Biochar and Manure Applications Differentially Altered the Class 1 Integrons, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Gene Cassettes Diversity in Paddy Soils.

Integrons are genetic components that are critically involved in bacterial evolution and antimicrobial resistance by assisting in the propagation and expression of gene cassettes. In recent decades, biochar has been introduced as a fertilizer to enhance physiochemical properties and crop yield of soil, while manure has been used as a fertilizer for centuries. The current study aimed to investigate the impact of biochar, manure, and a combination of biochar and manure on integrons, their gene cassettes, and relative antimicrobial resistance in paddy soil. Field experiments revealed class 1 (CL1) integrons were prevalent in all samples, with higher concentration and abundance in manure-treated plots than in biochar-treated ones. The gene cassette arrays in the paddy featured a broad pool of cassettes with a total of 35% novel gene cassettes. A majority of gene cassettes encoded resistance to aminoglycosides, heat shock protein, heavy metals, pilus secretory proteins, and twin-arginine translocases (Tat), TatA, TatB, and TatC. Both in combination and solo treatments, the diversity of gene cassettes was increased in the manure-enriched soil, however, biochar reduced the gene cassettes' diversity and their cassettes array. Manure considerably enhanced CL1 integrons abundance and antimicrobial resistance, whereas biochar amendments significantly reduced integrons and antimicrobial resistance. The results highlighted the differential effects of biochar and manure on integrons and its gene cassette arrays, showing increased abundance of integrons and antibiotic resistance upon manure application and decrease of the same with biochar. The use of biochar alone or in combination with manure could be a beneficial alternative to mitigate the spread of antimicrobial resistance and bacterial evolution in the environment, specifically in paddy soils.

Differential Effects of Natural Grazing and Feedlot Feeding on Yak Fecal Microbiota.

Variation in food and diet shapes the diversity of the gut microbiota of ruminants. The present study investigated the microbial diversity in the fecal microbiota of yaks reared under natural grazing and feedlot system. A total of 48 domestic yaks with an average age of 7.5 years were selected from two different grazing habitats: one group grazed on natural pasture (grazing yaks-GY) while the other group was fed fodder and concentrate (feedlot yaks-FY). Crude protein, non-fiber carbohydrate, hemicelluloses, and digestible dry matter contents of natural pastures were higher than those in the feedlot. The lower insoluble fiber contents were found in grazing land. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed 675 and 348 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the GY and FY, respectively, in addition to 1,778 common OTUs. Overall, a total of 9,891 OTUs were identified as a whole, of which 6,160 OTUs were from GY and 3,731 were from FY. Shannon index analysis revealed a higher bacterial diversity in GY than FY. At the phylum level, Firmicutes were dominant bacterial taxa in both groups. The relative abundance of Firmicutes in GY (56% ± 0.05) was higher than in FY (41% ± 0.08). At the family level, GY had a significantly higher abundance of Ruminococcaceae (p < 0.001) and Rikenellaceae (p < 0.001) than FY, but FY had a significantly higher abundance of Prevotellaceae than GY (p < 0.001). At the genus level, abundances of Faecalibacterium, Alloprevotella, and Succinivibrio were higher in FY than in GY. This study presents novel information on fecal bacterial composition and diversity in yaks reared under two different production systems.

Incidence, Geographical Distribution, and Genetic Diversity of Sugarcane Striate Virus in Saccharum Species in China.

A novel virus of the genus Mastrevirus, family Geminivirdae, has been reported in sugarcane germplasm collections in Florida, Guadeloupe, and Réunion, and was named sugarcane striate virus (SStrV). Although the full-length sequence of an SStrV isolate from China was obtained in 2015, the incidence, geographical distribution, and genetic diversity of this virus remained unclear. A single leaf sample from 2,368 sugarcane plants from main sugarcane-producing regions of China and germplasm collections were tested for SStrV by PCR. Average virus incidence was 25.1% for field-collected samples, and SStrV was detected in most Saccharum species and two sugarcane-related species, with the highest incidence in Saccharum officinarum (44.1%) followed by Saccharum spp. local varieties (33.3%) grown for chewing cane for a long time. The virus incidence was much lower (6.8%) in modern commercial cultivars (Saccharum spp. hybrids). Phylogenetic trees based on full-length genomes of 157 SStrV isolates revealed that Chinese isolates comprised strains A and B, but not C and D, that were reported in Florida, U.S.A. SStrV strain A was the most prominent (98.7%) and widespread strain in China and was further divided into eight subgroups. Almost half (45.6%) of the SStrV-positive samples from S. officinarum and Saccharum spp. local varieties were coinfected with sugarcane mosaic disease viruses or sugarcane yellow leaf virus. Interestingly, most of the plants infected by strain A of SStrV were asymptomatic. SStrV appears to be widespread in China, and its influence on chewing cane deserves further investigation.

