Genome-Wide Association Mapping of Correlated Traits in Cassava: Dry Matter and Total Carotenoid Content

Article purchased; Published online: 3 August 2017Cassava (Manihot esculenta (L.) Crantz) is a starchy root crop cultivated in the tropics for fresh consumption and commercial processing. Dry matter content and micronutrient density, particularly of provitamin A, traits that are negatively correlated, are among the primary selection objectives in cassava breeding. This study aimed at identifying genetic markers associated with these traits and uncovering the potential underlying cause of their negative correlation - whether linkage and/or pleiotropy. A genome-wide association mapping using 672 clones genotyped at 72,279 SNP loci was carried out. Root yellowness was used indirectly to assess variation in carotenoid content. Two major loci for root yellowness was identified on chromosome 1 at positions 24.1 and 30.5 Mbp. A single locus for dry matter content that co-located with the 24.1 Mbp peak for carotenoid content was identified. Haplotypes at these loci explained a large proportion of the phenotypic variability. Evidence of mega-base-scale linkage disequilibrium around the major loci of the two traits and detection of the major dry matter locus in independent analysis for the white- and yellow-root subpopulations suggests that physical linkage rather that pleiotropy is more likely to be the cause of the negative correlation between the target traits. Moreover, candidate genes for carotenoid (phytoene synthase) and starch biosynthesis (UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and sucrose synthase) occurred in the vicinity of the identified locus at 24.1 Mbp. These findings elucidate on the genetic architecture of carotenoids and dry matter in cassava and provides an opportunity to accelerate genetic improvement of these traits

Epidemiology of intra-abdominal infection and sepsis in critically ill patients: “AbSeS”, a multinational observational cohort study and ESICM Trials Group Project

Purpose: To describe the epidemiology of intra-abdominal infection in an international cohort of ICU patients according to a new system that classifies cases according to setting of infection acquisition (community-acquired, early onset hospital-acquired, and late-onset hospital-acquired), anatomical disruption (absent or present with localized or diffuse peritonitis), and severity of disease expression (infection, sepsis, and septic shock). Methods: We performed a multicenter (n = 309), observational, epidemiological study including adult ICU patients diagnosed with intra-abdominal infection. Risk factors for mortality were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Results: The cohort included 2621 patients. Setting of infection acquisition was community-acquired in 31.6%, early onset hospital-acquired in 25%, and late-onset hospital-acquired in 43.4% of patients. Overall prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was 26.3% and difficult-to-treat resistant Gram-negative bacteria 4.3%, with great variation according to geographic region. No difference in prevalence of antimicrobial resistance was observed according to setting of infection acquisition. Overall mortality was 29.1%. Independent risk factors for mortality included late-onset hospital-acquired infection, diffuse peritonitis, sepsis, septic shock, older age, malnutrition, liver failure, congestive heart failure, antimicrobial resistance (either methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Gram-negative bacteria, or carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria) and source control failure evidenced by either the need for surgical revision or persistent inflammation. Conclusion: This multinational, heterogeneous cohort of ICU patients with intra-abdominal infection revealed that setting of infection acquisition, anatomical disruption, and severity of disease expression are disease-specific phenotypic characteristics associated with outcome, irrespective of the type of infection. Antimicrobial resistance is equally common in community-acquired as in hospital-acquired infection. © 2019, The Author(s)