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Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a musculoskeletal disorder and one of the major causes of low back pain leading to the disability with high economic repercussions worldwide. This study applied the candidategene approach to investigate the potential association of selected polymorphisms with IDD development in a Jordanian population. Methods: MRI-diagnosed IDD patients (N=155) and asymptomatic individuals as a control group (N=55). Whole blood samples for four variants in three genes (rs1800587 of IL-1a, rs1143634 of IL-1b and rs2228570 and rs731236 of VDR) were genotyped by PCR-RFLP. Results: There was no significant association between the studied polymorphisms or their allelic frequency and the occurrence of IDD. However, the cohort presented a significant reverse association between rs1143634 C > T of the IL-1b gene and the occurrence of IDD (p < 0.0001). In addition, BMI showed a significant association with the IDD in the study population (p < 0.005). The current study was conceptualized based on the candidate-gene approach to investigate the role of inflammatory and metabolic genes, IL and VDR, respectively, in the occurrence of IDD. Conclusions: While the data presented in this study showed that polymorphisms in these genes were not associated with IDD of the cohort investigated, elevated BMI, as a measure of obesity, is strongly associated with IDD. Investigating potential roles of other structural genes, such as col-IX and aggrecan (ACAN), in IDD and considering a GWAS to elucidate a genomically global look at the basis of IDD development would be of considerable impact on our understanding of IDD.

Premise of the Study: Tetraena simplex is an independently evolved C4 species in the Zygophylloideae (Zygophyllaceae) and a characteristic forb of saline flats in hot and sandy desert habitats. During early ontogeny, the species had a morphological shift from planar cotyledons (dorsiventral symmetry) to terete, succulent leaves (radial symmetry). We tested whether this shift had a corresponding change in internal Kranz anatomy and tissue patterning. Methods: For a comprehensive characterization of C4 photosynthesis across early ontogeny in T. simplex, structural and ultrastructural anatomical properties and localization patterns, activities, and immunoblotting of key C4 photosynthetic enzymes were compared in mesophyll and bundle sheath tissues in cotyledons and leaves. Key Results: Cotyledons and leaves possessed different types of Kranz anatomy (atriplicoid type and a “Tetraena” variant of the kochioid type, respectively), reflecting the change in leaf morphology. In bundle sheath cells, key differences in ultrastructural features included increased organelle numbers and chloroplast thylakoid stacking. C4 enzymes had strict tissue‐specific localization patterns within bundle sheath and mesophyll cells in both cotyledons and leaves. The decarboxylase NAD‐ME maintained the highest activity, increasing from cotyledons to leaves. This classified T. simplex as fully C4 across ontogeny and a strictly NAD‐ME biochemical subtype. Conclusions: Tetraena simplex cotyledons and leaves showed differences in Kranz type, with associated progression in ultrastructural features, and differing activities/expression levels of C4 enzymes. Furthermore, leaves characterized a new “Tetraena” variation of the kochioid Kranz anatomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male infertility is commonly associated with sperm abnormalities including asthenozoospermia. The molecular basis of asthenozoospermia was linked to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. The 4,977‐bp human mtDNA deletion is one of the most common mutations of spermatozoa and results in loss of about 33% of the mitochondrial genome. In this preliminary study, we aimed to investigate the presence of 4,977‐bp mtDNA deletion in asthenozoospermic infertile men in Jordan. Semen specimens of 120 asthenozoospermic infertile men and 80 normozoospermic individuals were collected at the in vitro fertilization unit. MtDNA was extracted after the enrichment of spermatozoa; then, polymerase chain reaction was performed using 4,977‐bp mtDNA deletion‐specific primers. The deletion of 4,977‐bp mtDNA was detected in 79.2% of asthenozoospermic patients compared to 10% in normozoospermic controls. The results showed a significant association between the presence of 4,977‐bp mtDNA deletion and the asthenozoospermia and infertility (OR = 34.2000, 95% CI = 14.57–80.26, p‐value <.001). In conclusion, our findings underscored a strong association between 4,977‐bp mtDNA deletion and asthenozoospermia in the Jordanian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise of the Study: Tetraena simplex is an independently evolved C 4 species in the Zygophylloideae (Zygophyllaceae) and a characteristic forb of saline flats in hot and sandy desert habitats. During early ontogeny, the species had a morphological shift from planar cotyledons (dorsiventral symmetry) to terete, succulent leaves (radial symmetry). We tested whether this shift had a corresponding change in internal Kranz anatomy and tissue patterning., Methods: For a comprehensive characterization of C 4 photosynthesis across early ontogeny in T. simplex, structural and ultrastructural anatomical properties and localization patterns, activities, and immunoblotting of key C 4 photosynthetic enzymes were compared in mesophyll and bundle sheath tissues in cotyledons and leaves., Key Results: Cotyledons and leaves possessed different types of Kranz anatomy (atriplicoid type and a "Tetraena" variant of the kochioid type, respectively), reflecting the change in leaf morphology. In bundle sheath cells, key differences in ultrastructural features included increased organelle numbers and chloroplast thylakoid stacking. C 4 enzymes had strict tissue-specific localization patterns within bundle sheath and mesophyll cells in both cotyledons and leaves. The decarboxylase NAD-ME maintained the highest activity, increasing from cotyledons to leaves. This classified T. simplex as fully C 4 across ontogeny and a strictly NAD-ME biochemical subtype., Conclusions: Tetraena simplex cotyledons and leaves showed differences in Kranz type, with associated progression in ultrastructural features, and differing activities/expression levels of C 4 enzymes. Furthermore, leaves characterized a new "Tetraena" variation of the kochioid Kranz anatomy., (© 2018 Botanical Society of America.)