Electrophoretic variation of isozymes in plumules of rice (Oryza saliva L.) - a key to the identification of 76 alleles at 24 loci

A simple and efficient method has been developed for studying isozyme variation in rice. It involves starch gel electrophoresis of crude rice plumule extracts, followed by staining of 13 enzymes. It permits monitoring the variation at 24 polymorphic loci distributed on at least 8 chromosomes. Technical procedures are described, and the zymograms obtained from materials containing all known alleles are shown. A total of 76 alleles can be readily identified

Field performance of Xa21 transgenic indica rice (Oryza sativa L.), IR72

Based on the characterization of the resistance phenotype and molecular analysis, several homozygous lines carrying Xa21 against the bacterial blight (BB) pathogen were obtained from previously transformed indica rice, IR72. The homozygous line, T103-10, with the best phenotype and seed-setting, was repeatedly tested under normal field conditions to evaluate its levels of resistance to the BB pathogen in Wuhan, China, in 1998 and 1999. The isolates of Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae (Xoo) used in this experiments were PXO61, PXO79, PXO99 and PXO112 isolated from the Philippines, T2 isolated from Japan, and Zhe173 isolated from China. The results demonstrated that the transgenic homozygous line expressed the same resistance spectrum, but with a shorter lesion length to each inoculated isolates as the lesion length of the Xa21 donor line IRBB21. The non-transformed control IR72 carrying Xa4 was resistant to PXO61, PXO112, Zhe173 and T2, but susceptible to PXO99 and PXO79. The negative control variety IR24 was susceptible to all isolates under field conditions. The results demonstrated clearly that the Xa21 transgene led to an excellent field performance of the introduced bacterial blight resistance trait on the recipient plants. The yield performance of this transgenic homozygous line, T103-10, is comparable with that of the control under field conditions

Primary trisomic of rice: orgin, morphology, cytology and use in linkage mapping

Twelve primary trisomics of Oryza sativa L. were isolated from the progenies of spontaneous triploids and were transferred by backcrossing to the genetic background of IR36, a widely grown high yielding rice variety. Eleven trisomics can be identified morphologically from one another and from diploids. However, triplo 11 is difficult to distinguish from diploid sibs. -The extra chromosome of each trisomic was identified cytologically at pachytene stage of meiosis, and the chromosomes were numbered according to their length at this stage. The major distinguishing features of each pachytene chromosome were redescribed. -The female transmission rates varied from 15.5% for triplo 1, the longest chromosome, to 43.9% for triplo 12, the shortest chromosome. Seven of the 12 primary trisomics transmitted the extra chromosome through the male. The low level of chromosomal imbalance tolerated by rice and other evidence are interpreted to indicate that this species is a basic diploid. -Genetic segregation for 22 marker genes in the trisomic progenies was studied. Of a possible 264 combinations, involving 22 genes and 12 trisomics, 120 were examined. Marker genes for each of the 12 chromosomes were identified. The results helped establish associations between linkage groups and cytologically identifiable chromosomes of rice for the first time. Relationships between various systems of numbering chromosomes, trisomics, linkage groups and marker genes are described, and a revised linkage map of rice is presented

Farmers' management of rice varietal diversity in the mid-hills of Nepal: implications for on-farm conservation and crop improvement

Season-long monitoring of on-farm rice (Oryza sativa, L.) plots in Nepal explored farmers' decision-making process on the deployment of varieties to agroecosystems, application of production inputs to varieties, agronomic practices and relationship between economic return and area planted per variety. Farmers deploy varieties [landraces (LRs) and modern varieties (MVs)] to agroecosystems based on their understanding of characteristics of varieties and agroecosystems, and the interaction between them. In marginal growing conditions, LRs can compete with MVs. Within an agroecosystem, economic return and area planted to varieties have positive relationship, but this is not so between agroecosystems. LRs are very diverse on agronomic and economic traits; therefore, they cannot be rejected a priori as inferior materials without proper evaluation. LRs have to be evaluated for useful traits and utilized in breeding programmes to generate farmer-preferred materials for marginal environments and for their conservation on-farm

Transgenic rice variety 'IR72' with Xa21 is resistant to bacterial blight

An elite indica rice variety, 'IR72', was transformed with a cloned gene, Xa21, through particle bombardment. Molecular analysis of transgenic plants revealed the presence of a 3.8-kb EcoRV-digested DNA fragment corresponding to most of the Xa21 coding region and its complete intron sequence, indicating the integration of Xa21 into the genome of 'IR72'. In the T1 generation, the transgene was inherited and segregated in a 3:1 ratio. After inoculation with the prevalent races 4 and 6 of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), T1 plants positive for the transgene were found to be resistant to bacterial blight (BB). We also observed that the level of resistance to race 4 of Xoo was higher due to the pyramiding of Xa21 and Xa4 present in 'IR72'. Since the inactivation of the transgene Xa21 occurred in the two transgenic T1 plants, a larger progeny should be obtained for selecting homozygous line with a consistently higher level of resistance to the BB pathogen

Gene expression profiling to study racial differences after heart transplantation.

