Loci

Obesity is heritable and predisposes to many diseases. To understand the genetic basis of obesity better, here we conduct a genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI), a measure commonly used to define obesity and assess adiposity, in up to 339,224 individuals. This analysis identifies 97 BMI-associated loci…

Recent enhancement of the pool of known molecular markers for avocado has allowed the construction of the first moderately dense genetic map for this species. Over 300 SSR markers have been characterized and 163 of these were used to construct a map from the reciprocal cross of two Florida cultivars 'Simmonds' and 'Tonnage'. One hundred thirty-five primer pairs amplified 163 usable loci with 20 primer pairs amplifying more than one locus. 'Tonnage' was heterozygous for 152 (93%) loci, whereas 'Simmonds' was heterozygous for 64 (39%). Null alleles were identified at several loci. Linkage maps were produced for both reciprocal crosses and combined to generate a composite linkage map for the F1 population of 715 individuals. The composite map contains 12 linkage groups. Linkage groups ranged in size from 157.3 cM (LG2) to 2.4 cM (LG12) and the number of loci mapped per group ranged from 29 (LG1) to two (LG12). The total map length was 1,087.4 cM. Only seven markers were observed to have segregation distortion (α ≤ 0.05) across both sub-composite (reciprocal) maps. Phenotypic data from traits of horticultural interest are currently being collected on this population with the ultimate goal of identifying useful quantitative trait loci and the development of a marker-assisted selection program.

In humans, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been shown to be an effective and thorough approach for identifying polymorphisms associated with disease phenotypes. Here, we describe the first study to perform a genome-wide association study in canine atopic dermatitis (cAD) using the Illumina Canine SNP20 array, containing 22,362 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The aim of the study was to identify SNPs associated with cAD using affected and unaffected Golden Retrievers. Further validation studies were performed for potentially associated SNPs using Sequenom genotyping of larger numbers of cases and controls across eight breeds (Boxer, German Shepherd Dog, Labrador, Golden Retriever, Shiba Inu, Shih Tzu, Pit Bull, and West Highland White Terriers). Using meta-analysis, two SNPs were associated with cAD in all breeds tested. RS22114085 was identified as a susceptibility locus (p?=?0.00014, odds ratio?=?2) and RS23472497 as a protective locus (p?=?0.0015, odds ratio?=?0.6). Both of these SNPs were located in intergenic regions, and their effects have been demonstrated to be independent of each other, highlighting that further fine mapping and resequencing is required of these areas. Further, 12 SNPs were validated by Sequenom genotyping as associated with cAD, but these were not associated with all breeds. This study suggests that GWAS will be a useful approach for identifying genetic risk factors for cAD. Given the clinical heterogeneity within this condition and the likelihood that the relative genetic effect sizes are small, greater sample sizes and further studies will be required.

("For sample chapter and browsing see: http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?pid=530423).  In this project I reflect on how the Southern Cone postdictatorship generations reshape the collective memory of the dictatorial past through political activism and forms of artistic expression (cinema, literature, comics and photography). I situate their work at the intersection of the individual and the collective: it helps artists and activists elaborate traumatic events individually but it also has a profound impact at the collective level, and it is enabled by changes in the political context. Collective memory and intergenerational transmissions are key concepts for understunding these generations' emergence and contributions.
The first part of my study focuses on Argentina, where this generation’s public interventions have broadened social involvement in remembering the past and encouraged learning from it for the sake of the present. In that respect, this generation’s participation is instrumental in achieving an “exemplary memory” in Todorov’s terms: a memory that allows us to draw lessons from the past in order to actively deal with abuses and social conflict in the present, and deciding which kind of society we want to live in.
In the second part, I compare the exemplary achievements in Argentina with Chile and Uruguay, where political conditions are less conducive to genuine debate. The book is written for teaching, research and a non-academic readership."

