Researchers of the Human and Animal Cell Bank of the Iranian Biological Resource Center have introduced mitochondrial genes (the cell's energy production factory) as molecular markers for identifying animal species through studies and summation of numerous articles.
As species identification from a small amount of target sample poses a challenge, the scientists investigated various ways of using the copies of mitochondrial gene for finding the innovative method.
The review article, published in the international journal The Nucleus, was prepared by Dr. Zahra Eliasi Gorji, the lead researcher from the Human and Animal Cell Bank, along with her colleagues, IRNA reported.
Mitochondrial genes (also known as mitochondrial DNA) are circular chromosomes found inside cellular organelles called mitochondria. These genes are referred to as energy factories and powerhouses for producing the cell’s main energy-carrying molecule called adenosine triphosphate.
Various methods and strategies have been proposed for identifying animal species, but reasons such as sample damage, lack of sample or high similarity of protein sequences of related species have made the genome-based methods a better option compared with protein-based tests.
The current study introduces a high number of mitochondrial gene copies as molecular markers in each cell to identify animal species with a small amount of the target sample.
The mutation rate identification using the mitochondrial-based method gives better results compared with the nuclear DNA, which helps determine closely related species.
Investigating a wide range of applications employing mitochondrial gene-based strategies provides a promising prospect for increasing accuracy in research related to animal species identification.
Int’l Patent for Domestic Covid Medicine
A knowledge-based company has recently received an international patent certificate for a medicine that reduces the sideeffects of Covid-19.
With the efforts of 40 Iranian researchers from eminent domestic universities, Saliravira was unveiled in the third month of the previous Iranian year (May 22-June 21, 2021), for which it received a domestic patent certificate,” Reza Ramezani, the CEO of Mim Daroo Company, was quoted as saying by the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.
“The code of ethics and clinical trial license were obtained from the Iran University of Medical Sciences, which is a branch of the World Intellectual Property Organization in Iran, and then pre-clinical and clinical trials were conducted,” he added.
Ramezani said the company signed a contract with a reputable firm in Europe to assist in completing the technical aspects of international patenting, in which Iran does not have much experience.
“We studied about 50 pharmaceutical patents to create a comprehensive pharmaceutical patent system and handed all our documents to a foreign law firm. This is how we were able to complete technicalities to get the patent for Saliravira and finally our invention was registered internationally,” he said.
“When such a medicine is produced, it should be patented first in order to cooperate with large production companies at the international level, which requires a lot of time and budget.”
The CEO of this knowledge-based company noted that all these efforts were aimed at cooperating with major companies in the production and distribution of this medicine at the international level.
“After patenting this medicine, we signed a contract with a reputable medicine distribution company. They announced that if our product is produced in Europe, they will take responsibility for its distribution. Fortunately, this issue is in the final stage and we are in the process of obtaining relevant permits to do this,” he said.
Last year, when the country experienced one of the highest Covid-19 peaks, Saliravira, which was the first completely Iranian medicine for the treatment and prevention of Covid-19, was produced by this company at the Pardis Technology Park.
Nano-Based Product Helps Spot Most Effective Antibiotic
A domestic knowledge-based company has produced a nano-based product that can be used to detect drug sensitivity. The product, based on nanotechnology, is used to identify the appropriate antibiotic for medical treatment.
Karma Azma Andish Development and Equipment Company is the manufacturer of antibiogram tablets or disks containing nanoparticles, the news portal of the VicePresidency for Science and Technology reported.
Antibiogram or drug sensitivity tests use colored tubes based on the family of antibiotics to identify the most effective antibiotic against microbes in pathological laboratories, which help the patient recover soon.
Faster and more accurate results, as well as higher quality and ease of use, are the main advantages of this nano-based product.
Erythromycin, penicillin, sulfonamide, tetracycline and vancomycin are among a large class of drugs that prevent the growth of bacteria (bacteriostatic) or kill bacteria (bactericidal). Each class of antibiotics has an effect on specific bacteria and will not affect other microorganisms and viruses.
Different samples taken from a patient, including blood, feces, urine and sputum, are usually subjected to an antibiogram.
After the growth of the bacteria in the appropriate growth medium, the sample undergoes the staining process (also known as Gram staining) before the antibiogram test is performed.
After the sample is cultured in the growth medium, the antibiogram disk is placed in it and the result is checked after 2-4 days.
Karma Azma Andish Development and Equipment Company has also produced an antibiograph device for testing, which can be used independently without a need for a computer.
