No abstract

yVaxy, that is, pure, amylopectin maize {Zea mays 11. ) is an important staple food and vegetable in Southeast and East Asia. Its insufficient protein quality could be remedied by the opaque-2 gene mutation, demanding the combination pf two recessive endosperm quality genes, ¿paque-2 (op^ and waxy (wxwx). Crosses were made between v\/axy and opaque-2 maize as female and male parents, respectively. In the segregating progenies of two crosses, Kwii x ÁgQ53 and Kwi9 x AgQ53, immediate selfing or one-time backcrossing to the waxy parent before selfing were used to achieve the combination op^i/vxwx, supported by marker-assisted selection (MAS) of opaque-2 by phiO57 and of vyaxy by phiO22. The final 11 op^^xwx lines yvere achieved botfi from initial backcrossing and selfing. All the op^xwx lines were of acceptable agronomic vigor and had very high percentages of amylopectin. The sugar content vyas mostly higher in both selfing and backcrossing lines than in the parental waxy lines, an advantage for vegetable marketing. High lysine and tryptophan contents of the op^xv^x lines prove that the goal of combining two quality traits witfiin one grain was achieved. Furthermore, high variation in grain quality traits is an incentive for further improvement by breeding. Consumption of high-quality protein maize wiii improve the diets of chiidren, a good reason to produce double-quaiity vegetable waxy maize.

Malaria transmission-blocking compounds have been studied to block the transmission of malaria parasites, especially the drug-resistant Plasmodium. Carboxypeptidase B (CPB) in the midgut of Anopheline mosquitoes has been demonstrated to be essential for the sexual development of Plasmodium in the mosquito. Thus, the CPB is a potential target for blocking compounds. The aim of this research was to screen compounds from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) diversity dataset and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs that could reduce the Anopheles CPB activity. The cDNA fragment of cpb gene from An. minimus (cpbAmi) was amplified and sequenced. The three-dimensional structure of CPB was predicted from the deduced amino acid sequence. The virtual screening of the compounds from NCI diversity set IV and FDA-approved drugs was performed against CPBAmi. The inhibition activity against CPBAmi of the top-scoring molecules was characterized in vitro. Three compounds-NSC-1014, NSC-332670, and aminopterin with IC50 at 0.99 mM, 1.55 mM, and 0.062 mM, respectively-were found to significantly reduce the CPBAmi activity.

Malaria parasites are transmitted through blood feeding by female Anopheline mosquitoes. Unveiling the blood-feeding process will improve understanding of vector biology. Anopheles dirus (Diptera: Culicidae) is one of the primary malaria vectors in the Greater Mekong Subregion, the epicentre of malaria drug resistance. In this study, differential gene expression between sugar- and blood-fed An. dirus was investigated by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). A total of 589 transcripts were found to be upregulated and 703 transcripts downregulated as a result of blood feeding. Transcriptional differences were found in genes involved in blood digestion, peritrophic matrix formation, oogenesis and vitellogenesis. The expression levels of several genes were validated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The present results provide better understanding of An. dirus biology in relation to its blood feeding.

objective Our previous transcriptome analysis of Anopheles dirus revealed upregulation of the An. dirus yellow-g gene upon ingestion of Plasmodium vivax-infected blood. This gene belongs to the yellow gene family, but its role regarding P. vivax infection is not known and remains to be validated. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the An. dirus yellow-g gene in P. vivax infection.methods The qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of the yellow-g gene in many organs of both male and female mosquitos. The yellow-g gene silencing was performed by dsRNA membrane feeding to An. dirus. These mosquitoes were later challenged by P. vivax-infected blood. The oocyst numbers were determined.results The yellow-g transcript was detected in several organs of both male and female An. dirus mosquitoes. Successful knockdown of yellow-g was achieved and resulted in reduced P. vivax infection in the mosquitoes. The decrease in yellow-g expression had no effect on the life span of the mosquitoes. conclusions These results support the yellow-g gene as having an important function in Plasmodium development in Anopheles mosquitoes. keywords dsRNA, malaria, oocyst development, yellow-g Sustainable Development Goals: Good Health and Wellbeing *Contributed equally.