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This study was conducted to isolate and identify thermophilic and thermotolerant bacteria from Jordanian hot springs and to determine hydrolytic, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities of the isolates. Thirty bacterial isolates were recovered from water samples of five main local hot springs. Nineteen of the isolated colonies were light yellow and circular to rhizoid on nutrient agar; cells were Gram-positive, endospore-forming, and rod-shaped. Eleven isolates were Gram-negative non-spore forming rods. It was found that 21 isolates met the criteria of moderate thermophiles; all isolates were grown aerobically (JA5 was facultative anaerobes) at 40-60 °C, pH 6-9, and 0-4% salt concentration and most of these isolates were reacted positively with catalase and oxidase. The remaining nine isolates were thermotolerant. Depending on the 16S rRNA gene sequences of the isolates, it was found that 19 thermophilic isolates have 97-100% sequence homology to the genus Bacillus; eight isolates were closely related to the thermophilic genus Geobacillus showing 97-100% homology to G. stearothermophilus ATCC 7953. The isolate JM2 shares 99% sequence homology with Thermomonas hydrothermalis. Remarkably, it was found that the 16S rDNA sequence of isolate JZ9 were highly similar (99% identity) to the thermophilic bacterium Caldimonas hydrothermale. To our knowledge, this is the first record of Caldimonas isolation from Jordanian hot springs. A wide spectrum of hydrolytic activities for protease, lipase, xylanase, cellulase, amylase, and pectinase was detected from the obtained isolates. It was found that JM1, JS3, and JZ11 isolates produced all tested enzymatic activities. Antimicrobial activities were only exhibited by three isolates (thermophilic JH1 and JM11 and thermotolerant JS3). Results indicated that three thermophilic Bacillus isolates (JA2, JM11, and JM12) produced selective cytotoxicity against human leukemia cell line K562. Therefore, many of the obtained isolates in this study can be considered as a promising source of effective agents that may be used for medical, pharmaceutical, and industrial purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestication process and the subsequent breeding may result in a genetic mutation and selection pressures that possibly contributed to the emergence of two phenotypes of barley spikelets, namely six-row and two-row barley. The present study used microsatellite genetic markers to investigate the population genetics of a selected set of accessions of domesticated barley representing different populations of Jordan, to identify a signature of selection resulted from domestication process. Genomic and statistical approaches, such as the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and the so-called hierarchical "outlier" tests, were utilized to identify signatures of selection. Generally, there was a high level of polymorphisms in all the studied populations, which ranged from 19.23 for Ramtha to 69.23 (%) for Zarga, with an average of 53.61 (%). The average number of allele per locus for the entire sample set was of 9.346 and it ranged 2 occurring at [(Bmag0136), (EBmac0970_a), (EBmac0970_c) loci], to 27 at (Bmac0040) locus. The results of AMOVA showed that the main portion (~72%) of total diversity was attributed to differentiations within populations. Other portions of diversity (11.040%) were explained by the diversity among populations. As revealed by the hierarchical outlier tests and AMOVA results, 9 microsatellites were identified to be under possible selection pressures, possibly indicates that these loci were important in the past improvement of barley by early cultivators. In conclusion, the present study shows that barley landraces of Jordan possess high levels of genetic diversity and allelic richness that could be utilized in barley improvement and breeding program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

StAR related lipid transfer domain containing 3 ( STARD3 ) gene has been reported to be co-amplified with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 ( HER2 ) in breast carcinoma. STARD3 is necessary for cholesterol transfer and metabolism in tumor cells. The possible role played by STARD3 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker was investigated in breast cancer (BC). Data mining was performed using several bioinformatics websites to investigate the correlation of STARD3 with BC and its molecular subtypes, and conventional PCR was used to detect the STARD3 mRNA levels in a panel of BC cell lines. STARD3 was overexpressed in BC more than the other types of cancer. The results also showed that STARD3 expression was significantly associated with HER2 + BC tumors and BC cell lines, and low STARD3 mRNA and protein expression levels were observed in estrogen receptor-positive (ER + ) and triple-negative BC (TNBC) patients. Moreover, high STARD3 expression levels predicted worse overall survival (OS), relapse-free survival (RFS) and disease metastasis-free survival (DMFS) in BC, and HER2 + BC. Notably, low expression of STARD3 was associated with poor OS in ER + BC. Our findings suggest that STARD3 may have strong diagnostic and prognostic value for HER2 + breast carcinoma., Competing Interests: The authors have nothing to disclose related to this work.