Biofortification of taro (Colocasia esculenta) through breeding for increased contents in carotenoids and anthocyanins

Biofortification of taro (Colocasia esculenta) has never been studied. The aim of the present study is to compare the chemical compositions and individual constituent contents for major compounds (starch, sugars, cellulose, proteins, minerals), carotenoids and anthocyanins between parents and hybrids selected first for their agronomic performance and second for their corm characteristics (flesh color, quality and taste). For major compounds, 45 selected hybrids were compared to 66 cultivars and for carotenoids and anthocyanins, 34 selected hybrids were compared to 79 cultivars. Total sugars, cellulose and mineral contents presented moderate increases in hybrids. Carotenoids and anthocyanins contents were not correlated with corm flesh colors, most likely in relation with the wide range of the observed variability. Anthocyanin contents could not be increased in the selected hybrids, while total carotenoid contents were increased by more than fourfolds. The results of this study indicate that carotenoid contents can be rapidly improved by selecting plants of good agronomic performance and corm shape with increased density of yellow and orange colors. Potential applications to taro breeding programs are discussed.     

柑橘果实发育成熟中果肉游离糖、 肌肌醇及钾含量的变化

以龟井（无籽）温州蜜柑和鄂柑1号（有籽）橘为试材，对果实发育成熟过程中果肉游离糖（果糖、葡萄糖和蔗糖）、肌肌醇及钾含量变化进行了测定。结果表明：(1)果实增大初期鄂柑1号果肉果糖和葡萄糖含量明显上升，蔗糖变化小，肌肌醇却趋下降，进入果实增大中后期，蔗糖含量显著上升，其它变化小；而龟井的果糖、葡萄糖和蔗糖均于果实增大初期和中期出现明显积累，肌肌醇除在增大中期出现一峰值外趋于平稳；采前果实发育期两品种总糖含量变化趋势均与各自的蔗糖较一致；(2)采后贮藏期内两品种果肉总糖和肌肌醇含量均趋于稳定，而二者的果糖、葡萄糖和蔗糖含量变化趋势却均趋相反；(3)两品种果肉钾含量均在果实增大期内出现明显上升并居相对较高水平。     

HPTLC screening of taro hybrids (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) with high flavonoids and antioxidants contents

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) is the tropical root crop species featuring the greatest flavonoids diversity. Their quantification is important for breeding programmes focusing on biofortification. This study aims at developing an HPTLC protocol to compare the flavonoids fingerprints of more than 1800 hybrids belonging to 24 full‐sib families and to select genotypes with high levels of antioxidants. Twenty different chemical markers were identified based on bands R_f and colour. Flavonoids differ among individuals both quantitatively and qualitatively. Marker ‘A’ yielded the strongest antioxidant response to DPPH, equivalent to the one with quercetin pure standard. Overall, 377 high flavonoids content (HFC) hybrids were selected from 14 different families. The mean corm weight of HFC hybrids always appeared higher than the mean corm weight of the family they belong to. This method allows unambiguous selection of HFC hybrids. It also contributes to taro genetic improvement for nutritional value and access to new markets and to strengthen corm tolerance to pests and diseases. It could be applied to other tropical root crop species.     

不同品种梨汁中糖和有机酸含量测定及相关性分析

利用反相高效液相色谱法测定了不同品种梨汁中的糖和有机酸含量,并应用SAS统计软件对各种糖和有机酸含量之间的相关性进行了分析。结果表明,梨汁中的糖主要为果糖、葡萄糖和蔗糖,其中果糖和葡萄糖含量较高;不同品种梨汁中果糖、葡萄糖及总可溶性糖含量变异较小,相对稳定,果糖与葡萄糖、总可溶性糖之间表现出显著的相关性;有机酸有苹果酸、柠檬酸、琥珀酸、莽草酸、酒石酸、奎宁酸、乳酸和富马酸,以苹果酸含量最高;不同品种梨汁中各有机酸含量差别较大,其中琥珀酸与乳酸、富马酸,莽草酸与柠檬酸、奎宁酸的含量之间表现出极显著的相关性。     

