PGA

Pisum Genetics

Volume 26

1994

Preface

pages i-iii

PGA "Pisum Genetics"	The Pisum Genetics Association (PGA) is a non-profit, unincorporated organization established to foster genetic study of the pea, to facilitate the exchange of information and to ensure preservation of valuable genetic stocks. Pisum Genetics (formerly The Pisum Newsletter = PNL) is the principal means of meeting these aims. Published annually in one issue, Pisum Genetics contains reports of research findings and other information relating to genetic variation in Pisum. The PGA currently has 160 members from 28 countries.
Membership Payment of dues	Membership of the PGA is open to all interested persons and organizations. Dues are $15 U.S. or $20 Australian per annum. Cheques for an equivalent sum are acceptable in any other major currency e.g. Danish kronar, English pounds, French francs or Japanese yen. Please do not send Money Orders. Dues are used to help defray the costs of publishing and mailing Pisum Genetics. Members are encouraged to pay dues for two or more years to simplify bookkeeping and to reduce losses through bank charges which are Aust $2.50 per cheque regardless of the size of the cheque. Please make cheques payable to Pisum Genetics Association and send to Prof I.C. Murfet, Dept. of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia. Pisum Genetics will be sent on receipt of dues.
Editor Manuscripts	The Editor, Prof I.C. Murfet, may be contacted at the above address by phone 61 02 202605, fax 61 02 202698 or email Ian.Murfet@plant.utas.edu.au. Please submit manuscripts double-spaced. Figures should be ready to print and of good quality. Tables should be set out in accord with established format. References should be listed in alphabetical then chronological order and full details supplied for papers in monographs, e.g., give details of editors, publisher and city, page numbers and list all authors; Smith et al. is not sufficient. Research reports should be organised concisely in the format of a short introduction outlining the background to and aim of the study, a materials and methods section with essential details and references to techniques, a results section and a discussion section interpreting the results and integrating findings with those of other workers. Section headings are not obligatory. Conclusions should be justified, where applicable, by appropriate statistical analysis. Length should generally be kept within the range of 1-4 journal pages but longer papers will be considered on their merits. Research reports and reviews are subjected to peer review and revision if necessary. Research reports should contain original work not currently submitted to any other journal. Review articles are obtained by invitation. However, the Editor would welcome enquiries or suggestions regarding possible review topics. Papers will not be rejected because the English is not fluent However, the intended meaning must be clear, the scientific content sound and appropriate, the conclusions justified and the organisation logical. Abstracts may be submitted of work to be published elsewhere or conference papers. Issues of interest to members may be discussed in the forum section or raised as letters to the Editor.
Gene Symbols Pea Genetic Stocks Centre USA collection Marx lines	Mr Mike Ambrose (John Innes Institute, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; phone 441603 452571, telex 975122, fax 44 1603 456844 continues as Coordinator of Gene Symbols. If you are proposing a new gene symbol please check with Mike that the symbol is free and appropriate. In most cases not more than three letters are necessary to symbolise a locus. Again if you are proposing a new gene please make a reasonable effort to check for allelism with established genes of similar type. (Reports where allelism tests have not been done risk rejection). This saves the literature being cluttered with confusing synonyms. PGA rules for genetic symbols are given in Pisum Newsletter 9 Supplement: 61-64 (1977). In due course, please send type lines for new genes to Dr Stig Blixt (Nordic Gene Bank, S23053 Alnarp, Sweden) or Mike Ambrose, and reprints to Mike. The John Innes Institute has now taken on additional responsibility in regard to the maintenance and supply of pea type and representative lines. Members are reminded that the USA national Pisum collection and the G.A. Marx Pisum Genetics Stocks Collection have been transferred from Geneva, N.Y. to Pullman W.A. and enquiries concerning this material should be addressed to Dr R .M. Hannan, USDA-ARS, Western Regional Plant Introduction Station, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164.
Pisum gene database	Work has continued on updating the Pisum gene database, particularly through the efforts of the working party of Mike Ambrose, Niall Green and Peter Winfield. Updating the Pisum gene database is seen as a first step toward bringing the proposed Pisum Gene Handbook to fruition. The cooperation of those who provided information for the data base during the past year is most appreciated.
Linkage map Mapping guidelines	The Linkage Map Co-ordinator, Dr Norman F. Weeden (Dept. of Hort. Sci., Cornell Univ./NYSAES, Geneva, NY 14456, USA; phone 1 315 787 2245, fax 1 315 787 2320, email norman_weeden@qmrelay.cornell.edu), would be pleased to receive a copy of new linkage results as they become available. The most recent map update provided by the Linkage Committee appears on the cover of Volume 25 and an RFLP map by Ellis et al appears inVolume 25:5. While some areas of the map are beginning to stabilise, there are still some inconsistencies and doubts. Adherence to the proposed Mapping Guidelines (Volume 25:13-14) should improve the rigour of future work.
Death	We report with regret the death in April 1993 of one of our long-term members Dr Rinsaburo Nakayama of Sapporo, Japan.
Thanks	Thanks to all those members (and non-members) who assisted with refereeing and in other ways helped the work of the PGA and, in particular, our Symbols and Map Coordinators. My special thanks to Norm Weeden our Associate Editor for his help throughout the year. Beverley Thomson, our typist for the last five volumes, is now enjoying her retirement. My sincerest thanks to our new typist, Gaye Johnson, for her loyalty, dedication, patience and professionalism in bringing Volume 26 to fruition. Sue Dwyer (Plant Genetic Resources Unit, Geneva, NY) will retire in 1995 and her role in sending out back issues of Volumes 1-21 (Volumes 6 and 11 are now out of print) will be taken over by Norm Weeden. Thanks Sue for your cheerful, prompt and efficient handling of this service. Lastly, thanks to the crew in the Printing Section for their significant contribution to the publication of Volume 26.
Financial Report	Financial Report for the period October 1 1993 to October 27 1994. This period includes the production and mailing of Pisum Genetics Vol. 25. All sums are in Australian dollars. Our balance of funds increased by $1080.68. This increase includes a generous $879.85 donation from the National Pea Improvement Association and a one-off $101.28 advertising contribution from CAB International. In addition, a significant number of members have paid subscriptions well in advance. Lastly, we managed to keep Volume 25 just under the 250 g threshold where the mailing charge doubles. All things considered, our existing subscription rate was in fact not funding our average costs and, after several years without an increase, the annual subscription rate has been increased to US$15 (Aust $20).

Balance brought forward	4149.15
Income
Subscriptions	1696.89
Donation (from NPIA)	879.85
Advertising revenue	101.28
Bank interest	64.60
Total income	2742.62
Expenditure
Printing	1250.00
Postage	368.48
Stationery	41.48
Govt duties	1.98
Total expenditure	1661.94
Balance as at October 27 1994
Commonwealth Bank	4669.53
Univ. of Tas. A72 KPA 070-36	545.60
Cash on hand	14.70
Total	5229.83

I.C. Murfet for the Coordinating Committee:
S. Blixt	F. Muehlbauer	W.K. Swiecicki
E. Gritton	I. Murfet	N. Weeden
C. Hedley	J. Reid
L. Monti	B. Sharma