Phospholipid content of subcellular structures in skeletal muscles after halothane loading in Landrace swine in relation to mating variants and genotype

Membraneous phospholipids of subcellular structures were determined from the musculature of German Landrace pigs of the GDR, following exposure to halothane. Mating variants A (H+ male X H+ female), B (H+ male X H- female), and C (H- male X H+ female) were used for positive responders (MHS), while variants B, C, and D (H- male X H- female) were used for negative responders (MHN). Four phospholipid fractions were recorded from the muscle samples for mitochondria and microsomes (according to SR section). Differences between the MHS and MHN groups for the above fractions and without consideration of mating variants and genotype were not observed, although unambiguous responses were exhibited by all animals, either positive or negative to halothan. Significant differences with regard to the above phospholipid fractions were recordable only for variant A (MHS group) as compared to D (MHN), in other words, for the homozygous genotypes, once the above results had been rearranged within MHS and MHN along with different mating variants and genotypes. However, no unambiguous results were obtainable for the heterozygous genotypes of mating variants B and C. Possible underlying reasons are discussed in some detail. The results obtained from mating variants A and D are likely to confirm earlier findings and seem to suggest that the sarcoplasmic reticulum is the primary site of origin of susceptibility to halothane or malignant hyperthermia.     

A preliminary evaluation of throughfall sampling techniques in a mature coniferous forest

Rainfall, throughfall and stemflow were measured and canopy interception loss was derived for 14 rainfall events from June 22 to August 30, 2008 within a mature declining hybrid white spruce(Picea glauca(Moench) Voss × P. engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.)- subalpine fir(Abies lasiocarpa(Hook.) Nutt.)- lodgepole pine(Pinus contorta var.latifolia Dougl. ex Loud.) stand in south-central British Columbia, Canada. Stemflow was negligible during the study period, while, respectively throughfall and canopy interception loss accounted for approximately59.4% and 40.6% of the 50.1 mm of cumulative rainfall. Throughfall variability was assessed with three approaches involving roving and stationary wedge-type gauges, and stationary trough gauges. Throughfall exhibited large spatial variability with the coefficient of variability of study period throughfall sampled using 16 stationary trough gauges being30.3%, while it was 38.0% and 28.7% for 32 stationary and 32 roving wedge gauges, respectively. Our analysis suggests that a roving gauge method is better than a stationary approach since the errors associated with event mean throughfalls are summed quadratically and a greater portion of the canopy area is sampled. Trough gauges were more efficient than wedge gauges; however, this efficiency was less than expected given their much larger sampling areas, suggesting that spatial autocor-relation lengths of throughfall may be longer than the trough systems. The spatial distribution of throughfall showed a high degree of temporal persistence throughout the study suggesting the existence of stable "wet" and "dry" inputs to the floors of these coniferous forests.     

Genomics in equine veterinary medicine

Veterinary medicine is marching forward with genomics grasped firmly in one fist. Genomics has been part of our veterinary tool bag for some time in various guises, but the breadth and depth of its ramifications can be daunting. This article is designed to provide toe‐holds for veterinarians to enjoy a better understanding of genomics – a truly fascinating area of science.     

Chronic tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis in a domestic donkey in Central Europe

Bovine tuberculosis is a contagious and zoonotic disease of animals and humans. In Europe, the number of reported cases of tuberculosis has decreased. Equidae are relatively rarely infected even in endemic areas. The presented report describes a case of chronic Mycobacterium bovis tuberculosis in a 30-year-old female donkey. The donkey initially presented with persistent lymphadenopathy; however, as the disease progressed, weight loss became apparent. To the authors' knowledge, this is the second confirmed case of tuberculosis in a donkey in Europe.     

