Phenotypic indications of FtsZ inhibition in hok/sok-induced bacterial growth changes and stress response

The hok/sok locus has been shown to enhance the growth of bacteria in adverse growth conditions such as high temperature, low starting-culture densities and antibiotic treatment. This is in addition to their well-established plasmid-stabilization effect via post-segregational killing of plasmid-free daughter cells. It delays the onset of growth by prolonging the lag phase of bacterial culture, and increases the rate of exponential growth when growth eventually begins. This enables the cells adapt to the prevailing growth conditions and enhance their survival in stressful conditions. These effects functionally complement defective SOS response mechanism, and appear analogous to the growth effects of FtsZ in the SOS pathway. In this study, the role of FtsZ in the hok/sok-induced changes in bacterial growth and cell division was investigated. Morphologic studies of early growth-phase cultures and cells growing under temperature stress showed elongated cells typical of FtsZ inhibition/deficiency. Both ftsZ silencing and over-expression produced comparable growth effects in control cells, and altered the growth changes observed otherwise in the hok/sok+ cells. These changes were diminished in SOS-deficient strain containing mutant FtsZ. The involvement of FtsZ in the hok/sok-induced growth changes may be exploited as drug target in host bacteria, which often propagate antibiotic resistance elements

Screening for Lignocellulolytic Fungi From Biowastes Show Fungi with Hyper-Cellulase Producing Capability

The decomposition of organic wastes, such as lignocellulosics to release the energy trapped therein has been remarked as one of the most important events of the carbon cycle.  The organisms involved in these processes, if harnessed could be useful bio-resources for the production of value added products, such as cellulase. To screen for these organisms, decomposing waste materials were collected from different places in the environment. Screening was done following established methods. Four fungi species were obtained. These were Aspergillus niger, Fusarium spp, Spadicoides spp and Aspergillus spp. Of all these, Aspergillus niger had the highest (0.085 mg/ml) extracellular cellulase secreting ability, when cultivated on sodium carboxy-methyl cellulose (Na-CMC). All the organisms grew were on sugar cane bagasse (SCB) sore carbon sourced media. These organisms have been implicated in cellulase production previously, while Spadicoides spp has rarely, if at all ever been reported for having high extracellular cellulase secreting ability and is hereby reported for further studies. Key words: Aspergillus niger, Spadicoides spp, cellulase, Sugar cane bagasse (SCB

Doxycycline inhibits pre-rRNA processing and mature rRNA formation in E. coli

In bacteria, RNase III cleaves the initial long primary ribosomal RNA transcripts/precursors (pre-rRNAs), thereby releasing the pre-16S and pre-23S rRNAs for maturation. This cleavage is specified by the double-stranded secondary structures flanking the mature rRNAs, and not necessarily by the nucleotide sequences. Inhibition of this cleavage would lead to a build-up of pre-rRNA molecules. Doxycycline has earlier been shown to bind synthetic double-stranded RNAs and inhibit their cleavage by RNase III. Since bacterial rRNA processing is primarily dependent on RNase III cleavage (which is inhibited by doxycycline), doxycycline could therefore inhibit the normal processing of bacterial rRNA. In this study, the effect of doxycycline on bacterial rRNA processing was investigated by analyzing the amounts of various rRNAs in growing Escherichia coli cells treated with doxycycline. The results showed a doxycycline dose-dependent decrease in mature 16S and 23S rRNAs, concurrent with an accumulation of the initial rRNA transcripts and long precursors. Morphologically, treated cells were elongated at low drug concentrations, while nucleoid degeneration indicative of cell death occurred at higher drug concentrations. These observations suggest that doxycycline inhibits the cleavage and processing of bacterial rRNA transcripts/precursors, leading to impaired formation of mature rRNAs, and the consequent inhibition of protein synthesis for which the tetracycline group of antibiotics are renowned. Since rRNA structure and processing pathway is conserved among bacterial species, this mechanism may account for the broad spectrum of antibiotic activity and selective microbial protein synthesis inhibition of doxycycline and the tetracyclines

