Various bacteria from the Bacillus species have been used as pesticides against mosquito larvae for more than a decade. the prolonged use of these bacterial species by little alteration within their genome, using various permutations and combinations of mosquito-cidal toxins, has proven unsuccessful in controlling the mosquito population. in our current study we report Enterococcus sp. to be exhibiting similar kind of mosquito-cidal toxins alike those which are present in the mainly used Bacillus strains. three Enterococcus species were isolated on a rich media selective for gram-positive bacteria from the mid-gut of dead mosquito larvae which were collected from the wild locations within and around the city of Mumbai, india. their surface morphologies were studied by Scanning electron Microscopy (SEM) and their identity was confirmed using the standard 16S rRNA sequencing method. Upon performing several repetitive toxicity assays of these three strains on the laboratory cultured third instar stage of Culex quinquefasciatus larvae, showed differential toxicities from a minimum of 20% (LC 50 : 59.6 CFU/ml), intermediate 35% (LC 50 : 48.4 CFU/ml) and a maximum of 60% (LC 50 : 35.7 CFU/ ml). to justify the data in all the three similar strains of Enterococcus durans, we followed the differential proteomics using LCMS 6540 UHD Accurate Mass QTOF and differential metabolomics approach using both LCMS 6540 UHD Accurate Mass QTOF and 1 H-NMR. The presence and significance of the obtained toxins were studied to elucidate the plausible reason for showing differential toxicities. This work helped in identifying Enterococcus durans as a new, potential and alternative strain to the Bacillus species in terms of mosquito larvicidal toxicity against Culex quinquefasciatus.

The exact molecular pathways involved in the pathogenesis of influenza are yet unclear. In the present study we investigated the upper respiratory proteome in influenza patients. 200 nasal and throat swab samples were collected from patients suffering from acute respiratory illness. These samples were confirmed for influenza pandemic A/H1N1/2009 and influenza type B using qRT-PCR. 10 similar swabs were collected from healthy individuals and were used as controls. Proteins were extracted from the cell pellets and were subjected to 2-D gel electrophoresis. The differentially expressed proteins were identified using MALDI-TOF. Identified proteins were classified into different functional groups based on functions reported in the databases. 25 % of these proteins were involved in cytoskeletal formation, whereas 14 % were involved in signal transduction. Proteins involved in anti-viral responses, Ca-signaling, transport, and tumor suppression constituted 10 % each, where as 5 % of proteins each belong to Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, Protein Synthesis and anti-bacterial proteins. 10 % of the proteins have not been described previously. This is the first report on respiratory proteome profile in Influenza patients. The study emphasizes the role of such profiling studies using multiple platforms for bio-marker discoveries, especially non-invasive diagnostic marker in Influenza and other infectious diseases.

From the distinct wild locations of the Mumbai (India), dead Culex mosquito larvae were collected. The mid‐gut micro‐flora of these dead mosquito larvae was isolated on three different media that were selective for only the Gram‐positive bacteria. These bacteria were tested against the third instar stage of Culex quinquefasciatus larvae, cultured in the laboratory, for their larvicidal activity. After performing the toxicity assay four times in duplicates, the average statistical values showed four bacteria exhibiting differential toxicities. Identification of these strains was done by 16S rRNA sequencing and their respective surface morphologies were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The differential toxicities of the four identified Bacillus strains were rationalized by performing differential proteomics and metabolomics approach using LC‐MS and these results were analyzed against customized mosquito larvicidal toxin database which was further compared with the in silico p‐BLAST data of that respective Bacillus sp. from the NCBI database. The presence and significance of the various mosquitocidal toxins in the identified Bacillus sp. are elucidated. The present study also attempted to identify new bacterial species exhibiting mosquitocidal toxicities that have not been reported earlier.