Cultivar Identification and Genetic Relatedness Among 25 Black Walnut (Juglans Nigra) Clones Based on Microsatellite Markers

A set of eight microsatellite markers was used to genotype 25 black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) clones within the Purdue University germplasm repository. The identities of 212 ramets were verified using the same eight microsatellite markers. Some trees were mislabeled and corrected as to clone using analysis of microsatellite markers. A genetic dendrogram was constructed to show the degree of genetic relatedness between clones. Two additional dendrograms, one based on crown architecture traits and the other on tree size and form traits, were also built and compared with the genetic dendrogram. The genetic dendrogram showed that these eight molecular markers had the ability to distinguish genetically related clones from less related ones. Crown architecture traits and tree size and form traits were able to group genetically related clones together, but less accurately than the genetic matrix

Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries. Methods: GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two sexes, and for 204 countries and territories. Input data were extracted from censuses, household surveys, civil registration and vital statistics, disease registries, health service use, air pollution monitors, satellite imaging, disease notifications, and other sources. Cause-specific death rates and cause fractions were calculated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Cause-specific deaths were adjusted to match the total all-cause deaths calculated as part of the GBD population, fertility, and mortality estimates. Deaths were multiplied by standard life expectancy at each age to calculate YLLs. A Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, was used to ensure consistency between incidence, prevalence, remission, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality for most causes. Prevalence estimates were multiplied by disability weights for mutually exclusive sequelae of diseases and injuries to calculate YLDs. We considered results in the context of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and fertility rate in females younger than 25 years. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution. Findings: Global health has steadily improved over the past 30 years as measured by age-standardised DALY rates. After taking into account population growth and ageing, the absolute number of DALYs has remained stable. Since 2010, the pace of decline in global age-standardised DALY rates has accelerated in age groups younger than 50 years compared with the 1990–2010 time period, with the greatest annualised rate of decline occurring in the 0–9-year age group. Six infectious diseases were among the top ten causes of DALYs in children younger than 10 years in 2019: lower respiratory infections (ranked second), diarrhoeal diseases (third), malaria (fifth), meningitis (sixth), whooping cough (ninth), and sexually transmitted infections (which, in this age group, is fully accounted for by congenital syphilis; ranked tenth). In adolescents aged 10–24 years, three injury causes were among the top causes of DALYs: road injuries (ranked first), self-harm (third), and interpersonal violence (fifth). Five of the causes that were in the top ten for ages 10–24 years were also in the top ten in the 25–49-year age group: road injuries (ranked first), HIV/AIDS (second), low back pain (fourth), headache disorders (fifth), and depressive disorders (sixth). In 2019, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the top-ranked causes of DALYs in both the 50–74-year and 75-years-and-older age groups. Since 1990, there has been a marked shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to YLDs from non-communicable diseases and injuries. In 2019, there were 11 countries where non-communicable disease and injury YLDs constituted more than half of all disease burden. Decreases in age-standardised DALY rates have accelerated over the past decade in countries at the lower end of the SDI range, while improvements have started to stagnate or even reverse in countries with higher SDI. Interpretation: As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and developm nt investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identify success stories of disease control to emulate, as well as opportunities to improve. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens

Crown ideotypes for genetically improved black walnut ( Juglans nigra l.) clones under an intensive management regime in Indiana, USA

