Azra Yasmin | Fatima Jinnah women university (original) (raw)

Papers by Azra Yasmin

PLOS ONE

Phytoremediation assisted with plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) is a green technology to re... more Phytoremediation assisted with plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) is a green technology to remediate metal contaminated soils. Plants usually produce secondary metabolites to tolerate metal toxicity. Present study was designed to explore the phytoremediation potential of Vigna radiata var. NM-II in the presence of metal resistant PGPB and comparison of metabolites produced under heavy metal stresses (Pb, Ni, Cr). Three PGPB selected for present study include Bacillus pumilus MB246, Serratia nematodiphila MB307 and Delftia Lacustris MB322. Pot experiments were conducted with inoculated V. radiata NM-II seeds grown in soil artificially contaminated with lead (Pb), Nickle (Ni) and chromium (Cr) at a concentration of 300, 200 and 100 mg/kg respectively. After harvesting various growth parameters were studied (root length, shoot length, fresh weight and dry weight). Bacterial colonization on root surfaces of harvested plants was observed through Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and...

Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part B

Abstract Bacterial strain (Pseudomonas kilonensis MB490) isolated from agricultural fields of Mia... more Abstract Bacterial strain (Pseudomonas kilonensis MB490) isolated from agricultural fields of Mianwali, was selected to check its potential to degrade Organophosphate insecticide dimethoate (DM). Strain MB490 was able to degrade dimethoate equally well at given pH range (6.0, 7.0 and 8.0), thus showing its pH independence for dimethoate degradation. Optimum temperature for dimethoate degradation varied from 25–30 °C. There was more dimethoate degradation under shaking conditions with optimum growth. Strain MB490 showed 90% dimethoate degradation in M-9 broth and 90.6% in soil slurry, while exhibited 81.5% dimethoate degradation in soil microcosm within 9 days, based on HPLC analysis of bacterial samples supplemented with 200 mg/L dimethoate. The average half-life (t 1/2) of dimethoate after bacterial degradation ranged from 1.95 days in 1st phase to 5 days in 2nd phase in M-9 broth, soil slurry and soil microcosm, while in control media without bacteria, it ranged from 30 to 64.3 days. GCMS investigation revealed the transformation of dimethoate into 5 metabolic products namely Methyl diethanol amine, Aspartylglycine ethyl ester, Phosphonothioic acid propyl-O, S-dimethyl ester, O, O, O-Trimethyl thiophosphate and omethoate which were ultimately mineralized by the strain MB490, providing energy for its growth.

Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology in Medicine

Plant Growth Regulation, 2016

Endophytic microorganisms are able to promote plant growth through various mechanisms, such as pr... more Endophytic microorganisms are able to promote plant growth through various mechanisms, such as production of plant hormones and antimicrobial substances, as well as to provide the soil with nutrients, for instance, inorganic phosphate. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of endophytic bacteria isolated from cashew leaves to produce substances involved in the promotion of plant growth, such as indole-3-acetic acid, the phosphate solubilization capacity, and the antimicrobial activity. For this, 31 isolate samples were used, out of which 17 (54.8%) produce indole-3-acetic acid in concentrations ranging from 11.79 to 145.85 µg.mL-1. In turn, four (12.9%) were able to solubilize phosphate and the solubilization halos range from 5 to 19 mm. Soluble phosphorus concentrations range from 62.5 to 1,605.2 mg.L-1. It was observed that Fusarium oxysporum and Colletotrichum sp. were inhibited by 70 and 40% of the strains, respectively. It was found out that five bacteria (25%) were Gram-positive, predominantly the species Staphylococcus saprophyticus (100%), while 15 bacteria (75%) were Gram-negative. Out of these, 4 (26.6%) and 3 (20%) belong to the species Escherichia coli and Shigella flexneri, respectively. Studying the endophytic population is something important due its biotechnological applications, because it has a great potential for promoting plant growth.

Background: Breast cancer initiation is an unresolved phenomenon although many genes are known to... more Background: Breast cancer initiation is an unresolved phenomenon although many genes are known to be involved in its initiation but its exact etiology is still unexplained in many aspects and recently microRNAs are found to regulate many genes expressions. Method: This case control study has been designed to evaluate the role of selected miRNAs in gene expression and subsequent association with drug resistance. Genetic polymorphisms were confirmed by PCR-SSCP followed by sequencing and microRNA expression was measured by realtime PCR with specific primers. Follow up was done for patients whose samples were used in the study. Results: This study revealed 15 germline mutations in mdr1, 5 in ABCG2, 8 in BRCA1 and 8 in PTEN gene. These mutations were significantly associated with breast cancer compared with control tissues (P<0.05). miR-21, miR-146a and miR-328 were over expressed whereas miR-451 was under expressed. Progression free survival (PFS) was linked with reduced polymorphis...

