Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Island Population Structure of Norway Spruce (Picea abies) in Northern Sweden

Picea abies, which is predominantly sexual, has been reported to propagate vegetatively through layering in a cold harsh climate, although this has not been demonstrated genetically. Using 105 amplified fragment length polymorphism markers, we analyzed 117 trees of Norway spruce from seven islands in Lake Hornavan in Lapland, northern Sweden. These islands differ in size, time since last wildfire disturbance, and vegetation successional age. A total of 96 distinct genotypes were identified among the 117 samples, and the average gene diversity was 0.37. Genetic differentiation among islands was high, \documentclass{aastex} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{bm} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pifont} \usepackage{stmaryrd} \usepackage{textcomp} \usepackage{portland,xspace} \usepackage{amsmath,amsxtra} \usepackage[OT2,OT1]{fontenc} \newcommand\cyr{ \renewcommand\rmdefault{wncyr} \renewcommand\sfdefault{wncyss} \renewcommand\encodingdefault{OT2} \normalfont \selectfont} \DeclareTextFontCommand{\textcyr}{\cyr} \pagestyle{empty} \DeclareMathSizes{10}{9}{7}{6} \begin{document} \landscape $$F_{\mathrm{st}\,}=0.19$$ \end{document} . Drift, founder effect, small population size, infrequent sexual reproduction, and low seedling establishment would have contributed to the high Fst. Layering was found on five of the seven islands, giving an average clonal composition of 18%. A total of 11 clones, each consisting of two to five closely clustered ramets, were detected. Interestingly, layering was more common on the small islands that have not been disturbed by fire for over 1000 yr than on the larger islands with more recent fire disturbance. Our results indicate that island size and ecological conditions related to fire disturbance history on each island are important for the observed patterns of population structure.
Characterization of protein and small RNA components of Argonaute complexes

Diese Dissertation wurde selbständig, ohne unerlaubte Hilfe erarbeitet. Summary Members of the Argonaute (Ago) protein family associate with small RNAs and regulate gene expression at the level of transcription, mRNA stability or translation. Although a number of small RNAs and proteins involved in gene silencing have been identified so far, the spectrum of Ago-mediated silencing implies an interplay of various additional factors. We therefore purified Ago complexes from human cells in order to analyze their protein as well as their RNA content. We found that Ago1 and Ago2 reside in three complexes of different sizes, showing distinct Dicer and RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) activities. The smallest complex is formed by multiple subcomplexes with distinct enzymatic activities. The two larger complexes form large ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) carrying a variety of different RNA binding or regulatory proteins, providing new insights into the function of Ago proteins. The second part of this work focuses on the identification of small RNAs associated with human Ago1 and Ago2. Endogenous Ago proteins were purified, followed by small RNA cloning and large-scale sequencing. The majority of the cloned RNAs belong to the class of miRNAs. Interestingly, individual read numbers suggest preferential Ago binding for at least some miRNAs. Besides miRNAs, we found RNA fragments mapping to mRNAs, transposons and other non-coding RNAs like tRNAs. Moreover, small RNAs with a length of about 20-22 nucleotides originating from snoRNAs have been found. The most prominent sequence read mapping to snoRNA H/ACA45 is capable of guiding Ago2-mediated cleavage of complementary target RNAs. Furthermore, processing of H/ACA45 is Drosha-independent but depending on Dicer. Remarkably, the seed sequence of the H/ACA45 processing product is perfectly complementary in the 3' UTR of several mRNAs. We could demonstrate that H/ACA45-derived small RNAs possess an endogenous mRNA target that is translationally repressed. Together with the finding that many snoRNA-derived reads from various deep sequencing libraries are conserved in mammals, the data suggest that snoRNA processing is a more general mechanism and snoRNA-derived small RNAs can act as miRNAs.
El Niño, grazers and fisheries interact to greatly elevate extinction risk for Galapagos marine species

