Endophytic fungi live inside plants or any part of them without creating any visible pathogenic signs. Endophytic fungi are found within medicinal plants and have shown strong biologic activity, such as anticancer and antioxidant activities, as well as producing extracellular enzymes. In this study, different fungal strains were isolated from the leaves of the medicinal plant Ziziphus spina, including Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium sp., Rhizopus sp., and Mucor sp. Extracellular enzymes have been quantified using agar plate-based methods in which fungi were grown in specified growth media to detect the enzymes produced. The results showed that A. niger has the highest ability to produce amylase, Cladosporium sp. has the highest ability to produce protease and pectinase, Rhizopus and Mucor sp. have the highest ability to produce cellulase, and A. niger and Cladosporium sp. have the same ability to produce lipase and laccase. The ability of medicinal plant endophytic fungi to produce extracellular enzymes has great therapeutic potential in clinical microbiology. Some of the isolates showed great activity in secreting particular enzymes, indicating that the enzymes of these fungi could be used in a variety of applications.
A significant increase in the incidence of non-O157 verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) infections have become a serious health issues, and this situation is worsening due to the dissemination of plasmid mediated multidrug-resistant microorganisms worldwide. This study aims to investigate the presence of plasmid-mediated verotoxin gene in non-O157 E. coli. Standard microbiological techniques identified a total of 137 E. coli isolates. The plasmid was detected by Perfectprep Plasmid Mini preparation kit. These isolates were subjected to disk diffusion assay, and plasmid curing with ethidium bromide treatment. The plasmid containing isolates were subjected to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for investigating
... Show MoreThirteen isolates were collected from various clinical sources during the periodfrom 22/10/2017 to 22/12/2017. All the isolates were diagnosed based on the microscopic and biochemical propertiesby Vitek-2 Compact system. All isolates formed biofilm 100%, with 30% of isolatesbiofilm produced strongly and 70% on medium. The results of the present study have shown the presence of Curli fimbriae genes in E. cloacae bacteria from cases of urinary tract infections, infected patient with blood bacteremia and inflammation of wounds. Curli fimbriae is considered to be an important factor in the virulence of E.cloacae bacteria, which plays an important role in adhering and combining cells on solid surfaces to form the biofilmand helps in the adhesion
... Show MoreSeveral toxigenic cyanobacteria produce the cyanotoxin (microcystin). Being a health and environmental hazard, screening of water sources for the presence of microcystin is increasingly becoming a recommended environmental procedure in many countries of the world. This study was conducted to assess the ability of freshwater cyanobacterial species Westiellopsis prolifica to produce microcystins in Iraqi freshwaters via using molecular and immunological tools. The toxigenicity of W. prolifica was compared via laboratory experiments with other dominant bloom-forming cyanobacteria isolated from the Tigris River: Microcystis aeruginosa, Chroococcus turigidus, Nostoc carneum, and Lyngbya sp. signifi
... Show MoreProteus mirabilis isolates have been intensively researched for their capacity to cause urinary tract infections (UTIs) and their swarming motility, although little is known about this phenomenon. Probiotic Lactobacillus species, which are beneficial bacteria, are being studied worldwide as therapeutic and preventative agents against bacterial infections. This study investigated Lactobacillus supernatants as a potential new treatment against Proteus mirabilis. In addition to testing their antimicrobial and anti-swarming activities, the research also aimed to understand the genetic mechanisms behind the observed phenotypic changes. Methods. A total of 150 urine specimens were collected from UTI patients at various hospitals in Baghdad. Dire
... Show MoreMicrosporum canis is considered one of the filamentous fungi that cause surface fungal contagion in the humans and animals. The present study aimed to diagnose M. canis via the molecular method and differentiating its local Iraqi isolates from global isolates. Microscopic examination showed 55 specimens with M. canis from 130 specimens collected from children aged between 4-10 years suspected of dermatophytes who attended Medical City Laboratories and Baghdad Hospital in Baghdad city from 1/12/2022 to 1/3/2023. The results showed that the frequency of M. canis infections was 55/130 (42.31%). The results demonstrated significant differences in the animals' contact (p <0.0001), lesions (0.03) and habitation area (p =0.002). Whilst
... Show MoreThe present study includs the isolation and identification of Keratinophilic fungi in fresh water samples collected from Tigris river in Baghdad, Iraq. Samples were collected from different districts of Baghdad (Al-Rustumia, Madina Al-Teb, Al-Azamia, Al-Kadimia, Al-Dorha and Al-Kanah). The water samples were examined for keratinophilic fungi by the plating method culturing and Hair Baiting Technique. A total number of 18 genera are recorded, in which the Tigris water indicates an impressive diversity of fungi. A variety of fungal strains were isolated from river water, out of 814 fungal colonies, Aspergillus terrus (5.5%) was the most frequent species, followed by Asperg
... Show MoreThe study included the investigation of fungi which associated with heavy animal's leather (Cows and Buffalos) and light (Sheep’s and Goats )through different processing stages (raw hides ,dehairing ,pickling,chrome tanned and stainning or finished stages)there were 10 genera and 25 species in addition to sterile fungi associated with animal leathers which included Alternaria ,Aspergillus,Cladosporium,Fusarium, Mucor , Penicillium , Rhizopus , and Trichoderma .Aspergillus and Penicillium have observed in all leather samples and different processing stages, and that the first time isolate two genera Helminthosporium , Stemphylium form leather for staining stage.
Cladosporium sp. plays an important role in human health, it is one of the pathogenic fungi which cause allergy and asthma and most frequently isolated from airborne spores. In this study, a couple of universal PCR primers were designed to identify the pathogenic fungi Cladosporium sp. according to conserved region 5.8S, 18S and 28S subunit ribosomal RNA gene in Cladosporium species. In silico RFLP-PCR were used to identify twenty-four Cladosporium strains. The results showed that the universal primer has the specificity to amplify the conserved region in 24 species as a band in virtual agarose gel. They also showed that the RFLP method is able to identify three Cladosporium spe
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