| 1. |
- Dahlin, Paul, 1983-
(författare)
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Analysis of sterol metabolism in the pathogenic oomycetes Saprolegnia parasitica and Phytophthora infestans
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The primary objective of this thesis was to investigate the sterol metabolism of two pathogenic oomycetes, specifically the processes of sterol synthesis and sterol acquisition in the fish pathogen Saprolegnia parasitica (Saprolegniales) and the plant pathogen Phytophthora infestans (Peronosporales). Furthermore, the effects of steroidal glycoalkaloids from Solanaceous plants, on P. infestans, were examined. The improved understanding of these processes should help to identify approaches for the identification of new oomycete inhibitors targeting sterol metabolism in agriculture and aquaculture farming systems, and to guide plant-breeding strategies to defend solanaceous plants against oomycetes.For these reasons, the molecular basis of the metabolic pathways of sterol synthesis and/or sterol acquisition was investigated. Sterols are derived from isoprenoids and indispensable in various biological processes. Our biochemical investigation of an oxidosqualene cyclase revealed that sterol synthesis in S. parasitica begins with the formation of lanosterol (Paper I), and a reconstruction of the complete sterol synthesis pathway to the final compound, fucosterol, in S. parasitica was performed using bioinformatics (Paper II). Complementary to this work, the extent to which P. infestans, which is incapable of de novo sterol synthesis, is able to modify exogenously provided sterols was investigated by determining the growth impact of various sterol supplements in the growth media (Paper II). Building on the sterol investigations, the solanaceous sterol derivatives from the glycoalkaloid family were analysed. These compounds contain both a steroidal and a carbohydrate (glycan) moiety. Data obtained by feeding various deuterium-labeled sterols to potato shoots, supported the theory that steroidal glycoalkaloids in Solanum tuberosum are produced from cholesterol (Paper III). Since these steroidal glycoalkaloids are thought to play a role in plant defense, their physiological effects on P. infestans were investigated (Paper IV). Unexpectedly we found that non-glycosylated steroidal alkaloids had a greater inhibitory effect than steroidal glycoalkaloids. Steroidal glycoalkaloids derived from other Solanaceous species exhibited different physiological effects on the growth of P. infestans. This research was conducted on two oomycete species belonging to the Saprolegniales and Peronosporales orders, hence the results presented are likely to be representative of each of these two oomycete orders.
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| 2. |
- Hinsley, Amy, et al.
(författare)
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A review of the trade in orchids and its implications for conservation
- 2018
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Ingår i: Botanical journal of the Linnean Society. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0024-4074 .- 1095-8339. ; 186:4, s. 435-455
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Orchids are one of the largest plant families and are commercially traded for a variety of purposes, including as ornamental plants, medicinal products and food. These markets involve thousands of species, which may be traded legally or illegally, sustainably or unsustainably, and take place at local, national or international scales. In this review, we provide the first overview of commercial orchid trade globally and highlight the main types that involve wild-collected plants. Much of this trade is the result of illegal harvest meaning that it is little documented and is absent from official statistics, at the same time as being of growing conservation concern. We discuss the associated legal-regulatory context, identify key conservation challenges and highlight four key priorities for addressing these challenges. These are to (1) research trade dynamics and the impacts of harvest; (2) strengthen the legal trade of orchids; (3) adopt measures to reduce illegal trade; and (4) raise the profile of orchid trade among policy makers, conservationists and the public.
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| 3. |
- Middleton, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Attitudes of publics who are unwilling to donate DNA data for research.
- 2019
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Ingår i: European Journal of Medical Genetics. - : Elsevier BV. - 1769-7212 .- 1878-0849. ; 62:5, s. 316-323
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With the use of genetic technology, researchers have the potential to inform medical diagnoses and treatment in actionable ways. Accurate variant interpretation is a necessary condition for the utility of genetic technology to unfold. This relies on the ability to access large genomic datasets so that comparisons can be made between variants of interest. This can only be successful if DNA and medical data are donated by large numbers of people to 'research', including clinical, non-profit and for-profit research initiatives, in order to be accessed by scientists and clinicians worldwide. The objective of the 'Your DNA, Your Say' global survey is to explore public attitudes, values and opinions towards willingness to donate and concerns regarding the donation of one's personal data for use by others. Using a representative sample of 8967 English-speaking publics from the UK, the USA, Canada and Australia, we explore the characteristics of people who are unwilling (n = 1426) to donate their DNA and medical information, together with an exploration of their reasons. Understanding this perspective is important for making sense of the interaction between science and society. It also helps to focus engagement initiatives on the issues of concern to some publics.
