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Microbes in the rhizosphere play a significant role in the growth, development, and efficiency of plants and trees. The rhizospheric area's microbes are reliant on the soil's characteristics and the substances that the plants release. The majority of previous research on medicinal plants concentrated on their bioactive phytochemicals, but this is changing now that it is understood that a large proportion of phytotherapeutic substances are actually created by related microorganisms or through contact with their host. The roots of medicinal plants secrete a large number of secondary metabolites that determine the diversity of microbial communities in their rhizosphere. The dominant bacteria isolated from a variety of medicinal plants include various species of Bacillus ,  Rhizobium ,  Pseudomonas ,  Azotobacter ,  Burkholderia ,  Enterobacte ,  Microbacterium , Serratia ,  Burkholderia , and  Beijerinckia. Actinobacteria also colonize the rhizosphere of medicinal plants that release low molecular weight organic solute that facilitate the solubilisation of inorganic phosphate. Root exudates of medicinal plants resist abiotic stress and accumulate in soil to produce autotoxic effects that exhibit strong obstacles to continuous cropping. Although having a vast bioresource that may be used in agriculture and modern medicine, medicinal plants' microbiomes are largely unknown. The purpose of this review is to (i) Present new insights into the plant microbiome with a focus on medicinal plants, (ii) Provide information about the components of medicinal plants derived from plants and microbes, and (iii) Discuss options for promoting plant growth and protecting plants for commercial cultivation of medicinal plants. The scientific community has paid a lot of attention to the use of rhizobacteria, particularly plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), as an alternative to chemical pesticides. By a variety of processes, these rhizobacteria support plant growth, manage plant pests, and foster resilience to a range of abiotic challenges. It also focuses on how PGPR inoculation affects plant growth and survival in stressful environments., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestAuthors do not have any conflict of interests to declare., (© Association of Microbiologists of India 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Claudin-4 is part of the Claudin family of transmembrane tight junction (TJ) proteins found in almost all tissues and, together with adherens junctions and desmosomes, forms epithelial and endothelial junctional complexes. Although the distribution of Claudin-4 occurs in many cell types, the level of expression is cell-specific. Claudin proteins regulate cell proliferation and differentiation by binding cell-signaling ligands, and its expression is upregulated in several cancers. As a result, alterations in Claudin expression patterns or distribution are vital in the pathology of cancer. Profiling the genetic expression of Claudin-4 showed that Claudin-4 is also a receptor for the clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) and that Claudin-4 has a high sequence similarity with CPE's high-affinity receptor. CPE is cytolytic due to its ability to form pores in cellular membranes, and CPE treatment in breast cancer cells have shown promising results due to the high expression of Claudin-4. The C-terminal fragment of CPE (c-CPE) provides a less toxic alternative for drug delivery into breast cancer cells, particularly metastatic tumors in the brain, especially as Claudin-4 expression in the central nervous system (CNS) is low. Therefore, c-CPE provides a unique avenue for the treatment of breast-brain metastatic tumors.

A comparative study was carried out between cinnamon oil and clove oil on the oral micro-biota causing dental caries. Cinnamon oil was found to be more effective than clove oil exhibiting broad spectrum of antibacterial activity inhibiting all the ten test bacterial species involved in dental caries. Cinnamon oil produced maximum inhibition zone of diameter (IZD) of 24.0 mm against Streptococcus mutans (major causative bacteria of dental plaque) as compared to clove oil (IZD = 13.0mm). This is contrary to the popular belief that clove oil is effective in tooth decay and dental plaque. This study shows the potential of cinnamon oil over clove oil in the treatment of dental caries. (www.actabiomedica.it).

Background: Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of nails caused by dermatophytes, yeasts and molds., Aims: To study the efficacy and safety of oral terbinafine pulse as a monotherapy and in combination with topical ciclopirox olamine 8% or topical amorolfine hydrochloride 5% in onychomycosis., Methods: A clinical comparative study was undertaken on 96 Patients of onychomycosis during the period between August 2005 to July 2006. Forty-eight patients were randomly assigned in group A to receive oral terbinafine 250 mg, one tablet twice daily for seven days every month (pulse therapy); 24 patients in group B to receive oral terbinafine pulse therapy plus topical ciclopirox olamine 8% to be applied once daily at night on all affected nails; and 24 patients in group C to receive oral terbinafine pulse therapy plus topical amorolfine hydrochloride 5% to be applied once weekly at night on all the affected nails. The treatment was continued for four months. The patients were evaluated at four weekly intervals till sixteen weeks and then at 24 and 36 weeks., Results: We observed clinical cure in 71.73, 82.60 and 73.91% patients in groups A, B and C, respectively; Mycological cure rates against dematophytes were 88.9, 88.9 and 85.7 in groups A, B and C, respectively. The yeast mycological cure rates were 66.7, 100 and 50 in groups A, B and C, respectively. In the case of nondermatophytes, the overall response was poor: one out of two cases (50%) responded in group A, while one case each in group B and group C did not respond at all., Conclusion: Terbinafine pulse therapy is effective and safe alternative in treatment of onychomycosis due to dermatophytes; and combination therapy with topical ciclopirox or amorolfine do not show any significant difference in efficacy in comparison to monotherapy with oral terbinafine.

