Genome-wide analysis of NPR1-like genes in citrus species and expression analysis in response to citrus canker (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri).

Citrus fruits, revered for their nutritional value, face significant threats from diseases like citrus canker, particularly impacting global citrus cultivation, notably in Pakistan. This study delves into the critical role of NPR1-like genes, the true receptors for salicylic acid (SA), in the defense mechanisms of citrus against Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (Xcc). By conducting a comprehensive genome-wide analysis and phylogenetic study, the evolutionary dynamics of Citrus limon genes across diverse citrus cultivars are elucidated. Structural predictions unveil conserved domains, such as the BTB domain and ankyrin repeat domains, crucial for the defense mechanism. Motif analysis reveals essential conserved patterns, while cis-regulatory elements indicate their involvement in transcription, growth, response to phytohormones, and stress. The predominantly cytoplasmic and nuclear localization of NPR1-like genes underscores their pivotal role in conferring resistance to various citrus species. Analysis of the Ks/Ka ratio indicates a purifying selection of NPR1-like genes, emphasizing their importance in different species. Synteny and chromosomal mapping provide insights into duplication events and orthologous links among citrus species. Notably, Xac infection stimulates the expression of NPR1-like genes, revealing their responsiveness to pathogenic challenges. Interestingly, qRT-PCR profiling post-Xac infection reveals cultivar-specific alterations in expression within susceptible and resistant citrus varieties. Beyond genetic factors, physiological parameters like peroxidase, total soluble protein, and secondary metabolites respond to SA-dependent PR genes, influencing plant characteristics. Examining the impact of defense genes (NPR1) and plant characteristics on disease resistance in citrus, this study marks the inaugural investigation into the correlation between NPR1-associated genes and various plant traits in both susceptible and resistant citrus varieties to citrus bacterial canker.

A novel flexible exponent power-X family of distributions with applications to COVID-19 mortality rate in Mexico and Canada.

This paper aims to introduce a novel family of probability distributions by the well-known method of the T-X family of distributions. The proposed family is called a "Novel Generalized Exponent Power X Family" of distributions. A three-parameters special sub-model of the proposed method is derived and named a "Novel Generalized Exponent Power Weibull" distribution (NGEP-Wei for short). For the proposed family, some statistical properties are derived including the hazard rate function, moments, moment generating function, order statistics, residual life, and reverse residual life. The well-known method of estimation, the maximum likelihood estimation method is used for estimating the model parameters. Besides, a comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation study is conducted to assess the efficacy of this estimation method. Finally, the model selection criterion such as Akaike information criterion (AINC), the correct information criterion (CINC), the Bayesian information criterion (BINC), the Hannan-Quinn information criterion (HQINC), the Cramer-von-Misses (CRMI), and the ANDA (Anderson-Darling) are used for comparison purpose. The comparison of the NGEP-Wei with other rival distributions is made by Two COVID-19 data sets. In terms of performance, we show that the proposed method outperforms the other competing methods included in this study.

Modulating plant-soil microcosm with green synthesized ZnONPs in arsenic contaminated soil.

Biogenic nanoparticle (NP), derived from plant sources, is gaining prominence as a viable, cost-effective, sustainable, and biocompatible alternative for mitigating the extensive environmental impact of arsenic on the interplay between plant-soil system. Herein, the impact of green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) was assessed on Catharanthus roseus root system-associated enzymes and their possible impact on microbiome niches (rhizocompartments) and overall plant performance under arsenic (As) gradients. The application of ZnONPs at different concentrations successfully modified the arsenic uptake in various plant parts, with the root arsenic levels increasing 1.5 and 1.4-fold after 25 and 50 days, respectively, at medium concentration compared to the control. Moreover, ZnONPs gradients regulated the various soil enzyme activities. Notably, urease and catalase activities showed an increase when exposed to low concentrations of ZnONPs, whereas saccharase and acid phosphatase displayed the opposite pattern, showing increased activities under medium concentration which possibly in turn influence the plant root system associated microflora. The use of nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination revealed a significant differentiation (with a significance level of p < 0.05) in the structure of both bacterial and fungal communities under different treatment conditions across root associated niches. Bacterial and fungal phyla level analysis showed that Proteobacteria and Basidiomycota displayed a significant increase in relative abundance under medium ZnONPs concentration, as opposed to low and high concentrations, respectively. Similarly, in depth genera level analysis revealed that Burkholderia, Halomonas, Thelephora and Sebacina exhibited a notably high relative abundance in both the rhizosphere and rhizoplane (the former refers to the soil region influenced by root exudates, while the latter is the root surface itself) under medium concentrations of ZnONPs, respectively. These adjustments to the plant root-associated microcosm likely play a role in protecting the plant from oxidative stress by regulating the plant's antioxidant system and overall biomass.

