Single-strand conformation polymorphism-based genetic characterization of the cyclospora cayetanensis strains collected from different provinces in turkey

Introduction and objective. Cyclospora cayetanensis, a coccidian protozoan species, has been recently found to cause diarrhea in all age groups in immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals in most regions of the world. This study aimed to conduct the molecular detection of C. cayetanensis and to determine the genetic diversity of the 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence of C. cayetanensis isolated from individuals living in different provinces in Turkey by using PCR–single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). Materials and method. A total of 22 subjects were included in the study. Fourteen of the subjects were female and eight were male, with ages ranging between 7–65 years. Stool specimens were examined using wet mount and modified acid-fast staining methods, which revealed the presence of oocysts in the samples. The 18S rRNA ITS-1 Ccits37f-GCTTGCTATGTTTTAGCATGTGG and Ccits501r-GCACAATGAATGCACACACA gene regions were used as primers. The PCR products were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis and visualized on a UV transilluminator. For the SSCP, the PCR products were denatured with formamide, run for 16 h in 6% (49:1) polyacrylamide gel, and then imaged with silver staining. Results. SSCP assay was performed given that the DNA strands demonstrated different folds; the DNA strands contain different nucleotides based on the PCR-SSCP results for the Cyclospora strains collected in 4 provinces. Moreover, 3 different band profiles were observed in the investigated samples. A slight mutation difference was observed among the strains collected. Conclusions. Further comprehensive studies involving more C. cayetanensis-positive specimens and utilizing different mutation screening methods are warranted to demonstrate mutation differences in Cyclopora strains in Turkey. © 2021, Institute of Agricultural Medicine. All rights reserved

Toxoplasmosis and Public Health Genomics

Toxoplasma gondii infection generally causes flu-like symptoms in healthy individuals; however, immunosuppression of the infected individual causes reactivation of the pathogen to its active form and relapse of the toxoplasmosis. Today it is known that toxoplasmosis triggers psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia as well as behavioral changes such as suicide attempts. Although dermatological manifestations are very rare, the dermatological lesions are not unique. In addition, previous toxoplasma infection also causes congenital infections because of placental infection and causes birth defects and spontaneous abortion. T. gondii strains are mainly divided into three main clonal lineages, yet higher recombination rate causes unusual population structure and heterogeneous distribution of the pathogen. Both genetic variations, of the pathogen and the patients, are important for virulence property and success of the therapies. The scientist focuses on the genetic variations of the pathogens and individuals to achieve effective treatment and developed tailor-made medicines. Thus, understanding the molecular basis of the disease and the link of molecular mechanism with host immunity is important to fully know the disease and related disorders. In this chapter, we would like to evaluate the current knowledge on genetic, molecular characteristics of toxoplasmosis in view of public health genomics

Growth Performance of ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Fuji’ Cultivars Grafted onto Dwarf Rootstocks: a Preliminary Study in Eastern Anatolia

This study was carried out to determine the growth performance of ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Fuji’ apple varieties, which are widley grown in Turkey, grafted to dwarf rootstocks within their initial two years under continental ecological conditions of the Van Region in East Anatolia. In the first year, the vegetative characters of the cultivars were measured, whereas the yield and the growth rate were both determined in the second year. The yields of ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Fuji’ varieties were 2.38 and 3.88 kg, with average fruit weights of 173.71 g and 136.76 g, respectively. The concentrations of soluble solids, an important quality attribute, were 11.2% and 12.9% for ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Fuji’, respectively. Titratable acidity, which indicates the maturity of the fruit and specifies the market suitability, was found to be 0.37% in ‘Granny Smith’ and 0.52% in ‘Fuji’. Although some properties differed between these cultivars, the firmness of both cultivars was the same, with a value of 6.6 libre. Although both varieties have a double sigmoid vegetative growth, ‘Granny Smith’’s vegetative growth was relatively better than that of ‘Fuji’, whereas ‘Fuji’ had a higher productivity. However, for precise evaluation of yields, the period of economical production is required. Preliminary results of morphological, phenological, and pomological tests showed that the varieties ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Fuji’ grafted onto dwarf rootstocks have a potential for increased production in the Van region of Eastern Turkey

