Effects of dietary supplementation with Bacillus velezensis on the growth performance, body composition, antioxidant, immune-related gene expression, and histology of Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei Arwa E. M. Abdelsamad, Rashad E. M. Said, Mona Assas, Alkhateib Y. Gaafar, Awatef H. Hamouda, Aldoushy Mahdy BMC Veterinary Research, 2024 In recent decades, probiotics have become an acceptable aquaculture strategy for shrimp growth promotion and immune modulation. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Bacillus velezensis on Litopenaeus vannamei following a 60-day trial. L. vannamei (3 ± 0.4 g) were distributed into four groups with three replicates per group and fed an isonitrogenous diet supplemented with B. velezensis at 0, 1 × 107, 1 × 108, and 1 × 109 CFU/g, which were defined as the control, G1, G2, and G3 groups, respectively. B. velezensis significantly improved the growth, survival rate, and proximate body composition of L. vannamei (P < 0.05). All groups fed the B. velezensis diet showed significant increases in digestive enzymes (lipase, amylase, and protease), superoxide dismutase (SOD; G3), catalase (CAT; G3, G2, and G1), lysozyme activity (G3 and G2), immunoglobulin M (IgM), bactericidal activity BA%, alkaline phosphatase (AKP), and acid phosphatase (ACP) compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Malondialdehyde (MDA), triglycerides, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were significantly decreased in all groups fed B. velezensis diet compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The expression levels of SOD (G3), LZM, and serine proteinase genes were significantly higher in L. vannamei fed diets containing B. velezensis than in the control group (P < 0.05). This is the first study to address the effects of B. velezensis on the expression of the LZM and serine proteinase genes in L. vannamei. L. vannamei fed diet containing B. velezensis had more B and R cells in its hepatopancreas than did the control group. In conclusion, B. velezensis is a promising probiotic that can be safely added to the diet of L. vannamei with 1 × 109 CFU/g. Its application had a positive influence on the health status, survival rate, nutritional value, and immunity of L. vannamei.
Antiviral activity of sulphated specialized metabolites from sea urchin Clypeaster humilis: in vitro and in silico studies Fahd M. Abdelkarem, Hamdy K. Assaf, Yaser A. Mostafa, Aldoushy Mahdy, Modather F. Hussein, Samir A. Ross, Nesma M. Mohamed Rsc Advances, 2024 Chemical analyses of the sea urchin Clypeaster humilis yielded twelve compounds including; a new sulfonic acid derivative (7R) tridec-1-en-7-yl hydrogen sulphate (1), pyridine-3-yl methane sulfonate (2), boldine (12), and nine known compounds (3–11).
Unveiling the potential of marine-derived diterpenes from the order Alcyonacea as promising anti-obesity agents Mohamed A. Tammam, Omnia Aly, Florbela Pereira, Aldoushy Mahdy, Amr El-Demerdash Current Research in Biotechnology, 2024 Metabolic syndrome (MS) represents a global health challenge characterized by various metabolic disorders, including HOMA-IR (insulin resistance), obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. In our pursuit of identifying natural alternatives for the development of effective and safe anti-obesity medications, we examined the potential of the methanolic extract of the Red Sea derived soft coral Sarcophyton glaucum, where serum levels of glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, lipid profile, fetuin A and B, PTP1Β (Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B), adropin and omentin were determined. Furthermore, the expression of the UCP1 (Uncoupling protein 1) and PPARGC1A (Peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-g coactivator-1a) genes have been assessed, to evaluate the anti-obesity potential of S. glaucum organic extract. Our findings demonstrated a significant decrease in glucose, HOMA-IR, cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-C, fetuin A and B, and PTP1Β levels, accompanied by a significant increase in insulin, HDL-C, adropin, omentin, UCP1, and PPARGC1A expression after treatment with the soft coral extract. These promising outcomes can be attributed to the remarkable ingredients present in the extract, which were further supported by histopathological findings. In addition, a virtual screening protocol including molecular docking (MDock) and Structure-Activity Relationships (SARs) of 27 marine diterpenes was also explored to identify potential PTP1Β inhibitors targeting simultaneously the catalytic site and allosteric site, as well as fetuin A modulators. Moreover, the six most promising predicted marine diterpenes (4, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 14) were investigated for their pharmacokinetic properties, druglike nature and medicinal chemistry friendliness using the SwissADME platform. Of these, four marine diterpenes (4, 8, 9, and 10) were predicted to exhibit the appropriate drug-like properties.
