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শুক্রবার, ২৯ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Researchers find novel way plants pass traits to next generation
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
New research explains how certain traits can pass down from one generation to the next ? at least in plants ? without following the accepted rules of genetics.
Scientists have shown that an enzyme in corn responsible for reading information from DNA can prompt unexpected changes in gene activity ? an example of epigenetics.
Epigenetics refers to modifications in the genome that don't directly affect DNA sequences. Though some evidence has suggested that epigenetic changes can bypass DNA's influence to carry on from one generation to the next, this is the first study to show that this epigenetic heritability can be subject to selective breeding.
Researchers bred 10 generations of corn and found that one particular gene's activity persisted from one generation to the next whether the enzyme was functioning or not ? meaning typical genetic behavior was not required for the gene's trait to come through.
And that, the scientists determined, was because the enzyme targets a tiny piece of DNA ? previously thought of as "junk DNA" ? that had jumped from one area of the genome to another, giving that little fragment power to unexpectedly turn on the gene.
The gene in question affects pigmentation in the corn plant. As a result of these experiments, the researchers were able to change yellow kernel corn to a blue kernel variety by compromising the activity of the enzyme in each male parent.
"This is the first example where somebody has been able to take an epigenetic source of variation and, through selective breeding, move it from an inactive state to an active state," said Jay Hollick, associate professor of molecular genetics at The Ohio State University and lead author of the study. "The gene changes its expression in an epigenetic fashion and it doesn't follow standard inheritance behaviors. Those two factors alone have pretty profound implications not only for breeding but also for evolution."
The study appears online in the journal The Plant Cell.
Plant breeders tend to expect to generate desired traits according to what is known as Mendelian principles of inheritance: Offspring receive one copy of genes from each parental plant, and the characteristics of the alleles, or alternative forms of genes, help predict which traits will show up in the next plant generation.
However, epigenetic variations that change the predictability of gene behavior have complicated those expectations.
"The breeding community searches for novel traits that will have commercial interest and they really don't care what the basis is as long as they can capture it and breed it. Epigenetic heritability throws a kink in the expectations, but our findings also provide an opportunity ? if they recognize the variation they're looking for is the result of epigenetics, they could use that to their advantage," said Hollick, also an investigator in Ohio State's centers for RNA Biology and Applied Plant Sciences.
"Just by knowing that this allele behaves in this epigenetic fashion, I can breed plants that either have full coloration or no coloration or anything in between, because I am manipulating epigenetic variation and not genetic variation. And color, of course, is only one trait that could be affected."
With a longtime specialization in the molecular basis for unexpected gene activity in plants, Hollick had zeroed in on an enzyme called RNA polymerase IV (Pol IV). Multiple types of RNA polymerases are responsible for setting gene expression in motion in all cells, and Pol IV is an enigmatic RNA polymerase that is known in plants to produce small RNA molecules.
Pol IV has puzzled scientists because despite its strong conservation in all plants, it appears to have no discernible impact on the development of Arabidopsis, a common model organism in plant biology. For example, when it is deleted from these plants, they show no signs of distress.
In corn, however, Hollick's lab had discovered previously that the absence of Pol IV creates clear problems in the plants, such as growing seeds in the tassel.
Hollick and colleagues observed that plants deficient in Pol IV also showed pigmentation in kernels of ears expected not to make any color at all ? meaning they were expected to be yellow.
"Since we knew the misplaced tassel-seed trait was due to misexpression of a gene, we hypothesized that this pigment trait might be due to a pigment regulator being expressed in a tissue where it normally is never expressed. Molecular analysis showed that that was in fact the case," Hollick said.
The researchers selected dark kernels and light kernels from multiple generations of plants and crossed the plants derived form these different kernel classes to create additional new generations of corn.
"We found that the ears developed from those plants had even more darkly colored kernels and fewer lightly colored kernels. We could segregate the extreme types and cross them together and get this continued intensification of the pigmentation over many generations," he said. "We generated more progeny that had increasing amounts of pigment. This is taking a gene that is genetically null, that doesn't have any function in this part of the plant, and turning it from a complete null to a completely dominant form that produces full coloration.
"Essentially we were breeding a novel trait, but not by selecting for any particular gene. We were just continually altering the epigenetic status of one of the two parental genomes every time."
This led the scientists to question why the affected alleles of the pigmentation gene would behave in this way. An investigation of the affected alleles revealed the nearby presence of a transposon, or transposable element: a tiny piece of DNA that has leapt from one area of the genome to another.
Because the sequence of some small RNA fragments that come from Pol IV's activity are identical to the sequence of these transposons, the finding made sense to the scientists.
"Now that we know that Pol IV is involved in regulating transposons, it's not surprising that genes that are near transposons are now regulated by Pol IV," Hollick said.
