Comparative performance of bread wheat and hexaploid triticale cytoplasms

Summary Thirteen wheat-like advanced-generation triticale x wheat derivatives, having tetraploid wheat cytoplasm from triticale, were reciprocally crossed with three improved bread wheats, and the resulting F₁s were evaluated for determining the comparative performance of the bread wheat and triticale cytoplasms for different traits. Significant reciprocal differences in the mean performance were observed for days to heading, days to maturity, spikes/plant, flag-leaf area, peduncle length, plant height, spike length, grains/spike, 1,000-grain weight, grain yield and grain protein content, and most of them were in favour of hexaploid wheat cytoplasm. However, this superiority of the hexaploid cytoplasm was not universal for a particular trait, implying that the differences in the performance of the evaluated reciprocal crosses depended not solely on the cytoplasmic background, but also on the interplay of the specific genotype with the cytoplasm.     

Molecular analysis of tlrD, an MLS resistance determinant from the tylosin producer, Streptomyces fradiae

The macrolide antibiotic, tylosin (Ty), is produced by Streptomyces fradiae. Two resistance determinants (tlrA, synonym ermSF, and tlrD) conferring resistance to macrolide, lincosamide and streptogramin B type (MLS) antibiotics were previously isolated from this strain, and their products shown to methylate 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) at a common site, thereby rendering the ribosomes MLS resistant. However, the T1rA and T1rD proteins differ in their action; the former dimethylates, and the latter monomethylates, the target nucleotide. Here, 2.2 kb of DNA from the tylLM region of the tylosin biosynthetic gene cluster of S. fradiae has been sequenced and shown to encompass tlrD. Comparison of the sequences of tlrA and tlrD (and of their deduced products) with those of related (‘erm-type’) genes from other actinomycetes suggests that the combined presence of tlrA and tlrD in S. fradiae is not the result of recent gene duplication.     

An extensive review on antifungal approaches in the treatment of mucormycosis

During the period of COVID-19, the occurrences of mucormycosis in immunocompromised patients have increased significantly. Mucormycosis (black fungus) is a rare and rapidly progressing fungal infection associated with high mortality and morbidity in India as well as globally. The causative agents for this infection are collectively called mucoromycetes which are the members of the order Mucorales. The diagnosis of the infection needs to be performed as soon as the occurrence of clinical symptoms which differs with types of Mucorales infection. Imaging techniques magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography scan, culture testing, and microscopy are the approaches for the diagnosis. After the diagnosis of the infection is confirmed, rapid action is needed for the treatment in the form of antifungal therapy or surgery depending upon the severity of the infection. Delaying in treatment declines the chances of survival. In antifungal therapy, there are two approaches first-line therapy (monotherapy) and combination therapy. Amphotericin B ( 1 ) and isavuconazole ( 2 ) are the drugs of choice for first-line therapy in the treatment of mucormycosis. Salvage therapy with posaconazole ( 3 ) and deferasirox ( 4 ) is another approach for patients who are not responsible for any other therapy. Adjunctive therapy is also used in the treatment of mucormycosis along with first-line therapy, which involves hyperbaric oxygen and cytokine therapy. There are some drugs like VT-1161 ( 5 ) and APX001A ( 6 ), Colistin, SCH 42427, and PC1244 that are under clinical trials. Despite all these approaches, none can be 100% successful in giving results. Therefore, new medications with favorable or little side effects are required for the treatment of mucormycosis.     

Basic fibroblast growth factor is cardioprotective in ischemia-reperfusion injury

To examine whether basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) administered to the heart by perfusion can improve cardiac resistance to injury we employed an isolated rat heart model of ischemia-reperfusion injury and determined the extent of functional recovery in bFGF-treated and control hearts. Global ischemia was simulated by interruption of flow for 60 min. Recovery of developed force of contraction (DF), recorded after reestablishment of flow for 30 min, reached 63.8±1.5% and 96.5±3.5% of preischemic levels in control and bFGF-treated hearts (10 g/heart), respectively, indicating that bFGF induced significantly improved recovery of mechanical function. Recoveries of the rates of contraction or relaxation were also significantly improved in bFGF-treated hearts. Extent of myocardial injury, assessed by determination of phosphocreatine kinase in the effluent, was reduced as a result of bFGF treatment. As a first step towards understanding the mechanism and direct cellular target(s) of bFGF-induced cardioprotection, we investigated its fate after perfusion. Perfusion of 10 g bFGF/heart resulted in a 4-fold increase in bFGF associated with the heart compared to control levels, as estimated by biochemical fractionation and immunoblotting. Immunofluorescent staining of the bFGF-perfused hearts revealed intense anti-bFGF staining in association with blood vessels as well as the periphery of cardiomyocytes, suggesting that the latter may be a target for direct bFGF action. In conclusion, our findings of bFGF-induced increases in cardiac resistance to, and improved functional recovery from, ischemia-reperfusion injury indicate that bFGF may have clinical applications in the treatment of ischemic heart disease.     

