The asparagus genome sheds light on the origin and evolution of a young Y chromosome

Several models have been proposed to explain the emergence of sex chromosomes. Here, through comparative genomics and mutant analysis, Harkess et al. show that linked but separate genes on the Y chromosome are responsible for sex determination in Asparagus, supporting a two-gene model for sex chromosome evolution

Rapid Chromosome Evolution in Recently Formed Polyploids in Tragopogon (Asteraceae)

Polyploidy, frequently termed "whole genome duplication", is a major force in the evolution of many eukaryotes. Indeed, most angiosperm species have undergone at least one round of polyploidy in their evolutionary history. Despite enormous progress in our understanding of many aspects of polyploidy, we essentially have no information about the role of chromosome divergence in the establishment of young polyploid populations. Here we investigate synthetic lines and natural populations of two recently and recurrently formed allotetraploids Tragopogon mirus and T. miscellus (formed within the past 80 years) to assess the role of aberrant meiosis in generating chromosomal/genomic diversity. That diversity is likely important in the formation, establishment and survival of polyploid populations and species.Applications of fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) to natural populations of T. mirus and T. miscellus suggest that chromosomal rearrangements and other chromosomal changes are common in both allotetraploids. We detected extensive chromosomal polymorphism between individuals and populations, including (i) plants monosomic and trisomic for particular chromosomes (perhaps indicating compensatory trisomy), (ii) intergenomic translocations and (iii) variable sizes and expression patterns of individual ribosomal DNA (rDNA) loci. We even observed karyotypic variation among sibling plants. Significantly, translocations, chromosome loss, and meiotic irregularities, including quadrivalent formation, were observed in synthetic (S(0) and S(1) generations) polyploid lines. Our results not only provide a mechanism for chromosomal variation in natural populations, but also indicate that chromosomal changes occur rapidly following polyploidisation.These data shed new light on previous analyses of genome and transcriptome structures in de novo and establishing polyploid species. Crucially our results highlight the necessity of studying karyotypes in young (<150 years old) polyploid species and synthetic polyploids that resemble natural species. The data also provide insight into the mechanisms that perturb inheritance patterns of genetic markers in synthetic polyploids and populations of young natural polyploid species

Contrasting perspectives of strategy making: applications in 'Hyper' environments

We revisit the original meaning of turbulence in the socioecological tradition of organization studies and outline a perspective on strategy making grounded in that tradition. This entails a contrast of the socioecological perspective with the more well-known neoclassical perspective on strategy, based on their core decision premises and their different understandings of environmental turbulence. We argue that while some mainstream strategy approaches have taken important strides toward addressing advanced turbulence, many others remain tethered to the neoclassical origins of the strategy discipline and are insufficiently responsive to the new landscape of strategy that now characterizes many industries. This new landscape is construed as the ‘hyper environment’, in which positive feedback processes and emergent field effects produce high volatility. We use two case illustrations from the US healthcare sector to examine how neoclassical and socioecological perspectives contribute to strategizing in hyper environments. Implications for strategic management theory and practice flow from this analysis

Precisely and Persistently Identifying and Citing Arbitrary Subsets of Dynamic Data

International audiencePrecisely identifying arbitrary subsets of data so that these can be reproduced is a daunting challenge in data-driven science, the more so if the underlying data source is dynamically evolving. Yet an increasing number of settings exhibit exactly those characteristics. Larger amounts of data are being continuously ingested from a range of sources (be it sensor values, online questionnaires, documents, etc.), with error correction and quality improvement processes adding to the dynamics. Yet, for studies to be reproducible, for decision-making to be transparent, and for meta studies to be performed conveniently, having a precise identification mechanism to reference, retrieve, and work with such data is essential. The Research Data Alliance (RDA) Working Group on Dynamic Data Citation has published 14 recommendations that are centered around time-stamping and versioning evolving data sources and identifying subsets dynamically via persistent identifiers that are assigned to the queries selecting the respective subsets. These principles are generic and work for virtually any kind of data. In the past few years numerous repositories around the globe have implemented these recommendations and deployed solutions. We provide an overview of the recommendations, reference implementations, and pilot systems deployed and then analyze lessons learned from these implementations. This article provides a basis for institutions and data stewards considering adding this functionality to their data systems

Change, Consolidation, and Competition in Health Care Markets

this paper we summarize the nature of the changes in the structure of the health care industry. We will focus on the markets for health insurance, hospital services, and physician services. We will discuss the potential implications of the restructuring of the health care industry for competition, efficiency, and public policy. As will become apparent, this area offers a number of intriguing questions for inquisitive researchers

The Austrian EOSC Mandated Organisation / The EOSC Support Office Austria

Dieser Bericht bietet einige Überlegungen zum besseren Verständnis der Umsetzung der European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) auf nationaler Ebene und schildert die Entstehung der neu gegründeten österreichischen EOSC Mandated Organisation und des EOSC Support Office Austria.This report offers some reflections for a better understanding of the realization of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) at a local level, describing the implementation of the newly established Austrian EOSC Mandated Organisation and the EOSC Support Office Austria

Die österreichische EOSC Mandated Organisation / Das EOSC Support Office Austria

This report offers some reflections for a better understanding of the realization of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) at a local level, describing the implementation of the newly established Austrian EOSC Mandated Organisation and the EOSC Support Office Austria.Dieser Bericht bietet einige Überlegungen zum besseren Ver-ständnis der Umsetzung der European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) auf nationaler Ebene und schildert die Entstehung der neu gegründeten österreichischen EOSC Man-dated Organisation und des EOSC Support Office Austria.1431622

The asparagus genome sheds light on the origin and evolution of a young Y chromosome

Sex chromosomes evolved from autosomes many times across the eukaryote phylogeny. Several models have been proposed to explain this transition, some involving male and female sterility mutations linked in a region of suppressed recombination between X and Y (or Z/W, U/V) chromosomes. Comparative and experimental analysis of a reference genome assembly for a double haploid YY male garden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) individual implicates separate but linked genes as responsible for sex determination. Dioecy has evolved recently within Asparagus and sex chromosomes are cytogenetically identical with the Y, harboring a megabase segment that is missing from the X. We show that deletion of this entire region results in a male-to-female conversion, whereas loss of a single suppressor of female development drives male-to-hermaphrodite conversion. A single copy anther-specific gene with a male sterile Arabidopsis knockout phenotype is also in the Y-specific region, supporting a two-gene model for sex chromosome evolution