In a new scientific achievement added to the balance of the Faculty of science at the University of Mosul, a research team from the Department of Life Sciences published a scientific paper in the International Journal Acta Tropica, issued by the International Publishing House Elsevier, classified among the second quarter journals (Q2) in the fields of tropical diseases, parasites, disease vectors and medical biology, according to Scopus and Clarivate, as the citation coefficient (CiteScore) of the journal is 4.7 according to the Scopus rating, and the impact Factor 2.6 according to Clarivate, it is also classified among the first quarter journals (Q1) according to the Scimago classification in the field of Entomology. The research was titled: “Shotgun Metagenomic Profiling of Phlebotomus papatasi (Diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotomine) in Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Endemic Foci of Iraq: Microbiota, Resistome, and Virulome” The research was carried out jointly by: Professor Dr. Munif Abdul Mustafa al-Hamdani. The teacher is Dr. Younis Ibrahim Mohammed Ali al-Jawari. Assistant teacher Zeina Zakaria Idris al-Mashhadani. As well as a number of graduate students, namely: Zainab Mohammed Abdul Razzaq Ali al-Taie. Mustafa Ali Adel Ali al-muslawi. Manal Yunus Mehdi Hassan al-Hassan. And the medicine of Muhammad Ali the architect. The research dealt with the study of internal microbial communities associated with the sandfly Phlebotomus papatasi, which is an important vector of leishmaniasis skin parasites, using comprehensive metagenomic Sequencing techniques (Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing), with the aim of revealing microbial diversity and genes associated with antibiotic resistance and microbial virulence factors. The results showed a clear predominance of bacteria belonging to the Proteobacteria division, in particular the Enterobacter cloacae type, along with the detection of other bacterial genera, among which Wolbachia and yerwinia, as well as the characterization of a number of genes associated with antibiotic resistance and virulence factors. The importance of the study lies in providing advanced molecular data that contribute to expanding the knowledge of microbial communities associated with sand flies in Iraq, and provide a scientific basis for future studies that address the interactions between vector insects and associated microorganisms, and the possibilities of using this knowledge in the development of research strategies to combat disease vectors. It is worth noting that the publication of the research was done with the Closed Access System (Subscription-Based Access), without the researchers incurring fees for publication. This achievement comes within the continuous research efforts exerted by the teachers and researchers of the Department of life sciences at the Faculty of science, aimed at employing modern molecular technologies in the study of Health and environmental issues, and enhancing the international scientific presence of the University of Mosul through publishing in international scientific journals. Search link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/…/abs/pii/S0001706X26004195 We wish our esteemed employees continued success and success, and more giving and excellence in their scientific and research career, serving the Faculty of Science and the ancient University of Mosul.

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Saturday, October 31, 2026