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In this investigation, the study focused on the RNAseq data generated in response to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc) race1 (Cavendish infecting strain VCG 0124), targeting both resistant (cv. Rose, AA) and susceptible cultivars (Namarai, AA), and Tropical Race 4 (TR4, strain VCG 01213/16), involving resistant (cv. Rose, AA) and susceptible cultivars (Matti, AA). The respective contrasting cultivars were independently challenged with Foc race1 and TR4, and the root and corm samples were collected in two replications at varying time intervals [0th (control), 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th days] in duplicates. The RNA samples underwent stringent quality checks, with all 80 samples meeting the primary parameters, including a satisfactory RNA integrity number (>7). Subsequent library preparation and secondary quality control steps were executed successfully for all samples, paving the way for the sequencing phase. Sequencing generated an extensive amount of data, yielding a range of 10 to 31 million paired-end raw reads per sample, resulting in a cumulative raw data size of 11–50 GB. These raw reads were aligned against the reference genome of Musa acuminata ssp. malaccensis version 2 (DH Pahang), as well as the pathogen genomes of Foc race 1 and Foc TR4, using the HISAT2 alignment tool. The focal point of this study was the investigation of differential gene expression patterns of Musa spp. upon Foc infection. In Foc race1 resistant and susceptible root samples across the designated day intervals, a significant number of genes displayed up-regulation (ranging from 1 to 228) and down-regulation (ranging from 1 to 274). In corm samples, the up-regulated genes ranged from 1 to 149, while down-regulated genes spanned from 3 to 845. For Foc TR4 resistant and susceptible root samples, the expression profiles exhibited a notable up-regulation of genes (ranging from 31 to 964), along with a down-regulation range of 316–1315. In corm samples, up-regulated genes ranged from 57 to 929, while down-regulated genes were observed in the range of 40–936. In addition to the primary analysis, a comprehensive secondary analysis was conducted, including Gene Ontology (GO), euKaryotic Orthologous Groups (KOG) classification, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, and investigations into Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs), Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), and microRNA (miRNA). The complete dataset was carefully curated and housed at ICAR-NRCB, Trichy, ensuring its accuracy and accessibility for the duration of the study. Further, the raw transcriptome read datasets have been successfully submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information - Sequence Read Archive (NCBI-SRA) database, ensuring the accessibility and reproducibility of this valuable dataset for further research endeavors

Human viral pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2 continue to attract public and research attention due to their disruption of society, global health, and the economy. Several earlier reviews have investigated the occurrence and fate of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, and the potential to use such data in wastewater-based epidemiology. However, comprehensive reviews tracking SARS-CoV-2 and other viral pathogens in the wastewater-water-drinking water continuum and the associated risk assessment are still lacking. Therefore, to address this gap, the present paper makes the following contributions: (1) critically examines the early empirical results to highlight the occurrence and stability of SARS-CoV-2 in the wastewater-source water-drinking water continuum, (2) discusses the anthropogenic and hydro(geo)logical processes controlling the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in the wastewater-source water-drinking water continuum, (3) discusses the risky behaviour, drivers and high-risk settings in the wastewater-source water-drinking water continuum, (4) uses the available empirical data on SARS-CoV-2 occurrence in the wastewater-source water-drinking water continuum to discuss human health risks from multiple exposure pathways, gendered aspects of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via shared on-site sanitation systems, and (5) develops and risk mitigation strategy based on the available empirical evidence and quantitative human risk assessment data. Finally, it presents a comprehensive research agenda on SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 to guide the mitigation of future similar outbreaks in low-income settings., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Emphasis is always placed on bacterial but not fungal pathogens in marine environments. We analysed the fungal diversity, functional predictions, and toxic metals and metalloids contamination in beach sand from different South African locations. Results revealed a diverse fungal community, with Ascomycota, Rozellomycota, and Basidiomycota being the dominant phyla. Functional predictions highlighted fungal metabolic pathways related to of carbohydrates, amino acids, and lipids, in different beach samples. Elevated concentrations of toxic metals and metalloids were detected in Central and Harbour beach sands, likely due to anthropogenic activities. Correlations among different elements were observed, suggesting complex interactions in the coastal environment. Fungal pathogens like Cladosporium, Fusarium, Aspergillus, and Candida in beach sands raise potential public health risk concerns. Therefore, monitoring fungal diversity (including pathogens) alongside bacterial contamination in beach environments is imperative. The results contribute to understanding fungal community dynamics, functional potential, toxic metal and metalloid contamination, and potential risks associated with beach sand