Dr. Md. Nuhu Alam - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Dr. Md. Nuhu Alam

American Journal of Plant Sciences, Dec 31, 2022

The present experiment was conducted to investigate a dry fish fungus, Cunnighamella blakesleeana... more The present experiment was conducted to investigate a dry fish fungus, Cunnighamella blakesleeana, which was identified from the infected part of the Corica soborna, locally named as Kachki fish. Mycelium was hyaline, often with granular content, and conidiophores were erected, with verticillate or solitary branches. Zygospores were globose, tuberculate, suspensors equal, smooth, hyaline and heterothallic. Using ITS4 and ITS5 primers, the 740 bp-long ITS region was amplified and sequenced. The ITS region sequences had reciprocal homologies of 98% to 100%. The findings showed that several species of C. blakesleeana fall into the same cluster. It has been determined by molecular data that the fungus we had studied was C. blakesleeana. The maximum mycelial growth (95.33 mm) was observed in the PDA medium, followed by the PSA medium, and the lowest growth (65.50 mm) was measured in the HPA medium in the study of the impact of culture media on the mycelial growth of C. blakesleeana. The influence of temperature on the radial mycelial growth of C. blakesleeana on PDA medium was investigated through five different temperatures. Although pH is a crucial factor in understanding the ecology of spoilage fungus, the highest mycelial growth of C. blakesleeana (88.25 mm) was seen at pH 7, followed by pH 8 and pH 6, while pH 9 was revealed to have the lowest mycelial growth. The outcome suggested that C. blakesleeana thrived in neutral environments.

RSC Advances

Correction for ‘Oxa-376 and Oxa-530 variants of β-lactamase: computational study uncovers potenti... more Correction for ‘Oxa-376 and Oxa-530 variants of β-lactamase: computational study uncovers potential therapeutic targets of Acinetobacter baumannii’ by Sajal Kumar Halder et al., RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 24319–24338, https://doi.org/10.1039/D2RA02939A.

American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2022

Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f. is one of the important medicinal plants, has been commercially cultivated... more Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f. is one of the important medicinal plants, has been commercially cultivated in the Northern part of Bangladesh. An experiment was conducted to detect A. vera leaf disease collected from Natore district, Bangladesh. Fungal leaf spot disease caused by Pseudopestalotiopsis theae (Sawada) Maharachch., K.D. Hyde & Crous was identified through morphological features and sequencing of internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA. After submitting nucleotide sequences to NCBI, we received an accession number MH333081.1: Pseudopestalotiopsis theae. The growth pattern of the isolated fungal pathogen was evaluated on different solid culture media, at different temperature and light conditions. The results showed the maximum mycelial growth of the fungus on the Richard Agar medium under the complete dark condition at 25˚C. We evaluated fungal antagonists against the isolated pathogenic fungus, in which Trichoderma asperellum showed optimistic results. Synthetic fungicides-Tilt 250EC and Ridomil Gold completely inhibited the studied fungus's vegetative growth. Pseudopestalotiopsis theae causing A. vera leaf spot disease in Bangladesh is a new record to the best of our knowledge.

Bangladesh Journal of Botany, Mar 31, 2020

This experiment was undertaken to depict the favourable condition for mycelial growth, molecular ... more This experiment was undertaken to depict the favourable condition for mycelial growth, molecular identification and phylogenetic relationship of the selected strains of Pleurotus salmoneostramineus. Suitable temperature and pH were obtained at 25ºC and 6, respectively. Mushroom complete, glucose peptone and yeast malt extract culture media were favorable, while Hennerberg and Hoppkins were unfavorable. Dextrin was the best and xylose was the less effective carbon sources. Inorganic nitrogen sources were less effective for the mycelial growth of P. salmoneostramineus. The sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of selected strains revealed that the total length ranged from 614 to 663 bp. The size of the ITS1 and ITS2 regions varied among the strains. Sequence analysis showed that 5.8S of rDNA sequences were identical. Phylogenetic tree of the ITS region sequences indicated that strains of P. salmoneostramineus belong to same cluster. The reciprocal homologies of the ITS region sequences ranged from 98 to 100%. The strains of P. salmoneostramineus were also analyzed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with 20 arbitrary primers. RAPD results suggested that tested strains of P. salmoneostramineus were genetically similar with some variations, thus it could be concluded that RAPD and ITS techniques were well competent for detecting the genetic diversity of all tested strains of P. salmoneostramineus.

