High-biomass sorghums for biomass biofuel production

High-biomass sorghums are being developed as a dedicated energy crop for biofuels. Their high biomass yields provide large quantities of structural carbohydrates (cellulose, lignin, etc.) for energy production. Sorghum improvement for applications such as grain or fodder production is well established, but development of high-biomass sorghums for biofuels is not. Thus the objectives of this research were to develop information on sorghum improvement methods and criteria for high-biomass sorghums including marker-assisted selection, use of exotic germplasm, heterosis, and GxE variability of biomass composition. Marker-assisted selection was compared to testcross selection for identifying photoperiod-insensitive (PI) experimental lines that yield photoperiod-sensitive (PS) hybrids within the Ma1/Ma5/Ma6 hybrid production system. High-biomass sorghums are PS and the Ma1/Ma5/Ma6 hybrid production system produces PS hybrids with PI parents by manipulating alleles at the Ma1, Ma5 and Ma6 sorghum maturity loci. Four hundred eighty three sorghum lines were genotyped at the Ma1 and Ma5 loci to predict their hybrid photoperiod reactions and testcrossed to establish their actual hybrid photoperiod reactions. Ma1/Ma5 marker selections for lines producing PI hybrids were reliable and could be used to discard such lines. Ma1/Ma5 marker selections for lines producing PS hybrids were not reliable and identification of such lines will require testcrossing or potentially, genotyping at Ma6 or other additional loci. An attempt was made to determine whether meaningful relationships exist between the passport data (geographic origin) of exotic sorghum accessions and high-biomass desirability. Such a relationship could be used to prioritize exotic sorghum accessions for breeding evaluations. Seventeen hundred ninety two exotic sorghum accessions from 7 different geographic origins were evaluated for high-biomass desirability in 3 environments. Significant relationships between passport data and high-biomass desirability were identified within environments but were not applicable across environments because of large GxE interactions. A larger sampling of environments will be needed to understand and establish reliable passport data and high-biomass desirability GxE patterns. High-parent heterosis can improve yields in high-biomass sorghums and hybrid entries derived from high-biomass sorghum pollinators and grain sorghum females were evaluated for biomass heterosis. Grain sorghum females enable commercial seed production of high-biomass sorghums. Moderate levels of biomass high-parent heterosis were widely available in the hybrids. Heterosis and biomass yields were maximized in specific hybrid combinations and were subject to GxE interactions. Biomass composition (percent cellulose, hemicellulose, etc.) affects the conversion efficiency of biomass to liquid fuels and may be altered via breeding selections. Breeding methods and genotype recommendations for biomass composition will require consideration of GxE variability. The biomass composition of 12 sorghums grown across 5 environments was estimated using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy to identify GxE patterns. Significant GxE interactions for biomass composition were identified, but most compositional variability was attributable to environmental differences. Differences between genotypes for compositional traits were small (1-3 percent), but may prove important with large-scale biomass processing

Max filtering with reflection groups

Given a finite-dimensional real inner product space V and a finite subgroup G of linear isometries, max filtering affords a bilipschitz Euclidean embedding of the orbit space V/G. We identify the max filtering maps of minimum distortion in the setting where G is a reflection group. Our analysis involves an interplay between Coxeter's classification and semidefinite programming

Comparing the performace of f1 testers versus their inbred line parents in evaluating experimental sorghum b and r lines in testcrosses.

An appropriate tester correctly identifies the relative performance of experimental lines while maximizing the differences between lines. Most sorghum breeding programs use elite inbred lines testers. Inbred line testers evaluate experimental lines against a specific genetic background, possibly increasing the probability of incorrectly discarding material. A potential solution would be to use F1 testers that combine two genetic backgrounds. The purpose of this research was to compare F1 testers versus inbred line testers for evaluating experimental sorghum lines in testcrosses Line x tester analyses were performed to assess tester consistency in assigning ranks. With one exception, all of the line x tester analyses were non-significant, indicating that the testers provided similar evaluations of the experimental lines. Correlations between the ranking of the experimental lines by their average performance and the rank assignments of each tester were measured to further asses tester accuracy. In all cases, the rank correlations were highly significant, implying that all of the testers accurately ranked experimental lines. In addition, all of the testers consistently identified the majority of the top performing experimental lines despite some important rank shifts. F-ratios for variance among the experimental lines (entry effect) were compared with the Schumann-Bradley statistical test to compare efficiencies. With one exception, the F1 testers always produced the largest or second largest entry effect F-ratio. Where the F1 testers produced the second largest F-ratio, it was not declared statistically different from the largest F-ratio by the Schumann-Bradley test, indicating that the testers had similar discriminatory efficiencies. Testcross variances were measured to further compare discriminatory efficiencies. With one exception, the F1 testers consistently produced the largest variances, evidence that the F1 testers were effective in maximizing differences among the experimental lines. The results indicate that F1 testers represent valid testers for evaluating experimental sorghum lines against two genetic backgrounds in a single testcross

Buried Bedrock Topography of the Cannon River System Around Northfield, Minnesota

