Conserved ortholog sets in forest trees

Putative single-copy genes and conserved ortholog sets (COS) were identified in model plant species thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), rice (Oryza sativa ssp. japonica), and poplar [black cottonwood, Populus trichocarpa (Torr. & Gray ex Brayshaw)] and used to find putative COS in four conifers (the Coniferales order). Using expressed sequence tag sequences, unique transcript sets were assembled in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), white spruce [Picea glauca (Moench) Voss], Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii], and sugi [Cryptomeria japonica (Thunberg ex Linnaeus f.) D. Don]. They were compared with COS sets identified in three model plant species using comparative sequence analysis. Almost half of the single-copy genes in herbaceous species (Arabidopsis and rice) had additional copies and homologs in poplar and conifers. The identified tentative COS sets have many applications in evolutionary genomics studies, phylogenetic analysis, and comparative mapping

A framework for community and ecosystem genetics: from genes to ecosystems

Can heritable traits in a single species affect an entire ecosystem? Recent studies show that such traits in a common tree have predictable effects on community structure and ecosystem processes. Because these 'community and ecosystem phenotypes' have a genetic basis and are heritable, we can begin to apply the principles of population and quantitative genetics to place the study of complex communities and ecosystems within an evolutionary framework. This framework could allow us to understand, for the first time, the genetic basis of ecosystem processes, and the effect of such phenomena as climate change and introduced transgenic organisms on entire communities

All effects of a gene on the world ": Extended phenotypes feedbacks and multi-level selection"

No description availabl

'All effects of a gene on the world': Extended phenotypes, feedbacks, and multi-level selection

No description availabl

Effects of polysubstance exposure on neonatal outcomes for infants with intrauterine opioid exposure.

OBJECTIVE: Quantify the effect of prenatal polysubstance exposure on neonatal outcomes compared to methadone exposure alone. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective cohort study compared infants with methadone-only exposure to methadone with additional psychoactive substances. Outcomes included time to maximum Finnegan scores, proportion requiring scheduled morphine, and length of stay (LOS). RESULTS: We identified 323 subjects. The median time to maximum Finnegan score was 38.0 h with 94% peaking within 96 h. Forty-five percent of methadone-only infants were started on scheduled morphine compared to 54% of polysubstance infants (p = 0.10). LOS for polysubstance-exposed infants was 1.30 times longer than infants with methadone-only exposure (95% confidence interval: 1.05, 1.60). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to methadone with additional psychoactive substances is associated with longer LOS, but not postnatal morphine use or peak withdrawal symptoms. Most infants experience peak withdrawal symptoms within 4 days and may not benefit from longer observation