Computational Clues of Immunogenic Hotspots in Plasmodium falciparum Erythrocytic Stage Vaccine Candidate Antigens: In Silico Approach.

Malaria is the most pernicious parasitic infection, and Plasmodium falciparum is the most virulent species with substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. The present in silico investigation was performed to reveal the biophysical characteristics and immunogenic epitopes of the 14 blood-stage proteins of the P. falciparum using comprehensive immunoinformatics approaches. For this aim, various web servers were employed to predict subcellular localization, antigenicity, allergenicity, solubility, physicochemical properties, posttranslational modification sites (PTMs), the presence of signal peptide, and transmembrane domains. Moreover, structural analysis for secondary and 3D model predictions were performed for all and stable proteins, respectively. Finally, human helper T lymphocyte (HTL) epitopes were predicted using HLA reference set of IEDB server and screened in terms of antigenicity, allergenicity, and IFN-γ induction as well as population coverage. Also, a multiserver B-cell epitope prediction was done with subsequent screening for antigenicity, allergenicity, and solubility. Altogether, these proteins showed appropriate antigenicity, abundant PTMs, and many B-cell and HTL epitopes, which could be directed for future vaccination studies in the context of multiepitope vaccine design.

Antimicrobial resistance and prevalence of tetracycline resistance genes in Escherichia coli isolated from lesions of colibacillosis in broiler chickens in Sistan, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotics have long been the first line of defense to prevent Escherichia coli infections, but they have lost their potency since bacteria have grown increasingly resistant to treatment. The present research aimed to study the drug resistance and the prevalence of tetracycline resistance genes in E. coli isolated from broilers with colibacillosis. RESULTS: The results showed that the most prevalent type of drug resistance was to tetracycline at 95.0%, and the least was to gentamicin at 21.7%. The prevalences of antimicrobial resistance among the tested antibiotics were significantly different (p < 0.001). A statistically significant difference was observed between the prevalence of the tet genes (p < 0.001). The tetD positive isolates and antibiotic sensitivity to tetracycline showed statistical significant differences (p = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Considering the results, tetA is the most common tetracycline resistance gene, and the presence of tetD and antibiotic sensitivity to tetracycline had a significant relationship in E. coli isolated from colibacillosis infections.

The fowl adenovirus (Fadv-11) outbreak in Iranian broiler chicken farms: The first full genome characterization and phylogenetic analysis.

Fowl adenoviruses D and E (FAdV-D and E) can cause inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) in commercial chicken flocks. Recently, IBH outbreaks have been increasingly reported in different regions of Iran, particularly in broiler farms. The present study was conducted to perform, for the first time, a complete genome characterization of a FAdV isolate from an IBH outbreak in Iran. Briefly, liver samples were collected from affected broiler flocks and following viral DNA extraction and confirming by PCR technique; one positive sample was selected from an affected flock to conduct a complete genome sequencing. The current FAdV, named "Fowl_Adenovirus_D_isolate_iran/UT-Kiaee_2018", was placed into FAdV-11 serotype (D species). According to the complete genome sequence analysis, UT-Kiaee had high homology with Chinese and Canadian FAdV. The partial sequence of the hexon gene revealed that UT-Kiaee shared 100% identity with previous Iranian FAdVs. The present study was the first to report full genome FAdV in Iran and complete the puzzle of molecular epidemiology of FAdV in Iran through determining the possible origin of Iranian FAdvs, which are the causative agents of recent IBH outbreaks in Iran.