Molecular Identification of Mycobacterium Strains Responsible of Bovine Tuberculosis Cases in Bobo-Dioulasso Slaughterhouse, Burkina Faso

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an endemic zoonosis significantly affects animal health in Burkina Faso. The primary causative agent is Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) complex, mainly M. bovis. Cattle are considered as natural reservoir of M. bovis. However, in Burkina Faso, the circulation of these strains remains poorly understood and documented. This study aimed to identify and characterize Mycobacterium strains from suspected carcasses during routine meat inspection at Bobo-Dioulasso refrigerated slaughterhouse. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2021 to December 2022 on cases of seizures linked to suspected bovine tuberculosis. Microbiological and molecular analyzes were used for mycobacterial strain isolation and characterization. Out of 50 samples, 24% tested positive by microscopy and 12% by culture. Molecular analysis identified 6 strains of Mycobacteria, exclusively Mycobacterium bovis specifically the subspecies bovis (Mycobacterium bovis subsp bovis). In conclusion, M. bovis subsp bovis is the primary agent responsible for bovine tuberculosis in Bobo-Dioulasso. Continuous monitoring of mycobacterial strains is therefore necessary for the effective control of this pathology in the local cattle population.

Morphological and Molecular Identification of Fungi Associated with Sesame Diseased Plants of the Three Agroclimatic Zones of Burkina Faso

Sesame is Burkina Faso’s second essential agricultural export after cotton. It’s consequently a supply of income for producers and foreign exchange for the country. However, sesame production is characterized by low average yields of about 538 kg·ha-1 at the farmer’s field as compared to the potential yield of the improved varieties (1500 - 2000 kg·ha-1). Fungal diseases are some of the major constraints to sesame production in Burkina Faso. The present study contributes to the development of means to control pathogenic fungi of this crop, which are responsible for significant losses. The objective is to identify the fungi associated with diseased sesame plant samples. To this end, 149 samples of diseased sesame plants were collected from different production sites located in three agro-climatic zones of the country. The analysis of the samples according to the blotting paper method, based on the morphological characteristics of the fungi, allowed the identification of 18 genera with prevalence rates from 2.68% to 97.98%. The most frequently identified genera were Macrophomina (97.98%), Cercospora (86.57%), Fusarium (85.23%), Phoma (62.41%) and Colletotrichum (61.07%). The results also showed a variable distribution of fungi according to the agro-climatic zone with the predominance of Macrophomina in all three zones. Molecular identification by DNA sequencing of 120 isolates belonging to the different fungi detected allowed the identification of 25 species of which the most representative were Macrophomina phaseolina, Cercospora sesami, Corynespora cassiicola, Alternaria simsimi, Alternaria porri, Fusarium oxysporum, F. fujikuroi, F. equiseti, Colletotrichum capsici, and C. gloesporiodes. The present study showed that diseased sesame plants collected from different production sites in Burkina Faso housed several species of fungi. The fungi presence in diseased plants indicates the need to inform and raise the stakeholders’ awareness about the phytosanitary problems of sesame, but also to develop effective and appropriate control methods against these crop pathogens in Burkina Faso.

Morphology and Molecular Identification of Dry Fish Fungus Cunninghamella blakesleeana from Small Indigenous Fish “Kachki” Corica soborna (Hamilton 1822) in Bangladesh

