Towards identifying novel sources of resistance to striga in pearl millet under natural field infestation

Pearl millet is an important major staple food for millions of people in Africa and Asia especially in the northern regions of Nigeria where it is consumed on daily basis in different forms. Its productivity has been severely hindered by various biotic and abiotic factors, such as Striga. Striga alone can result in yield losses of between 20 to 100% in severe cases. Breeding for resistance to this parasitic weed has been constrained due to limited source of resistance, therefore searching new sources of resistance from pearl millet germplasm is essential to facilitate progress in developing new varieties with farmers preferred traits. The present work was carried out to identify novel sources of resistance from adapted landraces and exotic germplasm for further use in breeding. Results have shown existence of pearl millet genotypes with good performance in terms of low to no Striga emergence and high yield which are important features associated with Striga resistance in Striga prone areas. This work lays the foundation for development of Striga resistant pearl millet varieties for northern savannah areas of Nigeria

Farmers’ Production Constraints, Knowledge of Striga and Preferred Traits of Pearl Millet in Jigawa State, Nigeria

A participatory rural appraisal was performed in order to identify farmers’ pearl millet production constraints, preferred varietal traits and their knowledge about Striga hermonthica. This was conducted in Dutse (Madobi and Kudai), Birninkudu (Kantoga and Kafingana) and Kiyawa (Karfawa and Shuwarin) local governments of Jigawa state Nigeria. Questionnaires and focus group discussion were used to gather information from 143 respondents. Results shows that the five most important traits selected were resistance to Striga infestation, resistance to downy mildew, tolerance to shattering, good quality local beverage, and tolerance to lodging. The major constraints to production across all the districts were low soil fertility, Striga, downy mildew, and high labour costs. Farmers had a good knowledge about Striga and their control methods across the locations were hand-pulling and or hoe weeding

Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Embryonal Carcinoma Cells Have Overlapping and Distinct Metabolic Signatures

While human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human embryonal carcinoma cells (hECCs) have been studied extensively at the levels of the genome, transcriptome, proteome and epigenome our knowledge of their corresponding metabolomes is limited. Here, we present the metabolic signatures of hESCs and hESCs obtained by untargeted gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Whilst some metabolites are common to both cell types, representing the self-renewal and house-keeping signatures, others were either higher (e.g., octadecenoic acid, glycerol-3-phosphate, 4-hydroxyproline) or lower (e.g., glutamic acid, mannitol, malic acid, GABA) in hESCs (H9) compared to hECCs (NTERA2), these represent cell type specific signatures. Further, our combined results of GC-MS and microarray based gene expression profiling of undifferentiated and OCT4-depleted hESCs are consistent with the Warburg effect which is increased glycolysis in embryonic cells and tumor cells in the presence of O2 while oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) is impaired or even shut down. RNAi-based OCT4 knock down mediated differentiation resulted in the activation of the poised OXPHOS machinery by expressing missing key proteins such as NDUFC1, UQCRB and COX, increase in TCA cycle activity and decreased lactate metabolism. These results shed light on the metabolite layer of pluripotent stem cells and could potentially establish novel metabolic markers of self renewal and pluripotency

Deletion of TAK1 in the myeloid lineage results in the spontaneous development of myelomonocytic leukemia in mice

Previous studies of the conditional ablation of TGF-β activated kinase 1 (TAK1) in mice indicate that TAK1 has an obligatory role in the survival and/or development of hematopoietic stem cells, B cells, T cells, hepatocytes, intestinal epithelial cells, keratinocytes, and various tissues, primarily because of these cells’ increased apoptotic sensitivity, and have implicated TAK1 as a critical regulator of the NF-κB and stress kinase pathways and thus a key intermediary in cellular survival. Contrary to this understanding of TAK1’s role, we report a mouse model in which TAK1 deletion in the myeloid compartment that evoked a clonal myelomonocytic cell expansion, splenomegaly, multi-organ infiltration, genomic instability, and aggressive, fatal myelomonocytic leukemia. Unlike in previous reports, simultaneous deletion of TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) failed to rescue this severe phenotype. We found that the features of the disease in our mouse model resemble those of human chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) in its transformation to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Consequently, we found TAK1 deletion in 13 of 30 AML patients (43%), thus providing direct genetic evidence of TAK1’s role in leukemogenesis

