Structural variation in the pangenome of wild and domesticated barley.

Pangenomes are collections of annotated genome sequences of multiple individuals of a species. The structural variants uncovered by these datasets are a major asset to genetic analysis in crop plants. Here we report a pangenome of barley comprising long-read sequence assemblies of 76 wild and domesticated genomes and short-read sequence data of 1,315 genotypes.

Environmental exposures associated with early childhood recurrent wheezing in the mother and child in the environment birth cohort: a time-to-event study.

Background: Antenatal factors and environmental exposures contribute to recurrent wheezing in early childhood.

Aim: To identify antenatal and environmental factors associated with recurrent wheezing in children from birth to 48 months in the mother and child in the environment cohort, using time-to-event analysis.

Method: Maternal interviews were administered during pregnancy and postnatally and children were followed up from birth to 48 months (May 2013-October 2019).

Global arthropod beta-diversity is spatially and temporally structured by latitude.

Global biodiversity gradients are generally expected to reflect greater species replacement closer to the equator. However, empirical validation of global biodiversity gradients largely relies on vertebrates, plants, and other less diverse taxa. Here we assess the temporal and spatial dynamics of global arthropod biodiversity dynamics using a beta-diversity framework.

A GDSL-motif Esterase/Lipase Affects Wax and Cutin Deposition and Controls Hull-Caryopsis Attachment in Barley.

The cuticle covering aerial organs of land plants is well known to protect against desiccation. Cuticles also play diverse and specialized functions, including organ separation, depending on plant and tissue. Barley shows a distinctive cuticular wax bloom enriched in β-diketones on leaf sheaths, stem nodes and internodes and inflorescences.

Unlocking the genetic diversity and population structure of the newly introduced two-row spring European HerItage Barley collecTion (ExHIBiT).

In the last century, breeding programs have traditionally favoured yield-related traits, grown under high-input conditions, resulting in a loss of genetic diversity and an increased susceptibility to stresses in crops. Thus, exploiting understudied genetic resources, that potentially harbour tolerance genes, is vital for sustainable agriculture. Northern European barley germplasm has been relatively understudied despite its key role within the malting industry.

Pediatric pulmonary thromboembolism: a 3-year Canadian Pediatric Surveillance Program study.

Background: Pediatric pulmonary embolism (PE) is a rare event associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Awareness of clinical presentation and practices unique to children may aid clinicians in prompt identification and treatment.

Objectives: To describe the incidence, risk factors, clinical presentation, diagnostic and therapeutic practices, and short-term outcomes of pediatric PE.

CRISPR-Cas9-based repeat depletion for high-throughput genotyping of complex plant genomes.

High-throughput genotyping enables the large-scale analysis of genetic diversity in population genomics and genome-wide association studies that combine the genotypic and phenotypic characterization of large collections of accessions. Sequencing-based approaches for genotyping are progressively replacing traditional genotyping methods because of the lower ascertainment bias. However, genome-wide genotyping based on sequencing becomes expensive in species with large genomes and a high proportion of repetitive DNA.

Randomized phase II trial of farletuzumab plus chemotherapy versus placebo plus chemotherapy in low CA-125 platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.

Objective: The primary purpose of this study was to determine if farletuzumab, an antifolate receptor-α monoclonal antibody, improved progression-free survival (PFS) versus placebo when added to standard chemotherapy regimens in patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer (OC) in first relapse (platinum-free interval: 6-36 months) with low cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) levels.

Methods: Eligibility included CA-125 ≤ 3 x upper limit of normal (ULN, 105 U/mL), high-grade serous, platinum-sensitive recurrent OC, previous treatment with debulking surgery, and first-line platinum-based chemotherapy with 1st recurrence between 6 and 36 months since frontline platinum-based treatment. Patients received investigator's choice of either carboplatin (CARBO)/paclitaxel (PTX) every 3 weeks or CARBO/pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) every 4 weeks x6 cycles in combination with either farletuzumab [5 mg/kg weekly] or placebo randomized in a 2:1 ratio.

Measuring the frequency and distribution of meiotic crossovers in homozygous barley inbred lines.

