RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF GENETIC ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The status of research, development and application of genetic technology in the US has been reflected through efforts and accomplishments in numerous fields including research, medicine, industrial biotechnology and agriculture in the past decades. In the area of medicine, the field of therapeutic purposes on human is the pioneer, in which gene therapy is attempted to carry out in various clinical trials. Diagnostic applications of human diseases which focus primarily on infectious diseases, cancer, pharmacogenomics and screening for inherited diseases by using molecular techniques related to PCR, next generation sequencing are followed. In addition, preparatory studies on human cells utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology have been undertaken in hopes of finding new treatments for cancer and rare form of eye disorder. In the field of agriculture, many large companies in the US have been developing varieties of genetically modified crops with traits of herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, drought resistance and nutrition enhancement. Among the biotech crops, proportion of planted acres of genetically engineered soybean, corn and cotton were increased rapidly and forecasted to expand in the coming years. Studies on generating genetically modified animals and fisheries have also been concentrated in order to not only resist diseases, enhance nutrition, but also provide pharmaceutical compounds. Application of new gene editing techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9 on plants and animals help biotech products have more opportunities to be approved for commercial sale in the US market. In general, although the research and application of genetic engineering in the US has outstripped worldwide, numerous obstacles are still encountered due to serious ethical regulations and controversy regarding to human health and environment. The US government continues to establish suitable policies and invest in science and technology to improve the quality of human life

Complete mitochondrial genome of Dong Tao chicken breed (Gallus gallus domesticus) of Vietnam

The complete mitochondrial genome of Dong Tao chicken breed (Gallus gallus domesticus, Dong Tao) was obtained by PCR and sequencing. The complete mitogenome was 16,783 bp in length, with the nucleotide composition for A, T, C, G was 30.29%, 23.75%, 32.48%, and 13.48%, respectively. The mitogenome of Dong Tao chicken contained a non-coding control region (D-loop), 2 rRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, and 22 tRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that breed Dong Tao chicken breed was sister-close to G. gallus breed Guangxi, and paraphyletic to G. spadiceus, S. jabouillei, and a range of Chinese indigenous, ie. breeds Rugao and Taoyuan

Natural and recombinant equine chorionic gonadotropins past and future in animal reproductive technology

Equine Chorionic Gonadotropin (eCG) previously named Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropin (PMSG) has been widely used since the 40s in animal reproduction control. It is extracted from the blood of pregnant mares between days 40 and 120 of gestation. Animal welfare organizations have voiced concerns against mares bleeding conditions. There is currently no effective substitute for the natural PMSG. In this review, we summarize the basic knowledge of the structure and biology of eCG, and the research on recombinant eCG production in the past five years

Changes in expression of klotho affect physiological processes, diseases, and cancer

Klotho (KL) encodes a single-pass transmembrane protein and is predominantly expressed in the kidney, parathyroid glands, and choroid plexus. Genetic studies on the KL gene have revealed that DNA hypermethylation is one of the major risk factors for aging, diseases, and cancer. Besides, KL exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects by regulating signaling pathways and the expression of target genes. KL participates in modulation of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) signaling, which induces the growth hormone (GH) secretion. Accordingly, KL mutant mice display multiple aging-like phenotypes, which are ameliorated by overexpression of KL. Therefore, KL is an important contributor to lifespan. KL is further identified as a regulator of calcium (Ca2+) channel-dependent cell physiological processes. KL has been also shown to induce cancer cell apoptosis, thus, it is considered as a potential tumor suppressor. Our recent studies have indicated that KL modulates an influx of Ca2+ from the extracellular space, leading to a change in CCL21-dependent migration in dendritic cells (DCs). Interestingly, the regulation of the expression of KL was mediated through a phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway in DCs. Moreover, downregulating of KL expression by using siRNA knockdown technique, we observed that the expression of Ca2+ channels including Orai3, but not Orai1, Orai2, TRPV5 and TRPV6 was significantly reduced in KL-silenced as compared to control BMDCs. Clearly, additional research is required to define the role of KL in the regulation of organismic and cellular functions through the PI3K signaling and the expression of the Ca2+ channels

