[en] From the approximately 200,000 species of flowering plants known, only about 200 have been domesticated. The process has taken place in many regions over long periods. At present there is great interest in domesticating new species and developing new uses for existing ones in order to supply needed food, industrial raw materials, etc. It is proposed that major gene mutations were important in domestication; many key characters distinguishing cultivated from related wild species are controlled by one or very few major genes. The deliberate effort to domesticate new species requires at least the following: identification of needs and potential sources, establishment of suitable niches, choice of taxa to be domesticated, specification of the desired traits and key characters to be modified, as well as the potential role of induced mutations. (author). 14 refs

No abstract available

[en] The Third European Congress of the International Radiation Protection Association organised by the Netherlands Association for Health Physics was held 13-16 May 1975 in Amsterdam. Much new information was contributed about the doses from different natural and non-natural sources of radiation, the measurement and calculation of these doses, and methods of limiting them. In particular new data were presented on the natural occurrence of hereditary effects, the natural frequency of mutations and the occurrence of chromosome abnormalities. (D.J.B.)

[en] Venous blood samples were collected from random healthy male individuals with informed consent. Peripheral Blood Mono Nuclear cells (PBMCs) were separated at 1 hour and 5 hours post-irradiation. Dose response was studied using 30 cGy, 60 cGy, 1.0 Gy and 2.0 Gy. For adaptive response study two priming doses (30 cGy and 60 cGy) was used followed by a challenging dose of 2.0 Gy after 4 hours. Total RNA was isolated and cDNA was synthesized. Relative quantitation was performed using a SYBR green based real time PCR with respect to beta actin. The results have shown significant up-regulation of DNA damage response genes like P53, GADD45A, CDKN1A and also in H2B, CTP Synthase and PLK3 at 5 hours post irradiation (P<0.001) as compared to 1 hour. In contrast, the transcriptional expression of ATM, ATR, MDM2, CDK2, cyclin E and cytokine genes remained same at both the time points (1 hour and 5 hours). Few genes like CDKN1A, GADD45A and P53 showed down regulation with 2 Gy at 5 hrs. Transcription profile at priming dose of 0.3 and 0.6 Gy followed by a challenging dose 2.0 Gy was studied. Adaptive response was observed at most of the DNA damage response genes. However, no difference was observed at master regulator ATM and P53. Similarly cytokines and histone modification gene also did not show any change. Detailed results will be discussed during the presentation

No abstract available

[en] This paper presents the results of several years long study on chromosomal aberration in persons who are professionally exposed to radionuclides. Cytogenetic investigations showed different frequency of chromosomal aberration in certain periods. Significant greater incidence of chromosomal aberrations was noticed for period from 1986-1990. In that period the value of percent was carrying 28% but in 1996 that percent fell to 19,1% percent. (author)

[en] Somatic embryogenesis was obtained from young leaf explants of rosemary with 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyaceti acid (2, 4-D) in different concentrations (0.45, 2.25, 4.52, 6.75, 9.04 micro M) in combination with Benzyladenine (BA) using modified woody plant medium (WPM). The best frequencies of induction were obtained in a medium supplemented with 2.25 micro M 2, 4-D and 0.45 micro M BA, in which 100% of the calli produced somatic embryos. Subculture of primary somatic embryos on modified WPM without hormones gave rise to clusters with secondary somatic embryos and embryogenic calli. These clusters were sub-cultured every 4 weeks, and an average of 10% of the secondary somatic embryos developed into plantlets in each subculture. The same culture on WPM containing Abscisic acid (ABA) in different concentrations (3.48, 7.67, 11.35 micro M) also yielded de novo secondary embryos and whitish embryogenic calli. (author)

[en] The increased food production during the past 50 years in Asia has not solved the problem of food availability and its access to large sections of the population. In addition, the nutritional level of the consumed food is highly inadequate to meet the daily requirements of minerals and vitamins. No doubt, the national policies on price support and subsidies for increasing food production and procurement have had a motor influence on access to food. However, the infrastructures for increasing storage capacity, prevent food wastage, and enhance food quality have not kept with the increased food production and its equitable access to the low income groups. The malnutrition of the poor, especially among children and women, remains a challenge to the policy makers and scientists alike. The building of food storage capacity at the village level and adoption of nuclear techniques to store grains under minimal insect and fungal infestation would cut down losses and enhance grain quality. Breeding new varieties of staple food grains (rice, wheat, maize and mallets), vegetables and fruits with enhanced minerals, vitamins and their bio-availability is seen as a complementary approach to food diversification to reduce malnutrition. Conventional breeding assisted by induced mutations, tissue culture, gene insertion and molecular gene modification holds promise to enhance food nutrition. However, the adoption of the appropriate combination of technologies is essential to enhance food availability and nutrition in Asia. Unfortunately, transgenic approach is seen by many as the only option or many times the major solution to enhance food access and its quality. It is often forgotten that a yardstick has many markings, each of which is important to reach the goal. (Author)

[en] A report on the Fifth Annual Nanostructural Genomics meeting, Bar Harbor, USA, 7-10 September 2005. It is a rare meeting where one can hear the latest developments in comparative genome analysis, relate these findings to advances in understanding both the linear and three-dimensional organization of the eukaryotic genome, and see it all beginning to fit into the context of the structure and function of the nucleus, visualized using state-of-the art labeling and microscopic techniques. These cross-disciplinary areas of research have been presented by a diverse group of scientists for the past five years at the Nanostructural Genomics meeting at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, and the 2005 meeting again gave attendees much food for thought. In summary, the meeting provided a delightfully unique perspective on the application of exciting experimental breakthroughs at the interface of genomics, cell biology and optical physics.

[en] A recent paper by Mothersill and Seymour (1987), and its precursor by Seymour et al. (1986), prompt several comments. The points the letter makes are: (1) the dose-dependence of lethal mutations, or lethal sectoring, in a developing colony can depend upon the cells in question and/or the cell culture conditions which may apply; (2) lethal mutation probably depends upon radiation quality; (3) damage which may give rise to lethal mutations is very likely reparable; and (4) the dose-dependence of the frequency of induction of the neoplastic transformation of C3H 10T1/2 mouse cells, normalized to surviving cells, is probably not influenced by lethal mutations. The reply discusses the distinction between initiation and expression of transformation. (author)