Developing crown ideotypes is important for more efficiently producing timber from black walnut (Juglans nigra L.), a valuable hardwood species that mainly grow in the Central Hardwood Region, US. To develop black walnut crown ideotypes for timber growth under an intensive management regime in North-Central Indiana, the following investigations were conducted: ^ 1. Leaf area is strongly correlated to light interception and growth. Mixed effects, allometric models for leaf area and mass at both branch- and tree-level were developed for some genetically improved black walnut clones. Mixed effects branch-level models were built for nine clones. Branch-level model indicated that branches in the top and the base of the live crown grew more leaf mass and area than similar sized branches in the middle of the live crown. Tree-level models were then developed for 25 clones by summing branch-level estimates. Models with crown radius and diameter at breast height (DBH) predicted whole-tree leaf area and mass better than models using DBH alone. Further, there were strong clonal differences in total leaf area, stem volume increment, leaf area index, foliar density index, and growth efficiency. These differences together with the allometirc models demonstrated that some genotypes were more growth efficient in producing bolewood than others. ^ 2. Branching pattern and dynamics are key determinants of tree growth and wood quality. Multi-level, linear mixed effects models of a list of branch attributes were developed for 25 black walnut clones. Branch attributes that were models included: 1) maximum branch diameter in a segment; 2) relative branch diameter in a segment; 3) one-year radial growth of branches; 4) branch insertion angle; 5) first - order branch length; 6) branch frequency; 7) branch basal area per meter of stem. Branch and segment position within a crown were major predictors for branch characteristics, while branch angle also influenced branch allometry. DBH was the most useful tree-level predictor for branch attributes. Desirable characteristics were shown: some clones had small branches or small branch basal area per meter of stem when assuming a same DBH; some clones had large branch angle given a same branch diameter; variance also existed in branch length and branch frequency. These clone variance that captured by the branch allometric models indicated that some black walnut clones had better balance between fast growth and good wood quality, and this balance may also be enhanced through further breeding programs. ^ 3. Estimation of genetic parameters can help improving the efficiency of genotype evaluation and selection process in plant breeding programs. The genetic variation and inheritance of a number of traits in phenology, morphology, physiology, and the genetic correlations among them were investigated for 25 black walnut clones. ^ 4. Microsatellite markers were useful in fingerprinting cultivars and determine genetic relatedness among them. A set of eight microsatellite markers was used to genotype 25 black walnut clones. The identity of 212 ramets was verified, and a few trees among them were found mislabeled. A genetic dendrogram was constructed to show genetic relatedness among clones. In addition to verifying known pedigrees, new discoveries were: clone C55 and C702 were closely related, as well as C705 and C728. Two more dendrograms, one based on crown architecture traits, and the other on tree size and form traits, were also built to compare with the genetic dendrogram. The genetic dendrogram showed that these eight molecular markers had the ability to distinguish genetically related clones from less related ones. Crown architecture traits and tree size and form traits also were able to group genetically related clones together. Based on the investigations on foliage models, crown architecture pattern, and the clonal repeatabilities of, and the genotypic correlations among different traits, a crown ideotype for black walnut grown for timber and another for nuts were developed.

Newcastle disease virus V protein inhibits apoptosis in DF-1 cells by downregulating TXNL1

Abstract Many viral proteins are related to suppressing apoptosis in target cells and are hence beneficial to viral replication. The V protein of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is one such protein that plays an important role in inhibiting apoptosis in a species-specific manner. However, to date, there have been no reports clarifying the antiapoptotic mechanisms of the V protein. The present study was undertaken to determine the apoptotic potential of the V protein in a chicken embryo fibroblast cell line (DF-1 cell) and to elucidate its molecular mechanisms of action. Here, a yeast two-hybrid system was used to screen the host proteins that interact with the V protein and identified thioredoxin-like protein 1 (TXNL1) as a potential binding partner. Immuno-colocalization of V protein and TXNL1 protein in DF-1 cells further verified the interaction of the two proteins. Through the overexpression of TXNL1 protein and knockdown of TXNL1 protein in DF-1 cells, the effects of NDV replication and cell apoptosis were examined. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The mRNA and protein expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (Q-PCR) and Western blotting. NDV expression was detected by Q-PCR and plaque assay. The results revealed that the TXNL1 protein induced apoptosis and inhibited NDV replication in DF-1 cells. Furthermore, the Western blot and Q-PCR results suggested that TXNL1 induced cell apoptosis through a pathway involving Bcl-2\Bax and Caspase-3. Finally, this work provides insight into the mechanism by which the V protein inhibits apoptosis