Variants of BORIS minisatellites and relation to prognosis of prostate cancer

BORIS, a member of the cancer-testis antigen family with testis specific expression, showed abnormal expression in various cancer types including prostate cancer. In our previous work, we identified the polymorphic minisatellite, BORIS-MS2, located in the promoter region of BORIS. BORIS-MS2 was revealed as a polymorphic minisatellite that contains seven alleles each with different numbers of the repeat unit. We assessed the association between the allelic variation of BORIS-MS2 and prostate cancer by a case-control study. Using a PCR-based method, 315 cancer-free male controls and 648 cases with prostate cancer were genotyped. There was no significant difference observed in the overall distribution of this minisatellite, which indicates that this polymorphism is not responsible for prostate cancer susceptibility in the Korean population. Additionally, two new rare alleles (9 and 19 copies) were detected in this study, which were identified only in cancer subjects. When we compared the clinicopathological information with the Jewett-Whitmore system of prostate cancer classification, the frequency of rare allele cases in the higher grade was significantly higher than in the total prostate group (P = 0.032). The higher grades in the Jewett-Whitmore system were associated with a poor prognosis. Therefore, this result suggests that the rare alleles of BORIS-MS2 may be used as a marker of poor outcome in prostate cancer patients.     

Differences in clinical features according to Boryoung and Karp genotypes of Orientia tsutsugamushi

Background

Scrub typhus is an infectious disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. The differences in virulence of O. tsutsugamushi prototypes in humans are still unknown. We investigated whether there are any differences in the clinical features of the Boryoung and Karp genotypes.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Patients infected with O. tsutsugamushi, as Boryoung and Karp clusters, who had visited 6 different hospitals in southwestern Korea were prospectively compared for clinical features, complications, laboratory parameters, and treatment responses. Infected patients in the Boryoung cluster had significantly more generalized weakness, eschars, skin rashes, conjunctival injection, high albumin levels, and greater ESR and fibrinogen levels compared to the Karp cluster. The treatment response to current antibiotics was significantly slower in the Karp cluster as compared to the Boryoung cluster.

Conclusion

The frequency of occurrence of eschars and rashes may depend on the genotype of O. tsutsugamushi.     

Comparative efficacy of different pesticides against mango bark beetle Hypocryphalus mangiferae Stebbing (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

Hypocryphalus mangiferae Stebbing is one of the most destructive insect pests of mango trees and is found to be associated with the transmission of causal organisms of mango sudden death disease. The present study was carried out to evaluate the toxicity of deltamethrin, bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos, emamectin benzoate, imidacloprid and spinosad in laboratory and field trials. Bioassay results showed that the toxicity of chlorpyrifos was significantly higher than deltamethrin but similar to bifenthrin. Deltamethrin and bifenthrin toxicity, however, increased significantly (P < 0.01) from day 1 to day 3. Spinosad was the least toxic compound while emamectin was the most toxic among new chemical insecticides tested, but its toxicity increased significantly from day 1 to day 5. Comparison of the efficacies of the insecticides using lethal times to produce 50% mortality (LT₅₀) and 90% mortality (LT₉₀) showed that the relative potencies of chlorpyrifos, emamectin, imidacloprid and spinosad were greater than bifenthrin and deltamethrin. The results of field trials showed the highest number of beetles emerged from the control twigs while significantly fewer beetles emerged from the twigs treated with bifenthrin (P < 0.05), which accounted for 12% for bifenthrin compared to that of the control. The present study demonstrated increased toxicities of systemic insecticides and chlorpyrifos compared to toxicities of deltamethrin and bifenthrin, suggesting these insecticides could be an alternative tool in a comprehensive H. mangiferae management program to eradicate the beetles from mango orchards.     

Aptness of Beauveria bassiana and enhanced diatomaceous earth (DEBBM) for control of Rhyzopertha dominica F.

