Production of amylopectin and high-amylose starch in separate potato genotypes

Starch is one of the most important processed products from agriculture. Two main outlets can be identified; starch is either enzymatically processed for the production of sweeteners and as raw material for fermentation or channelled to various applications as dry starch. Native or chemically modified starches are utilized in food as well as non-food applications, where the specific physicochemical properties are main determinants for their respective use. Starch consists of two different molecules, amylose and amylopectin. To be able to take the full benefit of the unique properties of either component it is of interest to divide the production of amylose and amylopectin into separate plant genotypes. In the presented work, potatoes producing either amylopectin or high-amylose starch were achieved using genetic modification. For potato transformation a highly efficient protocol was developed for a herbicide selection gene instead of the commonly used nptII antibiotic selection gene. In order to achieve respective starch qualities, the expression of genes important for amylopectin or amylose synthesis was silenced. Antisense technology as well as the expression of dsRNA was investigated where the expression of dsRNA was determined to be at least ten-fold more efficient for gene silencing. An added benefit of dsRNA expression was that a higher fraction of silenced transgenic lines compared to the use antisense were associated with single copy T-DNA integrations. One amylopectin potato line was furthermore characterized regarding genetic and chemical composition. The T-DNA was found integrated as an inverted repeat with the inverted repeat region extending into potato chromosomal DNA. This transgenic locus was found to be more consistent with integration into a double-stranded chromosomal break than insertion by a mechanism nicking one strand of the locus. The high-amylose trait generally resulted in a higher tuber fresh weight yield, much elevated sugar levels and a decreased starch content. Amylose levels were obtained where very limited amounts of material recognizable as amylopectin could be found. The production of amylopectin and amylose was divided into separate genotypes but additional factors are needed to be able to produce amylose at levels comparable to starch contents of cultivated potatoes

AD/HD and autism spectrum disorders in adults

Background: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are early-onset, but often life-time impairing, neurodevelopmental disorders. They are highly overlapping and seem to carry considerable risks of negative outcomes, psychiatrically and psychosocially. Childhood hyperactivity is a known risk factor for early-onset conduct disorder (CD), but details concerning the associations between neurodevelopmental problems, aggression, and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) in adult age are still uncertain. The current diagnostic subdivision of the ASDs is based on children, while the adult characteristics, including patterns of comorbidity and psychosocial adversities, have been less studied, especially in subjects without concomitant intellectual disability. Objectives: The overall aim of this thesis was to describe the adult outcome of AD/HD and ASDs. Specific aims were to: (1) review prospective, longitudinal studies of the adult outcome of childhood hyperactivity, equivalent to AD/HD, with special regard to ASPD, (2) investigate the relationships between AD/HD, ASDs, and different types of aggressive behaviours, (3) describe the clinical presentation, including personality development and psychosocial outcome, in normal-intelligence adult subjects with ASDs. Method: The first paper is a systematic meta-analysis of published studies. The subsequent studies are descriptive analyses of common clinical assessment protocols from consecutive groups of adults either referred for clinical evaluations of childhood-onset neuropsychiatric disorders, for forensic psychiatric investigations, or recruited to a population-based, longitudinal study of teenage-onset anorexia nervosa (AN). Results: Childhood hyperactivity increases the risk for CD, which is found in at least one-third of all hyperactive children, forming the starting point for the development of aggressive antisociality in adulthood in about half of cases with the combination of hyperactivity and CD in childhood. Support for the hypothesis that childhood hyperactivity, in the absence of early CD, carries a risk for adult ASPD, is still lacking (Paper I). Both conditions are, however, predictors of aggression in adults, together with substance-related disorders and poor development of the character trait Cooperativeness. ASD traits or symptoms did not generally predict aggression but may be associated with unique violent offences (Paper II). Among subjects with normal-intelligence ASDs, life-time psychiatric comorbidity was very high, and measures of outcome indicated low psychosocial functioning. AD/HD was common in all ASD subject categories studied with the notable exception of subjects with AN, none of whom had AD/HD. ASPD and substance-related disorders were more common in patients with an atypical ASD as compared to Asperger´s disorder or autistic disorder. Among all adults diagnosed with an ASD, less than half led an independent life and comparatively few had ever had a long-term relationship. Female subjects more often reported having been bullied at school than male subjects (Paper III and IV). Discussion and conclusions: Childhood-onset neuropsychiatric conditions such as AD/HD and ASDs are relevant for adult psychiatric phenotypes but insufficiently studied. Current classifications suffer from the hiatus between child- and adolescent psychiatry and adult psychiatry and future diagnostic concepts ought to be longitudinal with a life-time perspective on cognitive and emotional development and a patient-centred focus rather than fragmented into complex patterns of “comorbidities”

