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The biological agents are carried from deserts and dried lands to long distances by high dust volumes. Their adverse effects can be reduced by specifying and controlling dust sources and their related biological agents. Thus, the current work examined the relationship between the bacteria in air and soil samples by taking samples from the soil surface of two dust sources, as well as from air samples during spring from Khorramshahr and Abadan cities. The dust event is the most influential factor on airborne bacteria. There is an insignificant negative (-0.06), insignificant positive (0.14), and weak positive (0.24) correlation between airborne bacteria and UV radiation, relative humidity, and temperature, respectively. After preparing a 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) clone library from the soil and air samples, operational taxonomic unit picking and taxonomic assignment were conducted using QIIME Virtual Box. In the present work, Bacillus was the dominant species. The relationship between dust sources and air samples was determined by principal component analysis. Bacteria in the Hoor-Al-Azim dust source and airborne bacteria on dusty and non-dusty days showed a more significant correlation compared to bacteria in the Shadegan dust source. Source Tracker software was used to estimate the contribution of dust sources. The primary source of dust was associated with the dried areas of Hoor-Al-Azim on the non-dusty and dusty days. Finally, the long transport of airborne bacteria was assessed by moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the back trajectory model of Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) data. The research findings can help decision-makers prioritize dust sources to control the adverse effects of dust.

Background and Objective: Considering the fact that Iran is located in semi-arid climate and the harmful effects of dust storms on different ecosystems, this study aimed to identify and locate dust storms using fungal bio-aerosols (spores) and HYSPLIT model in southwestern region of Iran. Materials and Methods: MODIS satellite images and HYSPLIT model were used to investigate the temporal changes of dust masses entering the Khuzestan province. Sampling was carried out from dust storms in Abadan and Khorramshahr cities and from the soil of the dried parts of Hur al-Azim and Shadegan wetlands in a two-month period (from May to July 2019). Results: The results of numerical modeling show that Abadan and Khorramshahr cities were affected by dust storms of internal origin (from Hur-al-Azim wetland). After isolation of bioaerosols from air and soil samples, a total of 6 fungal genera were identified in soil samples and 6 genera in dust samples of internal origin by PCR-Sequencing method. Talaromyces, Alternaria, Penicillium and Aspergillus were identified as the predominant genera fungi in soil and air samples. Conclusion: With 70% similarity of fungi found in soil and air samples, it can be concluded that the main source of fungi in Abadan and Khorramshahr is Hur al-Azim wetland.

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to identify Serratia marcescens to extract and purify prodigiosin pigment to evaluate the antibacterial potential of the pigment. Design/methodology/approach Samples were collected from shrimp aquaculture ponds. Species identification was conducted using morphological, biochemical and molecular tests. Pigment extraction and purification were carried out using column chromatography. The antibacterial effect of crude and purified prodigiosin pigment was evaluated on Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus as biofouling bacteria. In addition, the interaction between prodigiosin and proteins involved in biofilm formation was evaluated using molecular docking. Findings The results of prodigiosin extraction with solvents showed the highest percentage of pigment presence with methanol solvent in the second day of culture. The chemical structure of pure prodigiosin obtained from the column chromatography was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Both crude and purified pigments exhibited antibacterial effects against selected bacterial strains. The antibacterial effect of the purified pigment was higher, and the highest antibacterial effect was observed on B. subtilis. Prodigiosin docking was carried out with all target proteins, and the docked energy in all of them was at an acceptable level. Originality/value Prodigiosin extracted from S. marcescens can be used as a bioactive compound to design and manufacture of anti-biofouling and anti-biofilm formation products to use extensively for industrial applications as a natural color in marine industries, food industry, cosmetics and textile productions.

Dust events impose negative socio-economic, health, and environmental impacts in vulnerable areas and reflect physiochemical and biological characteristics of their sources. The purpose of this study was to assess the impacts and contribution of two dust sources on concentration and diversity of airborne fungi in one of the most frequent dusty area in the world. Air masses arriving at study area were assessed using ground wind rose and HYSPLIT model. To explore the relationship between fungi in dust sources and downwind area, the sampling was carried out from airborne dust in Arvand Free Zone as targets areas and soil of dried part of Hor-alazim and Shadegan wetlands as sources areas. The samples were analyzed in the lab to extract DNA, PCR and sequencing. The Raw DNA data were processed using Qiime virtual box to pick OTUs and taxonomy assignments. The most common fungi at the Genus level were in the order of Penicillium > Aspergillus > Alternaria > Fusarium > Paradendryphiella > Talaromyces. The similarity between air and soil fungal genera was investigated using richness and diversity indices estimation, phyloghenetic tree, PCA analysis. results show the ambient fungi community structures in Hor alazim, and Shadegan dust sources were more similar to those on dusty days than non-dusty days. To quantify the contributions of known dust sources to airborne fungi, Source tracker model was used. Results show that the main known airborne fungi sources were the Hor-alazim in dusty and non-dusty days. This study's results can help managers to identify and prioritize dust sources in terms of fungal species.

