Investigating the Antifungal Mechanism of Action of Polygodial by Phenotypic Screening in .

Polygodial is a "hot" peppery-tasting sesquiterpenoid that was first described for its anti-feedant activity against African armyworms. Using the haploid deletion mutant library of , a genome-wide mutant screen was performed to shed more light on polygodial's antifungal mechanism of action. We identified 66 deletion strains that were hypersensitive and 47 that were highly resistant to polygodial treatment.

Biofilm inhibiting properties of compounds from the leaves of Warburgia ugandensis Sprague subsp ugandensis against Candida and staphylococcal biofilms.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Warburgia ugandensis Sprague subspecies ugandensis is a plant widely distributed in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. In humans, it is used to treat respiratory infections, tooth aches, malaria, skin infections, venereal diseases, diarrhea, fevers and aches.

Aim Of The Study: This study aims to identify the bioactive compounds against clinically important biofilm-forming strains of Candida and staphylococci that are responsible for tissue and implanted device-related infections.

Influence of serum and polystyrene plate type on stability of Candida albicans biofilms.

Adhesion is a crucial initial step in microbial biofilm formation. Firm attachment to a target surface subsequently ensures successful colonization and survival despite turbulent conditions. In the laboratory, polystyrene plates are commonly used in biofilm experiments and the 'washing/rinse steps' before staining are critical for assaying biofilm viability.

Arbovirus and insect-specific virus discovery in Kenya by novel six genera multiplex high-resolution melting analysis.

A broad diversity of arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) of global health concern are endemic to East Africa, yet most surveillance efforts are limited to just a few key viral pathogens. Additionally, estimates of arbovirus diversity in the tropics are likely to be underestimated as their discovery has lagged significantly over past decades due to limitations in fast and sensitive arbovirus identification methods. Here, we developed a nearly pan-arbovirus detection assay that uses high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis of RT-PCR products from highly multiplexed assays to differentiate broad diversities of arboviruses.

High-resolution melting analysis reveals low Plasmodium parasitaemia infections among microscopically negative febrile patients in western Kenya.

Background: Microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are common tools for diagnosing malaria, but are deficient in detecting low Plasmodium parasitaemia. A novel molecular diagnostic tool (nPCR-HRM) that combines the sensitivity and specificity of nested PCR (nPCR) and direct PCR-high resolution melting analysis (dPCR-HRM) was developed. To evaluate patterns of anti-malarial drug administration when no parasites are detected, nPCR-HRM was employed to screen blood samples for low parasitaemia from febrile patients without microscopically detectable Plasmodium infections in a rural malaria-endemic setting.