Pan-genome analysis is a standard procedure to decipher genome heterogeneity and diversification ... more Pan-genome analysis is a standard procedure to decipher genome heterogeneity and diversification of bacterial species. Specie evolution is traced by defining and comparing the core (conserved), accessory (dispensable) and unique (strain-specific) gene pool with other strains of interest. Here, we present pan-genome analysis of the genus Serratia, comprising of a dataset of 100 genomes. The isolates have clinical to environmental origin and consist of ten different species from the genus, along with two subspecies of the representative strain Serratia marcescens. Out of 19430 non-redundant coding DNA sequences (CDS) from the dataset, 972 (5%) belonged to the core genome. Majority of these genes were linked to metabolic function, followed by cellular processes/signalling, information storage/processing while rest of them were poorly characterized. 10,135 CDSs (52.16%) were associated with dispensible genome while 8,321 CDSs (42.82%) were singletons or strain specific. The Pan-genome o...

Bioremediation and Biotechnology, Vol 3, 2020

Kurumsal yapı ülke ekonomilerinin makroekonomik performansları üzerinde önemli etkiler meydana ge... more Kurumsal yapı ülke ekonomilerinin makroekonomik performansları üzerinde önemli etkiler meydana getirmektedir. Kurumsal yapı göstergeleri oldukça farklı ve çok sayıdadır. Ekonomik özgürlükler bu göstergelerin biridir. Bu çalışmada kurumsal yapı göstergelerinden ekonomik özgürlükler ile ekonomik büyüme ilişkisi BRICS ülkelerinin 1995-2018 dönemi için panel eşbütünleşme testi ile analiz edilmiştir. Yatay kesit bağımlılığını dikkate alan ve çoklu yapısal kırılmaya olanak veren panel eşbütünleşme testi ile değişkenler arasındaki uzun dönem ilişkisi incelenmiştir. Yapılan analizde ekonomik büyümeyi temsilen kullanılan kişi başına düşen GSYİH miktarı bağımlı değişken ve kurumsal yapıyı temsilen kullanılan ekonomik özgürlükler endeksi ise bağımsız değişkendir. Çalışmanın analiz sonucuna göre ekonomik özgürlükler ile ekonomik büyüme arasında eşbütünleşme ilişkisi tespit edilmiştir. Eşbütünleşme ilişkisinin yönünün ve boyutunun ortaya konulabilmesi için katsayı tahmini yapılmıştır. Katsayı tahminine göre panel genelinde ekonomik özgürlüklerin ekonomik büyümeye etkisi negatif ancak istatistiksel olarak anlamsızdır. Bununla beraber, ekonomik özgürlükler ekonomik büyümeyi BRICS ülkelerinden Çin'de pozitif, Brezilya ve Hindistan'da negatif olarak etkilemektedir. Rusya ve Güney Afrika'da ise ekonomik özgürlüklerin ekonomik büyümeye etkisi istatistiksel olarak anlamsız bulunmuştur.

Biodiversity Data Journal, 2021

Microorganisms thrive nearly everywhere including extreme environments where few other forms of l... more Microorganisms thrive nearly everywhere including extreme environments where few other forms of life can exist. Geochemistry of extreme sites plays a major role in shaping these microbial communities and microbes thriving in such harsh conditions are untapped sources of novel biomolecules. To understand the structure and composition of such microbial communities, culture-independent bacterial diversity was characterised for two extreme sites in Pakistan, Khewra salt range and Murtazaabad hot spring. Barcoded amplicon sequencing technique was used to study the microbial communities. Physicochemical analysis of these sites was also conducted to study the dynamics of microbial communities under stressed conditions. Metagenomic sequencing of salt range soil samples yielded of 40,433 16S rRNA sequences, while hot spring sediments produced 76,449 16S rRNA sequence reads. Proteobacteria were predominant in saline soil while Firmicutes were most abundant in hot spring sediment. The taxonomi...

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials, 2021

In this study, physicochemical and functional characterization of phyto-mediated copper oxide nan... more In this study, physicochemical and functional characterization of phyto-mediated copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) using three plants viz. Alternanthera pungens (Ap), Adiantum incisum (Ai) and Trichodesma indicum (Ti) were carried out in comparison with the vehicle control (Cu-V) produced under similar experimental conditions. CuO NPs revealed UV–Vis spectra in the range of 350–450 nm with distinct effect of different plants on their morphological and chemical characteristics as analyzed via SEM and FTIR. However, nanoparticle sizes (15–17 nm) as deduced via XRD were not influenced by the plants selected. Utilizing the biosynthesized CuO NPs, microbicidal assessment against selected bacterial and fungal strains revealed profound results against several microorganisms, with predominant action by Cu-Ap against Aspergillus fumigatus (MIC: 9.21 ± 0.5 µg/ml). Additionally, Cu-Ap but not Cu-V disclosed outstanding performance revealing noticeable inhibitory concentrations IC50 for anti...

