Asif M. Iqbal
@skuastkashmir.ac.in
Assistant Professor
SKUAST-K
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Genetics & Plant Breeding
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Muhammad Sohail Sajid, Asif Iqbal, Hafiz Muhammad Rizwan, Asma Kausar, Urfa Bin Tahir, Muhammad Younus, Mahvish Maqbool, Rao Muhammad Siddique, Dalia Fouad, and Farid Shokry Ataya
MDPI AG
Theileria sp. (Piroplasmida: Theileriidae) is one of the most widely known infections transmitted by hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) and has been linked to significant economic losses across the globe. The study’s main emphasis was theileriosis, a disease that is common in Pakistan and has an incidence ranging from 0.6% to 33%. Through DNA screening of the vector ticks and host blood, this study sought to determine the risk of tick-borne theileriosis in populations of buffalos (Bubalus bubalis) and cattle (Bos indicus) in Toba Tek Singh district of Punjab, Pakistan. Identified tick species include Hyalomma anatolicum (35.4%), Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (30.2%), and R. sanguineus (25%). Tick specimens were collected from animals and their respective microenvironments. PCR assays targeting Theileria annulata were used to investigate the infection in the DNA extracted from the collected blood samples from large ruminants and salivary glands (SGs) of the Hyalomma ticks. The 18S rRNA of T. annulata was amplified using specific primers. Positive T. annulata amplicons were sequenced and verified using BLAST analysis. Overall, 50% of SGs contained T. annulate DNA. Female ticks, and those collected from cattle and from riverine environments had significantly higher (p < 0.05) rates of Theileria infection in their acini. Overall prevalence of Theileria infection was 35.9% in blood collected from large ruminants. Cattle had a substantially greater frequency of bovine theileriosis (43.2%) than buffalos (28.7%). Age and sex of large ruminants were significantly positively associated (p < 0.05) with Theileria infection. Furthermore, compared to non-riverine cattle (35%) and buffalo (19.5%), riverine cattle (52.2%) and buffalo (36.2%) showed a considerably higher prevalence. The results of this study, which is the first in Pakistan to examine the blood of large ruminants and vectorial function of Ixodid ticks in the transmission of T. annulata along with associated risk factors, offer an important insight for risk assessment of Theileria infection in livestock using vectorial infectivity.
Arfa Majeed, Sammina Mahmood, Adnan Hassan Tahir, Mehmood Ahmad, Muhammad Abu Bakr Shabbir, Waqas Ahmad, Asif Iqbal, Rana Muhammad Zahid Mushtaq, Sadaf Aroosa, Hafiz Saleet Ahmed,et al.
MDPI AG
Background and Objectives: Dermatological disorders are highly prevalent among children in Pakistan. The present cross-sectional study aims to identify the spectrum of dermatological conditions among children and adolescents in Pakistan. Materials and Methods: A total of 582 patients (50.9% males; 49.1% females) were included in the study based on their age (5.7 ± 4.1 years), dermatological condition, and epidemiology. The youngest patient was aged ten days, whereas the eldest was seventeen. Age criteria were further stratified into three categories: infants and toddlers (≤5 years), children (≥5 to <12 years), and adolescents (≥12 to <18 years). Amongst them, the majority was from Punjab (81.6%), while the other regions included were Azad Jammu and Kashmir (14.4%), Islamabad (3.3%), and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (0.7%). Results: Scabies was the highest reported skin condition with 281 (45.55%) patients, followed by 114 (19.6%) with eczema, 60 (10.3%) with dermatitis, 33 (5.7%) with tinea capitis, 17 (2.9%) with tinea corporis, 16 (2.7%) with impetigo, and 15 (2.6%) with folliculitis. Other conditions include urticaria, burns, infections, pediculosis, tinea inguinalis, tinea faciei, nappy rashes, alopecia, warts, tinea incognito, tinea cruris, and acne vulgaris. The chi-squared test showed a high prevalence of tinea corporis and acne among adolescents (12–17 years), whereas eczema, dermatitis, and impetigo were more prevalent among infants and toddlers. Conclusions: Pets or livestock and poor hygiene were found to be highly reported risk factors for many dermatological conditions like scabies and fungal infections. Dermatological conditions are common in younger individuals, but unfortunately, many children do not receive the desired medical assistance.