Comparisons between historical and recent ecological datasets indicate that shallow reef habitats across the central Galapagos Archipelago underwent major transformation at the time of the severe 1982/1983 El Niño warming event. Heavily grazed reefs with crustose coralline algae (‘urchin barrens’) replaced former macroalgal and coral habitats, resulting in large local and regional declines in biodiversity. Following recent threat assessment workshops, a total of five mammals, six birds, five reptiles, six fishes, one echinoderm, seven corals, six brown algae and nine red algae reported from coastal environments in Galapagos are now recognized as globally threatened. The 2008 International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List includes 43 of these species, while two additional species (Galapagos damsel Azurina eupalama and 24‐rayed sunstar Heliaster solaris) not seen for > 25 years also fulfil IUCN threatened species criteria. Two endemic species (Galapagos stringweed Bifurcaria galapagensis and the damselfish A. eupalama) are now regarded as probably extinct, while an additional six macroalgal species (Dictyota galapagensis, Spatoglossum schmittii, Desmarestia tropica, Phycodrina elegans, Gracilaria skottsbergii and Galaxaura barbata) and the seastar H. solaris are possibly extinct. The removal of large lobster and fish predators by artisanal fishing probably magnified impacts of the 1982/1983 El Niño through a cascade of indirect effects involving population expansion of grazing sea urchins. Marine protected areas with adequate enforcement are predicted to ameliorate but not eliminate ecosystem impacts caused by increasing thermal anomalies associated with El Niño and global climate change.
In situ estimation of net CO2 assimilation, photosynthetic electron flow and photorespiration in Turkey oak (Q. cerris L.) leaves: diurnal cycles under different levels of water supply

Diurnal time courses of net CO2 assimilation rates, stomatal conductance and light-driven electron fluxes were measured in situ on attached leaves of 30-year-old Turkey oak trees (Quercus cerris L.) under natural summer conditions in central Italy. Combined measurements of gas exchange and chlorophyll a fluorescence under low O2 concentrations allowed the demonstration of a linear relationship between the photochemical efficiency of PSII (fluorescence measurements) and the apparent quantum yield of gross photosynthesis (gas exchange). This relationship was used under normal O2 to compute total light-driven electron fluxes, and to partition them into fractions used for RuBP carboxylation or RuBP oxygenation. This procedure also yielded an indirect estimate of the rate of photorespiration in vivo. The time courses of light-driven electron flow, net CO2 assimilation and photorespiration paralleled that of photosynthetic photon flux density, with important afternoon deviations as soon as a severe drought stress occurred, whereas photochemical efficiency and maximal fluorescence underwent large but reversible diurnal decreases. The latter observation indicated the occurrence of a large non-photochemical energy dissipation at PSII. We estimated that less than 60% of the total photosynthetic electron flow was used for carbon assimilation at midday, while about 40% was devoted to photorespiration. The rate of carbon loss by photorespiration (R1) reached mean levels of 56% of net assimilation rates. The potential application of this technique to analysis of the relative contributions of thermal de-excitation at PSII and photorespiratory carbon recycling in the protection of photosynthesis against stress effects is discussed.
Synthesis of indole-derived allocolchicine congeners exhibiting pronounced anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducing properties

Based on the natural antimitotic agent allocolchicine as a lead structure, a series of novel indole-based allocolchicine congeners was synthesized and assessed in vitro for their cytostatic properties. Several compounds exhibited potent anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducing activity towards lymphoma cells along with low unspecific cytotoxicity. The observed activity is supposed to result from the inhibition of microtubule assembly, as indicated by the tubulin polymerisation assay.
A STUDY OF THE INNERVATION OF THE TAENIA COLI

