Molecular Identification and Phylogenetic relationship of Corvus splendens (Common House Crow) by Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene

The traditional taxonomic approach for identification of species and their phylogenetic relationship is handicapped due to its limitations. The present study is carried out to evaluate the genetic identification and phylogenetic status of Corvus splendens (Common house crow) using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1). We amplified 690bp region of COX I from crow specimens collected from seven cities of Punjab. The PCR product was got sequenced and submitted to NCBI. Multiple sequence alignment was done among 10 Pakistani specimens and 18 species of common crow belonging to different families obtained from GenBank database using Gyps indicus as an outgroup. Phylogenetic tree was constructed among various Crow species by Neighbor Joining method (NJ) in MEGA X. It shows that KAS2 & NAR2 were very similar and shared evolutionary relationship with Common house crow from India. While KAS3 and LHR5 showed very close resemblance and shared common ancestry with the NAR3. The relative time tree shows the SKT2 evolved earlier than BHR1, PKT2, BHR2 & GUJ3 while the later were evolved at the same time. Further, the entire crow species irrespective of regions evolved almost at the same time with very little time difference. The genetic distance among the Common house crow from different localities showed very low degree of sequence divergence despite long physical distances among them. Overall, our analysed Corvus splendens were closely related to each other and evolved at same time. Moreover, these crows were closely related to other crow species dispersed all over the world.

Biomonitoring of Toxic Metals in Feathers of Birds from North-Eastern Pakistan

The current study was designed to determine the concentrations of toxic metals (Ni, Pb and Cr) in feathers of birds collected from four regions of NE Pakistan. Feather samples of birds (House Crow, Common Myna and House Sparrow) were collected from different areas. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine the concentration of metals in feathers. Analysis of the data revealed that concentrations of Pb and Cr were significantly different (p < 0.05) among bird species, whereas no difference (p > 0.05) was detected among bird species (house crow, common myna and house sparrow) for Ni. A significant difference was found for the concentration of Pb and Ni in all the four studied regions. Whereas, non-significant difference was found in all the studied regions for the concentrating of Cr. It was revealed that there is significant rising concentration of metals (Pb, Cr) in feathers of birds in Azad Kashmir.

Impact of vehicular traffic on birds in Tiruchirappalli District, Tamil Nadu, India

Roads have numerous direct and indirect ecological impacts on wildlife. Roads constitute an extensive and integral part of our environment. Collisions with vehicles kill a large number of birds every year. The present study was carried out from January 2016 to December 2016. The data was collected from Nehru Memorial College to Pavithram Lake of Thuraiyur to Namakkal road of Musiri Taluk, Tiruchchirappalli District. During this study, we recorded a total of 64 birds belonging to 12 species killed due to vehicular traffic. A maximum of 11 birds were killed in the months of January and October, and a minimum of two bird kills were observed in the months of September and December. Of the 64 birds, the roadside mortality was observed to the tune of 25%, 20.3%, 14%, 12.5%, 10.9%, 4.6%, and 4.6% for Southern Coucal Centropus parroti, Common Myna Acridotheres tristis, House Crow Corvus splendens, Spotted Owlet Athene brama, Indian Jungle Crow Corvus culminatus, Yellow-billed Babbler Turdoides affinis, and Large Grey Babbler Turdoides malcolmi. Other birds such as Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus, Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis, Shikra Accipiter badius, White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus, and White-browed Bulbul Pycnonotus luteolus accounted for 1.5% mortality. Suggestive measures to prevent wildlife loss due to vehicular traffic are presented in this communication.

Exploration of Antibacterial Compounds from the Commiphora myrrha Through GC-MS and Their Evaluation Against the Bacteria Isolated from Corvus splendens

The Corvus splendens (Indian house crow) normally fed on the garbage therefore, they have many pathogenic bacteria, which can infect the human and cause severe infection in human irrespective to the gender, age and region. The bacteria samples were isolated from the faeces, blood lever, and intestines of the crows in Luria-Bertani (LB) agar plates. The culture plates were incubated at 37°C until the colonies were appeared. The colonies were identified morphologically and through molecular marker using 16S-rDNA. The Commiphora myrrha plant extract was used to determine the antibacterial activities against the pathogenic bacteria isolated from crows. The plant was crushed with 70% methanol and filtered. The filtrates were dried and dissolved in 100% methanol. Antibacterial activities of plant extracts were determined against the pathogenic bacteria isolated from crows. The results showed that the plant extracts were very effective against the pathogenic bacteria and showed 100% antibacterial activities. The plants extracts were analyzed for the characterization of different antimicrobial compound through gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The undecane, tetrasiloxane, hexadecanoic acid, heptasiloxane, benzocyclohepten and many other compounds. The antibacterial activities of the plant extracts were might be because of their compound which had been reported previously as well as an antimicrobial compound.