The genomic landscape of molecular responses to natural drought stress in Panicum hallii

© 2018, The Author(s). Environmental stress is a major driver of ecological community dynamics and agricultural productivity. This is especially true for soil water availability, because drought is the greatest abiotic inhibitor of worldwide crop yields. Here, we test the genetic basis of drought responses in the genetic model for C4 perennial grasses, Panicum hallii, through population genomics, field-scale gene-expression (eQTL) analysis, and comparison of two complete genomes. While gene expression networks are dominated by local cis-regulatory elements, we observe three genomic hotspots of unlinked trans-regulatory loci. These regulatory hubs are four times more drought responsive than the genome-wide average. Additionally, cis- and trans-regulatory networks are more likely to have opposing effects than expected under neutral evolution, supporting a strong influence of compensatory evolution and stabilizing selection. These results implicate trans-regulatory evolution as a driver of drought responses and demonstrate the potential for crop improvement in drought-prone regions through modification of gene regulatory networks

Understanding the effect of Raphanus sativus extract on the pathogenesis of chronic myeloid leukemia, breast and colon cancer through mathematical modeling

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), breast, and colon cancer are among the most prevalent types of cancer in the Philippines. In most of the cancer cases reported annually, cancer is only detected when it is on its advance stage due to the lack of early detection and limited options of targeted therapies. There are studies that show different effects of Raphanus sativus (radish) extract on different cancer diseases. However, it is still unknown why it has different effects on different cancer diseases. Therefore, understanding disease dynamics would help in improving prognosis and diagnosis. In this study, we propose a mathematical model that would explain the effect of Raphanus sativus extract on the pathogenesis of CML, breast and colon cancer. Since p53 is one of the most extensively studied gene in the field of cancer research and Cyclin D1-CDK complex is one of the more frequently altered cell cycle regulators in cancers, these genes are the focus for the basis of the effectiveness of the drug. Based on our simulations, we have showed that a 99.99%, 99.68%, and 98.96% decrease in the steady-state concentration of p53 are observed in breast cancer, colon cancer, and CML, respectively, after the drug was inserted in the model. Moreover, Cyclin D1-CDK complex\u27s steady-state concentration is decreased by 99.91% in breast cancer, 99.89% in colon cancer, and 98.50% in CML. Hence, the model suggests that Raphanus sativus extract is highly effective on breast cancer followed by colon cancer and CML