World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2015

Food Bioscience, 2020

Abstract Organic and conventional crops of lemon, radish, mint and lettuce, sampled from farms lo... more Abstract Organic and conventional crops of lemon, radish, mint and lettuce, sampled from farms located within ~4 km with similar climatic and soil conditions, were selected for bioactive profiling and functionality measurements. The study showed higher antimicrobial and antioxidant capacity in all organic samples than their conventional counterparts, for example, organic lemon showed an activity index of 2.61 against Pseudomonas geniculata versus Cefixime. Organic radish showed maximum radical scavenging and reducing power activity (75.5 ± 0.1 and 51.1 ± 0.1%), respectively, while conventional lettuce showed the minimum (59.1 ± 0.2 and 14.5 ± 0.1%). The presence of alcohols, alkenes and carboxylic acids as bioactive functional groups in aqueous and methanolic extracts along with significant amounts of alkaloids and tannins (18.0 ± 0.1 mg/g and 25.0 ± 0.03 mg GAE/g dry weight (dw) in radish, respectively) in organic crops showed substantial antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. High-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet spectrometry measured increased caffeic acid (1030 μg/mg dw) and rutin (1830 μg/mg dw) in organic radish. The bio-autographic assay showed 4 out of 10 chromatographic isolates with significant (p

International Journal of Food Properties, 2018

Breast cancer is one of the most important causes of cancer related morbidity and mortality in th... more Breast cancer is one of the most important causes of cancer related morbidity and mortality in the world. Along with genetic, environmental factors also play a multifaceted role in the development of disease. Breast contains several bacterial species performing specialized functions. Probiotics, as functional food, play pivotal role against breast cancer development in vivo and in vitro. Current review summarized all the available data related to diet, probiotics, and their association with breast cancer risk along with underlying mechanisms. Presently, it was believed that many of the commercially available probiotic products were safe to use and had some beneficial health effects for the host. Probiotics had a potential to act against breast cancer progression evidenced by many animal model and cell-based experiments. Some probiotics strains may be useful as an adjuvant therapy for breast cancer prevention or treatment, by modulating immune response or breast microbial community. However, large-scale clinical trials and intense research are mandatory to explore probiotics-related metabolic and molecular mechanisms in breast cancer.

Microbial metabolism contributes to degradation of organoarsenicals, where arsenic reductases (gl... more Microbial metabolism contributes to degradation of organoarsenicals, where arsenic reductases (glutaredoxins) play pivotal role in bacterial resistance to arsenic. Ars operon studies have revealed reduction of arsenate As(V) to arsenite As(III) by respiratory-chain-linked reductase enzyme complexes. Although structure of some bacterial arsenate reductases has been solved but not attempted for Bifidobacterium longum DJO10A colonizing the human gastrointestinal tract. Here it has been endeavoured to analyze and understand the structure, properties, interaction, evolution and action mechanism of this enzyme (arsC1) and its accessory interactors (arsB1, arsB2 and arsR). A systematic bioinformatic based analysis was carried out using a battery of tools and web servers for this purpose. Arsenic resistance gene cluster of gram-positive Bifidobacterium obtained from STRING database illustrated contiguous arsC and arsB genes and absence of arsA gene. ArsC1 was determined to be a cytoplasmic ...

GSTM1 and GSTT1 gene polymorphisms have been studied in many populations to evaluate their associ... more GSTM1 and GSTT1 gene polymorphisms have been studied in many populations to evaluate their association with prostate cancer risk with contrasting results. The current study was aimed to find out the association of GSTM1 and GSTT1 gene polymorphisms with prostate cancer in Pakistani men. This case control study included pathologically confirmed prostate cancer patients and age matched male controls. Epidemiological data was collected by a standard questionnaire and presence or absence of GSTM1 and GSTT1 gene was observed by multiplex PCR using CYP1A1 as housekeeping gene. Prostate cancer was more prevalent in age of >60 years and most of the patients were at stage IV (70 %) and have undergone surgery. Family history of cancer, smoking, metastasis and surgery were found to be significant (P<0.05) risk factors in prostate cancer development. Gleason score 7 was most prevalent (40.5 %) in prostate cancer patients. Source of drinking water, residential area, occupation, eating habi...

Three lead resistant bacteria Bacillus pumilus (TE07), Bacillus cerus (TE12 & TE14), were examine... more Three lead resistant bacteria Bacillus pumilus (TE07), Bacillus cerus (TE12 & TE14), were examined for their plant growth promotion /remediation potential. Their ability to promote early growth and their effects on metal uptake by three varieties of Vigna mungo L. (Hepper) i.e., NARC-Mash-2, NARC-Mash-3 and NARC-Mash-97 was screened out under different concentration (0, 1, 2, 5, and 10Mm) of lead. Different growth parameters (seed germination, seedling root and shoot length, seedling fresh and dry biomass, dry matter accumulation per seedling) and accumulation of lead by inoculated and non inoculated seedlings were observed and recorded. Results revealed that lead drastically reduce the seed germination and seedling growth of all three verities of Mash, while bacterial inoculations improved germination and various growth parameters of Mash varieties. All bacteria for variety NARC-Mash-3 and strain TE-12 for Variety NARC-Mash-2 had a positive relationship to combat lead stress by imp...