An updated reference genome sequence and annotation reveals gene losses and gains underlying naked mole-rat biology.

The naked mole-rat (NMR; ) is a eusocial subterranean rodent with a highly unusual set of physiological traits that has attracted great interest amongst the scientific community. However, the genetic basis of most of these traits has not been elucidated. To facilitate our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying NMR physiology and behaviour, we generated a long-read chromosomal-level genome assembly of the NMR.

Development of SSR markers for Carex curvula (Cyperaceae) and their importance in investigating the species genetic structure.

Background: Microsatellite primers were developed and tested to genotype several populations of Carex curvula s. l. (Cyperaceae), in order to infer the phylogeographic relationships of the populations within species and the boundaries between the two described subspecies: C.

Maize cytolines as models to study the impact of different cytoplasms on gene expression under heat stress conditions.

Background: Crops are under constant pressure due to global warming, which unfolds at a much faster pace than their ability to adapt through evolution. Agronomic traits are linked to cytoplasmic-nuclear genome interactions. It thus becomes important to understand the influence exerted by the organelles on gene expression under heat stress conditions and profit from the available genetic diversity.

Maize Cytolines Unmask Key Nuclear Genes That Are under the Control of Retrograde Signaling Pathways in Plants.

The genomes of the two plant organelles encode for a relatively small number of proteins. Thus, nuclear genes encode the vast majority of their proteome. Organelle-to-nucleus communication takes place through retrograde signaling (RS) pathways.

Locus- and Site-Specific DNA Methylation of 19 kDa Zein Genes in Maize.

An interesting question in maize development is why only a single zein gene is highly expressed in each of the 19-kDa zein gene clusters (A and B types), z1A2-1 and z1B4, in the immature endosperm. For instance, epigenetic marks could provide a structural difference. Therefore, we investigated the DNA methylation of the arrays of gene copies in both promoter and gene body regions of leaf (non-expressing tissue as a control), normal endosperm, and cultured endosperm.

Romanian maize (Zea mays) inbred lines as a source of genetic diversity in SE Europe, and their potential in future breeding efforts.

Maize has always been under constant human selection ever since it had been domesticated. Intensive breeding programs that resulted in the massive use of hybrids nowadays have started in the 60s. That brought significant yield increases but reduced the genetic diversity at the same time.

The maize high-lysine mutant opaque7 is defective in an acyl-CoA synthetase-like protein.

Maize (Zea mays) has a large class of seed mutants with opaque or nonvitreous endosperms that could improve the nutritional quality of our food supply. The phenotype of some of them appears to be linked to the improper formation of protein bodies (PBs) where zein storage proteins are deposited. Although a number of genes affecting endosperm vitreousness have been isolated, it has been difficult to clone opaque7 (o7), mainly because of its low penetrance in many genetic backgrounds.

Differential gene expression and epiregulation of alpha zein gene copies in maize haplotypes.

Multigenic traits are very common in plants and cause diversity. Nutritional quality is such a trait, and one of its factors is the composition and relative expression of storage protein genes. In maize, they represent a medium-size gene family distributed over several chromosomes and unlinked locations.