Bacteria and Algae

A commonly growing brown seaweed, Iyengaria stellata (Børgesen) Børgesen [= Rosenvingia stellata Børgesen] was collected during March 2007 and April 2009 from mid-littoral rocks at Manora and Buleji, the coastal areas of Karachi. The multiprotuberant and globular thalli were investigated for their morphology, anatomy and reproduction. Their large, prominent and distantly arranged protuberances (stellata) were studied in detail. Patches of thick-walled, dark brown hypodermal cells, vertically elongated, thin-walled cells below hypodermis, intercellular spaces in the hypodermal cells, and 20-25 layers of cells in the thalli were observed which were not noticed by the previous workers. During collection survey a new species, Iyengaria nizamuddinii Abbas et Shameel was observed which is characterised by small and closely arranged protuberances, absence of patches of thick-walled dark brown cells, lack of vertically elongated thin-walled cells and intercellular spaces. It was also morphogically and anatomically investigated.

Photosynthetic microalgae are an attractive source of food, fuel, or nutraceuticals, but commercial production of microalgae is limited by low spatial efficiency. In the present study we developed a simple photosynthetic hydrogel system that cultivates the green microalga, Marinichlorella kaistiae KAS603, together with a novel strain of the bacteria, Erythrobacter sp. We tested the performance of the co-culture in the hydrogel using a combination of chlorophyll-a fluorimetry, microsensing, and bio-optical measurements. Our results showed that growth rates in algal-bacterial hydrogels were about threefold enhanced compared to hydrogels with algae alone. Chlorophyll-a fluorimetry-based light curves found that electron transport rates were enhanced about 20% for algal-bacterial hydrogels compared to algal hydrogels for intermediate irradiance levels. We also show that the living hydrogel is stable under different environmental conditions and when exposed to natural seawater. Our study provides a potential bio-inspired solution for problems that limit the space-efficient cultivation of microalgae for biotechnological applications.

Metagenomics studies have revolutionized the field of biology by revealing the presence of many previously unisolated and uncultured microorganisms. However, one of the main problems encountered in metagenomic studies is the high percentage of sequences that cannot be assigned taxonomically using commonly used similarity-based approaches (e.g. BLAST or HMM). These unassigned sequences are allegorically called « dark matter » in the metagenomic literature and are often referred to as being derived from new or unknown organisms. Here, based on published and original metagenomic datasets coming from virus-like particle enriched samples, we present and quantify the improvement of viral taxonomic assignment that is achievable with a new similaritybased approach. Indeed, prior to any use of similarity based taxonomic assignment methods, we propose assembling contigs from short reads as is currently routinely done in metagenomic studies, but then to further map unassembled reads to the assembled contigs. This additional mapping step increases significantly the proportions of taxonomically assignable sequence reads from a varietyplant, insect and environmental (estuary, lakes, soil, feces)-of virome studies.

From the higher plants, our search yielded new steroidal and triterpenoidal saponins, sesquiterpenes and alkaloids. A triterpenoidal compound with a novel carbon skeleton is also reported. From the marine algae, new sterols and acyclic diterpene alcohols with interesting bioactivity were isolated and characterised.

Microbial communities in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been shown to be spatially heterogeneous. Viral communities may also vary spatially, leading to localized viral populations and infections. Here, we characterized viral communities from multiple areas of the lungs of two patients with late-stage CF using metagenomics, that is, the explanted lungs from a transplant patient and lungs acquired postmortem. All regions harbored eukaryotic viruses that may infect the human host, notably herpesviruses, anelloviruses, and papillomaviruses. In the highly diseased apical lobes of explant lungs, viral diversity was extremely low, and only eukaryotic viruses were present. The absence of phage suggests that CF-associated microbial biofilms may escape top-down controls by phage predation. The phages present in other lobes of explant lungs and in all lobes of postmortem lungs comprised distinct communities, and encoded genes for clinically important microbial phenotypes, including small colony variants and antibiotic resistance. Based on the these observations, we postulate that viral communities in CF lungs are spatially distinct and contribute to CF pathology by augmenting the metabolic potential of resident microbes, as well as by directly damaging lung tissue via carcinomas and herpesviral outbreaks.