Status of green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) at Zabargad Island, southern Egyptian Red Sea Ashraf S. Mohammad, Hussein N.M. Hussein, Ahmed Ghallab, Aldoushy Mahdy, Hashem Madkour Coral Reefs and Associated Marine Fauna Around the Arabian Peninsula, 2024 One of the biggest islands in the southern Egyptian Red Sea is Zabargad Island, which is situated 71 km from the coast. With a maximum height of 235 m, the island is mostly of rocky terrain. A diving coral reef surrounds the island. One of the best and biggest areas in Egypt for turtle nesting is on the southern side, where green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) use a sandy beach that is about 2.5 km long as a valuable nesting site. The goal of this study was to monitor green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) and find the best place for them to lay their eggs. There were 775 turtle nests observed in total during the ten days of surveying in July 2006, with site C having the most (453 nests) and site E having the least (9 nests). The typical turtle nest measured 105.9 cm in width and 128.2 cm in length. The turtle nest’s average distance from the shore was 12.5 m, ranging from 2.5 to 80 m. Site B had the highest average of all the sites (28.5 m), and Site E had the lowest average (6.5 m). There were 57 turtle tracks in total, with site C having the most at 27 and site E having the fewest at 2. The total average length of turtle tracks was 79.4 m, ranging from 70 to 110 m, with site C having the highest average of 117.8 m and site D having the lowest average of 13.5 m.
Status of coral reefs along the Egyptian Red Sea coast Ahmed Ghallab, Hussein N.M. Hussein, Hashem Madkour, Alaa Osman, Aldoushy Mahdy Coral Reefs and Associated Marine Fauna Around the Arabian Peninsula, 2024 To assess the biotic and abiotic percentage cover, 19 sites along the Red Sea coast were studied. The survey used scuba diving and line intercept transect methods at a depth of 5 m. Eight sites were chosen at the northern Red Sea islands: Ghanim, Ashrafi, Gubal, Tawila, Geisum south and north, and Umm El-Himmat south and north; four sites were located offshore in front of Hurghada City (El-Fanous Reef, Small Gifton, Sabina Reef, and Gota Abu-Rmada); three fringe sites were chosen at Safaga and Al-Qusier City, including Abu-Tartour, El-Hamrawein Port, and Al-Qusier Port; and four southern sites were selected located both onshore and offshore at Marsa Allam City, including Elphinstone, Marsa Nekari, Marsa Samadi, and Zabargad Island. The present results showed that the mean percentage cover of living substrate (stony coral, soft coral, sponges, and algae) increased southward and averaged 65.6 ± 27.0% at the northern sites, 66.9 ± 27.6% at the Hurghada sites, and 70.7 ±11.5% at the middle and southern sites. In contrast, the nonliving cover (dead corals, sand, rock, and rubble) showed southward decreasing trends and averaged 34.4 ±13.4% at the northern sites, 33.1 ±12.7% at the Hurghada sites, and 29.3 ±8.7% at the southern sites.
Seasonal variations of some heavy metal concentrations in seawater, sediment, and the surf clam, Mactra olorina (Philippi, 1846) in the Great Bitter Lake, Suez Canal, Egypt Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, 2022
Climate change effects on shallow lakes: Design and preliminary results of a cross-European climate gradient mesocosm experiment Frank Landkildehus, Martin Søndergaard, Meryem Beklioglu, Rita Adrian, David G. Angeler, Josef Hejzlar, Eva Papastergiadou, Priit Zingel, Ayşe Idil Çakiroğlu, Ulrike Scharfenberger, Stina Drakare, Tiina Nõges, Michal Šorf, Konstantinos Stefanidis, Ülkü Nihan Tavşanoğlu, Cristina Trigal, Aldoushy Mahdy, Christina Papadaki, Lea Tuvikene, Søren E. Larsen, Martin Kernan, Erik Jeppesen Estonian Journal of Ecology, 2014
