We report the sequencing at 131× coverage, de novo assembly and analyses of the genome of a female Tibetan wild boar. We also resequenced the whole genomes of 30 Tibetan wild boars from six major distributed locations and 18 geographically related pigs in China. We characterized genetic diversity, population structure and patterns of evolution. We searched for genomic regions under selection, which includes genes that are involved in hypoxia, olfaction, energy metabolism and drug response. Comparing the genome of Tibetan wild boar with those of neighboring Chinese domestic pigs further showed the impact of thousands of years of artificial selection and different signatures of selection in wild boar and domestic pig. We also report genetic adaptations in Tibetan wild boar that are associated with high altitudes and characterize the genetic basis of increased salivation in domestic pig.

High-density arrays of perfectly aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) consisting almost exclusively of semiconducting nanotubes were grown on ST-cut single crystal quartz substrates. Raman spectroscopy together with electrical measurements of field effect transistors (FETs) fabricated from the as-grown samples showed that over 95% of the nanotubes in the arrays are semiconducting. The mechanism of selective growth was explored. It is proposed that introducing methanol in the growth process, combined with the interaction between the SWNTs and the quartz lattice, leads to the selective growth of aligned semiconducting nanotubes. Such a high density of horizontally aligned semiconducting SWNTs can be readily used in high current nanoFETs and sensors. This method demonstrates great promise to solve one of the most difficult problems which limits application of carbon nanotubes in nanoelectronicsthe coexistence of metallic and semiconducting nanotubes in samples produced by most, if not all, growth methods.

Haploinsufficiency for GATA2 causes human immunodeficiency syndromes characterized by mycobacterial infection, myelodysplasia, lymphedema, or aplastic anemia that progress to myeloid leukemia. GATA2 encodes a master regulator of hematopoiesis that is also linked to endothelial biology. Though the disease-causing mutations commonly occur in the GATA-2 DNA binding domain, we identified a patient with mycobacterial infection and myelodysplasia who had an uncharacterized heterozygous deletion in a GATA2 cis-element consisting of an E-box and a GATA motif. Targeted deletion of the equivalent murine element to yield homozygous mutant mice revealed embryonic lethality later than occurred with global Gata2 knockout, hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell depletion, and impaired vascular integrity. Heterozygous mutant mice were viable, but embryos exhibited deficits in definitive, but not primitive, hematopoietic stem/progenitor activity and reduced expression of Gata2 and its target genes. Mechanistic analysis revealed disruption of the endothelial cell transcriptome and loss of vascular integrity. Thus, the composite element disrupted in a human immunodeficiency is essential for establishment of the murine hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell compartment in the fetal liver and for essential vascular processes.