Acacia × mangiiformis hybrida nova (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae), a wattle of commercial importance in Asia

Acacia × mangiiformis Maslin & L.A.J.Thomson, hybrida nova, is described. Its parents are Acacia auriculiformis A.Cunn. ex Benth. and A. mangium Willd., two well-known and important plantation species in Asia and elsewhere. Acacia × mangiiformis arose naturally in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea and in recent decades has become widely cultivated in southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam), India, and to a lesser extent in China and Taiwan. The tree has often been referred to as “Acacia hybrid” in forestry literature. Acacia × mangiiformis has morphological and other characteristics that are intermediate between its parents. Furthermore, it often has a faster growth rate, superior bole form and is more drought-tolerant than its parent species The hybrid is used primarily for pulp production but also has uses as solid wood products and fuelwood. The wood is similar to that of A. mangium but has a higher density and is more suitable for products where strength is important; it is also less susceptible to termite attack than are its parent species. Ten high-performing commercial clones of Acacia × mangiiformis have been developed in Vietnam and more are being selected. The formal naming of this important hybrid is dedicated to Professor Le Dinh Kha (formerly of Forest Science Institute of Vietnam), an outstanding researcher, supervisor, and authority on tree breeding who conducted much of the original research and promotion of Acacia × mangiiformis in Vietnam

Raman micro-spectroscopy for accurate identification of primary human bronchial epithelial cells.

Live cell Raman micro-spectroscopy is emerging as a promising bioanalytical technique for label-free discrimination of a range of different cell types (e.g. cancer cells and fibroblasts) and behaviors (e.g. apoptosis). The aim of this study was to determine whether confocal Raman micro-spectroscopy shows sufficient sensitivity and specificity for identification of primary human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) to be used for live cell biological studies in vitro. We first compared cell preparation substrates and media, considering their influence on lung cell proliferation and Raman spectra, as well as methods for data acquisition, using different wavelengths (488 nm, 785 nm) and scan protocols (line, area). Evaluating these parameters using human lung cancer (A549) and fibroblast (MRC5) cell lines confirmed that line-scan data acquisition at 785 nm using complete cell media on a quartz substrate gave optimal performance. We then applied our protocol to acquisition of data from primary human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC) derived from three independent sources, revealing an average sensitivity for different cell types of 96.3% and specificity of 95.2%. These results suggest that Raman micro-spectroscopy is suitable for delineating primary HBEC cell cultures, which in future could be used for identifying different lung cell types within co-cultures and studying the process of early carcinogenesis in lung cell culture

Extent of differential allelic expression of candidate breast cancer genes is similar in blood and breast.

INTRODUCTION: Normal gene expression variation is thought to play a central role in inter-individual variation and susceptibility to disease. Regulatory polymorphisms in cis-acting elements result in the unequal expression of alleles. Differential allelic expression (DAE) in heterozygote individuals could be used to develop a new approach to discover regulatory breast cancer susceptibility loci. As access to large numbers of fresh breast tissue to perform such studies is difficult, a suitable surrogate test tissue must be identified for future studies. METHODS: We measured differential allelic expression of 12 candidate genes possibly related to breast cancer susceptibility (BRCA1, BRCA2, C1qA, CCND3, EMSY, GPX1, GPX4, MLH3, MTHFR, NBS1, TP53 and TRXR2) in breast tissue (n = 40) and fresh blood (n = 170) of healthy individuals and EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cells (n = 19). Differential allelic expression ratios were determined by Taqman assay. Ratio distributions were compared using t-test and Wilcoxon rank sum test, for mean ratios and variances respectively. RESULTS: We show that differential allelic expression is common among these 12 candidate genes and is comparable between breast and blood (fresh and transformed lymphoblasts) in a significant proportion of them. We found that eight out of nine genes with DAE in breast and fresh blood were comparable, as were 10 out of 11 genes between breast and transformed lymphoblasts. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the use of differential allelic expression in blood as a surrogate for breast tissue in future studies on predisposition to breast cancer.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Differential gene expression in the murine gastric fundus lacking interstitial cells of Cajal.

BACKGROUND: The muscle layers of murine gastric fundus have no interstitial cells of Cajal at the level of the myenteric plexus and only possess intramuscular interstitial cells and this tissue does not generate electric slow waves. The absence of intramuscular interstitial cells in W/WV mutants provides a unique opportunity to study the molecular changes that are associated with the loss of these intercalating cells. METHOD: The gene expression profile of the gastric fundus of wild type and W/WV mice was assayed by murine microarray analysis displaying a total of 8734 elements. Queried genes from the microarray analysis were confirmed by semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Twenty-one genes were differentially expressed in wild type and W/WV mice. Eleven transcripts had 2.0-2.5 fold higher mRNA expression in W/WV gastric fundus when compared to wild type tissues. Ten transcripts had 2.1-3.9 fold lower expression in W/WV mutants in comparison with wild type animals. None of these genes have ever been implicated in any bowel motility function. CONCLUSIONS: These data provides evidence that several important genes have significantly changed in the murine fundus of W/WV mutants that lack intramuscular interstitial cells of Cajal and have reduced enteric motor neurotransmission

Differential gene expression profile in the small intestines of mice lacking pacemaker interstitial cells of Cajal.

BACKGROUND: We previously identified eight known and novel genes differentially expressed in the small intestines of wild type and W/WV mice, which have greatly reduced populations of the interstitial cells of Cajal, that are responsible for the generation of electrical slow waves, by using a differential gene display method. METHODS: By using the same method we isolated additional candidate genes that were specifically down- or up-regulated in W/WV mice. Novel transcripts were designated as DDWMEST. RESULTS: We isolated seven candidates that were specifically down- or up-regulated in W/WV mice. Two novel transcripts, DDWMEST 1 and -91 were increased in both fed and fasted W/WV mice. Expression of another five genes was suppressed in W/WV mice: ARG2 (Arginase II), ONZIN (encoding leukemia inhibitory factor regulated protein), and three novel transcripts: DDWMEST62, -84, and -100. Together with the previous report, we identified fifteen differentially expressed genes in total in the small intestines of W/WV mice. Eight of these genes were reduced in the jejunums of W/WV mice compared to age matched wild type mice, whereas the other seven genes showed an increase in expression. Differential expression was the same in fasted and fed animals, suggesting that the differences were independent of the dietetic state of the animal. CONCLUSIONS: Several known and novel genes are differentially expressed in the small intestines of W/WV mice. Differential gene comparison might contribute to our understanding of motility disorders associated with the loss of the interstitial cells of Cajal.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are