Dust events impose negative socio-economic, health, and environmental impacts on vulnerable areas and reflect their sources’ physiochemical and biological characteristics. This study aimed to assess the impact of two dust sources on the concentration and diversity of airborne fungi in one of the dustiest areas in the world. This study is the first attempt to investigate the relationship between dust sources fungal community and those in airborne dust. Also, the contribution of dust sources to airborne fungi was estimated. Air masses arriving at the study area were assessed using local wind rose and the HYSPLIT model. Sampling was carried out from airborne dust at the Arvand Free Zone as target areas and soil in the dried parts of the Hor al-Azim and Shadegan wetlands as source areas to explore the relationship between fungi in the dust sources and the downwind area. The samples were analyzed in the lab to extract DNA. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the rDNA gene were amplified using the primers ITS1F and ITS4, and then PCR products were sent to the lab for sequencing. The raw DNA data were processed using the QIIME virtual box to pick operational taxonomic units and taxonomy assignments. The most common fungi at the genus level were in the order of Penicillium > Aspergillus > Alternaria > Fusarium > Paradendryphiella > Talaromyces. The similarity between air and soil fungal genera was investigated using richness and diversity indices, the phylogenetic tree, and principal component analysis. The results showed that the community structures of ambient fungi in the Hor al-Azim and Shadegan dust sources were more similar to those on dusty days than non-dusty days. The source tracker model was used to quantify the contributions of known dust sources to airborne fungi. The results showed that the main source of airborne fungi was Hor al-Azim on dusty and non-dusty days. This study’s results can help managers identify and prioritize dust sources regarding fungal species.

The freshness of greenback grey mullet (Chelon subviridis) stored at 4oC for 16 days was assessed using quality index method (QIM), physicochemical, color and microbiological parameters. Results showed that the developed QIM scheme for greenback grey mullet consisted of nine parameters which gave total of 34 demerit points. QI showed a linear relationship to storage time (QIM = 8.167× storage time-7.767, R2 = 0.982), and the remaining storage time could be estimated with an accuracy of± 5 days. The physicochemical, microbiological and sensory data were integrated and used to determine the rejection point. The shelf life of gutted greenback grey mullet stored at 4oC remains stable for consumption until 12 days of storage.

Bacteria of the genus Raoultella are known to inhabit aquatic environments and can be found in medical samples. The pathogenicity of Raoultella ornithinolytica isolates in human has become increasingly important, and several cases of infections have been reported recently. However, there are no reports of isolation of bacteriophages infecting this bacterium. In this study, two novel phages (ISF3 and ISF6) of a methylotrophic Raoultella strain were isolated from sewage. To characterize the isolated phages, morphological features, protein profiles, restriction digestion patterns, and partial genome sequences were studied. Despite morphological differences, electron microscopy revealed that both phages had an icosahedral capsid connected to a contractile tail, suggesting that ISF3 and ISF6 both belong to the family Myoviridae. Partial nucleotide sequences of the ISF3 genome showed 99% to 100% identity to DNA of Klebsiella pneumonia phages KP15, KP27 and BMBT1; however, the restriction digestion profiles of ISF3 genome digested by EcoRI and EcoRV differed from those of Klebsiella phages KP15 and KP27. A partial sequence alignment showed that ISF6 can be classified as a member of a new viral genus due to its significant differences from other previously identified phages. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the isolation and characterization of the specific Raoultella phages that have potential to be used as new pharmaceuticals against R. ornithinolytica.

