Janak Raj Khatiwada

Lakehead University Thunder Bay Campus · Department of Biology

Pectinase is a prominent industrial enzyme with a high market demand and huge applications in diverse avenues.There are different sources for pectinase production; however, a highly stable microbial pectinase that canwithstand different physiochemical conditions is needed. Therefore, this study explored the thermostability ofthe pectinase protein c...

Bioproduction is considered a promising alternative way of obtaining useful and green chemicals. However, the downstream process of biomolecules has been one of the major difficulties in upscaling the application of bioproducts due to the high purification cost. Acid precipitation is the most common method for purifying biosurfactants from the ferm...

Wetlands support around 27% of birds in Nepal, however, there is a paucity of information about bird diversity and the wetland habitat of Western Chure Landscape Nepal. The “point count” method along transects was carried out to evaluate the species composition and habitat associations of birds. A total of 2,532 individuals representing 152 species...

The present work demonstrated the potential of different agro-waste mixtures to produce ethanol. The forest soil bacterium (Streptomyces sp.) was exploited for the saccharification of the agro-waste mixture formulated by extreme vertices mixture design and the hydrolysate produced by saccharification was used for fermentation. The best formulation...

Coculture and whole-cell immobilization have myriad industrial applications for enhancing enzyme production. Using pretreated wheat straw as the sole carbon source, improving glucose isomerase production and cell growth by synthetic bacterial consortia was investigated. Thirteen cocultures were constructed based on the performance and antagonistic...

Biological diversity is a concept that contains multiple facets, of which functional diversity is considered to be more integrative to describe the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In recent decades, functional diversity patterns have been assessed along elevational gradients in plants and birds. However, few empirical s...

The demand for enzymes is increasing continuously due to their applications in various avenues. The pectin-hydrolyzing bacteria, Cellulomonas sp. and Bacillus sp., isolated from forest soil have the potential to produce industrially important enzymes (pectinase, PGase, Cellulase, and xylanase). However, these bacteria have different optimal cultura...

Soil bacteria participate in self-immobilization processes for survival, persistence and producing virulence factors in some niches or hosts through their capacities of autoaggregation, cell surface hydrophobicity, biofilm formation, and antibiotic and heavy metal resistance. This study investigated potential virulence, antibiotics and heavy metals...

Modern society has a great challenge to decrease waste and minimize the adverse effects of wastes on the economy, environment , and individual health. Thus, this study focuses on the use of eight agro-wastes (banana peel, barley straw, canola straw, pomegranate peel, orange peel, pumpkin pulp+seeds, maple leaf, and brewer's spent grains) by a novel...

The cultural parameters of Streptomyces sp. for pectinase production were optimized using the Box-Behnken design. The maximum pectinase production was obtained after 58 hours at 35℃ and pH 7 upon submerged fermentation in yeast extract-containing media. The enzymes were partially purified with acetone precipitation and the analysis by SDS-PAGE and...

The present study identified the pectinase-producing bacterium isolated from the contaminated broth as Bacillus sp. on 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The bacterium illustrated water-like droplets on the colony grown on the Sabouraud dextrose agar plate. It also exhibited multi-enzymes activities, such as pectinase, polygalacturonase, xylanase, and cel...

Laponite nanoparticles have been proposed for soil densification to reduce the negative impacts of seismic hazards. However, the effects of laponite on the aquatic ecosystem are lacking. In this study, different concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5%) of laponite were used to investigate the growth and total chlorophyll content of microalgae:...

Aim Exploring the mechanism underlying community assembly processes is considered as one of the central topics for biogeography. As one of the biodiversity hotspots, Nepal Himalaya has attracted increasing attention during the past decade. However, the main processes shaping amphibian assemblages in this area are still unclear. Here, we examined th...

The characterization of bacteria with hydrolytic potential significantly contributes to the industries. Six cellulose-degrading bacteria were isolated from mixture soil samples collected at Kingfisher Lake and the University of Manitoba campus by Congo red method using carboxymethyl cellulose agar medium and identified as Paenarthrobacter sp. MKAL1...

The third-generation biofuel production from algae could be the cheapest and most promising alternative compared to other sources of renewable energies. Algae can be effectively grown in a nutrient-rich environment and have the potential to accumulate nutrients and heavy metals from the wastewater, which makes them an extremely attractive means for...

The demand for enzymes in different industries is continuously increasing, and the use of a pure form of carbon and nitrogen source for enzyme production is expensive. Thus, organic waste as a low-cost substrate is used to produce enzymes, mitigate the market demand, and reduce the production cost. Besides, this action helps in decreasing organic w...

