ABSTRACT
Amaranth ( L.) is an emerging pseudocereal native to the New World that has garnered increased attention in recent years because of its nutritional quality, in particular its seed protein and more specifically its high levels of the essential amino acid lysine. It belongs to the Amaranthaceae family, is an ancient paleopolyploid that shows disomic inheritance (2 = 32), and has an estimated genome size of 466 Mb. Here we present a high-quality draft genome sequence of the grain amaranth. The genome assembly consisted of 377 Mb in 3518 scaffolds with an N of 371 kb. Repetitive element analysis predicted that 48% of the genome is comprised of repeat sequences, of which -like elements were the most commonly classified retrotransposon. A de novo transcriptome consisting of 66,370 contigs was assembled from eight different amaranth tissue and abiotic stress libraries. Annotation of the genome identified 23,059 protein-coding genes. Seven grain amaranths (, , and ) and their putative progenitor () were resequenced. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) phylogeny supported the classification of as the progenitor species of the grain amaranths. Lastly, we generated a de novo physical map for using the BioNano Genomics' Genome Mapping platform. The physical map spanned 340 Mb and a hybrid assembly using the BioNano physical maps nearly doubled the N of the assembly to 697 kb. Moreover, we analyzed synteny between amaranth and sugar beet ( L.) and estimated, using analysis, the age of the most recent polyploidization event in amaranth.
Subject(s)
Amaranthus/genetics , Genome, Plant , Transcriptome , Amaranthus/classification , Amaranthus/metabolism , Chromosome Mapping , Genome Size , Molecular Sequence Annotation , Phylogeny , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , SyntenyABSTRACT
Seventy-four patients with histologically confirmed diagnoses of Wilms' tumor were treated between 1949 and 1978 at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and St. Louis Children's Hospital. The results have been divided into two eras of therapy, i.e., before and after 1965, when chemotherapy became a major modality for Wilms' tumor therapy. Analysis at 5 years by era of therapy has shown similar disease-free survival results for Stage I ("prechemotherapy" era 67% versus "chemotherapy" era 75%), whereas the Stage II ("prechemotherapy" era 33% versus "chemotherapy" era 100%) and Stage III ("prechemotherapy" era 0% versus "chemotherapy" era 70%) are significantly different (P less than 0.001). This suggests that chemotherapy has substituted for postoperative irradiation in Stage I patients; whereas in Stage II and III, improved survival occurs as a result of the eradication of subclinical metastatic disease. The patterns of failure by era of treatment are presented and the literature is discussed.
Subject(s)
Kidney Neoplasms/therapy , Wilms Tumor/therapy , Adolescent , Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Child , Child, Preschool , Combined Modality Therapy , Female , Humans , Kidney Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Kidney Neoplasms/surgery , Male , Radiography , Wilms Tumor/diagnostic imaging , Wilms Tumor/surgeryABSTRACT
Nine long-term survivors of cerebellar medulloblastoma treated with surgery and irradiation were retrospectively examined with a complete battery of neuropsychological tests and the results compared with their nonirradiated siblings. Significant decreased scores were found in the full-scale intelligence quotients (IQ) (P less than 0.001), performance IQ (P less than 0.001), and verbal IQ (P less than 0.02) with all nine irradiated patients scoring below their siblings. Also, educational quotients (EQ) of the irradiated patients were 12 to 17 points below the nonirradiated siblings with arithmetic EQ significantly decreased (P less than 0.01). Most severely affected were those children younger than 8 years at time of irradiation. No correlation was found with whole-brain dose, or objective physical or neurologic findings.