Recent Insights into Anthocyanin Pigmentation, Synthesis, Trafficking, and Regulatory Mechanisms in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Caryopsis.

Anthocyanins are antioxidants used as natural colorants and are beneficial to human health. Anthocyanins contribute to reactive oxygen species detoxification and sustain plant growth and development under different environmental stresses. They are phenolic compounds that are broadly distributed in nature and are responsible for a wide range of attractive coloration in many plant organs. Anthocyanins are found in various parts of plants such as flowers, leaves, stems, shoots, and grains. Considering their nutritional and health attributes, anthocyanin-enriched rice or pigmented rice cultivars are a possible alternative to reduce malnutrition around the globe. Anthocyanin biosynthesis and storage in rice are complex processes in which several structural and regulatory genes are involved. In recent years, significant progress has been achieved in the molecular and genetic mechanism of anthocyanins, and their synthesis is of great interest to researchers and the scientific community. However, limited studies have reported anthocyanin synthesis, transportation, and environmental conditions that can hinder anthocyanin production in rice. Rice is a staple food around the globe, and further research on anthocyanin in rice warrants more attention. In this review, metabolic and pre-biotic activities, the underlying transportation, and storage mechanisms of anthocyanins in rice are discussed in detail. This review provides potential information for the food industry and clues for rice breeding and genetic engineering of rice.

Combined application of biochar and nitrogen fertilizer improves rice yield, microbial activity and N-metabolism in a pot experiment.

The excessive use of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizers in rice (Oryza sativa L.) has resulted in high N loss, soil degradation, and environmental pollution in a changing climate. Soil biochar amendment is proposed as a climate change mitigation tool that supports carbon sequestration and reduces N losses and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the soil. The current study evaluated the impact of four different rates of biochar (B) (C/B0-0 t ha-1, B1-20 t ha-1, B2-40 t ha-1, and B3-60 t ha-1) and two N levels (N1; low (270 kg N ha-1) and N2; high (360 kg N ha-1)), on rice (cultivar Zhenguiai) grown in pots. Significant increases in the average soil microbial biomass N (SMBN) (88%) and carbon (87%) were recorded at the highest rate of 60-ton ha-1B and 360 kg N ha-1 compared to the control (N1C) during both seasons (S1 and S2). The photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm), quantum yield of the photosystem (PS) II (ΦPS II), electron transport rate (ETR), and photochemical quenching (qP) were enhanced at low rates of biochar applications (20 to 40 t B ha-1) for high and low N rates across the seasons. Nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), and glutamine 2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase (GOGAT) activity were, on average, 39%, 55%, and 63% higher in the N1B3, N2B2, and N2B3 treatments, respectively than the N1C. The grain quality was higher in the N1B3 treatment than the N1C, i.e., the protein content (PC), amylose content (AC), percent brown rice (BRP), and percent milled rice (MRP) were, on average, 16%, 28%, 4.6%, and 5% higher, respectively in both seasons. The results of this study indicated that biochar addition to the soil in combination with N fertilizers increased the dry matter (DM) content, N uptake, and grain yield of rice by 24%, 27%, and 64%, respectively, compared to the N1C.

The Role of Agriculture in the Dissemination of Class 1 Integrons, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Diversity of Their Gene Cassettes in Southern China.

Integrons are hot spots for acquiring gene cassettes from the environment and play a major role in the bacterial evolution and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), thus posing a serious threat. There are currently studies on integrons and antibiotic resistance genes; however, the presence and association of integrons in different agricultural crops and their subsequent dissemination and role in AMR have not been reported previously. This study examines the abundance of integrons, their gene cassette diversity in various crop soils, and their role in the dissemination of AMR in the southern region of China. Samples from different agri-crop soil, such as rice (R.S), sugarcane (S.S), citrus (C.S), banana (B.S), agricultural runoff (the point where the runoff of all sites meet (R.O)), and wild (non-agricultural) soil (W.S), were collected. Quantitative PCR was used to determine the abundance of integrons, and clone libraries were constructed to examine the gene cassette arrays. All the tested samples were found positive for Class-I (CL1) integrons and revealed a higher concentration and higher relative abundance of R.S than the others, with the least found at the W.S site. The W.S CL1 cassette arrays were found empty, and no putative conserved domains were found. The R.O was found to contain a high number of gene cassettes with various functions, while the smallest number of gene cassettes was found in the S.S among the crop soils. Most of the gene cassettes presented by the R.O were primarily shared with other sites, and the antibiotic-resistant genes were consistently observed to be dominant. The constructed clone libraries represented a diverse gene cassette array with 16% novel gene cassettes that play a vital role in pathogenesis, transportation, biosynthesis, and AMR. Most resistance-related gene cassettes were associated with the genes encoding resistance to quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) and aminoglycosides. This study highlights the significant differences in the abundance of integrons among various agricultural soils and offers deep insight into the pools of gene cassettes that play a key role in the dissemination of integrons and AMR.

