Adult plant stem rust resistance in durum wheat Glossy Huguenot: mapping, marker development and validation.

KEY MESSAGE: Adult plant stem rust resistance locus, QSrGH.cs-2AL, was identified in durum wheat Glossy Huguenot and mendelised as Sr63. Markers closely linked with Sr63 were developed. An F3 population from a Glossy Huguenot (GH)/Bansi cross used in a previous Australian study was advanced to F6 for molecular mapping of adult plant stem rust resistance. Maturity differences among F6 lines confounded assessments of stem rust response. GH was crossed with a stem rust susceptible F6 recombinant inbred line (RIL), GHB14 (M14), with similar maturity and an F6:7 population was developed through single seed descent method. F7 and F8 RILs were tested along with the parents at different locations. The F6 individual plants and both parents were genotyped using the 90 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) wheat array. Stem rust resistance QTL on the long arms of chromosomes 1B (QSrGH.cs-1BL) and 2A (QSrGH.cs-2AL) were detected. QSrGH.cs-1BL and QSrGH.cs-2AL were both contributed by GH and explained 22% and 18% adult plant stem rust response variation, respectively, among GH/M14 RIL population. RILs carrying combinations of these QTL reduced more than 14% stem rust severity compared to those that possessed QSrGH.cs-1BL and QSrGH.cs-2AL individually. QSrGH.cs1BL was demonstrated to be the same as Sr58/Lr46/Yr29/Pm39 through marker genotyping. Lines lacking QSrGH.cs-1BL were used to Mendelise QSrGH.cs-2AL. Based on genomic locations of previously catalogued stem rust resistance genes and the QSrGH.cs-2AL map, it appeared to represent a new APR locus and was permanently named Sr63. SNP markers associated with Sr63 were converted to kompetetive allele-specific PCR (KASP) assays and were validated on a set of durum cultivars.

Identification of Winter Habit Bread Wheat Landraces in the National Small Grains Collection with Resistance to Emerging Stem Rust Pathogen Variants.

Wheat stem rust caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici is a widespread and recurring threat to wheat production. Emerging P. graminis f. sp. tritici variants are rapidly overcoming major gene resistance deployed in wheat cultivars and new sources of race-nonspecific resistance are urgently needed. The National Small Grains Collection (NSGC) contains thousands of wheat landrace accessions that may harbor unique and broadly effective sources of resistance to emerging P. graminis f. sp. tritici variants. All NSGC available facultative and winter-habit bread wheat landraces were tested in a field nursery in St. Paul, Minnesota, against a bulk collection of six common U.S. P. graminis f. sp. tritici races. Infection response and severity data were collected on 9,192 landrace accessions at the soft-dough stage and resistant accessions were derived from single spikes. Derived accessions were tested in St. Paul a second time to confirm resistance and in a field nursery in Njoro, Kenya against emerging races of P. graminis f. sp. tritici with virulence to many known resistance genes including Sr24, Sr31, Sr38, and SrTmp. Accessions resistant in the St. Paul field were also tested at the seedling stage with up to 13 P. graminis f. sp. tritici races, including TTKSK and TKTTF, and with 19 molecular markers linked with known stem rust resistance genes or genes associated with modern breeding practices. Forty-five accessions were resistant in both U.S. and Kenya field nurseries and lacked alleles linked with known stem rust resistance genes. Accessions with either moderate or strong resistance in the U.S. and Kenya field nurseries and with novel seedling resistance will be prioritized for further study.

Four Consistent Loci Confer Adult Plant Resistance to Leaf Rust in the Durum Wheat Lines Heller#1 and Dunkler.

