Genetic dissection of the dwarfing effect of the apple rootstock 'M.9' : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Biology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The dwarfing phenomenon in apple is mainly characterized by the ability of a rootstock to reduce the vegetative growth and ultimate size of the scion grafted onto it. Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the dwarfing effect of rootstocks, from the production and translocation of hormones to the altered anatomy of the graft union. However, despite the numerous studies undertaken, none of the studies support a single hypothesis. This study focussed on identifying genetic markers for genomic regions influencing the dwarfing effect of 'Malling 9' ('M.9'). Two rootstock populations derived from crosses between 'M.9' and the vigorous rootstock 'Robusta 5' ('R5') were propagated and phenotyped at the HortResearch Havelock North Research Centre (New Zealand). Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and QTL analysis were performed using phenotypic data collected from scions grafted onto the rootstock populations. Several genomic regions in 'M.9' and 'R5' were found to have a significant influence on the dwarfing phenotype and other related traits. The percentage of variation explained by these QTLs ranged from 4.2% to 57.2%. A large number of traits had significant variation associated with the major dwarfing QTL DWJ (identified previously by BSA), confirming the influence of this gene on tree architecture. To identify the genes responsible for the dwarfing effect, a microarray analysis on RNA extracted from bark tissues was performed to detect genes differentially expressed among dwarfing and vigorous rootstocks derived from the 'M.9' x 'R5' family. Following the mapping of 16 markers developed from 12 candidate genes, their position was compared with those of the QTLs identified previously and co­ localisations among genes and QTLs were identified. Results to date indicate that none of these particular CGs co-segregate with DW1. In order to estimate the number of different genetic sources of dwarfing present in commercial rootstocks, two SSR markers mapping about 0.5 cM away from the dwarfing QTL DWJ were screened over 58 rootstock accessions. The majority of the dwarf and semi-dwarf accessions screened carried the locus DWl, indicating that there may be only a single genetic source of dwarfing in apple rootstocks. The identification of markers for dwarfing will have a major impact on apple rootstock breeding, which currently relies on laborious phenotyping of individuals in breeding populations that presently takes at least 5-7 years to adequately perform. The identification of the genetic function of DWJ would provide an opportunity to develop dwarfing rootstocks for other members of the Rosaceae family for which such rootstocks have not yet been developed

Nivel de educación y discapacidad entre los ancianos de Buenos Aires

The context in which ageing is occurring in Latin America and the Caribbean countries raises questions about future trajectories in the prevalence of disabilities by age. In this sense, it is of great importance to study the behaviour of the prevalence of disabilities and analyse the risk factors in populations of the region. The aim of this study is to analyse the prevalence of disabilities among the individuals 60 years and over in Buenos Aires and to evaluate the differences between groups with different educational levels. The data used come from the study "Health, Welfare and Aging"-SABE (Spanish acronym)- for Buenos Aires. Based on this information, we estimate the prevalence of disabilities by level of education and we analyse the effects of different risk factors on the likelihood of experiencing disability among individuals with different levels of education. The results suggest that educational level acts as a major protector against the risk of experiencing disabilities in ADL and IADL and the relationship would be partially mediated by health profiles of the individuals

Nivel de educación y discapacidad entre los ancianos de Buenos Aires

The context in which ageing is occurring in Latin America and the Caribbean countries raises questions about future trajectories in the prevalence of disabilities by age. In this sense, it is of great importance to study the behaviour of the prevalence of disabilities and analyse the risk factors in populations of the region. The aim of this study is to analyse the prevalence of disabilities among the individuals 60 years and over in Buenos Aires and to evaluate the differences between groups with different educational levels. The data used come from the study "Health, Welfare and Aging"-SABE (Spanish acronym)- for Buenos Aires. Based on this information, we estimate the prevalence of disabilities by level of education and we analyse the effects of different risk factors on the likelihood of experiencing disability among individuals with different levels of education. The results suggest that educational level acts as a major protector against the risk of experiencing disabilities in ADL and IADL and the relationship would be partially mediated by health profiles of the individuals

Cytokinesis and the contractile ring in fission yeast: towards a systems-level understanding

Cytokinesis, the final stage of the cell division cycle, requires the proper placement, assembly and contraction of an actomyosin-based contractile ring. Conserved sets of cytokinesis proteins and pathways have now been identified and characterized functionally. Additionally, fluorescent protein fusion technology enables quantitative high-resolution imaging of protein dynamics in living cells. For these reasons, the study of cytokinesis is now ripe for quantitative, systems-level approaches. Here, we review our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms of contractile ring dynamics in the model organism Schizosaccharomyces pombe (fission yeast), focusing on recent examples that illustrate a synergistic integration of quantitative experimental data with computational modeling. A picture of a highly dynamic and integrated system consisting of overlapping networks is beginning to emerge, the detailed nature of which remains to be elucidated.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant GM05683)Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Samuel A. Goldblith Career Development Professorship)Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Faculty startup funds

