Journal of Applied Biotechnology Reports
Volume:7 Issue: 3, Summer 2020

Nowadays, social media is involved in various aspects of knowledge and science. Social scientists, IT experts, biologists, and businesses widely analyze social media data to learn about human behavior. Biotechnology is a leading scientific field that has opened new horizons to the study of the natural and social aspects of human life. Biotechnologists need to use novel communication tools such as social media for education, research and marketing. Biotechnology education has been significantly affected by the Internet and social media because students and instructors increasingly tend to acquire and share scientific knowledge online. Moreover, the dynamic development of online social networks has paved the way for marketing innovations in the biotechnology industry. This study, on one hand, aims to explain the use of social media in biotechnology research, education, and industry, and on the other hand, investigates how social media contributes to the improvement this scientific field.

Increased usage and improper management of electronic wastes result in immense environmental pollution. Although conventional techniques are well known for heavy metals removal from the environment, their high cost and severe environmental consequences indicate the urgent requirement of cost-effective methods of heavy metals uptake. Bioaccumulation can be considered as an alternative to the traditional methods in terms of their cost-effectiveness and maximum recovery of the metal ions. This study deals with the isolation of heavy metals tolerant Gram-positive bacterial strain, Bacillus licheniformis JAJ3, and its application in bioaccumulation of copper, lead, and nickel and bioleaching of heavy metals from electronic waste. 16S rRNA sequencing was performed to identify the bacterial strain. The accumulation study was carried out in a liquid medium and analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Bioleaching activity was checked using the one-step procedure. For bioleaching studies of heavy metals, printed circuit boards (PCBs) were used as a source of electronic wastes. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy were used to record the changes before and after experimental procedures. The organism was able to accumulate 98.6% copper, 64.6% lead, and 57.3% nickel. The bioaccumulation reaction followed pseudo-second order kinetics model (R2 value 0.92, 0.92, 0.99 for copper, lead, and nickel bioaccumulation respectively). Efficient bioleaching activity was shown by the strain. The experimental analyses confirmed that the strain is efficient in the bioleaching of heavy metals from electronic wastes and thus can be used in management of the electronic wastes.

Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is an economically important staple food in tropical regions, especially for people in West Africa. Understanding of the flowering behavior of the crop to determine potential manipulation available to accomplish crop improvement at early stage remain key challenge in the yam breeding. The methods that reliably yield quality DNA and distinguishing sex type at the early stage of growth have been a challenge in yam genetics and breeding studies. This study assessed the effect of sample preservation methods on DNA quantity and quality during extraction and potential of DNA marker to diagnose plant sex at the early seedling stage in white Guinea yam.  Five sample preservation methods were assessed for quality DNA extraction during field leaf tissue collection, namely liquid nitrogen, dry ice, silica gel, 95% ethanol, and oven drying. The predicted sex at the seedling stage using the molecular marker was further validated with the visual score for the sex phenotype at the flowering stage. According to the findings of the present study, the DNA extracted from leaf samples preserved in liquid nitrogen, silica gel, dry ice, and oven drying methods were higher in molecular weights than samples stored in ethanol solution. Yam plant sex diagnosis with the DNA marker (sp16) identified a higher proportion of ZW genotypes (female or monoecious phenotypes) than the ZZ genotypes (male phenotypes) in the studied materials with 74% prediction accuracy. The results from this study provided valuable insights on suitable sample preservation methods for quality DNA extraction and the potential of DNA marker sp16 to predict sex in white Guinea yam.

The increased need for a considerable β-glucosidase activity, especially in the enzymatic saccharification of cellulose for bioenergy, has strongly stimulated the identification of effective β-glucosidase producing microbes. This study was conducted to optimize culture condition for β-glucosidase production from the identified new isolate of Bacillus subtilis (B1) and to find out an ideal condition for β-glucosidase activity. For β-glucosidase production, the bacterium was cultivated in a basal medium. The culture condition was optimized at several pH, different temperatures, varying cultivation periods, and various substrate concentrations. Finally, the activity of the β-glucosidase enzyme was investigated at different incubation periods, pH, temperatures, metal ions, and various percentages of methanol. The activity of β-glucosidase was measured by the capability of crude enzyme to convert pNPG (p-nitrophenyl-β-D glucopyranoside) into yellow product PNP (p-nitrophenol). Cellulolytic bacterial strain B. subtilis (B1) showed high potentiality for β-glucosidase production at a pH of 7.0 after 24 hours incubation at 40°C. The highest level of enzyme production was achieved when 3% of CMC was provided in the culture medium. Optimum reaction conditions for β-glucosidase activity were shown to be 10 minutes, 60°C and at pH 7. Salts like Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO4), Calcium Chloride (CaCl2), and Manganese Sulfate (MnSO4) positively influenced the activity where NaCl and KCl had negative effects. The presence of methanol (80%) appreciably enhanced the activity of enzyme. Complete saccharification of different industrial processes can be augmented by using this novel β-glucosidase produced by B. subtilis strain isolated from effluent of biogas plant.

