Journal of Applied Biotechnology Reports
Volume:5 Issue: 3, Summer 2018

One of the concerning challenges for engineering and regenerating tissues is providing a suitable condition for development of a utilitarian vascular matrix. Natural polymers such as collagen, gelatin, chitosan, silk fibroin and fibrin are used as bio-compatible scaffolds to prepare appropriate biological and mechanical conditions for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering approaches. A wide range of studies demonstrated that using these biomaterials as scaffolds or engineered constructions such as hydrogels can provide a microenvironment to improve regeneration and repair of target tissues and organs through enhancing angiogenesis. They can be used single or in composition with each other. This review focused on some different natural polymeric constructs that have been incorporated in tissue engineering.

Quality characteristics including grain protein content, gluten, falling number, and SDS sedimentation volume are important contributors to the grain yield and quality of the wheat. To identify the markers associated with such traits, this study run in two separated experiments: under-field and in laboratory. One hundred wheat genotypes were evaluated in an alpha lattice design with two replications. Association mapping using Structure and Tassel software was carried out using 102 SSR markers: 66 unlinked and 36 quantitative trait loci (QTL)-linked SSR markers. Correction for population structure was performed using genome-wide SSR markers so that genotypes were divided into six subpopulations. Thoroughly, 34 SSR markers linked with the above-mentioned traits were identified, twelve of them being QTL-linked markers. These markers were already mapped on the wheat chromosomes in previous studies containing known QTLs controlling kernel traits of the wheat. Our results confirmed 5, 3, 2, and 2 QTLs respectively for the grain protein, gluten, falling number, and SDS sedimentation volume which were previously tagged on the wheat chromosomes. Additionally, 3 QTLs were identified for the grain protein on the chromosomes 2A, 5A, 5D, and 7B. Whereas, 6 QTLs for gluten were detected on chromosomes 1A, 2D, 5A, 5B, 6B, and 7B; four QTLs were located on the chromosomes 2D, 5A, 5B, 5D, and 7D for falling number; and finally nine QTLs were found for SDS sedimentation volume on the chromosomes 1A, 1B, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4B, 6A, 6B, 7A, and 7B. The results of this study indicated that association mapping is a useful method for detecting and complementing QTL information; thus, this information can be used for further wheat improvement based on a molecular marker.

Organophosphorus compounds are frequently used as pesticides and insecticides in agriculture, livestock and home. Because of the high toxicity, it seems is very important its removal from the environment. An enzyme called organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH) is responsible for the decomposition of organophosphorus compounds in most of the strains. Production of enzymes and strains with more efficiency is frequently performed by genetic engineering techniques. In this study, we used PCR-based method for quick and easy improvement in activity of OPH enzyme. We selected 5.5 mM Mg2+ and 0.2 mM and Mn2+ concentrations for high PCR product. After one round of error prone PCR (epPCR), The 5 number of screened strains (29%) were shown more ability than the native strains to degrade of diazinon, with more than 25% raising ratio. The E6 strain was found to have highest improvement degradation, with 29.3% improvement. At 48-hour time point, the E6 strains were able to completely remove of diazinon. The epPCR method has the low complexity than other methods and can provide a diverse library include efficient mutants.

Existing evidence on the impact of thimerosal (THIM), acting to preserve pharmaceutical products (a preservative), on fetal neurodevelopment is very controversial. Here, we investigated the neonatal administration of THIM on behaviors including (1) locomotor activity, (2) social behaviors, and (3) stereotyped behaviors in rats. Since the development of cerebellum continues for some time after birth and it is very imperative in movement, balance, and sensory integration, the number of cerebellum Purkinje cells also were counted. The experiments were directed on 40 young male and female Wistar rats, which were randomly distributed into 4 groups including experimental (male & female) and control (male & female) groups. Each rat in the test groups were intramuscularly received 240 μg Hg/kg THIM on postnatal days (7, 9, 11, 15), while the control contributors received saline in the same pattern. After drug interventions on the fourth postnatal week, rats were evaluated by open field test, and in eighth postnatal week, the test of three-chamber paradigm was performed on animals. At the end of the behavioral tests, histological studies were done. Rats which were exposed to the THIM displayed impairments of locomotor activity and their social interactions were reduced. While the duration of freezing/grooming as stereotyped behaviors were increased significantly. The results of histological studies also showed a noteworthy decrease in the number of Purkinje cells in both sexes. These data prove that early postnatal exposure of children to THIM causes permanent neurobehavioral and histological impairments and if similar alterations occur in children exposed to THIM/mercurial agents, neurodevelopmental disorders may happen.

