Mirzakhodjaev Bakhtiyar Anvarovich

This study reassessed the medicinal potential of Harpagophytum procumbens and related taxa in Botswana using ethnobotanical, phytochemical, microbiological, and AI-assisted approaches. Field surveys revealed a broader than expected distribution of Harpagophytum across Botswana, and evidence of hybridisation between H. procumbens and H. zeyheri that contributes to chemotypic variability. In selected accessions, Microbiological assays demonstrated strong antimicrobial activity, particularly against resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, while additional activity was observed against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, limited efficacy was recorded against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Phytochemical integration indicated pathway-dependent medicinal functions, with phenylethanoid glycosides associated with antioxidant activity and iridoid and terpenoid metabolites linked to anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects. Artificial intelligence-assisted synthesis established chemogeographic stratification across Botswana, and identified ecological zones with taxa that have distinct therapeutic potential. The findings highlighted Harpagophytum as a chemically heterogeneous but commercially valuable medicinal resource with potential applications in precision phytomedicine and targeted bioprospecting.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ultraviolet irradiation combined with air ionization for disinfecting incubatory and rearing rooms in sericulture, and to determine its impact on hatching rate, larval survival, disease incidence, larval biomass, and cocoon productivity of Bombyx mori L. Study Design: A multiyear controlled experiment with four treatment variants, including ultraviolet exposure at different durations and intensities, compared with a non-treated control group. Place and Duration of Study: The experiments were conducted at the Sericulture Research Institute, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, during the spring seasons of 2023–2025. Methodology: Larvae of the hybrid “Ipakchi-1 × Ipakchi-2” were incubated and reared in rooms equipped with bactericidal ultraviolet lamps (wavelength 254 nm, 90 W) and an electro-technological air ionization system. Treatments included ultraviolet exposure for 10 minutes and 30 minutes per day, as well as irradiation with two lamps. Each treatment consisted of five replications of 100 eggs. Hatching rate, larval survival, disease incidence, larval weight across instars, and cocoon productivity indicators were recorded. Cocoon, shell, and larval weights were measured using analytical scales, and biological indicators were assessed according to standard sericultural procedures. Results: Ultraviolet treatment increased the hatching rate to 99.0% compared with 95.0% in the control. Larval survival reached 86.5–90.1%, improving by 2.2–5.8% relative to the control (84.3%). Disease incidence decreased to 1.06–2.1%, compared with 3.1% in untreated groups. The mean weight of 50 fifth-instar larvae increased to 79.9 g compared with 70.4 g in the control, while individual larval weight rose to 1.59–1.60 g versus 1.42 g. Cocoon shell weight reached 0.365 g and silk content 22.8%, exceeding the control values of 0.304 g and 20.9%. Conclusion: Ultraviolet irradiation combined with air ionization is an effective, environmentally safe method for reducing microbial contamination in sericulture facilities. It enhances larval viability, reduces disease incidence, and improves cocoon yield and quality, making it a practical component of modern industrial sericulture.

Aims: Due to changes in the global climate and the recent increase in spring frosts, which lead to the death of silkworm caterpillars of the first ages due to lack of food, there is an urgent need to find effective and cheap means to replace natural food - mulberry leaf. One of the promising methods is the preservation of mulberry leaf. One of the new and progressive methods of preservation is the method of freeze-dried of mulberry leaf, for the basis of artificial diet. Place and Duration of Study: The experiments were conducted in the laboratory of the Scientific Research Institute of Sericulture in 2024y. Methodology: After hatching, the caterpillars were fed artificial food based on freeze-dried mulberry leaf, the food was given once a day, the room temperature was 25-26 ° C, humidity 65-70%. When the caterpillars reached the third age, some of the caterpillars of each breed and hybrid were selected and continued to be fed with artificial diet. The remaining caterpillars were transferred to natural leaf feeding according to a generally accepted method. Results: The drying time of the mulberry leaf in the freeze-dried mode was 14-18 hours, depending on the uniformity of the leaf layer in the chamber. A recipe for artificial diet was created, in which the content of mulberry leaf powder was 72%. All breeds and hybrids equally well received the developed artificial diet. In breeds and hybrids, the viability of caterpillars was 82-100%. And when switching from artificial diet to a natural leaf, the viability of caterpillars was 63-93%. Conclusion: All breeds and hybrids equally well accepted the developed artificial food based on freeze-dried mulberry leaf. According to the totality of the results shown, the studied breeds and hybrids are promising for feeding them on artificial feed and breeding appropriate lines and breeds from them.

Traditional sanitation practices remain the main strategy for controlling Bombyx mori infections caused by microsporidia Nosema bombycis. This actualizes the development of new approaches to increase the silkworm resistance to this parasite. Here, we constructed a mouse scFv library against the outer loops of N. bombycis ATP/ADP carriers and selected nine scFv fragments to the transporter, highly expressed in the early stages of the parasite intracellular growth. Expression of selected scFv genes in Sf9 cells, their infection with different ratios of microsporidia spores per insect cell, qPCR analysis of N. bombycis PTP2 and Spodoptera frugiperda COXI transcripts in 100 infected cultures made it possible to select the scFv fragment most effectively inhibiting the parasite growth. Western blot analysis of 42 infected cultures with Abs against the parasite β-tubulin confirmed its inhibitory efficiency. Since the VL part of this scFv fragment was identified as a human IgG domain retained from the pSEX81 phagemid during library construction, its VH sequence should be a key antigen-recognizing determinant. Along with the further selection of new recombinant Abs, this suggests the searching for its natural mouse VL domain or “camelization” of the VH fragment by introducing cysteine and hydrophilic residues, as well as the randomization of its CDRs.

Since the entire world's sericulture, to achieve maximum heterosis is based on the feeding of hybrids of only the first generation, therefore, operations for the preparation of pure hybrids are of particular importance. In Uzbekistan, the Sericulture Research Institute has developed new biotechnologies specifically to solve this problem, and genetically modified breeds and parthenogenetic clones have been created on their basis. The unfertilized eggs are thermally activated at t = 46°C for 18 minutes, and the reducing division of meiosis in the germ cells of the silkworm is hampered. As a result, the eggs remain with a diploid set of chromosomes and develop as zygotes. Since silkworm females are heterogamous by sex chromosomes, only female parthenogenetic clones develop from thermally activated eggs. Clonal-breed hybrids, characterized by increased viability of caterpillars – 93,5-98,0% (in the control – 90,0%), the high cocoon shell ratio – 22,1-23,8% (in the control – 22,5%), increased egg-bearing capacity - 622-639 pcs (in the control - 630 pcs), metric number of thread - 3344-4065 units (in the control - 3321), the synchronicity of caterpillar development, uniformity of cocoons, ease of preparation. The technology of thermal activation of unfertilized silkworm eggs for parthenogenetic development is not particularly difficult, therefore clones can reproduce the required number of generations and in an unlimited number of individuals. The second component for hybridization can be males of almost any breed. Clones, due to their genetic constancy, do not need breeding and breeding selection, they do not need to be divided by gender, because they are represented by only one female sex, and have high combinational ability and amicable development.