Rapidly Evolving SARS-CoV-2: A Brief Review Regarding the Variants and their Effects on Vaccine Efficacies.

Since the commencement of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has resulted in millions of mortalities globally, the efforts to minimize the damages have equally been up to the task. One of those efforts includes the mass vaccine development initiative targeting the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). So far, vaccines have tremendously decreased the rate of transmission and infection in most parts of the world. However, the repeated resurgence of different types of mutated versions of the virus, also known as variants, has somehow created uncertainties about the efficacies of different types of vaccines. This review discusses some of the interesting SARS-CoV-2 features, including general structure, genomics, and mechanisms of variants development and their consequent immune escape. This review also focuses very briefly on antigenic drift, shift, and vaccine-developing platforms.

Prevalence and antibiotics resistance status of Salmonella in raw meat consumed in various areas of Lahore, Pakistan.

This study reports the prevalence and antibiotics resistance status of Salmonella detected in raw meat from Lahore, Pakistan. Overall, N = 111 meat samples, were collected from local markets. Salmonella was recovered from 57 (51.35%) samples, including 45.83% of poultry, 60% of buffalo, 64.28% of cow, and 60% of goat meat samples. The predominant Salmonella strains were Salmonella enterica serovars; Typhimurium (45.4%), Typhi (27.2%), and Enteritidis (18.1%), identified by VITEK system and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The isolates exhibited high resistance to Erythromycin (100%), Cefepime (98.24%), Colistin (94.73%), Azithromycin (92.98%), Tetracycline (87.71%), Polymyxin B (84.21%), Ciprofloxacin (84.21%), Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole (80.70%), Nalidixic Acid (80.70%), Kanamycin (78.94%), Chloramphenicol (77.19%), Streptomycin (71.92%) and Ampicillin (64.91%). While the isolates exhibited more susceptibility to Meropenem (75.43%) and Amikacin (73.68%). N = 8 strains were designated as Multidrug Resistant (MDR) and N = 3 as Extensively Drug-Resistant (XDR) Salmonella. The PCR-based detection of resistance genes revealed the presence of blaTEM-1 gene (100%), catA1 gene (64%), and gyrA gene (18%). The whole genome sequencing (WGS) of two selected strains and subsequent downstream analysis confirmed the strains as MDR and XDR Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. The study showed that raw meat consumed in Lahore carries a significantly high number of drug-resistant Salmonella.

Bioprospecting of desert actinobacteria with special emphases on griseoviridin, mitomycin C and a new bacterial metabolite producing Streptomyces sp. PU-KB10-4.

BACKGROUND: Bioprospecting of actinobacteria isolated from Kubuqi desert, China for antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic metabolites production and their structure elucidation. RESULTS: A total of 100 actinobacteria strains were selectively isolated from Kubuqi desert, Inner Mongolia, China. The taxonomic characterization revealed Streptomyces as the predominant genus comprising 37 different species, along with the rare actinobacterial genus Lentzea. The methanolic extracts of 60.8% of strains exhibited potent antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and high to mild in vitro cytotoxicity against PC3 (prostate cancer) and A549 (lung carcinoma) cell lines. The metabolomics analysis by TLC, HPLC-UV/vis, HPLC-MS and NMR showed the presence of compounds with molecular weights ranging from 100 to 1000 Da. The scale-up fermentation of the prioritized anti-Gram-negative strain PU-KB10-4 (Streptomyces griseoviridis), yielded three pure compounds including; griseoviridin (1; 42.0 mgL- 1) with 20 fold increased production as compared to previous reports and its crystal structure as monohydrate form is herein reported for the first time, mitomycin C (2; 0.3 mgL- 1) and a new bacterial metabolite 4-hydroxycinnamide (3; 0.59 mgL- 1). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of the bioprospecting and exploration of actinobacteria from Kubuqi desert and the metabolite 4-hydroxycinnamide (3) is first time isolated from a bacterial source. This study demonstrated that actinobacteria from Kubuqi desert are a potential source of novel bioactive natural products. Underexplored harsh environments like the Kubuqi desert may harbor a wider diversity of actinobacteria, particularly Streptomyces, which produce unique metabolites and are an intriguing source to develop medicinally valuable natural products.

COVID-19 and Coinfections: A Serious Health Threat Requires Combination of Diagnosis and Therapy.

Since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, a mammoth research activity targeting the etiological features of COVID-19 has commenced. Many aspects of the disease have been studied, and various others are under consideration. The secondary microbial coinfections with COVID-19 have generated some serious concerns across the globe. This review mainly focuses on the notable secondary coinfections. The coinfection of influenza, tuberculosis, and typhoid may mimic the original COVID-19 symptoms. Physicians and clinicians must focus on the secondary coinfections which may aggravate the disease progression towards acute respiratory disorder syndrome (ARDS). Diagnostic strategies must also be redefined to determine the actual underlying secondary coinfection. There is a need for combination therapy and diagnostic approaches to minimize the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic effectively.