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Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) has been considered an important candidate species for climate-resilient forest management in Germany. The occurrence of ash dieback, caused by the invasive fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, severely limits its use. However, less damaged ash trees in heavily infested stands are observed. This suggests a tree-specific and genetically determined susceptibility to ash dieback. The potential of individual trees for selection and conservation programs has been investigated on 35 clones in a clonal trial and 30 families in a progeny trial since 2014. Ash dieback-related mortality, crown damage, and height growth were examined. Resistance to ash dieback was evaluated based on multi-year observations. Mortality of ramets occurred rapidly and crown damage of clones stabilized, whereas steadily increasing in progeny during the study period. About 34 percent of all offspring (0–56 percent per family) showed high resistance to ash dieback and 10 percent showed also good height growth. Broad-sense heritability and narrow-sense heritability were moderate and comparable to previous studies. We assume that at least some individuals from specific progenies will resist the disease in forest stands. In situ and ex situ conservation strategies should be promoted. Seed orchards with more resistant genotypes could provide less susceptible reproductive material, and breeding programs could help to accelerate the fixation of favorable alleles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Equivalence relations or, more general, quasiorders (i.e., reflexive and transitive binary relations) ϱ have the property that an n-ary operation f preserves ϱ , i.e., f is a polymorphism of ϱ , if and only if each translation (i.e., unary polynomial function obtained from f by substituting constants) preserves ϱ , i.e., it is an endomorphism of ϱ. We introduce a wider class of relations—called generalized quasiorders—of arbitrary arities with the same property. With these generalized quasiorders we can characterize all algebras whose clone of term operations is determined by its translations by the above property, what generalizes affine complete algebras. The results are based on the characterization of so-called u-closed monoids (i.e., the unary parts of clones with the above property) as Galois closures of the Galois connection End – gQuord , i.e., as endomorphism monoids of generalized quasiorders. The minimal u-closed monoids are described explicitly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider classes of Boolean functions stable under compositions both from the right and from the left with clones. Motivated by the question how many properties of Boolean functions can be defined by means of linear equations, we focus on stability under compositions with the clone of linear idempotent functions. It follows from a result by Sparks that there are countably many such linearly definable classes of Boolean functions. In this paper, we refine this result by completely describing these classes. This work is tightly related with the theory of function minors, stable classes, clonoids, and hereditary classes, topics that have been widely investigated in recent years by several authors including Maurice Pouzet and his coauthors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the pathogen that causes tuberculosis and develops resistance to many of the existing drugs. The sole licensed TB vaccine, BCG, is unable to provide a comprehensive defense. So, it is crucial to maintain the immunological response to eliminate tuberculosis. Our previous in silico study reported five uncharacterized proteins as potential vaccine antigens. In this article, we considered the uncharacterized Mtb H37Rv regions of difference (RD-2) Rv1987 protein as a promising vaccine candidate. The vaccine quality of the protein was analyzed using reverse vaccinology and immunoinformatics-based quality-checking parameters followed by an ex vivo preliminary investigation. In silico analysis of Rv1987 protein predicted it as surface localized, secretory, single helix, antigenic, non-allergenic, and non-homologous to the host protein. Immunoinformatics analysis of Rv1987 by CD4 + and CD8 + T-cells via MHC-I and MHC-II binding affinity and presence of B-cell epitope predicted its immunogenicity. The docked complex analysis of the 3D model structure of the protein with immune cell receptor TLR-4 revealed the protein's capability for potential interaction. Furthermore, the target protein-encoded gene Rv1987 was cloned, over-expressed, purified, and analyzed by mass spectrometry (MS) to report the target peptides. The qRT-PCR gene expression analysis shows that it is capable of activating macrophages and significantly increasing the production of a number of key cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-10). Our in-silico analysis and ex vivo preliminary investigations revealed the immunogenic potential of the target protein. These findings suggest that the Rv1987 be undertaken as a potent subunit vaccine antigen and that further animal model immuno-modulation studies would boost the novel TB vaccine discovery and/or BCG vaccine supplement pipeline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A finite semigroup is finitely related (has finite degree) if its term functions are determined by a finite set of finitary relations. For example, it is known that all nilpotent semigroups are finitely related. A nilpotent monoid is a nilpotent semigroup with adjoined identity. We show that every 4-nilpotent monoid is finitely related. We also give an example of a 5-nilpotent monoid that is not finitely related. To our knowledge, this is the first example of a finitely related semigroup where adjoining an identity yields a semigroup which is not finitely related. We also provide examples of finitely related semigroups which have subsemigroups, homomorphic images, and in particular Rees quotients, that are not finitely related. