Balancing Selection at the Tomato RCR3 Guardee Gene Family Maintains Variation in Strength of Pathogen Defense

Coevolution between hosts and pathogens is thought to occur between interacting molecules of both species. This results in the maintenance of genetic diversity at pathogen antigens (or so-called effectors) and host resistance genes such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in mammals or resistance (R) genes in plants. In plant–pathogen interactions, the current paradigm posits that a specific defense response is activated upon recognition of pathogen effectors via interaction with their corresponding R proteins. According to the ‘‘Guard-Hypothesis,’ ’ R proteins (the ‘‘guards’’) can sense modification of target molecules in the host (the ‘‘guardees’’) by pathogen effectors and subsequently trigger the defense response. Multiple studies have reported high genetic diversity at R genes maintained by balancing selection. In contrast, little is known about the evolutionary mechanisms shaping the guardee, which may be subject to contrasting evolutionary forces. Here we show that the evolution of the guardee RCR3 is characterized by gene duplication, frequent gene conversion, and balancing selection in the wild tomato species Solanum peruvianum. Investigating the functional characteristics of 54 natural variants through in vitro and in planta assays, we detected differences in recognition of the pathogen effector through interaction with the guardee, as well as substantial variation in the strength of the defense response. This variation is maintained by balancing selection at each copy of the RCR3 gene. Our analyses pinpoint three amino acid polymorphisms with key functional consequences for the coevolution between the guardee (RCR3) and its guard (Cf-2). We conclude that, i

Hydrological impacts of climate change on the Tejo and Guadiana Rivers

International audienceA distributed daily rainfall?runoff model is applied to the Tejo and Guadiana river basins in Spain and Portugal to simulate the effects of climate change on runoff production, river flows and water resource availability with results aggregated to the monthly level. The model is calibrated, validated and then used for a series of climate change impact assessments for the period 2070?2100. Future scenarios are derived from the HadRM3H regional climate model (RCM) using two techniques: firstly a bias-corrected RCM output, with monthly mean correction factors calculated from observed rainfall records; and, secondly, a circulation-pattern-based stochastic rainfall model. Major reductions in rainfall and streamflow are projected throughout the year; these results differ from those for previous studies where winter increases are projected. Despite uncertainties in the representation of heavily managed river systems, the projected impacts are serious and pose major threats to the maintenance of bipartite water treaties between Spain and Portugal and the supply of water to urban and rural regions of Portugal

A new method to quantify and compare the multiple components of fitness-A study case with kelp niche partition by divergent microstage adaptations to Temperature

Point 1 Management of crops, commercialized or protected species, plagues or life-cycle evolution are subjects requiring comparisons among different demographic strategies. The simpler methods fail in relating changes in vital rates with changes in population viability whereas more complex methods lack accuracy by neglecting interactions among vital rates. Point 2 The difference between the fitness (evaluated by the population growth rate.) of two alternative demographies is decomposed into the contributions of the differences between the pair-wised vital rates and their interactions. This is achieved through a full Taylor expansion (i.e. remainder = 0) of the demographic model. The significance of each term is determined by permutation tests under the null hypothesis that all demographies come from the same pool. Point 3 An example is given with periodic demographic matrices of the microscopic haploid phase of two kelp cryptic species observed to partition their niche occupation along the Chilean coast. The method provided clear and synthetic results showing conditional differentiation of reproduction is an important driver for their differences in fitness along the latitudinal temperature gradient. But it also demonstrated that interactions among vital rates cannot be neglected as they compose a significant part of the differences between demographies. Point 4 This method allows researchers to access the effects of multiple effective changes in a life-cycle from only two experiments. Evolutionists can determine with confidence the effective causes for changes in fitness whereas population managers can determine best strategies from simpler experimental designs.CONICYT-FRENCH EMBASSADY Ph.D. gran

