons found in Goa. 11 Zircons (ZrSiO4) are naturally occurring silicate minerals which show radioactivity and high ductility and 12 contain traces of Thorium and Uranium useful in Uranium-Thorium /Thorium-230 dating techniques. 13
F1000posters, Dec 5, 2014
The mutualistic paleotropic termite exosymbiont fungal genus Termitomyces having 54 distinct spec... more The mutualistic paleotropic termite exosymbiont fungal genus Termitomyces having 54 distinct species is represented by 85 taxa (www.indexfungorum.org). Although all species are harvested from the wild and reported to be edible, popular and gourmet quality nutritious mushrooms, due to their complex mutualistic nature it has evaded attempts of domestication and commercial production. These species indicate a lot of promise for nutritional SCP/Mycoprotein production. The lipid content of these mushrooms is reported [1] to vary from 2.5-5.4 g/100 dry weight (with high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (45.1-65.1% of total acid methyl esters) with crude fibre content showing remarkable proportions (17.5-24.7 g/100 g dry weight) and protein content between 15.1 and 19.1 g/100 dry weight. Good cultural growth of this species on solid and in liquid media indicates its potential to produce edible mycoprotein. Fungi can be grown in submerged cultures in several different morphological forms: suspended mycelia, clumps, or pellets [2]. Pelletization or the cubic form of microbial growth associated with reduction of medium viscosity has been reported in many edible mushrooms. For any large scale industrial process to produce edible mycoprotein to succeed, standardization of pelletization process would be necessary by identifying a suitable, morphologically stable culture [3]. In this direction the work presented in this paper was aimed at morphological characterization of pellets using nine pure Termitomyces cultures namely-T. albuminosus , T. aurantiacus , T. bulborhizus , T. clypeatus , T. globulus , T. heimii, T. medius, T. petaloides, T. striatus in shaken submerged conditions. Pelletization was carried out in 100 ml of 5 gm/L strength of carbon-Sucrose in czapek dox solution with pH 5.5 in 250 ml conical flasks kept on rotary shaker with 150 rpm in light for upto 20 days. Except T. bulborhizus, T. heimii , T. medius and T. petaloides rest of the species produced good pelletization by displaying micro (less than one mm) and macro pellets (more than 10 mm). Spiky, loose and dispersed mycelial morphology was found to be common in most of the Termitomyces species. T. clypeatus emerged as the most promising, morphologically stable culture producing white to cream, spherical with spiky surface pellets (1.0-1.5 cm), few fluffy irregular pellets and mycelial aggregates (0. 2-1. 0 cm), indicating further potential for mass production.
F1000posters, Mar 18, 2014
F1000posters, Mar 18, 2014
Morris et al, 2008 while stressing the importance of biometeorology as an upcoming field of resea... more Morris et al, 2008 while stressing the importance of biometeorology as an upcoming field of research highlighted the need of understanding microbiological dimensions of atmospheric processes. Research in USA (Mohler et al., 2007) and France (Brent, 2012), Canada, Germany, Austria (Deguillaume et al, 2008) has implicated or produced evidence of microbial life in stratosphere, storms and rain clouds. South west tropical monsoon is an important event for ecology and economy in India and other recipient monsoon countries. However scant attention has been paid to the microbiological aspects of tropical stratosphere and the possible role of bioaerosols or stratospheric life forms in this mega tropical disturbance. A humble attempt was made to test the hypothesis regarding detection and visualization of life forms in local samples of rainwater collected directly under standard aseptic conditions at the open, secure Goa University campus on basis of positive indications from a previous time series study which led to refinement of sampling technique. The results of physicochemical and microbiological analysis are presented and discussed with some speculations on possible origin of Inorganic, Organic components and the detected morphological diversity of interesting life forms revealed by bright field and phase contrast microscopy. The ecological, biological, microbiological, pathological and public health / epidemiological implications of the findings are presented and the importance of tropical SW monsoon related basic and advanced biometeorological studies is highlighted to solve the riddle of microbial life forms getting a piggy back ride inside the monsoon clouds.
A review of current environmental issues in Goa, India
compilation of seminar papers presented during Indian History Congress session held in Goa
The unsung linguistic subalterns in Goan history:- the forgotten Konkani speaking Kukna and Gamit... more The unsung linguistic subalterns in Goan history:- the forgotten Konkani speaking Kukna and Gamit tribals of pre-Portuguese Goa Nandkumar M. Kamat Department of Botany, Goa University Abstract This paper challenges the popular and officially propagated myth of pre Portuguese Goa being projected as a the ‘mulpeeth” or centre of origin of Konkani language or proto Konkani language and puts forth the new hypothesis of tribal origin of Konkani language. It attempts to incorporate the definite contributions of Kukna and Gamit tribals, the original Konkani speaking inhabitants of Konkan as the true architects of the language. Interdisciplinary scientific efforts are advocated for rewriting the realistic history of origin, genesis and evolution of Konkani language. Due to complex nature of linguistic politics of 20 th century, the real tribal architects of Konkani language have been treated as linguistic untouchables and have been shunned in all the discourses by modern Konkani linguists, ...
