From the Garden of Eden to the new creation in Christ : A theological investigation into the significance and function of the Old Testament imagery of Eden within the New Testament

The thesis is intended as an analytical and critical introduction to a developing theology of Eden. It compares a range of Old Testament understandings pertaining to the imagery of the Garden of Eden, as the basis for a study of the appropriation, integration and transformation of Edenic imagery in the New Testament. It does so in the context of Christian theology which, for a variety reasons, has been generally subdued, if not ambivalent, in articulating the relationship between the imagery of Eden and the representation of the New Creation in Christ. The purpose of the thesis, then, is not just to strengthen the theological imagination, but also to re-familiarise and educate contemporary audiences as to the appearance, function, and potency of the imagery of Eden in the New Testament. In this process of analysis and reflection, Eden is revealed as a primary organising, mediating, and meaning-generating motif through which the New Testament writers gave religious and cultural value to the accommodation of human experience to the revelation of God. In considering the metaphor of hope and renewal at the heart of the imagery of Eden, the thesis argues for the reliability of the language of faith to reveal God’s truth. It adopts a methodology of dialogical hermeneutics in recognition of the multivalent and multi-vocal aspects of Edenic imagery, characteristics that in themselves have been identified as a source of the suspicion towards Eden. This way of theological inquiry is informed by the hermeneutics of Paul Ricoeur, which acknowledges and incorporates human experience into critical and analytical procedure. It also draws on the ethical metaphysics of Emmanuel Levinas, which underlines the movement of a subject towards God’s otherness and transcendence within language, one of the fundamental functions of Eden. Informed on this basis the thesis asserts that figurative language, in this case the imagery of Eden, is deemed to be not merely ornamental to language but fundamentally formative and integrative of Christian faith and knowledge

Water as blessing: recovering the symbolism of the Garden of Eden through Ezekiel for Christian theology – a theological investigation

The Garden of Eden is one of the most pervasive and enduring images in the Abrahamic Tradition. Despite being the inspiration of many profound works of art, including painting, music, literature, architecture, and landscape design, theological meaning has tended to be subsidiary to wider anthropological, archaeological or art-historical concerns. Recent interest in nature imagery in the Bible, including the Garden of Eden, suggests this aspect of religious expression is becoming more visible. However, most attention has tended to focus on the socio-political and ecological implications of these images, and is primarily agrarian in focus. Given the canonical location of the Eden myth in Genesis 2:5 and 3, and Revelation 22:1-5, bookending, as it were, the Christian Bible, this emphasis seems misplaced. Indeed, an examination of the use of Edenic imagery, with its roots in the temple cult of pre-exilic Jerusalem, points instead to an alternative interpretation expressive of an eschatology that simultaneously symbolizes, manifests and energises the enduring hope that lies at the root of the Christian experience. The Eden imagery used in Ezekiel 47:1-12, as it is reprised in Revelation 22:1-5, and also in John 4:4-42, is central to this understanding, mediating the Wisdom of God and the Holy Spirit through the notion of water as blessing

Jesus the Gardener: A Revised Perspective of a Favourite New Testament Scene

Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the risen Christ in the garden in which he was entombed, described in John 20:14-15, is one of the most poignant in the entire Bible. If we are to accept the interpretation of some commentaries, Mary, when she finds the tomb empty, in her grief induced confusion[1] fails to recognise Jesus when he appears to her, supposing him to be the gardener. Her fear is that the same people who have killed him have removed his body. It is only when Jesus calls to her by name that there ensues what has been described as “the greatest recognition scene in all literature”[2], one expressed in only two words: “Mary!”, “Rabboni!” It is implicit in Jesus’ response to her, i.e. “Do not hold onto me”, that she has moved to embrace him. The emotion is palpable. [1] See, for example, Judith Schubert, The Gospel of John – Question by Question (Mahwah NJ: Paulist Press, 2008), 236e. [2] Nicolas Wyatt, citing MacGregor, in “’Supposing Him to Be the Gardener’ (John 20, 15. A Study of the Paradise Motif in John” in Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentlice Wissenschaft und die Kunde der Älteren Kirche, Vol 81, Issue 1-2(1990), 38

