Complete chloroplast genome sequence of Holoparasite Cistanche Deserticola (Orobanchaceae) reveals gene loss and horizontal gene transfer from Its host Haloxylon Ammodendron (Chenopodiaceae)

The central function of chloroplasts is to carry out photosynthesis, and its gene content and structure are highly conserved across land plants. Parasitic plants, which have reduced photosynthetic ability, suffer gene losses from the chloroplast (cp) genome accompanied by the relaxation of selective constraints. Compared with the rapid rise in the number of cp genome sequences of photosynthetic organisms, there are limited data sets from parasitic plants. The authors report the complete sequence of the cp genome of Cistanche deserticola, a holoparasitic desert species belonging to the family Orobanchaceae

Compressed representation of a partially defined integer function over multiple arguments

In OLAP (OnLine Analitical Processing) data are analysed in an n-dimensional cube. The cube may be represented as a partially defined function over n arguments. Considering that often the function is not defined everywhere, we ask: is there a known way of representing the function or the points in which it is defined, in a more compact manner than the trivial one

Search for supersymmetry in events with b-quark jets and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for physics beyond the standard model based on events with large missing transverse energy, at least three jets, and at least one, two, or three b-quark jets. The study is performed using a sample of proton-proton collision data collected at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2011. The integrated luminosity of the sample is 4.98 inverse femtobarns. The observed number of events is found to be consistent with the standard model expectation, which is evaluated using control samples in the data. The results are used to constrain cross sections for the production of supersymmetric particles decaying to b-quark-enriched final states in the context of simplified model spectra.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review

Jellyfish Modulate Bacterial Dynamic and Community Structure

Jellyfish blooms have increased in coastal areas around the world and the outbreaks have become longer and more frequent over the past few decades. The Mediterranean Sea is among the heavily affected regions and the common bloom - forming taxa are scyphozoans Aurelia aurita s.l., Pelagia noctiluca, and Rhizostoma pulmo. Jellyfish have few natural predators, therefore their carcasses at the termination of a bloom represent an organic-rich substrate that supports rapid bacterial growth, and may have a large impact on the surrounding environment. The focus of this study was to explore whether jellyfish substrate have an impact on bacterial community phylotype selection. We conducted in situ jellyfish - enrichment experiment with three different jellyfish species. Bacterial dynamic together with nutrients were monitored to assess decaying jellyfish-bacteria dynamics. Our results show that jellyfish biomass is characterized by protein rich organic matter, which is highly bioavailable to ‘jellyfish - associated’ and ‘free - living’ bacteria, and triggers rapid shifts in bacterial population dynamics and composition. Based on 16S rRNA clone libraries and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis, we observed a rapid shift in community composition from unculturable Alphaproteobacteria to culturable species of Gammaproteobacteria and Flavobacteria. The results of sequence analyses of bacterial isolates and of total bacterial community determined by culture independent genetic analysis showed the dominance of the Pseudoalteromonadaceae and the Vibrionaceae families. Elevated levels of dissolved proteins, dissolved organic and inorganic nutrient release, bacterial abundance and carbon production as well as ammonium concentrations characterized the degradation process. The biochemical composition of jellyfish species may influence changes in the amount of accumulated dissolved organic and inorganic nutrients. Our results can contribute insights into possible changes in bacterial population dynamics and nutrient pathways following jellyfish blooms which have important implications for ecology of coastal waters

The complete sequence of the Acacia ligulata chloroplast genome reveals a highly divergent clpP1 gene

Legumes are a highly diverse angiosperm family that include many agriculturally important species. To date, 21 complete chloroplast genomes have been sequenced from legume crops confined to the Papilionoideae subfamily. Here we report the first chloroplast genome from the Mimosoideae, Acacia ligulata, and compare it to the previously sequenced legume genomes. The A. ligulata chloroplast genome is 158,724 bp in size, comprising inverted repeats of 25,925 bp and single-copy regions of 88,576 bp and 18,298 bp. Acacia ligulata lacks the inversion present in many of the Papilionoideae, but is not otherwise significantly different in terms of gene and repeat content. The key feature is its highly divergent clpP1 gene, normally considered essential in chloroplast genomes. In A. ligulata, although transcribed and spliced, it probably encodes a catalytically inactive protein. This study provides a significant resource for further genetic research into Acacia and the Mimosoideae. The divergent clpP1 gene suggests that Acacia will provide an interesting source of information on the evolution and functional diversity of the chloroplast Clp protease comple

Year in review in Intensive Care Medicine 2009: I. Pneumonia and infections, sepsis, outcome, acute renal failure and acid base, nutrition and glycaemic control

Journal ArticleReviewSCOPUS: re.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe