Genetic diversity in cultivated carioca common beans based on molecular marker analysis

A wide array of molecular markers has been used to investigate the genetic diversity among common bean species. However, the best combination of markers for studying such diversity among common bean cultivars has yet to be determined. Few reports have examined the genetic diversity of the carioca bean, commercially one of the most important common beans in Brazil. In this study, we examined the usefulness of two molecular marker systems (simple sequence repeats – SSRs and amplified fragment length polymorphisms – AFLPs) for assessing the genetic diversity of carioca beans. The amount of information provided by Roger’s modified genetic distance was used to analyze SSR data and Jaccards similarity coefficient was used for AFLP data. Seventy SSRs were polymorphic and 20 AFLP primer combinations produced 635 polymorphic bands. Molecular analysis showed that carioca genotypes were quite diverse. AFLPs revealed greater genetic differentiation and variation within the carioca genotypes (Gst = 98% and Fst = 0.83, respectively) than SSRs and provided better resolution for clustering the carioca genotypes. SSRs and AFLPs were both suitable for assessing the genetic diversity of Brazilian carioca genotypes since the number of markers used in each system provided a low coefficient of variation. However, fingerprint profiles were generated faster with AFLPs, making them a better choice for assessing genetic diversity in the carioca germplasm

Antalogi puisi: karya anak-anak bangsa dari Papua

Antalogi puisi karya anak-anak bangsa dari Papua merupakan salah satu bentuk apresiasi Balai Bahasa Papua, Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan terhadap anak-anak bangsa yang memiliki keterampilan menulis sastra, terutama puisi. Hal ini dilakukan mengingat pemahaman masyarakat terhadap konsep estetika masih kurang. Puisi dalam buku ini merupakan hasil karya sastra siswa-siswi sekolah dasar dan sekolah menengah pertama yang mengikuti sayembara penulisan puisi bagi siwa SD dan SMP se-Papua dan Papua Barat

Togo: Thorny transition and misguided aid at the roots of economic misery

The parliamentary elections of October 2007, the first free Togolese elections since decades, were meant to correct at least partially the rigged presidential elections of 2005. Western donors considered it as a litmus test of despotic African regimes’ propensity to change towards democratization and economic prosperity. They took Togo as model to test their approach of political conditionality of aid, which had been emphasised also as corner stone of the joint EU-Africa strategy. Empirical findings on the linkage between democratization and economic performance are challenged in this paper because of its basic data deficiencies. It is open to question, whether Togo’s expected economic consolidation and growth will be due to democratization of its institutions or to the improved external environment, notably the growing competition between global players for African natural resources

Molecular characterization of Brazilian avian pneumovirus isolates: comparison between immunochemiluminescent Southern blot and nested PCR

Avian pneumovirus (APV) causes acute respiratory tract infection both in turkeys (turkey rhinotracheitis) and chickens (swollen head syndrome (SHS)) with sudden onset and rapid spread through the flocks. In this study, an immunochemiluminescent Southern blot RT-PCR assay was employed to detect a F gene transcript of the APV in two European turkey isolates and two Brazilian chicken isolates. Limiting dilution PCR was carried out to compare the sensitivity of immunochemiluminescent Southern blot assay and nested PCR assay (nPCR). The sensitivity and specificity of immunochemiluminescent Southern blot RT-PCR assay were comparable to that of nPCR, and at least 100 fold more sensitive than a single PCR amplification. Sequence analysis of the 175 bp product of the F gene revealed 100% identity with APV sequences described earlier. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.79223724

Molecular characterization of Brazilian avian pneumovirus isolates using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, restriction endonuclease analysis and sequencing of a G gene fragment

A reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was employed to amplify a G gene transcript of the avian pneumovirus (APV) in two European turkey isolates and two Brazilian chicken isolates. The PCR products were digested using restriction endonucleases and the restriction patterns were compared with earlier reported isolate patterns. The same PCR products were cloned into pUC18 and sequenced. Restriction patterns and sequence analyses of the approximately 600 bp products from both Brazilian isolates revealed 99% identity with earlier reported subgroup A APV sequence, suggesting that these isolates belong to this subgroup.28547347