Over the past two decades, enormous advances have occurred in the structural and biological characterization of Newcastle disease virus (NDV). As a result, not only the complete sequence of the viral genome has been fully determined, but also a clearer understanding of the viral proteins and their respective roles in the life cycle has been achieved. This article reviews the progress in the molecular biology of NDV with emphasis on the new technologies. It also identifies the fundamental problems that need to be addressed and attempts to predict some research opportunities in NDV that can be realized in the near future for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disease(s).

Swamp and river buffalo mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was sequenced for 303 bp of the cytochrome b gene for 54 animals from 14 populations, and for 158 bp of the D-loop region for 80 animals from 11 populations. Only one cytochrome b haplotype was found in river buffalo. Of the four haplotypes identified in swamp buffalo, one found in all populations is apparently ancestral both to the other swamp haplotypes and to the river haplotype. The phylogenetic relationships among the 33 D-loop haplotypes, with a cluster of 11 found in swamp buffalo only, also support the evolution of domesticated swamp and river buffalo from an ancestral swamp-like animal, most likely represented today by the wild Asian buffalo (Bubalus arnee). The time of divergence of the swamp and river types, estimated from the D-loop data, is 28,000 to 87,000 years ago. We hypothesise that the species originated in mainland south-east Asia, and that it spread north to China and west to the Indian subcontinent, where the rive type evolved and was domesticated. Following domestication in China, the domesticated swamp buffalo spread through two separate routes, through Taiwan and the Philippines to the eastern islands of Borneo and Sulawesi, and south through mainland south-east Asia and then to the western islands of Indonesia.

Newcastle disease (ND) is one of the most devastating diseases that considerably cripple the global poultry industry. Because of its enormous socioeconomic importance and potential to rapidly spread to naïve birds in the vicinity, ND is included among the list of avian diseases that must be notified to the OIE immediately upon recognition. Currently, virus isolation followed by its serological or molecular identification is regarded as the gold standard method of ND diagnosis. However, this method is generally slow and requires specialised laboratory with biosafety containment facilities, making it of little relevance under epidemic situations where rapid diagnosis is seriously needed. Thus, molecular based diagnostics have evolved to overcome some of these difficulties, but the extensive genetic diversity of the virus ensures that isolates with mutations at the primer/probe binding sites escape detection using these assays. This diagnostic dilemma leads to the emergence of cutting-edge technologies such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) which have so far proven to be promising in terms of rapid, sensitive, and accurate recognition of virulent Newcastle disease virus (NDV) isolates even in mixed infections. As regards disease control strategies, conventional ND vaccines have stood the test of time by demonstrating track record of protective efficacy in the last 60 years. However, these vaccines are unable to block the replication and shedding of most of the currently circulating phylogenetically divergent virulent NDV isolates. Hence, rationally designed vaccines targeting the prevailing genotypes, the so-called genotype-matched vaccines, are highly needed to overcome these vaccination related challenges. Among the recently evolving technologies for the development of genotype-matched vaccines, reverse genetics-based live attenuated vaccines obviously appeared to be the most promising candidates. In this review, a comprehensive description of the current and emerging trends in the detection, identification, and control of ND in poultry are provided. The strengths and weaknesses of each of those techniques are also emphasised.

Background Lactobacillus plantarum , a major species of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB), are capable of producing postbiotic metabolites (PM) with prominent probiotic effects that have been documented extensively for rats, poultry and pigs. Despite the emerging evidence of anticancer properties of LAB, very limited information is available on cytotoxic and antiproliferative activity of PM produced by L. plantarum . Therefore, the cytotoxicity of PM produced by six strains of L. plantarum on various cancer and normal cells are yet to be evaluated. Methods Postbiotic metabolites (PM) produced by six strains of L. plantarum were determined for their antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects on normal human primary cells, breast, colorectal, cervical, liver and leukemia cancer cell lines via MTT assay, trypan blue exclusion method and BrdU assay. The toxicity of PM was determined for human and various animal red blood cells via haemolytic assay. The cytotoxicity mode was subsequently determined for selected UL4 PM on MCF-7 cells due to its pronounced cytotoxic effect by fluorescent microscopic observation using AO/PI dye reagents and flow cytometric analyses. Results UL4 PM exhibited the lowest IC 50 value on MCF-7, RG14 PM on HT29 and RG11 and RI11 PM on HL60 cell lines, respectively from MTT assay. Moreover, all tested PM did not cause haemolysis of human, dog, rabbit and chicken red blood cells and demonstrated no cytotoxicity on normal breast MCF-10A cells and primary cultured cells including human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, mice splenocytes and thymocytes. Antiproliferation of MCF-7 and HT-29 cells was potently induced by UL4 and RG 14 PM respectively after 72 h of incubation at the concentration of 30% (v/v). Fluorescent microscopic observation and flow cytometric analyses showed that the pronounced cytotoxic effect of UL4 PM on MCF-7 cells was mediated through apoptosis. Conclusion In conclusion , PM produced by the six strains of L. plantarum exhibited selective cytotoxic via antiproliferative effect and induction of apoptosis against malignant cancer cells in a strain-specific and cancer cell type-specific manner whilst sparing the normal cells. This reveals the vast potentials of PM from L. plantarum as functional supplement and as an adjunctive treatment for cancer.

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is an avian virus that causes deadly infection to over 250 species of birds, including domestic and wild-type, thus resulting in substantial losses to the poultry industry worldwide. Many reports have demonstrated the oncolytic effect of NDV towards human tumor cells. The interesting aspect of NDV is its ability to selectively replicate in cancer cells. Some of the studies have undergone human clinical trials, and favorable results were obtained. Therefore, NDV strains can be the potential therapeutic agent in cancer therapy. However, investigation on the therapeutic perspectives of NDV, especially human immunological effects, is still ongoing. This paper provides an overview of the current studies on the cytotoxic and anticancer effect of NDV via direct oncolysis effects or immune stimulation. Safety of NDV strains applied for cancer immunotherapy is also discussed in this paper.