Variability and association among some pomological and physiochemical traits in spring frost tolerant genotypes of Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) and selection of genotypes with superior traits based on machine learning algorithms

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) is an economically important species of edible nuts. In the present study, northwest regions of Iran were explored to find...     

Genetic diversity and relatedness of selected Iranian rice cultivars and disease resistance donors assayed by simple sequence repeats and candidate defense gene markers

As a prerequisite to improving diseaseresistance and grain quality in Iranianrice cultivars, we determined the geneticrelatedness of popular local cultivars andblast-resistance donor germplasm usingfingerprints derived from simple sequencerepeat (SSR) and plant defense genemarkers. Fifty SSR markers and 28 defensecandidate genes were used to assess thegenetic diversity among popular ricecultivars from Iran and donors of blastresistance from breeding programs in Asia.Gene diversity estimate of the 16 corebreeding lines was 0.440 ± 0.028 basedon SSR markers. Genetic relationships amongthe cultivars were determined by clusteranalysis using SSR and candidate genedatasets. DNA fingerprints derived fromSSR and defense gene markers gave similargroupings of cultivars consistent withtheir genetic background: a) Iranian localvarieties, b) improved varieties in Iranplus donor indica germplasm from Asia, andc) japonica germplasm. Within-groupsimilarities for the traditional andimproved cultivars were greater than 80%and 75%, respectively. The traditional andimproved cultivars showed differentialreaction to blast pathogen isolates; alltraditional varieties were susceptible toblast pathogen isolates in Iran butresistant to isolates in the Philippines,whereas the improved varieties showedopposite reaction to pathogen isolates inIran and the Philippines. Both molecularand phenotypic data suggest a narrowgenetic basis in local and improvedcultivars in Iran and the need forincluding more diversity for the breedingprogram. The high degree of polymorphismobserved between local cultivars and donorsof blast resistance provide the neededinformation to follow the transmission ofresistance alleles from the donors inadvancing breeding lines.     

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) plant protection using dual biological control and plant growth-promoting agents: Current scenarios and future prospects

Various microorganisms live in association with different parts of plants and can be harmful, neutral, or beneficial to plant health. Some microbial inhabitants of plants can control plant diseases by contesting with, predating on, or antagonizing plant pathogens and by inducing systems for plant defense. A range of methods, including plant growth-promoting microorganisms(PGPMs) as biological control agents(BCAs)(BCA-PGPMs) are used for the biological management and control of plant pathogens. S...