Fine Mapping QTL for Drought Resistance Traits in Rice (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryza sativa</Emphasis> L.) Using Bulk Segregant Analysis

Drought stress is a major limitation to rice (Oryza sativa L.) yields and its stability, especially in rainfed conditions. Developing rice cultivars with inherent capacity to withstand drought stress would improve rainfed rice production. Mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs) linked to drought resistance traits will help to develop rice cultivars suitable for water-limited environments through molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS) strategy. However, QTL mapping is usually carried out by genotyping large number of progenies, which is labour-intensive, time-consuming and cost-ineffective. Bulk segregant analysis (BSA) serves as an affordable strategy for mapping large effect QTLs by genotyping only the extreme phenotypes instead of the entire mapping population. We have previously mapped a QTL linked to leaf rolling and leaf drying in recombinant inbred (RI) lines derived from two locally adapted indica rice ecotypes viz., IR20/Nootripathu using BSA. Fine mapping the QTL will facilitate its application in MAS. BSA was done by bulking DNA of 10 drought-resistant and 12 drought-sensitive RI lines. Out of 343 rice microsatellites markers genotyped, RM8085 co-segregated among the RI lines constituting the respective bulks. RM8085 was mapped in the middle of the QTL region on chromosome 1 previously identified in these RI lines thus reducing the QTL interval from 7.9 to 3.8 cM. Further, the study showed that the region, RM212–RM302–RM8085–RM3825 on chromosome 1, harbours large effect QTLs for drought-resistance traits across several genetic backgrounds in rice. Thus, the QTL may be useful for drought resistance improvement in rice through MAS and map-based cloning.     

Short-Term Effect of Temperature on Daily Emergency Visits for Acute Myocardial Infarction with Threshold Temperatures

Background

The relationship between temperature and myocardial infarction has not been fully explained. In this study, we identified the threshold temperature and examined the relationship between temperature and emergency admissions due to MI in Korea.

Methods

Poisson generalized additive model analyses were used to assess the short-term effects of temperature (mean, maximum, minimum, diurnal) on MI emergency visits, after controlling for meteorological variable and air pollution (PM10, NO₂). We defined the threshold temperature when the inflection point showed a statistically significant difference in the regression coefficients of the generalized additive models (GAMs) analysis. The analysis was performed on the following subgroups: geographical region, gender, age (<75 years or ≥75 years), and MI status (STEMI or non-STEMI).

Results

The threshold temperatures during heat exposure were for the maximum temperature as 25.5–31.5°C and for the mean temperature as 27.5–28.5°C. The threshold temperatures during cold exposure were for the minimum temperature as −2.5–1.5°C. Relative risks (RRs) of emergency visits above hot temperature thresholds ranged from 1.02 to 1.30 and those below cold temperature thresholds ranged from 1.01 to 1.05. We also observed increased RRs ranged from 1.02 to 1.65 of emergency visits when temperatures changes on a single day or on successive days.

Conclusions

We found a relationship between temperature and MI occurrence during both heat and cold exposure at the threshold temperature. Diurnal temperature or temperature change on successive days also increased MI risk.     

Evaluation of DNA methylation and mRNA expression of heat shock proteins in thermal manipulated chicken

Thermal manipulation during embryogenesis has been demonstrated to enhance the thermotolerance capacity of broilers through epigenetic modifications. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are induced in response to stress for guarding cells against damage. The present study investigates the effect of thermal conditioning during embryogenesis and thermal challenge at 42 days of age on HSP gene and protein expression, DNA methylation and in vitro luciferase assay in brain tissue of Naked Neck (NN) and Punjab Broiler-2 (PB-2) chicken. On the 15th day of incubation, fertile eggs from two breeds, NN and PB-2, were randomly divided in to two groups: control (C)—eggs were incubated under standard incubation conditions, and thermal conditioning (TC)—eggs were exposed to higher incubation temperature (40.5°C) for 3 h on the 15th, 16th, and 17th days of incubation. The chicks obtained from each group were further subdivided and reared under different environmental conditions from the 15th to the 42nd day as normal [N; 25 ± 1 °C, 70% relative humidity (RH)] and heat exposed (HE; 35 ± 1 °C, 50% RH) resulting in four treatment groups (CN, CHE, TCN, and TCHE). The results revealed that HSP promoter activity was stronger in CHE, which had lesser methylation and higher gene expression. The activity of promoter region was lesser in TCHE birds that were thermally manipulated at the embryonic stage, thus reflecting their stress-free condition. This was confirmed by the lower level of mRNA expression of all the HSP genes. In conclusion, thermal conditioning during embryogenesis has a positive impact and improves chicken thermotolerance capacity in postnatal life.     

Characterization of 2-octenoyl-CoA carboxylase/reductase utilizing pteB from Streptomyce avermitilis

The filipin biosynthetic gene cluster of Streptomyces avermitilis contains pteB, a homolog of crotonyl-CoA carboxylase/reductase. PteB was predicted to be 2-octenoyl-CoA carboxylase/reductase, supplying hexylmalonyl-CoA to filipin biosynthesis. Recombinant PteB displayed selective reductase activity toward 2-octenoyl-CoA while generating a broad range of alkylmalonyl-CoAs in the presence of bicarbonate.     

Deletion of PHO13 improves aerobic l-arabinose fermentation in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology - Pentose sugars are increasingly being used in industrial applications of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although l-arabinose is a highlighted...     

New chemical and biological aspects of artemisinin-derived trioxane dimers.

Joining two 10-deoxoartemisinin trioxane units via a p-diacetylbenzene linker produces new C-10 non-acetal dimers and. 1H NMR spectroscopy allows unambiguous assignment of the stereochemistry at C-10 in these dimers. Successful replacement of both carbonyl oxygen atoms in these diketone dimers by fluorine atoms produces new tetrafluorinated dimers and. Each dimer was evaluated in vitro for antimalarial, antiproliferative, and antitumor activities; ketone dimers and, more than fluorinated dimers and, are promising for chemotherapy of both malaria and cancer.     

Pharmacological systemic analysis of gardenia fructus against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and validation of animal models

[Purpose]We aimed to investigate the systemic pharmacological analysis of gardenia fructus (GF) and the proof of concepts. We examined the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in high-fat (HF) diet mice.[Methods]The active compounds of GF and the target genes were identified using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Database and Analysis Platform (oral bioavailability ≥ 30%, Caco-2 permeability ≥ -0.4, and drug-likeness ≥ 0.18). The rats were divided into four groups: untreated group, HF group, HF and metformin (17 mg/kg) treated group, and HF and treated with GF (28 mg/kg) for 8 weeks group. Hepatic lesion changes and markers were analyzed using hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemistry assay.[Results]In the systemic analysis, we identified 14 active compounds including A, B, and C. From these 14 compounds, 242 biological target genes were identified. The top 10 Gene Ontology were analyzed using GO-biological process analysis: removal of superoxide radicals, regulation of endothelial cell apoptotic process, and cellular response to lipopolysaccharide. GF extracts in high-fat diet-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mice models significantly regulated hepatic lesion markers, such as mTOR, 8-Hydroxy-2''-deoxyguanosine as well as oxidative stress activities, TGF-β, and phosphorylation of ERK1/2.[Conclusion]These results suggest that GF, as an exercise supplement, can alleviate NAFLD disease or fatty liver inflammation. Further studies are required to verify the synergistic effect of GF treatment combined with exercise, which is known to alleviate NAFLD and fatty liver inflammation.