The white spot syndrome virus DNA genome sequence

AbstractWhite spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is at present a major scourge to worldwide shrimp cultivation. We have determined the entire sequence of the double-stranded, circular DNA genome of WSSV, which contains 292,967 nucleotides encompassing 184 major open reading frames (ORFs). Only 6% of the WSSV ORFs have putative homologues in databases, mainly representing genes encoding enzymes for nucleotide metabolism, DNA replication, and protein modification. The remaining ORFs are mostly unassigned, except for five, which encode structural virion proteins. Unique features of WSSV are the presence of a very long ORF of 18,234 nucleotides, with unknown function, a collagen-like ORF, and nine regions, dispersed along the genome, each containing a variable number of 250-bp tandem repeats. The collective information on WSSV and the phylogenetic analysis on the viral DNA polymerase suggest that WSSV differs profoundly from all presently known viruses and that it is a representative of a new virus family

Conservation of Microstructure between a Sequenced Region of the Genome of Rice and Multiple Segments of the Genome of Arabidopsis thaliana

The nucleotide sequence was determined for a 340-kb segment of rice chromosome 2, revealing 56 putative protein-coding genes. This represents a density of one gene per 6.1 kb, which is higher than was reported for a previously sequenced segment of the rice genome. Sixteen of the putative genes were supported by matches to ESTs. The predicted products of 29 of the putative genes showed similarity to known proteins, and a further 17 genes showed similarity only to predicted or hypothetical proteins identified in genome sequence data. The region contains a few transposable elements: one retrotransposon, and one transposon. The segment of the rice genome studied had previously been identified as representing a part of rice chromosome 2 that may be homologous to a segment of Arabidopsis chromosome 4. We confirmed the conservation of gene content and order between the two genome segments. In addition, we identified a further four segments of the Arabidopsis genome that contain conserved gene content and order. In total, 22 of the 56 genes identified in the rice genome segment were represented in this set of Arabidopsis genome segments, with at least five genes present, in conserved order, in each segment. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that the Arabidopsis genome has undergone multiple duplication events. Our results demonstrate that conservation of the genome microstructure can be identified even between monocot and dicot species. However, the frequent occurrence of duplication, and subsequent microstructure divergence, within plant genomes may necessitate the integration of subsets of genes present in multiple redundant segments to deduce evolutionary relationships and identify orthologous genes

Primeros arquitectos modernos en el cono sur

Actas del Seminario Internacional Primeros arquitectos modernos en el cono sur, organizado por el Fondo Documental De Lorenzi, Laboratorio de Historia Urbana, CURDIUR, Facultad de Arquitectura, Planeamiento y Diseño de la Universidad Nacional de Rosario entre el 5 y el 7 de agosto de 2004 con el subsidio de la Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica, Tecnológica y de Innovación Productiva. Distanciándonos de interpretaciones clásicas que conformaron una imagen aparentemente sólida y homogénea del pensar y el hacer de la “vanguardia heroica” el encuentro fue un espacio de reflexionar sobre un campo disciplinar convulsionado en el segundo cuarto del siglo XX en el Sur de América. El objetivo fue recuperar un conjunto diverso de arquitectos nacidos con el siglo y formados en un ámbito deudor de l’Ecole des Beaus Arts que protagonizaron una drástica recolocación en el campo estético y técnico en relación con una industria de la construcción en continua mutación y a un mercado inmobiliario que alentaba la ampliación de sus incumbencias. Con intereses plurales en el campo artístico y cultural y una activa participación en universidades cuyos postulados venían de ser “reformados”, estos hombres participaron en procesos de permanente desestabilización. Las presentaciones indagan con aportes biográficos, la particularidad de las visiones locales y las tensiones entre universalismo y el regionalismo, la cuestión de la vivienda como tema de debate, la relación entre arquitectura y urbanismo, los desafíos de la arquitectura pública y, finalmente, sobre la dicotomía entre modernidad y tradición.Proceedings of the International Seminar on the First Modern Architects in South America, organized by the De Lorenzi Documentary Fund, Laboratory of Urban History, CURDIUR, School of Architecture, Planning and Design of the National University of Rosario, 5 to 7 August 2004 with the subsidy of the National Agency for Promotion of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation. Distancing itself of the classical interpretations that formed a seemingly solid and consistent image of the thinking and doing of "heroic vanguard" , the meeting was an opportunity to reflect on a troubled disciplinary field in the second quarter of the twentieth century in South America. The objective was to retrieve a diverse set of architects born with the century and formed in a field debtor of l'Ecole des Beaux Arts who staged a dramatic repositioning on the aesthetic and technical field in connection with a changing construction industry and a housing market which encouraged the expansion of architects’ incumbencies. With plural interests in the arts and active participation in universities whose ideas came to be "reformed", these men participated in ongoing processes of destabilization. Presentations inquire with biographical contributions, the particularity of local visions and tensions between universalism and regionalism, the issue of housing as a topic of discussion, the relationship between architecture and urbanism, the challenges of public architecture and, finally, on the dichotomy between modernity and tradition.Fil. Rigotti, Ana María. CONICET - Universidad Nacional de Rosario, CURDIUR; Argentina

Distinct roles of Hand2 in initiating polarity and posterior Shh expression during the onset of mouse limb bud development

The polarization of nascent embryonic fields and the endowment of cells with organizer properties are key to initiation of vertebrate organogenesis. One such event is antero-posterior (AP) polarization of early limb buds and activation of morphogenetic Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling in the posterior mesenchyme, which in turn promotes outgrowth and specifies the pentadactylous autopod. Inactivation of the Hand2 transcriptional regulator from the onset of mouse forelimb bud development disrupts establishment of posterior identity and Shh expression, which results in a skeletal phenotype identical to Shh deficient limb buds. In wild-type limb buds, Hand2 is part of the protein complexes containing Hoxd13, another essential regulator of Shh activation in limb buds. Chromatin immunoprecipitation shows that Hand2-containing chromatin complexes are bound to the far upstream cis-regulatory region (ZRS), which is specifically required for Shh expression in the limb bud. Cell-biochemical studies indicate that Hand2 and Hoxd13 can efficiently transactivate gene expression via the ZRS, while the Gli3 repressor isoform interferes with this positive transcriptional regulation. Indeed, analysis of mouse forelimb buds lacking both Hand2 and Gli3 reveals the complete absence of antero-posterior (AP) polarity along the entire proximo-distal axis and extreme digit polydactyly without AP identities. Our study uncovers essential components of the transcriptional machinery and key interactions that set-up limb bud asymmetry upstream of establishing the SHH signaling limb bud organizer