Research Notes : Canada : On the response of the Rpsl-b allele to race 17 of Phytophthora megasperma f. sp. Glycinea

The first report of the interaction between race 17 of Phytophthora megasperma f. sp. glycinea (Pmg) and the Rpsl-b allele was made by Keeling (1982) in his initial report on this race. Keeling (1982) reported that \u27Sanga\u27 (Rpsl-b) gave a resistant response to race 17, but that PI 171442 (Rps3) and \u27Tracy\u27, which possesses the Rpsl-b and Rps3 alleles (Athow et al., 1979), gave a susceptible response. The relative responses of Tracy and Sanga were unexpected, since, in all cases studied to date, an Rps allele for resistance is epistatic to Rps alleles for susceptibility at any loci (e.g., Athow et al., 1980; Layton et al., 1984; Ploper et al., 1985; Athow et al., 1986)

Research Notes: Progress in Obtaining Soybean Haploids 2n=20

Male sterility gene ms 1 from North Carolina was transferred to maturity groups I, II, and III over the last few years to facilitate the use in Wisconsin of the twinning and haploidy phenomena associated with ms1ms1 plants. In 1975 we had an extended fall growing season and seed was obtained from several hundred male sterile ms 1ms1 plants, representing maturity groups I, II, III, IV, and V. Honey bees were used as pollinators

Research Notes: University of Wisconsin

Tissue culture methods may benefit soybean breeders if whole plants can be differentiated from aneuploid, mutated, fused, or haploid cells. However, in order to realize this potential, it must be possible to derive plantlets from previously undifferentiated tissues - and ultimately from masses of callus cells. This report summarizes the information we obtained concerning adventitious budding from soybean tissues (Kimball and Bingham, 1973), early stages of embryo formation within masses of callus cells, and actual differentiation of plantlets from callus tissue

MRI Study of Minor Physical Anomaly in Childhood Autism Implicates Aberrant Neurodevelopment in Infancy

Background: MPAs (minor physical anomalies) frequently occur in neurodevelopmental disorders because both face and brain are derived from neuroectoderm in the first trimester. Conventionally, MPAs are measured by evaluation of external appearance. Using MRI can help overcome inherent observer bias, facilitate multi-centre data acquisition, and explore how MPAs relate to brain dysmorphology in the same individual. Optical MPAs exhibit a tightly synchronized trajectory through fetal, postnatal and adult life. As head size enlarges with age, inter-orbital distance increases, and is mostly completed before age 3 years. We hypothesized that optical MPAs might afford a retrospective 'window' to early neurodevelopment; specifically, inter-orbital distance increase may represent a biomarker for early brain dysmaturation in autism. Methods: We recruited 91 children aged 7-16; 36 with an autism spectrum disorder and 55 age- and gender-matched typically developing controls. All children had normal IQ. Inter-orbital distance was measured on T1-weighted MRI scans. This value was entered into a voxel-by-voxel linear regression analysis with grey matter segmented from a bimodal MRI data-set. Age and total brain tissue volume were entered as covariates. Results: Intra-class coefficient for measurement of the inter-orbital distance was 0.95. Inter-orbital distance was significantly increased in the autism group (p = 0.03, 2-tailed). The autism group showed a significant relationship between inter-orbital distance grey matter volume of bilateral amygdalae extending to the unci and inferior temporal poles. Conclusions: Greater inter-orbital distance in the autism group compared with healthy controls is consistent with infant head size expansion in autism. Inter-orbital distance positively correlated with volume of medial temporal lobe structures, suggesting a link to "social brain" dysmorphology in the autism group. We suggest these data support the role of optical MPAs as a "fossil record" of early aberrant neurodevelopment, and potential biomarker for brain dysmaturation in autism. © 2011 Cheung et al.published_or_final_versio