| 1. |
- Munthe, Christian, 1962
(författare)
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Precaution and Ethics: Handling risks, uncertainties and knowledge gaps in the regulation of new biotechnologies
- 2017
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This volume outlines and analyses ethical issues actualized by applying a precautionary approach to the regulation of new biotechnologies. It presents a novel way of categorizing and comparing biotechnologies from a precautionary standpoint. Based on this, it addresses underlying philosophical problems regarding the ethical assessment of decision-making under uncertainty and ignorance, and discusses how risks and possible benefits of such technologies should be balanced from an ethical standpoint. It argues on conceptual and ethical grounds for a technology neutral regulation as well as for a regulation that not only checks new technologies but also requires old, inferior ones to be phased out. It demonstrates how difficult ethical issues regarding the extent and ambition of precautionary policies need to be handled by such a regulation, and presents an overarching framework for doing so.
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| 2. |
- Sanli, Kemal, et al.
(författare)
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Metagenomic Sequencing of Marine Periphyton: Taxonomic and Functional Insights into Biofilm Communities
- 2015
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-302X. ; 6:1192
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Periphyton communities are complex phototrophic, multispecies biofilms that develop on surfaces in aquatic environments. These communities harbor a large diversity of organisms comprising viruses, bacteria, algae, fungi, protozoans and metazoans. However, thus far the total biodiversity of periphyton has not been described. In this study, we use metagenomics to characterize periphyton communities from the marine environment of the Swedish west coast. Although we found approximately ten times more eukaryotic rRNA marker gene sequences compared to prokaryotic, the whole metagenome-based similarity searches showed that bacteria constitute the most abundant phyla in these biofilms. We show that marine periphyton encompass a range of heterotrophic and phototrophic organisms. Heterotrophic bacteria, including the majority of proteobacterial clades and Bacteroidetes, and eukaryotic macro-invertebrates were found to dominate periphyton. The phototrophic groups comprise Cyanobacteria and the alpha-proteobacterial genus Roseobacter, followed by different micro- and macro-algae. We also assess the metabolic pathways that predispose these communities to an attached lifestyle. Functional indicators of the biofilm form of life in periphyton involve genes coding for enzymes that catalyze the production and degradation of extracellular polymeric substances, mainly in the form of complex sugars such as starch and glycogen-like meshes together with chitin. Genes for 278 different transporter proteins were detected in the metagenome, constituting the most abundant protein complexes. Finally, genes encoding enzymes that participate in anaerobic pathways, such as denitrification and methanogenesis, were detected suggesting the presence of anaerobic or low-oxygen micro-zones within the biofilms.
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| 3. |
- Sandin, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Technology neutrality and regulation of agricultural biotechnology
- 2018
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Ingår i: Professionals in food chains: ethics, rules and responsibility. EurSafe 2018, Vienna, Austria 13 – 16 June 2018 / edited by: Svenja Springer, Herwig Grimm. - Wageningen, Netherlands : Wageningen Academic Publishers. - 9789086863211
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Agricultural biotechnology, in particular genetically modified organisms (GMOs), is subject to regulation in many areas of the world, not least in the European Union (EU). A number of authors have argued that those regulatory processes are unfair, costly, and slow and that regulation therefore should move in the direction of increased ‘technology neutrality’. The issue is becoming more pressing, especially since new biotechnologies such as CRISPR increasingly blur the regulatory distinction between GMOs and non-GMOs. This paper offers a definition of technology neutrality, uses the EU GMO regulation as a starting point for exploring technology neutrality, and presents distinctions between variants of the call for technology neutral GMO regulation in the EU.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Sattar, Muhammad Naeem, et al.
(författare)
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Cotton leaf curl disease - an emerging threat to cotton production worldwide
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of General Virology. - : Microbiology Society. - 0022-1317 .- 1465-2099. ; 94, s. 695-710
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) is a serious disease of cotton which has characteristic symptoms, the most unusual of which is the formation of leaf-like enations on the undersides of leaves. The disease is caused by whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses (family Geminiviridae, genus Begomovirus) in association with specific, symptom-modulating satellites (betasatellites) and an evolutionarily distinct group of satellite-like molecules known as alphasatellites. CLCuD occurs across Africa as well as in Pakistan and north-western India. Over the past 25 years, Pakistan and India have experienced two epidemics of the disease, the most recent of which involved a virus and satellite that are resistance breaking. Loss of this conventional host-plant resistance, which saved the cotton growers from ruin in the late 1990s, leaves farmers with only relatively poor host plant tolerance to counter the extensive losses the disease causes. There has always been the fear that CLCuD could spread from the relatively limited geographical range it encompasses at present to other cotton-growing areas of the world where, although the disease is not present, the environmental conditions are suitable for its establishment and the whitefly vector occurs. Unfortunately recent events have shown this fear to be well founded, with CLCuD making its first appearance in China. Here, we outline recent advances made in understanding the molecular biology of the components of the disease complex, their interactions with host plants, as well as efforts being made to control CLCuD.
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| 10. |
- Kwiecinski, Jakub, 1985
(författare)
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Genetically modified abominations? Widespread opposition to GMOs might have deep-seated cultural causes.
- 2009
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Ingår i: EMBO reports. - : EMBO. - 1469-3178 .- 1469-221X. ; 10:11, s. 1187-90
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is a widespread phenomenon, yet its basis is still not entirely clear. While it is usually attributed to irrational fears and political issues, it might have a deep-seated cultural causes. Exploration of the “anti – GMO” discourse reveals multiple similarities between the way genetic modifications are described by their opponents and the way impurity is depicted in ethnological theory of taboo. Those include “dirtiness”, “infectivity” and “trespassing boundaries”. Cultural identification of GMO with “impurity” and “taboo” partly explains the people’s hostility – and is an example of how new scientific achievements are assimilated by traditional cultural schemes.
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| 11. |
- Steinhagen, Sophie, et al.
(författare)
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Harvest time can affect the optimal yield and quality of sea lettuce (Ulva fenestrata) in a sustainable sea-based cultivation : Seasonal Cultivation of Ulva fenestrata
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-7745. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Seaweed biomass is a renewable resource with multiple applications. Sea-based cultivation of seaweeds can provide high biomass yields, low construction, operation, and maintenance costs and could offer an environmentally and economically sustainable alternative to land-based cultivations. The biochemical profile of sea-grown biomass depends on seasonal variation in environmental factors, and the optimization of harvest time is important for the quality of the produced biomass. To identify optimal harvest times of Swedish sea-based cultivated sea lettuce (Ulva fenestrata), this study monitored biomass yield, morphology, chemical composition, fertility, and biofouling at five different harvesting times in April - June 2020. The highest biomass yields (approx. 1.2 kg fw [m rope]-1) were observed in late spring (May). The number and size of holes in the thalli and the amount of fertile and fouled tissue increased with prolonged growth season, which together led to a significant decline in both biomass yield and quality during summer (June). Early spring (April) conditions were optimal for obtaining high fatty acid, protein, biochar, phenolic, and pigment contents in the biomass, whereas carbohydrate and ash content, as well as essential and non-essential elements, increased later in the growth season. Our study results show that the optimal harvest time of sea-based cultivated U. fenestrata depends on the downstream application of the biomass and must be carefully selected to balance yield, quality, and desired biochemical contents to maximize the output of future sea-based algal cultivations in the European Northern Hemisphere.
