Unexpected inactivation of acceptor consensus splice sequence by a −3 C to T transition in intron 2 of the CFTR gene

Human Genetics - Cystic fibrosis is caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene (CFTR). Analysis of DNA from a pancreatic sufficient patient by means of...     

Paternity tests support a diallelic self‐incompatibility system in a wild olive (Olea europaea subsp. laperrinei,Oleaceae)

Self‐incompatibility (SI) is the main mechanism that favors outcrossing in plants. By limiting compatible matings, SI interferes in fruit production and breeding of new cultivars. In the Oleeae tribe (Oleaceae), an unusual diallelic SI system (DSI) has been proposed for three distantly related species including the olive (Olea europaea), but empirical evidence has remained controversial for this latter. The olive domestication is a complex process with multiple origins. As a consequence, the mixing of S‐alleles from two distinct taxa, the possible artificial selection of self‐compatible mutants and the large phenological variation of blooming may constitute obstacles for deciphering SI in olive. Here, we investigate cross‐genotype compatibilities in the Saharan wild olive (O. e. subsp. laperrinei). As this taxon was geographically isolated for thousands of years, SI should not be affected by human selection. A population of 37 mature individuals maintained in a collection was investigated. Several embryos per mother were genotyped with microsatellites in order to identify compatible fathers that contributed to fertilization. While the pollination was limited by distance inside the collection, our results strongly support the DSI hypothesis, and all individuals were assigned to two incompatibility groups (G1 and G2). No self‐fertilization was observed in our conditions. In contrast, crosses between full or half siblings were frequent (ca. 45%), which is likely due to a nonrandom assortment of related trees in the collection. Finally, implications of our results for orchard management and the conservation of olive genetic resources are discussed.     

Native drivers of fish life history traits are lost during the invasion process

Rapid adaptation to global change can counter vulnerability of species to population declines and extinction. Theoretically, under such circumstances both genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity can maintain population fitness, but empirical support for this is currently limited. Here, we aim to characterize the role of environmental and genetic diversity, and their prior evolutionary history (via haplogroup profiles) in shaping patterns of life history traits during biological invasion. Data were derived from both genetic and life history traits including a morphological analysis of 29 native and invasive populations of topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva coupled with climatic variables from each location. General additive models were constructed to explain distribution of somatic growth rate (SGR) data across native and invasive ranges, with model selection performed using Akaike's information criteria. Genetic and environmental drivers that structured the life history of populations in their native range were less influential in their invasive populations. For some vertebrates at least, fitness‐related trait shifts do not seem to be dependent on the level of genetic diversity or haplogroup makeup of the initial introduced propagule, nor of the availability of local environmental conditions being similar to those experienced in their native range. As long as local conditions are not beyond the species physiological threshold, its local establishment and invasive potential are likely to be determined by local drivers, such as density‐dependent effects linked to resource availability or to local biotic resistance.     

Phenoscope: an automated large‐scale phenotyping platform offering high spatial homogeneity

Increased phenotyping accuracy and throughput are necessary to improve our understanding of quantitative variation and to be able to deconstruct complex traits such as those involved in growth responses to the environment. Still, only a few facilities are known to handle individual plants of small stature for non‐destructive, real‐time phenotype acquisition from plants grown in precisely adjusted and variable experimental conditions. Here, we describe Phenoscope, a high‐throughput phenotyping platform that has the unique feature of continuously rotating 735 individual pots over a table. It automatically adjusts watering and is equipped with a zenithal imaging system to monitor rosette size and expansion rate during the vegetative stage, with automatic image analysis allowing manual correction. When applied to Arabidopsis thaliana, we show that rotating the pots strongly reduced micro‐environmental disparity: heterogeneity in evaporation was cut by a factor of 2.5 and the number of replicates needed to detect a specific mild genotypic effect was reduced by a factor of 3. In addition, by controlling a large proportion of the micro‐environmental variance, other tangible sources of variance become noticeable. Overall, Phenoscope makes it possible to perform large‐scale experiments that would not be possible or reproducible by hand. When applied to a typical quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping experiment, we show that mapping power is more limited by genetic complexity than phenotyping accuracy. This will help to draw a more general picture as to how genetic diversity shapes phenotypic variation.     

