Applied Biology and Biochemistry Conference Papers
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- ItemAmphistome Infection and Species Diversity of Freshwater Snails Collected from Selected Wildlife Drinking Water Sources in Matebeleland Region of Zimbabwe(Vet. Sci., 2024-05-13) Sibula, M.S.; Malatji, M.P.; Nyahunda, C.; Mukaratirwa, S.Simple Summary Amphistomes, also known as rumen flukes, are parasites of domestic and wild ruminants and occur globally. Adult parasites are found in the forestomach, and the young flukes are found in the small intestines, causing severe damage. The flukes are transmitted by various species of freshwater snails. While the disease is well documented in domestic ruminants, there are gaps in knowledge pertaining to wild ruminants with regard to the fluke species as well as the snail species which transmit them. Therefore, freshwater snails were surveyed from 19 water points that are frequented by wild ruminants in the Matebeleland region, Zimbabwe. Snails were found at nine sites, and eight species were identified and screened for rumen fluke DNA to determine the fluke species and prevalence of infection. Rumen fluke DNA was detected in 11.9% of the screened snails. Prevalence was high in the West Nicholson locality and in Bulinus globosus snail species. One rumen fluke species, i.e., Calicophoron microbothrium, was confirmed in one snail species and there were also mixed infections with lung fluke parasite, Paragonimus spp., in two snail species. This was the first study documenting the presence of this lung fluke in Zimbabwe. Abstract This study aimed at determining the identity of freshwater snails collected from selected water habitats frequented by wildlife as source of drinking water in the Matebeleland region of Zimbabwe and further screening the identified snails for natural infections with amphistomes using PCR. A total of 487 freshwater snails were collected from six areas in the Matebeleland region of Zimbabwe for identification and screening of amphistome infection. Eight freshwater snail species were morphologically identified and Biomphalaria pfeifferi, Bul. tropicus, Bul. truncatus, Bul. globosus, and L. (R.) natalensis were confirmed using the COI gene. Bulinus tropicus and Phy. acuta were the most abundant species at 33.9% (165/487) and 31.2% (155/487), respectively. DNA of amphistome was detected in 11.9% (58/487) of the collected snails. The highest infection rate was detected in Bul. globosus (44.4%). West Nicholson recorded the highest infection rate (33.9%), and infection was not detected in L. (R.) natalensis, Phy. acuta, and Bellamya spp. Amphistome DNA from M. tuberculata was successfully sequenced and identified as Calicophoron microbothrium. An additional band was detected in M. tuberculata, Bul. tropicus, and Bul. trancatus, which showed a 96.42% similarity to Paragonimus sp. sequence in the GenBank.
- ItemGenomic Analysis of Enterococcus spp. Isolated From a Wastewater Treatment Plant and Its Associated Waters in Umgungundlovu District, South Africa(Frontiers in Microbiology, 2021-06-14) Mbanga, J.; Amoako, D.G.; Abia, A.L.; Allam, M.; Ismail, A.; Essack, S.Y.We investigated the antibiotic resistome, mobilome, virulome, and phylogenomic lineages of Enterococcus spp. obtained from a wastewater treatment plant and its associated waters using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and bioinformatics tools. The whole genomes of Enterococcus isolates including Enterococcus faecalis (n = 4), Enterococcus faecium (n = 5), Enterococcus hirae (n = 2), and Enterococcus durans (n = 1) with similar resistance patterns from different sampling sites and time points were sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq machine. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis revealed two E. faecalis isolates that had a common sequence type ST179; the rest had unique sequence types ST841, and ST300. The E. faecium genomes belonged to 3 sequence types, ST94 (n = 2), ST361 (n = 2), and ST1096 (n = 1). Detected resistance genes included those encoding tetracycline [tet(S), tet(M), and tet(L)], and macrolides [msr(C), msr(D), erm(B), and mef(A)] resistance. Antibiotic resistance genes were associated with insertion sequences (IS6, ISL3, and IS982), and transposons (Tn3 and Tn6000). The tet(M) resistance gene was consistently found associated with a conjugative transposon protein (TcpC). A total of 20 different virulence genes were identified in E. faecalis and E. faecium including those encoding for sex pheromones (cCF10, cOB1, cad, and came), adhesion (ace, SrtA, ebpA, ebpC, and efaAfs), and cell invasion (hylA and hylB). Several virulence genes were associated with the insertion sequence IS256. No virulence genes were detected in E. hirae and E. durans. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all Enterococcus spp. isolates were more closely related to animal and environmental isolates than clinical isolates. Enterococcus spp. with a diverse range of resistance and virulence genes as well as associated mobile genetic elements (MGEs) exist in the wastewater environment in South Africa.