Peroxidase (POD) is an important antioxidant enzyme that catalyzes oxidation of a number of organic and non-organic substrates using hydrogen peroxide as the electron acceptor. At physiological low levels, reactive oxygen species (ROS) can act as redox messengers in the regulation of intracellular signaling. However, in excess amounts they can suppress the immune system and cause oxidative stress. Considering the high consumption of tea and coffee as the most common drink in the world, in the present study the effect of caffeine and theophylline on the activity of POD has been investigated. The activity of POD was measured by following absorption at 510 nm due to the oxidation of 4-aminoantipyrine in the absence and presence of caffeine and theophylline. The enzyme kinetic parameters were then measured and compared in each case. It was shown that both methylxanthines acted as inhibitors with IC50' the amount of inhibitor to reduce the enzyme activity by 50%, of 0.6 and mM 0.55 mM for caffeine and theophylline respectively. The kinetic constants, Km and Vmax' indicated that both inhibitors worked by an un-competitive mechanism on POD activity. The values of Ki were calculated as 0.08 and 0.045 mM for caffeine and theophylline respectively. Lower values of IC50 and Ki for theophylline compared to caffeine, led us to a final conclusion that theophylline is a stronger inhibitor of POD than caffeine.

Combined of electrochemistry and ultrasound (sonoelectrochemistry) is one of the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for decolorization of color wastewaters. The physicochemical effects of ultrasound improve the electrooxidation of dye solution and decolorization rate. In this study, the decolorization of Reactive Orange 122 (RO122) as an organic pollutant by sonoelectrochemistry has been examined. In this context, the effect of several factors such as hydrogen peroxide concentration, the pH of solution, colour concentration, and the input voltage on decolorization of colourful solution as a single factor were studied. Based on the results, the optimum hydrogen peroxide concentration for removing the colour with the concentration of 10 mgL-1 at 90 minutes was 3.0 mgL-1, with pH about 7.0 and the input potential 1.05 V, the process was carried out without the use of hydrogen peroxide as a discussion parameter at 90 minutes. The results revealed that decolourization and removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) of both methods were 99% and 70% in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and 97% and 95.5% in the absence of hydrogen peroxide, respectively. Microbial toxicity test assessed the toxicity of intermediates produced during these two procedures, the results indicated, in the absence of hydrogen peroxide, Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria showed better performance on the colour of sonoelectrochemical treatment solutions compared to the initial colour of the solution, due to absence of toxic materials from the redistribution of RO122 colour.

Two of the most important tests used in the forensic genetics are DNA fingerprinting and paternity testing. Short tandem repeats (STRs) are very frequently used in identification. Nevertheless, there are limitations on the use of these markers in identifying badly degraded DNA. In these cases, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are used because of their shorter amplicon lengths. Recognition of SNPs of high informativeness is a vital step in preparing a list of suitable SNPs. The present research aimed to determine the maximum informative SNPs to be used for identification in Iranian Azari population. Four SNPs developed by the SNPforID Consortium were selected. The allele frequencies of the SNPs were obtained using HRM Analysis on DNA samples taken from 100 different individuals. The SNPs that satisfied the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and had heterozygosity of higher than 0.50 and equal allele frequency were selected as SNPs of the maximum informativeness. Two polymorphisms (Rs2107612 and Rs1355366) had equal allele frequencies and heterozygosity of higher than 50 percent. Therefore, these 2 polymorphisms are considered highly informative among the studied Azeri population and can be considered in preparing a list of suitable SNPs. Results of the present study can be used along with other SNPs to increase the identification power for some samples. It can also help preparing a database of suitable SNPs to be used for identification in Azeri population in Iran.