Faecal Microbiota Transplantation for Clostridium Difficile - a local perspective

Clostridium Difficile represents one of the major challenges of the antimicrobial era with associated significant morbidity. Treatment options are limited to a number of specific antibiotics with significant failure rates. Faecal Microbiota Transplantation has been recognised as a possible treatment option when standard therapy fails. We report a local case of Clostridium Difficile Infection ultimately requiring Faecal Microbiota Transplantation with good success. While no formal service providing the treatment is available within Northern Ireland it is a feasible treatment option for Clostridium Difficile Infection.

Genetic basis of plant height and its degree of indetermination in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

The genetic basis of plant height at various growth stages and the degree of indetermination of plant height in six mungbean genotypes (NM 92, 6601, NM 89, VC 1560D and VC 3902A) were assessed through half diallel cross. Cultivars, 6601 and NM 92, were the best general combiner for pre-flowering dry matter accumulation and minimum increase in plant height from first flower to 90% pods maturity, respectively. For these traits, the combination NM 92 x NM 89 was the best specific combiner of all the crosses. Both additive and dominant gene effects controlled the inheritance of plant height at first pod and to 90% pods maturity, degree of indetermination of plant height (DDh) from first flower to first pod maturity (DDh1), DDh from first flower to 90% pods maturity (DDh2) and DDh from first pod maturity to 90% pods maturity (DDh3). Plant height at first flower was additively inherited. The additive gene action was predominant as compared to dominant gene action for all the traits examined. High narrow and broad sense heritability estimates for DDh2 showed that better response to selection is possible for the development of mungbean genotypes with minimum increase in plant height during post-flowering development.

Genetic basis of variation of yield, and yield components in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Additive, dominance, and epistasis genetic basis of seed yield per plant, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, and 1000 seed weight in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) have been examined, using Triple Test Cross (TTC) analysis. The material for TTC test was evaluated in two seasons i.e., kharif (July-October) and spring/summer (March-June), at the research station of the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad, Pakistan. Epistasis was present significantly for number of pods per plant and number of seeds per pod when grown in the spring/summer season (March to June). Partition of epistasis showed that additive x additive ('i' type) interaction was an important component of number of pods per plant, and number of seeds per pod was found to be of both types 'i' type, and additive x dominance, and dominance x dominance ('j' and 'l' type) interactions. This indicated that epistasis might be a non-trivial factor in the inheritance of pods per plant, and seeds per pod in mungbean. The expression of epistasis was influenced differentially by particular genotypes, indicating that a limited number of genotypes may not be sufficient to detect non-allelic interactions for a trait in mungbean. Additive and dominance genetic components were significant for all four traits in kharif season (July to October) but only for seed yield and 1000 seed weight in spring/summer season. This suggests that the genes controlling seed yield per plant, and 1000 seed weight are equally sensitive to the environment. The predominance additive gene action in those traits is not significantly influenced by epistasis, suggesting that improvement of the traits can be achieved through standard selection procedures.

Comparative salt tolerance of amphidiploid and diploid Brassica species

Salt (NaCl) tolerance of three amphidiploid Brassica species, B. napus (AC genome), B. carinata (BC genome), and B. juncea (AB genome), and their putative diploid relatives, B. campestris (A genome), B. oleracea (C genome) and B. nigra (B genome) was examined under glasshouse conditions. The plants were grown in sand culture throughout the study period (51 days). Twenty-three day old plants of all six species were subjected for 28 days to control (0 mol m(-3) NaCl), 100 and 200 mol m(-3) NaCl in Hoagland nutrient solution. Under saline conditions, growth of the three amphidiploid species was significantly greater in shoot and root weights, and seed yield was greater than that of the diploids. The amphidiploids accumulated lower Na(+) but higher K(+) in their shoots and roots, the K/Na ratio therefore being considerably higher than those of the diploids. Ca(2+) accumulation was similar in the diploids and amphidiploids, and the Cl(-) accumulation pattern was not consistent in the different species. The occurrence of high salt tolerance of amphidiploids, and their enhanced K/Na discrimination with respect to their diploid relatives, suggests that salt tolerance has been obtained from A and C genomes and the latter trait from all three genomes (A, B, and C).

Diversity and divergence in Cistus salvifolius (L.) populations from contrasting habitats

Cistus salvifolius L. is a widespread Mediterranean shrub, occurring over a wide range of environments. Given the degree of habitat differentiation, and geographic isolation of some populations, adaptation to local conditions and hence population divergence might be expected to have occurred. To test this hypothesis morphology and allozyme diversity was measured in 13 populations collected from contrasting habitats around the Mediterranean. Leaf morphology (length, width and petiole length) and internode length varied widely between populations. Leaf width and internode length were negatively correlated with longitude, and leaf length was negatively correlated with mean rainfall. All populations were polymorphic at all allozyme loci studied, and no populations showed significant difference between levels of expected and observed heterozygotes. Allelic diversity (Hs) within populations was high, and populations from the more extreme sites showed no decrease in diversity or predominance of rare genotypes, suggesting there is little selection for characters favouring survival in local conditions. Some populations from highly contrasting habitats, in terms of rainfall, appeared to be genetically similar. However, there were differences between some populations, in areas less than 1 km apart, which have similar geography and climate. Results suggest that the C. salvifolius populations examined may not be as adapted to local environmental conditions as expected. Periodic fires, gene flow, and environmental heterogeneity may all help maintain genetic diversity and hinder adaptation.