17^th International Conference on Microbial Interactions & Microbial Ecology October 05-06, 2022 Zurich, Switzerland

Biography:

Sheikh Arslan Sehgal  current study is aimed at exploring and identifying potential B- and T-cell epitopesthrough immunoinformatics approaches which help to design an effective vaccine againstdeadly SARS-CoV-2. In addition, the study is aimed at pointing out specific peptides from the coronaviral proteome, which have the ability to bind with major histocompatibility complex (MHC), one of the most crucial steps in vaccine designing. A multiepitope vaccine was also designed from different epitopes of coronavirus proteins joined by linkers and led by an adjuvant. Our investigations predicted epitopes and the reported molecules that may have the potential to inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These findings can be a step towards the development of a peptide-based vaccine or natural compound drug target against SARS-CoV-2.

Abstract:

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are enveloped positive-strand RNA viruses which have club-like spikes at the surface with a unique replication process. Coronaviruses are categorized asmajor pathogenic viruses causing a variety of diseases in birds and mammals including humans (lethal respiratory dysfunctions). Nowadays, a new strain of coronaviruses is identified and named SARS-CoV-2. Multiple cases of SARS-CoV-2 attacks are being reported all over the world. SARS-CoV-2 showed a high death rate; however, no specific treatment is available against SARS-CoV-2. In the current study, immunoinformatics approaches were employed to predict the antigenic epitopes against SARS-CoV-2 for the development of the coronavirus vaccine. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte and B-cell epitopes were predicted for SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus protein. Multiple sequence alignment of three genomes (SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2) was used for conserved binding domain analysis. The docking complexes of 4 CTL epitopes with antigenic sites were analyzed followed by binding affinity and binding interaction analyses of top-ranked predicted peptides with MHC-I HLA molecule. The molecular docking (Food and Drug Regulatory Authority library) was performed, and four compounds exhibiting the least binding energy were identified. The designed epitopes lead to molecular docking against MHC-I, and interactional analyses of the selected docked complexes were investigated. In conclusion, four CTL epitopes (GTDLEGNFY, TVNVLAWLY, GSVGFNIDY, and QTFSVLACY) and four FDA-scrutinized compounds exhibited potential targets as peptide vaccines and potential biomolecules against deadly SARSCoV-2, respectively. multiepitope vaccine was also designed from different epitopes of coronavirus proteins joined by linkers and led by an adjuvant. Our investigations predicted epitopes and the reported molecules that may have the potential to inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These findings can be a step towards the development of a peptide-based vaccine ornatural compound drug target against SARS-CoV-2.

Biography:

Iqbal Ahmad is a senior professor of Agricultural microbiology at AMU, Aligarh, India. He has more than 27 years of extensive teaching and research experience. His major works are in the area of Applied Microbiology, Environmental and Agricultural aspects of Microbial diversity and bio-prospection. He has significantly contributed in exploring the use of traditionally used Indian medicinal plants as a source of anti-infective/anti biofilms against drug-resistant microbial pathogens. His current research thrust area includes Microbial Ecology, AMR, Quorum sensing, Biofilms based PGPR, Mixed biofilms and the use of natural and synthetic products including nanoparticles as anti-infective agents. He has guided 15 PhDs and more than 60 MSc dissertations, completed five Research Projects, edited 12 books and published more than 250 original research papers/book Chapters. The research work published has been fairly cited by the International scientific community.  

Abstract:

Statement of the problem: Drought stress severely hampers crop productivity in many parts of the globe. Microbial strategies have been considered a promising option and are under scrutiny. It is hypothesized that indigenous bacterial strains exhibiting multiple plant growth promoting traits and interacting positively in planktonic and biofilm mode will effectively provide enhanced plant growth under a stress environment. Based on our previous screening study two distinct and novel biofilm-producing strains of PGPR, Bacillus subtilis (FAB1) and Pseudomonas azotoformans (FAP3) are included in this study. Biofilms provide bacteria to withstand stressful conditions in the soil system which may support the mitigation of crop stress in a sustainable manner. Limited studies have shown that biofilm-forming rhizobacteria support plants in alleviating water scarcity stress.The purpose of this study is to understand the role of individual and combined inoculation effects of strains on wheat plant growth under a water-stress environment.