The mission of the Lake Ontario Coastal Initiative (LOCI), encompassing all New York State North Coast stakeholders from the Niagara River to the St. Lawrence River, is to enlist and retain broad public commitment for remediation, restoration, protection, conservation and sustainable use of the coastal region. This mission will be accomplished by securing funds and resources to achieve scientific understanding,

Die Ars memorativa war im spätmittelalterlichen Krakau sehr populär. Das Fach wurde vertreten von ausländischen und polnischen Gelehrten, zum Beispiel: Jacobus Publicius, Konrad Celtis, Thomas Murner, Johannes Enclen de Cusa (Cusanus), Stanisław Korzybski, Antoni von Radomsko und Jan Szklarek. Man muss jedoch feststellen, dass Thomas Murners Lehrmethoden zur Logik noch nicht in Bezug gesetzt worden sind zu den mnemotechnischen Instrumenten der polnischen Franziskaner-Observanten oder anderer Gelehrter, die in Polen wirkten. Speziell ist der Traktat des Jacque Le Févre d’Étaples — abgesehen von einer Bemerkung von Gustav Bauch — noch nicht in seiner Eigenschaft als Inspirationsquelle für Murners Methode untersucht worden. Der Beitrag stellt die Logica memorativa als einen paradigmatischen Fall mnemotechnischen Methodentransfers zwischen Frankreich, Deutschland und Polen an der Wende vom 15. zum 16. Jh. dar.

Staphylococcus aureus has been recognized as a major human pathogen and is the major cause of nosocomial infections. Gamma-toxin, leukocidin and other bi-component toxins are a family of proteins encoded by the hlg and luk-PV, respectively. Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is an example of these toxins and causes leukocyte destruction and tissue necrosis. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of bi-component leukocidin in Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates in staphylococcal infections. Collectively, 143 isolates of S. aureus were obtained from Tehran University of Medical Sciences hospitals and confirmed with biochemical tests. Then polymerase chain reaction was used to detect luk-PV loci and luk-E/D. Coagulase gene was used as internal control. The antibiotic susceptibility patterns of isolates were determined using disk diffusion method. Out of 149 S. aureus isolates 24.2% were luk-PV positive and 73.8% were luk-E/D positive. There was PVL...

Premessa un’analisi dei termini stereotipo e pregiudizio, si cercherà di collegare questi concetti (d’ambito anzitutto psicologico e sociologico) all’ambito retorico-linguistico e giuridico. Qui si verificherà come determinate tecniche di ragionamento logico-giuridico facessero, nell’antichità, un uso tecnico e neutrale di strumenti (i loci) che rappresentano gli antesignani degli odierni ‘pregiudizi’; e si verificherà come i bias cognitivi e le fallacie argomentative abbiano deformato e strumentalizzato la retorica, fino a rappresentare gli strumenti prevalenti nella formazione e nella diffusione dei pregiudizi, anche in ambito giudiziario, ancora oggi.

We report the development of nine microsatellite markers in globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus). Four markers were obtained from sequences available in GenBank and five were isolated using a biotin/streptavidin capture technique for (CA)n and (CT)n motifs directly from artichoke genomic DNA. Polymorphism was explored in 15 artichoke accessions that represent the genetic variation within cultivated varietal types. Inter-specific amplification was tested using cultivated cardoon (C. cardunculus L. var. altilis DC.) and wild cardoon (C. cardunculus L. var. sylvestris Lam.). Primers and conditions for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of detected loci are described.

Molecular Breeding 6: 553–568, 2000. © 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. ... A retrospective analysis of spring barley germplasm development from 'foundation genotypes' to currently successful cultivars ... Joanne R. Russell, Roger P. Ellis, William ...

A total of 12,080 sequences, including 5,851 transcriptome contigs developed at NBRI and 5,002 singlets and 1,227 contigs assembled from 13,201 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of Jatropha curcas from National Center for Biotechnology Information database were used to search for simple sequence repeats (SSRs). Seven hundred and two sequences containing 786 SSRs with 93.4% simple and 7.6% compound repeat motifs were identified. Dinucleotide repeats (DNRs) were most abundant, followed by trinucleotide and tetranucleotide repeats. AG/CT was the most common motif (50.0%) followed by AT/AT (38.8%) and AC/GT (10.0%) among the DNRs. Four hundred and six primer pairs were designed out of the 702 SSR-containing sequences. Fifty randomly selected EST-SSR markers were amplified in 25 accessions collected from different geographical regions of India. Twenty-one SSR markers were polymorphic and with allele variation from two to four. Polymorphic information content value ranged between 0.04 and 0.61 with an average of 0.25 ± 0.16, indicating low to moderate level of informativeness within these EST-SSRs. The polymorphic markers showed 57.0% to 95.6% transferability among five species of Jatropha and 47.0% transferability across genera in Ricinus communis. Fifty-one alleles detected by the 21 polymorphic EST-SSRs were used to determine genetic relationships among 25 J. curcas accessions. Genetic similarity coefficient ranged from 0.44 to 0.94. The 25 accessions got grouped to three main clusters, comprising 10, 11, and four accessions. This is the first report of development of EST-SSRs in J. curcas and will be valuable resource for future genetical studies, like construction of linkage maps, diversity analysis, quantitative trait locus/association mapping, and molecular breeding of J. curcas.

