Synthesis of naphthalimide derivatives with potential anticancer activity,their comparative ds- and G-quadruplex-DNA binding studies and related biological activities

Molecular Biology Reports - Two new cytotoxic 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives have been synthesized and characterized. Their biological activities as cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activities and...     

Molecular dynamics simulation of helium–argon gas mixture under various wall conditions

As computational capabilities increase, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations become important tools of simulating reality. These simulations are especially useful for compressible gas mixture problems. In this study, binary diffusion of helium and argon was examined using a hard-sphere MD simulation method. For the sake of computational speed, low spacing ratios were chosen. Binary mass diffusion of gases in two equally sized halves of a box was simulated for identical initial kinetic energies and number densities. It has been noted that a purely mass diffusion mechanism of different gases is not physically possible. The resultant gas mixtures of several diffusion simulations were used as initial conditions for combined heat transfer – Couette flow, and heating and cooling experiments. The results showed the interesting behaviour of the mixture, which was subjected to various wall conditions. Energy of heavier molecules is found to be more sensitive to the wall velocities and less sensitive to the wall temperatures than lighter molecules. Diffusion, heat transfer, viscosity and heat capacity coefficients are deduced as well.     

Evaluation of haploidization efficiency in winter squash (Cucurbita maxima Duch.) and pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) through anther culture

The production of large numbers of haploids is the crucial point of the dihaploidisation process. Although in vitro haploid plants were successfully produced by irradiated pollen technique in winter squash (Cucurbita maxima Duch.) and pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.), the frequency is still insufficient for using in a large-scale breeding programme. Thus, the present study was conducted to determine the efficacy of the anther culture technique on the production of in vitro haploids in the aforementioned species for which there have been no successful reports concerning by androgenesis. The anthers at uninucleate microspore stage were collected at different florescence times and then cultured on a solid MS medium supplemented by different combinations of 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), BAP (6-benzylaminopurine), KN (kinetin) with the constant addition of NAA (naphthalene acetic acid) to induce callogenesis, embryogenesis and plantlet initiation. The combination of PGR, genotype and anther collection time played an important role in the androgenic response. The highest response was obtained from 57S?21 and G9 lines with the combination of 2.0 or 4.0 mg/l BAP?+?0.05 mg/l NAA (E6 medium) at the first anther collection time. Plantlets were regenerated and rooted on MS medium supplemented by 0.01 mg/l IAA. In total, 74 plants were recovered and propagated with micro-cuttings. The ploidy analyses revealed that 35 plants (47.3?%) were haploid (n?=?20), and the others (52.7?%) were diploid (2n?=?40).     

Ameliorative Effect of Carvacrol on Cisplatin‐Induced Reproductive Damage in Male Rats

Cisplatin (CP) treatment causes the damage in male reproductive system. Carvacrol (CARV) is an antioxidant that is naturally found in some plants. We aimed to investigate the effect of CARV on CP‐induced reproductive toxicity in male rats. Eighteen adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were used. The control group (n = 6) was treated orally with physiological saline (PS) daily for 14 days and a single intraperitoneal (IP) PS injection on day 10. The CP group (n = 6) was administered with daily oral PS for 14 days and a single IP injection of 10 mg/kg CP on day 10. The CARV + CP group (n = 6) was treated with daily 75 mg/kg oral CARV for 14 days and a single IP injection of 10 mg/kg CP on day 10. CP treatment caused the damage on some spermatological parameters (motility, live sperm rate, and abnormal sperm rate), increased the oxidative stress, and induced testicular degeneration and apoptosis. However, CARV treatment mitigates CP‐induced reproductive toxicity.     

Map position of phosphoglucomutase (Pgm) locus on autosome IV of house fly (Diptera: Muscidae)

We determined the map position of phosphoglucomutase (Pgm) locus on autosome IV of housefly, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae), by using three and five point linkage test crosses. Test strains had visible mutant markers (car, bwb, cyw, and aabys). We analyzed 1738 offspring in total from two groups of single-pair matings by electrophoresis. Here, we report the linkage of Pgm locus to autosome IV loci curly wing (cyw) and yellow eyes (ye) with recombination frequency of 16.9 and 1.1%, respectively. We combined the distances calculated from this study and the previously published data. An updated linkage map of the M. domestica L. Autosome IV was drawn based on combined data in terms of real map units obtained from the mapping function.     