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study in 109 institutions in 41 countries. Inclusion criteria: children <18 years who were newly diagnosed with or undergoing active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour, glioma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma. Of 2327 cases, 2118 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days and 12 months. Results All-cause mortality was 3.4% (n=71/2084) at 30-day follow-up, 5.7% (n=113/1969) at 90-day follow-up and 13.0% (n=206/1581) at 12-month follow-up. The median time from diagnosis to multidisciplinary team (MDT) plan was longest in low-income countries (7 days, IQR 3-11). Multivariable analysis revealed several factors associated with 12-month mortality, including low-income (OR 6.99 (95% CI 2.49 to 19.68); p<0.001), lower middle income (OR 3.32 (95% CI 1.96 to 5.61); p<0.001) and upper middle income (OR 3.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.03); p<0.001) country status and chemotherapy (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.86); p=0.008) and immunotherapy (OR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91); p=0.035) within 30 days from MDT plan. Multivariable analysis revealed laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 5.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 23.84); p=0.029) was associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusions Children with cancer are more likely to die within 30 days if infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, timely treatment reduced odds of death. This report provides crucial information to balance the benefits of providing anticancer therapy against the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with cancer

Survey of arthropods associated with cattle fever ticks (Rhipicephalus microplus) (Acari: Ixodidae) in Batangas Province, Philippines

With increasing concerns regarding environmental safety, rise in cost of chemical controls, potential resistance of ticks to acaricides, and transmission of several pathogens to humans, the use of biological control agents (BCA) is important in the management of cattle fever tick (CFT), Rhipicephalus microplus. A preliminary survey of the BCAs of R. microplus was done in Padre Burgos, Batangas Province, Philippines to identify arthropods with possible association with cattle fever ticks using the sweep net technique, yellow pan trap, sticky trap, and pitfall trap as collection methods. Engorged R. microplus were collected from the ears, neck, dewlap, and flank of cattle at the livestock auction market. Majority of the ticks were used as bait attached to the different collecting traps to attract BCAs. A total of 4,542 arthropods were collected and predominantly in the orders Diptera, Hymenoptera, Thysanoptera, Homoptera, and Hemiptera. The use of BCAs for tick management in the Philippines is relatively new and is primarily in its research phase. More extensive survey will be done to explore additional BCAs of CFT in the Philippines. The discovery of the BCA of CFT will help in the control of CFT in the Philippines and other countries where this pest is a major problem in livestock. © Rushing Water Publishers Ltd. 2019

Drivers of earthworm incidence and abundance across European forests

Earthworms have a significant influence on the structure, composition and functioning of forest ecosystems, but in spite of their role as ecosystem engineers, little is known on the factors controlling their distribution across European forests. Optimised sampling techniques, as well as more advanced statistical tools and geographical information systems have facilitated studies at the landscape scale. But these, and even larger-scale studies, are scarce due to data limitations, taxonomic inconsistencies and practical issues in linking existing databases. In this continental-scale field-based study we used boosted regression tree modelling to identify and evaluate the relative importance of environmental factors explaining earthworm incidence (presence/absence) and abundance (density and biomass) in European forests. To parameterise our models earthworms were sampled in six forest landscapes along a latitudinal gradient from the boreal north to the Mediterranean south in spring or autumn of 2012, together with several environmental variables. Earthworms were sampled using a combined method of mustard extraction and hand sorting of litter and a soil monolith, after which they were weighed and identified to functional group (epigeic, endogeic and anecic). We found that litter- and soil-related variables best explained earthworm incidence and biomass in European forests, leaving only a minor role to climate-related variables. Among the litter related variables, understory vegetation played an important role in explaining earthworm incidence and abundance. The relative importance of explanatory variables differed between models for incidence, density and biomass and between earthworm functional groups. Our results suggested that threshold values for soil C:N ratio, forest floor pH and understory plant biomass and plant nutrient concentrations have to be attained before earthworms can occur. Beyond these threshold values, variables like soil C:N ratio, tree litter C:P ratio and forest floor mass further explain earthworm biomass. Mechanisms behind these observations are discussed in the light of future earthworm distribution modelling at continental scale.This research has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 265171Peer Reviewe

Drivers of earthworm incidence and abundance across European forests

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