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetics, the uterine environment, maternal behavior, and rearing conditions can all influence animal behavioral phenotypes. Some studies on cloned pigs have found no differences between the behavioral patterns of cloned and non-cloned animals. Other studies conducted on dogs have reported similarities in the behavior of cloned subjects. This study evaluated the performance of 12 cloned minipigs from three different clone populations (A, B, C) in a detour test around symmetric and asymmetric barriers. We measured the detour time and patterns, in order to investigate the pigs' cognitive abilities. The detour time and the detour entry/exit pattern were recorded. All the animals tended to keep a fixed entry/exit pattern instead of modifying it to accommodate changes in the working set. Significant differences in detour time were found among the populations, with animals belonging to population B being faster than the others, and also within each population. Our study is one of the few to assess the cognitive abilities of cloned minipigs. The results indicate that even animals belonging to the same cloned population may develop different cognitive, hence behavioral characteristics. Whether cloning can be utilized to obtain similar behavioral phenotypes therefore remains a matter of debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterosis-exploiting breeding schemes are currently under consideration as a means of accelerating genetic gains in sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) breeding. This study was aimed at establishing heterotic gains, fitness costs and transgressive segregation associated with sweetpotato weevil (SPW) resistance in a partial diallel cross of sweetpotato. A total of 1896 clones were tested at two sites, for two seasons each in Uganda. Data on weevil severity (WED), weevil incidence (WI), storage root yield (SRY) and dry matter content (DM) were obtained. Best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs) for each clone across environments were used to estimate heterotic gains and for regression analyses to establish relationships between key traits. In general, low mid-parent heterotic gains were detected with the highest favorable levels recorded for SRY (14.7%) and WED (− 7.9%). About 25% of the crosses exhibited desirable and significant mid-parent heterosis for weevil resistance. Over 16% of the clones displayed superior transgressive segregation, with the highest percentages recorded for SRY (21%) and WED (18%). A yield penalty of 10% was observed to be associated with SPW resistance whereas no decline in DM was detected in relation to the same. Chances of improving sweetpotato through exploiting heterosis in controlled crosses using parents of mostly similar background are somewhat minimal, as revealed by the low heterotic gains. The yield penalty detected due to SPW resistance suggests that a trade-off may be necessary between maximizing yields and developing weevil-resistant cultivars if the current needs for this crop are to be met in weevil-prone areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of growth differences between clones and families has rarely been studied in slow-growing Cupressus funebris species, and whether such growth differences are related to biomass allocation patterns remains to be revealed and is essential for assessing the genetic selection potential and carbon sink capacity of superior species. We studied the genetic variation, heritability (replication power) and gain levels of 36 clones and 33 families of superior trees and analysed their biomass allocation patterns. The results showed that the early growth of Cupressus funebris was dominated by height growth, and the clones grew rapidly, with 28.45% and 47.81% higher diameter at breast height (DBH) and height at 9 years old than the family lines, respectively. However, the genetic variation of growth traits in the families was higher than that of the clones. Repeatability of 9-year-old clones for all traits was greater than family heritability. According to the 10% selection rate, the genetic gains of DBH and tree height of clones were 39.53% and 24.23%, respectively, 5.22 times and 2.05 times the genetic gains of families. The range of narrow and broad heritability of each trait was estimated to be 0.55–0.68, with an average value of 0.63, indicating that clones obtained higher additional genetic gains through nonadditive effects. The growth advantage of the clones was to increase the biomass of the aboveground part (86.03%) at the expense of the belowground biomass allocation, which was mainly reflected by the proportion of branch biomass allocation (18.45%). The branches and leaves of clones were mainly middle and upper, and the proportion of upper branches and leaves was 5.2% and 33.64% higher than those of the family, respectively, while the middle and lower layers of the branches and leaves of the family lines accounted for a higher percentage. The model ln W = k 0 + k 1 ln D + k 2 ln H + k 3 ln C has the best prediction of biomass and could be used for early genetic evaluation of Cupressus funebris by introducing the under branch height as an independent variable. In general, Cupressus funebris clones are fast growing and will help to improve the productivity and carbon storage of stands through genetic selection and utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genome-wide markers enable routine confirmation of whether varieties are true-to-type, and when they are not, to infer their identity. The objective of this study was to determine the basis of a previously described chromosome translocation, tr8-7, which was apparently polymorphic among holdings of the tetraploid potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivar Desiree. Through analysis of publicly available genotype data from North American and European tetraploid potato germplasm, we resolved a longstanding mistaken identity of the United States Potato Genebank holding of Desiree, which is actually a somatic mutant of its maternal parent, cv. Urgenta. Comparison of multiple holdings revealed that tr8-7 was a somatic mutation that occurred at least 25 years ago and was maintained in isolated lineages. Holdings from other institutions lacked tr8-7 and were confirmed as Desiree by trio analyses, suggesting that the mixup affected the United States Potato Genebank and institutions that received Desiree from there. In the face of inevitable mutations and human error, we recommend validation of potato germplasm collections with pedigree and genomic information. To that effect, we provide molecular markers to distinguish the varieties investigated in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The critical relations are the building blocks of the relational clone of a relational structure with respect to the relational operations intersection and direct product. In this paper we describe the critical relations of crowns. As a consequence, we obtain that the subpower membership problem for any crown is polynomial-time