Journal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology, Jul 24, 2023

Background: Tobacco is one of the leading risk factors for many respiratory infections and is lin... more Background: Tobacco is one of the leading risk factors for many respiratory infections and is linked to the clinical severity of the disease. COVID-19 primarily infects the lungs and causes severe pneumonia-like illness. Tobacco consumption may thus, increase the risk for developing COVID-19. However, this study was planned to assess the tobacco consumption among COVID-19 patients and determine the relationship between SARS CoV-2 and tobacco use among COVID-19 patients. Methods: Lists of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 positive patients aged 18-70 years were obtained from District Government Hospital on November 2020 and were interviewed telephonically after taking informed consent. A total of 470 patients under home isolation for the past one month after getting diagnosed with SARS CoV-2 were recruited in this study. Data was entered in MS Excel 2019 (Microsoft Corp.) and analysis was done using SPSS 25 (IBM Inc.). Chi-square and Fisher's exact test were used and significance level was set 0.05 with 95% confidence interval. Results: In the present study, the mean (standard deviation) age of participants was 37.8 (12.1) years. Among the COVID-19 patients, 21% of participants were tobacco users. Clinical symptoms such as fever, severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), acute respiratory illness (ARI), loss of taste/smell, and other symptoms such as body-ache, myalgia, nasal secretion and flu like symptoms were presented; of which most common symptoms were fever (26.8%) followed by SARI or ARI (11.5%) and significantly presented more among tobacco users (66.3%) than non-tobacco users (55.6%) (P = 0.036). Nonetheless smokers, these symptoms also affected significantly SLT users (64.8%) (P = 0.029) and dual tobacco users (100%) (P = 0.010). Conclusion: Tobacco use may worsen COVID-19 disease symptoms among COVID-19 patients.

Authorea (Authorea), Jun 2, 2023

Ganoderma lucidum is considered an effective medicinal mushroom. Therefore, it is interesting to ... more Ganoderma lucidum is considered an effective medicinal mushroom. Therefore, it is interesting to investigate whether the beneficial effects of G. lucidum found in various in vitro or animal studies can be translated to chronic metabolic diseases such as diabetes in humans. Here, we present a case study of a diabetic patient who underwent treatment using G. lucidum in the form of a tea, and provide details on the patient's fasting blood glucose (FG) level, lipid profile, and other blood parameters. After taking G. lucidum hot water extract, i.e. tea for three months, the FG values dropped from 198 mg/dl to 177.3 mg/dl. Total serum cholesterol decreased from 210 to 170 mg/dl and triglyceride level decreased from 220 to 150 mg/dl, while serum HDL-C increased from 25 to 35 mg/dl. LDL-C only dropped by 9 mg/dl. Serum creatinine, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase, and total bilirubin levels were not altered. Therefore, it is concluded that G. lucidum hot water extract had antidiabetic and antidyslipidemic effects without affecting hepatorenal functions.

Jahangirnagar University journal of biological sciences, Apr 2, 2023

This comprehensive study focuses on a checklist survey of wild mushrooms and documents their morp... more This comprehensive study focuses on a checklist survey of wild mushrooms and documents their morphological variability and diversity at Jahangirnagar University, a natural and social forest area in Bangladesh. Through field studies on the campus grounds from June to October 2021, 60 samples were collected from which 40 species were identified by morphological characters, belonging to 33 genera, 26 families, and 10 orders. Most species were identified from the order Agaricales and the highest frequency (83.33%) from the orders Polyporales and Agaricales. The highest species abundance was 83.33% for Ganoderma spp., Crepidotus applanatus and the density was 70% for Marasmiellus candidus. The dominant species were Ganoderma spp., Coprinus disseminates, Marasmius spp., Schizophyllum commune, Calvulina coralloides. The wild mushrooms were prevalent in the natural forest areas of the Jahangirnagar University campus. As far as we are aware, this report is the very first work on wild mushrooms or macro-fungi on the campus of Jahangirnagar University. This survey shows that the campus grounds are enriched with a wide variety of wild mushrooms.

Jahangirnagar University journal of biological sciences, Apr 2, 2023

Plant roots can be highly colonized by fungal endophytes. This seems to be of particular importan... more Plant roots can be highly colonized by fungal endophytes. This seems to be of particular importance for the survival of plants inhabiting stressful habitats. This study focused on the Identification of the fungal endophytic community associated with the roots of quinoa plants (Chenopodium quinoa) growing near the salt lakes of the Atacama Desert, Chile. One hundred endophytic fungi were isolated from healthy quinoa roots, and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was sequenced for phylogenetic and taxonomic analysis. The isolates were classified into eleven genera and 21 distinct operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Despite a relatively high diversity of root endophytic fungi associated with quinoa plants, the fungal community was dominated by only the Ascomycota phyla. In addition, the most abundant genera were Penicillium, Phoma and Fusarium, which are common endophytes reported in plant roots. This study shows that roots of C. quinoa harbor a diverse group of endophytic fungi. Potential roles of these fungi in plant host tolerance to stressful conditions are discussed.