BackgroundThe basis for increased mortality after heart transplantation in African Americans and other non-Caucasian racial groups is poorly defined. We hypothesized that increased risk of adverse events is driven by biologic factors. To test this hypothesis in the Invasive Monitoring Attenuation through Gene Expression (IMAGE) study, we determined whether the event rate of the primary outcome of acute rejection, graft dysfunction, death, or retransplantation varied by race as a function of calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) levels and gene expression profile (GEP) scores.MethodsWe determined the event rate of the primary outcome, comparing racial groups, stratified by time after transplant. Logistic regression was used to compute the relative risk across racial groups, and linear modeling was used to measure the dependence of CNI levels and GEP score on race.ResultsIn 580 patients monitored for a median of 19 months, the incidence of the primary end point was 18.3% in African Americans, 22.2% in other non-Caucasians, and 8.5% in Caucasians (p < 0.001). There were small but significant correlations of race and tacrolimus trough levels to the GEP score. Tacrolimus levels were similar among the races. Of patients receiving tacrolimus, other non-Caucasians had higher GEP scores than the other racial groups. African American recipients demonstrated a unique decrease in expression of the FLT3 gene in response to higher tacrolimus levels.ConclusionsAfrican Americans and other non-Caucasian heart transplant recipients were 2.5-times to 3-times more likely than Caucasians to experience outcome events in the Invasive Monitoring Attenuation through Gene Expression study. The increased risk of adverse outcomes may be partly due to the biology of the alloimmune response, which is less effectively inhibited at similar tacrolimus levels in minority racial groups

Demand for plastic latrine slabs in rural Kenya and Tanzania

Plastic latrine slabs provide a cleanable surface and a coverable squat hole opening. They are a simple option for upgrading unimproved pit latrines. To measure consumer demand for plastic slabs in rural areas, we conducted i) a voucher-based real-money sales trial in Tanzania in 2015 (n=569) and ii) a real-money auction in Kenya in 2017 (n=322). In Tanzania, 60% of respondents were willing to pay 1 USD, and only 4% were willing to pay 12 USD (compared to the market price of 18 USD). In Kenya, 93% of respondents were willing to pay 1 USD, with only 1% willing to pay the market price of 16 USD. These findings show that there is demand for plastic slabs but at a lower price than what is commercially available. Amongst households who purchased the plastic slabs, 67% had installed them nine months later in Tanzania, versus 58% ten months later in Kenya

Report From the American Society of Transplantation Conference on Donor Heart Selection in Adult Cardiac Transplantation in the United States

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138918/1/ajt14354.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138918/2/ajt14354_am.pd

Secreted Bacterial Effectors and Host-Produced Eiger/TNF Drive Death in a Salmonella-Infected Fruit Fly

Death by infection is often as much due to the host's reaction as it is to the direct result of microbial action. Here we identify genes in both the host and microbe that are involved in the pathogenesis of infection and disease in Drosophila melanogaster challenged with Salmonella enterica serovartyphimurium (S. typhimurium). We demonstrate that wild-type S. typhimurium causes a lethal systemic infection when injected into the hemocoel of D. melanogaster. Deletion of the gene encoding the secreted bacterial effector Salmonella leucine-rich (PslrP) changes an acute and lethal infection to one that is persistent and less deadly. We propose a model in which Salmonella secreted effectors stimulate the fly and thus cause an immune response that is damaging both to the bacteria and, subsequently, to the host. In support of this model, we show that mutations in the fly gene eiger, a TNF homolog, delay the lethality of Salmonella infection. These results suggest that S. typhimurium-infected flies die from a condition that resembles TNF-induced metabolic collapse in vertebrates. This idea provides us with a new model to study shock-like biology in a genetically manipulable host. In addition, it allows us to study the difference in pathways followed by a microbe when producing an acute or persistent infection

Issues in the Differential Diagnosis of Uterine Low-grade Endometrioid Carcinoma, Including Mixed Endometrial Carcinomas: Recommendations from the International Society of Gynecological Pathologists

This article provides practical recommendations developed from the International Society of Gynecological Pathologists Endometrial Carcinoma Project to address 4 issues that may arise in the diagnosis of uterine corpus low-grade endometrioid carcinoma: (1) The distinction between atypical hyperplasia and low-grade endometrioid carcinoma. (2) The distinction between low-grade endometrioid carcinoma and serous carcinoma. (3) The distinction between corded and hyalinized or spindle cell variants of low-grade endometrioid carcinoma and carcinosarcoma. (4) The diagnostic criteria for mixed endometrial carcinomas, a rare entity that should be diagnosed only after exclusion of a spectrum of tumors including morphologic variants of endometrioid carcinoma, dedifferentiated endometrial carcinoma, carcinosarcoma, and endometrial carcinomas with ambiguous morphology