Response of Wheat Fungal Diseases to Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Level

Infection with fungal pathogens on wheat varieties with different levels of resistance was tested at ambient (NC, 390 ppm) and elevated (EC, 750 ppm) atmospheric CO2 levels in the phytotron. EC was found to affect many aspects of the plant-pathogen interaction. Infection with most fungal diseases was usually found to be promoted by elevated CO2 level in susceptible varieties. Powdery mildew, leaf rust and stem rust produced more severe symptoms on plants of susceptible varieties, while resistant varieties were not infected even at EC. The penetration of Fusarium head blight (FHB) into the spike was delayed by EC in Mv Mambo, while it was unaffected in Mv Regiment and stimulated in Mv Emma. EC increased the propagation of FHB in Mv Mambo and Mv Emma. Enhanced resistance to the spread of Fusarium within the plant was only found in Mv Regiment, which has good resistance to penetration but poor resistance to the spread of FHB at NC. FHB infection was more severe at EC in two varieties, while the plants of Mv Regiment, which has the best field resistance at NC, did not exhibit a higher infection level at EC. The above results suggest that breeding for new resistant varieties will remain a useful means of preventing more severe infection in a future with higher atmospheric CO2 levels

New Blood Pressure-Associated Loci Identified in Meta-Analyses of 475,000 Individuals

Background - Genome-wide association studies have recently identified >400 loci that harbor DNA sequence variants that influence blood pressure (BP). Our earlier studies identified and validated 56 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) associated with BP from meta-analyses of exome chip genotype data. An additional 100 variants yielded suggestive evidence of association. Methods and Results - Here, we augment the sample with 140 886 European individuals from the UK Biobank, in whom 77 of the 100 suggestive SNVs were available for association analysis with systolic BP or diastolic BP or pulse pressure. We performed 2 meta-analyses, one in individuals of European, South Asian, African, and Hispanic descent (pan-ancestry, ≈475 000), and the other in the subset of individuals of European descent (≈423 000). Twenty-one SNVs were genome-wide significant (P<5×10-8) for BP, of which 4 are new BP loci: rs9678851 (missense, SLC4A1AP), rs7437940 (AFAP1), rs13303 (missense, STAB1), and rs1055144 (7p15.2). In addition, we identified a potentially independent novel BP-associated SNV, rs3416322 (missense, SYNPO2L) at a known locus, uncorrelated with the previously reported SNVs. Two SNVs are associated with expression levels of nearby genes, and SNVs at 3 loci are associated with other traits. One SNV with a minor allele frequency <0.01, (rs3025380 at DBH) was genome-wide significant. Conclusions - We report 4 novel loci associated with BP regulation, and 1 independent variant at an established BP locus. This analysis highlights several candidate genes with variation that alter protein function or gene expression for potential follow-up

Novel Loci for Adiponectin Levels and Their Influence on Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Traits : A Multi-Ethnic Meta-Analysis of 45,891 Individuals

J. Kaprio, S. Ripatti ja M.-L. Lokki työryhmien jäseniä.Peer reviewe