his study presents the first results about the genetic polymorphism and diversity among the five Egyptian Bulinus truncatus populations, Giza (GZ), Damietta (DM), Behera (BH), Fayoum (FY) and lab bred strain (LB), using the inter - simple sequence repeats PCR (ISSR - PCR). A total of 85 bands, unique, polymorphic and monomorphic were obtained using 10 ISSR primers. Out of them, 28 bands were polymorphic. Among B. truncatus populations, the highest polymorphism (57.1%) was revealed by the primer ISSR1, followed by that revealed by ISSR7 (40%). However, the lowest polymorphism was 16.6% and resulted from application of ISSR6 and ISSR 8 primers. ISSR5, ISSR7, ISSR9 and ISSR10 primers revealed four unique bands of size 389, 199, 139 and 154 bp respectively for FY population. All bands resulted from application of ISSR4 primer were monomorphic. Genetic similarity and relationship between the five populations were detected using cluster analysis. The high genetic variability obtained from ISSR markers showed diverges of FY population from the others which may be interpreted by located Fayoum region in an isolated area from the Nile Valley. It was noted the presence of a high level of genetic similarity between GZ and LB populations, that may be due to the origin of LB was from Giza governorate. Our results have provided evidence for the usefulness of ISSR markers to analyze genetic variab ility among B. truncatus populations.

Abstract Natural rubber latex is one of the problems that raises the environmental concerns. In this study the degrading ability of Ficus elastica rubber latex by a bacterium strain ASU-03, isolated from Egyptian soil was assessed. The strain was able to produce clear zone around its colony on latex rubber containing medium and was identified by conventional methods as Streptomyces sp. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA (16S rRNA) and RNA polymerase ß-subunit (rpoB) genes were applied. Results of the 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed that the strain was highly related to Streptomyces sp. (100% similarity), so the rpoB gene was partially sequenced to clarify the specific name of the isolate. Phylogenetic tree based on rpoB gene sequences indicated that strain ASU-03 was highly similar to the reference strain Streptomyces labedae and both were shared a one cluster. The current results demonstrated that the use of a rpoB gene-based method gives a better resolution in the species level identification. To our knowledge, this species has never been reported to be involved in natural rubber degradation. This was therefore the first report about the degradation of Ficus elastic by S. labedae. The degradation of Ficus elastica rubber latex was determined by measuring the increase in protein content of bacterium (mg/g dry wt), reduction in molecular weight (g/mol) and inherent viscosity (dL/g) of the latex. Moreover the degradation was also confirmed by formation of aldehyde or keto group by Schiff’s reagent and by observing the growth of the Streptomyces strain using scanning electron microscopy.

Abstract Natural rubber latex is one of the problems that raises the environmental concerns. In this study the degrading ability of Ficus elastica rubber latex by a bacterium strain ASU-03, isolated from Egyptian soil was assessed. The strain was able to produce clear zone around its colony on latex rubber containing medium and was identified by conventional methods as Streptomyces sp. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA (16S rRNA) and RNA polymerase ß-subunit (rpoB) genes were applied. Results of the 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed that the strain was highly related to Streptomyces sp. (100% similarity), so the rpoB gene was partially sequenced to clarify the specific name of the isolate. Phylogenetic tree based on rpoB gene sequences indicated that strain ASU-03 was highly similar to the reference strain Streptomyces labedae and both were shared a one cluster. The current results demonstrated that the use of a rpoB gene-based method gives a better resolution in the species level identification. To our knowledge, this species has never been reported to be involved in natural rubber degradation. This was therefore the first report about the degradation of Ficus elastic by S. labedae. The degradation of Ficus elastica rubber latex was determined by measuring the increase in protein content of bacterium (mg/g dry wt), reduction in molecular weight (g/mol) and inherent viscosity (dL/g) of the latex. Moreover the degradation was also confirmed by formation of aldehyde or keto group by Schiff’s reagent and by observing the growth of the Streptomyces strain using scanning electron microscopy.

