The detailed taxonomic study of the Complex genus Polygonum L. (segregated into six genera and discussed separately in the present account) and Rumex L. of Polygonaceae has been carried during 2006-2009. Material for morphological, anatomical and palynological studies was obtained from the herbarium specimens and freshly collected material while for Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) only fresh samples were used. Forty eight species belonging to seven genera, Aconogonon (Meisn.) Reichenb., Bistorta Adans., Fagopyrum Mill., Fallopia Adans., Persicaria Mill., Polygonum L. and Rumex L. were morphologically reviewed in detail, original observations being supplemented by and compared with previously published information. 6 new taxa were described first time in this account and proposed to be the new varieties. These included three varieties of Polygonum aviculare L., two varieties of Polygonum paronychioides C. A. Mey. ex Hohen and one variety of Polygonum polycnemoides Jaubert & Spach. Leaf epidermal studies have been carried out on forty seven species of the family and observations are made through traditional light microscopy. To my knowledge no such work is yet known which has dealt with comprehensive qualitative and quantitative micromorphological foliar investigations in the taxa of Polygonaceae from Pakistan. The study revealed some distinctive anatomical features on adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces such as epidermal cells outline, single or mixed type of stomata on the single leaf surface and presence or absence of trichomes. The shape of epidermal cells is found to be variable; six different stomatal patterns have been examined, including cyclocytic, pericytic and staurocytic stomata not reported earlier for the family. Variation among glandular and non glandular trichomes is also examined. Glandular trichomes are of peltate, capitate and spheroidal type while five types of non glandular trichomes are also examined. Crystalliferous cells have been reported first time in Rumex nepalensis Spreng. Although analyzed epidermal characters have systematic value but they are likely to be stable at specific and generic level and are not much helpful in generic delimitation.Pollen morphological characters have been investigated by light microscope (LM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Both qualitative and quantitative characters including aperture number, pollen shape, size in polar and equatorial view, colpi length, exine and intine thickness and exine sculpturing in both LM and SEM have been observed. The characters employed, have been proved to be useful in classification of the complex genus Polygonum L. into different genera. On the basis of aperture number and exine sculpturing pattern in SEM, 14 main pollen types and 6 subtypes namely, Aconogonon type, Bistorta type, Fagopyrum type, Dumetorum type, Convolvulus type, Persicaria type (further subdivided into three subtypes), Capitata type (subdivided into three subtypes), Plebijum type, Patulum type, Cognatum type, Avicularia type, Chalepensis type, Acetosa and Dentatus type have been identified. These different pollen types are arranged in three parallel directions to establish evolutionary trends in pollen types of seven genera of the family Polygonaceae. To examine inter and intraspecific relationship among 28 accessions of 13 species belonging to four genera, AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) marker system was first time used. Single primer pair was used to amplify AFLPs and fragments were separated in 6% denaturing acrylamide gels. A total of 131 fragments were analyzed. According to present results, the AFLP knowledge was found to be sufficiently susceptible to identify small level of variations and can differentiate highly interrelated genotypes.
Ethical Education is an optional subject in lieu of Islamic Studies for non-Muslim students in Pakistan from primary to undergraduate level. The main aim of this study is to discuss factors which can help to design a Moral Ethic curriculum which would assist the teachers to educate an individual with his/her own identity, to assimilated by ethical values with developed moral judgment and behavior established by an individual’s beliefs. Students can show a positive attitude towards themselves and others and be able to work together and support others. In this perspective, we also illustrated that moral education helped those people who respect social norms and behave sensibly in any situation belonged to present or future. Therefore, the main objective of this research paper is to establish the necessary elements that should be the part of an effective Moral Ethics curriculum in order to create a democratic and educational environment where everyone can respect for others’ beliefs and stop violating others’ feelings on the basis of freedom of speech. In this study, our targeted readers were included teachers of Moral Ethics, policy makers at different levels, and curriculum developers.