Methodology & theoretical orientation: Bacterial isolates biofilms development on a microtiter plate, glass coverslip surface and seedling roots were evaluated and characterized by microscopic and scanning electron microscopy. The effect of water stress was studied on bacterial production of biofilms, EPC production and other traits. Rhizosphere and rhizoplane colonization by the FAB1 and FAP3 isolates, individually and mixed, was evaluated under ten-day water stress Selected bacterial isolates were inoculated on wheat plants in a soil pot system individually and in combination and evaluated for their performance under water stress conditions. Plant growth vegetative parameters, seed attributes, straw yield, and physiological parameters, and stress markers (CAT, SOD, GR, MDA, proline content) were analyzed.

Findings: In vitro interaction, two test bacterial strains showed synergy in both planktonic and biofilm modes of growth. The FAB1 and FAP3 strains exhibited specific and multifunctional PGP traits as well as better roots and rhizosphere colonization, which could provide sustained plant growth during drought. Moderate tolerance to ten-day drought conditions was noted when the individual strain was inoculated with wheat plants; however, the FAB1+FAP3 combined treatment significantly enhanced wheat survival during drought stress. The FAB1 and FAP3-induced modifications cooperatively conferred enhanced plant drought tolerance by regulating antioxidative systems.

Conclusion: The findings of the present investigation support further efforts to improve plant drought tolerance by engineering the biofilms and associated traits of rhizobacterial communities which needs in-depth investigation and exploiting promising indigenous strains for local application.

Biography:

Idress Attitalla is from  Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Libya Idress Attitalla is presently being revisited as promising potential antimicrobial combat agents. Acquisition of resistance to AMPs is very rare compared to conventional antibiotics as they kill microbes by direct disruption of cellular components including the microbial membrane and DNA. In this study four sources of mammalian plasma (human, bovine, caprine and ovine) were explored for presence and effectiveness of antimicrobial peptides by the spot-on–lawn method, followed by the agar well diffusion assay to confirm their Idress Attitalla. This was followed by determination of their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and (MBC) by the broth macrodilusion method. 

Abstract:

Background: Although non-albicans Candida (NAC) is the source of invasive infections, little is known about the immune responses persuaded by these species. Understanding the host defense mechanisms of each Candida species is vital in the development of antifungal vaccines and drugs. Here we demonstrate of the differential regulation of Th1, Th2, and Th17 during Candida species in vitro.

Methods: We compared the cytokine production capacity of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) upon stimulation with different Candida species. We measured secreted cytokines by ELISA and checked the functional profile of T cell responses at the single-cell level by a multi-color flow cytometry technique.

Results: Despite the differential expression of cytokines against Candida species, a significant difference was observed in the levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-12p40, and IL-between Candida. species. Baseline levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10) were significantly lower than pro-inflammatory cytokines in all stimuli. Although the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ expressing Th1, Th2 and Th17 cytokines were higher in stimulated PBMC, none of the Candida species showed significant differences. Levels of secreted IL-17A and IL-23 were consistently lower in Candida species regardless of the stimulus used.

Conclusions: The current results indicate that C. albicans induces a strong Th1-biased response and C. glabrata induces strong Th2 cellular responses. It improves our knowledge of the differential immune responses induced by Candida species and may help develop immune therapeutics.

Biography:

Wendland Adriane graduated in Agronomy, University of Londrina-UEL (1997), Master's in Plant Pathology, ESALQ/USP (2000), PhD in phytopathology, ESALQ/USP (2005), specialization in Biotechnology, Munster University (2002). She is a Researcher at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation-Embrapa Arroz e Feijão since 2006. She is a curator of Multifunctional Microorganisms Collection at Embrapa Arroz e Feijão since 2008. She works on the following topics: Bacteriology, genetic resistance to plant diseases, gene expression, genetic diversity, pathogenic and molecular characterization of microorganisms, development of microorganism-specific detection kits by LAMP, RPA, PCR-multiplex and portable biosensors. She coordinates projects on rapid molecular detection/diagnosis of multifunctional microorganisms for agriculture. It performs Technology Transfer of rapid tests for laboratories, institutions and interested companies. She is a professor of the discipline Bacteriology of Plants at UFG, permanent professor at the Postgraduate Program in Agricultural Production/Plant Health (PPGA/UFG) and collaborator at PPG Biotechnology at UFG and co-adviser at the PPG in Phytopathology at UnB. She advises undergraduate, masters, doctoral and postdoctoral students.

