Project description:The Jinggang honey pomelo is recognized as one of the three major fruit industry brands in Jiangxi Province. However, the crop’s growth and yield have been significantly affected by the black spot disease caused by Diaporthe citri. Despite this impact, the defense mechanisms and underlying molecular responses of the Jinggang honey pomelo to the disease remain poorly understood.
Project description:Honey promotes health and is an effective non-pharmacological home remedy against common respiratory infections. However, industrial processing and manipulation of raw honey can have a detrimental effect on its biological activities, including antibacterial ones, and hence its health-benefiting qualities. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the honey’s antibacterial activity, its total protein content, and the abundance of the most dominant bee-derived proteins in honey between raw (n=92) and supermarket (n=17) samples. We showed that raw honey samples were much more effective in inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus with a median minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 4.5% compared to supermarket honey samples ceasing bacterial growth with a median MIC value of 36%. Moreover, raw honey samples contained significantly higher amounts of total protein as well as the content of particular bee-derived proteins (major royal jelly protein 1 (MRJP1), glucose oxidase (GOX), and α-glucosidase) in contrast to supermarket honey samples. These data hint that some marketed honey samples could be deliberately manipulated with syrup, especially those that exhibited low protein content. In addition, the supermarket honey sample with the lowest protein content contained α-amylase (diastase) from Aspergillus oryzae. Strikingly, the content of this foreign enzyme in honey was roughly 60 times higher than the naturally occurring bee α-amylase. Our findings highlight the burning need to refine and monitor the specific quality parameters, ensuring the authenticity of honey and maintaining its reputation as a functional food.
Project description:Full-scan and tandem-MS/MS data from the metabolomics of Philippine forest honey coming from Apis cerana, Apis breviligula, and Tetragonula biroi sourced from priority conservation landscapes in Palaui Island, Cagayan Province and Brgy. Laiban, Tanay, Rizal Province. Research supported by The Forest Foundation Philippines under the Dr. Perry S. Ong Fellowship Program.
Project description:We focused on whether transposon mutagenesis in Brucella abortus could induce difference in the trascriptional responses of RAW 264.7 cell infection model compared to the wild strain infected RAW 264.7 cells. The function of genes in Brucella abortus was analyzed through the identified differences in gene expression between RAW 264.7 cell infected with wild and mutant strains.