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Applications of Personalised Phage Therapy highlighting the importance of Bacteriophage Banks against Emerging Antimicrobial Resistance
Get PDFEmerging antibiotic resistance is one of the most important microbiological issues of the 21st century. This poses a query regarding the future use of antibiotics and availability of other promising therapeutic alternatives. The awareness about antibiotic misuse has improved insufficiently and is evident by the increased incidences of multidrug resistant infections globally. Amongst different antibacterial therapeutic approaches phage therapy has created a niche of its own due to continuous use for treatment of human infections in Eastern Europe. Synergistic compounds along with phages have also been proposed as a better alternative compared to antibiotics or phage alone for treatment of chronic cases and seriously debilitating diseases. As such, why not allow custom made phage therapy for treatment of chronic infections? However, the success of phage therapy will depend upon instant availability of characterised bacteriophages from bacteriophage banks which may serve as the major catalyst in bringing Phage Therapy to main stream treatment alternatives or in combination therapy at least. In the current article we present a glimpse of comprehensive approach about utility of bacteriophage banks and further present personalised phage therapy in a synergistic role with antibiotics to overcome emerging antimicrobial resistance
Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Aflatoxins in Dry Fruits and Nuts from Central India
Get PDFIn central part of India, dry fruits and nuts are mostly sold in loose conditions and hence may get fungal infections, and may have aflatoxins to the levels beyond the safe limits. The present study is an attempt to showcase the present scenario of aflatoxins in dry fruits and nuts from Central India, both qualitatively and quantatively. Out of 84 samples, 15 were found to have the presence of at least one aflatoxin. HPLC detection showed that AFB1 is the major aflatoxin. The total aflatoxins were found in the range of 25.4 - 393.51 μg kg-1, which is beyond the safe limit set by regulatory authorities. Further, dry figs were the most contaminated among tested dry fruits, and 5 out 12 samples (41.6%) were contaminated, followed by cashew nuts (33.3%). Samples sold in loose packing were found more contaminated with aflatoxins. The study advocates that selling of such dry fruits in loose form should be banned by the regulatory authorities
Enhanced Production of Recombinant Extractable Antigen (EA1) an Extracellular Protein and its use in Detection of Spores of Bacillus anthracis the Causative Agent of Anthrax
Get PDFDetection of spores of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax in human and animals in environment is cumbersome due to the presence of spores of other closely related Bacillus species. The Extractable Antigen 1 (EA1), an extracellular protein is considered as a biomarker for detection of B. anthracis spores. In the present work, we have cloned and expressed the recombinant EA1 protein in soluble form in Escherichia coli. Optimisation of culture conditions and cultivation media was carried out to achieve enhanced soluble expression of recombinant EA1 protein. Further, the batch fermentation process was also developed using optimised conditions for scale up production of recombinant EA1 protein. The final yield of protein purified employing affinity chromatography was 42.64 mg/l of culture during batch fermentation process. The polyclonal antibodies were raised against recombinant EA in rabbit and mice and used to develop an ELISA for detection of B. anthracis spores. The specificity of the developed assay was ascertained with spores of other Bacillus species. The results corroborated that the EA1 could be a suitable biomarker for detection of B. anthracis spores
Effects of Ionizing Radiation on Chromosome Replication and its Modification by HDAC Inhibitors
Get PDFIonizing radiation causes lethal injuries either directly or indirectly inducing damage to the biological macromolecules, most importantly the genetic material or DNA. Cells transiently halt their cell cycle progression to provide sufficient time for repair machinery to act on for the repair of radiation-induced DNA damages. This may include delay in replication or S-phase of cell cycle besides activating other cell cycle checkpoints. Multiple replicons (replicon cluster equivalent to a chromosome band) along the length of a chromosome fire in a definite pattern for the timely completion of replication. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) have been shown to alter the pattern of DNA replication origin activity including earlier replication in S-phase of normally late replicating chromosome bands. This may also indicate an acceleration of repair steps since DNA damage acts as an impediment for replication. Trichostatin A (TSA), a well-known HDACi, was studied for its effect on replication initiation using Indian Muntjac cell as a model. It was found that TSA treatment enhanced the replication rate and increased the number of replicon clusters firing at any given time per chromosome. It also compensated the decline of replication rate in irradiated cells, helped in their revival and brought them to the control level
Phytoconstituents of Zingiber officinale Targeting Host viral Protein Interaction at Entry Point of SARS CoV 2 A Molecular Docking Study
Get PDFCurrent COVID 19 outbreak is a critical issue in safeguarding public health worldwide. The lack of prophylactic drugs, vaccine and effective antiviral and other supporting therapies has prompted researchers to look for promising leads against the virus. Metabolic pathways and biochemicals involved in pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 can be targeted to find out effective inhibitor molecules acting at the entry point of infection. SARS-CoV-2 uses their Spike protein to dock at ACE2 and the serine protease, TMPRSS2 of host cell for Spike protein priming to get entry into the host cell. In the present study phytochemicals from Zingiber officinale were evaluated to find their binding with these proteins by conducting ligand-receptor binding docking study with AutoDockVina. The structures were observed by visualizing softwares Pymol to determine unique amino acids of receptor proteins. Physicochemical properties of phytochemicals and chemotherapeutic markers were assessed with Molinspiration tool. Docking study revealed that Gingerenone (-5.87 kcal/mol) and Zingiberene (-5.77 kcal/mol) have shown effective binding affinity towards ACE2. Shoagol (-5.72 kcal/mol), Zingerone (-5.79 kcal/mol) and Zingiberene (-5.52 kcal/mol) have shown higher binding with extracellular domain of serine protease TMPRSS2. Zingiberene scored significant binding energy of -6.23 kcal/mol with Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. This study provides an evidence base to the experiential learning about use of Zingiber officinale in microbial infections. Once further validated, it may lead to development of herbal based anti-viral adjuvants
