Effects of linkage and interaction in a comparison of theoretical populations derived by diploidized haploid and single seed descent methods

Summary Comparisons were made between the genetic means and variances of a quantitative trait determined by 8 loci in simulated populations of lines derived by diploidizing haploids (DH) on the one hand and by single seed descent (SSD) on the other.In the absence of linkage no differences between the populations were observed, but when linkage was present, recombination was more frequent in the SSD populations as indicated by the relative differences in variance between these and the DH populations. In addition, differences in means between the populations derived by the two methods were observed when non-allelic interaction was present. The direction and magnitude of the differences in both means and variances depended upon the linkage phase, the recombination frequency and the presence or absence of interaction.The conclusion was drawn that the SSD method was to be preferred from theoretical considerations although in practice the choice of method will also depend upon practical and technical factors.     

Disorders of colonic motility in patients with diabetes mellitus

Motility disturbances of the colon can give significant symptoms in patients with diabetes mellitus. Constipation is a common complaint in these patients. Diarrhea associated with a generalized autonomic neuropathy can be very troublesome. There is a disturbance in the gastrocolonic response to eating in patients with diabetes mellitus who have constipation. These patients have no postprandial increase in colonic motility. However, their colonic smooth muscle contracts normally to the exogenous administration of neostigmine or metoclopramide. Stool softeners used in combination with the smooth muscle stimulants (neostigmine or metoclopramide) are helpful in treating constipation in patients with diabetes mellitus. Diarrhea can be treated with loperamide or diphenoxylate. Biofeedback may be useful in treating incontinence associated with diarrhea in these patients.     

Stability of transgenes and presence of N6 methyladenine DNA in transformed wheat cells

A number of stably transformed wheat cell lines were obtained using two different direct gene transfer techniques. When integration of the foreign genes was investigated in DNA samples taken at 10 months post-selection, complicated profiles of transgene bands were observed in Southern blot analysis. Among these, a number of common bands were identified showing similar hybridization patterns between independently transformed cell lines. This type of hybridization pattern has been a common observation and is usually interpreted as concatameric rearrangement of integrated DNA. However, when integration was reinvestigated with DNA samples taken at 30 months postselection, the hybridization pattern changed and most of the common bands had disappeared. Further analysis using a set of methylation-sensitive enzymes revealed that the DNA represented by the common bands was N⁶-adenine methylated (^m6A DNA), and there was even ^m6A DNA in some 30 month samples. Although the source of ^m6A DNA in the wheat cultures was not clearly established, the data indicate that transformation of an endophyte (e.g. a mycoplasma-like organism) may have occurred at the same time as the transformation of wheat cells. The integration pattern of undermethylated transgenes in the transformed cells became simpler and clearer after treating the DNA preparations with Dpnl, which only cuts ^m6A DNA. The implications of these data for other methods of inoculating cereals with DNA are discussed.