235130 research outputs found
Sort by
Method for modifying tuber shape in potato
No full textThe present invention relates to a method for modifying the tuber shape of a potato (Solanum tuberosum) plant comprising genetically engineering the presence or absence or functional activity 5 of the StOFP20 gene. The tuber shape of a potato plant is modified from round to elongate by deletion or inactivation of a functional StOF P20 gene present in the genome of a plant that produces round potatoes to become absent or non-functional. The present invention further relates to a method for modifying the tuber shape of a potato (Solanum tuberosum) plant comprising crossing a potato plant comprising a functional StOF P20 gene With a potato plant lacking a 10 functional StOF P20 gene and subsequently selecting from the F2 progeny of the cross a plant With the desired tuber shape
Cell type-specific transcriptomics in the plant embryo using an adapted INTACT protocol
No full textCells differentiate from undifferentiated precursors in order to establish the tissues of vascular plants. The different cell types and stem cells are first specified in the early embryo. How cell type specification is instructed by transcriptional control on a genome-wide level is poorly understood. A major hurdle has been the technical challenge associated with obtaining cellular transcriptomes in this inaccessible tissue. Recently, we adapted a two-component genetic labeling system called INTACT to isolate nuclei and generate a microarray-based expression atlas of the cell types in the early Arabidopsis thaliana embryo. Here we present a step-by-step description of the adapted INTACT protocol, as well as the approach to generate transcriptomic profiles. This protocol has been adapted to account for using seeds with embryos of various developmental stages as a starting material, and the relatively few cell type-specific nuclei that can be isolated from embryos.</p
Adaptive introgression from indicine cattle into white cattle breeds from Central Italy
No full textCattle domestication occurred at least twice independently and gave rise to the modern taurine and indicine cattle breeds. European cattle diversity is generally dominated by taurine cattle, although elevated levels of indicine ancestry have been recorded in several breeds from southern Europe. Here we use genome-wide high-density SNP genotyping data to investigate the taurine and indicine ancestry in southern European cattle, based on a dataset comprising 508 individuals from 23 cattle breeds of taurine, indicine and mixed ancestry, including three breeds from Central Italy known to exhibit the highest levels of indicine introgression among southern European breeds. Based on local genomic ancestry analyses, we reconstruct taurine and indicine ancestry genome-wide and along chromosomes. We scrutinise local genomic introgression signals and identify genomic regions that have introgressed from indicine into taurine cattle under positive selection, harbouring genes with functions related to body size and feed efficiency. These findings suggest that indicine-derived traits helped enhance Central Italian cattle through adaptive introgression. The identified genes could provide genomic targets for selection for improved cattle performance. Our findings elucidate the key role of adaptive introgression in shaping the phenotypic features of modern cattle, aided by cultural and livestock exchange among historic human societies.</p
Nano- and microplastics affect the composition of freshwater benthic communities in the long term
No full textGiven the societal concern about the presence of nano- and microplastics in the environment, our nescience with respect to in situ effects is disturbing. Data on long-term implications under ecologically realistic conditions are particularly important for the risk assessment of nano- and microplastics. Here, we evaluate the long-term (up to 15 months) effects of five concentrations of nano- and microplastics on the natural recolonization of sediments by a macroinvertebrate community. Effects were assessed on the community composition, population sizes and species diversity. Nano- and microplastics adversely affected the abundance of macroinvertebrates after 15 months, which was caused by a reduction in the number of Naididae at the highest concentration (5% plastic per sediment dry weight). For some other taxa, smaller but still significant positive effects were found over time, altogether demonstrating that nano- and microplastics affected the community composition
Identifying tree health using sentinel-2 images: a case study on Tortrix viridana L. infected oak trees in Western Iran
No full textForest land has a vital role in our planet ecosystem health. Forest areas are under natural and human pressure worldwide. Pests may have irreparable damages to vegetation cover; Tortrix viridana is one of the most important pests in the western forests of Iran and is mainly hosted by oak trees. In this study the performance of Sentinel-2 images to detect infected oaks by T. viridana in the Zagros forest habitat was considered. Vegetation indices (VIs) were extracted from affected and non-affected areas by T. viridana. The indices indices included normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), infrared percentage vegetation index (IPVI) and inverted red-edge chlorophyll index (IRECI) which were extracted from Sentinel-2 satellite images. The results of the present study show that VIs in affected and non-affected areas of the study site have significant differences at 99% of confidence level. In addition, the Spearman’s correlation coefficients between the VIs values in the affected and non-affected were 0.213, 0.213, 0.168 and 0.121 for IPVI, NDVI, IRECI and SAVI, respectively. This shows that Sentinel-2 images can be used to detect pests in forest areas.</p
Does food intake mediate the association between mindful eating and change in depressive symptoms?