The durum wheat lines Heller#1 and Dunkler from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center Global Wheat Program showed moderate and stable adult plant resistance to leaf rust under high disease pressure over field environments in northwestern Mexico. Leaf rust phenotyping was performed on two recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations derived from crosses of Heller#1 and Dunkler with the susceptible parent Atred#2, conducted under artificially induced Puccinia triticina epidemics in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. The Atred#2 × Heller#1 and Atred#2 × Dunkler populations were genotyped by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) platforms and diversity arrays technology markers, respectively. Four leaf rust resistance quantitative trait loci were detected simultaneously in the two RIL populations: Lr46, QLr.cim-2BC, QLr.cim-5BL, and QLr.cim-6BL based on phenotypic data across all four crop seasons. They explained 11.7 to 46.8%, 7.2 to 26.1%, 8.4 to 24.1%, and 12.4 to 28.5%, respectively, of the phenotypic variation for leaf rust resistance in Atred#2 × Heller#1 and 16.3 to 56.6%, 6.7 to 15.7%, 4.1 to 10.1%, and 5.1 to 20.2% of the variation in the Atred#2 × Dunkler population. Only the resistance allele of QLr.cim-2BC was from the susceptible parent Atred#2, and resistance alleles at other loci came from the resistant parents Heller#1 and Dunkler. The SNP markers closely linked to Lr46 and QLr.cim-2BC were converted to kompetitive allele specific PCR markers for use in marker-assisted selection to improve leaf rust resistance through crosses with Heller#1 and Dunkler sources.

Genome-Wide Mapping of Adult Plant Resistance to Leaf Rust and Stripe Rust in CIMMYT Wheat Line Arableu#1.

Leaf (brown) rust (LR) and stripe (yellow) rust (YR), caused by Puccinia triticina and P. striiformis f. sp. tritici, respectively, significantly reduce wheat production worldwide. Disease-resistant wheat varieties offer farmers one of the most effective ways to manage these diseases. The common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Arableu#1, developed by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center and released as Deka in Ethiopia, shows susceptibility to both LR and YR at the seedling stage but a high level of adult plant resistance (APR) to the diseases in the field. We used 142 F5 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from Apav#1 × Arableu#1 to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for APR to LR and YR. A total of 4,298 genotyping-by-sequencing markers were used to construct a genetic linkage map. The study identified four LR resistance QTLs and six YR resistance QTLs in the population. Among these, QLr.cim-1BL.1/QYr.cim-1BL.1 was located in the same location as Lr46/Yr29, a known pleiotropic resistance gene. QLr.cim-1BL.2 and QYr.cim-1BL.2 were also located on wheat chromosome 1BL at 37 cM from Lr46/Yr29 and may represent a new segment for pleiotropic resistance to both rusts. QLr.cim-7BL is likely Lr68 given its association with the tightly linked molecular marker cs7BLNLRR. In addition, QLr.cim-3DS, QYr.cim-2AL, QYr.cim-4BL, QYr.cim-5AL, and QYr.cim-7DS are probably new resistance loci based on comparisons with published QTLs for resistance to LR and YR. Our results showed the diversity of minor resistance QTLs in Arableu#1 and their role in conferring near-immune levels of APR to both LR and YR, when combined with the pleiotropic APR gene Lr46/Yr29.

Two Main Stripe Rust Resistance Genes Identified in Synthetic-Derived Wheat Line Soru#1.

Stripe rust is a major disease constraint of wheat production worldwide. Resistance to stripe rust was analyzed using 131 F6 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between synthetic derived wheat line Soru#1 and wheat cultivar Naxos. The phenotype was evaluated in Mexico and Norway at both seedling and adult plant stages. Linkage groups were constructed based on 90K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), sequence-tagged site, and simple sequence repeat markers. Two major resistance loci conferred by Soru#1 were detected and located on chromosomes 1BL and 4DS. The 1BL quantitative trait loci explained 15.8 to 40.2 and 51.1% of the phenotypic variation at adult plant and seedling stages, respectively. This locus was identified as Yr24/Yr26 based on the flanking markers and infection types. Locus 4DS was flanked by molecular markers D_GB5Y7FA02JMPQ0_238 and BS00108770_51. It explained 8.4 to 27.8 and 5.5% of stripe rust variation at the adult plant and seedling stages, respectively. The 4DS locus may correspond to known resistance gene Yr28 based on the resistance source. All RILs that combine Yr24/Yr26 and Yr28 showed significantly reduced stripe rust severity in all four environments compared with the lines with only one of the genes. SNP marker BS00108770_51 was converted into a breeder-friendly kompetitive allele-specific polymerase chain reaction marker that will be useful to accelerate Yr28 deployment in wheat breeding programs.

