Fine-mapping the wheat Snn1 locus conferring sensitivity to the Parastagonospora nodorum necrotrophic effector SnTox1 using an eight founder multiparent advanced generation inter-cross population

The necrotrophic fungus Parastagonospora nodorum is an important pathogen of one of the world’s most economically important cereal crops, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). P. nodorum produces necrotrophic protein effectors that mediate host cell death, providing nutrients for continuation of the infection process. The recent discovery of pathogen effectors has revolutionized disease resistance breeding for necrotrophic diseases in crop species, allowing often complex genetic resistance mechanisms to be broken down into constituent parts. To date, three effectors have been identified in P. nodorum. Here we use the effector, SnTox1, to screen 642 progeny from an eight-parent multiparent advanced generation inter-cross (i.e., MAGIC) population, genotyped with a 90,000-feature single-nucleotide polymorphism array. The MAGIC founders showed a range of sensitivity to SnTox1, with transgressive segregation evident in the progeny. SnTox1 sensitivity showed high heritability, with quantitative trait locus analyses fine-mapping the Snn1 locus to the short arm of chromosome 1B. In addition, a previously undescribed SnTox1 sensitivity locus was identified on the long arm of chromosome 5A, termed here QSnn.niab-5A.1. The peak single-nucleotide polymorphism for the Snn1 locus was converted to the KASP genotyping platform, providing breeders and researchers a simple and cheap diagnostic marker for allelic state at Snn1

Novel Method of Quantifying Radioactive Cesium-Rich Microparticles (CsMPs) in the Environment from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Highly radioactive cesium-rich microparticles (CsMPs) were released from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP) to the surrounding environment at an early stage of the nuclear disaster in March of 2011; however, the quantity of released CsMPs remains undetermined. Here, we report a novel method to quantify the number of CsMPs in surface soils at or around Fukushima and the fraction of radioactivity they contribute, which we call “quantification of CsMPs” (QCP) and is based on autoradiography. Here, photostimulated luminescence (PSL) is linearly correlated to the radioactivity of various microparticles, with a regression coefficient of 0.0523 becquerel/PSL/h (Bq/PSL/h). In soil collected from Nagadoro, Fukushima, Japan, CsMPs were detected in soil sieved with a 114 μm mesh. There was no overlap between the radioactivities of CsMPs and clay particles adsorbing Cs. Based on the distribution of radioactivity of CsMPs, the threshold radioactivity of CsMPs in the size fraction of <114 μm was determined to be 0.06 Bq. Based on this method, the number and radioactivity fraction of CsMPs in four surface soils collected from the vicinity of the FDNPP were determined to be 48–318 particles per gram and 8.53–31.8%, respectively. The QCP method is applicable to soils with a total radioactivity as high as ∼106 Bq/kg. This novel method is critically important and can be used to quantitatively understand the distribution and migration of the highly radioactive CsMPs in near-surface environments surrounding Fukushima

Genome-wide association mapping of resistance to septoria nodorum leaf blotch in a nordic spring wheat collection

Parastagonospora nodorum is the causal agent of Septoria nodorum leaf blotch (SNB) in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). It is the most important leaf blotch pathogen in Norwegian spring wheat. Several quantitative trait loci (QTL) for SNB susceptibility have been identified. Some of these QTL are the result of underlying gene-for-gene interactions involving necrotrophic effectors (NEs) and corresponding sensitivity (Snn) genes. A collection of diverse spring wheat lines was evaluated for SNB resistance and susceptibility over seven growing seasons in the field. In addition, wheat seedlings were inoculated and infiltrated with culture filtrates (CFs) from four single spore isolates and infiltrated with semipurified NEs (SnToxA, SnTox1, and SnTox3) under greenhouse conditions. In adult plants, the most stable SNB resistance QTL were located on chromosomes 2B, 2D, 4A, 4B, 5A, 6B, 7A, and 7B. The QTL on chromosome 2D was effective most years in the field. At the seedling stage, the most significant QTL after inoculation were located on chromosomes 1A, 1B, 3A, 4B, 5B, 6B, 7A, and 7B. The QTL on chromosomes 3A and 6B were significant both after inoculation and CF infiltration, indicating the presence of novel NE–Snn interactions. The QTL on chromosomes 4B and 7A were significant in both seedlings and adult plants. Correlations between SnToxA sensitivity and disease severity in the field were significant. To our knowledge, this is the first genome-wide association mapping study (GWAS) to investigate SNB resistance at the adult plant stage under field conditions

