scholarly journals Genetic contributions to agricultural sustainability

2007 ◽  
Vol 363 (1491) ◽  
pp. 591-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth S Dennis ◽  
Jeffrey Ellis ◽  
Allan Green ◽  
Danny Llewellyn ◽  
Matthew Morell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Plant Genome ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Phases Of Development ◽  
New Varieties ◽  
And Function ◽  
Genetic Contributions

The current tools of enquiry into the structure and operation of the plant genome have provided us with an understanding of plant development and function far beyond the state of knowledge that we had previously. We know about key genetic controls repressing or stimulating the cascades of gene expression that move a plant through stages in its life cycle, facilitating the morphogenesis of vegetative and reproductive tissues and organs. The new technologies are enabling the identification of key gene activity responses to the range of biotic and abiotic challenges experienced by plants. In the past, plant breeders produced new varieties with changes in the phases of development, modifications of plant architecture and improved levels of tolerance and resistance to environmental and biotic challenges by identifying the required phenotypes in a few plants among the large numbers of plants in a breeding population. Now our increased knowledge and powerful gene sequence-based diagnostics provide plant breeders with more precise selection objectives and assays to operate in rationally planned crop improvement programmes. We can expect yield potential to increase and harvested product quality portfolios to better fit an increasing diversity of market requirements. The new genetics will connect agriculture to sectors beyond the food, feed and fibre industries; agri-business will contribute to public health and will provide high-value products to the pharmaceutical industry as well as to industries previously based on petroleum feedstocks and chemical modification processes.

scholarly journals Mutant Resources and Mutagenomics in crop plants

2017 ◽  
pp. 651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suprasanna Prasanna ◽  
S. Mohan Jain
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Plant Genome ◽  
Induced Mutations ◽  
Mutation Discovery ◽  
Genomic Characterization ◽  
Basic And Applied Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mutant Genes

Agricultural sustainability and food security are major challenges facing continued population growth. Integration of existing and new technologies for the induction and exploitation of genetic diversity towards developing healthier, nutritious and productive crops is the need of the hour. Mutagenesis is a proven technology for the development of improved or novel varieties with desirable traits. Several mutant genes have been successfully explored, either directly or indirectly, to complement crop productivity. The advent of genomics approaches and plant genome sequencing has benefitted mutation discovery and mutant characterization. Plant mutant repositories are being established to serve as platforms for basic and applied research in crop improvement. This review briefly outlines the impact and molecular/genomic characterization of induced mutations in crop improvement.

scholarly journals Catalogue of hazards: a fundamental part for the safe design of surgical robots

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Theisgen ◽  
Florian Strauch ◽  
Matías de la Fuente ◽  
Klaus Radermacher
Keyword(s):  
Development Process ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Hazard Identification ◽  
Surgical Robots ◽  
Safety Measures ◽  
Fundamental Part ◽  
Phases Of Development ◽  
Early Phases ◽  
Intended Use

AbstractRisk classes defined by MDR and FDA for state-of-the-art surgical robots based on their intended use are not suitable as indicators for their hazard potential. While there is a lack of safety regulation for an increasing degree of automation as well as the degree of invasiveness into the patient’s body, adverse events have increased in the last decade. Thus, an outright identification of hazards as part of the risk analysis over the complete development process and life cycle of a surgical robot is crucial, especially when introducing new technologies. For this reason, we present a comprehensive approach for hazard identification in early phases of development. With this multi-perspective approach, the number of hazards identified can be increased. Furthermore, a generic catalogue of hazards for surgical robots has been established by categorising the results. The catalogue serves as a data pool for risk analyses and holds the potential to reduce hazards through safety measures already in the design process before becoming risks for the patient.

scholarly journals Chromosome genomics uncovers plant genome organization and function

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 107659
Author(s):  
Jana Zwyrtková ◽  
Hana Šimková ◽  
Jaroslav Doležel
Keyword(s):  
Genome Organization ◽  
Plant Genome ◽  
And Function

scholarly journals Genomics and breeding innovations for enhancing genetic gain for climate resilience and nutrition traits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pallavi Sinha ◽  
Vikas K. Singh ◽  
Abhishek Bohra ◽  
Arvind Kumar ◽  
Jochen C. Reif ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Methods ◽  
Genetic Gain ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Breeding Cycle ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Heritability Estimation ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
Statistical Designs ◽  
Novel Alleles

