Search Results (342)

Modern society is becoming more and more reluctant to use antibiotic or chemical compounds in food production and is demanding foods without what they perceive as artificial and harmful chemicals, including many used as antimicrobials and preservatives in food. Another big problem is the improper use of antibiotics, especially broad-spectrum ones, which has significantly contributed to increased antibiotic resistance in many microorganisms. As a consequence, the whole scientific world has recently concentrated numerous studies on the research of natural remedies capable of counteracting multidrug-resistant strains and fighting infections: the use of aromatic plants and their essential oils (EOs) as potential alternatives to conventional antimicrobials to extend shelf life and combat foodborne pathogens has heightened. Among EOs, sage and lavender have also been promoted for their potential antimicrobial capabilities. In this review, we summarize the latest research studies performed about sage and lavender EOs, focusing on their chemical composition and their biological and antimicrobial properties; the aim is to give an overview of the current knowledge about their major components, effectiveness, mechanisms of action, synergistic effects and use in foods to facilitate a widespread application in both food and pharmaceuticals industries. Full article

Background. Among invasive fungal infection pathogens, Candida spp. represent the most common aetiological agents. The increasing rate of severe infections and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance highlight the importance of in vitro susceptibility testing. The EUCAST and the CLSI have established reference microdilutions that are reliable but difficult to apply in a laboratory routine. Commercial microdilutions could represent a valuable alternative within a diagnostic workflow. Methods. A number of 50 Candida spp. collected from positive blood samples simultaneously underwent the Sensititre Yeast-One microdilution as a standard susceptibility test and the Micronaut-AM as an experimental method. A comparison between the two techniques was produced, evaluating the effectiveness of the Micronaut-AM compared to the extensively consolidated Sensititre Yeast-One. Results. The two techniques revealed optimal agreement rates, confirming the reliability of the commercial microdilution kits within the diagnostic workflows. The results showed remarkable concordance for both susceptible and resistant isolates, highlighting slight variations in the different identified Candida species. Conclusions. Future studies about antifungal susceptibility testing should be encouraged, including molecular confirmation of possible resistance phenotypes and extended isolate numbers for the different Candida species. Moreover, it would be interesting to plan clinical trials after the execution of the examined commercial microdilution methods. Full article

Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is still endemic in the Republic of Congo. Although the incidence of cases has significantly decreased over years, the disease still persists in some active foci. Factors contributing to the maintenance of the disease such as the existence of an animal reservoir or population knowledge are still not well known. It is in this context that a study focusing on the knowledge and practices of the population with regard to HAT as well as on the prevalence of trypanosomes infecting animals was undertaken in three active HAT foci in the Republic of Congo. The study was performed using field surveys conducted from November 2019 to June 2021. Domestic animal blood was examined by microscopy and PCR to detect the presence of trypanosomes. A structured questionnaire was administered to the population to assess their knowledge and practices concerning HAT in these endemic foci. More than half of the animals examined were found to be infected with trypanosomes (51.22%). The main trypanosome species infecting animals were Trypanosoma congolense savannah (67.2%) and Trypanosoma brucei (s.l.) (32.8%). No trypanosomes infecting humans were detected. Concerning household surveys, more than half of the respondents (52.9%) were fully aware of the mode of transmission and symptoms of the disease. The majority of people preferred to wear clothes covering the whole body and to use locally made soap as repellents to protect themselves from tsetse fly bites. This study suggests frequent circulation of animal trypanosomes in domestic animals and the use of personal measures to protect against tsetse fly bites. Updating information on the HAT animal reservoir and population knowledge alongside regular monitoring of the tsetse fly populations and the use of traps to control tsetse flies are crucial to drive efforts towards the elimination of gHAT in the Republic of Congo. Full article

Dye-polluted wastewater poses a serious threat to humans’, animals’ and plants’ health, and to avoid these health risks in the future, the treatment of wastewater containing dyes is necessary before its release to environment. Herein, a biological approach is used; the textile azo dye brown 703 is degraded utilizing Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The bacterial strain was isolated from textile wastewater dumping sites in Mingora, Swat. The optimization for bacterial degradation was carried out on the nutrient broth medium, which was then subjected to a variety of environmental physicochemical conditions and nutritional source supplementation before being tested. Under micro-aerophilic circumstances, the maximum decolorization and degradation of dye occurred at a 20 ppm dye concentration within 3 days of incubation at a neutral pH and 38 °C. The decrease in the intensity of the absorbance peak in the UV–Vis spectrum was used to measure the extent of decolorization. Initially, 15 bacterial strains were isolated from the textile effluent. Out of these strains, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was found to be the most potent degrading bacteria, with a degradation extent of around 71.36% at optimum conditions. The appearance and disappearance of some new peaks in the FT-IR analysis after the degradation of brown 703 showed that the dye was degraded by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The GC–MS analysis performed helped in identifying the degraded compounds of azo dye that were utilized in illustrating the under-study process of brown 703 degradation. The biodegradation brought about by Pseudomonas aeruginosa can be employed successfully in the future as an eco-friendly approach with far reaching results. Full article

