Construction of a cucumber genetic linkage map with SRAP markers and location of the genes for lateral branch traits

Using SRAP(sequence-related amplified polymorphism)markers a genetic linkage map of cucumber was constructed with a population consisting of 138 F_(2) individuals derived from a cross of the two cucumber lines,S06 and S52.In the survey of parental polymorphisms with 182 primer combinations,64 polymorphism-revealing primer pairs were screened out,which generated totally 108 polymorphic bands with an average of 1.7 bands per primer pair and at most 6 bands from one primer pair.The constructed molecular linkage map included 92 loci,distributed in seven linkage groups and spanning 1164.2 cM in length with an average genetic distance of 12.6 cM between two neighboring loci.Based on this linkage map,the quantitative trait loci(QTL)for the lateral branch number(lbn)and the lateral branch average length(lbl)in cucumber were identified by QTLMapper1.6.A major QTL lbn1 located between ME11SA4B and ME5EM5 in LG2 could explain 10.63%of the total variation with its positively effecting allele from S06.A major QTL lbl1 located between DC1OD3 and DC1EM14 in LG2 could account for 10.38%of the total variation with its positively effecting allele from S_(06).

ACE Score Identifies HBeAg-negative Inactive Carriers at a Single-point Evaluation,Regardless of HBV Genotype

Background and Aims:Hepatitis B virus(HBV)biomark-ers have been used for a better categorization of patients,even though the lack of simple algorithms and the impact of genotypes limit their application.Our aim was to assess the usefulness of noninvasive markers for the identification of HBV inactive carriers(ICs)in a single-point evaluation and to design a predictive model for their identification.Meth-ods:This retrospective-prospective study included 343 consecutive HBeAg-negative individuals.Clinical,analytical,and virological data were collected,and a liver biopsy was performed if needed.Subjects were classified at the end of follow-up as ICs,chronic hepatitis B and gray zone.A pre-dictive model was constructed,and validated by 1000-boot-strap samples.Results:After 39 months of follow-up,298 subjects were ICs,36 were chronic hepatitis B CHB,and nine were gray zone.Eighty-nine(25.9%)individuals re-quired a liver biopsy.Baseline HBV DNA hazard ratio(HR)6.0,p<0.001),HBV core-related antigen(HBcrAg)(HR 6.5,p<0.001),and elastography(HR 4.6,p<0.001)were inde-pendently associated with the IC stage.The ACE score(HBV DNA,HBcrAg,elastography),obtained by bootstrapping,yielded an area under the receiver operating characteris-tics(AUROC)of 0.925(95%CI:0.880-0.970,p<0.001)for identification of ICs.The AUROC for genotype D was 0.95,0.96 for A,0.90 for E,and 0.88 for H/F.An ACE score of<1 had a positive predictive value of 99.5%,and a score≤12 points had a diagnostic accuracy of 93.8%.Conclusions:Low baseline HBV DNA,HBcrAg,and liver stiffness were in-dependently associated with the IC phase.A score including those variables identified ICs at a single-point evaluation,and might be applied to implement less intensive follow-up strategies.