Meta-analysis of five genome-wide association studies identifies multiple new loci associated with testicular germ cell tumor

The international Testicular Cancer Consortium (TECAC) combined five published genome-wide association studies of testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT; 3,558 cases and 13,970 controls) to identify new susceptibility loci. We conducted a fixed-effects meta-analysis, including, to our knowledge, the first analysis of the X chromosome. Eight new loci mapping to 2q14.2, 3q26.2, 4q35.2, 7q36.3, 10q26.13, 15q21.3, 15q22.31, and Xq28 achieved genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8). Most loci harbor biologically plausible candidate genes. We refined previously reported associations at 9p24.3 and 19p12 by identifying one and three additional independent SNPs, respectively. In aggregate, the 39 independent markers identified to date explain 37% of father-to-son familial risk, 8% of which can be attributed to the 12 new signals reported here. Our findings substantially increase the number of known TGCT susceptibility alleles, move the field closer to a comprehensive understanding of the underlying genetic architecture of TGCT, and provide further clues to the etiology of TGCT

Response of Potato Cultivars to Phosphate Fertilization in Tropical Soils with Different Phosphorus Availabilities

Potato cultivars have different strategies for dealing with phosphorus (P) deficiency in soil, and their response to P fertilization may vary because of differences in soil P availability. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of P fertilization rates (0, 125, 250, 500, and 1000 kg P2O5 per hectare) on the P uptake, fertilizer P recovery, tuber yield, and applied P use efficiency of five potato cultivars (Agata, Asterix, Atlantic, Markies, and Mondial) grown in Oxisols with low, medium, and high P availability in southeastern Brazil. The tuber yield of all potato cultivars increased similarly with increase in P fertilizer application up to rates of 500, 250, and 125 kg P2O5 per hectare in the soils with low, medium, and high P availability respectively. This increase was found despite the leaf P concentrations being lower than the deficiency limit of 2.5 g kg−1 only in the soil with low P availability in the absence of P fertilizer application. The application of phosphate fertilizer in the planting furrow resulted in a greater increase in the leaf P concentration, plant growth, P uptake, number of tubers per plant, tuber mean weight, tuber yield, and P removal of the potato crop grown in the soil with low P availability compared with soils with high P availability. In soil with high P availability, P application rates higher than 125 kg P2O5 per hectare did not increase the number, size, and yield of tubers. The cultivar Mondial had the highest tuber yield, fertilizer P recovery, and applied P use efficiency, especially at the lower P application rates, but at a specific initial P availability, all cultivars responded to the same P application rate. The results indicate that phosphate fertilizer recommendations should be adjusted on the basis of soil P availability, and that it is not necessary to use different criteria to evaluate the P-nutritional status for individual potato cultivars

A genome-wide association study identifies susceptibility loci for Wilms tumor

Wilms tumor is the most common renal malignancy of childhood. To identify common variants that confer susceptibility to Wilms tumor we conducted a genome-wide association study in 757 cases and 1,879 controls. We evaluated ten SNPs in regions significant at P<5×10(−5) in two independent replication series from the UK (769 cases and 2,814 controls) and the US (719 cases and 1,037 controls). We identified clear significant associations at two loci, 2p24 (rs3755132, P=1.03×10(−14) and rs807624, P=1.32×10(−14)) and 11q14 (rs790356, P=4.25 ×10(−15)). Both regions contain genes that are plausibly related to Wilms tumorigenesis. We also identified candidate signals at 5q14, 22q12 and Xp22