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| 12. |
- kaiser, matthias, et al.
(författare)
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Food ethics: a Wide Field in Need of Dialogue
- 2016
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Ingår i: Food Ethics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2364-6853 .- 2364-6861. ; 1:1, s. 1-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are a few things which are obviously a central part of everyone’s life, at all times, and all over the globe, and which are crucial for our wellbeing. Food is, like sex, such an essential ingredient of our life, an ingredient of what we expect of a good life. What is on our plates is always a result of nature and culture, to the extent that it may seem hard to find commonalities in our global diet. As academics we have asked different questions about food. For a long time these questions have been dominated by the quest to secure enough food and to improve what we have got. It is, however, noteworthy that we also always have asked the normative questions in relation to food: Is it right to eat this kind of food? Do we produce our food the right way? Is there injustice and bad power in the way we distribute the food? Are we lied to in regard to what is on our plate? When we enter the normative realm, we enter the realm of ethics, understood in a wide and comprehensive way. As all normative questions, we need to be well informed by knowledge about how the world is, and what is at stake and for whom. We call this food ethics. Food ethics raises issues and asks questions in relation to food all along the value chains. It also puts things into relation with each other. At the same time it disentangles complex heaps of factors and pieces of knowledge, and looks for guidance. It is issue driven, rather than interest driven. It unites scholars with farmers and fishermen, chefs with industry, consumers with lawyers, and food citizens with authorities. As a young field within academia it is important to guard against efforts to appropriate the field for narrow interests, and instead to combine the natural and social sciences in analysing and addressing the challenges. We do not necessarily call for the grand ethical theory that explains it all, but rather start with the simple things in a very complex overall picture. We want to draw attention to ethically significant facts, discuss problematic developments, point to genuine dilemmas, learn about food relevant contexts and history, and look for individual, professional and institutional responses to ethical challenges and issues. Thus, one of the missions of this new journal Food Ethics, is to widen the scope and the discussion on the topic, and to be inclusive in terms of who has something to contribute to the field. There is no escaping from confronting very complex issues when it comes to managing one of the most basic needs we all have, food. As editors of this new journal we maintain that food ethics deserves special and inter-disciplinary attention by researchers, that it is not sufficiently dealt with by what is currently known as bioethics, that it is intrinsically connected with the so-called grand societal challenges of our time, that it is a globally important field which demands particular attention to complexities and uncertainties, as much as it needs to be explicit about what values are at stake and for whom, and which normative principles it touches upon.
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| 13. |
- Goddek, Simon, et al.
(författare)
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Aquaponics and Global Food Challenges
- 2019
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Ingår i: Aquaponics Food Production Systems. - : Springer Verlag. - 9783030159436
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)
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| 14. |
- Goddek, Simon, et al.
(författare)
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Decoupled aquaponic systems
- 2019
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Ingår i: Aquaponics Food Production Systems. - London : Springer. - 9783030159436
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
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| 17. |
- Sandin, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Technology Neutrality in European Regulation of GMOs
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ethics, Policy & Environment. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2155-0085 .- 2155-0093. ; 1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objections to the current EU regulatory system on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in terms of high cost and lack of consistency, speed and scientific underpinning have prompted proposals for a more technology-neutral system. We sketch the conceptual background of the notion of ‘technology neutrality’ and propose a refined definition of the term. The proposed definition implies that technology neutrality of a regulatory system is a gradual and multidimensional feature. We use the definition to analyze two regulatory reform proposals: One proposal from the Netherlands for improving the exemption mechanism for GMOs under Directive 2001/18/EC, and one from the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board, outlining a new stratified risk assessment procedure. While both proposals offer some degree of improved technology neutrality in some dimensions compared to current EU regulation, in some extents and dimensions, they do not. We conclude that proposals for more technology-neutral regulation of GMOs need, first, to make explicit to what extent and in what dimensions the proposal improves neutrality and, second, to present arguments supporting that these specific improvements constitute desirable policy change against the background of objections to current policy.
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| 18. |
- Sandhi, Arifin, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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Phytofiltration of arsenic by aquatic moss (Warnstorfia fluitans)
- 2017
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Ingår i: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0269-7491 .- 1873-6424.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This work investigates whether aquatic moss (Warnstorfia fluitans) originating from an arsenic (As)-contaminated wetland close to a mine tailings impoundment may be used for phytofiltration of As. The aim was to elucidate the capacity of W. fluitans to remove As from arsenite and arsenate contaminated water, how nutrients affect the As uptake and the proportion of As adsorption and absorption by the moss plant, which consists of dead and living parts.Arsenic removal from 0, 1, or 10% Hoagland nutrient solution containing 0–100 μM arsenate was followed over 192 h, and the total As in aquatic moss after treatment was analysed. The uptake and speciation of As in moss cultivated in water containing 10 μM arsenate or arsenite were examined as As uptake in living (absorption + adsorption) and dead (adsorption) plant parts.Results indicated that W. fluitans removed up to 82% of As from the water within one hour when 1 μM arsenate was added in the absence of nutrients. The removal time increased with greater nutrient and As concentrations. Up to 100 μM As had no toxic effect on the plant biomass. Both arsenite and arsenate were removed from the solution to similar extents and, independent of the As species added, more arsenate than arsenite was found in the plant. Of the As taken up, over 90% was firmly bound to the tissue, a possible mechanism for resisting high As concentrations. Arsenic was both absorbed and adsorbed by the moss, and twice as much As was found in living parts as in dead moss tissue. This study revealed that W. fluitans has potential to serve as a phytofilter for removing As from As-contaminated water without displaying any toxic effects of the metalloid.
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| 19. |
- Edger, Patrick P., et al.
(författare)
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The butterfly plant arms-race escalated by gene and genome duplications
- 2015
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 112:27, s. 8362-8366
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coevolutionary interactions are thought to have spurred the evolution of key innovations and driven the diversification of much of life on Earth. However, the genetic and evolutionary basis of the innovations that facilitate such interactions remains poorly understood. We examined the coevolutionary interactions between plants (Brassicales) and butterflies (Pieridae), and uncovered evidence for an escalating evolutionary arms-race. Although gradual changes in trait complexity appear to have been facilitated by allelic turnover, key innovations are associated with gene and genome duplications. Furthermore, we show that the origins of both chemical defenses and of molecular counter adaptations were associated with shifts in diversification rates during the arms-race. These findings provide an important connection between the origins of biodiversity, coevolution, and the role of gene and genome duplications as a substrate for novel traits.
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| 20. |
- Stedt, Kristoffer, 1991, et al.