An electrophysiological and anatomical study of the guinea pig taenia coli is reported. Changing the membrane potential of single cells cannot modulate the rate of firing action potentials but does reveal electrical coupling between the cells during propagation. The amplitude of the junction potentials which occur during transmission from inhibitory nerves is unaffected in many cells during alteration of the membrane potential, indicating electrical coupling during transmission. The taenia coli is shown to consist of smooth muscle bundles which anastomose. There are tight junctions between the cells in the bundles, and these probably provide the pathway for the electrical coupling. The smooth muscle cells towards the serosal surface of the taenia coli are shown electrophysiologically to have an extensive intramural inhibitory innervation, but a sparse sympathetic inhibitory and cholinergic excitatory innervation. These results are in accordance with the distribution of these nerves as determined histochemically. As single axons are only rarely observed in the taenia coli, it is suggested that the only muscle cells which undergo permeability changes during transmission are those adjacent to varicosities in the nerve bundles. The remaining muscle cells then undergo potential changes during transmission because of electrical coupling through the tight junctions.
Description of the female of Orsolobus pucara Forster & Platnick 1985, with comments on the functional morphology of the female genitalia in Dysderoidea (Araneae: Dysderoidea: Orsolobidae)

Abstract The female of Orsolobus pucara Forster & Platnick 1985 is described and its genitalia examined using the scanning electron microscope (SEM). A small phylogenetic matrix with female genital and sexual behavior characters was made with the aim to study the evolution of these characters in the superfamily Dysderoidea. This is the first time that the female genitalia of a species of the family Orsolobidae have been studied in detail with SEM. The anterior portion of the female genitalia is a sclerotized structure with gland ducts and sites for muscle attachments. The posterior portion has a membranous receptaculum and a sclerotized plate that serves as attachment for muscles. We discuss the probable function of genital characters in a phylogenetic context. The anterior sclerotized elements of the female genitalia of some Dysderidae, Orsolobidae and Oonopidae species and the anterior receptaculum in the Segestriidae seem to be homologous structures because of the presence of gland ducts and sperm. However, both of these characteristics are lost in some species of these families, the anterior portion of the female genitalia being transformed into a highly modified structure serving mainly as attachment for muscles implicated in sexual behavior mechanisms.
The Anatomical and Palynological Properties of Alyssum obtusifolium Steven ex DC. (Brassicaceae)

Alyssum obtusifolium Steven ex DC. was explored in terms of its anatomical and palynological aspects. The root is perennial and it has alternating concentric zones of xylem with large and small vessels respectively. The number of vascular bundles is 13-15 in the stem. The leaves are isolateral and have stomata cells which are anisocytic. Both surfaces of the leaves are covered with stellate hairs. The pollen type of the specimens is tricolpate.
Development of simple, cost effective protocol for micropropagation of Tylophora indica (Burm f.) Merill., an important medicinal plant.

Aims: The present studies were initiated to develop a cost effective protocol for micropropagation,as a mean for conservation of medicinal plant -Tylophora indica(Burm f.)Merill. The plant is threatened andneeds immediate conservation, therefore, the study was undertaken with following objective: ￻•In vitromultiplication of Tylophora indicausing nodal axillary bud proliferation and through organogenesis of callus. Study Design:For all experiments ten repli cates were used per treatment and all the experiments were repeated three times. Data have been presented as Mean ± Standard deviation.
Aspect mécanique de la croissance des racines. I. Mesure de la force de pénétration

Dans un sol, milieu heterogene, une racine peut rencontrer des zones de resistance differente a la pentration qui font obstacle a son enfoncement et a son developpement. En laboratoire, nous avons modelise un tel obstacle par une lamelle d'acier sur laquelle est collee une jauge extensometrique. Nous pouvons ainsi determiner simultanement la force et la vitesse de croissance de la racine; de plus, nous suivons l'evolution des structures cellulaires meristematiques en observant des coupes cytologiques. Nous comparons cette methode a d'autres presentees dans une revue bibliographique
Molecular characterisation of bud necrosis virus isolates infecting tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) by coat protein gene analysis in Andhra Pradesh