Waqas Ahmad, Adeel Sattar, Mehmood Ahmad, Muhammad Waqar Aziz, Asif Iqbal, Muhammad Yasin Tipu, Rana Muhammad Zahid Mushtaq, Naeem Rasool, Hafiz Saleet Ahmed, and Muhammad Ahmad
MDPI AG
Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a contagious infection of cattle caused by a virus of the Poxviridae family, genus Capripoxvirus. In Pakistan, recent outbreaks have resulted in significant nationwide mortality and economic losses. A 20-day prospective cohort study was performed on sixty infected cattle with the aim to evaluate LSD-induced oxidative stress’s genotoxic role and to determine the ameliorative effect of antioxidant therapy using principal component analysis (PCA) and a multivariable ordinal logistic regression model. LSDV was identified from scab samples and nodular lesions using RPO30-specific gene primers. The infected cattle were divided into control and treated groups. The animals were observed initially and finally on day 20 to evaluate the homeostatic, oxidative, and genotoxic changes. The animals in the treated group were administered a combination of selenium (Se) and vitamin E at the standard dose rate for five consecutive days. A substantial (p < 0.05) improvement in the hematological indices was observed in the treated group. The treated group also showed a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in levels of serum nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) post-therapy. The PCA at the final sampling data of the treated group showed that Principal Component (PC1 eigenvalue 1.429) was influenced by superoxide dismutase (SOD; 0.3632), catalase (CAT; 0.2906), and glutathione (GSH; 0.0816) and PC2 (eigenvalue 1.200) was influenced by CAT (0.4362), MDA (0.2056), and NO (0.0693). A significant correlation between serum NO (76%) and MDA levels (80%) was observed with genetic damage index (GDI) scores. The ordinal logistic regression model regarding the use of antioxidant therapy revealed 73.95-times (95%CI; 17.36–314.96) improvement in the GDI in treated animals. The multivariable ordinal logistic regression showed that each unit increase in NO and MDA resulted in a 13% increase in genotoxicity in infected individuals. In conclusion, our study revealed that LSD-induced oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation product causes genotoxicity in affected animals. Furthermore, the combined Se and vitamin E therapy significantly alleviated oxidative stress and genotoxicity in LSD-affected cattle.
Rao Muhammad Siddique, Asif Iqbal, Fakhar un Nisa, Abdullah G. Arijo, and Hafiz Abdullah Liaqat
CABI
Muhammad Sohail Sajid, Asma Kausar, Muhammad Usman, Faiz Ahmed Raza, Asif Iqbal, Tabassam Fatima, and Muhammad Khalil Ateeq
CABI
Asif Iqbal, Mamoona Arshad, Ahsan Elahi, Kashif Hussain, Maria Kausar, and Yasir Javaid
CABI
Hafiz Muhammad Rizwan, Saima Naz, Mohsin Raza, Asif Iqbal, Tahira Iftakhar, Haider Abbas, and Tayyaba Akhtar
CABI
Mehmood Ahmad, Adeel Sattar, Sadaf Aroosa, Arfa Majeed, Muhammad Adil Rasheed, Waqas Ahmad, Asif Iqbal, Muhammad Ovais Omer, Bilal Mahmood Beg, and Rana Muhammad Zahid Mushtaq
MDPI AG
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected billions of lives and is expected to impose a significant burden on the economy worldwide. Vaccination is the only way to prevent the infection. However, convincing people to get themselves vaccinated is challenging in developing countries such as Pakistan. Therefore, a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted (n = 982 participants) all over Pakistan to evaluate the perception, knowledge, attitude, and acceptance of the general public towards the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, in general, and a booster dose of SARS-CoV-2, in particular. The highest number of participants were from the province of Punjab (84.5%), followed by Islamabad (3.8%), Sindh (3.7%), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2.7%), Baluchistan (2.6%), Gilgit Baltistan (1.4%), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (1.4%). A total of 915 participants were vaccinated against COVID-19, out of which 62.2% received one booster dose, followed by double booster doses (25.5%) and single vaccine shots (12.3%). The highest number of vaccinated participants were from Punjab (85.8%), followed by Islamabad (3.9%), Sindh (2.8%); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2.6%); Baluchistan (2.3%); Gilgit-Baltistan (1.3%); and Azad, Jammu, and Kashmir (1.2%). Among the vaccinated individuals, 71.4% were unemployed, 27.4% were employed (653), and 1.2% were retired from service. However, no significant association was observed among genders and educational levels in regard to acceptance of the booster vaccine. The outcomes of the study revealed that the increased acceptance of booster doses of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines among the public was associated with the intent of personal and family protection. Moreover, individuals with low socioeconomic status and pregnant females showed the least acceptance towards the vaccine inoculation. The study also revealed a decline trend of accepting SARS-CoV-2 vaccine among children.
