Functional insight into multi-omics-based interventions for climatic resilience in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor): a nutritionally rich cereal crop.

MAIN CONCLUSION: The article highlights omics-based interventions in sorghum to combat food and nutritional scarcity in the future. Sorghum with its unique ability to thrive in adverse conditions, has become a tremendous highly nutritive, and multipurpose cereal crop. It is resistant to various types of climatic stressors which will pave its way to a future food crop. Multi-omics refers to the comprehensive study of an organism at multiple molecular levels, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. Genomic studies have provided insights into the genetic diversity of sorghum and led to the development of genetically improved sorghum. Transcriptomics involves analysing the gene expression patterns in sorghum under various conditions. This knowledge is vital for developing crop varieties with enhanced stress tolerance. Proteomics enables the identification and quantification of the proteins present in sorghum. This approach helps in understanding the functional roles of specific proteins in response to stress and provides insights into metabolic pathways that contribute to resilience and grain production. Metabolomics studies the small molecules, or metabolites, produced by sorghum, provides information about the metabolic pathways that are activated or modified in response to environmental stress. This knowledge can be used to engineer sorghum varieties with improved metabolic efficiency, ultimately leading to better crop yields. In this review, we have focused on various multi-omics approaches, gene expression analysis, and different pathways for the improvement of Sorghum. Applying omics approaches to sorghum research allows for a holistic understanding of its genome function. This knowledge is invaluable for addressing challenges such as climate change, resource limitations, and the need for sustainable agriculture.

Serum Chemerin Levels Correlate With Severity of Dysglycemia in Young Adult Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Context: A subset of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) individuals also have type 2 diabetes (T2D); an unmet need to identify this subgroup exists. Objective: We looked at the potential role of serum chemerin, a proinflammatory adipokine, in identifying dysglycemic PCOS. Methods: A total of 93 PCOS and 33 healthy controls were classified, based on fasting and 2-hour plasma glucose levels (2hPGPG) and glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) (%) into normoglycemic (n = 34), dysglycemic (n = 33), and T2D (n = 26). Serum chemerin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Homeostatic model 2 assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-2IR) and homeostatic model 2 assessment of ß-cell function (HOMA-2ß) were computed using serum C-peptide. Results: Metabolic syndrome was present in 9.7% (National Cholesterol Education Program) of PCOS. Waist circumference, body fat (%), 2hPGPG, and HbA1c levels were significantly higher in T2D group. Serum triglycerides/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TGs/HDL-c) ratio was increased in PCOS individuals with T2D; no significant changes in total cholesterol and LDL-c levels were seen. Serum chemerin levels were significantly higher (P < .001) in the PCOS group. Total body fat (%), 2hPGPG, HbA1c, and TG/HDL-c ratio correlated positively with chemerin levels. Serum chemerin levels correlated positively with HOMA2IR and negatively with HOMA-2ß. On receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, a serum chemerin cutoff level of greater than 309.3 ng/mL differentiated PCOS individuals with dysglycemia from those without (sensitivity 85.71%, specificity 89.47%). The Cohen kappa test revealed a substantial agreement (P < .001) between chemerin cutoff and 2hPGPG levels greater than 200 mg/dL. The present study is arguably the first ever to define a serum chemerin cutoff to distinguish PCOS individuals with T2D from those without. Conclusion: Elevated serum chemerin levels reliably identify PCOS individuals with dysglycemia. Further, longitudinal studies with larger samples are required to confirm this association.

The current scenario and future perspectives of transgenic oilseed mustard by CRISPR-Cas9.

PURPOSE: Production of a designer crop having added attributes is the primary goal of all plant biotechnologists. Specifically, development of a crop with a simple biotechnological approach and at a rapid pace is most desirable. Genetic engineering enables us to displace genes among species. The newly incorporated foreign gene(s) in the host genome can create a new trait(s) by regulating the genotypes and/or phenotypes. The advent of the CRISPR-Cas9 tools has enabled the modification of a plant genome easily by introducing mutation or replacing genomic fragment. Oilseed mustard varieties (e.g., Brassica juncea, Brassica nigra, Brassica napus, and Brassica carinata) are one such plants, which have been transformed with different genes isolated from the wide range of species. Current reports proved that the yield and value of oilseed mustard has been tremendously improved by the introduction of stably inherited new traits such as insect and herbicide resistance. However, the genetic transformation of oilseed mustard remains incompetent due to lack of potential plant transformation systems. To solve numerous complications involved in genetically modified oilseed mustard crop varieties regeneration procedures, scientific research is being conducted to rectify the unwanted complications. Thus, this study provides a broader overview of the present status of new traits introduced in each mentioned varieties of oilseed mustard plant by different genetical engineering tools, especially CRISPR-Cas9, which will be useful to improve the transformation system of oilseed mustard crop plants. METHODS: This review presents recent improvements made in oilseed mustard genetic engineering methodologies by using CRISPR-Cas9 tools, present status of new traits introduced in oilseed mustard plant varieties. RESULTS: The review highlighted that the transgenic oilseed mustard production is a challenging process and the transgenic varieties of oilseed mustard provide a powerful tool for enhanced mustard yield. Over expression studies and silencing of desired genes provide functional importance of genes involved in mustard growth and development under different biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Thus, it can be expected that in near future CRISPR can contribute enormously in improving the mustard plant's architecture and develop stress resilient oilseed mustard plant species.

