Genetic diversity of diploid Japanese strawberry species based on microsatellite markers

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)—Agricultural Research Service (ARS)—National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) in Corvallis, Oregon, is a genebank that preserves strawberry genetic resources. Representatives of two Japanese diploid species, Fragaria iinumae Makino and F. nipponica Makino were collected for conservation by the NCGR during an expedition to Hokkaido, Japan. Fragaria iinumae may be a genome contributor to the cultivated octoploid strawberries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of these two species by using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Twenty of 82 Fragaria-derived SSRs, polymorphic among and within the two species, were selected for genetic analysis of 137 accessions. Genetic diversity, based on the proportion of shared alleles between the two species, in F. nipponica (0.4542) and F. iinumae (0.1808) was significantly different. Three wild interspecific hybrids were identified from intermediate memberships in the two diploid species groups revealed by using the clustering program, Structure. Principal coordinate analysis followed by non-parametric modal clustering (PCO-MC) grouped accessions into two clusters representing the two diploid species. Further clustering within the species groups generated with the program, STRUCTURAMA^TM, resulted in seven subclusters in F. iinumae and three in F. nipponica, which may represent breeding populations appropriate for clonal conservation. Long-term preservation of the species populations and the limited number of hybrids on the island is discussed relative to their geographical distribution and the geological history of Hokkaido Island.     

Genetic diversity of Musa diploid and triploid accessions from the Brazilian banana breeding program estimated by microsatellite markers

Banana (Musa spp.) is one of the most consumed fruits worldwide. Production is based mainly on triploid cultivars, and most genetic improvement programs aim to generate tetraploid hybrids obtained from the crossing of established triploid cultivars with a diploid parent genotype, improved or wild, exhibiting the trait of interest, normally resistance to biotic factors. Microsatellites were used to investigate the genetic variability and relationships between 58 Musa genotypes, including 49 diploids and nine triploid cultivars maintained at the Musa germplasm collection of the Brazilian dessert banana breeding program. Thirty-three primer pairs developed for banana were tested, and nine amplified reproducible and discrete fragments, producing a total of 115 alleles. The average number of alleles amplified per primer was 12.8, ranging from 10 to 15. The diploid genotypes presented the largest genetic variability, demonstrated by the large number of alleles detected, and the low similarity between the clones. The phenetic analysis clustered the triploid cultivars in a separated group, with the exception of the Nanica and Gros Michel cultivars, which showed high similarity with the diploid cultivar Mambee Thu. It was not possible to separate the wild diploid genotypes from the cultivated ones, indicating a common origin of these genotypes. A high proportion of duplicated alleles and/or loci was observed for diploid and triploid genotypes. The information gathered about the similarity between diploid and triploid accessions will help to define potential crosses to maximize the recovery of the typical fruit qualities required in Brazil (AAB, Pome and Silk dessert banana).     

麻疯树对镉胁迫的生理耐性及富集特征研究

研究了不同Cd浓度（0、10、25、50、100、200mg.kg-1）对麻疯树的生理指标和Cd积累特征的影响。结果表明,在土壤中的Cd≤50mg.kg-1时,麻疯树的生长未受到明显影响（P〉0.05）,当Cd≥100mg.kg-1时,其生长受到明显抑制（P〈0.05）;同时,麻疯树叶中叶绿素含量随土壤中Cd浓度的增加而下降,而其体内Cd含量则呈增加趋势,且表现根〉茎〉叶的富集特征;麻疯树叶中的SOD、POD活性随Cd浓度的增加呈先升高后降低趋势,而CAT活性仅在Cd为200mg.kg-1时显著增加,麻疯树叶中的MDA、脯氨酸、可溶性糖和可溶性蛋白、酸溶性巯基和谷胱甘肽含量随Cd浓度的增大呈增加趋势,这可在一定程度上缓解金属Cd对麻疯树的毒害。因此,麻疯树在重金属镉污染土壤修复方面具有一定的应用潜能。     

Genetic diversity in Ethiopian hexaploid and tetraploid wheat germplasm assessed by microsatellite markers

The genetic diversity of a subset of the Ethiopian genebank collection maintained at the IPK Gatersleben was investigated applying 22 wheat microsatellites (WMS). The material consisted of 135 accessions belonging to the species T. aestivum L. (69 accessions), T. aethiopicum Jacubz. (54 accessions) and T. durum Desf. (12 accessions), obtained from different collection missions. In total 286 alleles were detected, ranging from 4 to 26 per WMS. For the three species T. aestivum, T. aethiopicum and T. durum on average 9.9, 7.9 and 7.9 alleles per locus, respectively, were observed. The average PIC values per locus were highly comparable for the three species analysed. Considering the genomes it was shown that the largest numbers of alleles per locus occurred in the B genome (18.4 alleles per locus) compared to A (10.1 alleles per locus) and D (8.2 alleles per locus) genomes. Genetic dissimilarity values between accessions were used to produce a dendrogram. All accessions could be distinguished, clustering in two large groups. Whereas T. aestivum formed a separate cluster, no clear discrimination between the two tetraploid species T. durum and T. aethiopicum was observed.     

