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Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici is a phytopathogen which causes vascular wilt disease in tomato plants. The survival tactics of both pathogens and hosts depend on intricate interactions between host plants and pathogenic microbes. Iron‐binding proteins (IBPs) and copper‐binding proteins (CBPs) play a crucial role in these interactions by participating in enzyme reactions, virulence, metabolism, and transport processes. We employed high‐throughput computational tools at the sequence and structural levels to investigate the IBPs and CBPs of F. oxysporum. A total of 124 IBPs and 37 CBPs were identified in the proteome of Fusarium. The ranking of amino acids based on their affinity for binding with iron is Glu > His> Asp > Asn > Cys, and for copper is His > Asp > Cys respectively. The functional annotation, determination of subcellular localization, and Gene Ontology analysis of these putative IBPs and CBPs have unveiled their potential involvement in a diverse array of cellular and biological processes. Three iron‐binding glycosyl hydrolase family proteins, along with four CBPs with carbohydrate‐binding domains, have been identified as potential effector candidates. These proteins are distinct from the host Solanum lycopersicum proteome. Moreover, they are known to be located extracellularly and function as enzymes that degrade the host cell wall during pathogen–host interactions. The insights gained from this report on the role of metal ions in plant–pathogen interactions can help develop a better understanding of their fundamental biology and control vascular wilt disease in tomato plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scrub typhus is a neglected disease and one of the most serious health problems in the Asia-Pacific region. The disease is caused by an obligate intracellular bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi, which is transmitted by chigger bites or larval mite bites. Scrub typhus is a threat to billions of people worldwide causing different health complications and acute encephalitis in infants and growing children. The disease causes multiple organ failure and mortality rates may reach up to 70% due to a lack of appropriate healthcare. Currently available genome and proteome databases, and bioinformatics methods are valuable tools to develop novel therapeutics to curb the pathogen. This review discusses the state-of-the-art of information about Orientia tsutsugamushi-mediated scrub typhus and delineates the role of omics technologies to develop drugs against the pathogen. The role of proteome-wide in silico approaches for the identification of therapeutic targets is also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeTo transfer the 2S chromosomal fragment(s) ofAegilops kotschyi(2Sk) into the bread wheat genome which could lead to the biofortification of wheat with high grain iron and zinc content. Materials and methodsWheat-Ae. kotschyi2A/2Sksubstitution lines with high grain iron and zinc content were used to transfer the gene/loci for high grain Fe and Zn content into wheat using seed irradiation approach. ResultsBread wheat plants derived from 40 krad-irradiated seeds showed the presence of univalents and multivalents during meiotic metaphase-I. Genomic in situ hybridization analysis of seed irradiation hybrid F2seedlings showed several terminal and interstitial signals indicated the introgression ofAe. kotschyichromosome segments. This proves the efficacy of seed radiation hybrid approach in gene transfer experiments. All the radiation-treated hybrid plants with high grain Fe and Zn content were analyzed with wheat group 2 chromosome-specific polymorphic simple sequence repeat markers to identify the introgression of small alien chromosome fragment(s). ConclusionRadiation-induced hybrids showed more than 65% increase in grain iron and 54% increase in Zn contents with better harvest index than the elite wheat cultivar WL711 indicating effective and compensating translocations of 2Skfragments into wheat genome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orientia tsutsugamushi (Ott) is a causative agent of chigger‐borne zoonosis, scrub typhus which is life threatening and highly pervasive illness in humans. In this report, we have mined and classified the proteins involved in pathways unique to Ott by using high‐throughput computational techniques. The 12 metabolic pathways were found to be unique to the pathogen. Forty‐six proteins were reported to be essential for the pathogen's survival and non‐homologous to the humans. The proteins were categorized into different classes, ie, enzymes, transporters, DNA‐binding, secretory, and outer membrane proteins. Further, in silico analysis of 46 proteins showed that 25 proteins were suitable therapeutic targets with known druggable properties. The structural modeling of B3CSG3 (MurA) protein was carried out and catalytic site essential for its functioning was analyzed. Virtual screening of chemical compounds was performed against modeled structure. The docking study by AutodockVina reported compound from PubChem with CID: 16036947 as best and potential inhibitor by means of docking score and binding affinity. The reliability and stability of the MurA‐16036947 complex were confirmed with molecular dynamics simulation. The report will provide insight to understand the mechanism of pathogenesis of Ott and instigate the development of effective treatment strategies against this disease. Metabolic pathways proteins of Orientia tsutsugamushi are elite and have the potential to serve as therapeutic targets.Twelve metabolic pathways were found unique to the pathogen and 46 proteins involved in these pathways were essential to pathogen's survival and non‐homologous to humans.Novel inhibitor (PubChem CID: 16036947) of MurA was reported which have the efficiency for future effective drug development against scrub typhus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of transfers of useful alien genes for metal homeostasis from non-progenitor Aegilops species using the widely available anchored wheat SSR markers is difficult due to their lower polymorphism with the distant related wild species and the lack of locus specificity further restricts their application. The present study deals with the development of intron targeted amplified polymorphic (ITAP) markers for the metal homeostasis genes present on chromosomes of groups 2 and 7 of Triticeae. The mRNA sequences of 27 metal homeostasis genes were retrieved from different plant species using NCBI database and their BLASTn was performed against the wheat draft genome sequences in Ensemblplants to get exonic and intronic sequences of the corresponding metal homeostasis genes in wheat. The ITAP primers were developed in such a way that they would anneal to the conserved flanking exonic regions of the genes and amplify across highly variable introns within the PCR limits. The primers led to the amplification of variable intronic sequences of genes with polymorphism between non-progenitor Aegilops species and the recipient wheat cultivars. Further, the polymorphic ITAP markers were used to characterize the transfers of metal homeostasis genes from the non-progenitor Aegilops species to the BC2F5 wheat-Aegilops derivatives, developed through induced homoeologous pairing. The derivatives with significant percent increase in grain Fe and Zn content over the elite cultivar PBW343 LrP showed the introgression of some of the useful Aegilops alleles of the metal homeostasis genes. The use of different metal homeostasis genes using this approach is the first report of the direct contribution of the genes for increasing the grain micronutrient content for developing biofortified wheat lines with reduced linkage drag. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metalloproteins and metal-based inhibitors have been shown to effectively combat infectious diseases, particularly those caused by RNA viruses. In this study, a diverse set of bioinformatics methods was employed to identify metal-binding proteins of human RNA viruses. Seventy-three viral proteins with a high probability of being metal-binding proteins were identified. These proteins included 40 zinc-, 47 magnesium- and 14 manganese-binding proteins belonging to 29 viral species and eight significant viral families, including Coronaviridae, Flaviviridae and Retroviridae. Further functional characterization has revealed that these proteins play a critical role in several viral processes, including viral replication, fusion and host viral entry. They fall under the essential categories of viral proteins, including polymerase and protease enzymes. Magnesium ion is abundantly predicted to interact with these viral enzymes, followed by zinc. In addition, this study also examined the evolutionary aspects of predicted viral metalloproteins, offering essential insights into the metal utilization patterns among different viral species. The analysis indicates that the metal utilization patterns are conserved within the functional classes of the proteins. In conclusion, the findings of this study provide significant knowledge on viral metalloproteins that can serve as a valuable foundation for future research in this area., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of FEMS.)