solvable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Witches broom disease, caused by Moniliophthora perniciosa, is the second most important disease of cocoa crops, due to the yield losses it causes. To improve its control, it is relevant to analyze its progression in different cultivars and management conditions. In this work, carried out in Santander, Colombia, the incidence of witches' broom disease in flower cushions and vegetative buds of six cocoa clones was evaluated under a factorial arrangement of: Exposure to the sun (with or without shading), Plant clones, Year and Date, with 10 repetitions per treatment. Although no principal effects of each of these factors were detected, a highly significant interaction was detected for Clone X Sun Exposure X Evaluation Date, for the number of witches' brooms in flower cushions and vegetative buds, and Clone X Year X Evaluation date, plus Year X Sun Exposure X Evaluation Date, for the number of brooms in vegetative buds only. These interactions indicate that there are significant differences between clones in the number of cushions and buds affected by M. perniciosa, however, disease incidence in clones EET 8, ICS 60, ICS 1, and SCC61 changed with the type of exposure to the sun, evaluation year, and evaluation date within a year, while clones CCN 51 and ICS 95 were resistant and had no significant interaction with the other factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae complex (CRECC) constitutes a global public health threat challenging clinical treatment and infection control, especially in low- and middle-income countries such as India. We analyzed the antimicrobial susceptibility, major β-lactamase genes, plasmid profiles, and genetic relatedness to understand the molecular epidemiology of CRECC clinical isolates (n = 44) in West Bengal, India, during 2021-2022. The majority (> 55%) of the isolates were resistant to fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, and co-trimoxazole, even > 20% for tigecycline and > 35% were extensively drug-resistant. Co-β-lactamase production was categorized into twenty-seven types, importantly NDM (84%), OXA-48 (40%), TEM (61%), CTX-M (46%), OXA-1 (55%), and MIR (27%). The NDM-1 and OXA-181 were major variants with the first observations of NDM-24 and -29 variants in India. Wide-range of plasmids (2 to > 212 kb) were harbored by the β-lactamase-producing isolates: small (91%), medium (27%), large (9%), and mega (71%). IncX3, ColE1, and HI2 were noted in about 30% of isolates, while IncF and R were carried by < 20% of isolates. The clonally diverse CRECC isolates were noted to cause cross-infections, especially at superficial site, bloodstream, and urinary-tract. This is the first molecular surveillance on CRECC in India. The study isolates serve as the dockyard of NDM, TEM, and CTX-M harboring a wide range of plasmids. The outcomes of the study may strengthen local and national policies for infection prevention and control practices, clarifying the genetic diversity among CRECC. Extensive genomic study may further intersect the relationships between these different plasmids, especially with their sizes, types, and antibiotic resistance markers., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Silvicultural practices applied in managed forest plantations may help counteract the effects of climate change by influencing soil surface CO2 efflux (Fs). Understanding the effects of silvicultural practices on Fs will provide unbiased estimates of carbon fluxes and allow better silvicultural decisions for carbon sequestration. Therefore, we assessed how Fs differed seasonally across silvicultural practices (i.e., stocking levels, clone, fertilization and weed control treatments) and evaluated the effects of soil temperature (Ts) and soil volumetric water content (θv) on Fs across these practices for a mid-rotation (14 year-old) Pinus radiata plantation in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. There were significant differences in Fs (p < 0.05) over the four seasons, three levels of stocking, and five clones. The effects of fertilization and weed control applied 12 years previously on Fs were insignificant. Annual estimate of Fs (mean ± 1 standard deviation) from the study site was 22.7 ± 7.1 t ha−1 a−1 in the form of CO2 (6.2 ± 2.1 t ha−1 a−1 in the form of C). Fs values were consistently higher in plots with 1250 stems ha−1 compared to 2500 stems ha−1, which may be related to a strong soil resource limitation because of the close spacing in the latter plantation. Significant differences in Fs across clones suggest that variations in carbon partitioning might explain their growth performance. Silvicultural treatments influenced Fs response to soil temperature (p < 0.05), resulting in models explaining 28–49% of the total variance in Fs. These findings provide insights into how silvicultural management decisions may impact Fs in mid-rotation radiata pine plantations, contributing towards developing more precise and unbiased plantation carbon budgets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most Japanese populations of dojo loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus), gonochoristic diploids of genetically diversified groups (A and B, further subdivided into B1 and B2) are present, whereas unisexual clonal lineages inhabit certain localities in the Hokkaido and Ishikawa Prefectures in Japan. Through a series of genetic studies including DNA markers, the clonal loaches were deemed to originate from a hybridization event(s) between the A and B1 groups. However, combined analyses with other DNA markers are needed to identify each genetic group. In this study, we improved the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the recombination activating gene 1 (RAG1) gene using digestion with two restriction enzymes, PvuII and StuI. The improved RAG1-RFLP analysis showed different fragment patterns for each group: two fragments (245 and 198 bp) for group A, three fragments (198, 147, and 98 bp) for group B1, and a single fragment (443 bp) for group B2. The clonal loaches exhibited four fragments (245, 198, 147, and 98 bp) derived from both groups A and B1. Moreover, the DNA markers were able to detect two different hybrid genotypes (A × B2 and B1 × B2). Thus, the improved RAG1-RFLP markers allowed for quick and accurate group identification of the dojo loaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the lattice of clones that are generated by a set of functions that are induced on a finite field F by monomials. We study the atoms and coatoms