Genetic diversity and population structure of Ascochyta rabiei from the western Iranian Ilam and Kermanshah provinces using MAT and SSR markers

Knowledge of genetic diversity in A. rabiei provides different levels of information that are important in the management of crop germplasm resources. Gene flow on a regional level indicates a significant potential risk for the regional spread of novel alleles that might contribute to fungicide resistance or the breakdown of resistance genes. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) and mating type (MAT) markers were used to determine the genetic structure, and estimate genetic diversity and the prevalence of mating types in 103 Ascochyta rabiei isolates from seven counties in the Ilam and Kermanshah provinces of western Iran (Ilam, Aseman abad, Holaylan, Chardavol, Dareh shahr, Gilangharb, and Sarpul). A set of 3 microsatellite primer pairs revealed a total of 75 alleles; the number of alleles varied from 15 to 34 for each marker. A high level of genetic variability was observed among A. rabiei isolates in the region. Genetic diversity was high (He = 0.788) within populations with corresponding high average gene flow and low genetic distances between populations. The smallest genetic distance was observed between isolates from Ilam and Chardavol. Both mating types were present in all populations, with the majority of the isolates belonging to Mat1-1 (64%), but within populations the proportions of each mating type were not significantly different from 50%. Results from this study will be useful in breeding for Ascochyta blight-resistant cultivars and developing necessary control measures

Vibration-based Health Monitoring of Earth Structures

Vibration-based health monitoring (VBHM) has successfully been used to assess the structural damage to bridges, buildings, aircraft, and rotating machinery. There is significant incentive to apply VBHM techniques to the damage detection and conditional assessment of earth structures (geostructures), e.g., foundations, dams, embankments, and tunnels, to improve design, construction, and performance. An experimental program was carried out to explore the efficacy of VBHM of earth structures. A vibratory roller compactor, instrumented with triaxial accelerometers to continuously measure drum and frame vibrations, was operated on a number of underlying material structures with varying properties. Time-domain and frequency-domain analyses of the coupled machine/earth structure response were performed to glean machine vibration features that reflect changes in underlying structural properties. Results illustrate that drum and frame acceleration amplitudes were fairly insensitive to changes in underlying media stiffness; however, drum acceleration frequency components (harmonics) were found to be sensitive to changes in underlying media and changes in soil properties during compaction. The strata underlying the soil undergoing compaction was found to strongly affect drum vibration characteristics.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Interplay between estrogen receptor and AKT in estradiol-induced alternative splicing.

BACKGROUND: Alternative splicing is critical for generating complex proteomes in response to extracellular signals. Nuclear receptors including estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and their ligands promote alternative splicing. The endogenous targets of ERα:estradiol (E2)-mediated alternative splicing and the influence of extracellular kinases that phosphorylate ERα on E2-induced splicing are unknown. METHODS: MCF-7 and its anti-estrogen derivatives were used for the majority of the assays. CD44 mini gene was used to measure the effect of E2 and AKT on alternative splicing. ExonHit array analysis was performed to identify E2 and AKT-regulated endogenous alternatively spliced apoptosis-related genes. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed to verify alternative splicing. ERα binding to alternatively spliced genes was verified by chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. Bromodeoxyuridine incorporation-ELISA and Annexin V labeling assays were done to measure cell proliferation and apoptosis, respectively. RESULTS: We identified the targets of E2-induced alternative splicing and deconstructed some of the mechanisms surrounding E2-induced splicing by combining splice array with ERα cistrome and gene expression array. E2-induced alternatively spliced genes fall into at least two subgroups: coupled to E2-regulated transcription and ERα binding to the gene without an effect on rate of transcription. Further, AKT, which phosphorylates both ERα and splicing factors, influenced ERα:E2 dependent splicing in a gene-specific manner. Genes that are alternatively spliced include FAS/CD95, FGFR2, and AXIN-1. E2 increased the expression of FGFR2 C1 isoform but reduced C3 isoform at mRNA level. E2-induced alternative splicing of FAS and FGFR2 in MCF-7 cells correlated with resistance to FAS activation-induced apoptosis and response to keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), respectively. Resistance of MCF-7 breast cancer cells to the anti-estrogen tamoxifen was associated with ERα-dependent overexpression of FGFR2, whereas resistance to fulvestrant was associated with ERα-dependent isoform switching, which correlated with altered response to KGF. CONCLUSION: E2 may partly alter cellular proteome through alternative splicing uncoupled to its effects on transcription initiation and aberration in E2-induced alternative splicing events may influence response to anti-estrogens.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Detection of co-expressed pathway modules associated with mineral concentration and meat quality in nelore cattle