Genetic analysis and mapping of adult plant resistance loci to leaf rust in durum wheat cultivar Bairds.

KEY MESSAGE: New leaf rust adult plant resistance (APR) QTL QLr.cim - 6BL was mapped and confirmed the known pleotropic APR gene Lr46 effect on leaf rust in durum wheat line Bairds. CIMMYT-derived durum wheat line Bairds displays an adequate level of adult plant resistance (APR) to leaf rust in Mexican field environments. A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population developed from a cross of Bairds with susceptible parent Atred#1 was phenotyped for leaf rust response at Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, during 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 under artificially created epidemics of Puccinia triticina (Pt) race BBG/BP. The RIL population and its parents were genotyped with the 50 K diversity arrays technology (DArT) sequence system and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. A genetic map comprising 1150 markers was used to map the resistance loci. Four significant quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected on chromosomes 1BL, 2BC (centromere region), 5BL and 6BL. These QTLs, named Lr46, QLr.cim-2BC, QLr.cim-5BL and QLr.cim-6BL, respectively, explained 13.5-60.8%, 9.0-14.3%, 2.8-13.9%, and 11.6-29.4%, respectively, of leaf rust severity variation by the inclusive composite interval mapping method. All of these resistance loci were contributed by the resistant parent Bairds, except for QLr.cim-2BC, which came from susceptible parent Atred#1. Among these, the QTL on chromosome 1BL was the known pleiotropic APR gene Lr46, whereas QLr.cim-6BL, a consistently detected locus, should be a new leaf rust resistance locus in durum wheat. The mean leaf rust severity of RILs carrying all four QTLs ranged from 8.0 to 17.5%, whereas it ranged from 10.9 to 38.5% for three QTLs (Lr46 + 5BL + 6BL) derived from the resistant parent Bairds. Two RILs with four QTLs combinations can be used as sources of complex APR in durum wheat breeding.

Detection and validation of genomic regions associated with resistance to rust diseases in a worldwide hexaploid wheat landrace collection using BayesR and mixed linear model approaches.

KEY MESSAGE: BayesR and MLM association mapping approaches in common wheat landraces were used to identify genomic regions conferring resistance to Yr, Lr, and Sr diseases. Deployment of rust resistant cultivars is the most economically effective and environmentally friendly strategy to control rust diseases in wheat. However, the highly evolving nature of wheat rust pathogens demands continued identification, characterization, and transfer of new resistance alleles into new varieties to achieve durable rust control. In this study, we undertook genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using a mixed linear model (MLM) and the Bayesian multilocus method (BayesR) to identify QTL contributing to leaf rust (Lr), stem rust (Sr), and stripe rust (Yr) resistance. Our study included 676 pre-Green Revolution common wheat landrace accessions collected in the 1920-1930s by A.E. Watkins. We show that both methods produce similar results, although BayesR had reduced background signals, enabling clearer definition of QTL positions. For the three rust diseases, we found 5 (Lr), 14 (Yr), and 11 (Sr) SNPs significant in both methods above stringent false-discovery rate thresholds. Validation of marker-trait associations with known rust QTL from the literature and additional genotypic and phenotypic characterisation of biparental populations showed that the landraces harbour both previously mapped and potentially new genes for resistance to rust diseases. Our results demonstrate that pre-Green Revolution landraces provide a rich source of genes to increase genetic diversity for rust resistance to facilitate the development of wheat varieties with more durable rust resistance.

