43 research outputs found
Genetic analysis of the interaction between Allium species and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
The response of Alliumcepa, A. roylei, A. fistulosum, and the hybrid A. fistulosum × A. roylei to the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus intraradices was studied. The genetic basis for response to AMF was analyzed in a tri-hybrid A. cepa × (A. roylei × A. fistulosum) population. Plant response to mycorrhizal symbiosis was expressed as relative mycorrhizal responsiveness (R′) and absolute responsiveness (R). In addition, the average performance (AP) of genotypes under mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal conditions was determined. Experiments were executed in 2 years, and comprised clonally propagated plants of each genotype grown in sterile soil, inoculated with G. intraradices or non-inoculated. Results were significantly correlated between both years. Biomass of non-mycorrhizal and mycorrhizal plants was significantly positively correlated. R′ was negatively correlated with biomass of non-mycorrhizal plants and hence unsuitable as a breeding criterion. R and AP were positively correlated with biomass of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants. QTLs contributing to mycorrhizal response were located on a linkage map of the A. roylei × A. fistulosum parental genotype. Two QTLs from A. roylei were detected on chromosomes 2 and 3 for R, AP, and biomass of mycorrhizal plants. A QTL from A. fistulosum was detected on linkage group 9 for AP (but not R), biomass of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants, and the number of stem-borne roots. Co-segregating QTLs for plant biomass, R and AP indicate that selection for plant biomass also selects for enhanced R and AP. Moreover, our findings suggest that modern onion breeding did not select against the response to AMF, as was suggested before for other cultivated species. Positive correlation between high number of roots, biomass and large response to AMF in close relatives of onion opens prospects to combine these traits for the development of more robust onion cultivars
Simultaneous consumption of pentose and hexose sugars: an optimal microbial phenotype for efficient fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass
Lignocellulosic biomass is an attractive carbon source for bio-based fuel and chemical production; however, its compositional heterogeneity hinders its commercial use. Since most microbes possess carbon catabolite repression (CCR), mixed sugars derived from the lignocellulose are consumed sequentially, reducing the efficacy of the overall process. To overcome this barrier, microbes that exhibit the simultaneous consumption of mixed sugars have been isolated and/or developed and evaluated for the lignocellulosic biomass utilization. Specific strains of Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Zymomonas mobilis have been engineered for simultaneous glucose and xylose utilization via mutagenesis or introduction of a xylose metabolic pathway. Other microbes, such as Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus buchneri, and Candida shehatae possess a relaxed CCR mechanism, showing simultaneous consumption of glucose and xylose. By exploiting CCR-negative phenotypes, various integrated processes have been developed that incorporate both enzyme hydrolysis of lignocellulosic material and mixed sugar fermentation, thereby enabling greater productivity and fermentation efficacy
Towards Bi-Inclusive Policies: Suggestions Based on Research on Dutch Same-Sex Attracted Young People
Determining the number of specific proteins in cellular compartments by quantitative microscopy
Quality of life in patients with craniocervical dystonia: Italian validation of the “Cervical Dystonia Impact Profile (CDIP-58)” and the “Craniocervical Dystonia Questionnaire (CDQ-24)”
Dystonia is a disabling and disfiguring disorder
that can often affect many aspects of patients’ daily lives, and
lower their self-esteem. To date, quality of life (QoL) has
been assessed in dystonic patients using generic measures
that do not address the specific problems of this diagnostic
group. Recently, two disease-specific scales ‘‘The Cervical
Dystonia Impact Profile (CDIP-58)’’ and the ‘‘Craniocervical
Dystonia Questionnaire (CDQ-24)’’ were validated for
measuring QoL in craniocervical dystonia patients. No disease-
specific scales for QoL for dystonic patients are currently
available in Italian. The aim of our study was to
produce and validate the Italian version of the CDIP-58 and
CDQ-24. We obtained the Italian version of CDQ-24 and
CDIP-58 with a back-translation design. Both scales were
applied to a population of 94 craniocervical dystonia patients
along with the Short Form 36 health-survey questionnaire
(SF-36), both before and 4 weeks after botulinum toxin
therapy. A group of 65 controls matched for sex, age and
comorbidity underwent the SF-36. Internal consistency was
satisfactory for all subscales. Both the CDIP-58 and CDQ-24
showed moderate to high correlations with similar items of
the SF-36. Sensitivity to change was confirmed by highly
significant improvements in all CDQ-24 subscales and by
moderate improvements in three out of eight CDIP-58 subscales
and total score. This is the first Italian study on QoL in
dystonia patients. We validated the Italian version of two
disease-specific questionnaires to evaluate QoL in craniocervical
dystonia patients. These scales could be useful for
both clinical practice and clinical trials