Unilateral Renal Tuberculosis Presenting as Persistent Pyuria

Despite being one of the major health problem globally, tuberculosis still remains an important, but under diagnosed and ignored cause of kidney damage especially in resource poor settings. Timely diagnoses and treatment can cure this otherwise devastating resource draining ailment. We report a 10-year-old girl who had persistent pyuria and dysuria despite receiving multiple drugs empirically before antitubercular therapy was initiated. Keywords: Child; Renal Tuberculosis; Urinary Tract infections

Screening of rice cultivars for Cr-stress response by using the parameters of seed germination, morpho-physiological and antioxidant analysis

Rice is the most important crop for the majority of population across the world with sensitive behavior toward heavy metals such as chromium (Cr) in polluted regions. Although, there is no information on the Cr resistance phenotyping in rice. Herein, two different groups of rice cultivars (normal, and hybrid) were used, each group with 14 different rice cultivars. Firstly, seed germination analysis was conducted by evaluating various seed germination indices to identify the rice cultivars with greatest seed germination vigor. Furthermore, exposure of chromium (Cr) toxicity to 28 different rice varieties (NV1-NV14, HV1-HV14) caused noticeable plant biomass reduction. Subsequently, NV2, NV6, NV10, NV12, NV13 (normal type), HV1, HV4, HV8, and HV9 (hybrid types) were pragmatic as moderately sensitive varieties, while NV3, NV4, NV9, and NV14 (normal type), HV3, HV6, HV7, and HV13 were observed as moderately tolerant. Although, NV7, and HV10 were ranked most sensitive cultivars, and NV11, and HV14 were considered as most tolerant varieties as compared to the other rice (both groups) genotypes. Afterward, Cr induced reduction in chlorophyll pigments were significantly lesser in HV14 relative to NV11, NV7, and especially HV10, and as a result HV14 modulated the total soluble sugar level as well as reduced ROS accumulation, and MDA contents production by stimulating the antioxidant defense mechanism conspicuously which further reduced the electrolyte leakage as well. Our outcomes provide support to explore the Cr tolerance mechanism in cereal crops as well as knowledge about rice breeding with increased tolerance against Cr stress.This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32072127), Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation (No. LY21C130006), Dabeinong Funds for Discipline Development and Talent Training in Zhejiang University, Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production co-sponsored by Province and Ministry (CIC-MCP) and Zhenjiang International-joint fund (No. GJ2020010). The authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project Number (RSP-2021/168), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Determination of genetic relationship among basmati and non-basmati rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.) genotypes from North-West Himalayas using microsatellite markers

68-75In the present study, 25 microsatellite markers were used to determine the genetic relatedness among the 51 basmati and 14 non-basmati rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes. A total of 82 alleles were detected by 25 markers, all of them (100%) were polymorphic. The polymorphic information content (PIC) among genotypes varied 0.253 (RM520) to 0.695 (RM206) with an average of 0.46. Pairwise genetic similarity coefficients between all genotypes ranged 0.1 to 0.6 with average of 0.39. Phylogenetic-based cluster analysis of the SSR data, based on distance, divided all genotypes into four groups (I, II, III & IV), consisting of 39, 7, 16 and 3 genotypes, respectively. Principal coordinate analyses (PCoA) confirmed the separation of basmati and non-basmati rice genotypes comparable to those from UPGMA analysis and were well in agreement. These results suggest that the microsatellite SSR markers are efficient for measuring genetic relatedness among the rice genotypes, and can be utilized effectively for the differentiation of basmati and non-basmati rice genotypes. Present study also indicated that genetically basmati rice is different from that of coarse rice type, and supports the concept of independent evolution of basmati rice. The low level of diversity in local basmati suggested the introduction of diverse germplasm in the basmati breeding programme

Zinc oxide nanoparticles alleviates the adverse effects of cadmium stress on Oryza sativa via modulation of the photosynthesis and antioxidant defense system