Abstract:

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) belongs to the order Rosales, family Fabaceae (Leguminosae). Brazil stands out worldwide among the largest producers and consumers of beans, which are grown throughout the territory, in different environmental and national conditions. However, illness is one of the main factors of bean fever. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize and identify Pseudomonas isolates and verify the pathogenicity in the common bean crop. The method used for the biochemical characterization of the isolates were the LOPAT tests, and the method used for the molecular identification were the conventional PCR technique for the identification P. fluorescens using specific primers. To evaluate the pathogenicity of Pseudomonas isolates in common bean cultivars, plants of cultivars BRS Embaixador, BRS Esplendor, BRS Esteio, BSR FS 305 e BRS Marte were submitted to inoculation tests in a controlled environment and in a greenhouse using the isolates BRM 65465 and BRM 65466, by the multiple needle technique for perforating the leaf blade. From 3 to 14 days after inoculation, they were evaluated for the incidence of symptoms from the point of inoculation. The biochemical and molecular tests indicate that the isolates BRM 65465 and BRM 65466 are Pseudomonas fluorescens. The symptoms caused by the isolates BRM 65465 and BRM 65466 in the pathogenicity tests indicate that they are pathogenic for the common bean crop, where, in a greenhouse, under conditions of higher temperatures, the symptoms were shown more severe, compared to a controlled environment with milder temperatures.

Biography:

Maka Muradashvili, Young Scientist–PhD in Biology. From 2010 to the present, she is a scientific worker at the Department of Plant Diseases Monitoring, Diagnostics and Molecular Biology, Institute of Phytopathology and Biodiversity, BSU. During his 10 years of work, he was actively involved in 6 scientific projects, both as a key participant and as a scientific manager. Among them, she was also the scientific manager of the targeted -research project financed by Batumi State University, which was about, to study the antimicrobial properties of extracts from Stevia leaves. Now she is the coordinator of the current National Science Foundation's joint project # FR-21-1778 with the Eliava Institute of Bacteriophage, Microbiology, and Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University comprises 7 faculties: Economics and business, humanities, exact science and education, law and social sciences, natural sciences and health care, technologies, and tourism. It also embraces the 3 Research Institutes of Niko Berdzenishvili Institute, Agrarian and Membrane Technologies Institute, Institute of Phytopathology, and Biodiversity. At present about 6000 students’ study at the vocational, Bachelor, Master and Doctoral programs. The facilities and equipment of the Shota Rustaveli State University have been increasing and improving step-by-step, number of students increasing, teaching programs improving, new specialties introduced, qualified staff prepared. The teaching and research processes involve 273 professors, 71 researchers and 387 visiting professors. 

Abstract:

Potato is an important commodity in Georgia. However, the potato’s average yield is low (12 t/ha). One of the significant reasons for this is bacterial diseases. During the 2020-2021 surveys were collected the samples of infected plant stems and potato tubers from depositaries and fields, in the villages located in Kobuleti (10 m above sea level), Khulo, Akhalkalaki (at an altitude of 900-1200 m above sea level), and Goderdzi Pass (2025 m above sea level).Within the framework of the project funded by the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation's 2019 Young Scientists Research Grant, I had the opportunity to study for the first time the distribution area of potato soft rot, the species structure of the disease causal agent, and determine the biodiversity of the internal population, which is spread in different potato producing regions of Georgia: Adjara (Khulo, Keda, Kobuleti) and Samtskhe-Javakheti (Akhalkalaki, Akhaltsikhe). Analyzing the collected 75 samples, 54 isolates were identified using the study's classical and modern molecular biology methods. 33 isolates of which belonged to Dickeya spp. species of which 27 corresponded to D. Solani (Kob.5.20, Akh.8.20, Akh.12.20, Kh.13.20) and seven isolates were identified as a Pectobacterium spp. The study found that potato blackleg and soft rot were most common in the municipality of Kobuleti (Tsetskhlauri, Gvara, Jikhanjuri), Khulo (Tabakhmela, Dioknisi, Update, Shuasopeli, Cheri, Dzmagula, Pachkha, Kinchauli, and Akhaltsikhe (Vale, Tsnisi, Skhvilisi) and the majority of disease-causing agents (70%) belonged to Dickeya spp. and among them, one of the most aggressive species in the Europe D. solani. The research conducted was interdisciplinary as it included phytopathological, microbiological, biochemical, and molecular biology research methods. Therefore, the results of the research are equally interesting and useful for agrarian and natural sciences, as well as for students of the Faculty of Agrarian and Natural Sciences. Importantly, part of the project research was carried out with the participation of leading scientists from the Plant Protection Institute of the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Gilati Research Center in Israel, which created a precondition for future fruitful cooperation, which will undoubtedly contribute to the university's Phyto pathological direction and development to modern standards. As a result of the research, new information and materials were accumulated to continue further research to develop measures to combat potato mild rot disease.

