581 research outputs found
Derrida’s Umbrapolitics: Marrano “Living Together”
No full textThis essay focuses on political implications of Derrida’s messianicité as a form of Marrano messianism: a universal vision of community “out of joints” which, despite its disjointedness and inner separation, nonetheless addresses itself as “we” (although always in inverted commas). By referring to the generalized “Marrano experience” – the fate of those Sephardic Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity and, in consequence, became neither Jewish nor Christian – Derrida takes the Marrano as his paradigmatic political figure of a “rogue” (voyou) who escapes every identity politics. In Derrida’s project of “living together” (vivre ensemble), the Marrano stands for the non-participatory remnant of otherness which is not just the other of this or that particular tradition, but becomes a bearer of a new universalism, based not on the abstract notion of human nature but on the non-identity, a distance-from-identity or what Yirmijahu Yovel calls the “non-integral identity.
Genome-wide patterns of genetic variation among wild and cultivated grapevines (V. vinifera L.)
No full textGrapevine (V. vinifera L.) is one of the most important crops worldwide due to its global distribution and economic value. Two forms of grapevine still co-exist nowadays: the cultivated form V. vinifera subsp. sativa and the wild form V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris, which is considered the ancestor of present cultivars. Archeological and historical findings suggest that cultivated grapevines have been domesticated from wild populations of V. sylvestris circa 8,000 BP in the Near East. However, recent genetic analyses raised the outstanding question whether multiple domestication events occurred. During domestication the biology of grapes changed dramatically to guarantee greater yield, higher sugar content and more regular production. The changes in berry and bunch size as well as the transition from dioecious wild plants to hermaphrodite cultivated grapes were crucial. Additional studies on the genetic relationship between wild and cultivated grapevines are required in order to understand how this phenotypic evolution occurred and to clarify the process of adaptation to domestication in grapevine. This will be useful for the future genetic improvement of viticulture.
In this regard, we investigated the genetic and phenotypic variation within a germplasm collection of wild and cultivated grapevine accessions. The whole population was first genotyped with the commercial GrapeReSeq Illumina 20K SNP array, yielding 16K good quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Afterwards, a novel Restriction Associated DNA-sequencing (RADseq) procedure was developed in order to further increase the density of molecular markers across the grapevine genome. By applying this novel RAD-seq protocol to the whole population, 37K SNPs were identified, which reflected a considerable level of genetic diversity between sativa and sylvestris accessions. The two merged SNP matrices were filtered for SNP loci with a missing rate > 0.2 and a minor allele frequency (MAF) < 0.05. The final panel of 27K SNPs evenly distributed along the grapevine genome was used to investigate the population structure by using both Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the cluster algorithm implemented in fastSTRUCTURE software. In line with previous research, both analyses highlighted a low but clear differentiation between sativa and sylvestris individuals. Therefore, the extent of Linkage Disequilibrium (LD) was evaluated within the whole grapevine population and in the two subspecies separately. LD, as measured by the classical r2 correlation coefficient, decayed below 0.2 within 10 kb in the whole population. On the other hand, a slower LD decay was observed in the wild compartment, where r2 reached values below 0.2 within 20 kb. This result can be related with an elevated level of inbreeding among wild individuals, linked to a small effective population size and the missing gene-flow between wild populations.
Population differentiation statistic (FST) was computed across the grapevine genomes looking for genomic regions with divergent allele frequencies between the two grapevine subspecies. An overall low level of genetic differentiation (FST = 0.12) was observed between cultivated and wild grapes, suggesting the occurrence of genetic exchange among the two subspecies. However, a non-random distribution of divergent sites was observed along the whole genome: over two thousands of SNP loci revealed a significant level of differentiation between sativa and sylvestris, validated empirically with a permutation test. 1,714 annotated genes were found in LD with these most significant SNPs, and showed an enrichment of predicted functions
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related to the metabolic processes of nitrogen and carbohydrate as well as to the perception and adaptation to environmental stimuli. A slightly reduction of nucleotide diversity in the sylvestris (πsylvestris/ πsativa ~0.95) was observed in almost all the identified genes involved in stress responses, suggesting that a selection is likely acting in wild populations for adaptation to several environmental changes. Therefore, these results point the attention towards sylvestris grapevines as valuable resources of resilience genes or alleles, which may have been lost in cultivated grapevine during the domestication process.
Genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach has been applied as an alternative strategy to identify the genes and mutations that have been targets of selection during crop domestication. Therefore, the germplasm collection of cultivated and wild grapevines has been evaluated in two years for single berry and single bunch weight, number of bunches per plant, yield and berry composition (sugar, organic acid and K+ concentrations, titratable acidity and pH). A great phenotypic variation was observed within and between the two grapevine subspecies, notably for berry size, pH, acid contents and titratable acidity. The association test, carried out accounting for confounding factors, identified significant genotype-phenotype correlations for all traits, except for single berry weight. Genes encoding proteins related to Ca2+ sequestration and signalling, transcription factors and enzymes involved in the metabolism of polyamines were identified in linkage with the SNPs significantly associated to yield and bunch weight. At the same time, genes with a central role in the control of berry flesh pH and acidity were detected, such as the isocitrate lyase and V-type proton ATPase subunit a3 genes.
Therefore, the present research has proven for the first time the feasibility of population genetics and association mapping approaches for dissecting the genomic basis of phenotypic variation in a complex genetic system as grapevine. Moreover, further evidence of the relevance of wild grapevine as a model for understanding the mechanisms of adaptation to natural conditions has been provided. These results pave the way for understanding how wild and cultivated grapevines react to environmental stimuli, which will benefit the development of new breeding strategies to face the ongoing climate changes and the growing demand of a sustainable viticulture
Marrano Spirit? … and Hispanism, or Responsibility in 2666
No full textIn “Marrano Spirit? ... and Hispanism, or, Responsibility in 2666,” Gareth Williams challenges the title of the present volume by describing the task of deconstructing (in) Hispanism as something that does not take place outside hegemonic disciplinary boundaries, but rather occupies a fold within: a withdrawal-without-exteriority. He then undertakes a close reading of “The Part About Archimboldi,” the final section of Roberto Bolaño’s 2666, arguing that the character Reiter, a Nazi soldier-turned-writer, withdraws “majoritarian markers of historical imperial domination,” entering a space that is neither properly ethical nor properly unethical. Williams names this withdrawal becoming-marrano, a concept which applies as much to the non-marrano as it does to the marrano, since the marrano enigma is not an identity but a refracting practice, a way of acting and surviving in the face of tyranny in such a way that murder and innocence are incommensurably conjoined as the most intimate wound of non-belonging.”</p
Marrano set
No full textMarrano set. (a) Brass kiddush cup Kol Bo with leaf pattern and semi-precious stones. Handles at sides. Removable lid and finial. Finial serves as spice container (e). Inside are 2 smaller cups (b & c). Larger one is inscribed in Hebrew; inside smaller cup is miniature scroll of Esther (f) hand written on parchment in case. Beneath base stand is hanukkah lamp for oil, inscribed with temple menorah and rampant lions.(d)Digital imagedigitize
Genome-wide patterns of genetic variation among wild and cultivated grapevines (V. vinifera L.)
No full textGrapevine (V. vinifera L.) is one of the most important crops worldwide due to its global distribution and economic value. Two forms of grapevine still co-exist nowadays: the cultivated form V. vinifera subsp. sativa and the wild form V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris, which is considered the ancestor of present cultivars. Archeological and historical findings suggest that cultivated grapevines have been domesticated from wild populations of V. sylvestris circa 8,000 BP in the Near East. However, recent genetic analyses raised the outstanding question whether multiple domestication events occurred. During domestication the biology of grapes changed dramatically to guarantee greater yield, higher sugar content and more regular production. The changes in berry and bunch size as well as the transition from dioecious wild plants to hermaphrodite cultivated grapes were crucial. Additional studies on the genetic relationship between wild and cultivated grapevines are required in order to understand how this phenotypic evolution occurred and to clarify the process of adaptation to domestication in grapevine. This will be useful for the future genetic improvement of viticulture.
