Finding the Needles in the Metagenome Haystack

In the collective genomes (the metagenome) of the microorganisms inhabiting the Earth’s diverse environments is written the history of life on this planet. New molecular tools developed and used for the past 15 years by microbial ecologists are facilitating the extraction, cloning, screening, and sequencing of these genomes. This approach allows microbial ecologists to access and study the full range of microbial diversity, regardless of our ability to culture organisms, and provides an unprecedented access to the breadth of natural products that these genomes encode. However, there is no way that the mere collection of sequences, no matter how expansive, can provide full coverage of the complex world of microbial metagenomes within the foreseeable future. Furthermore, although it is possible to fish out highly informative and useful genes from the sea of gene diversity in the environment, this can be a highly tedious and inefficient procedure. Microbial ecologists must be clever in their pursuit of ecologically relevant, valuable, and niche-defining genomic information within the vast haystack of microbial diversity. In this report, we seek to describe advances and prospects that will help microbial ecologists glean more knowledge from investigations into metagenomes. These include technological advances in sequencing and cloning methodologies, as well as improvements in annotation and comparative sequence analysis. More significant, however, will be ways to focus in on various subsets of the metagenome that may be of particular relevance, either by limiting the target community under study or improving the focus or speed of screening procedures. Lastly, given the cost and infrastructure necessary for large metagenome projects, and the almost inexhaustible amount of data they can produce, trends toward broader use of metagenome data across the research community coupled with the needed investment in bioinformatics infrastructure devoted to metagenomics will no doubt further increase the value of metagenomic studies in various environments

EC86-1244 Vegetable Producction in Nebraska

Vegetable research at the University of Nebraska concerns studies of the culture, processing, mechanization of production and marketing of vegetable crops with the objective of increasing production, quality and use of crops and products process from them. This circular presents a portion of results from investigations into the production, marketing and processing of vegetables in Nebraska. Information concerning climate, soil and water resources is presented and discussed. Also summarized are results from vegetable yield trials conducted at different locations in the state during the seven-year period 1960-66

The medical complications of alcohol use: understanding mechanisms to improve management

The use of alcohol in a dependent or even a regular heavy pattern predisposes the drinker to a range of adverse consequences. These include a risk of direct harm from alcohol, including organ damage, mental health disorders and a range of social and legal problems associated with behaviours due to alcohol's effects. The range of organ damage associated with regular heavy alcohol consumption is well described. Much new information on the mechanisms by which damage occurs is available and is reviewed in this paper. New knowledge can assist in the development of more appropriate management strategies for those affected by the medical complications of alcohol use. Genetic susceptibility to tissue injury is explored and the reasons why many heavy drinkers do not appear to experience organ damage are considered. Approaches to the management of certain alcohol-related disorders are outlined

Whither Haiti?

Dr. Donald E. Schulz looks at the prospects for political stability, democratization, and socioeconomic development. His conclusions are sobering. While by no means dismissing the possibility that Haiti can make it, he presents a portrait of the imposing obstacles that must still be overcome and a detailed discussion of the things that could go wrong. In a nutshell, he argues that without a much greater willingness on the part of the United States and the international community to stay the course in terms of providing long-term security and socioeconomic aid, Haiti is unlikely to make a successful transition to a stable, democratic, economically modernizing nation. (Even with continuing assistance, the outlook will be problematic.) He argues that unless the United States and other foreign donors recognize this and do what is necessary to give the Haitian experiment a better chance to succeed, the tactical success that has been enjoyed so far will sooner or later be transformed into a strategic failure. His policy recommendations, in particular, deserve close scrutiny.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1218/thumbnail.jp