Transformation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Campanula</Emphasis> by wild type <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium rhizogenes</Emphasis>

Compact growth is an important quality criterion in horticulture. Many Campanula species and cultivars exhibit elongated growth which is suppressed by chemical retardation and cultural practice during production to accommodate to the consumer’s desire. The production of compact plants via transformation with wild type Agrobacterium rhizogenes is an approach with great potential to produce plants that are non-GMO. Efficient transformation and regeneration procedures vary widely among both plant genera and species. Here we present a transformation protocol for Campanula. Hairy roots were produced on 26–90% of the petioles that were used for transformation of C. portenschlagiana (Cp), a C. takesimana × C. punctata hybrid (Chybr) and C. glomerata (Cg). Isolated hairy roots grew autonomously and vigorously without added hormones. The Cg hairy roots produced chlorophyll and generated plantlets in response to treatments with cytokinin (42 µM 2iP) and auxin (0.67 µM NAA). In contrast, regeneration attempts of transformed Cp and Chybr roots lead neither to the production of chlorophyll nor to the regeneration of shoots. Agropine A. rhizogenes strains integrate split T-DNA in T_L- and T_R-DNA fragments into the plant genome. In this study, regenerated plants of Cg did not contain T_R-DNA, indicating that a selective pressure against this T-DNA fragment may exist in Campanula.     

Two reported cytotypes of the emergent orchid model species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erycina pusilla</Emphasis> are two different species

Each species is characterized by a specific set of chromosomes, which is described as the chromosome portrait or karyotype. In general, such a karyotype is the same for all individuals in the population. An exception to that rule has recently been found in the orchid Erycina pusilla, which has been reported to have two cytotypes with chromosome numbers of 2n = 10 and 2n = 12. Here, we examined the karyotypes of the two cytotypes and found differences in arm ratios and heterochromatin patterns as well as in the presence of satellite chromosomes and in the number and location of rDNA and telomeric repeat sites. These differences are extensive and would have required multiple chromosome rearrangements to generate the differences between the two karyotypes. We also found that F1 hybrids between the parents with the two different chromosome numbers resulted in sterile offspring, in accordance with our previous findings. The combination of hybrid sterility and extensively rearranged chromosomes supports the hypothesis that these two reported cytotypes are, in fact, two different species.     

Use of genomic and phenotypic selection in lines for prediction of testcrosses in maize II: grain yield and plant traits

Plant breeders have been trying to predict the performance of hybrids based on their parental performance. One application of molecular markers is its use in selection. The objectives were to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) and verify its congruence in maize lines and in their testcrosses and verify the possibility to select testcrosses from the predicted means of the lines by using information from markers. Two-hundred and fifty six lines and the testcrosses of these lines with two testers were evaluated in six environments, considering grain yield, plant lodging, days to anthesis and silking, anthesis-silking interval, plant and ear height and ear placement. QTL were mapped in the lines and in testcrosses and the predicted means of the lines were computed based on QTL effects and in all markers of the genome. The congruence of QTL detected in the lines and testcrosses were small for all traits. The correlations between the predicted means of the lines and the phenotypic means of the testcrosses ranged from low for grain yield to moderate for cycle and stature traits. The highest coincidences of the lines and selected testcrosses were observed for cycle and stature traits and the lowest for grain yield. Even by using molecular markers information, it is only possible to predict the testcrosses performance from the lines information to less complex traits and with reduced dominance effect. For complex traits and with pronounced dominance effect, information of markers must be obtained directly in the testcrosses, so they can be used for selection.     

Consequences of a large-scale fragmentation experiment for Neotropical bats: disentangling the relative importance of local and landscape-scale effects

Context

Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation are widespread drivers of biodiversity decline. Understanding how habitat quality interacts with landscape context, and how they jointly affect species in human-modified landscapes, is of great importance for informing conservation and management.

Objectives

We used a whole-ecosystem manipulation experiment in the Brazilian Amazon to investigate the relative roles of local and landscape attributes in affecting bat assemblages at an interior-edge-matrix disturbance gradient.

Methods

We surveyed bats in 39 sites, comprising continuous forest (CF), fragments, forest edges and intervening secondary regrowth. For each site, we assessed vegetation structure (local-scale variable) and, for five focal scales, quantified habitat amount and four landscape configuration metrics.

Results

Smaller fragments, edges and regrowth sites had fewer species and higher levels of dominance than CF. Regardless of the landscape scale analysed, species richness and evenness were mostly related to the amount of forest cover. Vegetation structure and configurational metrics were important predictors of abundance, whereby the magnitude and direction of response to configurational metrics were scale-dependent. Responses were ensemble-specific with local-scale vegetation structure being more important for frugivorous than for gleaning animalivorous bats.