Journal of bio-science, Jan 11, 2023

Strawberry leaf blight is one of the devastating fungal diseases, responsible for reducing the qu... more Strawberry leaf blight is one of the devastating fungal diseases, responsible for reducing the quality of strawberry production worldwide. The present experiment was conducted to determine the pathogenic fungal association with strawberry leaves obtained from the experimental site of Botanical Garden, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. A fungal pathogen causing leaf blight disease of the strawberry plant was detected as Fusarium fujikuroi species complex through classical and molecular approaches. Molecular characterization showed that nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed region of the studied fungus (MH368119.1) were genetically identical with Fusarium fujikuroi species complex. Different culture media, pH, light regimes, temperatures were assayed to know the growth pattern of the identified pathogenic fungus. The optimum vegetative growth of Fusarium fujikuroi species complex was recorded on Potato Dextrose Agar, Potato Sucrose Agar, and Honey Peptone Agar media, at 25°C temperature, pH seven and under complete dark conditions. Among the three antagonistic fungi for the assessment as a biocontrol agent, Trichoderma asperellum was comparative effective against Fusarium fujikuroi species complex under in vitro conditions. Among systemic chemical fungicides, the highest mycelial inhibition (89.42%) of the isolated fungus was found by Tilt 250 EC (500 ppm). The leaf blight of strawberry caused by Fusarium fujikuroi species complex is the new record in Bangladesh.

Advances in zoology and botany, 2023

Post-harvest spoilage of Amla fruits is one of the major problems which reduces the economic qual... more Post-harvest spoilage of Amla fruits is one of the major problems which reduces the economic quality of the fruits. The goal of the present study was to identify the post-harvest fungal pathogens associated with Amla fruits based on morphological and molecular characteristics, growth characteristics of the fungi, and their eco-friendly control measures. The fungi were identified as Penicillium rolfsii Thom., Penicillium herquei Bainier & Sartory, Aspergillus aculeatus Iizuka, Aspergillus terreus Thom., and Mucor sp. Frasen. Penicillium rolfsii and Aspergillus aculeatus were preferred to grow on Richard Agar medium; Penicillium herquei grew the maximum on Potato Sucrose Agar medium; Aspergillus terreus was found to grow irrespective of culture media and Mucor sp. grew on all the tested media except Richard Agar medium. The optimum temperatures were recorded at 25 to 35°C for all of the fungi except Mucor sp., which preferred to grow at 15°C. Aspergillus aculeatus was able to grow on a broad range of pH (5 to 9); Penicillium rolfsii, Penicillium herquei, and Aspergillus terreus were grown better at neutral to slightly alkaline pH, while Mucor sp. on slightly acidic conditions. Aqueous crude extracts of garlic and black cumin were found to show inhibitory activity against all the fungi. Food preservative sodium benzoate was found to be the most efficient against fungal pathogens. Based on our findings, it is suggested that garlic extract and sodium benzoate could be used to manage the fungal growth associated with post-harvest Amla fruit diseases.

American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2022

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a valuable medicinal plant as well as spice crop in Bangladesh. Th... more Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a valuable medicinal plant as well as spice crop in Bangladesh. The rhizome rot disease is a severe danger to turmeric cultivation. The current study sought to identify the fungal pathogen linked to turmeric rhizome rot disease. Rhizome of turmeric with distinct rotted symptoms was collected from the experimental site of the Botanical Garden, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. The sample was screened to isolate the causative fungal pathogen through the tissue planting technique. Macro and micro-morphological characterization based on colony appearance, mycelial and conidial characteristics primarily identified the fungus as Fusarium sp. The ITS sequence of rDNA of the fungus exhibited 99 to 100 percent similarity with the other F. solani species formerly deposited in the NCBI database which confirmed the fungal identity as F. solani. An in vitro pathogenicity test validated the pathogenic nature of the fungus. Growth behaviors of the fungus were evaluated on different solid culture media viz., Potato dextrose agar, Potato sucrose agar, Sabouraud dextrose agar and Hansen's agar; temperature conditions (10˚C, 15˚C, 20˚C, 25˚C, 30˚C and 35˚C) and pH levels (pH 4, pH 5, pH 6, pH 7 and pH 8). Maximum mycelial growth was obtained on PSA medium at 30˚C temperature and pH 7 conditions. Current findings also conclude that F. solani favors a wide range of temperature and pH levels. To the best of our search, the present investigation revealed the relationship of F. solani with the rhizome rot disease of turmeric for the first time in Bangladesh.

