Recombinant Actifensin and Defensin-d2 Induce Critical Changes in the Proteomes of Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans.

Drug-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans pose serious threats to human health because of their propensity to cause fatal infections. Defensin and defensin-like antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are being explored as new lines of antimicrobials, due to their broad range of activity, low toxicity, and low pathogen resistance. Defensin-d2 and actifensin are AMPs from spinach and Actinomyces ruminicola, respectively, whose mechanisms of action are yet to be clearly elucidated.

Membrane Permeabilization and Antimicrobial Activity of Recombinant Defensin-d2 and Actifensin against Multidrug-Resistant and .

Antimicrobial resistance requires urgent efforts towards the discovery of active antimicrobials, and the development of strategies to sustainably produce them. Defensin and defensin-like antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are increasingly gaining pharmacological interest because of their potency against pathogens. In this study, we expressed two AMPs: defensin-d2 derived from spinach, and defensin-like actifensin from .

Beta hemolysin gene of Staphylococcus phage 3AJ_2017 genome is a suitable molecular marker for identification and characterization of pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus cause diseases both in humans and animals. These diseases range from mild to fatal infections thus necessitating development of a specific molecular method for detection of pathogenic S. aureus.

Gene co-expression network analysis of Trypanosoma brucei in tsetse fly vector.

Background: Trypanosoma brucei species are motile protozoan parasites that are cyclically transmitted by tsetse fly (genus Glossina) causing human sleeping sickness and nagana in livestock in sub-Saharan Africa. African trypanosomes display digenetic life cycle stages in the tsetse fly vector and in their mammalian host. Experimental work on insect-stage trypanosomes is challenging because of the difficulty in setting up successful in vitro cultures.

Expansions of chemosensory gene orthologs among selected tsetse fly species and their expressions in Glossina morsitans morsitans tsetse fly.

Tsetse fly exhibit species-specific olfactory uniqueness potentially underpinned by differences in their chemosensory protein repertoire. We assessed 1) expansions of chemosensory protein orthologs in Glossina morsitans morsitans, Glossina pallidipes, Glossina austeni, Glossina palpalis gambiensis, Glossina fuscipes fuscipes and Glossina brevipalpis tsetse fly species using Café analysis (to identify species-specific expansions) and 2) differential expressions of the orthologs and associated proteins in male G. m.

Comparative genomic analysis of six Glossina genomes, vectors of African trypanosomes.

Background: Tsetse flies (Glossina sp.) are the vectors of human and animal trypanosomiasis throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Tsetse flies are distinguished from other Diptera by unique adaptations, including lactation and the birthing of live young (obligate viviparity), a vertebrate blood-specific diet by both sexes, and obligate bacterial symbiosis.

Target-similarity search using Plasmodium falciparum proteome identifies approved drugs with anti-malarial activity and their possible targets.

Malaria causes about half a million deaths annually, with Plasmodium falciparum being responsible for 90% of all the cases. Recent reports on artemisinin resistance in Southeast Asia warrant urgent discovery of novel drugs for the treatment of malaria. However, most bioactive compounds fail to progress to treatments due to safety concerns.

Insects' RNA Profiling Reveals Absence of "Hidden Break" in 28S Ribosomal RNA Molecule of Onion Thrips, Thrips tabaci.

With an exception of aphids, insects' 28S rRNA is thought to harbor a "hidden break" which cleaves under denaturing conditions to comigrate with 18S rRNA band to exhibit a degraded appearance on native agarose gels. The degraded appearance confounds determination of RNA integrity in laboratories that rely on gel electrophoresis. To provide guidelines for RNA profiles, RNA from five major insect orders, namely, Diptera, Hemiptera, Thysanoptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera, was compared under denaturing and nondenaturing conditions.