Molecular marker analysis of Lr34 in Canada Western Red Spring wheat cultivars

Trabalho final de mestrado integrado em Medicina (Medicina Interna-Nutrição Clínica), apresentado à Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de CoimbraO Carcinoma Colorretal é uma neoplasia frequente, particularmente nos Países Ocidentais, tendo-se observado um aumento na sua incidência em Portugal nos últimos 30 anos. Pensa-se que para este aumento tenha contribuído decisivamente a progressiva mudança do estilo de vida, particularmente no que diz respeito à alimentação e atividade física, tendencialmente reduzida. Vários estudos sugerem uma relação direta entre a alimentação e o CCR, ditando o possível papel da alimentação como fator de risco ou fator protetor de CCR. A carne vermelha e processada, bem como o consumo de álcool, estão frequentemente associados ao aumento de risco de CCR. Por outro lado, frutos, vegetais, outros alimentos ricos em fibras e peixe, associam-se a um risco diminuído de CCR. Os mecanismos subjacentes à alimentação não são ainda totalmente conhecidos. Até ao momento foram descritas funções essenciais dos componentes dietéticos na inibição ou progressão da inflamação do cólon, evento fundamental na carcinogénese colorretal e transversal a todas as situações de CCR. Objetivos: Comprovar a relação entre a alimentação e o risco de CCR; identificar quais os alimentos que estão associados a um aumento ou à diminuição do risco da doença; identificar os mecanismos subjacentes ao efeito potenciador ou protetor que os alimentos conferem; identificar através dos quais os alimentos interferem na carcinogénese colorretal; definir quais as estratégias necessárias para otimizar a prevenção primária desta doença. Métodos: Foi efetuada uma revisão pormenorizada com base na literatura recente e disponível na base de dados PubMed e B-on, referente ao possível papel da alimentação no desenvolvimento de Carcinoma Colorretal e os mecanismos pelos quais exerce a sua ação. Conclusões: os resultados dos estudos analisados sugerem que o CCR pode em grande parte percentagem de casos ser prevenido através do recurso à adoção de uma alimentação e estilo de vida saudáveis. As carnes vermelhas e processadas estão associadas a um aumento do risco desenvolver Carcinoma Colorretal, principalmente devido à produção de aminas heterocíclicas, devendo o seu consumo ser reduzido. or outro lado, o peixe produz um efeito oposto, exercendo um efeito protetor, principalmente através da diminuição da produção de mediadores pró-inflamatórios. Também os frutos e vegetais se associam a um risco menor de desenvolver esta neoplasia, devendo o seu consumo ser elevado. As propriedades quimiopreventivas destes alimentos devem-se, sobretudo, à inibição da inflamação no cólon, e também a mecanismos antioxidantes, pró-apoptóticos e de paragem do ciclo celular.Introduction: Colorectal carcinoma is a tumor with high incidence rate, particularly in Western countries, having been noticed an increase in incidence in Portugal in the past 30 years. It is widely accepted that progressive changes in lifestyle, regarding diet and reduced physical activity has decisively contributed to this increase. Several studies suggest a direct relationship between diet and CRC, dictating the possible role of diet as a risk factor or protective factor for CRC. Red and processed meat and alcohol consumption are often associated to increased risk of CRC. On the other hand, fruit, vegetables, other fiber rich foods and fish are associated to decreased risk of CRC. The underlying mechanisms of diet are not yet fully known. Up until now the essential functions of dietary components have been described as to inhibiting or helping to progress inflammations of the colon, the key event in colorectal carcinogenesis and transversal to all situations of CRC. Objectives: Demonstrate the relationship between diet and the risk of Colorectal Carcinoma; identify which food is associated with an increased or decreased risk of disease; identify the mechanisms of diet underlying the potentiating effect; determine necessary strategies to optimize the primary prevention of this disease. Methods: A detailed review was performed, based on the literature available on CRC and the mechanisms by which exerts its action. Conclusions: The results of the studies reviewed suggest that the CCR can be largely prevented by adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle. Red and processed meat are associated with increased risk of CRC, mainly due to the production of heterocyclic amines and its consumption should be reduced. On the other hand, fish produces an opposite effect, exerting a protective effect, mainly by decreasing the production of pro-inflammatory mediators. Fruit and vegetables are also associated with decreased risk of developing the disease, and its consumption should be increased. The chemopreventive properties of these foods are due mainly to the inhibition of colon inflammation, as well as antioxidant, pro-apoptotic and cell cycle arrest mechanisms