Asif Mohd Iqbal, Ajaz Ahmad Lone, Mudasir H. Khan, Mehraj uddin Sofi, Bashir A. Alie, Mir Ghulam Hassan, Niyaz A. Dar, Azra Khan, Uzma Fayaz, Sher A. Dar,et al.
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
AbstractThe present study analysed a total of 272 saffron (Crocus sativusL.) genotypes using multivariate analysis. We carefully observed and recorded information about the floral, morphological and corm attributes. Significant variations were observed among the genotypes for all the traits, indicating a high level of variability and suggesting a great potential for saffron improvement. The phenotypic variances were found to be greater than the estimated genotypic variances. Descriptive data on various morphological traits revealed significant differences in the frequency of phenotype classes as well as a wide distribution range. The high heritability estimates were observed in average number of daughter corms per plant (ANDCPP), initial weight of corms (IWC g), no. of buds/corm (NBPC), – no. of leaves in main sprout, (NLMS), number of sprouted buds per corm (NSBpC) and total number of leaves (TNL), whereas average weight of daughter corms per plant (AWBCPP), corm diameter (CDcm), pistal length (PL) cm, style length (STYLcm), fresh weight of pistals per plant (FWOPPPmg) and stigma length (STML cm), revealed medium sense of heritability. The traits dry weight of pistals per plants (DWOPPP mg), inner tepal width (ITW cm), leaf length (LLcm), number of flowers per corm (NFpC), outer tepal length (OTLcm), parianth length with tube (PLWT cm) and weight of stigma (WSTG mg) exhibited low broad-sense heritability. Principal component analysis (PCA) divulged that the first eight component characters had an eigenvalue greater than one with a contributory cumulative variance of 66.15% to the total variance, while as rest of the 16 components contributed 33.85% of total variation in a set of 272 genotypes of saffron. The eigenvalues for yield attributing traits for significant PCs ranged from 5.48 (PC1) to 1.03(PC8). The current study has revealed that there was a sufficient variability in a set of saffron germplasm lines which forms the basis for performance-based clonal selection. Moreover, identified elite genotypes based on saffron yield and corm attributes could be used in the saffron breeding programme for the development of saffron varieties.
Waqas Ahmad, Muhammad Abu Bakr Shabbir, Mehmood Ahmad, Muhammad Ovais Omer, Rana Muhammad Zahid Mushtaq, Sadaf Aroosa, Asif Iqbal, and Arfa Majeed
MDPI AG
Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a highly infectious disease of cattle caused by a virus of the Poxviridae family, genus Capripoxvirus. The present study was designed to determine the prognostic ability of serum IL-6 in LSD using a binary logistic regression model at baseline sampling. A 17-day cohort study was conducted on a recent outbreak of LSD among cattle in the Lodhran District of Punjab, Pakistan. Infected cattle were divided into two categories based on their clinical status on day 17 as recovered (n = 33) or unrecovered (n = 17). Nodular lesions and scab specimens (n = 50) were used for the isolation of the lumpy skin disease virus and were confirmed by PCR. In recovered animals, hematological results showed marked leukocytosis, eosinophilia, lymphocytosis, neutrophilia, and monocytopenia. However, marked erythrocytosis, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia were observed in the unrecovered animals at the final sampling point of the study. Serum levels of total protein, albumin, and glucose were significantly higher in the recovered animals. Meanwhile, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, creatinine phosphokinase, total bilirubin, and direct bilirubin were found considerably higher in the unrecovered group. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis for serum IL-6 at baseline predicts the extended clinical conditions at the cut-off value of 85.16 pg/mL (55% specificity, 94% sensitivity, area under the curve 0.8039, respectively). In conclusion, the disease-induced hematological and biochemical alterations were significantly ameliorated in the recovered animals. In addition, the study revealed that serum IL-6 can be used as a valid marker for predicting the clinical worsening of LSD in cattle.
