A Ph. D thesis at the faculty of Science at the University of Basrah  (Extracellular polysaccharide produced by halophilic Candida tropicalis NOOR-S2 and its biological activity against clinical bacterial isolates)

A Ph. D thesis at the faculty of Science at the University of Basrah  (Extracellular polysaccharide produced by halophilic Candida tropicalis NOOR-S2 and its biological activity against clinical bacterial isolates), and showed the researcher's thesis Jinan Mossa Jasim Al-Aaraji. Thesis aims to isolate and identify yeasts, evaluate their exopolysaccharide (EPS) production, characterize EPS, identify resistant bacteria using Vitek-2, and assess the antibacterial, antibiofilm in artificial bladder model. And concluded that saline environments showed high yeast diversity, with Candida tropicalis being the most prevalent. Six novel isolates were registered in GenBank. C. tropicalis produced the highest EPS and showed strong antibacterial activity. The EPS was non-cytotoxic to cells. Escherichia coli was the main UTI pathogen, and EPS exhibited significant antibiofilm activity. Further studies should explore new EPS-producing yeasts, investigate additional biological activities (antiviral, anticancer, antioxidant, immunomodulatory), improve its production, analyze its composition, and apply it in bioremediation and AI-based diagnosis of catheter infections.