Jahangirnagar University journal of biological sciences, Jul 24, 2022

Small indigenous species (SIS) of fishes are available source of animal protein, vitamin and mine... more Small indigenous species (SIS) of fishes are available source of animal protein, vitamin and minerals, not commonly available in other foods in Bangladesh. These fishes are eaten both in fresh and dried condition. Puntious sophore was collected from different regions of Baikka Beel at Sreemangal Upazila, Moulvibazar district, Bangladesh to investigate mycoflora association with dried condition. Fungus was isolated from dried fish using tissue planting methods for classical and molecular characterization. Aspergillus elegans was identified through classical taxonomy and molecular approach based on ITS region of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of fungi. For analyzing ITS4 and ITS5 were used. Mycelium of the identified fungus septated, hyaline, abundant and branched. Long, straight or flexous conidiophore were present. The molecular phylogeny in morphologically identified dry fish fungi of P. sophore such as A. elegans was studied based on their internal transcribed spacer (ITS). The sequences of ITS 600 bp region of A. elegans had 5.8S of rDNA sequences were identical. The highest mycelial growth was recorded in potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium for the growth and development of A. elegans. Temperature 30°C was optimum, this fungus grew well in pH 7. So, tested fungi grew well in neutral condition.

Jahangirnagar University journal of biological sciences, Jul 24, 2022

Fruit rot disease of Amla (Phyllanthus emblica L.) reduces the quality of the fruits and causes e... more Fruit rot disease of Amla (Phyllanthus emblica L.) reduces the quality of the fruits and causes economic loss. An investigation was conducted to find out pre-harvest fruit rot fungal pathogen associated with Amla fruits. The fungal pathogen was isolated using tissue planting method. Both morphological and molecular characterization confirmed the pathogen identity as Pestalotiopsis sp. Result indicated that Pestalotiopsis sp. showed the highest radial mycelial growth on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium. The utmost vegetative growth of the identified fungus was recorded at 25℃ on PDA medium, however, a range of temperature may be suitable for the fungal growth. Sodium benzoate and vinegar were tested against the fungus for food preservative. Sodium benzoate at 100mM concentration exhibited efficiency to inhibit the radial growth of the fungus. Chemical food preservatives-sodium benzoate could be used to control the growth of Pestalotiopsis sp., associated with Amla fruit rot disease. To the best of our search, quite a few attempts have been taken to investigate the fruit rot disease of Amla. Therefore, fruit rot disease caused by Pestalotiopsis sp., is the first record in Bangladesh.

Jahangirnagar University journal of biological sciences, Jul 24, 2022

Mucor circinelloides were isolated from post harvest infected papaya, which was collected from Sa... more Mucor circinelloides were isolated from post harvest infected papaya, which was collected from Savar region. M. circinelloides was identified by morphology and biology of fungus based on colony features, fungal mycelium, sporangia and sporagiospores as well as molecular approach. Mycelial colonies are floccose, pale greyish-brown. Sporangiophores were transparent, long, erect and shorter branches, 4.5-7 x 3.5-5 µm in size. Sporangia are hyaline, spherical, ranged from 20-80 µm in diameter. Columellae were hyaline, spherical to ellipsoidal up to 50 µm in diameter. The highest mycelial growth was recorded in potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium for the growth and development of M. circinelloides. Temperature 30°C was optimum. This fungus grew well in pH 7. So, tested fungi grew well in neutral condition. Complete dark condition was favourable for the vegetative growth of the fungus. The molecular phylogeny in morphologically identified post-harvest pathogenic fungi of papaya such as M. circinelloides were studied based on their ITS. The sequences of ITS region of M. circinelloides revealed that the total length was 620 bp and sequence analysis suggested that 5.8S of rDNA sequences were identical.

Journal of Plant Sciences, Mar 15, 2022

Journal of Plant Sciences, Feb 15, 2022

American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2022

International Journal of Botany Studies, 2020

International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies, May 1, 2020

The current study was aim to isolate and indentify fungus associated with dried prawn and shrimp.... more The current study was aim to isolate and indentify fungus associated with dried prawn and shrimp. Ovatospora brasiliensis, was identified through morphological characterization based on mycelium, conidia, colony features as well as molecular characterization. Polymerase chain reaction is remarkably effective at identifying species by genetic fingerprinting. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of Ovatospora brasiliensis was amplified with the universal primers ITS4 and ITS5. Amplification of genomic DNA of Ovatospora brasiliensis length was 556bp. The clustering of the molecular data further revealed that the sequences represented fungal taxa at a cutoff of 99% molecular identity. These facts suggest the existence of enormous resources for molecular identification of fungal species based on ITS sequences. To the best of our knowledge, the experimental result concluded that dry shrimps contaminated with fungus caused by Ovatospora brasiliensis is first report in Bangladesh.