Molecular Docking Unmasks Potent Phytoligands against SARS CoV 2 Spike Glycoprotein, Main Protease, Papain like Protease and RNA dependent RNA Polymerase
Get PDFThe recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has offered a unique challenge for human survival. However, there is no available known prophylaxis, therapeutic intervention, and vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 to date. We aimed towards identifying novel phytoligands from widely available botanical resources which could serve as potential inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2. Based on literature review, database search, ADMET, and drug-likeness, 55 phytoligands and 8 synthetic repurposing drugs were screened and tested against SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein, main protease, papain-like protease, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase using molecular docking and protein-ligand interaction. All phytoligands and repurposing drugs showed binding affinity based inhibitory potential against the viral proteins. The highest binding affinities of phytoligands towards antiviral targets were exhibited by colchicine and oleic acid, and that of repurposing drugs was shown by saquinavir and nelfinavir. Capsaicin, oleic acid, azithromycin, nelfinavir, remdesivir, and saquinavir were acted as plausible broad-spectrum inhibitors. Hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions of amino acids were varied significantly within the conserved domain along with glutamic acid richness. Further investigation should be carried out to obtain the synergistic effect using cell-based assays, animal models, and clinical trials to discover novel phytomedicine against SARS-CoV-2
Occurrence of Toxigenic Microcystis spp in Major Water Bodies of North East India
Get PDFToxigenic cyanobacterial blooms in the water bodies represent a major ecological problem around the world. Some species produces a diverse range of toxins that have hepatotoxic, neurotoxic, cytotoxic and dermatoxic activity and hence have deleterious effect on humans, animals and fishes leading to death as well. Cultural eutrophication of water bodies leads to increased incidence of these harmful cyanobacterial blooms worldwide. North-East India being a biodiversity hotspot harbor many species of cyanobacteria. Few reports suggested presence of few toxigenic cyanobacteria in the water bodies of Assam, but no systematic studies have been undertaken to evaluate their toxicity. This work is being conducted to gather information on major toxigenic cyanobacteria, with special emphasis to microcystin (a cyclic heptapeptides with high acute and chronic toxicities to humans and animals) producing strains. Water samples have been collected from few water bodies of North-East and enriched in specific media. The toxin Microcystin was detected using specific ELISA kit and positive results have been obtained. Further, 16s rDNA sequencing was employed for molecular identification of the strains
Adsorption Efficiency of Cement Impregnated Magnesium Oxide on the Removal of Fluoride
Get PDFPresence of fluoride in drinking water above the prescribed limit may lead to a severe health complication. We present in this paper the fluoride removal capacity of cement impregnated MgO (MgO-cement) from drinking water. MgO-cement was prepared by adding magnesium oxide (MgO) into the cement slurry solution in the ratio of 1:10. Batch experiments were performed as a function of adsorbent dose, contact time, effect of pH and effect of co-ions. The percentage removal decreases with increasing initial fluoride concentration. Co-ions effect revealed that hydroxide ion was found to interfere more with fluoride removal followed by bicarbonate and least effect with sulphate. Reaction mechanism follows Freundlich isotherms. From the kinetic study we observed that uptake of fluoride ion is fast in the first sixty minutes and equilibrium time found to be independent of the initial fluoride concentration. Adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo second order model showing that the sorption of fluoride is a complex process. Surface as well as intraparticle diffusion contribute in the sorption process. No leaching of magnesium in the treated water was detected
Wildlife Collisions to Aircraft in India: A Comparative Analysis of Hazardous Species Involved in Different Time Periods
Get PDFWildlife strikes (mainly birds, but also includes bats and other mammals on the ground) with aircraft isa serious economic and safety concern in the aviation industry. The solution to the problem can be evolved byidentifying the species involved in the incidents/ accidents. In the Indian context, such an attempt was started in1980. In the recent past, the Indian Air Force adopted the DNA Bar-coding technology to identify the species involved. The extent of the problems faced by the country and involvement of different species in various time blocks has been compared with the objective of analyzing changes over different periods to gauge the changes and assess the future requirements. The data indicates that over the years, the number of strikes has increased manifold in the civil aviation sector. The number of species involved in strikes has almost doubled. The serious strikes due to Vultures have nearly disappeared and their place has been mainly taken over by Black Kites. In the recent past, Black Kites are the cause of the highest damages and also have the highest probability of causing damages (61.17%) when struck. Adoption of DNA Barcoding technology has helped to identify the species in incidents where minimal bird remnants were found. Although the number of accidents has decreased, the economical losses continue to rise due to the high cost of modern aircraft
Growing Cauliflower in Winter under Passive Solar Greenhouse in Trans Himalayan Ladakh, India
Get PDFTraditionally cauliflower is not grown during winter months in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region due to sub-zero degree celsius at night. Accordingly, the feasibility of growing cauliflower, a temperature-sensitive crop, was studied during winter months in a passive solar greenhouse in the high altitude (elevation 3340 m) trans-Himalayan Ladakh region. Studies were conducted during 2017-2020 with three commercial varieties. Curd was formed in all the varieties despite the temperature extremes (0.0±1.6 to 39.5±0.9 ºC) in the greenhouse. Harvesting was done in the month of February. The mean marketable curd weight ranged from 258±113 to 743±62 g depending on variety and year, which suggested that cauliflower can be successfully grown during winter months in the trans-Himalaya. However, the marketable curd weight was significantly lower as compared to the yield potential of the varieties. High temperature inside the greenhouse resulted in the occurrence of fuzziness, and it ranged from 0-35% of the harvested curd depending on the year and variety. Fuzziness was not observed in cv Shentha while 10.4-35% of cv Amazing exhibited fuzziness