Transformation and expressional studies of GaZnF gene to improve drought tolerance in Gossypium hirsutum.

Drought stress is the major limiting factor in plant growth and production. Cotton is a significant crop as textile fiber and oilseed, but its production is generally affected by drought stress, mainly in dry regions. This study aimed to investigate the expression of Zinc finger transcription factor's gene (GaZnF) to enhance the drought tolerance in Gossypium hirsutum. Sequence features of the GaZnF protein were recognized through different bioinformatics tools like multiple sequence alignment analysis, phylogenetic tree for evolutionary relationships, Protein motifs, a transmembrane domain, secondary structure and physio-chemical properties indicating that GaZnF is a stable protein. CIM-482, a local Gossypium hirsutum variety was transformed with GaZnF through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method with 2.57% transformation efficiency. The integration of GaZnF was confirmed through Southern blot showing 531 bp, and Western blot indicated a 95 kDa transgene-GUS fusion band in transgenic plants. The normalized real-time expression analysis revealed the highest relative fold spatial expression of cDNA of GaZnF within leaf tissues at vegetative and flowering stages under drought stress. Morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters of transgenic cotton plants at 05- and 10-day drought stress was higher than those of non-transgenic control plants. The values of fresh and dry biomass, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance reduced in GaZnF transgenic cotton plants at 05- and 10-day drought stress, but their values were less low in transgenic plants than those of non-transgenic control plants. These findings showed that GaZnF gene expression in transgenic plants could be a valuable source for the development of drought-tolerant homozygous lines through breeding.

Resistance of polio to its eradication in Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: This study is based on EPI (Expanded Program on Immunization) immunization surveys and surveillance of polio, its challenges in immunization and the way forward to overcome these challenges. METHODS: Several Government documents, survey reports and unpublished program documents were studied and online search was made to find information on EPI Pakistan. SPSS 16 and Microsoft Excel 2007 were used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: Immunization against polio is higher in urban areas as compared to rural areas. Marked variation in vaccination has been observed in different provinces of Pakistan in the last decade. Secondly 10-20% of the children who have received their first dose of trivalent polio vaccine were deprived of their 2nd and 3rd dose because of poor performance of EPI and Lack of information about immunization. CONCLUSION: In spite of numerous successes, such as the addition of new vaccines and raising immunization to over 100% in some areas, EPI is still struggling to reach its polio eradication goals. Inadequate service delivery, lack of information about immunization and limited number of vaccinators were found to be the key reason for poor performance of immunization and for large number of cases reported each year due to the deficiency of second and third booster dose.