Genome-wide identification and expression profile analysis of metal tolerance protein gene family in Eucalyptus grandis under metal stresses.

Metal tolerance proteins (MTPs) as Me2+/H+(K+) antiporters participate in the transport of divalent cations, leading to heavy metal stress resistance and mineral utilization in plants. In the present study, to obtain better knowledge of the biological functions of the MTPs family, 20 potential EgMTPs genes were identified in Eucalyptus grandis and classified into seven groups belonging to three cation diffusion facilitator groups (Mn-CDFs, Zn/Fe-CDFs, and Zn-CDFs) and seven groups. EgMTP-encoded amino acids ranged from 315 to 884, and most of them contained 4-6 recognized transmembrane domains and were clearly prognosticated to localize into the cell vacuole. Almost all EgMTP genes experienced gene duplication events, in which some might be uniformly distributed in the genome. The numbers of cation efflux and the zinc transporter dimerization domain were highest in EgMTP proteins. The promoter regions of EgMTP genes have different cis-regulatory elements, indicating that the transcription rate of EgMTP genes can be a controlled response to different stimuli in multiple pathways. Our findings provide accurate perception on the role of the predicted miRNAs and the presence of SSR marker in the Eucalyptus genome and clarify their functions in metal tolerance regulation and marker-assisted selection, respectively. Gene expression profiling based on previous RNA-seq data indicates a probable function for EgMTP genes during development and responses to biotic stress. Additionally, the upregulation of EgMTP6, EgMTP5, and EgMTP11.1 to excess Cd2+ and Cu2+ exposure might be responsible for metal translocation from roots to leaves.

Chemical bioactive profile of mountain celery as affected by vegetative stages.

Mountain celery (MC) is an endemic plant native to Iran. The plant possesses several nutritional and industrial applications bestowed by a wide range of bioactive compounds. The present study investigated some changes in the chemical composition of fresh arial parts of MC at different vegetative stages. The headspace (HS) technique in tandem with GC-MS analysis were implemented to identify bioactive compounds. Results indicated that phthalides, sesquiterpenes, and monoterpenes were the main constituents in MC. It was found that MC had higher concentration and more diverse composition of phthalides at younger age. It seems MC farming has the potential to be commercialized with a decent revenue.

An Insight Into Detection Pathways/Biosensors of Highly Infectious Coronaviruses.

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences have inflicted a substantial damage on the world. In this study, it was attempted to review the recent coronaviruses appeared among the human being and their epidemic/pandemic spread throughout the world. Currently, there is an inevitable need for the establishment of a quick and easily available biosensor for tracing COVID-19 in all countries. It has been known that the incubation time of COVID-19 lasts about 14 days and 25% of the infected individuals are asymptomatic. To improve the ability to determine SARS-CoV-2 precisely and reduce the risk of eliciting false-negative results produced by mutating nature of coronaviruses, many researchers have established a real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay using mismatch-tolerant molecular beacons as multiplex real-time RT-PCR to distinguish between pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains of coronaviruses. The possible mechanisms and pathways for the detection of coronaviruses by biosensors have been reviewed in this study.

High frequency of exfoliative toxin genes among Staphylococcus aureus isolated from clinical specimens in the north of Iran: Alarm for the health of individuals under risk.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Exfoliative toxins (ETs) of Staphylococcus aureus are the main reason of scalded skin syndrome in infants and young children. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of eta, etb and etd genes in S. aureus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 150 S. aureus isolates were collected from clinical specimens during the years 2014 to 2016 in the north of Iran. After confirmation of the species using standard diagnostic procedures, polymerase chain reaction was used for detection of the eta, etb and etd genes among the isolates. RESULTS: Overall, 131 (87.3%) isolates were positive for at least one of the ET genes; 115 (76.7%), 25 (16.7%) and 81 (54%) of the isolates carried the eta, etb and etd genes, respectively. Although eta and etd genes were present in all types of clinical samples, etb was found only in the wound, synovial fluid, sputum and tracheal aspirate. Overall, 7 toxin genotypes were observed, among which the genotypes eta-etd, eta and eta-etb-etd predominated at rates of 35.3%, 26.7% and 9.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Detection of the high rate of prevalence of ET genes in the current study is considered as a serious problem because it is likely to spread and transfer these genes between strains. Furthermore, these isolates circulating in the community, particularly from infants, old people and immunocompromised patients, are important health-wise.

