Systems genetics reveals key genetic elements of drought induced gene regulation in diploid potato.

In plants, tolerance to drought stress is a result of numerous minor effect loci in which transcriptional regulation contributes significantly to the observed phenotypes. Under severe drought conditions, a major expression quantitative trait loci hotspot was identified on chromosome five in potato. A putative Nuclear factor y subunit C4 was identified as key candidate in the regulatory cascade in response to drought. Further investigation of the eQTL hotspots suggests a role for a putative Homeobox leucine zipper protein 12 in relation to drought in potato. Genes strongly co-expressed with Homeobox leucine zipper protein 12 were plant growth regulators responsive to water deficit stress in Arabidopsis thaliana, implying a possible conserved mechanism. Integrative analysis of genetic, genomic, phenotypic and transcriptomic data provided insights in the downstream functional components of the drought response. The abscisic acid- and environmental stress-inducible protein TAS14 was highly induced by severe drought in potato and acts as a reliable biomarker for the level of stress perceived by the plant. The systems genetics approach supported a role for multiple genes responsive to severe drought stress of Solanum tuberosum. The combination of gene regulatory networks, expression quantitative trait loci mapping and phenotypic analysis proved useful for candidate gene selection.

Genetic mapping and QTL analysis of agronomic traits in Indian Mucuna pruriens using an intraspecific F2population.

Mucuna pruriens is a well-recognized agricultural and horticultural crop with important medicinal use. However, antinutritional factors in seed and adverse morphological characters have negatively affected its cultivation. To elucidate the genetic control of agronomic traits, an intraspecific genetic linkage map of Indian M. pruriens has been developed based on amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers using 200 F2 progenies derived from a cross between wild and cultivated genotypes. The resulting linkage map comprised 129 AFLP markers dispersed over 13 linkage groups spanning a total distance of 618.88 cM with an average marker interval of 4.79 cM. For the first time, three QTLs explaining about 6.05-14.77% of the corresponding total phenotypic variation for three quantitative (seed) traits and, eight QTLs explaining about 25.96% of the corresponding total phenotypic variation for three qualitative traits have been detected on four linkage groups. The map presented here will pave a way for mapping of genes/QTLs for the important agronomic and horticultural traits contrasting between the parents used in this study.

Neurofibrosarcoma of the Subglottis-A Rare Case Report.

A frazzled man in his early thirties presented with a 4 year long history of frequent progressive airway obstruction. He had undergone two open laryngeal surgeries and multiple endolaryngeal procedures for excision of a subglottic lesion which recurred. Each time the histopathology showed a different entity ranging from hemangioma and fibrihystiocytic lesion and spindle cell carcinoma. Finally the case was proven to be an intermediate grade sarcoma of neurogenic origin. He underwent widefield laryngectomy with placement of Provox-2 prosthesis followed by radiotherapy. Five years following surgery, he is progressing well. The case is being reported for its rarity and also for the histogenetic problems associated with this group of lesions. Authors found only one other case of laryngeal neurofibrosarcoma that was reported 29 years back [3].

Genetic dissection of drought tolerance and recovery potential by quantitative trait locus mapping of a diploid potato population.

Potato is the third most important staple food crop in terms of consumption, yet it is relatively susceptible to yield loss because of drought. As a first step towards improving drought tolerance in this crop, we set out to identify the genetic basis for drought tolerance in a diploid potato mapping population. Experiments were carried out under greenhouse conditions in two successive years by recording four physiological, seven growth and three yield parameters under stress and recovery treatments. Genotypes showed significant variation for drought and recovery responses. The traits measured had low to moderately high heritabilities (ranging from 22 to 74 %). A total of 47 quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified, of which 28 were drought-specific, 17 under recovery treatment and two under well-watered conditions. The majority of these growth and yield QTL co-localized with a QTL for maturity on chromosome 5. Four QTL for δ(13)C, three for chlorophyll content and one for chlorophyll fluorescence (F(v)/F(m)) were found to co-localize with yield and other growth trait QTL identified on other chromosomes. Several multi-year and multi-treatment QTL were detected and QTL × environment interaction was found for δ(13)C. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive QTL study on water deficit and recovery potential in potato. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11032-012-9728-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Organ specificity and transcriptional control of metabolic routes revealed by expression QTL profiling of source--sink tissues in a segregating potato population.

BACKGROUND: With the completion of genome sequences belonging to some of the major crop plants, new challenges arise to utilize this data for crop improvement and increased food security. The field of genetical genomics has the potential to identify genes displaying heritable differential expression associated to important phenotypic traits. Here we describe the identification of expression QTLs (eQTLs) in two different potato tissues of a segregating potato population and query the potato genome sequence to differentiate between cis- and trans-acting eQTLs in relation to gene subfunctionalization. RESULTS: Leaf and tuber samples were analysed and screened for the presence of conserved and tissue dependent eQTLs. Expression QTLs present in both tissues are predominantly cis-acting whilst for tissue specific QTLs, the percentage of trans-acting QTLs increases. Tissue dependent eQTLs were assigned to functional classes and visualized in metabolic pathways. We identified a potential regulatory network on chromosome 10 involving genes crucial for maintaining circadian rhythms and controlling clock output genes. In addition, we show that the type of genetic material screened and sampling strategy applied, can have a high impact on the output of genetical genomics studies. CONCLUSIONS: Identification of tissue dependent regulatory networks based on mapped differential expression not only gives us insight in tissue dependent gene subfunctionalization but brings new insights into key biological processes and delivers targets for future haplotyping and genetic marker development.

A pipeline for high throughput detection and mapping of SNPs from EST databases.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) represent the most abundant type of genetic variation that can be used as molecular markers. The SNPs that are hidden in sequence databases can be unlocked using bioinformatic tools. For efficient application of these SNPs, the sequence set should be error-free as much as possible, targeting single loci and suitable for the SNP scoring platform of choice. We have developed a pipeline to effectively mine SNPs from public EST databases with or without quality information using QualitySNP software, select reliable SNP and prepare the loci for analysis on the Illumina GoldenGate genotyping platform. The applicability of the pipeline was demonstrated using publicly available potato EST data, genotyping individuals from two diploid mapping populations and subsequently mapping the SNP markers (putative genes) in both populations. Over 7000 reliable SNPs were identified that met the criteria for genotyping on the GoldenGate platform. Of the 384 SNPs on the SNP array approximately 12% dropped out. For the two potato mapping populations 165 and 185 SNPs segregating SNP loci could be mapped on the respective genetic maps, illustrating the effectiveness of our pipeline for SNP selection and validation. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11032-009-9377-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Carotid space infection: A case report.

A case of isolated carotid space abscess is reported here for its rarity. No identifiable cause was detected in this case. Management involved incision and drainage of the abscess, close monitoring for the signs of complications and 8 weeks long antibiotic coverage. The only stigma of the abscess six months after presentation is a unilateral vocal cord palsy. A brief review of relate literature is also included.