Leptospira, a member of the order Spirochaetales, is the causative agent of leptospirosis, an important zoonosis encountered worldwide. The Leptospira interrogans serovar Sejroe was grown in EMJH medium and its DNA was isolated using standard techniques. The LipL32 gene was amplified using the reported primer of Kirschneri of LipL32. The amplified product was found to comprise 756 base pairs. This amplified gene fragment of LipL32 lipoprotein was cloned in E. coli (DH5 alpha) cells using pDrive plasmid as a vector. The recombinant cells were selected on LB agar medium containing ampicillin, X-gal and isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside. Plasmid was extracted from the recombinant white colonies, and restriction endonuclease (RE) analysis was carried out using PstI and SalI. On partial sequence analysis, the product exhibited 756 base pairs, corresponding to 251 amino acids. The cloned gene could be further used for expression of recombinant protein for serodiagnosis of leptospirosis.

Background & Objectives: Leptospirosis is a severe and complex zoonotic disease prevalent in many countries including India. Current leptospiral research is focussed on the identification of the outer membrane proteins (OMPs) of the organism that could be used in developing diagnostic assays for leptospirosis., Methods: The Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola was grown in EMJH medium and the cells were subjected to sarcosyl detergent treatment. The sarcosyl soluble (SS) and sarcosyl insoluble (SI) fractions were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting to deduce their protein profile and identifying various immunodominant antigens., Results: The protein profile of SS fractions indicated the presence of three major bands of 41, 32 and 25 kDa and minor bands of 85 and 46 kDa. The SI fraction in serovar Canicola revealed the presence of 112, 93, 77, 43, 36, 29 and 22.5 kDa as major bands and minor bands of 102 and 53 kDa. In immunoblotting, the SS proteins of 41, 32 and 25 kDa and SI proteins of 112, 77, 36 and 22.5 kDa were detected to be major immunogenic proteins., Interpretation & Conclusion: In our study immunogenic proteins were extracted from SS and SI fractions and OMPs were similar to those reported in other pathogenic Leptospira strains. These OMPs being unique to all the pathogenic leptospires, can be targeted for diagnostic purpose. Further analysis of the cellular location and expression of leptospiral proteins will be useful in the annotation of genomic sequence data and in providing insight into the biology of Leptospira cells.

The whole extract of the fresh berries of Hippophae rhamnoides L. (RH-3), which has been reported to provide protection to whole mice, various tissues, cells and cell organelles against lethal irradiation, was further investigated for its effects on mitochondria isolated from mouse liver. Superoxide anion, reduced (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) levels, NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I), NADH-cytochrome c oxidoreductase (complex I/II), succinate-cytochrome c oxidoreductase (complex II/III), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), lipid peroxidation (LPx) and protein oxidation (PO) were determined for RH-3-mediated radioprotective manifestation. Pre-irradiation treatment of mice with RH-3 (30 mg kg(-1,) i. p.; single dose; -30 min) significantly inhibited the radiation-induced increase in superoxide anions, GSSG, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), complex I, complex I/III activity and MMP maximally at 4 h (P < 0.05). This treatment inhibited the oxidation of proteins (P < 0.05) at all the time periods studied here. This study suggests that pre-irradiation treatment of mice with RH-3 protects the functional integrity of mitochondria from radiation-induced oxidative stress.

The present study was undertaken to investigate whether RP-1 treatment protected mitochondrial system against radiation damage and also to unravel the mechanism associated with this process. Radioprotection of mitochondrial system by Podophyllum hexandrum (RP-1) was investigated to understand its mechanism of action. Levels of superoxide anion (O2-), reduced or oxidized glutathione (GSH or GSSG), thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS), protein carbonyl (PC), ATP, NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex-I), NADH-cytochrome c oxidoreductase (complex I/II), succinate-cytochrome c oxidoreductase (complex II/III) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were studied in mitochondria isolated from liver of mice belonging to various treatment groups. Whole body y-irradiation (10 Gy) significantly (p < 0.01) increased the formation of O2-, PC, and TBARS, upto 24 h as compared to untreated control. RP-1 treatment (200 mg/kg b.w.) to mice 2 h before irradiation reduced the radiation-induced O2- generation within 4 h and formation of TBARS and PC upto 24 h significantly (p < 0.01). Singularly irradiation or RP-1 treatment significantly (p < 0.01) increased the levels of glutathione within an hour, as compared to untreated control. Pre-irradiation administration of RP-1 enhanced levels of GSH induced increase in complex I (upto 16 h), complex I/III (4 h) complex II/III activity (upto 24 h; p < 0.01) and inhibited the radiation-induced decrease in MMP significantly (24 h; p < 0.01). The present study indicates that RP-1 itself modulates several mitichondrial perameters due to its influence on the biochemical milieu within and outside the cells. However, RP-1 treatment before irradiation modulates radiation induced perturbations such as the increase in electron transport chain enzyme activity, formation of O2-, TBARS and PC to offer radioprotection.