American Journal of Plant Sciences, Dec 31, 2022

The present experiment was conducted to investigate a dry fish fungus, Cunnighamella blakesleeana... more The present experiment was conducted to investigate a dry fish fungus, Cunnighamella blakesleeana, which was identified from the infected part of the Corica soborna, locally named as Kachki fish. Mycelium was hyaline, often with granular content, and conidiophores were erected, with verticillate or solitary branches. Zygospores were globose, tuberculate, suspensors equal, smooth, hyaline and heterothallic. Using ITS4 and ITS5 primers, the 740 bp-long ITS region was amplified and sequenced. The ITS region sequences had reciprocal homologies of 98% to 100%. The findings showed that several species of C. blakesleeana fall into the same cluster. It has been determined by molecular data that the fungus we had studied was C. blakesleeana. The maximum mycelial growth (95.33 mm) was observed in the PDA medium, followed by the PSA medium, and the lowest growth (65.50 mm) was measured in the HPA medium in the study of the impact of culture media on the mycelial growth of C. blakesleeana. The influence of temperature on the radial mycelial growth of C. blakesleeana on PDA medium was investigated through five different temperatures. Although pH is a crucial factor in understanding the ecology of spoilage fungus, the highest mycelial growth of C. blakesleeana (88.25 mm) was seen at pH 7, followed by pH 8 and pH 6, while pH 9 was revealed to have the lowest mycelial growth. The outcome suggested that C. blakesleeana thrived in neutral environments.

RSC Advances

Correction for ‘Oxa-376 and Oxa-530 variants of β-lactamase: computational study uncovers potenti... more Correction for ‘Oxa-376 and Oxa-530 variants of β-lactamase: computational study uncovers potential therapeutic targets of Acinetobacter baumannii’ by Sajal Kumar Halder et al., RSC Adv., 2022, 12, 24319–24338, https://doi.org/10.1039/D2RA02939A.

American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2022

Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f. is one of the important medicinal plants, has been commercially cultivated... more Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f. is one of the important medicinal plants, has been commercially cultivated in the Northern part of Bangladesh. An experiment was conducted to detect A. vera leaf disease collected from Natore district, Bangladesh. Fungal leaf spot disease caused by Pseudopestalotiopsis theae (Sawada) Maharachch., K.D. Hyde & Crous was identified through morphological features and sequencing of internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA. After submitting nucleotide sequences to NCBI, we received an accession number MH333081.1: Pseudopestalotiopsis theae. The growth pattern of the isolated fungal pathogen was evaluated on different solid culture media, at different temperature and light conditions. The results showed the maximum mycelial growth of the fungus on the Richard Agar medium under the complete dark condition at 25˚C. We evaluated fungal antagonists against the isolated pathogenic fungus, in which Trichoderma asperellum showed optimistic results. Synthetic fungicides-Tilt 250EC and Ridomil Gold completely inhibited the studied fungus's vegetative growth. Pseudopestalotiopsis theae causing A. vera leaf spot disease in Bangladesh is a new record to the best of our knowledge.

Bangladesh Journal of Botany, Mar 31, 2020

This experiment was undertaken to depict the favourable condition for mycelial growth, molecular ... more This experiment was undertaken to depict the favourable condition for mycelial growth, molecular identification and phylogenetic relationship of the selected strains of Pleurotus salmoneostramineus. Suitable temperature and pH were obtained at 25ºC and 6, respectively. Mushroom complete, glucose peptone and yeast malt extract culture media were favorable, while Hennerberg and Hoppkins were unfavorable. Dextrin was the best and xylose was the less effective carbon sources. Inorganic nitrogen sources were less effective for the mycelial growth of P. salmoneostramineus. The sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of selected strains revealed that the total length ranged from 614 to 663 bp. The size of the ITS1 and ITS2 regions varied among the strains. Sequence analysis showed that 5.8S of rDNA sequences were identical. Phylogenetic tree of the ITS region sequences indicated that strains of P. salmoneostramineus belong to same cluster. The reciprocal homologies of the ITS region sequences ranged from 98 to 100%. The strains of P. salmoneostramineus were also analyzed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with 20 arbitrary primers. RAPD results suggested that tested strains of P. salmoneostramineus were genetically similar with some variations, thus it could be concluded that RAPD and ITS techniques were well competent for detecting the genetic diversity of all tested strains of P. salmoneostramineus.

