The Frequency of Autoimmune Thyroid Disease in Alopecia Areata and Vitiligo Patients

Aim. Many studies demonstrated that alopecia areata (AA) and vitiligo are commonly associated with autoimmune thyroid diseases. We aimed to investigate the frequency of thyroid dysfunctions and autoimmunity related with vitiligo and AA. Material and Methods. 200 patients, 92 AA and 108 vitiligo diagnosed, were surveyed retrospectively. The control population was in reference range and from Konya, central Anatolian region of Turkey. Thyroid function tests (free T 3 , free T 4 , and TSH) and serum thyroid autoantibody (anti-TG, anti-TPO) levels were evaluated in all patients. Results. In vitiligo patients, 9 (8.3%) had elevated anti-TG levels and 16 (14.8%) had elevated anti-TPO, and in 17 patients (15.7%) TSH levels were elevated and 3 (2.8%) patients had elevated fT 4 levels and 5 (4.6%) had elevated fT 3 levels. Within AA patients, 2 (2.2%) had anti-TG elevation and 13 (14.1%) had anti-TPO elevation, in 7 patients (7.6%) TSH were elevated, and in 1 patient (1.1%) fT 4 were elevated and 5 (5.4%) patients had elevated fT 3 levels. Conclusion. In our study, impaired thyroid functions and thyroid autoantibodies in vitiligo and AA patients were identified at lower rates than the previous studies. According to results of this study there is no need for detailed examination in alopecia areata and vitiligo patients without clinical history

The Fusarium crown rot pathogen Fusarium pseudograminearum triggers a suite of transcriptional and metabolic changes in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Background and Aims: Fusarium crown rot caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium pseudograminearum is a disease of wheat and barley, bearing significant economic cost. Efforts to develop effective resistance to this disease have been hampered by the quantitative nature of resistance and a lack of understanding of the factors associated with resistance and susceptibility. Here, we aimed to dissect transcriptional responses triggered in wheat by F. pseudograminearum infection. Methods: We used an RNA-seq approach to analyse host responses during a compatible interaction and identified >2700 wheat genes differentially regulated after inoculation with F. pseudograminearum. The production of a few key metabolites and plant hormones in the host during the interaction was also analysed. Key Results: Analysis of gene ontology enrichment showed that a disproportionate number of genes involved in primary and secondary metabolism, signalling and transport were differentially expressed in infected seedlings. A number of genes encoding pathogen-responsive uridine-diphosphate glycosyltransferases (UGTs) potentially involved in detoxification of the Fusarium mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) were differentially expressed. Using a F. pseudograminearum DON-non-producing mutant, DON was shown to play an important role in virulence during Fusarium crown rot. An over-representation of genes involved in the phenylalanine, tryptophan and tyrosine biosynthesis pathways was observed. This was confirmed through metabolite analyses that demonstrated tryptamine and serotonin levels are induced after F. pseudograminearum inoculation. Conclusions: Overall, the observed host response in bread wheat to F. pseudograminearum during early infection exhibited enrichment of processes related to pathogen perception, defence signalling, transport and metabolism and deployment of chemical and enzymatic defences. Additional functional analyses of candidate genes should reveal their roles in disease resistance or susceptibility. Better understanding of host responses contributing to resistance and/or susceptibility will aid the development of future disease improvement strategies against this important plant pathogen

Using Microsatellites to Understand the Physical Distribution of Recombination on Soybean Chromosomes

Soybean is a major crop that is an important source of oil and proteins. A number of genetic linkage maps have been developed in soybean. Specifically, hundreds of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers have been developed and mapped. Recent sequencing of the soybean genome resulted in the generation of vast amounts of genetic information. The objectives of this investigation were to use SSR markers in developing a connection between genetic and physical maps and to determine the physical distribution of recombination on soybean chromosomes. A total of 2,188 SSRs were used for sequence-based physical localization on soybean chromosomes. Linkage information was used from different maps to create an integrated genetic map. Comparison of the integrated genetic linkage maps and sequence based physical maps revealed that the distal 25% of each chromosome was the most marker-dense, containing an average of 47.4% of the SSR markers and 50.2% of the genes. The proximal 25% of each chromosome contained only 7.4% of the markers and 6.7% of the genes. At the whole genome level, the marker density and gene density showed a high correlation (R2) of 0.64 and 0.83, respectively with the physical distance from the centromere. Recombination followed a similar pattern with comparisons indicating that recombination is high in telomeric regions, though the correlation between crossover frequency and distance from the centromeres is low (R2 = 0.21). Most of the centromeric regions were low in recombination. The crossover frequency for the entire soybean genome was 7.2%, with extremes much higher and lower than average. The number of recombination hotspots varied from 1 to 12 per chromosome. A high correlation of 0.83 between the distribution of SSR markers and genes suggested close association of SSRs with genes. The knowledge of distribution of recombination on chromosomes may be applied in characterizing and targeting genes