Biotransformation process has been used in various industries due to its ability to produce valuable chemicals and address environmental concerns. Propylene hydroformylation is a process in which n-butyraldehyde and isobutyraldehyde are produced. N-butyraldehyde is a high valuable chemical with many industrial applications, while isobutyraldehyde produced as a by-product is an environmental pollutant. This study offers a biotechnological approach for conversion of isobutyraldehyde into a high-value substance. An engineered strain of Escherichia coli was developed by genomic insertion of alcohol-dehydrogenase gene (adhA) from Lactococcus lactis which can convert isobutyraldehyde into isobutanol. The adhA gene was engineered to substitute some of its amino acids to result in a more efficient enzyme. Engineered gene was synthesized and introduced into E. coli genome to develop recombinant E. coli EG-296 strain. In addition, by using the Qualiteck-4 software, 16 well-defined experiments (L16 Orthogonal array) with two levels of seven variable parameters were used to optimize the process efficiency. The findings of this study revealed that the E. coli strain EG-296 is capable of converting isobutyraldehyde into isobutanol. The optimization results showed that optimum medium composition for the highest isobutanol production were 10 g/L glucose or glycerol as carbon source, 10 g/L NH4CL as nitrogen source, mid-log of inoculum age, and 1% inoculum volume in 25ml medium. After optimization, 560 mg/L isobutanol was produced from 600 mg/L isobutyraldehyde with 91% yield. Recombinant E. coli strain with a relatively optimum medium can be used to remove isobutyraldehyde in refineries or other industries producing this chemical as a by-product.

Aristolochia longa, is widely used as a medicinal plant, in Algerian folk medicine since ancient times and passed through the generations. This study focused on the qualitative examination of different phytochemical constituents to determine their antioxidant activities. Leaves and roots were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction technique using the methanol as solvent. The total phenolic and flavonoids content was determined by Folin–Ciocalteu and AlCl3 methods, respectively. The antioxidant activity was evaluated with two distinct DPPH radical scavenging assay and ferric reducing antioxidant power test (FRAP). Then, the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was performed to analyze leaves and roots n-butanol fractions.  Leaves gave a significant value of polyphenols (8.580 ± 0.04 mg GAE/g DW). Whereas, n-butanol fraction flavonoids extracted from leaves was observed much highest (4.54 ± 1.94 mg CE/g DW). N-butanol fraction leaves showed a powerful scavenging activity and reducing activity with an IC50 = 0.044 ± 0.001 mg/ml and EC50 = 0.126 ± 0.041 mg/ml, respectively. The HPLC analysis of leaves and roots n-butanol fraction revealed different bioactive compounds in which they belong to the flavonoids category. The results obtained from this study suggest that Aristolochia longa leaves were considered as an important resource of flavonoids, which have an interesting antioxidant power.

Biological hydrogels provide a conducive extracellular environment for encapsulating and growing cells and play an important role in regulating cell behavior. Mechanical and rheological properties of hydrogels can influence cell function, mechanotransduction and cellular behaviors such as growth, migration, adhesion, self-renewal, differentiation, morphology and fate. Determination of rheological properties of biogels is important for printing tissues by controlling physical properties and developing efficient drug delivery systems. The main purpose of the current study was to determine some important rheological properties of two well-known hydrogels (agarose and gelatin methacryloyl [GelMA]).

Rheological properties of gel solutions with different concentrations were measured using oscillatory rheometry. Agarose gels of 1% and 2% (w/v) concentration were prepared in 100 mL de-ionized water. The GelMA solutions of 10% and 15% concentrations were prepared by dissolving dry GelMA in deionized water. Rheological measurements were performed using a rheometer with cone-plate geometry.