The complete nucleotide sequence was determined for coat protein (CP) gene of Groundnut bud necrosis virus (GBNV) infecting tomato in Andhra Pradesh (AP). The sequenced region in GBNV-To isolate contained a single open reading frame of 831 bases that could potentially code for a CP of 276 amino acids. The CP gene sequence of GBNV-To has 93–99% sequence homology with that of the gene sequences of other GBNV isolates prevalent on different hosts in India. In the present study, it is determined that the GBNV-To isolate of tomato prevalent in AP is regarded as the same strain of GBNV already existing in India.
Estimation and utilisation of glutenin gene effects from the analysis of unbalanced data from wheat breeding programs

Glutenins are a major determinant of dough characteristics in wheat. These proteins are determined by genes at 6 loci (Glu genes), with multiple alleles present in most breeding programs. This study was conducted to determine whether estimates of allele effects for the important dough rheological characters, maximum dough resistance (Rmax) and dough extensibility, could be determined from aggregated data from southern Australian wheat breeding programs using statistical techniques appropriate for unbalanced data. From a 2-stage analysis of 3226 samples of 1926 cultivars and breeding lines, estimates of Rmax and extensibility effects were obtained, first for the lines, and then for 31 glutenin alleles. Glutenin genes did not determine flour protein concentration, and this character was used as a covariate. Rankings of the estimates of Rmax for the alleles were similar to the relative scores for dough strength reported from previous studies, providing strong evidence that the analysis of a large, unbalanced data set from applied wheat breeding programs can provide reliable estimates. All 2-way interactions between loci were present for 18 of the alleles. Analyses including interactions showed that epistasis was important for both Rmax and extensibility, especially between the Glu-B1 locus coding for high molecular weight glutenins and the Glu-A3 and Glu-B3 loci coding for low molecular weight glutenins. Because of the complexity of these interactions, similar values of Rmax and extensibility were predicted for diverse combinations of alleles. This implied that the practical application of glutenin genes in applied wheat breeding would be greatly enhanced by computer software which can predict dough rheology characteristics from glutenin allele classifications.
Exploring a largely unknown fauna: On the diversity of pachychilid freshwater gastropods in Vietnam (Caenogastropoda: Cerithioidea)

A revision of Vietnamese freshwater gastropods of the family Pachychilidae is presented based on the analysis of morphological characteristics and partial sequences of the mitochondrial genes of 16S rRNA (16S) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI). We found that in Vietnam two pachychilid genera occur, Brotia and Sulcospira. Of the eight to fifteen species reported by earlier authors, we can only confirm the presence of two species, Sulcospira tonkiniana and S. tourannensis. All further taxonomic names that were previously applied for Vietnamese pachychilids are considered as junior synonyms of these two species or erroneous references to species from other regions of Southeast and South Asia. Additionally, we describe two new species of Brotia, four new species of Sulcospira, and report another undescribed species with uncertain affinities. Patterns of morphological and genetic differentiation of the Vietnamese species and their affinities within the context of pachychilid phylogeny are briefly discussed.
AUTORADIOGRAPHIC AND HISTOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON DIFFERENTIATION OF MYELOIDS AND MONOCYTES IN HUMAN CORD BLOOD IN VITRO

Human umbilical cord blood cells were cultured in suspension for 15 days. Characteristics of the cord blood cells grown in culture were studied in relation to histochemical features with 3H-thymidine (3H-TdR) labeling in the course of the 15-day culture. The labeling index after 1 day was 2.9% of mononuclear cells, naphthol AS-D chloroacetate esterase (NACE) and peroxidase positive cells comprised about 83% of all the labeled cells. In the study with blood from 38 to 41 weeks gestation, the percentage of 3H-TdR labeled cells and histochemically stained cells were found more or less identical regardless of the gestational age. No labeled cells with nonspecific esterase activity were observed in 1 and 5-day cultures. The total cell population decreased in 5 days whereas the labeled cells increased to 19%. The labeled cells showing NACE and peroxidase activities decreased markedly after 5 days. After 10-15 days of culture, both cell number and the labeling index decreased, whereas the labeled cells with peroxidase and luxol fast blue (LFB) activity increased. At the same time, the appearance of the labeled cells having nonspecific esterase activity was observed.
Leaf acid phosphatase isozymes in the diagnosis of phosphorus status in field-grown wheat

