17,577 research outputs found
Molecular coat colour genetics
No full textCoat colour, being sufficiently easy to observe and score, is a model phenotype for studying gene action and interaction. Farm animals provide us a valuable resource for identifying genes behind such phenotypic traits, because they show a remarkably higher diversity in coat colour compared to natural populations. This thesis concerns two different farm animal coat colour phenotypes. First, the dominant white phenotype in domestic pigs is studied. It has been previously determined that white coat colour in domestic pigs is caused by two mutations in the KIT gene – a gene duplication and a splice mutation in one of the copies. The genetic analysis of such a locus with many alleles is complicated. Pyrosequencing and minisequencing are the methods applied in present studies for quantitative analysis of the splice mutation and unexpectedly high allelic diversity at the porcine KIT locus was revealed. Furthermore, a method based on pyrosequencing for analysing gene copy numbers, using this locus as a model, was developed. This method is based on a competitive amplification of the breakpoint regions from duplicated and normal copies of KIT and quantification of the products. This strategy, analysing genes with multiple copies, could have a much broader use than just analysing porcine KIT locus. For instance, several human genetic diseases are caused by changes in gene copy number and analysis of these genes has been quite complicated. The second part of the thesis is summarising the greying with age phenotype in horses. These horses are born coloured, turn progressively grey and most of them develop melanoma. The locus responsible for this phenotype has been mapped to horse chromosome 25, homologous to human chromosome 9. Two Swedish Warmblood horse families were used in present studies to perform a comparative linkage mapping of the Grey locus. The identified interval region has no obvious candidate genes affecting coat colour or melanoma development. Since this mutation occurred most probably only once, thousands of years ago, the identification of a minimum shared haplotype among individuals from different breeds should reveal the gene and the mutation behind this fascinating phenotype
Scrapie-resistant sheep show certain coat colour characteristics
No full textSusceptibility to scrapie is known to be associated with polymorphisms at the prion protein (PrP) gene, and this association is the basis of current selective programmes implemented to control scrapie in many Countries. However, these programmes might have unintended consequences For other traits that might be associated with PrP genotype. The objective of this Study was to investigate the relationship between PrP genotype and coat colour characteristics in two UK native sheep breeds valued for their distinctive coat colour patterns. Coat colour pattern, darkness and spotting and PrP genotype records were available for 11674 Badgerfaced Welsh Mountain and 2338 Shetland sheep. The data were analysed with a log-linear model using maximum likelihood. Results showed a strong significant association of PrP genotype with coat colour pattern in Badgerfaced Welsh Mountain and Shetland sheep and with the presence of white spotting in Shetland sheep. Annuals with the ARR/ARR genotype (the most scrapie resistant) had higher odds of having a light dorsum and a dark abdomen than the reverse pattern. The implication of these associations is that selection to increase resistance to scrapie based only on PrP genotype could result in change in morphological diversity and affect other associated traits such as fitness.</p
Warren Beatty’s Coat / Angel
No full textACE340.2 10:00:00 10:05:37 Pixillated. Man and woman lying on ground in falling snow. She helps him up and wraps her coat round him and goes away. Second man arrives; pockets snow "biscuit" she’d put down. Both men go away. Woman picking up snow/ice objects. First man brings her coat back. Second man returns. They all eat snow/ice. Second man asks, "How do you know it’s Warren Beatty’s coat?" First man leaves with coat. Woman falls over. Credits.