Many studies have documented dietary habits and resource competition among sympatric amphibians, but few have focused on anuran diets in paddy fields. We studied the dietary habits of five sympatric amphibian species in the lowland paddy fields of Nepal. We extracted 685 prey items belonging to 13 major prey categories. The most frequent prey belon...

Glucose isomerase (GI) is an enzyme with high potential applications. Characterization of glucose isomerase producing bacteria with interesting properties from an industrial point of view is essential. Bacillus sp., Paenarthrobacter sp., Chryseobacterium sp., Hymenobacter sp., Mycobacterium sp., and Stenotrophomonas sp. were isolated from soil samp...

Microalgae have the potential to grow in nutrient-rich environments and have the ability to accumulate nutrients from wastewater. The nutrients in malting wastewater are ideal for microalgae cultivation. However, there is limited published work on the growth characteristics of freshwater microalgae grown in malting effluent. This study examined the...

Protected areas are considered important for biodiversity conservation, however, studies have shown that habitats outside protected areas can also support high diversity and are important for biodiversity conservation. In this context, we compared the bird diversity between protected (Rani Taal in Shuklaphanta National Park) and non-protected (Sati...

Chrysotila dentata is an ecologically important marine alga contributing to the coccolith formation. In this study, a complete chloroplast (cp DNA) genome of Chrysotila dentata was sequenced by using Illumina Hiseq and was analyzed with the help of a bioinformatics tool CPGAVAS2. The circular chloroplast genome of Chrysotila dentata has a size of 1...

Western Nepal is known for its rich freshwater resources that support diverse flora and fauna. Freshwater ecosystems of western Nepal provide multitudes of ecosystem goods, services (irrigation, hydroelectricity, drinking water) to humans, and provide breeding and feeding grounds for many wetland-dependent flora and fauna. But these wetlands are un...

Hydrogen is a promising alternative to fossil fuels because of its environment-friendly characteristics. It has been used widely in varied sectors such as chemical production, electronic devices, food industries, desulfurization of crude oil, and steel industries. Due to its increasing use and demand, it is essential to develop a cheaper and energy...

The increase in human population with the increase in nutritional awareness for fruits and vegetables consumption is forcing toward higher production and supply of fruits and vegetables. However, some sorts of food processing steps are involved before human consumption which is essential for preserving the properties of those fruits and vegetables....

Amphibians are declining worldwide. At the same time, each year many species of amphibians are described, indicating that biological diversity on Earth remains poorly understood. This is especially true for mountainous regions, such as the Himalayas, which are also regarded as a biodiversity hotspot. However, it is most likely that the current dive...

Pectinases are a group of enzymes with broad application, including in plant fiber processing , pectic wastewater treatment, paper pulping, fruit juice extraction, and clarification. With an increasing industrial demand for these enzymes, it is useful to isolate organisms that produce large amounts of pectinase and possess wide ranges of stability...

Studying the pattern of species richness is crucial in understanding the diversity and distribution of organisms in the earth. Climate and human influences are the major driving factors that directly influence the large‐scale distributions of plant species, including gymnosperms. Understanding how gymnosperms respond to climate, topography, and hum...

Understanding the thermal ecology of active amphibians, as well as its relationship with habitat and environmental features, is a central theme in ecology. However, this topic has been poorly studied in eastern Himalaya, which is a global biodiversity hotspot. To bridge this gap, we investigated how the body temperatures of active amphibians varied...

A new species, Amolops mahabharatensis sp. nov., is described from Mahabharat range (middle mountain) of Nepal. The new species is a member of the A. marmoratus group and is distinguished from its congeners using morphological and molecular data. The new species is diagnosed by having numerous warts on dorsum and flanks, dorsal body greyish olive-b...

L’ADN mitocondrial confirma la presència de Moschus leucogaster (Ruminantia, Moschidae) a l’Àrea de Conservació de Gaurishankar, Nepal El cérvol mesquer de ventre blanc (gènere Moschus), un mamífer amenaçat, no és només objecte de gran preocupació pel que fa a la conservació sinó també de gran interès per entendre les seves associacions taxonòmique...

This study investigated the systematics of the megophryid genus Scutiger from eastern and western Nepal using molecular and morphological data. Our results support two divergent lineages, one of which has nuptial spines on the dorsal surface of the first three fingers while the other has spines only on the dorsal surface of the first two fingers. T...