The genus Laurencia, a category of marine red algae, is well recognized for producing a large variety of natural products (NPs) that are both chemically intriguing and structurally distinct. The aim of this research was to identify NPs with potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. The crystals of the proteins RdRp and nsp15 were obtained from the RCSB protein database. About 300 NPs were discovered using the PubChem, ChemSpider, and CMNPD databases. The program Autodock Vina was used to conduct the molecular docking procedure once the proteins and ligands were prepared. Before running MD simulations using the CABS-flex 2.0 website, binding affinity assessments and interactions between amino acids were carefully reviewed. Only nine NPs were shortlisted to be examined further. Bromophycolide R, S, and bromophycoic acid C show the tendency to inhibit RdRp by β-hairpin motif binding at the N-terminal known as Active site 2 (AS2), whereas the other four NPs, bromophycolide E, H, P, and thyrsenol A, may effectively inhibit RdRp through interactions via C-terminal, also known as the Active site 1 (AS1). For the enzyme nsp15, bromophycoic B, C, and floridoside showed plausible interactions. In conclusion, out of nine, seven candidates shortlisted for RdRp exhibited strong interactions with the key residues in the AS1 and AS2 regions. Bromophycoic acid C may work as a dual inhibitor due to its favorable interactions with the nsp15 protein and RdRp’s N-terminal, with affinities of −8.5 and −8.2 kcal/mol, respectively. Full article

Biomolecules of marine origin have many applications in the field of biotechnology and medicine, but still hold great potential as bioactive substances against different diseases. The purification or total synthesis of marine metabolites is expensive, and requires a reliable selection method to reveal their pharmaceutical potential prior to clinical validation. This study aimed to explore the hidden potential of natural products from the gorgonian genus Antillogorgia as anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents, via binding affinity assessments and molecular dynamics (MDs) simulations. The three-dimensional protein structures of the nsp16–nsp10 complex, nsp13, and nsp14 were acquired from the RCSB PDB database. All 165 natural products (NPs) were discovered using the PubChem, ChemSpider, and CMNPD databases. The freeware Autodock Vina was used to conduct the molecular docking procedure, once the proteins and ligands were prepared using BIOVIA discovery studio and Avogadro software v1.95. Before running MDs simulations using the CABS-flex 2.0 website, the binding affinity assessments and amino acid interactions were carefully examined. Just twelve NPs were selected, and five of those NPs interacted optimally with the catalytic amino acids of proteins. To conclude, pseudopterosin A (−8.0 kcal/mol), seco-pseudopterosin A (−7.2 kcal/mol), sandresolide B (−6.2 kcal/mol), elisabatin A (−7.0 kcal/mol), and elisapterosin A (−10.7 kcal/mol) appeared to be the most promising candidates against the nsp16–nsp10, nsp13, and nsp14 proteins. Full article

The plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea (B. cinerea) causes severe plant diseases worldwide. Trichoderma is widely used as a biocontrol agent against B. cinerea through multiple biocontrol mechanisms. However, Trichoderma spp. with high biocontrol efficiency against B. cinerea under low-temperature conditions are barely reported. This study aimed to find potential low-temperature resistance biocontrol Trichoderma spp. against B. cinerea, and to characterize the biological principles underlying the activity of Trichoderma. Trichoderma koningiopsis (T. koningiopsis) C5-9 could fully overgrow a B. cinerea colony at 16 °C in a dual-culture assay. Treatment of cucumber leaves with T. koningiopsis C5-9 fermentation broth using the dipping method prior to B. cinerea inoculation significantly reduced the necrotic lesion diameter, with an inhibition rate of 55.30%. T. koningiopsis C5-9 could be successfully cultivated using the mycelia of B. cinerea as a carbon source at 16 °C. Transcriptomic analysis indicated that the origin recognition complex, organic substance catabolic process, and peroxisome were involved in the responses of T. koningiopsis C5-9 to B. cinerea. The findings of this study not only identified T. koningiopsis C5-9 as a potential biological control agent inhibiting B. cinerea under low-temperature conditions, but also provided new insights to develop a deeper understanding of the activity of Trichoderma against B. cinerea for plant protection. Full article

