Integration of the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies with precise phenotyping, association mapping, proteome and metabolome studies has increased the chances of finding candidate genes and their allelic variants controlling a trait of interest. Further, these functional markers (FMMs), genotype-by-sequencing and association mapping methodologies have opened new avenues for identification of novel genetic resources (lines) that can facilitate accelerated crop breeding programs for increased yield, high nutritional quality, and tolerance to a variety of abiotic and biotic stresses. The details of popular molecular markers, advancement in the technologies and strategies for crop diversity studies and their application in crop breeding programs are presented here.Competition for nutrients in a polymicrobial biofilm may lead to susceptible species being subjected to nutritional stress. The influence of bacterial growth rates and interspecies interactions on their susceptibility and response to nutritional stress is not well understood. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are two prevalent causative pathogens that coexist in biofilm-associated infections. Despite being the slower-growing species, P. aeruginosa dominates in a two-species biofilm by inducing phenotypic switching of S. aureus to a metabolicallychallenged small colony variant (SCV) via the release of 2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide (HQNO). We hypothesize that P.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/CP-690550.html  aeruginosa experiences nutritional stress in competition with S. aureus, and that the release of HQNO is an adaptive response to nutritional stress.We present an individual-based two-species biofilm model in which interactions between entities induce emergent properties. As the biofilm matured, the difference in growth rates of the two species caused a non-uniform distribution of nutrients leading to nutritional stress for P. aeruginosa and a concurrent increase in the proportion of S. aureus subpopulation. The latter resulted in increased release of autoinducer, and subsequently the upregulation of P. aeruginosa cells via quorum sensing. Upregulated P. aeruginosa cells released HQNO at enhanced rates, thereby inducing phenotypic switching of S. aureus to SCVs which consume nutrient at a reduced rate. This shifted the nutrient distribution back in favor of P. aeruginosa, thereby relieving nutritional stress. Increase in nutritional stress potentiated the transformation of S. aureus into SCVs. HQNO production decreased once nutritional stress was relieved, indicating that phenotypic switching acts as a regulatory stress-adaptive response.Cancer stem cells (CSCs) from colorectal cancer (CRC), characterized by CD133 expression, have been associated with 5-fluorouracile (5-FU) chemoresistance. DNA repair mechanisms, such as O6-alkylguanine DNA alkyltransferase (MGMT) and mismatch repair (MMR) systems, have also been correlated to 5-FU resistance in CRC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the modulation of CD133 and MGMT in MMRproficient and MMR-deficient CRC cells under 5-FU treatment and the effect of this drug in CSCs. CD133 and MGMT methylation status were determined in MMR-proficient (SW480 and HT29) and MMR-deficient (RKO and HCT116) cell lines by methylation-specific PCRs. SW480 and RKO were selected to determine modulation of CD133, MGMT and MMR expression after 5-FU treatment by qPCR. In addition, CD133, MGMT and MMR were analyze in SW480 and RKO CSCs. No association between promoter methylation and MGMT and CD133 expression was found. 5-FU treatment increased CD133 expression independently to MMR status in SW480 and RKO and was able to increase hMLH1 expression in RKO, a MMR-deficient cell line. RKO/ CSCs overexpressed CD133 and MMR (hMSH2 and hMSH6) while SW480/CSCs showed a significant increase in CD133, MMR (hMLH1, hMSH2 and hMSH6) and MGMT, moreover 5-FU resistance than parental cell lines. Thus, although CSCs 5-FU chemoresistance appears to be independently to MMR status, hMLH1 might play a key role in CSC response to 5-FU. New drugs exploding these differences could benefit the prognostic of patients with CRC.Climate change and the consequential unpredictable environmental stress conditions negatively impact crop productivity. It has thus become a challenge to develop solutions for food security and sustainable agriculture in the backdrop of increasing population pressure and dwindling land and water resources. This further necessitates that focus of international research should be on curtailing yield losses through improved crop breeding practices and genetic manipulation for the development of resistant crop varieties. Plants being sessile, have developed a complex regulatory network of genetic machinery which includes transcription factors, small RNAs, signalling pathways, stress sensors and defense pathways. Needless to say, research efforts have exploited this genetic reservoir for manipulating crop plants for tolerance or resistance against different stresses. In the past few decades, significant achievement has been made for developing transgenic plants for a wide variety of single or multiple stress tolerance associated traits. Several regulatory mechanisms have been identified to fine tune and tailor the tolerance response in target sensitive crops. The advent of metabolic engineering has added new dimensions to manipulate stress tolerance pathways. Novel strategies are needed to develop stable, superior performing lines under challenging field environment without yield penalty and significant success has to be achieved to translate the research outcome from lab-to-land to reach farmer's fields.Genetically engineered plants have varied applications in agriculture for enhancing the values of food and feed. Genetic engineering aims to introduce selected genetic regions with desirable traits into target plants for both spatial and temporal expressions. Promoters are the key elements responsible for regulating gene expressions by modulating the transcription factors (TFs) through recognition of RNA polymerases. Based on their recognition and expression, RNA polymerases were categorized into RNA pol II and pol III promoters. Promoter activity and specificity are the two prime parameters in regulating the transgene expression. Since the use of constitutive promoters like Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S may lead to adverse effects on nontarget organisms or ecosystem, inducible/tissue specific promoters and/or the RNA pol III promoters provide myriad opportunities for gene expressions with controlled regulation and with minimum adverse effects. Besides their role in transgene expression, their influence in synthetic biology and genome editing are also discussed.