of this lattice and investigate whether this lattice contains infinite ascending chains, or infinite descending chains, or infinite antichains.We give a connection between the lattice of these clones and semi-affine algebras. Furthermore, we show that the sublattice of idempotent clones of this lattice is finite and every idempotent monomial clone is principal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A binary operation f(x, y) is said to be lazy if every operation that can be obtained from f by composition is equivalent to f(x, y), f(x, x) or x. We describe lazy operations by identities (i.e., we determine all varieties of lazy groupoids), and we also characterize lazy groupoids up to isomorphism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a closed densely defined symmetric operator S in a separable Hilbert space, by means of a non-real and non-imaginary complex number z and the corresponding deficiency subspace N z of S we define a new closed symmetric operator S(z) with dense domain. We prove that the operator S(z) preserves various properties of S. When the deficiency indices of S are equal a bijection of the set of all selfadjoint extensions of S onto the set of all selfadjoint extensions of S(z) is established. We consider in detail the case when a symmetric operator S is nonnegative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider transformations of random variables on finite sets by algebraic operations. A system of operations is said to be approximation complete if any random variable may be approximated with arbitrary precision by applying the given operations to mutually independent identically distributed random variables whose distributions have no zero components. We establish some necessary conditions for a function system to be approximation complete and construct examples of approximation incomplete systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, trans-resveratrol (t-RSV; 3,5,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) contents of the ripened berries of 23 clones of 'Kalecik Karası' which is one of Turkey's leading red wine grape cultivars, grown in Ankara (Kalecik) were determined by HPLC. For this purpose; the berries were collected at 22–24 °Brix during 2016–2017 vintage seasons. Descriptive statistics for t-RSV content of clones were expressed as mean with their standard errors. One-way analysis of variance was performed for the comparison. Duncan multiple comparison test was used to determine the significant variances among clones. In addition, Analysis of Mean (ANOM) was also applied to determine the differences of the clones from the grand mean. As a result, t-RSV content of the clones ranged from 0.31 mg kg−1 (Clone 22) to 1.67 mg kg−1 (Clone 7) followed by Clone 6 with 1.12 mg kg−1 and differences among the clones were statistically significant (p < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Root grafting occurs in 15-year-old hybrid poplar clones; and tree proximity, tree and root sizes are key factors enhancing its frequency. Root grafting in trees is a well-recognized phenomenon allowing nutrient and photosynthate redistribution between connected trees. This study assessed the influence of tree spacing on root graft formation in a 15-year-old hybrid poplar plantation with two clones (747215: Populus balsamifera × Populus trichocarpa and 915319: Populus maximowiczii × Populus balsamifera) planted and two spacings (1 × 1 m, 3 × 3 m) in Amos, Quebec, Canada. Root graft occurrence was characterized and tree growth metrics including tree diameter and height, number of roots, root cross-sectional area and root age were measured after hydraulic excavation of root systems. We showed that root grafts were present between trees distant of 1 m but not between trees planted at the 3 × 3 m spacing. An average of 38% of excavated trees was grafted in the 1 × 1 m plots with a mean of 1.14 grafts per tree, and 86% of the grafted trees were located in the exterior part of plots (the border rows), where the trees had grown larger. Root grafts were relatively young (1–6 years) and most had not yet completed, preventing us from determining the effect of root grafting on tree growth. Root grafts were more prevalent in clone 915319, and in trees that had greater above and belowground growth. These results strengthen the postulate that tree proximity enhances the frequency of root grafting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solution sets of systems of homogeneous linear equations over fields are characterized as being subspaces, i.e., sets that are closed under linear combinations. Our goal is to characterize solution sets of systems of equations over arbitrary finite algebras by a similar closure condition. We show that solution sets are always closed under the centralizer of the clone of term operations of the given algebra; moreover, the centralizer is the only clone that could characterize solution sets. If every centralizer-closed set is the set of all solutions of a system of equations over a finite algebra, then we say that the algebra has Property (SDC) . Our main result is the description of finite lattices and semilattices with Property (SDC) : we prove that a finite lattice has Property (SDC) if and only if it is a Boolean lattice, and a finite semilattice has Property (SDC) if and only if it is distributive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe supremum-dense subsets of aggregation functions, which are defined on infinite complete lattices. Also some restriction on the size of a generating set with respect to number of arguments involved in a generating process is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider finitary relations (also known as crosses) that are definable via finite disjunctions of unary relations, i.e. subsets, taken from a fixed finite parameter set Γ. We prove that whenever Γ contains at least one non-empty relation distinct from the full carrier set, there is a countably infinite number of polymorphism clones determined by relations that are disjunctively definable from Γ. Finally, we extend our result to finitely related polymorphism clones and countably infinite sets Γ. These results address an open problem raised in Creignou, N., et al. Theory Comput. Syst. 42(2), 239–255 (2008), which is connected to the complexity analysis of the satisfiability problem of certain multiple-valued logics studied in Hähnle, R. Proc. 31st ISMVL 2001, 137–146 (2001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A term t is linear if no variable occurs more than once in t. An identity s ≈ t is said to be linear if s and t are linear terms. Identities are particular formulas. As for terms superposition operations can be defined for formulas too. We define the arbitrary linear formulas and seek for a condition for the set of all linear formulas to be closed under superposition. This will be used to define the partial superposition operations on the set of linear formulas and a partial many-sorted algebra Formclonelin(τ, τ′). This algebra has similar properties with the partial many-sorted clone of all linear terms. We extend the concept of a hypersubstitution of type τ to the linear hypersubstitutions of type (τ, τ′) for algebraic systems. The extensions of linear hypersubstitutions of type (τ, τ′) send linear formulas to linear formulas, presenting weak endomorphisms of Formclonelin(τ, τ′). