Clitoral Priapism in the Transgender Men

The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed biotic elicitors induced the expression levels of regulatory genes in diosgenin biosynthetic pathway, the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) and cycloartenol synthase (CAS), which can be positively correlated with elicited diosgenin contents in those cultures. The study holds significance as H. isora represents a cleaner and easy source of diosgenin where unlike other traditional sources, it is not admixed with other steroidal saponins, and the scaled-up levels of diosgenin achieved herein have the potential to be explored commercially. © Prof. H.S. Srivastava Foundation for Science and Society 2020.Dioscorealide B is an important secondary metabolite isolated from Dioscorea membranacea Pierre ex Prain & Burkill. The effect on secondary metabolite content of different concentrations of two elicitors [jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA)], and of medium status and JA exposure period were investigated. In the JA and SA concentration experiment, 6-week-old shoots were cultured on MS medium supplemented with 8.87 µM BA (6-benzyladenine) in combination with 100-500 µM JA or 50-200 µM SA for 3 weeks. MS medium supplemented only with 8.87 µM BA was used as a control. The highest dioscorealide B content was recorded in the 100 µM JA shoots. To determine the optimal medium status and JA exposure period, shoots were cultured on solid and in liquid MS media supplemented with 8.87 µM BA and 100 µM JA for 2, 3, 4 and 5 weeks. No interaction was found between the medium status and the elicitor exposure period in the dioscorealide B production. Shoots cultured on the solid MS medium supplemented with 100 µM JA had a higher dioscorealide B content (0.57 ± 0.35% w/w) than those cultured in liquid medium (0.36 ± 0.40% w/w) and 5-week JA exposure produced the highest dioscorealide B content of 1.05 ± 0.15% (w/w). © Prof. H.S. Srivastava Foundation for Science and Society 2020.The adaptive mechanisms in Agave species enable them to survive and exhibit remarkable tolerance to abiotic stresses. Quantitative real-time PCR is a highly reliable approach for validation of targeted differential gene expression. However, stable housekeeping gene(s) is prerequisite for accurate normalization of expression data by qRT-PCR. Till date, no systematic validation study for candidate housekeeping gene identification or evaluation has been carried-out in Agave species. A total of 17 candidate housekeeping genes were identified from the de novo assembled transcriptomic data of A. sisalana and rigorously analyzed for expression stability assessment under drought, heat, cold and NaCl stress. Different statistical algorithms like geNorm, BestKeeper, NormFinder, and RefFinder on expression data determined the superior housekeeping gene(s) for accurate normalization of the gene of interest (GOI). The comprehensive evaluation revealed the β-Tub 4, WIN-1 and CYC-A as the most stable, while EEF1α, GAPDH, and UBE2 were ranked as the least stable genes in pooled samples. Pairwise combination by geNorm showed that up to two housekeeping genes would be adequate to normalize the GOI expression data precisely. Validation of identified most and least stable housekeeping genes was carried-out by normalizing the expression data of AsHSP20 under abiotic stress conditions. Copy number of AsHSP20 gene supports the reliability of the genes used for normalization. This is the first report on the screening and validation of the housekeeping genes under abiotic stress condition in A. sisalana that would assist to understand the stress tolerance mechanisms by novel gene identification and accurate validation. © Prof. H.S. Srivastava Foundation for Science and Society 2020.NaCl and PEG stresses have negative impacts on seed germination and early seedling establishment in Oryza sativa. The present study was designed to ascertain the influence of different priming techniques (Hydro priming-HyP, Halo priming-HP, UV-B priming-UP) in enhancing oxidative and anti-oxidative mechanisms during seed germination phase in response to NaCl and PEG stresses tolerance of three rice varieties (Neeraja, Vaisakh and Vyttila 6). NaCl and PEG stresses caused delayed germination rate, enhanced reactive oxygen species content and thereby increased lipid peroxidation rate. Different priming techniques significantly hastened the metabolites/non enzymatic antioxidant contents (total sugars, total phenolics, free amino acids, proline, ascorbate and glutathione) as well as activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and guaiacol peroxidase), and thus reduced oxidative stress damages caused by NaCl and PEG stresses in rice seedlings. Seed priming techniques imparted abiotic stress tolerance not only to sensitive varieties but also additional tolerance potential to tolerant varieties. All three priming techniques protects the plants from toxicity caused by NaCl and PEG stresses but halo priming had proved to be more successful. © Prof. H.S. Srivastava Foundation for Science and Society 2020.In this study, we analyzed the behavior of several neglected, ancestral, and domesticated wheat genotypes, including Ae. Adavosertib triuncialis, Ae. neglecta, Ae. caudata, Ae. umbellulata, Ae. tauschii, Ae. speltoides, T. boeoticum, T. urartu, T. durum, and T. aestivum under control and salinity stress to assess the mechanisms involved in salinity tolerance. Physiological and biochemical traits including root/shoot biomasses, root/shoot ion concentrations, activity of antioxidant enzymes APX, SOD, and GXP, and the relative expression of TaHKT1;5, TaSOS1, APX, GXP, and MnSOD genes were measured. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant effects of the salinity treatments and genotypes for all evaluated traits. Salinity stress (350 mM NaCl) significantly decreased root/shoot biomasses, K+ concentration in root/shoot, and root/shoot K+/Na+ ratios. In contrast, salinity stress significantly increased Na+ concentration in root and shoot, activity of antioxidant enzymes (APX, SOD, and GPX) and relative expression of salt tolerance-related genes (TaHKT1;5, TaSOS1, APX, GPX, and MnSOD).