Field evaluation of six Gros Michel banana accessions (Musa spp., AAA group) for agronomic performance, resistance to Fusarium wilt race 1 and yellow Sigatoka

Three Gros Michel mutants (‘IBP 5-B’, ‘IBP 5–61’ and ‘IBP 12’) from the Cuban Instituto de Biotecnología de las Plantas, two semi-dwarf Gros Michel varieties (‘Highgate’ and ‘Cocos’) and a Thai accession (‘Hom Thong Mokho’) were evaluated in Australia over a five year period. They were screened for their resistance to Fusarium wilt Race 1 (FocR1) caused by the pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense, as well as resistance to yellow Sigatoka (Pseudocercospora musae Zimm [teleomorph Mycosphaerella musicola Leach]). They were also grown for a plant and ratoon crop in the tropics (17°S) and a plant crop in the subtropics (28°S) with no disease pressure to record their agronomic characteristics. They were compared with Australian industry standards, ‘Williams’ (AAA, Cavendish subgroup) and ‘Lady Finger’ (AAB, Pome subgroup). In the subtropics the Gros Michel mutants and semi-dwarf accessions were sensitive to cold and very susceptible to FocR1 and yellow Sigatoka while their agronomic performance in the tropics was good, with ‘Highgate’ having the best bunch weight on a shorter, more manageable plant. Of the six accessions evaluated, ‘Hom Thong Mokho’ showed the highest level of resistance to FocR1 although it had poor cold tolerance, as did the other Gros Michel selections, and consequently had low productivity compared to ‘Williams’ and even ‘Lady Finger’. However in the warmer, more humid tropics ‘Hom Thong Mokho's performance was much better and it was less susceptible to yellow Sigatoka than the other Gros Michel selections. Subsequent genetic analysis by Christelová et al. (2011) has revealed that although ‘Hom Thong Mokho’ is marketed as a Gros Michel variety in Asia, it is closer to the Rio subgroup (AAA) of dessert bananas

Importance of the methanogenic archaea populations in anaerobic wastewater treatments.

Methane derived from anaerobic treatment of organic wastes has a great potential to be an alternative fuel. Abundant biomass from various industries could be a source for biomethane production where combination of waste treatment and energy production would be an advantage. This article summarizes the importance of the microbial population, with a focus on the methanogenic archaea, on the anaerobic fermentative biomethane production from biomass. Types of major wastewaters that could be the source for biomethane generation such as brewery wastewater, palm oil mill effluent, dairy wastes, cheese whey and dairy wastewater, pulp and paper wastewaters and olive oil mill wastewaters in relevance to their dominant methanogenic population are fully discussed in this article

PCR-based DGGE and FISH analysis of methanogens in an anaerobic closed digester tank for treating palm oil mill effluent

16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA)-targeted fluorescent in situ hybridization combined with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-cloning, light microscopy using Gram stains, scanning electron microscopy and denatured gradient gel electrophoresis were used to reveal the distribution of methanogens within an anaerobic closed digester tank fed with palm oil mill effluent. For specific detection of methanogens, 16S rRNA-cloning analysis was conducted followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) for presumptive identification of methanogens. To cover the drawbacks of the PCR-cloning study, the organization of the microorganisms was visualized in the activated sludge sample by using fluorescent oligonucleotide probes specific to several different methanogens, and a probe for bacteria. In situ hybridization with methanogens and bacterial probes and denatured gradient gel electrophoresis within activated sludge clearly confirmed the presence of Methanosaeta sp. and Methanosarcina sp. cells. Methanosaeta concilii was found to be the dominant species in the bioreactor. These results revealed the presence of possibly new strain of Methanosaeta in the bioreactor for treating palm oil mill effluent called Methanosaeta concilii SamaliEB (Gene bank accession number: EU580025). In addition, fluorescent hybridization pictured the close association between the methanogens and bacteria and that the number of methanogens was greater than the number of bacteria

Cultivation and sequencing of rumen microbiome members from the Hungate1000 Collection

Productivity of ruminant livestock depends on the rumen microbiota, which ferment indigestible plant polysaccharides into nutrients used for growth. Understanding the functions carried out by the rumen microbiota is important for reducing greenhouse gas production by ruminants and for developing biofuels from lignocellulose. We present 410 cultured bacteria and archaea, together with their reference genomes, representing every cultivated rumen-associated archaeal and bacterial family. We evaluate polysaccharide degradation, short-chain fatty acid production and methanogenesis pathways, and assign specific taxa to functions. A total of 336 organisms were present in available rumen metagenomic data sets, and 134 were present in human gut microbiome data sets. Comparison with the human microbiome revealed rumen-specific enrichment for genes encoding de novo synthesis of vitamin B12, ongoing evolution by gene loss and potential vertical inheritance of the rumen microbiome based on underrepresentation of markers of environmental stress. We estimate that our Hungate genome resource represents ?75% of the genus-level bacterial and archaeal taxa present in the rumen.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Novel Blood Pressure Locus and Gene Discovery Using Genome-Wide Association Study and Expression Data Sets From Blood and the Kidney.