Isotopic signature and nano-texture of cesium-rich micro-particles: Release of uranium and fission products from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Highly radioactive cesium-rich microparticles (CsMPs) released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) provide nano-scale chemical fingerprints of the 2011 tragedy. U, Cs, Ba, Rb, K, and Ca isotopic ratios were determined on three CsMPs (3.79–780 Bq) collected within ~10 km from the FDNPP to determine the CsMPs’ origin and mechanism of formation. Apart from crystalline Fe-pollucite, CsFeSi2O6 · nH2O, CsMPs are comprised mainly of Zn–Fe-oxide nanoparticles in a SiO2 glass matrix (up to ~30 wt% of Cs and ~1 wt% of U mainly associated with Zn–Fe-oxide). The 235U/238U values in two CsMPs: 0.030 (±0.005) and 0.029 (±0.003), are consistent with that of enriched nuclear fuel. The values are higher than the average burnup estimated by the ORIGEN code and lower than non-irradiated fuel, suggesting non-uniform volatilization of U from melted fuels with different levels of burnup, followed by sorption onto Zn–Fe-oxides. The nano-scale texture and isotopic analyses provide a partial record of the chemical reactions that occurred in the fuel during meltdown. Also, the CsMPs were an important medium of transport for the released radionuclides in a respirable form

Diagnostically Challenging Epithelial Odontogenic Tumors: A Selective Review of 7 Jawbone Lesions

Considerable variation in the clinicopathologic presentation of epithelial odontogenic tumors can sometimes be confusing and increase the chance of misdiagnosis. Seven diagnostically challenging jawbone lesions are described. There were 2 cases of mistaken identity in our ameloblastoma file. One unicystic type, initially diagnosed and treated as a lateral periodontal cyst, showed destructive recurrence 6 years postoperatively. The other globulomaxillary lesion was managed under the erroneous diagnosis of adenomatoid odontogenic tumor and recurred 4 times over an 11-year period. This tumor was found in retrospect to be consistent with an adenoid ameloblastoma with dentinoid. The diagnosis of cystic squamous odontogenic tumor (SOT) occurring as a radicular lesion of an impacted lower third molar was one of exclusion. Of two unsuspected keratocystic odontogenic tumors, one depicted deceptive features of pericoronitis, while the other case has long been in our files with the diagnosis of globulomaxillary SOT. Two cases of primary intraosseous squamous cell carcinoma appeared benign clinically and exhibited unexpected findings; an impacted third molar began to erupt in association with the growth of carcinoma and another periradicular carcinoma showed dentinoid formation. Cases selectively reviewed in this article present challenging problems which require clinical and radiographic correlation to avoid potential diagnostic pitfalls

Activities of occupational physicians for occupational health services in small-scale enterprises in Japan and in the Netherlands

Occupational health service (OHS) for small-scale enterprises (SSEs) is still limited in many countries. Both Japan and the Netherlands have universal OHS systems for all employees. The objective of this survey was to examine the activities of occupational physicians (OPs) in the two countries for SSEs and to investigate their proposals for the improvement of service. Questionnaires on types and sizes of the industries they serve, allocation of service hours (current and desired), sources of information for occupational health activities etc. were mailed in 2006 to 461 and 335 Japanese and Dutch OPs, respectively, who have served in small- and medium-scale enterprises. In practice, 107 Japanese (23%) and 106 Dutch physicians (32%) replied, respectively. Total service time per month was longer for OPs in the Netherlands than OPs in Japan. Japanese OPs spent more hours for health and safety meetings, worksite rounds, and prevention of overwork-induced ill health (14-16% each). Dutch OPs used much more hours for the guidance of absent workers (48%). Thus, service conditions were not the same for OPs in the two countries. Nevertheless, both groups of OPs unanimously considered that employers are the key persons for the improvement of OHS especially in SSEs and their education is important for better OHS. The conclusions should be taken as preliminary, however, due to study limitations including low response rates in both groups of physician