A diatomaceous earth formulation enhanced with bitterbarkomycin (DEBBM) combined with Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin was evaluated against lesser grain borer Rhyzopertha dominica F. (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae) under laboratory conditions. DEBBM was applied at the rates of 15 and 30 ppm alone as well as in combination with 6.69 × 10⁶, 6.69 × 10⁸ and 6.69 × 10¹⁰ conidia/kg of wheat. Mortality of treated adults was recorded after 5, 10 and 15 days of exposure. Bioassays were carried out at 20, 25 and 30°C with 55 and 75% relative humidity. The emergence of progeny was also assessed 60 days post exposure. The combined use of DEBBM and B. bassiana considerably increased adult mortality especially at increasing temperatures and longer exposure intervals compared with DEBBM and B. bassiana alone. Progeny production was less in wheat treated with high dose rates of DEBBM +B. bassiana. The per cent mycosis in the cadavers was maximum where B. bassiana was applied at low dose rates. The results of the present study indicated that a combination of DEBBM and B. bassiana may provide effective control of R. dominica.     

Effect of modified meridic diet on the development and growth of tomato fruitworm Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The efficacy of one new modified and two old meridic diets on Helicoverpa armigera Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) for rearing six successive generations was studied. Duration of larval development for insects fed on the modified diet was considerably shortened as most of them went through only five stadia before pupation, while the per cent pupation and per cent eclosion were relatively higher than on other diets. The lowest pupal mortality (6.33 ± 0.13%) was recorded in the F₁ generation reared on the modified diet, whereas the highest pupal mortality (19.49 ± 0.15%) was observed in insects reared on a natural diet in the F₆ generation. Blending of chickpea Cicer arietinum L. and red kidney bean Phaseolus vulgaris L. flours with tomato paste proved highly favorable for adult reproduction. These results suggest that the vitality of the tomato fruitworm did not decline obviously after rearing on a modified diet for several generations.     

From cosubstrate similarity to inhibitor diversity--inhibitors of ADP-ribosyltransferases from kinase inhibitor screening

ADP-ribosyltransferases (ADP-RTs) use NAD(+) to transfer an ADP-ribosyl group to target proteins. Although some ADP-RTs are bacterial toxins only few inhibitors are known. Here we present the development of fluorescence-based assays and a focussed library screening using kinase inhibitors as a new approach towards inhibitors of ADP-RTs. Different screening setups were established using surrogate small molecule substrates or the quantitation of the cofactor NAD(+). Proof-of-principle screening experiments were performed using a kinase inhibitor library in order to target the NAD(+) binding pockets. This led to the discovery of structurally different lead inhibitors for the mono-ADP-ribosyltransferases Mosquitocidal toxin (MTX) from Bacillus sphaericus SSII-1, C3bot toxin from Clostridium botulinum and CDTa from Clostridium difficile. The interaction of the inhibitors with the toxin proteins was analyzed by means of docking and binding free energy calculations. Binding at the nicotinamide subpocket, which shows a significant difference in the three enzymes, is used to explain the selectivity of the identified inhibitors and offers an opportunity for further development of potent and selective inhibitors.     

COI barcoding of true bugs (Insecta, Heteroptera)

Several recent studies have proposed that partial DNA sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial gene might serve as DNA barcodes for identifying and differentiating between animal species, such as birds, fish and insects. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of a COI barcode to identify true bugs from 139 species collected from Korea and adjacent regions (Japan, Northeastern China and Fareast Russia). All the species had a unique COI barcode sequence except for the genus Apolygus (Miridae), and the average interspecific genetic distance between closely related species was about 16 times higher than the average intraspecific genetic distance. DNA barcoding identified one probable new species of true bug and revealed identical or very recently divergent species that were clearly distinguished by morphological characteristics. Therefore, our results suggest that COI barcodes can reveal new cryptic true bug species and are able to contribute for the exact identification of the true bugs.     

Enhancement of centelloside production from cultured plants of Centella asiatica by combination of thidiazuron and methyl jasmonate

In order to produce centellosides from whole plant cultures of Centella asiatica (L.) Urban, we evaluated the synergistic effects of thidiazuron (TDZ) and methyl jasmonate (MJ) on whole plant growth and centelloside production. After 4 weeks of treatment with 0.025 mg/L of TDZ coupled with 0.1 mM MJ, the production of madecassoside and asiaticoside from whole plant cultures was estimated to be 2.40- and 2.44-fold, respectively, above that of MJ elicitation alone. When whole plants were treated with a growth regulator and an elicitor, the growth of whole plants, as compared to the controls, did not differ. Additionally, total phytosyterol content in the leaves of whole plants co-treated with MJ and TDZ was 1.08-fold greater than those of MJ alone. These results demonstrate that combined treatments not only stimulate the accumulation of centellosides in the leaves but also inhibit the reduction of phytosterol levels caused by MJ elicitation.