The "missing link" 'Blaue Zimmettraube' reveals that 'Blauer Portugieser' and 'Blaufränkisch' originated in Lower Styria

Parent offspring analysis already revealed genetic relationships for 'Blauer Portugieser' and 'Blaufränkisch', sharing at each locus one allele with 'Grüner Silvaner' and 'Weisser Heunisch', respectively. The missing second progenitor of 'Blauer Portugieser' and 'Blaufränkisch' is a recently rediscovered black grapevine, called 'Blaue Zimmettraube'. It was found in the largest German wine growing area Rheinhessen. The same cultivar was detected as a single vine in Friuli, Italy and named Sbulzìna. The 'Blaue Zimmettraube', bearing female flowers, and thus the female parent in the crosses, was cultivated in the 19th century in Lower Styria together with 'Grüner Silvaner' and 'Weisser Heunisch'. Because the 'Blaue Zimmettraube' did not exist in Austria and red wine production was fairly rare in that country before 1800, it is suspected that the cradle of 'Blauer Portugieser' and 'Blaufränkisch' is in Lower Styria. Furthermore, according to chlorotype analysis, it turned out that 'Blauer Gänsfüsser' is the male parent of 'Blaue Zimmettraube' and thus the 'Blaue Zimmettraube' represents a veritable "missing link". To prove the genetic relationships the nine GrapeGen06-markers and additional forty microsatellite markers were applied. Likelihood analysis with allele frequencies of 22 SSR-markers from 772 cultivars revealed a very high degree of probability that the proposed parents are consistent, due to rare alleles inherited from 'Blaue Zimmettraube'. To investigate on the geographical origin of 'Blauer Portugieser' and 'Blaufränkisch' historical Austrian and Styrian references were consulted

'Kunbarat' and 'Kunleany' – full not half-siblings

Research Not

A view into American grapevine history: Vitis vinifera cv. 'Sémillon' is an ancestor of 'Catawba' and 'Concord'

The Vitis vinifera background of 'Catawba' and 'Concord' was investigated by using SSR analysis: 'Sémillon' was shown to be an ancestor of 'Catawba', while the wild parent remains unknown. 'Concord' was confirmed to be an offspring of 'Catawba' and another unknown wild parent. Since these two important American varieties most likely resulted from random natural crosses and successful selection, the original, wild growing wild donors remain unknown

Phylogenetic relationships of cone snails endemic to Cabo Verde based on mitochondrial genomes

Background: Due to their great species and ecological diversity as well as their capacity to produce hundreds of different toxins, cone snails are of interest to evolutionary biologists, pharmacologists and amateur naturalists alike. Taxonomic identification of cone snails still relies mostly on the shape, color, and banding patterns of the shell. However, these phenotypic traits are prone to homoplasy. Therefore, the consistent use of genetic data for species delimitation and phylogenetic inference in this apparently hyperdiverse group is largely wanting. Here, we reconstruct the phylogeny of the cones endemic to Cabo Verde archipelago, a well-known radiation of the group, using mitochondrial (mt) genomes. Results: The reconstructed phylogeny grouped the analyzed species into two main clades, one including Kalloconus from West Africa sister to Trovaoconus from Cabo Verde and the other with a paraphyletic Lautoconus due to the sister group relationship of Africonus from Cabo Verde and Lautoconus ventricosus from Mediterranean Sea and neighboring Atlantic Ocean to the exclusion of Lautoconus endemic to Senegal (plus Lautoconus guanche from Mauritania, Morocco, and Canary Islands). Within Trovaoconus, up to three main lineages could be distinguished. The clade of Africonus included four main lineages (named I to IV), each further subdivided into two monophyletic groups. The reconstructed phylogeny allowed inferring the evolution of the radula in the studied lineages as well as biogeographic patterns. The number of cone species endemic to Cabo Verde was revised under the light of sequence divergence data and the inferred phylogenetic relationships. Conclusions: The sequence divergence between continental members of the genus Kalloconus and island endemics ascribed to the genus Trovaoconus is low, prompting for synonymization of the latter. The genus Lautoconus is paraphyletic. Lautoconus ventricosus is the closest living sister group of genus Africonus. Diversification of Africonus was in allopatry due to the direct development nature of their larvae and mainly triggered by eustatic sea level changes during the Miocene-Pliocene. Our study confirms the diversity of cone endemic to Cabo Verde but significantly reduces the number of valid species. Applying a sequence divergence threshold, the number of valid species within the sampled Africonus is reduced to half.Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation [CGL2013-45211-C2-2-P, CGL2016-75255-C2-1-P, BES-2011-051469, BES-2014-069575, Doctorado Nacional-567]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ecological Release and Venom Evolution of a Predatory Marine Snail at Easter Island

