Mycorrhizal Application as a Biocontrol Agent against Common Root Rot of Barley

This study was conducted to assess the biocontrol efficacy of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) against barley common root rot caused by Cochliobolus sativus. Mycorrhization of barley was achieved by growing the plants in expanded clay mixed with 10% (v/v) VAM fungus inoculum in pots experiments. Large differences in disease reactions were observed among genotypes and among treatments. VAM treatments significantly reduced the percentage of disease severity in infected barley plants and increased significantly root biomass, which could be attributed to enhanced nutrients uptake, via an increase in the absorbing surface area. It can be concluded that the application of VAM as a biocontrol agent played an important role in plant resistance and exhibit greater potential to protect barley plants against C. sativus

Rhizobacteria-mediated Induced Resistance in Barley against Cochliobolus sativus under Field Conditions

The effect of four rhizobacterial strains on the severity of spot blotch disease caused by cochliobolus sativus was evaluated for two growing seasons under rainfed conditions. Three barley genotypes were used as host plant. All strains reduced C. sativus severity, with effect more pronounced when Pseudomonas putida BTP1 and Bacillus subtilis Bs2508 were used. The disease reduction was up to 56% in Arabi Abiad / P. putida BTP1. The grain yield was not obviously affected by the presence of the rhizobacteria, except some signifitive increase in season 2. Raising the resistance by soaking seed with rhizobacterial strains might be of ultimate value in agriculture

COVID-19 research in critical care: the good, the bad, and the ugly

The extraordinary pace of research on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been one of the major success stories of the pandemic. Therapeutic trials involving thousands of patients, which usually take years to complete, have been reported in a matter of months. National and international registries and networks have reported on tens of thousands of patients in near real time. However, there have also been many challenges: hundreds of trials have been underpowered, duplicated, or of poor quality; excessive bureaucracy has complicated study initiation; and only a small percentage of eligible patients worldwide have been enrolled in studies, while many others have been treated with off-label, unproven therapies. All of this has been complicated by an “infodemic” of low-quality medical information, accelerated by social media.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Changes in PR2 and PAL Patterns in Barley Challenged with Leaf Stripe (Pyrenophora graminea) and Powdery Mildew (Blumeria graminis) Diseases

The seed-borne (Pyrenophora graminea; Pg) and foliar (Blumeria graminis; Bg) are two economically important fungal pathogens of barley worldwide. Barley plant resistance genes, as the pathogenesis related proteins play an important role in defense mechanisms. This study aimed to monitor the expression of PR2 and PAL pathogenesis related genes during compatible/incompatible barley interaction with Pg and Bg at different time points of disease development using the Quantitative Real-time PCR technique (qRT-PCR). Comparison of data showed that PR2 and PAL were significantly over expressed in infected resistant and susceptible plants as against their lower expression in controls,. Upregulation of these defense-related genes during Pg and Bg infections was companied with a slow development of disease symptoms at the time course in the resistant genotype. qRT-PCR analysis revealed higher gene expression in resistant barley plants inoculated with Pg as compared with Bg, with a maximum expression for PR2 (13.8 and 5.06-fold) and PAL (14.8 and 4.51-fold) respectively, at the latest stage of each disease development. It was also noteworthy that PR2 and PAL genes, had higher constitutive expression and faster induction for the both pathogens in the resistant genotype as compared with the susceptible one. Obtained results suggest that both genes, PR2 and PAL, positively regulate Pg- and Bg-resistance in barley plants during disease progress. These expression patterns can provide useful insights to better understanding of the barley–fungus interactions with different fungal lifestyles

Screening of barley breeding lines for resistance to common root rot disease through incidence and severity parameters

Cochliobolus sativus, the causal agent of common root rot (CRR), is a devastating fungal pathogen of barley that can cause significant yield losses worldwide. The development of resistant cultivars has proven difficult, therefore, in this work, CRR-resistant barley germplasm was developed by crossing three resistant-by-susceptible cultivars currently used in Europe and West Asia. Following greenhouse evaluations of 150 doubled haploid lines derived from these crosses, 40 lines were evaluated under artificial infection conditions using incidence and severity parameters during two consecutive seasons. Data showed significant differences among barley lines with a continuum of resistance levels ranging from highly susceptible to resistant which were consistent in both seasons. However, five promising lines had slightly lower CRR disease than the others. Additionally, significant differences (P <0.05) in mean incidence and severity values were found among lines, with values being consistently higher in the susceptible ones. However, CRR severity increased linearly as incidence increased in both seasons. All together, the present study suggests that, the newly identified resistance lines can serve as potential donors for ongoing CRR resistance breeding program to generate high-yielding commercial barley cultivars, and that the positive correlation between CRR parameters I and S may be beneficial for many types of studies on this disease

Characterization of barley germplasm for leaf stripe (Pyrenophora graminea) resistance based on incidence and severity parameters

Barley leaf stripe (BLS) caused by Pyrenophora graminea is an important seed-borne disease of barley causing significant yield and quality losses worldwide. The development of resistant cultivars has proven difficult, therefore, in this work, BLSresistant barley germplasm was developed by crossing six barley cultivars currently used in Europe and West Asia. Out of 270 doubled haploid lines derived from these crosses, 40 lines were evaluated under field artificial infection conditions using incidence (I; proportion of diseased plants) and severity (S; proportion of infected leaf area per plant). Disease resistance parameters showed a broad range of variation in mean I and S values with a continuum of resistance levels ranging from highly susceptible to highly resistant with values being consistently higher in the susceptible ones. However, eight promising resistant lines with high yield per plant were identified. Moreover, BLS severity increased linearly as incidence increased (r = 0.76, P < 0.001). This work suggests that BLS resistance sources identified in this study can be used for further genetic analysis and introgression for varietal improvement, and that the positive correlation between I and S parameters may be beneficial for many types of studies on this disease