###
Ohio State University: http://researchnews.osu.edu
Thanks to Ohio State University for this article.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127473/Researchers_find_novel_way_plants_pass_traits_to_next_generation
বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৮ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Connor: Florida rich with baseball's history
Celebrating Grapefruit League's 125th anniversary with trip to Florida's most unique sites
Getty ImagesMembers of the St. Louis Cardinals run prior to a Grapefruit League game against the Mets at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
By Joe Connor
updated 4:16 a.m. ET March 27, 2013
SARASOTA, Fla. - Painted largely in bright orange against a base-colored wall behind the seats in a concourse down the right-field line at Ed Smith Stadium, Major League Baseball spring training home of the Baltimore Orioles, you find an eye-catching mural featuring ?The Oriole Bird,? the teams? long-time mascot.
With two feather hands on the wheel and a lone palm tree in the rear, the colorful mascot is nestled comfortably in a slick, four-wheeled automobile ? with no top. An arrow from the caboose points directly to a map of the State of Florida, with a pennant highlighting all the nearby MLB teams? spring training sites under a large banner that beckons, ?Did Somebody Say Roadtrip??
This year marks the 125th anniversary of spring training in the Sunshine State, a tradition that started informally just 43 years after Florida officially became a state in the union, when, in 1888, the now-defunct Washington Capitals of the National League held a four-day camp in Jacksonville during which time they also got clobbered by the New York (now San Francisco) Giants, 10-2, thereby marking the first spring training game in the state. Catcher Connie Mack played on the Capitals, as did outfielder William ?Dummy? Hoy, notable for being deaf, which resulted in the creation of hand signals that are standard in baseball today.
As a recently completed 24-day road trip to all the current and former spring training sites throughout Grapefruit country revealed, Florida literally is a living history museum to the game of baseball. Arguably, no other geographic region in world has as much tradition in such a concentrated area, and it?s no surprise why. Of the 30 MLB teams, only six have never held spring training here, and five of those clubs are expansion franchises located in the west (Angels, Padres, Mariners, Rockies and Diamondbacks). In fact, the Brewers are the only MLB franchise based east of the Mississippi River never to train in Florida, but they also were originally known as the northwestern-most expansion Seattle Pilots. Put another way: every player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame took to fields in Florida, with more than 40 cities across the Sunshine State having hosted MLB spring training at one point or another, from the big leaguers to their minor-league counterparts, over the past 125 years.
Baseball history oozes here as much as freshly squeezed orange juice and grapefruit. While 15 MLB and minor-league teams currently train in the state and encompass today?s Grapefruit League, more than a dozen former spring training sites ? several dating back to the early 1900s ? remain in use, appropriately by amateur teams comprised of the next generation of ballplayers, with four even listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Monuments, plaques and markers to the game dot Florida?s landscape, which currently also is home to several museums chronicling baseball and spring training history here, from the Ybor City Museum in Tampa to the Elliott Museum in Stuart to the Sports Immortals Museum in Boca Raton to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Auburndale and the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame in St. Petersburg. And, coming in 2014, a permanent baseball exhibit to the St. Petersburg Museum of History, plus the Al Lopez Museum in Tampa to honor its first native Hall-of-Famer. What?s more, countless quaint historical societies abound statewide, from Jacksonville to Miami and Tampa to Sanford, with artifacts and memorabilia telling the story of Florida?s rich spring training history.
At Avon Park?s Depot Museum, there?s the 24-pound, 52-inch bat presented by its citizens to Babe Ruth in 1928. Behind the fence at the ballpark that hosted St. Louis? ?Gas House Gang? is a road named Ruth Street in honor of one of the Bambino?s monstrous homers upon visiting the Cards. The park is used today by the local high school.
Down the road in Sebring, a marking on the right-field fence of Fireman?s Field commemorates the first home run hit there ? by Lou Gehrig. Sebring?s ballpark is also used today by amateurs. Tucked nearly in a manila folder at the Orange County Regional History Center in downtown Orlando is an original letter from the Giants to Sanford?s Ben Cantwell in January 1928, noting his spring training reporting date and location, as well as contract for the season, a raise of $250.00 per month from the previous season in which he made $500.00 monthly. The letter informs the pitcher that Giants manager John McGraw "prefer that you not bring your wife? and ?be sure to have a bathrobe and slippers with you.? Oh, the stories this state can tell. In Jacksonville, Palatka and Daytona, the ballparks in each of these cities continue to stand the test of time ? and teach valuable history lessons, including about the era of segregation.
