The aim of this study was to determine the chemical variability of wormwood extracts as affected by the growing region. Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were also investigated. The essential oil composition variability ofA. absinthiumL. aerial parts collected from four different Tunisian regions was assessed by gas chromatography (GC/FID) and by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS). In addition, total polyphenols, flavonoids, and condensed tannins as well as antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activities of methanolic extract and essential oils were undertaken. Chromatographic analysis of wormwood essential oils showed the predominance of monoterpene hydrocarbons represented mainly by chamazulene. RP-HPLC analysis of wormwood methanolic extract revealed the predominance of phenolic acids. Antiradical activity was region-dependant and the methanolic extract of Bou Salem region has the strongest activity (CI50=9.38±0.82 µg/mL). Concerning the reducing power, the methanolic extract of Bou Salem, Jérissa, and Boukornine regions was more active than the positive control. Obtained results of antimicrobial activities showed that wormwood essential oil is endowed with important antibacterial activity which was strongly related to the organoleptic quality of oil which appeared strongly region-dependant.A. absinthiumL. EOs investigated are quite interesting from a pharmaceutical standpoint because of their biological activities.

Attributed to a Gram-negative bacterium, identified as Erwinia amylovora, the fire blight disease, recently detected in Tunisia, has become a real threat to our economy and our arboriculture. There is no effective curative treatment to eliminate the installed bacterium. It is therefore essential to prevent attacks and to limit the spread of the bacteria if it is already present. To do so we have chosen the biocontrol by bacteriophages. In this work we have isolated new strains of Erwinia amylovora (10 strains) from plant tissues where fire blight symptoms are persistent. These strains have been the subject of a molecular study. The isolated phages (30 isolates) were studied for their infectivity on Erwinia amylovora isolates and showed a surprising effect. Our phage isolates formed plaque of different sizes, with a diameter ranging between 0.8 and 7 mm on the soft agar layer containing the test bacterium. The phages thermostability showed that all these viruses resist at 80 ° C for 45 min.

The rapid development of aquaculture, its intensification, and the occurrence of fish health problems on farms push to develop alternative methods to antibiotics and chemotherapy for controlling fish diseases. Probiotics may provide a potential alternative method to protect fish from opportunistic and pathologic bacteria and promote a balanced environment. In this work, we have assessed the in vitro probiotic properties of twenty one bacteria from aquatic and fish origin, for their application in aquaculture. Selection was based on their antimicrobial activity (Bacteriocin) against fish pathogens and their in vitro safety assessment. This includes the evaluation of their haemolytic, proteolytic and mucinolytic activities, bile salt deconjugation ability and antibiotic susceptibility. Twelve of the twenty one bacteria isolated from several showed strong antibacterial activity against several pathogenic species such as Lactococcus garvieae, Vibrio anguillarum, Vibrio harveyi, Aeromonas hydrophila and Aeromonas salmonicida, and were taxonomically identified by partial 16S rDNA gene sequencing. The cell-free culture supernatants from cultures of these twelve strains were treated with proteinase K (10 mg/ml; 37ºC, 1h) and submitted to heat treatment (100ºC, 10 min), which showed that eleven strains exert extracellular antimicrobial activity against fish pathogens due to the production and secretion of thermo-stable antimicrobial peptides (i.e., Bacteriocins). The tested strains showed a great heterogeneity respect to their safety and antibiotic susceptibility.

Glucanases are enzymes that hydrolysis glucans which are the major cell wall components in cereals. Newly isolated bacteria assigned as Bacillus subtilis HB2, produces a monomeric glucanase (GLU HB2) of a molecular mass of 75 kDa. GLU HB2 has an optimal activity at pH 5 and 55 °C. It is extremely stable at a broad range of pH and temperature up to 65 °C, in presence of 5 mM of CaCl2. In order to overcome the enzymatic inhibition problem observed in wild-type strains, GluHB2 gene was integrated into the genome of B. subtilis HB2 and the recombinant strain was named HB2G. The correlation of glucanase production with bacterial growth shows that the level of expression of HB2G remains low and relatively comparable to the wild-type strain. But in terms of productivity, the HB2G strain is more productive throughout bacterial culture. This low production and growth of the recombinant strain can be attributed to the toxicity of the overexpression of the glucanase gene under a constitutive promoter.