Genetic diversity of some accessions of Cucurbita maxima from Spain using RAPD and SBAP markers

Increasing the knowledge of the molecular diversity of a crop is essential for extending its genetic base, identifying cultivars and selecting parental varieties for breeding programs. In this sense, Cucurbita maxima Duch. is poorly characterised. Nineteen accessions of this species and 8 related Cucurbita accessions were included in a genetic diversity analysis. For this purpose, Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA markers (RAPDs), which analyse neutral variability, and Sequence-Based Amplified Polymorphism (SBAPs), which preferentially amplify coding regions of the genome, were used. While the UPGMA cluster and the principal coordinates analysis obtained using RAPDs did not group the different accessions according either to fruit morphological criteria or to passport data (origin and agro-climatic conditions), the principal coordinates analysis obtained using SBAPs grouped the different pumpkin accessions fundamentally according to the type of use (human consumption, animal fodder or ornamental). This passport trait is reported to be associated with agronomic breeding characters of interest. The usefulness of both types of markers for discriminating accessions of breeding interest is discussed.     

生物能源植物小桐子功能基因及基因组研究进展

为缓解能源需求与原油价格不断上涨以及有限的化石燃料储备之间的矛盾,人们得寻找更加生态、可持续再生的替代能源。利用能源植物生产生物柴油与生物酒精类燃料已成为发展的方向。其中,大戟科的小桐子以其强抗逆性、高含油量等特点而受到了广泛的关注。本文综述了能源植物小桐子油脂含量与质量、生物代谢以及抗逆性等方面的相关功能基因、细胞学染色体核型、核基因组以及叶绿体基因组的研究进展,以期为能源植物小桐子的遗传改良提供参考。     

不同年龄麻疯树林地土壤微生物多样性研究

为了探明麻疯树林地土壤微生物类群的生态分布情况,研究了1～10年1,1～20年,21～30年的不同年龄麻疯树林地土壤细菌、真菌及放线菌的数量和类群组成。结果表明:3种林地土壤微生物的数量和种类组成有明显差异,随着林龄的增加微生物数量和种类呈递减趋势;不同土层的微生物数量变化也有所不同,但3种林地都有一个共同特点,即26～30 cm范围内的微生物总数最少;细菌在不同年龄麻疯树林地的各个土层中均有分布,数量明显高于放线菌和真菌;在林地内共分离出土壤真菌20属,其中,假丝酵母属为3个不同年龄麻疯树林地土壤中的优势菌属。     

Genetic diversity and population structure analysis of Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) accessions collected from North-Western Ethiopia using SSR markers

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a legume crop known to be an excellent source of protein, tolerant to drought, waterlogging, and salinity. The crop is used...     

Cytoplasmic diversity of Brassica napus L., Brassica oleracea L. and Brassica rapa L. as determined by chloroplast microsatellite markers

Cytoplasmic genomes in most angiosperms are known to be maternally inherited. Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) as a natural amphidiploid species hence may carry the B. oleracea L. or the B. rapa L. cytoplasm, depending on the cross direction. The presence of either the B. oleracea or the B. rapa cytoplasm in oilseed rape has been reported to affect agronomically important traits. However, to date little is known about the cytoplasmic composition and genetic diversity of current winter oilseed rape cultivars and breeding material. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of 40 previously published chloroplast cpSSR markers from Brassica species and Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. for distinguishing the cytoplasms of 49 different genotypes of B. napus and its diploid ancestor species. Results showed that only 14 out of the 40 tested primer combinations were suitable to distinguish the cytoplasms of a test set of 8 Brassica genotypes. With the 14 primer pairs 64 different cpSSR alleles were identified in the set of 49 genotypes. Cluster analysis indicated distinct groups for the cytoplasms of B. napus, B. rapa, and B. oleracea. However, an unambiguous identification and classification of the cytoplasm types was not possible in all cases with the available polymorphic set of cpSSR primer pairs.     

Genetic diversity in Sorghum bicolor(L.) Moench accessions from different ecogeographical regions in Malawi assessed with RAPDs

Genetic variation within and among several Sorghum populations from different agroecological zones in Malawi were investigated using random amplified polymorphic markers (RAPDs). DNA samples from individual plants were analyzed using 35 oligonucleotides of random sequence. Twenty five of these primers allowed amplifications of random polymorphic (RAPD) loci. Overall, 52% of the scored loci were polymorphic. Every accession was genetically distinct. The analysis of molecular variance revealed that the within-region (among accessions) variations accounted for 96.43% of the total molecular variance. Observed variations in allelic frequency was not related to agroecological differences. The degree of band sharing was used to evaluate genetic distance between accessions and to construct a phylogenetic tree. Further analysis revealed that the sorghum accessions analyzed were genetically close despite considerable phenotypic diversity within and among them. It is suggested that all the sorghum landraces currently available in Malawi should be conserved both ex situ and in situ to maintain the current level of genetic diversity.     