Florida towns like Bartow, Davenport, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Pierce, Gainesville, Hollywood, Jupiter, Key Biscayne, Kissimmee, Lake Buena Vista, Miami, Miami Beach, Ocala, Orlando, Palmetto, Pensacola, Pompano Beach, Port Charlotte, Port Saint Lucie, St. Augustine, Viera, West Palm Beach, Winter Garden and Winter Haven have hosted baseball?s greats during spring training, either years ago or currently. And even today, former MLB or minor-league spring training sites in Miami Beach, Ocala and Winter Haven are still being used in one form or another by amateur clubs. But they?re not in the top 20 of Florida?s baseball towns. Pack your sunglasses, sunscreen and let?s ride through Florida spring training history, from Jacksonville to Homestead, to uncover the 20 most historic and unique sites that still live on today. They?re symbols of pride, perseverance and tenacity ? living, breathing testaments to baseball history in the Sunshine State.
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More newsNot just the East's beasts
??HBT Extra: With another season under the belt of Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, Craig?Calcaterra says the Nationals are primed not only to become the best team in the NL East, but also the best in baseball.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/51344024/ns/sports-baseball/
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Swedish scientist to lead Syria chemical weapons probe
By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom to head a U.N. investigation into allegations that chemical weapons were used in Syria, Ban's spokesman said on Tuesday.
"He is an accomplished scientist with a solid background in disarmament and international security," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.
The United Nations said last week it would investigate Syrian allegations that rebels used chemical arms in an attack near the northern city of Aleppo, but Western countries sought a probe of all claims about the use of such arms, including rebel charges that government forces used them.
If an investigation adds credibility to the rebels' claims that the government has used chemical weapons, it would represent another blow to Bashar al-Assad's efforts to retain power. If it turned out the rebels have used them, it could make countries even more reluctant to support the opposition.
It was not immediately clear who else would be on Sellstrom's team. Russia said on Monday that Russian and Chinese experts should be part of the investigation, but Moscow's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said on Tuesday that Russia would "most likely not" be represented.
Sellstrom was a chief inspector for UNSCOM, the U.N. inspection team that investigated and dismantled Iraq's biological and chemical weapons programs in the 1990s.
Sellstrom also worked with UNMOVIC, the U.N. group that returned to Iraq in 2002 and found no solid evidence that Baghdad had revived its weapons-of-mass-destruction programs before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion as Washington and London alleged at the time.
Nesirky said Sellstrom's investigation would be a technical, not a criminal, investigation, looking at whether chemical weapons were used and not at who may have used them.
U.S. and European officials say there is no evidence of a chemical weapons attack, but the allegations of the rebels are worth taking seriously. If one were to be confirmed, it would be the first use of such weapons in the two-year-old Syrian conflict, which the United Nations says has cost 70,000 lives.
France and Britain wrote to Ban on Thursday to draw his attention to rebel allegations of an attack near Damascus, as well as one in Homs in late December. The rebels blame Syria's government for those incidents as well as the Aleppo attack.
EXPANDING THE INVESTIGATION?
Ban made clear on Thursday that the investigation would initially focus on the Aleppo incident, in which the government and rebels accuse each other of firing a missile laden with chemicals, killing 26 people.
But he has left open the possibility that the investigation could be broadened. In a letter to the Security Council on Friday, Ban said he had asked Britain, France and Syria for further information on the other alleged chemical attacks "with a view to verifying any alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria."
Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters on Tuesday that he has provided Ban's office with "further information" about the alleged chemical attacks in Syria. He declined to provide details.
The suggestion that the investigation may go beyond the Aleppo attack has infuriated Russia. Security Council diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the Russian U.N. mission went so far as to ask Ban to withdraw his Friday letter.
Russia's U.N. mission had no response on Monday when asked to comment on the alleged request that Ban withdraw his letter. Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said on Monday that the Anglo-French call for a broader investigation was an attempt to "delay and possibly derail" the U.N. probe.
Russia has criticized Western and Arab calls for Assad to leave power and, together with China, has blocked three U.N. Security Council resolutions meant to pressure him to end violence. It has also differed with the West over which side was to blame for alleged massacres and other atrocities in Syria.
A member of the Syrian opposition said Sellstrom's investigation would not be hindered by the rebels.
"We can guarantee him (Sellstrom) safe passage in the areas where the incidents took place in northern Syria," Wael Merza, an adviser to the Syrian coalition's new interim Prime Minister Ghassan Hitto, told Reuters on sidelines of an Arab summit in Doha.
Merza said there were at least two known cases where they suspect chemical weapons were used by forces loyal to Assad.
(Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy in Doha; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and David Brunnstrom)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/swedish-scientist-head-u-n-syria-chemical-weapons-000056015.html
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সোমবার, ২৫ মার্চ, ২০১৩
Nissan and Gibson Combine Forces with NV200 Mobile Guitar ...