The distribution of T lymphocyte subtypes in cases with different chronic liver disease

Amaç: Hepatit B erişkinlerde %1-5 oranında kronikleşe- bilen siroz ve hepatosellüler karsinomaya neden olabilen önemli bir enfeksiyon hastalığıdır. Hepatit D ise HBsAg () kişilerde gelişen bir enfeksiyondur. Hepatit D virüsü- nün sitopatik etkili olduğu bilinmektedir ancak bu hasta- lığın gelişiminde rol oynayan immün mekanizmalar halen araştırılmaktadır. Bundan dolayı, bu çalışmada çeşitli kro- nik hepatit vakalarında lenfositlerin sayısal değişikliği olup olmadığını araştırmak amaçlandı. Yöntemler: Bu çalışmada, kronik karaciğer hastalığı olan 12’si kadın 10’u erkek toplam 22 hasta değerlendirildi. Bu hastalar 12 kadın 8 erkekten oluşan, 20 kişilik sağlıklı kontrol grubu ile karşılaştırıldı. Hasta ve kontrol grubunun periferik kanlarında flow sitometrik yöntemle CD3, CD4, CD8, CD25, CD56, CD161 ve V?24 monoklonal antikor- ları kullanılarak T lenfosit alt grupları araştırıldı. Bulgular: Hastaların ve kontrol grubunun yaş ortalama- sı sırasıyla 45.8711.18 yıl, 41.457.23 yıl idi. Hastaların biri hariç tümünde, HBsAg pozitif olarak bulundu.15 has- ta HBsAg yanı sıra Anti Delta pozitifliği de gösterdi. Bu hastaların; 6’sı kronik karaciğer hastalığı, 7’si karaciğer sirozu ve 2’si ise hepatoma tanısı ile izlenmekteydi. Total T lenfosit, CD4 Th hücre ve CD3CD56 NKT hücre- ler ve V?24CD161 NKT hücreler açısından hasta ve kontrol grubu arasında fark saptanmadı. Ancak, CD8 Tc, CD1656 NK hücreler ve CD4CD25 regülatör T hücre düzeylerinin, hastaların kanlarında kontrollere göre daha düşük olduğu saptandı. Sonuç: Bu sonuçlar, HBsAg pozitifliğinin sitotoksik yanıttan sorumlu hücrelerde ki azalmaya neden olduğunu ima etmektedir. Ancak kronik hepatitteki immünolojik cevabı açıklayabilmek için ileri çalışmalara ihtiyaç vardır.Objective: Hepatitis B is an important infectious disease, which can cause severe chronic cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in 1-5 % of adult patients. Whereas, Hepatitis D is a defective virus infection that develops in people with HBsAg (). It has been known that Hepatitis D virus has a cytopathic effect but the immune mechanisms which play a role in the development of this disease are still under investigation. Therefore, in this study it was aimed to investigate whether lymphocytes numbers change in a variety of patients with chronic hepatitis. Methods: In this study, 22 patients (12 females and 10 males) with chronic liver diseases were examined. These patients were compared to the control group which consists of 20 healthy individuals (12 females, 8 males). A flow cytometry assay was conducted to examine T lymphocyte subgroups using CD3, CD4, CD8, CD25, CD56, CD161 and Vα24 monoclonal antibodies in peripheral blood samples of both patient and control groups. Results: The mean age of patient group and control group were 45.87±11.18 and 41.45±7.23 year respectively. The HbsAg was found to be positive in all patients with the exception of one patient. 15 patients also exhibited Anti Delta Antigen positive as well as HbsAg. Six of these patients have been diagnosed with chronic liver disease, 7 of them have been diagnosed liver chrosis and two of them have been diagnosed with hepathoma. No difference was found between the patients and healthy controls in terms of total T lymphocyte, CD4Th cells CD3CD56 NKT cells and Vα24CD161 iNKT cells. However, the levels of CD8 Tc cells, CD1656 NK cells and CD4CD25 T lymphocytes were found to be lower in patients bloods as compared to the healthy controls. Conclusions: These results suggest that HbsAg positivity may cause the decreases of the cells which are responsible for cytotoxic response. Nevertheless, further studies are required to explain the immunological response to the chronic hepatitis