Bakcground Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is the dominant antibody found in our mucosal secretions and plays an important role in the protection and homeostatic regulation of intestinal, respiratory and urogenital epithelia by `recognizing´and shapping our human commensal microbiome.

From the higher plants, our search yielded new steroidal and triterpenoidal saponins, sesquiterpenes and alkaloids. A triterpenoidal compound with a novel carbon skeleton is also reported. From the marine algae, new sterols and acyclic diterpene alcohols with interesting bioactivity were isolated and characterised.

Jolyna laminarioides Guimarâes is a member of the family Scytosiphonaceae commonly occurring at the coastal area of Buleji (Karachi, Pakistan) and can be collected during northeast monsoon. Its methanol extract was examined for bactericidal, fungicidal, nematicidal, insecticidal and phytotoxic activities as well as elemental and fatty acid compositions. It showed no inhibition against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria except Bacillus subtilis. There was significant fungicidal activity against Trichophyton longifusus and Microsporum canis and non-significant activity against Fusarium solani while no activity was found against Aspergillus flavus. The larval mortality of 21 % was exhibited after 48-72 h of exposure time. Insecticidal activity was recorded as 40 % mortality against Tribolium castaneum. Growth regulation of 68.4 % was recorded in an extract of 1000 µg/mL in result of phytotoxic activity. The amounts of different elements detected in an increasing order were as Cr<Co<Cd<Pb<Zn<Cu<Fe<K<Mg<Ca<Na in the whole thallus. Altogether four fatty acids were found at an average of 25 % with a standard deviation of 22.02. The significant relative percentages of different fatty acids present in decreasing order were recorded as oleic acid (51.23 %) > palmitic acid (35.17 %) > stearic acid (7.34 %) > pentadecylic acid (6.25 %).

Unlike other human microbiomes, the oral microbiome will cause disease in a majority of people during their lifetime, suggesting that it is currently in a state of dysbiosis rather than symbiosis 1,2. The human oral microbiome comprises more than 2,000 bacterial taxa, including a large number of opportunistic pathogens involved in periodontal, respiratory, cardiovascular and systemic diseases 3-7. Dental calculus, a complex, calcified bacterial biofilm formed from dental plaque, saliva and gingival crevicular fluid 8 , is emerging as a potential substrate for the direct investigation of the evolution of the oral microbiome and associated measures of oral health and diet 9,10. Recently, a DNA-based 16S rRNA phylotyping study identified the major bacterial phyla in dental calculus and argued for shifts in microbial diversity associated with the origins of agriculture and industrialization 11 , and, so far, five common oral bacteria have been identified in historic and prehistoric dental calculus using targeted PCR 12 , quantitative PCR (qPCR) 11 and immunohistochemistry 13. However, phylum-level community analysis and single-species targeted amplification are insufficient to characterize oral health and disease states, as this requires a deeper taxonomic and functional understanding of microbiome ecology 14. We present the first detailed analysis to our knowledge of ancient oral microbiome ecology and function at the genus and species levels, leading to a deeper understanding of recent evolution of the human oral microbiome. Focusing on the dental tissues of four adult human skeletons (G12, B17, B61 and B78) with evidence of mild to severe periodontal disease from the medieval monastic site of Dalheim, Germany (c. 950-1200 CE) (Supplementary Fig. 1), as well as modern dental calculus from nine individuals with known dental histories, we demonstrate for the first time, to our knowledge, that the human oral microbiome has long served as a

Coprolites are fossilized fecal material that can reveal information about ancient intestinal and environmental microbiota. Viral metagenomics has allowed systematic characterization of viral diversity in environmental and human-associated specimens, but little is known about the viral diversity in fossil remains. Here, we analyzed the viral community of a 14th-century coprolite from a closed barrel in a Middle Ages site in Belgium using electron microscopy and metagenomics. Viruses that infect eukaryotes, bacteria, and archaea were detected, and we confirmed the presence of some of them by ad hoc suicide PCR. The coprolite DNA viral metagenome was dominated by sequences showing homologies to phages commonly found in modern stools and soil. Although their phylogenetic compositions differed, the metabolic functions of the viral communities have remained conserved across centuries. Antibiotic resistance was one of the reconstructed metabolic functions detected.

