Identification of full-length genes involved in the biosynthesis of ß-caryophyllene and Lupeol from the leaf transcriptome of Ayapana triplinervis.

ß-Caryophyllene possesses potential anticancer properties against various cancers, including breast, colon, and lung cancer. Therefore, the essential oil of Ayapana triplinervis, which is rich in ß-caryophyllene, can be a potential herbal remedy for treating cancer. However, molecular and genomic studies on A. triplinervis are still sparse. In this study, we obtained 14.7 Gb of RNA-Seq data from A. triplinervis leaf RNA and assembled 1,37,554 transcripts with an N50 value of 1,437 bp. We annotated 72,436 (52.7%) transcripts and mapped 10,640 transcripts to 156 biochemical pathways. Among them, 218 were related to terpenoid backbone biosynthesis, while 27 were linked to sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoid pathways. Ninety-four transcripts were annotated in the ß-caryophyllene and lupeol pathways. From these transcripts, for the first time, we identified 25 full-length genes encoding all the 17 enzymes involved in ß-caryophyllene biosynthesis and an additional five genes involved in lupeol biosynthesis. These genes will be useful for the metabolic engineering of ß-caryophyllene and lupeol biosynthesis, not just in A. triplinervis but also in other species. Keywords: ß-caryophyllene, Eupatorium ayapana, Eupatorium triplinervis, lupeol, transcriptome.

The complete chloroplast genome of Phyla nodiflora (Linnaeus) Greene (1899) from the Verbenaceae family and its phylogenetic analysis.

Phyla nodiflora (Linnaeus) Greene (1899) is a perennial creeping herb belonging to the family Verbenaceae. It has numerous pharmacological properties, including anti-dandruff, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-melanogenesis, anti-hypertensive, and anti-hyperuricemic properties. We generated the complete chloroplast genome sequence of P. nodiflora using Illumina paired-end sequencing data. The P. nodiflora chloroplast genome is 154,341 bp in length, containing a large single copy (LSC) region of 85,185 bp and a small single copy (SSC) region of 17,222 bp, separated by a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,967 bp. The genome contained 128 genes, including 86 protein-coding, 34 tRNA, and eight rRNA genes. Six genes had one intron, one gene had two introns, and the others did not have an intron. Overall GC content of the chloroplast genome was 39%, while those of LSC, SSC, and IR regions were 38.2%, 33.7%, and 44%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of the chloroplast genome revealed that P. nodiflora is closely related to the other species from Verbenaceae.

Unrelated and related donor transplantation for beta-thalassemia major: A single-center experience from India.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) remains the only curative treatment in patients with ß-thalassemia major. A matched sibling or a related donor is usually found in only 25%-30% of the patients. There are limited data on matched unrelated donor (MUD) transplants from India. We reviewed HSCT outcome in 56 children with TM who underwent 57 transplants at our center. Related donor (RD) (n=43) and MUD (n=14) transplants were performed with TreoFluT-based conditioning regimen in majority (95%) of patients. Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) were the preferred (85%) source of stem cells. The overall survival (OS) at 1 year in RD and MUD groups was 87.6±5.2% and 85.7±9.4% at a median follow-up of 25 (1-92) months and 22.5 (1-50) months, respectively (P=.757). The thalassemia-free survival (TFS) at 1 year was 87.6±5.2% and 77.1±11.7% with a median follow-up of 24 (1-92) and 16.5 (1-50) months, respectively (P=.487). Although acute (14% vs 64%) and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (13.9% vs 42.9%), infectious (39.5% vs 71.4%), and non-infectious (37.2% vs 78.5%) complications are higher in MUD transplant group, the present data show a comparable OS and TFS among RD and MUD group with treosulfan-based regimen using PBSC grafts.