Cadmium (Cd) is a trace element causing severe toxicity symptoms in plants, besides posing hazardous fitness issue due to its buildup in the human body through food chain. Nanoparticles (NPs) are recently employed as a novel strategy to directly ameliorate the Cd stress and acted as nano-fertilizers. The intend of the current study was to explore the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs; 50 mg/L) on plant growth, photosynthetic activity, elemental status and antioxidant activity in Oryza sativa (rice) under Cd (0.8 mM) stress. To this end, the rice plants are treated by Cd stress at 15 days after sowing (DAS), and the treatment was given directly into the soil. Supply of ZnO-NPs as foliar spray was given for five consecutive days from 30 to 35 DAS, and sampling was done at 45 DAS. However, rice plants supplemented with ZnO-NPs under the Cd toxicity revealed significantly increased shoot length (SL; 34.0%), root fresh weight (RFW; 30.0%), shoot dry weight (SDW; 23.07%), and root dry weight (RDW; 12.24%). Moreover, the ZnO-NPs supplement has also positive effects on photosynthesis related parameters, SPAD value (40%), chloroplast structure, and qualitatively high fluorescence observed by confocal microscopy even under Cd stress. ZnO-NPs also substantially prevented the increases of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) triggered by Cd. Physiological and biochemical analysis showed that ZnO-NPs increased enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD; 59%), catalase (CAT; 52%), and proline (17%) that metabolize reactive oxygen species (ROS); these increases coincided with the changes observed in the H2O2 and MDA accumulation after ZnO-NPs application. In conclusion, ZnO-NPs application to foliage has great efficiency to improve biomass, photosynthesis, protein, antioxidant enzymes activity, mineral nutrient contents and reducing Cd levels in rice. This can be attributed mainly from reduced oxidative damage resulted due to the ZnO-NPs application

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Basmati Rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.) Germplasm Collected from North Western Himalayas Using Trait Linked SSR Markers

<div><p>One hundred forty one basmati rice genotypes collected from different geographic regions of North Western Himalayas were characterized using 40 traits linked microsatellite markers. Number of alleles detected by the abovementioned primers were 112 with a maximum and minimum frequency of 5 and 2 alleles, respectively. The maximum and minimum polymorphic information content values were found to be 0.63 and 0.17 for the primers RM206 and RM213, respectively. The genetic similarity coefficient for the most number of pairs ranged between of 0.2-0.9 with the average value of 0.60 for all possible combinations, indicating moderate genetic diversity among the chosen genotypes. Phylogenetic cluster analysis of the SSR data based on distance divided all genotypes into four groups (I, II, III and IV), whereas model based clustering method divided these genotypes into five groups (A, B, C, D and E). However, the result from both the analysis are in well agreement with each other for clustering on the basis of place of collection and geographic region, except the local basmati genotypes which clustered into three subpopulations in structure analysis comparison to two clusters in distance based clustering. The diverse genotypes and polymorphic trait linked microsatellites markers in the present study will be used for the identification of quantitative trait loci/genes for different economically important traits to be utilized in molecular breeding programme of rice in the future.</p></div

Mitigation of Negative Effects of Chromium (VI) Toxicity in Faba Bean (<i>Vicia faba</i>) Plants through the Supplementation of Kinetin (KN) and Gibberellic Acid (GA3)

The present study was carried out to explore the possible role of kinetin and gibberellic acid (GA3) on faba bean under chromium (Cr) stress. Cr treatment negatively affected growth and biomass production, reduced photosynthetic pigments, and inhibited photosynthesis, gas exchange parameters, antioxidant enzymes, and the glyoxylase cycle. Moreover, Cr stress enhanced the production of malondialdehyde (MDA, 216.11%) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 230.16%), electrolyte leakage (EL, 293.30%), and the accumulation of proline and glycine betaine. Exogenous application of kinetin and GA3 increased growth and biomass, improved pigment contents and photosynthesis, as well as up-regulated the antioxidant system by improving the antioxidant enzyme activities and the content of nonenzymatic components, and the glyoxylase cycle. Additionally, kinetin and GA3 application displayed a considerable enhancement in proline (602.61%) and glycine betaine (423.72), which help the plants to maintain water balance under stress. Furthermore, a decline in Cr uptake was also observed due to kinetin and GA3 application. Exogenous application of kinetin and GA3 ameliorated the toxic effects of Cr in faba bean plants, up-shooting the tolerance mechanisms, including osmolyte metabolism and the antioxidant system

Brassinosteroid Supplementation Alleviates Chromium Toxicity in Soybean (<i>Glycine max</i> L.) via Reducing Its Translocation