Blood circulates throughout the human body and contains molecules drawn from virtually every tissue, including the microbes and viruses which colonize the body. Through massive shotgun sequencing of circulating cell-free DNA from the blood, we identified hundreds of new bacteria and viruses which represent previously unidentified members of the human microbiome. Analyzing cumulative sequence data from 1,351 blood samples collected from 188 patients enabled us to assemble 7,190 contiguous regions (contigs) larger than 1 kbp, of which 3,761 are novel with little or no sequence homology in any existing databases. The vast majority of these novel contigs possess coding sequences, and we have validated their existence both by finding their presence in independent experiments and by performing direct PCR amplification. When their nearest neighbors are located in the tree of life, many of the organisms represent entirely novel taxa, showing that microbial diversity within the human body is...

Unlike other human microbiomes, the oral microbiome will cause disease in a majority of people during their lifetime, suggesting that it is currently in a state of dysbiosis rather than symbiosis 1,2. The human oral microbiome comprises more than 2,000 bacterial taxa, including a large number of opportunistic pathogens involved in periodontal, respiratory, cardiovascular and systemic diseases 3-7. Dental calculus, a complex, calcified bacterial biofilm formed from dental plaque, saliva and gingival crevicular fluid 8 , is emerging as a potential substrate for the direct investigation of the evolution of the oral microbiome and associated measures of oral health and diet 9,10. Recently, a DNA-based 16S rRNA phylotyping study identified the major bacterial phyla in dental calculus and argued for shifts in microbial diversity associated with the origins of agriculture and industrialization 11 , and, so far, five common oral bacteria have been identified in historic and prehistoric dental calculus using targeted PCR 12 , quantitative PCR (qPCR) 11 and immunohistochemistry 13. However, phylum-level community analysis and single-species targeted amplification are insufficient to characterize oral health and disease states, as this requires a deeper taxonomic and functional understanding of microbiome ecology 14. We present the first detailed analysis to our knowledge of ancient oral microbiome ecology and function at the genus and species levels, leading to a deeper understanding of recent evolution of the human oral microbiome. Focusing on the dental tissues of four adult human skeletons (G12, B17, B61 and B78) with evidence of mild to severe periodontal disease from the medieval monastic site of Dalheim, Germany (c. 950-1200 CE) (Supplementary Fig. 1), as well as modern dental calculus from nine individuals with known dental histories, we demonstrate for the first time, to our knowledge, that the human oral microbiome has long served as a

The term microbiome refers to the collective genome of the microbes living in and on our bodies, but it has colloquially come to mean the bacteria, viruses, archaea, and fungi that make up the microbiota (previously known as microflora). We can identify the microbes present in the human body (membership) and their relative abundance using genomics, characterize their genetic potential (or gene pool) using metagenomics, and describe their ongoing functions using transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. Epidemiologists can make a major contribution to this emerging field by performing well-designed, well-conducted, and appropriately powered studies and by including measures of microbiota in current and future cohort studies to characterize natural variation in microbiota composition and function, identify important confounders and effect modifiers, and generate and test hypotheses about the role of microbiota in health and disease. In this review, we provide an overview of the r...

Viruses have long been considered potential triggers of autoimmune diseases. Here we defined the intestinal virome from birth to the development of autoimmunity in children at risk for type 1 diabetes (T1D). A total of 220 virus-enriched preparations from serially collected fecal samples from 11 children (cases) who developed serum autoantibodies associated with T1D (of whom five developed clinical T1D) were compared with samples from controls. Intestinal viromes of case subjects were less diverse than those of controls. Among eukaryotic viruses, we identified significant enrichment of Circoviridae-related sequences in samples from controls in comparison with cases. Enterovirus, kobuvirus, parechovirus, parvovirus, and rotavirus sequences were frequently detected but were not associated with autoimmunity. For bacteriophages, we found higher Shannon diversity and richness in controls compared with cases and observed that changes in the intestinal virome over time differed between cas...

