Isolation and Characterization of Yeasts Able to Assimilate Sugarcane Bagasse Hemicellulosic Hydrolysate and Produce Xylitol Associated with Veturius transversus

Yeasts are an important component of insect gut microbial content, playing roles such as degradation of polymers and toxic compounds, biological control, and hormone, vitamin, and digestive enzyme production. The xylophagous beetle gut is a hyperdiverse habitat and a potential source of new species with industrial abilities such as enzyme production, pentose fermentation, and biodetoxification. In this work, samples of Veturius transversus (Passalidae, Coleoptera, and Insecta) were collected from the Central Amazon Rainforest. Their guts were dissected and a total of 20 microbial colonies were isolated using sugarcane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolysate. They were identified as having 10 distinct biochemical profiles, and genetic analysis allowed identification as three clades in the genera Candida, Williopsis, and Geotrichum. All colonies were able to assimilate D-xylose and 18 were able to produce xylitol, especially a strain of Geotrichum, with a maximum yield of 0.502 g·g−1. These results agree with a previous prediction that the microbial community associated with xylophagous insects is a promising source of species of biotechnological interest

Software de Análise de Anotação Genômica – GANAS: Uma ferramenta para análise de anotações genômicas / Genomic Annotation Analysis Software – GANAS: A tool for Genomic Annotation Analysis

O desenvolvimento do sequenciamento de nova geração, impulsionou expressivamente a capacidade de geração de dados genômicos, aumentando assim a demanda por ferramentas automatizadas de análises genômicas. Após o sequenciamento e a montagem do genoma é realizada a anotação genômica, processo que permite a extração de dados relevantes das sequências geradas, destacando a identificação dos genes codificadores de proteínas. Com o objetivo inicial de facilitar a expansão da análise off-line dos genes de resistência a metais pesados da espécie Enterobacter cloacae amazonensis foi desenvolvido o programa Genomic Annotation Analysis Software - GANAS, que detalha visualmente os genes e subsistemas metabólicos anotados com a utilização da plataforma RAST. Os genes anotados foram analisados pelo software comparando os resultados em diversos organismos com conhecida capacidade de resistência a metais pesados. Foi verificado que esta cepa possui mais genes de resistência que os principais padrões encontrados na literatura, assim, evidenciando a eficiência da utilização do GANAS

High anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroconversion rates before the second wave in Manaus, Brazil, and the protective effect of social behaviour measures: results from the prospective DETECTCoV-19 cohort

Background: The city of Manaus, Brazil, has seen two collapses of the health system due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We report anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG antibody seroconversion rates and associated risk factors in Manaus residents before the second wave of the epidemic in Brazil. Methods: A convenience sample of adult (aged ≥18 years) residents of Manaus was recruited through online and university website advertising into the DETECTCoV-19 study cohort. The current analysis of seroconversion included a subgroup of DETECTCoV-19 participants who had at least two serum sample collections separated by at least 4 weeks between Aug 19 and Oct 2, 2020 (visit 1), and Oct 19 and Nov 27, 2020 (visit 2). Those who reported (or had no data on) having a COVID-19 diagnosis before visit 1, and who were positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG antibodies at visit 1 were excluded. Using an in-house ELISA, the reactivity index (RI; calculated as the optical density ratio of the sample to the negative control) for serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG antibodies was measured at both visits. We calculated the incidence of seroconversion (defined as RI values ≤1·5 at visit 1 and ≥1·5 at visit 2, and a ratio >2 between the visit 2 and visit 1 RI values) during the study period, as well as incidence rate ratios (IRRs) through cluster-corrected and adjusted Poisson regression models to analyse associations between seroconversion and variables related to sociodemographic characteristics, health access, comorbidities, COVID-19 exposure, protective behaviours, and symptoms. Findings: 2496 DETECTCoV-19 cohort participants returned for a follow-up visit between Oct 19 and Nov 27, 2020, of whom 204 reported having COVID-19 before the first visit and 24 had no data regarding previous disease status. 559 participants were seropositive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG antibodies at baseline. Of the remaining 1709 participants who were seronegative at baseline, 71 did not meet the criteria for seroconversion and were excluded from the analyses. Among the remaining 1638 participants who were seronegative at baseline, 214 showed seroconversion at visit 2. The seroconversion incidence was 13·06% (95% CI 11·52–14·79) overall and 6·78% (5·61–8·10) for symptomatic seroconversion, over a median follow-up period of 57 days (IQR 54–61). 48·1% of seroconversion events were estimated to be asymptomatic. The sample had higher proportions of affluent and higher-educated people than those reported for the Manaus city population. In the fully adjusted and corrected model, risk factors for seroconversion before visit 2 were having a COVID-19 case in the household (IRR 1·49 [95% CI 1·21–1·83]), not wearing a mask during contact with a person with COVID-19 (1·25 [1·09–1·45]), relaxation of physical distancing (1·31 [1·05–1·64]), and having flu-like symptoms (1·79 [1·23–2·59]) or a COVID-19 diagnosis (3·57 [2·27–5·63]) between the first and second visits, whereas working remotely was associated with lower incidence (0·74 [0·56–0·97]). Interpretation: An intense infection transmission period preceded the second wave of COVID-19 in Manaus. Several modifiable behaviours increased the risk of seroconversion, including non-compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions measures such as not wearing a mask during contact, relaxation of protective measures, and non-remote working. Increased testing in high-transmission areas is needed to provide timely information about ongoing transmission and aid appropriate implementation of transmission mitigation measures. Funding: Ministry of Education, Brazil; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas; Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/WHO.World Health OrganizationRevisión por pare

