Members of the family Iridoviridae (iridovirids) are large dsDNA viruses that infect both invertebrate and vertebrate ectotherms and whose symptoms range in severity from minor reductions in host fitness to systemic disease and large-scale mortality. Several characteristics have been useful for classifying iridoviruses; however, novel strains are continuously being discovered and, in many cases, reliable classification has been challenging. Further impeding classification, invertebrate iridoviruses (IIVs) can occasionally infect vertebrates; thus, host range is often not a useful criterion for classification. In this review, we discuss the current classification of iridovirids, focusing on genomic and structural features that distinguish vertebrate and invertebrate iridovirids and viral factors linked to host interactions in IIV6 (Invertebrate iridescent virus 6). In addition, we show for the first time how complete genome sequences of viral isolates can be leveraged to improve classification of new iridovirid isolates and resolve ambiguous relations. Improved classification of the iridoviruses may facilitate the identification of genus-specific virulence factors linked with diverse host phenotypes and host interactions.

Background/Objectives: The role of the gut microbiome in the development and progression of many diseases has received increased attention in recent years. Boron, a trace mineral found in dietary sources, has attracted interest due to its unique electron depletion and coordination characteristics in chemistry, as well as its potential role in modulating the gut microbiota. This study investigates the effects of inorganic boron derivatives on the gut microbiota of mice. Methods: For three weeks, boric acid (BA), sodium pentaborate pentahydrate (NaB), and sodium perborate tetrahydrate (SPT) were dissolved (200 mg/kg each) in drinking water and administered to wild-type BALB/c mice. The composition of the gut microbiota was analyzed to determine the impact of these treatments. Results: The administration of BA significantly altered the composition of the gut microbiota, resulting in a rise in advantageous species such as Barnesiella and Alistipes. Additionally, there was a decrease in some taxa associated with inflammation and illness, such as Clostridium XIVb and Bilophila. Notable increases in genera like Treponema and Catellicoccus were observed, suggesting the potential of boron compounds to enrich microbial communities with unique metabolic functions. Conclusions: These findings indicate that boron compounds may have the potential to influence gut microbiota composition positively, offering potential prebiotic effects. Further research with additional analyses is necessary to fully understand the interaction between boron and microbiota and to explore the possibility of their use as prebiotic agents in clinical settings.

Resistance to clarithromycin, a macrolide antibiotic used in the first-line treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection, is the most important cause of treatment failure. Although most cases of clarithromycin resistance in H. pylori are associated with point mutations in 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA), the relationships of other mutations with resistance remain unclear. We examined possible new macrolide resistance mechanisms in resistant strains using next-generation sequencing. Two resistant strains were obtained from clarithromycin-susceptible H. pylori following exposure to low clarithromycin concentrations using the agar dilution method. Sanger sequencing and whole-genome sequencing were performed to detect resistance-related mutations. Both strains carried the A2142G mutation in 23S rRNA. Candidate mutations (T1495A, T1494A, T1490A, T1476A, and G1472T) for clarithromycin resistance were detected in the Mutant-1 strain. Furthermore, a novel mutation in the gene encoding for the sulfite exporter TauE/SafE family protein was considered to be linked to clarithromycin resistance or cross-resistance, being identified as a target for further investigations. In the Mutant-2 strain, a novel mutation in the gene that encodes DUF874 family protein that can be considered as relevant with antibiotic resistance was detected. These mutations were revealed in the H. pylori genome for the first time, emphasizing their potential as targets for advanced studies.

The novel coronavirus pneumonia, which was named later as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), is caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, namely SARS-CoV-2. It is a positive-strand RNA virus that is the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans. The COVID-19 outbreak presents enormous challenges for global health behind the pandemic outbreak. The first diagnosed patient in Turkey has been reported by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health on March 11, 2020. Today, over ninety thousand cases in Turkey, and two million cases around the world have been declared. Due to the urgent need for vaccine and anti-viral drug, isolation of the virus is crucial. Here, we report one of the first isolation and characterization studies of SARS-CoV-2 from nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal specimens of diagnosed patients in Turkey. This study provides an isolation and replication methodology, and cell culture tropism of the virus that will be available to the research communities. Article Summary: Scientists have isolated virus from Turkish COVID-19 patients. The isolation, propagation, and plaque and immune response assays of the virus described here will serve in following drug discovery and vaccine testing.

Currently, potential vaccine candidates are determined using protein localization predictors to identify surface or secreted protein sequences. The pathogenic bacterial sequences constitute only a tiny percentage of this database. They search for general motifs found in bacteria and miss out on pathogen-specific motifs, which is crucial for identifying vaccine candidates. We developed a motif search algorithm derived from pathogenic bacterial sequences in this work. Using this method, we identified secretion motifs of pathogenic bacteria for six different secretion pathways and non-specific secretion motifs. To this end, we established a database of immunogenic sequences from patented vaccine sequences, AntigenDb, and PUB-MED. The motifs are filtered out according to their presence in a cytoplasmic dataset to keep motifs that are present only in secreted sequences. These sequences are validated on newly identified novel vaccine candidates from 20 pathogenic bacterial immunoproteomics data.