Towards an ideotype for food-fuel dual-purpose wheat in Argentina with focus on biogas production.

Background: Wheat straw, one of the most abundant agricultural residues worldwide, can be used to produce biogas, which is considered one of the most efficiently produced renewable energies. Wheat grown with the dual-purpose of producing food and biogas should display simultaneously high grain and straw yields, low lodging susceptibility and high conversion efficiency of straw into biogas. The aims of this study were to determine the best food-fuel dual-purpose wheat candidates among 36 wheat genotypes-including French, CIMMYT and local (Criollo) germplasm-used in breeding programs in Argentina and to gain some insights into the relationships between key traits relevant for dual-purpose wheat genotypes.

The chromatin remodeling factor CHD7 controls cerebellar development by regulating reelin expression.

The mechanisms underlying the neurodevelopmental deficits associated with CHARGE syndrome, which include cerebellar hypoplasia, developmental delay, coordination problems, and autistic features, have not been identified. CHARGE syndrome has been associated with mutations in the gene encoding the ATP-dependent chromatin remodeler CHD7. CHD7 is expressed in neural stem and progenitor cells, but its role in neurogenesis during brain development remains unknown.