Visualization of calcium influx through channels that shape the burst and tonic firing modes of thalamic relay cells

Thalamic neurons have two firing modes: "tonic" and "burst." During burst mode, both low-threshold (LT) and high-threshold (HT) calcium channels are activated, while in tonic mode, only the HT-type of calcium channel is activated. The calcium signals associated with each firing mode were investigated in rat thalamic slices using whole cell patch clamping and confocal calcium imaging. Action potentials were induced by direct current injection into thalamic relay cells loaded with a fluorescent calcium indicator. In both tonic and burst firing modes, large calcium signals were recorded throughout the soma and proximal dendrites. To map the distribution of the channels mediating these calcium fluxes, LT and HT currents were independently activated using specific voltage-clamp protocols. We focused on the proximal region of the cell (up to 50 microm from the soma) because it appeared to be well clamped. For a voltage pulse of a given size, the largest calcium signals were observed in the proximal dendrites with smaller signals occurring in the soma and nucleus. This was true for both LT and HT signals. Rapid imaging, using one-dimensional linescans, was used to more precisely localize the calcium influx. For both LT and HT channels, calcium influx occurred simultaneously throughout all imaged regions including the soma and proximal dendrites. The presence of sizable calcium signals in the dendrites, soma, and nucleus during both firing modes, and the presence of LT calcium channels in the proximal dendrite where sensory afferents synapse, have implications for both the electrical functioning of relay cells and the transmission of sensory information to cortex.

Photostimulation with caged neurotransmitters using fiber optic lightguides

'Caged' neurotransmitters are molecules that are transformed to a neuroactive state by exposure to light of an appropriate wavelength and intensity. Use of these substances has centered on in vitro bath application and subsequent activation using light from lasers or flashlamps that is delivered into the preparation through microscope optics. We have tested a new and simpler method, using finely tapered fiberoptic lightguides, that promises to expand the use of caged compounds for in vitro and in vivo experimentation. We demonstrated the feasibility and flexibility of this method for caged neurotransmitter delivery using a range of ex vitro, in vitro and in vivo approaches. The degree and timing of uncaging could be controlled by manipulating the wavelength, intensity and timing of the light projected into the optical fiber. Because of the small size of the light guide and the ability to control light exposure at the source, this new method promises greater control over the spatial and temporal delivery of neuroactive substances than simple bath or iontophoretic application, and enables delivery of conventional neurotransmitters with a spatial and temporal resolution closer to that of the natural neuronal circuitry. In addition, this new method allows the application of normally labile substances, such as the free radical gas nitric oxide, by the photoconversion of photosensitive precursors.

Imaging the functional organization of zebrafish hindbrain segments during escape behaviors

Although vertebrate hindbrains are segmented structures, the functional significance of the segmentation is unknown. In zebrafish, the hindbrain segments contain serially repeated classes of individually identifiable neurons. We took advantage of the transparency of larval zebrafish and used confocal calcium imaging in the intact fish to study the activity of one set of individually identified, serially homologous reticulospinal cells (the Mauthner cell, MID2cm, and MID3cm) during behavior. Behavioral studies predicted that differential activity in this set of serially homologous neurons might serve to control the directionality of the escape behavior that fish use to avoid predators. We found that the serially homologous cells are indeed activated during escapes and that the combination of cells activated depends upon the location of the sensory stimulus used to elicit the escape. The patterns of activation we observed were exactly those predicted by behavioral studies. The data suggest that duplication of ancestral hindbrain segments, and subsequent functional diversification, resulted in sets of related neurons whose activity patterns create behavioral variability.

Genetic analysis using trans-dominant linked markers in an F2 family

Trans-dominant linked markers pairs (trans referring to the repulsion linkage phase) provide a model for inferring the F2 progeny genotype based upon both the conditional probabilities of F2 genotypes, given the F2 phenotype, and prior information on marker arrangement. Prior information of marker arrangement can be readily obtained from a linkage analysis performed on marker segregation data in a family resulting by crossing the F1 individual to a "tester" parent or else can be obtained directly from the gametes of the F1, or from recombinant inbred lines. We showed that a trans-dominant linked marker (TDLM) pair can be recoded as a "co-dominant megalocus" when the recombination fraction, r1, for apair of TDLMs is less than 0.05. We obtained a maximum-likelihood estimator (MLE) of the recombination frequency, r2, between a TDLM pair and a co-dominant marker in an F2 family using the EM algorithm. The MLE was biased. Mean bias increased as r1 and r2 increased, and decreased as sample size increased. The information content for r2 was compared to the information content of dominant and co-dominant markers segregating in an F2 family. It was almost identical with two co-dominant markers when r1≤0.01 and r2≥0.05. For larger values of r1, (0.05≤r1≤0.15) a TDLM pair provided 75%-66% of the information content of two co-dominant markers. Although dominant markers can be converted to co-dominant markers by a laborious process of cloning, sequencing, and PCR, TDLM pairs could easily substitute for co-dominant markers in order to detect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and estimate gene action in an F2 family.

