| 1. |
- Elsik, Christine G., et al.
(författare)
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The Genome Sequence of Taurine Cattle : A Window to Ruminant Biology and Evolution
- 2009
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 324:5926, s. 522-528
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To understand the biology and evolution of ruminants, the cattle genome was sequenced to about sevenfold coverage. The cattle genome contains a minimum of 22,000 genes, with a core set of 14,345 orthologs shared among seven mammalian species of which 1217 are absent or undetected in noneutherian (marsupial or monotreme) genomes. Cattle-specific evolutionary breakpoint regions in chromosomes have a higher density of segmental duplications, enrichment of repetitive elements, and species-specific variations in genes associated with lactation and immune responsiveness. Genes involved in metabolism are generally highly conserved, although five metabolic genes are deleted or extensively diverged from their human orthologs. The cattle genome sequence thus provides a resource for understanding mammalian evolution and accelerating livestock genetic improvement for milk and meat production.
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| 2. |
- Birney, Ewan, et al.
(författare)
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Identification and analysis of functional elements in 1% of the human genome by the ENCODE pilot project
- 2007
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 447:7146, s. 799-816
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the generation and analysis of functional data from multiple, diverse experiments performed on a targeted 1% of the human genome as part of the pilot phase of the ENCODE Project. These data have been further integrated and augmented by a number of evolutionary and computational analyses. Together, our results advance the collective knowledge about human genome function in several major areas. First, our studies provide convincing evidence that the genome is pervasively transcribed, such that the majority of its bases can be found in primary transcripts, including non-protein-coding transcripts, and those that extensively overlap one another. Second, systematic examination of transcriptional regulation has yielded new understanding about transcription start sites, including their relationship to specific regulatory sequences and features of chromatin accessibility and histone modification. Third, a more sophisticated view of chromatin structure has emerged, including its inter-relationship with DNA replication and transcriptional regulation. Finally, integration of these new sources of information, in particular with respect to mammalian evolution based on inter- and intra-species sequence comparisons, has yielded new mechanistic and evolutionary insights concerning the functional landscape of the human genome. Together, these studies are defining a path for pursuit of a more comprehensive characterization of human genome function.
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| 3. |
- Sodergren, Erica, et al.
(författare)
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The genome of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 1095-9203 .- 0036-8075. ; 314:5801, s. 941-52
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the sequence and analysis of the 814-megabase genome of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, a model for developmental and systems biology. The sequencing strategy combined whole-genome shotgun and bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) sequences. This use of BAC clones, aided by a pooling strategy, overcame difficulties associated with high heterozygosity of the genome. The genome encodes about 23,300 genes, including many previously thought to be vertebrate innovations or known only outside the deuterostomes. This echinoderm genome provides an evolutionary outgroup for the chordates and yields insights into the evolution of deuterostomes.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Ainsworth, Elizabeth A., et al.
(författare)
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Next generation of elevated [CO2] experiments with crops: a critical investment for feeding the future world
- 2008
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Ingår i: Plant, Cell and Environment. - : Wiley. - 0140-7791 .- 1365-3040. ; 31:9, s. 1317-1324
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A rising global population and demand for protein-rich diets are increasing pressure to maximize agricultural productivity. Rising atmospheric [CO2] is altering global temperature and precipitation patterns, which challenges agricultural productivity. While rising [CO2] provides a unique opportunity to increase the productivity of C-3 crops, average yield stimulation observed to date is well below potential gains. Thus, there is room for improving productivity. However, only a fraction of available germplasm of crops has been tested for CO2 responsiveness. Yield is a complex phenotypic trait determined by the interactions of a genotype with the environment. Selection of promising genotypes and characterization of response mechanisms will only be effective if crop improvement and systems biology approaches are closely linked to production environments, that is, on the farm within major growing regions. Free air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiments can provide the platform upon which to conduct genetic screening and elucidate the inheritance and mechanisms that underlie genotypic differences in productivity under elevated [CO2]. We propose a new generation of large-scale, low-cost per unit area FACE experiments to identify the most CO2-responsive genotypes and provide starting lines for future breeding programmes. This is necessary if we are to realize the potential for yield gains in the future.
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| 6. |
- Haas, Brian J., et al.
(författare)
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Genome sequence and analysis of the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 461:7262, s. 393-398
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Phytophthora infestans is the most destructive pathogen of potato and a model organism for the oomycetes, a distinct lineage of fungus-like eukaryotes that are related to organisms such as brown algae and diatoms. As the agent of the Irish potato famine in the mid-nineteenth century, P. infestans has had a tremendous effect on human history, resulting in famine and population displacement(1). To this day, it affects world agriculture by causing the most destructive disease of potato, the fourth largest food crop and a critical alternative to the major cereal crops for feeding the world's population(1). Current annual worldwide potato crop losses due to late blight are conservatively estimated at $6.7 billion(2). Management of this devastating pathogen is challenged by its remarkable speed of adaptation to control strategies such as genetically resistant cultivars(3,4). Here we report the sequence of the P. infestans genome, which at similar to 240 megabases (Mb) is by far the largest and most complex genome sequenced so far in the chromalveolates. Its expansion results from a proliferation of repetitive DNA accounting for similar to 74% of the genome. Comparison with two other Phytophthora genomes showed rapid turnover and extensive expansion of specific families of secreted disease effector proteins, including many genes that are induced during infection or are predicted to have activities that alter host physiology. These fast-evolving effector genes are localized to highly dynamic and expanded regions of the P. infestans genome. This probably plays a crucial part in the rapid adaptability of the pathogen to host plants and underpins its evolutionary potential.
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| 7. |
- Huang, Lihong, 1968-
(författare)
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Elitism and Equality in Chinese Higher Education : Studies of Student Socio-economic Background, Investment in Education, and Career Aspirations
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this study is to present an empirical pattern of social equity in Chinese higher education by investigating university students. Student socio-economic background influences access to, and socio-economic conditions in, higher education, and this, in turn, influences student career aspirations. The theoretical background of the study is interdisciplinary and a conceptual framework built on theories and previous research is used to analyse Chinese higher education in a historical, social and economic context. A questionnaire survey was administered at six public universities in the Southwest region of the country to explore students’ socio-economic background, costs and how they finance their studies, as well as their future career aspirations. The relationships between the factors investigated were examined using factor analytical techniques and linear structural relations (LISREL) analysis. The findings indicate that the students come from all socio-economic strata but a disproportionately large number are from high-income families. Students from urban areas are over-represented while rural girls are significantly under-represented. Although the gap between the lowest and highest study costs is enormous, the findings confirm that the average cost of higher education in China far exceeds the average annual income, even for urban residents. Moreover, about one-third of students and their families utilised financial resources other than family such as student loans, borrowing, and other forms of financial assistance. A structural model linking student socio-economic background, enrolment in elite institutions, costs and means of financing education with career aspirations is developed and tested in three stages in order to shed light on the conceptual framework and to present a pattern of social equity. The results show that family socio-economic status has only a modest impact on student access to and in higher education. On the other hand, having social origins in a well-developed community exerts an influential effect. Although study and living costs, and means of financing studies, are influenced by student socio-economic background, they intend to have positive impacts on student career aspirations. While enrolment in elite institutions has a strongly positive impact on costs, it has a moderately negative impact on aspirations to pursue advanced degrees. In conclusion, the study finds that the patterns of socio-economic factors influencing student upward mobility in present-day China are different from those of ancient China and from those previous Communist leaders attempted to achieve only 20 years ago.
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