An assessment of the potential environmental effects of bridge construction in Boga, Patuakhali, Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Road Transport Authority announced a plan to build a bridge over the Lohalia River in Boga, Patuakhali, which will significantly modify the entire communication system and lead to significant economic empowerment in the southeastern part of Bangladesh. This study was designed to help decision-makers through the identification and evaluation of all potential social and environmental consequences of this proposed project using an integrated methodology combining GIS mapping, environmental impact value assessment, and critical evaluation of the environmental impact through the Leopold matrix. The necessary information required for this study has been collected through questionnaire surveys, participatory community risk assessments (CRA), focused group discussions, key informant interviews, and reviews of previously published documents. According to this study, the proposed Boga Bridge construction will have some adverse environmental consequences including agricultural land and productivity loss, the decline of ecosystem health, extinction of endangered species, deterioration of water, air and soil quality, sedimentation and changes in river flow. Despite these adverse impacts this project will improve the life and livelihood of the coastal community and foster economic growth and industrialization over the long run through easily assessable road transportation. Additionally, the estimated overall environmental impact value (-2) and Leopold matrix's impact value (-1.51) revealed that this project has low adverse effects on the surrounding environment. Moreover, the majority of the environmental consequences were found to be transient because they were only limited to the construction phase which makes it simple to control with the proper implementation of appropriate mitigation strategies. Therefore, this study furnished some effective mitigation strategies incorporating mitigation hierarchy principals to avoid and minimize adverse impacts as well as enhance the positive impacts of this project. Finally, this study recommends constructing the proposed Boga Bridge after ensuring rigorous implementation and monitoring of all impact mitigation strategies proposed in this study.

Regulation of dormancy during tumor dissemination: the role of the ECM.

The study of the metastatic cascade has revealed the complexity of the process and the multiple cellular states that disseminated cancer cells must go through. The tumor microenvironment and in particular the extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an important role in regulating the transition from invasion, dormancy to ultimately proliferation during the metastatic cascade. The time delay from primary tumor detection to metastatic growth is regulated by a molecular program that maintains disseminated tumor cells in a non-proliferative, quiescence state known as tumor cell dormancy. Identifying dormant cells and their niches in vivo and how they transition to the proliferative state is an active area of investigation, and novel approaches have been developed to track dormant cells during dissemination. In this review, we highlight the latest research on the invasive nature of disseminated tumor cells and their link to dormancy programs. We also discuss the role of the ECM in sustaining dormant niches at distant sites.

Multi-apical polarity of alveolar stem cells and their dynamics during lung development and regeneration.

Epithelial cells of diverse tissues are characterized by the presence of a single apical domain. In the lung, electron microscopy studies have suggested that alveolar type-2 epithelial cells (AT2s) en face multiple alveolar sacs. However, apical and basolateral organization of the AT2s and their establishment during development and remodeling after injury repair remain unknown. Thick tissue imaging and electron microscopy revealed that a single AT2 can have multiple apical domains that enface multiple alveoli. AT2s gradually establish multi-apical domains post-natally, and they are maintained throughout life. Lineage tracing, live imaging, and selective cell ablation revealed that AT2s dynamically reorganize multi-apical domains during injury repair. Single-cell transcriptome signatures of residual AT2s revealed changes in cytoskeleton and cell migration. Significantly, cigarette smoke and oncogene activation lead to dysregulation of multi-apical domains. We propose that the multi-apical domains of AT2s enable them to be poised to support the regeneration of a large array of alveolar sacs.

