Melatonin and serotonin are important signaling and stress mitigating molecules that play important roles across growth and development in plants. Despite many well‐documented responses, a systematic ...investigation of the entire metabolic pathway (tryptophan, tryptamine, and N‐acetylserotonin) does not exist, leaving many open questions. The objective of this study was to determine the responses of Hypericum perforatum (L.) to melatonin, serotonin, and their metabolic precursors. Two well‐characterized germplasm lines (#4 and 112) created by mutation and a haploid breeding program were compared to wild type to identify specific responses. Germplasm line 4 has lower regenerative and photosynthetic capacity than either wild type or line 112, and there are documented significant differences in the chemistry and physiology of lines 4 and 112. Supplementation of the culture media with tryptophan, tryptamine, N‐acetylserotonin, serotonin, or melatonin partially reversed the regenerative recalcitrance and growth impairment of the germplasm lines. Quantification of phytohormones revealed crosstalk between the indoleamines and related phytohormones including cytokinin, salicylic acid, and abscisic acid. We hypothesize that melatonin and serotonin function in coordination with their metabolites in a cascade of phytochemical responses including multiple pathways and phytohormone networks to direct morphogenesis and protect photosynthesis in H. perforatum.
Bacterial biofilms represent a major form of microbial life on Earth and serve as a model active nematic system, in which activity results from growth of the rod-shaped bacterial cells. In their ...natural environments, ranging from human organs to industrial pipelines, biofilms have evolved to grow robustly under significant fluid shear. Despite intense practical and theoretical interest, it is unclear how strong fluid flow alters the local and global architectures of biofilms. Here, we combine highly time-resolved single-cell live imaging with 3D multiscale modeling to investigate the mechanisms by which flow affects the dynamics of all individual cells in growing biofilms. Our experiments and cell-based simulations reveal three quantitatively different growth phases in strong external flow and the transitions between them. In the initial stages of biofilm development, flow induces a downstream gradient in cell orientation, causing asymmetrical dropletlike biofilm shapes. In the later developmental stages, when the majority of cells are sheltered from the flow by the surrounding extracellular matrix, buckling-induced cell verticalization in the biofilm core restores radially symmetric biofilm growth, in agreement with predictions of a 3D continuum model.
Mass screening and treatment (MSaT) aims at reducing the spread of malaria in communities by identifying and treating infected persons regardless of the symptoms. This study was conducted to identify ...and treat asymptomatic cases using MSaT approaches in the community.
Three rounds of MSaT using cluster combination approaches were carried out during September 2018 to December 2019 to identify and treat asymptomatic malaria cases in the community. All individuals who were present in the household were screened using RDT irrespective of malaria related symptoms. Simultaneously thick and thin blood smear and blood spot were collected for further analysis using microscopy and diagnostic PCR done in a subset of the samples.
Logistic regression analysis revealed that asymptomatic malaria cases significantly less among the older age groups compared with < 5 years children (OR ranged between 0.52 and 0.61; p < 0.05), lowest in cluster 4 (OR = 0.01; p < 0.0001); during third round of MSaT survey (OR = 0.11; p < 0.0001) and significantly higher in moderate to high endemic areas (OR = 88.30; p < 0.0001).
Over the three rounds of MSaT, the number of asymptomatic cases were significantly less in the older age groups, and during third round. Similarly, the asymptomatic cases were significantly less in the low endemic area with API < 1 (cluster four). Therefore, the malaria elimination programme may consider the MSaT strategy to identify asymptomatic cases that would be otherwise missed by routine fever based surveillance. This MSaT strategy would help accomplish the malaria elimination goal in an expedited manner.
Because traditional synthesis methods pose great hazards for the environment, there is a need to develop biomimetic processes for the treatment of industrial effluents and contaminated water in which ...the use of plant parts is an important alternative. Zerovalent iron nanoparticles having an average size of 59.08 ± 7.81 nm were prepared by mixing ferric nitrate with liquor of commercially available tea. Stirring of contaminated water with zerovalent iron nanoparticles supported on montmorillonite K10 for 30 min resulted in up to 99% removal of arsenic as As(III) from its solution at both high and low pH. It was also observed that, under similar conditions, montmorillonite K10 alone provided only <10% removal of As(III) from water. Adsorption at low pH with precipitation at higher pH has been proposed for As(III) removal. IR, XRD, SEM, and surface area studies were performed to confirm the reported results.