In this regard, we investigated the genetic and phenotypic variation within a germplasm collection of wild and cultivated grapevine accessions. The whole population was first genotyped with the commercial GrapeReSeq Illumina 20K SNP array, yielding 16K good quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Afterwards, a novel Restriction Associated DNA-sequencing (RADseq) procedure was developed in order to further increase the density of molecular markers across the grapevine genome. By applying this novel RAD-seq protocol to the whole population, 37K SNPs were identified, which reflected a considerable level of genetic diversity between sativa and sylvestris accessions. The two merged SNP matrices were filtered for SNP loci with a missing rate > 0.2 and a minor allele frequency (MAF) < 0.05. The final panel of 27K SNPs evenly distributed along the grapevine genome was used to investigate the population structure by using both Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the cluster algorithm implemented in fastSTRUCTURE software. In line with previous research, both analyses highlighted a low but clear differentiation between sativa and sylvestris individuals. Therefore, the extent of Linkage Disequilibrium (LD) was evaluated within the whole grapevine population and in the two subspecies separately. LD, as measured by the classical r2 correlation coefficient, decayed below 0.2 within 10 kb in the whole population. On the other hand, a slower LD decay was observed in the wild compartment, where r2 reached values below 0.2 within 20 kb. This result can be related with an elevated level of inbreeding among wild individuals, linked to a small effective population size and the missing gene-flow between wild populations.
Population differentiation statistic (FST) was computed across the grapevine genomes looking for genomic regions with divergent allele frequencies between the two grapevine subspecies. An overall low level of genetic differentiation (FST = 0.12) was observed between cultivated and wild grapes, suggesting the occurrence of genetic exchange among the two subspecies. However, a non-random distribution of divergent sites was observed along the whole genome: over two thousands of SNP loci revealed a significant level of differentiation between sativa and sylvestris, validated empirically with a permutation test. 1,714 annotated genes were found in LD with these most significant SNPs, and showed an enrichment of predicted functions related to the metabolic processes of nitrogen and carbohydrate as well as to the perception and adaptation to environmental stimuli. A slightly reduction of nucleotide diversity in the sylvestris (πsylvestris/ πsativa ~0.95) was observed in almost all the identified genes involved in stress responses, suggesting that a selection is likely acting in wild populations for adaptation to several environmental changes. Therefore, these results point the attention towards sylvestris grapevines as valuable resources of resilience genes or alleles, which may have been lost in cultivated grapevine during the domestication process.
Genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach has been applied as an alternative strategy to identify the genes and mutations that have been targets of selection during crop domestication. Therefore, the germplasm collection of cultivated and wild grapevines has been evaluated in two years for single berry and single bunch weight, number of bunches per plant, yield and berry composition (sugar, organic acid and K+ concentrations, titratable acidity and pH). A great phenotypic variation was observed within and between the two grapevine subspecies, notably for berry size, pH, acid contents and titratable acidity. The association test, carried out accounting for confounding factors, identified significant genotype-phenotype correlations for all traits, except for single berry weight. Genes encoding proteins related to Ca2+ sequestration and signalling, transcription factors and enzymes involved in the metabolism of polyamines were identified in linkage with the SNPs significantly associated to yield and bunch weight. At the same time, genes with a central role in the control of berry flesh pH and acidity were detected, such as the isocitrate lyase and V-type proton ATPase subunit a3 genes.
Therefore, the present research has proven for the first time the feasibility of population genetics and association mapping approaches for dissecting the genomic basis of phenotypic variation in a complex genetic system as grapevine. Moreover, further evidence of the relevance of wild grapevine as a model for understanding the mechanisms of adaptation to natural conditions has been provided. These results pave the way for understanding how wild and cultivated grapevines react to environmental stimuli, which will benefit the development of new breeding strategies to face the ongoing climate changes and the growing demand of a sustainable viticulture
Concerning Some Marrano Threads in The Aesthetic Theory of Theodor W. Adorno
No full textThis article is an attempt to re-read the magnum opus of Adorno’s philosophy, namely Aesthetic Theory, using an interpretative key offered by Agata Bielik-Robson’s book entitled Jewish Cryptotheologies of Late Modernity: Philosophical Marranos. This interpretative key, called by the Author The Marrano Strategy implemented to Adorno’s late philosophy allows us to investigate the common points of Adorno’s theory of art criticism and modern Jewish thought. Therefore the main question of this text concerns the characteristics of Jewishness and messianicity (Scholem, Derrida) in Adorno’s Aesthetic Theory. The thesis that I am attempting to justify is as follows: the implementation of Marrano strategy to the modern art criticism redefines and reverses the relationship between the particular element and the universal domain. Consequently, this dialectical ‘appreciation’ of the particular establishes a common conceptual field for critical thinking and traditional, religious motifs
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