Detoxification of host plant phenolic aglycones by the spruce budworm.

This study examines the post-ingestive fate of two host-plant derived small-molecule phenolics (the acetophenones piceol and pungenol) that have previously been shown to be toxic to the outbreaking forest pest, spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana). We test first whether these compounds are transformed during passage through the midgut, and second whether the budworm upregulates activity of the detoxification enzyme glutathione-s-transferase (GST) in response to feeding on these compounds. Insects were reared on either foliage or artificial diet to the fourth instar, when they were transferred individually to one of two treatment diets, either control or phenolic-laced, for approximately 10 days, after which midguts were dissected out and used for Bradford soluble protein and GST enzyme activity analysis.

No Hot Spot Mutations c.1327 delG, c.914T>C, and c.264C>A in Iranian Patients with Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome.

Objectives: We aimed to perform genetic testing and clinical data of patients with Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome, a rare disorder caused by mutations in genes encoding molecules expressed in the neuromuscular junction and constitutes fatigable muscle weakness.

Materials & Methods: Sixteen patients were screened in Taban Clinic, Tehran, Iran from 2014 to 2015 for the hot spot mutations in known CMSs genes (, ) based on clinical data. PCR was performed and then direct DNA sequencing was done for mutation identification.