The present experiment was conducted to investigate a dry fish fungus, Cunnighamella blakesleeana, which was identified from the infected part of the Corica soborna, locally named as Kachki fish. Mycelium was hyaline, often with granular content, and conidiophores were erected, with verticillate or solitary branches. Zygospores were globose, tuberculate, suspensors equal, smooth, hyaline and heterothallic. Using ITS4 and ITS5 primers, the 740 bp-long ITS region was amplified and sequenced. The ITS region sequences had reciprocal homologies of 98% to 100%. The findings showed that several species of C. blakesleeana fall into the same cluster. It has been determined by molecular data that the fungus we had studied was C. blakesleeana. The maximum mycelial growth (95.33 mm) was observed in the PDA medium, followed by the PSA medium, and the lowest growth (65.50 mm) was measured in the HPA medium in the study of the impact of culture media on the mycelial growth of C. blakesleeana. The influence of temperature on the radial mycelial growth of C. blakesleeana on PDA medium was investigated through five different temperatures. Although pH is a crucial factor in understanding the ecology of spoilage fungus, the highest mycelial growth of C. blakesleeana (88.25 mm) was seen at pH 7, followed by pH 8 and pH 6, while pH 9 was revealed to have the lowest mycelial growth. The outcome suggested that C. blakesleeana thrived in neutral environments.

Molecular Identification of Alternaria alternate (Fr.) Keissl. from the Leaf Blight Disease of Centella asiatica L.

Centella asiatica (L.), frequently known as Thankuni, is an important ethnobotanical plant in Bangladesh. This study was conducted to evaluate the morphological characteristics, cultural factors and molecular identification of the causal agent of Alternaria leaf blight disease of C. asiatica. The potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium recorded the maximum mycelial growth (69 mm), followed by the yeast extract agar (YEA) medium, while the honey peptone agar (HPA) medium recorded the lowest growth (27 mm). The optimal pH and temperature for mycelial growth of Alternaria alternata were 6 and 30°C, respectively. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of Alternaria alternata PCR products measured 558 bp and blast search showed 99% sequence similarity with Alternaria alternata species complex. To the best of our knowledge, Alternaria leaf blight disease caused by Alternaria alternata is the first record in Bangladesh.

DNA Molecular Identification of Botanical Origin in Chinese Herb Qingjiao

[Objective] The research aimed to distinguish Chinese herb Qingjiao from its botanical origin plants by comparing different DNA sequences,so as to provide a molecular basis for origin identification and quality evaluation.[Method] The cpDNA psbA-trnH and nrDNA ITS sequences of five Chinese herb Qingjiao plants,including Gentiana macrophylla pall.,Gentiana straminea Maxim.,Gentiana crassicaulis Duthie ex Burk.,Gentiana dahurica Fisch and Gentiana officinalis H.Smith,were amplified with PCR,and then sequenced by direct PCR sequencing method for homologous analysis.[Results] The length of cpDNA psbA-trnH of five plants was 316-318 bp;there were seven different haplotypes and seven variable sites;the GC content of the sequence was 21.2%;the phylogenetic clustering showed the same result as haplotype analysis.The length of nrDNA ITS sequence of five plants was 624-625 bp,there were five different haplotypes and 13 variable sites;the GC content of the sequence was 59.3%.The result of phylogenetic clustering suggested that G.dahurica and G.straminea,G.macrophylla and G.officinalis clustered together as sister clades,respectively.[Conclusion] The nucleotide differences of nrDNA ITS regions could be used for distinguishing botanical origin in Chinese herb Qingjiao.

DNA Extraction and Molecular Identification of Green Tea

[Objective] The aim of this study was to provide reference for the quality identification of green tea.[Method] Green Tea was used as materials,and its total DNA was extracted through improved CTAB method.And the obtained DNA was used to carry out identification on 10 varieties of green tea through ISSR molecular markers.[Result] The high quality DNA from green tea could be obtained with new method,the DNA yield ranged from 101-498 μg/g tea sample for various green tea samples,and the average yield was 249 μg/g tea sample.The ISSR detection result showed that ISSR markers could effectively differentiate different varieties of green tea.[Conclusion] The result had provided reference for the further study on molecular identification of green tea.