(författare)
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Post-harvest cultivation with seafood process waters improves protein levels of Ulva fenestrata while retaining important food sensory attributes
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-7745.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Seaweed aquaculture can provide the growing human population with a sustainable source of proteins. Sea-based cultivation is an effective method for farming seaweeds on a large scale and can yield high biomass output. However, the quality and biochemical composition of the biomass is seasonally dependent, which limits the harvests to certain periods of the year. Here we show the possibility to extend the sea-based cultivation season of Ulva fenestrata when aiming for high protein levels, by post-harvest treatment in herring production process waters. We harvested U. fenestrata at an optimal period in terms of yield, but suboptimal in terms of protein content. We then cultivated the seaweed in onshore tank systems with the nutrient-rich process waters for 14 days. We monitored biomass yield, crude protein content, amino acid composition, and content of the health concerning metals arsenic, mercury, lead, and cadmium, as well as the sensory properties of the dried biomass. After cultivation in the process waters, biomass yields were 30 - 40% higher (210 – 230 g fresh weight) compared to in seawater (160 g fresh weight). Also, the crude protein and amino acid content increased three to five times in the process waters, reaching 12 - 17 and 15 – 21% dry weight, respectively. The protein enriched biomass followed food graded standards for heavy metal content, and consumption of the biomass does not exceed health based reference points. Additionally, no sensory attributes regarded as negative were found. This rapid, post-harvest treatment can help extend the cultivation season of sea-based seaweed farms, maximizing their output of sustainable proteins.
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| 21. |
- Gillman, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Oseltamivir-Resistant Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Strain with an H274Y Mutation in Neuraminidase Persists without Drug Pressure in Infected Mallards
- 2015
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Ingår i: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 0099-2240 .- 1098-5336. ; 81:7, s. 2378-2383
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Influenza A virus (IAV) has its natural reservoir in wild waterfowl and emerging human IAVs often contain gene segments from avian viruses. The active drug metabolite of oseltamivir (oseltamivir carboxylate (OC)), stockpiled as Tamiflu® for influenza pandemic preparedness, is not removed by conventional sewage treatment and has been detected in river water. There, it may there exert evolutionary pressure on avian IAV in waterfowl, resulting in development of resistant viral variants. A resistant avian IAV can circulate among wild birds only if resistance does not restrict viral fitness and if the resistant virus can persist without continuous drug pressure. In this in vivo Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) study we tested if an OC-resistant avian IAV strain (A(H1N1)/NA-H274Y) could retain resistance while drug pressure was gradually removed. Successively infected Mallards were exposed to decreasing levels of OC, and fecal samples were analyzed for neuraminidase sequence and phenotypic resistance. No reversion to wild-type virus was observed during the experiment, which included 17 days of viral transmission in 10 ducks exposed to OC concentrations below resistance induction levels. We conclude that resistance in avian IAV, induced by OC exposure of the natural host, can persist in absence of the drug. Thus, there is a risk that human pathogenic IAVs that evolve from IAVs circulating among wild birds may contain resistance mutations. An oseltamivir resistant pandemic IAV would be a substantial public health threat. Therefore, our observations underscore the need for prudent oseltamivir use, upgraded sewage treatment and resistance surveillance of IAV in wild birds.
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| 22. |
- Jönsson, Erik, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Many Meats and Many Milks? : The Ontological Politics of a Proposed Post-animal Revolution
- 2019
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Ingår i: Science as Culture. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0950-5431 .- 1470-1189. ; 28:1, s. 70-97
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Today plant-based alternatives to animal-agricultural products are made available or developed alongside ‘cultured’ meat, and products utilising genetic modification. To proponents, this signifies the emergence of ‘cellular agriculture’ as a food-production field or the possibility of a ‘post-animal bioeconomy’: a way to safely and sustainably produce animal products without animals. Drawing on previous work on ontological politics enables acknowledging how these novel objects unsettle animal products’ ontological stability, thereby offering a practical case of how the world is multiply produced. An important emphasis within this tradition is the situated nature of reality-making practices. Consequently our analysis, focusing on different practices, sites and objects compared to influential studies of ontological politics, necessitates bringing in hitherto relatively unexplored political-economic relations and legal processes. As global processes and problem formulations, laboratories, and national or regional regulations come together to remake realities the ontological-political dynamics determining the fate of cellular agriculture or a post-animal bioeconomy becomes shaped by a combination of conflicts and budding collaborations between proponents of new technologies and established livestock interests. Understanding these dynamics requires tracing both how post-animal products reshape the world they are introduced into, and acknowledging the friction evident as reality-carrying objects leave their laboratories.
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| 23. |
- Björk, Mats, 1960-, et al.
(författare)
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Methane emissions from macrophyte beach wrack on Baltic seashores
- 2023
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Ingår i: Ambio. - : Springer Nature. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 52:1, s. 171-181
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Beach wrack of marine macrophytes is a natural component of many beaches. To test if such wrack emits the potent greenhouse gas methane, field measurements were made at different seasons on beach wrack depositions of different ages, exposure, and distance from the water. Methane emissions varied greatly, from 0 to 176 mg CH4-C m−2 day−1, with a clear positive correlation between emission and temperature. Dry wrack had lower emissions than wet. Using temperature data from 2016 to 2020, seasonal changes in fluxes were calculated for a natural wrack accumulation area. Such calculated average emissions were close to zero during winter, but peaked in summer, with very high emissions when daily temperatures exceeded 20 °C. We conclude that waterlogged beach wrack significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and that emissions might drastically increase with increasing global temperatures. When beach wrack is collected into heaps away from the water, the emissions are however close to zero.
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| 24. |
- Lindskog, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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The human cardiac and skeletal muscle proteomes defined by transcriptomics and antibody-based profiling
- 2015
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Ingår i: BMC Genomics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2164. ; 16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: To understand cardiac and skeletal muscle function, it is important to define and explore their molecular constituents and also to identify similarities and differences in the gene expression in these two different striated muscle tissues. Here, we have investigated the genes and proteins with elevated expression in cardiac and skeletal muscle in relation to all other major human tissues and organs using a global transcriptomics analysis complemented with antibody-based profiling to localize the corresponding proteins on a single cell level. Results: Our study identified a comprehensive list of genes expressed in cardiac and skeletal muscle. The genes with elevated expression were further stratified according to their global expression pattern across the human body as well as their precise localization in the muscle tissues. The functions of the proteins encoded by the elevated genes are well in line with the physiological functions of cardiac and skeletal muscle, such as contraction, ion transport, regulation of membrane potential and actomyosin structure organization. A large fraction of the transcripts in both cardiac and skeletal muscle correspond to mitochondrial proteins involved in energy metabolism, which demonstrates the extreme specialization of these muscle tissues to provide energy for contraction. Conclusions: Our results provide a comprehensive list of genes and proteins elevated in striated muscles. A number of proteins not previously characterized in cardiac and skeletal muscle were identified and localized to specific cellular subcompartments. These proteins represent an interesting starting point for further functional analysis of their role in muscle biology and disease.