The present study deals with whole genome analysis of
, a wilt causing pathogen of pigeon pea. The
assembly identified a total of 16,179 protein-coding genes, of which 11,892 genes (73.50%) were ...annotated using BlastP and 8,928 genes (55.18%) from KOG annotation. In addition, 5,134 unique InterPro domains were detected in the annotated genes. Apart from this, we also analyzed genome sequence for key pathogenic genes involved in virulence, and identified 1,060 genes (6.55%) as virulence genes as per the PHI-BASE database. The secretome profiling of these virulence genes indicated the presence of 1,439 secretory proteins. Of those, an annotation of 506 predicted secretory proteins through CAZyme database indicated maximum abundance of Glycosyl hydrolase (GH, 45%) family proteins followed by auxiliary activity (AA) family proteins. Interestingly, the presence of effectors for cell wall degradation, pectin degradation, and host cell death was found. The genome comprised approximately 895,132 bp of repetitive elements, which includes 128 long terminal repeats (LTRs), and 4,921 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) of 80,875 bp length. The comparative mining of effector genes among different
species revealed five common and two specific effectors in
that are related to host cell death. Furthermore, wet lab experiment validated the presence of effector genes like
(for Secreted in Xylem). We conclude that deciphering the whole genome of
would be instrumental in understanding evolution, virulence determinants, host-pathogen interaction, possible control strategies, ecological behavior, and many other complexities of the pathogen.
The genetic diversity in Plasmodium falciparum antigens is a major hurdle in developing an effective malaria vaccine. Protective efficacy of the vaccine is dependent on the polymorphic alleles of the ...vaccine candidate antigens. Therefore, we investigated the genetic diversity of the potential vaccine candidate antigens i.e. msp-1, msp-2, glurp, csp and pfs25 from field isolates of P.falciparum and determined the natural immune response against the synthetic peptide of these antigens. Genotyping was performed using Sanger method and size of alleles, multiplicity of infection, heterogeneity and recombination rate were analyzed. Asexual stage antigens were highly polymorphic with 55 and 50 unique alleles in msp-1 and msp-2 genes, respectively. The MOI for msp-1 and msp-2 were 1.67 and 1.28 respectively. A total 59 genotype was found in glurp gene with 8 types of amino acid repeats in the conserved part of RII repeat region. The number of NANP repeats from 40 to 44 was found among 55% samples in csp gene while pfs25 was found almost conserved with only two amino acid substitution site. The level of genetic diversity in the present study population was very similar to that from Asian countries. A higher IgG response was found in the B-cell epitopes of msp-1 and csp antigens and higher level of antibodies against csp B-cell epitope and glurp antigen were recorded with increasing age groups. Significantly, higher positive responses were observed in the csp antigen among the samples with ≥42 NANP repeats. The present finding showed extensive diversity in the asexual stage antigens.
Abstract
Background
Low-density malaria infections (LDMI) are defined as infections that are missed by the rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and/or microscopy which can lead to continued transmission and ...poses a challenge in malaria elimination efforts. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of LDMI in febrile cases using species-specific nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests in the Malaria Elimination Demonstration Project, where routine diagnosis was conducted using RDT.
Methods
Every 10th fever case from a cross-sectional community based fever surveillance was tested with RDT, microscopy and nested PCR. Parasite DNA was isolated from the filter paper using Chelex based method. Molecular diagnosis by nested PCR was performed targeting 18SrRNA gene for
Plasmodium
species.
Results
The prevalence of malaria was 2.50% (436/17405) diagnosed by PCR, 1.13% (196/17405) by RDT, and 0.68% (118/ 17,405) by microscopy. Amongst 17,405 febrile samples, the prevalence of LDMI was 1.51% (263/17405) (95% CI 1.33–1.70), which were missed by conventional methods. Logistic regression analysis revealed that illness during summer season OR = 1.90 (p < 0.05) and cases screened within three days of febrile illness OR = 5.27 (p < 0.001) were the statistically significant predictors of LDMI.