A dialogic approach for the artist as an interface in an intercultural society

Can we learn to listen? Or to allow silence to speak to us? Can we visualize the space among us and inhabit it with our memories? These are among the questions raised by, and embedded in, my recent participatory art project “lo scarto,” which evolved through the relational dynamics within the group. It was informed by the Reciprocal Maieutics Approach (RMA; Dolci, 1973), a pedagogic process based on collective exploration of individuals’ experience and intuition. This enabled inter-subjective exchange, the activation of history and memories, and the construction of a narrative related to the current intercultural process taking place in Italy. My creative process is here discussed as research as art practice, in relation to socially engaged and dialogic art and communicative memory, to act as an interface in an intercultural society

Potato trait development going fast-forward with genome editing

Implementations and improvements of genome editing techniques used in plant science have increased exponentially. For some crops, such as potato, the use of transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) has moved to the next step of trait development and field trials, and should soon be applied to commercial cultivation

Social and Emotional Learning in Preschool Settings: A Systematic Map of Systematic Reviews

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Potato trait development going fast-forward with genome editing

Implementations and improvements of genome editing techniques used in plant science have increased exponentially. For some crops, such as potato, the use of transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) has moved to the next step of trait development and field trials, and should soon be applied to commercial cultivation

GBSS mutations in an SBE mutated background restore the potato starch granule morphology and produce ordered granules despite differences to native molecular structure

Potato starch with mutations in starch branching enzyme genes (SBEI, SBEII) and granule-bound starch synthase gene (GBSS) was characterized for molecular and thermal properties. Mutations in GBSS were here stacked to a previously developed SBEI and SBEII mutation line. Additionally, mutations in the GBSS gene alone were induced in the wild-type variety for comparison. The parental line with mutations in the SBE genes showed a - 40 % increase in amylose content compared with the wild-type. Mutations in GBSS-SBEI-SBEII produced non-waxy, low-amylose lines compared with the wild-type. An exception was a line with one remaining GBSS wild-type allele, which displayed -80 % higher amylose content than wild-type. Stacked mutations in GBSS in the SBEI-SBEII parental line caused alterations in amylopectin chain length distribution and building block size categories of whole starch. Correlations between size categories of building blocks and unit chains of amylopectin were observed. Starch in GBSS-SBEI-SBEII mutational lines had elevated peak temperature of gelatinization, which was positively correlated with large building blocks

Good behavior game – study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of a preventive behavior management program in a Swedish school context

