Ottolini B, Hornsby MJ, Abujaber R, Macarthur JA, Badge RM, Schwarzacher T, Albertson DG, Bevins CL, Solnick JV, Hollox EJ. 2014. Evidence of convergent evolution in humans and macaques supports an adaptive role for copy number variation of the β-defensin-2 gene. Genome Biology and Evolution 6(11): 3025-3038. DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evu236 β-defensins are a family of important peptides of…
Tag: chromosomes
Chromosomal evolution in Brachiaria forage grasses with Fabiola Carvalho Santos
Fabiola Santos from University of Londrina, Brazil, is working on the Chromosomal evolution and the organization of repetitive DNA sequences in diploid and polyploid Brachiaria forage grasses in the molecular cytogenetics group in Leicester. Brachiaria is most important cultivated forage grass genus in Brazil (with billion-dollar production), and the genus includes diploid and polyploid species with similar…
An Overview of Peanut Genome Structure
308. DJ Bertioli, ACG Araujo, S Nielen, P Heslop-Harrison, PM Guimarães, T Schwarzacher, S Isobe, K Shirasawa, Leal-Bertioli SCM. 2014. An overview of peanut genome structure. Chapter 6 in Genetics, Genomics and Breeding of Peanuts. Eds Nalini Mallikarjuna, Rajeev K. Varshney. Peanut genome structure manuscript Author Version pp. 114-138. CRC Press, Florida. http://www.crcnetbase.com/doi/abs/10.1201/b16872-7 ABSTRACT Cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea…
Animal Cytogenetics, Gene Mapping and Chromosome Research – The 21st Colloquium Ischia, Naples, Italy
Cytogenetics of animals is moving forward rapidly with the integration of sequencing and robust phylogenies with methods of chromosome analysis. The 21st International Colloquium on Animal Cytogenetics and Gene Mapping held June 2014 covered a range of topics in comparative, molecular, veterinary and environmental cytogenetics, as well as a session on cytogenetics of non-mammalian vertebrates and…
In situ hybridization: a course on FISH and ChIp
In situ hybridization – a course on FISH and ChIp In situ hybridization, now largely with fluorescent detection so ‘fluorescent in situ hybridization’ or FISH, is a key method for localizing DNA sequences along chromosomes and occassionally within interphase nuclei. RNA in situ hybridization (not discussed here) is used for locating gene transcripts within nuclei….
Nucleosomes and centromeric DNA packaging
304. Heslop-Harrison JS, Schwarzacher T. 2013. Nucleosomes and centromeric DNA packaging. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 110 (50): 19974–19975. http://www.pnas.org/content/110/50/19974.full.pdf+html http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319945110 – Author manuscript: Author Version 2013 – Powerpoint figure: Nucleosome Figure PNAS Schwarzacher HeslopHarrison The eukaryotic chromosome is a conserved structure, with the DNA double-helix wrapping around octamers of histone proteins to form the chromatin which is further packaged…
Wild banana species: their classification and the sequencing of Musa balbisiana
Crop relatives are important – we learn about the relationships of wild germplasm in comparison to the domesticated forms, and about the genetics and genes in the wild species. Two papers in the last month advance our understanding of wild banana (Musa) from different perspectives. The first presents “A draft Musa balbisiana genome sequence for…
Haploid callus from a diploid Musa accession for genome analysis
303. Nair AS, Heslop-Harrison P, Schwarzacher T. 2013. Production of haploid tissues and SNP analysis of the genome in Musa acuminata cv.‘Matti’ (AA). Plant Mutation Reports 3(1): 18-24. Haploid and doubled haploid plants are of considerable value in genetic studies, genomics and plant breeding, allowing characterization and exploitation of genes where only one allele is present. Inbred banana…
100 years after Sturtevant and the linear order of genes on chromosomes: an ECA cytogenetics session
Among the exciting Plenary Sessions at the European Cytogeneticists Association conference in Dublin – #ECA2013 – one marked 100 years since publication of Alfred H Sturtevant’s landmark research paper presenting the first genetic map of a chromosome (1913: J. Exp. Zool., 14 (1), 43-9. URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jez.1400140104 but see http://www.esp.org/foundations/genetics/classical/holdings/s/ahs-13.pdf for the original paper and a commentary by Robert J. Robbins). In his…
Repetitive DNA in tetraploid peanut and its evolution from diploid Arachis
302. Bertioli DJ, Vidigal B, Nielen S, Ratnaparkhe MB, Lee T-JH, Leal-Bertioli SCM, Kim C, Guimaraes PM, Seijo G, Schwarzacher T, Paterson AH, Heslop-Harrison P, Araujo ACG. 2013. The repetitive component of the A genome of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) and its role in remodelling intergenic sequence space since its evolutionary divergence from the B genome. Annals…
Nouf Alsayied: PhD student with Saffron Crocus at the University of Leicester and faculty member Umm Al-Qura University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
My research focuses on understanding the origin and diversity of the genus Crocus (Iridaceae), with particular emphasis on a triploid sterile plant, Crocus sativus (2n=3x=24) that yields Saffron, one of the most expensive spices on earth. The saffron is the stigmas of the flowers, and nearly 200,000 must be collected to give 1kg of spice,…
Dr Ijaz Rasool Noorka – Collaborator from University of Sargodha, Pakistan and Visiting Research Fellow
Dr Ijaz Rasool Noorka has broad interests in the development of productive and sustainable agriculture for Pakistan and developing countries. His interests complement those of the Molecular Cytogenetics Group, and have enabled us to extend our consideration of the outcomes and impact of our work on exploitation of biodiversity by chromosome engineering. Ijaz has been…
Alien chromosome introgression transferring characters into bread wheat
In situ hybridization is now widely used to identify the nature and size of chromosome, chromosome arm and chromosome segment introgressions from alien or wild species in plant breeding lines. The molecular cytogenetics research group has several projects investigating introgression of chromosomes into wheat from rye, Thinopyrum (2x and 6x), Aegilops and other species or…
Genetic stability or variation in oil palm tissue culture
301. Madon M, Heslop-Harrison JS, Schwarzacher T, Hashim AT. 2012. Analysis of oil palm calli and regenerants using flow and image cytometry and 18S-25S ribosomal DNA fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH). Journal of Oil Palm Research 24 (April): 1318-1329 Open Access Journal site. local copy Flow (FCM) and image cytometry (ICM) and 18S-25S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) fluorescence in situ hybridisation…
Molecular cytogenetics group homepage at molcyt.com
Molecular cytogenetics homepage Our research on genome evolution in agricultural species provides data-driven insights and evidence-based decision-making for breeding and crop improvement and biodiversity conservation or exploitation. It supports policy and practices, with fundamental implications for genome evolution. Work is at University of Leicester and South China Botanical Garden (SCBG, SCNBG)-Chinese Academy of Sciences. We…
Molecular cytogenetics, genome evolution and agricultural genomics 