Current Biotechnology - Volume 10, Issue 1, 2021

The current SARS coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has raised serious concerns regarding the inefficiency of available diagnostic methods for rapid and efficient detection of the disease. It is agreed widely that Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and antibody- based assays have several limitations that did not help much in preventing the exponential spread of the disease in a short span of period. Unarguably, the world needs “new-generation diagnostic intervention(s)” against rapidly spreading disease like SARS-CoV-2. We have presented an aptamer-based strategy as a possible point of care testing for the diagnosis of the disease. It has several advantages over current tools available and can be used for efficient combating by the mean of quick,cost-effective and much more accurate diagnostic against the enigmatic SARS-CoV-2 disease and similar pandemic which world may possibly encounter in the future.

Online analysis of bioprocesses by analytical spectroscopic methods is used to produce fast sample analysis. Bio-transformations are directly controlled by continuous process It improves management of Quality. Various methods for online analysis have been reported. This review article majorly covers applications for infrared [NIR and MIR]; Fluorescence; Ultraviolet [UV] Spectroscopy and Raman Spectroscopy for online monitoring of bioprocesses. The use of Uv- Vis spectroscopy in bioprocess monitoring to measure different chemicals compound present in sample. The measurement of proteins and other large molecule, where light is absorbed by functional group of molecules, resulting in non-specific uv-vis spectra. Raman spectroscopy is supportive to MIR, yielding different intensities and selectivity. Raman measures inelastic scattering from a monochromatic radiation source. Fluorescence spectroscopy monitoring and automation of fluorescence can be improved by using in combination with chemometric model for cultivation of e-coli. The application of spectroscopic methods for the analysis of bioprocess result in complex spectra. The methods under discussion produce datasets which overlapping spectra for all of these components which requires multivariate data analysis method, such as Partial least square (PLS), regression or principal component regression for data analysis also the use of calibration dataset and chemometric algorithms which is beyond the scope of review.

The coronaviruses are enveloped viruses with a positive-sense ssRNA genome, possess helical symmetry, and belongs to the family Coronaviridae. They cause mild to lethal respiratory tract infections in both mammals and birds. The more pathogenic coronaviruses cause SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. The recent coronavirus outbreak was first discovered in December 2019. Subsequently, the disease has been declared as a pandemic by The World Health Organization (WHO). The virus is named Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the disease is now called COVID-19 [Coronavirus disease 2019]. The primary route of the virus spread between people is through close contact where a healthy person inhales the respiratory droplets from an infected person either by cough or sneezing. More than 2 million confirmed cases are reported globally. The US has the world's largest number of COVID-19 cases followed by European countries. As of April 18, 2020, 2 074 529 confirmed, and 139 378 deaths were reported. Presently, there is no specific drug or vaccine that is approved to treat SARS-CoV-2. The practice of hygienic measures such as frequent hand wash, use of masks, and social distancing would prevent the spread of the disease. This review focuses on a brief description of the viral structure and its multiplication, epidemiology and therapeutics with a special mention on the nanotechnology approach to combat covid-19. This review describes briefly the SARS-CoV-2 viral structure and its multiplication, epidemiology and therapeutics.

Many taxa within class Actinobacteria, most notably genus Streptomyces, are known for the abundant presence of specialized biosynthetic pathways that convert essential cellular metabolites (amino acids, acyl moieties, such as acetyl-CoA, nucleotides etc.) into diverse natural products (NPs). NPs remain one of the pillars of modern pharmaceutical industry, and use of NPs as antibiotics is perhaps the most notable example of the commercial success of NPs. Nowadays, as humankind faces a formidable challenge to counter the rise of antimicrobial resistance and viral infections, there is renewed interest in streptomycetes as a source of novel NPs. This prompted the investigation of a variety of approaches to discover novel NPs and to improve the production of known ones. The focus of this review is on the use of regulatory genes to discover novel NPs. The two-layered scheme of regulation of NP biosynthesis is described and terms referring to cryptic NP gene cluster are detailed. Major players in global regulatory network are described as well as how their manipulation may be used to access the secondary metabolomes of Streptomyces and Actinobacteria in general. The value of studying the NP regulation in the era of synthetic biology is summarized in the last section.

The ocular surface, which is constantly exposed to the external environment, is one of the most sensitive zones and any complications which have a detrimental impact on it leading to reduced vision and/or blindness, severely impact the quality of life. The most commonly afflicted parts of the eye are the conjunctiva, eyelid, and cornea due to their position. Since the eye is moderately susceptible to microbial infection from bacteria, fungi or even viruses; there has been much speculation about whether or not the novel coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) can lead to ocular disorders. Given the high rate of transmission for this disease, it is of great importance to evaluate the risk of disease communication from the eye, such as by conjunctival and/ lacrimal discharge. While there are many articles on the topic exploring the ocular aspect of COVID-19/ SARS-CoV-2 infection; there is a significant volume of data that may or may-not seem contradictory at first glance. This is primarily due to the still-emerging nature of this disease and new data that is being unearthed every day. The problem is compounded by the fact that despite the over-all concordance, the different clinical teams have varying diagnostic criteria. This review attempts to consolidate the data available thus far regarding the risk of COVID-19 transmission from conjunctival/lacrimal discharge apart from the known modes of transmission, thereby allowing us to speculate whether additional protective measures are required to combat the zoonotic coronavirus pandemic currently ravaging the world.