A high-density, SNP-based consensus map of tetraploid wheat as a bridge to integrate durum and bread wheat genomics and breeding

Consensus linkage maps are important tools in crop genomics. We have assembled a highdensity tetraploid wheat consensus map by integrating 13 data sets from independent biparental populations involving durum wheat cultivars (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum), cultivated emmer (T. turgidum ssp. dicoccum) and their ancestor (wild emmer, T. turgidum ssp. dicoccoides). The consensus map harboured 30 144 markers (including 26 626 SNPs and 791 SSRs) half of which were present in at least two component maps. The final map spanned 2631 cM of all 14 durum wheat chromosomes and, differently from the individual component maps, all markers fell within the 14 linkage groups. Marker density per genetic distance unit peaked at centromeric regions, likely due to a combination of low recombination rate in the centromeric regions and even gene distribution along the chromosomes. Comparisons with bread wheat indicated fewer regions with recombination suppression, making this consensus map valuable for mapping in the A and B genomes of both durum and bread wheat. Sequence similarity analysis allowed us to relate mapped gene-derived SNPs to chromosome-specific transcripts. Dense patterns of homeologous relationships have been established between the A- and B-genome maps and between nonsyntenic homeologous chromosome regions as well, the latter tracing to ancient translocation events. The gene-based homeologous relationships are valuable to infer the map location of homeologs of target loci/QTLs. Because most SNP and SSR markers were previously mapped in bread wheat, this consensus map will facilitate a more effective integration and exploitation of genes and QTL for wheat breeding purposes

Specific patterns of gene space organisation revealed in wheat by using the combination of barley and wheat genomic resources

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Because of its size, allohexaploid nature and high repeat content, the wheat genome has always been perceived as too complex for efficient molecular studies. We recently constructed the first physical map of a wheat chromosome (3B). However gene mapping is still laborious in wheat because of high redundancy between the three homoeologous genomes. In contrast, in the closely related diploid species, barley, numerous gene-based markers have been developed. This study aims at combining the unique genomic resources developed in wheat and barley to decipher the organisation of gene space on wheat chromosome 3B.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three dimensional pools of the minimal tiling path of wheat chromosome 3B physical map were hybridised to a barley Agilent 15K expression microarray. This led to the fine mapping of 738 barley orthologous genes on wheat chromosome 3B. In addition, comparative analyses revealed that 68% of the genes identified were syntenic between the wheat chromosome 3B and barley chromosome 3 H and 59% between wheat chromosome 3B and rice chromosome 1, together with some wheat-specific rearrangements. Finally, it indicated an increasing gradient of gene density from the centromere to the telomeres positively correlated with the number of genes clustered in islands on wheat chromosome 3B.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study shows that novel structural genomics resources now available in wheat and barley can be combined efficiently to overcome specific problems of genetic anchoring of physical contigs in wheat and to perform high-resolution comparative analyses with rice for deciphering the organisation of the wheat gene space.</p

Genome of Wild Olive and the Evolution of Oil Biosynthesis

Here we present the genome sequence and annotation of the wild olive tree (Olea europaea var. sylvestris), called oleaster, which is considered an ancestor of cultivated olive trees. More than 50,000 protein-coding genes were predicted, a majority of which could be anchored to 23 pseudochromosomes obtained through a newly constructed genetic map. The oleaster genome contains signatures of two Oleaceae lineage-specific paleopolyploidy events, dated at similar to 28 and similar to 59 Mya. These events contributed to the expansion and neo-functionalization of genes and gene families that play important roles in oil biosynthesis. The functional divergence of oil biosynthesis pathway genes, such as FAD2, SACPD, EAR, and ACPTE, following duplication, has been responsible for the differential accumulation of oleic and linoleic acids produced in olive compared with sesame, a closely related oil crop. Duplicated oleaster FAD2 genes are regulated by an siRNA derived from a transposable element-rich region, leading to suppressed levels of FAD2 gene expression. Additionally, neofunctionalization of members of the SACPD gene family has led to increased expression of SACPD2,3, 5, and 7, consequently resulting in an increased desaturation of steric acid. Taken together, decreased FAD2 expression and increased SACPD expression likely explain the accumulation of exceptionally high levels of oleic acid in olive. The oleaster genome thus provides important insights into the evolution of oil biosynthesis and will be a valuable resource for oil crop genomics