Journal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology, Jul 24, 2023

Background: Tobacco is one of the leading risk factors for many respiratory infections and is lin... more Background: Tobacco is one of the leading risk factors for many respiratory infections and is linked to the clinical severity of the disease. COVID-19 primarily infects the lungs and causes severe pneumonia-like illness. Tobacco consumption may thus, increase the risk for developing COVID-19. However, this study was planned to assess the tobacco consumption among COVID-19 patients and determine the relationship between SARS CoV-2 and tobacco use among COVID-19 patients. Methods: Lists of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 positive patients aged 18-70 years were obtained from District Government Hospital on November 2020 and were interviewed telephonically after taking informed consent. A total of 470 patients under home isolation for the past one month after getting diagnosed with SARS CoV-2 were recruited in this study. Data was entered in MS Excel 2019 (Microsoft Corp.) and analysis was done using SPSS 25 (IBM Inc.). Chi-square and Fisher's exact test were used and significance level was set 0.05 with 95% confidence interval. Results: In the present study, the mean (standard deviation) age of participants was 37.8 (12.1) years. Among the COVID-19 patients, 21% of participants were tobacco users. Clinical symptoms such as fever, severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), acute respiratory illness (ARI), loss of taste/smell, and other symptoms such as body-ache, myalgia, nasal secretion and flu like symptoms were presented; of which most common symptoms were fever (26.8%) followed by SARI or ARI (11.5%) and significantly presented more among tobacco users (66.3%) than non-tobacco users (55.6%) (P = 0.036). Nonetheless smokers, these symptoms also affected significantly SLT users (64.8%) (P = 0.029) and dual tobacco users (100%) (P = 0.010). Conclusion: Tobacco use may worsen COVID-19 disease symptoms among COVID-19 patients.

Authorea (Authorea), Jun 2, 2023

Ganoderma lucidum is considered an effective medicinal mushroom. Therefore, it is interesting to ... more Ganoderma lucidum is considered an effective medicinal mushroom. Therefore, it is interesting to investigate whether the beneficial effects of G. lucidum found in various in vitro or animal studies can be translated to chronic metabolic diseases such as diabetes in humans. Here, we present a case study of a diabetic patient who underwent treatment using G. lucidum in the form of a tea, and provide details on the patient's fasting blood glucose (FG) level, lipid profile, and other blood parameters. After taking G. lucidum hot water extract, i.e. tea for three months, the FG values dropped from 198 mg/dl to 177.3 mg/dl. Total serum cholesterol decreased from 210 to 170 mg/dl and triglyceride level decreased from 220 to 150 mg/dl, while serum HDL-C increased from 25 to 35 mg/dl. LDL-C only dropped by 9 mg/dl. Serum creatinine, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase, and total bilirubin levels were not altered. Therefore, it is concluded that G. lucidum hot water extract had antidiabetic and antidyslipidemic effects without affecting hepatorenal functions.

Jahangirnagar University journal of biological sciences, Apr 2, 2023

This comprehensive study focuses on a checklist survey of wild mushrooms and documents their morp... more This comprehensive study focuses on a checklist survey of wild mushrooms and documents their morphological variability and diversity at Jahangirnagar University, a natural and social forest area in Bangladesh. Through field studies on the campus grounds from June to October 2021, 60 samples were collected from which 40 species were identified by morphological characters, belonging to 33 genera, 26 families, and 10 orders. Most species were identified from the order Agaricales and the highest frequency (83.33%) from the orders Polyporales and Agaricales. The highest species abundance was 83.33% for Ganoderma spp., Crepidotus applanatus and the density was 70% for Marasmiellus candidus. The dominant species were Ganoderma spp., Coprinus disseminates, Marasmius spp., Schizophyllum commune, Calvulina coralloides. The wild mushrooms were prevalent in the natural forest areas of the Jahangirnagar University campus. As far as we are aware, this report is the very first work on wild mushrooms or macro-fungi on the campus of Jahangirnagar University. This survey shows that the campus grounds are enriched with a wide variety of wild mushrooms.

Jahangirnagar University journal of biological sciences, Apr 2, 2023

Plant roots can be highly colonized by fungal endophytes. This seems to be of particular importan... more Plant roots can be highly colonized by fungal endophytes. This seems to be of particular importance for the survival of plants inhabiting stressful habitats. This study focused on the Identification of the fungal endophytic community associated with the roots of quinoa plants (Chenopodium quinoa) growing near the salt lakes of the Atacama Desert, Chile. One hundred endophytic fungi were isolated from healthy quinoa roots, and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was sequenced for phylogenetic and taxonomic analysis. The isolates were classified into eleven genera and 21 distinct operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Despite a relatively high diversity of root endophytic fungi associated with quinoa plants, the fungal community was dominated by only the Ascomycota phyla. In addition, the most abundant genera were Penicillium, Phoma and Fusarium, which are common endophytes reported in plant roots. This study shows that roots of C. quinoa harbor a diverse group of endophytic fungi. Potential roles of these fungi in plant host tolerance to stressful conditions are discussed.

