The SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) originated in China in 2019 and rapidly spread across the globe for which the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. This viral disease is extremely contagious and infectious in nature and the general symptoms include fever, cough and pneumonia followed by a loss of taste, diarrhoea, shortness of breath, acute respiratory distress syndrome and even death. The disease has caused unprecedented risk against the global fitness scenario and therefore have altered the socio-economic-political structure of society. There has been no reported cases of any immunity against the virus, however immune-compromised people are extremely vulnerable to this disease.  The diagnosis of the disease is usually done by quantitative Real-time PCR but other methods of detection like serological testing is gaining prominence these days.  Approaches are directed towards the development of vaccine candidates and a search is on towards the discovery of potential drugs. Needless to say, the genome architecture of the virus and the viral proteins mounting an immune response play a key role in the development of effective therapeutic strategies. The review article presents an overview of the science behind the pandemic along with the structural chemistry of the pathogen, the prognosis and the vaccine candidates in different stages of development. The review would be beneficial to the scientific fraternity and the common men at large in understanding the central role of the immune system towards the development of successful clinical strategies for diagnosis and therapy to avoid the future encounters by the virus.

COVID-19, the infectious pandemic disease is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This deadly disease was unknown before its catastrophic outbreak of the infection in Wuhan city of China, in December 2019. The pandemic situation has increased the demand of rapid enhancement of the in-vitro diagnostic assays which would enable the mass screening and testing. Several molecular and serological diagnostics assays such as direct viral antigen tests, nucleic acid amplification tests and serological tests were developed. Nucleic acid tests such as RT-PCR. TrueNAT, Feluda Test, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) etc. detect the presence of RNA virus in the nasal or throat swab or from saliva. Antigen tests detect the presence of a virus as the antigen, which is a surface protein. Antibody tests such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), lateral flow assays (LFA), chemiluminescence assays (CLIA) etc. detect the presence of antibodies generated against SARS-CoV-2 in the blood samples.

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Background: Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) is one of the major diseases causing a major loss in production of mung bean of up to 60%. Although it is cultivated all round the world, its major contribution is attributed to the Asian continent especially the countries of Indian subcontinents which accounts for about 90% of the world’s mungbean production. Due to its high nutritional content, mung bean is a major contributor to the Nation’s economy. The present study was to isolate and characterize the new isolates of Cercospora canescens collected from coastal belts of Odisha, India. Methods: Surveys were conducted in the mung bean growing fields of Bhubaneswar (20.26°N, 85.8°E) and Berhampur (19.36°N, 84.77°E), coastal regions of Odisha during 2018-20. New Cercospora canescens isolates were collected and characterised through morphological, biochemical and molecular basis. Result: New Cercospora isolates were characterized on the basis of morphological, biochemical and molecular analysis to understand the gravity of the disease. Pathogenicity tests were conducted by artificial inoculation to identify the resistant and susceptible mung bean genotypes. On the basis of molecular analysis (internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region), there was a difference between the two isolates and forming different clades. These isolates were sequenced having the NCBI Acc. No. MZ475049 and MZ475050. Both isolates are different from each other because of transitional substitution of thymine and cytosine. The findings will be a complementary contribution for conservation and better management strategies of CLS disease in mung bean.