Aiman Batool, Muhammad Sohail Sajid, Hafiz Muhammad Rizwan, Asif Iqbal, Imaad Rashid, Ibadullah Jan, Faiza Bano, Fiaz Ahmad, Waqas Ahmad, and Muhammad Nisar Khan
ResearchersLinks Ltd
Mahvish Maqbool, Muhammad Sohail Sajid, Muhammad Saqib, Faisal Rasheed Anjum, Muhammad Haleem Tayyab, Hafiz Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Imran Rashid, Imaad Rashid, Asif Iqbal, Rao Muhammad Siddique,et al.
Frontiers Media SA
Ticks (Acari; Ixodidae) are the second most important vector for transmission of pathogens to humans, livestock, and wildlife. Ticks as vectors for viruses have been reported many times over the last 100 years. Tick-borne viruses (TBVs) belong to two orders (Bunyavirales and Mononegavirales) containing nine families (Bunyaviridae, Rhabdoviridae, Asfarviridae, Orthomyxovirida, Reoviridae, Flaviviridae, Phenuviridae, Nyamiviridae, and Nairoviridae). Among these TBVs, some are very pathogenic, causing huge mortality, and hence, deserve to be covered under the umbrella of one health. About 38 viral species are being transmitted by &lt;10% of the tick species of the families Ixodidae and Argasidae. All TBVs are RNA viruses except for the African swine fever virus from the family Asfarviridae. Tick-borne viral diseases have also been classified as an emerging threat to public health and animals, especially in resource-poor communities of the developing world. Tick-host interaction plays an important role in the successful transmission of pathogens. The ticks' salivary glands are the main cellular machinery involved in the uptake, settlement, and multiplication of viruses, which are required for successful transmission into the final host. Furthermore, tick saliva also participates as an augmenting tool during the physiological process of transmission. Tick saliva is an important key element in the successful transmission of pathogens and contains different antimicrobial proteins, e.g., defensin, serine, proteases, and cement protein, which are key players in tick-virus interaction. While tick-virus interaction is a crucial factor in the propagation of tick-borne viral diseases, other factors (physiological, immunological, and gut flora) are also involved. Some immunological factors, e.g., toll-like receptors, scavenger receptors, Janus-kinase (JAK-STAT) pathway, and immunodeficiency (IMD) pathway are involved in tick-virus interaction by helping in virus assembly and acting to increase transmission. Ticks also harbor some endogenous viruses as internal microbial faunas, which also play a significant role in tick-virus interaction. Studies focusing on tick saliva and its role in pathogen transmission, tick feeding, and control of ticks using functional genomics all point toward solutions to this emerging threat. Information regarding tick-virus interaction is somewhat lacking; however, this information is necessary for a complete understanding of transmission TBVs and their persistence in nature. This review encompasses insight into the ecology and vectorial capacity of tick vectors, as well as our current understanding of the predisposing, enabling, precipitating, and reinforcing factors that influence TBV epidemics. The review explores the cellular, biochemical, and immunological tools which ensure and augment successful evading of the ticks' defense systems and transmission of the viruses to the final hosts at the virus-vector interface. The role of functional genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics in profiling tick-virus interaction is also discussed. This review is an initial attempt to comprehensively elaborate on the epidemiological determinants of TBVs with a focus on intra-vector physiological processes involved in the successful execution of the docking, uptake, settlement, replication, and transmission processes of arboviruses. This adds valuable data to the existing bank of knowledge for global stakeholders, policymakers, and the scientific community working to devise appropriate strategies to control ticks and TBVs.
Ghulam Abbas, Duraid K.A. Al-Taey, Saad S.M. Al-Azawi, Mohammad Mehdizadeh, Razia A. M. Qureshi, Ammar K Jasman, Ali K Slomy, Mumtaz A. Khan, Makhdoom Abdul Jabbar, Asif Iqbal,et al.