Design and synthesis of antimicrobial,anticoagulant, and anticholinesterase hybrid molecules from 4-methylumbelliferone

We designed and synthesized new series of diverse triazoles, isoxazoles, isoxazolines, and aziridines linked 4-methylumbelliferone 1 using intermolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions. Structures of these compounds were established on the basis of ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and ESI-HRMS. All prepared compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial, anticoagulant, and anticholinesterase activities. Interestingly, among the tested molecules, some of the analogs displayed better activities than the parent 4-methylumbelliferone 1 such as 6a and 6d for their antifungal properties. Moreover, compounds 4, 5, 6, and 7 showed the importance of the added fragments to 4-methylumbelliferone 1 via the linker methylene to have good activity.     

Bio-seismic and sequence stratigraphy of the Neogene of the Northwest Damietta Concession,Nile Delta,Egypt

The stratigraphic framework of the Neogene sequence drilled by two offshore wells located in the north-eastern shore of the Nile Delta (the wells Sekhmet-1 and Sekhmet-2) has been established. The lithostratigraphic units with their sequences, from older to younger, are as follows: the Sidi Salim Formation (including Sr1 SB, Sr2 SB, Sr2 MFS, Sr3 SB and Sr3 MFS), a sequence representing the uppermost part of the Sidi Salim and most of the lower part of the Qawasim Formations (including Tor 1.1 SB, Tor 1.2 SB, Tor 1.3 SB, Tor 1.4 SB and ?Tor 2 SB), a sequence representing the uppermost part of Qawasim and the lower part of the Abu Madi Formations (including ?Me1 SB, Me2 SB and Me2 MFS), the Kafr El Sheikh Formation (including alternatively Za 1 and 2 SB and MFS and Ge 1 SB and MFS), the El Wastani Formation (including Ge 2 SB and MFS) and a Quaternary sequence represented by the topmost part of El Wastani and Mit Ghamr/Bilqas Formation (including alternatively ?Cala 1 and 2 SB and MFS and ?Io 2 SB). The lower part of the Qawasim in well Sekhmet-2 includes two LST: Tor 2 LST and Me 1 LST.     

Design of a Wide Ranging Highly Sensitive Pressure Sensor Based on Two-Dimensional Photonic Crystals

Plasmonics - A highly sensitive pressure sensor operating over a wide pressure range based on two-dimensional photonic crystals having a Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure has been developed....     

Esterase electrophoretic polymorphism ofBacillus thuringiensis andBacillus cereus reference strains

The genomic diversity and relationship among 61Bacillus thuringiensis andBacillus cereus reference strains were investigated by electrophoretic analysis of esterase enzymes on native polyacrylamide gel. Polymorphism of the esterolytic bands revealed seven esterases, designed as Est A to Est G in order of decreasing anodal migration. Each esterase showed two to three mobility variants that assigned the analysed strains into 35 electrophoretic types (ETs). This high diversity allowed the identification of several serovar or strain-specific ETs. Cluster analysis of ETs showed three major groups in which the strains belonging to the serovartolworthi were the most distant. The ETs distribution showed thatB. thuringiensis andB. cereus are intermingled in the dendrogram with the resolution of some common serovars ofB. thuringiensis in tight phylogenetic lineages. These results indicate that the esterase enzyme electrophoresis, applied as a sole typing method for the closely related speciesB. thuringiensis andB. cereus is suitable to highlight the intraspecific genetic diversity.     

The influence of native populations’ genetic history on the reconstruction of invasion routes: the case of a highly invasive aquatic species

Biological Invasions - Insufficient data on the origins of the first introduced propagule and the initial stages of invasion complicate the reconstruction of a species’ invasion history....