The wheat ω-gliadin genes: structure and EST analysis

A survey and analysis is made of all available ω-gliadin DNA sequences including ω-gliadin genes within a large genomic clone, previously reported gene sequences, and ESTs identified from the large wheat EST collection. A contiguous portion of the Gli-B3 locus is shown to contain two apparently active ω-gliadin genes, two pseudogenes, and four fragments of the 3′ portion of ω-gliadin sequences. Comparison of ω-gliadin sequences allows a phylogenetic picture of their relationships and genomes of origin. Results show three groupings of ω-gliadin active gene sequences assigned to each of the three hexaploid wheat genomes, and a fourth group thus far consisting of pseudogenes assigned to the A-genome. Analysis of ω-gliadin ESTs allows reconstruction of two full-length model sequences encoding the AREL- and ARQL-type proteins from the Gli-A3 and Gli-D3 loci, respectively. There is no DNA evidence of multiple active genes from these two loci. In contrast, ESTs allow identification of at least three to four distinct active genes at the Gli-B3 locus of some cultivars. Additional results include more information on the position of cysteines in some ω-gliadin genes and discussion of problems in studying the ω-gliadin gene family

The EURITRACK Concept for Cargo Inspection with Tagged Neutrons

The EURITRACK project aims to design and field test the prototype of a non-intrusive inspection system for the detection of explosives and other illegal materials in cargo containers using tagged neutrons. In this paper we will give a short introduction to the general physical concept of the EURITRACK system, the layout and functionalities of the information system with details of the data treatment and of the inspection strategy and finally an analysis of the first experimental results. The results demonstrate the detection capabilities of the EURITRACK inspection system.JRC.G.8-Nuclear safeguard