Background: Proteases are the most important industrial enzymes with diverse applications in bacteria, such as Bacillus, commonly used to produce protease for industrial purposes. Proteases are commercially exploited in a larger scale, especially in pharmaceutical, food, leather, and detergent industries. Objective: The present study sought to screen and optimize protease enzyme activity produced by local bacteria. Methods: The effects of incubation time, temperature, and initial pH were investigated to improve the extracellular protease enzyme activity by two bacteria, named Bacillus subtilis strain DAR and Alkalihalobacillus hwajinpoensis strain 3NB. These two isolates have already been isolated and registered from Iran. Results: The results indicated that the optimum incubation time for the protease activity in B. Subtilis strain DAR is 36 h in contrast to 40 h in Alkalihalobacillus hwajinpoensis strain 3NB. The optimum incubation temperatures for enzyme activity for B. Subtilis and Alkalihalobacillus hwajinpoensis are 50°C and 40°C, respectively. Optimum pH values for protease activity of both bacteria are 8. Conclusion: The optimum incubation time, pH, and temperature were investigated for better protease activity. Further studies are recommended to improve protease activity by changing enzyme substrates.

Aims: This study was carried out to study the optimized condition for microalgae cultivation in terms of light intensity, and nutrient supply. Also, use of a carbon source was studied to optimize the microalgae growth to produce microalgae with a high biomass productivity and a high lipid content. Background: Algae can be categorized into macroalgae and microalgae. Commonly, microalgae are used to produce biodiesel since microalgae can yield 5000-15000 of oil gallons compared to plant-based biomass as feedstock produced 50-500 oil gallon. Furthermore, microalgae do not face any food crisis and can be cultivated in any wasteland that is not suitable for agriculture throughout the year, compared to crops. Microalgae can also be cultivated in freshwater, saline water and wastewater. Methods: Microalgae cultivation was carried out with microalgae culture labelled as MX1, MX2, MX3, MX4 and were cultivated under high light intensities, whereas MY1, MY2, MY3, MY4 were cultivated under medium light intensity and MZ1, MZ2, MZ3 MZ4 became control culture that was cultivated under high light intensities and no light condition. Results: The effect of light intensity, NPK fertilizer, and glucose on microalgae’s biomass production will be observed simultaneously. At the end of cultivation, MX2 obtained the highest biomass of 97.186 g. The oil extraction yield is 9.66%. GC-MS analysis showed the presence of UFA and PUFA in the oil. Conclusion: Thus, future research is needed to improve the technique to increase the microalgae biomass and lipid to become the potential feedstock for the production of biodiesel.

Background: Alkaline proteases are essential enzymes that have several applications in our industry. Objective: The aim was to optimized the nutritional parameters by one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) method in solid-state fermentation. Methods: Production of protease by employing our laboratory's new isolate, Alternaria alternata TUSG1 (strain accession number- MF401426) under solid-state fermentation was optimized. The nutritional factors were investigated, and only one agricultural residue (cauliflower leaves) with different particle sizes was checked. Results: Highest enzyme production was obtained with a medium particle size of cauliflower leaves (610 U/gds) followed by coarse waste (603U/gds) and fine waste (596 U/gds) using 106 spores/ml as inoculum at 30° C for 7 days. The organism utilized carbon sources 0.5% (w/w) dextrose, fructose, maltose, sucrose, lactose, and starch. Among them, maltose was found to be the best carbon source. A variety of inorganic and organic media components were investigated for nitrogen sources of 0.3% (w/w), and skim milk was turned out to the best. Conclusion: The maximum enzyme activity was obtained with 1% of maltose, 0.5% of skim milk, and 0.05% of MgSO4. With optimized media, 1.53 fold increase in the protease production at agricultural residue cauliflower leaves was obtained.

Background: The Zinc oxide Nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were synthesized successfully by using Tagetes erecta flower aqueous extract and evaluated for their antioxidant potential, antimicrobial and cytotoxic potential. Methods: Phytochemical screening of aqueous crude extract and synthesized ZnO NPs of Tagetes erecta flower revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, carbohydrates, amino acids, tannins, proteins, etc. The characterization was done by various spectral analyses. In vitro antioxidant activities of synthesized ZnO NPs were found to possess concentration-dependent free radical scavenging activity was carried on different free radicals i.e. DPPH and ABTS. Antimicrobial activity of synthesized ZnO NPs was performed by agar well diffusion method and compared with control ampicillin, while cytotoxic effects were determined by MTT assay against human cervical cancer cell line. Results: UV-Visible spectra were conducted to confirm the synthesis of ZnO NPs and peak obtained at 364.15nm. X-ray analysis confirmed the crystalline nature of the nanoparticles and the average size of the nanoparticles was 30-50nm and was spherical shape analyzed by SEM. The synthesized ZnO NPs showed antimicrobial activity against all tested microorganisms and a maximum inhibition zone was found against E. coli in gram-negative and S. aureus in gram-positive bacteria. Synthesized ZnO NPs were showed 50% cell viability at 26.53μg/ml against the HeLa cancer cell line. Conclusion: The conclusion of this study suggests both the aqueous crude extract of Tagetes erecta flower and synthesized ZnO NPs showed an excellent alternative source of antimicrobial agent also an attractive selective cytotoxic activity against HeLa tested cancer lines, offering satisfying ‘safe and cheaper’ alternatives to conventional therapy protocols.