Background: Marine actinomycetes, gram positive bacteria, have been prolific sources of novel secondary metabolites with a range of biological antibacterial activities. Marine sediments are potential sources for isolation of novel actinomycetes yielding new products and are recognized as source of novel antibiotic. In this study, we reported the isolation, characterization and antifungal activities of 8 actinomycetes isolated from Deylam nearshore sediments. Materials and Methods: The marine soil sediment samples were collected from Deylam nearshore at the depth of 10 cm. The treated samples were serially diluted and used starch casein agar as a culture medium. Morphological and biochemical characterization of isolated strain was carried out by using standard methods. Antifungal assay of the bacterial extracts was performed using standard well diffusion assay. Results: In this study, 8 marine actinomycetes were isolated from Deylam near shore sediments according to their morphology. All of isolate was belonged to Streptomyces genus. Differential analyses results for catalase and Gram test were positive for all isolates, the positive isolates for TSI, simmon citrate and ornitin decarboxylase were 1, 2 and 5 respectively, all isolates were negative for lysine decarboxylase, VP, MR and indol test, SIM test results showed that all isolates were non-motile, one isolate was produced H2S and some isolates formed pigmented colony. Most isolates showed antifungal activity against tested pathogenic fungi. Conclusion: Results of this investigation revealed that the marine actinomycetes of Deylam nearshore sediments were potent source of bioactive compounds with antifungal activity.

Here, we report the first genome sequence of a new virulent phage of Microbacterium oxydans, termed vB_MoxS-ISF9, which was isolated from sewage. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the isolated phage, which has a hexagonal head of about 80 nm in diameter and a long non-contractile tail of about 240 nm, belongs to the family Siphoviridae. The vB_MoxS-ISF9 DNA was completely sequenced and found to be 59,254 bp in length, with a G+C content of 62.76 % and 120 putative open reading frames (ORFs). The predicted protein products of the ORFs were identified, and their sequences were analyzed. In a comparison with all available phage genomes, vB_MoxS-ISF9 did not show any significant similarity to other previously reported bacteriophages. To the beast of our knowledge, this is the first report of the isolation and complete genomic sequencing of a virulent phage against a member of the genus Microbacterium.

Molecular methods such as 16S rDNA sequencing are relatively accurate but are costly and time consuming, therefore new alternative methods have been a matter of interst. FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) is one of these methods. It is a physico-chemical method based on measurement of molecular bond vibrations excited by infrared radiation at specific wavelength range. The aim of this study was to assess efficiency of FTIR in identification and taxonomy of methylotroph bacteria (most important group of chlorinated methane derivative degrading bacteria) and comparing it to 16S rDNA sequencing method. Of 30 isolated methylotroph bacteria, 7 were selected. Following amplification of a portion of 16S rDNA gene by PCR and sequencing, a phylogenic tree was constructed. By FTIR method, transmittance spectra of these bacteria were obtained in infrared region 400-4000 cm-1. FTIR data were analyzed by SPSS software. The dendrogram of FTIR data analysis was very similar to dendrogram of 16S rDNA sequencing. Results showed that FTIR can be used as an identification method but not yet for taxonomy. By introducing a standard method for FTIR data analysis, this method can be considered as an alternative to the 16S rDNA sequencing method.

Background: Halomethanes are toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, which are widely used in industry. Also they can be formed during water disinfection by chlorine. Biodegradation by methylotrophs is the most important way to remove these pollutants from the environment. Objectives: This study aimed to represent a simple and rapid method for quantitative study of halomethanes utilizing bacteria in drinking water and also a method to facilitate the biodegradation of these compounds in the environment compared to cometabolism. Materials and Methods: Enumeration of chlorinated methane utilizing bacteria in drinking water was carried out by most probable number (MPN) method in two steps. First, the presence and the number of methylotroph bacteria were confirmed on methanol-containing medium. Then, utilization of dichloromethane was determined by measuring the released chloride after the addition of 0.04 mol/L of it to the growth medium. Also, the effect of nanosilver particles on biodegradation of multiple chlorinated methanes was studied by bacterial growth on Bushnell-Haas Broth containing chloroform (trichloromethane) that was treated with 0.2 ppm nanosilver. Results: Most probable number of methylotrophs and chlorinated methane utilizing bacteria in tested drinking water were 10 and 4 MPN Index/L, respectively. Chloroform treatment by nanosilver leads to dechlorination and the production of formaldehyde. The highest growth of bacteria and formic acid production were observed in the tubes containing 1% chloroform treated with nanosilver. Conclusions: By combining the two tests, a rapid approach to estimation of most probable number of chlorinated methane utilizing bacteria is introduced. Treatment by nanosilver particles was resulted in the easier and faster biodegradation of chloroform by bacteria. Thus, degradation of these chlorinated compounds is more efficient compared to cometabolism.