Atypical presentation of Hand foot mouth disease (HFMD) caused by enterovirus serotype Coxsackievirus A6, in India

A 27-year-old male presented in the OPD of Naval Hospital in Port Blair, Andaman Islands, India, in 2011 with a history of low-grade fever associated with malaise and a pruritic skin rash. Case 2 – A 17-year-old male student reported to the OPD at Naval Hospital, Kochi Kerala, India, in August 2015. He presented with eruptions on both the palm and soles with a history of high-grade fever for the past 3–4 days. Clinically, both the cases were diagnosed as hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). Both samples were tested against measles virus and varicella-zoster IgM antibodies by enzyme immunoassay and found negative. Stool sample (case 1) and lesion swab (case 2) were processed by enterovirus reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and phylogenetic analysis, and both were positive for enterovirus human coxsackievirus A6 (CVA6) (untranslated region [UTR]). Phylogenetic analysis also confirmed that both the CVA6 etiology belonged to the genotype F. HFMD in adults often asymptomatic and very few patients get atypical symptoms. Clinical diagnosis is often troublesome to identify HFMD in such cases. An epidemiological surveillance/vigilance is essential to document these atypical cases in near future in developing countries like India

Anopheles sundaicus Mosquitoes as Vector for Plasmodium knowlesi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

Using PCR and sequencing, we found Plasmodium knowlesi in the malaria vector Anopheles sundaicus mosquito collected from Katchal Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. We cannot rule out natural transmission of this parasite to humans through this mosquito species. An in-depth investigation is needed to prevent disease outbreaks

Complete Genome Analysis of Undecylprodigiosin Pigment Biosynthesizing Marine <i>Streptomyces</i> Species Displaying Potential Bioactive Applications

Marine Streptomyces species are underexplored for their pigment molecules and genes. In this study, we report the genome of the undecylprodigiosin biosynthesizing gene cluster carrying Streptomyces sp. strain BSE6.1, displaying antioxidant, antimicrobial, and staining properties. This Gram-positive obligate aerobic bacterium was isolated from the coastal sediment of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Pink to reddish pigmented colonies with whitish powdery spores on both agar and broth media are the important morphological characteristics of this bacterium. Growth tolerance to NaCl concentrations was 2 to 7%. The assembled genome of Streptomyces sp. BSE6.1 contains one linear chromosome 8.02 Mb in length with 7157 protein-coding genes, 82 tRNAs, 3 rRNAs and at least 11 gene clusters related to the synthesis of various secondary metabolites, including undecylprodigiosin. This strain carries type I, type II, and type III polyketide synthases (PKS) genes. Type I PKS gene cluster is involved in the biosynthesis of red pigment undecylprodigiosin of BSE6.1, similar to the one found in the S. coelicolor A3(2). This red pigment was reported to have various applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. The genome of Streptomyces sp. BSE6.1 was submitted to NCBI with a BioProject ID of PRJNA514840 (Sequence Read Archive ID: SRR10849367 and Genome accession ID: CP085300)

Heavy Metal tolerant Non endosymbiont PGPR’s; Psuedomonas spp. and Bacillus spp. associated with the roots of evergreen shrubs Casuarinas equisetifolia

There is a lack in research related to association of non-endosymbiont bacteria with Casuarina sp. PGPR non-endosymbiont bacteria like pseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp. are long associated with their properties of heavy metal accumulation and plant growth promoting activity. The present study focuses on heavy metal tolerant and accumulation potential of non endosymbiont PGPR isolated from rhizosphere of Casuarina equisetifolia. The plant growth promoting properties was studied by pot culture studies on fast growing Indian moth bean Vigna aconitifolia. In the pot culture study three bacterial isolates were found to be increasing the root and shoot length by Pseudomonas sp. RS-1 (7.4±0.64 and 21.7±1.42), Bacillus sp. RS-2 (6.5±0.93 21.2±2.09) and and Bacillus sp. RS-3 (6.4±0.73 19.1±1.83) respectively. The maximum tolerance concentration of Pseudomonas sp. RS-1 shows 200 mg/L towards Cr (VI), Pb (II) 150 mg/L whereas tolerance for Cd (II), and Zn (II) were 100mg/L. Maximum % removal was shown by Bacillus sp. RS-3 towards Cr, Pb and Zn (42.51, 26.35 and 26.65 % respectively), Pseudomonas sp. RS-1 towards Cd (36.52 %). As Frankia ecological interaction between non-endosymbiont bacteria and phytoremediation ability of Casuarina sp. is not fully understood. Further study in this area may lead to better prospect in application of Casuarina as a phytoremediation agent