L-methioninase is an enzyme that has recently gained significant interest in the scientific community because of its potential as a targeted therapy for cancer. This study aims to isolate and identify extremophilic bacteria that could produce L-methioninase and to access the enzymatic potential of isolated bacteria under stress conditions, specifically in agro-industrial waste. In this study, a rare marine bacterium, Alcaligenes aquatilis BJ-1, exhibited the highest specific activity of 4.61 U/mg at an optimum pH of 8.3. The L-methioninase was purified 4.3-fold and 7.15-fold by acetone precipitation and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration chromatography, which revealed a molecular weight of 46 kDa. In addition, agriculture waste materials such as cottonseed oil cake had the highest L-methioninase production. Moreover, A. aquatilis BJ-1 can tolerate and produce enzymes in the presence of 10% NaCl, 6% KCl, and 4% MgSO₄. Similarly, substrates such as L-asparagine, L-glutamine, L-alanine, and L-tyrosine were found suitable to increase enzyme production. The strain produced L-methioninase in the presence of various heavy metals. Maximum enzyme activity was found in Zn²⁺ at 0.1% (2.52 U/mL), Li²⁺ at 0.03% (2.90 U/mL), and Ni²⁺ at 0.01% (2.78 U/mL), as compared to the control (2.23 U/mL) without metal. Enzyme production was also observed at a high temperature (60 °C), with the produced enzymes possessing antioxidant properties. In addition, no hemolytic activity was observed. The results indicate that A. aquatilis BJ-1 is an appropriate bacterium for metal bioremediation procedures in unfavorable circumstances. Full article

When worn, clothing acquires a microbiome of bacteria and fungi derived from the wearer’s skin and from the environment. The types of bacteria and fungi that may be recovered from clothing in healthcare settings have been well characterized, but less is known regarding the microbiome of clothing worn in non-healthcare settings and the possible roles that such clothing may play in microbial exchange. Culture-based methods and culture-independent genomic sequencing were used to enumerate and identify bacteria and fungi recovered from T-shirts, baby onesies, socks, and underwear worn for a single day after having been purchased new, washed, and dried. The highest bacterial loads were recovered from socks, underwear, and onesies (>10⁶ colony-forming units [cfu]/sample) and the highest fungal loads were obtained from socks and underwear (>5 × 10² cfu/sample). The sequencing method identified opportunistic pathogens present in the samples, including members of genus Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium, as well as anaerobic members of the family Clostridiales. The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida parapsilosis was identified in a high proportion of worn clothing samples. These results suggest that clothing may represent a pathogen reservoir and a vector for microbial exchange between household occupants or the community outside of the home. Full article

The effect of climate change on flora and fauna has been widely discussed for years. However, its consequences on microorganisms are generally poorly considered. The main effect of climate change on microbiota is related to biodiversity changes in different regions of the planet, mainly due to variations in temperature. These alterations are resulting in a worldwide (re)distribution of pathogens, which was not considered a few years ago. They mainly affect different food chain sectors (such as agriculture, livestock and fishing), as well as human health. Hence, the spread of numerous animal and plant pathogens has been observed in recent years from south to north (especially in America, Europe and Asia), leading to the spread of numerous plant and animal diseases, which results in economic and ecological losses. In addition, global warming that accompanies climate change could also be related to emerging antibiotic resistance. However, the mitigation of climate change goes hand in hand with microorganisms, which can help us through different natural and industrial processes. Thus, this manuscript presents the direct and indirect effects of climate change on microorganisms described up to date and how they act on this worldwide phenomenon. Full article

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) has a major impact on morbidity and mortality worldwide. The viral aetiology of diarrhoeal diseases may remain unknown due to limited diagnostic facilities. Non-polio enteroviruses (NPEVs) are the third most frequent pathogen detected in stool specimens from AGE cases, yet their potential role in AGE is uncertain. In Nepal, limited data are available on NPEVs, due to both the lack of an adequate surveillance program and the availability of tests. The global polio eradication initiative effort of the WHO has eradicated the incidence of poliomyelitis and acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) from many parts of the world, including Nepal. However, cases of AFP associated with NPEVs have been reported in different countries, including the neighbouring India. This study aims to investigate the diarrhoeal stool samples from a birth cohort until the age of 36 months for NPEVs and the genotype diversity of NPEV in community children with diarrhoea. A total of 280 longitudinal diarrhoeal stool samples that were negative for other enteric pathogens were tested using RT-PCRs. NPEVs was detected in 97 stool specimens (34.6%) and were significantly more frequent in infants up to one year of age. This study identified 17 various NPEV types, with the dominating species being Enterovirus B (EV-B). Ten different types of echoviruses were recorded in this study, with the two rare NPEVs B74 and A120. Based on prevalence, seasonality, and diversity, further studies are warranted to investigate the role of enterovirus in diarrhoeal disease. Full article

