Evaluation of ethyl methanesulfonate-induced in vitro mutagenesis,polymorphism and genomic instability in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology - Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is highly rich in nutrients and is an important staple food for humankind. Mutation breeding offers a relatively quick...     

First report of Calonectria montana causing damping‐off disease on pine and spruce seedlings in Europe

In 2015–2016, damping‐off symptoms were observed on Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies seedlings in four forest nurseries in Poland. Some Calonectria isolates were obtained from symptomatic seedlings by culturing pieces of necrotic tissue on malt extract agar.Morphological and molecular analyses revealed that isolates represent Calonectria montana, a recently described species from natural forests in China. The isolates represent the first detection of this species outside of Asia. Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that C. montana is a severe pathogen of P. sylvestris seedlings.     

Dogs with Hepatozoon canis respond to the oxidative stress by increased production of glutathione and nitric oxide

Canine hepatozoonosis is a disease caused by the tick-borne protozoan Hepatozoon spp. It has been reported in the United States, southern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East. In Turkey, canine hepatozoonosis was reported for the first time in 1933. In the present study, serum glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) and ceruloplasmin levels were analysed in 14 dogs infected with Hepatozoon canis as well as in 10 healthy dogs. Blood smears were prepared from peripheral blood and ticks were collected for identification in the laboratory. Rhipicephalus sanguineus was found only on diseased dogs. No ticks were observed on healthy dogs. The diagnosis of H. canis is made mainly by the detection of gametocytes within neutrophils and monocytes. The haematological diagnosis was confirmed using PCR analyses by amplifying a partial 18S rRNA gene sequence of Hepatozoon spp. Infection was detected in 14 animals. Compared to controls, the serum GSH, MDA and NO levels in infected animals increased significantly (p<0.05, <0.01 for MDA), whereas the concentrations of ceruloplasmin in diseased animals remained unaltered. The results of the present study suggest that in dogs infected with H. canis increased levels of GSH, MDA and NO may be related to host's defences against parasitic infection.     

Effects of dietary supplementation of selenium and iodine on growth performance,carcass characteristics and histology of thyroid gland in goats

This study assessed the effects of dietary selenium (Se), iodine (I) and a combination of both on growth performance, thyroid gland activity, carcass characteristics and the concentration of iodine and selenium in Longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle in goats. Twenty‐four bucks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments: control (CON), basal diet without supplementation, basal diet + 0.6 mg Se/kg dry matter (DM) (SS), 0.6 mg I/kg DM (IP), or combination of 0.6 mg/kg DM Se and 0.6 mg/kg DM I (SSIP) and fed for 100 days. Animals fed diet SSIP exhibited higher (P < 0.05) body weight and better feed conversion ratio (FCR) than those fed other diets. Dressing percentage of goats fed the supplemented diets was higher (P < 0.05) than that of the control. Carcasses from the IP group had higher (P < 0.05) total fat proportion than the SSIP group. The levels of both elements were significantly elevated (P < 0.05) in LL muscle in supplemented goats. Thyroid follicular epithelial cells of IP and SSIP animals were significantly higher than those of CON and SS groups. The study demonstrated that the combined Se and I dietary supplementation improves growth performance, carcass dressing percentage and increases the retention of Se and I in goat meat.     

Inactivation of Heparin by Cationically Modified Chitosan

This study was performed to evaluate the ability of N-(2-hydroxypropyl)-3-trimethylammonium chitosan chloride (HTCC), the cationically modified chitosan, to form biologically inactive complexes with unfractionated heparin and thereby blocking its anticoagulant activity. Experiments were carried out in rats in vivo and in vitro using the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and prothrombin time (PT) tests for evaluation of heparin anticoagulant activity. For the first time we have found that HTCC effectively neutralizes anticoagulant action of heparin in rat blood in vitro as well as in rats in vivo. The effect of HTCC on suppression of heparin activity is dose-dependent and its efficacy can be comparable to that of protamine-the only agent used in clinic for heparin neutralization. HTCC administered i.v. alone had no direct effect on any of the coagulation tests used. The potential adverse effects of HTCC were further explored using rat experimental model of acute toxicity. When administered i.p. at high doses (250 and 500 mg/kg body weight), HTCC induced some significant dose-dependent structural abnormalities in the liver. However, when HTCC was administered at low doses, comparable to those used for neutralization of anticoagulant effect of heparin, no histopathological abnormalities in liver were observed.     

C-H bond functionalization in complex organic synthesis

Direct and selective replacement of carbon-hydrogen bonds with new bonds (such as C-C, C-O, and C-N) represents an important and long-standing goal in chemistry. These transformations have broad potential in synthesis because C-H bonds are ubiquitous in organic substances. At the same time, achieving selectivity among many different C-H bonds remains a challenge. Here, we focus on the functionalization of C-H bonds in complex organic substrates catalyzed by transition metal catalysts. We outline the key concepts and approaches aimed at achieving selectivity in complex settings and discuss the impact these reactions have on synthetic planning and strategy in organic synthesis.     

Molecular and phylogenetic analysis of the H5N1 avian influenza virus caused the first highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak in poultry in the Czech Republic in 2007

On 19th July 2007 re-occurrence of the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus was noticed in Europe. The index strain of this novel H5N1 lineage was identified in the Czech Republic where it caused historically the first HPAI outbreak in commercial poultry. In the present study we performed molecular and phylogenetic analysis of the index strain of the re-emerging H5N1 virus lineage along with the Czech and the Slovak H5N1 strains collected in 2006 and established the evolutionary relationships to additional viruses circulated in Europe in 2005-2006. Our analysis revealed that the Czech and the Slovak H5N1 viruses collected during 2006 were separated into two sub-clades 2.2.1 and 2.2.2, which predominated in Europe during 2005-2006. On the contrary the newly emerged H5N1 viruses belonged to a clearly distinguishable sub-clade 2.2.3. Within the sub-clade 2.2.3 the Czech H5N1 strains showed the closest relationships to the simultaneously circulated viruses from Germany, Romania and Russia (Krasnodar) in 2007 and were further clustered with the viruses from Afghanistan and Mongolia circulated in 2006. The origin of the Czech 2007 H5N1 HPAI strains was also discussed.