Transcriptional analysis of Rhazya stricta in response to jasmonic acid

BACKGROUND: Jasmonic acid (JA) is a signal transducer molecule that plays an important role in plant development and stress response; it can also efficiently stimulate secondary metabolism in plant cells. RESULTS: RNA-Seq technology was applied to identify differentially expressed genes and study the time course of gene expression in Rhazya stricta in response to JA. Of more than 288 million total reads, approximately 27% were mapped to genes in the reference genome. Genes involved during the secondary metabolite pathways were up- or downregulated when treated with JA in R. stricta. Functional annotation and pathway analysis of all up- and downregulated genes identified many biological processes and molecular functions. Jasmonic acid biosynthetic, cell wall organization, and chlorophyll metabolic processes were upregulated at days 2, 6, and 12, respectively. Similarly, the molecular functions of calcium-transporting ATPase activity, ADP binding, and protein kinase activity were also upregulated at days 2, 6, and 12, respectively. Time-dependent transcriptional gene expression analysis showed that JA can induce signaling in the phenylpropanoid and aromatic acid pathways. These pathways are responsible for the production of secondary metabolites, which are essential for the development and environmental defense mechanism of R. stricta during stress conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis and aromatic acid synthesis pathways were upregulated during JA stress. However, monoterpenoid indole alkaloid (MIA) was unaffected by JA treatment. Hence, we can postulate that JA plays an important role in R. stricta during plant development and environmental stress conditions.

Molecular Method vs. Traditional Methods for Estimating the Prevalence of Larval Trematode Infections in Some Red Sea Snails

Peat reserves of the Russian Federation are estimated at more than 170.0 billion tons, it makes more than one-third of theworld resources. The use of peat as a component for the preparation of composts is an important factor in increasing theproductivity of agricultural ecosystems. During two cycles of four-course crop rotation ‘potatoes – barley – annual grasses– winter wheat’, we studied the influence of lowland peat, composted peat-poultry manure, cattle manure, their combinedapplication with mineral fertilizers on soil physicochemical properties, nitrifying and cellulosolytic activity of soil andproductivity of crop rotation. Application of cattle manure and composted peat-poultry manure contributes to the increase inthe content of humus in soil by 0.07-0.16%, when combined with mineral fertilizers – by 0.14-0.22%, respectively. Onaverage, the highest yield was noted in the variants with cattle manure and composted peat-poultry manure – 10.75-12.13 tha -1 of grain units (g.u.), while in the check (without fertilizers) it was 8.03 g.u. (t ha -1). That is why peat is more profitableto use in the form of composts, especially as a component of composted peat-poultry manure

Screening for Glucokinase (GCK) Gene Mutation in Gestational Diabetes Women in Western Region of Saudi Arabia.

Aim: The study involved screening of three exons of glucokinase gene (7, 8 and 9) to detect mutations at posi­tions 682A>G, p.T228A, 895G>C, p.G299R and 1148C>A, p.S383X, respectively in Saudi pregnant women with or without gestational diabetes. Study Design: Retrospective study. Place and Duration of Study: The Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic of King Abdul-Aziz Hospital in South Jeddah between May and October 2013. Methodology: A sample of 100 Saudi pregnant women classified as healthy (control, N = 50 (pregnant women without diabetes)) or with gestational diabetes (N = 50) was analyzed for mutations in the GCK gene. Blood samples were taken and DNA was extracted from whole blood. The target part of GCK gene was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The specific amplified regions were digested by restriction enzymes: BstUI for exon 7, HhaI for exon 8 and BfaI for exon 9, and electrophoresed on agarose gel. Mutations were screened by restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results: Fasting glucose levels were statistically higher in gestational diabetes women than controls (P-value = 0.00). The difference in Glucose Challenge Test (GCT) values between two groups shows significante p-value = 0.00. However, We observed that there was no significant correlation between any of the GCK mutations and gestational diabetes in Saudi population. Conclusion: The glucokinase gene mutations do not affect glucose metabolism in pregnant Saudi women.