Background: Selenium (Se ³⁴ ) is an essential micronutrient for humans and animals and has growth promoting and antioxidative effects at low concentrations. Methods: Effects of various sodium selenite (Na ₂ SeO ₃ ) doses on grain amino acid content of barley cultivars (Bülbül 89 and Çetin 2000) was investigated using ion exchange liquid chromatography. Results: Majority of the amino acids could be altered with Selenium (Se) fertilization. Grain Se content of Bülbül 89 (0.175 mg kg ⁻¹ ) and Çetin 2000 (0.171 mg kg ⁻¹ ) were similar and both displayed an increase in proteinogenic, essential, and sulfur amino acids. The response of cultivars was more pronounced for Se accumulation and amino acid content at mid dose (12.5 mg ha ⁻¹ ). The quantities of proteinogenic, essential and sulfur amino acids increased considerably at that dose. Se induced increase in nitrogen content might cause an increase in some of the proteins of grain and consequently can alter amino acid composition. An obvious increase in the limiting amino acids (lysine and threonine) were prominent in response to Se fertilization. Conclusion: Se treatment influence amino acid composition of barley grains; especially improve the quantity of limiting amino acids and consequently nutritional value of the grain.

Wheat seedlings were hydroponically grown in Hoagland solution containing various levels of Se. Tolerance response to Se toxicity was investigated by determining the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS), proline and chlorophyll content, the growth parameters, and the activity of antioxidant enzymes. The toxic level of Se treatment significantly retarded the seedling growth. A substantial amount of proline accumulation was also observed in response to toxic Se concentration, but it was more pronounced in putative-sensitive cultivars. Chlorophyll content significantly decreased in Se-intoxicated seedlings and increased at the lowest Se dose in both cultivars. Severe and mild chlorosis was observed in putative-sensitive and tolerant cultivars at the highest Se level. Alterations in the activities of glutathione reductase (GR, 1.6.4.2), glutathione S transferase (GST, 2.5.1.18), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX, 1.11.1.7), catalase (CAT, 1.11.1.6), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX, 1.11.1.11) and superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) were determined. TBAR level did not significantly increase in putative tolerant cultivars as an indicator of membrane lipid peroxidation. However, a significant increase was observed in putative-sensitive cultivars in response to higher selenium concentrations. In higher Se treatment groups, CAT and GST activities significantly increased in putative Se tolerant cultivars. However, excluding SOD, the activity of all the studied enzymes was increased considerably in putative-sensitive cultivars in a dose-dependent manner. Higher antioxidant enzyme activities and a substantial amount of proline accumulation did not significantly contribute to overcoming Se phytotoxicity in wheat seedlings grown in media supplemented with toxic selenium levels.

Plum pox virus (PPV) is the most devastating viral disease of the stone fruits worldwide. Inefficiency of the traditional control measures against PPV along with its globally widespread distribution and the economic importance of stone fruits, signify the necessity and importance of PPV resistance programs. In the present study, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Nicotiana benthamiana Domin was performed using four inverted repeat constructs derived from UTR/P1, HCPro, HCPro/P3, and CP regions of PPV-T isolate KyEsAp301. The efficacy of the constructs for inducing virus resistance in transgenic plants was evaluated by inoculation with PPV-D, -M, and -T strains. The potential of hairpin structures in the production of siRNAs and miRNAs in both wild-type and transgenic plants was compared by small RNA high-throughput sequencing. Although the four PPV genomic regions were used for transgenic resistance in previous experiments, small RNA high-throughput sequencing was first time used in this study to demonstrate the efficacy of the PPV constructs and to determine expression profiles of siRNAs and miRNAs. The results revealed that the potentials of hairpin constructs in producing siRNAs and their accumulation in target regions were significantly different. Expression profiles of several known and novel miRNAs were dramatically changed in response to PPV infection in both wild-type and transgenic plants, demonstrating plausible involvement of these miRNAs in plant-virus interactions. Based on the abundance of siRNAs and lack of PPV virus accumulation in transgenic plants harboring UTR/P1 and CP hairpin construct, we have concluded that UTR/P1 and CP are likely the best viral regions for induction of resistance against PPV.

