Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences最新文献

DNA-based molecular markers have great importance among other methods used for the authentication, detection, and identification of medicinal herbal species. Currently, it is more common to identify the medicinal herbal species (monoherbal or polyherbal forms) morphologically by using sensory, macroscopic, and microscopic methods. DNA-based markers made an easy for accurate detection of herbal species by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which involves in vitro amplification of a particular region of DNA sequence.

In the current study, we used heterogenic parts for isolation of DNA from twelve important medicinal herbal species followed by purity determination, and yield calculation. We optimized a PCR reaction using universal primer sets to amplify the target DNA followed by DNA sequencing, and species identification. We also performed phylogenetic analysis for determining the evolutionary relationship between the herbal species, by using MEGAX32 software. Further, we prepared adulterated herbal species samples to validate the method.

The method was able to amplify the target gene through PCR in 11 out of 12 herbal species samples (sensitivity 91.66%).The DNA from cinnamon could not yield a truly amplified product. On DNA sequencing, all the amplified products were identified as true herbal species (specificity 100%). In the adulterated samples, non-specific DNA bands were observed after performing the PCR reaction, indicating the mixing of more than one herbal species.

To conclude, DNA sequencing-based molecular analysis is advantageous for the correct identification, and detection of adulterated herbal species.

American foulbrood (AFB) is a harmful honeybee disease primarily caused by Paenibacillus larvae. The study aims to isolate and identify the AFB causative agent P. larvae and their specific phages to use as a new biological method for AFB disease control. Eight apiaries were inspected for AFB infections. Symptoms of diseased brood comb, were odd brood cells with soft brown decayed brood amongst healthy brood, were identified in the field and demonstrated the prevalence of AFB in every apiary. Three P. larvae isolates were identified using traditional techniques using a 452-bp PCR amplicon specific to the bacterial 16SrRNA gene and was compared between Paenibacillus isolates. Additionally, specific phages of P. larvae strains were applied to examine their efficiency in reducing the infection rate under the apiary condition. The infection rate was reduced to approximately 94.6 to 100 % through the application of a phage mixture, as opposed to 20 to 85.7 % when each phage was administered individually or 78.6 to 88.9 % when antibiotic treatment was implemented. Histological studies on phage-treated bee larvae revealed some cells regaining normal shape, with prominent nuclei and microvilli. The gastrointestinal tract showed normal longitudinal and circular muscles, unlike bee larvae treated with bacterial strains with abnormal and destroyed tissues, as shown by the basement membrane surrounding the mid-gut epithelium. Phage techniques exhibited promise in resolving the issue of AFB in honeybees due to their ease of application, comparatively lower cost, and practicality for beekeepers in terms of laboratory preparation.

Fluorescence is used in various biological assays due to its high sensitivity, versatility, and precision. In recent years, studies using medicinal plant extracts have increased. However, fluorescence-based assays could be biased by plant metabolites autofluorescence. To address this issue, this study investigated the interference caused by methanolic extracts and chloroform fractions of three medicinal plants in three fluorescence-based assays on gastric cancer stem cells(CSC): resazurin reduction, confocal microscopy, and flow cytometry. CSC were isolated based on CD44 surface marker, incubated with methanolic extracts and chloroform fractions of Buddleja incana, Dracontium spruceanum, Piper aduncum. Resazurin assay evidenced that CSC exposed to extracts and fractions from the three plants showed significant differences in relative fluorescence units (RFU) levels (p < 0.001) compared to the unexposed groups after a 3-hour incubation. In addition, DMSO-treated CSC exposed to extracts and fractions had significantly lower fluorescence levels than living ones, but higher than extracts and fractions without cells. In confocal microscopy, cancer stem cells exposed to extracts and fractions of B. incana and P. aduncum were observed in the same emission spectra of the CSC markers. In flow cytometry, CSC exposed to extracts and fractions without any fluorescent dyes were detected in the double positive quadrants for CSC markers (CD44+/CD133 + ). Among the three plants, D. spruceanum exhibited the least interference. These results show that methanolic extracts and chloroform fractions contain autofluorescent metabolites that interfere with fluorescence-based assays. These results highlight the importance of a prior evaluation for possible fluorescence interference to avoid interpretation biases in fluorescence assays.

