Muzna Zahur

Gossypium arboreum GHSP26 enhances drought tolerance in Gossypium hirsutum

Heat‐shock proteins (HSP) are molecular chaperones for protein molecules. These proteins play an important role in protein–protein interactions such as, folding and assisting in the establishment of proper protein conformation and prevention of unwanted protein aggregation. A small HSP gene GHSP26 present in Gossypium arboreum responds to dehydration. In the present study, an attempt was made to overcome the problem of drought stress in cotton. A cDNA of GHSP26 was isolated from G. arboreum, cloned in plant expression vector, pCAMBIA‐1301 driven by the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and introduced into Gossypium hirsutum. The integration and expression studies of putative transgenic plants were performed through GUS assay; PCR from genomic DNA, and quantitative real‐time PCR analysis. Transgenic cotton plants showed an enhanced drought tolerance, suggesting that GHSP26 may play a role in plant responsiveness to drought.

RNAi as a new therapeutic strategy against HCV

Hepatitis C virus is a major cause of liver associated diseases all over the world. Irrespective of the significant advances in the current therapy, drugs and vaccines are restricted with many factors such as toxicity, complexity, cost and resistance. New technologies particularly RNA interference (RNAi) mediated by small interfering RNA (siRNA) have become more and more interesting and effective therapeutic entities to silence pathogenic gene products associated with disease, including cancer, viral infections and autoimmune disorders. RNAi works at a posttranscriptional level by targeting mRNA as a mean for inhibiting the synthesis of the encoded protein. Several reports have indicated the efficiency and specificity of synthetic and vector based siRNAs inhibiting HCV replication. In the present review, we focused on the recent development in the potential use and issues regarding siRNA as a therapy for HCV.

Identification and expression of six drought-responsive transcripts through differential display in desi cotton (Gossypium arboreum)

There is not enough information available on drought-modulated gene(s) in Gossypium arboreum, which can be a valuable gene pool for improving modern cotton cultivars. In the present work, differential display reverse transcriptase PCR (DDRT) was used to compare overall differences in gene expression between water-stressed and control plants. By screening 93 primer-pair combinations, the DDRT technique resulted in upregulation of 30 cDNA transcripts. Through reamplification and quality control assay, ten cDNA transcripts appeared false positive. The remaining 20-cDNA transcripts were extracted from the gel, reamplified, cloned and sequenced. Homology search revealed that six transcripts showed significant homology with known genes. Real-time RT-PCR showed that, among six transcripts, five showed significant overexpression in water-stressed leaves as compared to control. This is an important finding since there are only few reports of universal stress protein, and transposable elements are available in plants but none in cotton under drought condition.

Isolation and functional analysis of cotton universal stress protein promoter in response to phytohormones and abiotic stresses.

The 949 bp promoter fragment upstream from the translation initiation site of the GUSP gene encoding a universal stress protein was isolated from the genomic DNA of Gossypium arboreum. Some putative cis-acting elements involved in stress responses including E-box, ABRE, DPBF-box, and MYB-core elements were found in the promoter region. In an Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression assay, strong activation of the GUSP full promoter region occurred in tobacco leaves following dehydration, abscisic acid, salt, heavy metal, gibberellic acid and dark treatments. Deletion analysis of the promoter revealed that the dehydration, abscisic acid and salt responses were affected by the deletion between −208 and −949 bp and showed 2–4-fold induction. However, in response to dark, gibberellic acid and heavy metals the induction was only 2-fold. These findings further our understanding of the regulation of GUSP expression. This is an important study as no report of this universal stress protein promoter is available in literature.

Dermatomycoses: challenges and human immune responses.

The most prevalent skin infections are mainly caused by species of dermatophytes of the genera Trichophyton, Microsporum, and Epidermophyton that infect keratinized tissues and stratum corneum of skin and hair. Besides proteases with putative role of kinases and other enzymes, immune modulators are abundantly secreted during infection as well. The molecular mechanism used by the dermatophytes to infect and counteract the host immune response is not well understood. The defense against infections basically depends on the hosts immune responses to metabolites of the fungi, virulence of the infecting strain or species and anatomical site of the infection. The two aspects of the immune system, the immediate hypersensitivity and delayed-type hypersensitivity against dermatophytes may be crucial to the progression and severity of skin infection. Management of the infection through species identification and molecular diagnostic techniques as well as use of novel targeted drugs in addition to conventional anti-fungal compounds is of great importance in dealing with disease onsets and outbreaks. Here we reviewed the fungal skin infections elucidating their biologic and immunologic characteristics. Reaction to fungal invasion by the infected epithelial tissue on the host side is also discussed. Moreover, determinants of protective immunity and treatment options are focused that could confer long-lasting resistance to infection.