Evaluation of Xylanase Production from Filamentous Fungi with Different Lifestyles

Xylanase plays an important role in the food, feed, and pulp/paper industry. Filamentous fungi have been considered as useful producers of this enzyme from an industrial point of view, due to the fact that they excrete xylanases into the medium. In this study, four fungal species belonging to different genera, i.e. Aspergillus, Cochliobolus, Pyrenophora, and Penicillium were isolated from different sources and compared for their ability to produce xylanase in submerged culture. The fungal species showed enzyme activity as determined by dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) method. It was found that the two saprophytic Aspergillus strains, i.e A. terreus (Fss 129) and A. niger (SS7) had the highest xylanase activity of 474 and 294 U ml–1 at pH 7 and 8, respectively, in the presence of corn cob hulls after 120 h of incubation. The production of xylanase seemed to be strongly influenced by the interactive effect of initial pH on the fungi. Interestingly, xylanase was better produced by the saprophytic fungi of Aspergillus and Penicillium than by the plant pathogenic ones of Cochliobolus and Pyrenophora. This work provides additional information to support future research on fungi with different lifestyles for food industrial production of xylanase

Genetic diversity within local and introduced cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown under Mediterranean environment as revealed by AFLP markers

Information on genetic diversity among cultivars is critical in wheat improvement. In this work, heterogeneity within local and introduced cultivars of bread wheat grown in Syria was investigated using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. The eight primer pairs were used to detect 177 polymorphic bands among the 21 cultivars resulting in an average of 22.13 (57.3%) polymorphic loci per primer pair. Major allelic frequency ranged from 0.50 to 0.75 with a mean 0.64, and estimated gene diversity was 0.45. Values of average polymorphic information content (PIC) for these markers were estimated to be 0.34. This low value might be attributed to the rigorous selection pressure aimed at cultivar purity and associated breeding practices. Dissimilarity values ranged from 0.32 to 0.66 with an average of 0.54, indicating that such techniques sample distinct genome regions. Three major subgroups of wheat cultivars were identified using the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means analysis (UPGMA), with all local cultivars falling into one cluster, which was confirmed by a principal component analysis (PCA). The narrow genetic diversity observed among Syrian wheat cultivars suggests the need of broadening the genetic base of wheat breeding materials, including local landraces

Исследования по прогнозированию проходимости, ADMET и молекулярному докингу некоторых производных маннопиранозида против полимеразы NS 5B HCV

Several carbohydrate-based medications are now being used to treat a variety of human ailments all around the world. Therefore, we concentrated on computational investigations of previously synthesized methyl α-D‑mannopyranoside (MDM) derivatives. To determine the structural and thermodynamical properties of the modified derivatives, a quantum chemical research was conducted using Gaussian09 employing density functional theory (DFT). Molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) calculation has performed to calculate their possible electrophilic and nucleophilic attack. The binding energy and binding strategies of certain viral proteins from the Hepatitis C virus (2IJN, 3MWV, and 3FKQ) were investigated using molecular docking simulations, and adequate binding affinity was discovered. ADMET calculations predict the improved pharmacokinetic properties with better drug-likeness profile of all MDM derivatives. Finally, these compounds can be described as molecules with high antiviral/antimicrobial potential that have been modified in terms of their structural side chains in α-D‑mannopyranoside sequenceНесколько препаратов на основе углеводов в настоящее время используются для лечения различных заболеваний человека по всему миру. Поэтому мы сосредоточились на вычислительных исследованиях ранее синтезированных производных метил-α-D‑маннопиранозида (MDM). Чтобы определить структурные и термодинамические свойства модифицированных производных, было проведено квантово-химическое исследование с применением Gaussian 09 и с использованием теории функционала плотности (DFT). Был проведен расчет молекулярного электростатического потенциала (MEP) для расчета их возможной электрофильной и нуклеофильной атаки. Энергия связывания и стратегии связывания определенных вирусных белков вируса гепатита С (2IJN, 3MWV и 3FKQ) были исследованы с использованием моделирования молекулярного докинга, и была обнаружена адекватная аффинность связывания. Расчеты ADMET предсказывают улучшенные фармакокинетические свойства с лучшим профилем лекарственного подобия всех производных MDM. Наконец, эти соединения могут быть описаны как молекулы с высоким противовирусным/антимикробным потенциалом, которые были модифицированы с точки зрения их структурных боковых цепей в последовательности α-D‑маннопиранозид

3D Seismic Structural Analysis and Basin Modeling of the Matruh Basin, Western Desert, Egypt

In order to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential of the Matruh Basin, North Western Desert of Egypt, the tectonic history, basin analysis, and maturity modeling of the Albian-Cenomanian Formations of the Matruh Basin were investigated using well logs and 3D seismic data. Structural analysis of the tops of the Bahariya, Kharita, and Alamein Dolomite Formations reveals them to dip to the southeast. Burial history and subsidence curves show that the basin experienced a tectonic subsidence through the Middle-Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous times. Thermal maturity models indicated that Cenomanian clastics of the Bahariya Formation are in the early mature stage in the east portions of the area, increasing to the mid maturity level in the southwestern parts. On the other hand, the Albian Kharita Formation exhibits a mid maturation level in the most parts of the area. The petroleum system of the Matruh Basin includes a generative (charge) subsystem with Middle Jurassic and Cenomanian sources (for oil/gas) and Turonian sources (for oil), with peak generation from Turonian to Eocene, and a migration-entrapment subsystem including expulsion and migration during Early Tertiary to Miocene into structures formed from Late Cretaceous to Eocene