Molecular identification and culture observation on Acrochaete leptochaete (Chaetophoraceae, Chlorophyta) from China

Acrochaete leptochaete （Huber） Nielsen （Chaetophoraceae, Chlorophyta） was isolated from the macroalgae Chaetomorpha collected from intertidal pools in Rongcheng, Shandong, China. 18S rDNA combined with ITS regions were used to ascertain the morphological identification of the isolated material. Based on the unialgal culture, asexual reproduction and growth characteristics of A. leptochaete were investigated over wide ranges of temperature and irradiance. Results revealed that asexual reproduction of A. leptochaete could be realized by biflagellate zoospores. The zoospores germinated directly to give self- replicating generations. Zoospore germination was bipolar. A temperature range from 13-21 ℃ and a lower irradiance of 36 μmol/（m2.s） were most favorable for the growth ofA. leptochaete. Thallus organization, an important taxonomic criterion for the genus Acrochaete, was affected markedly by temperature and irradiance. Our results extend the knowledge about the species＇ general biology and its morphological plasticity. For classification and identification of a simple microphytic algae like A. leptochaete, which are traditionally placed in the class Chaetophoraceae, we propose that molecular tools associated with culture observations are applied.

Molecular Identification and Cultivar Fingerprints of Prunus persica (L.) Batsch Germplasms

[Objective] The aim was to study the molecular identification and cultivar fingerprints of Prunus persica (L.) Batsch germplasms.[Method] Sixty peach genotypes,representing China common local cultivars and European samples were screened by microsatellites (simple sequence repeats,SSRs) and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers.[Result] 26 reproducible bands were amplified by Nine SSR primers,and 24 of which were polymorphic; 236 bands were amplified by 30 ISSR primers,and 113 of which were polymorphic.31 genotypes were discriminated with 1-3 distinct polymorphic bands generated from the primers ISSR and SSR.Seven cultivar-specific ISSR fragments and two SSR unique alleles obtained from this study were available to be converted into Sequence Characterized Amplified Region (SCAR) markers.The genetic similarity coefficient (GS) estimated from these molecular data averaged were 0.939 (ranged from 0.856 to 0.983) for ISSR and 0.646 (ranged from 0.240 to 1.000) for SSR,respectively.The combined grouping association indicated that most local Chinese peach cultivars and exotic accessions were clustered together.This could be related to the mode of introduction and maintenance of the peach cultivars involving limited foundation germplasm,exchange of cultivars between plantations,and periodic development of new recombinant cultivars following sexual reproduction.[Conclusion] The results obtained in this work would help to improve the conservation,molecular identification and management of peach germplasm in breeding.

The Utility of Specific Markers Based on ITS2 Sequences for Molecular Identification and Detection of Trichogramma spp.

The technology based on specific PCR amplification using internal transcribed spacer 2 of nuclear ribosomal DNA for molecular identification and detection of Trichogramma species was studied. Firstly the ITS2s of six Trichogramma species were cloned and sequenced, and the interspecific sequence variation was analyzed. Secondly the ITS2 regions of six geographical populations of T. dendrolimi were cloned and sequenced, and the intraspecific sequence identity was analyzed. The results show that the interspecific variation and intraspecific similarity of ITS2 sequences are very suitable for designation of specific primers at species-level. Screening of specific primers for T. dendrolimi leads to final sensitive and stable diagnostic primers. This system lets non-specialists can not only identify adults (males and females), but also identify eggs in parasitized hosts rapidly and accurately, which is impossible by conventional methods. Further development of this protocol can create a complete set of specific primers for different species of the whole genus Trichogramma .

Pathogenicity Assay and Molecular Identification of Fungi and Bacteria Associated with Diseases of Tomato in Malaysia

This study was conducted in order to determine the fungi and bacteria associated with tomato plants at Cameron Highlands Malaysia. The fungi which have been isolated and detected from tomato plants were: Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, F. acuminatum, Rhizoctonia solani, Colletotrichum boninense, C. acutatum and Phoma destructiva. The bacteria which have been isolated and detected from tomato plants were: Ralstonia solanacearum, Xanthomonas vesicatoria, X. gardneri and Pseudomonas syringae. While the most pathogenic fungi were C. boninense, P. destructive and F. oxysporum with the disease incidence (89.6%, 86.6%, 85.6%) respectively, the most pathogenic bacteria were X. vesicatoria and R. solanacearum with the disease incidence (96.6% and 87.6%) respectively.

