Identification and validation of novel EST-SSR markers in olives

ABSTRACT: The olive (Olea europaea L.) is a leading oil crop in the Mediterranean area. Limited information on the inheritance of agronomic significant traits hinders progress in olive breeding programs, which encourages the development of markers linked to the traits. In this study, we report on the development of 46 olive simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, obtained from 577,025 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) in developing olive fruits generated in the framework of the Slovenian national olive transcriptome project. Sequences were de novo assembled into 98,924 unigenes, which were then used as a source for microsatellites searching. We identified 923 unigenes that contained 984 SSRs among which dinucleotide SSRs (36 %) were the most abundant, followed by tri- (33 %) and hexa- (21 %) nucleotides. Microsatellite repeat motif GA (37 %) was the most common among dinucleotides, while microsatellite repeat motif GAA was the most abundant trinucleotide SSR motif (16 %). Gene ontology annotations could be assigned to 27 % of the unigenes. A hundred and ten expressed sequence tag-derived-simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) with annotated genes were selected for primer designing and finally, 46 (42 %) polymorphic EST-SSRs were successfully amplified and used to validate genetic diversity among 24 olive varieties. The average number of alleles per locus, observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity, and polymorphic information content were 4.5, 0.649, 0.604 and 0.539, respectively. Twenty-seven EST-SSRs showed good diversity properties and were recommended for further olive genome investigation

Influence of metallic, metallic oxide, and organic nanoparticles on plant physiology

Nanotechnology is a research area that has experienced tremendous development given the enormous potential of nanoparticles (NPs) to influence almost all industries and conventional processes. NPs have been extensively used in agriculture to improve plant physiology, production, and nutritional values of plant-based products. The large surface area and small size are some of the desired attributes for NPs that can substantially ameliorate plants’ physiological processes, thereby improving crop production. Nevertheless, the results derived from such research have not always been positive as NPs have been shown, in some cases, to negatively affect plants due to their potentially toxic nature. These toxic effects depend upon the size, concentration, nature, zeta potential, and shape of nanoparticles, as well as the used plant species. The most common response of plants under NPs toxicity is the activation of antioxidant systems and the production of secondary metabolites. The mitigation of such NPs-induced stress highly varies depending on the amount of NPs applied to the plant growth stage and the environmental conditions. On the contrary, higher photosynthetic rates, higher chlorophyll, and proline content, improved homeostasis, hormonal balance, and nutrient assimilation are the favorable physiological changes after NPs applications. Alternatively, NPs do not always exhibit positive or negative impacts on plants, and no physiological influences are sometimes observed. Considering such diversity of responses after the use of NPs on plants, this review summarizes the progress made in nanotechnology on the influence of different NPs in plant physiology through the use of indexes like seed germination, root and shoot morphology, photosynthesis, and their impact when used as carriers of cell signaling molecules such as nitric oxide (NO). Understanding the intimate dynamics of nanoparticle toxicity in plants can prove to be fruitful for the development of areas like agronomy, horticulture, plant pathology, plant physiology, etc. That, in return, can assist to ensure agricultural sustainability. Similarly, this may also help to pave the way to combat the drastic climate change and satisfy growing food demands for the ever-increasing world population. Further studies on molecular and genetic levels can certainly broaden the current understanding of NPs-plant interactions and devise the respective mitigation strategies for environmental safety.J.M.P and F.J.C. thank the financial support provided by European Regional Development Fund, co-financed grant from the Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID 2019-103924 GB-I00), the Plan Andaluz de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion (PAIDI 2020) (P18-FR-1359), and Junta de Andalucía (group BIO192), Spain

Relapse and Disease-Free Survival in Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndrome Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Using Older Matched Sibling Donors vs Younger Matched Unrelated Donors

IMPORTANCE Matched sibling donors (MSDs) are preferred for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) inmyelodysplastic syndrome even if they are older. However, whether older MSDs or younger human leukocyte antigen-matched unrelated donors (MUDs) are associated with better outcomes remains unclear.OBJECTIVE To investigate whether allo-HCT formyelodysplastic syndrome using younger MUDs would be associated with improved disease-free survival and less relapse compared with older MSDs.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective cohort study assessed data reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research database from 1761 adults 50 years or older withmyelodysplastic syndrome who underwent allo-HCT using an older MSD or younger MUD between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2017, with a median follow-up of 48 months. Data analysis was performed from January 8, 2019, to December 30, 2020.INTERVENTIONS/EXPOSURES Allo-HCT from an older MSD (donor age >= 50 years) or a younger MUD (donor age <= 35 years).MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcomewas disease-free survival. Secondary outcomes were overall survival, relapse, nonrelapse mortality, acute graft-vs-host disease (GVHD), chronic GVHD, and GVHD-free relapse-free survival.RESULTS Of 1761 patients (1162 [66%] male; median [range] age, 64.9 [50.2-77.6] years in the MSD cohort and 66.5 [50.4-80.9] years in MUD cohort), 646 underwent allo-HCT with an older MSD and 1115 with a younger MUD. In multivariable analysis, the rate of disease-free survival was significantly lower in allo-HCTs with older MSDs compared with younger MUDs (hazard ratio [HR], 1.17; 95% CI, 1.02-1.34; P=.02), whereas the difference in overall survival rate of allo-HCT with younger MUDs vs older MSDs was not statistically significant (HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.98-1.29; P=.07). Allo-HCT with older MSDs was associated with significantly higher relapse (HR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.32-1.97; P <.001), lower nonrelapse mortality (HR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.59-0.96; P=.02), lower acute GVHD (HR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.42-0.65; <.001), chronic GVHD (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.64-0.92; P=.005), and a lower rate of GVHD-free relapse-free survival beyond 12 months after allo-HCT (HR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.02-1.98; P=.04).CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study found higher disease-free survival and lower relapse for allo-HCT inmyelodysplastic syndrome using younger MUDs compared with older MSDs. The risk of nonrelapse mortality and GVHD was lower with older MSDs. These results suggest that the use of younger MUDs should be considered in the donor selection algorithm formyelodysplastic syndrome, in which it is pivotal to minimize relapse given limited treatment options for managing relapsed disease

