Managing small populations—using genetic data and trial translocations to help inform suitable conservation measures for the alpine blue-sowthistle (Cicerbita alpina) in Scotland

Habitat fragmentation is causing an increasing amount of species loss around the world and creates problems at the population level. Many species are left as only small and isolated populations, which are vulnerable to genetic erosion and inbreeding depression. Here we present a study on the alpine blue-sowthistle (Cicerbita alpina). Due to intensive grazing the species is very rare in Scotland, where it occurs at only four small, montane sites, has never been reported to reproduce and is in need of conservation interventions. As the species can grow clonally it is unknown how many individuals remain and whether populations are affected by genetic isolation. We (1) quantified genetic diversity, inbreeding and between-population differentiation in Scotland and Norway using 15 microsatellite loci, and (2) experimentally translocated plants to new sites. Genetic diversity in Scotland was low (HE: 0.35; Allelic Richness: 1.84; 4 sites) compared to Norway (HE: 0.52; Allelic Richness: 2.56; 5 sites). The transplants were able to grow at new sites and are therefore not restricted to steep, montane ledges. While grazing is likely to be the main factor preventing range expansion, long-term genetic isolation has possibly further lowered population viability. To avoid local extinction of this species, conservation translocations and genetic rescue might be appropriate conservation interventions, but this needs to be further tested in a controlled environment and away from wild sites to avoid potential risks of outbreeding depression. conservation genetics, translocations, gene flow, microsatellites, grazing, Scotland, AsteraceaepublishedVersio

High-throughput Agrobacterium-mediated barley transformation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Plant transformation is an invaluable tool for basic plant research, as well as a useful technique for the direct improvement of commercial crops. Barley (<it>Hordeum vulgare</it>) is the fourth most abundant cereal crop in the world. It also provides a useful model for the study of wheat, which has a larger and more complex genome. Most existing barley transformation methodologies are either complex or have low (<10%) transformation efficiencies.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A robust, simple and reproducible barley transformation protocol has been developed that yields average transformation efficiencies of 25%. This protocol is based on the infection of immature barley embryos with <it>Agrobacterium </it>strain AGL1, carrying vectors from the pBract series that contain the <it>hpt </it>gene (conferring hygromycin resistance) as a selectable marker. Results of large scale experiments utilising the <it>luc </it>(firefly luciferase) gene as a reporter are described. The method presented here has been used to produce hundreds of independent, transgenic plant lines and we show that a large proportion of these lines contain single copies of the <it>luc </it>gene.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This protocol demonstrates significant improvements in both efficiency and ease of use over existing barley transformation methods. This opens up opportunities for the development of functional genomics resources in barley.</p

Impact of dietary phosphorous in diploid and triploid Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) with reference to early skeletal development in freshwater

In order to assess the effect of dietary phosphorus (P) in reducing vertebral malformations and improving freshwater (FW) performance in triploid Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), both triploid and diploid Atlantic salmon were fed three different dietary P inclusion levels (low: 4.9, medium: 7.7, and high: 9.7 g available P kg&minus;1) from first feeding until smolt. Somatic and skeletal response was assessed at fry (~0.5 g), parr (~5 g) and smolt (~45 g) stages. Triploid parr initially grew faster on the high P diet, while groups fed low P resulted in a significantly higher weight at smolt. Image analysis of double stained Alcian blue and Alizarin red S fry revealed that low P fed triploid fish presented less well mineralised vertebrae, and significantly more malformed vertebrae in both parr and smolt stages following x-ray radiographic assessment. Triploid parr fed high and medium P had similar numbers of malformed vertebrae relative to their diploid counterparts but greater numbers than at smolt. Low P fed triploids had the highest prevalence of jaw and vertebral malformations as well as the highest number of deformed vertebrae in the central caudal vertebral region, which was more pronounced at parr than at smolt. Shorter vertebrae dorso-ventral lengths were observed throughout the spinal column (R1&ndash;R4) in parr fed low P and only in the caudal region (R3) at smolt. In parr, both ploidies showed reduced phosphate homeostasis protein fgf23 gene expression in vertebrae when fed low P diets, while triploids showed greater down-regulation of osteogenic factors (alp, opn and igf1r) between diets relative to diploids, suggesting possible greater active suppression of mineralisation and reduced osteogenic potential in triploids. No effects of diet or ploidy on gene expression were evident at smolt. Comparisons between development stages suggest early P supplementation in triploids is crucial for skeletal development. Ultimately, reducing vertebral deformities observed at smolt with higher P supplementation in triploids could contribute towards improving skeletal performance and welfare of the stocks in the marine phase

A focus on assessment: a collaborative view from the Higher Education Academy and JISC

e-Assessment is a critical issue for post-16, higher education and the wider education community and is recognised within the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills as fundamental to its success and as an important factor in delivering the emerging 14–19 programmes of learning. JISC recognised the importance of e-assessment for the UK education and research community as long ago as the late 1990’s as part of the groundbreaking work on Managed Learning Environments and work on standards. As software suppliers and test developers become increasingly involved in producing e-assessment tools and content, so JISC is bringing the issues associated with this increasingly complex area to the attention of the Further and Higher Education communities that it serves

Optical properties of silicon rich silicon nitride (SixNyHz) from first principles