不同品种桑椹糖酸组分分析

分析了不同品种桑椹的糖酸组分。以33个品种桑椹的果实为试材,利用高效液相色谱技术检测,相关性分析采用相关系数法,聚类分析采用快速聚类法。结果表明,果糖和葡萄糖是桑椹的主要糖类,同一品种二者含量相当,品种之间存在差异,没有发现桑椹中含有蔗糖。所有桑椹品种含有柠檬酸、苹果酸、琥珀酸、草酸、丙酸和富马酸,绝大部分品种含有酒石酸,部分桑椹品种含有丙酮酸,柠檬酸、苹果酸和琥珀酸是桑椹中含量较高的3种有机酸,柠檬酸质量分数为41.30%～68.80%。总酸与柠檬酸、苹果酸和琥珀酸呈极显著正相关(p<0.01)。33个品种桑椹可分成五大类群,分别由10,1,5,7,10桑椹品种组成。     

Modification of sugar profiles in California adapted apricots (Prunus armeniaca L.) through breeding with Central Asian germplasm

Summary Central Asian apricot germplasm was used in hybridizations with California adapted apricots to increase Brix levels and improve fresh eating quality. Fruit from parental trees, the F₁ hybrid and two backcross families were evaluated for fruit quality traits and analyzed by HPLC for specific sugar content. The F₁ hybrid between Central Asian and California adapted apricots was intermediate to its parents in many of the evaluated characteristics and levels of specific sugars. When the F₁ hybrid was backcrossed to California adapted apricots ‘Lorna’ and ‘Robada,’ the resulting hybrids were diverse in Brix, juice acidity, fruit size and profiles of specific sugars. Glucose: fructose ratios higher that 3.3 were encountered in fruit from five of the 22 analyzed seedlings, and fructose: sorbitol ratio ranged from 0.67 to 6.46. Brix and total sugar content correlated significantly with each other and with both sucrose and glucose. No significant correlations existed between sorbitol and any of the other analyzed sugars, nor with Brix or total sugars. The results demonstrated the extent of sugar profile modification possible in California adapted apricots after just two generations of breeding with Central Asian apricot germplasm.     

Genetic analysis of edamame seed composition and trait relationships in soybean lines

Edamame, a vegetable or specialty soybean (Glycine max) with high nutritional and market value, is relatively new to North America. Because of its health and nutritional benefits and globalized trade, the edamame market and acreage in the United States are steadily increasing. To facilitate edamame breeding and commercial production, we genetically analyzed edamame seed composition using 86 breeding lines and cultivars developed in the U.S. Significant genotypic differences based on a single year or 2-year joint analysis were observed for most traits investigated, including protein, oil, dietary fiber, starch, sucrose, stachyose and total sugar content. No significant genotypic difference was observed for ash content in both years and for raffinose content in year 2016. Yearly differences were also significant except for sucrose, stachyose and total sugar. Genotype-by-year interaction was significant for protein, sucrose, raffinose and total sugar, but insignificant for other traits. The heritability was high and relatively stable for protein and oil content, followed by stachyose content, but was low for ash and starch content. The heritability for sucrose, total sugar and dietary fiber content varied from 38 to 75%. Genotypic correlations were insignificant among most traits. However, protein content was negatively correlated with oil content and dietary fiber, but positively associated with stachyose. Oil content was negatively correlated with starch and individual sugars. Although positive phenotypic or Pearson’s correlation existed between total sugar content and individual sugars, and between sucrose and starch content, their genotypic correlations were insignificant.     

The inheritance of quantitative traits in Brassica napus ssp. rapifera (swedes): Augmented triple test cross analyses of production characters

Two F₂ triple test crosses, augmented with F₃s, produced from crosses between different inbred lines of swedes (Brassica napus ssp.rapifera L.) were assessed in field trials at Dundee in 1988 and 1989,respectively. This paper reports the analyses of resistance to powdery mildew, neck length, growth cracks, sugar content and hardness; analyses of yield have been published previously. Additive genetical variation was found for all traits while non-additive variation was less important, the highest degree of dominance being 0.44 for hardness. There was evidence of additive × dominance and dominance × dominance epistasis for mildew and additive × additive epistasis for neck length and hardness. Significant,consistent reciprocal differences were found and these were particularly large for neck length and growth cracks. Sugar determination was carried out on the basic generations of the second cross, the parental lines of which showed large differences in concentration of glucose, fructose and sucrose. Directional dominance was found for high glucose but not for fructose or sucrose. The implications of these results for swede breeding are discussed and it is proposed that inbred cultivars would be a more practical option than F₁ hybrids. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