Biography:

Mamuka Kotetishvili’s main expertise lies in the areas of molecular epidemiology and evolution of infectious agents including foodborne and zoonotic pathogens. Currently, his primary occupation is a leading of the biomedical research, working in a capacity of Deputy Director of Science and Foreign Relations, at the G. Natadze Scientific-Research Institute of Sanitary, Hygiene, and Medical Ecology (GNHI), Tbilisi, Georgia. He has pioneered his research on the molecular typing of some important foodborne and other pathogens, including, but not limited to, Salmonella enteritidis, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio Cholerae, and the species of Yersinia. His most recent studies have provided some important insights into the evolution of bacteriophages and antimicrobial resistance. He has served as an Editorial Board Member and/or an Ad-hoc Reviewer for various internationally well-respected scientific journals including Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Journal of Bacteriology, and Journal of Virology. 

Abstract:

The gene flow from eukaryotes to prokaryotes has been rarely documented. Here, we provide strong evidence for the presence of multiple eukaryotic genetic loci across the genomes of two Staphylococcus aureus strains (WH9628 and WH3018) recovered from patients in Wuhan, China. For the analysis, the genome sequences of these isolates (GenBank ID: CP033086.1 and CP033085.1 respectively) were retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) with the megablast algorithm was used to analyze the above genomes in the blastn database, searching for their homologous genetic loci across eukaryotic genomes (taxid: 2759). The BLAST analysis revealed some genomic regions of WH9628 (coordinates: 1824194-1825284; 2314137-2315140; 2371864-2374095; 2375255-2375737; 2412402-2414300; 2426281-2428460; 2440327-2440672) that shared 91.91%-100% of the DNA identity with specific chromosomal loci of Equus caballus (KY753876.1 and MH341179.1) and Mus musculus (MN537869.1). Similarly, specific genomic regions of WH3018 (coordinates: 2067827-2069293; 2266722-2267786; 2656308-2658513; 2683607-2685428; 2721525-2723219) were found to share 96.77%-100% of the DNA identity with these or other genetic loci of the same eukaryotic species. The above BLAST-hit results were accompanied by strong E-values varying from 0.0 to 8e-132 (with 98%-100% of query coverage). While some of these genomic regions of the S. aureus strains WH9628 and WH3018 were determined to be identical/highly homologous (91.91%-99.79%) to the KCNQ1 gene loci in E. caballus, others were identical/very highly homologous to the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene loci (100%), the gene encoding for the eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha 1 (99.94%), or the Gene H19 locus (100%) in M. musculus. It remains unclear and needs to be determined whether the acquired eukaryotic genetic loci have any effect on metabolic plasticity, virulence, and pathogenicity in these strains, and/or on their adaptation to new environments.

Biography:

Eduardo Arteaga holds a BSc in Bio-pharmaceutical Chemistry and a MSc in Natural Sciences and Engineering. He has experience in Microbiology, Microbial Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Microbial Physiology, Biocatalysis, and Genetic Engineering. He has interests in Bioinformatics, Synthetic Biology, and Biopolymers. Currently, he is a PhD student at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico. He is a member of a team that works with bacterial strains with the potential capacity to detoxify lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates.

Abstract:

Statement of the problem: Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass produces inhibitors substances such as furfural which is toxic to fermentative microorganisms. Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1 cannot use furfural as a carbon source, instead it bio-transforms furfural into difurfuryl ether using the NADH-dependent alcohol dehydrogenases AreB and FrmA during aerobic Acetate Catabolism (AC) in detriment of growth. The NADH competition between furfural biotransformation and the production of energy by Oxidative Phosphorylation (OP) might compromise the growth of A. baylyi ADP1. Depending on the growth phase, exponential or stationary phases, several AC and OP genes may change their expression so key central metabolic pathways can be affected. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of the furfural bio-transformation on the expression of genes for the growth of A. baylyi ADP1 on acetate.

Methodology and theoretical orientation: Transcriptional analysis was done at exponential and stationary growth phase. Samples were collected before and after the addition of two pulses of furfural to 0.5 g furfural/L. RT-qPCR was used according to MIQE guidelines and the double delta Cq method was used to calculate the relative gene expression.

Findings: Changes in transcriptional levels of several genes showed the influence of furfural on AC and OP. At exponential growth phase, reactions involved in the formation of NADPH (icd) and NADH (sfcA) are preferred. In contrast, at stationary growth phase glyoxylate shunt is preferred.

Conclusion: At exponential growth phase a higher NADH/NADPH production might support furfural biotransformation and NADH generation favored mainly the biotransformation of furfural. Characterization of this physiological behavior can clarify the impact of furfural biotransformation in Acinetobacter species.