The real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index of SixNyHz have been calculated using density functional perturbation theory. Optical spectra for reflectivity, adsorption coefficient, energy-loss function (ELF), and refractive index, are obtained. The results for Si3N4 are in agreement with the available theoretical and experimental results. To understand the electron energy loss mechanism in Si rich silicon nitride, the influence of the Si doping rate, of the positions of the dopants, and of H in and on the surface on the ELF have been investigated. It has been found that all defects, such as dangling bonds in the bulk and surfaces, increase the intensity of the ELF in the low energy range (below 10 eV). H in the bulk and on the surface has a healing effect, which can reduce the intensity of the loss peaks by saturating the dangling bonds. Electronic structure analysis has confirmed the origin of the changes in the ELF. It has demonstrated that the changes in ELF is not only affected by the composition but also by the microstructures of the materials. The results can be used to tailor the optical properties, in this case the ELF of Si rich Si3N4, which is essential for secondary electron emission application

Integrin αvβ8-mediated TGF-β activation by effector regulatory T sells is essential for suppression of T-Cell-mediated inflammation

Regulatory T (Treg) cells play a pivotal role in suppressing self-harmful T cell responses, but how Treg cells mediate suppression to maintain immune homeostasis and limit responses during inflammation is unclear. Here we show that effector Treg cells express high amounts of the integrin αvβ8, which enables them to activate latent transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Treg-cell-specific deletion of integrin αvβ8 did not result in a spontaneous inflammatory phenotype, suggesting that this pathway is not important in Treg-cell-mediated maintenance of immune homeostasis. However, Treg cells lacking expression of integrin αvβ8 were unable to suppress pathogenic T cell responses during active inflammation. Thus, our results identify a mechanism by which Treg cells suppress exuberant immune responses, highlighting a key role for effector Treg-cell-mediated activation of latent TGF-β in suppression of self-harmful T cell responses during active inflammation

Dietary phosphorous and protein supplementation enhances seawater growth and reduces severity of vertebral malformation in triploid Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

Diploid (2N) and triploid (3N) sibling post-smolts were divided between six sea pens and fed: a standard commercial nutrient package diet (2&times;2N SP, 2&times;3N SP), or an iso-energetic nutrient boosted (higher dietary protein and phosphorous) package (2&times;3N BP) until market size. 3N groups initially grew significantly faster than 2N, and by harvest, 3N BP weighed significantly more (3210&plusmn;87g) than 2N SP or 3N SP (3007&plusmn;64g; 2965&plusmn;88g), while there was no significant difference in weight between ploidy in SP diet. Higher visible vertebral (9.6&plusmn;0.4%) and jaw deformities (10.6&plusmn;1.2%) were observed in 3N compared to 2N (0.9&plusmn;0.1%; 1.3&plusmn;0.5%). However, x-ray radiography revealed that 3N BP and 2N SP had comparable levels of severely affected individuals at time of sea transfer, while 3N SP showed a 3 fold increase in the severity of malformed individuals. The tail region (R3) in 3N SP fish had both the lowest vertebral strength and stiffness and the highest number of deformed vertebrae. Fillet quality attributes were comparable between diet and ploidy. These findings show that triploid growth rate can be sustained until harvest throughout the seawater phase, and more importantly the progression of spinal deformity beyond that at sea transfer can be stabilised by increasing dietary P during the marine phase

Proton radiation effects on carrier transport in diamond radiation detectors

Diamond, a highly radiation-resistant material, is considered a nearly ideal material for radiation detection, particularly in high-energy physics. In this study, radiation damage from high-energy proton beams was induced in diamond crystals to determine exposure lifetime in detectors made from this material; the effects were investigated using non-destructive x-ray techniques and through the FLUKA simulation package. Two diamond detectors were irradiated by an 800 MeV proton beam at different fluence rates, and the real-time current response was recorded to observe degradation in the signal over time. It was determined that the proton fluence rate had a significant effect on the device degradation. The detector performance from the irradiated detectors was characterized using x-ray beam-induced current measurements, and the mechanism of proton radiation damage to diamond sensors, especially the radiation effects on carrier transport, was studied. The vacancies generated from proton irradiation were considered the major source of detector degradation by trapping holes and inducing an internal electric field. Simulation results from the FLUKA package revealed an uneven distribution of the radiation-induced vacancies along the beam path, and the corresponding detector signals calculated from the simulation results displayed a good match to the experimental results

Detecting volcanic sulfur dioxide plumes in the Northern Hemisphere using the Brewer spectrophotometer, other networks, and satellite observations

This paper demonstrates that SO 2 columnar amounts have significantly increased following the five largest volcanic eruptions of the past decade in the Northern Hemisphere. A strong positive signal was detected by all the existing networks either ground based (Brewer, EARLINET, AirBase) or from satellites (OMI, GOME-2). The study particularly examines the adequacy of the existing Brewer network to detect SO 2 plumes of volcanic origin in comparison to other networks and satellite platforms. The comparison with OMI and 45 GOME-2 SO 2 space-borne retrievals shows statistically significant agreement between the Brewer network data and the collocated satellite overpasses. It is shown that the Brewer instrument is capable of detecting significant columnar SO 2 increases following large volcanic eruptions, when SO 2 levels rise well above the instrumental noise of daily observations, estimated to be of the order of 2 DU. A model exercise from the MACC project shows that the large increases of SO 2 over Europe following the Bárðarbunga eruption in Iceland were not caused by local sources or ship emissions but are clearly linked to the eruption. We propose that by combining Brewer data with that from other networks and satellites, a useful tool aided by trajectory analyses and modeling could be created which can be used to forecast high SO 2 values both at ground level and in air flight corridors following future eruptions