Comprehensive annotation of the Parastagonospora nodorum reference genome using next-generation genomics, transcriptomics and proteogenomics

Parastagonospora nodorum, the causal agent of Septoria nodorum blotch (SNB), is an economically important pathogen of wheat (Triticum spp.), and a model for the study of necrotrophic pathology and genome evolution. The reference P. nodorum strain SN15 was the first Dothideomycete with a published genome sequence, and has been used as the basis for comparison within and between species. Here we present an updated reference genome assembly with corrections of SNP and indel errors in the underlying genome assembly from deep resequencing data as well as extensive manual annotation of gene models using transcriptomic and proteomic sources of evidence (https://github.com/robsyme/Parastagonospora_nodorum_SN15). The updated assembly and annotation includes 8,366 genes with modified protein sequence and 866 new genes. This study shows the benefits of using a wide variety of experimental methods allied to expert curation to generate a reliable set of gene models

NIST interlaboratory study on glycosylation analysis of monoclonal antibodies : comparison of results from diverse analytical methods

Glycosylation is a topic of intense current interest in the development of biopharmaceuticals since it is related to drug safety and efficacy. This work describes results of an interlaboratory study on the glycosylation of the Primary Sample (PS) of NISTmAb, a monoclonal antibody reference material. Seventy‑six laboratories from industry, university, research, government, and hospital sectors in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia submitted a total of 103 reports on glycan distributions. The principal objective of this study was to report and compare results for the full range of analytical methods presently used in the glycosylation  analysis of mAbs. Therefore, participation was unrestricted, with laboratories choosing their own measurement techniques. Protein glycosylation was determined in various ways, including at the level of intact mAb, protein fragments, glycopeptides, or released glycans, using a wide variety of methods for derivatization, separation, identification, and quantification. Consequently, the diversity of results was enormous, with the number of glycan compositions identified by each laboratory ranging from 4 to 48. In total, one hundred sixteen glycan compositions were reported, of which 57 compositions could be assigned consensus abundance values. These consensus medians provide community-derived values for NISTmAb PS. Agreement with the consensus medians did not depend on the specific method or laboratory type.. The study provides a view of the current state-of-the-art for biologic glycosylation measurement and suggests a clear need for harmonization of glycosylation analysis methods

Generation and characterization of standardized forms of trehalose dihydrate and their associated solid-state behavior

Trehalose dihydrate is a nonreducing disaccharide which has generated great interest in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, it is well recognized that considerable batch to batch variation exists for supposedly identical samples, particularly in terms of the thermal response. In this investigation, two standardized forms of trehalose dihydrate were generated using two distinct crystallization pathways. The two batches were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and FTIR. The thermal responses of the two forms were then studied using modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry (MTDSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). In particular, we describe the technique of quasi-isothermal MTDSC as a means of studying the change in equilibrium heat capacity as a function of temperature. Finally, variable temperature FTIR was utilized to assess the change in bonding configuration as a function of temperature. SEM revealed significant differences in the continuity and grain structure of the two batches. The TGA, MTDSC, and quasi-isothermal MTDSC studies all indicated significant differences in the thermal response and water loss profile. This was confirmed using variable temperature FTIR which indicated differences in bond reconfiguration as a function of temperature. We ascribe these differences to variations in the route by which water may leave the structure, possibly associated with grain size. The study has therefore demonstrated that chemically identical dihydrate forms may show significant differences in thermal response. We believe that this may assist in interpreting and hence controlling interbatch variation for this material