Summary
Drought is a normal and recurring climate feature in most parts of the world and plays a major role in limiting crop productivity. However, plants have their own defence systems to cope with ...adverse climatic conditions. One of these defence mechanisms is the reprogramming of gene expression by microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs are small noncoding RNAs of approximately 22 nucleotides length, which have emerged as important regulators of genes at post‐transcriptional levels in a range of organisms. Some miRNAs are functionally conserved across plant species and are regulated by drought stress. These properties suggest that miRNA‐based genetic modifications have the potential to enhance drought tolerance in cereal crops. This review summarizes the current understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of plant miRNAs, involvement of plant miRNAs in drought stress responses in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), wheat (Triticum spp.) and other plant species, and the involvement of miRNAs in plant‐adaptive mechanisms under drought stress. Potential strategies and directions for future miRNA research and the utilization of miRNAs in the improvement of cereal crops for drought tolerance are also discussed.
In this review article, an investigation of optically transparent antenna (OTA) has been carried out. The literature proceeds with a series of steps required for designing OTA, which includes patch ...material selection, substrate selection, material synthesis, deposition methods, and material characterization. This is followed by discussions of different types of transparent antenna, such as transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), multi-layered film, multi-band, meshed, conductive water, conductive fabric, and nano-composites. Furthermore, this paper addresses the challenges and limitations involved in the design of OTA. Finally, emerging materials and applications related to OTA are discussed.
Mitochondria undergo fission and fusion to maintain homeostasis, and tumors exhibit the dysregulation of mitochondrial dynamics. We recently demonstrated that ectopic HRasG12V promotes mitochondrial ...fragmentation and tumor growth through Erk phosphorylation of the mitochondrial fission GTPase Dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1). However, the role of Drp1 in the setting of endogenous oncogenic KRas remains unknown. Here, we show that Drp1 is required for KRas-driven anchorage-independent growth in fibroblasts and patient-derived pancreatic cancer cell lines, and it promotes glycolytic flux, in part through the regulation of hexokinase 2 (HK2). Furthermore, Drp1 deletion imparts a significant survival advantage in a model of KRas-driven pancreatic cancer, and tumors exhibit a strong selective pressure against complete Drp1 deletion. Rare tumors that arise in the absence of Drp1 have restored glycolysis but exhibit defective mitochondrial metabolism. This work demonstrates that Drp1 plays dual roles in KRas-driven tumor growth: supporting both glycolysis and mitochondrial function through independent mechanisms.
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•Drp1 is required for oncogenic KRas-driven transformation•Drp1 promotes KRas-driven glycolysis•Loss of Drp1 inhibits pancreatic tumorigenesis•Loss of Drp1 impairs mitochondrial metabolism in tumor cells
Nagdas et al. find that the mitochondrial fission GTPase Drp1 is required for KRas-driven transformation and pancreatic tumor growth. The inhibition of Drp1 in cells expressing oncogenic KRas leads to impaired glycolytic flux and the eventual loss of mitochondrial metabolic function.
Studies of the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum have revealed some of the mechanisms which these desiccation-tolerant plants use to survive environments with extreme dehydration and ...restricted seasonal water. Most resurrection plants are polyploid with large genomes, which has hindered efforts to obtain whole genome sequences and perform mutational analysis. However, the application of deep sequencing technologies to transcriptomics now permits large-scale analyses of gene expression patterns despite the lack of a reference genome. Here we use pyro-sequencing to characterize the transcriptomes of C. plantagineum leaves at four stages of dehydration and rehydration. This reveals that genes involved in several pathways, such as those required for vitamin K and thiamin biosynthesis, are tightly regulated at the level of gene expression. Our analysis also provides a comprehensive picture of the array of cellular responses controlled by gene expression that allow resurrection plants to survive desiccation.
Biogas, renewable energy resource for Pakistan Amjid, Syed S.; Bilal, Muhammad Q.; Nazir, Muhammad S. ...