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyze and compare the diversity and structure of the viral and microbial communities in fecal samples from a control group of healthy volunteers and from patients affected by Crohn's disease (CD). METHODS: Healthy adult controls (n ¼ 8) and patients affected by ileocolic CD (n ¼ 11) were examined for the viral and microbial communities in their feces and, in one additional case, in the intestinal tissue. Using two different approaches, we compared the viral and microbial communities in several ways: by group (patients vs. controls), entity (viruses vs. bacteria), read assembly (unassembled vs. assembled reads), and methodology (our approach vs. an existing pipeline). Differences in the viral and microbial composition, and abundance between the two groups were analyzed to identify taxa that are under-or over-represented. RESULTS: A lower diversity but more variability between the CD samples in both virome and microbiome was found, with a clear distinction between groups based on the microbiome. Only E5% of the differential viral biomarkers are more represented in the CD group (Synechococcus phage S CBS1 and Retroviridae family viruses), compared with 95% in the control group. Unrelated patterns of bacteria and bacteriophages were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Our use of an extensive database is critical to retrieve more viral hits than in previous approaches. Unrelated patterns of bacteria and bacteriophages may be due to uneven representation of certain viruses in databases, among other factors. Further characterization of Retroviridae viruses in the CD group could be of interest, given their links with immunodeficiency and the immune responses. To conclude, some methodological considerations underlying the analysis of the viral community composition and abundance are discussed.

Seven blue-green and 3 green algae were collected from various freshwater habitats of Sindh, (Pakistan), during January 1997-December 1999. Their methanol extracts revealed 17 saturated, 2 monoynoic, 12 monoenoic, 5 diunsaturated, 5 triunsaturated and 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (FAs), which were identified by GLC and GC-MS. Palmitoleic acid was the most commonly occurring FA, while C15:0, C16:0, C14:1 and C18:1 were the next commonly occurring acids. The unsaturated acids were found in larger proportion (46.50-70.46%) than saturated FAs (16.82-39.20%). The blue-green algae did not differ much from green algae of Sindh in their FA-compositions. Their methanol extracts exhibited poor antibacterial but strong antifungal activities. They showed a significant phytotoxic activity but non-significant cytotoxic and insecticidal activities. The extract of Lyngbya hieronymusii enhanced antitumour activity from 20 to 45% with increase in the concentration of extract. Algae belonging to thre...

Eleven green algae belonging to the phyla Volvocophyta Chlorophyta, and Charophyta were collected from various freshwater habitats of Sindh (Pakistan) during February 1995 and November 1998 and investigated. Their methanol extracts revealed the presence of D-norandrostane-16-carboxylic acid, p-sitosterol, and trans-phyto). The unsaturated fatty acids were found in larger proportion (54-94%) than the saturated fatty acids (6-40%). The C15:0 and C16:0 were the most commonly occurring fatty acids, followed by C18:l, C19:l, C15:3, and C17:3 acids. These algae resembled green seaweeds of Pakistan to a great extent in their fatty acid composition. Their methanol extract showed poor antibacterial but a strong antifungal activity. They displayed a significant phytotoxic activity but non-significant cytotoxic, insecticidal. and antitumor activities. Algae belonging to the three phyla exhibited differences in their fatty acid, sterol and terpene compositions as well as in their bioactivities. Species belonging to the same genera revealed specific differences among themselves.

Metagenomic studies traditionally rely on cloning polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products and sequencing multiple clones. However, this approach is tedious and expensive, thereby limiting the range and scale of questions that can be addressed. Recent developments in DNA sequencing technologies enable a dramatic increase in throughput via parallel in-depth analysis of many samples with limited sample processing and lower costs. We directly compared the traditional cloning approach with a barcoded pyrosequencing method to see whether the latter accurately describes microbiome diversity in human saliva. Our results indicate that despite the shorter read lengths, the pyrosequencing approach provides a description of the human salivary microbiome that is in good agreement with results based on the traditional cloning and sequencing approach.

