Analysis of Gene expression in soybean (Glycine max) roots in response to the root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita using microarrays and KEGG pathways

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Root-knot nematodes are sedentary endoparasites that can infect more than 3000 plant species. Root-knot nematodes cause an estimated $100 billion annual loss worldwide. For successful establishment of the root-knot nematode in its host plant, it causes dramatic morphological and physiological changes in plant cells. The expression of some plant genes is altered by the nematode as it establishes its feeding site.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We examined the expression of soybean (<it>Glycine max</it>) genes in galls formed in roots by the root-knot nematode, <it>Meloidogyne incognita</it>, 12 days and 10 weeks after infection to understand the effects of infection of roots by <it>M. incognita</it>. Gene expression was monitored using the Affymetrix Soybean GeneChip containing 37,500 <it>G. max </it>probe sets. Gene expression patterns were integrated with biochemical pathways from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes using PAICE software. Genes encoding enzymes involved in carbohydrate and cell wall metabolism, cell cycle control and plant defense were altered.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A number of different soybean genes were identified that were differentially expressed which provided insights into the interaction between <it>M. incognita </it>and soybean and into the formation and maintenance of giant cells. Some of these genes may be candidates for broadening plants resistance to root-knot nematode through over-expression or silencing and require further examination.</p

A narrative review on the similarities and dissimilarities between myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (me/cfs) and sickness behavior

It is of importance whether myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a variant of sickness behavior. The latter is induced by acute infections/injury being principally mediated through proinflammatory cytokines. Sickness is a beneficial behavioral response that serves to enhance recovery, conserves energy and plays a role in the resolution of inflammation. There are behavioral/symptomatic similarities (for example, fatigue, malaise, hyperalgesia) and dissimilarities (gastrointestinal symptoms, anorexia and weight loss) between sickness and ME/CFS. While sickness is an adaptive response induced by proinflammatory cytokines, ME/CFS is a chronic, disabling disorder, where the pathophysiology is related to activation of immunoinflammatory and oxidative pathways and autoimmune responses. While sickness behavior is a state of energy conservation, which plays a role in combating pathogens, ME/CFS is a chronic disease underpinned by a state of energy depletion. While sickness is an acute response to infection/injury, the trigger factors in ME/CFS are less well defined and encompass acute and chronic infections, as well as inflammatory or autoimmune diseases. It is concluded that sickness behavior and ME/CFS are two different conditions

“We Used to go Asking for the Rains”: Local Interpretations of Environmental Changes and Implications for Natural Resource Management in Hwange District, Zimbabwe

In Hwange District, Zimbabwe, people living in the vicinity of the largest protected area of the country are facing rapid climate and environmental changes. Adopting an ethnoecological perspective, we sought to understand the way changes are understood locally in an area where people have interacted with their environment for centuries. In this chapter, we examine local people’s knowledge, expertise, and interpretative diagnoses about the environmental and climate changes they perceive around them. Qualitative fieldwork, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and structured free-listing interviews, was carried out over a three-month period in the communal lands of the district. Among changes related to wildlife interactions and landscape transformations, people mainly mobilize knowledge of trees and birds to predict rainfall and explain climate variability (related to seasons, precipitation, and temperatures). The most important findings of this research lie in people’s descriptions of ecological changes and their interpretations and explanations for these changes, which focus on arguments that are cultural (abandonment of ritual practices, access to ancestral sites), demographic (population growth), and political (wildlife management). For example, the disturbances in precipitation patterns are understood as a manifestation of the anger of ancestral spirits. We argue that these interpretive frameworks reflect the strong marginalization of the communities of the district from the national program of community-based natural resource management, CAMPFIRE, and that these discourses allow silenced voices to express themselves about sociopolitical concerns in an authoritarian context