Inflorescences of the tribe Triticeae, which includes wheat (Triticum sp. L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) are characterized by sessile spikelets directly borne on the main axis, thus forming a branchless spike. ‘Compositum-Barley’ and tetraploid ‘Miracle-Wheat’ (T. turgidum convar. compositum (L.f.) Filat.) display noncanonical spike-branching in which spikelets are replaced by lateral branch-like structures resembling small-sized secondary spikes. As a result of this branch formation ‘Miracle-Wheat’ produces significantly more grains per spike, leading to higher spike yield. In this study, we first isolated the gene underlying spike-branching in ‘Compositum-Barley,’ i.e., compositum 2 (com2). Moreover, we found that COM2 is orthologous to the branched headt (bht) locus regulating spike branching in tetraploid ‘Miracle-Wheat.’ Both genes possess orthologs with similar functions in maize BRANCHED SILKLESS 1 (BD1) and rice FRIZZY PANICLE/BRANCHED FLORETLESS 1 (FZP/BFL1) encoding AP2/ERF transcription factors. Sequence analysis of the bht locus in a collection of mutant and wild-type tetraploid wheat accessions revealed that a single amino acid substitution in the DNA-binding domain gave rise to the domestication of ‘Miracle-Wheat.’ mRNA in situ hybridization, microarray experiments, and independent qRT-PCR validation analyses revealed that the branch repression pathway in barley is governed through the spike architecture gene Six-rowed spike 4 regulating COM2 expression, while HvIDS1 (barley ortholog of maize INDETERMINATE SPIKELET 1) is a putative downstream target of COM2. These findings presented here provide new insights into the genetic basis of spike architecture in Triticeae, and have disclosed new targets for genetic manipulations aiming at boosting wheat’s yield potential.

Key messageCRISPR-Cas9-based genome editing and EMS mutagenesis revealed inter-cultivar differences and additivity in the contribution of TaGW2 homoeologues to grain size and weight in wheat.AbstractThe TaGW2 gene homoeologues have been reported to be negative regulators of grain size (GS) and thousand grain weight (TGW) in wheat. However, the contribution of each homoeologue to trait variation among different wheat cultivars is not well documented. We used the CRISPR-Cas9 system and TILLING to mutagenize each homoeologous gene copy in cultivars Bobwhite and Paragon, respectively. Plants carrying single-copy nonsense mutations in different genomes showed different levels of GS/TGW increase, with TGW increasing by an average of 5.5% (edited lines) and 5.3% (TILLING mutants). In any combination, the double homoeologue mutants showed higher phenotypic effects than the respective single-genome mutants. The double mutants had on average 12.1% (edited) and 10.5% (TILLING) higher TGW with respect to wild-type lines. The highest increase in GS and TGW was shown for triple mutants of both cultivars, with increases in 16.3% (edited) and 20.7% (TILLING) in TGW. The additive effects of the TaGW2 homoeologues were also demonstrated by the negative correlation between the functional gene copy number and GS/TGW in Bobwhite mutants and an F2 population. The highest single-genome increases in GS and TGW in Paragon and Bobwhite were obtained by mutations in the B and D genomes, respectively. These inter-cultivar differences in the phenotypic effects between the TaGW2 gene homoeologues coincide with inter-cultivar differences in the homoeologue expression levels. These results indicate that GS/TGW variation in wheat can be modulated by the dosage of homoeologous genes with inter-cultivar differences in the magnitude of the individual homoeologue effects.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00122-018-3166-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

b1 a these authors contributed equally to work b corresponding authors (Cristobal Uauy, email: cristobal.uauy@jic.ac.uk, phone: 0-160-345-0195 and Eduard Akhunov, email: eakhunov@ksu.edu, phone: 1-785-532-1342) (which was not peer-reviewed) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.The copyright holder for this preprint . http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/327874 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online May. 22, 2018; 2 KEY MESSAGE CRISPR-Cas9-based genome editing and EMS mutagenesis revealed inter-cultivar differences and additivity in the contribution of TaGW2 homoeologues to grain size and weight in wheat.All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.(which was not peer-reviewed) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.The copyright holder for this preprint . http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/327874 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online May. 22, 2018; 3 AbstractThe TaGW2 gene homoeologues have been reported to be negative regulators of grain size (GS) and thousand grain weight (TGW) in wheat. However, the contribution of each homoeologue to trait variation among different wheat cultivars is not well documented. We used the CRISPR-Cas9 system and TILLING to mutagenize each homoeologous gene copy in cultivars Bobwhite and Paragon, respectively. Plants carrying single-copy nonsense mutations in different genomes showed different levels of GS/TGW increase, with TGW increasing by an average of 5.5% (edited lines) and 5.3% (TILLING mutants). In any combination, the double homoeologue mutants showed higher phenotypic effects than the respective single-genome mutants. The double mutants had on average 12.1% (edited) and 10.5% (TILLING) higher TGW with respect to wild-type lines. The highest increase in GS and TGW was shown for triple mutants of both cultivars, with increases of 16.3% (edited) and 20.7% (TILLING) in TGW. The additive effects of the TaGW2 homoeologues were also demonstrated by the negative correlation between the functional gene copy number and GS/TGW in Bobwhite mutants and an F 2 population. The highest single-genome increases in GS and TGW in Paragon and Bobwhite were obtained by mutations in the B and D genomes, respectively. These inter-cultivar differences in the phenotypic effects between the TaGW2 gene homoeologues coincide with inter-cultivar differences in the homoeologue expression levels. These results indicate that GS/TGW variation in wheat can be modulated by the dosage of homoeologous genes with inter-cultivar differences in the magnitude of the individual homoeologue effects.