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| 25. |
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| 26. |
- Moore, Jason W., 1971-
(författare)
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The end of the road? : agricultural revolutions in the capitalist World-ecology, 1450-2010
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Agrarian Change. - : Wiley - Blackwell. - 1471-0358 .- 1471-0366. ; 10:3, s. 389-413
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Does the present socio-ecological impasse – captured in popular discussions of the ‘end’ of cheap food and cheap oil – represent the latest in a long history of limits and crises that have been transcended by capital, or have we arrived at an epochal turning point in the relation of capital, capitalism and agricultural revolution? For the better part of six centuries, the relation between world capitalism and agriculture has been a remarkable one. Every great wave of capitalist development has been paved with ‘cheap’ food. Beginning in the long sixteenth century, capitalist agencies pioneered successive agricultural revolutions, yielding a series of extraordinary expansions of the food surplus. This paper engages the crisis of neoliberalism today, and asks: Is another agricultural revolution, comparable to those we have known in the history of capitalism, possible? Does the present conjuncture represent a developmental crisis of capitalism that can be resolved by establishing new agro-ecological conditions for another long wave of accumulation, or are we now witnessing an epochal crisis of capitalism? These divergent possibilities are explored from a perspective that views capitalism as ‘world-ecology’, joining together the accumulation of capital and the production of nature in dialectical unity.
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| 27. |
- Björnberg, K. E., et al.
(författare)
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The role of biotechnology in sustainable agriculture : Views and perceptions among key actors in the Swedish food supply chain
- 2015
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 7:6, s. 7512-7529
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Researchers have put forward agricultural biotechnology as one possible tool for increasing food production and making agriculture more sustainable. In this paper, it is investigated how key actors in the Swedish food supply chain perceive the concept of agricultural sustainability and the role of biotechnology in creating more sustainable agricultural production systems. Based on policy documents and semi-structured interviews with representatives of five organizations active in producing, processing and retailing food in Sweden, an attempt is made to answer the following three questions: How do key actors in the Swedish food supply chain define and operationalize the concept of agricultural sustainability? Who/what influences these organizations' sustainability policies and their respective positions on agricultural biotechnology? What are the organizations' views and perceptions of biotechnology and its possible role in creating agricultural sustainability? Based on collected data, it is concluded that, although there is a shared view of the core constituents of agricultural sustainability among the organizations, there is less explicit consensus on how the concept should be put into practice or what role biotechnology can play in furthering agricultural sustainability.
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| 28. |
- Beier, Ulrika, et al.
(författare)
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Fisk och fiske i Mälaren
- 2015
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Rapport (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Nära en tredjedel av Sveriges befolkning bor i Mälardalen. Mälaren är Sveriges tredje största sjö och en av de artrikaste beträffande fisk. Sjön är både flikig och mångsidig. Ömsom kantas den av slätter med intensivt jordbruk och stora vassområden, ömsom av karga klippor och grusstränder. Här finns omväxlande små och stora öar, grunda vikar, trånga sund och stora, djupa fjärdar. Mälaren har förorenats under århundraden och är fortfarande delvis övergödd. Trots det tjänar den som landets största dricksvattentäkt. Två miljoner människor får dricksvatten från Mälaren. Länge har fokus varit på sjöns vattenkvalitet, både för att dricka och bada i. Mälaren är också viktig som fiskesjö. Fiske i Mälaren innebär oftast rekreation men sjön försörjer också cirka trettio yrkesfiskare. Sist men inte minst - fisken i Mälaren är en viktig del i dess ekosystem. Genom näringsväven återkopplar fisken oundvikligen till vattnets kvalitet. I den här rapporten vill vi sätta Mälarens fisk i fokus. Vi ska berätta om fiskarter som är viktiga för ekosystemet och fisket samt om hur fisken i Mälaren undersöks.
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| 29. |
- Öhman, David
(författare)
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Function of MAP20 and MYB103 in cellulose and lignin formation of xylem secondary cell walls
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Lignocellulose from trees and other crops will have tremendous impact on the next generation of sustainable biofuels and biomaterials. To take advantage of modern breeding tools, it is therefore important to understand the genetic and molecular regulation underlying secondary cell wall formation. Here, functional analysis was performed on two genes specifically involved in secondary cell wall formation, using Arabidopsis and Populus as model species. PttMAP20 was earlier identified as a wood-specific microtubule-associated protein in hybrid aspen, but not functionally assessed [Rajangam et al. (2008). Plant Physiology, pp. 1283–1294]. In this thesis, AtMAP20 was found to be generally expressed in secondary wall forming cell types in Arabidopsis, including xylem cells, and its binding to microtubules was confirmed. A domain-mapping study showed that its central TPX2 domain, together with the N- and/or C-terminal domain, is required for complete microtubule binding. Overexpression of AtMAP20 induced shorter roots and right-handed twisting, mimicking treatment with the microtubule-stabilizing drug taxol. Loss-of-function map20 mutants had longer etiolated hypocotyls and altered cell wall chemistry. This phenotype was interpreted as resulting from mechanical weakening in the secondary walls of their spiral protoxylem vessels. In line with this, overexpression of PttMAP20 in hybrid aspen affected cellulose microfibril angle. Taken together, MAP20 is a novel microtubule-stabilizing protein, specifically active during secondary cell wall formation and important for the patterning of cellulose microfibrils. MYB103 is a xylem-specific transcription factor, previously demonstrated to be directly activated by the secondary wall NAC master switches SND1/NST1 and VND6/VND7 [Zhong et al. (2008). Plant Cell, pp. 2763–2782]. This thesis demonstrates that loss-of-function Arabidopsis myb103 mutants have reduced levels of syringyl lignin in their basal stems. This was compensated for by an increase in guaiacyl lignin, resulting in a modified syringyl to guaiacyl ratio. The altered lignin composition, characterized by Py/GC-MS, FT-IR microspectroscopy and 2D NMR, was caused by a suppression of F5H, a key gene in syringyl lignin biosynthesis. Thus, it is concluded that MYB103 is required for F5H expression. Taken together, this thesis presents novel knowledge on function of genes important for secondary cell wall formation and, hence, wood formation. These findings have the potential to improve wood characteristics to benefit forest growers and industries.
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| 30. |
- Axelsson, Petter, et al.
(författare)
-
Can leaf litter from genetically modified trees affect aquatic ecosystems?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Ecosystems (New York. Print). - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-9840 .- 1435-0629. ; 13:7, s. 1049-1059
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In addition to potential benefits, biotechnology in silviculture may also be associated with environmental considerations, including effects on organisms associated with the living tree and on ecosystems and processes dependent on tree residue. We examined whether genetic modification of lignin characteristics (CAD and COMT) in Populus sp. affected leaf litter quality, the decomposition of leaf litter, and the assemblages of aquatic insects colonizing the litter in three natural streams. The decomposition of leaf litter from one of the genetically modified (GM) lines (CAD) was affected in ways that were comparable over streams and harvest dates. After 84 days in streams, CAD-litter had lost approximately 6.1% less mass than the non-GM litter. Genetic modification also affected the concentration of phenolics and carbon in the litter but this only partially explained the decomposition differences, suggesting that other factors were also involved. Insect community analyses comparing GM and non-GM litter showed no significant differences, and the two GM litters showed differences only in the 84-day litterbags. The total abundance and species richness of insects were also similar on GM and non-GM litter. The results presented here suggest that genetic modifications in trees can influence litter quality and thus have a potential to generate effects that can cross ecosystem boundaries and influence ecosystem processes not directly associated with the tree. Overall, the realized ecological effects of the GM tree varieties used here were nevertheless shown to be relatively small.
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| 31. |
- Karim, Sazzad, et al.
