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In recent years, with the continuous improvement and development of molecular technology in the application process, different types of DNA molecular markers have made rapid progress in the study of genetic diversity of rapeseed. The study of genetic diversity is conducive to the correct formulation of the strategy of collecting and in situ preservation of genetic resources of rapeseed, and it is the genetic basis for the improvement of rapeseed varieties. This article mainly starts with the three DNA molecular markers (SSR, RAPD, AFLP) widely used in the study of genetic diversity of rapeseed. By introducing the application principles and characteristics of SSR, RFPD and AFLP molecular markers, research progress of these three marker technologies in genetic diversity of rapeseed is briefly described.

In December 2019, a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) from a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) was recognized in the city of Wuhan, China. Rapidly, it became an epidemic in China and has now spread throughout the world reaching pandemic proportions. High mortality rates characterize SARS-CoV-2 disease (COVID-19), which mainly affects the elderly, causing unrestrained cytokines-storm and subsequent pulmonary shutdown, also suspected micro thromboembolism events. At the present time, no specific and dedicated treatments, nor approved vaccines, are available, though very promising data come from the use of anti-inflammatory, anti-malaria, and anti-coagulant drugs. In addition, it seems that males are more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 than females, with males 65% more likely to die from the infection than females. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Chinese scientists show that of all cases about 1.7% of women who contract the virus will die compared with 2.8% of men, and data from Hong Kong hospitals state that 32% of male and 15% of female COVID-19 patients required intensive care or died. On the other hand, the long-term fallout of coronavirus may be worse for women than for men due to social and psychosocial reasons. Regardless of sex- or gender-biased data obtained from WHO and those gathered from sometimes controversial scientific journals, some central points should be considered. Firstly, SARS-CoV-2 has a strong interaction with the human ACE2 receptor, which plays an essential role in cell entry together with transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2); it is interesting to note that the ACE2 gene lays on the X-chromosome, thus allowing females to be potentially heterozygous and differently assorted compared to men who are definitely hemizygous. Secondly, the higher ACE2 expression rate in females, though controversial, might ascribe them the worst prognosis, in contrast with worldwide epidemiological data. Finally, several genes involved in inflammation are located on the X-chromosome, which also contains high number of immune-related genes responsible for innate and adaptive immune responses to infection. Other genes, out from the RAS-pathway, might directly or indirectly impact on the ACE1/ACE2 balance by influencing its main actors (e.g., ABO locus, SRY, SOX3, ADAM17). Unexpectedly, the higher levels of ACE2 or ACE1/ACE2 rebalancing might improve the outcome of COVID-19 in both sexes by reducing inflammation, thrombosis, and death. Moreover, X-heterozygous females might also activate a mosaic advantage and show more pronounced sex-related differences resulting in a sex dimorphism, further favoring them in counteracting the progression of the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Inoculation of crop plants by non-native strains of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi as bio-enhancers is promoted without clear evidence for symbiotic effectiveness and fungal persistence. To address such gaps, the forage legume Medicago sativa was inoculated in an agronomic field trial with two isolates of Funneliformis mosseae differing in their nuclear rDNA sequences from native strains. The inoculants were traced by PCR with a novel combination of the universal fungal NS31 and Glomeromycota-specific LSUGlom1 primers which target the nuclear rDNA cistron. The amplicons were classified by restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequencing. The two applied fungal inoculants were successfully traced and discriminated from native strains in roots sampled from the field up to 2 yr post inoculation. Moreover, field inoculation with inocula of non-native isolates of F. mosseae appeared to have stimulated root colonization and yield of M. sativa. Proof of inoculation success and sustained positive effects on biomass production and quality of M. sativa crop plants hold promise for the role that AM fungal inoculants could play in agriculture.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN], Melocactus conoideus Buin. & Bred is a critically endangered cactus species, and genetic studies are still needed to support conservation strategies. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the genetic diversity and structure of M. conoideus using Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) markers. We amplified the genomic DNA of 126 M. conoideus genotypes from the municipality of Vitória da Conquista, state of Bahia (Brazil), obtained within and outside the limits of the M. conoideus Environmental Reserve. To this end, 13 ISSR primers were used, and the genetic amplification profile was subjected to statistical analysis of genetic diversity and structure. One hundred and ninety-one markers were analyzed, 188 of which (97.7%) were polymorphic. Moderate genetic diversity (h = 0.29) was observed, with a significant variation when considering protected and unprotected regions. The set of markers varied between informative and uninformative (mean PIC = 0.24), and genetic differentiation ranged from moderate to high (Gst = 0.32) between populations inside and outside the environmental reserve. Gene flow between populations (Nm) was estimated at 1.02. Analysis of molecular variance revealed 33% of genetic variation between populations and 67% within populations. Bayesian analysis and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) confirmed the existence of two groups (K=2), with individuals from the reserve showing homogeneity for a single gene pool. This result highlights the influence of exclusive genomic regions on the genetic structure of the species. These results suggest that the auto-ecology of M. conoideus influences variability and differentiation levels, besides contributing to genetic structuring in subpopulations. Our findings may help in genetic conservation and management planning, as well as in the in situ demographic expansion used by the bodies responsible for M. conoideus population maintenance.