BACKGROUND:Ecological release is coupled with adaptive radiation and ecological diversification yet little is known about the molecular basis of phenotypic changes associated with this phenomenon. The venomous, predatory marine gastropod Conus miliaris has undergone ecological release and exhibits increased dietary breadth at Easter Island. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We examined the extent of genetic differentiation of two genes expressed in the venom of C. miliaris among samples from Easter Island, American Samoa and Guam. The population from Easter Island exhibits unique frequencies of alleles that encode distinct peptides at both loci. Levels of divergence at these loci exceed observed levels of divergence observed at a mitochondrial gene region at Easter Island. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Patterns of genetic variation at two genes expressed in the venom of this C. miliaris suggest that selection has operated at these genes and contributed to the divergence of venom composition at Easter Island. These results show that ecological release is associated with strong selection pressures that promote the evolution of new phenotypes

Characterization of the Conus bullatus genome and its venom-duct transcriptome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The venomous marine gastropods, cone snails (genus <it>Conus</it>), inject prey with a lethal cocktail of conopeptides, small cysteine-rich peptides, each with a high affinity for its molecular target, generally an ion channel, receptor or transporter. Over the last decade, conopeptides have proven indispensable reagents for the study of vertebrate neurotransmission. <it>Conus bullatus </it>belongs to a clade of <it>Conus </it>species called <it>Textilia</it>, whose pharmacology is still poorly characterized. Thus the genomics analyses presented here provide the first step toward a better understanding the enigmatic <it>Textilia </it>clade.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have carried out a sequencing survey of the <it>Conus bullatus </it>genome and venom-duct transcriptome. We find that conopeptides are highly expressed within the venom-duct, and describe an <it>in silico </it>pipeline for their discovery and characterization using RNA-seq data. We have also carried out low-coverage shotgun sequencing of the genome, and have used these data to determine its size, genome-wide base composition, simple repeat, and mobile element densities.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results provide the first global view of venom-duct transcription in any cone snail. A notable feature of <it>Conus bullatus </it>venoms is the breadth of A-superfamily peptides expressed in the venom duct, which are unprecedented in their structural diversity. We also find SNP rates within conopeptides are higher compared to the remainder of <it>C. bullatus </it>transcriptome, consistent with the hypothesis that conopeptides are under diversifying selection.</p

Radical cations of dithia- and tetraselenaradialenes with restricted delocalization of the unpaired electron

The radical cations of the permethylated dithia[6]radialene 1 and the tetraselena[8]radialene 2 have been investigated by ESR− and ENDOR−spectroscopy. It is shown that in the radical cation of 1 the unpaired electron is delocalized only in one half of the molecule. The magnitude of the 33S coupling constant suggests a restricted localization within the 2,3−dithiatetramethyl−butadiene unit. We ascribe the slow electron transfer from one part of the molecule to the other to steric effects. The analysis of the ESR spectrum of 2+ shows that only two of the four selenium atoms are involved. The delocalization of the unpaired electron is restricted to only one of the divinyl diselenide moieties with a slow electron transfer rate to the other on

Is there any transtubular reabsorption of filtered proteins in rat kidney?

The bovine protease inhibitor aprotinin (Trasylol®) has a high affinity to the kidney and is preferentially pinocytized in the proximal tubule. After i.v. injection of 1mug 124I aprotinin the blood content decreases to 2.8% of the primary injected amount within 3 hrs, while simultaneously each kidney contains 29%. This substance was used to test whether or not a peptide which is pinocytized, is released in the intact form into the peritubular blood. By a cross circulation technique with two unilaterally nephrectomized rats we were unable to detect any transport of pinocytized, intact peptide through the proximal tubule cell over the observed cross circulation period of 1-8 hrs even when using 5000 times the above dosage. Since the total amount of aprotinin in the kidney is immunologically reactive (ca. 97%), and 65% of the radioactivity in the blood is not reactive after 6 hrs, we believe that the last step in the absorption process consists in digestion inside the lysosomes and instantaneous release of the split products into the blood

Infrared Photorefractive Polymers and Their Applications for Imaging

Photorefractive polymers with high diffraction efficiency in the visible and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum have been developed. These polymers, which have a large dynamic range because of their high orientational birefringence, incorporate a dye designed to have a large dipole moment and a high linear polarizability anisotropy. Such polymers have enabled demonstrations of imaging through scattering media, using a holographic time-gating technique at a wavelength that is compatible with the transparency of biological tissues and with the emission of low-cost semiconductor laser diodes