Quercus species are one of the medicinal plants that commonly used in the treatment of different diseases. Quercus coccifera (Q. coccifera) is part of the Quercus species which grow in Jordan and used in traditional folklore medicine. The aim of this study is to confirm the ability of (Q. coccifera) leaves extracts to exert anticancer activity.

In this study, an extraction method of the dried-leaves using different polarity solvents was used. Extracts were pre-evaluated for antioxidant and anticancer activities while active extracts were used to measure half maximal effective concentration (EC₅₀) against 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and Half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) against cancer cells.

Methanol, boiled and microwaved water extracts had greater than 80 % antioxidant activity, and the strongest activity, of more than 99 %, was boiled water extract. Similarly, the pre-evaluation treatments of cancer cell lines indicated a strong biological activity of more than 70 % from the previously mentioned extracts, and the highest activity, of greater than 90 %, was from boiled water extracts against all cancer cell lines. The highest EC₅₀ against DPPH was obtained by using 0.009 mg/ml boiled water extracts, which was lower than positive control quercetin. In the same manner, lung, breast, and prostate cancer cell lines were highly affected by boiled water extracts with IC₅₀ of 14.1, 7.2, and 25.1 µg/ml, respectively, and a selectivity index (SI) of greater than 4.71.

Q. coccifera leaves extracts show promising ability to be a source of a new anticancer therapeutics.

The epigenetic regulation of lncRNA TUG1 has garnered significant attention in the context of diabetes and its associated disorders. TUG1′s multifaceted roles in gene expression modulation, and cellular differentiation, and it plays a major role in the growth of diabetes and the issues that are related to it due to pathological processes. In diabetes, aberrant epigenetic modifications can lead to dysregulation of TUG1 expression, contributing to disrupted insulin signaling, impaired glucose metabolism, and beta-cell dysfunction. Moreover, it has been reported that TUG1 contributes to the development of problems linked to diabetes, such as nephropathy, retinopathy, and cardiovascular complications, through epigenetically mediated mechanisms. Understanding the epigenetic regulations of TUG1 offers novel insights into the primary molecular mechanisms of diabetes and provides a possible path for healing interventions. Targeting epigenetic modifications associated with TUG1 holds promise for restoring proper gene expression patterns, ameliorating insulin sensitivity, and mitigating the inception and development of diabetic associative diseases. This review highlights the intricate epigenetic landscape that governs TUG1 expression in diabetes, encompassing DNA methylation and alterations in histone structure, as well as microRNA interactions.

Aquaculture is a rapidly expanding food sector worldwide; it is the farming of fish, shellfish, and other marine organisms. Microplastics (MPs) are small pieces of plastic with a diameter of less than 5 mm that end up in the marine environment. MPs are fragments of large plastics that take years to degrade but can frustrate into small pieces, and some commercially available MPs are used in the production of toothpaste, cosmetics, and aircraft. MPs are emerging contaminants; they are ingested by marine species. These MPs have effects on marine species such as growth retardation and particle translocation to other parts of the body. Recently, MPs accumulation has been observed in shrimps, as well as in a wide range of other scientific reports. So, in this study, we review the presence, accumulation, and causes of MPs in shrimp. These plastics can trophic transfer to other organisms, changes in plastic count, effects on the marine environment, and impacts of MPs on human health were also discussed. It also improves our understanding of the importance of efficient plastic waste management in the ocean, as well as the impact of MPs on marine biota and human health.

Atherosclerosis is potentially correlated with several cardiac disorders that are greatly associated with cellular oxidative stress generation, inflammation, endothelial cells dysfunction, and many cardiovascular complications. Berberine is a natural isoquinoline alkaloid compound that widely modulates pathogenesis of atherosclerosis through its different curative potentials. This in silico screening study was designed to confirm the potent restorative properties of berberine chloride as a multitarget-mediated alkaloid against the CVDs and their complications through screening, identifying, visualizing, and evaluating its binding models, affinities, and interactions toward several CVDs-related targets as direct and/or indirect-mediated signals via inhibiting cellular ER stress and apoptotic signals and activating autophagy pathway. The drug-likeness properties of berberine were predicted using the computational QSAR/ADMET and Lipinski’s RO5 analyses as well as in silico molecular docking simulations. The potent berberine-binding modes, residues-interaction patterns, and free energies of binding scores towards several CVDs-related targets were estimated using molecular docking tools. Furthermore, the pharmacokinetic properties and toxicological features of berberine were clearly determined. According to this in silico virtual screening study, berberine chloride could restore cardiac function and improve pathogenic features of atherosclerotic CVDs through alleviating ER stress and apoptotic signals, activating autophagy, improving insulin sensitivity, decreasing hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia, increasing intracellular RCT signaling, attenuating oxidative stress and vascular inflammation, and upregulating cellular antioxidant defenses in many cardiovascular tissues. In this in silico study, berberine chloride greatly modulated several potent CVDs-related targets, including SIGMAR1, GRP78, CASP3, BECN1, PIK3C3, SQSTM1/p62, LC3B, GLUT3, INSR, LDLR, LXRα, PPARγ, IL1β, IFNγ, iNOS, COX-2, MCP-1, IL10, GPx1, and SOD3.