IPOB Agitations for Self-Determination and the Response of the Federal Government of Nigeria: Implications for Political Stability

This study examines the strategies of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) agitations and the response of the Nigerian government towards IPOB agitators and its implications on political stability. The study adopted the use of survey research design. The sample of the study was taken from IPOB members in selected six locations of six states including Abuja. The selected locations were chosen due to the high activities of IPOB group. Using a sample size determination table, the sample size of the selected areas was summed up 385. In-depth interview was the second method of data collection. The returned copies of the questionnaire were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings showed that the government’s strategy for dealing with the Biafra separatist movement has focused mainly on police action, most times, involving excessive use of force. It can be concluded that the recurring agitation for Biafra has serious implications for political stability and democratic consolidation. Finally, it was recommended that the positive responses of government on development projects and inclusivity in governance will determine the courage IPOB and the Biafra movement will have going forward

Doxycycline induces Hok toxin killing in host E. coli

The antibacterial efficacy of the tetracycline antibiotics has been greatly reduced by the development of resistance, hence a decline in their clinical use. The hok/sok locus is a type I toxin/antitoxin plasmid stability element, often associated with multi-drug resistance plasmids, especially ESBL-encoding plasmids. It enhances host cell survivability and pathogenicity in stressful growth conditions, and increases bacterial tolerance to β-lactam antibiotics. The hok/sok locus forms dsRNA by RNA:RNA interactions between the toxin encoding mRNA and antitoxin non-coding RNA, and doxycycline has been reported to bind dsRNA structures and inhibit their cleavage/processing by the dsRNase, RNase III. This study investigated the antibacterial activities of doxycycline in hok/sok host bacteria cells, the effects on hok/sok-induced changes in growth and the mechanism(s) involved. Diverse strains of E. coli were transformed with hok/sok plasmids and assessed for doxycycline susceptibility and growth changes. The results show that the hok/sok locus increases bacterial susceptibility to doxycycline, which is more apparent in strains with more pronounced hok/sok-induced growth effects. The increased doxycycline susceptibility occurs despite β-lactam resistance imparted by hok/sok. Doxycycline was found to induce bacterial death in a manner phenotypically characteristic of Hok toxin expression, suggesting that it inhibits the toxin/antitoxin dsRNA degradation, leading to Hok toxin expression and cell death. In this way, doxycycline could counteract the multi-drug resistance plasmid maintenance/propagation, persistence and pathogenicity mechanisms associated with the hok/sok locus, which could potentially help in efforts to mitigate the rise of antimicrobial resistance

AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION ON HOW IPOB AGITATIONS AFFECT POLITICAL STABILITY IN NIGERIA

In this study, an effort was made to empirically investigate the effects of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) agitations for self-determination on Nigerian political stability. Some factors as the methods used in agitations and the actions of the government with regards to the group agitations have been identified as what can result in political instability in the country. Group theory is adopted in this study to analyze the IPOP group in their agitations for self-determination. Survey research design is used in this study. The instruments applied in this study are qualitative (interview) and quantitative (questionnaire) in nature to obtain relevant data from the IPOB group, and some members of the society. The areas of study are selected locations from six states in Nigeria with the addition of The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja. In Diaspora, four locations were covered to capture the existence of IPOB groups and their activities. They are South Africa, United States of America, London and Malaysia. It was concluded that IPOB agitations greatly affect Nigeria’s political stability. The result showed that the increase in the rate of agitations results in a decrease in the level of political stability. It is then recommended that Nigeria’s federal government should set up a team that will carry out a study on the countries where achievement of self-determination by groups have occurred and countries where it has not succeeded in order to weigh the pros and cons in order to ensure that Nigeria preserves or enhances its political stability