(författare)
-
Improved drought tolerance without undesired side effects in transgenic plants producing trehalose
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Plant Molecular Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0167-4412 .- 1573-5028. ; 64:4, s. 371-386
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most organisms naturally accumulating trehalose upon stress produce the sugar in a two-step process by the action of the enzymes trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) and trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase (TPP). Transgenic plants overexpressing TPS have shown enhanced drought tolerance in spite of minute accumulation of trehalose, amounts believed to be too small to provide a protective function. However, overproduction of TPS in plants has also been found combined with pleiotropic growth aberrations. This paper describes three successful strategies to circumvent such growth defects without loosing the improved stress tolerance. First, we introduced into tobacco a double construct carrying the genes TPS1 and TPS2 (encoding TPP) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both genes are regulated by an Arabidopsis RuBisCO promoter from gene AtRbcS1A giving constitutive production of both enzymes. The second strategy involved stress-induced expression by fusing the coding region of ScTPS1 downstream of the drought-inducible Arabidopsis AtRAB18 promoter. In transgenic tobacco plants harbouring genetic constructs with either ScTPS1 alone, or with ScTPS1 and ScTPS2 combined, trehalose biosynthesis was turned on only when the plants experienced stress. The third strategy involved the use of AtRbcS]A promoter together with a transit peptide in front of the coding sequence of ScTPS1, which directed the enzyme to the chloroplasts. This paper confirms that the enhanced drought tolerance depends on unknown ameliorated water retention as the initial water status is the same in control and transgenic plants and demonstrates the influence of expression of heterologous trehalose biosynthesis genes on Arabidopsis root development.
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| 32. |
- Teixeira, Cristina, 1986, et al.
(författare)
-
Application of a dynamic gastrointestinal in vitro model combined with a rat model to predict the digestive fate of barley dietary fibre and evaluate potential impact on hindgut fermentation
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre. - : Elsevier BV. - 2212-6198. ; 9, s. 7-13
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Processing affects the composition, structure and physico-chemical characteristics of dietary fibres, and further changes can occur along the gastro-intestinal tract before entering the colon where undigested carbohydrates may serve as a substrate for the microbiota. To elucidate the effects of dietary fibre characteristic and the impact of processing on the digestive fate of dietary fibre components, in the stomach and the small intestine, a dynamic gastrointestinal in vitro model (TIM-1) was used. Three barley malt and one brewers’ spent grain, with different contents of soluble fibre, arabinoxylan (total and soluble), and β-glucan with varying Calcofluor average molecular weight (Mcf) and molecular weight distribution were evaluated in the in vitro model. Additionally, a rat model was used to study the colonic fermentation of the dietary fibre components in the barley products. The transit time through the stomach and small intestine of the in vitro model was slowest for barley malts with the highest content of soluble fibre and β-glucan. The β-glucan Mcf decreased with digestion time for all test meals, and the molecular weight distributions in the various barley products differed markedly. The highest β-glucan Mcf was found for Cinnamon malt, which also contained the highest proportion of soluble fibre. The hindgut fermentation of fibre and the proportions of caecal propionic acid were highest in rats fed barley products high in soluble fibre, β-glucan (content and Mcf), soluble arabinoxylan, and with slowest transit during digestion in the in vitro model.
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| 33. |
- Almered Olsson, Gunilla, 1951, et al.
(författare)
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Food systems sustainability - For whom and by whom? : An examination of different 'food system change' viewpoints
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Development Research Conference 2018: “Rethinking development”, 22–23 August 2018, Gothenburg, Sweden.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The United Nations identifies the food crisis as one of the primary overarching challenges facing the international community. Different stakeholders in the food system have widely different perspectives and interests, and challenging structural issues, such as the power differentials among them, remain largely unexamined. These challenges make rational discourse among food system actors from different disciplines, sectors and levels difficult. These challenges can often prevent them from working together effectively to find innovative ways to respond to food security challenges. This means that finding solutions to intractable and stuck issues, such as the food crisis often stall, not at implementation, but at the point of problem identification. Food system sustainability means very different things to different food system actors. These differences in no way undermine or discount the work carried out by these players. However, making these differences explicit is an essential activity that would serve to deepen theoretical and normative project outcomes. Would the impact and reach of different food projects differ if these differences were made explicit? The purpose of this initial part of a wider food system research project is not to search for difference or divergence, with the aim of critique, but rather to argue that by making these differences explicit, the overall food system project engagement will be made more robust, more inclusive and more encompassing. This paper starts with some discussion on the different food system perspectives, across scales, regions and sectors but focuses primarily on the design of processes used to understand these divergent and at times contradictory views of what a sustainable food system may be. This paper draws on ongoing work within the Mistra Urban Futures project, using the food system projects in cities as diverse as Cape Town, Manchester, Gothenburg and Kisumu as sites for this enquiry.
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| 34. |
- Gillman, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Oseltamivir-Resistant Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Strain with an H274Y Mutation in Neuraminidase Persists without Drug Pressure in Infected Mallards
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 0099-2240 .- 1098-5336. ; 81:7, s. 2378-2383
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Influenza A virus (IAV) has its natural reservoir in wild waterfowl, and emerging human IAVs often contain gene segments from avian viruses. The active drug metabolite of oseltamivir (oseltamivir carboxylate [OC]), stockpiled as Tamiflu for influenza pandemic preparedness, is not removed by conventional sewage treatment and has been detected in river water. There, it may exert evolutionary pressure on avian IAV in waterfowl, resulting in the development of resistant viral variants. A resistant avian IAV can circulate among wild birds only if resistance does not restrict viral fitness and if the resistant virus can persist without continuous drug pressure. In this in vivo mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) study, we tested whether an OC-resistant avian IAV (H1N1) strain with an H274Y mutation in the neuraminidase (NA-H274Y) could retain resistance while drug pressure was gradually removed. Successively infected mallards were exposed to decreasing levels of OC, and fecal samples were analyzed for the neuraminidase sequence and phenotypic resistance. No reversion to wild-type virus was observed during the experiment, which included 17 days of viral transmission among 10 ducks exposed to OC concentrations below resistance induction levels. We conclude that resistance in avian IAV that is induced by exposure of the natural host to OC can persist in the absence of the drug. Thus, there is a risk that human-pathogenic IAVs that evolve from IAVs circulating among wild birds may contain resistance mutations. An oseltamivir-resistant pandemic IAV would pose a substantial public health threat. Therefore, our observations underscore the need for prudent oseltamivir use, upgraded sewage treatment, and surveillance for resistant IAVs in wild birds.
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| 35. |
- Rämö, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Sediment Remediation Using Activated Carbon: Effects of Sorbent Particle Size and Resuspension on Sequestration of Metals and Organic Contaminants.