Genetic dissection of height in maritime pine seedlings raised under accelerated growth conditions

Random Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) were used to investigate quantitative trait loci (QTL) for traits related to height growth on 126 F2 seedlings of maritime pine (Pinuspinaster Ait). The haploid megagametophyte was used to determine the maternal genotype of each F2 individual. The seedlings were raised for 2 years in a greenhouse under accelerated growth conditions consisting of intense fertilization combined with continuous light treatments. Total height was measured at different developmental stages, and height growth components were measured after the second growth period. QTLs were identified for each trait. For total height, QTLs of different developmental stages were located on distinct linkage groups. However, rather than a complete temporal change in QTL expression, our results showed that maturation may induce a progressive shift of the genetic control of height growth. This may provide an explanation for a low juvenile-mature phenotypic correlation previously reported for height. Height growth components related to the initiation (controlled by the apical meristem) and elongation of shoot cycles (controlled by the subapical meristem) were mapped to different chromosomes, suggesting that the activity of these meristems is controlled by separate genetic mechanisms.

Detection of a major gene for resistance to fusiform rust disease in loblolly pine by genomic mapping

Genomic mapping has been used to identify a region of the host genome that determines resistance to fusiform rust disease in loblolly pine where no discrete, simply inherited resistance factors had been previously found by conventional genetic analysis over four decades. A resistance locus, behaving as a single dominant gene, was mapped by association with genetic markers, even though the disease phenotype deviated from the expected Mendelian ratio. The complexity of forest pathosystems and the limitations of genetic analysis, based solely on phenotype, had led to an assumption that effective long-term disease resistance in trees should be polygenic. However, our data show that effective long-term resistance can be obtained from a single qualitative resistance gene, despite the presence of virulence in the pathogen population. Therefore, disease resistance in this endemic coevolved forest pathosystem is not exclusively polygenic. Genomic mapping now provides a powerful tool for characterizing the genetic basis of host pathogen interactions in forest trees and other undomesticated, organisms, where conventional genetic analysis often is limited or not feasible.

Genetic analysis of cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase in loblolly pine: single gene inheritance, molecular characterization and evolution

The gene encoding the monolignol biosynthetic enzyme cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD, E.C. 1.1.1.195) can be expressed in response to different developmental and environmental cues. Control of Cad gene expression could involve either differential regulation of more than one Cad gene or, alternatively combinatorial regulation of a single Cad gene. In loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), we found several electrophoretic variants (allozymes) of CAD and a high level of heterozygosity (he = 0.46). Analysis of inheritance patterns of pine CAD allozymes gave segregation ratios that were consistent with Mendelian expectations for a single functional gene. The identity of the full-length Cad cDNA sequence was confirmed by alignment with peptide sequences obtained from purified active enzyme and by extensive similarity to Cad sequences from other species. Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA using the Cad cDNA as a hybridization probe gave simple patterns, consistent with our interpretation that pine Cad is a single-copy gene. Phylogenetic analysis and evolution rate estimates showed that Cad sequences are diverging less rapidly in the gymnosperms than in the angiosperms. The Cad mRNA was present in both lignifying tissues and a non lignifying tissue (the megagametophyte) of pine. The presence of a single gene suggests that different regulatory mechanisms for a single Cad gene, rather than differential regulation of several genes, can account for its expression in response to different cues.