BackgroundEarly conduct problems and school failure are prominent risk factors for several adverse outcomes in later life. With the potential of reaching many children at early stages of their life, school-based interventions constitute a valuable approach to universal prevention. Good behavior game (GBG) is a promising school-based behavior management program, having shown immediate reductions in conduct problems along with several long-term positive effects. Adapting interventions to new contexts may however affect their effectiveness. The current study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a Swedish adaption of GBG under pragmatic conditions. The intervention is hypothesized to reduce conduct problems in the classroom (primary outcome). Secondary analyses will investigate changes in conduct problems in common school areas, classroom climate, teacher collective efficacy, on-task behavior, as well as investigating behavioral management practices, implementation, and barriers to implementation.MethodsThis is a cluster-randomized trial with two parallel groups. Schools will be randomized (1,1, stratified by their areas sociodemographic index score) to be provided training in GBG or perform business-as-usual. The intervention and data collection lasts for a school year. Data will be collected at three time points: at baseline in the beginning of the school year (prior to training in GBG), after three months, and after nine months (at the end of the school year; primary endpoint). Data consists of teacher-rated measures of conduct problems, classroom climate, teacher collective efficacy, behavior management practices, and implementation factors, along with demographic factors. In addition, data will be collected by independent and blinded observers using corresponding measures in a subset of randomly chosen classrooms. Procedural fidelity will be rated and collected by GBG-trainers during nine observations throughout the school year. Statistical analysis will include frequentist intention-to-treat analysis, and comparisons of estimates with a corresponding Bayesian model using weakly informative priors. The study has currently completed data collection.DiscussionThis study will provide knowledge in universal prevention and school-based interventions with high reach, as well as specific knowledge concerning the effectiveness of an adapted version of GBG under real-world conditions, along with factors affecting its implementation and effects.Clinical trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT05794893

Spatio-temporal transcriptome and storage compound profiles of developing faba bean (Vicia faba) seed tissues

Faba bean (Vicia faba) is a legume grown in diverse climate zones with a high potential for increased cultivation and use in food due to its nutritional seeds. In this study, we characterized seed tissue development in faba bean to identify key developmental processes; from embryo expansion at the expense of the endosperm to the maturing storage stages of the bean seed. A spatio-temporal transcriptome profiling analysis, combined with chemical nutrient analysis of protein, starch, and lipid, of endosperm and embryo tissues at different developmental stages, revealed gene expression patterns, transcriptional networks, and biochemical pathways in faba bean. We identified key players in the LAFL (LEC1, ABI3, FUS3, and LEC2) transcription factor network as well as their major repressors VAL1 and ASIL1. Our results showed that proteins accumulated not only in the embryo but also in the endosperm. Starch accumulated throughout seed development and oil content increased during seed development but at very low levels. The patterns of differentially expressed transcripts encoding proteins with functions in the corresponding metabolic pathways for the synthesis of these storage compounds, to a high extent, aligned with these findings. However, the early expression of transcripts encoding WRI1 combined with the late expression of oil body proteins indicated a not manifested high potential for lipid biosynthesis and oil storage. Altogether, this study contributes to increased knowledge regarding seed developmental processes applicable to future breeding methods and seed quality improvement for faba bean

Starch biosynthetic genes and enzymes are expressed and active in the absence of starch accumulation in sugar beet tap-root

BACKGROUND: Starch is the predominant storage compound in underground plant tissues like roots and tubers. An exception is sugar beet tap-root (Beta vulgaris ssp altissima) which exclusively stores sucrose. The underlying mechanism behind this divergent storage accumulation in sugar beet is currently not fully known. From the general presence of starch in roots and tubers it could be speculated that the lack in sugar beet tap-roots would originate from deficiency in pathways leading to starch. Therefore with emphasis on starch accumulation, we studied tap-roots of sugar beet using parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) as a comparator. RESULTS: Metabolic and structural analyses of sugar beet tap-root confirmed sucrose as the exclusive storage component. No starch granules could be detected in tap-roots of sugar beet or the wild ancestor sea beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima). Analyses of parsnip showed that the main storage component was starch but tap-root tissue was also found to contain significant levels of sugars. Surprisingly, activities of four main starch biosynthetic enzymes, phosphoglucomutase, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, starch synthase and starch branching enzyme, were similar in sugar beet and parsnip tap-roots. Transcriptional analysis confirmed expression of corresponding genes. Additionally, expression of genes involved in starch accumulation such as for plastidial hexose transportation and starch tuning functions could be determined in tap-roots of both plant species. Conclusion: Considering underground storage organs, sugar beet tap-root upholds a unique property in exclusively storing sucrose. Lack of starch also in the ancestor sea beet indicates an evolved trait of biological importance. Our findings in this study show that gene expression and enzymatic activity of main starch biosynthetic functions are present in sugar beet tap-root during storage accumulation. In view of this, the complete lack of starch in sugar beet tap-roots is enigmatic