Muhammad Bilal Sarwar

Resistance of polio to its eradication in Pakistan

BackgroundThis study is based on EPI (Expanded Program on Immunization) immunization surveys and surveillance of polio, its challenges in immunization and the way forward to overcome these challenges.MethodsSeveral Government documents, survey reports and unpublished program documents were studied and online search was made to find information on EPI Pakistan. SPSS 16 and Microsoft Excel 2007 were used for the statistical analysis.ResultsImmunization against polio is higher in urban areas as compared to rural areas. Marked variation in vaccination has been observed in different provinces of Pakistan in the last decade. Secondly 10-20% of the children who have received their first dose of trivalent polio vaccine were deprived of their 2nd and 3rd dose because of poor performance of EPI and Lack of information about immunization.ConclusionIn spite of numerous successes, such as the addition of new vaccines and raising immunization to over 100% in some areas, EPI is still struggling to reach its polio eradication goals. Inadequate service delivery, lack of information about immunization and limited number of vaccinators were found to be the key reason for poor performance of immunization and for large number of cases reported each year due to the deficiency of second and third booster dose.

Sucrose synthase genes: a way forward for cotton fiber improvement

Cotton is a premium source of natural fiber and is considered “white gold” in the textile industry. Fiber length, strength and fineness are the key considerations for the industry. Longer fibers are machine friendly because they are easily spinnable. Recent advancements in genetic engineering, including the development of DNA markers and quantitative trait loci (QTLs), together with genome sequencing and gene expression profiling, have provided new avenues for improving fiber production and quality. In plants, sucrose synthase (SUS) is the key enzyme that catalyzes the reversible cleavage of sucrose and uridine diphosphate (UDP) into fructose and UDP-glucose. Sucrose is the main mobile sugar in plants moving from source to sink. It regulates resource partitioning between active sinks, especially in cotton embryos and fibers, and therefore is directly involved in determining fiber yield and seed quality. SUS actively takes part in regulating the competition for nutrients among sink tissues through balancing osmotic potentials by providing hexoses and an efficient supply of UDP-glucose the substrate for cellulose synthase. Cotton transformation has been used to improve fiber characteristics by altering cell wall properties through the manipulation of expression of fiber genes. Overexpression of the SUS gene from natural or synthetic origins in cotton can be an excellent way to solve potential problems associated with poor fiber length and other fiber quality traits. Increased SUS activity can result in more hexoses, increasing the osmotic potential and thereby driving the water influx that creates high turgor pressure in fiber cells resulting in enhanced fiber elongation. Moreover, increased SUS gene transcript levels in vegetative tissues of the plant will elevate seedling biomass and seed number. Fiber length and seed number both contribute towards final yield and the SUS genes as key regulators of sink strength in cotton perform this dual function that is directly related to cotton productivity. Hence manipulation of the SUS gene family is considered a promising approach to improve cotton fiber yield and quality. This review focuses on the biochemical and physiological roles of the SUS genes and there value for cotton fiber improvement.

Identification and Characterization of the Diverse Stress-Responsive R2R3-RMYB Transcription Factor from Hibiscus sabdariffa L.

Various regulatory proteins play a fundamental role to manage the healthy plant growth under stress conditions. Differential display reverse transcriptase PCR and random amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) was used to explore the osmotic stress-responsive transcripts. We identified and characterized the salt stress-responsive R2R3 type RMYB transcription factor from Hibiscus sabdariffa which has an open reading frame of 690 bp, encoding 229 long chain amino acids. In silico analysis confirmed the conserved R2 and R3 domain as well as an NLS-1 localization site. The deduced amino acids of RMYB shared 83, 81, 80, 79, 72, 71, and 66% homology with Arabidopsis thaliana, Glycine max, Oryza sativa, Zea maize, Malus domestica, Populus tremula × Populus alba, and Medicago sativa specific MYB family, respectively. We observed the gene upregulation in stem, leaf, and root tissue in response to abiotic stress. Furthermore, RMYB gene was cloned into plant expression vector under CaMV35S promoter and transformed to Gossypium hirsutum: a local cotton cultivar. Overexpression of RMYB was observed in transgenic plants under abiotic stresses which further suggests its regulatory role in response to stressful conditions. The RMYB transcription factor-overexpressing in transgenic cotton plants may be used as potential agent for the development of stress tolerant crop cultivars.

Identifying salt stress-responsive transcripts from Roselle ( Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) roots by differential display

No previous study has been reported on the salt-modulated gene(s) of roselle ( Hibiscus sabdariffa L.). Identifying the potentially novel transcripts responsible for salt stress tolerance in roselle will increase knowledge of the molecular mechanism underlying salt stress responses. In this study, differential display reverse transcriptase PCR (DDRT-PCR) was used to compare the overall differences in gene expression between salt-stressed and control plants. A total of 81 primer combinations were used and false positive clones were rejected during a screening and quality control assay. The remaining nine cDNA transcript fragments were extracted from the gel, reamplified, cloned and sequenced. A homology search revealed that four transcripts showed significant homology with known genes. Out of five transcripts, real-time PCR demonstrated that four exhibited high expression in salt-stressed root tissues relative to the control and one transcript was down-regulated. These transcripts may be useful for improving tolerance in salt stress-sensitive plants. Keywords: Roselle, Hibiscus Sabdariffa L., differential display, salt-stress, differentially expressed transcripts, signal transduction. African Journal of Biotechnology , Vol 13(53) 4775-4781