Utility of EST-SNP Markers for Improving Management and Use of Olive Genetic Resources: A Case Study at the Worldwide Olive Germplasm Bank of Córdoba.

Olive, the emblematic Mediterranean fruit crop, owns a great varietal diversity, which is maintained in ex situ field collections, such as the World Olive Germplasm Bank of Córdoba (WOGBC), Spain. Accurate identification of WOGBC, one of the world's largest collections, is essential for efficient management and use of olive germplasm. The present study is the first report of the use of a core set of 96 EST-SNP markers for the fingerprinting of 1273 accessions from 29 countries, including both field and new acquired accessions. The EST-SNP fingerprinting made possible the accurate identification of 668 different genotypes, including 148 detected among the new acquired accessions. Despite the overall high genetic diversity found at WOGBC, the EST-SNPs also revealed the presence of remarkable redundant germplasm mostly represented by synonymy cases within and between countries. This finding, together with the presence of homonymy cases, may reflect a continuous interchange of olive cultivars, as well as a common and general approach for their naming. The structure analysis revealed a certain geographic clustering of the analysed germplasm. The EST-SNP panel under study provides a powerful and accurate genotyping tool, allowing for the foundation of a common strategy for efficient safeguarding and management of olive genetic resources.

Surgery for stage IV gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Surgical treatment for stage IV gastric cancer is controversial. METHODS: We analyzed the surgical experience with advanced gastric carcinoma in a tertiary referral center in Mexico City from 1995 through 2000. We analyzed surgical morbidity, mortality, and factors associated with prognosis. Survival was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method, and the curves were compared with the log-rank test. Significance was assigned at P <0.05. RESULTS: Seventy-six cases were identified. Mean patient age was 56 +/- 14.5 years. Thirty-nine patients (51.3%) were women. Patients were grouped according to surgical procedure: group 1 underwent resection (40 patients), group 2 underwent bypass procedures (10 patients), and group 3 underwent either celiotomy and biopsy alone or jejunostomy placement (26 patients). Twenty patients (26%) developed operative complications, but most were minor. There was no difference in morbidity between surgical groups and no difference according to patient's age. Operative mortality was 2.6%. Good palliation of symptoms was significantly more common in group 1 patients (82%) than in group 2 patients (60%) (P = 0.0001). Median survival was 8 months (95% confidence interval 4 to 12) for the entire cohort and 13, 5, and 3 months for groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively (P = 0.00001 for group 1 vs groups 2 and 3). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical resection for stage IV gastric cancer can be done with low operative mortality and acceptable morbidity rates, and it provides patients with good symptomatic relief. Advanced patient age is not a contraindication for surgical treatment.