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| 4. |
- Middleton, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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'Your DNA, Your Say': global survey gathering attitudes toward genomics : design, delivery and methods
- 2018
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Ingår i: Personalized Medicine. - : Future Medicine Ltd. - 1741-0541 .- 1744-828X. ; 15:4, s. 311-318
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Our international study, 'Your DNA, Your Say', uses film and an online cross-sectional survey to gather public attitudes toward the donation, access and sharing of DNA information. We describe the methodological approach used to create an engaging and bespoke survey, suitable for translation into many different languages. We address some of the particular challenges in designing a survey on the subject of genomics. In order to understand the significance of a genomic result, researchers and clinicians alike use external databases containing DNA and medical information from thousands of people. We ask how publics would like their 'anonymous' data to be used (or not to be used) and whether they are concerned by the potential risks of reidentification; the results will be used to inform policy.
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| 5. |
- Milne, Richard, et al.
(författare)
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Trust in genomic data sharing among members of the general public in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia
- 2019
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Ingår i: Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-6717 .- 1432-1203. ; 138:11-12, s. 1237-1246
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Trust may be important in shaping public attitudes to genetics and intentions to participate in genomics research and big data initiatives. As such, we examined trust in data sharing among the general public. A cross-sectional online survey collected responses from representative publics in the USA, Canada, UK and Australia (n = 8967). Participants were most likely to trust their medical doctor and less likely to trust other entities named. Company researchers were least likely to be trusted. Low, Variable and High Trust classes were defined using latent class analysis. Members of the High Trust class were more likely to be under 50 years, male, with children, hold religious beliefs, have personal experience of genetics and be from the USA. They were most likely to be willing to donate their genomic and health data for clinical and research uses. The Low Trust class were less reassured than other respondents by laws preventing exploitation of donated information. Variation in trust, its relation to areas of concern about the use of genomic data and potential of legislation are considered. These findings have relevance for efforts to expand genomic medicine and data sharing beyond those with personal experience of genetics or research participants.
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| 6. |
- Mullin, Lauren Gayle, 1984-
(författare)
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Advances in Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of Emerging Persistent Organic Pollutants
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Mass spectrometry (MS) is a technique widely implemented for the measurement of environmental pollutants. A critical tool for the analysis of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) over several decades, MS as coupled with liquid and gas chromatography (LC and GC) techniques enables the analysis of emerging POPs. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the use of alternative MS-based techniques to assist specific analytical challenges including separation of stereoisomers using supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), reduced ionization competition with appropriate mobile phase additives, and applied rotationally averaged collision-cross section (CCS) of ions via ion mobility measurements of emerging POPs.Chromatographic efficiency improvements for the brominated flame retardant, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD), were implemented through the development of two supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) methods. Based on the inherent qualities of supercritical fluids, separation of both predominant diastereomers and respective enantiomers was performed in a shorter time with wider chromatographic resolution using SFC than existing LC methods.Turning next to MS ionization considerations, the emerging perfluoroalkyl substance hexafluoropropylene oxide-dimer acid (HFPO-DA) was investigated. Following a survey of analytical methodologies for HFPO-DA, the challenge of extreme dimer formation, in-source fragmentation and very low [M-H]- production was described. Method development using alternative mobile phase additives in currently used LC-MS acquisition techniques was deployed.Finally, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) was implemented in a non-targeted acquisition study of indoor dust samples. This study used IMS coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight MS to identify a wide range of contaminant classes, including emerging POPs. Identification confidence is a challenge currently facing non-targeted studies, and the use of prediction mechanisms of analyte IMS gas-phase separations was explored.Through applying diverse alternative techniques, increased method performance was explored for emerging POPs analyses.
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