Comparison of soybean Cultivars enriching Cd and the application foreground of the low-accumulating Cultivar in production

Contaminated soil collected from an agricultural field was used to compare Cd enrichment among 20 soybean cultivars to explore their application foregrounds in safe production. The results showed that Cd concentration in beans of 20 soybean cultivars was from 0.23 mg kg-1 to 2.33 mg kg-1 when Cd concentration in soil was 1.98 mg kg-1. Cd enrichment factors of 19 cultivars were lower than 1. Cd translocation factors of all cultivars were lower than 1. As for background soil with 0.15 mg kg-1 Cd, the concentrations of Cd in beans of two soybean cultivars were higher than 0.10 mg kg-1 (an agricultural trade standard of non-pollution food for soybean of China, NY5310-2005). Thus, the use of a low-accumulation soybean cultivar in Cd-contaminated soil should be done carefully and with reserve. Keywords: Cd, soybean cultivar, enrichment factor, phytoremediation, safe productio

Potential opportunities and challenges of deploying next generation sequencing and CRISPR-cas systems to support diagnostics and surveillance towards malaria control and elimination in Africa

Recent developments in molecular biology and genomics have revolutionized biology and medicine mainly in the developed world. The application of next generation sequencing (NGS) and CRISPR-Cas tools is now poised to support endemic countries in the detection, monitoring and control of endemic diseases and future epidemics, as well as with emerging and re-emerging pathogens. Most low and middle income countries (LMICs) with the highest burden of infectious diseases still largely lack the capacity to generate and perform bioinformatic analysis of genomic data. These countries have also not deployed tools based on CRISPR-Cas technologies. For LMICs including Tanzania, it is critical to focus not only on the process of generation and analysis of data generated using such tools, but also on the utilization of the findings for policy and decision making. Here we discuss the promise and challenges of NGS and CRISPR-Cas in the context of malaria as Africa moves towards malaria elimination. These innovative tools are urgently needed to strengthen the current diagnostic and surveillance systems. We discuss ongoing efforts to deploy these tools for malaria detection and molecular surveillance highlighting potential opportunities presented by these innovative technologies as well as challenges in adopting them. Their deployment will also offer an opportunity to broadly build in-country capacity in pathogen genomics and bioinformatics, and to effectively engage with multiple stakeholders as well as policy makers, overcoming current workforce and infrastructure challenges. Overall, these ongoing initiatives will build the malaria molecular surveillance capacity of African researchers and their institutions, and allow them to generate genomics data and perform bioinformatics analysis in-country in order to provide critical information that will be used for real-time policy and decision-making to support malaria elimination on the continent

Olfactory gene expression of male Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles quadriannulatus

Characterization of the expression of olfactory genes in the antennae of male Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles quadriannulatus to compare to female expression as part of an effort to identify candidate genes for vertebrate host preference

Olfactory gene expression of male Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles quadriannulatus

Characterization of the expression of olfactory genes in the antennae of male Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles quadriannulatus to compare to female expression as part of an effort to identify candidate genes for vertebrate host preference

Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles quadriannulatus olfactory gene expression

RNAseq data from Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles quadriannulatus antennae and maxillary palps

Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles quadriannulatus olfactory gene expression

RNAseq data from Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles quadriannulatus antennae and maxillary palps

Chemosensory gene expression in olfactory organs of the anthropophilic Anopheles coluzzii and zoophilic Anopheles quadriannulatus

Background: Anopheles (An.) coluzzii, one of Africa's primary malaria vectors, is highly anthropophilic. This human host preference contributes greatly to its ability to transmit malaria. In contrast, the closely related An. quadriannulatus prefers to feed on bovids and is not thought to contribute to malaria transmission. The diverged preference for host odor profiles between these sibling species is likely reflected in chemosensory gene expression levels in the olfactory organs. Therefore, we compared the transcriptomes of the antennae and maxillary palps between An. coluzzii and An. quadriannulatus, focusing on the major chemosensory gene families. Results: While chemosensory gene expression is strongly correlated between the two species, various chemosensory genes show significantly enhanced expression in one of the species. In the antennae of An. coluzzii the expression of six olfactory receptors (Ors) and seven ionotropic receptors (Irs) is considerably enhanced, whereas 11 Ors and 3 Irs are upregulated in An. quadriannulatus. In the maxillary palps, leaving aside Irs with very low level of expression, one Ir is strongly enhanced in each species. In addition, we find divergence in odorant binding protein (Obp) gene expression, with several highly expressed Obps being enhanced in the antennae and palps of An. coluzzii. Finally, the expression of several gustatory receptors (Grs) in the palps appears to be species-specific, including a homolog of a sugar-sensing Drosophila Gr. Conclusions: A considerable number of Ors and Irs are differentially expressed between these two closely related species with diverging host preference. These chemosensory genes could play a role in the human host preference of the malaria vector An. coluzzii. Additionally, divergence in Obp expression between the two species suggests a possible role of these odor carrier proteins in determining host preference. Finally, divergence in chemosensory expression in the palps may point towards a possible role for the maxillary palps in host differentiation.</p

Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles quadriannulatus olfactory gene expression

RNAseq data from Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles quadriannulatus antennae and maxillary palps

Additional file 2: Table S3. of Chemosensory gene expression in olfactory organs of the anthropophilic Anopheles coluzzii and zoophilic Anopheles quadriannulatus

RPKM and fold change values for replicate samples for chemosensory genes with small (fold change <2), yet significantly different expression between species. (XLSX 45 kb

Additional file 1: of Chemosensory gene expression in olfactory organs of the anthropophilic Anopheles coluzzii and zoophilic Anopheles quadriannulatus

Gene expression data for the antennae and maxillary palps of female Anopheles coluzzii and Anopheles quadriannulatus. (XLSX 3020 kb