First genetic maps and QTL studies of yield traits of taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott)

The paper presents the first taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott) genetic maps. Taro is an important vegetatively propagated root crop species in most subtropical areas. It is an allogamous and protogynous species with a basic chromosome number of x = 14. Two F₁ progenies of 123 and 100 individuals obtained from crosses between local cultivars from Vanuatu (VU101 × VU104 and VU373 × VU314) were chosen for this study. Both genetic maps contained 169 markers, mainly AFLPs and 8 SSRs, and were characterised by a high density of markers and a short map length. The maps had 14 and 18 linkage groups (LG) respectively and were not completely saturated. Twenty-four markers were identified across the two progenies and a good co-linearity was observed for the majority of these markers. A QTL detection study was conducted on both progenies with 91 and 89 individuals respectively. Several putative QTLs were identified for corm yield and corm dimensions (which were highly correlated traits) whereas no QTL was detected for dry matter content. This result was relatively unexpected since dry matter content was a more highly heritable trait than corm yield or corm dimensions. A major dominant gene, responsible for the yellow colour of the corm flesh, was also identified. Further mapping studies on taro should include a larger number of SSR markers, larger progenies should be created and other important traits related to yield and eating quality should be included in the QTL analyses.     

Patterns and heritability of carboxylic acids and soluble sugars in fruits of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.)

The investigation of acid and sugar content in an array of apricot cultivars and progenies indicates the existence of marked variability. Citric acid varied from 0.17 to 1.20% and malic acid from 0.21 to 1.51% on fresh weight. Fructose varied from 0.27 to 1.60%, glucose from 0.90 to 3.13% and sucrose from 1.92 to 6.92%. The estimate of heritability was high for total and main sugars, reaching over 0.50%. Acids generally showed low coefficients, although those for citric (0.27) and malic (0.36) were good. With the exception of one progeny, all genotype/year comparisons were not significant, showing constant patterns for acid and sugars over the years regardless of the variability in absolute values. This means that the patterns of each genotype are under genetic control. The wide range of diversity in acid and sugar content in apricot germplasm and the independent heritability for most of these compounds make it possible to breed and select cultivars with improved flavour on the basis of superior phenotypes.     

Isozyme variation in taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) from Asia and Oceania

Summary Isozyme variation was studied in 1,417 cultivars and wild forms of taro collected in Asia and Oceania. Seven polymorphic enzyme systems (MDH, IDH, PGI, 6-PGD, ME, SkDH, and ADH) revealed 143 isozyme phenotypes, or zymotypes, each uniquely characterized by the presence or absence of 56 electromorphs. Results showed greater isozyme variation in Asia than in Oceania, with Indonesia being the area of greatest diversity. No correlations were found between zymotypes and morphotypes or ploidy levels (as described by other investigators). Multivariate analyses of the isozyme data indicated that the majority of the Indonesian cultivars were different from the Philippine and Oceanian taro cultivars. Oceanian cultivars constituted a continuum of clusters and are thought to have originated from a narrow genetic base introduced from Indonesia. If taro breeding is to have any future in Oceania, it is important to exchange genotypes to broaden the base of existing breeding programmes.     

Chemical Composition of Pea Seeds as Related to Seed Yield under Arid and Semiarid Mediterranean Environments

Little has been published on the chemical composition of pea ( Pisum sativum L.) seeds and its relationship to seed yield. This study was conducted to investigate the relationships between seed protein, lipid, starch and sugars content of pea with seed yield under arid and semiarid Mediterranean environments. Twenty pea genotypes were grown at an arid (JUST) and semiarid (Maru) locations in northern Jordan. With the exception of glucose and fructose, the variation in protein, lipid, sucrose and starch was caused by environmental conditions. Pea grown at the semiarid location exhibited higher yield and the lower protein, glucose, fructose and sucrose contents than those grown at the arid location. Except for lipid and starch, high seed yields of genotypes were associated with low contents of protein and sugars, indicating that one-sided selection for high seed yield tends to reduce the nutritional quality of pea seed.     

