pathh1

[pathh1]

Biodiversity and Agriculture: Education and Nature at Dinghu National Reserve

My lecture on Biodiversity, Conservation and Agriculture to a large public audience at Dinghu, 1st national nature reserve in China. Discussin success of agriculture feeding people but at cost of sustainability: we can solve now population is static

My job has three parts: 1) Research in biodiversity and agricultural genetics; 2) Critical evaluation of other research through journals and reviews; and, perhaps most imprtantly, 3) Telling people about the value, interest and importance of the natural and agricultural environment. I was delighted to visit Dinghu, the first Chinese National Nature Reserve, founded in 1956, and part of the South…

[pathh1]

Messages for COP29 : UN Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC-COP29

The annual conference for the UN treaty took place in the middle two weeks of November. The first week largely involves formal work and statement by Government ministers and Presidents, while the second week gave many opportunities for contribution to panels and documents. COP29 of UNFCCC is arguably the highest profile event with impact on global future anywhere in the world in 2024. The…

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Food from Grass: Genetics and Digital Twins to optimize ruminant agricultural sustainability

We aim to use genetics and digital models to improve the sustainability of agricultural production. This Poster/Banner was made for the UK Dairy Day in Shropshire @UKDairyDay, which showcases the best breeding, husbandry, and technology for British dairy farming. The digestive system of a cow. Cows do not directly use grass for growth: the microbes in their rumen produce enzymes that break down…

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Launching a new journal: Biological Diversity

I’m happy to announce the launch of a new, not-for-profit, journal, Biological Diversity. It is published on behalf of South China Botanical Garden by the respected academic publisher, Wiley, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/29944139 Biological Diversity is a new, open access journal specializing in research that explores biodiversity conservation and the sustainable use of resources. It…

[pathh1]

Avena longiglumis: a 3,961 Mb diploid oat genome sequence assembly

 Liu Q, Xiong G, Wang Z, Wu Y, Tu T, Schwarzacher T, Heslop-Harrison JS. 2024. Chromosome-level genome assembly of the diploid oat species Avena longiglumis. Scientific Data 11: 412. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03248-6 Abstract: ALO-Genome Two years since we released the sequence assembly, annotation and preprint of the Avena longiglumis (an A genome, diploid, 2n=2x=14, wild oat species),…

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group members

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Towards a banana pangenome: a new chromosome assembly in Musaceae

Our fascinating research on the diversity of genomes within the banana family in The genome assembly of Musa beccarii & evolution of banana family genomes: extensive chromosomal rearrangements & genome expansion by Zheng-Feng Wang, Mathieu Rouard @m_rouard, Gaetan Droc @GaetanDroc, Pat (J S) Heslop-Harrison @Pathh1, Xue-Jun Ge. GigaScience, Volume 12, 2023, giad005,…

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Adaptive benefits of deleterious mutations in crops

A review and viewpoint research paper by Sangam L. Dwivedi, Pat Heslop-Harrison, Charles Spillane, Peter C. McKeown, David Edwards, Irwin Goldman and Rodomiro OrtizTrends in Plant Science, on-line first https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2023.01.006 and 2023 Deleterious mutations are genetic changes that negatively impact the function and fitness of an organism. Our new review paper highlights…

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Chromosomal landscapes of Endogenous Retroviruses (ERVs) integrated in the sheep nuclear genome

Finding Endogenous Retrovirus (ERV) sequences in Iraqi sheep: abundant copies are located at centromeric regions of most chromosomes

Sarbast Ihsan Mustafa, Trude Schwarzacher and John S. Heslop-Harrison The Nature and Chromosomal Landscape of Endogenous Retroviruses (ERVs) Integrated in the Sheep Nuclear Genome. DNA 2022, 2(1), 86-103; Free full text: https://doi.org/10.3390/dna2010007 Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) represent genomic components of retroviral origin that are found integrated in the genomes of various species…

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Conservation, divergence and functions of centromeric satellite DNA families in the Bovidae

Conservation, divergence and functions of centromeric satellite DNA families in the Bovidae

350. Escudeiro A, Adega F, Robinson TJ, Heslop-Harrison JS, Chaves R. 2019. Conservation, divergence and functions of centromeric satellite DNA families in the Bovidae. Genome Biology and Evolution (in press March 2019) https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evz061

Repetitive satellite DNA (satDNA) sequences are abundant in eukaryote genomes, with a structural and functional role in centromeric function. We…

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(via Building a Linux computer for imaging and informatics)