Journal of bio-science, Jan 11, 2023

Strawberry leaf blight is one of the devastating fungal diseases, responsible for reducing the qu... more Strawberry leaf blight is one of the devastating fungal diseases, responsible for reducing the quality of strawberry production worldwide. The present experiment was conducted to determine the pathogenic fungal association with strawberry leaves obtained from the experimental site of Botanical Garden, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. A fungal pathogen causing leaf blight disease of the strawberry plant was detected as Fusarium fujikuroi species complex through classical and molecular approaches. Molecular characterization showed that nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed region of the studied fungus (MH368119.1) were genetically identical with Fusarium fujikuroi species complex. Different culture media, pH, light regimes, temperatures were assayed to know the growth pattern of the identified pathogenic fungus. The optimum vegetative growth of Fusarium fujikuroi species complex was recorded on Potato Dextrose Agar, Potato Sucrose Agar, and Honey Peptone Agar media, at 25°C temperature, pH seven and under complete dark conditions. Among the three antagonistic fungi for the assessment as a biocontrol agent, Trichoderma asperellum was comparative effective against Fusarium fujikuroi species complex under in vitro conditions. Among systemic chemical fungicides, the highest mycelial inhibition (89.42%) of the isolated fungus was found by Tilt 250 EC (500 ppm). The leaf blight of strawberry caused by Fusarium fujikuroi species complex is the new record in Bangladesh.

Advances in zoology and botany, 2023

Post-harvest spoilage of Amla fruits is one of the major problems which reduces the economic qual... more Post-harvest spoilage of Amla fruits is one of the major problems which reduces the economic quality of the fruits. The goal of the present study was to identify the post-harvest fungal pathogens associated with Amla fruits based on morphological and molecular characteristics, growth characteristics of the fungi, and their eco-friendly control measures. The fungi were identified as Penicillium rolfsii Thom., Penicillium herquei Bainier & Sartory, Aspergillus aculeatus Iizuka, Aspergillus terreus Thom., and Mucor sp. Frasen. Penicillium rolfsii and Aspergillus aculeatus were preferred to grow on Richard Agar medium; Penicillium herquei grew the maximum on Potato Sucrose Agar medium; Aspergillus terreus was found to grow irrespective of culture media and Mucor sp. grew on all the tested media except Richard Agar medium. The optimum temperatures were recorded at 25 to 35°C for all of the fungi except Mucor sp., which preferred to grow at 15°C. Aspergillus aculeatus was able to grow on a broad range of pH (5 to 9); Penicillium rolfsii, Penicillium herquei, and Aspergillus terreus were grown better at neutral to slightly alkaline pH, while Mucor sp. on slightly acidic conditions. Aqueous crude extracts of garlic and black cumin were found to show inhibitory activity against all the fungi. Food preservative sodium benzoate was found to be the most efficient against fungal pathogens. Based on our findings, it is suggested that garlic extract and sodium benzoate could be used to manage the fungal growth associated with post-harvest Amla fruit diseases.

American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2022

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a valuable medicinal plant as well as spice crop in Bangladesh. Th... more Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a valuable medicinal plant as well as spice crop in Bangladesh. The rhizome rot disease is a severe danger to turmeric cultivation. The current study sought to identify the fungal pathogen linked to turmeric rhizome rot disease. Rhizome of turmeric with distinct rotted symptoms was collected from the experimental site of the Botanical Garden, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. The sample was screened to isolate the causative fungal pathogen through the tissue planting technique. Macro and micro-morphological characterization based on colony appearance, mycelial and conidial characteristics primarily identified the fungus as Fusarium sp. The ITS sequence of rDNA of the fungus exhibited 99 to 100 percent similarity with the other F. solani species formerly deposited in the NCBI database which confirmed the fungal identity as F. solani. An in vitro pathogenicity test validated the pathogenic nature of the fungus. Growth behaviors of the fungus were evaluated on different solid culture media viz., Potato dextrose agar, Potato sucrose agar, Sabouraud dextrose agar and Hansen's agar; temperature conditions (10˚C, 15˚C, 20˚C, 25˚C, 30˚C and 35˚C) and pH levels (pH 4, pH 5, pH 6, pH 7 and pH 8). Maximum mycelial growth was obtained on PSA medium at 30˚C temperature and pH 7 conditions. Current findings also conclude that F. solani favors a wide range of temperature and pH levels. To the best of our search, the present investigation revealed the relationship of F. solani with the rhizome rot disease of turmeric for the first time in Bangladesh.

