Letter to the editor “Prognostic value of microRNAs in colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis”

Rama Jayaraj,1 Chellan Kumarasamy,2 KM Gothandam3 1College of Health and Human Sciences, Charles Darwin University, NT, Australia; 2North Terrace Campus, University of Adelaide, SA, Australia; 3School of Biosciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, IndiaThe systematic review and meta-analyses published by Gao et al1 regarding the topic of microRNAs as prognostic markers in colorectal cancer (CRC) has been of great interest to us. Although previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses highlighting the prognostic value of miRNAs as prognostic markers in CRC exist, each of those studies is primarily focused on a single miRNA per study.2,3 Gao et al,1 via this expansive study, have managed to assess and highlight the prognostic utility of a variety of miRNAs in CRC. Both miR-21 and miR-181 have been highlighted in previous studies as being potential prognostic markers, but interestingly, Gao et al’s1 study is the first to highlight miR-224 and miR-141 as strong prognostic biomarkers, specifically in CRC.View the original paper by Gao and colleagues

Environmental Biotechnology Vol. 2

International audienceThis book provides the technological insight on biorefinery and nanoremediation and provides comprehensive reviews on applications of Biochar for environmental sustainability. Critical review on biosurfactants in food applications as well as sustainable agricultural practices has also been provided in this book. It also highlights the microbial-omics and microRNAs for protecting ecotoxicity. Overall, this book provides critical as well as comprehensive chapters on wastewater treatment using different technologies

PREVALENCE OF MULTI DRUG RESISTANT STRAINS ON TOUCH SCREEN OF AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE

Multiple drug resistant (MDR) bacteria have spread globally even on non-porous surfaces such as mobile phones, computers, public telephone booths,keypads and touch screens of automatic teller machine (ATM). In this study, occurrence of different groups of MDR bacteria from metallic keypad andtouch screens of ATM machine was examined. The samples were collected from different ATMs located in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. Swabs were taken from47 ATMs and 488 isolates were identified as Escherichia coli (49%), Klebsiella sp., (30%), Pseudomonas sp., (16%), Acinetobacter sp., (3%) and Proteussp., (1%) and they were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing with ampicillin, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, ceftizidime and meropenem of which 46isolates showed high level of resistance toward cefotaxime, and meropenem by plate assay. Further polymerase chain reaction amplification of NDM-1and CTX-M genes for all 46 isolates showed no amplified product, which showed the possibility for the presence of other types of extended spectrumβ-lactamases or metallo beta-lactamase. Our results showed the prevalence of MDR bacteria in ATM centers and most importantly awareness towardthe public regarding the spread of pathogenic bacteria in the environment.Keywords: Multiple drug resistance, Automatic teller machine centers, Public health, Antibiotic susceptibility pattern, Resistance gene

Exogenous expression of ACC deaminase gene in psychrotolerant bacteria alleviates chilling stress and promotes plant growth in millets under chilling conditions

463-468Endogeneous ethylene evolved during cold stress is a major limiting factor for plant growth which can be controlled by bacterial enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase (ACCD), by breaking down ACC, the precursor of ethylene. In the present study, we introduced ACCD expressing plasmid in ACCD negative psychrotolerant bacteria to study its effect on growth of finger and foxtail millet seedlings. ACCD negative Sphingomonas faeni ISO were selected and transformed with plasmid pRKACC containing the acdS gene. Inoculation of the millet seeds and studying physiological parameters when a cold stress of 4 and 10ºC was imposed showed that inoculation with ACCD expressing strains improved root and shoot length, biomass content of foxtail and finger millets seeds. Further, we also observed increased antioxidant activity in the plants by high levels of SOD, CAT, GPX, POD, APX and GR enzyme activity, and decreased proline content on inoculation with ACCD positive mutants. The enzyme ACC deaminase is thus be proved to be a potential strategy to alleviate cold stress in foxtail and finger millet by regulating endogenous ethylene evolved during stress conditions