Prevalence of cercarial infections in freshwater snails and morphological and molecular identification and phylogenetic trends of trematodes

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of cercarial infections in freshwater snails from several water sources in Nakhon Nayok,Nonthaburi,and Pathum Thani provinces of Central Thailand,and to reconstruct a phylogenetic tree for improved understanding of the relationships in the cercarial stage.Methods:The snail specimens were collected from 34 total sampling sites and investigated for cercarial infections using the crushing method.The cercarial specimens were classified and used for the phylogenetic tree analysis using the Internal Transcribed Spacer 2(ITS2).Results:A total of 1921 snail specimens were classified into five families and seven species.The results showed that four snail species were identified as intermediate hosts of the larval stages of trematodes,with an overall prevalence of infection of 2.45%(47/1921).The infected snail specimens included five groups of the cercarial type:cercariaeum cercariae,echinostome cercaria,megalurous cercaria,parapleurolophocercous cercaria,and xiphidiocercariae.This is particularly true of xiphidiocercariae,which was found to be the dominant type among cercarial infections in bithyniid snails by approximately 38.00%.With regard to molecular identification,the phylogenetic tree was reconstructed using the neighbor-joining method with 10000 bootstraps and separated the trematodes into three clades:Echinostomatoidea,Microphalloidea and Opisthorchioidea.Conclusions:The study reveals a high prevalence of cercarial infection for each cercarial type and maturation into a definite trematode genus and delineates morphological characteristics and evolutionary trends among each larval trematode in Nakhon Nayok,Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani provinces.In addition,the ITS2 sequence data of cercariae could be used to examine classification of these species at the family level.

Development of A High-throughput Molecular Identification Method Suitable for Fungi

Fungi play a significant role in biology-related domains, and with the molecular biology technology advancing, identification of fungi at molecular level and verification of genetic transformant has become the necessary step of test. By far, however, there is no ideal high-throughput molecular identification method. In this paper, a high-throughput device was designed, and a novel PCR-mediated molecular identification method suitable for the device was developed. Through cloning of ccllulase encoding genes and regulatory genes on the genome of Trichoderma reesei, cloning of promoter of phesphoglycerate kinase gene 1 and xylanase encoding genes on the genome and expression vector of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and ITS sequences cloning and RAPD analysis of T. reesei, S. cerevisiae, Penicil- lium oxalicum, Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus niger, A. carbonarius and A. japonicas, the method turned out to be an effective one with wide application potential. The establishment of the method has worked out the bottleneck of high-throughput molecular identification.

Molecular Identification of D. nuttalli and D.marginatus

This study was to establish a molecular identification method to distinguish Dermacentor nuttalli(D. nuttalli) and Dermacentor marginatus(D. marginatus),and to study their phylogenetic relationship. The ticks were collected from domestic animals in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for morphological identification,then their genomic DNAs were isolated for amplifying mitochondrial 16 S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene(COI). The phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the sequencing results of PCR products by employing Mega 5. 0 and Mrbayes 3. 2 for homology analysis. Clustering analysis PCR product for 16 S rRNA from both D. marginatus and D. nuttalli was clustered together with their respective 16 S rRNA sequences previously accessed in GenBank,and that for COI gene as well. These are basically identical with morphological identification results. Our results indicate that morphological identification,combined with molecular markers,would be a simple and accurate method for distinguishing D. nuttalli and D. marginatus.