No full textObjective:To examine mediation by (i) diet quality and (ii) diet quantity in the associations of mindful eating domains with 3-year change in depressive symptoms.Design:Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale at baseline and 3-year follow-up. Four mindful eating domains (Focused Eating; Eating in response to Hunger and Satiety Cues; Eating with Awareness; Eating without Distraction) were measured with the Mindful Eating Behavior Scale. Food intake was measured with a 238-item FFQ. Diet quality was defined as the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS). Diet quantity was defined as total energy intake (kcal/d; 1 kcal = 4·184 kJ). Mediation analyses with percentile-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals were conducted to calculate indirect effects.Setting:Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam.Participants:Adults aged 55 years or above (n 929).Results:Diet quality (MDS) did not mediate associations of any of the four mindful eating domains with change in depressive symptoms. In contrast, total energy intake did mediate the associations with change in depressive symptoms for the mindful eating domains Eating with Awareness (indirect effects fully adjusted models: B = -0·014, 95 % CI -0·037, -0·002) and Eating without Distraction (B = -0·013, 95 % CI -0·033, -0·001), but not for the other two domains. Post hoc multiple mediation analyses showed similar results.Conclusions:Higher scores on two mindful eating domains were associated with a decrease in depressive symptoms through lower total energy intake. Diet quantity, but not diet quality, could be a possible underlying mechanism in the associations between mindful eating and change in depressive symptoms.</p
Development and validation of the acculturative stress scale for Pakistani Muslim students
No full textThe current study aimed to develop a culturally competent scale to examine the unique stressors encountered by Muslim Pakistani students during their stay abroad. A pool of 31-item was subjected to Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) which yielded the final 24 items scale resulted in six distinct domains of stressors, academic (six items), general living and finance (four items), perceived discrimination (three items), cultural and religious (four items), local & environmental (four items), language barrier (three items). The Multidimensional Acculturative Stress Scale was developed and validated for Pakistani students and can be used as a diagnostic tool by campus counselors and mental health practitioners.</p
Regulation and activation of SOBIR1-containing receptor complexes involved in plant immune signalling
No full textThe tomato cell surface receptor-like protein (RLP) Cf-4 confers resistance to Avr4-secreting strains of the fungus Cladosporium fulvum, which causes tomato leaf mould disease. Cf-4 constitutively interacts with the receptor-like kinase (RLK) SOBIR1 and interacts with the RLK BAK1 upon recognition of Avr4 by Cf-4. Formation of the Cf-4/SOBIR1/BAK1 complex is proposed to trigger phosphorylation of the intracellular kinase domains of SOBIR1 and BAK1, which subsequently activate downstream signalling resulting in plant immunity. However, components involved in regulating the Avr4-induced formation and subsequent activation of the Cf-4/SOBIR1/BAK1 complex remain unknown. In addition, downstream components required for Cf-4 signalling are largely unknown. The work described in this thesis is aimed at gaining more insight into the molecular mechanisms of Cf-4 signalling. Furthermore, the application of the gained knowledge to genetically engineer plant immunity is pursued. Additionally, as SOBIR1, which is functionally required for all RLPs mediating immunity, also interacts with the RLP CLAVATA2 (CLV2) involved in development, the significance of the CLV2/SOBIR1 complex is investigated
Comparison of homogenization methods for daily temperature series against an observation-based benchmark dataset
No full textHomogenization of daily temperature series is a fundamental step for climatological analyses. In the last decades, several methods have been developed, presenting different statistical and procedural approaches. In this study, four homogenization methods (together with two variants) have been tested and compared. This has been performed constructing a benchmark dataset, where segments of homogeneous series are replaced with simultaneous measurements from neighboring homogeneous series. This generates inhomogeneous series (the test set) whose homogeneous version (the benchmark set) is known. Two benchmark datasets are created. The first one is based on series from the Czech Republic and has a high quality, high station density, and a large number of reference series. The second one uses stations from all Europe and presents more challenges, such as missing segments, low station density, and scarcity of reference series. The comparison has been performed with pre-defined metrics which check the statistical distance between the homogenized versions and the benchmark. Almost all homogenization methods perform well on the near-ideal benchmark (maximum relative root mean square error (rRMSE): 1.01), while on the European dataset, the homogenization methods diverge and the rRMSE increases up to 1.87. Analyses of the percentages of non-adjusted inhomogeneous data (up to 39%) and substantial differences in the trends among the homogenized versions helped identifying diverging procedural characteristics of the methods. These results add new elements to the debate about homogenization methods for daily values and motivate the use of realistic and challenging datasets in evaluating their robustness and flexibility.</p