Using semantic web technology to accelerate plant breeding

One goal within plant breeding is to find the causal gene(s) explaining a given phenotype. Semantic web technology brings opportu- nities to integration data and information accross spread data sources. Chebi2gene and Marker2sequence are two applications relying on this se- mantic web technology to integration genes, proteins, metabolites, path- ways, literature. Their web-based interface allows biologists to use and explore this network of information

Reintroduction of captive-bred Philippine crocodiles

Conservation Biology - ol

Effectiveness of head starting to bolster Philippine crocodile Crocodylus mindorensis.

Conservation Biology - ol

Verkenning milieugevolgen van het nieuwe mestbeleid : Achtergrondrapport Evaluatie Meststoffenwet 2007

Nederland kan in 2015 bij benadering voldoen aan de Europese nitraatnorm voor grondwater. Uitzondering blijft het zuidelijk zandgebied, waar de nitraatconcentratie ruim 30 mg/l te hoog blijft. De kwaliteit van het oppervlaktewater zal in de komende 20 jaar - ondanks evenwichtsbemesting voor fosfaat - echter niet verbeteren. Dit blijkt uit verkenningen van de milieugevolgen van het nieuwe mestbeleid uitgevoerd met het model STON

Genetic diversity, evolutionary history and implications for conservation of the lion (Panthera leo) in West and Central Africa

Aim In recent decades there has been a marked decline in the numbers of African lions (Panthera leo), especially in West Africa where the species is regionally endangered. Based on the climatological history of western Africa, we hypothesize that West and Central African lions have a unique evolutionary history, which is reflected by their genetic makeup. Location Sub-Saharan Africa and India, with special focus on West and Central Africa. Method In this study 126 samples, throughout the lion's complete geographic range, were subjected to phylogenetic analyses. DNA sequences of a mitochondrial region, containing cytochrome b, tRNAPro, tRNAThr and the left part of the control region, were analysed. Results Bayesian, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony analyses consistently showed a distinction between lions from West and Central Africa and lions from southern and East Africa. West and Central African lions are more closely related to Asiatic lions than to the southern and East African lions. This can be explained by a Pleistocene extinction and subsequent recolonization of West Africa from refugia in the Middle East. This is further supported by the fact that the West and Central African clade shows relatively little genetic diversity and is therefore thought to be an evolutionarily young clade. Main conclusions The taxonomic division between an African and an Asian subspecies does not fully reflect the overall genetic diversity within lions. In order to conserve genetic diversity within the species, genetically distinct lineages should be prioritized. Understanding the geographic pattern of genetic diversity is key to developing conservation strategies, both for in situ management and for breeding of captive stocks

A highly virulent variant of HIV-1 circulating in the Netherlands.

We discovered a highly virulent variant of subtype-B HIV-1 in the Netherlands. One hundred nine individuals with this variant had a 0.54 to 0.74 log <sub>10</sub> increase (i.e., a ~3.5-fold to 5.5-fold increase) in viral load compared with, and exhibited CD4 cell decline twice as fast as, 6604 individuals with other subtype-B strains. Without treatment, advanced HIV-CD4 cell counts below 350 cells per cubic millimeter, with long-term clinical consequences-is expected to be reached, on average, 9 months after diagnosis for individuals in their thirties with this variant. Age, sex, suspected mode of transmission, and place of birth for the aforementioned 109 individuals were typical for HIV-positive people in the Netherlands, which suggests that the increased virulence is attributable to the viral strain. Genetic sequence analysis suggests that this variant arose in the 1990s from de novo mutation, not recombination, with increased transmissibility and an unfamiliar molecular mechanism of virulence