Genomic analysis in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster). Comparison of two RAPD maps using selfed and open-pollinated seeds of the same individual

Two genomic maps were constructed for one individual tree of maritime pine, Pinus pinaster Ait., using a common set of 263 RAPD markers (random amplified polymorphic DNA). The RAPD markers were chosen from a larger number of polymorphic RAPD fragments on the basis of repeatability and inheritance in a three-generation pedigree. The maps were constructed from two independent mapping samples of 62 megagametophytes (In) from a self cross and from an open-pollinated cross. The markers were grouped (LOD≥4; θ≤0.25) and assigned to 13 major and 5 minor linkage groups. Two framework maps were constructed using the ordering criterion of interval support≥3. Comparison of the two framework maps suggested that the locus order was incorrect for 2% of the framework markers. A bootstrap analysis showed that this error rate was representative for our data set. The results showed that framework maps constructed using RAPD markers were repeatable and that differences in locus order for maps of different genotypes or species could result from chance. The total map distance was 1380 cM, and the map provided coverage of approximately 90% of the genome.

4-coumarate:coenzyme a ligase from loblolly pine xylem. Isolation, characterization, and complementary DNA cloning

4-Coumarate:CoA ligase (4CL, EC 6.2.1.12) was purified from differentiating xylem of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). The pine enzyme had an apparent molecular mass of 64 kD and was similar in size and kinetic properties to 4CL isolated from Norway spruce. The pine enzyme used 4-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and cinnamic acid as substrates but had no detectable activity using sinapic acid. 4CL was inhibited by naringenin and coniferin, products of phenylpropanoid metabolism. Although the lignin composition in compression wood is higher in p-hydroxyphenyl units than lignin from normal wood, there was no evidence for a different form of 4CL enzyme in differentiating xylem that was forming compression wood. cDNA clones for 4CL were obtained from a xylem expression library. The cDNA sequences matched pine xylem 4CL protein sequences and showed 60 to 66% DNA sequence identity with 4CL sequences from herbaceous angiosperms. There were two classes of cDNA obtained from pine xylem, and the genetic analysis showed that they were products of a single gene.

Visualization of active neural circuitry in the spinal cord of intact zebrafish

1. One of the major obstacles in studying vertebrate neural networks is the difficulty in simultaneously monitoring activity in a population of neurons. To take advantage of the transparency of larval zebrafish, we used confocal microscopy to look into the spinal cord of immobilized fish to monitor neural responses during an escape behavior. 2. Populations of identified neurons were labeled with a calcium indicator and neural activity was monitored on a millisecond time scale. The calcium dependent nature of the fluorescent signals was confirmed by monitoring the accumulation, diffusion, and removal of calcium that was introduced by electrical and sensory stimulation. 3. Zebrafish, like most swimming vertebrates, have two major classes of motoneurons: large primary motoneurons thought to be used primarily for rapid movements and smaller secondary motoneurons implicated in slower movements. Our optical approach allowed us to ask how these groups of primary and secondary motoneurons respond during the escape behavior--one of the fastest and most forceful motor behaviors produced by vertebrates. 4. We demonstrate a previously unknown synchrony in the response of populations of primary and secondary motoneurons. This synchrony can account for the massive activation of the axial musculature during powerful escapes. Detection of this synchrony depended on the rapid in vivo imaging of activity in this neuronal population. This optical approach will allow functional studies of neuronal populations in the brain and spinal cord of normal and mutant lines of zebrafish.

Calcium permeability of the neuronal nuclear envelope: evaluation using confocal volumes and intracellular perfusion

In many calcium-imaging studies, the nuclear envelope appears to maintain a gradient of free calcium between the nucleus and cytosol. This issue was examined by loading amphibian sympathetic neurons with the calcium indicator fluo 3 via whole-cell patch clamping. Confocal optical sectioning allowed acquisition of independent calibration curves for the nucleus and cytoplasm. Cells were loaded with free calcium levels ranging from 10 nM to 50 microM, using 10 mM BAPTA to control free calcium. The nuclear fluorescence was usually about 130% brighter than the cytoplasmic fluorescence. Had the increased nuclear fluorescence been due to a calcium gradient, then, as fluo 3 was saturated with calcium in both compartments, the fluorescence gradient should have gradually disappeared. Instead, with free-calcium in the pipette set at 50 microM, about five times the level required to nearly saturate fluo 3, the nuclear/cytoplasmic (N/C) fluorescence ratio was not decreased but instead increased slightly. Perfusion of the patch pipette was used in conjunction with imaging to confirm that cytoplasmic fluo 3 was saturated with calcium. After loading cells with 10 nM free calcium, the patch pipette was perfused with high calcium (10 microM). Again, the N/C fluorescence ratio increased at high calcium. The effectiveness of patch-pipette perfusion in changing cellular free calcium levels was indicated by the degree of fluorescence increase--both nuclear and cytosolic compartments showed a roughly 20-fold increase in fluorescence, that is, most of the dynamic range observed in test droplets. To confirm further that cytoplasmic fluo 3 was saturated, cells were perfused with manganese, which binds with very high affinity to fluo 3. Manganese rapidly entered the cytoplasm and nucleus, causing a large increase in fluorescence, but the N/C fluorescence ratio remained relatively constant. Because free manganese in the pipette was 50,000 times the amount required to saturate fluo 3, the greater nuclear fluorescence probably results from additional fluo 3 in the nucleus rather than from calcium or manganese gradients. To gauge further the permeability of the nuclear envelope, the diffusion of calcium was visualized. Under voltage clamp, calcium channels were opened for periods ranging from 5 to 200 msec. Peak calcium levels were observed within 2 microns of the plasma membrane, and declined as calcium diffused into the cell. The nuclear fluorescence increased more than cytosolic fluorescence, but this apparent "amplification" was eliminated by correcting for autofluorescence. Use of cells cultured on glass coverslips and a high-NA microscope objective allowed a satisfactory correction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Regulation of M current by intracellular calcium in bullfrog sympathetic ganglion neurons