Background: Background: Early embryonic development and growth is governed by intricate cell signaling mechanisms. Hierarchy of a typical metazoan cell signaling cascade includes, the extra-cellular signaling molecules and cell surface receptors interaction, transmission of signals from cellular surface receptors to inside the nucleus, the conclusive outcome of molecular signals through changes in expression pattern of target gene bodies. The GLI gene family of transcriptional factor (GLI1, GLI2 and GLI3) is important mediator of one such evolutionary conserved pathway, the sonic hedgehog (shh) cascade. Previously the GLI gene family members have been intensely investigated through, molecular, genetic and biochemical means. Therefore, a great deal of understanding exists, regarding their cellular localization, interacting partners, response of GLIs to Shh signal, and a subset of their target genes. Furthermore, developmental and disease relevant roles of GLI gene family members have been explored extensively. However, despite of all these important advancements in genetic, molecular, development and disease relevant aspects of GLI family members, little is known as for as their cis-regulatory expression control is concerned. Human GLI3 is known to be an indispensable primary signaling transducer of Sonic hedgehog (Shh). GLI3 is known to contribute in the development of multiple organs, including limbs and the central nervous system (CNS). Previous attempts, employing computational approaches in conjunction with in vitro and in vivo assays have identified a subset of cis-regulators for this developmentally important gene. Present study is an effort to decipher further cis-regulatory elements of human GLI3. Furthermore, this investigation exploits the availability of in vivo functionally confirmed enhancers to elucidate the genomic features of human limb specific enhancers. II Results: The present study identifies novel anciently conserved non coding sequences (CNEs) within intronic regions of human GLI3 gene, and are named as CNE13 (intron4) and CNE14 (intron3).The regulatory potential of CNE13 and CNE14 was investigated in transgenic zebrafish embryos by employing independent strategies: co-injection methodology and by direct cloning in Tol2 vector. Both of these elements, up-regulates reporter expression at already reported domains of endogenous Gli3 transcription. The CNE13 region induces reporter expression notably in the hindbrain region, muscle cells and pectoral fin whereas the CNE14 triggered reporter expression was confined only to the pectoral fin. CNE13 and CNE14 intronic elements depicted different activities the cell culture based luciferase reporter assays, supporting the belief that GLI3 expression regulation is complex and cellular context-dependent. The Tol2 based transgenic zebrafish assay of earlierreportedGLI3 limb-specific enhancers (CNE6 and CNE11; tested in the chicken limb-buds and mice) suggest that limb activity of a subset of GLI3-associatedconserved non-coding elements might be a tetrapod specific evolutionary innovation. Furthermore, the present study reports regulatory communications for large numbers of genes involve in limb growth and patterning. This data suggests that long-distance regulatory contacts are rather widespread during limb patterning. This observation emphasizes the importance of chromosomal aberrations in limb deformities. Furthermore, transcription factors (TF) examination predicts that developing limb bud differentiation into future different territories might involve distinct TF networks. Conclusions: Results presented in the current study when taken in combination with previously published data, clearly propose that over the course of evolution, the vertebrateGLI3 expression pattern has obtained a complex catalog of cis-regulatory elements for the development of CNS and limbs. Comparative evaluation of resulted experimental data from mice III and fish suggest that functions of such regulatory controls have diverged exceptionally among these two highly diverged lines of animals. In fact these enhancers will assist in pinpointing the molecular aspects which administer the space and time availability of effectors molecules of Shh cascade during early development. For instance, this catalog of GLI3 specific cis-regulators could help elucidate the gene expression underpinning of precise balance among SHH and GLI3gene products in complementary developmental domains (e.g., limb and neural tissue) and during organogenesis. This complex network of GLI3 enhancers could help understand the genetics of human birth abnormalities that cannot be ascribed to mutations in coding intervals of GLI3. In these cases, the enhancers that can potentially affect the expression pattern of GLI3can be scrutinized during early embryonic development. Furthermore, human limb specific gene regulatory networks established in the current study would be useful to elucidate the role of enhancers in developmental gene expression, disease and evolution.