CD226 rs763361 (Gly307Ser) Polymorphism Is Associated with Susceptibility to Rheumatoid Arthritis in Zahedan,Southeast Iran

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease with many genetic factors predisposing to disease susceptibility. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of CD226 rs727088 and rs763361 polymorphisms and susceptibility to RA in a sample of the Iranian population. Methods: This case-control study was carried out on 100 patients with RA and 104 healthy subjects. The polymorphisms were determined using tetra amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction assay. Results: The rs763361 (Gly307Ser) polymorphism increased the risk of RA in codominant, dominant and recessive-tested inheritance models (odds ratio [OR] = 3.18, 95% confidence intervals [95% CI] = 1.44-7.02, P = 0.004, CC vs. TT, and OR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.10-3.57, P = 0.023, CC vs. CT-TT, and OR = 2.61, 95% CI = 1.26-5.37, P = 0.010, CC + CT vs. TT, respectively). In addition, the rs763361 T allele increased the risk of RA (OR = 2.06, 95% CI = 1.38-3.08, P<0.001). However, no significant difference was observed among the groups regarding CD226 rs727088 polymorphism (χ2 = 3.20, P = 0.202). Conclusions: Our finding showed that CD226 rs763361, but not rs727088, gene polymorphism increased the risk of RA in a sample of the Iranian population.Key Words: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), CD226, Polymorphism     

Factors affecting shoot and root apical meristem tissue culture of Thai supersweet corn (Zea mays var. rugosa)

During last recent years, in vitro propagation technic is widely used to produce plants with desirable traits. This experiment was conducted to produce an ideal protocol for in vitro propagation of Thai supersweet corn by using shoot apical meristem (SAM) and root apical meristem (RAM) as explants. Four-day-old germinating seedlings were used as the experimental materials on culture media supplemented with a range of auxin, kinetin, and carbohydrates. The primary establishment for SAM showed the highest percentage of survival (80%) while RAM showed the highest survival (67%) and in Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented. Upon acclimatization, regenerated plantlets from shoot showed the highest survival rate (12%) with the production of 21 plantlets; however, the survival rate of plantlets from root was only 20% with the production of 9 plantlets. The efficient and economic protocol that is produced in this study can be applied as an alternative to conventional propagation method for the large-scale production of Thai supersweet corn throughout the year.     

Investigating the effects of temperature on seed germination of cutleaf geranium (Geranium dissectum L.) and determination of its cardinal temperatures

Phytoparasitica - Cutleaf geranium is a weed infesting crop fields in various parts of the world. The present study was conducted to determine the cardinal temperatures of germination for its seeds...