Isolation and Characterization of Human Intestinal Bacteria NB2 for Probiotic Potential.

Systemic characterization of the human gut microbiota highlighted its vast therapeutic potential. Despite having enormous potential, the non-availability of their culture representatives created a bottleneck to understand the concept of microbiome-based therapeutics. The present study is aimed to isolate and evaluate the probiotic potential of a human gut isolate.

Increased Abundance of Achromobacter xylosoxidans and Bacillus cereus in Upper Airway Transcriptionally Active Microbiome of COVID-19 Mortality Patients Indicates Role of Co-Infections in Disease Severity and Outcome.

The modulators of severe COVID-19 have emerged as the most intriguing features of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. This is especially true as we are encountering variants of concern (VOC) with increased transmissibility and vaccination breakthroughs. Microbial co-infections are being investigated as one of the crucial factors for exacerbation of disease severity and complications of COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2 Mutations and COVID-19 Clinical Outcome: Mutation Global Frequency Dynamics and Structural Modulation Hold the Key.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has had an enormous burden on the healthcare system worldwide as a consequence of its new emerging variants of concern (VOCs) since late 2019. Elucidating viral genome characteristics and its influence on disease severity and clinical outcome has been one of the crucial aspects toward pandemic management. Genomic surveillance holds the key to identify the spectrum of mutations disease outcome.

Clinico-Genomic Analysis Reiterates Mild Symptoms Post-vaccination Breakthrough: Should We Focus on Low-Frequency Mutations?

Vaccine development against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been of primary importance to contain the ongoing global pandemic. However, studies have demonstrated that vaccine effectiveness is reduced and the immune response is evaded by variants of concern (VOCs), which include Alpha, Beta, Delta, and, the most recent, Omicron. Subsequently, several vaccine breakthrough (VBT) infections have been reported among healthcare workers (HCWs) due to their prolonged exposure to viruses at healthcare facilities.

COVID-19 Risk Stratification and Mortality Prediction in Hospitalized Indian Patients: Harnessing clinical data for public health benefits.

The variability of clinical course and prognosis of COVID-19 highlights the necessity of patient sub-group risk stratification based on clinical data. In this study, clinical data from a cohort of Indian COVID-19 hospitalized patients is used to develop risk stratification and mortality prediction models. We analyzed a set of 70 clinical parameters including physiological and hematological for developing machine learning models to identify biomarkers.

Learning From Biological and Computational Machines: Importance of SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Surveillance, Mutations and Risk Stratification.

The global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has demonstrated the range of disease severity and pathogen genomic diversity emanating from a singular virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2). This diversity in disease manifestations and genomic mutations has challenged healthcare management and resource allocation during the pandemic, especially for countries such as India with a bigger population base. Here, we undertake a combinatorial approach toward scrutinizing the diagnostic and genomic diversity to extract meaningful information from the chaos of COVID-19 in the Indian context.

Geographical Landscape and Transmission Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 Variants Across India: A Longitudinal Perspective.

Globally, SARS-CoV-2 has moved from one tide to another with ebbs in between. Genomic surveillance has greatly aided the detection and tracking of the virus and the identification of the variants of concern (VOC). The knowledge and understanding from genomic surveillance is important for a populous country like India for public health and healthcare officials for advance planning.

Clinico-Genomic Analysis Reveals Mutations Associated with COVID-19 Disease Severity: Possible Modulation by RNA Structure.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) manifests a broad spectrum of clinical presentations, varying in severity from asymptomatic to mortality. As the viral infection spread, it evolved and developed into many variants of concern. Understanding the impact of mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome on the clinical phenotype and associated co-morbidities is important for treatment and preventionas the pandemic progresses.

Infection outcome needs two to tango: human host and the pathogen.

Infectious diseases are potential drivers for human evolution, through a complex, continuous and dynamic interaction between the host and the pathogen/s. It is this dynamic interaction that contributes toward the clinical outcome of a pathogenic disease. These are modulated by contributions from the human genetic variants, transcriptional response (including noncoding RNA) and the pathogen's genome architecture.

FnCas9-based CRISPR diagnostic for rapid and accurate detection of major SARS-CoV-2 variants on a paper strip.

The COVID-19 pandemic originating in the Wuhan province of China in late 2019 has impacted global health, causing increased mortality among elderly patients and individuals with comorbid conditions. During the passage of the virus through affected populations, it has undergone mutations, some of which have recently been linked with increased viral load and prognostic complexities. Several of these variants are point mutations that are difficult to diagnose using the gold standard quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) method and necessitates widespread sequencing which is expensive, has long turn-around times, and requires high viral load for calling mutations accurately.

Clinical, Serological, Whole Genome Sequence Analyses to Confirm SARS-CoV-2 Reinfection in Patients From Mumbai, India.

SARS-CoV-2 infection may not provide long lasting post-infection immunity. While hundreds of reinfections have reported only a few have been confirmed. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) of the viral isolates from the different episodes is mandatory to establish reinfection.

Threading the Pieces Together: Integrative Perspective on SARS-CoV-2.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has challenged the research community globally to innovate, interact, and integrate findings across hierarchies. Research on SARS-CoV-2 has produced an abundance of data spanning multiple parallels, including clinical data, SARS-CoV-2 genome architecture, host response captured through transcriptome and genetic variants, microbial co-infections (metagenome), and comorbidities. Disease phenotypes in the case of COVID-19 present an intriguing complexity that includes a broad range of symptomatic to asymptomatic individuals, further compounded by a vast heterogeneity within the spectrum of clinical symptoms displayed by the symptomatic individuals.