IPOB AGITATIONS AND POLITICAL STABILITY IN NIGERIA: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE SUPPORT GAINED

In this paper, an assessment is carried out on the agitations by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for self-determination and how these affect the political stability of Nigeria. This is done through survey research design that made use of instruments of data collection such as a questionnaire in addition to interviews administered to IPOB members, IPOB leaders, community leaders, government representatives, police, and IPOB Lawyer from selected areas. The collected data were analyzed using quantitative data analysis software – Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 32. The study revealed that the support gained by IPOB promotes continuous agitations for self-determination by IPOB and will lead to a decrease in political stability in Nigeria. The paper concludes that it is common for people to always identify with and support the group they belong to especially when they are fighting for a common cause that will be beneficial to all. In alliance with the findings, the suggestions from the paper are that policies of inclusiveness, where different groups as IPOB will be part of an entity without seeking for a separate country, should be supported either internally or externally. This will also raise the confidence IPOB with their group and various groups that are engaged in different types of agitations in Nigeria and furthermore will promote political stability in Nigeria

A Review of Environmental Effects of Surface Water Pollution

Water is life without pollution, but death when it is polluted. The objective of this study is to conduct a literature review of environmental effects of surface water pollution. The method used for this study is a review of academic journal articles, internet materials, textbooks, bulletins, conference papers, project reports and publicly available materials on the environmental effects of surface water pollution. All previous authors whose works were reviewed agreed that anthropogenic activities greatly contributed to surface water pollution and spatial variation of physicochemical parameters over time and location more than other sources in terms of both chemical and physical water pollutants that indicated elevated values of major chemical parameters (lead, cadmium, chromium, copper and some anions) beyond the permissible/threshold limits set by regulatory bodies. They also had a unity of opinion that the parameters have adverse effects on human plants, aquatic and physical environment. From the review and based on the results of the previous studies, this study concludes that most surface waters across the globe are polluted and as such must be treated before use both for domestic and industrial purposes to avoid the spread of epidemics that can lead to deaths of humans who are the most precious of all creatures. Recommendations of the study include: (1) regular review of environmental effects of surface water pollution by researchers to indicate the trend in pollutional loads of rivers and streams across the globe; (2) strict enforcement of regulations water quality standards and (3) regular monitoring of the environments of water bodies by regulators and the locals

Hybrid Vigor and Heritability Estimates in Tomato Crosses Involving Solanum lycopersicum × S. pimpinellifolium under Cool Tropical Monsoon Climate

High humidity is a major constraint to increased tomato fruit production in a cool tropical monsoon climate. However, the genetic variation observed in Solanum pimpinellifolium makes it a good gene donor for breeding tomato cultivars capable of thriving under high humidity. The objective of this study was to estimate heterosis, heritability for higher yield, and to assess the adaptability of the genotypes to humid conditions. Genotypes were raised from five morphologically divergent parents, viz., wild parent (W)–“LA2093,” “CLN2498D” (D), “CLN2417H” (H), “Tima” (T), and “UC Dan INDIA” (U). The F1s were generated by biparental mating design using “LA2093” as a common pollen donor that was selfed to produce F2s and backcrossed to both parents to obtain BC1s and BC2s. The trial was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Data were collected on selected yield-influencing traits and analyzed. “D × W” and “U × W” hybrids showed significant positive better parent heterosis for fruit weight per plant (30.4% and 35.5%) and total fruit yield (48.6% and 26.9%), respectively. The additive variance was higher than dominance variance for all the traits, including total fruit yield in all hybrids viz., “H × W,” “D × W,” “T × W,” and “U × W.” High narrow sense heritability estimate of ≥60% was observed in “D × W” and “U × W” hybrids for the majority of the floral and fruit traits including total fruit yield. This makes the improvement of “D × W” and “U × W” hybrids by direct selection advantageous. Hence, the adoption of selection for the affected traits in subsequent tomato breeding programs would enhance fruit yield and adaptability to humid environments