Rapid Molecular Identification of Tribolium destructor

In this study, a rapid molecular identification method of Tribolium destructor was established with PCR and PCR-RFLP （polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism） technology. According to the results, （ 1 ） with PCR method, specific primers were designed based on CO1 gene of T. destructor for PCR amplification, and electrophoresis detection confirmed that PCR method could be used to rapidly and accurately identify T. destructor; （2） with PCR-RFLP method, two pairs of degenerate primers were used to amplify CO1 gene of Tribolium species, PCR products were digested with HindIII and detected by electrophoresis, results indicated that PCR-RFLP method could also be used for rapid identification of T. destructor in quarantine practice.

Mophological and Molecular Identification of Potato Cyst Nematode from Sichuan,China

[Objectives]The infection symptoms of cyst nematodes were found in Yuexi, Sichuan. In order to identify the pathogen, the isolated nematodes were identified by morphology and molecular biology. [Methods] The potato roots and soil around the roots were collected, the nematodes in the roots were stained and observed, and the cysts were separated by the simple floating method. The second-stage juveniles(J2 s), females and cysts were found, and they were photographed and morphologically measured. The DNA of cysts and J2 s were extracted and identified by species-specific PCR. The DNA sequences of 18 S gene, 28 S D2-D3 region and ITS region in ribosomal DNA were obtained. Sequences of some cyst nematode species were downloaded from GenBank for sequence alignment, and MrBayes 3.2.3 software was used to construct a Bayesian phylogenetic tree. [Results] The nematodes could invade hosts’ root system. The basal knobs of J2 s was nearly round and inclined backward;the average length of the stylet was shorter than 23 μm;the Granek ratio of cysts was greater than or equal to 3, which is highly consistent with that of Globodera rostochiensis. The DNA templates of three cysts and four J2 s were amplified by species-specific PCR, and a band of about 430 bp was obtained. After further sequencing, the length was 434 bp, which is consistent with G. rostochiensis. The evolutionary analysis of rDNA 18 S and 28 S showed that the cyst nematode population was a Globodera species, and further evolutionary analysis of ITS gene confirmed that the population was G. rostochiensis. [Conclusions] The nematodes are G. rostochiensis, which is a quarantine species of great concern to both domestic and import quarantine. Once introduced and colonized, it is hard to eradicate. It is necessary to establish a monitoring system as soon as possible, strengthen the quarantine, supervision and management, increase investment in G. rostochiensis research and development, and develop detection and control technologies, so as to escort the healthy and sustainable development of China’s potato industry.

Vegetative Growth and Molecular Identification of Fusarium equiseti Isolated from Wilt Disease of Centella asiatica L. in Bangladesh

Centella asiatica (L.) is commonly known as Thankuni plant and has ethnobotanical importance in Bangladesh. Present experiment was conceded to investigate the wilt disease of C. asiatica, vegetative growth and molecular characterization of pathogenic fungi. Pathogenic fungus, Fusarium equiseti was identified as a causal agent of wilt disease in C. asiatica. The effect of culture media on the mycelial growth of F. equiseti showed the highest (89.25 mm) on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium followed by carrot agar (CA) medium and the lowest growth (40.25 mm) was measured in HA medium. The optimal temperature and pH for mycelial growth of F. equiseti were 30°C and 7, respectively. The genetic variation of the selected species of fungi, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was amplified using ITS4 and ITS5 primers and sequenced. The PCR product of the ITS region of F. equiseti was 535 bp. Phylogenetic tree of thirty-seven strains of Fusarium sp. based on the nucleotide sequences of the ITS region using the neighbor-joining method with 1000 bootstrapping indicated that 98% - 100% identity with MN886590.1 JUF0046 (F. equiseti). ITS sequences are generally constant, or show little variation within species, but vary between species in a genus. The ITS region is relatively short and can be easily amplified by PCR using universal single primer pairs. Genetic distance exhibited high level of similarity with identical ITS sequences. To date, no published research articles are found on the molecular identification of F. equiseti, the causal agent of fusarium wilt disease of C. asiatica in Bangladesh.

