Shaymaa H. Mahmoud’s research while affiliated with Menoufia University and other places

Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is a serious agricultural pest native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Western Hemisphere and has invaded Africa and further spread into most countries of Asia within two years. In Egypt, researchers have conducted thorough investigations into the behavior of the fall armyworm and various methods to manage its impact. This study aims to further our understanding of the genetic diversity of fall armyworm populations in Egypt. By collecting specimens from five provinces across the country, we sought to analyze their genetic makeup. Through examination of partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), we identified three distinct haplotypes. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the primary sources of Spodoptera frugiperda in Egypt likely stem from both Asian and African origins. Employing the PCR-RFLP technique on the complete COI sequence, we were able to discern genotype patterns within the fall armyworm population. Our findings indicate the presence of two distinct strains—the Corn and Rice strains—within Egypt. This research contributes essential insights into the genetic diversity of insects in Egypt, providing valuable knowledge that can inform more effective strategies for managing this agricultural pest.

Spodoptera frugiperda, the fall armyworm (FAW), is a highly invasive polyphagous insect pest that is considered a source of severe economic losses to agricultural production. Currently, the majority of chemical insecticides pose tremendous threats to humans and animals besides insect resistance. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop new pest management strategies with more specificity, efficiency, and sustainability. Chitin-degrading enzymes, including chitinases, are promising agents which may contribute to FAW control. Chitinase-producing microorganisms are reported normally in bacteria and fungi. In the present study, Serratia marcescens was successfully isolated and identified from the larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda. The bacterial strain NRC408 displayed the highest chitinase enzyme activity of 250 units per milligram of protein. Subsequently, the chitinase gene was cloned and heterologously expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). Recombinant chitinase B was overproduced to 2.5-fold, driven by the T7 expression system. Recombinant chitinase B was evaluated for its efficacy as an insecticidal bioagent against S. frugiperda larvae, which induced significant alteration in subsequent developmental stages and conspicuous malformations. Additionally, our study highlights that in silico analyses of the anticipated protein encoded by the chitinase gene (ChiB) offered improved predictions for enzyme binding and catalytic activity. The effectiveness of (ChiB) against S. frugiperda was evaluated in laboratory and controlled field conditions. The results indicated significant mortality, disturbed development, different induced malformations, and a reduction in larval populations. Thus, the current study consequently recommends chitinase B for the first time to control FAW.

Bee venom (BV) extraction has become a standardized practice, characterized by being safe, simple, and causing no harm to bees. Though it demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity, its potential activity against honey bee pathogens have yet to be investigated. Therefore, we investigated for the first time in a controlled laboratory setting the effectiveness of BV administration in sugar syrup against Vairimorpha (Nosema) ceranae, a globally widespread fungal disease of honey bees. To do this, we first determined the BV lethal concentration (LC50), after which newly emerged bees were inoculated with V. ceranae spores (105) or/and chronically fed sugar syrup containing BV at LC10 (0.24 mg/mL) or LC20 (0.34 mg/mL) ad libitum for 12 days. The effects on bee longevity (time to death) were studied. The intensity of V. ceranae and total hemocyte count (THC) were also studied 6 and 12 days after infection. The expression of four antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) encoding genes (defensin1, apismin, hymenopteacin, and PGRPS2) was also measured after 6 days in midgut tissues. We discovered that BV increased bee survival and significantly reduced Vairimorpha intensity. This effect was associated with an increase in THC as well as the expression of the AMP-encoding genes studied. BV’s effects appeared to be concentration- and time-dependent, with a more profound decrease in Vairimorpha intensity at day 12, especially in bees fed BV at LC20. These findings highlight BV’s potent immunomodulatory role against fungal pathogens in honey bees, and its potential role against other bacterial and viral pathogens should be investigated.

Cardiotonic steroids (CTS) were first documented by ancient Egyptians more than 3000 years ago. Cardiotonic steroids are a group of steroid hormones that circulate in the blood of amphibians and toads and can also be extracted from natural products such as plants, herbs, and marines. It is well known that cardiotonic steroids reveal effects against congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation; therefore, the term "cardiotonic" has been coined. Cardiotonic steroids are divided into two distinct groups: cardenolides (plant-derived) and bufadienolides (mainly of animal origin). Cardenolides have an unsaturated five-membered lactone ring attached to the steroid nucleus at position 17; bufadienolides have a doubly unsaturated six-membered lactone ring. Cancer is a leading cause of mortality in humans all over the world. In 2040, the global cancer load is expected to be 28.4 million cases, which would be a 47% increase from 2020. Moreover, viruses and inflammations also have a very nebative impact on human health and lead to mortality. In the current review, we focus on the chemistry, antiviral and anti-cancer activities of cardiotonic steroids from the naturally derived (toads) venom to combat these chronic devastating health problems. The databases Citation: El-Seedi, H.R.; Yosri, N.; El-Aarag, B.; Mahmoud, S.H.; Zayed, A.; Du, M.; Saeed, A.; Musharraf, S.G.; El-Garawani, I.M.; Habib, M.R.; et al. Chemistry and the Potential Antiviral, Anticancer, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Cardiotonic Steroids Derived from Toads. Molecules 2022, 27, 6586. https://doi.org/10.3390/ molecules27196586 Academic Editors: M. Mizerska-Kowalska, Wojciech Płaziński, Syl-wia Sowa and Roman Paduch

The present work aims to investigate the midgut bacteria of honey bee (Apis mellifera lamarckii) workers and larvae infested with Varroa destructor. To achieve this task, uninfested and infested honey bee larvae and workers with the parasitic mites were obtained from natural bees apiaries in Qaliubiya Governorate, Egypt. Aerobic bacteria were isolated from the midgut of uninfest-ed and infested A. mellifera on nutrient agar medium and identified using a culture-dependent isolation along with 16S rRNA sequences. The results revealed that both uninfested and V. destructor infested workers and larvae harbored gut bacteria belonging to Gamma-proteobacteria strains. The uninfested workers contained Enterobacter cloacae and Serratia nematodiphila, while V. destructor infested workers harbored Enterobacter species. Uninfested larvae contained E. hormaechei and Klebsiella variicola. V. destructor infested larvae harbored K. oxy-toca as a result of infection. We concluded that the honeybee microbiome composition is likely to be impacted through isolates variation by stage and diversity disruption of isolates by V. destructor infection.