Abstract Natural rubber latex is one of the problems that raises the environmental concerns. In this study the degrading ability of Ficus elastica rubber latex by a bacterium strain ASU-03, isolated from Egyptian soil was assessed. The strain was able to produce clear zone around its colony on latex rubber containing medium and was identified by conventional methods as Streptomyces sp. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA (16S rRNA) and RNA polymerase ß-subunit (rpoB) genes were applied. Results of the 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed that the strain was highly related to Streptomyces sp. (100% similarity), so the rpoB gene was partially sequenced to clarify the specific name of the isolate. Phylogenetic tree based on rpoB gene sequences indicated that strain ASU-03 was highly similar to the reference strain Streptomyces labedae and both were shared a one cluster. The current results demonstrated that the use of a rpoB gene-based method gives a better resolution in the species level identification. To our knowledge, this species has never been reported to be involved in natural rubber degradation. This was therefore the first report about the degradation of Ficus elastic by S. labedae. The degradation of Ficus elastica rubber latex was determined by measuring the increase in protein content of bacterium (mg/g dry wt), reduction in molecular weight (g/mol) and inherent viscosity (dL/g) of the latex. Moreover the degradation was also confirmed by formation of aldehyde or keto group by Schiff’s reagent and by observing the growth of the Streptomyces strain using scanning electron microscopy.

Abstract Anthocyanins add significant nutritional value to the plant-derived foods that contain them because of their health-promoting effects. In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), anthocyanins are normally synthesized only in vegetative tissues. Atroviolacium (atv) is a mutant characterized by intense anthocyanin pigmentation in the vegetative tissues. In this study, we investigated the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in this mutant and in its genetic background (Ailsa Craig, AC) in order to reveal the molecular regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in this line, and to find out where the anthocyanin biosynthesis is intensified. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing the sucrose-induced accumulation of anthocyanins in vegetative tissues of tomato, and demonstrating the molecular regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in atv mutant.

Abstract Petroleum polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are health risks to human, as they can be toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic. As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the major petroleum-producing countries, they inevitably suffer from worsening this environmental problem. Therefore, removal of these compounds from the environment is a necessity for ensuring human health. In this study, 54 bacterial isolates were obtained by enrichment techniques from oil-contaminated soil samples. Out of them, seven gram-negative bacterial strains, KKU-J1, KKU-J2, KKU-J4, KKU-J7, KKU-J9, KKU-J14 and KKU-J17, exhibiting ability for petroleum PAHs degradation were selected. The isolates showing the highest growth during screening as demonstrated by the increase in their optical densities (OD600) and a concentration-dependent growth in all examined PAH compounds that grew in it, with strains KKU-J2, KKU-J7 and KKU-J17 were the best. The highest optimum growth rate of 0.333±0.0,0.364±0.0160.333±0.0,0.364±0.016 and 0.357±0.004(OD600)0.357±0.004(OD600) was recorded for the strains KKU-J2, KKU-J7 and KKU-J17, respectively, when the level of phenanthrene was 100 mg/l. On the other hand, strain KKU-J2 was found to be the best one ( 0.413±0.00.413±0.0 ) when the level of naphthalene was 100 mg/l. Molecular identification of the selected isolates was detected based on 16S rRNA gene amplification and partial sequence determination. Alignment results and the comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequences of the isolates to the 16S rRNA gene sequences available in GenBank database, as well as the phylogenetic analysis, confirmed the accurate position of the isolates as Sphingomonas paucimobilis KKU-J1, Pseudomonas alcaligenes KKU-J2, Micrococcus antarcticus KKU-J4, Arthrobacter oxydans KKU-J7, Stenotrophomonas rhizophila KKU-J9, Kocuria rhizophila KKU-J14 and Shinella zoogloeoides KKU-J17. RAPD–PCR fingerprinting was carried out for the seven isolates, and the DNA patterns revealed that there is no correlation between the RAPD profile and geographic origin sites where these isolates were collected from. This study indicates that the contaminated soil samples contain a diverse population of PAH-degrading bacteria, and the use of soil-associated microorganisms could be recommended for PAHs bioremediation in the environment.