Conclusion
The prevalence of malaria among febrile cases using PCR was 2.50% (436/17405) as compared to 1.13% (196/17405) by RDT. Higher number of the LDMI cases were found in subjects with ≤ 3 days mean duration of reported fever, which was statistically significant (p < 0.001). This observation suggests that an early detection of malaria with a more sensitive diagnostic method or repeat testing of the all negative cases may be useful for curtailing malaria transmission. Therefore, malaria elimination programme would benefit from using more sensitive and specific diagnostic methods, such as PCR.
The human pathogen Vibrio cholerae grows as biofilms, communities of cells encased in an extracellular matrix. When growing in biofilms, cells compete for resources and space. One common competitive ...mechanism among Gram-negative bacteria is the type six secretion system (T6SS), which can deliver toxic effector proteins into a diverse group of target cells, including other bacteria, phagocytic amoebas, and human macrophages. The response regulator VxrB positively regulates both biofilm matrix and T6SS gene expression. Here, we directly observe T6SS activity within biofilms, which results in improved competition with strains lacking the T6SS. VxrB significantly contributes to both attack and defense via T6SS, while also influencing competition via regulation of biofilm matrix production. We further determined that both
polysaccharide (VPS) and the biofilm matrix protein RbmA can protect cells from T6SS attack within mature biofilms. By varying the spatial mixing of predator and prey cells in biofilms, we show that a high degree of mixing favors T6SS predator strains and that the presence of extracellular DNA in V. cholerae biofilms is a signature of T6SS killing. VxrB therefore regulates both T6SS attack and matrix-based T6SS defense, to control antagonistic interactions and competition outcomes during mixed-strain biofilm formation.
This work demonstrates that the Vibrio cholerae type six secretion system (T6SS) can actively kill prey strains within the interior of biofilm populations with substantial impact on population dynamics. We additionally show that the response regulator VxrB contributes to both T6SS killing and protection from T6SS killing within biofilms. Components of the biofilm matrix and the degree of spatial mixing among strains also strongly influence T6SS competition dynamics. T6SS killing within biofilms results in increased localized release of extracellular DNA, which serves as an additional matrix component. These findings collectively demonstrate that T6SS killing can contribute to competition within biofilms and that this competition depends on key regulators, matrix components, and the extent of spatial population mixture during biofilm growth.
The aim of our study was to evaluate the success of distraction osteogenesis in temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis patients with facial deformities at our maxillofacial unit; assess the ...psychosocial and well-being outcomes of distraction osteogenesis and its impact on oral health; and discriminate the differences in quality of life (QoL) with application of external or internal devices, unilateral or bilateral, linear or multivector, and maxillomandibular or mandibular distraction.
QoL and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) were prospectively studied in 42 consecutive patients with facial deformities, planned for maxillofacial distraction osteogenesis, using 2 validated questionnaires, the Orthognathic Quality of Life Questionnaire and OHIP-14. Patients who had undergone any previous surgeries were excluded.
Among these patients, 16 were female, 26 male; mean age was 14.98 ± 4.88 years, and all had prearthroplastic distraction. The shortening in the mandible was in the proportion 29:01:12 in the body, ramus, and ramus-body, respectively. Mean QoL scores before and after distraction were 68.52 ± 9.50 and 26.62 ± 3.51; and mean OHIP scores before and after distraction were 33.88 ± 6.26 and 15.36 ± 2.54, a highly significant difference (P < .001) suggesting improvement. Significant improvement was identified on all QoL and OHIP questions after distraction (P < .01). The postdistraction overall mean QoL score among patients with extraoral or intraoral distractor did not have a significant difference (P = .32), but facial appearance in the bilateral distraction group; jaw function and overall well-being in the multivector distraction group; and facial appearance, jaw function, and overall well-being in maxillomandibular distraction group had significant improvements (P < .05).
Distraction osteogenesis considerably improves oral health and health-related QoL in patients with TMJ ankylosis with facial deformities. The use of an external or internal distractor did not make any difference in the QoL; however, bilateral distraction, multivector distraction, and maxillomandibular distraction resulted in better QoL outcomes.
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