With the rise of world fish farming, the national scenario is favorable for using native fish for intensive farming. Among the catfish, the Amazonian Jundiá (Leiarius marmoratus) is a robust candidate, easy to grow and with good organoleptic characteristics in its flesh. For productive success in captivity, it is necessary to consider some questions about the species, such as genetic variability, which must have an acceptable level in a breeding stock, in order to maintain a good diversity; this reduces losses due to inbreeding and low diversity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the genetic variability of commercial stocks of L. marmoratus from the State of Mato Grosso through microsatellite molecular markers. We analyzed 143 individuals from three stocks. The mean heterozygosity and the inbreeding coefficients observed were 0.060; 0.084; 0.141; and 0.539; 0.562; 0.514, respectively, for the stocks of Campo Verde, Juína, and Nova Mutum. The Deviation in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was observed in most of the loci in the three populations. Considering the genetic differentiation, it is concluded that the three populations are very close genetically, which requires introduction of new genetic material in the stocks to enrich them genetically for a later reproductive program.

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) are important temperate forage grasses which are closely related, generating fertile interspecific hybrids. All groups are represented by multiple cultivars in the commercial pasture seeds market. Due to the close taxonomic relationship between the two species, differentiation based on morphophysiological criteria is not always readily achievable. In addition, an obligate outbreeding reproductive habit produces high levels of individual heterozygosity and intrapopulation diversity, which presents problems for discrimination between cultivars. Molecular genetic marker polymorphism provides an effective means of addressing these challenges. An iterative process of resequencing from loci distributed across the perennial ryegrass genome was used to identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, which were then validated and formatted in a highly multiplexed (384-plex) assay system. SNP genotyping was then performed across samples of 48–192 individuals from a total of 27 ryegrass cultivars (19 of perennial ryegrass, seven of Italian ryegrass and one hybrid cultivar). SNP markers from perennial ryegrass exhibited a high level of transfer to Italian ryegrass. Data analysis permitted quantification of intra- and inter-species diversity, as well as discrimination between cultivars within each species, including diploid and autotetraploid cultivars of perennial ryegrass. Lower levels of SNP-based diversity were detected in Italian ryegrass than in perennial ryegrass. A neighbour-joining tree based on genetic distance analysis located a hybrid cultivar to an intermediate position between the two species-specific cultivar groups. The resulting catalogue of ryegrass cultivars will provide support for the processes of cultivar accreditation and quality assurance.