Metagenomic sequencing of DNA viruses from the feces of a healthy week-old infant revealed a viral community with extremely low diversity. The identifiable sequences were dominated by phages, which likely influence the diversity and abundance of co-occurring microbes. The most abundant fecal viral sequences did not originate from breast milk or formula, suggesting a non-dietary initial source of viruses. Certain sequences were stable in the infant's gut over the first 3 months of life, but microarray experiments demonstrated that the overall viral community composition changed dramatically between 1 and 2 weeks of age.

Determining the taxonomic lineage of DNA sequences is an important step in metagenomic analysis. Short DNA fragments from next-generation sequencing projects and microbes that lack close relatives in reference sequenced genome databases pose significant problems to taxonomic attribution methods. Our new classification algorithm, RITA (Rapid Identification of Taxonomic Assignments), uses the agreement between composition and homology to accurately classify sequences as short as 50 nt in length by assigning them to different classification groups with varying degrees of confidence. RITA is much faster than the hybrid PhymmBL approach when comparable homology search algorithms are used, and achieves slightly better accuracy than PhymmBL on an artificial metagenome. RITA can also incorporate prior knowledge about taxonomic distributions to increase the accuracy of assignments in data sets with varying degrees of taxonomic novelty, and classified sequences with higher precision than the current best rank-flexible classifier. The accuracy on short reads can be increased by exploiting paired-end information, if available, which we demonstrate on a recently published bovine rumen data set. Finally, we develop a variant of RITA that incorporates accelerated homology search techniques, and generate predictions on a set of human gut metagenomes that were previously assigned to different 'enterotypes'. RITA is freely available in Web server and standalone versions.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide. An expanding body of evidence supports the role of human microbiome in the establishment of CVDs and, this has gained much attention recently. This work was aimed to study the circulating human microbiome in CVD patients and healthy subjects. The levels of circulating cell free DNA (circDNA) was higher in CVD patients (n = 80) than in healthy controls (n = 40). More specifically, the relative levels of circulating bacterial DNA and the ratio of 16S rRNA/b-globin gene copy numbers were higher in the circulation of CVD patients than healthy individuals. In addition, we found a higher circulating microbial diversity in CVD patients (n = 3) in comparison to healthy individuals (n = 3) by deep shotgun sequencing. At the phylum level, we observed a dominance of Actinobacteria in CVD patients, followed by Proteobacteria, in contrast to that in healthy controls, where Proteobacteria was predominantly enriched, followed by Actinobacteria. The circulating virome in CVD patients was enriched with bacteriophages with a preponderance of Propionibacterium phages, followed by Pseudomonas phages and Rhizobium phages in contrast to that in healthy individuals, where a relatively greater abundance of eukaryotic viruses dominated by Lymphocystis virus (LCV) and Torque Teno viruses (TTV) was observed. Thus, the release of bacterial and viral DNA elements in the circulation could play a major role leading to elevated circDNA levels in CVD patients. The increased circDNA levels could be either the cause or consequence of CVD incidence, which needs to be explored further. Citation: Dinakaran V, Rathinavel A, Pushpanathan M, Sivakumar R, Gunasekaran P, et al. (2014) Elevated Levels of Circulating DNA in Cardiovascular Disease Patients: Metagenomic Profiling of Microbiome in the Circulation. PLoS ONE 9(8): e105221.

Chloroviruses (family Phycodnaviridae) are large DNA viruses known to infect certain eukaryotic green algae and have not been previously shown to infect humans or to be part of the human virome. We unexpectedly found sequences homologous to the chlorovirus Acanthocystis turfacea chlorella virus 1 (ATCV-1) in a metagenomic analysis of DNA extracted from human oropharyngeal samples. These samples were obtained by throat swabs of adults without a psychiatric disorder or serious physical illness who were participating in a study that included measures of cognitive functioning. The presence of ATCV-1 DNA was confirmed by quantitative PCR with ATCV-1 DNA being documented in oropharyngeal samples obtained from 40 (43.5%) of 92 individuals. The presence of ATCV-1 DNA was not associated with demographic variables but was associated with a modest but statistically significant decrease in the performance on cognitive assessments of visual processing and visual motor speed. We further explored the effects of ATCV-1 in a mouse model. The inoculation of ATCV-1 into the intestinal tract of 9-11-wk-old mice resulted in a subsequent decrease in performance in several cognitive domains, including ones involving recognition memory and sensory-motor gating. ATCV-1 exposure in mice also resulted in the altered expression of genes within the hippocampus. These genes comprised pathways related to synaptic plasticity, learning, memory formation, and the immune response to viral exposure. chlorovirus ATCV-1 | infection | cognitive functioning | oropharyngeal virome | metagenomic sequencing