Spin-coating on nanoscale topography and phase separation of diblock copolymers

CRANN researchers are interested in mathematical modelling of all aspects of the process of spin-coating of diblock copolymers, with the aim of removing expensive trial and error design cycles. Of particular interest is the flow of the polymer during spin-coating, and also during the subsequent annealing process. Also of considerable interest is the chemical process of phase-separation and self-assembly of the diblock copolymer. Existing models in the literature rely heavily on computationally expensive Monte-Carlo simulation methods. The modelling work performed during the study group in summarized in this report. The report is split into four main sections, with discussion and suggestions for experiments in the concluding section. The content of the sections is as follows: Section 0.2: Mathematical modelling of spin-coating onto a flat substrate; no annealing considered. Section 0.3: Modelling of spin-coating onto a substrate with topography (i.e. trenches); no annealing considered. Section 0.4: Flow of polymer during annealing. Section 0.5: Models for self-assembly of polymers into nanostructures. Sections 0.2 to 0.4 are focussed on the fluid flow problems for the polymer, and go some way to providing useful answers to Problem 1. On the other hand, Problem 2 was found to be extremely challenging, and the efforts described in section 0.5 represent only a relatively modest impact on this problem

A High Density Integrated Genetic Linkage Map of Soybean and the Development of a 1536 Universal Soy Linkage Panel for Quantitative Trait Locus Mapping

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the marker of choice for many researchers due to their abundance and the high-throughput methods available for their multiplex analysis. Only recently have SNP markers been available to researchers in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] with the release of the third version of the consensus genetic linkage map that added 1141 SNP markers to the map. Our objectives were to add 2500 additional SNP markers to the soybean integrated map and select a set of 1536 SNPs to create a universal linkage panel for high-throughput soybean quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping. The GoldenGate assay is one high-throughput analysis method capable of genotyping 1536 SNPs in 192 DNA samples over a 3-d period. We designed GoldenGate assays for 3456 SNPs (2956 new plus 500 previously mapped) which were used to screen three recombinant inbred line populations and diverse germplasm. A total of 3000 workable assays were obtained which added about 2500 new SNP markers to create a fourth version of the soybean integrated linkage map. To create a “Universal Soy Linkage Panel” (USLP 1.0) of 1536 SNP loci, SNPs were selected based on even distribution throughout each of the 20 consensus linkage groups and to have a broad range of allele frequencies in diverse germplasm. The 1536 USLP 1.0 will be able to quickly create a comprehensive genetic map in most QTL mapping populations and thus will serve as a useful tool for high-throughput QTL mapping

High-throughput SNP discovery through deep resequencing of a reduced representation library to anchor and orient scaffolds in the soybean whole genome sequence

Background: The Soybean Consensus Map 4.0 facilitated the anchoring of 95.6% of the soybean whole genome sequence developed by the Joint Genome Institute, Department of Energy, but its marker density was only sufficient to properly orient 66% of the sequence scaffolds. The discovery and genetic mapping of more single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were needed to anchor and orient the remaining genome sequence. To that end, next generation sequencing and high-throughput genotyping were combined to obtain a much higher resolution genetic map that could be used to anchor and orient most of the remaining sequence and to help validate the integrity of the existing scaffold builds. Results: A total of 7,108 to 25,047 predicted SNPs were discovered using a reduced representation library that was subsequently sequenced by the Illumina sequence-by-synthesis method on the clonal single molecule array platform. Using multiple SNP prediction methods, the validation rate of these SNPs ranged from 79% to 92.5%. A high resolution genetic map using 444 recombinant inbred lines was created with 1,790 SNP markers. Of the 1,790 mapped SNP markers, 1,240 markers had been selectively chosen to target existing un-anchored or un-oriented sequence scaffolds, thereby increasing the amount of anchored sequence to 97%. Conclusion: We have demonstrated how next generation sequencing was combined with high-throughput SNP detection assays to quickly discover large numbers of SNPs. Those SNPs were then used to create a high resolution genetic map that assisted in the assembly of scaffolds from the 8× whole genome shotgun sequences into pseudomolecules corresponding to chromosomes of the organism

