Browsing by Author "Ghafoor A"

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    Genome Analysis and Therapeutic Evaluation of a Novel Lytic Bacteriophage of Salmonella Typhimurium: Suggestive of a New Genus in the Subfamily Vequintavirinae.
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-01-25) Sattar S; Ullah I; Khanum S; Bailie M; Shamsi B; Ahmed I; Abbas Shah T; Javed S; Ghafoor A; Pervaiz A; Sohail F; Imdad K; Tariq A; Bostan N; Ali I; Altermann E; Griffiths M; Anany H
    Salmonella Typhimurium, a foodborne pathogen, is a major concern for food safety. Its MDR serovars of animal origin pose a serious threat to the human population. Phage therapy can be an alternative for the treatment of such MDR Salmonella serovars. In this study, we report on detailed genome analyses of a novel Salmonella phage (Salmonella-Phage-SSBI34) and evaluate its therapeutic potential. The phage was evaluated for latent time, burst size, host range, and bacterial growth reduction in liquid cultures. The phage stability was examined at various pH levels and temperatures. The genome analysis (141.095 Kb) indicated that its nucleotide sequence is novel, as it exhibited only 1-7% DNA coverage. The phage genome features 44% GC content, and 234 putative open reading frames were predicted. The genome was predicted to encode for 28 structural proteins and 40 enzymes related to nucleotide metabolism, DNA modification, and protein synthesis. Further, the genome features 11 tRNA genes for 10 different amino acids, indicating alternate codon usage, and hosts a unique hydrolase for bacterial lysis. This study provides new insights into the subfamily Vequintavirinae, of which SSBI34 may represent a new genus.
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    Phenotypic characterization and genome analysis of a novel Salmonella Typhimurium phage having unique tail fiber genes.
    (Springer Nature Limited, 2022-04-06) Sattar S; Ullah I; Khanum S; Bailie M; Shamsi B; Ahmed I; Shah STA; Javed S; Ghafoor A; Pervaiz A; Sohail F; Shah NA; Imdad K; Bostan N; Altermann E
    Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is a foodborne pathogen causing occasional outbreaks of enteric infections in humans. Salmonella has one of the largest pools of temperate phages in its genome that possess evolutionary significance for pathogen. In this study, we characterized a novel temperate phage Salmonella phage BIS20 (BIS20) with unique tail fiber genes. It belongs to the subfamily Peduovirinae genus Eganvirus and infects Salmonella Typhimurium strain (SE-BS17; Acc. NO MZ503545) of poultry origin. Phage BIS20 was viable only at biological pH and temperature ranges (pH7 and 37 °C). Despite being temperate BIS20 significantly slowed down the growth of host strain for 24 h as compared to control (P < 0.009). Phage BIS20 features 29,477-base pair (bp) linear DNA genome with 53% GC content and encodes for 37 putative ORFs. These ORFs have mosaic arrangement as indicated by its ORF similarity to various phages and prophages in NCBI. Genome analysis indicates its similarity to Salmonella enterica serovar Senftenberg prophage (SEStP) sequence (Nucleotide similarity 87.7%) and Escherichia virus 186 (~ 82.4% nucleotide similarity). Capsid genes were conserved however those associated with tail fiber formation and assembly were unique to all members of genus Eganvirus. We found strong evidence of recombination hotspot in tail fiber gene. Our study identifies BIS20 as a new species of genus Eganvirus temperate phages as its maximum nucleotide similarity is 82.4% with any phage in NCBI. Our findings may contribute to understanding of origin of new temperate phages.
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    The impact of Covid-19 on employee job insecurity andwellbeing: a conservation of resources theory approach
    (Taylor and Francis Group on behalf of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2025-02-10) Haar J; Brougham D; Ghafoor A
    Job insecurity is detrimental to employee wellbeing. However, we understand little about how unforeseen external shocks, such as Covid-19, might shape these perceptions. We explore how job changes during the Covid-19 lockdown notification period impacted New Zealand employees’ wellbeing (anxiety, depression, life satisfaction, happiness), hypothesising that these changes heightened job insecurity, leading to poorer wellbeing, using Conservation of Resources (COR) theory. Using data from 628 employees, we explore differences in outcomes between pre- and post-lockdown notification respondents and find non-significant differences in wellbeing and job insecurity, but significant increases in Covid-19 job changes. We then used a follow-up survey on N = 323 employees and compared relationships one month later into lockdown using change-over-time analysis. Here, we find relatively stable wellbeing with only life satisfaction dropping significantly, with Covid-19 job changes increasing significantly. Structural equation modelling shows that Covid-19 job changes influence job insecurity, which, in turn, influences wellbeing, and this holds for both data sets, including the change-over-time data. Using COR Principles, we discuss that in such uncontrollable and unforeseeable external events, employees adopt a defensive mode, acknowledging job changes due to Covid-19 but resisting job insecurity perceptions.