Production of neutralizing antibody to rabies and vesicular stomatitis viruses by hybrid cell lines

Hybrid cell lines were obtained following fusion of P 3 × 63 Ag-8 myeloma cells with spleen cells derived from BALB/c mice immunized either with rabies virus or with vesicular stomatitis virus. Hybrid cell lines were selected which continued to secrete rabies virus or vesicular stomatitis virus neutralizing antibody specifically directed against coat glycoprotein of respective viruses.     

Cross-neutralization reactions of Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae enterotoxins as studied by rabbit skin inoculation test.

Neutralization of enterotoxins of Vibrio cholerae 569 B and Escherichia coli 10407 by antitoxins to V. cholerae 569 B, E. coli 334, 408-3 and 10407 was studies by intradermal inoculation test in the rabbit. Neutralization of V. cholerae enterotoxin by homologous as well as heterologous antisera of E. coli was observed, except that there was no neutralization of the enterotoxin by antiserum to E. coli 408-3 enterotoxin. Neutralization of E. coli enterotoxin to a varied extent by homologous as well as all heterologous antisera, including that of V. cholerae 569 B antitoxin, was also observed.     

The occurence of coxiellosis among rodents and shrews in the Tarai area of Uttar Praedesh.

Rodents and shrews were screened for serologic evidence of Coxiella burnetii. Attempts were made to isolate the organism from the spleen and liver. Seroreactors: total positive/total tested (% positive), in rats (Rattus rattus, R. norvegicus), ground shrews (Suncus murinus), bandicoots (Bandicota indica, B. bengalensis) and the house mouse (Mus musculus), respectively, were 13/105 (12.38), 6/42 (14.3), 2/15 (13.3) and 1/7 (14.3). Of the eight rickettsial isolants recovered including four from field and household rats, three from ground shrew and one from bandicoots, only three comprising one each from rat, shrew and bandicoot, could be typed as C. burnetii. This appears to be the first record of rodents and an insectivore as reservoirs of C. burnetii in India.     

Release of 12 Adipokines by Adipose Tissue,Nonfat Cells,and Fat Cells From Obese Women

The relative release in vitro of endothelin‐1, zinc‐α2‐glycoprotein (ZAG), lipocalin‐2, CD14, RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted protein), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), osteoprotegerin (OPG), fatty acid–binding protein 4 (FABP‐4), visfatin/PBEF/Nampt, glutathione peroxidase‐3 (GPX‐3), intracellular cell adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM‐1), and amyloid A was examined using explants of human adipose tissue as well as the nonfat cell fractions and adipocytes from obese women. Over a 48‐h incubation the majority of the release of LPL was by fat cells whereas that of lipocalin‐2, RANTES, and ICAM‐1 was by the nonfat cells present in human adipose tissue. In contrast appreciable amounts of OPG, amyloid A, ZAG, FABP‐4, GPX‐3, CD14, and visfatin/PBEF/Nampt were released by both fat cells and nonfat cells. There was an excellent correlation (r = 0.75) between the ratios of adipokine release by fat cells to nonfat cells over 48 h and the ratio of their mRNAs in fat cells to nonfat cells at the start of the incubation. The total release of ZAG, OPG, RANTES, and amyloid A by incubated adipose tissue explants from women with a fat mass of 65 kg was not different from that by women with a fat mass of 29 kg. In contrast that of ICAM‐1, FABP‐4, GPX‐3, visfatin/PBEF/Nampt, CD14, lipocalin‐2, LP, and endothelin‐1 was significantly greater in tissue from women with a total fat mass of 65 kg.