My Tribute to Professor Herbert Macgregor (22nd April 1933 – 22nd July 2018) delivered at his Thanksgiving Service on 13th August 2018 I am humbled to be here today to pay tribute to the wonderful scientist, leader and mentor, Herbert Macgregor. As a fellow cytogeneticist, Herbert has been right at the top of my field,…
Complete mitogenomes from Kurdistani sheep – abundant centromeric nuclear copies representing diverse ancestors
341. Mustafa SI, Schwarzacher T, and Heslop-Harrison JS. 2018. Complete mitogenomes from Kurdistani sheep: abundant centromeric nuclear copies representing diverse ancestors. Mitochondrial DNA Part A https://doi.org/10.1080/24701394.2018.1431226 (publisher – see free publisher link below if you can’t access) AND Mustafa et al_2018 AuthorVersion The geographical center of domestication and species diversity for sheep (Ovis aries) lies around the…
Morphology, adaptation and speciation
Heslop-Harrison JS. 2017. Morphology, adaptation and speciation. Annals of Botany 120(7): 621-624. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcx130The study of plant evolution and development in a phylogenetic context has accelerated research advances in both areas over the last decade. The addition of a robust phylogeny for plant taxa based on DNA as well as morphology has given a strong context for this research. Genetics…
Crop Improvement – Plant Nuclear Genomes
328. Heslop-Harrison JS. 2017. Crop Improvement: Plant Nuclear Genomes. Encyclopedia of Applied Plant Sciences 2nd Edition. In proof. Plant breeders work with large amounts of DNA sequence information including the sequences of all genes and the repetitive DNA that makes up the majority of most genomes. Knowledge of the diversity and evolution of the sequences…
Repetitive DNA in the catfish genome- rDNA, microsatellites, and Tc1-mariner transposon sequences in Imparfinis
339. Gouveia JG, Wolf IR, Vilas-Boas LA, Heslop-Harrison JS, Schwarzacher T, Dias AL. 2017. Repetitive DNA in the catfish genome: rDNA, microsatellites, and Tc1-mariner transposon sequences in Imparfinis species (Siluriformes, Heptapteridae). Journal of Heredity 108(6): 650-657. Journal link: https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esx065 Author PHHGouveia_CatfishRepeatsAuthorVersion Physical mapping of repetitive DNA families in the karyotypes of fish is important to understand the organization and evolution…
Polyploidy and interspecific hybridisation: partners for adaptation, speciation and evolution in plants
337. Alix K, Gérard PR, Schwarzacher T, Heslop-Harrison JS. 2017. Polyploidy and interspecific hybridisation: partners for adaptation, speciation and evolution in plants. Annals of Botany 120(2): 183-194. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcx079 (Free access). Polyploidy, defined as whole genome duplication, is present in almost all lineages of higher plants, with multiple rounds of polyploidy occurring in most extant species. This Annals…
Identification and characterization of mobile genetic elements LINEs from Brassica genome
Nouroz F, Noreen S, Khan MF, Ahmed S, Heslop-Harrison JS. 2017. Identification and characterization of mobile genetic elements LINEs from Brassica genomes. Gene 627: 94-105. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2017.06.015.. Abstract Among transposable elements (TEs), the LTR retrotransposons are abundant followed by nonLTR retrotransposons in plant genomes, the lateral being represented by LINEs and SINEs. Computational and molecular approaches were…
Polyploidy and interspecific hybridisation: partners for adaptation, speciation and evolution in plants
337. Alix K, Gérard PR, Schwarzacher T, Heslop-Harrison JS. 2017. Polyploidy and interspecific hybridisation: partners for adaptation, speciation and evolution in plants. Annals of Botany 120: 183–194. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcx079 (freely available) Author version (free to post) to come. Figure 1 showing polyploidy or WGD whole genome duplication events in plant evolution is here AlixSchwarzacherHeslopHarrisonPlantEvolutionPolyploidyWGDAnnalsBotany (Powerpoint format) Background. Polyploidy or whole…
New Project on Molecular Cytogenetics and Genomics of Ensete banana
We have a research project starting in 2017 on Ethiopian banana, Ensete ventricosum, for 18 months, in collaboration with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (Dr Paul Wilkin) and University of Addis Ababa (Professor Sebsebe Demissew). There is a post-doctoral position working with the project (closed 7 August 2017). The project “Modelling and genomics resources to enhance…
The landscape and structural diversity of LTR Retrotransposons in the Musa genome
334. Nouroz F, Noreen S, Ahmad H, Heslop Harrison JS(P). 2017. The landscape and structural diversity of LTR Retrotransposons in the Musa genome. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 292: 1051-1067. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00438-017-1333-1 Publisher site (££$$€€ needs subscription) Author version of manuscript: Nouroz_MGG2017_MusaLTRretrotransposons_AuthorVer Long terminal repeat retrotransposons represent a major component of plant genomes and act as drivers of genome…
Molecular Diversity in some Ghanaian cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) accessions
315. Otwe EP, Agyirifo DS, Galyuon IK, Heslop-Harrison JS. 2017. Molecular Diversity in some Ghanaian Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata L.(Walp)] Accessions. Tropical Plant Biology.:1-11. DOI 10.1007/s12042-017-9184-9 BibT Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata L. (Walp)] is grown mainly for its protein-rich grains and is consumed in various forms in sub-Saharan Africa. Average grain yield in farmers’ fields is generally low…
Speciation in Callitriche (Plantaginaceae): the allopolyploid origin of C. platycarpa
Schwarzacher T, Scrocca V, Johnson K, Gornall RJ. 2016. Speciation in Callitriche (Plantaginaceae): the allopolyploid origin of C. platycarpa. New Journal of Botany. 2016 Sep 1;6(2-3):98-101. DOI: 10.1080/20423489.2016.1271293 Genomic in situ hybridisation (GISH) experiments involving hybridising labelled genomic DNA from the diploid species C. stagnalis, C. obtusangula and C. cophocarpa to chromosome spreads of the tetraploid C….
Chloroplast genomes from apomictic Taraxacum – identity and variation between microspecies
Taraxacum or dandelion chloroplast sequence diversity. Salih et al. PLoS One 2017. 333. Salih RHM, Majeský L, Schwarzacher T, Gornall R, Heslop-Harrison P. 2017. Complete chloroplast genomes from apomictic Taraxacum (Asteraceae): Identity and variation between three microspecies. PLoS ONE 12(2): e0168008. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0168008. Chloroplast DNA sequences show substantial variation between higher plant species, and less variation within…
The agriculture-nutrition-health nexus at the cost of water availability
332. Noorka IR, Taufiqullah, Heslop-Harrison JS, Schwarzacher T. 2017. The agriculture-nutrition-health nexus at the cost of water availability in maize diverse genotypes to ensure food security. International Journal of Water Resources and Arid Environments 6(2): 242-251, 2017 ISSN 2079-7079 publisher site: https://psipw.org/attachments/article/401/13e.pdf Originally published as: 2016. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Water Resources and the Arid Environments (ICWRAE…
Banana, Ensete and Boesenbergia Genomics talk by Schwarzacher, Heslop-Harrison, Harikrishna
Comparative genomic analysis in Zingiberales: what can we learn from banana to enable Ensete and Boesenbergia to reach their potential? Talk for Plant and Animal Genomics #PAGXXV Molecular cytogenetics can address challenges in crops with relatively little background knowledge. This talk shows some work around Ensete ventricosum, known as enset, ensete, False banana, Abyssynian or…
Molecular cytogenetics and genome evolution 