New genetic resources for aphid resistance were identified from a newly developed wheat mutant library.

Reports on development of resilient wheat mutants to aphid infestation-causing heavy losses to wheat production in many parts of the world, are scanty. The present study aimed to identify genetic diversity of wheat mutants in terms of varying degree of resistance to aphid infestation which can help protect wheat crop, improve yields and enhance food security. Resistance response to aphid infestation was studied on newly developed 33 wheat mutants, developed through irradiating seed of an elite wheat cultivar "Punjab-11" with gamma radiations, during three normal growing seasons at two sites. Data on various traits including aphid count per plant, biochemical traits, physiological traits and grain yield was recorded. Meteorological data was also collected to unravel the impact of environmental conditions on aphid infestation on wheat plants. Minimum average aphid infestation was found on Pb-M-2725, Pb-M-2550, and Pb-M-2719 as compared to the wild type. High yielding mutants Pb-M-1323, Pb-M-59, and Pb-M-1272 supported the moderate aphid infestation. The prevailing temperature up to 25 °C showed positive correlation (0.25) with aphid count. Among biochemical traits, POD (0.34), TSP (0.33), TFA (0.324) exhibited a high positive correlation with aphid count. In addition, CAT (0.31), TSS (0.294), and proline content (0.293) also showed a positive correlation with aphid count. However, all physiological traits depicted negative correlation with aphid count, while, a very weak correlation (0.12) was found between mean aphid count and grain yield. In PCA biplots, the biochemical variables clustered together with aphid count, while physiological variables grouped with grain yield. Biochemical parameters contributed most, towards first dimension of the PCA (48.6%) as compared to the physiological variables (13%). The FAMD revealed that mutant lines were major contributor towards total variation; Pb-M-1027, Pb-M-1323, Pb-M-59 were found to be the most diverse lines. The PCA revealed that biochemical parameters played a significant role in explaining variations in aphid resistance, emphasizing their importance in aphid defense mechanisms. The identified mutants can be utilized by the international wheat community for getting insight into the molecular circuits of resistant mechanism against aphids as well as for designing new KASP markers. This study also highlights the importance of considering both genetic and environmental factors in the development of resilient wheat varieties and pave the way for further investigations into the molecular mechanisms underpinning aphid resistance in wheat.

Hyaluronic acid-based nanofibers: Electrospun synthesis and their medical applications; recent developments and future perspective.

Hyaluronan is a biodegradable, biopolymer that represents a major part of the extracellular matrix and has the potential to be fabricated in a fibrous form conjugated with other polymers via electrospinning. Unique physicochemical features such as viscoelasticity, conductivity, and biological activity mainly affected by molecular weight attracted the attention of biomedical researchers to utilize hyaluronan for designing novel HA-based nano-devices. Particularly HA-based nanofibers get focused on a diverse range of applications in medical like tissue implants for regeneration of damaged tissue or organ repair, wound dressings, and drug delivery carriers to treat various disorders. Currently, electrospinning represents an effective available method for designing highly porous, 3D, HA-based nanofibers with features similar to that of the extra-cellular matrix making them a promising candidate for designing advanced regenerative medicines. This review highlights the structural and physicochemical features of HA, recently cited protocols in literature for HA production via microbial fermentation with particular focus on electrospun fabrication of HA-based nanofibers and parameters affecting its synthesis, current progress in medical applications of these electrospun HA-based nanofibers, their limitations and future perspective about the potential of these HA-based nanofibers in medical field.

Integration of gene expression profile data to screen and verify immune-related genes of chicken erythrocytes involved in Marek's disease virus.

Chicken erythrocytes participated in immunity, but the role of erythrocytes in the immunity of Marek's disease virus (MDV) has not been reported related to the immunity genes. The purpose of this study was to screen and verify the immune-related genes of chicken erythrocytes which could be proven as a biomarker in MDV. The datasets (GPL8764-Chicken Gene Expression Microarray) were downloaded from the GEO profile database for control and MDV infected chickens to obtain differentially expressed genes (DEGs) through bioinformatics methods. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) was performed to find enriched pathways, including Gene Ontology (GO). Based on enriched pathways, the top 19 immune-related genes were screened-out and process further to construct the protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks. The screened genes were validated on RT-PCR and qPCR. Results suggested that the mRNA transcription of Toll-like receptors 2, 3, 4, 6 (TLR2, TLR3, TLR4, TLR6), major histocompatibility complex-II (MHCII), interleukin-7 (IL-7), interferon-ßeta (IFN-ß), chicken myelomonocytic growth factor (cMGF) and myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MyD88) were significantly up-regulated. The expression of toll-like receptor 5, 7 (TLR5, TLR7) interleukin-12 (IL-12 p40), interleukin-13 (IL-13), and interferon-αlpha (IFN-α) were significantly down-regulated in the erythrocytes of the infected group (P < 0.05). In contrast, the expression of toll-like receptor-1, 15, 21 (TLR1, TLR15, TLR21), major histocompatibility complex I (MHCI) and Tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR)-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) were not significant. In conclusion, it has been verified on qRT-PCR results that 19 immune-related genes, which included TLRs, cytokines and MHC have immune functions in MDV infected chickens.