Escalator. Blind man walking down at bottom of apparently "up" escalator – film reversed. He quotes, "In the beginning was the word…", sound distorted by reverse recording. Man "ascends" on escalator to strains of Zadok the Priest. Credits
Hair coat characteristics in Friesian heifers in the Netherlands and Kenya : experimental data and a review of literature
No full textThe export of about 2600 Friesian heifers to Kenya between 1971-1973 provided an opportunity of studying the adaptation problems experienced by these heifers. Within the framework of the NUFFIC (Netherlands Universities Foundation for International Cooperation) a research project entitled 'Adaptation of Dutch Friesian heifers in the Tropics, with special reference to Kenya' was initiated. This project studied aspects such as health parameters, reproduction and growth in the imported Friesians. Under the aegis of the project we studied the changes in cattle hair coat characteristics. This topic was chosen for 3 main reasons:- The characteristics and the cyclic changes of the hair coat are important in the ecology of cattle.- Various authors have drawn attention to the importance of hair coat type as an indicator of the ability of beef cattle to adapt to tropical climates.- There were no data on adaptation problems, with regard to hair coats, of dairy cattle.To complement the Kenyan data, I studied hair coat characteristics in Friesian heifers in the Netherlands. By thoroughly reviewing existing literature on hair follicles, sweat glands and hair coat characteristics in cattle, I obtained data that could be compared with the data I collected in Kenya and the Netherlands.The literature review (Chapter 2.) comprises a résumé of the anatomy and physiology of the hair follicle and sweat gland (section 2.1.4.); a summary of hair follicle and sweat gland characteristics (section 2.2.12.), and hair coat characteristics of cattle (section 2.3.13.); a summary of coat shedding, the effects of photoperiod, temperature and nutrition (section 2.4.4.); and the major conclusions on how hair follicle, sweat gland and hair coat characteristics relate to heat exchange, performance and adaptation (section 2.5.5.).Chapter 3 describes the experiments. The methods of measuring hair coat characteristics are given in paragraph 3.1. The hair samples were measured for medullation, hair diameter, hair length, melanin content, hair density and percentage of anagen hair roots. Our methods were generally the same as those reported in the literature, except for those we used to measure medullation and hair diameter.The results of the research on hair coat characteristics of Friesian heifers in the Netherlands are described in 3.2. In this investigation 30 heifers were sampled at regular intervals. Supplementary observations on shedding of the coat were made on 6 heifers. We found that:- In the same animal white hair samples were more medullated than black hair samples.- The changes in various hair coat characteristics did not run parallel in all body regions. In summer the coats were uniform over the body. In autumn and winter, however, various hair coat characteristics varied significantly between body regions.- All the characteristics considered changed with time. Large seasonal changes were found in percentage of medullated hairs, hair length and melanin content. The seasonal cycle in percentage of medullated hairs - from 50% in winter to 90% in summer -, which represents the seasonal variation in coat composition, was closely related to change in daylength.- Large changes in coat composition occurred in spring and in autumn. In the heifers used in the shedding experiment in autumn about 50% of the hairs were shed and the increase in hair length resulted from the growth of the 'summer' hairs.- The melanin content was found to be related to body weight gain.The hair coat characteristics of Friesian heifers after introduction into Kenya are described in paragraph 3.3. In a preliminary study we made measurements on 25 heifers brought to Kitale in October 1972. The main study was made on 27 heifers brought to Kitale in October 1973. The most important results were:- The percentage of medullated hairs remained at the same low level (40-50%) during the first 12 months; only after this period it increased gradually.A few months after arrival in Kenya the percentage of fragmentary medullated hairs rose rapidly.- It was striking that most animals grew very dense coats in the first six months in Kenya.- Both hair diameter and hair length decreased in the first 6 months in Kenya.- Only in those periods when the heifers experienced a rather low plane of nutrition did some hair coat characteristics correlate with body weight gain. Chapter 4 discusses some results from the experimental heifers in the Netherlands and from the heifers examined in Kenya, and presents our conclusions.The main outcomes were:- Contrary to the practice, in comparative studies black and white hairs should be studied separately. Moreover the body region chosen for sampling may significantly affect the results.- The experimental heifers in the Netherlands adapted to the summer conditions by developing a short, medullated, and less dense hair coat. The seasonal rhythm in coat composition is probably due to changes in photoperiod acting through the endocrine system.