A new 1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid 2, along with hydrazono-pyridazinone 3, a by-product, and its derivatives 4-7 were synthesized and the structures confirmed by infrared (IR) and 1 H and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data. These new compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria using the tube dilution method. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) experiments revealed that most compounds exerted inhibitor effects against Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilus, and Xanthomonas compestris test microorganisms. Moreover, the results showed that the pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyridazine compounds were the best compounds of the series, exhibiting antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

Wild and cultured mushrooms have been extensively used for food and medicinal purposes all around the world. However, there is limited information on chemical composition, health enhancing effects and contributions on diet of some mushrooms (e.g., Agaricus arvensis) widely distributed in many countries including United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey etc. Therefore, the present study was aimed to analyse the bioactive composition and ameliorative effects of A. arvensis via evaluating in vitro and in vivo antioxidant properties in CCl induced rat model. The extract exhibited higher antioxidant capacities in vitro than that of the positive control (Reishi-Shiitake-Maitake standardized extract). Administration of the extract had significant regulative effects in the levels of AST, ALT, LDH, Urea and TRIG levels according to CCl group. Additionally, lipid peroxidation and GSH in the brain, kidney and liver tissues was regulated by extract treated groups compared to the CCI group. The supplementation of the extract at the dose of 100 mg/kg regulated the levels of GST, GR, CAT and GPx enzyme activities in brain and liver, but not in kidney tissue. There was approximately three fold increase in CAT enzyme activity in kidney tissue of extract treated groups compared to Control and CCl groups. The extract contained a rich composition of bioactive compounds including phenolics (protocatechuic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid), volatile compounds (benzaldehyde, palmitic acid and linoleic acid) and mineral compounds (K, Si, Mg and Na). Data obtained within this study suggests that A. arvensis might be used for food industries in order to obtain nutritional products.

ÖzMalvaceae familyasının üyelerinden biri olan Alcea cinsi tıbbi öneme sahip bazı türleri içermektedir. Alcea kurdica Alef. (Deve gülü Hatmi) tonsilite, gastrik ülsere, zatürreye, boşaltım sistemi enfeksiyonlarına ve saç kırana karşı kullanılan tıbbi bir bitkidir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, deve gülü hatmi bitkisi için steril şartlar altında etkili bir çimlendirme yönteminin geliştirilmesi ve bu bitkinin doku kültürü çalışmalarında kullanılabilir hale getirilmesidir. Bu amaç için, steril bir ajan olan sodyum hipokloritin üç farklı konsantrasyonu (%5, %7.5 ve %10), 42°C sıcaklıkta inkübasyonu ve tohum kabuğunun bistüri ile çentiklenmesi uygulamaları test edilmiştir. %5 ve %7.5 sodyum hipoklorit konsantrasyonlarının sterilizasyon için yeterli olmadığı belirlenirken, %10 sodyum hipoklorit konsantrasyonun ise yeterli olduğu gözlenmiştir. Çimlenme oranları sonuçlarına göre, kabuğu çentiklenen tohumlar hızlıca çimlenirken, 42°C de inkübasyonun çimlenmeyi etkilemediği gözlenmiştir. Yedinci günde, kotiledon, kotiledon sapı ve hipokotil dokuları doku kültürü için kullanılabilir duruma gelmiştir. Sekizinci günde, yapraklar oluşmaya başlamıştır. Yaprak, yaprak sapı ve sürgün ucu eksplantları ise otuzuncu günde doku kültüründe kullanılabilecek duruma gelmiştir. Sonuç olarak, bu çalışma ile tıbbi öneme sahip deve gülü hatmi için etkili bir çimlendirme yöntemi geliştirilmiştir.

The aim of this study was to reveal the antidiabetic and antioxidant effects of ethanolic lyophilized extract of Achillea arabica flower extract against streptozotosine (STZ)-induced in diabetic rats and to determine its phytochemical content by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). After toxicity test, 35 female rats were divided into five groups. Control, diabetes mellitus (DM), A.arabica (400 mg/kg) extract, DM + A. arabica (400 mg/kg) extract and DM + Glibenclamide (2 mg/kg). It was determined that while diabetic rats treated A.arabica plant extract significantly decreased blood glucose level, serum glucose, HbA1c, liver and kidney damage biomarker levels, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content compared to the DM group, it caused fluctuations in antioxidant enzyme levels. According to LC-MS/MS results of A. arabica flower extract, quinic acid (2439.9 μg/g), cyranoside (858.4 μg/g), chlorogenic acid (698.7 μg/g), and cosmosiin (347.8 μg/g) were determined as major compounds, respectively. In addition, two new compounds were determined in this extract according to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Mass analyses and these compounds were named edremitine and achillosine, respectively. Thus, A.arabica flower extract has possible therapeutic effects to prevent high blood glucose level and oxidative stress caused by DM in liver and kidney via its high phenolic content.

In this study, immunotoxic and neurotoxic effects of leaf infusion of Platanus orientalis L. (PO) were investigated in rats ethanol-induced toxicity. Neurotoxic effects of ethanol were evaluated by measuring acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) in rat brain tissue. Immunotoxic effects were evaluated by adenosine deaminase (ADA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) biomarkers in rat liver, lung, erythrocyte and spleen tissues. Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into five groups after toxicity study.