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A term, also called a tree, is said to be linear, if each variable occurs in the term only once. The linear terms and sets of linear terms, the so-called linear tree languages, play some role in automata theory and in the theory of formal languages in connection with recognizability. We define a partial superposition operation on sets of linear trees of a given type τ and study the properties of some many-sorted partial clones that have sets of linear trees as elements and partial superposition operations as fundamental operations. The endomorphisms of those algebras correspond to nondeterministic linear hypersubstitutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algebraic functions are defined as those given by the solutions of systems of equations that have a unique solution. In this work we find a characterization of the clone of algebraic functions in the three-element bounded lattice over the language with one constant symbol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild-type dojo loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) commonly reproduces bisexually as a gonochoristic diploid (2n = 50), but gynogenetically reproducing clonal diploid lines (2n = 50) exist in certain districts in Japan. Clones have been considered to develop from past hybridization event(s) between two genetically diverse groups, A and B, within the species. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses using the repetitive sequence "ManDra" as a probe clearly distinguished 25 chromosomes derived from group B out of a total of 50 diploid chromosomes of the clone, providing strong molecular cytogenetic evidence of its hybrid origin. In meiosis, diploid wild-type showed 25 bivalents, while diploid clones revealed 50 bivalents, indicating the presence of 100 chromosomes. In meiotic chromosome spreads in sex-reversed clonal males, ManDra signals were detected in 25 out of 50 bivalents, and only one out of two bivalents possessing major ribosomal RNA coding regions exhibited two positive ManDra signals. In clonal females, ManDra signals were detected in approximately 25 out of 50 bivalents. Thus, unreduced gametes should be generated by the pairing between sister chromosomes doubled from each ancestral chromosome from the different groups by premeiotic endomitosis. Sister chromosome pairing should assure production of unreduced isogenic clonal gametes due to the absence of the influence of recombination or crossing over. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With water eutrophication and global warming, cyanobacteria blooms have occurred frequently, and the interaction between M. aeruginosa and Daphnia has been widely paid attention by researchers. However, the effects of toxic M. aeruginosa on the SOD activity of Daphnia are poorly known. Six D. similoides sinensis clones collected from Lake Junshan and the offspring of two clones were employed. The effects of toxic M. aeruginosa on the life history traits and SOD activities of D. similoides sinensis in the mother and their offspring were studied. Toxic M. aeruginosa could significantly inhibit the life history traits (e.g., body lengths, offspring numbers at first reproduction, cumulative offspring numbers, and the intrinsic rate of population) and induce higher SOD activities of D. similoides sinensis. Compared with the mother, the effects of toxic M. aeruginosa on the life history traits and SOD activities of D. similoides sinensis in the offspring showed obvious differences. Moreover, the adaptability of the offspring to M. aeruginosa indicated also the differences between two clones. Our results suggested that the mother exposed to toxic M. aeruginosa could enhance the fitness of their offspring to Microcystis by maternal effect and was also affected by the D. similoides sinensis genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of the present study were to clone the full-length cDNA of adipose triglyceridelipase (ATGL) and to analyze its expression after lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). The cDNA obtained covered 1801 bp with an open reading frame of 1500 bp encoding 499 amino acids. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis show the best identity with Cyprinus carpio (86%). The ATGL protein shared a highly conserved 169-amino acid patatin domain, containing a glycine-rich motif, an active serine hydrolase motif, and an aspartic active site. The highest ATGL expression was observed in the liver followed by muscle, whereas relatively low values were detected in the brain and adipose. TNF-α is regarded as an important factor in regulating fat metabolism. Here, LPS was used to induce TNF-α in vivo to verify whether TNF-α can affect ATGL expression. TNF-α expression in liver and muscle is increased and remains unchanged in adipose tissue and brain. The variation of ATGL activity is consistent with that of TNF-α gene expression. Next, we explored the mechanism by which LPS-induced TNF-α mediates the mRNA expression of ATGL in the liver and muscle. For liver, the mRNA levels of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) were increased by LPS-induced TNF-α. Differencing from the situation in the liver, there was a near-significant decrease trend in the expression of SIRT1 in muscle. Those results indicated that the ATGL gene of blunt snout bream shared a high similarity with the other vertebrates. The expression level of ATGL in tissues with high-fat content was intended to be high. LPS can induce ATGL expression perhaps related to TNF-α. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variability of natural rubber (NR) properties has been partly ascribed to the 3 to 5% nonisoprene components (lipids, proteins, carbohydrates and minerals) present in NR. Of all the factors that might be held responsible for this variability, clonal origin has appeared to be prominent. The sugars and polyols of latex from five Hevea brasiliensis clones (RRIM600, GT1, PB235, PB260 and PB217) were extracted with ethanol after specific NR sample pretreatment in a cyclohexane/ethanol solution. Latex carbohydrates were characterised by high performance anion-exchange chromatography equipped with a pulsed amperometric detector (HPAE-PAD). Total extractable carbohydrates, single sugars and polyols were analysed for each clone to evaluate how clonal origin affected the variability of latex carbohydrate compositions. Significant clonal differences were identified, both in the total sugar and polyol contents of the latex, and in the quantity of each element. The differences between the latex extracts of clones GT1, PB217, PB260, PB235 and RRIM600 did not come solely from the presence of major carbohydrates, such as quebrachitol or sucrose, but also effectively from minor carbohydrates, such as sorbitol or galactose. Some minor carbohydrates could even be used as biochemical clone indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve wood quality for pulpwood industries, it is important to examine not only wood density but also its components, especially tracheid characteristics. We studied genetic variations in the following tracheid traits by earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW): tracheid length (TL), double wall thickness (WT), radial lumen diameter (R_D1), tangential lumen diameter (T_D1), radial central diameter (R_D2), and tangential central diameter (T_D2). We also studied the relationship with the following growth traits: diameter at breast height (DBH), height (H), crown breadth south-north axis (NSC), crown breadth east-west axis (EWC), ring width (RW), latewood percentage (LWP), and wood density (WD). All sample materials were collected from a 33-year old clonal seed orchard of Pinus tabuliformis Carr. Genetic variation among clones was moderate for all tracheid traits, 9.49-26.03%. Clones significantly affected WT, R_D1, R_D2, T_D1, T_D2, and the two ratios WT/R_D1 and TL/T_D2 in EW but had no effects in LW. Clones significantly affected TL in LW but had no effects in EW. H2C was higher in LW (0.50) than in EW (0.20) for TL, while H2C was higher in EW (0.27-0.46) for other tracheid traits and the two ratios (TL/T_D2 and WT/R_D1) than in EW (0.06-0.22). WD and TL were significantly positively correlated, but WT and TL were negatively correlated both at individual and clone levels; all tracheid diameters and the four ratio values (EW_WT/R_D1, LW_WT/R_D1, EW_TL/T_D2 and LW_TL/T_D2), were strongly positively correlated with DBH, H, NSC, WEC and RW, and strongly negatively correlated with WD both at individual and clone levels. The most important variables for predicting WD were LW_TL, EW_WT and R_D1 in both EW and LW (r2 = 0.22). Selecting the top 10% of the clones by DBH would improve DBH growth by 12.19% (wood density was reduced by 0.14%) and produced similar responses between EW and LW for all tracheid traits: a reduction of 0.94 and 3.69% in tracheid length and increases in tracheid diameters (from 0.36 to 5.24%) and double wall thickness (0.07 and 0.87%). The two ratios WT/R_D1 and TL/T_D2 across tissues (EW and LW) declined 0.59 and 4.56%, respectively. The decreased tracheid length and the ratio between tracheid length and diameter is disadvantageous for pulp production. The unfavorable relationship of tracheid traits with wood density indicate that multiple trait selection using optimal economic weights and optimal breeding strategies are recommended for the current long-term breeding program for P. tabuliformis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the possibility for separating by hyperidentities clones of quasilinear functions defined on the set {0, 1, 2} with values in the set {0, 1}. It is proved that every creative clone of this kind can be separated by a hyperidentity from any noncreative clone comparable with it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the problem of characterizing clones on a three-element set by hyperidentities. We prove that there exists a hyperidentity separating any clone of quasilinear functions defined on the set {0, 1, 2} each of them is either a selector or such that all its values belong to {0, 1} from any noncreative clone constituted by such functions incomparable with the initial clone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The absence of capacity for sexual reproduction does not hinder the rapid expansion of the invasive range of the alien species Veronica filiformis J.E. Smith (Plantaginaceae). Lawn mowing or raking causes the fragmentation of shoots and accelerates vegetative reproduction of V. filiformis. The clone diameter of this species was shown to increase up to 25 times during the growing season, whereas the number of internodes increased by a factor of 1000-2000. Slender speedwell expanded from the site of initial introduction (Moscow, Russia) at the speed of 4 km/year in the northern direction and at a speed of 10 km/year in the southern direction. Illumination of the site had a more pronounced effect on the regenerative capacity of the species than the age of root-forming shoots. Invasion of meadow and forest fringe communities by this species was registered in recent decades. The high speed of expansion of the secondary distribution range, the displacement of native species, and the direct damage to lawns caused by this plant allow for the assignment of an invasive species status to V. filiformis and justify the control over the dispersal of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zygote arrest 1 ( Zar1) is an oocyte-specific maternal-effect gene. Previous studies indicate that Zar1 plays important role in early embryo development, but little is known about its function in rabbit. The objectives of this study were to clone the New Zealand white rabbit Zar1 gene and to investigate its expression in various organs in groups of animals with different reproductive traits. We obtained a 709-bp Zar1 cDNA fragment consisting of an 8-bp exon 1, 161-bp exon 2, 75-bp exon 3, 271-bp exon 4 and 194-bp 3 sequences. The rabbit Zar1 nucleotide sequence showed per cent identities of 91, 88, 88, 87, 86, 87, 76 and 82% with Zar1 orthologues in human, cattle, sheep, pig, mouse, rat, zebrafish and Xenopus laevis, respectively, indicating a high homology with other species and evolutionary conservation. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analyses revealed nonoocyte-specific Zar1 expression, with expression in spleen, lung, ovary, uterus, heart, liver and kidney. The expression level was highest in the lung. This study may lay the theoretical foundation for the study of ZAR1's biological function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

