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Banana is the major fruit crop produced in Ethiopia. Since Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is one of the most devastating plant viruses infecting banana, the present study was un- dertaken to survey and identify CMV strains infecting banana plants in Ethiopia. Dot immune-binding assay (DIBA) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed the presence of CMV in all of the symptomatic samples tested. The results of sequence and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolate under study was a CMV isolate from the IB subgroup. Multiple sequence alignment revealed a three nu- cleotide sequence variation that could be used to distinguish CMV subgroups. Selection pressure analysis showed the CMV-RNA1 region undergoing positive selection pressure. Tajima`s test of neutrality revealed a positive value of 0.86468 indicating CMV population contraction. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report and molecular characteri- zation of CMV IB subgroup isolate infecting banana plants in Ethiopia.

The infections of chicken coccidiosis impact the welfare of chickens and the economical production of poultry. Eimeria mitis is ubiquitous in chicken coccidiosis, and E. mitis infection can significantly affect the productivity of birds. Up to now, few efficient vaccines against E. mitis have been reported, whereas the recombinant subunit vaccines delivered by nanomaterials may elicit an encouraging outcome. Thus, in this study, we chose E. mitis 1a (Em1a) protein as the candidate antigen to generate Em1a preparations. The recombinant Em1a (rEm1a) protein was encapsulated with poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and chitosan (CS) nanospheres. The physical characterization of the rEm1a-PLGA and rEm1a-CS nanospheres was investigated, and the resulting nanospheres were proven to be nontoxic. The protective efficacy of rEm1a-PLGA and rEm1a-CS preparations was evaluated in E. mitis -challenged birds in comparison with two preparations containing rEm1a antigen emulsified in commercially available adjuvants. ELISA assay, flow cytometry analysis, and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis indicated that vaccination with rEm1a-loaded nanospheres significantly upregulated the secretions of antibodies and cytokines and proportions of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. Compared with the other three preparations, rEm1a-PLGA nanosphere was more effective in improving growth performance and inhibiting oocyst output in feces, indicating that the PLGA nanosphere was associated with optimal protection against E. mitis. Collectively, our results highlighted the advantages of nanovaccine in eliciting protective immunity and may provide a new perspective for developing effective vaccines against chicken coccidiosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infections of chicken coccidiosis impact the welfare of chickens and the economical production of poultry. Eimeria mitis is ubiquitous in chicken coccidiosis, and E. mitis infection can significantly affect the productivity of birds. Up to now, few efficient vaccines against E. mitis have been reported, whereas the recombinant subunit vaccines delivered by nanomaterials may elicit an encouraging outcome. Thus, in this study, we chose E. mitis 1a (Em1a) protein as the candidate antigen to generate Em1a preparations. The recombinant Em1a (rEm1a) protein was encapsulated with poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and chitosan (CS) nanospheres. The physical characterization of the rEm1a-PLGA and rEm1a-CS nanospheres was investigated, and the resulting nanospheres were proven to be nontoxic. The protective efficacy of rEm1a-PLGA and rEm1a-CS preparations was evaluated in E. mitis-challenged birds in comparison with two preparations containing rEm1a antigen emulsified in commercially available adjuvants. ELISA assay, flow cytometry analysis, and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis indicated that vaccination with rEm1a-loaded nanospheres significantly upregulated the secretions of antibodies and cytokines and proportions of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. Compared with the other three preparations, rEm1a-PLGA nanosphere was more effective in improving growth performance and inhibiting oocyst output in feces, indicating that the PLGA nanosphere was associated with optimal protection against E. mitis. Collectively, our results highlighted the advantages of nanovaccine in eliciting protective immunity and may provide a new perspective for developing effective vaccines against chicken coccidiosis.

Banana is the major fruit crop produced in Ethiopia. Since Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is one of the most devastating plant viruses infecting banana, the present study was undertaken to survey and identify CMV strains infecting banana plants in Ethiopia. Dot immune-binding assay (DIBA) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed the presence of CMV in all of the symptomatic samples tested. The results of sequence and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolate under study was a CMV isolate from the IB subgroup. Multiple sequence alignment revealed a three nucleotide sequence variation that could be used to distinguish CMV subgroups. Selection pressure analysis showed the CMV-RNA1 region undergoing positive selection pressure. Tajima's test of neutrality revealed a positive value of 0.86468 indicating CMV population contraction. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report and molecular characterization of CMV IB subgroup isolate infecting banana plants in Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]