Chromium (Cr) phytotoxicity severely inhibits plant growth and development which makes it a prerequisite to developing techniques that prevent Cr accumulation in food chains. However, little is explored related to the protective role of brassinosteroids (BRs) against Cr-induced stress in soybean plants. Herein, the morpho-physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses of soybean cultivars with/without foliar application of BRs under Cr toxicity were intensely investigated. Our outcomes deliberated that BRs application noticeably reduced Cr-induced phytotoxicity by lowering Cr uptake (37.7/43.63%), accumulation (63.92/81.73%), and translocation (26.23/38.14%) in XD-18/HD-19, plant tissues, respectively; besides, improved seed germination ratio, photosynthetic attributes, plant growth, and biomass, as well as prevented nutrient uptake inhibition under Cr stress, especially in HD-19 cultivar. Furthermore, BRs stimulated antioxidative defense systems, both enzymatic and non-enzymatic, the compartmentalization of ion chelation, diminished extra production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and electrolyte leakage in response to Cr-induced toxicity, specifically in HD-19. In addition, BRs improved Cr stress tolerance in soybean seedlings by regulating the expression of stress-related genes involved in Cr accumulation, and translocation. Inclusively, by considering the above-mentioned biomarkers, foliar spray of BRs might be considered an effective inhibitor of Cr-induced damages in soybean cultivars, even in Cr polluted soil

UPGMA dendrogram of five subpopulations.

<p>A (pop1), B (pop2), C (pop3), D (pop4) and E (pop5) of basmati rice genotypes showing two clusters Z and X based on Nei’s genetic distances using POPGENE version 1.31.</p

List of markers used, chromosome number, functional gene, associated trait, number of alleles, major allele frequency, PIC values, marker index (MI), resolving power (RP), and discrimination power (DP).

<p>Functional genes as modified from [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0131858#pone.0131858.ref025" target="_blank">25</a>], [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0131858#pone.0131858.ref036" target="_blank">36</a>], [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0131858#pone.0131858.ref037" target="_blank">37</a>], [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0131858#pone.0131858.ref038" target="_blank">38</a>], [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0131858#pone.0131858.ref039" target="_blank">39</a>].</p><p>List of markers used, chromosome number, functional gene, associated trait, number of alleles, major allele frequency, PIC values, marker index (MI), resolving power (RP), and discrimination power (DP).</p

Characterization and Rapid Gene-Mapping of Leaf Lesion Mimic Phenotype of <em>spl-1</em> Mutant in Soybean (<em>Glycine max</em> (L.) Merr.)

In plants, lesion mimic mutants (LMMs) reveal spontaneous disease-like lesions in the absence of pathogen that constitutes powerful genetic material to unravel genes underlying programmed cell death (PCD), particularly the hypersensitive response (HR). However, only a few LMMs are reported in soybean, and no related gene has been cloned until now. In the present study, we isolated a new LMM named spotted leaf-1 (spl-1) from NN1138-2 cultivar through ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) treatment. The present study revealed that lesion formation might result from PCD and excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. The chlorophyll content was significantly reduced but antioxidant activities, viz., superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), as well as the malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, were detected higher in spl-1 than in the wild-type. According to segregation analysis of mutant phenotype in two genetic populations, viz., W82×spl-1 and PI378692×spl-1, the spotted leaf phenotype of spl-1 is controlled by a single recessive gene named lm1. The lm1 locus governing mutant phenotype of spl-1 was first identified in 3.15 Mb genomic region on chromosome 04 through MutMap analysis, which was further verified and fine mapped by simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker-based genetic mapping. Genetic linkage analysis narrowed the genomic region (lm1 locus) for mutant phenotype to a physical distance of ~76.23 kb. By searching against the Phytozome database, eight annotated candidate genes were found within the lm1 region. qRT-PCR expression analysis revealed that, among these eight genes, only Glyma.04g242300 showed highly significant expression levels in wild-type relative to the spl-1 mutant. However, sequencing data of the CDS region showed no nucleotide difference between spl-1 and its wild type within the coding regions of these genes but might be in the non-coding regions such as 5′ or 3′ UTR. Hence, the data of the present study are in favor of Glyma.04g242300 being the possible candidate genes regulating the mutant phenotype of spl-1. However, further validation is needed to prove this function of the gene as well as its role in PCD, which in turn would be helpful to understand the mechanism and pathways involved in HR disease resistance of soybean