D. Lau raised the problem of determining the cardinality of the set of all partial clones of Boolean functions whose total part is a given Boolean clone. The key step in the solution of this problem, which was obtained recently by the authors, was to show that the sublattice of strong partial clones on $$\{0, 1\}$$ that contain all total functions preserving the relation $${\rho_{0,2} = \{(0, 0), (0, 1), (1, 0)\}}$$ is of continuum cardinality. In this paper, we represent relations derived from $${\rho_{0,2}}$$ in terms of graphs, and we define a suitable closure operator on graphs such that the lattice of closed sets of graphs is isomorphic to the dual of this uncountable sublattice of strong partial clones. With the help of this duality, we provide a rough description of the structure of this lattice, and we also obtain a new proof for its uncountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two functional clones F and G on a set A are said to be algebraically equivalent if sets of solutions for F- and G-equations coincide on A. It is proved that pairwise algebraically nonequivalent existentially additive clones on finite sets A are finite in number. We come up with results on the structure of algebraic equivalence classes, including an equationally additive clone, in the lattices of all clones on finite sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to establish bovine intestinal epithelial cell (BIEC) line and provide a novel clone cell method. Although various strategies of bovine cell culture and clone techniques have been reported, these methods remain not established. Here, we culture successfully primary BIECs and establish a novel clone cell method. Our result showed that BIECs could be successfully cultured and passaged about generation 5. These cellular aggregates and clusters were adherent loosely at day 2 of culture. Cell aggregates and clusters start to proliferate after approximately 4 d. The BIECs showed positive reaction against cytokeratin 18, E-cadherin, and characteristics of epithelial-like morphology. In addition, the fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs), villin, and intestinal peptidase (IP) band were positive in BIECs. Our results suggest that the establishment of culturing and clone BIEC methods will apply to isolate and clone other primary cells. These BIECs could therefore contribute to the study of bovine intestinal nutrient absorption and regulation, immune regulation, and the pathogenesis of the bovine intestinal disease, which will provide intestinal cell model in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic trials at three dryland sites in southern India compared 183 families from 4 superior natural provenances, 48 families from locally developed seed sources and 10 commercial clones of Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Three of the local seed sources were seed production areas developed by phenotypic selection for growth from an initial broad base of superior natural provenances, and two were clonal trials. The local seed sources grew significantly faster to 3 years than the natural provenances and the clones. Mean survival at 3 years of the natural provenances (72 %, across the three sites) was better than that of local seed sources (67 %) and clones (50 %). The three types of planting materials did not differ significantly in their wood basic density or NIR-predicted lignin content, while clones had significantly higher NIR-predicted pulp yield. Site mean wood density was highest (579 kg m), and pulp yield lowest (43.7 %) at the driest site where growth was slowest, while at the wettest, most productive site, density was 517 kg m and pulp yield 46.5 %. Narrow-sense heritabilities and inter-site genetic correlations for growth and wood traits were moderate to high. Genetic correlations between growth and wood traits did not differ significantly from zero. Unpedigreed seed production areas developed from an appropriate genetic base of best provenances, may provide a simple option to mass-produce improved seed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We give a relational description of higher commutator operators, which were introduced by Bulatov, in varieties with a Mal'cev term. Furthermore, we use this result to prove that for every algebra with a Mal'cev term, there exists a largest clone containing the Mal'cev operation and having the same congruence lattice and the same higher commutator operators as the original algebra. We also give a local variant of this theorem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb. [ S. sebiferum] is one of the most important woody oil trees and traditional herbal medicines in China. Diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGATs) esterify sn-1,2-diacylglycerol with a long-chain fatty acyl-CoA acting as a key enzyme at the last and rate-limiting step of triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis in eukaryotic organisms. Although at least 61 DGAT1 sequences from 48 organisms have been identified, until now there have been almost no reports on the DGAT1 gene in S. sebiferum ( SsDGAT1). In an attempt to clarify SsDGAT1's function, we cloned the CDS (coding sequence) of SsDGAT1 by RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) technology. The full-length CDS of SsDGAT1 contains 1524 bp, encoding a protein of 507 amino acids. Even recombinant SsDGAT1 was able to restore TAG biosynthesis in the yeast strain S. cerevisiae H1246 TAG-deficient mutant. Moreover, when SsDGAT1 was placed under the control of 35S promoter in Brassica napus L. W10, the total oil content of transgenic rape plants showed an increase of 12.3-14.7 % compared with the wild type. In addition, the transgenic rapeseed with heterologous expression of SsDGAT1 showed an alteration in seed oil composition overall: a significant decrease in oleic acid levels but a tendency towards an increase in linolenic acid levels. The result confirmed that SsDGAT1 may be involved in flux control of oil biosynthesis and could be used specifically to manipulate and improve oil content and composition in plants. These experimental findings suggest that we might be able to develop a plant high in industrial