Genetic variability of Coffea arabica L. accessions from Ethiopia evaluated with RAPDs

The genetic diversity of 50 wild and semi-wild accessions of the Coffea arabica L. germplasm collection, gathered by the FAO and ORSTOM missions to Ethiopia, and maintained in Colombia by CENICAFE, was evaluated with RAPD markers. The evaluation was carried out in two phases: In phase one, the polymorphism of 8 Ethiopian accessions of different geographic origin, plus the cultivated variety 'Caturra' was assessed with the RAPD technique with forty-two 10-mer oligonucleotides. In phase two, 51 accessions were assessed with a set of 5 polymorphic primers that reproduced, with a correlation of 95%, the groups generated by the 24 polymorphic primers found in phase one. Principal Coordinate Analysis of molecular data revealed that a closely related group consisting of 86% of the Ethiopian C. arabica accessions evaluated are significantly different from the Caturra variety and could be used in a genetic breeding initiative to increase the variability of cultivated varieties. The results also indicate that a larger polymorphism is present in the Colombian replica of FAO Ethiopian coffee germplasm collection than previously reported.     

Genetic diversity among sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) accessions collected from five areas of Iran

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) has been used in human nutrition as an herbal drug to treat different diseases for centuries. In recent years, the genetic...     

Genetic diversity in accessions of lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) determined from agro-morphological descriptors and SSR markers for use in breeding programs in Brazil

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) have high genetic diversity, especially in Brazil, which has been maintained both on farms and in germplasm banks. Knowledge...     

Detection of genetic diversity in Libyan wheat genotypesusing wheat microsatellite markers

Twenty-four wheat microsatellites (WMS) wereused to estimate the extent of genetic diversity among 15 Libyanwheat genotypes. The WMS used determined 26 loci located on 20different chromosomes, and were capable of detecting 116 alleles withan average of 4.5 alleles per locus. Only two markers located on 2DSand 4DL, were monomorphic. The results indicated that the B genome(5.9 alleles per locus) was more variable than the A and Dgenomes (4.1 and 2.7 alleles per locus, respectively).Furthermore, the results obtained suggest that a relatively smallnumber of primers can be used to distinguish all genotypes used andto estimate their genetic diversity. Genetic dissimilarity valuesbetween genotypes, calculated by the WMS derived data, were used toproduce a dendrogram. The diversity within the analysed germplasm isdiscussed.     

Genetic characterization of guava (Psidium guajava L.) germplasm in the United States using microsatellite markers

Genetic diversity of 35 Psidium guajava L. accessions and three related species (P. guineense Sw., P. sartorianum (O. Berg) Nied. and P. friedrichsthalianum (O. Berg) Nied.) maintained at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Plants Germplasm System, Hilo, HI, was characterized using 20 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Diversity analysis detected a total of 178 alleles ranging from 4 to 16 alleles per locus. The observed mean heterozygosity (0.2) and inbreeding coefficient (0.8) indicated a high level of inbreeding among the accessions tested. Multi-locus DNA fingerprints based on the 20 SSR loci unambiguously differentiated all accessions and revealed the absence of duplicated samples. Ordination and cluster analyses suggested that the genetic relationships between majorities of the accessions could be explained by geographic origin, mainly including tropical America, Southeast Asia and Hawaii. A Bayesian cluster analysis partitioned the accessions into two groups and the partition was largely compatible with the result of ordination analyses. Distance-based cluster analyses further indicated that accessions from same geographical region or breeding programs grouped together in spite of the inter-regional exchange of germplasm. Accessions from Southeast Asia were dominantly white fleshed, whereas accessions from tropical America and Hawaii exhibited diverse flesh colors. The results also indicated that accessions from the same region were likely derived from a small number of common ancestors or progenitors. All 20 SSRs were transferable to P. guineense, P. sartorianum and P. friedrichsthalianum, indicating a close relationship between the cultigens and wild relatives. Application of SSR markers in the USDA/Agricultural Research Service germplasm collection provides new insight into the diversity of the guava germplasm, which will be valuable in future breeding endeavors and the conservation of guava genetic resources.     

Genetic diversity and relationships of common apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) in China based on simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers

The common apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is adaptable to the diverse geographical areas throughout northern China where the original center for common apricot is worldwide. The diversity of 94 apricot samples, including 66 typical Chinese local cultivars, four kernel-using apricots, thirteen cultivars of Xinjiang (belong to Central Asian groups), ten exotic cultivars and one black apricot (Prunus dasycarpa Ehrh.) accession, were investigated using 21 simple sequence repeat markers. Totally, 662 genotypes were identified in the set of tested 93 common apricot cultivars, with an average of 31.52 genotypes per locus. The allele diversity per locus, with an average allele number of 15.14, and the heterozygosity rates, with an average expected heterozygosity value for the sample set of 0.792, were found to be higher than those in previous studies, implying that Chinese apricot germplasms presented a high level of genetic diversity. The clustering analysis and principal coordinate analysis outlined the genetic relationships of apricot cultivars tested from different geographical distributions. The results supported the traditional classification of apricot germplasm based on the ecological types, and showed that the richest diversity existed in the northern China and northwestern China local cultivars among common apricot germplasm resources tested. This study will facilitate the understanding of the evolution relationships and the conservation strategies of the genetic diversity in apricot in China.