A Retrospective Study on the Epidemiology of Anthrax,Foot and Mouth Disease,Haemorrhagic Septicaemia,Peste des Petits Ruminants and Rabies in Bangladesh, 2010-2012

Anthrax, foot and mouth disease (FMD), haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS), peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and rabies are considered to be endemic in Bangladesh. This retrospective study was conducted to understand the geographic and seasonal distribution of these major infectious diseases in livestock based on data collected through passive surveillance from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2012. Data analysis for this period revealed 5,937 cases of anthrax, 300,333 of FMD, 13,436 of HS, 247,783 of PPR and 14,085 cases of dog bite/rabies. While diseases were reported in almost every district of the country, the highest frequency of occurrence corresponded to the susceptible livestock population in the respective districts. There was no significant difference in the disease occurrences between districts bordering India/Myanmar and non-border districts (p>0.05). Significantly higher (p<0.01) numbers of anthrax (84.5%), FMD (88.3%), HS (84.9%) and dog bite/rabies (64.3%) cases were reported in cattle than any other species. PPR cases were reported mostly (94.8%) in goats with only isolated cases (5.2%) in sheep. The diseases occur throughout the year with peak numbers reported during June through September and lowest during December through April, with significant differences (p<0.01) between the months. The annual usages of vaccines for anthrax, FMD, HS and PPR were only 7.31%, 0.61%, 0.84% and 11.59% of the susceptible livestock population, respectively. Prophylactic vaccination against rabies was 21.16% of cases. There were significant differences (p<0.01) in the administration of anthrax, FMD and HS vaccines between border and non-border districts, but not PPR or rabies vaccines. We recommend that surveillance and reporting of these diseases need to be improved throughout the country. Furthermore, all suspected clinical cases should be confirmed by laboratory examination. The findings of this study can be used in the formulation of more effective disease management and control strategies, including appropriate vaccination policies in Bangladesh.     

Alginate, inorganic polyphosphate, GTP and ppGpp synthesis co-regulated in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: implications for stationary phase survival and synthesis of RNA/DNA precursors

The regulatory protein AlgR2 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa positively regulates nucleoside diphosphate kinase (Ndk) and succinyl-CoA synthetase, enzymes critical in nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) formation. AlgR2 positively regulates the production of alginate, GTP, ppGpp and inorganic polyphosphate (poly P). An algR2 mutant with low levels of these metabolites has them restored by introducing and overexpressing either the algR2 or the ndk gene into the algR2 mutant. Thus, Ndk is involved in the formation of these compounds and largely prevents the death of the algR2 mutant, which occurs early in the stationary phase. We demonstrate that the 12 kDa Ndk–pyruvate kinase (Pk) complex, previously shown to generate predominantly GTP instead of all the NTPs, has a low affinity for the deoxynucleoside diphosphates and cannot generate the dNTPs needed for DNA replication and cell division; this complex may thus be involved in regulating the levels of both NTPs and dNTPs that modulate cell division and survival in the stationary phase.     

The Residue Threonine 82 of DevR (DosR) Is Essential for DevR Activation and Function in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Despite Its Atypical Location

The DevR (DosR) response regulator initiates the bacterial adaptive response to a variety of signals, including hypoxia in in vitro models of dormancy. Its receiver domain works as a phosphorylation-mediated switch to activate the DNA binding property of its output domain. Receiver domains are characterized by the presence of several highly conserved residues, and these sequence features correlate with structure and hence function. In response regulators, interaction of phosphorylated aspartic acid at the active site with the conserved threonine is believed to be crucial for phosphorylation-mediated conformational change. DevR contains all the conserved residues, but the structure of its receiver domain in the unphosphorylated protein is strikingly different, and key threonine (T82), tyrosine (Y101), and lysine (K104) residues are placed uncharacteristically far from the D54 phosphorylation site. In view of the atypical location of T82 in DevR, the present study aimed to examine the importance of this residue in the activation mechanism. Mycobacterium tuberculosis expressing a DevR T82A mutant protein is defective in autoregulation and supports hypoxic induction of the DevR regulon only very weakly. These defects are ascribed to slow and partial phosphorylation and the failure of T82A mutant protein to bind cooperatively with DNA. Our results indicate that the T82 residue is crucial in implementing conformational changes in DevR that are essential for cooperative binding and for subsequent gene activation. We propose that the function of the T82 residue in the activation mechanism of DevR is conserved in spite of the unusual architecture of its receiver domain.     

Responses of a sterile red fungus to soil types,wheat varieties and the presence of certain isolates ofStreptomyces

The biological activities of a sterile red fungus (SRF) capable of plant growth promotion and suppression of take-all disease were investigated in soils collected from Lancelin, Newdegate and Mt. Barker regions of Western Australia. Further, the effects of three wheat cultivars and the presence of two isolates ofStreptomyces on the biological activities of the SRF were tested using the Lancelin soil. The biological activities of the SRF were greatest in the Lancelin and Newdegate (wheat field) soils and with the wheat cultivar Gutha. In in vitro studies the soil streptomycetes tested showed either a significant increase in the exudate production by the SRF, which had antifungal and growth promoting properties, or an inhibition of growth of the fungus. Streptomycete A63 which stimulated the exudate production by the SRF in vitro, however, did not enhance disease protection in vivo. On the other hand, protection from root rot by the SRF in vivo was reduced in the presence of the streptomycete isolate Ax which is capable of inhibiting the growth of the SRF in vitro.     

Synthesis of new coumarin tethered isoxazolines as potential anticancer agents

A series of new coumarin tethered isoxazolines (7a-l) were synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxic potency against human melanoma cancer cell line (UACC 903) as well as fibroblast normal cell line (FF2441). Preliminary results revealed that some of these coumarin tethered isoxazolines 7b, 7c, 7f and 7j exhibited significant antiproliferative effect against human melanoma cancer (UACC 903) with IC₅₀ values of 8.8, 10.5, 9.2 and 4.5?μM respectively. However, compound 7c was non-toxic to normal human cells at the tested concentration. Further, we have chosen compound 7c to check its efficacy in Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma animal model in-vivo for its antitumor and antiangiogenic properties. Our lead compound significantly reduced the cell viability, body weight, ascites volume and downregulated the formation of neovasculature such as regression of tumor volume. The present study indicates the scope of developing into potent anticancer drug in near future.     

Virus isolation and molecular epidemiology of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) from an outbreak in free-ranging wild birds,India 2016

We report the molecular epidemiology of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus involved in an outbreak causing death in free-ranging wild birds at Mysore, Karnataka state of India. The virus was typed as HPAI A(H5N8) by conventional and TaqMan probe based real-time PCR assays. Six isolates of HPAI virus were recovered in 9-day-old embryonated chicken eggs. Haemagglutinin gene-based phylogeny of virus isolates showed >?99.9% nucleotide sequence identity with HPAI A(H5N8) isolates from migratory birds and domestic poultry from China and Korea indicating either these wild birds have routed their migration through Korea and/or eastern China or these dead birds must have directly or indirectly contacted with wild birds migrating from Eastern China and/or Korean regions. The study emphasises the role of migratory wild birds in spread of HPAI across the globe.