Fine mapping of the Asian soybean rust resistance gene Rpp2 from soybean PI 230970.

KEY MESSAGE: Asian soybean rust (ASR) resistance gene Rpp2 has been fine mapped into a 188.1 kb interval on Glyma.Wm82.a2, which contains a series of plant resistance ( R ) genes. Asian soybean rust (ASR), caused by the fungus Phakopsora pachyrihizi Syd. & P. Syd., is a serious disease in major soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] production countries worldwide and causes yield losses up to 75 %. Defining the exact chromosomal position of ASR resistance genes is critical for improving the effectiveness of marker-assisted selection (MAS) for resistance and for cloning these genes. The objective of this study was to fine map the ASR resistance gene Rpp2 from the plant introduction (PI) 230970. Rpp2 was previously mapped within a 12.9-cM interval on soybean chromosome 16. The fine mapping was initiated by identifying recombination events in F2 and F3 plants using simple sequence repeat (SSR) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers that flank the gene. Seventeen recombinant plants were identified and then tested with additional genetic markers saturating the gene region to localize the positions of each recombination. The progeny of these selected plants were tested for resistance to ASR and with SSR markers resulting in the mapping of Rpp2 to a 188.1 kb interval on the Williams 82 reference genome (Glyma.Wm82.a2). Twelve genes including ten toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR)-nucleotide-binding site (NBS)-leucine-rich repeat (LRR) genes were predicted to exist in this interval on the Glyma.Wm82.a2.v1 gene model map. Eight of these ten genes were homologous to the Arabidopsis TIR-NBS-LRR gene AT5G17680.1. The identified SSR and SNP markers close to Rpp2 and the candidate gene information presented in this study will be significant resources for MAS and gene cloning research.

Development of a compact cylindrical reaction cavity for a microwave dielectric heating system.

This paper describes a compact reaction cavity for a microwave-assisted synthesis system. The microwave dielectric heating is a key technology to improve synthesizing yield, however, the large size of the microwave generation and reaction parts in an all-in-one system is a major obstacle when applying the technique to various systems, of which the installation space is limited. For this particular problem, a compact stand-alone cylindrical reaction cavity was developed in the current study. A microwave excited from a monopole probe, which is inserted into the side of the cavity, is transferred to a reaction mixture through the upper hole of the cavity. The cavity is miniaturized by filling it with an alumina ceramic dielectric. Fine-tuning of the resonance frequency becomes available by controlling the length of the inserted screw between the probe and the upper hole. The physical properties of the cavity were simulated using high frequency structural simulator (HFSS) and the produced cavity was tested using an Agilent E8357A network analyzer. The test results show that the developed cavity is able to send enough energy to various solvents.

Cloning and deliberation: Korean consensus conference.

This article addresses the 2nd Korean consensus conference on cloning that was held by the Korean National commission for UNESCO in 1999. It notes that the citizens participated directly and handled the important social agenda through deliberative process. The consensus conference is another democratic form derived from preference aggregative democracy in the sense that it basically depends on public judgment of the citizens. Compared to other models (elitist or preference aggregative), it has some advantages: 1. It can solve the problem of political legitimacy. 2. It can check the partiality of expert groups in biotechnology and ethics. 3. It enables us to make informed, responsible decisions. 4. It results in education of citizens' preference. However, we need to expand the deliberative model. First, we need institutional efforts on behalf of future generations because cloning relates to them. Second, we should not include the value of life which cannot be expressed in the form of argument or discourse.