Improved growth and tuber quality of transgenic potato plants overexpressing either NHX antiporter, CLC chloride channel, or both.

The nutritional enhancement of potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L.,) is highly critical. As it is considered a worldwide basic vegetarian nutrition to maintain health. S. tuberosum is one of the foremost staples and the world's fourth-largest food crop. In advance, its need is increasing because of its high-industrial value and population blast. To improve both potato growth and behavior under harsh environmental conditions, we produced transgenic potato plants overexpressing either VvNHX (a sodium proton antiporter from Vitis vinifera), VvCLC (a chloride channel from Vitis vinifera), or both. Control and transgenic plants were grown in greenhouse and field under non-stressed conditions for 85 days in order to characterize their phenotype and evaluate their agronomical performance. To this aim, the evaluation of plant growth parameters, tuber yields and characteristics (calibers, eye number and color), the chemical composition of tubers, was conducted and compared between the different lines. The obtained results showed that transgenic plants displayed an improved growth (flowering precocity, gain of vigor and better vegetative growth) along with enhanced tuber yields and quality (increased protein and starch contents). Our findings provide then insight into the role played by the VvNHX antiport and the VvCLC channel and a greater understanding of the effect of their overexpression in potato plants.

Molecular insights into MYO3A kinase domain variants explain variability in both severity and progression of DFNB30 hearing impairment.

Hereditary hearing impairment (HI) is a common disease with the highest incidence among sensory defects. Several genes have been identified to affect stereocilia structure causing HI, including the unconventional myosin3A. Interestingly, we noticed that variants in MYO3A gene have been previously found to cause variable HI onset and severity. Using clinical exome sequencing, we identified a novel pathogenic variant p.(Lys50Arg) in the MYO3A kinase domain (MYO3A-KD). Previous in vitro studies supported its damaging effect as a 'kinase-dead' mutant. We further analyzed this variation through molecular dynamics which predicts that changes in flexibility of MYO3A structure would influence the protein-ATP binding properties. This Lys50Arg mutation segregated with congenital profound non-syndromic HI. To better investigate this variability, we collected previously identified MYO3A-KDs variants, p.(Tyr129Cys), p.(His142Gln) and p.(Pro189Thr), and built both wild type and mutant 3 D MYO3A-KD models to assess their impact on the protein structure and function. Our results suggest that KD mutations could either cause a congenital profound form of HI, when particularly affecting the kinase activity and preventing the auto-phosphorylation of the motor, or a late onset and progressive form, when partially or completely inactivating the MYO3A protein. In conclusion, we report a novel pathogenic variant affecting the ATP-binding site within the MYO3A-KD causing congenital profound HI. Through computational approaches we provide a deeper understanding on the correlation between the effects of MYO3A-KD mutations and the variable hearing phenotypes. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to correlate mutations' genotypes with the variable phenotypes of DFNB30.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Chemical composition, anti-biofilm activity and potential cytotoxic effect on cancer cells of Rosmarinus officinalis L. essential oil from Tunisia.

BACKGROUND: Rosmarinus officinalis L. from Tunisia, popularly known as rosemary, is of a considerable importance for its medicinal uses and aromatic value. The aim of this study was to examine the chemical composition of Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil (ROEO) and to evaluate its antibiofilm activity on biofilm-forming bacterium and its anticancer activity on cancer cell lines. METHODS: The chemical composition of Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil (ROEO) was analyzed by GC-MS and its antibacterial activity was evaluated by micro-dilution method. The antibofilm activity of ROEO was evaluated using the crystal violet test and the cytotoxicity activity was determined by the MTT assay. RESULTS: In this research, thirty-six compounds were identified in ROEO using GC-MS analyses. The main components were 1,8-cineole (23.56%), camphene (12.78%), camphor (12.55%) and ß-pinene (12.3%). The antibacterial activity of ROEO was evaluated by micro-dilution method. The oil exhibited inhibition and bactericidal effect against two strains: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 9144 and Staphylococcus epidermidis S61. It was found that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) obtained for S. aureus and S. epidermidis ranged from 1.25 to 2.5 and from 0.312 to 0.625 µl ml-1, respectively and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were in the order of 5 and 2.5 µl ml-1, respectively. Furthermore, this oil showed a S. epidermidis biofilm inhibition more than 57% at a concentration of 25 µl ml-1. The eradication of 67% of the established biofilm was observed at a concentration of 50 µl ml-1 of ROEO, whereas the dose of 25 µl ml-1 removed only 38% of preformed biofilm. ROEO strongly inhibited the proliferation of Hela and MCF-7 cells with IC50 values of 0.011 and 0.253 µl ml-1, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that ROEO could have a potential role in the treatment of diseases related to infection by microorganisms or proliferation of cancer cells.

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) from traditional uses to potential biomedical applications.

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) is a small annual and herbaceous plant belonging to the Apiaceae family. It is a multipurpose plant species cultivated in the Middle East, India, China, and several Mediterranean countries, including Tunisia. Its fruit, known as cumin seed, is most widely used for culinary and medicinal purposes. It is generally used as a food additive, popular spice, and flavoring agent in many cuisines. Cumin has also been widely used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of diseases, including hypolipidemia, cancer, and diabetes. The literature presents ample evidence for the biological and biomedical activities of cumin, which have generally been ascribed to its content and action of its active constituents, such as terpens, phenols, and flavonoids. The present paper provides an overview of phytochemical profile, biological activities, and ethnomedical and pharmacological uses of Cumin.