Renewable & sustainable energy reviews,
08/2011, Letnik:
15, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Developing countries are in critical energy crisis. Pakistan spends almost 7 billion US$ on import of fossil fuels annually to congregate its energy needs. The renewable and sustainable energy ...resources are best substitute to the conventional fuels and energy sources. Pakistan takes the opportunity to have almost 159 million animals producing almost 652
million
kg of manure daily from cattle and buffalo only; that can be used to generate 16.3
million
m
3 biogas per day and 21
million
tons of bio fertilizer per year. That compensate approximately 20% of nitrogen and 66% of phosphorus required in the crop fields. Apart from this sugarcane industry has got the potential to generate 3000
MW energy. Domestic biogas plants were started in Pakistan in 1959 and at present there is significant number of such working units. Biogas Support Program (BSP) was started in 2000 by Pakistani government. So far it has achieved the target of installing 1200 biogas units, whereas another 10,000
units are expected to be set up in coming 05
years that will harvest almost 27% of country's biogas potential. A biogas unit of 10
m
3 size is anticipated to save almost 92,062 PKR per year on account of conventional fuels spent otherwise. Women's opportunity cost, with introduction of biogas units reportedly increased; subsequently impacting positively on household income. Biogas energy generation systems are in demand and their number is increasing steadily. They are low-cost and can be run with very small budget. Biogas energy corridor can work as a good substitute for nearly 70% of country's population residing in rural areas. Installation of plants to bottle the biogas can be additional opportunity. The need of a national policy is imperative to bring this technology at farmer's doorstep.
Many microRNAs (miRNAs) have been predicted from small RNA sequencing data, but little was experimentally verified due to the lack of effective methods. Here, we developed a simple and reliable dual ...gene expression cassette vector‐based method to verify predicted plant miRNAs. We cloned osa‐miR528 as a known miRNA, hvu‐miRX as a predicted miRNA and TaDREB3 open reading frame as a non‐miRNA into the first gene expression cassette and fused their complementary or noncomplementary sequences as predicted target or nontarget sequences with the 3ʹ untranslated region of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the second one. When these constructs were bombarded into plant cells, only the construct containing both osa‐miR528 or hvu‐miRX and its complementary sequence did not generate green fluorescence. Stem‐loop reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction detected mature osa‐miR528 or mature hvu‐miRX in the cells, while northern analysis showed that GFP messenger RNA from the construct containing both osa‐miR528 or hvu‐miRX and its complementary sequence was degraded. Taken together, the results indicate that hvu‐miRX is an authentic miRNA like osa‐miR528, miRNA's complementary sequence is its target sequence, and both osa‐miR528 and hvu‐miRX silenced the GFP expression via a cleavage mode. Our method thus facilitates the verification of predicted plant miRNAs, target sequences, and function modes.
A dual gene expression cassette vector was used to verify miRNAs, miRNA targets and miRNA function modes. The vector containing miRNAs and or miRNA targets was bombarded into plant cells, and the expression of miRNAs and green fluorescent protein (GFP) from the vector was examined by RT‐PCR, Northern blot hybridization and fluorescence stereomicroscope. The result demonstrates the utility of the dual gene expression cassette vector in verifying miRNAs, miRNA targets and miRNA function modes.
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•Pembrolizumab is more effective than placebo in early TNBC.•Pembrolizumab is as effective as single-agent chemotherapy.•Pembrolizumab is effective in both PD-1+ and PD- ...TNBC.•Pembrolizumab has less adverse effects than chemotherapy.
Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women. There are a limited number of targeted therapies available for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and chemotherapy is the mainstay of treatment. Among checkpoint inhibitors, atezolizumab is the only drug approved for PD-L1+ TNBC patients. We performed a systematic review to assess the efficacy and safety of PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab in triple-negative breast cancer. We included 15 clinical trials in this review. Pembrolizumab was well tolerated by all patients with triple-negative breast cancer. Pembrolizumab was more effective in the treatment of early-stage TNBC patients as compared to placebo, regardless of PD-L1 status. In advanced-stage breast cancer, pembrolizumab was as effective as single-agent chemotherapy with a better safety profile. Pembrolizumab with chemotherapy showed significantly better median progression free survival as compared to chemotherapy in advanced TNBC.
