Non contiguous-finished genome sequence and description of Bacillus jeddahensis sp. nov.

Strain JCE(T) was isolated from the fecal sample of a 24-year-old obese man living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is an aerobic, Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium. This strain exhibits a 16S rRNA nucleotide sequence similarity of 97.5 % with Bacillus niacini, the phylogenetically closest species with standing nomenclature. Moreover, the strain JCE(T) presents many phenotypic differences, when it is compared to other Bacillus species, and shows a low MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry score that does not allow any identification. Thus, it is likely that this strain represents a new species. Here we describe the features of this organism, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. The 4,762,944 bp long genome (1 chromosome but no plasmid) contains 4,654 protein-coding and 98 RNAs genes, including 92 tRNA genes. The strain JCE(T) differs from most of the other closely Bacillus species by more than 1 % in G + C content. In addition, digital DNA-DNA hybridization values for the genome of the strain JCE(T) against the closest Bacillus genomes range between 19.5 to 28.1, that confirming again its new species status. On the basis of these polyphasic data made of phenotypic and genomic analyses, we propose the creation of Bacillus jeddahensis sp. nov. that contains the strain JCE(T).

Ameliorating effect of olive oil on fertility of male rats fed on genetically modified soya bean.

BACKGROUND: Genetically modified soya bean (GMSB) is a commercialized food. It has been shown to have adverse effects on fertility in animal trials. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) has many beneficial effects including anti-oxidant properties. The aim of this study is to elucidate if addition of EVOO ameliorates the adverse effects on reproductive organs of rats fed on GMSB containing diet. METHODS: Forty adult male albino rats (150-180 g) of Sprague Dawley strain were separated into four groups of 10 rats each: Group 1 - control group fed on basal ration, Group 2 - fed on basal ration mixed with EVOO (30%), Group 3 - fed on basal ration mixed with GMSB (15%), and Group 4 - fed on basal ration mixed with GMSB (15%) and EVOO (30%). This feeding regimen was administered for 65 days. Blood samples were collected to analyze serum zinc, vitamin E, and testosterone levels. Histopathological and weight changes in sex organs were evaluated. RESULTS: GMSB diet reduced weight of testis (0.66±0.06 vs. 1.7±0.06, p<0.001), epididymis (0.489±0.03 vs. 0.7±0.03, p<0.001), prostate (0.04±0.009 vs. 0.68±0.04, p<0.001), and seminal vesicles (0.057±0.01 vs. 0.8±0.04, p<0.001). GMSB diet adversely affected sperm count (406±7.1 vs. 610±7.8, p<0.001), motility (p<0.001), and abnormality (p<0.001). GMSB diet also reduced serum zinc (p<0.05), vitamin E (p<0.05), and testosterone (p<0.05) concentrations. EVOO diet had no detrimental effect. Addition of EVOO to GMSB diet increased the serum zinc (p<0.05), vitamin E (p<0.05), and testosterone (p<0.05) levels and also restored the weights of testis (1.35±0.16 vs. 0.66±0.06, p<0.01), epididymis (0.614±0.13 vs. 0.489±0.03, p<0.001), prostate (0.291±0.09 vs. 0.04±0.009, p<0.001), seminal vesicle (0.516±0.18 vs. 0.057±0.01, p<0.001) along with sperm count (516±3.1 vs. 406±7.1, p<0.01), motility (p<0.01), and abnormality (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: EVOO ameliorates the adverse effects of GMSB on reproductive organs in adult male albino rats. This protective action of EVOO justifies its use against the oxidative damage induced by GMSB in reproductive organs.

Nucleic acid amplification technology for hepatitis B virus, and its role in blood donation screening in blood banks.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the performance of hepatitis B virus polymerase chain reaction (HBV PCR) using one of the commercial methods used around the world to screen for HBV in some blood donors where other conventional serological assays have limitations to detect the virus. METHODS: This study was designed to use Amplicor AmpliScreen for HBV testing to detect the presence of the HBV DNA in the specimens tested by COBAS AmpliPrep system using a modified manufacture protocol COBAS AmpliPrep of total nucleic acid isolation (TNAI) kit. All serological tests were carried out on the donors' samples to detect the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), Australian antibody anti-HBs (AUSAB) and hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) in the 2 periods of the study. The first period was started in February 2005 and the second period was started in April 2007. Both periods were continued for 2 months after beginning in the molecular pathology laboratory, Al-Hada Armed Forces Hospital, Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The 600 donors' data were then studied and analyzed. RESULTS: Five nucleic acid amplification test (NAT-HBV) positives were found out of 600. There were 3 positive for HBcAb and negative for HBsAg, 2 had reading with <100 mIU/mL anti-HBs (AUSAB), and one had >100 mIU/mL AUSAB readings. CONCLUSION: Our results show that there is a possibility to have occult HBV infection in some donors that cannot be detected by the HBsAg routine serological assays. Moreover, the study can be useful to formulate a new deferral policy based on the implementation of NAT-HBV for blood screening.