Abstract Key message Integrating genomics technologies and breeding methods to tweak core parameters of the breeder’s equation could accelerate delivery of climate-resilient and nutrient rich crops for future food security. Abstract Accelerating genetic gain in crop improvement programs with respect to climate resilience and nutrition traits, and the realization of the improved gain in farmers’ fields require integration of several approaches. This article focuses on innovative approaches to address core components of the breeder’s equation. A prerequisite to enhancing genetic variance (σ2g) is the identification or creation of favorable alleles/haplotypes and their deployment for improving key traits. Novel alleles for new and existing target traits need to be accessed and added to the breeding population while maintaining genetic diversity. Selection intensity (i) in the breeding program can be improved by testing a larger population size, enabled by the statistical designs with minimal replications and high-throughput phenotyping. Selection priorities and criteria to select appropriate portion of the population too assume an important role. The most important component of breeder′s equation is heritability (h2). Heritability estimates depend on several factors including the size and the type of population and the statistical methods. The present article starts with a brief discussion on the potential ways to enhance σ2g in the population. We highlight statistical methods and experimental designs that could improve trait heritability estimation. We also offer a perspective on reducing the breeding cycle time (t), which could be achieved through the selection of appropriate parents, optimizing the breeding scheme, rapid fixation of target alleles, and combining speed breeding with breeding programs to optimize trials for release. Finally, we summarize knowledge from multiple disciplines for enhancing genetic gains for climate resilience and nutritional traits.

Irrigation and crop improvement in temperate and tropical environments

1986 ◽  
Vol 316 (1537) ◽  
pp. 319-330 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Multiple Cropping ◽  
Tropical Environments ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Seasonal Signals ◽  
The Tropics

There is a strong interaction between irrigation and crop improvement, irrigation creating new opportunities and challenges for plant breeders while depending on their progress for its full benefits to be realized. In temperate environments the primary emphasis is on raising yield potential, especially as irrigation enhances the use of agrichemical inputs. Efficiency of water and energy use through the modification of physiological processes and of sensitivity to stress at various stages of the life cycle is also sought. In tropical environments, breeding for greater yield potential and more comprehensive pest and disease resistance are still important. However, shortening the length of the life cycle, reducing its sensitivity to seasonal signals and increasing yield per day may be more important than raising yield per crop because of the scope for multiple cropping made possible by irrigation in the tropics in the absence of contraints by low temperatures.

The origin of multiple mating types in mushrooms

1993 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-230
Author(s):  
U. Kues ◽  
L.A. Casselton
Keyword(s):  
Mating Type ◽  
Multiple Mating ◽  
Mating Types ◽  
Mating Partner ◽  
Binucleate Cells ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Mating Type Genes ◽  
And Function ◽  
Developmental Switch ◽  
Sterile Mycelium

Having multiple mating types greatly improves the chances of meeting a compatible mating partner, particularly in an organism like the mushroom that has no sexual differentiation and no mechanism for signalling to a likely mate. Having several thousands of mating types, as some mushrooms do, is, however, remarkable - and even more remarkable is the fact that individuals only recognise that they have met a compatible mate after their cells have fused. How are such large numbers of mating types generated and what is the nature of the intracellular interaction that distinguishes self from non- self? Answers to these fascinating questions come from cloning some of the mating type genes of the ink cap mushroom Coprinus cinereus. A successful mating in Coprinus triggers a major switch in cell type, the conversion of a sterile mycelium with uninucleate cells (monokaryon) to a fertile mycelium with binucleate cells (dikaryon) which differentiates the characteristic fruit bodies. The mating type genes that regulate this developmental switch map to two multiallelic loci designated A and B and these must both carry different alleles for full mating compatibility. A and B independently regulate different steps in the developmental switch, making it possible to study just one component of the system and work in our laboratory has concentrated on understanding the structure and function of the A genes. It is estimated that some 160 different A mating types exist in nature, any two of which can together trigger the A-regulated part of sexual development. The first clue to how such large numbers are generated came from classical genetic analysis, which identified two functionally redundant A loci, (alpha) and beta. Functional redundancy is, indeed, the key to multiple A mating types and, as seen in Fig.1, molecular cloning has identified many more genes than was possible by recombination analysis.

