Browsing by Author "Sayed AbdulAzeez"

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Entomopathogenic fungi and their biological control of Tetranychus urticae: Two-spotted spider mites
(2023) Khamis Al-Zahrani, Jawaher; Amira Alabdalall; Aly Osman, Mohamed; Aldakheel, Lena A.; Faisal AlAhmady, Nada; Aldakeel, Sumayh A.; J. Francis Borgio; Francis Borgio, J.; ElNaggar, Medhat A.; Alabdallah, Nadiyah M.; Almustafa, Mona M.
The two-spotted spider mite (TSSM) Tetranychus urticae, is regarded as one of the most dangerous pests responsible for great losses in most of agricultural crops. It is a persistent pest in Saudi Arabia, especially in greenhouses where T. urticae is primarily controlled by chemical pesticides. The main problem for the two-spotted spider mites is its high resistance to pesticides and high fertility rate. In the long term, chemical pesticides cause health problems and economic losses, so it was necessary to search for a safe alternative method for human health and the environment. One of these alternative methods was the selection of plant varieties resistant to the TSSM, in addition to biological control that includes mites or predatory insects and entomopathogenic fungi. The growth, reproduction, and life-table parameters of T. urticae were examined in a laboratory setting with a 16L:8D photoperiod at 28 ± 1 °C and 65 ± 5% RH, in the presence of three major members of Family: Solanaceae tomato, eggplant, and pepper. Pepper was shown to be less conducive to T. urticae growth and reproduction compared to eggplant and tomato. Tetranychus urticae proceeded through all five stages of its life cycle (egg, larva, protonymph, deutonymph, and adult) on tested solanaceous plants, and these plants significantly influenced its growth, reproduction, and Life-table parameters. Additionally, entomopathogenic fungi have been used against insects that have proven highly effective in controlling and reducing the density of two-spotted spider mites. Eight fungi were isolated from 80 insect and mite samples collected from several Saudi Arabia regions. Analysis of the 18S rRNA sequences revealed that the fungal strains identified as Beauveria bassiana, Fusarium sp. F. equiseti, F. oxysporium, Scopulariopsis brevicaulis1, S. brevicaulis2, Aspergillus sclerotiorum, and Penicillium citrinum. The ability of isolated fungi to secrete enzymes degrading the two-spotted spider mite cuticle, namely lipase, protease, and chitinase, were studied.
Genomic Landscape of Multidrug Resistance and Virulence in Enterococcus faecalis IRMC827A from a Long-Term Patient
(2023) Rahaf Khalid Al-Quwaie; AlJindan, Reem; Razan Aldahhan; Alquwaie, Rahaf; J. Francis Borgio; Reem AlJindan; AlEraky, Doaa M.; Noor Barak Almandil; Sayed AbdulAzeez; Doaa Mostafa AlEraky
We report on a highly virulent, multidrug-resistant strain of Enterococcus faecalis IRMC827A that was found colonizing a long-term male patient at a tertiary hospital in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The E. faecalis IRMC827A strain carries several antimicrobial drug resistance genes and harbours mobile genetic elements such as Tn6009, which is an integrative conjugative element that can transfer resistance genes between bacteria and ISS1N via an insertion sequence. Whole-genome-sequencing-based antimicrobial susceptibility testing on strains from faecal samples revealed that the isolate E. faecalis IRMC827A is highly resistant to a variety of antibiotics, including tetracycline, doxycycline, minocycline, dalfopristin, virginiamycin, pristinamycin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, clindamycin, lincomycin, trimethoprim, nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin. The isolate IRMC827A carries several virulence factors that are significantly associated with adherence, biofilm formation, sortase-assembled pili, manganese uptake, antiphagocytosis, and spreading factor of multidrug resistance. The isolate also encompasses two mutations (G2576T and G2505A) in the 23S rRNA gene associated with linezolid resistance and three more mutations (gyrA p.S83Y, gyrA p.D759N and parC p.S80I) of the antimicrobial resistance phenotype. The findings through next-generation sequencing on the resistome, mobilome and virulome of the isolate in the study highlight the significance of monitoring multidrug-resistant E. faecalis colonization and infection in hospitalized patients. As multidrug-resistant E. faecalis is a serious pathogen, it is particularly difficult to treat and can cause fatal infections. It is important to have quick and accurate diagnostic tests for multidrug-resistant E. faecalis, to track the spread of multidrug-resistant E. faecalis in healthcare settings, and to improve targeted interventions to stop its spread. Further research is necessary to develop novel antibiotics and treatment strategies for multidrug-resistant E. faecalis infections.
Identifying Pathogenic Variations on Early Stage of Pregnancy Using Invasive and Non-Invasive Prenatal Samples
(2022) Sonbol, Bayan Sameer Mohammed; Francis Borgio; Sayed AbdulAzeez
Various factors can increase the risk of fetal genetic abnormalities during pregnancy, such as maternal age and family history. Prenatal diagnosis is a critical clinical practice for couples at risk of genetic disorders in the fetus. The study aims to identify pathogenic gene variations in the early stage of fetal development using invasive and non-invasive prenatal samples by developing fetal cell isolation, gender determination, and gene variation screening. Different samples were collected from various sources, maternal blood (n=10), serum (n=8), paternal blood (n=7), maternal buccal swab (n=8), maternal urine (n=9), and amniotic fluid (n=6). Coelomic fluid (n=1) was also collected for the first time in the history of Saudi Arabia. Different methods were used for fetal cell isolation: morphology based using a designed manual micromanipulator from invasive samples; Cluster of differentiation 71 (CD71) microbeads mediated magnetic cell sorting and percoll based subfractionation for fetal nucleated red blood cells (fNRBCs) from invasive and non-invasive samples. In-house multiplex gender PCR was used for the fetus gender determination. Nested and Amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) PCR with newly designed primers carried out for detecting sickle cell disease (SCD) mutation (HBB:c.20A>T) in the isolated fetal cells. Our study has successfully identified a heterozygous sickle mutation in HBB gene from amniotic fluid cells and fetal DNA sample (n=3) using ARMS PCR. The study has also determined the fetal gender in single cell and fetal DNA using the gender PCR multiplex. All fetal DNA of fetal cells had a high accuracy than cell free fetal DNA (cffDNA). This study highlights that single-cell isolation from amniotic fluid and coelomic fluid could be used for accurate genetic screening for early diagnosis upon largescale validation.