Diagnostic utility of cardiac biomarkers in discriminating Takotsubo cardiomyopathy from acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) mimics acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We postulated that ventricular dysfunction in TC in the absence of significant myocardial necrosis would produce higher B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)/troponin T (TnT) and BNP/creatine kinase MB fraction (CKMB) ratios than in AMI. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 58 consecutive TC (age 65.8 ± 82.9) and 97 AMI patients (age 59.8 ± 83.4). The ratios of BNP/TnT and BNP/CKMB were calculated with the use of first simultaneously drawn laboratory values. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to distinguish TC from AMI with 95% specificity based on cardiac biomarker ratios. Median BNP/TnT and BNP/CKMB ratios were, respectively, 1,292 [interquartile range 443.4-2,657.9] and 28.44 [13.7-94.8] in the TC group and 226.9 [69.91-426.32] and 3.63 [1.07-10.02] in the AMI group (P < .001). TC can be distinguished from AMI with 95% specificity with the use of BNP/TnT ratio ≥ 1,272 (sensitivity 52%) and BNP/CKMB ratio ≥ 29.9 (sensitivity 50%). CONCLUSIONS: The value of BNP is significantly higher in TC than in AMI. Early BNP/TnT and BNP/CKMB ratios help to differentiate TC from AMI with greater accuracy than BNP alone.

Diagnostic utility of cardiac biomarkers in discriminating Takotsubo cardiomyopathy from acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) mimics acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We postulated that ventricular dysfunction in TC in the absence of significant myocardial necrosis would produce higher B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)/troponin T (TnT) and BNP/creatine kinase MB fraction (CKMB) ratios than in AMI.Methods and Results: We studied 58 consecutive TC (age 65.8 +/- 12.9) and 97 AMI patients (age 59.8 +/-13.4). The ratios of BNP/TnT and BNP/CKMB were calculated with the use of first simultaneously drawn laboratory values. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to distinguish TC from AMI with 95% specificity based on cardiac biomarker ratios. Median BNP/TnT and BNP/CKMB ratios were, respectively,1,292 [interquartile range 443.4-2,657.9] and 28.44 [13.7-94.8] in the TC group and 226.9[69.91-426.32] and 3.63 [1.07-10.02] in the AMI group (P <.001). TC can be distinguished from AMI with 95% specificity with the use of BNP/TnT ratio ≥1,272 (sensitivity 52%) and BNP/CKMB ratio ≥29.9 (sensitivity 50%).Conclusions: The value of BNP is significantly higher in TC than in AMI. Early BNP/TnT and BNP/CKMB ratios help to differentiate TC from AMI with greater accuracy than BNP alone.

Molecular mapping of stripe rust resistance gene Yr51 in chromosome 4AL of wheat.

KEY MESSAGE: This manuscript describes the chromosomal location of a new source of stripe rust resistance in wheat. DNA markers closely linked with the resistance locus were identified and validated. A wheat landrace, AUS27858, from the Watkins collection showed high levels of resistance against Australian pathotypes of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici. It was reported to carry two genes for stripe rust resistance, tentatively named YrAW1 and YrAW2. One hundred seeds of an F3 line (HSB#5515; YrAW1yrAW1) that showed monogenic segregation for stripe rust response were sown and harvested individually to generate monogenically segregating population (MSP) #5515. Stripe rust response variation in MSP#5515 conformed to segregation at a single locus. Bulked segregant analysis using high-throughput DArT markers placed YrAW1 in chromosome 4AL. MSP#5515 was advanced to F6 and phenotyped for detailed mapping. Novel wheat genomic resources including chromosome-specific sequence and genome zipper were employed to develop markers specific for the long arm of chromosome 4A. These markers were used for further saturation of the YrAW1 carrying region. YrAW1 was delimited by 3.7 cM between markers owm45F3R3 and sun104. Since there was no other stripe rust resistance gene located in chromosome 4AL, YrAW1 was formally named Yr51. Reference stock for Yr51 was lodged at the Australian Winter Cereal Collection, Tamworth, Australia and it was accessioned as AUS91456. Marker sun104 was genotyped on a set of Australian and Indian wheat cultivars and was shown to lack the resistance-linked sun104-225 bp allele. Marker sun104 is currently being used for marker-assisted backcrossing of Yr51 in Australian and Indian wheat backgrounds.