We report a novel approach for establishing the number and position of CO events in individual homozygous inbred plants by combining low level EMS mutagenesis, speed breeding, whole genome shotgun sequencing and sliding window analysis of the induced molecular variant data. We demonstrate the approach by exploring CO frequency and distribution in self-fertilised progeny of the inbred barley cultivar Bowman and compare these observations to similar data obtained from a Bowman nearly isogenic line (BW230 containing a mutation in the DNA mismatch repair gene We have previously shown that decreases both plant fertility and recombination by ~50%. We compare our results to those from previously published traditional genetic analysis of F3 families derived from multiple F2 lines containing WT or mutant alleles of revealing a high level of correspondence between analyses.

Melanomas with concurrent BRAF non-p.V600 and NF1 loss-of-function mutations are targetable by BRAF/MEK inhibitor combination therapy.

Although combination BRAF/MEK inhibition has produced significant survival benefits for BRAF p.V600 mutant melanomas, targeted therapies approved for BRAF non-p.V600 mutant melanomas remain limited.

Spatially mapping the immune landscape of melanoma using imaging mass cytometry.

Melanoma is an immunogenic cancer with a high response rate to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). It harbors a high mutation burden compared with other cancers and, as a result, has abundant tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) within its microenvironment. However, understanding the complex interplay between the stroma, tumor cells, and distinct TIL subsets remains a substantial challenge in immune oncology.

Active and adaptive plasticity in a changing climate.

Better understanding of the mechanistic basis of plant plasticity will enhance efforts to breed crops resilient to predicted climate change. However, complexity in plasticity's conceptualisation and measurement may hinder fruitful crossover of concepts between disciplines that would enable such advances. We argue active adaptive plasticity is particularly important in shaping the fitness of wild plants, representing the first line of a plant's defence to environmental change.

An Induced Mutation in Increases the Overall Recombination and Restores Fertility in a Barley Mutant Background.

Plant breeding relies on the meiotic recombination or crossing over to generate the new combinations of the alleles along and among the chromosomes. However, crossing over is constrained in the crops such as barley by a combination of the low frequency and biased distribution. In this study, we attempted to identify the genes that limit the recombination by performing a suppressor screen for the restoration of fertility to the semi-fertile barley mutant (), carrying a mutation in the barley ortholog of (), a member of the MutL-homolog (MLH) family of DNA mismatch repair genes.

Healthcare cost attributable to bronchiolitis: A population-based cohort study.

Objective: To determine 1-year attributable healthcare costs of bronchiolitis.

Methods: Using a population-based matched cohort and incidence-based cost analysis approach, we identified infants <12 months old diagnosed in an emergency department (ED) or hospitalized with bronchiolitis between April 1, 2003 and March 31, 2014. We propensity-score matched infants with and without bronchiolitis on sex, age, income quintile, rurality, co-morbidities, gestational weeks, small-for-gestational-age status and pre-index healthcare cost deciles.

Trends of genetic changes uncovered by Env- and Eigen-GWAS in wheat and barley.

Variety age and population structure detect novel QTL for yield and adaptation in wheat and barley without the need to phenotype. The process of crop breeding over the last century has delivered new varieties with increased genetic gains, resulting in higher crop performance and yield. However, in many cases, the alleles and genomic regions underpinning this success remain unknown.

The proteome of developing barley anthers during meiotic prophase I.

Flowering plants reproduce sexually by combining a haploid male and female gametophyte during fertilization. Male gametophytes are localized in the anthers, each containing reproductive (meiocyte) and non-reproductive tissue necessary for anther development and maturation. Meiosis, where chromosomes pair and exchange their genetic material during a process called recombination, is one of the most important and sensitive stages in breeding, ensuring genetic diversity.

Downregulation of Barley Alters the Distribution of Meiotic Crossovers.

Programmed meiotic DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), necessary for proper chromosomal segregation and viable gamete formation, are repaired by homologous recombination (HR) as crossovers (COs) or non-crossovers (NCOs). The mechanisms regulating the number and distribution of COs are still poorly understood. The regulator of telomere elongation helicase 1 (RTEL1) DNA helicase was previously shown to enforce the number of meiotic COs in but its function in plants has been studied only in the vegetative phase.