There are eight centers of origin for cultivated plants and Turkey is located in the interception of two of these centers, the Near East and the Mediterranean. Therefore, Turkey is known to be the gene center for diversification and dispersion of such main cereal crops such as wheat, barley, rye and oat. This study was performed to determine glutenin gene allele frequencies and Glu-1 quality scores of 116 local wheat landraces of Turkish bread wheat. SDS-PAGE and PCR were used to identify glutenin gene alleles. The results showed that the studied Turkish local wheat landraces contained a total of 19 different subunits (3 subunits in Glu-A1, 11 in Glu-B1 and 5 in Glu-D1) with 50 different combinations. The highest and the lowest allelic combinations were determined in East Anatolia and the Aegean regions, respectively. Glu-A1c (65.11%), Glu-B1b (53.60%) and Glu-D1a (58.30%) were the most frequent alleles. The Glu-1 quality score was found to be 6.07 for the studied genotypes. Among the regions, the highest (7.18) and the lowest (4.80) mean Glu-1 scores were detected in Marmara and Southeastern Anatolia regions, respectively. 4 accessions (TR32846-6, TR36948-1, TR45105 and TR63536) were reported to have the highest Glu-1 quality score as 10. 6 genotypes (TR45398-4, TR48025-3, TR33264-6, TR393-5, TR52021-3 and TR45094) had the quality score of 9. Including more new landraces may contribute to discover new Glu-1 alleles.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a significant hospital-acquired pathogen recognized for its antibiotic resistance and environmental durability. The present study investigates the genomic and metabolic characteristics of Turkish A. baumannii isolates (ST195 and novel sequence type) using whole-genome sequencing, comparative pathogenomics, and phenotypic assays. Genomic analyses demonstrated significant horizontal gene transfer, phage integration (Salmon_SSU5, Acinet_Bphi_B1251), and genomic islands enriched with resistance and virulence genes. ST195 (T3) exhibited meropenem susceptibility (MIC ≤ 0.125 µg/mL) despite harboring blaOXA-23, linked to adeN efflux regulator loss. In contrast, colistin resistance in T3 was correlated with putative lpxA/C/D mutations causing LPS deficiency. Virulence profiling identified conserved systems for adherence (OmpA), biofilm formation (bap, csuABCDE), and iron acquisition (acinetobactin), while capsule heterogeneity appeared to affect immune evasion. Metabolic reconstruction highlighted nitrogen and sulfur assimilation, as well as ethanol catabolism, which facilitate survival under host stress. Resistome analysis linked blaOXA-852, adeFGH, and armA to resistance against carbapenems and aminoglycosides, while transposase-mediated frameshift mutations accounted for amikacin susceptibility in T3 despite the presence of APH(3’)-VIa. The open pangenome (6,402 genes, 41.9% core) reflected adaptive genomic plasticity. This study highlights the importance of genomic diversity, metabolic flexibility, and regulatory mutations in influencing A. baumannii resistance and virulence. It also identifies potential metabolic and virulence-related features that may guide future therapeutic and anti-virulence strategies.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a heterogeneous disease, and improved biomarkers are needed to support prognostic assessment. This study aimed to characterize hub genes in CRC and evaluate whether a gene signature provides biologically meaningful and prognostic information in clinical–genomic models. Methods: We integrated three GEO microarray datasets (GSE110223, GSE110224, and GSE23878) to identify common differentially expressed genes using adjusted $p<0.05$ and $\mid {\mathrm{l}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{g}}_{2}FC\mid >1$. Hub genes and protein expression were identified through protein–protein interaction network analysis using maximal clique centrality and Human Protein Atlas, respectively. Prognostic relevance was evaluated in TCGA-COAD/READ using Kaplan–Meier analysis, multivariable Cox regression, Cox-derived prognostic indices, time-dependent ROC analysis, and regression-based machine learning for internal robustness. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to derive a standardized PC1-based score from the 10-hub gene signature. Results: A ten-gene mitotic hub signature (TPX2, UBE2C, AURKA, NEK2, PRC1, CCNB1, CDK1, CEP55, FOXM1, and RRM2) was consistently upregulated across the three datasets and enriched for cell-cycle and mitotic pathways. Protein-level and survival analyses supported the biological relevance of several hub genes. In TCGA-COAD/READ, the signature showed limited standalone prognostic value and did not retain independent significance after adjustment for clinical variables, although it contributed modestly in integrated clinical–genomic models. PCA showed a one-dimensional signature, with PC1 capturing the dominant shared expression pattern. Gradient Boosting Regressor (R² = 0.8035, MSE = 0.0473) supported the internal robustness of the DEG-based expression pattern. Conclusions: The ten-gene mitotic hub signature represents a coherent CRC-related proliferative program with limited value as an isolated prognostic marker, but it may still be useful as part of integrated risk models that require external validation.