Phenotypic diversity among local Spanish and foreign peach and nectarine [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] accessions

Phenotypic data for tree and fruit characteristics was collected over three consecutive years from a germplasm collection of 94 peach and nectarine accessions representing both traditional Spanish as well as foreign cultivars with widespread global plantings. All accessions were grown at the Experimental Station of Aula Dei located in the Ebro Valley (Northern Spain, Zaragoza) under a Mediterranean climate. Tree traits evaluated included bloom and harvest date, vigor, yield, yield efficiency and flower and leaf characteristics. Fruit traits included fresh weight, firmness, soluble solids, titratable acidity, levels of individual soluble sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose and sorbitol), vitamin C, total phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyanins, relative antioxidant capacity and ripening index. Extensive variability was observed for most qualitative and quantitative traits with significant correlations identified between many traits. While the traditional Spanish accessions demonstrated good adaptability to the northern Spain evaluation site, opportunities for continued improvement in tree and fruit quality traits were demonstrated by an extensive phenotypic variability within the germplasm collection.     

Effect of Sugars in Wheat Anther Culture Media

Sugars are critical components in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) anther culture media for successful somatic embryo initiation and plant regeneration. In this experiment, anthers from three wheat genotypes were cultured on a modified Liang's 85D12 initiation medium with seven sugar combinations (I-sugars: galactose, mannose, maltose, fructose, sucrose, glucose, maltose + glucose) at 0.26 M, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2 mg/L), 1-naphthalene acetic acid (1 mg/L), and glutamine (254 mg/L). Wheat starch (5 % W/V), a potential source of sugars, was used as the medium gelling agent. No previous research has studied the effect of different sugars with wheat starch. A split-plot experimental design with 42 replications was used with genotypes as whole plots and sugar combinations as subplots. Galactose and mannose did not support embryoid initiation and were dropped from the analysis. Averaged over the three genotypes, maltose was the best sugar (105 embryoids/100 anthers), followed by glucose (47 embryoids/100 anthers) and maltose + glucose (37 embryoids/100 anthers). These three sugar combinations were superior to the standard medium sugar, sucrose (24 embryoids/100 anthers), and to fructose (12 embryoids/100 anthers). The embryoids were divided into two groups for plant regeneration. The first group was transferred to regeneration medium (Liang 85D12 salts, sugars at 0.06 M, and wheat starch at 7 % w/v as gelling agent) with the same sugar (R-sugar) used as in initiation. The second group was transferred to regeneration media with sucrose. I+R-maltose (0.55)     

Maternal inheritance of sugars and acids in peach (P. persica (L.) Batsch) fruit

Maternal inheritance of sugars and acids in peach fruit were investigated during two successive years using reciprocal populations derived from ‘low acid’ (LA) flat peach ‘Zaolupan’ and non-LA round peach ‘Zaoxing’. The reciprocal populations segregated into LA round, LA flat, non-LA round and non-LA flat-fruited offspring. Generally, the reciprocal populations had similar range and mean values of sugar and acid. Mean values were to different degree lower than or similar to mid-parental values. Maternal inheritance did not show significant effects on sugars and acids. Broad sense heritability of sugars and acids was high, ranging from 0.61 to 0.90. The correlations among sugars and acids were studied, and positive correlations were always found between glucose and fructose, and quinate and shikimate. Generally, mean glucose, fructose, sorbitol, quinate and shikimate contents did not show significant difference among LA round, LA flat, non-LA round and non-LA flat-fruited progenies. Mean sucrose and total sugar contents of flat-fruited progenies tended to be higher than round-fruited progenies, while mean malate, citrate and total acid contents did not significantly differ with fruit shape (round vs. flat).     

菠萝果实生长发育过程中营养品质的变化

以‘巴厘（Ananas comosusr cv. Yellow Mauritius）’、‘卡因（Ananas comosusr cv. Cayenne）’和‘台农11号（Ananas comosusr cv. Tainung 11）’3个菠萝品种的果实为试材, 进行果实发育过程中糖、酸以及维生素C含量的分析。结果表明：蔗糖、葡萄糖和果糖是菠萝果实的主要糖类;在果实发育早期,各糖分含量较低,随着果实生长速度减慢,糖含量迅速增加,在果实成熟期达到最大值;在成熟果实中,不同品种间糖份的比例有较大差异,其中,‘巴厘’为3.71:1.11:1,‘卡因’为2.67:0.74:1。菠萝果实中所含有机酸有柠檬酸、苹果酸、酒石酸、乙酸、草酸和马来酸;随着果实的发育,不同品种间有机酸的含量、比例以及变化规律有一定的差异;在成熟果实中有机酸含量由高到低依次,‘巴厘’为柠檬酸（约占65.7%）、苹果酸（约占24.9%）、乙酸、草酸和马来酸,酒石酸没有检测到,‘卡因’为柠檬酸（约占62.2%）、苹果酸（约占14.4%）、酒石酸、乙酸、草酸和马来酸。菠萝果实中也有较丰富的维生素C,不同品种维生素C含量差异较大,‘巴厘’最高（0.49mg/g）,‘卡因’次之（0.19mg/g）,‘台农11号’最低（0.11mg/g）。     

