Sequence variants in the RNF212 gene associate with genome-wide recombination rate

The genome-wide recombination rate varies between individuals, but the mechanism controlling this variation in humans has remained elusive. A genome-wide search identified sequence variants in the 4p16.3 region correlated with recombination rate in both males and females. These variants are located in the RNF212 gene, a putative ortholog of the ZHP-3 gene that is essential for recombinations and chiasma formation in Caenorhabditis elegans. It is noteworthy that the haplotype formed by two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the highest recombination rate in males is associated with a low recombination rate in females. Consequently, if the frequency of the haplotype changes, the average recombination rate will increase for one sex and decrease for the other, but the sex-averaged recombination rate of the population can stay relatively constant.     

Occurrence and significance of bacteria in living trees of Populus nigra L.

On the occurrence and significance of bacteria in living trees of Populus nigra L. Eleven strains of bacteria were isolated from sapwood and heartwood of living poplar trees (Populus nigra L.) and identified mostly as Erwinia, Xanthomonas, Agrobacterium and Acinetobacter. Most of them were able to attack milled wood and the wood components pectin, hemicelluloses and holocellulose; α-cellulose and lignin were not consumed. The capillary liquid in the xylem of poplar served as a nutrient for the isolated bacteria. The significance of these bacteria for wetwood formation is discussed.     

Analysis of the prevalence of distichiasis in the dog breed Elo

The Elo is a recently established dog breed in which the eye anomaly distichiasis has been frequently observed. Out of a total of 234 Elo dogs ophthalmologically examined over four years, 27.8% of the dogs showed between 1 and 31 distichia. There were twice as many distichia in the upper than in the lower eyelid. Litter size, the number of examinations of Elo dogs per ophthalmologist and the proportion of genes of the Eurasian dog had a significant influence on the prevalence of distichiasis. The error probability for the inbreeding coefficient and the proportion of genes of the Old English Sheepdog were just above the significance limit of p = 0.05. No significance was found for the remaining effects. Heritability for distichiasis was estimated using a linear animal model. After transformation of the linear observed estimate onto the underlying liability scale the heritability estimate was h2 = 0.43.     

Proanthocyanidins: target compounds as antibacterial agents

Grape seeds accumulate in huge quantities as byproduct during wine production and are therefore a cheap source for pharmacologically active agents. However, studies prove poor antibacterial activity, and results of analyses are sometimes contradictory. The aim of this study was, thus, to determine the antibacterial activity of grape seed extracts with special focus on the chromatographic characterization of active fractions. In the course of these investigations, extraction protocols were optimized so that microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) guaranteed highest preconcentration efficiency. Proanthocyanidins, monomeric flavonoid aglycones, as well as some of their glycosides could be identified within yielded extracts via high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). By that means the coherence number of possible isomers of procyanidins was approximated by a newly developed equation. As far as antibacterial activity determined via screening tests is concerned, the extracts generally have been found to be positively responsive toward 10 different gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria strains. After fractionation of the raw extracts, proanthocyanidins P2, P3, P4 and gallate esters P2G and P3G (P = proanthocyanidin consisting of catechin and epicatechin units, n = oligomerization degree, G = gallate ester) were determined as active antibacterial agents toward 10 different pathogens. Only moderate activity was found for monomeric flavonoid fractions.