Expression Level of Sh2 and Bt2 Genes in Some Advanced Corn Lines Under Tropical Environment

The rate-limiting step in starch synthesis entails the synthesis of ADP-Glc from Glc-1-P and ATP by AGPase. AGPase is a heterotetramer composed of two large subunits encoded by Sh2 and two small subunits encoded by Bt2. We examined the transcript level of each gene that encodes AGPase through quantitative real-time PCR (qRT_PCR) within endosperm and leaf tissues from 6 newer composite corn lines. The Sh2 and Bt2 genes presented upregulated expression levels in leaf and endosperm tissue. The highest expression level of these two genes in leaf tissues was observed in UM 1 with 6.96 fold and in UM 11 with 3.94 fold respectively. Meanwhile, the highest transcript level of Sh2 and Bt2 genes in endosperm tissues were observed in UM 2 with 5.96 fold and UM 1 with 7.36 fold respectively. The correlation coefficient between the expression levels of the Sh2 gene and the morphological traits in endosperm tissue indicated that it was significantly and positively correlated with ear length (0.75), ear weight (0.74) and yield (0.66). Meanwhile, the correlation coefficient results indicate that the expression level of Bt2 in endosperm tissue was significantly and positively correlated with1000 kernel weight (0.93), yield (0.90), ear weight (0.87) and ear length (0.87). In conclusion, via cross transformation approaches, two main yield-related genes (Sh2 and Bt2) were modified in the new advanced corn lines. Overexpression of Sh2 and Bt2 genes can increase the starch content through enhancing the activity of AGPase and subsequently the yield enhancement occurred

Genetic diversity and characterization of mungbean germplasm through morphological characters and microsatellite markers / Fatemeh Abna

Twenty mungbean accessions were characterized and their genetic diversity was studied. Eight morphological characters including, plant height, number of fruiting branches per plant, number of pod per plant, number of pod clusters per plant, pod length, number of grains per pod, 1000 grain weight and total grain yield per plant were measured. Analysis of variance for all traits showed significant differences among genotypes. For cluster analysis UPGMA method was used to determine genetic variation and four main groups were defined. Principal component analysis was done to evaluate diversity, three components explained near 79% of total variation among genotypes. The first principal component (PC1) is related to number of Fruiting Branches/Plant, number of pod /plant, number pod cluster and pod length that, explained 39.4% of total variability. Phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV) and genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV) were calculated for all characteristics, the highest GCV and PCV were observed for number of pod per plant (39.47%, 38.65%), number of pod cluster (34.28%, 32.15%) and grain yield (31.73%,30.90%) respectively. Higher broad sense heritability was found for the same traits. The results of phenotypic and genotypic correlation analysis indicated that grain yield was positively and significantly associated with pod length and 1000 grain weight. Path analysis based on genotypic correlation coefficients showed high positive direct effect of number of pod per plant (1.874), number of fruits (0.985) and plant height (0.688) on yield per plant. Furthermore, Twenty two microsatellite primer pairs were used for molecular studies. Out of these, thirteen primers were able to amplify the mungbean genome, upon polymerase chain reaction (PCR) result. Those that failed either were unable to amplify product at all, or showed unspecific amplification. Out of these 13 iii successfully amplified loci, 6 potential polymorphic loci were observed from microsatellite banding profiles on the gel images. These six primer pairs were used to evaluate the genetic variability in six selected mungbean population. The highest expected heterozygosity value count during multi population analysis demonstrated by locus LR7322B, ranged from 0.6014 to 0.8743, whilst the highest observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.5000 to 1 and 0.6666 to1 demonstrated by locus LR7323A and LR7319B respectively. Polymorphism assessments on all populations achieved using these three primers showed that HO scored were generally higher than HE. There was no linkage disequilibrium (LD) observed between all primer pairs. All loci, except LR7319B conformed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). The FIS index demonstrated no indication of inbreeding among individuals of each population. Corresponding to UPGMA tree, population NM-1919 and population 40521 were observed to be least similar compared to the other four populations. Population structure analysis of molecular marker data from 6 primer pairs also divided the populations into four distinct groups and corresponding to this analysis, 40521 was observed to be least similar compared to the other populations. Furthermore, result obtained from analysis of molecular variation (AMOVA) showed significant difference within individuals of high and low yield mungbean genotypes, and accordingly, high heterosis effect may be accrued in the previous population

SD1000: High Sustained Viral Response Rate in 1361 Patients With Hepatitis C Genotypes 1, 2, 3, and 4 Using a Low-cost, Fixed-dose Combination Tablet of Generic Sofosbuvir and Daclatasvir: A Multicenter, Phase III Clinical Trial

Background. The combination of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir is a potent, pangenotypic regimen suitable for mass-scale hepatitis C treatment, especially in resource-limited countries where newer, expensive combinations are not available. This combination has been widely tested on genotype 4. However, Phase III trials of this combination in other genotypes have been cost prohibitive. With the introduction of generic, low-cost sofosbuvir and daclatasvir, large-scale studies in resource-limited countries are now possible. Methods. Sofosbuvir at 400 mg and daclatasvir at 60 mg were coformulated into a fixed-dose combination (FDC) tablet (Sovodak, Rojan Pharma, Tehran, Iran). Patients from 46 centers were dosed for 12 or 24 weeks with or without ribavirin, in line with existing guidelines. Responses to treatment were evaluated 12 weeks after the end of treatment (for a sustained virological response at Week 12; SVR12). Results. There were 1361 patients recruited. Overall, the patients were 21% female, with a mean age of 50 years; 39% were cirrhotic; 22% were treatment-experienced; 47% were genotype 1, 41% were genotype 3, and 2% were other genotypes. The genotype was not known in 10% of the patients. The intention-to-treat and per-protocol SVR12 rates were 94.7% and 98.8%, respectively. The safety profile was unremarkable, treatment was well tolerated, and compliance with the single-tablet regimen was excellent. Conclusions. The treatment with FDC of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir achieved high SVR12 rates, equivalent to those seen in Phase III trials of other pangenotypic options, and has been conducted at a similar scale in a representative, real-world population at a cost of under $100 per patient, which makes this combination suitable for elimination protocols in resource-limited countries. Keywords:sofosbuvir; daclatasvir; Hepatitis C; sustained virological response; generic drug