Regulation of M current (lM) by intracellular free calcium was studied in dissociated bullfrog sympathetic ganglion B cells using whole-cell recording, intracellular perfusion, and confocal calcium imaging. BAPTA (20 mM) and appropriate amounts of calcium were added to pipette solutions to clamp calcium at different levels. A high concentration of BAPTA itself mildly inhibited lM. Intracellular perfusion effectively controlled cellular free calcium; this was confirmed by confocal imaging with the calcium indicator fluo-3. In a calcium-free environment (no calcium added to either side of the cell membrane), average lM was 166 pA. Raising intracellular free calcium to 60 nM or higher reversibly enhanced lM by more than 100%. The maximum M conductance doubled upon raising calcium from 0 to 120 nM, and was accompanied by a -11 mV shift of the half-activation voltage. The kinetics of the closing and reopening relaxations of lM were also altered by raising calcium. Enhancement of lM by calcium required ATP in the pipette. TEA (5 mM) and d-tubocurarine (d-TC; 100 microM) did not alter the calcium effect, indicating that it was the M current being modulated and not other K+ currents. High calcium (450 nM) reduced lM. The up- and downregulation of lM paralleled the increases and decreases of fluorescence intensity observed via calcium imaging. Changing extracellular calcium had no significant effect on lM or cellular fluorescence. The role of calcium in muscarinic and peptidergic modulation of lM was also explored. Muscarine (1 or 10 microM) inhibited lM less at zero calcium than at higher calcium. Nearly complete suppression occurred with 120 nM calcium in the presence of 20 mM BAPTA. lM overrecovered upon washout of muscarine at 120 nM calcium, while little overrecovery of lM developed at zero calcium. Similar effects were observed at zero and 120 nM calcium when using the peptide LHRH to inhibit lM. We conclude that the absolute level of free calcium determines the size of lM, and that a minimum sustained level of calcium is required both for optimal suppression of lM by muscarine and for overrecovery. While our data suggest that resting calcium levels play a permissive role in muscarinic suppression, an additional role for agonist-induced calcium increases cannot be ruled out.

Responses of the starburst amacrine cells to moving stimuli

1. Rabbit retinas were isolated from the eye and incubated in the presence of 3H-choline. Samples of retina taken from a defined midperipheral eccentricity were spread over the domed end of a fiberoptic bundle that formed the floor of a superfusion chamber. The rate of release of labeled acetylcholine by the starburst amacrine cells was studied. 2. When the retina was stimulated by moving gratings, the cells vigorously increased their secretion of acetylcholine. Responses were observed when the bars were as small as 60 microns in width. Systematically varying the spatial and temporal frequency of stimulation revealed that temporal frequency was the dominant variable: the cells responded best to stimuli of 1-4 Hz, whether those stimuli were flashing lights, fine gratings moving slowly, or coarse gratings moving rapidly. 3. With temporal frequency constant, the cells' responses decreased as the spatial frequency of the grating increased. The decreased response to fine gratings is most likely due, at least in part, to lateral interactions that become stronger as the light and dark bars become more closely spaced. These could occur in either the outer or inner retina. 4. The velocity tuning curve for the starburst cells' release of acetylcholine matched fairly well the velocity tuning of ON-OFF directionally selective cells in the rabbit. It did not correspond at all well with the tuning curve for the ON directionally selective cells. If the ON cells receive input from the starburst cells, that input appears to be quite indirect.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Wood contains a cell-wall structural protein

