Sweet Sorghum Genetic Diversity and Association Mapping for Brix and Height

Sweet sorghum [ (L.) Moench], like its close relative, sugarcane ( spp.), has been selected to accumulate high levels of edible sugars in the stem. Sweet sorghums are tall and produce high biomass in addition to sugar. Little has been documented about the genetic relationships and diversity within sweet sorghums and how sweet sorghums relate to grain sorghum racial types. In this study, a diverse panel of 125 sorghums (mostly sweet) was successfully genotyped with 47 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and 322 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Using both distance-based and model-based methods, we identified three main genetic groupings of sweet sorghums. Based on observed phenotypes and known origins we classified the three groups as historical and modern syrup, modern sugar/energy types, and amber types. Using SSR markers also scored in an available large grain sorghum germplasm panel, we found that these three sweet groupings clustered with kafir/bicolor, caudatum, and bicolor types, respectively. Using the information on population structure and relatedness, association mapping was performed for height and stem sugar (brix) traits. Three significant associations for height were detected. Two of these, on chromosomes 9 and 6, support published QTL studies. One significant association for brix, on chromosome 1, 12kb from a glucose-6-phosphate isomerase homolog, was detected

WorldWideScience.org: Bringing Light to Grey

WorldWideScience.org and its governance structure, the WorldWideScience Alliance, are putting a brighter spotlight on grey literature. Through this new tool, grey literature is getting broader exposure to audiences all over the world. Improved access to and sharing of research information is the key to accelerating progress and breakthroughs in any field, especially science.Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes, Pratt student commentaryXAInternationa

Grey Literature in Energy: A Shifting Paradigm

Grey literature has long been a focus area for both the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) and the multinational information exchange agreements in which OSTI participates. The International Energy Agency's Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDE) and the International Atomic Energy Agency's International Nuclear Information System (INIS), along with their member countries, are OSTI's principal global partners in the exchange of energy-related grey literature. From a user's perspective, grey literature used to be the information that was considered hard to get, while publishers' information was more readily available. This paper will highlight how OSTI, in conjuction with its various partners, has been able to change this paradigm for much of the energy-related grey literature. Over the past few years, the methods and formats of exchanging grey literature have changed dramatically. OSTI has been in the forefront and become a leader in offering grey literature via the Web. Evolving from the traditional world of paper and microfiche to the electronic world of PDF's, TIFFs, etc., easier and quicker access to grey literature is now a reality. With the shift to this new paradigm, however, there have certainly been some growing pains. Many issues have arisen, including processing procedures, formats and standards for exchange, storage and archive issues and access and ownership policies. This paper will include how OSTI and its partners have dealt with these issues, resolving some, but for those still unresolved, realizing that only the test of time will provide answers.Includes : Conference preprint, Pratt student commentaryXAInternationa

Grey Literature in Energy: 5 Years Later

At GL'99, the Department of Energy's Office of Scientific and Technical Information (DOE OSTI) presented a paper titled "Grey Literature in Energy: a Shifting Paradigm". Five years later, the paradigm continues to shift, less radically than the change from paper and microfiche to electronic, but with significant benefit to users worldwide. OSTI's efforts continue this shift, moving even further away from the connotation of "grey" as meaning "hard to get" literature. Along with its domestic and international partners dealing with science and energy information, OSTI serves as a leader in tools for accessing grey literature in addition to its role as a major repository. The paper will highlight the collections, tools, and partnerships that have allowed OSTI to truly bring science and energy information to the computer desktop. OSTI first and foremost partners within DOE. Energy-related grey literature residing at OSTI, along with the grey literature residing at other locations throughout the DOE complex of laboratories, is made available and searchable to the public through OSTI IT systems. While this is not new, several related developments are, including OCR steps for image data, remote indexing, and single page searching. Recently, special initiatives with Google and Yahoo/MSN in the past year have resulted in users now being able to find DOE's grey literature residing within OSTI databases when using these browsers. Providing yet a further avenue, OSTI's latest initiative involves the possibility of joining CrossRef, meaning that Digital Object Identifiers (DOI's) traditionally associated with published literature may soon be assigned to DOE's grey literature collection. Partnerships with other U.S. federal agencies have resulted in a massive collection of sciencerelated grey literature being available through a single interface. Offered to users initially through the GrayLIT Network developed by OSTI, this has now been broadened further through the e-government success story known as Science.gov. "Deep Web" searching allows users to go beyond the typical browser in searching web pages, down to the database and full text levels and then across U.S. government agencies. Partnerships with the International Energy Agency's Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDE) and the International Atomic Energy Agency's International Nuclear Information System (INIS) have augmented the domestic collection into a major global resource known as ETDEWEB, managed and operated by OSTI, and the INISDB online, managed by INIS. Current OSTI and INIS efforts to convert the older microfiche collections of grey literature into electronic form will serve to advance the knowledge management and preservation initiatives of these major repositories.Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes, Pratt student commentaryXAInternationa

Science-Forums.net: A Platform for Scientific Sharing and Collaboration

Purpose / Goal - The beta website of Science-Forums.net, was developed by Information International Associates, Inc. (IIa), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI). Leveraging scientist/researcher information contained in databases managed by OSTI, Science-Forums.net will enable scientists to easily collaborate on a scientific topic of interest. In addition to potential commercial applications, the functionality of Science-Forums.net is well suited to OSTI's family of scientific and technical information websites, supporting communications on topics related to DOE research and development. The overall objective of the research project, entitled Interactive Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Scientific Communication in the Digital Library Environment Project, was to research and identify web-based tools and other concepts that would foster online interaction and collaboration among scientists and researchers with the purpose of facilitating scientific discovery and innovation. Method / Procedure - During Phase I, the methods used included (1) a survey of available technologies (2) analysis and prioritization of technologies (3) design and planning of foundational tool for online interaction (4) development and implementation of approaches for obtaining feedback from researchers and scientists (5) research into privacy and communications examples and guidelines to address government privacy and survey requirements. In Phase II, the primary focus has been the further (1) development of the foundational tool into a beta-ready site available for feedback from a test group of previously identified and admittedly interested researchers and (2) refinement of the privacy policy and user terms and conditions documents. Costs - Counting Phase I and II funding, the current research project cost is $450,000. Anticipated Results - With the beta site ready for near-term feedback from the DOE research community, the development team is optimistic that the site will be as attractive and functional as our internal testing has suggested it will be, scientists will find it a useful and innovative way to communicate, and scientific discovery will be further advanced as a result.Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notesXAInternationa