Exploring the potential of halotolerant bacteria for biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon

The present study aimed to determine the degradation and transformation of three-ring PAHs phenanthrene and anthracene by Cryptococcus sp. MR22 and Halomonas sp. BR04 under halophilic conditions. The growth progress of Cryptococcus sp. MR22 and Halomonas sp. BR04 on anthracene and phenanthrene was monitored by colony-forming unit (CFU) technique. The growth of the bacteria was maintained at a maximum concentration of 200 mg/L of all tested hydrocarbon, indicating that Cryptococcus sp. MR22 and Halomonas sp. BR04 significantly perform in the removal of the PAH-contaminated medium at low concentrations. The fit model to represent the biodegradation kinetics of both PAHs was first-order rate equation The extract prepared from cells supplemented with three different substrates exhibited some enzymes such as hydroxylase, dioxygenase, laccase and peroxidase. The results suggest that both strains had an impressive ability in the degradation of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbon but also could tolerate in the extreme salinity condition

Biodegradation mechanism of phenanthrene by halophilic hortaea sp. B15

This aim of the study is to investigate a halophilic bacterium Hortaea sp. B15, isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil for biodegradation of phenanthrene. Hortaea sp. B15 has the ability to completely degrade phenanthrene (100 mg/L) under salinity 10% within 1-week incubation. The metabolitic product of phenanthrene was identified and assayed by using ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer and mass spectral analysis. Result revealed that Hortaea sp. B15 metabolized phenanthrene to form 9,10-phenanthrene quinone, salicylic acid, and gentisic acid. Hortaea sp. B15 has an efficient utilization of phenanthrene in high-saline liquid medium. All the results indicated that the fungus has a promising application for the study of high-molecular-weight PAH biodegradation and contaminated saline-alkali soil bioremediation

Role of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Breast Cancer Progression and Identification of Estrogen Receptor Alpha Inhibitors Using In-Silico Mining and Drug-Drug Interaction Network Approaches

The strong association between POPs and breast cancer in humans has been suggested in various epidemiological studies. However, the interaction of POPs with the ERα protein of breast cancer, and identification of natural and synthetic compounds to inhibit this interaction, is mysterious yet. Consequently, the present study aimed to explore the interaction between POPs and ERα using the molecular operating environment (MOE) tool and to identify natural and synthetic compounds to inhibit this association through a cluster-based approach. To validate whether our approach could distinguish between active and inactive compounds, a virtual screen (VS) was performed using actives (627 compounds) as positive control and decoys (20,818 compounds) as a negative dataset obtained from DUD-E. Comparatively, short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), and perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride (PFOSF) depicted strong interactions with the ERα protein based on the lowest-scoring values of −31.946, −18.916, −17.581 kcal/mol, respectively. Out of 7856 retrieved natural and synthetic compounds, sixty were selected on modularity bases and subsequently docked with ERα. Based on the lowest-scoring values, ZINC08441573, ZINC00664754, ZINC00702695, ZINC00627464, and ZINC08440501 (synthetic compounds), and capsaicin, flavopiridol tectorgenin, and ellagic acid (natural compounds) showed incredible interactions with the active sites of ERα, even more convening and resilient than standard breast cancer drugs Tamoxifen, Arimidex and Letrozole. Our findings confirm the role of POPs in breast cancer progression and suggest that natural and synthetic compounds with high binding affinity could be more efficient and appropriate candidates to treat breast cancer after validation through in vitro and in vivo studies

Clonal relatedness and plasmid profiling of extensively drug-resistant New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates

Aim: Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-KP) particularly New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) is a serious public health concern globally. The aim of the study to determine the molecular epidemiology of blaNDM-producing clinically isolated K. pneumoniae. Methods: Carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates (n = 100) were collected from tertiary care hospital Lahore. Isolates were confirmed by VITEK® 2 system and MALDI-TOF. Minimum inhibitory concentration was performed by VITEK 2 and molecular characterization was done by PCR, PFGE, DNA hybridization and replicon typing. Results: Of 90 MBL-producing K. pneumoniae, 75 were NDM producers; 60 were NDM-1 and 11 NDM-5. A total of 27 K. pneumoniae belonged to ST11 and 14 to ST147. NDM-positive isolates were 100% resistant to β-lactam antibiotics except for colistin. 13.3% isolates carried blaNDM on ∼140 kb plasmids. A total of 32 (52.4%) isolates were positive for IncA/C and 18 (29.5%) IncF/II. Conclusion: The extensively resistant lineage of NDM-producing K. pneumoniae is prevalent in the clinical setting