Diversity Analysis in Selected Non-basmati Scented Rice Collection

Diversity analysis among 23 rice varieties including 16 non-basmati scented accessions, 5 basmati accessions and 2 non-scented accessions was performed by random amplified polymorphic DNA （RAPD） and inter-simple sequence repeat （ISSR） marker systems. The varieties analyzed by 11 RAPD and 8 ISSR primers yielded an average of 65% and 80% polymorphism, respectively. The average number of polymorphic bands generated per RAPD primer was 6 and per ISSR primer was 5.87. RAPD and ISSR data analysis individually could not segregate basmati and non-basmati scented rice accessions. However, the analysis using a combined data could group basmati and non-basmati scented rice accessions separately. The bands present specifically among three accessions of non-basmati scented rice were also identified. The study revealed a high genetic diversity among non-basmati scented rice accessions.

Molecular characterization and subtyping of Blastocystis in urticarial patients in Turkey

Objective:To investigate Blastocystis’etiologic role and association with gastrointestinal symptomatology in acute and chronic urticaria patients and to identify Blastocystis subtypes responsible for urticaria.Methods:The study included urticaria patients and healthy individuals that presented to our polyclinic between June 2015 and May 2017.The participants were assigned into Group栺(137 patients),subdivided into acute(72)and chronic urticaria patients(65),and Group栻(129 control individuals).Blastocystis presence was investigated by native-Lugol examination,trichrome staining,PCR using sequence tagged site primers,and DNA sequencing analysis.The phylogenetic tree was constructed.Results:The native-Lugol and trichrome staining methods revealed that 16 patients(16/133,12.0%)had Blastocystis-positive stool samples,of which seven samples(7/133,5.3%)belonged acute and nine(9/133,6.8%)to chronic urticaria patients.Concerning Blastocystis subtypes,of the acute urticaria patients,three had subtype 1(ST1),one had ST2,and three had ST3.Of the chronic urticaria patients,one had ST1 and eight had ST3.Blastocystis positivity was detected in two control individuals(2/123,1.6%),both being ST3.All subtypes identified by PCR were confirmed by the sequencing analysis.The acute and chronic urticaria groups showed no statistically significant differences for Blastocystis positivity(P=0.60)and subtype distribution(P=0.15).A statistically significant difference was found between the urticaria patients and the controls for Blastocystis positivity(P<0.01),but not for subtype distribution(P=0.67)or for Blastocystis presence and gastrointestinal complaints.Conclusions:This study on Blastocystis subtype distribution among Turkish urticaria patients showed results consistent with the literature.It was concluded that Blastocystis should be kept in mind in patients with urticaria.

Continuous desulfurization and bacterial community structure of an integrated bioreactor developed to treat SO_2 from a gas stream

Sulfide dioxide（SO2） is often released during the combustion processes of fossil fuels. An integrated bioreactor with two sections, namely, a suspended zone（SZ） and immobilized zone（IZ）, was applied to treat SO2 for 6 months. Sampling ports were set in both sections to investigate the performance and microbial characteristics of the integrated bioreactor. SO2 was effectively removed by the synergistic effect of the SZ and IZ, and more than 85%removal efficiency was achieved at steady state. The average elimination capacity of SO2 in the bioreactor was 2.80 g/（m3·hr） for the SZ and 1.50 g/（m3· hr） for the IZ. Most SO2 was eliminated in the SZ. The liquid level of the SZ and the water content ratio of the packing material in the IZ affected SO2 removal efficiency. The SZ served a key function not only in SO2 elimination, but also in moisture maintenance for the IZ. The desired water content in IZ could be feasibly maintained without any additional pre-humidification facilities. Clone libraries of 16 S r DNA directly amplified from the DNA of each sample were constructed and sequenced to analyze the community composition and diversity in the individual zones.The desulfurization bacteria dominated both zones. Paenibacillus sp. was present in both zones, whereas Ralstonia sp. existed only in the SZ. The transfer of SO2 to the SZ involved dissolution in the nutrient solution and biodegradation by the sulfur-oxidizing bacteria.This work presents a potential biological treatment method for waste gases containing hydrophilic compounds.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Oreta fuscopurpurea(Lepidoptera: Drepanidae) and its phylogenetic implications

In this study, the first complete mitochondrial genome（mitogenome） of lepidopteran family Drepanidae（superfamily Drepanoidea） was reported with the notes about its phylogenetic implications. The Oreta fuscopurpurea mitogenome is 15,564 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNAs（lrRNA and srRNA）, 22 transfer RNAs and a non-coding control region（AT-rich region）, with a 79.6% A＋T content. The gene orientation and arrangement of the mitogenome are the same as other sequenced lepidopterans. All protein-coding genes usually start with the common ATN codon except for COI gene, which used CGA as the initial codon; eight PCGs use a typical stop codon of TAA, whereas the remaining PCGs use incomplete stop codon of T or TA. All tRNAs have the typical clover-leaf structure with the exception of t RNA^（Ser）（AGN）. The lrRNA and sr RNA genes are 1,409 bp and 778 bp in size respectively, with the former harboring one（TA）_（13） microsatellite-like repeat and an 17 bp insertion. The 20 intergenic spacers totaling of 184 bp and 8 overlapping sequences totaling of 25 bp are scattered throughout the whole mitogenome. The 526 bp AT-rich region contains some structures characteristic of lepidopterans, such as the motif ATAGA preceded by an 19 bp poly-T stretch, a tRNA-like and a sterm-loop structures. Phylogenetic analysis of the Oreta fuscopurpurea with other 47 insect species covering 20 lepidopteran families were conducted based on the sequence data of the 13 mitogenomic protein coding genes with maximum likelihood（ML） and Bayesian inference（BI） methods, and the results showed distinctly that the superfamily Drepanoidea was sister to the clade of（Bombycoidea, Lasiocampoidea） ＋（Noctuoidea, Geometroidea）.