Khadijeh Bagheri, Samira Shahbazi, Hamed Askari, Shide Mojerlou, Farangis Amirlou,
Volume 4, Issue 4 (3-2018)
Abstract
Trichoderma species have been famous for production of cellulases with relatively high enzymatic activity. However, attempts to use their cellulolytic enzymes in the bioconversion of cellulosic wastes have not been successful because of high cost of production and low enzymatic yields. This study aimed to obtain gamma-induced mutants of T. viride with enhanced extracellular cellulase production. Spore suspensions were exposed to γ-rays at 250 Gy as optimum dose. After irradiation, all germinated spores were grown onto PDA plates and mutant strains with better sporulation were selected and subcultured five times to test their stability. Cellulase activity was tested using Whatman No. 1 filter paper, carboxymethyl cellulose, avicel, bacterial cellulose and walseth cellulose according to the IUPAC recommendation. Extracellular proteins profiles of mutant strains were studied via SDS-PAGE. The maximum activity of total cellulase and avicelase were observed in the isolate of M21 (92.43 and 74.40 U/mg, respectively) and maximum endo-glucanase activity was observed in M18 mutant. The results of this study showed that the application of gamma ray led to a significant increase in Cellulose activity of 38 percent of mutant strains. Thus, this method could be used as a simple and efficient way to achieve strains with the ability to produce high levels of enzymes and other biological metabolites.
Esmat Khaleqsefat, Mohammad Khalaj-Kondori, Morteza Jabbarpour Bonyadi, Hamid Soraya, Behnam Askari,
Volume 5, Issue 3 (12-2018)
Abstract
Warfarin is a commonly-prescribed anticoagulant used to treat and prevent thromboembolic events. The requirement for varying doses of warfarin depends on genetic and environmental components. In this study, the frequency of two single-nucleotide polymorphic variants of the vitamin K epoxide reductase complex subunit 1 (VKORC1) gene (1173 C>T (rs9934438) and 3730 G>A (rs7294)) and its correlation with warfarin maintenance doses were investigated in patients with heart valve replacement from West Azarbayejan, Iran. Blood samples were obtained from 185 patients; their genomic DNA was extracted and samples were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. To assess if the blood warfarin level is different among genotypes, we used a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by a Tukey’s post-hoc comparison. The minor allele frequency was determined to be 54% for 1173T and 53.7% for 3730A. Patients who carried the G allele at position 3730 and T allele at position 1173 required a significantly lower daily mean warfarin dosage (P <0.001). Consideration of the VKORC1 gene polymorphism, especially at the initial stages of the therapy, can be helpful in pre-treatment dosing of warfarin, which, in turn, reduces the adverse effects resulting from inappropriate drug prescription.
