Advanced Research in Microbial Metabolite and Technology
Volume:5 Issue: 2, Summer-Autumn 2022

In the wake of extensive fossil fuel use and CO2 accumulation in the environment, biofuel production from microalgae may be more effective and leave a less environmental footprint. The nutritional and environmental factors and their interactions affect the growth performance and biochemical constitution of different microalgae. The behavior of microalgal cells in different culture scales depends on the mentioned factors. The present study evaluates the potential of two microalgae isolates, Picochlorum D8, and Chlorella S4, in different culture scales. High biomass and carbohydrate productivity were considered as important factors to identify the potent microalga. Acid-thermal pretreatment was applied to measure the carbohydrate concentration. The carbohydrate composition of selected microalga was investigated using thin-layer chromatography (TLC). According to the observations, Chlorella S4 exhibited the best dry biomass and carbohydrate productivity of 62 ± 6 mg/L/d and 19.16 ± 1.57 mg/L/d in a 200 L indoor open raceway pond, respectively. For Picochlorum D8, the highest biomass productivity of 26.24 ± 0.625 mg/L/d and carbohydrate productivity of 7.45 ± 0.53 mg/L/d were achieved in a 2 L Erlenmeyer flask. Based on TLC analysis, glucose, galactose, and xylose were detected as the main monosaccharides in Chlorella S4 hydrolysate. The current study demonstrated Chlorella S4’s capacity to produce biomass in a large-scale system. The relatively high carbohydrate content of this microalga makes it a promising raw material for potentially producing bioethanol.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial infections caused by several species of Enterobacteriaceae around the world. Due to the lack of accurate information on the bacterial agents of UTIs and to evaluate possible changes in their prevalence of antibiotic resistance, this descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the Bojnourd - Shirvan region of North Khorasan, Iran from April to March 2019 and 2021. In this regard, urine samples were collected from outpatients and inpatients referred to Imam Khomeini Shirvan Hospital, and their bacteria were isolated. The Isolates were identified using biochemical and microbiological tests, and their antibiotic susceptibility was determined using the disk diffusion method based on the standard protocols provided by the CLSIs. In the two years studied, the main infectious agents were Escherichia coli and Klebsiella sp, respectively. However, slight differences were found in the prevalence of other agents, such as Enterobacter, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, and Citrobacter sp. A comparison of the results of the two-period points showed that the pattern of prevalence and the type of infectious agents did not show any unexpected changes; however, there was a large increase in the resistance of Klebsiella sp. isolates causing UTIS to three antibiotics, including ceftriaxone (CRO), imipenem (IPM) and gentamicin (GEN) after the pandemic coronavirus disease in 2021. This could have been due to the preventive and therapeutic use of antibiotics in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) patients during this short period. A clear pattern was unfortunately found in Shirvan, Tehran, and possibly other regions. Although we noticed the pattern for just one of the bacterial agents involved in UTIs, it could be considered a real threat to general health.

Endophytes, especially fungal types, are often useful for host plants and while improving the production of specific metabolites of the host plant, they protect them against stresses, especially salt and drought stress. It is assumed that the plants that adapted to harsh conditions and lived in these climatic conditions for many years, are necessarily equipped with evolved salinity-resistant endophytes. Therefore, their isolation and transfering to host plants will provide the possibility of cultivation of medicinal plant in saline soil and drough conditions. For this purpose, Yazd province was considered as a pilot. In this study, different parts (root, stem and branches) of 112 species including ancient trees and prennials were selected. plant samples were transferred to the laboratory and after sterilization, were cultured in PDA. Out of 32 studied plant species, more than 70 endophytes were purified and cloned. Then, the isolated fungi were cultured in media with different salinity levels of 1, 2, and 3 M of sodium chloride NaCl, respectively. The results showed that among the investigated fungi, around 50 strains grew up in the medium containing one sodium chloride salt in 1M. In the continuation of the screening process of the selected samples, 6 strains of the isolated fungal endophytes were able to grow in the medium containing NaCl in the concentration of 3 M. The possibility of hosting the basil plant (Ocimum basilicum) for three selected endophyte isolates showed that all of the isolates have the ability to penetrate and spread in basil roots without any pathogenic symptoms. Study of the ITS genomic regions of ribosomal DNA of selected endophytes showed that there is a high sexual and species diversity in the isolated endophytes. The high biodiversity and the possibility of establishing selected endophytes in the basil plant in the current research will promise good results in basil cultivation in saline conditions, which requires further investigation.