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Environmental toxicology and chemistry. - : Wiley. - 1552-8618 .- 0730-7268. ; 41:4, s. 1096-1110
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Thin-layer capping using activated carbon (AC) has been described as a cost-effective in situ sediment remediation method for organic contaminants. In this study, we compare the capping efficiency of powdered AC (PAC) against granular AC (GAC) using contaminated sediment from Oskarshamn harbor, Sweden. The effects of resuspension on contaminant retention and cap integrity were also studied. Intact sediment cores were collected from the outer harbor and brought to the laboratory. Three thin-layer caps, consisting of PAC or GAC mixed with clay, or clay only, were added to the sediment surface. Resuspension was created using a motor-driven paddle to simulate propeller wash from ship traffic. Passive samplers were placed in the sediment and in the water column to measure the sediment-to-water release of PAHs, PCBs, and metals. Our results show that a thin-layer cap with PAC reduced sediment-to-water fluxes of PCBs by 57 % under static conditions and 91 % under resuspension. Thin-layer capping with GAC was less effective than PAC, but reduced fluxes of high-molecular weight PAHs. Thin-layer capping with AC was less effective in retaining metals, except for Cd, which release was significantly reduced by PAC. Resuspension generally decreased water concentrations of dissolved cationic metals, perhaps due to sorption to suspended sediment particles. Sediment resuspension in treatments without capping increased fluxes of PCBs with log Kow > 7 and PAHs with log Kow 5 6, but resuspension reduced PCB and PAH fluxes through the PAC thin-layer cap. Overall, PAC performed better than GAC, but adverse effects on the benthic community and transport of PAC to non-target areas are drawbacks that favor the use of GAC. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.© 2022 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
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| 36. |
- Kolseth, Anna-Karin, et al.
(författare)
-
Influence of genetically modified organisms on agro-ecosystem processes
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. - Amsterdam : Elsevier BV. - 1873-2305 .- 0167-8809. ; 214, s. 96-106
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biotechnology offers extensive possibilities to incorporate new traits into organisms. Genetically modified (GM) traits relevant for agro-ecosystems include traits such as pest resistance and herbicide tolerance in crop plants, increased growth rate in fish and livestock, and enhanced nitrogen-fixation capabilities of soil microbes. In this review, we evaluated the direct and indirect trait-specific effects of GM plants, microbes, and animals on ecosystem processes and found that most of the effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on ecosystem processes are indirect and are the result of associated changes in management strategy rather than a direct effect of the GMOs. Conflicting results on the performance and effects of GMOs are frequently reported, especially regarding crop yield and impacts on soil organisms. This is partly because methods with different levels of resolution have been used in different ecological contexts. Overall, there is little evidence that the effects of GM traits on ecosystem processes act with different mechanisms from those of traits modified using conventional methods. However, little is known about trait-specific effects of GMOs on ecosystem processes even though GMOs have been used for more than three decades. In particular, studies linking genetically modified traits to ecosystem processes at longer time scales are rare, but needed for evaluating trait effects, especially in an evolutionary context. In addition, biotechnology may provide a unique tool for gaining insights into the links between traits and ecosystem processes when integrated into basic ecological research. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 37. |
- Ramesh, Vetukuri, et al.
(författare)
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Evidence for Small RNAs Homologous to Effector-Encoding Genes and Transposable Elements in the Oomycete Phytophthora infestans
- 2012
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 7:12, s. e51399-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Phytophthora infestans is the oomycete pathogen responsible for the devastating late blight disease on potato and tomato. There is presently an intense research focus on the role(s) of effectors in promoting late blight disease development. However, little is known about how they are regulated, or how diversity in their expression may be generated among different isolates. Here we present data from investigation of RNA silencing processes, characterized by non-coding small RNA molecules (sRNA) of 19-40 nt. From deep sequencing of sRNAs we have identified sRNAs matching numerous RxLR and Crinkler (CRN) effector protein genes in two isolates differing in pathogenicity. Effector gene-derived sRNAs were present in both isolates, but exhibited marked differences in abundance, especially for CRN effectors. Small RNAs in P. infestans grouped into three clear size classes of 21, 25/26 and 32 nt. Small RNAs from all size classes mapped to RxLR effector genes, but notably 21 nt sRNAs were the predominant size class mapping to CRN effector genes. Some effector genes, such as PiAvr3a, to which sRNAs were found, also exhibited differences in transcript accumulation between the two isolates. The P. infestans genome is rich in transposable elements, and the majority of sRNAs of all size classes mapped to these sequences, predominantly to long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons. RNA silencing of Dicer and Argonaute genes provided evidence that generation of 21 nt sRNAs is Dicer-dependent, while accumulation of longer sRNAs was impacted by silencing of Argonaute genes. Additionally, we identified six microRNA (miRNA) candidates from our sequencing data, their precursor sequences from the genome sequence, and target mRNAs. These miRNA candidates have features characteristic of both plant and metazoan miRNAs.
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| 38. |
- Weston, David J., et al.
(författare)
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The Sphagnome Project : enabling ecological and evolutionary insights through a genus-level sequencing project
- 2018
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : Wiley. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 217:1, s. 16-25
-
Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Considerable progress has been made in ecological and evolutionary genetics with studies demonstrating how genes underlying plant and microbial traits can influence adaptation and even 'extend' to influence community structure and ecosystem level processes. Progress in this area is limited to model systems with deep genetic and genomic resources that often have negligible ecological impact or interest. Thus, important linkages between genetic adaptations and their consequences at organismal and ecological scales are often lacking. Here we introduce the Sphagnome Project, which incorporates genomics into a long-running history of Sphagnum research that has documented unparalleled contributions to peatland ecology, carbon sequestration, biogeochemistry, microbiome research, niche construction, and ecosystem engineering. The Sphagnome Project encompasses a genus-level sequencing effort that represents a new type of model system driven not only by genetic tractability, but by ecologically relevant questions and hypotheses.
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| 39. |
- Sims, Cassie, et al.
(författare)
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Feeding the future : developing the skills landscape in the agri-food sector
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology. - : Wiley. - 0268-2575 .- 1097-4660. ; 97:3, s. 549-557
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The agri-food sector and supply chain is a foundational component of society and is required for healthy populations across the globe. Feeding the world, not only with enough calories, but with nutritious food that has been sustainably sourced and processed, is a continuous and developing challenge. Despite this, careers in research and development opportunities in the agri-food sector have less visibility in comparison to other sectors, and we argue that agri-food remains under-represented in education and training, from school through to higher education. In this perspective, we explore how diversity in people, skills and education contributes to the agri-food sector, and how fostering this diversity could help to solve some of the big challenges faced in 2021 and beyond. Specific focus is given to education and training schemes, and the lack of agri-food topics in relevant science degrees.
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| 40. |
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| 41. |
- Mohan Pawar, Prashant, et al.
