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Biomedical subjects

C G Williams

Publications and source records attributed to C G Williams.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Microsatellite analysis of Pinus taeda L. in Zimbabwe.

Deducing the origin of early 20th century introductions of Pinus taeda into Zimbabwe is possible given microsatellite markers and clear population differentiation in ancestral U.S. populations. This study was designed to determine whether P. taeda introductions into Zimbabwe came from one U.S. region or whether the present-day population is an admixture of introductions from east and west of the Mississippi River Valley. Principal components analysis, Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards' chord distances and presence of diagnostic alleles each indicate that the Zimbabwe population is an admixture. There were five novel alleles in the Zimbabwe population not represented in the indigenous U.S. populations, possibly because of de novo mutation, introgression with other introduced North American pines or sampling error.

Alleles↗

Punctate midline myelotomy for the relief of visceral cancer pain.

OBJECT: This study offers clinical support for the concept that neurosurgical interruption of a midline posterior column pathway by performing a punctate midline myelotomy (PMM) provides significant pain relief without causing adverse neurological sequelae in cancer patients with visceral pain refractory to other therapies. METHODS: A PMM of the posterior columns was performed in six cancer patients in whom visceral pain had been refractory to other therapies. The cause of the visceral pain was related to residual, progressive, or recurrent local cancer or postirradiation effects. Clinical efficacy of the procedure was examined by comparing patient pain ratings and narcotic usage pre- and post-PMM. Follow-up periods ranged from 3 to 31 months. Examination of the results indicates a significant reduction in pain ratings as well as a significant reduction in daily narcotic use. No adverse neurological effects were observed. One spinal cord has been recovered for postmortem examination. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide corroborating clinical evidence for the existence of a newly recognized midline posterior column pathway that mediates the perception of visceral pelvic and abdominal pain. Preliminary data indicate that significant pain relief can be obtained following PMM with minimal neurological morbidity and suggest that the procedure may provide an alternative treatment modality for cancer-related pain in patients in whom adequate pain control with narcotics cannot be achieved or narcotic side effects cannot be tolerated.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗

Low-copy microsatellite markers for Pinus taeda L.

Eighteen low-copy and genomic microsatellite markers were tested for Mendelian inheritance and then assayed in 41 Pinus taeda L. samples drawn from five regions in the southern United States. The PCR products had multiple alleles, high levels of polymorphism, and little non-specific priming. Fifteen of the 18 markers were informative for a P. taeda three-generation RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) pedigree, and a P. taeda population survey revealed three to 28 alleles per locus. The highest allele numbers and polymorphic information content (PIC) values were associated with complex repeat sequences and (or) with sequences consisting of the longer strings of perfect repeats. The abundance of low- to rare-frequency alleles also accounted for high PIC values in both types of markers. Low-copy microsatellites are useful for the large, complex pine genome, especially in the absence of entire gene sequences in public databases and with the low levels of polymorphism in markers developed from expressed sequence tags (ESTs).

Alleles↗

A candidate recombination modifier gene for Zea mays L.

Maize meiotic mutant desynaptic (dy) was tested as a candidate recombination modifier gene because its effect is manifested in prophase I. Recombination rates for desynaptic (dy) and its wild type were compared in two ways: (1) segregation analysis using six linked molecular markers on chromosome 1L and (2) cytogenetic analysis using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-aided meiotic configurations observed in metaphase I. Chromosome 1L map lengths among the six linked markers were 45-63 cM for five F2 dy/dy plants, significantly lower than the wild-type F2 map distance of 72 cM. Chromosomes 2 and 6 were marked with rDNA FISH probes, and their map lengths were estimated from FISH-adorned meiotic configurations using the expectation-maximization algorithm. Chiasma frequencies for dy/dy plants were significantly reduced for both arms of chromosome 2, for chromosome arm 6L, and for eight unidentified chromosomes. There was a notable exception for the nucleolus-organizing region-bearing arm chromosome arm 6S, where dy increased chiasma frequency. Maize meiotic mutant desynaptic is a recombination modifier gene based on cytogenetic and segregation analyses.

Chromosome Mapping↗

Comparative recombination distances among Zea mays L. inbreds, wide crosses and interspecific hybrids.

Recombination distances and linkage heterogeneity were compared among a wide range of maize inbreds, wide crosses and maize x teosinte hybrids. Twelve maize and four teosinte races were backcrossed to stocks fixed for rare marker alleles on chromosome arm 1L. Recombination fraction estimates were higher for exotic germplasm than for either U.S. maize or maize x teosinte crosses. Serrano, Tuxpeño and a US-adapted inbred line of tropical origin, NC300, exhibited enhanced recombination. Three of the four maize x teosinte hybrids had little or no recombination between two loci. The observed recombination "shrinkage" resulted from an apparent inversion in the vicinity of the Amp1 locus. Average recombination distances among common marker loci for composite maps were highly variable, even when map construction was restricted to maize germplasm of similar origins.

Cloning, Molecular↗

'Trial phial'.

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Crowns↗

Reactions to cold.

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Acclimatization↗