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Abstract In the present study, thirty five bacterial isolates were obtained from hydrocarbon-contaminated soil samples using an enrichment method. These isolates were tested to grow on mineral salt medium containing anthracene or phenanthrene as sole carbon source. Only five isolates showed the ability to degrade these compounds. RAPD-PCR fingerprinting was carried out for the five isolates, and the DNA patterns revealed that there was no similarity among the examined bacteria whenever the RFLP using four restriction enzymes HaeIII, Msp1, Hinf1 and Taq1 failed to differentiate among them. Five bacterial isolates were grown in high concentration of anthracene and phenanthrene (4% w/v). Two bacterial isolates were selected due to their high ability to grow in the presence of high concentrations of anthracene and phenanthrene. The isolates were identified as Bacillus flexus and Ochrobactrum anthropi, based on DNA sequencing of amplified 16S rRNA gene and phylogenetic analysis. Finally, the ability of these bacterial strains to tolerate and remove different PAHs looked promising for application in bioremediation technologies. PMID: 26930863

Abstract Nowadays,most of the pathogenic bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. Therefore,the pharmaceutical properties of the natural plant extracts have become of interest to researchers as alternative antimicrobial agents. In this study,antibacterial activities of extract gained from Acacia etbaica, Acacia laeta, Acacia origena and Acacia pycnantha have been evaluated against isolated pathogenic bacteria (Strains MFM-01, MFM-10 and AH-09) using agar well diffusion methods.The bacterial strains were isolated from infected individuals,and their exact identification was detected on the basis of 16S rRNA gene amplification and sequence determination. Alignment results and the comparison of 16 SrRN A gene sequences of the isolates to 16 SrRN A gene sequences available in Gen Bank data base as well as the phylogenetic analysis confirmed the accurate position of the isolates as Klebsiella oxytoca strain MFM-01, Staphylococcus aureus strain MFM-10 and Klebsiella pneumoniae strain AH-09. Except for cold water, all tested solvents (Chloroform, petroleum ether, methanol, diethyl ether, and acetone) showed variation in their activity against studied bacteria. GC-MS analysis of ethanol extracts showed that four investigated Acacia species have different phyto components. Eight important pharmaceutical components were found in the legume of Acacia etbaica, seven in the legume of Acacia laeta, fifteen in the legume of Acacia origena and nine in the leaves of Acacia pycnantha. A dendrogram was constructed based on chemical composition, revealed that Acacia laeta is more closely related to Acacia etbaica forming on eclade, whereas Acacia origena less similar to other species. Our results demonstrated that, investigated plants and chemical compounds present could be used as promising antibacterial agents

ABSTRACT. The quinazolinone compounds (1 and 2) in this work were examined for their in vitro antibacterial activities against gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative bacteria (Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus bacilli and Shigella flexneri). Compared to the reference antibiotic chloramphenicol, these compounds showed high antibacterial activities against studied strains with inhibition zones observation. The ground state geometries have been optimized by using density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory. The absorption spectra have been calculated by using time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) with and without solvent. The effect of different functionals (B3LYP, MPW1PW91, and PBE1PBE) on the absorption wavelengths has been studied. The ionization potential (IP), electron affinity (EA), energy gap (Egap), electronegativity (χ), hardness (η), electrophilicity (ω), softness (S) and electrophilicity index (ωi) were computed and discussed. The nonlinear optical (NLO) properties vary by changing the theory (DFT to HF) or functional (B3LYP to CAM-B3LYP). The physicochemical parameters have been studied by quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR). The computed properties of investigated compounds have been compared with the Chloramphenicol as well as available experimental data.