In this work, the impact of different stages of plant growth on the composition of essential oils, the density of glandular trichomes, and gene expression of enzymes involved in terpenes production in Mentha aquatica were investigated. Our experiment was performed on 15-day-old plants (the initial stage of vegetative growth) and 45-day-old plants (the late stage of vegetative growth). Based on our investigation, the leaves of the M. aquatica plant were covered by non-glandular and glandular trichomes in the two growth stages. The density of glandular trichomes as the location of storage and biosynthesis of essential oils was higher in the late growth stage than in the early growth stage. The maximum harvest of essential oils was achieved at the late vegetative stage, representing that the generation of essential oils was boosted as the age of plants increased. Moreover, the growth stage influenced the essential oils composition in the M. aquatica plant. The main compounds of essential oils from M. aquatica plants in the early growth stage were menthofuran, limonene, germacrene D, pinene, viridiflorol, 1-terpinene, ledene, cymene, 3-carvon, terpinene, and cis-ocimene. The top compounds exit in the essential oils obtained from M. aquatica plants in the late vegetative stage were as follows: caryophyllene, cubebene, camphene, gurjunene, humulene, bicyclogermacrene, sabinene, 1-pinene, D-nerolidol, farnesene, 1,8-cineole, and cadinene. The ratio of sesquiterpenes to monoterpenes was enhanced as the plants developed. The expression level of the gene encoding enzymes that contributed to terpenoid production includes 1-Deoxy d-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase, geranyl diphosphate synthase, limonene synthase, isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase, and menthofuran synthase, which were also enhanced in the late growth stage. Gene expression studies supported our findings and demonstrated that the increased production of essential oils might be due to the stimulation of enzyme activity, contributing to their biosynthesis pathway. Overall, to obtain the maximum amount of essential oils, the late vegetative stage of M. aquatic is recommended.

Cold stress is one of the environmental factors limiting productivity and geographical distribution of crops. To determine functional annotation and differential gene expressions of plants under cold stress, 3127, 1188, and 2292 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) respectively from low temperature- treated seedlings of rice, wheat, and barley was analyzed. The ESTs from each library yielded 1995 (rice), 950 (wheat), and 1831 (barley) unigenes. BLASTX revealed 1458 (rice), 703 (wheat), and 1324 (barley) unigenes that had important hits in the protein database of Arabidopsis. All of the unigenes with significant hits were grouped with MapMan software. In three functional groups including photosynthesis, nucleotide metabolism, and signaling categories, a significant difference was observed between the transcripts of rice and barley under cold stress. We identified differentially expressed genes between the three plants under cold stress by assembling all of the ESTs, which resulted in 1101 contigs. There were 12 genes identified that had significantly different expressions between the three libraries. Promoter analysis of a 1500-bp sequence upstream of the coding region of the candidate genes, showed a variety of regulatory elements with different roles. The existence of elements involved in various stresses in the promoter regions of candidate genes confirmed the role of these genes in stress responses. The identified genes could be putative candidates for gene manipulation to improve the cold tolerance of valuable crop plants.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) ranks among the most pervasive endocrine disorders experienced by premenopausal women. Helicobacter pylorus is a prevalent infection in human populations. The present study was designed to investigate the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in PCOS patients. It was a case-control investigation comprising 100 female participants who sought medical care at the Tehran Army Hospital in Iran. Initially, fifty individuals diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, based on the Rotterdam criteria and verified by two experienced physicians, were selected for inclusion in the study. Afterward, an equal number of women without said syndrome were included in a one-to-one comparison. Subsequent to acquiring blood samples of uniform volume from all donors, serum separation was performed, and the resulting samples were subsequently stored in a freezer at a temperature of -20 °C. The study involved quantifying IgG-antibody titer employing an ELISA reader in adherence to the protocol established by the kit manufacturer, namely Trinity Biotech. The study participants were found to have a mean age of 20-45 years with a standard deviation of 3.71. The age and body mass index (BMI) variables were found to be statistically insignificant between the two groups under investigation, indicating that the groups were comparable in terms of these factors. The Ig G serology results indicated a positive outcome among 64% (n=32) of the case group and 32% (n=16) of the control group. Statistical analysis using the chi-square test revealed a significantly different proportion between the two groups, as evidenced by a P-value of less than 0.05. The present study's findings indicate a significant disparity in the incidence of H. pylori infection between individuals diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome and their counterparts without the condition. Specifically, a higher prevalence of the infection was observed among patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. Ultimately, the proposition concerning the function of H. pylori was evaluated. It is posited that H. pylori may represent a potential risk factor for the acquisition of the mentioned condition. Therefore, carefully designed analytical and controlled investigations should be performed to substantiate this supposition.