Samples collected from CF patient airways often contain large amounts of host-derived nucleic acids that interfere with recovery and purification of microbial and viral nucleic acids. This study describes metagenomic and metatranscriptomic methods that address these issues. Microbial and viral metagenomes, and microbial metatranscriptomes, were successfully prepared from sputum samples from five adult CF patients. Contaminating host DNA was dramatically reduced in the metagenomes. Each CF patient presented a unique microbiome; in some Pseudomonas aeruginosa was replaced by other opportunistic bacteria. Even though the taxonomic composition of the microbiomes is very different, the metabolic potentials encoded by the community are very similar. The viral communities were dominated by phages that infect major CF pathogens. The metatranscriptomes reveal differential expression of encoded metabolic potential with changing health status. Microbial and viral metagenomics combined with mic...

Background: Samples collected from CF patient airways often contain large amounts of host-derived nucleic acids that interfere with recovery and purification of microbial and viral nucleic acids. This study describes metagenomic and metatranscriptomic methods that address these issues. Methods: Microbial and viral metagenomes, and microbial metatranscriptomes, were successfully prepared from sputum samples from five adult CF patients. Results: Contaminating host DNA was dramatically reduced in the metagenomes. Each CF patient presented a unique microbiome; in some Pseudomonas aeruginosa was replaced by other opportunistic bacteria. Even though the taxonomic composition of the microbiomes is very different, the metabolic potentials encoded by the community are very similar. The viral communities were dominated by phages that infect major CF pathogens. The metatranscriptomes reveal differential expression of encoded metabolic potential with changing health status. Conclusions: Microbial and viral metagenomics combined with microbial transcriptomics characterize the dynamic polymicrobial communities found in CF airways, revealing both the taxa present and their current metabolic activities. These approaches can facilitate the development of individualized treatment plans and novel therapeutic approaches.

Chloroviruses (family Phycodnaviridae) are large DNA viruses known to infect certain eukaryotic green algae and have not been previously shown to infect humans or to be part of the human virome. We unexpectedly found sequences homologous to the chlorovirus Acanthocystis turfacea chlorella virus 1 (ATCV-1) in a metagenomic analysis of DNA extracted from human oropharyngeal samples. These samples were obtained by throat swabs of adults without a psychiatric disorder or serious physical illness who were participating in a study that included measures of cognitive functioning. The presence of ATCV-1 DNA was confirmed by quantitative PCR with ATCV-1 DNA being documented in oropharyngeal samples obtained from 40 (43.5%) of 92 individuals. The presence of ATCV-1 DNA was not associated with demographic variables but was associated with a modest but statistically significant decrease in the performance on cognitive assessments of visual processing and visual motor speed. We further explored ...

Two unicellular green algae, Tetraspora cylindrica (Wahlenberg) Agardh and T. gelatinosa (Vaucher) Desvaux were collected from thermal effluents and industrial wastewater near Hyderabad, Sindh during December 1995 and February 1996. Their methanol extracts revealed the presence of a variety of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, a steroidal fatty acid, β-sitosterol and trans-phytol. In T. cylindrica 9 saturated and 11 unsaturated fatty acids were present in equal amounts (44.87 & 44.39 %), hencicosanoic acid (C21:0) was in largest quantity (17.02 %), pentadienoic (C5:2) and undecatrienoic (C11:3) acids were in smallest amount (0.115 %). In T. gelatinosa no saturated, no mono-and di-unsaturated fatty acids could be detected, pentadecatetraenoic (C15: 4) acid occurred in largest quantity (30.08 %). The extract of T. cylindrica showed antibiotic activity against three of the ten bacterial species, six of the ten fungal pathogens and all the six fungi by food poisoning method. Both algae displayed appreciable amount of bioactivity regarding phytotoxicity with no activity in brine shrimp bioassay and insecticidal test.