(författare)
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In muro deacetylation of xylan affects lignin properties and improves saccharification of aspen wood
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Biotechnology for Biofuels. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1754-6834 .- 1754-6834. ; 10:1, s. Art nr 98-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Lignocellulose from fast growing hardwood species is a preferred source of polysaccharides for advanced biofuels and "green" chemicals. However, the extensive acetylation of hardwood xylan hinders lignocellulose saccharification by obstructing enzymatic xylan hydrolysis and causing inhibitory acetic acid concentrations during microbial sugar fermentation. To optimize lignocellulose for cost-effective saccharification and biofuel production, an acetyl xylan esterase AnAXE1 from Aspergillus niger was introduced into aspen and targeted to cell walls. Results: AnAXE1-expressing plants exhibited reduced xylan acetylation and grew normally. Without pretreatment, their lignocellulose yielded over 25% more glucose per unit mass of wood (dry weight) than wild-type plants. Glucose yields were less improved (+7%) after acid pretreatment, which hydrolyses xylan. The results indicate that AnAXE1 expression also reduced the molecular weight of xylan, and xylan-lignin complexes and/or lignin co-extracted with xylan, increased cellulose crystallinity, altered the lignin composition, reducing its syringyl to guaiacyl ratio, and increased lignin solubility in dioxane and hot water. Lignin-associated carbohydrates became enriched in xylose residues, indicating a higher content of xylo-oligosaccharides. Conclusions: This work revealed several changes in plant cell walls caused by deacetylation of xylan. We propose that deacetylated xylan is partially hydrolyzed in the cell walls, liberating xylo-oligosaccharides and their associated lignin oligomers from the cell wall network. Deacetylating xylan thus not only increases its susceptibility to hydrolytic enzymes during saccharification but also changes the cell wall architecture, increasing the extractability of lignin and xylan and facilitating saccharification.
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| 42. |
- Sweetlove, Lee J., et al.
(författare)
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Engineering central metabolism – a grand challenge for plant biologists
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Plant Journal. - : Wiley. - 0960-7412 .- 1365-313X. ; 90:4, s. 749-763
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The goal of increasing crop productivity and nutrient-use efficiency is being addressed by a number of ambitious research projects seeking to re-engineer photosynthetic biochemistry. Many of these projects will require the engineering of substantial changes in fluxes of central metabolism. However, as has been amply demonstrated in simpler systems such as microbes, central metabolism is extremely difficult to rationally engineer. This is because of multiple layers of regulation that operate to maintain metabolic steady state and because of the highly connected nature of central metabolism. In this review we discuss new approaches for metabolic engineering that have the potential to address these problems and dramatically improve the success with which we can rationally engineer central metabolism in plants. In particular, we advocate the adoption of an iterative ‘design-build-test-learn’ cycle using fast-to-transform model plants as test beds. This approach can be realised by coupling new molecular tools to incorporate multiple transgenes in nuclear and plastid genomes with computational modelling to design the engineering strategy and to understand the metabolic phenotype of the engineered organism. We also envisage that mutagenesis could be used to fine-tune the balance between the endogenous metabolic network and the introduced enzymes. Finally, we emphasise the importance of considering the plant as a whole system and not isolated organs: the greatest increase in crop productivity will be achieved if both source and sink metabolism are engineered.
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| 43. |
- Wang, Yang
(författare)
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Discovery and investigation of glycoside hydrolase family 5 enzymes with potential use in biomass conversion
- 2015
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Glycoside hydrolases (GHs) cleave glycosidic bonds in glycoconjugates, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides such as cellulose and various hemicelluloses. Mannan is a major group of hemicelluloses. In higher plants, they usually serve as storage carbohydrates in seeds and tubers or as structural polysaccharides cross-linking with cellulose/lignin in cell walls. In industrial fields, this renewable biomass component can be used in various areas such as production of biofuels and health-benefit manno-oligosaccharides; and mannan degrading enzymes, especially mannanases, are important molecular tools for controlling mannan polysaccharides properties in biomass conversion. In this thesis, the evolution, substrate specificity and subfamily classification of the most important GH family, i.e., glycoside hydrolase family 5 (GH5), are presented providing a powerful tool for exploring GH5 enzymes in search for enzymes with interesting properties for sustainable biomass conversion. Additionally, three GH5_7 mannanases from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtMan5-1, AtMan5-2 and AtMan5-6) were investigated in the present study. Bioinformatics tools, heterologous expression, and enzymology were applied in order to reveal the catalytic properties of the target enzymes, increase understanding of plant mannanase evolution, and evaluate their potential use in biomass conversion. This approach revealed: (1) AtMan5-1 exhibits mannan hydrolase/transglycosylase activity (MHT), (2) AtMan5-2 preferably degrades mannans with a glucomannan backbone, and (3) AtMan5-6 is a relatively thermotolerant enzyme showing high catalytic efficiency for conversion of glucomannan and galactomannan making this plant mannanase an interesting candidate for biotechnological applications of digesting various mannans. Moreover, these studies suggest an evolutionary diversification of plant mannanase enzymatic function.
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| 44. |
- Olsson, Joakim, 1988, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of geographical location on potentially valuable components in Ulva intestinalis sampled along the Swedish coast
- 2020
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Ingår i: Applied Phycology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2638-8081. ; 1:1, s. 80-92
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Macroalgal biomass has the potential to become an important source of chemicals and commodities in a future biorefinery. Currently, production of macroalgal biomass is expensive and the content of high-value compounds is often low. Therefore, in this study the biochemical composition of Ulva intestinalis along the Swedish west coast and the east coast up to Stockholm was assessed with the aim of determining how the content of potentially valuable compounds, such as rhamnose, iduronic acid and PUFAs, could be maximized by utilizing natural variation in the choice of marine cultivation site. Along the investigated coastline, the salinity dropped from 19.4‰ at high latitudes along the west coast to 5.4‰ at Stockholm. Nitrogen and phosphorus availability varied, while temperature was similar at all locations. The two major components of biomass, carbohydrates and ash, varied inversely with the highest content of ash in the west and carbohydrates in the east. In addition, total fatty acids were significantly higher in west coast samples at 3.2 g 100 g–1 dw, with a higher proportion of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Some health-beneficial fatty acids were found, including EPA and DPA, at 10–50 mg 100 g–1 dw, respectively. The metal content and elemental composition varied widely, probably due to the influence of specific local conditions. The P content was correlated with the phosphorus concentration in waters at the locations. In PCA analysis, the monosaccharides constituting the cell wall polysaccharide ulvan were found to vary by geographical location, with higher levels possibly associated with lower salinities. However, only glucuronic acid differed significantly between sites. These results show the considerable geographical variability in the composition of Swedish U. intestinalis and suggest that different salinities could be used to create a lipid- or carbohydrate-rich biomass.
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| 45. |
- Källman, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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A significant fraction of 21-nucleotide small RNA originates from phased degradation of resistance genes in several perennial species
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Plant Physiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0032-0889 .- 1532-2548. ; 162:2, s. 741-754
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Small RNAs (sRNAs), including microRNA (miRNA) and short-interfering RNA (siRNA), are important in the regulation of diverse biological processes. Comparative studies of sRNAs from plants have mainly focused on miRNA, even though they constitute a mere fraction of the total sRNA diversity. In this study, we report results from an in-depth analysis of the sRNA population from the conifer spruce (Picea abies) and compared the results with those of a range of plant species. The vast majority of sRNA sequences in spruce can be assigned to 21-nucleotide-long siRNA sequences, of which a large fraction originate from the degradation of transcribed sequences related to nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat-type resistance genes. Over 90% of all genes predicted to contain either a Toll/interleukin-1 receptor or nucleotide-binding site domain showed evidence of siRNA degradation. The data further suggest that this phased degradation of resistance-related genes is initiated from miRNA-guided cleavage, often by an abundant 22-nucleotide miRNA. Comparative analysis over a range of plant species revealed a huge variation in the abundance of this phenomenon. The process seemed to be virtually absent in several species, including Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), rice (Oryza sativa), and nonvascular plants, while particularly high frequencies were observed in spruce, grape (Vitis vinifera), and poplar (Populus trichocarpa). This divergent pattern might reflect a mechanism to limit runaway transcription of these genes in species with rapidly expanding nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat gene families. Alternatively, it might reflect variation in a counter-counter defense mechanism between plant species.
