Telomeres in ICF syndrome cells are vulnerable to DNA damage due to elevated DNA:RNA hybrids.

DNA:RNA hybrids, nucleic acid structures with diverse physiological functions, can disrupt genome integrity when dysregulated. Human telomeres were shown to form hybrids with the lncRNA TERRA, yet the formation and distribution of these hybrids among telomeres, their regulation and their cellular effects remain elusive. Here we predict and confirm in several human cell types that DNA:RNA hybrids form at many subtelomeric and telomeric regions. We demonstrate that ICF syndrome cells, which exhibit short telomeres and elevated TERRA levels, are enriched for hybrids at telomeric regions throughout the cell cycle. Telomeric hybrids are associated with high levels of DNA damage at chromosome ends in ICF cells, which are significantly reduced with overexpression of RNase H1. Our findings suggest that abnormally high TERRA levels in ICF syndrome lead to accumulation of telomeric hybrids that, in turn, can result in telomeric dysfunction

Bioactivity in silica/poly(γ-glutamic acid) sol–gel hybrids through calcium chelation

Bioactive glasses and inorganic/organic hybrids have great potential as biomedical implant materials. Sol–gel hybrids with interpenetrating networks of silica and biodegradable polymers can combine the bioactive properties of a glass with the toughness of a polymer. However, traditional calcium sources such as calcium nitrate and calcium chloride are unsuitable for hybrids. In this study calcium was incorporated by chelation to the polymer component. The calcium salt form of poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γCaPGA) was synthesized for use as both a calcium source and as the biodegradable toughening component of the hybrids. Hybrids of 40 wt.% γCaPGA were successfully formed and had fine scale integration of Ca and Si ions, according to secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging, indicating a homogeneous distribution of organic and inorganic components. 29Si magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance data demonstrated that the network connectivity was unaltered with changing polymer molecular weight, as there was no perturbation to the overall Si speciation and silica network formation. Upon immersion in simulated body fluid a hydroxycarbonate apatite surface layer formed on the hybrids within 1 week. The polymer molecular weight (Mw 30–120 kDa) affected the mechanical properties of the resulting hybrids, but all hybrids had large strains to failure, >26%, and compressive strengths, in excess of 300 MPa. The large strain to failure values showed that γCaPGA hybrids exhibited non-brittle behaviour whilst also incorporating calcium. Thus calcium incorporation by chelation to the polymer component is justified as a novel approach in hybrids for biomedical materials

Introgression in interspecific hybrids of lily

In order to introduce new desirable characters into the cultivar assortment of lily a range of interspecific crossing barriers has to be overcome. By using various pollination and embryo rescue techniques pre- and postfertilization barriers were overcome and a range of wide interspecific lily hybrids between species and cultivars from the different sections of the genus Lilium could be made. Important breakthroughs include the development of the LA- (L. longiflorum x Asiatic hybrids), the LO- (L. longiflorum x Oriental hybrids) and the OA- (Oriental x Asiatic hybrids) hybrids. In general wide interspecific lily hybrids show F1-sterility. Using somatic chromosome doubling techniques (mitotic polyploidization) tetraploids with restored fertility can be produced from these diploid hybrids. An alternative method is the use of unreduced (or 2n) gametes (meiotic polyploidization), which are rarely found in some hybrids. Introgression of alien chromosome segments from donor species into recipient cultivar through backcrossing of F1 hybrid was studied using in situ hybridization techniques (GISH). Mitotic polyploidization showed no homoeologous recombinations between the parental genomes whereas meiotic polyploidization detected many. The use of 2n-gametes seems to be the most promising way for the introgression of desirable characters

Interspecific somatic hybrids between Solanum bulbocastanum and S. tuberosum and their haploidization for potato breeding.