This study examined the inorganic and total phosphorus in wheat plant tops, along with the phosphatase activity and the phosphatase isozymes occurring in the youngest fully expanded leaves, from two field experiments done in 1983 and I984 at two sites in South Australia. Twelve levels of phosphorus were used in the first year, and split plots in the second year allowed the effects of current and/or residual phosphorus treatments to be determined.The inorganic or total phosphorus concentration, or content per plant, could be related to plant and grain yield, but values relative to phosphorus deficiency varied between different stages of growth and between sites. Relationships with inorganic phosphorus were no better than those with total phosphorus.Leaf acid phosphatase assays were a better measure, providing similar values relative to plant deficiency between sites, between seasons and irrespective of whether current or residual phosphorus was the source, but the values varied with plant age.The phosphatase zymograms identified an isozyme which appeared when plants were deficient in phosphorus. It did not appear when they were adequately supplied. The isozyme appeared at all stages of growth to anthesis, and from late tillering through to heading was related to grain yield at both sites, in both seasons and whether freshly applied or residual phosphorus was the source of supply. For diagnostic purposes, specific sets of standards would be required for the phosphorus and phosphatase assays. They would not be required for the phosphatase zymograms.
Molecular characterization of promising genotypes in bottle gourd including a novel segmented leaf type through RAPD

The present study has shown the usefulness of RAPD and facilitated molecular distinction among the five out of eight promising germplasm lines of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) where six out of 19 primers could amplify the genomic DNA. With one particular primer, the widest range for number of bands across the genotypes was Ito 8. None of the bands was monomorphic. Leaf morphology variation (segmented type) could not be shown to be the major component of overall diversity. Search is on for molecular characterization of large number of bottle gourd germplasm and detection of at least one primer which could amplify and give dissimilar RAPD profiles in two genotypes where at least one should be PBOG 54, the segmented leaf genotype so that this technique could be extended to detect selfed seeds from crossed ones in crosses involving PBOG 54 which has segmented leaf as a marker trait.
The effect of thyroprotein on growth rate of dwarf pullets.

Abstract Interest has been growing recently in the use of dwarf pullets for commercial egg production. Such interest stems from the possible saving in feed and housing costs due to the small body size of this bird. The adult body weight of the dwarf is approximately two-thirds that of today’s normal egg production pullet even though the hatching weights of both are the same. Comparatively little work has been done concerning the nutrient requirements for growth and egg production of the dwarf birds. However, from the work that has been reported by Bernier and Arscott (1966) and Arscott and Bernier (1968), it is evident that they consume much less feed, and egg production and egg size are significantly lower than that of normal hens. A study in our laboratory has confirmed the work of the above authors with regards to low egg production and small egg size and attempts to improve…
Exact Enumeration of Sires in the Polyandrous Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)

Abstract Polyandry has been demonstrated in a number of shark species. Studies based on a small number of loci typically estimate the minimum number of sires, which may be much lower than the actual number of sires due to the sharing of alleles by parents. We genotyped three litters of Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) ranging in size from 29 to 39 pups at 12 DNA microsatellite loci to determine the number of sires for each litter. We analyzed the genotypes using two analytical methods, both of which indicated that each litter had five to seven sires with one to 17 pups per sire. Previous analyses of these litters based on MHC loci indicated a minimum of four sires. Because G. cirratum are not capable of long-term sperm storage and ovulate over several weeks, they may require multiple inseminations to fertilize an entire litter. The varying levels of developmental stage among embryos found within a single litter may reflect multiple fertilizations over a prolonged period. Exact enumeration of sires as demonstrated here can provide valuable information for understanding reproductive ecology of live-bearing vertebrates.