- Our results on coat shedding do not agree with those from Australia mentioned in the literature. The sequence of events in temperate zones is probably:a. in spring most of the hairs are replaced: the non-medullated hairs disappear almost entirely from the coat and almost all the new hairs are medullated;b. in autumn about 50% of the hairs are replaced: non-medullated hairs appear in the coat again, the hair density increases, and the 'summer' hairs increase markedly in length;c. some replacement occurs continuously throughout the year.- In Kenya the equatorial photoperiod probably upsets this cycle in the imported heifers. The low level of medullated hairs during the first 12 months, the marked increase in fragmentary medullated hairs, and the high hair densities in the first 6 months (mainly due to the fact that the non-medullated hairs were shed only very gradually) show that these animals had difficulties in acclimatizing. It took about 18 months before the coat composition of the heifers transferred to Kenya was about the same as that of the heifers in the Netherlands in summer. These results endorse YEATES'S (1958) view that the equatorial light environment must be regarded as an extra setback to the successful adaptation of European cattle to hot equatorial regions.- Contrary to the assumptions in the literature that both hair follicle and hair density decrease as the animal grows and that hair density is not subject to seasonal changes, our findings suggest that a number of follicles producing non- medullated hairs remain empty in the summer months and that the number of empty follicles per unit area is inversely proportional to the number of non- medullated hairs per unit area. This would partly explain the surprizing high hair densities in the first 6 months in Kenya, because in the heifers in Kenya dense hair coats tended to be composed of more non-medullated hairs. We have indications that in animals with extremely high hair densities a number of follicles contain two hairs. So hair follicle population figures are not equivalent to hair population figures.- Ambient temperature is related to hair length. The influence of temperature may be mediated by the thyroid.- Plane of nutrition is probably (like in sheep and men) directly related to hair diameter.- There was no evidence for a strong link between body weight gain and hair coat characteristics. In the Netherlands body weight gain was related to melanin content only; the significance of this relationship is not fully clear. The results in Kenya confirm the assumption of various workers that a medullated coat indicates capacity to react favourably under stressful conditions.- In the mild climatic conditions of Kitale the hair coat is probably not very important in relation to the thermal balance of the animal. In hot-dry and hot-wet climates heat problems may arise (at least in the first year after exportation) in animals that are transferred from the temperate to equatorial regions . This has to be investigated further.- Further research is also necessary to reveal the role of various hair coat characteristics on heat transfer. And it will be interesting to investigate the physiological mechanisms underlying the relationships between coat type and thrift in a tropical environment. This should be determined with animals kept under controlled conditions
ARF-GAP-mediated interaction between the ER-Golgi v-SNAREs and the COPI coat
No full textIn eukaryotic cells, secretion is achieved by vesicular transport. Fusion of such vesicles with the correct target compartment relies on SNARE proteins on both vesicle (v-SNARE) and the target membranes (t-SNARE). At present it is not clear how v-SNAREs are incorporated into transport vesicles. Here, we show that binding of ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF)-GTPase-activating protein (GAP) to ER-Golgi v-SNAREs is an essential step for recruitment of Arf1p and coatomer, proteins that together form the COPI coat. ARF-GAP acts catalytically to recruit COPI components. Inclusion of v-SNAREs into COPI vesicles could be mediated by direct interaction with the coat. The mechanisms by which v-SNAREs interact with COPI and COPII coat proteins seem to be different and may play a key role in determining specificity in vesicle budding
Warren Beatty’s Coat / Angel - ACE340.2
No full textACE340.2 10:00:00 10:05:37 Pixillated. Man and woman lying on ground in falling snow. She helps him up and wraps her coat round him and goes away. Second man arrives; pockets snow "biscuit" she’d put down. Both men go away. Woman picking up snow/ice objects. First man brings her coat back. Second man returns. They all eat snow/ice. Second man asks, "How do you know it’s Warren Beatty’s coat?" First man leaves with coat. Woman falls over. Credits
The anatomy of the muscle wall of the human colon : the inter-taenial continuity of the longitudinal muscle coat
No full textThis report is, in modified form, part of the thesis presented by Dr. Pace for his Ph.D. The work reported was done whilst he was a Commonwealth Scholar in the Department of Anatomy at the Middlesex Medical School, London. Contradictions exist in the literature as to whether the outer muscle coat of the human colon is complete or not. There are conflicting points of view as to the presence and extent of the longitudinal muscle in between the taeniae. The material used consisted of 112 human colons, mainly postmortem, from subjects ranging in age from early fetal to 88 years. Portions from the named regions of the colon fixed in various states of distension were examined. The methods of microdissection were combined with those of histology. Sections, transverse of the whole circumference and longitudinal of the intertaenial wall, were studied. It was found that in the human colon the outer longitudinal coat, though thin in between the toenia, forms a complete and continuous layer. This is so at all ages, in all regions of the colon and in all states of distension except maximal when the muscle fascicles become separated by gaps filled in with connective tissue. Under no circumstances was the outer coat found to consist only of a few scattered longitudinal fibres and isolated bits of muscle, or to be entirely absent.peer-reviewe
