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Purpose: we aimed to estimate the anxiety levels of pregnant women following maternal serum screening for CMV infection.Materials and methods: In this case-control study conducted from April 2016 to June 2017, we enrolled all pregnant women referred to our hospital who were CMV immunoglobulin (Ig) M antibody positive (IgM-positive group, n = 51); further, those who were CMV IgG positive but IgM negative (IgM-negative group, n = 51) during the same period were included as study controls. Data were collected on patient characteristics, CMV IgM levels, and whether patients were accompanied by their partners during the first hospital visit after CMV IgM testing. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to assess anxiety levels.Results: Both groups were age matched [mean age (years): IgM-positive, 30 ± 4.2 and IgM-negative, 29.9 ± 4.6]. The mean state-anxiety score was higher in the IgM-positive group (53 ± 9.6) than in the IgM-negative group (38.5 ± 7.0, p < .05) with no between-group differences in trait-anxiety scores. Similarly, a higher number of women were accompanied by their partners in the IgM-positive group. The state-anxiety scores and CMV IgM levels were not correlated in the IgM-positive group.Conclusion: Counseling support is essential for IgM-positive pregnant women following serum screening, and the screening should be avoided if support systems are unavailable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wild relatives of rice (Oryza sativa L.) are useful sources of alleles that have evolved to adapt in diverse environments around the world. Oryza rufipogon, the known progenitor of the cultivated rice, harbors genes that have been lost in cultivated varieties through domestication or evolution. This makes O. rufipogon an ideal source of value-added traits that can be utilized to improve the existing rice cultivars. To explore the potential of the rice progenitor as a genetic resource for improving O. sativa, 33 chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) of O. rufipogon (W0106) in the background of the elite japonica cultivar Koshihikari were developed and evaluated for several agronomic traits. Over 90% of the entire genome was introgressed from the donor parent into the CSSLs. A total of 99 putative QTLs were detected, of which 15 were identified as major effective QTLs that have significantly large effects on the traits examined. Among the 15 major effective QTLs, a QTL on chromosome 10 showed a remarkable positive effect on the number of grains per panicle. Comparison of the putative QTLs identified in this study and previous studies indicated a wide genetic diversity between O. rufipogon accessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The awn is a bristle-like appendage that protrudes from the seed tip and plays a critical role in preventing feed damage and spreading habitats in many grass species, including rice. While all wild species in the Oryza genus have awns, this trait has been eliminated in domesticated species due to its obstructive nature to agricultural processes. To date, several genes involved in awn development have been identified in wild rice, Oryza rufipogon and Oryza barthii which are ancestral species of cultivated rice in Asia and Africa, respectively. However, the responsible genes for awn development have not been identified in other wild rice species even though multiple QTLs have been reported previously. In this study, we identified An7 gene responsible for awn development in two wild rice species, Oryza glumaepatula and Oryza meridionalis . An7 encodes a cytochrome P450 enzyme and is homologous to D2/CYP90D2 , a known brassinosteroid biosynthesis enzyme in rice. The identification of An7 provides insight into a distinct molecular mechanism underlying awn development that occurs in geographically separated environments., (Copyright © 2024 by JAPANESE SOCIETY OF BREEDING.)

A long awn is one of the distinct morphological features of wild rice species. This organ is thought to aid in seed dispersal and prevent predation by animals. Most cultivated varieties of Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima, however, have lost the ability to form long awns. The causal genetic factors responsible for the loss of awn in these two rice species remain largely unknown. Here, we evaluated three sets of chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) in a common O. sativa genetic background (cv. Koshihikari) that harbor genomic fragments from Oryza nivara, Oryza rufipogon, and Oryza glaberrima donors. Phenotypic analyses of these libraries revealed the existence of three genes, Regulator of Awn Elongation 1 (RAE1), RAE2, and RAE3, involved in the loss of long awns in cultivated rice. Donor segments at two of these genes, RAE1 and RAE2, induced long awn formation in the CSSLs whereas an O. sativa segment at RAE3 induced long awn formation in O. glaberrima. These results suggest that the two cultivated rice species, O. sativa and O. glaberrima, have taken independent paths to become awnless., (Copyright © 2015 Furuta et al.)