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The study was conducted to record seasonal variation in the diet composition of the burrowing asp, Atractaspis engaddensis. A total of 65 snake specimens (35 males and 30 females) were collected from Al-Qassim Region of Saudi Arabia. The captured individuals were weighed, measured and dissected to record the stomach content. The study showed that this carnivorous snake is nocturnal and feeds on rodents (75%), lizards 15% (Geckos and worm lizards), small snakes (7%) and unidentified materials (3%) independent of its sex. This finding is attributed to the intensive spread of rodents in the study area contributes in the preference of such type of food. With regard to the monthly and seasonal behavior of feeding, A. engaddensis was more active forager in terms of gut contents in May and November followed by June and September. The percentage of total amount of diet (g) in the stomach of A. engaddensis was highest in spring followed by autumn and summer. The activity of this snake was found to be decreased or ceased during winter months (December to February) owing to the decrease of temperature.

Mucor circinelloides, an oleaginous filamentous fungus, is gaining popularity due to its ability to synthesize significant amounts of lipids containing γ-linolenic acid (GLA) that have important health benefits. Malic enzyme (ME), which serves as the main source of NADPH in some fungi, has been found to regulate lipid accumulation in oleaginous fungi. In the present study, the role of two cytosolic ME genes, cmalA and cmalB, in the lipid accumulation of the M. circinelloides high-lipid-producing strain WJ11, was evaluated. Strains overexpressing cmalA and cmalB showed a 9.8- and 6.4-fold rise in specific ME activity, respectively, and an elevation of the lipid content by 23.2% and 5.8%, respectively, suggesting that these genes are involved in lipid biosynthesis. Due to increased lipid accumulation, overall GLA content in biomass was observed to be elevated by 11.42% and 16.85% in cmalA and cmalB overexpressing strains, respectively. Our study gives an important insight into different studies exploring the role of the cmalA gene, while we have for the first time investigated the role of the cmalB gene in the M. circinelloides WJ11 strain.