Cosmetic products may be exposed to microbial contamination during storage or transport, and to avoid the risk of microbial growth, manufacturers add preservative compounds as a protection for the product from spoilage. The Microbial Challenge test is a procedure to evaluate the preservative efficacy by challenging the product with testing microorganisms to determine the quality of preservation. In this study, thirty-two cosmetics products used for body and skin care were collected from markets and pharmacies in Mecca region, these products are subjected to microbiological analysis, results show that most samples are contaminated except six samples. Non contaminated samples were subjected to European Pharmacopeia 7.0 standards. Results show that two samples, foaming gel and body and face cream are failed to demonstrate the required microbiocidal effect against the S.aureus test species, results recorded 1.21 x 10⁵ and 6.80 x 10⁵ (CFU/ml) respectively at the second day of incubation, other products: shower gel, hand wash, body lotion and shampoo demonstrate that required microbiocidal effect against the test species during day 2, 7, 14 until day 28th. The microbial count number is less than 10 during all incubation periods. To prevent contamination in cosmetics, manufacturers are required to add a good preservative system to the products and examine them before sale. Due to the high percentage of microbial contamination in cosmetics in Mecca region and for consumers safety, this study is prepared.

The functional processes and mutual benefits of the wild plant Moringa oleifera and its rhizosphere microbiome were studied via metagenomic whole-genome shotgun sequencing (mWGS) in comparison with a bulk soil microbiome. The results indicated high gene abundance of the four KEGG categories, “Cellular Processes”, “Environmental Information Processing”, “Genetic Information Processing”, and “Metabolism”, in the rhizosphere microbiome. Most of the enriched enzymes in rhizobacteria are assigned to the pathway “Amino acids metabolism”, where soil-dwelling microbes use amino acids as a defense mechanism against phytopathogens, while promoting growth, colonizing the cohabiting commensal microbes and conferring tolerance against abiotic stresses. In the present study, it was proven that these beneficial microbes include Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Escherichia coli. Mineral solubilization in these rhizobacteria can make nutrients available for plant utilization. These rhizobacteria extensively synthesize and metabolize amino acids at a high rate, which makes nitrogen available in different forms for plants and microbes. Amino acids in the rhizosphere might stand mainly as an intermediate switcher for the direction of the soil nitrogen cycle. Indole acetic acid (IAA) was proven to be synthesized by these beneficial rhizobacteria via route indole-3-pyruvate (IPyA) of the pathway “Tryptophan metabolism”. This hormone might stand as a shuttle signaling molecule between M. oleifera and its rhizobacteria. Tryptophan is also metabolized to promote other processes with important industrial applications. Rhizobacteria were also proven to breakdown starch and sucrose into glucose, which is the primary metabolic fuel of living organisms. In conclusion, we assume that the metabolic processes in the rhizosphere microbiome of this wild plant can be eventually utilized in boosting the sustainability of agriculture applications and the plant’s ability to benefit from soil nutrients when they are not in the form available for plant root absorption.

Cosmetic products contain several components that are ideal for microbial growth, they exposed to contamination by pathogenic bacteria and fungi, and this may cause health risks such as skin and eye infections. In this investigation, 50 samples were obtained from various shops in Mecca region, Saudi Arabia. Collected samples include high-quality and low-quality brands of makeup. Results show that most cosmetics are contaminated with microorganisms. Bacterial and fungal isolates were identified by morphological and microscopic techniques, and confirmed by molecular methods: (16s rRNA) for bacterial isolates and (18s rRNA) for fungal isolates associated with cosmetics. In low-quality cosmetics, frequency of microbial growth is higher and more diverse than high-quality cosmetics. It has been observed the most contaminated product was in lip gloss and it follows by the lipstick. The most predominant species of bacteria are Staphylococcus aureus (27 %), E. coli (27 %), which follows by Streptococcus pneumonia (18 %), Staphylococcus epidermis (17 %), Bacilli subtilis (12 %), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5 %). Aspergillus sp is the most predominant fungi (57 %), which is followed by Penicillium sp. (29 %) and Rhizopus sp. (14 %). In high quality brands, the frequency of microbial growth was the highest in mascara, lip-gloss. The most predominant species of bacteria is Staphylococcus aureus (41 %), which follows by Bacilli subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and E. coli (17 %). Streptococcus pneumonia is the less dominant (5 %). There is no growth on media of fungi. Due to the large number of cosmetics brands in Mecca region and for consumer safety, this study is prepared.

COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, manifests with a wide range of clinical symptoms that vary from mild respiratory issues to severe respiratory distress. To effectively manage and predict the outcomes of the disease, it is important to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying its severity. This study focuses on analyzing and comparing the expression patterns of microRNAs (miRNAs) in serum, urine, and nasopharyngeal samples from patients with mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19. The aim is to identify potential associations with disease progression and discover suitable markers for diagnosis and prognosis. Our findings indicate the consistent upregulation of miR-21, miR-146a, and miR-155 in urine, serum, and nasopharyngeal samples from patients with mild COVID-19. In moderate cases, there were more significant changes in miRNA expression compared to mild cases. Specifically, miR-let-7 demonstrated upregulation, while miR-146b exhibited downregulation. The most notable alterations in miRNA expression profiles were observed in severe COVID-19 cases, with a significant upregulation of miR-223. Moreover, our analysis using Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves demonstrated that miR-155, miR-let-7, and miR-223 exhibited high sensitivity and specificity, suggesting their potential as biomarkers for distinguishing COVID-19 patients from healthy individuals. Overall, this comparative analysis revealed distinct patterns in miRNA expression. The overlapping expression patterns of miRNAs in urine, serum, and nasopharyngeal samples suggest their potential utility in discriminating disease status.

A metagenomic whole genome shotgun sequencing approach was used for rhizospheric soil micribiome of the wild plant Abutilon fruticosum in order to detect antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) along with their antibiotic resistance mechanisms and to detect potential risk of these ARGs to human health upon transfer to clinical isolates. The study emphasized the potential risk to human health of such human pathogenic or commensal bacteria, being transferred via food chain or horizontally transferred to human clinical isolates. The top highly abundant rhizospheric soil non-redundant ARGs that are prevalent in bacterial human pathogens or colonizers (commensal) included mtrA, soxR, vanRO, golS, rbpA, kdpE, rpoB2, arr-1, efrA and ileS genes. Human pathogenic/colonizer bacteria existing in this soil rhizosphere included members of genera Mycobacterium, Vibrio, Klebsiella, Stenotrophomonas, Pseudomonas, Nocardia, Salmonella, Escherichia, Citrobacter, Serratia, Shigella, Cronobacter and Bifidobacterium. These bacteria belong to phyla Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. The most highly abundant resistance mechanisms included antibiotic efflux pump, antibiotic target alteration, antibiotic target protection and antibiotic inactivation. antimicrobial resistance (AMR) families of the resistance mechanism of antibiotic efflux pump included resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND) antibiotic efflux pump (for mtrA, soxR and golS genes), major facilitator superfamily (MFS) antibiotic efflux pump (for soxR gene), the two-component regulatory kdpDE system (for kdpE gene) and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) antibiotic efflux pump (for efrA gene). AMR families of the resistance mechanism of antibiotic target alteration included glycopeptide resistance gene cluster (for vanRO gene), rifamycin-resistant beta-subunit of RNA polymerase (for rpoB2 gene) and antibiotic-resistant isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (for ileS gene). AMR families of the resistance mechanism of antibiotic target protection included bacterial RNA polymerase-binding protein (for RbpA gene), while those of the resistance mechanism of antibiotic inactivation included rifampin ADP-ribosyltransferase (for arr-1 gene). Better agricultural and food transport practices are required especially for edible plant parts or those used in folkloric medicine.