Salinity affects more than 6% of the world's total land area, causing massive losses in crop yield. Salinity inhibits plant growth and development through osmotic and ionic stresses; however, some plants exhibit adaptations through osmotic regulation, exclusion, and translocation of accumulated Na+ or Cl-. Currently, there are no practical, economically viable methods for managing salinity, so the best practice is to grow crops with improved tolerance. Germination is the stage in a plant's life cycle most adversely affected by salinity. Barley, the fourth most important cereal crop in the world, has outstanding salinity tolerance, relative to other cereal crops. Here, we review the genetics of salinity tolerance in barley during germination by summarizing reported quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and functional genes. The homologs of candidate genes for salinity tolerance in Arabidopsis, soybean, maize, wheat, and rice have been blasted and mapped on the barley reference genome. The genetic diversity of three reported functional gene families for salt tolerance during barley germination, namely dehydration-responsive element-binding (DREB) protein, somatic embryogenesis receptor-like kinase and aquaporin genes, is discussed. While all three gene families show great diversity in most plant species, the DREB gene family is more diverse in barley than in wheat and rice. Further to this review, a convenient method for screening for salinity tolerance at germination is needed, and the mechanisms of action of the genes involved in salt tolerance need to be identified, validated, and transferred to commercial cultivars for field production in saline soil.
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Genetic Variation ; Germination/physiology* ; Hordeum/physiology* ; Salt Tolerance/genetics*

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest superfamily of transmembrane receptors and have vital signaling functions in various organs. Because of their critical roles in physiology and pathology, GPCRs are the most commonly used therapeutic target. It has been suggested that GPCRs undergo massive genetic variations such as genetic polymorphisms and DNA insertions or deletions. Among these genetic variations, non-synonymous natural variations change the amino acid sequence and could thus alter GPCR functions such as expression, localization, signaling, and ligand binding, which may be involved in disease development and altered responses to GPCR-targeting drugs. Despite the clinical importance of GPCRs, studies on the genotype-phenotype relationship of GPCR natural variants have been limited to a few GPCRs such as β-adrenergic receptors and opioid receptors. Comprehensive understanding of non-synonymous natural variations within GPCRs would help to predict the unknown genotype-phenotype relationship and yet-to-be-discovered natural variants. Here, we analyzed the non-synonymous natural variants of all non-olfactory GPCRs available from a public database, UniProt. The results suggest that non-synonymous natural variations occur extensively within the GPCR superfamily especially in the N-terminus and transmembrane domains. Within the transmembrane domains, natural variations observed more frequently in the conserved residues, which leads to disruption of the receptor function. Our analysis also suggests that only few non-synonymous natural variations have been studied in efforts to link the variations with functional consequences.
Amino Acid Sequence ; DNA ; Genetic Variation ; Pathology ; Physiology ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Receptors, Opioid ; Vital Signs

Genes play an important role in the immune system response, and different gene loci may result in different vaccine immune response rates. This review focuses on the correlation between gene polymorphisms and vaccine immune response in order to investigate the influence of gene polymorphisms on the immune response to vaccines. It discusses the effect of an individual's immune response after vaccination at genetic level and provides a scientific basis for individualized immune development strategies. It reveals that human leukocyte antigen genes, various cytokines and their receptor genes, and Toll-like receptor genes all affect the vaccine immune response.
Cytokines ; Genetic Variation/immunology* ; Humans ; Immune System ; Immunity/physiology* ; Immunity, Active/immunology* ; Immunogenetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Vaccination ; Vaccines/immunology*