Jahangirnagar University journal of biological sciences, Jul 24, 2022

Small indigenous species (SIS) of fishes are available source of animal protein, vitamin and mine... more Small indigenous species (SIS) of fishes are available source of animal protein, vitamin and minerals, not commonly available in other foods in Bangladesh. These fishes are eaten both in fresh and dried condition. Puntious sophore was collected from different regions of Baikka Beel at Sreemangal Upazila, Moulvibazar district, Bangladesh to investigate mycoflora association with dried condition. Fungus was isolated from dried fish using tissue planting methods for classical and molecular characterization. Aspergillus elegans was identified through classical taxonomy and molecular approach based on ITS region of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of fungi. For analyzing ITS4 and ITS5 were used. Mycelium of the identified fungus septated, hyaline, abundant and branched. Long, straight or flexous conidiophore were present. The molecular phylogeny in morphologically identified dry fish fungi of P. sophore such as A. elegans was studied based on their internal transcribed spacer (ITS). The sequences of ITS 600 bp region of A. elegans had 5.8S of rDNA sequences were identical. The highest mycelial growth was recorded in potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium for the growth and development of A. elegans. Temperature 30°C was optimum, this fungus grew well in pH 7. So, tested fungi grew well in neutral condition.

Jahangirnagar University journal of biological sciences, Jul 24, 2022

Fruit rot disease of Amla (Phyllanthus emblica L.) reduces the quality of the fruits and causes e... more Fruit rot disease of Amla (Phyllanthus emblica L.) reduces the quality of the fruits and causes economic loss. An investigation was conducted to find out pre-harvest fruit rot fungal pathogen associated with Amla fruits. The fungal pathogen was isolated using tissue planting method. Both morphological and molecular characterization confirmed the pathogen identity as Pestalotiopsis sp. Result indicated that Pestalotiopsis sp. showed the highest radial mycelial growth on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium. The utmost vegetative growth of the identified fungus was recorded at 25℃ on PDA medium, however, a range of temperature may be suitable for the fungal growth. Sodium benzoate and vinegar were tested against the fungus for food preservative. Sodium benzoate at 100mM concentration exhibited efficiency to inhibit the radial growth of the fungus. Chemical food preservatives-sodium benzoate could be used to control the growth of Pestalotiopsis sp., associated with Amla fruit rot disease. To the best of our search, quite a few attempts have been taken to investigate the fruit rot disease of Amla. Therefore, fruit rot disease caused by Pestalotiopsis sp., is the first record in Bangladesh.

Jahangirnagar University journal of biological sciences, Jul 24, 2022

Mucor circinelloides were isolated from post harvest infected papaya, which was collected from Sa... more Mucor circinelloides were isolated from post harvest infected papaya, which was collected from Savar region. M. circinelloides was identified by morphology and biology of fungus based on colony features, fungal mycelium, sporangia and sporagiospores as well as molecular approach. Mycelial colonies are floccose, pale greyish-brown. Sporangiophores were transparent, long, erect and shorter branches, 4.5-7 x 3.5-5 µm in size. Sporangia are hyaline, spherical, ranged from 20-80 µm in diameter. Columellae were hyaline, spherical to ellipsoidal up to 50 µm in diameter. The highest mycelial growth was recorded in potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium for the growth and development of M. circinelloides. Temperature 30°C was optimum. This fungus grew well in pH 7. So, tested fungi grew well in neutral condition. Complete dark condition was favourable for the vegetative growth of the fungus. The molecular phylogeny in morphologically identified post-harvest pathogenic fungi of papaya such as M. circinelloides were studied based on their ITS. The sequences of ITS region of M. circinelloides revealed that the total length was 620 bp and sequence analysis suggested that 5.8S of rDNA sequences were identical.

Journal of Plant Sciences, Mar 15, 2022

Journal of Plant Sciences, Feb 15, 2022

American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2022

International Journal of Botany Studies, 2020

International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies, May 1, 2020

The current study was aim to isolate and indentify fungus associated with dried prawn and shrimp.... more The current study was aim to isolate and indentify fungus associated with dried prawn and shrimp. Ovatospora brasiliensis, was identified through morphological characterization based on mycelium, conidia, colony features as well as molecular characterization. Polymerase chain reaction is remarkably effective at identifying species by genetic fingerprinting. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of Ovatospora brasiliensis was amplified with the universal primers ITS4 and ITS5. Amplification of genomic DNA of Ovatospora brasiliensis length was 556bp. The clustering of the molecular data further revealed that the sequences represented fungal taxa at a cutoff of 99% molecular identity. These facts suggest the existence of enormous resources for molecular identification of fungal species based on ITS sequences. To the best of our knowledge, the experimental result concluded that dry shrimps contaminated with fungus caused by Ovatospora brasiliensis is first report in Bangladesh.