Meat quality is a complex trait that is influenced by genetic and environmental factors, which includes mineral concentration. However, the association between mineral concentration and meat quality, and the specific molecular pathways underlying this association, are not well explored. We therefore analyzed gene expression as measured with RNA-seq in Longissimus thoracis muscle of 194 Nelore steers for association with three meat quality traits (intramuscular fat, meat pH, and tenderness) and the concentration of 13 minerals (Ca, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, S, Se, and Zn). We identified seven sets of co-expressed genes (modules) associated with at least two traits, which indicates that common pathways influence these traits. From pathway analysis of module hub genes, we further found an over-representation for energy and protein metabolism (AMPK and mTOR signaling pathways) in addition to muscle growth, and protein turnover pathways. Among the identified hub genes FASN, ELOV5, and PDE3B are involved with lipid metabolism and were affected by previously identified eQTLs associated to fat deposition. The reported hub genes and over-represented pathways provide evidence of interplay among gene expression, mineral concentration, and meat quality traits. Future studies investigating the effect of different levels of mineral supplementation in the gene expression and meat quality traits could help us to elucidate the regulatory mechanism by which the genes/pathways are affected

Co-expression network analysis identifies genes associated with iron content in bovine muscle.

Editores: Luiz Lehmann Coutinho, ESALQ/USP; Luciana Correia de Almeida Regitano, Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste; Gerson Barreto Mourão, ESALQ/USP; Aline Silva Mello Cesar, ESALQ/USP; Bárbara Silva Vignato, FZEA/USP; Mirele Daiana Poleti, ESALQ/USP; Wellison Jarles da Silva Diniz, UFSCar

Potential regulatory elements on PCDH7 gene affecting residual feed intake in Nelore cattle.

Editores: Luiz Lehmann Coutinho, ESALQ/USP; Luciana Correia de Almeida Regitano, Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste; Gerson Barreto Mourão, ESALQ/USP; Aline Silva Mello Cesar, ESALQ/USP; Bárbara Silva Vignato, FZEA/USP; Mirele Daiana Poleti, ESALQ/USP; Wellison Jarles da Silva Diniz, UFSCar

Orchestrating single-cell analysis with Bioconductor

Recent technological advancements have enabled the profiling of a large number of genome-wide features in individual cells. However, single-cell data present unique challenges that require the development of specialized methods and software infrastructure to successfully derive biological insights. The Bioconductor project has rapidly grown to meet these demands, hosting community-developed open-source software distributed as R packages. Featuring state-of-the-art computational methods, standardized data infrastructure and interactive data visualization tools, we present an overview and online book (https://osca.bioconductor.org) of single-cell methods for prospective users

Identification of a pleiotropic locus for beef quality and feed efficiency in cattle using bi-trait genome-wide association analysis.

Editores: Luiz Lehmann Coutinho, ESALQ/USP; Luciana Correia de Almeida Regitano, Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste; Gerson Barreto Mourão, ESALQ/USP; Aline Silva Mello Cesar, ESALQ/USP; Bárbara Silva Vignato, FZEA/USP; Mirele Daiana Poleti, ESALQ/USP; Wellison Jarles da Silva Diniz, UFSCar