Akut tonsillofarenjitli hastalardan izole edilen beta hemolitik streptokokların tiplendirilmesi

Streptokoksik tonsillofarenjit vakalarının büyük bir kısmından A grubu beta hemolitik streptokoklar(AGBHS) sorumludurlar.Ancak diğer serogruplarda,özellikle C ve G grubu BHS larda akut bakteriyel farenjitin nedeni olabilmektedirler. Selçuk üniversitesi tıp fakültesi klinik bakteriyoloji ve infeksiyon hastalıkları polikliniğine ateş,boğaz ağrısı gibi şikayetlerle başvuran ve akut tonsillofarenjit düşünülen 256 hastanın boğaz kültürleri değerlendirildi.BHS saptanan 113 örneğin streptokok serogruplan lateks aglütinasyon(LA) metodu ile yapıldı ve %84.1 Agrubu, %4.4 B grubu, %7.1 Cgrubu ve %4.4 G grubu olarak tiplendirildi. İzole edilen suşlarm çeşitli antibiyotiklere duyarlılıkları saptandı.AGBHS'lar penisilin ve sefuroksime en yüksek oranda (%97.89) duyarlı bulundular.Amoksisilin ve klaritromisin duyarlılığı %94,73,ampisilin ve sulbaktam-ampisilin duyarlılığı %91.57, sefaleksin duyarlılığı %89.47 veSMX duyarlılığı %82.1 idi. AGBHS' larda eritromisin direnci ise %6.32 olarak belirlendi.AGBHS ların tamamı basitrasine duyarlı bulundu. Nongrup A BHS ların,özellikle C ve G grubu,basitrasine duyarlı olabileceği düşünülmektedir.Bu da basitrasine duyarlı ve dirençli tüm suşlarm tiplendirilmesi gerektiğini göstermektedir. Sonuç olarak;akut tonsillofarenjitli hastalarda erken tanı ve uygun tedavi dikkate alındığında izole edilen BHS ların tiplendirilmesinde LA testi, kültürle beraber kullanıldığında hızlı ve güvenilir bir test olarak göz önüne alınmalı;ayrıca AGBHS ların tedavisinde penisilin birinci seçenek olarak düşünülmelidir.Klaritromisin,eritromisin ve sefuroksim de alternatif tedavide düşünülmelidirA Group beta hemolytic streptococci are responsible for majority of streptococcal tonsillopharyngitis cases.But also other serogroups,especially C and G group beta hemolytic streptococci,may cause acute bacterial pharyngitis 256 patients applying to the Selçuk Universty Faculty of Medicine, Clinical Bacteriology and Infectious Diseases Department with complaints of fever and sore throat were evaluated with throat cultures. S ero typing of BHS detected 1 1 3 samples were done by latex agglutination(LA) method and of which %84.1 were typed as group A, %4.4 as group B, %7.1 as group C, %4.4 as group G. Ratios of antibiotic susceptibility of strains were detected. A Group beta hemolytic streptococci had the highest sensitivity to penicillin and cefuroxime (%97.89). Sensitivitiy to amoxicillin and clarithromycin were %94.73 and these were %91.57 for ampicillin and sulbactam-ampicillin, %89.47 for cephalexin, %82.1 for SMX. Erithromycin resistance was found to be %6.32 in AGBHS. All AGBHS were sensitive to bacitracin. It is thought that non AGBHS, especially group C and G might be sensitive to bacitracin and this shows that all strains sensitive and resistant to bacitracin should be serotyped. Considering early diagnosis and suitable treatment of acute tonsillopharyngitis patients LA test, when was used with culture, should be accepted as a fast and reliable method for evaluating isolated BHS. Besides, penicillins still remains as distinguished modality for treatment of AGBHS. Erithromycine and the other macrolides,and cefuroxime should be considered as alternative treatment