NLR Mutations Suppressing Immune Hybrid Incompatibility and Their Effects on Disease Resistance

Genetic divergence between populations can lead to reproductive isolation. Hybrid incompatibilities (HI) represent intermediate points along a continuum toward speciation. In plants, genetic variation in disease resistance (R) genes underlies several cases of HI. The progeny of a cross between Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) accessions Landsberg erecta (Ler, Poland) and Kashmir2 (Kas2, central Asia) exhibits immune-related HI. This incompatibility is due to a genetic interaction between a cluster of eight TNL (TOLL/INTERLEUKIN1 RECEPTOR-NUCLEOTIDE BINDING-LEU RICH REPEAT) RPP1 (RECOGNITION OF PERONOSPORA PARASITICA1)-like genes (R1-R8) from Ler and central Asian alleles of a Strubbelig-family receptor-like kinase (SRF3) from Kas2. In characterizing mutants altered in Ler/Kas2 HI, we mapped multiple mutations to the RPP1-like Ler locus. Analysis of these suppressor of Ler/Kas2 incompatibility (sulki) mutants reveals complex, additive and epistatic interactions underlying RPP1-like Ler locus activity. The effects of these mutations were measured on basal defense, global gene expression, primary metabolism, and disease resistance to a local Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis isolate (Hpa Gw) collected from Gorzów (Gw), where the Landsberg accession originated. Gene expression sectors and metabolic hallmarks identified for HI are both dependent and independent of RPP1-like Ler members. We establish that mutations suppressing immune-related Ler/Kas2 HI do not compromise resistance to Hpa Gw. QTL mapping analysis of Hpa Gw resistance point to RPP7 as the causal locus. This work provides insight into the complex genetic architecture of the RPP1-like Ler locus and immune-related HI in Arabidopsis and into the contributions of RPP1-like genes to HI and defense

Diversity and ethics in trauma and acute care surgery teams: results from an international survey

Background Investigating the context of trauma and acute care surgery, the article aims at understanding the factors that can enhance some ethical aspects, namely the importance of patient consent, the perceptiveness of the ethical role of the trauma leader, and the perceived importance of ethics as an educational subject. Methods The article employs an international questionnaire promoted by the World Society of Emergency Surgery. Results Through the analysis of 402 fully filled questionnaires by surgeons from 72 different countries, the three main ethical topics are investigated through the lens of gender, membership of an academic or non-academic institution, an official trauma team, and a diverse group. In general terms, results highlight greater attention paid by surgeons belonging to academic institutions, official trauma teams, and diverse groups. Conclusions Our results underline that some organizational factors (e.g., the fact that the team belongs to a university context or is more diverse) might lead to the development of a higher sensibility on ethical matters. Embracing cultural diversity forces trauma teams to deal with different mindsets. Organizations should, therefore, consider those elements in defining their organizational procedures. Level of evidence Trauma and acute care teams work under tremendous pressure and complex circumstances, with their members needing to make ethical decisions quickly. The international survey allowed to shed light on how team assembly decisions might represent an opportunity to coordinate team member actions and increase performance

Multinational firms and the management of global networks: insights from Global Value Chain studies

This paper aims at enriching the literature on international business (IB) studies to include insights from Global Value Chain (GVC) analysis to better explain how MNCs can orchestrate a global network organization. A first important contribution of the GVC literature is that it shifts the focus from single firms to their value chains, providing instruments to study how activities are split and organized among different firms at the industry level, and how MNCs can implement different governing mechanisms within a network-based setting. The GVC literature also highlights that retailers (as global buyers) often act as \u2018lead firms\u2019 in shaping the trajectories of global industries, while IB studies have so far focused predominantly on manufacturing firms. A fine-grained analysis of alternative forms of governance characterizing value chains can offer additional elements in explaining how MNCs can manage their network relationships in a global scenario. Finally, through their focus on upgrading, GVC studies suggest that knowledge flows and innovation dynamics taking place within value chains are as important as those taking place within the MNC\u2019s organizational border. We conclude by arguing that these insights can help the IB literature to examine the challenges and opportunities MNCs face in engaging with suppliers and to explain the dynamic evolution of orchestrating global activities at the global level