MIC-Drop: A platform for large-scale in vivo CRISPR screens

Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. eabi8870
Author(s):  
Saba Parvez ◽  
Chelsea Herdman ◽  
Manu Beerens ◽  
Korak Chakraborti ◽  
Zachary P. Harmer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Cardiac Development ◽  
Droplet Microfluidics ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Genetic Screens ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
And Function ◽  
Genome Scale

CRISPR-Cas9 can be scaled up for large-scale screens in cultured cells, but CRISPR screens in animals have been challenging because generating, validating, and keeping track of large numbers of mutant animals is prohibitive. Here, we report Multiplexed Intermixed CRISPR Droplets (MIC-Drop), a platform combining droplet microfluidics, single-needle en masse CRISPR ribonucleoprotein injections, and DNA barcoding to enable large-scale functional genetic screens in zebrafish. The platform can efficiently identify genes responsible for morphological or behavioral phenotypes. In one application, we show MIC-Drop can identify small molecule targets. Furthermore, in a MIC-Drop screen of 188 poorly characterized genes, we discover several genes important for cardiac development and function. With the potential to scale to thousands of genes, MIC-Drop enables genome-scale reverse-genetic screens in model organisms.

scholarly journals Influence of Technology on Socio-spatial City Development

Prostor ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1 (61)) ◽  
pp. 118-129
Author(s):  
Ljiljana Vujadinović ◽  
Svetlana K. Perović
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Spatial Dimension ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Spiritual Values ◽  
City Development ◽  
Material Goods ◽  
And Function ◽  
The City

This paper is studying influence of new technologies on city development with accent on socio-spatial dimension. The primary goal of the paper is to point out the reflections of earlier ideas in the context of modern technological processes in cities. All social, technical and technological components of a community, and finally civilization, are reflected within space of the city. Although having remained the greatest consumer of many material goods, city has also become a ‘’producer’’ of many technical-technological and spiritual values of civilization. Taking into account acceleration of phenomena in the world of technology and technology featuring modernity, it reasonably brings a question on realistic chance for prediction of their further course and related social changes that are about to cause it. In many scenarios of urban future, one can sense the idea of a city as a result of high technological achievements of civilization. Special attention is paid on informational city which, connecting a lot of people into systems of interactive information technology change the way of their mutual communication, as well as their social life and culture of behaviour. Measure of organization and function of city is set by telecommunication technologies, information, and computers. If city is a ‘’print of a society in space’’, then a contemporary moment refers to ‘’digitalization’’ of human beings, digitalization of their interactions, new aesthetics, value and other criteria. The tendency of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of new technologies on 21st century cities interpreted primarily through the prism of certain theoretical and experimental ideas and concepts of the 20th century.

scholarly journals The Ontogeny and Function of Placental Macrophages

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake R. Thomas ◽  
Praveena Naidu ◽  
Anna Appios ◽  
Naomi McGovern
Keyword(s):  
Human Placenta ◽  
Outer Layer ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Placental Development ◽  
Fetal Health ◽  
Hofbauer Cells ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Placental Macrophages ◽  
And Function ◽  
Insight Into

The placenta is a fetal-derived organ whose function is crucial for both maternal and fetal health. The human placenta contains a population of fetal macrophages termed Hofbauer cells. These macrophages play diverse roles, aiding in placental development, function and defence. The outer layer of the human placenta is formed by syncytiotrophoblast cells, that fuse to form the syncytium. Adhered to the syncytium at sites of damage, on the maternal side of the placenta, is a population of macrophages termed placenta associated maternal macrophages (PAMM1a). Here we discuss recent developments that have led to renewed insight into our understanding of the ontogeny, phenotype and function of placental macrophages. Finally, we discuss how the application of new technologies within placental research are helping us to further understand these cells.

scholarly journals Challenges of digitalization and artificial intelligence for modern economies, societies and management

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 556-567
Author(s):  
Rolf Clauberg
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Physical Systems ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
The Usa ◽  
New Jobs

This study aims at identifying the challenges of digitalization and artificial intelligence for modern economies, societies and business administration. The implementation of digitalization schemes as Industry 4.0 are presently official policy of many developed countries. The goal is optimization of production processes and supply chains. Artificial intelligence is also affecting many fields. Both technologies are expected to substantially change working conditions for many people. It is important to identify the kind and impact of these changes and possible means to minimize negative effects. For this purpose, this study uses previous results about the disappearance of manufacturing jobs in the USA and their impact on different groups of society together with technical information about the new technologies to deduce expected changes caused by digitalization and artificial intelligence. Results are that both technologies will destroy large numbers of jobs and complete job classes while at the same time creating new jobs very different from the ones destroyed. Extensive permanent education and re-education of employees will be necessary to minimize negative effects, probably even changes to a more broad-based education to improve the potential of job changes into completely new fields. In addition, the technical information about digitalization in cyber-physical systems points to dangers that will require solutions on the international level.

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