A pine extensin-like protein (PELP) has been localized in metabolically active cells of differentiating xylem and in mature wood of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). This proline-rich glycosylated protein was purified from cell walls of differentiating xylem by differential solubility and gel electrophoresis. Polyclonal rabbit antibodies were raised against the deglycosylated purified protein (dPELP) and purified antibody was used for immunolocalization. Immunogold and alkaline phosphatase secondary antibody staining both show antigen in secondary cell walls of earlywood and less staining in latewood. Immunoassays of milled dry wood were developed and used to show increased availability of antigen after hydrogen fluoride or cellulase treatment and decreased antigen after chlorite treatment. The specificity of the antigen-antibody reaction was confirmed by competition assays and by preadsorption of antibody to the purified protein. We propose that extensin-like protein is present in xylem cell walls during lignification and that the protein remains as a structural component of cell walls in wood for many years after xylogenesis. We suggest that such structural proteins play important roles in the differentiation of xylem and thereby could affect the properties of wood.

Co-release of acetylcholine and GABA by the starburst amacrine cells

Rabbit retinas were isolated from the eye and maintained in vitro. When they were incubated for 60 min in the presence of 3H-GABA, subsequent autoradiography showed radioactivity to be present primarily in amacrine cells. Under these conditions, most of the radioactivity contained in the retinas remained in the chemical form of GABA. Autoradiography and immunohistochemistry of alternate sections showed the amacrine cells that accumulate 3H-GABA to be the same cells that contain endogenous GABA immunoreactivity. These include the starburst cells, the indoleamine-accumulating cells, and other, as yet unidentified amacrine cells. The localization confirms previous immunohistochemical findings. When retinas containing 3H-GABA were expressed to elevated concentrations of K+, their content of 3H-GABA decreased. Autoradiography showed a reduced 3H-GABA content in all of the cells that contained 3H-GABA. Since those include the starburst cells, previously shown to be cholinergic, the finding demonstrates that the starburst cells release both ACh and GABA. Retinas simultaneously labeled with 14C-GABA and 3H-ACh were superfused, and the release of radioactive compounds from the retina was studied. Depolarization by elevated K+ caused an increased recovery of both ACh and GABA in the superfusate, but the predominant mechanisms of their release appeared to be different. The stimulated release of ACh was entirely Ca2+ dependent, while the release of radioactivity originating from GABA was much less so. A concentration-dependent counterflux (homoexchange) of intracellular GABA was demonstrated by raising the extracellular concentration of GABA (or nipecotic acid). These results suggest that a large outward flux of GABA occurs via the GABA transporter, probably by the potential-sensitive mechanism studied by Schwartz (1982, 1987). Stimulation of double-labeled retinas by flashing light or moving bars always increased the release of ACh, and the release was entirely dependent on the presence of extracellular Ca2+. Stimulation with light never caused a detectable release of GABA. This was unexpected, since the two neurotransmitters are present in the same amacrine cells: stimulation adequate to release one neurotransmitter should release both.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Co-release of acetylcholine and gamma-aminobutyric acid by a retinal neuron

Rabbit retinas were vitally stained with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), a fluorescent compound that selectively accumulates within the cholinergic amacrine cells. The retinas were then incubated in vitro in the presence of radioactive gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and autoradiographed. The cells that accumulated DAPI were found to accumulate GABA, confirming immunohistochemical evidence that the cholinergic amacrine cells contain GABA. Incubation of retinas in the presence of elevated concentrations of K+ caused them to release acetylcholine and GABA, and autoradiography showed depletion of radioactive GABA from the cholinergic amacrine cells. This indicates that the cholinergic amacrine cells can secrete acetylcholine and GABA. Retinas were double-labeled with [14C]GABA and [3H]acetylcholine, allowing simultaneous measurement of their release. The release of [14C]GABA was found to be independent of extracellular Ca2+. Radioactive GABA synthesized endogenously from [14C]glutamate behaved the same way as radioactive GABA accumulated from the medium. In the same experiments the simultaneously measured release of [3H]acetylcholine was strongly Ca2+-dependent, indicating that the releases of acetylcholine and GABA are controlled by different mechanisms. Synaptic vesicles immunologically isolated from double-labeled retinas contained much [3H]acetylcholine and little or no [14C]GABA. These results suggest that the cholinergic amacrine cells release acetylcholine primarily by vesicle exocytosis and release GABA primarily by means of a carrier.