IOP Publishing
Abstract Citrus (oranges, lemon, mandarin, limes and tangarines) has significant nutritional value in human foods. It is rich source of vitamin C, sugar, organic acids, amino acids, minerals like Ca, Mg and various other phytochemicals (flavonoids, hesperidin etc) compounds that are responsible for good health. Citrus is growing in more than one forty countries of the world including Pakistan, Brazil, China, Mexico, USA, Spain and India.Viral infection and inflammation triggers the production of oxygen free radicals and these radicals severely damage the cells, however hesperidin and vitamin C is reported to counteract these damages. Intake of plentiful citrus fruits is one of amongst the many possible approaches to prevent from COVID-19 role of nutrition. Citrus fruit are very rich in important substances with a potential beneficial for health such as modulating the immunity and in protecting cells from oxidative stress related with infection. Flavonoids and hesperidin two major key compound found in citrus have affinity to treat Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Hesperidin has a low binding energy, both with the coronavirus “spike” protein, and with the fundamental protease that alters the primary proteins of the virus (pp1a and ppa1b) into the complex liable for viral replication hence these compounds could work as an antiviral function. Pakistan is amongst top ten citrus producers in the world. Citrus is one of the best commercial fruits of Pakistan cultivated on a large area, however, in Pakistan yield of citrus has been affected due to attack of insects and pathogens (nematode, fungal, bacterial and viral) which causes heavy losses both in quality and quantity. The purpose of this article is to focusing on the controlling the pathogens of citrus to boost citrus production in country as these beneficial plants are well known for its essential vitamin and flavonoid contents to control COVID-19.
Asif M. Iqbal Qureshi, Mehraj Uddin Sofi, N.A. Dar, M.H. Khan, S.S. Mahdi, Zahoor A. Dar, Shabir Bangroo, Hamed A. El-Serehy, Daniel Ingo Hefft, and Simona Mariana Popescu
Elsevier BV
Zahoor A. Dar, Showket A. Dar, Jameel A. Khan, Ajaz A. Lone, Sapna Langyan, B. A. Lone, R. H. Kanth, Asif Iqbal, Jagdish Rane, Shabir H. Wani,et al.
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Screening for drought tolerance requires precise techniques like phonemics, which is an emerging science aimed at non-destructive methods allowing large-scale screening of genotypes. Large-scale screening complements genomic efforts to identify genes relevant for crop improvement. Thirty maize inbred lines from various sources (exotic and indigenous) maintained at Dryland Agriculture Research Station were used in the current study. In the automated plant transport and imaging systems (LemnaTec Scanalyzer system for large plants), top and side view images were taken of the VIS (visible) and NIR (near infrared) range of the light spectrum to capture phenes. All images were obtained with a thermal imager. All sensors were used to collect images one day after shifting the pots from the greenhouse for 11 days. Image processing was done using pre-processing, segmentation and flowered by features’ extraction. Different surrogate traits such as pixel area, plant aspect ratio, convex hull ratio and calliper length were estimated. A strong association was found between canopy temperature and above ground biomass under stress conditions. Promising lines in different surrogates will be utilized in breeding programmes to develop mapping populations for traits of interest related to drought resilience, in terms of improved tissue water status and mapping of genes/QTLs for drought traits.
Imran, Amanullah, I Hussain, I Ali, S Ullah, A Iqbal, A R -Al Tawaha, A R Al-Tawaha, D Thangadurai, J Sangeetha,et al.
IOP Publishing
Food security is directly related to the ability of the land to support the population. Causes for land degradation are numerous and include the decline of soil fertility, development of acidity, salinization, alkalization, deterioration of soil structure, accelerated wind and water erosion, loss of organic matter and biodiversity. Thereafter, it is of critical importance to increase soil health and restore degraded soils in order to achieve sustainable development. Restoring the soil quality for crop production through the appropriate soil management and conservation techniques is important for all nations, primarily those at risk with respect to food security. Soil organic matter (SOM) plays a central role in maintaining soil functions and preventing soil degradation. Both organic matter and microorganism serve as a reservoir of plant nutrients. This study concluded that soil organic carbon and other mineral and nutrients restoration were noted with the soil modification and incorporation of various organic amendments. Plant residues and field biomass were promising for nutrients replenishment while biochar was the key component for the enrichment of soil organic carbon. Animal-based residues and manure application enhanced soil mineral and micronutrients concentration with the advantage of soil reclamation and restoration.