Large Headsetts and Improved Cultivar Enhance Growth and Development of Taro (Colocasia esculents [L.] Schott) During Establishment

Small, medium and large headsetts of a traditional ( Nine ) and an improved ( Alafua Sunrise ) cultivar of taro were grown for 33 days in pots in a screenhouse.
Differences between the cultivars were greatest in root growth where density of root primordia, number of primary roots and root surface area at the final harvest were 53, 82, and 60 % greater respectively in the improved over the traditional variety. Relative rate of leaf elongation and leaf appearance rate were about 30 % faster in the improved variety. Correlation between leaf area and root surface area was cultivar dependent.
Large headsetts produced more primary roots and a larger root surface area than small headsetts. They also produced 46 % more leaf area than small headsetts because of larger individual leaves, but not the rate of leaf appearance.
Dry matter and nitrogen content declined in petioles, remained relatively constant in corm and accumulated in new shoot and root during establishment. Losses of N were similar but accumulation was greater in new growth of Alafua Sunrise than Niue.
We conclude that differences in productivity between the improved and traditional cultivars used in this experiment are at least partly attributable to differences in rate of development of new shoot and root during establishment. Previously reported correlations between corm yield and size of planting material are probably due to large headsetts producing a greater area of leaf and root than small headsetts during early growth.     

己糖激酶调控‘赤霞珠’酿酒葡萄蔗糖分解代谢

以酿酒葡萄(Vitis viniferaL.)‘赤霞珠’果实为试材,研究己糖激酶与蔗糖分解代谢关键酶[可溶性酸性转化酶和蔗糖合酶(分解方向)]在果实发育过程中的关系,以期为己糖激酶对蔗糖分解代谢的调控提供知识。利用高效液相色谱(HPLC)分析了发育期‘赤霞珠’葡萄果实中蔗糖、葡萄糖和果糖的含量,测定了其己糖激酶、酸性转化酶和蔗糖合酶活性变化趋势。研究表明,果实整个发育过程中,蔗糖含量极微,己糖激酶表现出与葡萄糖、果糖相反的梯度变化;葡萄糖和果糖含量低时,可溶性酸性转化酶和蔗糖合酶的活性开始上升;葡萄糖和果糖含量高时,可溶性酸性转化酶和蔗糖合酶的活性降低。相关性分析表明,蔗糖含量与葡萄糖含量、果糖含量显著相关,葡萄糖和果糖含量与可溶性酸性转化酶、蔗糖合酶活性负相关,己糖激酶活性与所有因子负相关,但无显著相关。讨论后得出己糖激酶可能通过其催化活性调控葡萄糖和果糖的积累并反馈调节可溶性酸性转化酶和蔗糖合酶。     

A comparison of microtubers and field-grown tubers of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) for hexoses, sucrose and their ratios following postharvest cold storage

Cold-induced sweetening (CIS) is a significant postharvest problem in processing potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers. A rise in hexose sugar levels during cold storage results in a brown, bitter tasting and unmarketable product. We tested if potato microtubers (MicroT) can undergo CIS and if this corresponds to the CIS response in field-grown tubers (FieldT) with the hope of fast-tracking breeding programmes using a MicroT system. Using MicroT from potato genotypes representing a range of CIS response levels we have demonstrated that MicroT undergo CIS more rapidly than FieldT. Correlations of glucose:sucrose and hexose:sucrose ratios were highly significant between the two tuber types after cold treatment and these ratios are known to be good predictors of invertase activity, a key regulator of CIS. Correlations of individual sugars were non-significant before and after postharvest cold treatment.