Genetics of Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa Humb. & Bonpl.: Lecythidaceae) : 1. Genetic variation in natural populations

We provide an estimate of genetic variation within and between two populations of Bertholletia excelsa (Brazil nut), a large canopy tree found in the rain forests of South America. Average heterozygosity is 0.190, and 54.3% of the sampled loci are polymorphic. The population structure deviates significantly from Hardy-Weinberg expectations for Fest2 and Pgm2 (F =0.405 and 0.443, respectively) in one population, and highly significantly (F=-0.341) for Gdh in the other population. Although allele frequencies of the two populations differ significantly for Aat2, Est5, Mdh1, and Mdh2B, Nei's coefficient of gene differentiation (Gst) indicates that the between-population component (Dst) of genic diversity represents only 3.75% of the size of the within-population component (Hs). The implications of these findings in terms of conservation genetics are that much of the genetic diversity of this species may be preserved within one or a few populations. However, such populations must be very large because it appears that the large amount of genetic variation in Brazil nut populations is maintained by extensive gene flow and bonds of mating over a large area. The genetic architecture of Bertholletia excelsa is similar to that expected for an extensively diploidized paleopolyploid species.

Genetics of Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa Humb. & Bonpl.: Lecythidaceae) : 2. Mating system

Here we report the results of a mating system analysis of an Amazonian population of Bertholletia excelsa, a tropical rain forest canopy tree species. Using progeny data from 29 seed parents, two highly polymorphic isozymes were analyzed to derive single locus and multilocus estimates of outcrossing, based on a mixed mating model. The two single locus estimates were very similar, and both were somewhat smaller than the multilocus estimate, indicating the possibility that the populations are genetically structured. The multilocus outcrossing estimate (tm=0.85±0.03) reveals that outcrossing is prevalent, but that a significantly low level of inbreeding may be occurring. The high outcrossing rate indicates that even though dispersion of individuals is very low within populations of this tropical rain forest tree, pollen dispersal mechanisms appear to be adequate to enable crosses with a relatively large number of potential mates.

Linkage analysis for 18 enzyme loci in Pinus rigida Mill

Estimates of recombination frequency among enzyme loci of pitch pine revealed two new linkages, Mdh3:Pgm2 (θ=0.01) and Pep1:Mdh4 (θ=0.38), and confirmed two previously established linkages. Tighter linkage (θ=0.30) was ruled out for nearly all gene pairs examined. In general, the Bayesian approach used in this study to test for linkage performed better than alternative methods.

Estimation of recombination frequency in genetic linkage studies

A binomial-like model is developed that may be used in genetic linkage studies when data are generated by a testcross with parental phase unknown. Four methods of estimation for the recombination frequency are compared for data from a single group and also from several groups; these methods are maximum likelihood, two Bayesian procedures, and an ad hoc technique. The Bayes estimator using a noninformative prior usually has a lower mean squared error than the other estimators and because of this it is the recommended estimator. This estimator appears particularly useful for estimation of recombination frequencies indicative of weak linkage from samples of moderate size. Interval estimates corresponding to this estimator can be obtained numerically by discretizing the posterior distribution, thereby providing researchers with a range of plausible recombination values. Data from a linkage study on pitch pine are used as an example.

Inheritance of isozyme variation and heterozygosity in Pinus ponderosa

Techniques are presented to detect 23 isozyme loci in the long-lived perennial plant, ponderosa pine. Meiotically derived megagametophyte from seeds is used to examine directly the segregation of allelic variants. Approximately seven seeds were initially examined for 12 enzymes from each of 47 trees from ten stands throughout the northern Rocky Mountain region. Additional seeds were also examined from selected families to confirm the inheritance of observed electrophoretic variants at 13 polymorphic loci and to estimate linkage relationship. Significant norandom segregation was consistently detected for three pairs of loci: ADH-1:AAT-2, ADH-1:PGI-1, and LAP-2:6PG-1. Preliminary estimates of population parameters reveal a relatively high average heterozygosity (H = 0.123). This is partitioned into a high amont of genetic variation within local stands, with only approximately 12% of the total heterozygosity resulting from genic difference between stands.