Disruption of tomato TGS machinery by ToLCNDV causes reprogramming of vascular tissue-specific TORNADO1 gene expression.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Vascular development-related TRN1 transcription is suppressed by cytosine methylation in fully developed leaves of tomato. ToLCNDV infection disrupts methylation machinery and reactivates TRN1 expression - likely causing abnormal leaf growth pattern. Leaf curl disease of tomato caused by tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) inflicts huge economical loss. Disease symptoms resemble leaf developmental defects including abnormal vein architecture. Leaf vein patterning-related TORNADO1 gene's (SlTRN1) transcript level is augmented in virus-infected leaves. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of the upregulation of SlTRN1 in vivo, we have deployed SlTRN1 promoter-reporter transgenic tomato plants and investigated the gene's dynamic expression pattern in leaf growth stages and infection. Expression of the gene was delimited in the vascular tissues and suppressed in fully developed leaves. WRKY16 transcription factor readily activated SlTRN1 promoter in varied sized leaves and upon virus infection, while silencing of WRKY16 gene resulted in dampened promoter activity. Methylation-sensitive PCR analyses confirmed the accumulation of CHH methylation at multiple locations in the SlTRN1 promoter in older leaves. However, ToLCNDV infection reverses the methylation status and restores expression level in the leaf vascular bundle. The virus dampens the level of key maintenance and de novo DNA methyltransferases SlDRM5, SlMET1, SlCMT2 with concomitant augmentation of two DNA demethylases, SlDML1 and SlDML2 levels in SlTRN1 promoter-reporter transgenics. Transient overexpression of SlDML2 mimics the virus-induced hypomethylation state of the SlTRN1 promoter in mature leaves, while silencing of SlDML2 lessens promoter activity. Furthermore, in line with the previous studies, we confirm the crucial role of viral suppressors of RNA silencing AC2 and AC4 proteins in promoting DNA demethylation and directing it to restore activated transcription of SlTRN1. Unusually elevated expression of SlTRN1 may negatively impact normal growth of leaves.

Heightened miR6024-NLR interactions facilitate necrotrophic pathogenesis in tomato.

KEY MESSAGE: miR6024 acts as a negative regulator of R genes, hence of Tomato plant immunity, and facilitates disease by the necrotrophic pathogen A. solani. Plant resistance genes or Nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NLR) genes, integral components of plant disease stress-signaling are targeted by variable groups of miRNAs. However, the significance of miRNA-mediated regulation of NLRs during a pathogen stress response, specifically for necrotrophic fungus, is poorly understood. A thorough examination of Tomato NLRs and miRNAs could map substantial interactions of which half the annotated NLRs were targets of Solanaceae-specific and conserved miRNAs, at the NB subdomain. The Solanaceae-specific miR6024 and its NLR targets analysed in different phytopathogenic stresses revealed differential and mutually antagonistic regulation. Interestingly, miR6024-targeted cleavage of a target NLR also triggered the generation of secondary phased siRNAs which could potentially amplify the defense signal. RNA-seq analysis of leaf tissues from miR6024 overexpressing Tomato plants evidenced a perturbation in the defense transcriptome with the transgenics showing unwarranted immune response-related genes' expression with or without infection with necrotrophic Alternaria solani, though no adverse effect could be observed in the growth and development of the transgenic plants. Transgenic plants exhibited constitutive downregulation of the target NLRs, aggravated disease phenotype with an enhanced lesion, greater ROS generation and hypersusceptibility to A. solani infection, thus establishing that miR6024 negatively impacts plant immune response during necrotrophic pathogenesis. Limited knowledge about the outcome of NLR-miRNA interaction during necrotrophic pathogenesis is a hindrance to the deployment of miRNAs in crop improvement programs. With the elucidation of the necrotrophic disease-synergistic role played by miR6024, it becomes a potent candidate for biotechnological manipulation for the rapid development of pathogen-tolerant solanaceous plants.

Contraceptive behavior and unmet need among the tribal married women aged 15-49 years: A cross-sectional study in a community development block of paschim Bardhaman District, West Bengal.

BACKGROUND: Contraceptive behavior and unmet need for family planning, particularly among the tribal women of reproductive age in India, still remains a public health concern. This needs to be explored in different geographical regions. OBJECTIVES: : This study aimed to ascertain the contraceptive behavior of tribal married women of 15-49 years and to assess the unmet need for family planning and its determinants. METHODS: : A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted during May 2019 to April 2020 in Barabani Block of Paschim Bardhaman District, West Bengal. A calculated sample of 530 study participants was selected from the study area by the simple random sampling. Required data on contraceptive behavior characteristics, unmet need, and correlates were collected by interviewing them with a predesigned schedule. Bivariate analysis and multivariable logistic regression were done. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software v. 20. RESULTS: : All study participants were Hindu and belonged to Santhal ethnicity; 53.4% were illiterate; 51.7% had early marriage, and 52.4% had adolescent pregnancy. Only 41.1% women were found currently using any contraceptives, another 14.5% ever used and 44.4% never used any methods. Apprehension of side effects and spouse disapproval were reported as two common reasons for never using contraceptives. The age of the women appeared as a significant predictor of current contraceptive use. Overall, unmet need for family planning was 19.4% and age of the women, socioeconomic status, and type of the family were found as significant predictors. CONCLUSION: Issues contributing to unsatisfactory contraceptive behavior and high unmet need for family planning need to be addressed appropriately.