Conclusions

Our study indicates that scale-sensitive measures of landscape structure are needed for a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of fragmentation on tropical biota. Although forest fragments and regrowth habitats can be of conservation significance for tropical bats our results further emphasize that primary forest is of irreplaceable value, underlining that their conservation can only be achieved by the preservation of large expanses of pristine habitat.

     

Step-wise drops in modularity and the fragmentation of exploited marine metapopulations

Context

Many nearshore species are distributed in habitat patches connected only through larval dispersal. Genetic research has shown some spatial structure of such metapopulations and modeling studies have shed light onto possible patterns of connectivity and barriers. However, little is known about human impact on their spatial structure and patterns of connectivity.

Objectives

We examine the effects of fishing on the spatial and temporal dynamics of metapopulations of sedentary marine species (red sea urchin and red abalone) interconnected by larval dispersal.

Methods

We constructed a metapopulation model to simulate abalone and sea urchin metapopulations experiencing increasing levels of fishing mortality. We performed the modularity analysis on the yearly larval connectivity matrices produced by these simulations, and analyzed the changes of modularity and the formation of modules over time as indicators of spatial structure.

Results

The analysis revealed a strong modular spatial structure for abalone and a weak spatial signature for sea urchin. In abalone, under exploitation, modularity takes step-wise drops on the path to extinction, and modules breakdown into smaller fragments followed by module and later metapopulation collapse. In contrast, sea urchin showed high modularity variation, indicating high- and low-mixing years, but an abrupt collapse of the metapopulation under strong exploitation.

Conclusions

The results identify a disruption in larval connectivity and a pattern of collapse in highly modular nearshore metapopulations. These results highlight the ability of modularity to detect spatial structure in marine metapopulations, which varies among species, and to show early changes in the spatial structure of exploited metapopulations.

     

Occupancy pattern of a long-horned beetle in a variegated forest landscape: linkages between tree quality and forest cover across spatial scales

Context

Interactions between landscape-scale processes and fine-grained habitat heterogeneity are usually invoked to explain species occupancy in fragmented landscapes. In variegated landscapes, however, organisms face continuous variation in micro-habitat features, which makes necessary to consider ecologically meaningful estimates of habitat quality at different spatial scales.

Objectives

We evaluated the spatial scales at which forest cover and tree quality make the greatest contribution to the occupancy of the long-horned beetle Microplophorus magellanicus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in a variegated forest landscape.

Methods

We used averaged data of tree quality (as derived from remote sensing estimates of the decay stage of single trees) and spatially independent pheromone-baited traps to model the occurrence probability as a function of multiple cross-scale combinations between forest cover and tree quality (with scales ranging between 50 and 400 m).

Results

Model support and performance increased monotonically with the increasing scale at which tree quality was measured. Forest cover was not significant, and did not exhibit scale-specific effects on the occurrence probability of M. magellanicus. The interactive effect between tree quality and forest cover was stronger than the independent (additive) effects of tree quality and particularly forest cover. Significant interactions included tree quality measured at spatial scales ≥200 m, but cross-scale interactions occurred only in four of the seven best-supported models.

Conclusions

M. magellanicus respond to the high-quality trees available in the landscape rather than to the amount of forest per se. Conservation of viable metapopulations of M. magellanicus should consider the quality of trees at spatial scales >200 m.

     

Effects of Pre-Stratification Storage Conditions on Black Walnut Seed Post-Stratification Germination Capacity

The objective of this work was to quantify changes in the germination capacity of Juglans nigra seeds following storage and then artificial stratification. Seeds were stored at 5 and –20 °C under 5% and 14% internal moisture content (IMC) for 0, 8, 10, and 12 months under conditions with oxygen or under vacuum. Germination percentage (GP) was affected by storage temperature, IMC, and storage period. Seeds stored with 5% IMC succeeded in germinating regardless of the temperature. Seeds stored with 14% IMC did not germinate (–20 °C) or germinated during storage (5 °C). The GP was reduced with the time of storage in seeds at –20 °C and 5% IMC and this effect was avoided in storage under vacuum. In conclusion, the germination capacity of black walnut seeds did not change for up to 12 months at low above-zero temperature and low IMC (5 °C, 5% IMC), being the most cost-effective alternative for long-term storage of black walnut seeds in commercial nurseries. Vacuum storage avoided the decrease of around 50% in average germination capacity of seeds stored for a year at –20 °C.     