Scatter-limited conduction in printed platinum nanofilms

It is demonstrated that thin platinum films may be deposited onto smooth glass substrates using a materials printer and a propriety organometallic ink. Under opti- mised printing and subsequent thermal curing conditions, excellent film adhesion to the substrates was achieved for thicknesses of about 15 nm. The resistivity of the opti- mised films is observed to be a factor of less than 3 higher than pure bulk platinum at 300 K and exhibits a slightly smaller associated thermal coefficient of resistance. The resistivity parameters are found to be insensitive to the gaseous measurement environment which suggests that intercalated carbon regions within the films following the curing process have been largely eliminated. An analysis of the resistivity data indicates that electronic conduction is consistent with enhanced boundary scattering at granular structures that are introduced during multi-pass printing. A minimum electron mean free path of ~18 nm is deduced from the measured film topography. The presented work will find application in biosensor and fuel cell technologies.</p

The roles of the human SETMAR (Metnase) protein in illegitimate DNA recombination and non-homologous end joining repair

SETMAR is a fusion between a SET-domain methyltransferase gene and a mariner-family transposase gene, which is specific to anthropoid primates. However, the ancestral SET gene is present in all other mammals and birds. SETMAR is reported to be involved in transcriptional regulation and a diverse set of reactions related to DNA repair. Since the transcriptional effects of SETMAR depend on site-specific DNA binding, and are perturbed by inactivating the methyltransferase, we wondered whether we could differentiate the effects of the SET and MAR domains in DNA repair assays. We therefore generated several stable U2OS cell lines expressing either wild type SETMAR or truncation or point mutant variants. We tested these cell lines with in vivo plasmid-based assays to determine the relevance of the different domains and activities of SETMAR in DNA repair. Contrary to previous reports, we found that wild type SETMAR had little to no effect on the rate of cell division, DNA integration into the genome or non-homologous end joining. Also contrary to previous reports, we failed to detect any effect of a strong active-site mutation that should have knocked out the putative nuclease activity of SETMAR

Thin Metal Film Sensors

During the last decade some progress have been made in the field of sensors using thin film techniques. In particular thin metal film strain gauges and thin film temperature sensors based on the temperature dependent resistivity of metal are now commonly used. But changes in other transport parameters with various measurands are also useful for the design of metal film sensors. Difficulty arises in thin film techniques when structural defects are frozen in films

High-order discrete ordinate transport in hexagonal geometry: A new capability in ERANOS

This paper presents the implementation of an arbitrary order discontinuous Galerkin scheme within the framework of a discrete ordinate solver of the neutron transport equation for nuclear reactor calculations. More precisely, it deals with non-conforming spatial meshes for the 2D and 3D modeling of core geometries based on hexagonal assemblies. This work aims at improving the capabilities of the ERANOS code system dedicated to fast reactor analysis and design. Both the angular quadrature and spatial scheme peculiarities for hexagonal geometries are presented. A particular focus is set on the spatial non-conforming mesh and variable order capabilities of this scheme in anticipation to the development of spatial adaptiveness algorithms. These features are illustrated on a 3D numerical benchmark with comparison to a Monte Carlo reference and a 2D benchmark that shows the potential of this scheme for both h- and p-adaptation

Non-communicable diseases in emergencies: a call to action

Recent years have demonstrated the devastating health consequences of complex emergencies and natural disasters and thereby highlighted the importance of comprehensive and collaborative approaches to humanitarian responses and risk reduction. Simultaneously, noncommunicable diseases are now recognised as a real and growing threat to population health and development; a threat that is magnified by and during emergencies. Noncommunicable diseases, however, continue to receive little attention from humanitarian organisations in the acute phase of disaster and emergency response. This paper calls on all sectors to recognise and address the specific health challenges posed by noncommunicable diseases in emergencies and disaster situations. This publication aims to highlight the need for: • Increased research on morbidity and mortality patterns due to noncommunicable diseases during and following emergencies; • Raised awareness through greater advocacy for the issue and challenges of noncommunicable diseases during and following emergencies; • Incorporation of noncommunicable diseases into existing emergency-related policies, standards, and resources; • Development of technical guidelines on the clinical management of noncommunicable diseases in emergencies; • Greater integration and coordination in health service provision during and following emergencies; • Integrating noncommunicable diseases into practical and academic training of emergency workers and emergency-response coordinators