A geophysical survey in the area of Northfield, Minnesota, involving electrical earth resistivity profiling and seismic refraction soundings, showed sizeable buried river channels in the bedrock in the Cannon River Valley which greatly increase in size downstream of Northfield. The channels upstream from the Northfield appear to be continuous and connect with the large buried channel between Northfield and Cannon Falls. The major buried valley deviates from the modern course of the Cannon River within the City of Northfield, but appears to follow elsewhere

Predatory senescence in ageing wolves

It is well established that ageing handicaps the ability of prey to escape predators, yet surprisingly little is known about how ageing affects the ability of predators to catch prey. Research into long-lived predators has assumed that adults have uniform impacts on prey regardless of age. Here we use longitudinal data from repeated observations of individually-known wolves (Canis lupus) hunting elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park to demonstrate that adult predatory performance declines with age and that an increasing ratio of senescent individuals in the wolf population depresses the rate of prey offtake. Because this ratio fluctuates independently of population size, predatory senescence may cause wolf populations of equal size but different age structure to have different impacts on prey populations. These findings suggest that predatory senescence is an important, though overlooked, factor affecting predator-prey dynamics. Supplemental table S! (15 pp.) attached below

Hybrid Quantum and Classical Mechanical Monte Carlo Simulations of the Interaction of Hydrogen Chloride with Solid Water Clusters

Monte Carlo simulations using a hybrid quantum and classical mechanical potential were performed for crystal and amorphous-like HCl-water(n) clusters The subsystem composed by HCl and one water molecule was treated within Density Functional Theory, and a classical force field was used for the rest of the system. Simulations performed at 200 K suggest that the energetic feasibility of HCl dissociation strongly depends on its initial placement within the cluster. An important degree of ionization occurs only if HCl is incorporated into the surface. We observe that local melting does not play a crucial role in the ionization process.Comment: 14 Latex pages with 4 postscript figures, to appear in Chem. Phys. Let

Evaluation of process for sludge particle size reduction

This document evaluates the available technology for K Basin sludge particle size. The results can be used to demonstrate the sensitivity or lack thereof, of K Basin sludge to available reduction processes and TWRS proposed particle acceptance criteria

Identification of stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Kenya using Morphometrics and DNA barcoding

Stingless bees are important pollinators of wild plants and crops. The identity of stingless bee species in Africa has not been fully documented. The present study explored the utility of morphometrics and DNA barcoding for identification of African stingless bee populations, and to further employ these tools to identify potential cryptic variation within species. Stingless bee samples were collected from three ecological zones, namely Kakamega Forest, Mwingi and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, which are geographically distant and cover high, medium and low altitudes, respectively. Forewing and hind leg morphometric characters were measured to determine the extent of morphological variation between the populations. DNA barcodes were generated from the mitochondrial cytochrome c-oxidase I (COI) gene. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on the morphometric measurements separated the bee samples into three clusters: (1) Meliponula bocandei; (2) Meliponula lendliana + Plebeina hildebrandti; (3) Dactylurina schmidti + Meliponula ferruginea black + Meliponula ferruginea reddish brown, but Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) separated all the species except the two morphospecies (M. ferruginea reddish brown and black). The analysis of the COI sequences showed that DNA barcoding can be used to identify all the species studied and revealed remarkable genetic distance (7.3%) between the two M. ferruginea morphs. This is the first genetic evidence that M. ferruginea black and M. ferruginea reddish brown are separate species

Patient-reported Experience of Diagnosis, Management, and Burden of Renal Cell Carcinomas : Results from a Global Patient Survey in 43 Countries

Funding/Support and role of the sponsor: This project was funded by equal unrestricted grants from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ipsen Pharma, Novartis, and Pfizer according to the IKCC code of conduct governing corporate funding (ikcc.org). The sponsors were not involved in the design or analysis of the survey or approval of the final manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Changes in dietary fiber intake in mice reveal associations between colonic mucin O-glycosylation and specific gut bacteria

The colonic mucus layer, comprised of highly O-glycosylated mucins, is vital to mediating host-gut microbiota interactions, yet the impact of dietary changes on colonic mucin O-glycosylation and its associations with the gut microbiota remains unexplored. Here, we used an array of omics techniques including glycomics to examine the effect of dietary fiber consumption on the gut microbiota, colonic mucin O-glycosylation and host physiology of high-fat diet-fed C57BL/6J mice. The high-fat diet group had significantly impaired glucose tolerance and altered liver proteome, gut microbiota composition, and short-chain fatty acid production compared to normal chow diet group. While dietary fiber inclusion did not reverse all high fat-induced modifications, it resulted in specific changes, including an increase in the relative abundance of bacterial families with known fiber digesters and a higher propionate concentration. Conversely, colonic mucin O-glycosylation remained similar between the normal chow and high-fat diet groups, while dietary fiber intervention resulted in major alterations in O-glycosylation. Correlation network analysis revealed previously undescribed associations between specific bacteria and mucin glycan structures. For example, the relative abundance of the bacterium Parabacteroides distasonis positively correlated with glycan structures containing one terminal fucose and correlated negatively with glycans containing two terminal fucose residues or with both an N-acetylneuraminic acid and a sulfate residue. This is the first comprehensive report of the impact of dietary fiber on the colonic mucin O-glycosylation and associations of these mucosal glycans with specific gut bacteria