Mapping Snap Bean Pod and Color Traits, in a Dry Bean x Snap Bean Recombinant Inbred Population

Snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) breeding programs are tasked with developing cultivars that meet the standards of the vegetable processing industry and ultimately that of the consumer, all the while matching or exceeding the field performance of existing cultivars. While traditional breeding methods have had a long history of meeting these requirements, genetic marker technology, combined with the knowledge of important quantitative trait loci (QTL), can accelerate breeding efforts. In contrast to dry bean, snap bean immature pods and seeds are consumed as a vegetable. Several pod traits are important in snap bean including: reduced pod wall fiber, absence of pod suture strings, and thickened, succulent pod walls. In addition, snap bean pods are selected for round pod cross section, and pods tend to be longer with cylindrical seed shape. Seed color is an important trait in snap bean, especially those used for processing, as processors prefer white-seeded cultivars. The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic control of traits important to snap bean producers and processors. RR6950, a small seeded brown indeterminate type IIIA dry bean accession, was crossed to the Oregon State University (OSU) breeding line OSU5446, a type I Blue Lake four-sieve breeding line to produce the RR138 F₄:₆ recombinant inbred (RI) mapping population. We evaluated the RR138 RI population for processing and morphological traits, especially those affecting pods. The RR138 population was genotyped with the BARCBean6K_3 Beadchip, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used to assemble a linkage map, and identify QTL for pod traits. The linkage map produced from this study contained 1689 SNPs across 1196cM. The map was populated with an average of one SNP per 1.4 cM, spanning 11 linkage groups. Seed and flower color genes B and P were located on Pv02 and Pv07, respectively. A QTL for string:pod length (PL) ratio was found on Pv02 controlling 32% of total genetic variation. QTL for a suite of important processing traits including pod wall fiber, pod height, pod width, and pod wall thickness were found clustering on Pv04 and controlled 21%, 26%, 18%, and 16% of genetic variation for each of these respective traits. A QTL for PL was found on Pv09 controlling 5% of genetic variation.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article is published by American Society for Horticultural Science and can be found at: http://journal.ashspublications.org/Keywords: QTL, quantitative trait locus, common bean, SNP, linkage mapping, single nucleotide polymorphis

A Roadmap for Functional Structural Variants in the Soybean Genome

Gene structural variation (SV) has recently emerged as a key genetic mechanism underlying several important phenotypic traits in crop species. We screened a panel of 41 soybean (Glycine max) accessions serving as parents in a soybean nested association mapping population for deletions and duplications in more than 53,000 gene models. Array hybridization and whole genome resequencing methods were used as complementary technologies to identify SV in 1528 genes, or approximately 2.8%, of the soybean gene models. Although SV occurs throughout the genome, SV enrichment was noted in families of biotic defense response genes. Among accessions, SV was nearly eightfold less frequent for gene models that have retained paralogs since the last whole genome duplication event, compared with genes that have not retained paralogs. Increases in gene copy number, similar to that described at the Rhg1 resistance locus, account for approximately one-fourth of the genic SV events. This assessment of soybean SV occurrence presents a target list of genes potentially responsible for rapidly evolving and/or adaptive traits

A Roadmap for Functional Structural Variants in the Soybean Genome

Gene structural variation (SV) has recently emerged as a key genetic mechanism underlying several important phenotypic traits in crop species. We screened a panel of 41 soybean (Glycine max) accessions serving as parents in a soybean nested association mapping population for deletions and duplications in more than 53,000 gene models. Array hybridization and whole genome resequencing methods were used as complementary technologies to identify SV in 1528 genes, or approximately 2.8%, of the soybean gene models. Although SV occurs throughout the genome, SV enrichment was noted in families of biotic defense response genes. Among accessions, SV was nearly eightfold less frequent for gene models that have retained paralogs since the last whole genome duplication event, compared with genes that have not retained paralogs. Increases in gene copy number, similar to that described at the Rhg1 resistance locus, account for approximately one-fourth of the genic SV events. This assessment of soybean SV occurrence presents a target list of genes potentially responsible for rapidly evolving and/or adaptive traits