Segmentation of 3D images of plant tissues at multiple scales using the level set method

Background

Developmental biology has made great strides in recent years towards the quantification of cellular properties during development. This requires tissues to be imaged and segmented to generate computerised versions that can be easily analysed. In this context, one of the principal technical challenges remains the faithful detection of cellular contours, principally due to variations in image intensity throughout the tissue. Watershed segmentation methods are especially vulnerable to these variations, generating multiple errors due notably to the incorrect detection of the outer surface of the tissue.

Results

We use the level set method (LSM) to improve the accuracy of the watershed segmentation in different ways. First, we detect the outer surface of the tissue, reducing the impact of low and variable contrast at the surface during imaging. Second, we demonstrate a new edge function for a level set, based on second order derivatives of the image, to segment individual cells. Finally, we also show that the LSM can be used to segment nuclei within the tissue.

Conclusion

The watershed segmentation of the outer cell layer is demonstrably improved when coupled with the LSM-based surface detection step. The tool can also be used to improve watershed segmentation at cell-scale, as well as to segment nuclei within a tissue. The improved segmentation increases the quality of analysis, and the surface detected by our algorithm may be used to calculate local curvature or adapted for other uses, such as mathematical simulations.

     

An economically based evaluation index for perennial and short‐term ryegrasses in New Zealand dairy farm systems

Grazed pastures based on ryegrass species provide most of the feed for dairy cattle in New Zealand. There are many cultivars of perennial (Lolium perenne), annual and Italian (L. multiflorum), and hybrid (L. boucheanum) ryegrasses available for dairy farmers to use in pasture renewal. This study describes an index which ranks ryegrass cultivars relative to a genetic base according to the estimated economic value (EV) of seasonal dry matter (DM) traits. A farm system model was used to derive EVs (Grazed pastures based on ryegrass species provide most of the feed for dairy cattle in New Zealand. There are many cultivars of perennial (Lolium perenne), annual and Italian (L. multiflorum), and hybrid (L. boucheanum) ryegrasses available for dairy farmers to use in pasture renewal. This study describes an index which ranks ryegrass cultivars relative to a genetic base according to the estimated economic value (EV) of seasonal dry matter (DM) traits. A farm system model was used to derive EVs ($ ha^?1 calculated as change in operating profit divided by unit change of the trait) for additional DM produced in different seasons of the year in four regions. The EV of early spring DM was consistently high across all regions, whereas EV for late spring DM was moderate to low. Genotype × environment analysis revealed significant reranking of DM yield among ryegrass cultivars across regions. Hence, separate performance values (PVs) were calculated for two mega‐environments and then combined with the corresponding season and region EV to calculate the overall EV for twenty‐three perennial ryegrass and fifteen short‐term ryegrass cultivars. The difference in operating profit between the highest ranked and lowest ranked perennial ryegrass cultivar ranged from $556 ha^?1 to $863 ha^?1 year^?1 depending on region. For short‐term ryegrasses used for winter feed, the corresponding range was $394 to $478 ha^?1 year^?1. Using PV for DM yield, it was estimated that plant improvement in perennial ryegrass has added $12–$18 ha^?1 year^?1 (depending on region) operating profit on dairy farms since the mid‐1960s.     

Breeding Differently: Participatory Selection and Scaling Up Innovations in Colombia

Global challenges like sustainable development, climate change, malnutrition and gender inequality can be tackled from an agricultural perspective. Micronutrient deficiency is a major problem for the health and food security of the population. In Colombia, iron deficiencies affect 32% of the children under the age of five; and 43% of the Colombian population have zinc and vitamin A deficiencies. We designed and implemented a research-for-development programme that links agriculture and nutrition through a two-stage project. In the first stage, we selected three new yellow potato cultivars with better nutritional contents, higher yield and better resistance to late blight than the traditional yellow cultivars. We characterized the Colombian germplasm, Solanum tuberosum Group Phureja, for its nutritional attributes. During this stage, studies of the social and nutritional status of the communities were also conducted. In the second stage, we focused on scaling up new potato cultivars to reach potato producers and consumers by promoting the production and marketing of good quality seed potatoes, by establishing four Rural Entrepreneurs Nuclei. The programme promotes gender equity, good dietary habits, the consumption of more nutritious potatoes and empowers local leadership to strengthen governance. Field work was conducted in southern and central regions of Colombia by employing social strategies such as the Family Farming Community Schools. In 50% of the cultivated area, we are replacing the originally used traditional yellow potatoes by the new, more nutritious, potatoes to reach 6 million consumers. A good quality seed system for small-scale potato growers has been implemented. These achievements have been reached through a comprehensive approach in a period of two years.