Genotyping for Dombrock blood group alleles in Northern Pakistani blood donors.

Genotyping can be used to identify rare blood group antigens and to solve suspected blood group discrepancies, particularly when serologic methods are limited. Unfortunately, only a few such studies have been performed in Pakistan. The present study was conducted to determine the frequency of Dombrock blood group alleles by genotyping samples from blood donors from the north of Pakistan. Blood samples were taken with consent from 300 blood donors; DNA was extracted and tested for DO*01 and DO*02 alleles by sequence-specific primer polymerase chain reaction (PCR-SSP), followed by gel electrophoresis. Allele frequencies were calculated. The observed and expected genotype frequencies were compared using the χ2 test. The allele frequencies for DO*01 and DO*02 were 0.40 and 0.60, respectively. Genotype frequencies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. This study in Pakistani blood donors provides Dombrock blood group allele frequencies by PCR-SSP. This approach is efficient and economical and can be applied in developing countries. The findings can contribute to the development of in-house red blood cell panels, identification of rare blood types, and establishment of a national rare blood donor program.Genotyping can be used to identify rare blood group antigens and to solve suspected blood group discrepancies, particularly when serologic methods are limited. Unfortunately, only a few such studies have been performed in Pakistan. The present study was conducted to determine the frequency of Dombrock blood group alleles by genotyping samples from blood donors from the north of Pakistan. Blood samples were taken with consent from 300 blood donors; DNA was extracted and tested for DO*01 and DO*02 alleles by sequence-specific primer polymerase chain reaction (PCR-SSP), followed by gel electrophoresis. Allele frequencies were calculated. The observed and expected genotype frequencies were compared using the χ2 test. The allele frequencies for DO*01 and DO*02 were 0.40 and 0.60, respectively. Genotype frequencies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. This study in Pakistani blood donors provides Dombrock blood group allele frequencies by PCR-SSP. This approach is efficient and economical and can be applied in developing countries. The findings can contribute to the development of in-house red blood cell panels, identification of rare blood types, and establishment of a national rare blood donor program.

Impact of forage clipping treatments on performance of winter wheat.

Farmers in northern parts of Pakistan face severe shortage of green forage for their livestock during the harsh winter season. Winter wheat has the potential to be used as a dual-purpose crop for forage plus grain production in these areas. Ten elite winter wheat lines from Oklahoma State University were evaluated at Hazara Research Station Abbottabad under unclipped and clipped treatment level during 2005-06. The material was planted in a randomized complete block design with three replications, with a row length of four meters and a row to row space of 25 cm. Data were recorded on green forage yield, plant height, spike length, spikelets/spike, days to maturity, spike weight, biological weight, and grain yield. Analysis of variance indicated significant differences among genotypes for all traits except spike length. Similarly all traits except spikelets/spike exhibited significant differences between unclipped and clipped treatment levels. Genotype x clipping interaction was non-significant for all traits except grain yield. Overall, winter wheat lines OK98G508W and OK00611W performed better for important traits such as early maturity, biological yield and grain yield, although over-environment testing is needed before recommendations can be made to the farmers.