Elevated blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and has a substantial genetic contribution. Genetic variation influencing blood pressure has the potential to identify new pharmacological targets for the treatment of hypertension. To discover additional novel blood pressure loci, we used 1000 Genomes Project-based imputation in 150 134 European ancestry individuals and sought significant evidence for independent replication in a further 228 245 individuals. We report 6 new signals of association in or near HSPB7, TNXB, LRP12, LOC283335, SEPT9, and AKT2, and provide new replication evidence for a further 2 signals in EBF2 and NFKBIA Combining large whole-blood gene expression resources totaling 12 607 individuals, we investigated all novel and previously reported signals and identified 48 genes with evidence for involvement in blood pressure regulation that are significant in multiple resources. Three novel kidney-specific signals were also detected. These robustly implicated genes may provide new leads for therapeutic innovation

Novel genetic loci underlying human intracranial volume identified through genome-wide association

Intracranial volume reflects the maximally attained brain size during development, and remains stable with loss of tissue in late life. It is highly heritable, but the underlying genes remain largely undetermined. In a genome-wide association study of 32,438 adults, we discovered five novel loci for intracranial volume and confirmed two known signals. Four of the loci are also associated with adult human stature, but these remained associated with intracranial volume after adjusting for height. We found a high genetic correlation with child head circumference (ρgenetic=0.748), which indicated a similar genetic background and allowed for the identification of four additional loci through meta-analysis (Ncombined = 37,345). Variants for intracranial volume were also related to childhood and adult cognitive function, Parkinson’s disease, and enriched near genes involved in growth pathways including PI3K–AKT signaling. These findings identify biological underpinnings of intracranial volume and provide genetic support for theories on brain reserve and brain overgrowth

Cerebral small vessel disease genomics and its implications across the lifespan

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are the most common brain-imaging feature of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), hypertension being the main known risk factor. Here, we identify 27 genome-wide loci for WMH-volume in a cohort of 50,970 older individuals, accounting for modification/confounding by hypertension. Aggregated WMH risk variants were associated with altered white matter integrity (p = 2.5×10-7) in brain images from 1,738 young healthy adults, providing insight into the lifetime impact of SVD genetic risk. Mendelian randomization suggested causal association of increasing WMH-volume with stroke, Alzheimer-type dementia, and of increasing blood pressure (BP) with larger WMH-volume, notably also in persons without clinical hypertension. Transcriptome-wide colocalization analyses showed association of WMH-volume with expression of 39 genes, of which four encode known drug targets. Finally, we provide insight into BP-independent biological pathways underlying SVD and suggest potential for genetic stratification of high-risk individuals and for genetically-informed prioritization of drug targets for prevention trials.Peer reviewe

Genome-wide association identifies nine common variants associated with fasting proinsulin levels and provides new insights into the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Proinsulin is a precursor of mature insulin and C-peptide. Higher circulating proinsulin levels are associated with impaired β-cell function, raised glucose levels, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Studies of the insulin processing pathway could provide new insights about T2D pathophysiology. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We have conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association tests of ∼2.5 million genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and fasting proinsulin levels in 10,701 nondiabetic adults of European ancestry, with follow-up of 23 loci in up to 16,378 individuals, using additive genetic models adjusted for age, sex, fasting insulin, and study-specific covariates. RESULTS: Nine SNPs at eight loci were associated with proinsulin levels (P < 5 × 10(-8)). Two loci (LARP6 and SGSM2) have not been previously related to metabolic traits, one (MADD) has been associated with fasting glucose, one (PCSK1) has been implicated in obesity, and four (TCF7L2, SLC30A8, VPS13C/C2CD4A/B, and ARAP1, formerly CENTD2) increase T2D risk. The proinsulin-raising allele of ARAP1 was associated with a lower fasting glucose (P = 1.7 × 10(-4)), improved β-cell function (P = 1.1 × 10(-5)), and lower risk of T2D (odds ratio 0.88; P = 7.8 × 10(-6)). Notably, PCSK1 encodes the protein prohormone convertase 1/3, the first enzyme in the insulin processing pathway. A genotype score composed of the nine proinsulin-raising alleles was not associated with coronary disease in two large case-control datasets. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified nine genetic variants associated with fasting proinsulin. Our findings illuminate the biology underlying glucose homeostasis and T2D development in humans and argue against a direct role of proinsulin in coronary artery disease pathogenesis

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 implicate microglial-mediated innate immunity in Alzheimer's disease

We identified rare coding variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in a 3-stage case-control study of 85,133 subjects. In stage 1, 34,174 samples were genotyped using a whole-exome microarray. In stage 2, we tested associated variants (P<1×10-4) in 35,962 independent samples using de novo genotyping and imputed genotypes. In stage 3, an additional 14,997 samples were used to test the most significant stage 2 associations (P<5×10-8) using imputed genotypes. We observed 3 novel genome-wide significant (GWS) AD associated non-synonymous variants; a protective variant in PLCG2 (rs72824905/p.P522R, P=5.38×10-10, OR=0.68, MAFcases=0.0059, MAFcontrols=0.0093), a risk variant in ABI3 (rs616338/p.S209F, P=4.56×10-10, OR=1.43, MAFcases=0.011, MAFcontrols=0.008), and a novel GWS variant in TREM2 (rs143332484/p.R62H, P=1.55×10-14, OR=1.67, MAFcases=0.0143, MAFcontrols=0.0089), a known AD susceptibility gene. These protein-coding changes are in genes highly expressed in microglia and highlight an immune-related protein-protein interaction network enriched for previously identified AD risk genes. These genetic findings provide additional evidence that the microglia-mediated innate immune response contributes directly to AD development