Among plant disease management strategies, biological control is a sustainable alternative to the use of chemicals for the control of vascular wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum. Fusarium wilt is the most devastating disease affecting a wide variety of plants. Bacillus species are the most widely used biological control candidates for the control of these fungal diseases. This review describes the pathogenicity of F. oxysporum, its virulence mechanisms, and host plant–pathogen interactions. The control means deployed by Bacillus species inhibit or kill these phytopathogens. Bacillus spp. produce a wide range of secondary metabolites, including volatile and non-volatile organic compounds. Biocontrol potential is achieved through direct antimicrobial activity, the induction of the host plant’s immune response (Induced Systemic Resistance), and competition for nutrients and space. In addition, parameters governing the selection of effective biocontrol agents and their survival in plant microbial communities are discussed. The influence of the microbiota on the establishment and development of biocontrol agents can assess the potential of these treatments and facilitate the development of effective biopesticides during their field application. Full article

Brucellosis is a bacterial zoonosis worldwide and a potential health risk in Pakistan due to socio-economic reasons and lack of awareness, veterinary health and modern dairy-processing facilities. The aim of this study was to determine the burden of brucellosis in hospitalized patients of selected districts of Punjab, Pakistan. To this end, a total of 280 serum samples were collected from suspected patients in districts Lahore, Okara and Khushab between 2016 and 2018. Anti-Brucella antibodies were detected in 89 (31.8%) sera by Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT), and Brucella abortus DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 42 (15%) samples. In univariable analysis, the seroprevalence varied significantly (p < 0.05) between districts with Lahore indicating 41/101 (40.6%) Odds ratio (OR) = 53.98 (7.22–403.67; 95% CI), Okara 47/99 (47.5%) OR = 71.4 (9.55–533.65; 95% CI) and Khushab 1/80 (1.3%) as reference. Similarly, exposure to aborted materials and a history of blood transfusion did associate significantly (p < 0.05), posing OR = 2.91 (1.58–5.36; 95% CI) and OR = 4.48 (2.56–7.84; 95% CI) risk. However, consumption of raw milk and history of blood transfusion did associate significantly (p < 0.05) in multivariable analysis indicating OR = 1.91 (1.09–3.34; 95% CI) and OR = 4.92 (2.76–8.75; 95% CI), respectively. The association of history of blood transfusion as a brucellosis risk factor underscores the need to create brucellosis awareness programs both at public and institutional levels in the medical and veterinary fields, as well as facilities and capacity building to delve deeper into the epidemiology of brucellosis in the country. Particular attention should be paid to chronically infected patients. Therefore, laboratory modernization, standardization and validation of the diagnostic tests, and staff trainings are required. Finally, pasteurization of the milk is recommended before consumption. Full article

Penaeus spp. are the most cultivated type of shrimp because they have rapid growth and good adaptation to farming conditions. Due to diseases that result in high mortality and a decreased product quality, the cultivation of these shrimp globally, and in Cuba in particular, comes with the risk of significant financial losses. This study examined the effect of fructooligosaccharide (FOS, 1-kestose) on the growth and immune response of shrimp, as well as the multitude of Vibrio spp. and Pseudomonas spp. in Penaeus vannamei post-larvae under culture conditions. Fructooligosaccharide was applied in a completely randomized manner at a concentration of 0.4%, in both experimental groups with seventeen tanks each. In the results of this investigation, animals of greater weight (control 6.8 ± 0.2 mg; FOS 9.5 ± 0.3 mg; p < 0.001), length (control 1.1 ± 0.1 mm; FOS 1.3 ± 0.1 mm; p < 0.001), and survival (control 61.7% (95% CI of median 54.2–70.0); FOS 76.6% (95% CI of median 72.1–84.2); p < 0.001) were obtained when administered FOS relative to the control. An increase in the activity of proteases (p < 0.001), enzymes of the innate immune system such as phenoloxidase (p < 0.001), and lysozymes (p < 0.001) was observed, as well as an increase in the number of lectins (p < 0.001). Changes in the microbiota could be observed, with a reduction in Vibrio spp. and Pseudomonas spp. (control 2.4 × 10³ ± 0.5 × 10³; FOS 1.1 × 10² ± 0.3 × 10²; p < 0.001). FOS improves the quality of the post-larvae of P. vannamei as reflected in the length, weight, and survival of the animals. Moreover, FOS stimulates the P. vannamei immune system through the enzymatic activities of phenoloxidase, lysozyme, and a number of lectins. The reduction in the population load of Vibrio spp. and Pseudomonas spp. might be a consequence of the improvement in the quality and immune system of P. vannamei. Full article

We deal with various strains of Lactobacillus that can maintain the intestinal microbiome of rats treated with cyclophosphamide, an anticancer agent (chemotherapy). We use MiSeq and various types of statistical tests to prove that cyclophosphamide in rats alters the intestinal microbiome, favoring the growth of various fungi that are extremely harmful to intestinal metabolism. On the contrary, when Lactobacillus 3L is administered together with cyclophosphamide, we prove that the microbiome is preserved by having a much better intestinal metabolism. Full article