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Not AvailableIn this study, we tested the effects of valproic acid (VPA), a known histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), on the growth characteristics, apoptosis, and cell cycle stages distribution of donor cells, as well as cloning efficiency, embryo development, and histone methylation. Our results showed that treatment of donor cells with VPA (2.5 mM, 5.0 mM, 7.5 mM, or 10 mM) for 24 h resulted in altered cell proliferation, extent of apoptosis and necrosis, and cell cycle stage distribution, whereas no changes in cell viability and chromosomal complements were observed. Measurement of relative gene expression using real-time PCR of a few developmentally important genes in treated donor cells showed decreased expression of HDAC1 and increased expression of BAX (p<0.05). No change in relative expression of HDAC2 and Bcl2 was noticed. Treatment of donor cells with VPA for 24 h before electrofusion significantly (p<0.05) increased the blastocyst formation rate of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos compared to the control embryos. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive nuclei in SCNT blastocysts derived from VPA-treated donor cells were significantly decreased compared to the control blastocysts (p<0.05). Immunolocalization studies revealed that the levels of histone H3 at lysine 9 (H3K9me3) were lower in VPA-treated donor cells derived cloned blastocysts than nontreated cloned embryos, and was at the level of in vitro fertilization (IVF) counterparts, although no effects of treatments were found in donor cells. Our study demonstrates that the use of VPA in SCNT has been beneficial for efficient reprogramming of donor cells. Its effect on histone methylation in cloned embryos correlates with their developmental potential and may be a useful epigenetic marker to predict the efficiency of SCNT.ICA

Selective electrochemical sensing for arsenite using rGO/Fe3O4 nanocomposites

Herein, we report rGO/Fe3O4 nanocomposites (NCs) free from noble metals, synthesized by facile one step chemical reduction method, for electrochemical detection of arsenite in water by square wave anodic stripping Voltammetry (SWASV). The synthesized NCs were characterized for its optical, morphological and structural properties. The NCs modified glassy carbon (GCE), NCs/GCE, electrodes showed a higher sensitivity (0.281 RA/ppb) and lower LOD (0.12 ppb) under optimized experimental conditions. The proposed NCs/GCE electrodes show no interference towards arsenite species in the presence of common cationic interferants, namely, Cu(II), Pb(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Cd(II), Cr(II), Zn(II), etc. In addition, the proposed electrode demonstrates a good stability, reproducibility and potential practical application in electrochemical detection of arsenite

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Not AvailableThis study investigated the effects of serum-starvation, total confluence, and roscovitine treatment on cell-cycle synchronization of buffalo ear skin fibroblasts to the G0/G1stage and on the developmental competence of cloned embryos. Serum starvation of total confluence cultures for 24 h had a higher (p<0.05) proportion of cells at G0/G1stage (94.4%) compared with serum starved cyclic and nonstarved confluent cultures (76.8 and 86.0%, respectively), whereas differences between cyclic cells with or without serum starvation were not significant. The proportion of cells at G0/G1 was higher (p<0.05) with 20 and 30 μM roscovitine treatment than that with 10 μM (94.4, 96.4, and 86.6%, respectively), which was similar to that for total confluence (86.0%). MTT assay showed that cell viability decreased as dose of roscovitine increased. The blastocyst rate was significantly higher (p<0.05) when nuclear transfer embryos were reconstructed using donors cells from total confluence, confluence serum starved, and roscovitine-treated (20 and 30 μM) groups (48.8, 48.9, 57.9, and 62.9%, respectively) compared to nontreated cyclic cells (20.2%). However, the cleavage rate and total cell number of cloned embryos were similar for all the groups. The number of ICM cells was improved by 30 μM roscovitine treatment (45.25±2.34). The cryosurvival rate of blastocysts derived from cells synchronized with 20 or 30 μM roscovitine was higher compared to that for total confluence group (33.6, 37.8 vs. 23.8%). In conclusion, treatment with 30 μM roscovitine is optimal for harvesting G0/G1stage cells for producing high quality cloned buffalo embryos, and that it is better than serum-starvation or total confluence for cell synchronization.ICA

Genetic diversity reveals synergistic interaction between yield components could improve the sink size and yield in rice

Intensive breeding programs have increased rice yields, strongly contributing to increasing global food security during the post-green revolution period. However, rice productivity has reached a yield barrier where further yield improvement is restricted by inadequate information on the association of yield components, and morphological and physiological traits with yield. We conducted a field experiment to evaluate (i) the contribution of morphological and physiological traits to yield and (ii) quantify the trade-off effect between the yield components in rice, using a mini-core collection of 362 rice genotypes comprising geographically distinct landraces and breeding lines. Our data point towards multiscale coordination of physiological and morphological traits associated with yield and biomass. Considerable trait variations across the genotypes in yield ranging from 0.5 to 78.5 g hill−1 and harvest index ranging from 0.7% to 60.7% highlight enormous diversity in rice across the globe. The natural elimination of trade-off between yield components revealed the possibility to enhance rice yield in modern cultivars. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that genotypes with larger sink sizes could fix more carbon to achieve a higher yield. We propose that the knowledge thus generated in this study can be helpful for (a) trait-based modeling and pyramiding alleles in rice-breeding programs and (b) assisting breeders and physiologists in their efforts to improve crop productivity under a changing climate, thus harnessing the potential for sustainable productivity gains

Genetic diversity reveals synergistic interaction between yield components could improve the sink size and yield in rice

Intensive breeding programs have increased rice yields, strongly contributing to increasing global food security during the post-green revolution period. However, rice productivity has reached a yield barrier where further yield improvement is restricted by inadequate information on the association of yield components, and morphological and physiological traits with yield. We conducted a field experiment to evaluate (i) the contribution of morphological and physiological traits to yield and (ii) quantify the trade-off effect between the yield components in rice, using a mini-core collection of 362 rice genotypes comprising geographically distinct landraces and breeding lines. Our data point towards multiscale coordination of physiological and morphological traits associated with yield and biomass. Considerable trait variations across the genotypes in yield ranging from 0.5 to 78.5 g hill−1 and harvest index ranging from 0.7% to 60.7% highlight enormous diversity in rice across the globe. The natural elimination of trade-off between yield components revealed the possibility to enhance rice yield in modern cultivars. Furthermore, our study demonstrated that genotypes with larger sink sizes could fix more carbon to achieve a higher yield. We propose that the knowledge thus generated in this study can be helpful for (a) trait-based modeling and pyramiding alleles in rice-breeding programs and (b) assisting breeders and physiologists in their efforts to improve crop productivity under a changing climate, thus harnessing the potential for sustainable productivity gains

Facile Route for the Synthesis of a Vertically Aligned ZnO–PANI Nanohybrid Film for Polyphenol Sensing

Vertically aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods have been fabricated on a polyaniline (PANI) film template after electrochemical seeding and hydrothermal growth in a nutrient medium at a low temperature of 65 °C. Dense c-oriented [0001], hexagonal-shaped, vertically aligned ZnO nanorods are obtained on the PANI film surface, which is confirmed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy studies. The nanohybrid film used as the working electrode has been characterized for sensing catechin polyphenol in different tea varieties through cyclic voltammetry. Principal component analysis shows enhancement in the classification ability of the nanohybrid film for various concentrations of catechin standard and tea infusions