Molecular mapping of an adult plant stem rust resistance gene Sr56 in winter wheat cultivar Arina.

KEY MESSAGE: This article covers detailed characterization and naming of QSr.sun - 5BL as Sr56 . Molecular markers linked with adult plant stem rust resistance gene Sr56 were identified and validated for marker-assisted selection. The identification of new sources of adult plant resistance (APR) and effective combinations of major and minor genes is well appreciated in breeding for durable rust resistance in wheat. A QTL, QSr.sun-5BL, contributed by winter wheat cultivar Arina providing 12-15 % reduction in stem rust severity, was reported in an Arina/Forno recombinant inbred line (RIL) population. Following the demonstration of monogenic segregation for APR in the Arina/Yitpi RIL population, the resistance locus was formally named Sr56. Saturation mapping of the Sr56 region using STS (from EST and DArT clones), SNP (9 K) and SSR markers from wheat chromosome survey sequences that were ordered based on synteny with Brachypodium distachyon genes in chromosome 1 resulted in the flanking of Sr56 by sun209 (SSR) and sun320 (STS) at 2.6 and 1.2 cM on the proximal and distal ends, respectively. Investigation of conservation of gene order between the Sr56 region in wheat and B. distachyon showed that the syntenic region defined by SSR marker interval sun209-sun215 corresponded to approximately 192 kb in B. distachyon, which contains five predicted genes. Conservation of gene order for the Sr56 region between wheat and Brachypodium, except for two inversions, provides a starting point for future map-based cloning of Sr56. The Arina/Forno RILs carrying both Sr56 and Sr57 exhibited low disease severity compared to those RILs carrying these genes singly. Markers linked with Sr56 would be useful for marker-assisted pyramiding of this gene with other major and APR genes for which closely linked markers are available.

Anatomic twist to a straightforward ablation.

Atrioventricular (AV) junction ablation for treatment of refractory atrial fibrillation is a well defined, standardized procedure and the simplest of commonly performed radiofrequency ablations in the field of cardiac electrophysiology. We report successful AV junction ablation using an inferior approach in a case of inferior vena cava interruption. Inability during the procedure to initially pass the ablation catheter into the right ventricle, combined with low amplitude electrograms, led to suspicion of an anatomic abnormality. This was determined to be a heterotaxy syndrome with inferior vena cava interruption and azygos continuation, draining in turn into the superior vena cava. Advancing Schwartz right 0 (SRO) sheath through the venous abnormality into the right atrium allowed adequate catheter stability to successfully induce complete AV block with radiofrequency energy.

Histopathological changes in gall bladder mucosa in relation to the number, and size of gallstones, and analysis of the findings in the context of age distribution of the patients: A perspective.

Backgrounds/Aims: To study histopathological changes in gall bladder mucosa in cholelithiasis patients, and analyse their relation to the number and size of gallstones. These findings were evaluated in the context of age distribution of the study population. Methods: One hundred cases of cholecystectomy were part of the study, which was conducted in collaboration with the pathology department. The time period of the study was January 2020 to June 2021. Results: Maximum cases had multiple stones (69.0%), while one third cases (31.0%) had solitary stones. While initial univariate analysis showed age (odds ratio [OR], 6.882; p = 0.043), gallstone number (OR, 9.1; p = 0.050), gallstone size (OR, 17.111; p = 0.013), and duration of symptom (OR, 34.125; p = 0.001) to be significant risk factors associated with gallbladder carcinoma, multivariate analysis found none of these variables to be significant. However, conditional multivariate analysis for the duration of symptom (p = 0.008; OR, 21.118) yielded significant p- value. With histopathological diagnoses, 5% of cases had gallbladder cancer. Conclusions: This study shed light on the rising incidence of cholelithiasis in the young population and the high rate of gallbladder carcinoma in Punjab, India. Although gall stone characteristics (size, number) and patient age appeared to be significant risk factors when their individual relation with gallbladder carcinoma was studied, multivariate analysis, could not prove that. Conditional multivariate analysis showed the duration of symptom to be the only significant risk factor associated with gallbladder carcinoma. Further research with larger sample size is needed to study the rising incidence of gallbladder carcinoma, and the risk factors associated with it.