Physical mapping integrated with syntenic analysis to characterize the gene space of the long arm of wheat chromosome 1A

Background: Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important crops worldwide and its production faces pressing challenges, the solution of which demands genome information. However, the large, highly repetitive hexaploid wheat genome has been considered intractable to standard sequencing approaches. Therefore the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) proposes to map and sequence the genome on a chromosome-by-chromosome basis. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have constructed a physical map of the long arm of bread wheat chromosome 1A using chromosome-specific BAC libraries by High Information Content Fingerprinting (HICF). Two alternative methods (FPC and LTC) were used to assemble the fingerprints into a high-resolution physical map of the chromosome arm. A total of 365 molecular markers were added to the map, in addition to 1122 putative unique transcripts that were identified by microarray hybridization. The final map consists of 1180 FPC based or 583 LTC based contigs. Conclusions/Significance: The physical map presented here marks an important step forward in mapping of hexaploid bread wheat. The map is orders of magnitude more detailed than previously available maps of this chromosome, and the assignment of over a thousand putative expressed gene sequences to specific map locations will greatly assist future functional studies. This map will be an essential tool for future sequencing of and positional cloning within chromosome 1A

New directions in cellular therapy of cancer: a summary of the summit on cellular therapy for cancer

A summit on cellular therapy for cancer discussed and presented advances related to the use of adoptive cellular therapy for melanoma and other cancers. The summit revealed that this field is advancing rapidly. Conventional cellular therapies, such as tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), are becoming more effective and more available. Gene therapy is becoming an important tool in adoptive cell therapy. Lymphocytes are being engineered to express high affinity T cell receptors (TCRs), chimeric antibody-T cell receptors (CARs) and cytokines. T cell subsets with more naïve and stem cell-like characteristics have been shown in pre-clinical models to be more effective than unselected populations and it is now possible to reprogram T cells and to produce T cells with stem cell characteristics. In the future, combinations of adoptive transfer of T cells and specific vaccination against the cognate antigen can be envisaged to further enhance the effectiveness of these therapies

Genetic Diversity and Linkage Disequilibrium in Chinese Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Revealed by SSR Markers

Two hundred and fifty bread wheat lines, mainly Chinese mini core accessions, were assayed for polymorphism and linkage disequilibrium (LD) based on 512 whole-genome microsatellite loci representing a mean marker density of 5.1 cM. A total of 6,724 alleles ranging from 1 to 49 per locus were identified in all collections. The mean PIC value was 0.650, ranging from 0 to 0.965. Population structure and principal coordinate analysis revealed that landraces and modern varieties were two relatively independent genetic sub-groups. Landraces had a higher allelic diversity than modern varieties with respect to both genomes and chromosomes in terms of total number of alleles and allelic richness. 3,833 (57.0%) and 2,788 (41.5%) rare alleles with frequencies of <5% were found in the landrace and modern variety gene pools, respectively, indicating greater numbers of rare variants, or likely new alleles, in landraces. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that A genome had the largest genetic differentiation and D genome the lowest. In contrast to genetic diversity, modern varieties displayed a wider average LD decay across the whole genome for locus pairs with r2>0.05 (P<0.001) than the landraces. Mean LD decay distance for the landraces at the whole genome level was <5 cM, while a higher LD decay distance of 5–10 cM in modern varieties. LD decay distances were also somewhat different for each of the 21 chromosomes, being higher for most of the chromosomes in modern varieties (<5∼25 cM) compared to landraces (<5∼15 cM), presumably indicating the influences of domestication and breeding. This study facilitates predicting the marker density required to effectively associate genotypes with traits in Chinese wheat genetic resources