The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD), especially the early stages, is still not exactly known. This is also true for CKD stage 3, when cardiovascular and other major complications generally appear. The NANHES data have shown a steady increase in the prevalence of CKD 3 up to 7.7% in 2004. Chronic kidney disease and renal failure are underdiagnosed all over the world. In Italy, prevalence estimates for stage 3 to 5 CKD are around 4 million yet, less than 30% of these subjects are believed to be followed at nephrology clinics. This means that in Italy for every dialyzed patient there are about 85 individuals with possibly progressive kidney disease, while fewer than five (mainly stage 4 and 5 patients) are actually followed by a nephrologist.

Prevalence of chronic kidney disease

Advances in cereal genomics and applications in crop breeding [Erratum: 2007 Jan., v. 25, issue 1, p. 1.]

Integrated analysis i

Rice (Oryza sativa L) is the major food source for more than three billion people of the world In the last few decades, the classical, mutational, and molecular breeding approaches have brought about tremendous increase in rice productivity with the development of novel rice varieties However, stagnation in rice yield has been reported in recent decade owing to several factors including the emergence of pests and phyto pathogens, climate change, and other environmental issues posing great threat to global food security There is an urgent need to produce more rice and associated cereals to satisfy the mammoth task of feeding a still growing population expected to reach 97 billion by 2050 Advances in genomics and emergence of multiple genome-editing technologies through use of engineered site-specific nucleases (SSNs) have revolutionized the field of plant science and agriculture Among them, the CRISPR/Cas9 system is the most advanced and widely accepted because of its simplicity, robustness, and high efficiency The availability of huge genomic resources together with a small genome size makes rice more suitable and feasible for genetic manipulation As such, rice has been increasingly used to test the efficiency of different types of genome editing technologies to study the functions of various genes and demonstrate their potential in genetic improvement Recently developed approaches including CRISPR/Cpf1 system and base editors have evolved as more efficient and accurate genome editing tools which might accelerate the pace of crop improvement In the present review, we focus on the genome editing strategies for rice improvement, thereby highlighting the applications and advancements of CRISPR/Cas9 system This review also sheds light on the role of CRISPR/Cpf1 and base editors in the field of genome editing highlighting major challenges and future implications of these tools in rice improvement

/pdf/genome-editing-in-rice-recent-advances-challenges-and-future-4poz0x76a7.pdf

Genome Editing in Rice: Recent Advances, Challenges, and Future Implications.

There is a need to explore renewable alternatives (e.g., biofuels) that can produce energy sources to help reduce the reliance on fossil oils. In addition, the consumption of fossil oils adversely affects the environment and human health via the generation of waste water, greenhouse gases, and waste solids. Camelina sativa, originated from southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, is being re-embraced as an industrial oilseed crop due to its high seed oil content (36-47%) and high unsaturated fatty acid composition (>90%), which are suitable for jet fuel, biodiesel, high-value lubricants and animal feed. C. sativa's agronomic advantages include short time to maturation, low water and nutrient requirements, adaptability to adverse environmental conditions and resistance to common pests and pathogens. These characteristics make it an ideal crop for sustainable agricultural systems and regions of marginal land. However, the lack of genetic and genomic resources has slowed the enhancement of this emerging oilseed crop and exploration of its full agronomic and breeding potential. Here, a core of 213 spring C. sativa accessions was collected and genotyped. The genotypic data was used to characterize genetic diversity and population structure to infer how natural selection and plant breeding may have affected the formation and differentiation within the C. sativa natural populations, and how the genetic diversity of this species can be used in future breeding efforts. A total of 6,192 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) value of 0.29 indicate moderate genetic diversity for the C. sativa spring panel evaluated in this report. Population structure and principal coordinates analyses (PCoA) based on SNPs revealed two distinct subpopulations. Sub-population 1 (POP1) contains accessions that mainly originated from Germany while the majority of POP2 accessions (>75%) were collected from Eastern Europe. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) identified 4% variance among and 96% variance within subpopulations, indicating a high gene exchange (or low genetic differentiation) between the two subpopulations. These findings provide important information for future allele/gene identification using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and marker-assisted selection (MAS) to enhance genetic gain in C. sativa breeding programs.

/pdf/genetic-diversity-and-population-structure-of-a-camelina-gej8u4v4ja.pdf

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of a Camelina sativa Spring Panel.

Rice is a staple food for more than 3 billion people in more than 100 countries of the world but ironically it is deficient in many bioavailable vitamins, minerals, essential amino- and fatty-acids and phytochemicals that prevent chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancers, and obesity. To enhance the nutritional and other quality aspects of rice, a better understanding of the regulation of the processes involved in the synthesis, uptake, transport, and metabolism of macro-(starch, seed storage protein and lipid) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals) is required. With the publication of high quality genomic sequence of rice, significant progress has been made in identification, isolation, and characterization of novel genes and their regulation for the nutritional and quality enhancement of rice. During the last decade, numerous efforts have been made to refine the nutritional and other quality traits either by using the traditional breeding with high through...

Progress and challenges in improving the nutritional quality of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated high frequency genetic transformation of an Indian cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) cultivar and transmission of transgenes into progeny

Biosensing methods for determination of creatinine: A review

An improved amperometric creatinine biosensor based on nanoparticles of creatininase, creatinase and sarcosine oxidase

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an important oilseed crop grown in India, China, Korea, Russia, Turkey, Mexico, South America, and several countries of Africa. Sesame seeds are rich in oil, proteins, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and folic acid. Nearly 70% of the world's sesame is processed into oil and meal, while the remainder is channeled to food and confectionery industries. Production of sesame is limited by several fungal diseases, water logging, salinity, and shattering of seed capsules during harvest. Introgression of useful genes from wild species into cultigens by conventional breeding has not been successful due to postfertilization barriers. The only alternative for the improvement of S. indicum is to transfer genes from other sources through genetic transformation techniques. Here, we describe a simple, fast, and reproducible method for the Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of S. indicum which may be employed for the transfer of desirable traits into this economically important oilseed crop.

Ranjana Jaiwal

Papers

Progress and challenges in improving the nutritional quality of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated high frequency genetic transformation of an Indian cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) cultivar and transmission of transgenes into progeny

Biosensing methods for determination of creatinine: A review

An improved amperometric creatinine biosensor based on nanoparticles of creatininase, creatinase and sarcosine oxidase

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.).