Two Tennessee based companies partner on co branded Gibson Nissan NV200 Compact Cargo debuting at the 2013 New York International Auto Show
Gibson and Nissan have combined their respective expertise in professional music and practical, small business vehicles to create the Gibson NV200 Mobile Repair & Restoration Van. The van acts as a mobile guitar repair shop, serving the needs of both working musicians and casual pickers and can service major music markets or locales where guitar players congregate, such as major music festivals, concerts, recording studios or even private homes.
?The NV200 Compact Cargo van?s small footprint makes it ideal for maneuvering in tight places, which is perfect for both urban music venues and crowded outdoor concerts where space is at a premium,? said Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. ?The large cargo bay with standard integrated mounting points and available cargo hooks help make the vehicle configurable and customizable to suit the needs of a working guitar technician.?
Class-leading combined fuel economy of 24 mpg*, provided by a 131-horsepower 2.0-liter inline 4-cylinder engine matched with an efficient Xtronic CVT transmission, further increases the road-worthy appeal of a vehicle that can log as many miles as the typical touring band.
?The Nissan NV200 Compact Cargo van is perfect for small businesses, entrepreneurs and dreamers,? said Joe Castelli, vice president, Commercial Vehicles and Fleet, Nissan North America. ?By partnering with Gibson on the NV200 Mobile Repair & Restoration Van, we?re showing the ultimate expression of what can be done with this vehicle for those with a viable business concept, a little creativity and with a starting price of $19,990**, an appreciation of great value. As this is a van meant for trades, vocations and working people, we couldn?t be more excited than to see it put to good use in the hands of some of the most skilled craftsmen in the world.?
The Gibson NV200 Mobile Repair & Restoration Van, built by Nissan, is an extension of both Gibson Pro Audio and Gibson?s fabled Repair & Restoration shop, based in Nashville, Tenn. This facility is where the best and brightest guitar builders go to ply their craft for one of the oldest and most-respected guitar companies.
As the Repair & Restoration shop fixes and customizes guitars owned by both the top professional musicians in the world and passionate enthusiasts, the Gibson NV200 Compact Cargo acts as a quick response support vehicle for professional and part-time musicians in need of timely repairs, as well as serving as an educational tool to the public representing the art of guitar building and repair, or luthiery.
NV200 Compact Cargo provides 122.7 cubic feet of cargo space behind the front seats and a 53-inch cargo height, which is comparable to many standard roof full-size vans. It also offers tall cargo door openings ? including the standard 40/60-split rear doors ? and a low load floor height of 19.5 inches. Payload capacity is rated at 1,500 pounds (S model).
This capability plays right into the heart of the vehicle ? a pullout bench that features an array of luthier?s tools such as calipers, scale rulers, fret files, fret pullers, different types of sandpaper, super glue, wood glue, tuning forks, a radius planer, various guitar parts (strings, tuning machines, frets, nuts, bridges, knobs, linseed oil, potentiometers, pickups), pliers, screw drivers and a soldering station. Luthiers can either extend this bench to the lip of the NV200 to work on instruments or guide in on its pair of casters to a separate location to perform repair or setup work on guitars.
Located directly behind the front seat is a custom rack that holds up to four guitars in various stages of repair and disrepair. The cockpit has been customized to evoke Gibson?s classic designs with wood veneers in the dashboard that evoke classic Gibson materials such as mahogany and flamed maple and special leather-appointed seats.
Gibson Pro Audio is also represented throughout the vehicle with a custom audio system provided by Onkyo, Gibson Pro Audio consumer electronics? brand.
The vehicle is sheathed in a full body wrap that reads, ?Gibson Repair & Restoration? on one side, and ?Gibson Pro Audio? on the other. The wrap also contains images of classic Gibson stringed instruments and Gibson Pro Audio products such as speakers made by Cerwin-Vega! and KRK and Onkyo- and Stanton-branded headphones.
Castelli explains, ?Gibson and Nissan are both Tennessee-based companies that build products worthy of consumer passion yet suitable for everyday use. We?ve sought a way to combine forces for many years now, and the introduction of the 2013 NV200 Compact Cargo van gives us the perfect opportunity to do so. Working with Gibson has been a dream come true for many of us here at Nissan, and we look forward to the next steps collaborating with them.?
The Gibson NV200 Repair & Restoration Van made by Nissan will debut on March 27th at the 2013 New York International Auto Show.
Tags: nissan gibson van
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Building a home - Cloth Diapers & Parenting Community ...
Building a home
My husband and I are thinking of buying some land here in central FL, specifically Lakeland/Polk County and building a small/minimalist home, under 1,000 sq ft. We have just started thinking and looking into our options and it's kinda overwhelming. Anyone have any tips/suggestions/etc for us? So far we know of modular homes, having a custom home built, and I just learned of yurts a few minutes ago.
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বুধবার, ১৩ মার্চ, ২০১৩
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