Radioprotection by an aqueous extract of Podophyllum hexandrum (RP-1) was investigated in HepG2 cells by evaluating colony forming efficacy (CFE), redox status of mitochondria, reactive oxygen species (ROS), generation of nitric oxide (NO), peroxidation of lipids and intracellular glutathione. Lower concentrations of RP-1 (0.1 and 1 microg/ml) rendered maximum radioprotection when administered 1 or 2 h before irradiation. Higher concentrations (5 and 10 microg/ml) however were less effective when administered 1 or 2 h before irradiation, but were more effective with increased time intervals (4 or 8 h) between RP-1 administration and irradiation. RP-1 pre-treatment also significantly inhibited radiation-induced MTT reduction in a concentration and time-dependent manner by decreasing gamma radiation-induced leakage of electrons from electron transport chain. Pre-irradiation administration of RP-1 significantly reduced both ROS and NO generation and enhanced glutathione levels, thereby inhibiting lipid peroxidation.

When different preparations of Zymolyase were included in the pretreatment protocol of a panfungal PCR assay using a primer system for the 18S rRNA gene, an amplification product occurred in negative controls. The amplified fragment showed 100.0% sequence identity to the Saccharomyces sensu stricto complex and Kluyveromyces lodderae. Lyticase, lysing enzymes, and proteinase K appeared to be free from fungal DNA.

A universal PCR-assay for the detection of fungal DNA was compared with microscopy and culture for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis using 78 samples from 42 patients. Eighteen patients were suffering from invasive aspergillosis, 5 patients were colonized with Aspergillus in the respiratory tract, 19 patients did not show any sign of aspergillosis. Samples from 6 of the 18 patients with invasive aspergillosis were microscopically positive with true mycelia, 15 of 18 grew Aspergillus in culture, 16 of 18 were PCR-positive. The combination of microscopy and culture led to the diagnosis in 17 of 18 patients, the combination of microscopy and PCR in 16 of 18 and the combination of culture and PCR in all the 18 patients. For 3 of 18 patients, PCR was the diagnostic key: in 2 biopsies the histologically detected fungal elements were identified as Aspergillus, in 3 bronchial lavages from 1 patients nothing but PCR was positive for Aspergillus. Four out of 5 culture positive patients with Aspergillus colonization were also PCR positive; one out of 19 patients without aspergillosis was culture positive, 3 out of 19 were falsely PCR positive. Candida colonization in the upper respiratory tract or Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia did not lead to false positive Aspergillus-PCR results. In conclusion, the evaluated fungal PCR-assay can supplement conventional methods for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis.

Ten saturated and three unsaturated fatty acids over a wide spectrum of their carbon chain length were tested for their fungitoxicity against five dermatophytes. The experiments showed that short chain saturated fatty acids (C 7:0-C 11:0) are more toxic to dermatophytes than long chain ones (> C 12:0). The antifungal activity decreases with increasing carbon chain length in the even-numbered carbon chain series. Odd-numbered carbon fatty acids show irregularities in these respects. Undecanoic acid (C 11:0) is outstandingly most toxic in the C 7:0-C 18:0 series. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are more toxic than their corresponding saturated acids. The per cent growth inhibition decreased from day 4 to day 12 at all concentrations suggesting the degradation and/or utilization of fatty acids by the fungi during the observation period. The results are discussed on the background of the biochemistry of fatty acids.

A new semi-solid culture medium was developed by substituting the agar in Sabouraud glucose medium by Lutrol FC 127 (BASF, Ludwigshafen, Germany). This culture medium can be liquefied by cooling it down from the incubation temperature to 5-10 degrees C, thus allowing the full harvest of fungal mycelium without any contamination by the gelling agent for antigen preparation. More than 25 protein bands with molecular weights in the range of 98 to 12 kDa were fractionated by SDS-PAGE in antigen preparations from Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Hyperimmune antisera were raised in rabbits and used for immunological studies. Heat-inactivated mycelium was used for the absorption of antibodies against heat-stable cell wall constituents. This absorption facilitated the detection of specific protein bands during immunoblotting which revealed 17 protein antigen bands reacting with antibodies over a range of molecular weights from 98 to 24 kDa.

A survey on the use of hair oils for hair dressings by the Indian population revealed that mustard oil is preferred by males and coconut oil by females. Amla oil is used equally by both. These oils contain different percentages of various saturated and unsaturated fatty acids which largely determine their toxicity against dermatophytes. For Microsporum canis, M. gypseum and Trichophyton rubrum, amla oil was most toxic, followed by cantharidine and coconut oil, while Trichophyton mentagrophytes was most susceptible to coconut oil followed by amla and cantharidine oil. Mustard oil showed least toxicity to all four test species. The rarity of tinea capitis in India has been concluded to be due to the common use of hair oils by the Indian population.

Rieger's syndrome which is a congenital progressive, autosomally dominant, ophthalmic anomaly has certain associated somatic dentofacial and systemic features. These extra dentofacial and systemic findings can play very important role in diagnosing this syndrome so as to prevent the ocular complications. This article reports such a case in a 20-yr-old woman and discusses somatic features along with the clinical importance of early diagnosis.