Petroleum biodegrading and co-resistance to antibiotics by Serratia marcescens strain isolated in Coari, Amazonas

Serratia marcescens is a Gram-negative bacillus, anaerobic facultative belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae. S. marcescens strains are able to grow in the presence of different xenobiotic compounds, among them, petroleum and heavy metals. Xenobiotic resistant strains develop concomitant resistance to multiple antibiotics, referred to as co-resistance. The AMS212 strain was submitted to the microplate qualitative DCPIP - redox 2,6 dichlorophenol indophenol method. The quantitative test was carried out in Erlenmeyer flasks, followed by the change of color with the absorbance readings, trough the colorimetric method. The antibiotic resistance profile was evaluated by the Kirby-Bauer method. In the qualitative assay, the AMS212 strain altered the color of the DCPIP, which changed from blue to colorless, confirming that petroleum biodegradation occurred. In the quantitative test, the readings were decreasing, confirming that the concentration of DCPIP decreased as a function of the incubation time. The susceptibility test revealed that the AMS212 strain presented multiresistance to four different antibiotics. S. marcescens presented high performance in the biodegradation of petroleum, opening possibility to use it in projects involving the remediation of impacted areas. The expression of the antibiotic co-resistance phenotype confirms that the AMS212 strain is able to withstand different environmental aggressions.

Xylitol production and furfural consumption by a wild type Geotrichum sp.

Background: Xylitol is a five carbons polyol with promising medical applications. It can be obtained from chemical d-xylose reduction or by microbial fermentation of Sugarcane Bagasse Hemicellulosic Hydrolysate. For this last process, some microbial inhibitors, as furfural, constitute severe bottleneck. In this case, the use of strains able to produce xylitol simultaneously to furfural neutralization is an interesting alternative. A wild-type strain of Geotrichum sp. was detected with this ability, and its performance in xylitol production and furfural consumption was evaluated. Furthermore, were analyzed its degradation products. Results: Geotrichum sp. produced xylitol from d-xylose fermentation with a yield of 0.44 g·g-1. Furfural was fully consumed in fermentation assay and when provided in the medium until concentration of 6 g·L-1. The furfural degradation product is not an identified molecule, presenting a molecular weight of 161 g·mol-1, an uncommon feature for the microbial metabolism of this product. Conclusion: This strain presents most remarkable potential in performing furfural consumption simultaneous to xylitol production. Subsequent efforts must be employed to establish bioprocess to simultaneous detoxification and xylitol production by Geotrichum sp

Differential gene expression profile of multinodular goiter.

IntroductionThe goiter, a neglected heterogeneous molecular disease, remains a major indication for thyroidectomies in its endemic regions.ObjectivesThis study analyzed differential gene expression in surgical specimens diagnosed with multi nodular and compared the data to that of thyroid tissue without multinodular goiter from patients undergoing thyroidectomy in Manaus-AM, Brazil using RNA-seq technology.MethodologyThe transcriptome information of the surgical specimen fragments with and without multinodular goiter was accessed by Illumina HiSeq 2000 New Generation Sequencing (NGS) using the RNA-seq NEBNext® Ultra™ RNA Library Prep Kit for Illumina®-#E7530L protocol and differential gene expression analysis.ResultsDifferences were found between the gene expression profiles of the diseased tissues and those of the healthy control tissues; at least 70 genes were differentially expressed. The HOTS gene was expressed only in multinodular goiter tissues (p ConclusionThese results demonstrate that the gene expression profile of multinodular goiter is pro-tumoral and that HOTS can play a central role in multinodular goiter development