Despite injecting huge allocations for development during the past many years, the situation of communities living in rural areas and towns especially near coastal areas has not been improved but is rather getting worst day by day. Abject poverty is visible everywhere with ever-rising inflation trend further worsening the already appalling conditions of the people. Unemployment widely exists in both educated and uneducated youth in Sindh. The women and children are the worst sufferer of unemployment of their male members. Algae of Sindh are found both in freshwater and marine habitats from the earliest pre-historic eras of human civilization. In many developed countries, traditional cultivation of algae despite non-supportive environment have enabled them to create a niche for survival, revival, development and marketing of algal products and supporting employment generation at grass root level. This has been achieved by setting up bodies with public participation to oversee a comprehensive plan of action through innovative institutions setting into motion strategies. In the present study the modus operandi has been discussed to finalize feasible approach for the product development from the available potential seaweeds of Pakistan.

Current study was conducted to explore the antiemetic activity of two marine algae, Iyengaria stellata Børgesen (Phaeophycota) and Valoniopsis pachynema Børgesen (Chlorophycota) by chick emesis model. Emesis was induced by copper sulphate (50 mg/kg) and the extracts were tested at the dose of 150 mg/kg orally. Chlorpromazine (150 mg/kg orally) was used as standard antiemetic drug. The results showed that methanol extracts of both the seaweeds have antiemetic activity.

The oral cavity of humans is inhabited by hundreds of bacterial species and some of them play a key role in the development of oral diseases, mainly dental caries and periodontitis. We describe for the first time the metagenome of the human oral cavity under health and diseased conditions, with a focus on supragingival dental plaque and cavities. Direct pyrosequencing of 8 samples with different oral health status produced 1 Gpb of sequence without the biases imposed by PCR or cloning. The data show that cavities are not dominated by Streptococcus mutans (the species originally identified as the ethiological agent of dental caries) but are in fact a complex community formed by tens of bacterial species, in agreement with the view that caries is a polymicrobial disease. The analysis of the reads indicated that the oral cavity is functionally a different environment from the gut, with many functional categories enriched in one of the two environments and depleted in the other. Individuals that had never suffered from dental caries showed an overrepresentation of several functional categories, like genes for antimicrobial peptides and quorum sensing. In addition, they did not have mutans streptococci but displayed high recruitment of other species. Several isolates belonging to these dominant bacteria in healthy individuals were cultured and shown to inhibit the growth of cariogenic bacteria, suggesting the use of these commensal bacterial strains as probiotics to promote oral health and prevent dental caries.

Viruses, the most abundant biological entities on the planet, are capable of infecting organisms from all three branches of life, although the majority infect bacteria where the greatest degree of cellular diversity lies. However, the characterization and assessment of viral diversity in natural environments is only beginning to become a possibility. Through the development of a novel technique for the harvest of viral DNA and the application of 454 pyrosequencing, a snapshot of the diversity of the DNA viruses harvested from a standing pond on a cattle farm has been obtained. A high abundance of viral genotypes (785) were present within the virome. The absolute numbers of lambdoid and Shiga toxin (Stx) encoding phages detected suggested that the depth of sequencing had enabled recovery of only ca. 8% of the total virus population, numbers that agreed within less than an order of magnitude with predictions made by rarefaction analysis. The most abundant viral genotypes in the pond were bacteriophages (93.7%). The predominant viral genotypes infecting higher life forms found in association with the farm were pathogens that cause disease in cattle and humans, e.g. members of the Herpesviridae. The techniques and analysis described here provide a fresh approach to the monitoring of viral populations in the aquatic environment, with the potential to become integral to the development of risk analysis tools for monitoring the dissemination of viral agents of animal, plant and human diseases.