Type I interferon-mediated monogenic autoinflammation:The type I interferonopathies, a conceptual overview

International audienc

Pigeonpea

Pigeonpea is one of the major grain legumes grown in the tropics and subtropics of the world that forms a significant component of the diet due to its high protein content. Most of the differences in potential and realized yields in pigeonpea have been attributed to several biotic and abiotic constraints; besides the low productivity potential of marginal lands, where this crop is commonly grown. Of the various constraints limiting pigeonpea production, insect pests cause substantial damages. Conventional breeding efforts in pigeonpea crop improvement have been successful in producing improved seed quality and reduction of crop maturity duration. Nevertheless, genetic improvement of pigeonpea has been restricted due to the nonavailability of better genetic resources and strong sexual barriers between the cultivated and wild species. The recent developments in plant genetic engineering have provided immense potential in overcoming some of these constraints, thereby, offering opportunities for its successful integration with conventional crop improvement strategies. This chapter describes the pigeonpea crop, various constraints to its productivity, recent developments in its breeding, and emerging transgenic innovations that could play a significant role in the improvement of pigeonpea crop. We also highlight the current status of pigeonpea transgenics and related biosafety and IPR issues for the successful application of this technology in the near future

RLIM Is a candidate dosage-sensitive gene for individuals with varying duplications of Xq13, intellectual disability, and distinct facial features

Interpretation of the significance of maternally inherited X chromosome variants in males with neurocognitive phenotypes continues to present a challenge to clinical geneticists and diagnostic laboratories. Here we report 14 males from 9 families with duplications at the Xq13.2-q13.3 locus with a common facial phenotype, intellectual disability (ID), distinctive behavioral features, and a seizure disorder in two cases. All tested carrier mothers had normal intelligence. The duplication arose de novo in three mothers where grandparental testing was possible. In one family the duplication segregated with ID across three generations. RLIM is the only gene common to our duplications. However, flanking genes duplicated in some but not all the affected individuals included the brain-expressed genes NEXMIF, SLC16A2, and the long non-coding RNA gene FTX. The contribution of the RLIM-flanking genes to the phenotypes of individuals with different size duplications has not been fully resolved. Missense variants in RLIM have recently been identified to cause X-linked ID in males, with heterozygous females typically having normal intelligence and highly skewed X chromosome inactivation. We detected consistent and significant increase of RLIM mRNA and protein levels in cells derived from seven affected males from five families with the duplication. Subsequent analysis of MDM2, one of the targets of the RLIM E3 ligase activity, showed consistent downregulation in cells from the affected males. All the carrier mothers displayed normal RLIM mRNA levels and had highly skewed X chromosome inactivation. We propose that duplications at Xq13.2-13.3 including RLIM cause a recognizable but mild neurocognitive phenotype in hemizygous males.Elizabeth E. Palmer, Renee Carroll, Marie Shaw, Raman Kumar, Andre E. Minoche, Melanie Leffler, Lucinda Murray, Rebecca Macintosh, Dale Wright, Chris Troedson, Fiona McKenzie, Sharron Townshend, Michelle Ward, Urwah Nawaz, Anja Ravine, Cassandra K. Runke, Erik C. Thorland, Marybeth Hummel, Nicola Foulds, Olivier Pichon, Bertrand Isidor, Cédric Le Caignec, Bénédicte Demeer, Joris Andrieux, Salam Hadah Albarazi, Ann Bye, Rani Sachdev, Edwin P. Kirk, Mark J. Cowley, Mike Field, and Jozef Gec

Diversity trends of Bryophytes in continental Antarctica

Bryophytes exhibit a decline in species richness with latitude across the sub-Antarctic islands, Antarctic Peninsula and Antarctic continent, but not within the Antarctic continent itself. We analyzed diversity and biogeographic patterns of bryophytes at intra-regional scale across the Ross Sector of continental Antarctica, also comparing the “coast” and “slope” provinces within this region, and placed these patterns in the context of bryophyte biogeography across Antarctica. Our study area included 63 sites along a transect through Victoria Land and the Transantarctic Mountains. Distributions of bryophyte species were collated from recent field surveys, the Antarctic Plant Database and the literature. Data analyses included rarefaction, hierarchical classification, multivariate analyses and description of richness trends by latitude bands. Despite an almost linear climatic gradient, bryophyte diversity in the Ross Sector is not influenced by latitude, and patterns differ depending on the scale of analysis. At local scale, diversity “hot spots” appear to be related to favorable local microclimatic conditions. At intra-regional scale, site location in the coast or slope province is the most effective predictor of bryophyte diversity. The site clustering within each province is consistent with precipitation and biogeographic separation of two sub-regions due to important dispersal barriers, as also reported for the microarthropod fauna. At continental scale, bryophyte diversity patterns among sectors suggest a continent–Antarctic Peninsula separation, consistent with the Gressitt Line, suggesting a common feature in the evolutionary history of the vegetation and invertebrate fauna. The high similarities of the floras of adjacent continental sectors suggest a potential route for bryophyte dispersal along the coast of continental Antarctica