Both storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G′′) increased with an increase in frequency. Rheological properties of both types of gel solutions were strongly influenced by the amount of concentration. The shear stress profiles demonstrated shear thinning in both types of gels. Viscosity of 1% agarose and 2% agarose was found comparable with 10% GelMA and 15% GelMA , respectively.

Results obtained from experiments revealed that rotational rheometry can be confidently used to determine viscous and elastic response of hydrogels in the aqueous state. The results will help to select the right type of gel and amount of concentration for the bio-printing of tissues.

Microbial endophytes colonizing internal tissues of living plants provide benefits to their host by promoting plant growth and protection against microbial infectious through the production of wide ranges of metabolites. Members of such endophytic community harbouring medicinally important plants are known to synthesize several antimicrobial compounds. The present study aims to explore bacterial endophytes of ethnomedicinal plant Rauvolfia serpentina (Apocynaceae) for producing novel antimicrobial metabolites of pharmaceutical and biotechnological importance. The culturable bacterial endophytic diversity of R. serpentina (L.) Benth. ex. Kurz. has been screened for producing antimicrobial compounds following cross-streak and agar well diffusion assay methods against several test microbial strains. The bioactive compound was isolated and partially purified from the cell-free culture filtrate following chromatographic methods. The endophytes revealed low colonization frequency and isolation rates in the root and stem respectively. In vitro antimicrobial screening of 12 phenotypically distinguishable endophytes resulted in the selection of a potent antimicrobial isolate RAU 305 identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa RAU 305 (Genbank accession number KR816098). Cell-free culture filtrate of RAU 305 showed broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity by inhibiting Paenibacillus, Micrococcus, Arthrobacter, Rhodobacter, Mycobacterium, Bacillus, Escherichia, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella, Aspergillus, Colletotrichum and Pythium. The antimicrobially active component extracted in butanol and chloroform was partially purified by column chromatography followed by a preparative thin layer chromatography and the homogeneity of the compound was confirmed using different solvent systems. More detailed characterization and identification of the active component is essential to explore the metabolic potential of this endophytic bacterium in future.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in the expression of their target genes. The single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNAs may affect their function and expression. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between miR-196a2 rs116614913 polymorphism and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the Iranian population. This case-control study was performed among 103 lung cancer patients and 100 healthy controls. The polymerase chain-reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method and direct sequencing were used for miR-196a2 polymorphism genotyping. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software and t test method. According to the findings of this study, there was no significant association between rs11614913 polymorphisms and the risk of lung cancer in codominant model (CT vs. CC: OR = 0.67, TT vs. CC: OR = 0.74, CT + CC vs. CC: OR = 1.133), dominant model (CT+TT vs. CC: OR=0.657) and recessive model (TT vs. CC+CT: OR = 0.88). In addition, there was no relationship between the clinicopathological characteristics of patients and controls. In summary, findings indicated no significant association between miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphisms and lung cancer in the Iranian population. Further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to verify these findings.

Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) has received enormous attention, not only due to its negative influences on women’s life but also because of the escalating trend of fungal resistance towards current antifungal drugs. In recent decades, researches have been focusing on the development of natural products as the antifungal agents due to their low side effects compared to standard antifungal drugs. In this study, the antifungal activity of curcumin, piperine, and tualang honey (TH) in single, combination, and combined nanoemulsions was evaluated.  The nanoemulsions were prepared by dissolving curcumin, piperine and TH in the nanoemulsions base which was prepared by mixing Capryol, Tween80/Kolliphor RN40 and Transcutol HP. For assesment of atifungal activity, well diffusion methods were used and the zone of inhibitions were compared to fluconazole as a standard drug, .  The antifungal activity of these natural products alone was low and not all combinations were significant. Moreover, both curcumin and piperine are known to have low bioavailability that might limit its fungicidal efficiency. Hence, nanoemulsions of curcumin, piperine, and honey were then developed in this study. The nanoemulsions of three natural compounds have possessed favorable antifungal activity (more than 80%) against the wide range of Candida spp. Particularly, Candida albicans was more susceptible to these nanoemulsions compared to other species tested and some of them were the most resistant to fluconazole. In concise, this study showed evidence in support of the therapeutic use of nanoemulsions of curcumin, piperine, and tualang honey in antifungal infections.