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La yuca (Manihot esculenta) es la base de la alimentación para más de 1000 millones de personas en el mundo. La producción es severamente afectada por enfermedades ocasionadas por diferentes patógenos. Las plantas de yuca han desarrollado una serie de proteínas de resistencia (R) para defenderse de infecciones virales, bacterianas y fúngicas, las cuales son capaces de reconocer moléculas específicas de los patógenos. Un repertorio amplio de estas proteínas ha sido identificado en varias especies vegetales, no obstante, a pesar de conferir resistencia a patógenos diversos, presentan unos pocos dominios conservados. A partir de la reciente liberación de la secuencia completa del genoma de yuca se identificaron secuencias similares a proteínas R en este genoma. Con esta información se diseñaron cebadores para amplificar 13 genes R, logrando la amplificación de 10 de ellos en las variedades TMS30572 y CM2177-2, las cuales representan los parentales empleados en la construcción del mapa genético de yuca. A partir de la secuenciación de los amplicones obtenidos se identificaron 37 SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) de los cuales 18 (48.6%) corresponden a transiciones y 19 (45.9%) a transversiones. El restante corresponde a inserciones/deleciones. Este conocimiento permitirá desarrollar estrategias adecuadas para marcadores moleculares tipo CAPs (del inglés Cleaved Amplified Polymorphism) para posteriormente evaluar su segregación en la población F1 y permitir de esta manera, posicionar estos marcadores en el mapa genético de yuca.Cassava production can be detrimentally affected by diseases caused for different pathogens. To defend against viral, bacterial and fungal diseases, plants have developed a group of resistance proteins (R), which are able to recognize pathogen’s molecules. A wide repertoire of R proteins has been identified in a large group of plants. Even though conferring resistance to different pathogens, these R proteins have a few conserved domains. Taking advantage of the recent release of complete cassava genome sequence, we identified cassava R-like proteins in this genome. With this information, primers were designed to amplify 13 genes showing similarity to known R genes. For 10 of them we obtained amplification in the varieties TMS30572 and CM2177-2, which represent the parents used in the construction of the cassava genetic map. After sequencing the amplicons obtained, we identified 37 SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) between these two cassava varieties, which represent 18 (48.6%) transitions and 19 (45.9%) transversions. The remaining are insertions/deletions (indels). This knowledge will help to develop appropriate strategies for the generation of CAPs (Cleaved Amplified Polymorphisms) markers to assess their segregation in the F1 population, allowing the localization of these markers on the cassava genetic map.

This book provides an overview of computational analysis of genes and genomes, and of some most notable findings that come out of this work.Foundations of Comparative Genomics presents a historical perspective, beginning with early analysis of individual gene sequences, to present day comparison of gene repertoires encoded by completely sequenced.

Nearly a century has been spent collecting and preserving genetic diversity in plants. Germplasm banks--living seed collections that serve as repositories of genetic variation--have been established as a source of genes for improving agricultural crops. Genetic linkage maps have made it possible to study the chromosomal locations of genes for improving yield and other complex traits important to agriculture. The tools of genome research may finally unleash the genetic potential of our wild and cultivated germplasm resources for the benefit of society

Plant genotyping, or DNA fingerprinting of plants, is a technology that has matured and is poised for widespread practical application in the fields of breeding, commerce and research. This book examines the technologies available and their application in the analysis of:Wild plant populationsGermplasm collections Plant breedingContributors include leading research workers in this field from North America, Europe and Australasia.

