Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

About: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences is a education organization based out in Uppsala, Sweden. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Soil water. The organization has 13510 authors who have published 35241 publications receiving 1414458 citations. The organization is also known as: Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet & SLU.

Contrasting mode of evolution at a coat color locus in wild and domestic pigs.

Abstract: Despite having only begun ∼10,000 years ago, the process of domestication has resulted in a degree of phenotypic variation within individual species normally associated with much deeper evolutionary time scales. Though many variable traits found in domestic animals are the result of relatively recent human-mediated selection, uncertainty remains as to whether the modern ubiquity of long-standing variable traits such as coat color results from selection or drift, and whether the underlying alleles were present in the wild ancestor or appeared after domestication began. Here, through an investigation of sequence diversity at the porcine melanocortin receptor 1 (MC1R) locus, we provide evidence that wild and domestic pig (Sus scrofa) haplotypes from China and Europe are the result of strikingly different selection pressures, and that coat color variation is the result of intentional selection for alleles that appeared after the advent of domestication. Asian and European wild boar (evolutionarily distinct subspecies) differed only by synonymous substitutions, demonstrating that camouflage coat color is maintained by purifying selection. In domestic pigs, however, each of nine unique mutations altered the amino acid sequence thus generating coat color diversity. Most domestic MC1R alleles differed by more than one mutation from the wild-type, implying a long history of strong positive selection for coat color variants, during which time humans have cherry-picked rare mutations that would be quickly eliminated in wild contexts. This pattern demonstrates that coat color phenotypes result from direct human selection and not via a simple relaxation of natural selective pressures.

Effects of asparagine, fructose, and baking conditions on acrylamide content in yeast-leavened wheat bread.

Abstract: A repeatable procedure for studying the effects of internal and external factors on acrylamide content in yeast-leavened wheat bread has been developed. The dough contained wheat endosperm flour with a low content of precursors for acrylamide formation (asparagine and reducing sugars), dry yeast, salt, and water. The effects of asparagine and fructose, added to the dough, were studied in an experiment with a full factorial design. More than 99% of the acrylamide was found in the crust. Added asparagine dramatically increased the content of acrylamide in crusts dry matter (from about 80 μg/kg to between 600 and 6000 μg/kg) while added fructose did not influence the content. The effects of temperature and time of baking were studied in another experiment using a circumscribed central composite design. Mainly temperature (above 200 °C) but also time increased the acrylamide content in crust dry matter (from below 10 to 1900 μg/kg), and a significant interaction was found between these two factors. When baked...

Knowledge gaps in soil carbon and nitrogen interactions – From molecular to global scale

Abstract: The objective of this review was to identify, address and rank knowledge gaps in our understanding of five major soil C and N interactions across a range of scales – from molecular to global. The studied five soil C and N interactions are: i) N controls on the soil emissions of greenhouse gases, ii) plant utilisation of organic N, iii) impact of rhizosphere priming on C and N cycling, iv) impact of black N on the stabilisation of soil organic matter (SOM) and v) representation of fractions of SOM in simulation models. We ranked the identified knowledge gaps according to the importance we attached to them for functional descriptions of soil–climate interactions at the global scale, for instance in general circulation models (GCMs). Both the direct and indirect influences on soil–climate interactions were included. We found that the level of understanding declined as the scale increased from molecular to global for four of the five topics. By contrast, the knowledge level for SOM simulation models appeared to be highest when considered at the ecosystem scale. The largest discrepancy between knowledge level and importance was found at the global modelling scale. We concluded that a reliable quantification of greenhouse gas emissions at the ecosystem scale is of utmost importance for improving soil–climate representation in GCMs. We see as key questions the identification of the role of different N species for the temperature sensitivity of SOM decomposition rates and its consequences for plant available N.

The HEALTHGRAIN Cereal Diversity Screen: concept, results, and prospects.

Abstract: One hundred and fifty bread wheat lines and 50 other lines of small-grain cereals (spelt, durum wheat, Triticum monococcum, Triticum dicoccum, oats, rye, and barley) were selected for diversity in their geographical origin, age, and characteristics. They were grown on a single site in Hungary in 2004−2005, harvested, milled, and analyzed for a range of phytochemicals (tocols, sterols, phenolic acids, folates, alkylresorcinols) and fiber components that are considered to have health benefits. Detailed analyses of these components in the different species are reported in a series of accompanying papers. The present paper discusses the comparative levels of the bioactive components in the different species, showing differences in both ranges and mean amounts. Furthermore, detailed comparisons of the bread wheat lines show that it is possible to identify lines in which high levels of phytochemicals and dietary fiber components are combined with good yield and processing quality. This means that commercially c...