CRISPR/Cas system: A game changing genome editing technology, to treat human genetic diseases.

Genes, are the functional units of heredity that used as an instructors to make proteins either to become the functional or structural part of the cell. Hence, the proteins get more attention because most of the life functions depends on it. Any mutation or alteration in genome sequences results in complete loss of function or formation of abnormal protein which leads to hereditary disorder. Gene therapy on the other hand, used as a remedy, a process that make correction in the gene which is responsible for genomic disorders. The treatment of disease state depends on the understanding of their genetic basis. While, numerous molecular genome editing tools have been developed and are being utilized to translate the abstract of gene therapy into reality, but the problem is still a mystery. The genome editing molecular scissors can be applied to dictate the selected genetic products that can have the therapeutic power. Thus, editing the specific sequences depends on the type of strategies being used by a molecule such is HDR or NHEJ. CRISPR/Cas9 editing technology can use in disease model to study the genitival disorders. One side the CRISPR technology seemed to be extremely accurate but on the other side it has some harmful effects i.e. Cas9 proteins sometimes cuts the similar sequences other than the specific targeted and Off-targeting Sequences etc. Urgent attention and improvement are needed for various implication of CRISPR/Cas9 technology, including the delivery, precision and control over the mention system. This review presents the current scenario of genome editing in vivo and its implications for the future of human genetic disease treatment as well as genome throughput potency.

Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis B and C viruses among haemodialysis patients: a multicentric study.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections are important causes of morbidity and mortality among haemodialysis (HD) patients and create problems in the management of patients in the renal dialysis units, as patients with chronic renal failure do not absolutely clear these viral infections. AIM: The aim of the study is molecular detection of HBV and HCV and their possible risk factors among the HD patients in northern Pakistan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2013 to June 2014. The infections were investigated through serological and molecular techniques. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of HBV among the five HD centres was 7.5%. The main risk factors were HD centre (26.66%), history of blood transfusion (20%), dental procedure (13.33%) and time duration on HD (6.66%). However, the overall prevalence of HCV among the five HD centres was 19.58%. The main risk factors included HD centre (25.53%), history of blood transfusion (25.53%), dental procedure (10.64%), surgical treatment (6.38%), patients treated abroad (6.38%) and time duration on HD (4.25%). CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of hepatitis viruses among HD patients of northern Pakistan indicates a close relation between HD centres and hepatitis virus transmission. Therefore, preventive control measures are essential to reduce hepatitis transmission in HD centres.

Frequency distribution and risk factors of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections among thalassemia patients: a regional study.

BACKGROUND: Thalassemia is a group of inherited hematological disorders caused by mutation in globin's genes. Regular blood transfusion lengthens the life of thalassemia patients but it carries a definite risk of the infections of blood-borne diseases. AIM/OBJECTIVE: The current study was carried out for the frequency distributions and risk factors of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among thalassemia patients in Hazara regions, Pakistan. METHODS: A total of 324 enrolled thalassemia major patients were diagnosed in five different centers of Hazara regions. The study participants were screened for HBV and HCV using the immunochromatographic techniques test and real-time PCR for immunochromatographic technique-positive specimens. RESULTS: Out of the 324 major thalassemia patients, 24 (7.41%) were diagnosed with HBV and HCV infections. In total, 206 were male patients and the rate of HBV and HCV infections was 0.97% (two patients) and 3.88% (eight patients), respectively. Similarly, 118 were female patients and the rate of HBV-positive patients was 3.39% (four patients) and HCV was 8.47% (10 patients). The results also showed that 50% of HBV and HCV infections were found in the age group of 26-30 years, while 1.81% was found in the age group of 11-15 years. The positive HBV and HCV samples were also verified with the band size of 242 and 227 bp, respectively. CONCLUSION: Thus, to reduce the incidence of HBV and HCV in thalassemia patients, we must call for critical look on the transfusion practices as well as adoption of stricter donor selection.