कोंकणी कोणाची? न्हय म्हजी, न्हय त ु जी. कोंकणी न्हय गोयं ची, गोयकारां ची कोंकणी आसा आदिवासीं ची (... more कोंकणी कोणाची? न्हय म्हजी, न्हय त ु जी. कोंकणी न्हय गोयं ची, गोयकारां ची कोंकणी आसा आदिवासीं ची (This article is based on paper " " The unsung linguistic subalterns in Goan history: the forgotten Konkani speaking Kukna and Gamit tribals of Pre-Portuguese Goa" presented in XVIII th loal history seminar , organized by Department of History, Goa University and directorate of archives and archaeology, Government of Goa, at Goa University on 6 th and 7 th March 2014) This paper challenges the popular and officially propagated myth of pre Portuguese Goa being projected as a the "mulpeeth" or centre of origin of Konkani language or proto Konkani language and puts forth the new hypothesis of tribal origin of Konkani language. It attempts to incorporate the definite contributions of Kukna and Gamit tribals, the original Konkani speaking inhabitants of Konkan as the true architects of the language. Interdisciplinary scientific efforts are advocated for rewriting the r...
There is an urgent need for developing new antibiotics due to increasing resistance mechanisms wh... more There is an urgent need for developing new antibiotics due to increasing resistance mechanisms which is limiting the effectiveness of the current antimicrobial drugs. Antimicrobial peptides are potent, broad spectrum antibiotics which demonstrate potential as novel therapeutic agents. Microorganisms are prolific sources of such structurally diverse bioactive metabolites which have yielded many important products of the pharmaceutically industry. Among these are antimicrobial peptides which are mainly produced as a part of their first line of defense. During the course of screening for peptide antibiotics, direct detection of the most potent antibiotic insitu on TLC plate using bioautography was observed. Bioautography was performed according to the method described by Alekhova & Novozhilova (2001) using S. citreus as the test pathogen. The technique revealed that out of nine spots observed on TLC, four spots showed clear visible anti-staphlococcus inhibition, which could serve as a ...
Catalase is an ubiquitous, efficient enzyme which catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxid... more Catalase is an ubiquitous, efficient enzyme which catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen. As part of our bioprospecting work aimed to detect industrially useful hydrolytic enzyme activities, we report a simple, rapid and reliable technique to screen a large number of fungal cultures for catalase activity based on visualization of the microbubbles of Oxygen trapped in the agar gel matrix. Catalases are usedin industries in conjunction with glucose oxidase, for treatment of food wrappers to prevent the deterioration of food and also to remove traces of hydrogen peroxide in the process of cold sterilization of milk and cheese. Promising catalase producing cultures would be tested further for identifying biotechnologically useful strain.
Termitomyces is a paleotropical genus of agarics showing an obligate symbiosis with termites, whi... more Termitomyces is a paleotropical genus of agarics showing an obligate symbiosis with termites, which is intriguing both to mycologists and entomologists. Here is an attempt to create the world's largest bioinformatics online data repository of genus Termitomyces showing the scope of Termitomycopedia™.
Indian journal of experimental biology, 2013
Actinobacteria are important sources of compounds for drug discovery and have attracted considera... more Actinobacteria are important sources of compounds for drug discovery and have attracted considerable pharmaceutical, chemical, agricultural and industrial interests. Actinobacteriological research is still in its infancy in India. Early work on actinobacteria started in the 20th century and mostly focused on studying the diversity, identification and screening for antibiotics, enzymes and enzyme inhibitors. Exploration of diverse habitats for the isolation of actinobacteria, have yielded till date 23 novel species. Screening of actinobacteria for antagonistic activity, has led to the discovery of four novel antibiotics. Research on enzymes mostly covered lipases, amylases, proteases, endoglucanases, a-galactosidases, pectin lyases, xylanases, L-asparaginases, L-glutaminase and cellulases. Research on exploiting actinobacteria for other purposes such as production of enzyme inhibitors, single cell protein, bioemulsifier and biosurfactants is still in the experimental stage. This revi...
Nature Precedings, 2011
Abstract: Soil is considered the ultimate reservoir of all the microbiota and specifically the ye... more Abstract: Soil is considered the ultimate reservoir of all the microbiota and specifically the yeasts. However their association with different plant organs and at different developmental stages is not fully explored. Although about 1000 yeast species have been identified, ...
Nature Precedings, 2010
Abstract: Around 100 yeast genera and 800 species have been isolated and characterized. Nagahama ... more Abstract: Around 100 yeast genera and 800 species have been isolated and characterized. Nagahama (2006) has reviewed yeast biodiversity in freshwater, marine and deep-Sea Environments. Our work aims at systematic biodiversity assessment of freshwater aquatic ...
Uploads
Papers by Nandkumar Kamat