Status of salt iodization, related awareness and practice at the household level in slums of Burdwan Municipality, West Bengal.

BACKGROUND: Monitoring adequacy of salt iodization at consumption level and exploring the reasons for inadequacy, especially in marginalized communities, is crucial to achieve the target coverage of universal salt iodization. AIMS: To assess the iodine content of salt used at household level, related awareness and practice of respondents and their socio demographic correlates. SETTINGS AND DESIGNS: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the slums of Burdwan Municipality in 2019. METHODS AND MATERIAL: A total of 330 households were selected by cluster sampling. Salt iodine content was estimated at household level semi-quantitatively by Iodine testing kit, following recommended guidelines. One respondent from each household was interviewed to assess their awareness and practice regarding iodized salt. Kruskal Wallis test, Mann Whitney U test and Multivariable logistic regression was used. RESULTS: All 330 households were using iodized salt; 77.6% were consuming adequately iodized and 22.4% were consuming inadequately iodized salts. Only 30.9% of the respondents were aware about the importance of iodized salt, few had correct practice despite inadequate knowledge and none, except one, practiced adding salt at the end of cooking. Awareness and practice were associated with caste and age of the respondents, respectively. Keeping salt container near the oven, adjusting for keeping salt in uncovered container, significantly predicted inadequate level of iodization [AOR 6.17 (95% CI: 2.68-14.26)]. CONCLUSION: Inadequate iodization, lack of awareness regarding iodized salt and faulty storing practices amounting to increased risk of inadequate iodization are still prevalent emphasizing the need, in policy, for health education.

Status of Comprehensive Abortion Care Service in Paschim Bardhaman District, West Bengal - A Mixed-Method Study.

BACKGROUND: Delivering quality comprehensive abortion care (CAC) service, accessible and affordable to all care seekers, at every tier is essential to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to assess the infrastructural availability of the health facilities, describe beneficiary characteristics, and to explore constraints in CAC service provision from the providers' perspectives. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A mixed-method study was conducted during December 2019 to February 2020 in Paschim Bardhaman District, West Bengal. All 10 public health facilities of the district providing CAC services were visited for infrastructural assessment. Record review of all care seekers from 2015 to 2018 was done to assess their characteristics. In-depth interview of the administrative heads of facilities and district level program officers was done to explore constraints faced in service provision. Quantitative data were analyzed by SPSS version 20, and qualitative data were analyzed thematically using NVivo software. RESULTS: Physical infrastructure was adequate in only 40% of the facilities; however, drugs and contraceptives were universally available. About 49.5% of the care seekers had induced abortion; 63.5% underwent manual vacuum aspiration; 21.5% did not return for follow-up, and only 50% adopted postabortal contraception. Major issues explored were lack of trained manpower, logistics and physical infrastructure, and inadequate supervision and monitoring. CONCLUSION: The study highlighted gaps in preparedness of the health facilities for the provision of quality CAC services including some major constraints from the provider's perspectives.

A Fyn biosensor reveals pulsatile, spatially localized kinase activity and signaling crosstalk in live mammalian cells.

Cell behavior is controlled through spatio-temporally localized protein activity. Despite unique and often contradictory roles played by Src-family-kinases (SFKs) in regulating cell physiology, activity patterns of individual SFKs have remained elusive. Here, we report a biosensor for specifically visualizing active conformation of SFK-Fyn in live cells. We deployed combinatorial library screening to isolate a binding-protein (F29) targeting activated Fyn. Nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) analysis provides the structural basis of F29 specificity for Fyn over homologous SFKs. Using F29, we engineered a sensitive, minimally-perturbing fluorescence-resonance-energy-transfer (FRET) biosensor (FynSensor) that reveals cellular Fyn activity to be spatially localized, pulsatile and sensitive to adhesion/integrin signaling. Strikingly, growth factor stimulation further enhanced Fyn activity in pre-activated intracellular zones. However, inhibition of focal-adhesion-kinase activity not only attenuates Fyn activity, but abolishes growth-factor modulation. FynSensor imaging uncovers spatially organized, sensitized signaling clusters, direct crosstalk between integrin and growth-factor-signaling, and clarifies how compartmentalized Src-kinase activity may drive cell fate.