Environmental Risk Factors in the Etiology of Nonsyndromic Orofacial Clefts in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia

Objectives Nonsyndromic orofacial cleft (NSOFC) etiology is multifactorial and heterogeneous. This study aimed to identify environmental risk factors related to NSOFC in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. Methods A case-control study carried out in seven hospitals in two main cities (Jeddah and Maddina) over 2 years on parents of 112 infants with NSOFC (infants were also examined) and 138 infant controls, matched for age (≤18 months), gender, and location, completed a questionnaire on 3-month pregestation and first trimester events. Results There was significantly increased NSOFC risk with twin pregnancies (P = .01, odds ratio [OR] = 9.5, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15 to 78.4), maternal antibiotic use (P = .021, OR = 2.71, 95% CI: 1.11 to 6.62), antiemetic medication (P = .005, OR = 2.85, 95% CI: 1.3 to 6), severe morning sickness (P = .006, OR = 3.6, 95% CI: 1.34 to 9.65), illness (P = .009, OR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.17 to 4.08), common cold/flu (P = .003, OR = 3.32, 95% CI: 1.48 to 7.58), Jorak smoking (P = .004, OR = 14.07, 95% CI: 1.55 to 128.1), and passive smoking (P = .05, OR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.05 to 4.01). Reduced NSOFC risk was found with calcium supplementation (P = .02, OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.88), incense use (P = .03, OR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.34 to 0.98), and maternal drinking water, with Zamzam water (which contains a high concentration of minerals) showing a significant protective effect compared with tap water (P = .01, 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.6) and bottled water (P = .02, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.57). Conclusion Twin births, maternal antibiotic use, antiemetic medication, severe morning sickness, common cold/flu, Jorak smoking, and passive smoking were associated with infants born with NSOFC. Calcium supplementation, incense use, and Zamzam water reduced the risk of NSOFC, raising the possibility of community preventive programs

Mutations in multiple components of the nuclear pore complex cause nephrotic syndrome

Item does not contain fulltextSteroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) almost invariably progresses to end-stage renal disease. Although more than 50 monogenic causes of SRNS have been described, a large proportion of SRNS remains unexplained. Recently, it was discovered that mutations of NUP93 and NUP205, encoding 2 proteins of the inner ring subunit of the nuclear pore complex (NPC), cause SRNS. Here, we describe mutations in genes encoding 4 components of the outer rings of the NPC, namely NUP107, NUP85, NUP133, and NUP160, in 13 families with SRNS. Using coimmunoprecipitation experiments, we showed that certain pathogenic alleles weakened the interaction between neighboring NPC subunits. We demonstrated that morpholino knockdown of nup107, nup85, or nup133 in Xenopus disrupted glomerulogenesis. Re-expression of WT mRNA, but not of mRNA reflecting mutations from SRNS patients, mitigated this phenotype. We furthermore found that CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of NUP107, NUP85, or NUP133 in podocytes activated Cdc42, an important effector of SRNS pathogenesis. CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of nup107 or nup85 in zebrafish caused developmental anomalies and early lethality. In contrast, an in-frame mutation of nup107 did not affect survival, thus mimicking the allelic effects seen in humans. In conclusion, we discovered here that mutations in 4 genes encoding components of the outer ring subunits of the NPC cause SRNS and thereby provide further evidence that specific hypomorphic mutations in these essential genes cause a distinct, organ-specific phenotype

Global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on subarachnoid haemorrhage hospitalisations, aneurysm treatment and in-hospital mortality: 1-year follow-up

Background Prior studies indicated a decrease in the incidences of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated differences in the incidence, severity of aSAH presentation, and ruptured aneurysm treatment modality during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the preceding year. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study including 49 countries and 187 centres. We recorded volumes for COVID-19 hospitalisations, aSAH hospitalisations, Hunt-Hess grade, coiling, clipping and aSAH in-hospital mortality. Diagnoses were identified by International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, codes or stroke databases from January 2019 to May 2021. Results Over the study period, there were 16 247 aSAH admissions, 344 491 COVID-19 admissions, 8300 ruptured aneurysm coiling and 4240 ruptured aneurysm clipping procedures. Declines were observed in aSAH admissions (-6.4% (95% CI-7.0% to-5.8%), p=0.0001) during the first year of the pandemic compared with the prior year, most pronounced in high-volume SAH and high-volume COVID-19 hospitals. There was a trend towards a decline in mild and moderate presentations of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) (mild:-5% (95% CI-5.9% to-4.3%), p=0.06; moderate:-8.3% (95% CI-10.2% to-6.7%), p=0.06) but no difference in higher SAH severity. The ruptured aneurysm clipping rate remained unchanged (30.7% vs 31.2%, p=0.58), whereas ruptured aneurysm coiling increased (53.97% vs 56.5%, p=0.009). There was no difference in aSAH in-hospital mortality rate (19.1% vs 20.1%, p=0.12). Conclusion During the first year of the pandemic, there was a decrease in aSAH admissions volume, driven by a decrease in mild to moderate presentation of aSAH. There was an increase in the ruptured aneurysm coiling rate but neither change in the ruptured aneurysm clipping rate nor change in aSAH in-hospital mortality. Trial registration number NCT04934020. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