ecosystems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The deep ocean is a rich reservoir of unique organisms with great potential for bioprospecting, ecosystem services, and the discovery of novel materials. These organisms thrive in harsh environments characterized by high hydrostatic pressure, low temperature, and limited nutrients. Hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, prominent features of the deep ocean, provide a habitat for microorganisms involved in the production and filtration of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Methanotrophs, comprising archaea and bacteria, play a crucial role in these processes. This review examines the intricate relationship between the roles, responses, and niche specialization of methanotrophs in the deep ocean ecosystem. Our findings reveal that different types of methanotrophs dominate specific zones depending on prevailing conditions. Type I methanotrophs thrive in oxygen-rich zones, while Type II methanotrophs display adaptability to diverse conditions. Verrumicrobiota and NC10 flourish in hypoxic and extreme environments. In addition to their essential role in methane regulation, methanotrophs contribute to various ecosystem functions. They participate in the degradation of foreign compounds and play a crucial role in cycling biogeochemical elements like metals, sulfur, and nitrogen. Methanotrophs also serve as a significant energy source for the oceanic food chain and drive chemosynthesis in the deep ocean. Moreover, their presence offers promising prospects for biotechnological applications, including the production of valuable compounds such as polyhydroxyalkanoates, methanobactin, exopolysaccharides, ecotines, methanol, putrescine, and biofuels. In conclusion, this review highlights the multifaceted roles of methanotrophs in the deep ocean ecosystem, underscoring their ecological significance and their potential for advancements in biotechnology. A comprehensive understanding of their niche specialization and responses will contribute to harnessing their full potential in various domains., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Hydrocarbon footprints in the environment, via biosynthesis, natural seepage, anthropogenic activities and accidents, affect the ecosystem and induce a shift in the healthy biogeochemical equilibrium that drives needed ecological services. In addition, these imbalances cause human diseases and reduce animal and microorganism diversity. Microbial bioremediation, which capitalizes on functional genes, is a sustainable mitigation option for cleaning hydrocarbon-impacted environments. This review focuses on the bacterial alkB functional gene, which codes for a non-heme di‑iron monooxygenase (AlkB) with a di‑iron active site that catalyzes C 8 -C 16 medium-chain alkane metabolism. These enzymes are ubiquitous and share common attributes such as being controlled by global transcriptional regulators, being a component of most super hydrocarbon degraders, and their distributions linked to horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events. The phylogenetic approach used in the HGT detection suggests that AlkB tree topology clusters bacteria functionally and that a preferential gradient dictates gene distribution. The alkB gene also acts as a biomarker for bioremediation, although it is found in pristine environments and absent in some hydrocarbon degraders. For instance, a quantitative molecular method has failed to link alkB copy number to contamination concentration levels. This limitation may be due to AlkB homologues, which have other functions besides n-alkane assimilation. Thus, this review, which focuses on Pseudomonas putida GPo1 alkB, shows that AlkB proteins are diverse but have some unifying trends around hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria; it is erroneous to rely on alkB detection alone as a monitoring parameter for hydrocarbon degradation, alkB gene distribution are preferentially distributed among bacteria, and the plausible explanation for AlkB affiliation to broad-spectrum metabolism of hydrocarbons in super-degraders hitherto reported. Overall, this review provides a broad perspective of the ecology of alkB-carrying bacteria and their directed biodegradation pathways., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Mine tailing dumps are arguably one of the leading sources of environmental degradation with often both public health and ecologically consequences. The present study investigated the concentration of heavy metals in gold mine tailings, and used high throughput sequencing techniques to determine the microbial community diversity of these tailings using 16S rRNA gene based amplicon sequence analysis. The concentration of detected metals and metalloids followed the order Si > Al > Fe > K > Ca > Mg. The 16S rRNA gene based sequence analysis resulted in a total of 273,398 reads across the five samples, represented among 7 major phyla, 41 classes, 77 orders, 142 families and 247 major genera. Phylum Actinobacteria was the most dominant, followed by Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria and Planctomycetes. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and pairwise correlation analysis positively correlated the distribution of Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria to Al and K; Actinobacteria to Cr and Chloroflexi to Si. Negative correlations were observed in the distribution of Bacteroidetes with respect to As concentrations, Actinobacteria to Al, and Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria to high As and Te content of the soils. Predictive functional analysis showed the presence of putative biosynthetic and degradative pathways across the five sample sites. The study concludes that mine tailing sites harbour diverse and unique microbial assemblages with potentially biotechnologically important genes for biosynthesis and biodegradation., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)