Psoriasis-associated variant Act1 D10N with impaired regulation by Hsp90

Act1 is an essential adaptor molecule in IL-17-mediated signaling and is recruited to the IL-17 receptor upon IL-17 stimulation. Here, we report that Act1 is a client protein of the molecular chaperone, Hsp90. The Act1 variant (D10N) linked to psoriasis susceptibility is defective in its interaction with Hsp90, resulting in a global loss of Act1 function. Act1-/- mice modeled the mechanistic link between Act1 loss of function and psoriasis susceptibility. Although Act1 is necessary for IL-17-mediated inflammation, Act1-/- mice exhibited a hyper TH17 response and developed spontaneous IL-22-dependent skin inflammation. In the absence of IL-17-signaling, IL-22 is the main contributor to skin inflammation, providing a molecular mechanism for the association of Act1 (D10N) with psoriasis susceptibility

Characterization of cotton (<i style="">Gossypium hirsutum</i>) germplasm by ISSR, RAPD markers and agronomic values

388-393Using ISSR, RAPD markers and agronomic values, the characterization of 25 cotton (G. hirsutum) germplasms was carried out. 45 ISSR primers and 40 RAPD primers were used to amplify the germplasms. 19 scorable ISSR primers generated 90 markers while 21 reproducible RAPD primers generated 150 markers; of which, 49 markers from ISSR and 76 markers from RAPD were scored as polymorphic. Dendrograms were developed for ISSR and RAPD analysis by using NTSYS-pc software. Dendrogram of ISSR analysis showed 3 clusters while that of RAPD showed 4. Six agronomic values were also used for the characterization of germplasms. Based on these agronomic values, non-hierarchical Euclidean cluster analysis was performed to group the 25 cotton germplasms into 6 clusters. Significant similarities were found in the clustering of ISSR and RAPD analysis, however, correlations were not made between the clustering of ISSR, RAPD analysis and agronomic data analysis

Assessment of Crop Damage by Protected Wild Mammalian Herbivores on the Western Boundary of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), Central India.

Crop raiding by wild herbivores close to an area of protected wildlife is a serious problem that can potentially undermine conservation efforts. Since there is orders of magnitude difference between farmers' perception of damage and the compensation given by the government, an objective and realistic estimate of damage was found essential. We employed four different approaches to estimate the extent of and patterns in crop damage by wild herbivores along the western boundary of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in the state of Maharashtra, central India. These approaches highlight different aspects of the problem but converge on an estimated damage of over 50% for the fields adjacent to the forest, gradually reducing in intensity with distance. We found that the visual damage assessment method currently employed by the government for paying compensation to farmers was uncorrelated to and grossly underestimated actual damage. The findings necessitate a radical rethinking of policies to assess, mitigate as well as compensate for crop damage caused by protected wildlife species

Identification and genetic purity testing of cotton F₁ hybrid using molecular markers

301-306Gossypium hirsutum F1 hybrid Phule-388 and it’s parents RHCb-001 as male and RHC-006 as female were studied for identification and genetic purity testing with three PCR based molecular markers. Twenty RAPD primers, 19 ISSR primers and 33 cotton microsatellite loci were used for the analysis. RAPD primers, OPA-08 and OPA-11, were found to be useful in differentiating parents and hybrid. Two ISSR primers, IS-10 and IS-12, were identified. Two male specific amplicons of 1200 bp, 1500 bp and 1000 bp, 1300 bp each were also present in the hybrid. Microsatellite loci, JESPR-151 and JESPR-152 were found to be heteroallelic for parents. JESPR-151 identified male specific 140 bp repeat and female specific 180 bp repeat while JESPR-152 detected one male and female specific repeats of 120 bp and 180 bp, respectively. Results indicated that using all the three markers-RAPD, ISSRs and Microsatellites in combination is more reliable than using the three in isolation for identification and testing of genetic purity of cotton hybrids

Comparison of visually estimated loss and actual deficit in grain yield at harvest as compared to fenced control plots (both expressed in percentage).

<p>A: Rice (r = 0.062, p = 0.73, n = 32), B: Chickpea (r = 0.022, p = 0.86, n = 63), C: Wheat (r = -0.0519, p = 0.75, n = 39). All trends remained non-significant even after removing outliers. Apart from lack of correlation, note the orders of magnitude difference in scales. Cumulative visual assessment was dramatically lower than yield deficit.</p

Compensatory growth after artificial herbivory at different ages in chickpea.

<p>A: canopy height, B: canopy width, C: number of branches and D: number of seeds in plants cut when 25 days old (n = 53) and 45 days old (n = 51) with control (n = 50). Compensatory growth after artificial herbivory at different heights at pre-flowering stage in chickpea. E: canopy height, F: canopy width, G: number of branches, H: number of seeds of plants cut at 5 (n = 50), 10 (n = 51), 15 (n = 54) with control (n = 50).</p