Bumblebee (Bombus spp.) populations have declined in recent decades in many countries. Since they are important pollinators of crops and wildflowers, their declines may have serious consequences for agriculture and wild ecosystems, and urgent conservation managements should be required for threatened bumblebee populations. In order to design effective conservation managements, nest density in a habitat is an essentially important information, since the genetically effective size of bumblebee populations is determined by the number of nests. In the present study, a novel method for estimating nest density using molecular genetic markers is proposed, by the use of the concept of neighborhood size in population genetics. Space-explicit simulation suggests that the proposed method could give a satisfactory estimate even under violation of underlaying assumptions. The proposed method is illustrated by applying to microsatellite data of a rare Japanese species B. cryptarum florilegus. Finally, usefulness and limitations of the method in the practical application are discussed, and an interpretation of the estimate is presented from a viewpoint of conservation genetics.Implications for insect conservationThe proposed method could contribute to conservation of bumblebee populations through giving an estimate of genetically effective population size.

In recent years, many studies were dedicated to the search for genetic markers in thyroid malignancies, including papillary thyroid cancer. This study was designed to investigate the prevalence of BRAFV600E mutation in the PTC in the Kazakh population, to evaluate the relationship between BRAF V600E mutation status and the clinicopathological features of PTC. Besides, we aimed at assessing of the relationship between the high proliferation index and the clinicopathological features of PTC and also between the concomitant coexistence of BRAFV600E and the high proliferative index with clinicopathological features of PTC. We carried out a cross-sectional study on 123 patients with PTC of Kazakh ethnicity and analyzed their clinical, laboratory, and genetic findings. The study groups were pooled based on the presence of mutated or wild-type BRAFV600E and quantitative assessment of Ki-67 marker expression. In the course of our study, we found that the age of patients from the group of BRAF gene mutation was significantly higher than that of patients from the wild-type group (48.63 ± 14.07 years versus 40.23 ± 14.34 years) (t = − 3.257; p = 0.001). Correlation analysis between BRAF mutation, Ki-67 expression, their combination and various clinical and pathological parameters in PTC patients showed that older age was positively correlated with higher frequency of mutant BRAF gene (r = 0.284; p < 0.001), while more advanced stage of tumor was positively correlated with higher expression of Ki-67 (r = 0.307; p < 0.001). To understand the significance of detecting the BRAFV600E mutation and an increased level of Ki-67 expression in the choice of patient therapy tactics, larger studies are required with patient survival as one of the primary outcomes.

The unique environment of the Mediterranean Sea makes fish stock assessment a major challenge. Stock identification of Mediterranean fisheries has been based mostly from data on biology, morphometrics, artificial tags, otolith shape and fish genetics, with less effort on the use of parasites as biomarkers. Here we use some case studies comparing Mediterranean vs Atlantic fish stocks in a multidisciplinary framework. The generalized Procrustes Rotation (PR) was used to assess the association between host genetics and larval Anisakis spp. datasets on demersal (hake) and pelagic (horse mackerel, swordfish) species. When discordant results emerged, they were due to the different features of the data. While fish population genetics can detect changes over an evolutionary timescale, providing indications on the cohesive action of gene flow, parasites are more suitable biomarkers when considering fish stocks over smaller temporal and spatial scales, hence giving information of fish movements over their lifespan. Future studies on the phylogeographic analysis of parasites suitable as biomarkers, and that of their fish host, performed on the same genes, will represent a further tool to be included in multidisciplinary studies on fish stock structure.

We have performed mutational profiling of 25 genes involved in epigenetic processes on 135 gastric cancer (GC) samples. In total, we identified 79 somatic mutations in 49/135 (36%) samples. The minority (n = 8) of mutations was identified in DNA methylation/demethylation genes, while the majority (n = 41), in histone modifier genes, among which mutations were most commonly found in KMT2D and KMT2C. Somatic mutations in KMT2D, KMT2C, ARID1A and CHD7 were mutually exclusive (p = 0.038). Mutations in ARID1A were associated with distant metastases (p = 0.03). The overall survival of patients in the group with metastases and in the group with tumors with signet ring cells was significantly reduced in the presence of mutations in epigenetic regulation genes (p = 0.036 and p = 0.041, respectively). Separately, somatic mutations in chromatin remodeling genes correlate with low survival rate of patients without distant metastasis (p = 0.045) and in the presence of signet ring cells (p = 0.0014). Our results suggest that mutations in epigenetic regulation genes may be valuable clinical markers and deserve further exploration in independent cohorts.