Relocation of Sr48 to Chromosome 2D Using an Alternative Mapping Population and Development of a Closely Linked Marker Using Diverse Molecular Technologies.

The Ug99-effective stem rust resistance gene Sr48 was mapped to chromosome 2A based on its repulsion linkage with Yr1 in an Arina/Forno recombinant inbred line (RIL) population. Attempts to identify markers closely linked to Sr48 using available genomic resources were futile. This study used an Arina/Cezanne F5:7 RIL population to identify markers closely linked with Sr48. Using the Arina/Cezanne DArTseq map, Sr48 was mapped on the short arm of chromosome 2D and it co-segregated with 12 markers. These DArTseq marker sequences were used for BlastN search to identify corresponding wheat chromosome survey sequence (CSS) contigs, and PCR-based markers were developed. Two simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, sun590 and sun592, and two Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) markers were derived from the contig 2DS_5324961 that mapped distal to Sr48. Molecular cytogenetic analysis using sequential fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) identified a terminal translocation of chromosome 2A in chromosome 2DL of Forno. This translocation would have led to the formation of a quadrivalent involving chromosomes 2A and 2D in the Arina/Forno population, which would have exhibited pseudo-linkage between Sr48 and Yr1 in chromosome 2AL. Polymorphism of the closet marker sunKASP_239 among a set of 178 wheat genotypes suggested that this marker can be used for marker-assisted selection of Sr48.

Stripe rust and leaf rust resistance in CIMMYT wheat line "Mucuy" is conferred by combinations of race-specific and adult-plant resistance loci.

Developing wheat varieties with durable resistance is a core objective of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and many other breeding programs worldwide. The CIMMYT advanced wheat line "Mucuy" displayed high levels of resistance to stripe rust (YR) and leaf rust (LR) in field evaluations in Mexico and several other countries. To determine the genetic basis of YR and LR resistance, 138 F5 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from the cross of Apav#1× Mucuy were phenotyped for YR responses from 2015 to 2020 at field sites in India, Kenya, and Mexico, and LR in Mexico. Seedling phenotyping for YR and LR responses was conducted in the greenhouse in Mexico using the same predominant races as in field trials. Using 12,681 polymorphic molecular markers from the DArT, SNP, and SSR genotyping platforms, we constructed genetic linkage maps and QTL analyses that detected seven YR and four LR resistance loci. Among these, a co-located YR/LR resistance loci was identified as Yr29/Lr46, and a seedling stripe rust resistance gene YrMu was mapped on the 2AS/2NS translocation. This fragment also conferred moderate adult plant resistance (APR) under all Mexican field environments and in one season in Kenya. Field trial phenotyping with Lr37-virulent Puccinia triticina races indicated the presence of an APR QTL accounting for 18.3-25.5% of the LR severity variation, in addition to a novel YR resistance QTL, QYr.cim-3DS, derived from Mucuy. We developed breeder-friendly KASP and indel molecular markers respectively for Yr29/Lr46 and YrMu. The current study validated the presence of known genes and identified new resistance loci, a QTL combination effect, and flanking markers to facilitate accelerated breeding for genetically complex, durable rust resistance.

QTL mapping of seedling and field resistance to stem rust in DAKIYE/Reichenbachii durum wheat population.