Toxoplasma gondii is a eukaryotic parasite of the phylum Apicomplexa, which infects all warm-blood animals, including humans. In the present study, we examined sequence variation in dense granule 20 (GRA20) genes among T. gondii isolates collected from different hosts and geographical regions worldwide. The complete GRA20 genes were amplified from 16 T. gondii isolates using PCR, sequence were analyzed, and phylogenetic reconstruction was analyzed by maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods. The results showed that the complete GRA20 gene sequence was 1,586 bp in length among all the isolates used in this study, and the sequence variations in nucleotides were 0-7.9% among all strains. However, removing the type III strains (CTG, VEG), the sequence variations became very low, only 0-0.7%. These results indicated that the GRA20 sequence in type III was more divergence. Phylogenetic analysis of GRA20 sequences using MP and ML methods can differentiate 2 major clonal lineage types (type I and type III) into their respective clusters, indicating the GRA20 gene may represent a novel genetic marker for intraspecific phylogenetic analyses of T. gondii.
Animals ; Base Sequence ; Brazil ; China ; Deer ; *Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Goats ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Protozoan Proteins/*genetics/metabolism ; Sheep ; Swine ; Toxoplasma/classification/*genetics/isolation & purification/parasitology/physiology ; Toxoplasmosis/*parasitology ; Toxoplasmosis, Animal/*parasitology ; United States

Toxoplasma gondii is an opportunistic protozoan parasite that can infect almost all warm-blooded animals including humans with a worldwide distribution. Micronemes play an important role in invasion process of T. gondii, associated with the attachment, motility, and host cell recognition. In this research, sequence diversity in microneme protein 6 (MIC6) gene among 16 T. gondii isolates from different hosts and geographical regions and 1 reference strain was examined. The results showed that the sequence of all the examined T. gondii strains was 1,050 bp in length, and their A + T content was between 45.7% and 46.1%. Sequence analysis presented 33 nucleotide mutation positions (0-1.1%), resulting in 23 amino acid substitutions (0-2.3%) aligned with T. gondii RH strain. Moreover, T. gondii strains representing the 3 classical genotypes (Type I, II, and III) were separated into different clusters based on the locus of MIC6 using phylogenetic analyses by Bayesian inference (BI), maximum parsimony (MP), and maximum likelihood (ML), but T. gondii strains belonging to ToxoDB #9 were separated into different clusters. Our results suggested that MIC6 gene is not a suitable marker for T. gondii population genetic studies.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Base Sequence ; Cats ; Cell Adhesion Molecules/chemistry/*genetics/metabolism ; Deer ; *Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Goats ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Protozoan Proteins/chemistry/*genetics/metabolism ; Sequence Alignment ; Sheep ; Swine ; Toxoplasma/classification/*genetics/isolation & purification/physiology ; Toxoplasmosis/*parasitology ; Toxoplasmosis, Animal/*parasitology

The genetic diversity of Schistosoma haematobium remains largely unstudied in comparison to that of Schistosoma mansoni. To characterize the extent of genetic diversity in S. haematobium among its definitive host (humans), we collected S. haematobium eggs from the urine of 73 infected schoolchildren at 5 primary schools in White Nile State, Sudan, and then performed a randomly amplified polymorphic DNA marker ITS2 by PCR-RFLP analysis. Among 73 S. haematobium egg-positive cases, 13 were selected based on the presence of the S. haematobium satellite markers A4 and B2 in their genomic DNA, and used for RFLP analysis. The 13 samples were subjected to an RFLP analysis of the S. haematobium ITS2 region; however, there was no variation in size among the fragments. Compared to the ITS2 sequences obtained for S. haematobium from Kenya, the nucleotide sequences of the ITS2 regions of S. haematobium from 4 areas in Sudan were consistent with those from Kenya (> 99%). In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that most of the S. haematobium population in Sudan consists of a pan-African S. haematobium genotype; however, we also report the discovery of Kenyan strain inflow into White Nile, Sudan.
Adolescent ; Animals ; Base Sequence ; Child ; DNA, Helminth/genetics ; Female ; *Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Ovum/classification/cytology ; Parasite Egg Count ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Schistosoma haematobium/*genetics/*isolation & purification/physiology ; Schistosomiasis haematobia/diagnosis/epidemiology/*parasitology/urine ; Students ; Sudan/epidemiology ; Urine/*parasitology

