Evolutionary dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 circulating in Yogyakarta and Central Java,Indonesia: sequence analysis covering furin cleavage site (FCS) region of the spike protein

International Microbiology - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergence of the new SARS-CoV-2 has been...     

Detection of genetic determinants that define the difference in photoperiod sensitivity of Triticum aestivum L. near-isogenic lines

Identification of genetic determinants that define different degrees of line sensitivity to the photoperiod was acomplished using near-isogenic lines of the soft hexaploid wheat Triticum aestivum L. using SSR markers and markers specific to the Vrn and Ppd genes. It was established that the Ppd-s line contains a dominant Ppd-D1a allele located on chromosome 2D. This allele is characterized by a large deletion in the gene promoter region. For two other lines (Ppd-m and Ppd-w), introgression of the Ppd-B1 gene on chromosome 2B was detected from the parental Sonora variety, which is insensitive to the day length; however, the previously described Ppd-B1a.1 allele was not found. Another polymorphism that can cause weak photoperiodic sensitivity, an increased copy number of the Ppd-B1 gene, was detected for these lines.     

Aedes aegypti abundance and insecticide resistance profiles in the Applying Wolbachia to Eliminate Dengue trial

The Applying Wolbachia to Eliminate Dengue (AWED) trial was a parallel cluster randomised trial that demonstrated Wolbachia (wMel) introgression into Ae. aegypti populations reduced dengue incidence. In this predefined substudy, we compared between treatment arms, the relative abundance of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus before, during and after wMel-introgression. Between March 2015 and March 2020, 60,084 BG trap collections yielded 478,254 Ae. aegypti and 17,623 Ae. albopictus. Between treatment arms there was no measurable difference in Ae. aegypti relative abundance before or after wMel-deployments, with a count ratio of 0.96 (95% CI 0.76, 1.21) and 1.00 (95% CI 0.85, 1.17) respectively. More Ae. aegypti were caught per trap per week in the wMel-intervention arm compared to the control arm during wMel deployments (count ratio 1.23 (95% CI 1.03, 1.46)). Between treatment arms there was no measurable difference in the Ae. albopictus population size before, during or after wMel-deployment (overall count ratio 1.10 (95% CI 0.89, 1.35)). We also compared insecticide resistance phenotypes of Ae. aegypti in the first and second years after wMel-deployments. Ae. aegypti field populations from wMel-treated and untreated arms were similarly resistant to malathion (0.8%), permethrin (1.25%) and cyfluthrin (0.15%) in year 1 and year 2 of the trial. In summary, we found no between-arm differences in the relative abundance of Ae. aegypti or Ae. albopictus prior to or after wMel introgression, and no between-arm difference in Ae. aegypti insecticide resistance phenotypes. These data suggest neither Aedes abundance, nor insecticide resistance, confounded the epidemiological outcomes of the AWED trial.