- ItemEvaluation of test-kits for the detection of Escherichia coli O157 in raw meats and cattle faeces(2012) Nyati, H.; Heuvelink, A.; Van Heerwaarden, C.; Zwartkruis, A.Escherichia coli O157 detection limits in artificially contaminated beef and cattle faeces samples were determined using Dynabeads anti E. coli O157 immunomagnetic beads, VIDAS-UP, VIDAS-ICE, and real-time PCR (GeneDisc and LightCycler) systems. Dynabeads anti-E. coli O157 immunomagnetic separation (IMS) and the GeneDisc cycler were the most sensitive methods, and could detect an initial 1 CFU in 25g beef samples after 6h of incubation in modified tryptone soya broth with novobiocin (mTSB+n) or buffered peptone water (BPW). The VIDAS-UP method could detect an initial 10 CFU, while VIDAS-ICE and the LightCycler methods could only detect an initial 100 CFU. Higher detection rates were achieved with 18 hour incubations, where an initial 1 CFU in a 25g sample could be detected with all five methods. For cattle faeces enrichments, Dynabeads anti-E. coli O157 IMS could detect an initial 1 CFU after a 6 h incubation in mTSB+n, while the VIDAS-UP and VIDAS-ICE methods could detect an initial 10 CFU and both PCR methods could only detect an initial 100 CFU. Detection rates were lower in BPW, compared to mTSB+n, with thresholds of 100 CFU for VIDAS-ICE, VIDAS-UP and GeneDisc methods, and >100 CFU for the LightCycler method.
- ItemIntegrated Municipal Solid Waste Management System (IMSWMS)(2016) Nleya, M.; Gunda, L.; Chisadza, Z.; Manyuchi, M.Rapid population growth, industrialization, urbanization and technology trends have led to a sharp increase in solid waste generation. Some municipalities are still using the conventional approach to solid waste management leading to solid waste becoming a sight everywhere. It is important to monitor solid waste collection and record the information pertaining to collection time, area and other related data from a central location. For this purpose, an Integrated Municipal Solid Waste Management System (IMSWMS) is presented and discussed in this paper. The system ensures solid waste reduction through proper collection monitoring, waste intelligence initiatives and environmental education. It is an embedded system incorporating global positioning system (GPS), radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which is interfaced with a microcontroller and a web based graphical user interface (GUI) that can be accessed from anywhere. The web based GUI allows real time interaction of the central office with waste collection processes and residents.
- ItemAflatoxin carryover during large scale peanut butter production.(Scientific Research Publishing, 2011) Andrew H, S.; Kudzayishe J, M.; Nozipo, N.Peanut butter was monitored for aflatoxin contamination at different stages during its large-scale production starting from raw shelled peanuts up to the final product. Twenty five samples, weighing 2 kg each, were taken from each of the following stages: roasting at 160?C, blanching/de-skinning and grinding. The sub-samples were ground, thoroughly mixed and further reduced by the quartering technique until a 1 kg sub-sample was obtained. This was then analyzed for aflatoxins using reverse phase HPLC incorporating pre-column trifluoroacetic acid derivatization. The results showed a total aflatoxin percentage reduction of 51% after roasting, 27% after blanching/de-skinning followed by a further 11% after grinding to make peanut butter. This meant that there was a cumulative total reduction of 89% of aflatoxin concentration during the production process of peanut butter. These results show that there is a significant reduction of aflatoxin levels at the roasting and blanching stages in the process of producing peanut butter.