Lipid droplets (LDs) are dynamic organelles that undergo dynamic changes in response to changing cellular conditions. During nutrient depletion, LD numbers increase to protect cells against toxic ...fatty acids generated through autophagy and provide fuel for beta-oxidation. However, the precise mechanisms through which these changes are regulated have remained unclear. Here, we show that the small GTPase RalA acts downstream of autophagy to directly facilitate LD growth during nutrient depletion. Mechanistically, RalA performs this function through phospholipase D1 (PLD1), an enzyme that converts phosphatidylcholine (PC) to phosphatidic acid (PA) and that is recruited to lysosomes during nutrient stress in a RalA-dependent fashion. RalA inhibition prevents recruitment of the LD-associated protein perilipin 3, which is required for LD growth. Our data support a model in which RalA recruits PLD1 to lysosomes during nutrient deprivation to promote the localized production of PA and the recruitment of perilipin 3 to expanding LDs.
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•RalA and PLD1 are necessary for starvation-induced lipid droplet (LD) formation•RalA recruits PLD1 to lysosomes to promote LD accumulation during starvation•Inhibition of RalA or PLD1 prevents PLIN3 redistribution to growing LDs•PLD1 activity and PA are required for LD accumulation and PLIN3 localization on LDs
Lipid droplets (LDs) are dynamic metabolic hubs that undergo changes in size, number, and abundance in response to cellular nutritional cues. Hussain et al. identify the small GTPase RalA and its interacting partner PLD1 as important regulators of LD accumulation in response to nutrient starvation.
Summary
Drought is the most serious abiotic stress, and causes crop losses on a worldwide scale. The present study identified a previously unknown microRNA (designated as hvu‐miRX) of 21 nucleotides ...(nt) in length in barley. Its precursor (designated pre‐miRX) and primary transcript (designated pri‐miRX) were also identified, with lengths of 73 and 559 nt, respectively. The identified upstream sequence of pri‐miRX contained both the TATA box and the CAAT box, which are both required for initiation of transcription. Transient promoter activation assays showed that the core promoter region of pri‐miRX ranged 500 nt from the transcription start site. In transgenic barley overexpression of the wheat DREB3 transcription factor (TaDREB3) caused hvu‐miRX to be highly expressed as compared with the same miRNA in non‐transgenic barley. However, the high expression was not directly associated with TaDREB3. Genomic analysis revealed that the hvu‐miRX gene was a single copy located on the short arm of chromosome 2 and appeared to be only conserved in Triticeae, but not in other plant species. Notably, transgenic barley that overexpressed hvu‐miRX showed drought tolerance. Degradome library analysis and other tests showed that hvu‐miRX targeted various genes including transcription factors via the cleavage mode. Our data provides an excellent opportunity to develop drought stress tolerant cereals using hvu‐miRX.
Significance Statement
We used various methods to comprehensively determine a previously unknown barley microRNA (temporally designated as hvu‐miRX), as well as its pre‐miRNA, pri‐miRNA and promoter sequence. We identified that the hvu‐miRX gene was present as a single copy located on the short arm of barley chromosome 2 and only conserved in Triticeae. We also found that the expression of hvu‐miRX was strongly associated with the barley over‐expressing DREB3 transcription factor from wheat (TaDREB3), but not directly controlled by TaDREB3. More markedly, over‐expression of hvu‐miRX in barley greatly increased plant drought tolerance.
Summary
Scheduling the tasks of a workflow to the cloud resources is a well‐known N‐P hard problem. The stakeholders involved in a cloud environment have different interests in scheduling problem. In ...addition to the traditional objectives like makespan, budget, and deadline, optimized in workflow scheduling, considering the green aspect of cloud, (ie, energy consumption) increase the problem complexity. Moreover, the interests of a cloud's stakeholders are conflicting, and satisfying all these interests simultaneously is a big problem. In this paper, we proposed a new Multi‐Objective Genetic Algorithm(MOGA) for workflow scheduling in a cloud environment. MOGA considered the conflicting interest of the cloud stakeholders for optimization and provided a solution, which not only minimizes the makespan under the budget and deadline constraints but also provided an energy efficient solution using the dynamic voltage frequency scaling. We provided a gap search algorithm in this paper, which is used to optimize the resource utilization of the cloud's resources. We compared our results with genetic algorithms considering the budget, deadline, and energy efficiency individually. We also compared the performance of MOGA with Multi‐objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) with the same objectives as those of MOGA. To the best of our knowledge, there is no solution presented in the literature that considers the diverse objectives considered in this work. The results show that our proposed algorithm MOGA has significantly improved not only in terms of budget, deadline, and energy but also improved the utilization of cloud's resources as compared to the competitive algorithms of this work.
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