The nutritional value and yield potential of US Western Shipping melon (USWS; Cucumis melo L.) could be improved through the introgression of genes for early fruit maturity (FM) and the enhancement of the quantity of β-carotene (QβC) in fruit mesocarp (i.e., flesh color). Therefore, a set of 116 F3 families derived from the monoecious, early FM Chinese line ‘Q 3-2-2’ (no β-carotene, white mesocarp) and the andromonoecious, late FM USWS line ‘Top Mark’ (possessing β-carotene, orange mesocarp) were examined during 2 years in Wisconsin, USA to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with FM and QβC. A 171-point F2–3 based map was constructed and used for QTL analysis. Three QTL associated with QβC were detected, which explained a significant portion of the observed phenotypic variation (flesh color; R 2 = 4.0–50.0%). The map position of one QTL (β-carM.E.9.1) was uniformly aligned with one carotenoid-related gene (Orange gene), suggesting its likely role in QβC in this melon population and putative relationship with the melon white flesh (wf) gene. Two major (FM.6.1 and FM.11.1; R 2 ≥ 20%) and one minor QTL (FM.2.1; R 2 = 8%) were found to be associated with FM. This map was then merged with a previous recombinant inbred line (RIL)-based map used to identify seven QTL associated with QβC in melon fruit. This consensus map [300 molecular markers (187 co-dominant melon and 14 interspecific; 10 LG)] provides a framework for the further dissection and cloning of published QTL, which will consequently lead to more effective trait introgression in melon.

We report the development of nine microsatellite markers in globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus). Four markers were obtained from sequences available in GenBank and five were isolated using a biotin/streptavidin capture technique for (CA)n and (CT)n motifs directly from artichoke genomic DNA. Polymorphism was explored in 15 artichoke accessions that represent the genetic variation within cultivated varietal types. Inter-specific amplification was tested using cultivated cardoon (C. cardunculus L. var. altilis DC.) and wild cardoon (C. cardunculus L. var. sylvestris Lam.). Primers and conditions for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of detected loci are described.

Background Cultivated cotton is an annual fiber crop derived mainly from two perennial species, Gossypium hirsutum L. or upland cotton, and G. barbadense L., extra long-staple fiber Pima or Egyptian cotton. These two cultivated species are among five allotetraploid species presumably derived monophyletically between G. arboreum and G. raimondii. Genomic-based approaches have been hindered by the limited variation within species. Yet, population-based methods are being used for genome-wide introgression of novel alleles from G. mustelinum and G. tomentosum into G. hirsutum using combinations of backcrossing, selfing, and inter-mating. Recombinant inbred line populations between genetics standards TM-1, (G. hirsutum) × 3-79 (G. barbadense) have been developed to allow high-density genetic mapping of traits. Results This paper describes a strategy to efficiently characterize genomic variation (SNPs and indels) within and among cotton species. Over 1000 SNPs from 270 loci and 279 indels from 92 loci segregating in G. hirsutum and G. barbadense were genotyped across a standard panel of 24 lines, 16 of which are elite cotton breeding lines and 8 mapping parents of populations from six cotton species. Over 200 loci were genetically mapped in a core mapping population derived from TM-1 and 3-79 and in G. hirsutum breeding germplasm. Conclusion In this research, SNP and indel diversity is characterized for 270 single-copy polymorphic loci in cotton. A strategy for SNP discovery is defined to pre-screen loci for copy number and polymorphism. Our data indicate that the A and D genomes in both diploid and tetraploid cotton remain distinct from each such that paralogs can be distinguished. This research provides mapped DNA markers for intra-specific crosses and introgression of exotic germplasm in cotton.