Are you really my clone? Identity verification of the in-trust sweetpotato collection at the International Potato Center.

The global in-trust sweetpotato collection maintained by the International Potato Center (CIP) in Lima, Peru consists of over 5,000 cultivated sweetpotato accessions maintained as clones in vitro as well as over 1,000 accessions from 67 species of Ipomoea maintained as seed populations. The clonal sweetpotato collection at CIP was initiated in the 1980’s and for 60% of the collection, original material still exists as potted plants in the greenhouse. This provides a unique opportunity where genetic integrity of a clonal collection, maintained in vitro for the past thirty years, can be confirmed by a side-by-side comparison of the same accession from the greenhouse. Initial molecular comparison is done using a set of twenty SSR primers followed by side-by-side comparison in the field using 30 morphological descriptors. Confirmation of identity requires both genetic and morphological analysis as a low percentage of the accessions appear to be duplicates based on SSR yet are morphologically distinct. Historical morphological descriptor data is used as a check to confirm identity and is being used as the sole check for accessions where we do not have original material for comparison. SSR results from 70% of the collection has confirmed that 85% of the in vitro accessions are true-to-type. In vitro accessions which are not true-to-type are reisolated and cleaned of viruses from the confirmed true-to-type greenhouse accessions. Accessions which are true-to-type are fingerprinted using DArTseq to provide a sequence-based fingerprint

Magnetic Domain State Diagnosis in Soils, Loess, and Marine Sediments From Multiple First-Order Reversal Curve-Type Diagrams

First-order reversal curve (FORC) diagrams provide information about domain states and magnetostatic interactions that underpin paleomagnetic interpretations. FORC diagrams are a complex representation of remanent, induced, and transient magnetizations that can be assessed individually using additional FORC-type measurements along with conventional measurements. We provide the first extensive assessment of the information provided by remanent, transient, and induced FORC diagrams for a diverse range of soil, loess/paleosol, and marine sediment samples. These new diagrams provide substantial information in addition to that provided by conventional FORC diagrams that aids comprehensive domain state diagnosis for mixed magnetic particle assemblages. In particular, we demonstrate from transient FORC diagrams that particles occur routinely in the magnetic vortex state. Likewise, remanent FORC diagrams provide information about the remanence-bearing magnetic particles that are of greatest interest in paleomagnetic studies

Electrical current distribution across a metal-insulator-metal structure during bistable switching

Combining scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron-beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging with transport measurements, it is shown that the current flowing across a two-terminal oxide-based capacitor-like structure is preferentially confined in areas localized at defects. As the thin-film device switches between two different resistance states, the distribution and intensity of the current paths, appearing as bright spots, change. This implies that switching and memory effects are mainly determined by the conducting properties along such paths. A model based on the storage and release of charge carriers within the insulator seems adequate to explain the observed memory effect.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, submitted to J. Appl. Phy

Evolving thermal thresholds explain the distribution of temperature sex reversal in an Australian dragon lizard

Aim: Species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) are particularly vulnerable to climate change because a resultant skew in population sex ratio can have severe demographic consequences and increase vulnerability to local extinction. The Australian central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) has a thermosensitive ZZ male/ZW female system of genetic sex determination (GSD). High incubation temperatures cause reversal of the ZZ genotype to a viable female phenotype. Nest temperatures in the wild are predicted to vary on a scale likely to produce heterogeneity in the occurrence of sex reversal, and so we predict that sex reversal will correlate positively with inferred incubation conditions. Location: Mainland Australia. Methods: Wild-caught specimens of P. vitticeps vouchered in museum collections and collected during targeted field trips were genotypically and phenotypically sexed to determine the distribution of sex reversal across the species range. To determine whether environmental conditions or genetic structure can explain this distribution, we infer the incubation conditions experienced by each individual and apply a multi-model inference approach to determine which conditions associate with sex reversal. Further, we conduct reduced representation sequencing on a subset of specimens to characterize the population structure of this broadly distributed species. Results: Here we show that sex reversal in this widespread Australian dragon lizard is spatially restricted to the eastern part of the species range. Neither climatic variables during the inferred incubation period nor geographic population genetic structure explain this disjunct distribution of sex reversal. The main source of genetic variation arose from isolation by distance across the species range. Main conclusions: We propose that local genetic adaptation in the temperature threshold for sex reversal can counteract the sex-reversing influence of high incubation temperatures in P. vitticeps. Our study demonstrates that complex evolutionary processes need to be incorporated into modelling biological responses to future climate scenarios

Use of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy to predict nitrogen uptake by winter wheat within fields with high variability in organic matter

In this study, the ability to predict N-uptake in winter wheat crops using NIR-spectroscopy on soil samples was evaluated. Soil samples were taken in unfertilized plots in one winter wheat field during three years (1997-1999) and in another winter wheat field nearby in one year (2000). Soil samples were analyzed for organic C content and their NIR-spectra. N-uptake was measured as total N-content in aboveground plant materials at harvest. Models calibrated to predict N-uptake were internally cross validated and validated across years and across fields. Cross-validated calibrations predicted N-uptake with an average error of 12.1 to 15.4 kg N ha-1. The standard deviation divided by this error (RPD) ranged between 1.9 and 2.5. In comparison, the corresponding calibrations based on organic C alone had an error from 11.7 to 28.2 kg N ha-1 and RPDs from 1.3 to 2.5. In three of four annual calibrations within a field, the NIR-based calibrations worked better than the organic C based calibrations. The prediction of N-uptake across years, but within a field, worked slightly better with an organic C based calibration than with a NIR based one, RPD = 1.9 and 1.7 respectively. Across fields, the corresponding difference was large in favour of the NIR-calibration, RPD = 2.5 for the NIR-calibration and 1.5 for the organic C calibration. It was concluded that NIR-spectroscopy integrates information about organic C with other relevant soil components and therefore has a good potential to predict complex functions of soils such as N-mineralization. A relatively good agreement of spectral relationships to parameters related to the N-mineralization of datasets across the world suggests that more general models can be calibrated