Muhammad Akram Muneer, Khalid Munir, Ghulam Abbas, Isra Munir, Mumtaz Ahmad Khan, Asif Iqbal, Munsoor ud Din Ahmad, Muhammad Arshad Javid, Zareen Fatima, and Maria Arshad
ResearchersLinks Ltd
ABSTRACT A variety of infectious public health problems are prevailing in the world Among these, epidemics of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), H1N1 influenza and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome corona virus (MERS-Co V) emerged as very important issues during last three decades as these infections caused quite large number of human deaths worldwide Coronaviruses are single-stranded positive sense RNA viruses which mainly in past were considered responsible for high percentage of (around 30%) of common cold/flu cases Viruses causing SARS, MERS and COVID-19 are members of family Coronavirdae World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the novel Cov-19 virus infection was first diagnosed in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China during December 2019 Initially the virus was named as nCoV-19 and later disease due to this virus was named as COVID-19, and recently named as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses This new coronavirus was found to have 86 9% homology to a bat corona virus and hence it was suspected to have been originated from bats Till 15th January 2021, the COVID-19 infection has been reported from 219 countries It has caused over 20 million deaths in humans around the globe Countries reporting very high death/infection rates include USA (393,948/23,617,815), Brazil (206,009/5,257,459), Mexico (136,917/1,571,901), India (153,000/10,596,442), UK (84,767/3,211,576), France (69,031/2,830,842), Russia (63,940/3,495,816) and Italy (80,326/2,319,036) Worldwide a total of over 96,750,700 COVID-19 cases have so far been reported As reported earlier this pandemic has hit almost every country worldwide causing exceptionally high morbidity and mortality Amongst the South Asian countries India is worst hit by this deadly COVID-19 Pakistan's neighboring Iran is also very badly infected and reported 57,057 deaths of 1,348,316 infected people In Pakistan 52,411,930 confirm cases of COVID-19 and around 11,000 deaths are reported in various region of the country
Shabir A. Bangroo, Nayar A. Kirmani, Mohammad A. Bhat, Javaid A. Wani, Asif M. Iqbal, Zahoor A. Dar, Syed Sheraz Mahdi, and Ajaz A. Malik
Wiley
Faisal Siddique, Rao Zahid Abbas, Muhammad Khalid Mansoor, Etab Saleh Alghamdi, Muhammad Saeed, Muhammad Mazhar Ayaz, Moazur Rahman, Muhammad Shahid Mahmood, Asif Iqbal, Maida Manzoor,et al.
Frontiers Media SA
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) ranks third in terms of fatal coronavirus diseases threatening public health, coming after SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus), and MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus). SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2) causes COVID-19. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the current outbreak of COVID-19 is the sixth global health emergency. As of December 3, 2020, 64 million people worldwide have been affected by this malaise, and the global economy has experienced a loss of more than $1 trillion. SARS-CoV-2 is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Betacoronavirus genus. The high nucleotide sequence identity of SARS-CoV-2 with the BatCoV RaTG13 genome has indicated that bats could be the possible host of SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 penetrates the host cell via binding its spike protein to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, which is similar to the mechanisms of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. COVID-19 can spread from person to person via respiratory droplets and airborne and contaminated fomites. Moreover, it poses a significant risk to smokers, the elderly, immunocompromised people, and those with preexisting comorbidities. Two main approaches are used to control viral infections, namely, vaccination, and biosecurity. Studies to analyze the antigenicity and immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates are underway, and few vaccines may be available in the near future. In the current situation, the Human Biosecurity Emergency (HBE) may be the only way to cope effectively with the novel SARS-CoV-2 strain. Here, we summarize current knowledge on the origin of COVID-19 as well as its epidemiological relationship with humans and animals, genomic resemblance, immunopathogenesis, clinical-laboratory signs, diagnosis, control and prevention, and treatment. Moreover, we discuss the interventional effects of various nutrients on COVID-19 in detail. However, multiple possibilities are explored to fight COVID-19, and the greatest efforts targeted toward finding an effective vaccine in the near future. Furthermore, antioxidants, polyphenols, and flavonoids, both synthetic and natural, could play a crucial role in the fight against COVID-19.
Asif M. Iqbal Qureshi, A Dar Zahoor, Mehraj uddin Sofi, Aijaz A. Lone, I. Abidi, Syed S. Mahdi, A. Gowhar, Mudasir H. Khan, M. Altaf Wani, Aazima Hyder,et al.
