Testing antidepressant compounds in a neuropsychological model of drug action

Although much research effort has been put into the development of new antidepressant drugs, the process of developing a drug often fails at the stage of large randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which an initially promising compound appears to lack efficacy after all. Several experimental medicine models have been proposed as preclinical tools in order to predict drug efficacy before the stage large RCTs. Among the various experimental medicine models, the cognitive neuropsychological model has been proposed as a tool to predict the efficacy of antidepressant drug even before the stage of large scale and expensive RCTs. We applied the cognitive neuropsychological model of drug action to test antidepressant effects of a novel compound (ARA290) and a well-known compound (L-tryptophan). We further investigated the model by tapping into HPA-axis reactivity and social decision making as additional outcomes, and investigated their interaction with a genetic marker.VICI grant (NWO) - Prof. dr. Willem van der DoesUBL - phd migration 201

Recent advancements in the breeding of sorghum crop: current status and future strategies for marker-assisted breeding

Sorghum is emerging as a model crop for functional genetics and genomics of tropical grasses with abundant uses, including food, feed, and fuel, among others. It is currently the fifth most significant primary cereal crop. Crops are subjected to various biotic and abiotic stresses, which negatively impact on agricultural production. Developing high-yielding, disease-resistant, and climate-resilient cultivars can be achieved through marker-assisted breeding. Such selection has considerably reduced the time to market new crop varieties adapted to challenging conditions. In the recent years, extensive knowledge was gained about genetic markers. We are providing an overview of current advances in sorghum breeding initiatives, with a special focus on early breeders who may not be familiar with DNA markers. Advancements in molecular plant breeding, genetics, genomics selection, and genome editing have contributed to a thorough understanding of DNA markers, provided various proofs of the genetic variety accessible in crop plants, and have substantially enhanced plant breeding technologies. Marker-assisted selection has accelerated and precised the plant breeding process, empowering plant breeders all around the world

Determination of the allele frequency of some genomic loci in a Holstein cattle population and its importance in individual identification

Nowadays, the use of DNA sequences with genetic techniques and DNA polymorphism as genetic markers is increasing very rapidly. In this study, we examined the frequencies of seven different polymorphic loci in the cattle population of Istanbul University Veterinary Medicine Research and Application Farm. Thus, our aim was to examine and calculate the power of exclusion, match probability and power of discrimination of the seven loci, and examine the usefulness of the involved loci in identification tests. For DNA extraction, Chelex and Phenol-Chloroform-Isoamil alcohol methods were applied to the blood taken from animals. After measuring the amount and purity degree of DNA with a spectrophotometer, seven DNA loci were amplified by PCR. The amplification products were stained with EtBr and examined with 1.5% Agarose gel electrophoresis. Using clenaturated polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining, PCR products were evaluated and phenotypes of the alleles were determined. At the end of the study, a mismatch to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was observed in all loci but BMS1822. The highest heterozygosity ratio was 83.3% for BMS2270, and the lowest ratio was 31.4% for BMS2721 among the seven STR/microsatellite loci we studied. The highest exclusion probability was 0.662 for BMS 2270, and the lowest was 0.066 for BMS2721. The highest power of discrimination was 0.947 for BMS2270, and the lowest was 0.504 for BMS2721. The highest matching probability was for BMS3019 and BMS2721, and the lowest was for BMS2270 and BMS1822. It was observed that the loci in this study have very high power of discrimination and power of exclusion values when combined. Thus, these systems may be useful as markers in DNA profiling