Dysregulation of macrophage polarization is associated with the metastatic process in osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common bone sarcoma in adolescents, and has poor prognosis. A vicious cycle is established between OS cells and their microenvironment in order to facilitate the tumor growth and cell spreading. The present work aims to better characterize the tumor microenvironment in OS in order to identify new therapeutic targets relating to metastatic process. Tissue microarrays of pre-chemotherapy OS biopsies were used for characterizing the tumor niche by immunohistochemistry. Parameters studies included: immune cells (M1, Mβ-subtypes of tumor-associated macrophages (TAM); T, B lymphocytes; mast cells), vascularization (endothelial, perivascular cells), OPG, RANKL, and mitotic index. Two groups of patients were defined, ββ localized OS (OS Meta-) and β8 metastatic OS (OS Meta+). The OS Meta- group was characterized by a higher infiltration of INOS+ M1-polarized macrophages and upregulated OPG immunostaining. OS Meta+ tumors showed a significant increase in CD146+ cells. INOS+ M1-macrophages were correlated with OPG staining, and negatively with the presence of metastases. CD16γ+ Mβ-macrophages were positively correlated with CD146+ cells. In multivariate analysis, INOS and OPG were predictive factors for metastasis. An older age, non-metastatic tumor, good response to chemotherapy, and higher macrophage infiltration were significantly associated with better overall survival. TAMs are associated with better overall survival and a dysregulation of M1/Mβ polarized-macrophages in favor of M1 subtype was observed in non-metastatic OS

High-quality de novo assembly of the apple genome and methylome dynamics of early fruit development

Using the latest sequencing and optical mapping technologies, we have produced a high-quality de novo assembly of the apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) genome. Repeat sequences, which represented over half of the assembly, provided an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the uncharacterized regions of a tree genome; we identified a new hyper-repetitive retrotransposon sequence that was over-represented in heterochromatic regions and estimated that a major burst of different transposable elements (TEs) occurred 21 million years ago. Notably, the timing of this TE burst coincided with the uplift of the Tian Shan mountains, which is thought to be the center of the location where the apple originated, suggesting that TEs and associated processes may have contributed to the diversification of the apple ancestor and possibly to its divergence from pear. Finally, genome-wide DNA methylation data suggest that epigenetic marks may contribute to agronomically relevant aspects, such as apple fruit development

Obesity and socioeconomic status in Argentina

Background: In 2001 Argentina experienced the worst economic depression in the country?s history, yet few researchers have examined the nutritional status of Argentines vis-à-vis key socioeconomic indicators as the country recovered from its economic crisis. Methods: We used the 2009 National Survey of Risk Factors (ENFR) to examine the association between socioeconomic status (SES) -- income and education -- and risk of being overweight or obese five years after the crisis. We estimated logistic regression models with weight as dependent variable and income, education, age, and gender as independent variables. Results: About 50% of the Argentine population 18 and older was overweight or obese in 2009. Low weight, while not high, was higher in women than in men. There were gender differences in the association between overweight/obesity and socioeconomic status. Among men, overweight increased as income and education increased, whereas among women the reverse was generally true. With obesity, while rates decreased overall with income and education among both genders, the lowest rates were found among the lowest and second lowest income groups of women and men, respectively. Conclusion: Findings are compatible with both high-income and low- and middle-income countries. As in high income countries, income and education appear to be overall protective of obesity, although this is not true for overweight. Among certain population subgroups, low weight rather than obesity may be the public health problem to be tackled. Argentina needs to tailor public health and social, including economic policies to fit a complex landscape of wealth and poverty to address the problem of overweight/obesity prevalent across a spectrum of income and educational levels.http://www.scopemed.org/?mno=34612publishedVersionFil: Peláez, Enrique. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina.Fil: Monteverde, Malena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad; Argentina.Fil: Celton, Dora. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad; Argentina.Fil: Chaufan, Claudia. University of California San Francisco. Institute for Health & Aging; Estados Unidos.Fil: Peláez, Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad; Argentina.Fil: Monteverde, Malena. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Escuela de Graduados; Argentina.Fil: Celton, Dora. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Escuela de Graduados; Argentina.Demografí

Formación de la familia en Argentina. Cambios y continuidades. El caso de Córdoba

Nuevas formas de familias? Nuevas relaciones conyugales y filiales? Los cambios estructurales y globales ocurridos en el último siglo han sido tan vertiginosos demostrando que no existe nada inexorable y que todo puede cambiar en el tiempo. O transformarse, para seguir manteniendo la esencia, como parece ocurrir con la célula misma de la sociedad: la familia. Córdoba en la Argentina, no escapa a la realidad nacional., Nos preguntamos en qué medida han variado las pautas del comportamiento reproductivo, los determinantes de la nupcialidad y fecundidad para la formación de las familias en los dos últimos siglos? Podemos hablar de diferentes modelos de familias? Qué comportamientos se mantuvieron? El artículo indaga sobre la familia cordobesa a través de algunos indicadores sociodemográficos de su formación, en el transcurso de los períodos colonial, independiente y reciente.New family models? New filial and conjugal relations? In the last century both structural and global changes have been vertiginous and have demonstrated that nothing inexorable exists and that everything changes with the passing of time. Or they prove that something may alter in order to preserve its very essence as it seems to be the case of the cell of society itself: the family. In Argentina, our country, Córdoba does not differ from national reality. We wonder in what ways the patterns of reproductive behaviour and the determiners of nuptiality and fecundity in the creation of families have been modified in the last two hundred years. Can we speak about different family patterns? What behaviours have remained stable? This article focuses on the formation of "cordobesas" families in the ligh of some sociodemographic indicators along not only colonial and independent periods in history but also in recent times.Fil: Celton, Dora Estela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad; Argentin