Molecular marker assisted genetic analysis of head shattering in six-rowed barley

Head shattering in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) has two forms; brittle rachis and weak rachis. Brittle rachis is not observed in cultivated barley since all cultivars carry non-brittle alleles at one of the two complementary brittle rachis loci (Btr1;Btr2). Weak rachis causes head shattering in barley cultivars and may be confused with brittle rachis. Brittle rachis has been mapped to the chromosome 3 (3H) short arm while map position(s) of the weak rachis is unknown. Two major and a putative minor QTL for head shattering were mapped using the Steptoe × Morex doubled haploid line population. The largest QTL, designated Hst-3, located on the chromosome 3 (3H) centromeric region, is associated with a major yield QTL. The Steptoe Hst-3 region, when transferred into Morex, resulted in a substantial decrease in head shattering. High-resolution mapping of Hst-3 was achieved using isogenic lines. Brittle rachis was mapped with molecular markers and shown to be located in a different position from that of Hst-3. The second major QTL, designated Hst-2 S, is located on chromosome 2 S. This locus is associated with an environmentally sensitive yield QTL.     

Morphometric and genetic structure of the edible dormouse (Glis glis): a consequence of forest fragmentation in Turkey

Past climatic fluctuations influenced forest habitats and impacted heavily the distribution of forest species, such as the edible dormouse, by changing the distribution and composition of forests themselves. Such effects may be valid for ongoing climate change as well. To improve our understanding of the edible dormouse's history and how it responded to changes in its environment, we investigated its variation across the understudied zone of Northern Turkey using two complementary markers of differentiation: the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene for genetics, and size and shape of the first upper molar for phenotypic differences. Genetic and morphometric results were strongly discrepant. Genetic analyses evidenced an amazing homogeneity throughout the Eurasian range of the edible dormouse, whereas morphometrics pointed to a complex, step‐wise differentiation along the Black Sea coast, the main signal being an opposition between Easternmost and Westernmost Turkish dormice. The genetic homogeneity suggests that this phenotypic differentiation is not the inheritance of glacial refuges, but the consequence of a more recent post‐glacial isolation. The transition between the European and Asian groups is located eastwards from the Marmara straits, undermining its claimed role as an efficient barrier but stressing the importance of climatic and vegetational factors. A secondary differentiation between populations from the Central Black Sea coast and Easternmost regions was evidenced, attributed to a complex interplay of climatic, topographic, anthropogenic, and ecological factors. Turkey, at the crossroad of European and Asian species, heavily impacted by the current global change including climatic and anthropogenic factors, appears of importance for understanding the historical dynamics of differentiation and exchanges between populations that shaped the current distribution of Eurasian species and their future survival. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 107 , 611–623.     

Molecular phylogeny of relict-endemic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Liquidambar orientalis</Emphasis> Mill based on sequence diversity of the chloroplast-encoded <Emphasis Type="Italic">mat</Emphasis>K gene

The genetic diversity and evolutionary divergence in Liquidambar species and Liquidambar orientalis varieties were compared with respect to the matK gene. A total of 66 genotypes from 18 different populations were sampled in southwestern Turkey. The matK region, which is about 1,512 bp in length, was sequenced and studied. L. orientalis, L. styraciflua, and L. formosana had similar magnitude of nucleotide diversity, while L. styraciflua and L. acalycina possessed higher evolutionary divergence. The highest evolutionary divergence was found between L. styraciflua and eastern Asian Liquidambar species (0.0102). However, the evolutionary divergence between L. orientalis and other species was of a similar magnitude. The maximum-parsimony phylogenetic tree showed that L. styraciflua and L. orientalis formed a closer clade while East Asian species were in a separate clade. This suggests that the North Atlantic Land Bridge through southern Greenland may have facilitated continuous distribution of Liquidambar species from southeastern Europe to eastern North America in early Tertiary period. The maximum-parsimony tree with only 18 Oriental sweetgum populations indicated that there were two main clusters: one with mainly L. orientalis var. integriloba and the other with var. orientalis and undetermined populations. High nucleotide diversity (0.0028) and divergence (0.00072) were found in L. orientalis var. integriloba populations and Muğla-1 geographical region. This region could be considered as the major refugium and genetic diversity center for the species. The low genetic diversity and divergence at intraspecies level suggest that L. orientalis populations in Turkey share an ancestral polymorphism from which two varieties may have evolved.