The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, is the most damaging and invasive pest of palm trees worldwide. This pest is native of Southeast Asia and Melanesia and has extended its invasion into the Middle East, Africa, Mediterranean region, Caribbean, Northern America and Australia. An explicit knowledge and understanding of RPW diversity is critical for devising a management strategy of this pest species. In this study, we compared the DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase sub-unit I (COI) gene from RPW populations collected from different regions of Egypt to identify the recent RPW genetic structure and to monitor the invasion history of this economically ruined pest. The comparison of DNA barcodes of 88 adult individuals sampled from 12 different locations, revealed the identification of three different haplotypes. Analysis of RPW population structure revealed a low fixation index (FST) value and a negative, statistically significant Tajima’s D value, with raggedness indices of zero for all locations, except Assiut and Fayoum. The results of molecular variance and phylogenetic analyses showed no genetic diversity among RPW populations and this genetic resemblance reflects a single and strong gene pool suggesting no evidence of invasive species or gene flow from overseas.

Over recent decades, much attention has been given to imply the natural products in cancer therapy alone or in combination with other established procedures. Insects have a rich history in traditional medicine across the globe, which holds promise for the future of natural product drug discovery. Cecropins, peptides produced by insects, are components of a defense system against infections and are well known to exert antimicrobial and antitumor capabilities. The present study aimed to investigate, for the first time, the role of curcumin in enhancing the anticancer effect of Musca domestica larval hemolymph. Third larval instars of M. domestica were injected with curcumin and the hemolymph was picked at 4, 8, and 24 h post-curcumin injection. M. domestica cecropin A (MdCecA) was evaluated in control and injected larval hemolymphs. The cytotoxicity on breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7) and normal Vero cells was assessed to be comparable to control larval hemolymph. Curcumin-injected larval hemolymphs exhibited significant cytotoxicity with respect to the uninjected ones against MCF-7; however, Vero cells showed no cytotoxicity. The IC50 was 106 ± 2.9 and 388 ± 9.2 μg/mL for the hemolymphs of injected larvae at 4 and 8 h, respectively, while the control larval hemolymph revealed the IC50 of >500 μg/mL. For mechanistic anticancer evaluation, concentrations of 30, 60, and 100 μg/mL of curcumin-injected larval hemolymphs were examined. A significant G2/M cell cycle arrest was observed, confirming the anti-proliferative properties of hemolymphs over the tested concentrations. The MdCecA transcripts were significantly (p < 0.05) upregulated at 4 and 8 h post-injection, while a significant downregulation was observed after 24 h. Cecropin quantification by LC–MS revealed that MdCecA peptides have the highest expression in the hemolymph of the treated larvae at 8 h relative to the control group. The upregulation of cecropin expression at mRNA and protein levels may be attributed to the curcumin stimulation and linked to the increased cytotoxicity toward the cancer cell line. In conclusion, the results suggest that the apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects of M. domestica hemolymph on MCF-7 cells following the curcumin injection can be used as a natural candidate in future pharmaceutical industries.

The usage of insects as a sustainable and functional natural products resource is a new promise in complementary and alternative medicine. The present study aimed to investigate the ability of Musca domestica (housefly) larval hemolymph (insect blood) to display the enhanced in vitro antioxidant and cytotoxic effects. The oxidative stress (OS) was elicited by inducing lipopolysaccharides (LPS) treatment as an exogenous stressor. Determination of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and mRNA and protein expressions of SOD1, was investigated as confirmatory markers of oxidative stress induction. Cytotoxicity on cancerous MCF-7 and normal Vero cells were also evaluated using an MTT assay at 24 h post-injection. The injection of LPS induced a significant (p < 0.05) increase in SOD, GSH and TAC, whereas, the MDA was diminished. Hemolymph was collected from normal and treated larvae after 6, 12 and 24 h. The M. domestica superoxide dismutase (MdSOD1) transcripts were significantly (p < 0.05) upregulated 6 and 12 h post-treatment, while a significant downregulation was observed after 24 h. Western blot analysis showed that MdSOD1 was expressed in the hemolymph of the treated larvae with an increase of 1.2 folds at 6 and 12 h and 1.6 folds at 24 h relative to the control group. LPS-treated larval hemolymphs exhibited significant cytotoxicity with respect to the untreated ones against MCF-7 while Vero cells showed no cytotoxicity for both hemolymphs. The DPPH free radical scavenging activity was examined and a significant antioxidant potential potency was observed at 6 h (50% maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50): 63.3 ± 3.51 µg/mL) when compared to the control M. domestica larval hemolymph (IC50: 611.7 ± 10.41 µg/mL). Taken together, M. domestica larval hemolymph exhibited enhanced antioxidant and consequently increased cytotoxic capacities under stressed conditions.