This study investigated and explored the availability of micro-flora and micro-fauna in the ruminal contents of Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) from three different regions in Saudi Arabia along with two seasons. Samples were prepared and tested by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This study confirmed that the bacterial flora were dominating over other microbes. Different results of the availability of each microbe in each region and season were statistically analyzed and discussed. There was no significant effect of season on the micro-flora or micro-fauna however, the location revealed a positive effect with Ruminococcus flavefaciens (p < 0 0.03) in the eastern region. This study was the first to investigate the abundance of micro-flora and micro-fauna in the ruminal contents of camels of Saudi Arabia. This study underscores the significance of camel ruminal micro-flora and micro-fauna abundance, highlighting their correlation with both seasonality and geographic location. This exploration enhances our comprehension of camel rumination and digestion processes. The initial identification of these microbial communities serves as a foundational step, laying the groundwork for future in-depth investigations into camel digestibility and nutritional requirements.

Oesophagostomum spp. (Family: Chabertiidae) is keeping a low profile in terms of severity in Bangladesh while maintaining economic loss through disguise within sheep and goats. The study was performed to identify prevalence, confirmation of species through morphology and morphometry followed by phylogeny using ITS2 and COX1 genes. In total 384 slaughterhouse-sourced small and large intestines were pooled from Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Netrokona, Sherpur and Tangail districts of Mymensingh division. Followed by isolation, O. columbianum and O. asperum were identified following their key morphological features. Notably, O. asperum was first time detected in Bangladesh. The overall prevalence of Oesophagostomum spp. was found 60.93%. The prevalence of O. columbianum (64.95%) was almost double than that of O. asperum (35.04%). Among several characters, only the distance between anus to tail tip showed a significant morphological disparity in female. The Neighbor-joining (NJ) phylogenic trees based on ITS2 and COX1 genes confirmed the study species. The first time identified O. asperum along with morphometry and phylogeny will add value to the fact that nematodes are invisibly present with high prevalence in this country. This study will help to draw specific attention to command a practical control strategy for intervening in economic loss.

Background

To increase crop productivity, modern agricultural practices comprises fertilizers, algaecides, herbicides and fungicides.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of soil microbial population and soil enzyme activity by the use of fertilizer in maize and inorganic input in the rice ecosystem.

Methods

A field experiment (2021 to 2023) was carried out using synthetic fertilizer doses with maize crops followed by rice crops using inorganic inputs. Soil microbial population and enzyme activities were examined.

Results

Maize field experiment revealed that the plots treated with 75 % Standardized Dose of Fertilizer (SDF) of NPK had the highest populations of diazotrophs (124 × 10⁵cfu / g), Phosphobacteria (66.33 × 10⁵cfu / g), and Azospirillum (0.409 × 10⁵ MPN / g) than 100 % and 150 % SDF of NPK. The soil enzyme activity was higher in the unfertilized control plot than fertilized plot. These experimental results revealed that a low amount of fertilizer and no fertilizers favour the growth of soil microorganisms and soil enzyme activities, respectively. Followed by the rice field experiment, revealed that the soil microbial population was decreased by the application of inorganic inputs viz., fertilizer, algaecide, herbicide and fungicide. However, the maximum soil microbial population was found in algaecide application followed by herbicide and fungicide.

Conclusion

The field experiment concluded that soil microbial population and enzyme activity were affected by inorganic amendments. Less inorganic fertilizers and no fertilizers improve soil microbial activities and soil enzyme activities.