Genomic Prediction of Arsenic Tolerance and Grain Yield in Rice: Contribution of Trait-Specific Markers and Multi-Environment Models

Many rice-growing areas are affected by high concentrations of arsenic(As). Rice varieties that prevent As uptake and/or accumulation can mitigate As threats to human health. Genomic selection is known to facilitate rapid selection of superior genotypes for complex traits. We explored the predictive ability(PA) of genomic prediction with single-environment models, accounting or not for trait-specific markers, multi-environment models, and multi-trait and multi-environment models, using the genotypic(1600 K SNPs) and phenotypic(grain As content, grain yield and days to flowering) data of the Bengal and Assam Aus Panel. Under the base-line single-environment model, PA of up to 0.707 and 0.654 was obtained for grain yield and grain As content, respectively; the three prediction methods(Bayesian Lasso, genomic best linear unbiased prediction and reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces) were considered to perform similarly, and marker selection based on linkage disequilibrium allowed to reduce the number of SNP to 17 K, without negative effect on PA of genomic predictions. Single-environment models giving distinct weight to trait-specific markers in the genomic relationship matrix outperformed the base-line models up to 32%. Multi-environment models, accounting for genotype × environment interactions, and multi-trait and multi-environment models outperformed the base-line models by up to 47% and 61%, respectively. Among the multi-trait and multi-environment models, the Bayesian multi-output regressor stacking function obtained the highest predictive ability(0.831 for grain As) with much higher efficiency for computing time. These findings pave the way for breeding for As-tolerance in the progenies of biparental crosses involving members of the Bengal and Assam Aus Panel. Genomic prediction can also be applied to breeding for other complex traits under multiple environments.     

Porous, crystalline, covalent organic frameworks

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been designed and successfully synthesized by condensation reactions of phenyl diboronic acid {C6H4[B(OH)2]2} and hexahydroxytriphenylene [C18H6(OH)6]. Powder x-ray diffraction studies of the highly crystalline products (C3H2BO)6.(C9H12)1 (COF-1) and C9H4BO2 (COF-5) revealed expanded porous graphitic layers that are either staggered (COF-1, P6(3)/mmc) or eclipsed (COF-5, P6/mmm). Their crystal structures are entirely held by strong bonds between B, C, and O atoms to form rigid porous architectures with pore sizes ranging from 7 to 27 angstroms. COF-1 and COF-5 exhibit high thermal stability (to temperatures up to 500 degrees to 600 degrees C), permanent porosity, and high surface areas (711 and 1590 square meters per gram, respectively).     

Manganese blocks intracellular trafficking of Shiga toxin and protects against Shiga toxicosis

Infections with Shiga toxin (STx)-producing bacteria cause more than a million deaths each year and have no definitive treatment. To exert its cytotoxic effect, STx invades cells through retrograde membrane trafficking, escaping the lysosomal degradative pathway. We found that the widely available metal manganese (Mn(2+)) blocked endosome-to-Golgi trafficking of STx and caused its degradation in lysosomes. Mn(2+) targeted the cycling Golgi protein GPP130, which STx bound in control cells during sorting into Golgi-directed endosomal tubules that bypass lysosomes. In tissue culture cells, treatment with Mn(2+) yielded a protection factor of 3800 against STx-induced cell death. Furthermore, mice injected with nontoxic doses of Mn(2+) were completely resistant to a lethal STx challenge. Thus, Mn(2+) may represent a low-cost therapeutic agent for the treatment of STx infections.     

A systematic survey of loss-of-function variants in human protein-coding genes

Genome-sequencing studies indicate that all humans carry many genetic variants predicted to cause loss of function (LoF) of protein-coding genes, suggesting unexpected redundancy in the human genome. Here we apply stringent filters to 2951 putative LoF variants obtained from 185 human genomes to determine their true prevalence and properties. We estimate that human genomes typically contain ~100 genuine LoF variants with ~20 genes completely inactivated. We identify rare and likely deleterious LoF alleles, including 26 known and 21 predicted severe disease-causing variants, as well as common LoF variants in nonessential genes. We describe functional and evolutionary differences between LoF-tolerant and recessive disease genes and a method for using these differences to prioritize candidate genes found in clinical sequencing studies.