Background Species richness and composition pattern of amphibians along elevation gradients in eastern Nepal Himalaya are rarely investigated. This is a first ever study in the Himalayan elevation gradient, the world’s highest mountain range and are highly sensitive to the effects of recent global changes. The aim of the present study was to assess...

Musk deer Moschus spp. are endemic to the high mountain forests of central Asia. The taxonomic status of musk deer in the central and western Himalayas is poorly understood. We investigated the phylogenetic relationship of musk deer from the central and western Himalayas based on mitochondrial genomic data of Cytochrome b (380 bps) and D-loop (1000...

Gender mainstreaming is a key for achieving inclusive economic growth, poverty reduction and equitable development. A gender disaggregated analysis of changing livelihood activities is, therefore, crucial for devising gender-sensitive policies and programs. This paper presents a gender disaggregated analysis to assess trend and influencing factors...

An upsurge in anthropogenic impacts has hastened the decline of the red panda (Ailurus fulgens). The red panda is a global conservation icon, but holistic conservation management has been hampered by research being restricted to certain locations and population clusters. Building a comprehensive potential habitat map for the red panda is imperative...

Global climatic transitions and Tibetan Plateau uplifts are hypothesized to have profoundly impacted biodiversity in southeastern Asia. To further test the hypotheses related to the impacts of these incidents, we investigated the diversification patterns of the newt genus Tylototriton sensu lato , distributed across the mountain ranges of southeast...

Divergence times within Salamandridae and fossil calibrations (C1–C4) for dating analyses The tree was resulted from the topology-constrained Beast analysis. Fossil calibrations C1–C4 were given in materials for details. Grey bars at nodes show 95% highest posterior density intervals of divergence times.

Lineage through time plots for different lineage delimitating strategies based on 10,000 simulated trees under different sampling fractions Different lineage delimitating strategies: GMYC, 39 statistically inferred coalescent lineages using the Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent method; NS, 23 currently nominal species; and NSP, 23 NS plus four inde...

Primers for PCR and sequencing in this study

Testing diversification models in the genus Tylototriton s.l. using birth–death likelihood Different lineage delimitating strategies: GMYC, 39 statistically inferred coalescent lineages using the Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent method; NS, 23 currently nominal species; NSP, 23 NS plus four independent lineages representing putative cryptic specie...

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Microhyla taraiensis from Eastern Nepal was sequenced. The genome has a typical gene order identical to most of other anuran species. The entire mtDNA of this species, 16,764 bp in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a control region. Phylogenetic relationships was co...

Access to embryonic developmental stages is essential basic work for understanding how organisms develop. In this study, seven egg clutches (range 209–564 eggs) of ornamented pygmy frog Microhyla fissipes (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae) were obtained from seven breeding pairs in laboratory. One egg clutch of them was observed for the embryonic deve...

Understanding household livelihood strategies is pivotal to minimize rural poverty in the least developed countries like Nepal. This study is an attempt to assess livelihood strategies pursued by rural households, investigate the most remunerative strategy, and identify the factors that influence a household's choice of better strategies in rural N...

A new species of the genus Microhyla is described from Jamun Khadi, Jhapa district of eastern Nepal, based on molecular and morphological comparisons. This species is the sister taxon of Microhyla ornata and can be distinguished by a unique vocalization, morphology and molecular phylogeny. The uncorrected genetic divergences based on rRNA gene betw...

Anuran frogs are often considered generalist predators in rice fields and feed upon a variety of invertebrates. They may thus provide an invaluable ecosystem service, as many species belonging to the orders coleoptera, lepidoptera, orthoptera, homoptera and hemiptera are regarded as notorious rice pests, inflicting significant losses on rice produc...

A new species of the genus Tylototriton is described from eastern Himalaya based on molecular and morphological comparisons. The new species is diagnosable from the closely-related species by having light brown colouration in dorsal region in life, flat and blunt snout, greatly separated dorsolateral bony ridges on head and straight-thick tailfin....

We examined anuran frog assemblages along an elevational gradient in the range of 200–1600 m.a.s.l. in Chitwan, Nepal. Using diurnal and nocturnal transect surveys, we investigated patterns of frog species richness and abundance on the southern and northern slopes of Siraichuli hill. A total of 17 frog species of four families were recorded during...

In Nepal, the biology and conservation status of Varanus flavescens is poorly known. Hence we undertook direct visual and indirect (questionnaire) surveys to assess the presence of monitor lizards across four areas of Chitwan to aid in assessing their conservation status. The species was reported present in all four surveyed areas. Mostly, the spec...