Tragacanth, a highly branched carbohydrate polymer isolated from Astragalus, is one of the most commonly used gums in food industry. The primary structure of tragacanth is composed of galacturonic acid monomers connected with α 1-4 links, and it is very similar to the pectin. Tragacanth degradation by microorganisms is significant in two aspects: first, food preservation and microbial growth control due to too much use of tragacanth in the food industry, second, therapeutic and pharmaceutical potential of obtained oligosaccharides. In the present study, we report three new strains of bacteria, Acinetobacter guillouiae strain TD1, Kosakonia sacchari strain TD2, and Bacillus vallismortis strain PD1 with the capability of growing in tragacanth as an only source of carbon and energy. The evolutionary history of the isolated strains was analyzed based on 16S rRNA gene sequences in MEGA7 using the neighbor-joining method. The production of di and tri galacturonic acid due to pectinase activities of the strains were detected by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and liquid chromatography/ Mass spectroscopy (LC/MS) analysis. Here is the first report of the ability to grow in tragacanth and pectinase activity monitoring in bacteria. Our results revealed that all of the isolated strains are capable of degrading pectin and tragacanth to oligo-galacturonic acids. The obtained products, which have different structures depending on the tragacanth structures and types of pectinolytic enzymes, would show therapeutic and pharmaceutical potentials. K E Y W O R D SAcinetobacter guillouiae, Bacillus vallismortis, Kosakonia sacchari, pectinase, tragacanth
Background: Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) is an autoimmune inflammation of the central nervous system in which autoantibodies are released against Aquaporin-4 (AQP-4), astrocytic water channels. The disease is characterized by transverse myelitis and optic neuritis. Viruses could be inflammatory agents in the brain. Due to such inflammatory reactions, autoantibodies would cross the blood brain barrier. Therefore, recognizing the responsible viral agent may help us prevent or treat NMO. Objectives: To investigate the probable association between Cytomegalovirus infection (CMV) and Neuromyelitis Optica. Materials & Methods: This descriptive study was performed on 25 patients with NMO, 30 patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) referring to an academic MS Clinic and 30 healthy individuals in Isfahan City, Iran in 2016. In order to detect DNA of CMV in the sera of the studied groups, real-time PCR technique was used with hydrolyzing probes such as TaqMan. Beacon Designer 7 was used to design a primer and probe. The Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis in SPSS 16. Results: Three study groups had no significant difference in terms of age (P=0.33) and gender (P=0.599). All of the samples were negative for CMV DNA. There was no significant difference between three groups of study (P=0.33). Conclusion: Regarding the negative real-time PCR results of all samples, and especially using higher specificity of primers and probes in detecting this virus, it can be inferred that no significant correlation exists between CMV infection and NMO disease.
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