Size-controlled synthesis of La and chitosan doped cobalt selenide nanostructures for catalytic and antibacterial activity with molecular docking analysis.

Co-precipitation method was adopted to synthesize ternary heterostructure catalysts La/CS-CoSe NSs (lanthanum/chitosan­cobalt selenide nanostructures) without the use of a surfactant. During synthesis, a fixed amount (3 wt%) of CS was doped with 2 and 4 wt% La to control the growth, recombination rate and stability of CoSe NSs. The doped samples served to enhance the surface area, porosity and active sites for catalytic degradation of rhodamine B dye and antibacterial potential against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Additionally, the synthesized catalysts were examined for morphological, structural and optical characteristics to assess the influence of dopants to CoSe. XRD spectra verified the hexagonal and cubic structure of CoSe, whereas the porosity of the undoped sample (CoSe) increased from 45 to 60 % upon incorporation of dopants (La and Cs). Among the samples analyzed during this study, 4 % La/CS-CoSe exhibited significant bactericidal behavior as well as the highest catalytic reduction of rhodamine B dye in a neutral environment. Molecular docking analysis was employed to elucidate the underlying mechanism behind the bactericidal activity exhibited by CS-CoSe and La/CS-CoSe NSs against DHFRS. aureus and DNA gyraseS. aureus.

Phytochemicals as Antimicrobials: Prospecting Himalayan Medicinal Plants as Source of Alternate Medicine to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance.

Among all available antimicrobials, antibiotics hold a prime position in the treatment of infectious diseases. However, the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has posed a serious threat to the effectiveness of antibiotics, resulting in increased morbidity, mortality, and escalation in healthcare costs causing a global health crisis. The overuse and misuse of antibiotics in global healthcare setups have accelerated the development and spread of AMR, leading to the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, which further limits treatment options. This creates a critical need to explore alternative approaches to combat bacterial infections. Phytochemicals have gained attention as a potential source of alternative medicine to address the challenge of AMR. Phytochemicals are structurally and functionally diverse and have multitarget antimicrobial effects, disrupting essential cellular activities. Given the promising results of plant-based antimicrobials, coupled with the slow discovery of novel antibiotics, it has become highly imperative to explore the vast repository of phytocompounds to overcome the looming catastrophe of AMR. This review summarizes the emergence of AMR towards existing antibiotics and potent phytochemicals having antimicrobial activities, along with a comprehensive overview of 123 Himalayan medicinal plants reported to possess antimicrobial phytocompounds, thus compiling the existing information that will help researchers in the exploration of phytochemicals to combat AMR.

Bioinformatics and genetic variants analysis of FGF10 gene promoter with their association at carcass quality and body measurement traits in Qinchuan beef cattle.

The fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10) gene regulates adipogenesis and myogensis. In this study, sequencing of FGF10 prompter region identified three SNPs at loci g.78G > A, g.116C > T and g.201A > T. Each SNP yields three genotypes as GG, GA and AA at loci g.78G > A, CC, CT and TT at loci g.116C > T and AA, AT and TT at loci g.201A > T. Allelic and genotypic frequencies of all three SNPs deviated from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) (P < 0.05) and were found highly polymorphic as PIC (0.25 < PIC < 0.50). Moreover, we found highest LD (D'/γ2) between SNP2 and SNP3 (0.989/0.909), followed by SNP1 and SNP3 (0.944/0.796). Moreover, three variants of FGF10 gene promoter exhibited significant (P < 0.05) association with body measurement and carcass quality traits in Qinchuan beef cattle. At loci g.78G > A, the genotype GG showed significantly (P < 0.01) larger body length (BL), rump length (RL), chest depth (CD), chest circumference (CC) and ultrasound loin area (ULA). The genotype TC at loci g.116C > T showed significantly (P < 0.01 and 0.05) larger body measurement and intramuscular fat, and ultrasound loin area (ULA). In addition to that, at loci g.201A > T, genotype TT showed significantly (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05) larger body length (BL), rump length (RL), hip width (HW), chest circumference (CC) and ultrasound loin area (ULA). Additionally, screening of promoter sequence of FGF10 gene explored loss of four TFs binding sites (KLF3, ZNF37α, GLIS2 and BCL11A) at g.116C > T because of SNP2. However, a single TF binding site was lost at g.202A > T due to SNP3. Interestingly, none of TF binding site was lost at g.78G > A in SNP1; however, one new TF binding site was gained at this location due to SNP1. These findings conclude that genotype GG, TC and TT could be used as genetic markers of FGF10 gene for body measurement and carcass quality traits in Qinchuan beef cattle.

Cytogenetic evidence of mixed disomic and polysomic inheritance in an allotetraploid (AABB) Musa genotype.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Edible bananas originated mainly from two wild species, Musa acuminata Colla (AA) and Musa balbisiana Colla (BB), and triploid cultivars with an AAA, AAB or ABB genome are the most widely used. In the present study, chromosome pairing affinities are investigated in a sterile AB Indian variety and in its fertile colchicine-induced allotetraploid (AABB) derivative to determine the inheritance pattern of the tetraploid genotype. The potential implications of interspecific recombination and chromosomal composition of diploid gametes for Musa improvement are presented. METHODS: The pairing of different chromosome sets at diploid and tetraploid levels was investigated through a combination of conventional cytogenetic and genomic in-situ hybridization (GISH) analyses of meiotic chromosomes, leading to a likelihood model of the pairing behaviour. GISH analysis of mitotic chromosomes was also conducted to reveal the chromosome constitution of hybrids derived from crosses involving the allotetraploid genotype. KEY RESULTS: Analysis of chromosome associations at both ploidy levels suggested that the newly formed allotetraploid behaves as a 'segmental allotetraploid' with three chromosome sets in a tetrasomic pattern, three sets in a likely disomic pattern and the five remaining sets in an intermediate pattern. Balanced and unbalanced diploid gametes were detected in progenies, with the chromosome constitution appearing to be more homogenous in pollen than in ovules. CONCLUSIONS: Colchicine-induced allotetraploids in Musa provide access to the genetic background of natural AB varieties. The segmental inheritance pattern exhibited by the AABB allotetraploid genotype implies chromosome exchanges between M. acuminata and M. balbisiana species and opens new horizons for reciprocal transfer of valuable alleles.

Homoeologous chromosome pairing between the A and B genomes of Musa spp. revealed by genomic in situ hybridization.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Most cooking banana and several desert bananas are interspecific triploid hybrids between Musa acuminata (A genome) and Musa balbisiana (B genome). In addition, M. balbisiana has agronomical characteristics such as resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses that could be useful to improve monospecific acuminata cultivars. To develop efficient breeding strategies for improving Musa cultivars, it is therefore important to understand the possibility of chromosome exchange between these two species. METHODS: A protocol was developed to prepare chromosome at meiosis metaphase I suitable for genomic in situ hybridization. A series of technical challenges were encountered, the main ones being the hardness of the cell wall and the density of the microsporocyte's cytoplasm, which hampers accessibility of the probes to the chromosomes. Key parameters in solving these problems were addition of macerozyme in the enzyme mix, the duration of digestion and temperature during the spreading phase. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: This method was applied to analyse chromosome pairing in metaphase from triploid interspecific cultivars, and it was clearly demonstrated that interspecific recombinations between M. acuminata and M. balbisiana chromosomes do occur and may be frequent in triploid hybrids. These results provide new insight into Musa cultivar evolution and have important implications for breeding.