A conserved regulatory mechanism protects plants against the potentially damaging effects of excessive light. Nearly all photosynthetic eukaryotes are able to dissipate excess absorbed light energy in a process that involves xanthophyll pigments. To dissect the role of xanthophylls in photoprotective energy dissipation in vivo, we isolated Arabidopsis xanthophyll cycle mutants by screening for altered nonphotochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence. The npq1 mutants are unable to convert violaxanthin to zeaxanthin in excessive light, whereas the npq2 mutants accumulate zeaxanthin constitutively. The npq2 mutants are new alleles of aba1, the zeaxanthin epoxidase gene. The high levels of zeaxanthin in npq2 affected the kinetics of induction and relaxation but not the extent of nonphotochemical quenching. Genetic mapping, DNA sequencing, and complementation of npq1 demonstrated that this mutation affects the structural gene encoding violaxanthin deepoxidase. The npq1 mutant exhibited greatly reduced nonphotochemical quenching, demonstrating that violaxanthin deepoxidation is required for the bulk of rapidly reversible nonphotochemical quenching in Arabidopsis. Altered regulation of photosynthetic energy conversion in npq1 was associated with increased sensitivity to photoinhibition. These results, in conjunction with the analysis of npq mutants of Chlamydomonas, suggest that the role of the xanthophyll cycle in nonphotochemical quenching has been conserved, although different photosynthetic eukaryotes rely on the xanthophyll cycle to different extents for the dissipation of excess absorbed light energy

Arabidopsis abscisic acid (ABA)-insensitive abi4 mutants have pleiotropic defects in seed development, including decreased sensitivity to ABA inhibition of germination and altered seed-specific gene expression. This phenotype consistent with a role for ABI4 in regulating seed responses to ABA and/or seed-specific signals. We isolated the ABI4 gene by positional cloning and confirmed its identity by complementation analysis. The predicted protein product shows homology to a plant-specific family of transcriptional regulators characterized by a conserved DNA binding domain, the APETALA2 domain. The single mutant allele identified has a single base pair deletion, resulting in a frameshift that should disrupt the C-terminal half of the protein but leave the presumed DNA binding domain intact. Expression analyses showed that despite the seed-specific nature of the mutant phenotype, ABI4 expression is not seed specific

Triacylglycerols are quantitatively the most important storage form of energy for eukaryotic cells. Acyl CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT, EC 2.3.1.20) catalyzes the terminal and only committed step in triacylglycerol synthesis, by using diacylglycerol and fatty acyl CoA as substrates. DGAT plays a fundamental role in the metabolism of cellular diacylglycerol and is important in higher eukaryotes for physiologic processes involving triacylglycerol metabolism such as intestinal fat absorption, lipoprotein assembly, adipose tissue formation, and lactation. DGAT is an integral membrane protein that has never been purified to homogeneity, nor has its gene been cloned. We identified an expressed sequence tag clone that shared regions of similarity with acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase, an enzyme that also uses fatty acyl CoA as a substrate. Expression of a mouse cDNA for this expressed sequence tag in insect cells resulted in high levels of DGAT activity in cell membranes. No other acyltransferase activity was detected when a variety of substrates, including cholesterol, were used as acyl acceptors. The gene was expressed in all tissues examined: during differentiation of NIH 3T3-L1 cells into adipocytes, its expression increased markedly in parallel with increases in DGAT activity. The identification of this cDNA encoding a DGAT will greatly facilitate studies of cellular glycerolipid metabolism and its regulation

The genetic basis of heterosis was investigated in all elite rice hybrid by using a molecular linkage map with 150 segregating loci covering the entire rice genome. Data for yield and three traits that were components of yield were collected over 2 years from replicated field trials of 250 F2:3 families. Genotypic variations explained from about 50% to more than 80% of the total variation. Interactions between genotypes and years were small compared with the main effects. A total of 32 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected for the four traits; 12 were observed in both years and the remaining 20 were detected in only one year. Overdominance was observed for most of the QTLs for yield and also for a few QTLs for the component traits. Correlations between marker heterozygosity and trait expression were low, indicating that the overall heterozygosity made little contribution to heterosis. Digenic interactions, including additive by additive, additive by dominance, and dominance by dominance, were frequent and widespread in this population. The interactions involved large numbers of marker loci, most of which individually were not detectable on single-locus basis; many interactions among loci were detected in both years. The results provide strong evidence that epistasis plays a major role as the genetic basis of heterosis

Equine Genomics Equine genetics has long been studied as a means of improving traits such as performance capabilities and coat color in horses.Dramatic advances in genomics and high-throughput DNA analysis technologies have significantly increased our understanding of the molecular biology of growth, development, and disease.