Elsevier
Faisal SIDDIQUE, Rao ZAHID ABBAS, Asif IQBAL, Masood RABBANI, Azhar RAFIQUE, Irshad HUSSAIN, Rais AHMED, M. Shahid MAHMOOD, and Alireza LOTFI
Kafkas University
F. Siddique, R.Z. Abbas, M.S. Mahmood, A. Iqbal, A. Javaid, and I. Hussain
Informa UK Limited
SUMMARY The first documented outbreaks of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) in ostriches were reported in zoo birds in the 1950s. Newcastle disease (ND) causes economic losses in the form of morbidity and mortality as well as expenses incurred for vaccination, diagnosis and disease treatment. Avian paramyxovirus type 1 causes lethal disease in ostriches with morbidity and mortality >50% and 80–85%, respectively. The most vulnerable age of ostriches for ND infection is 3–6 months. Symptoms include facial oedema and persistent nervous behaviour, followed by death. Adoption of best biosecurity measures, vaccination of chicks and monitoring antibody titres at regular intervals can reduce ND incidence significantly. It has been proven that higher doses of commercially available vaccines are required to produce protective antibody titres in ostriches against a field challenge. Control programmes in the ostrich should be started at <3 months of age, primarily in regions where NDV is prevalent. The eye drop immunisation method provides 80–90% protection; as compared to drinking water at 50–60%, but eye drop administration is difficult in older ostriches. Different serological and molecular tests have been developed for the detection of ND in ostrich samples. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is more specific and sensitive (91–96%) than the haemagglutination inhibition test (86–87%) to determine anti-NDV antibodies in ostrich sera. To understand the disease, the history of ND in the ostrich, along with aetiology, epidemiology and genomic sequence of NDV is required. The prevention and control of the disease through vaccination and measures to prevent transmission to other ostrich birds is important.
M. Butt, Z. Dar, G. Ali and M. H. Khan
EJPB, ISPB, CPBG - Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Fifty diverse genotypes of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) were evaluated for genetic divergence with respect to morphological and corm attributes at Saffron Research Station Pampore, SKUAST-K during rabi 2017-18. Ten randomly and tagged competitive plants were selected for the recording of observations for eighteen (18) morphological, floral and corm traits. All the genotypes were grouped into eleven clusters with the highest number of genotypes (28) in cluster I, followed by cluster II with 7 genotypes and cluster IV with 5 genotypes based on divergence analysis. The percentage contribution towards total divergence by various characters indicated that fresh pistil weight contributes 21% followed by multiplication index (18%), total flower weight, corm-1 (13.52%) and the number of leaves corm-1 line-1 (13.27%) and big corm index (5%), respectively. High cluster mean for floral attributes was observed to be on account of the grouping of genotype SSR/SD-30, SSR/SD-6, SSR/SD-15, SSR/SD-29, SSR/SD-2, SSR/SD-1, and SSR/SD-24 for yield attributes which provides sufficient scope for saffron crop improvement through clonal selection. Keyword Crocus sativus L., clusterring, Mahalanobis D2 analysis. INtRodUctIoN Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is part of the Iridaceae and is the world’s most expensive spice. In India, it is a legendary crop of Jammu and Kashmir, produced on well drained karewa soils, where ideal climatic conditions are available for good growth, growth of the shoot and production of flowers. It is a legendary crop of Jammu and Kashmir, India grown on a well drained karewa soils, where suitable climatic conditions are accessible for good growth shoot growth of the shoot and production of flowers. The Iridaceae family comprises about 60 genera and 1,500 species. The genus Crocus is particularly well represented in arid south-eastern Europe, Western and Central Asian countries. Saffron (C. sativus L.) is the most enthralling species among the 85 species belonging to the Crocus genus (Fernandez,2004). Dried stigmas of saffron flowers make up the most costly spice herb and is a rich source of proteins, vitamins especially riboflavin and thiamine, potassium, iron, zinc, copper, sodium and manganese thereby providing antioxidants and treating multiple diseases (Yasmin et al., 2018). Moreover, it contains carotenoids which impute an anticancer, antitumour and immunomodulatory properties. However, some noteworthy characteristics of saffron are fairly low water use, growth and development during fall and winter and a very small harvesting index. The Kashmir province of UT Jammu & Kashmir produces between 16.45 Metric tonnes of saffron mostly dedicated to self consumption by India (Anonymous, 2018). Owing to triploidy imposed sterility, clonal selection as one of the better approaches which offer an ample scope to increase production and productivity gains in the saffron crop. The