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of highly conserved small noncoding RNAs which can regulate gene expression by post-transcriptional degradation or translational repression. miRNAs are involved in the regulation of cell apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation and other physiological processes, and are closely related with development of cancer. More recently, it has been proposed that the presence of genetic variations in microRNA genes, their biogenesis pathway and target binding sites can affect the miRNA processing machinery and targeting, therefore have a significant genetic effect. Since polymorphisms in a miRNA regulatory pathway can result in the loss or gain of a miRNA function and can affect the expression of hundreds of genes, more and more evidence suggested a strong association of miRNA polymorphisms with disease progression, diagnosis and prognosis. Whether in the pathogenesis research of complex diseases or finding biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis, polymorphisms in the miRNA regulatory pathway have an extremely important value for research.
Animals ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Genetic Variation ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; physiology

Group A rotaviruses (RVs) are major pathogens associated with acute gastroenteritis in young children and animals worldwide. VP4 is responsible for interaction with the host and viral attachment. Recent study showed that the distal portion of rotavirus (RV) VP4 spike protein (VP8*) is implicated in binding to human histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs), which is new cellular receptors on rotavirus, Published in Nature and Journal of Virology in 2012. The paper describes advances in correlation between rotaivrus and HBGAs, summarizes the main achievements has gotten, Clarify the significance of study on Rotaivrus and HBGAs.
Animals ; Blood Group Antigens ; genetics ; immunology ; Genetic Variation ; Humans ; Rotavirus ; immunology ; physiology ; Rotavirus Infections ; blood

Eleven proteins encoded by influenza A viruses play different roles in host receptor recognition, cross-species transmission, virus replication, pathogenicity, and induction of host immune responses. Understanding of the pathogenic mechanism of mutations in influenza A virus-encoded proteins could offer new targets for the development of universal vaccines and effective drugs against highly pathogenic influenza viruses. Based mainly on the current literature, this article is intended to provide a comprehensive analysis of progresses in amino acid variations in influenza A virus-encoded proteins and their relationships to pathogenicity as well as cross-species transmissibility.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Genetic Variation ; Humans ; Influenza A virus ; genetics ; pathogenicity ; Influenza, Human ; transmission ; virology ; Mice ; Mutation ; Orthomyxoviridae Infections ; transmission ; virology ; Viral Proteins ; genetics ; physiology

Mutation or common intronic variants in cardiac ion channel genes have been suggested to be associated with sudden cardiac death caused by idiopathic ventricular tachyarrhythmia. This study aimed to find mutations in cardiac ion channel genes of Korean sudden cardiac arrest patients with structurally normal heart and to verify association between common genetic variation in cardiac ion channel and sudden cardiac arrest by idiopathic ventricular tachyarrhythmia in Koreans. Study participants were Korean survivors of sudden cardiac arrest caused by idiopathic ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation. All coding exons of the SCN5A, KCNQ1, and KCNH2 genes were analyzed by Sanger sequencing. Fifteen survivors of sudden cardiac arrest were included. Three male patients had mutations in SCN5A gene and none in KCNQ1 and KCNH2 genes. Intronic variant (rs2283222) in KCNQ1 gene showed significant association with sudden cardiac arrest (OR 4.05). Four male sudden cardiac arrest survivors had intronic variant (rs11720524) in SCN5A gene. None of female survivors of sudden cardiac arrest had SCN5A gene mutations despite similar frequencies of intronic variants between males and females in 55 normal controls. Common intronic variant in KCNQ1 gene is associated with sudden cardiac arrest caused by idiopathic ventricular tachyarrhythmia in Koreans.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac/genetics ; *Death, Sudden, Cardiac ; Ether-A-Go-Go Potassium Channels/genetics ; Female ; Genetic Markers ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genetic Variation ; Heart/physiology ; Heart Conduction System/abnormalities ; Humans ; KCNQ1 Potassium Channel/*genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; NAV1.5 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel/*genetics ; Republic of Korea ; Tachycardia, Ventricular/*genetics ; Ventricular Fibrillation/*genetics ; Young Adult