Project description:Ethiopian cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) shows remarkably heterogeneous clinical presentations, but the underlying immunopathological mechanisms driving this heterogeneity in disease presentation remains poorly understood. To characterise the local immune response in Ethiopian CL, we performed spatial transcriptomics (Visium, 10x Genomics) on paired (lesional and non lesional) skin punch biopsies from five Ethiopian CL patients. We used reference-free deconvolution, morphology-guided regional analyses, and immunohistochemistry to identify five5 dominant patient-defined immunopathological responses: i) epithelial hyperplasia with interferon-stimulated keratinocytes, ii) cytotoxicity with tertiary lymphoid structures, iii) granulomatous inflammation with proinflammatory response iv) granulomatous inflammation with M2-polarised myeloid cell responses , and v) fibrotic remodelling with active collagen synthesis. Future longitudinal studies are needed to distinguish whether these patterns represent discrete pathotypes or stages of disease progression. Improved understanding of disease pathotypes in Ethiopian CL directly supports the WHO 2030 roadmap for leishmaniasis control and informs future immune-based therapeutic strategies.
Project description:Next-generation sequencing survey of maize plants exhibiting symptoms of maize lethal necrosis, collected from Kenyan and Ethiopian farmers in August 2014. Up to three samples per site were sequenced, and sites were separated by at least 10km. Data contains maize transcriptome and a variety of RNA viruses.
Project description:The spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) into agricultural soils, products, and foods severely limits the use of organic fertilizers in agriculture. In this study, experimental land plots were fertilized, sown, and harvested for two consecutive agricultural cycles using either mineral or three types of organic fertilizers: sewage sludge, pig slurry, or composted organic fraction of municipal solid waste. The analysis of the relative abundances of more than 200,000 ASV (Amplicon Sequence Variants) allowed the identification of a small, but significant (<10%) overlap between soil and fertilizer microbiomes, particularly in soils sampled the same day of the harvest (post-harvest soils). Loads of clinically relevant ARG were significantly higher (up to 100 fold) in fertilized soils relative to the initial soil. The highest increases corresponded to post-harvest soils treated with organic fertilizers, and they correlated with the extend of the contribution of fertilizers to the soil microbiome. Edible products (lettuce and radish) showed low, but measurable loads of ARG (sul1 for lettuces and radish, tetM for lettuces). These loads were minimal in mineral fertilized soils, and strongly dependent on the type of fertilizer. We concluded that at least part of the observed increase on ARG loads in soils and foodstuffs were actual contributions from the fertilizer microbiomes. Thus, we propose that adequate waste management and good pharmacological and veterinarian practices may significantly reduce the potential health risk posed by the presence of ARG in agricultural soils and plant products.