The Arabs comprise a genetically heterogeneous group that resulted from the admixture of different populations throughout history. They share many common characteristics responsible for a considerable proportion of perinatal and neonatal mortalities. To this end, the Centre for Arab Genomic Studies (CAGS) launched a pilot project to construct the ‘Catalogue of Transmission Genetics in Arabs’ (CTGA) database for genetic disorders in Arabs. Information in CTGA is drawn from published research and mined hospital records. The database offers web-based basic and advanced search approaches. In either case, the final search result is a detailed HTML record that includes text-, URL- and graphic-based fields. At present, CTGA hosts entries for 692 phenotypes and 235 related genes described in Arab individuals. Of these, 213 phenotypic descriptions and 22 related genes were observed in the Arab population of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These results emphasize the role of CTGA as an essential tool to promote scientific research on genetic disorders in the region. The priority of CTGA is to provide timely information on the occurrence of genetic disorders in Arab individuals. It is anticipated that data from Arab countries other than the UAE will be exhaustively searched and incorporated in CTGA ().

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Chrysanthemum morifolium propagation using conventional method of stem cutting produces weak plants and showed delayed anthesis above 20°C with reduced ower diameter. Therefore, in the present study chrysanthemum plantlets were produced through somatic embryogenic calli to exploit the somaclonal variation for its improvement. Various explants of variety Dante yellow were cultured on LS (Linsmaier and Skoog 1965) medium augmented with various concentrations of KT (Kinetin) and 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and their combinations for callus induction. Embryogenic calli were proliferated and regenerated by using different plant growth regulators. Regenerated plantlets were acclimatized and evaluated for agronomic characteristics and compared with mother plant in a replicated eld trial. Results revealed that young leaf explant cultured on LS medium containing 9.02 µM 2,4-D and 11.61 µM KT gave an ample amount of callus. Combination of 0.44 µM BAP (6-benzylaminopurine) and 5.37 µM NAA (1-naphthaleneacetic acid) yielded highest amount of callus proliferation (0.27g ± 0.03).Signi cant amount of shootlets (25 ± 0.8) from embryogenic callus was observed on the medium augmented with 0.45 µM 2, 4-D. During the eld experiment, Clone S84 showed considerable improvement in ower size as compare to mother plant and found to be a promising clone for commercialization.