Prediction of microRNA target genes using an efficient genetic algorithm-based decision tree.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression in almost all plants and animals. They play an important role in key processes, such as proliferation, apoptosis, and pathogen-host interactions. Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which miRNAs act are not fully understood. The first step toward unraveling the function of a particular miRNA is the identification of its direct targets. This step has shown to be quite challenging in animals primarily because of incomplete complementarities between miRNA and target mRNAs. In recent years, the use of machine-learning techniques has greatly increased the prediction of miRNA targets, avoiding the need for costly and time-consuming experiments to achieve miRNA targets experimentally. Among the most important machine-learning algorithms are decision trees, which classify data based on extracted rules. In the present work, we used a genetic algorithm in combination with C4.5 decision tree for prediction of miRNA targets. We applied our proposed method to a validated human datasets. We nearly achieved 93.9% accuracy of classification, which could be related to the selection of best rules.

Differential expression of seven conserved microRNAs in response to abiotic stress and their regulatory network in Helianthus annuus.

Biotic and abiotic stresses affect plant development and production through alternation of the gene expression pattern. Gene expression itself is under the control of different regulators such as miRNAs and transcription factors (TFs). MiRNAs are known to play important roles in regulation of stress responses via interacting with their target mRNAs. Here, for the first time, seven conserved miRNAs, associated with drought, heat, salt and cadmium stresses were characterized in sunflower. The expression profiles of miRNAs and their targets were comparatively analyzed between leaves and roots of plants grown under the mentioned stress conditions. Gene ontology analysis of target genes revealed that they are involved in several important pathways such as auxin and ethylene signaling, RNA mediated silencing and DNA methylation processes. Gene regulatory network highlighted the existence of cross-talks between these stress-responsive miRNAs and the other stress responsive genes in sunflower. Based on network analysis, we suggest that some of these miRNAs in sunflower such as miR172 and miR403 may play critical roles in epigenetic responses to stress. It seems that depending on the stress type, theses miRNAs target several pathways and cellular processes to help sunflower to cope with drought, heat, salt and cadmium stress conditions in a tissue-associated manner.

Kelussia odoratissima Mozzaf - a promising medicinal herb to prevent pulmonary hypertension in broiler chickens reared at high altitude.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Kelussia odoratissima Mozzaf, formerly Apium odoratissima, is a plant locally called "Karafs", found in central Zagros region of Iran. Leaves and stems of the plant are traditionally used in the treatment of hypertension and inflammation. Lowering blood pressure effects of Kelussia odoratissima Mozzaf (wild celery) was evaluated in preventing pulmonary hypertension syndrome (PHS) in broiler chickens reared at high altitude (2,100 m). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total number of 208 day-old male broilers (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to four treatments including different levels of Kelussia odoratissima Mozzaf (0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, and 0.75%) in a 42-day trial. RESULTS: Body weight gain and feed:gain responses significantly (P<0.05) improved when Kelussia odoratissima Mozzaf was included in broiler diets at 0.75% in the growing stage and throughout the trial. Over-expression of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase in the heart was observed in chickens fed Kelussia odoratissima Mozzaf. Birds received Kelussia odoratissima Mozzaf at 0.5% and 0.75% had significantly (P<0.05) higher circulatory concentrations of NO though significantly (P<0.05) lower serum malondialdehyde concentration, hematocrit and heterophil to lymphocyte ratio when compared to the birds fed the control diet. Feeding Kelussia odoratissima Mozzaf at 0.5% and 0.75% prevented from right ventricular hypertrophy and led to a significant decline in mortality from PHS. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that Kelussia odoratissima Mozzaf is a promising medicinal herb to prevent PHS in broiler chickens by improving blood pressure and antioxidant responses.