Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

About: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is a facility organization based out in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Soil water. The organization has 10921 authors who have published 21332 publications receiving 748193 citations. The organization is also known as: Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Segmental Structure of the Brassica napus Genome Based on Comparative Analysis With Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract: Over 1000 genetically linked RFLP loci in Brassica napus were mapped to homologous positions in the Arabidopsis genome on the basis of sequence similarity. Blocks of genetically linked loci in B. napus frequently corresponded to physically linked markers in Arabidopsis. This comparative analysis allowed the identification of a minimum of 21 conserved genomic units within the Arabidopsis genome, which can be duplicated and rearranged to generate the present-day B. napus genome. The conserved regions extended over lengths as great as 50 cM in the B. napus genetic map, equivalent to ∼9 Mb of contiguous sequence in the Arabidopsis genome. There was also evidence for conservation of chromosome landmarks, particularly centromeric regions, between the two species. The observed segmental structure of the Brassica genome strongly suggests that the extant Brassica diploid species evolved from a hexaploid ancestor. The comparative map assists in exploiting the Arabidopsis genomic sequence for marker and candidate gene identification within the larger, intractable genomes of the Brassica polyploids.

Current knowledge and perspectives of Paenibacillus : a review

Abstract: Isolated from a wide range of sources, the genus Paenibacillus comprises bacterial species relevant to humans, animals, plants, and the environment. Many Paenibacillus species can promote crop growth directly via biological nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, production of the phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and release of siderophores that enable iron acquisition. They can also offer protection against insect herbivores and phytopathogens, including bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and viruses. This is accomplished by the production of a variety of antimicrobials and insecticides, and by triggering a hypersensitive defensive response of the plant, known as induced systemic resistance (ISR). Paenibacillus-derived antimicrobials also have applications in medicine, including polymyxins and fusaricidins, which are nonribosomal lipopeptides first isolated from strains of Paenibacillus polymyxa. Other useful molecules include exo-polysaccharides (EPS) and enzymes such as amylases, cellulases, hemicellulases, lipases, pectinases, oxygenases, dehydrogenases, lignin-modifying enzymes, and mutanases, which may have applications for detergents, food and feed, textiles, paper, biofuel, and healthcare. On the negative side, Paenibacillus larvae is the causative agent of American Foulbrood, a lethal disease of honeybees, while a variety of species are opportunistic infectors of humans, and others cause spoilage of pasteurized dairy products. This broad review summarizes the major positive and negative impacts of Paenibacillus: its realised and prospective contributions to agriculture, medicine, process manufacturing, and bioremediation, as well as its impacts due to pathogenicity and food spoilage. This review also includes detailed information in Additional files 1, 2, 3 for major known Paenibacillus species with their locations of isolation, genome sequencing projects, patents, and industrially significant compounds and enzymes. Paenibacillus will, over time, play increasingly important roles in sustainable agriculture and industrial biotechnology.