Molecular characterization of Ephedra species found in Pakistan

Ephedra, also known as “ma huang”, is a dioecious, drought- and frost-resistant, perennial, evergreen shrub with compelling medicinal value. The genus is represented by 42 species around the world, 9 of which were provisionally reported from Pakistan. Species of the genus have a controversial taxonomy due to their overlapping morphological features. Conventional tools alone are not sufficient for characterizing the species. The objective of present study was to assess the genetic variability present in different biotypes of Ephedra growing in Pakistan using molecular markers. A total of six genotypes collected from diverse geographic zones of Pakistan were used. The DNA of all genotypes was amplified using nine randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers to study genetic variability at the molecular level. The dissimilarity coefficient matrix based on the data of 9 RAPD primers was used to construct a dendrogram which was then used to group the genotypes in clusters. Based on the dendrogram and dissimilarity coefficient matrix, the RAPD markers used here revealed a moderate to high level of genetic polymorphism (6 to 49%) among the genotypes. It was found that the collection of genotype accessions from Swat Valley in northwestern Pakistan was most distantly related to the other five collections. More molecular markers including functional genes and ribosomal spacer regions are suggested to find a better estimate of the genetic diversity present in Ephedra growing in Pakistan. The information provided here is useful for identifying valuable Ephedra variants which will be used for medicinal purposes and earning foreign currency.

Prevalence of tuberculosis in hospitalized children in Lahore

9049 paediatric patients admitted in three major hospitals of Lahore between April 1980 to March 1981 were retrospectively studied for the prevalence of tuberculosis. Of these 225 [2.5%] patients had tuberculosis which ranked fourth as a cause of both morbidity and mortality the other three in order of frequency being gastroenteritis [46%] respiratory infection [13%] and C. N. S. infection [7%]. In the group with tuberculosis meningeal tuberculosis [56%] was the commonest followed by pulmonary [31.5%] abdominal [5%] and skeletal [2.5%]. The overall mortality in these patients was 11.5%. The under 5 year age group comprised two third of the total group [149 out of 225] and caused 70% of the total mortality T. B. M. being the major killer at 70% in below 5 year olds. There was a preponderance of boys over girls [1.4:1]