Study on the association SLC2A9 RS12510549 with uric acid and gout in Vietnamese population

Gout is the most common form of arthritis in Vietnam and around the world, caused by an excess of blood uric acid levels. The occurrence of gout is influenced by many risk factors such as diet, living and genetic factors. Studies showed gout is associated with polymorphisms located on genes that encode transport protein channels, including SLC2A9 rs12510549. To evaluate the association of polymorphism SLC2A9 rs12510549 to uric acid levels and gout in the Vietnamese population, we genotyped rs12510549 of 519 subjects (168 gout patients and 351 healthy people) by the PCR–RFLP method. The relationship between genotype distribution, the allele frequency of polymorphism with uric acid levels and gout was assessed through statistical methods. The results show that SLC2A9rs12510549 was in accordance with HWE (p> 0.05) and the genotype frequencies of TT, TC and CC were 0.73, 0.25 and 0.02, respectively, confirming the randomness and representation of the study population. The genotype distribution and frequency of the rs12510549 allele were determined unrelated to uric acid levels and gout in the Vietnamese population (p>0.05). Further study with a larger sample size should be implemented to confirm our results on the association of SLC2A9rs12510549 and gout in the Vietnamese population

Extensive Ethnolinguistic Diversity in Vietnam Reflects Multiple Sources of Genetic Diversity

International audienceVietnam features extensive ethnolinguistic diversity and occupies a key position in Mainland Southeast Asia. Yet, the genetic diversity of Vietnam remains relatively unexplored, especially with genome-wide data, because previous studies have focused mainly on the majority Kinh group. Here, we analyze newly generated genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism data for the Kinh and 21 additional ethnic groups in Vietnam, encompassing all five major language families in Mainland Southeast Asia. In addition to analyzing the allele and haplotype sharing within the Vietnamese groups, we incorporate published data from both nearby modern populations and ancient samples for comparison. In contrast to previous studies that suggested a largely indigenous origin for Vietnamese genetic diversity, we find that Vietnamese ethnolinguistic groups harbor multiple sources of genetic diversity that likely reflect different sources for the ancestry associated with each language family. However, linguistic diversity does not completely match genetic diversity: There have been extensive interactions between the Hmong-Mien and Tai-Kadai groups; different Austro-Asiatic groups show different affinities with other ethnolinguistic groups; and we identified a likely case of cultural diffusion in which some Austro-Asiatic groups shifted to Austronesian languages during the past 2,500 years. Overall, our results highlight the importance of genome-wide data from dense sampling of ethnolinguistic groups in providing new insights into the genetic diversity and history of an ethnolinguistically diverse region, such as Vietnam

Effect of soluble adenylyl cyclase (ADCY10) inhibitors on the LH-stimulated cAMP synthesis in Mltc-1 leydig cell line

International audienceIn contrast to all transmembrane adenylyl cyclases except ADCY9, the cytosolic soluble adenylyl cyclase (ADCY10) is insensitive to forskolin stimulation and is uniquely modulated by calcium and bicarbonate ions. In the present paper, we focus on ADCY10 localization and a kinetic analysis of intracellular cAMP accumulation in response to human LH in the absence or presence of four different ADCY10 inhibitors (KH7, LRE1, 2-CE and 4-CE) in MTLC-1 cells. ADCY10 was immuno-detected in the cytoplasm of MLTC-1 cells and all four inhibitors were found to inhibit LH-stimulated cAMP accumulation and progesterone level in MLTC-1 and testosterone level primary Leydig cells. Interestingly, similar inhibitions were also evidenced in mouse testicular Leydig cells. In contrast, the tmAC-specific inhibitors ddAdo3′ and ddAdo5′, even at high concentration, exerted weak or no inhibition on cAMP accumulation, suggesting an important role of ADCY10 relative to tmACs in the MLTC-1 response to LH. The strong synergistic effect of HCO3− under LH stimulation further supports the involvement of ADCY10 in the response to LH