Molecular identification of plants regenerated from somatic hybridization between rice and apomictic Panicum

We attempted to introduce apomictic gene(s)into rice via somatic hybridization by usingapomictic Panicum maximum Jacq.as thedonor of apomictic gene(s).Protoplasts of rice derived from suspen-sion cells were inactivated with indoacetamide(IOA)and protoplasts of Panicum maximum

Purification and Molecular Identification of an Antifungal Peptide from the Hemolymph of Musca domestica （housefly）

Antibacterial and antifungal peptides found in houseflies （Musca domestica） in large number are indispensable components of its immune defense mechanism. In this study the anterior tip of the larvae of housefly was cut off with a pair of fine scissors and hemolymph was collected and exuded in an ice-cold test tube. From the hemolymph an antifungal substance was isolated by solid-phase extraction combined with reverse phase-high performance liquid chromotography （RP-HPLC） and named as Musca domestica antifungal peptide-1 （MAF-1）. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis （SDS-PAGE） showed its molecular weight was 17 kDa. UV absorption spectra revealed that this antifungal substance possessed the characteristics of protein peptides. Analysis by fingerprint-identification and tandem mass spectrometry suggested MAF-I was an unknown protein. Edman degradation identified the sequence of 30 amino acids of its N-terminal which matched no peptide in the MASCOT search database, indicating MAF-1 was a novel insect antifungal peptide. Mass spectrometry showed the precise molecular weight of MAF-1 was 17203.384 Da. Its isoelectric point was acidic.

Cloning of fatty acid elongase1 gene and molecular identification of A and C genome in Brassica species

The fatty acid elongase 1 (FAE1) genes of Brassic napus were cloned from two cultivars, i.e. Zhong- shuan No. 9 with low erucic acid content, and Zhongyou 821 with high erucic acid content, using the degenerate PCR primers. The sequence analysis showed that there was no intron within the FAE1 genes. The FAE1 genes from Zhongyou 821 contained a coding sequence of 1521 nucleotides, and those cloned from Zhongshuan No. 9 contained a 1517 bp coding sequence. Alignment of the FAE1 sequences from Brassica rapa, B. oleracea and B. napus detected 31 single nucleotide polymorphic sites (2.03%), which resulted in 7 amino-acid substitutions. Further analysis indicated that 19 SNPs were genome-specific, of which, 95% were synonymous mutations. The nucleotide substitution at po- sition 1217 in the FAE1 genes led to a specific site of restricted cleavage. An AvrII cleavage site was present only in the C genome genes and absent in the A genome FAE1 genes. Digestion profile of the FAE1 sequences from B. rapa, B. oleracea and B. napus produced with AvrII confirmed that the FAE1 genes of B. oleracea origin was recognized and digested, while that of B. rapa origin could not. The results indicated that by AvrII cleavage it was possible to distinguish B. rapa from B. oleracea and be- tween the A and C genome of B. napus. In addition, the FAE1 genes could be used as marker genes to detect the pollen flow of B. napus, thus providing an alternative method for risk assessment of gene flow.

Commercialized non-Camellia tea:traditional function and molecular identification

Non-Camellia tea is a part of the colorful Chinese tea culture,and is also widely used as beverage and medicine in folk for disease prevention and treatment.In this study,37 samples were collected,including 33 kinds of non-Camellia teas and 4 kinds of teas(Camellia).Traditional functions of non-Camellia teas were investigated.Furthermore,non-Camellia teas of original plants were characterized and identified by molecular methods.Four candidate regions(rbcL,matK,ITS2,psbA-trnH)were amplified by polymerase chain reaction.In addition,DNA barcodes were used for the first time to discriminate the commercial non-Camellia tea and their adulterants,and to evaluate their safety.This study showed that BLASTN and the relevant phylogenetic tree are efficient tools for identification of the commercial non-Camellia tea and their adulterants.However,some sequences from original plants have not been found and there is a limitation of sequence number of original plants in GenBank.Submitting more original plant sequences to the GenBank will be helpful for evaluating the safety of non-Camellia teas.