Stem rust caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici Eriks. & E. Henn. (Pgt) threatens the global production of both durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum (Desf.) Husnot) and common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The objective of this study was to evaluate a durum wheat recombinant inbred line (RIL) population from a cross between a susceptible parent 'DAKIYE' and a resistant parent 'Reichenbachii' developed by the International Center for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat (CIMMYT) 1) for seedling response to races JRCQC and TTRTF and 2) for field response to a bulk of the current Pgt races prevalent in Ethiopia and Kenya and 3) to map loci associated with seedling and field resistances in this population. A total of 224 RILs along with their parents were evaluated at the seedling stage in the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research greenhouse at Debre Zeit, Ethiopia and in the EIAR and KALRO fields in Ethiopia and Kenya, for two seasons from 2019 to 2020. The lines were genotyped using the genotyping-by-sequencing approach. A total of 843 single nucleotide polymorphism markers for 175 lines were used for quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses. Composite interval mapping (CIM) identified three QTL on chromosomes 3B, 4B and 7B contributed by the resistant parent. The QTL on chromosome 3B was identified at all growth stages and it explained 11.8%, 6.5%, 6.4% and 15.3% of the phenotypic variation for responses to races JRCQC, TTRTF and in the field trials ETMS19 and KNMS19, respectively. The power to identify additional QTL in this population was limited by the number of high-quality markers, since several markers with segregation distortion were eliminated. A cytological study is needed to understand the presence of chromosomal rearrangements. Future evaluations of additional durum lines and RIL families identification of durable adult plant resistance sources is crucial for breeding stem rust resistance in durum wheat in the future.

Dual coronary - cameral fistula "double the trouble".

A patient presenting with worsening dyspnea and left-sided chest pain underwent heart catheterization, found to have a rare connection between the right and left coronary arteries draining into the left ventricle, consistent with dual coronary-cameral fistula.

Unusual Gastric Contrast Extravasation After Coronary Angiography.

A 79-year-old woman presented with new-onset heart failure. She had pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, and an ejection fraction of 35% on echocardiogram. Her coronary angiogram revealed mild coronary artery disease (CAD). However, initially unexplained extravasation of the contrast was also seen in the cranial view during angiogram. The decision was made to medically manage CAD, but she remained tachycardic, with borderline low blood pressure. After a series of complications and tests, clearance of contrast from the stomach was confirmed. This represents an unusual case in which fluoroscopy revealed active gastric bleeding with contrast extravasation during coronary angiography.

Identification of bread wheat genotypes with superior grain yield and agronomic traits through evaluation under rust epiphytotic conditions in Kenya.

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars adapted to specific environments and resistant to prevalent pathogens are preferred for obtaining high yield. This study aimed to identify wheat genotypes with superior grain yield (GY) and yield associated traits from 168 genotypes of International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center's 13th Stem Rust Resistance Screening Nursery evaluated over two seasons during 2019 and 2020 under high disease pressure of both stem rust (SR) and yellow rust (YR) in a 21 × 8 α-lattice design with 3 replications in Kenya. Effects due to seasons were significant for YRAud, SRAud, 1000-kernel weight (TKW), days to heading (DH), plant height (PH) and number of spikelets spike-1 (SS), while genotypes and genotypes × season interaction effects were significant for all traits except number of kernels spike-1. Respectively, heritability values of 0.95, 0.93, 0.87, 0.86, 0.77 and 0.75 were observed for area under disease progress curve for SR (SRAud), YR (YRAud), TKW, DH, biomass (BM) and GY. Path analysis showed positive direct effects on GY via PH, SS, BM, and TKW. Biplot analysis identified 16 genotypes with superior desirable traits GY, BM and harvest index. The SR contributed the highest reduction in GY and TKW while YR contributed the most reduction in BM. These identified genotypes with superior GY combined with adequate resistance to both SR and YR are potentially valuable resources for improvement of locally adapted wheat cultivars.