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| 46. |
- Beuch, Ulrike, et al.
(författare)
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Diversity and evolution of potato mop-top virus
- 2015
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Ingår i: Archives of Virology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0304-8608 .- 1432-8798. ; 160, s. 1345-1351
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nearly complete sequences of RNA-CP and 3'-proximal RNA-TGB were determined for 43 samples of potato mop-top virus (PMTV) originating from potato tubers and field soil from Sweden, Denmark and the USA. The results showed limited diversity and no strict geographical grouping, suggesting only a few original introductions of PMTV from the Andes. Two distinguishable types of RNA-CP and RNA-TGB were found in the samples, but no specific combination of them correlated with spraing symptoms in tubers. Lack of positive selection in the coding sequences indicates that there is no specific molecular adaptation of PMTV to new vectors or hosts.
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| 47. |
- Guschanski, Katerina, et al.
(författare)
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The evolution of duplicate gene expression in mammalian organs
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Genome Research. - : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. - 1088-9051 .- 1549-5469. ; 27:9, s. 1461-1474
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gene duplications generate genomic raw material that allows the emergence of novel functions, likely facilitating adaptive evolutionary innovations. However, global assessments of the functional and evolutionary relevance of duplicate genes in mammals were until recently limited by the lack of appropriate comparative data. Here, we report a large-scale study of the expression evolution of DNA-based functional gene duplicates in three major mammalian lineages (placental mammals, marsupials, egg-laying monotremes) and birds, on the basis of RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data from nine species and eight organs. We observe dynamic changes in tissue expression preference of paralogs with different duplication ages, suggesting differential contribution of paralogs to specific organ functions during vertebrate evolution. Specifically, we show that paralogs that emerged in the common ancestor of bony vertebrates are enriched for genes with brain-specific expression and provide evidence for differential forces underlying the preferential emergence of young testis-and liver-specific expressed genes. Further analyses uncovered that the overall spatial expression profiles of gene families tend to be conserved, with several exceptions of pronounced tissue specificity shifts among lineage-specific gene family expansions. Finally, we trace new lineage-specific genes that may have contributed to the specific biology of mammalian organs, including the little-studied placenta. Overall, our study provides novel and taxonomically broad evidence for the differential contribution of duplicate genes to tissue-specific transcriptomes and for their importance for the phenotypic evolution of vertebrates.
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| 48. |
- Niazi, Adnan, et al.
(författare)
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Genome Analysis of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Subsp. plantarum UCMB5113: A Rhizobacterium That Improves Plant Growth and Stress Management
- 2014
-
Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum strain UCMB5113 is a Gram-positive rhizobacterium that can colonize plant roots and stimulate plant growth and defense based on unknown mechanisms. This reinforcement of plants may provide protection to various forms of biotic and abiotic stress. To determine the genetic traits involved in the mechanism of plantbacteria association, the genome sequence of UCMB5113 was obtained by assembling paired-end Illumina reads. The assembled chromosome of 3,889,532 bp was predicted to encode 3,656 proteins. Genes that potentially contribute to plant growth promotion such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) biosynthesis, acetoin synthesis and siderophore production were identified. Moreover, annotation identified putative genes responsible for non-ribosomal synthesis of secondary metabolites and genes supporting environment fitness of UCMB5113 including drug and metal resistance. A large number of genes encoding a diverse set of secretory proteins, enzymes of primary and secondary metabolism and carbohydrate active enzymes were found which reflect a high capacity to degrade various rhizosphere macromolecules. Additionally, many predicted membrane transporters provides the bacterium with efficient uptake capabilities of several nutrients. Although, UCMB5113 has the possibility to produce antibiotics and biosurfactants, the protective effect of plants to pathogens seems to be indirect and due to priming of plant induced systemic resistance. The availability of the genome enables identification of genes and their function underpinning beneficial interactions of UCMB5113 with plants.
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| 49. |
- Englund, Oskar, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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Meeting Sustainability Requirements for SRC Bioenergy: Usefulness of Existing Tools, Responsibilities of Involved Stakeholders, and Recommendations for Further Developments
- 2012
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Ingår i: Bioenergy Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1939-1234 .- 1939-1242. ; 5:3, s. 606-620
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Short rotation coppice (SRC) is considered an important biomass supply option for meeting the European renewable energy targets. This paper presents an overview of existing and prospective sustainability requirements, Member State reporting obligations and parts of the methodology for calculating GHG emissions savings within the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED), and shows how these RED-associated sustainability criteria may affect different stakeholders along SRC bioenergy supply chains. Existing and prospective tools are assessed on their usefulness in ensuring that SRC bioenergy is produced with sufficient consideration given to the RED-associated criteria. A sustainability framework is outlined that aims at (1) facilitating the development of SRC production systems that are attractive from the perspectives of all stakeholders, and (2) ensuring that the SRC production is RED eligible. Producer manuals, EIAs, and voluntary certification schemes can all be useful for ensuring RED eligibility. However, they are currently not sufficiently comprehensive, neither individually nor combined, and suggestions for how they can be more complementary are given. Geographical information systems offer opportunities for administrative authorities to provide stakeholders with maps or databases over areas/fields suitable for RED-eligible SRC cultivation. However, proper consideration of all relevant aspects requires that all stakeholders in the SRC supply chain become engaged in the development of SRC production systems and that a landscape perspective is used.
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| 50. |
- Hatorangan, Marcelinus Rocky, et al.
(författare)
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Rapid Evolution of Genomic Imprinting in Two Species of the Brassicaceae
- 2016
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Ingår i: The Plant Cell. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1040-4651 .- 1532-298X. ; 28:8, s. 1815-1827
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon occurring in mammals and flowering plants that causes genes to adopt a parent-of-origin-specific mode of expression. While the imprinting status of genes is well conserved in mammals, clear estimates for the degree of conservation were lacking in plants. We therefore analyzed the genome-wide imprinting status of Capsella rubella, which shared a common recent ancestor with Arabidopsis thaliana similar to 10 to 14 million years ago. However, only similar to 14% of maternally expressed genes (MEGs) and similar to 29% of paternally expressed genes (PEGs) in C. rubella were commonly imprinted in both species, revealing that genomic imprinting is a rapidly evolving phenomenon in plants. Nevertheless, conserved PEGs exhibited signs of selection, suggesting that a subset of imprinted genes play an important functional role and are therefore maintained in plants. Like in Arabidopsis, PEGs in C. rubella are frequently associated with the presence of transposable elements that preferentially belong to helitron and MuDR families. Our data further reveal that MEGs and PEGs differ in their targeting by 24-nucleotide small RNAs and asymmetric DNA methylation, suggesting different mechanisms establishing DNA methylation at MEGs and PEGs.
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