Correlation of physio-chemical characteristics in the seed coat and canning quality in different dark red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris l.) cultivars
No full textPlan BThe canned kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the major consumption forms of this agricultural product. In the canning industry, seed coat splitting is considered one factor affecting the integrity of the appearance in the final product. Three different dark red kidney bean cultivars (85, 453 and Nickols) grown in the Wisconsin area were studied in this research. The physiochemical properties in this study included moisture content, the seed coat to whole seed weight ratio, the weight per seed, ash, mineral (sodium, calcium, iron, potassium and magnesium) and total crude protein content in the seed coat. The correlations of these properties with the seed coat splits were investigated. In the canned product, highly significant differences (P<0.01) in percentage of split seed coat were found among the three cultivars studied. Canned cv. 85 had significantly fewer seed coat splits than the other two cultivars. Cv. 85 was significantly higher in moisture content, as well as ash, sodium, calcium and iron content in the seed coat. The seed coat of cv. 453 was significantly higher in magnesium, and total crude protein. Cv. Nickols was found to be significantly higher in the weight per bean and seed coat splits after the canning process. Significant negative correlations were found between the percentage of seed coat splits, sodium (r = -0.89, p< 0.01), calcium (r = -0.74, P< 0.01) and iron content (r = -0.79, P< 0.05) in the seed coat. A positive correlation was found between sodium content and calcium content (r = 0.69, P< 0.05) in the seed coat. Increased calcium content in the seed coat was accompanied with increased sodium content. A significant positive relationship (r = 0.901, P< 0.01) was found between seed weight and the percentage of seed coat splits. This research suggested that several physiochemical factors of the seed coat, including weight per seed, sodium, calcium, and iron content, might play important roles in the integrity of the seed coat during the thermal processing
Sequence diversity and potential recombination events in the coat protein gene of Apple stem pitting virus.
No full textThe variability of the Apple stem pitting virus (ASPV) coat protein (CP) gene was investigated. The CP gene of ten virus isolates from apple and pear trees was sequenced. Comparison of all sequenced virus isolates revealed high diversity of the CP gene (70.7-93.5% at the nucleotide level and 77.8-98.7% at the amino acid level). Additionally, one or two deletions in the N-terminal part of the coat protein gene of the studied virus isolates were identified. The ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous polymorphic sites indicated that purifying selection has acted to eliminate deleterious mutations in coding sites. Moreover, the evidences for recombination in analyzed sequences were provided. It is likely that recombination, along with selection, enhances the speed of elimination of deleterious mutations in ASPV, following the mutational deterministic hypothesis of Kondrashov
A coat of many colors [electronic resource] : dress culture in the young state of Israel /
No full textA Coat of Many Colors investigates Israel's first seven years as a sovereign state through the usual prism of dress. Cloths worn by Israelis in the 1950's reflected political ideologies, economic conditions, military priorities, social distinctions, and cultural preferences, and all played a part in consolidating a new national identity. Based on a wide range of textual and visual historical documents, the book covers both what Israelis wore in various circumstances and what they said and wrote about clothing and fashion. This book introduces the reader both to Israel's history during its formative years and to the rich field of dress culture. --Book Jacket.Includes bibliographical references (p.205-232) and index.A Coat of Many Colors investigates Israel's first seven years as a sovereign state through the usual prism of dress. Cloths worn by Israelis in the 1950's reflected political ideologies, economic conditions, military priorities, social distinctions, and cultural preferences, and all played a part in consolidating a new national identity. Based on a wide range of textual and visual historical documents, the book covers both what Israelis wore in various circumstances and what they said and wrote about clothing and fashion. This book introduces the reader both to Israel's history during its formative years and to the rich field of dress culture. --Book Jacket.Description based on print version record
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