Protoplast fusion between incongruent Solanum bulbocastanum and S. tuberosum haploids was accomplished to produce hybrids combining elite traits from both parents. We identified 11 somatic hybrids out of 42 regenerants analyzed through ISSR markers. Some hybrids had loss or gain of fragments compared to the parents, likely due to rearrangements and deletions of chromosome segments after fusion, and/or to somaclonal variation during hybrid regeneration. Increased heterotic vigor for some traits as well as high diversity was observed as the effect of both ploidy and fusion combination. Microsporogenesis analysis indicated the occurrence of multivalent configurations and several meiotic abnormalities, such as chromosomes bridges and various spindle orientations. Since all hybrids were sterile, in vitro anther culture was employed for haploidization as a possible strategy to overcome barriers to hybridizations. Haploids were obtained from all the tetraploid S. bulbocastanum (+) S. tuberosum somatic hybrids tested, although with differences in both the number of embryos per 100 anthers cultured and the number of differentiated green plantlets. This is the first report on the successful production of haploid plants from S. bulbocastanum (+) S. tuberosum hybrids

Flare Hybrids

Svestka (Solar Phys. 1989, 121, 399) on the basis of the Solar Maximum Mission observations introduced a new class of flares, the so-called flare hybrids. When they start, they look as typical compact flares (phase 1), but later on they look like flares with arcades of magnetic loops (phase 2). We summarize the features of flare hybrids in soft and hard X-rays as well as in extreme-ultraviolet; these allow us to distinguish them from other flares. Additional energy release or long plasma cooling timescales have been suggested as possible cause of phase 2. Estimations of frequency of flare hybrids have been given. Magnetic configurations supporting their origin have been presented. In our opinion, flare hybrids are quite frequent and a difference between lengths of two interacting systems of magnetic loops is a crucial parameter for recognizing their features.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Solar Physic

Resistance to Ralstonia Solanacearum of sexual hybrids between Solanum commersonii and S. tuberosum

This research was carried out to study the levels of bacterial wilt resistance and genetic diversity of (near) pentaploid sexual hybrids between S. commersonii (2n = 2x = 24, 1EBN) and cultivated S. tuberosum. Following artificial inoculations with Ralstonia solanacearum, wilting degree was estimated on a scale from 0 to 4, and seven genotypes of 26 (27%) displaying a S. commersonii like behavior were identified. Latent bacterial colonizations were detected in roots of symptomless S. commersonii and hybrids, whereas no bacterial populations were detected within stems. This suggests that the movement and/or growth of the bacterium in the aerial part were strongly inhibited. A molecular study with AFLP markers clustered hybrids into nine groups and provided evidence that resistant hybrids were slightly more similar to cultivated S. tuberosum than to the wild parent. This is important in view of the re-establishment of the cultivated genetic background through backcrosses. Hybrids displayed good fertility and are being used for further breeding efforts

Low-dimensional hybrid perovskites containing an organic cation with an extended conjugated system : tuning the excitonic absorption features

Low-dimensional hybrid perovskites are receiving increased attention. One of the advantages of the low-dimensional hybrids over their 3D counterparts is their greater structural flexibility towards the incorporation of bigger, more complex, organic cations. In this communication, we introduce a pyrene derivative as an organic cation containing an extended pi-system for use in a variety of low-dimensional hybrids. We show that materials with different excitonic absorption features can be obtained by tuning the iodide/lead ratio in the precursor solutions, using the same pyrene cation. In this way, hybrids with optical characteristics corresponding to 2D, 1D and 0D hybrid perovskites are obtained. The formation and thermal stability of the different hybrids is analysed and compared

Analysis on Heavy Quarkonia Transitions with Pion Emission in Terms of the QCD Multipole Expansion and Determination of Mass Spectra of Hybrids

One of the most important tasks in high energy physics is search for the exotic states, such as glueball, hybrid and multi-quark states. The transitions $\psi(ns)\to \psi(ms)+\pi\pi$ and $\Upsilon(ns)\to \Upsilon(ms)+\pi\pi$ attract great attentions because they may reveal characteristics of hybrids. In this work, we analyze those transition modes in terms of the theoretical framework established by Yan and Kuang. It is interesting to notice that the intermediate states between the two gluon-emissions are hybrids, therefore by fitting the data, we are able to determine the mass spectra of hybrids. The ground hybrid states are predicted as 4.23 GeV (for charmonium) and 10.79 GeV (for bottonium) which do not correspond to any states measured in recent experiments, thus it may imply that very possibly, hybrids mix with regular quarkonia to constitute physical states. Comprehensive comparisons of the potentials for hybrids whose parameters are obtained in this scenario with the lattice results are presented.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figur