oils by over-expression of SsDGAT1 in S. sebiferum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate when the clone of congruence preserving functions is finitely generated. We obtain a full description for all finite p-groups, and for all finite algebras with Mal'cev term and simple congruence lattice. The characterization for p-groups allows a generalization to a large class of expansions of groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generalizing a linear expression over a vector space, we call a term of an arbitrary type τ linear if its every variable occurs only once. Instead of the usual superposition of terms and of the total many-sorted clone of all terms in the case of linear terms, we define the partial many-sorted superposition operation and the partial many-sorted clone that satisfies the superassociative law as weak identity. The extensions of linear hypersubstitutions are weak endomorphisms of this partial clone. For a variety V of one-sorted total algebras of type τ, we define the partial many-sorted linear clone of V as the partial quotient algebra of the partial many-sorted clone of all linear terms by the set of all linear identities of V. We prove then that weak identities of this clone correspond to linear hyperidentities of V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb is one of the most important oil trees in China. Diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGATs) esterify sn-1, 2-diacylglycerol with a long-chain fatty acyl-CoA, the last step and the rate-limiting step of triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. At least 74 DGAT2 sequences from 61 organisms have been identified, but the SsDGAT2 gene had not been reported to date. To clarify the function of SsDGAT2, we cloned the CDS (rapid amplification of cDNA end) of SsDGAT2 by RACE technology. The full-length CDS of SsDGAT2 contains 1011 bp and encodes a protein of 336 amino acids. Recombinant SsDGAT2 restored TAG biosynthesis to the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae H1246 TAG-deficient mutant and preferentially incorporated unsaturated C18 fatty acids into lipids. To investigate the biotechnological potential of SsDGAT2, it was expressed under the control of the 35S promoter in Arabidopsis Col-4. The oleic acid content increased by 50 % in transgenic plants relative to the control. The results indicated that most of the oleic acid increase was at the expense of linolenic acid (18:3) content, which suggests that high-oleic-acid-content seeds can be created by the overexpression of SsDGAT2 in S. sebiferum (L.) Roxb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From four Korean pine ( Pinus koraiensis) orchards, 60 clones were selected and analyzed for the fatty acid and amino acid components of the seeds to reveal the variations and correlations of the seed characteristics among the clonal source orchards and clones. The nutritional components of the seeds of the P. koraiensis trees exhibited rich genetic variation; the variation coefficient of the fatty acids was 2.24-66.83 %, while the variation coefficient of the amino acids was 14.70-38.88 %. Relatively high genetic-improvement potential exists for the nutritional components of the seeds. The phenotypic differentiation of the fatty acid and amino acid components reveals that variation within the population (85.18 %) was the primary source for the variation of the fatty acid components; variation among the orchards (63.08 %) was the primary source of the variation of the amino acid components. Data drawn from various clonal source orchards all showed that the seed characteristics were highly controlled by heritability (h > 80 %), and the seed characteristics of the P. koraiensis trees exhibited a similar genetic gain trend. The principal components were analyzed to obtain the comprehensive principal component value for each clonal seed orchard. Twelve clones were selected based on a clonal selection rate of 20 %. Correlation and multiple stepwise-regression analyses were conducted, considering different location conditions, to reveal the stable correlations between the seed characteristics to facilitate improvements of the seed yield of P. koraiensis trees and the clonal selection. Species of real characteristics in P. koraiensis were controlled by higher heritability. Genetic gain was obtained by selecting of superior clones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prove that whenever $${\mathbb {A}}$$ is a 3-conservative relational structure with only binary and unary relations, then the algebra of polymorphisms of $${\mathbb {A}}$$ either has no Taylor operation (i.e., CSP( $${\mathbb {A}}$$ ) is NP-complete), or it generates an SD( $${\wedge}$$ ) variety (i.e., CSP( $${\mathbb {A}}$$ ) has bounded width). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six cassava cultivars, three yellow and three white-fleshed roots were crossed in a 3 × 3 topcross mating design to generate nine F populations. One thousand, one hundred and ten botanical seeds from the 9 populations were sown in pots and maintained for 42 days in a screenhouse. The emerged seedlings were transplanted to the field in April, 2010 alongside their parents (from stem cuttings), family by family. Four hundred and sixty-four progenies survived and were harvested. Both field and laboratory data were used to evaluate total carotene content (TCC), dry matter content (DMC), storage fresh root yield (SFRY) and other root quality traits. Seed germination for different populations ranged between 15.5 and 80.9 % with a mean of 43.19 %. Phenotypic variation in DMC, TCC, SFRY, biomass, root number, harvest index and cassava mosaic disease (CMD) were recorded in all the families. Average values for the populations were TCC: 4.59 μg g, DMC, 33.58 % and SFRY, 18.42 t ha. Narrow sense heritability by midparent-offspring regression analysis and genetic gains were estimated for TCC, DMC, SFRY and reaction to CMD. TCC, DMC and CMD gave high heritability estimates of 0.73, 0.83 and 0.84, respectively. SFRY, on the other hand, had a low heritability estimate (0.15). TCC was negatively correlated with DMC across all evaluation stages and locations. There were very high levels of variation in the segregating F progenies for all the traits. Also, narrow sense heritability estimate showed that genetic factors played a more important role than environmental factors for TCC, DMC and CMD, suggesting that reliable selection with simple recurrent phenotypic selection would be rewarding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]