Neon and Sulfur Abundances of Planetary Nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds

The chemical abundances of neon and sulfur for 25 planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Magellanic Clouds are presented. These abundances have been derived using mainly infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope. The implications for the chemical evolution of these elements are discussed. A comparison with similarly obtained abundances of Galactic PNe and HII regions and Magellanic Clouds HII regions is also given. The average neon abundances are 6.0x10(-5) and 2.7x10(-5) for the PNe in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds respectively. These are ~1/3 and 1/6 of the average abundances of Galactic planetary nebulae to which we compare. The average sulfur abundances for the LMC and SMC are respectively 2.7x10(-6) and 1.0x10(-6). The Ne/S ratio (23.5) is on average higher than the ratio found in Galactic PNe (16) but the range of values in both data sets is similar for most of the objects. The neon abundances found in PNe and HII regions agree with each other. It is possible that a few (3-4) of the PNe in the sample have experienced some neon enrichment, but for two of these objects the high Ne/S ratio can be explained by their very low sulfur abundances. The neon and sulfur abundances derived in this paper are also compared to previously published abundances using optical data and photo-ionization models.Comment: 13 pages, 4 tables, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

Rheological behavior of Brazilian Cherry (Eugenia uniflora L.) pulp at pasteurization temperatures.

Neste trabalho, foi estudado o comportamento reológico da polpa de pitanga na faixa de temperatura de pasteurização de 83 a 97 °C. Os resultados indicaram que a polpa apresentou comportamento pseudoplástico e o modelo de Herschel-Bulkley foi considerado o mais adequado para representar o comportamento reológico do produto nas temperaturas estudadas. Os índices de comportamento de fluido (n) variaram na faixa de 0,448 a 0,627. O efeito da temperatura sobre a viscosidade aparente pôde ser descrito pela equação análoga à de Arrenhius, observando-se a diminuição da viscosidade aparente da polpa de pitanga com o aumento da temperatur

First genomic microsatellite markers developed for Platonia insignis (Clusiaceae), a Brazilian fruit tree.

Platonia insignis is a fruit tree native of Brazil with allogamous and asexual reproduction. The production of fruits is mainly obtained by exploitation of natural populations and the impact of genetic structuring on plant production may be evaluated. For this purpose, codominant and multiallelic markers such as microsatellite are the most suitable, but they need to be developed for this species. Thus, the aim of this work was to develop and validate microsatellite markers for P. insignis. We used Roche 454 GS FLX sequencing platform of a single P. insignis genotype and 1702 microsatellite sequences were identified. Based on some pre-requisites, we could develop 50 primer pairs to be tested. Twenty-two primer pairs successfully amplified fragments and they were tested in 31 genotypes of P. insignis that belong to a germplasm bank and were sampled in the northeast of Pará State, Brazil. Thirteen primers were polymorphic and the number of alleles per loci varied from 5 (PI18 and PI27) to 2 (PI08, PI25, PI31, PI33 and PI 37). Expected heterozygosity (HE) varied from 0.74 (PI27) to 0.12 (PI31)b and observed heterozygosity (HO) varied from 1.00 (PI25) to 0.00 (PI08, PI31, PI33 and PI37). Principal coordinates could separate the genotypes of P. insignis in clusters and we can conclude that the primers can estimate the genetic diversity of P. insignis populations.Short Comunication

A note on divergent selection for total fleece weight in adult Angora rabbits: direct response to selection on total fleece weight at first and second harvest

[EN] In order to explore the genetic variability of wool production and other quantitative traits, an 8-cohort divergent selection experiment for total fleece weight (TFW) was carried out in French Angora rabbits. Studies were made on the wool production of a total of 669 female rabbits born between 1994 and 2001 and having produced wool from first to 12th harvests. The aim of the selection experiment was to obtain two divergent lines (low and high) on TFW. From preliminary analysis, the dataset was separated into three subsets according to the harvest number: one for each of the first two harvests and one for the third to the 12th harvests. In this paper, wool production data of the first and second harvests was analysed separately. Response to selection for total fleece weight at 3-12 harvest (TFW3-12) on this trait at first and second harvest was the aim of this paper. The second objective was to study the possibility of utilising values of the first or second harvest to estimate breeding values and as selection criteria for total fleece weight in the French Angora rabbit. Preliminary analysis of the data for non-genetic factors was done by the GLM procedure of SAS. Genetic parameters and breeding value estimates were carried out using a BLUP animal model using ASReml. A linear mixed model for a bivariate analysis of total fleece weight at first or second harvest and TFW3-12 was used. Heritability estimates of total fleece weight at first and second harvests were 0.36 and 0.38, respectively, and were similar to that observed at later harvests (0.35). The genetic correlation between TFW3-12 and fleece weight at first harvest was close to zero indicating that wool production at first harvest is a different trait from that of subsequent harvests. Genetic correlation estimates observed at second harvest were high (0.76) and response to selection at second harvest was similar to that observed for TFW3-12. These observations confirm that total fleece weight at first harvest is a different trait from TFW3-12. In French Angora rabbits, the high genetic correlation between TFW3-12 and total fleece weight at second harvest suggests the possibility of selection at this time for TFW3-12.The authors thank Gérard Auvinet, Jean Claude Musseau and Patricia Bayle of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Génétique Expérimentale en Productions Animales, Le Magneraud Poitou-Charentes Research Centre for the collection of data and the supply and care of Angora rabbits.Rafat, S.; Thébault, R.; Bonnet, M.; Deretz, S.; Pena-Arnaud, B.; De Rochambeau, H.; Allain, D. (2009). A note on divergent selection for total fleece weight in adult Angora rabbits: direct response to selection on total fleece weight at first and second harvest. World Rabbit Science. 17(1):39-44. doi:10.4995/wrs.2009.669394417

Marcadores microssatélites para o cafeeiro.

O presente trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de testar e adaptar marcadores microssatélites para serem rotineiramente utilizados nos trabalhos de genética e melhoramento do cafeeiro. Para isso, foram ajustadas as condições de amplificação de 24 primers microssatélites de café, disponibilizados na literatura. Estes primers, desenvolvidos para Coffea arabica, foram também testados em outras espécies de cafeeiro de importância para o melhoramento visando verificar sua utilidade como primer heterólogo. A adaptação das condições de reação e de amplificação permitiu o uso de 18 primers, sendo que a maioria deles amplificou as três espécies analisadas. O nível de polimorfismo desses microssatélites foi investigado pela amplificação de 60 genótipos, incluindo C. arabica, C. canephora, C. eugenioides e Híbrido de Timor (HT). Observou-se um alto polimorfismo e uma variação de 2 a 9 alelos por marcador. Metade dos primers testados apresentou polimorfismo em C. canephora e 33,3% deles foram polimórficos entre os HT. Foi possível discriminar todos os acessos de C. canephora analisados. Os HT, em geral, apresentaram padrão de bandas semelhante ao dos C. arabica, sendo que seis primers apresentaram polimorfismo, possibilitando a discriminação de 13 acessos, não diferenciados em estudos anteriores com marcadores RAPD. Os resultados demonstraram o potencial dos microssatélites para diferenciar indivíduos geneticamente próximos. Em trabalhos futuros, pretende-se desenvolver novos microssatélites a partir das ESTs do Genoma/Café. Esses novos marcadores, juntamente com os primers adaptados neste trabalho, constituirão em uma importante ferramenta para os estudos genéticos do café no Brasil