Genetic diversity in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) germplasm using fruit variation implemented by tomato analyzer software based on high throughput phenotyping

The decrease of genetic variation in crops like tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) due to domestication, breeding, and population bottle necks for fresh market consumptions has increased the need for this cash crop’s conservation and characterizations. To study the genetic variation of this valuable genetic resource in the National Plant Gene Bank of Iran, a collection of 589 tomato accessions from different regions was characterized using semi-automatic and high-throughput techniques. Based on the fruit shape, the studied accessions were classified into ten groups and significant differences for all the fruit characteristics studied indicated an abundant diversity within the germplasm collected from different regions. Studied tomato germplasm was grouped into nine main clusters based on hierarchical cluster analysis. More than 83% of data variation was explained by seven components in which the first two components explained for 50% of the variation where fruit shape index and proximal/distal fruit end shape showed a high contribution in the variation of the first component. This unique genetically divergent germplasm could be utilized to select tomato breeding lines of interest. Also, accessions belonged to the heterotic clusters could be selected for hybridization and conservation purpose as well as enrichment of pre-breeding programs of the tomato germplasm.

     

A single subtype of avian pneumovirus circulates among Minnesota turkey flocks.

The recent emergence of avian pneumovirus (APV) infection among US turkey flocks has resulted in a major economic threat to the turkey industry. In order to elucidate the molecular epidemiology of APV, comparative sequence analysis of the fusion (F) protein gene of APV was performed for 3 cell culture-adapted isolates and 10 APV positive clinical samples recovered from US turkey flocks. Relatively modest levels of nucleotide and amino acid sequence divergence were identified, suggesting the prevalence of a single lineage of APV among US turkey flocks. Additionally, numerous polymorphisms were identified that were only represented in the clinical samples but not in the in vitro propagated isolates of APV. Phylogenetic analyses confirm that the subtype of APV circulating in the upper Midwestern United States is evolutionarily related to, but distinct from, European APV subgroups A and B. Overall, the results of the present investigation suggest that there has been only a single recent introduction of APV into US turkey populations in the upper Midwestern United States.     

Variation of Seed Glucosinolates in Lines of Brassica napus

The glucosinolate (GSL) pattern of 93 resynthesized (resyn) repeseed lines was examined over three years, and five stable genotypes with distinct GSL profiles were identified. Typically the resyn B. napus profile exhibited progoitrin as the main GSL, but contained sinigrin. The different GSL patterns of the four deviating lines are discussed with respect to the proposed biosynthetic pathway. Within the resyn and further extensive breeding materias, screening for low indolyl GSL contents resulted in finding one genotype with an extremely low 4-hydroxy-gluco-brassicin and glucobrassicin content. Furthermore, other lines were identified, over a wide range of indolyl GSL contents. The values were stable over two years.     

Phosphorus Solubilizing Microorganisms in the Rhizosphere of Local Rice Varieties Grown without Fertilizer on Acid Sulfate Soils

Local farmers who living in South Kalimantan (Banjarese farmers) apply almost none of phosphatic (P) fertilizers to grow local rice varieties. This practice has been adopted for many years. We have investigated the mechanisms involved in P availability for the crop. This study focuses on identifying microorganisms involved in solubilizing insoluble P. The study was conducted in Balandean District, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. The soil was classified as acid sulfate soil. Three out of 8 rice varieties grown were selected for net P balance in the soil-plant system and the microbial studies. We found that the P uptakes by the rice crop was much higher than the sum of P released from soil, water and soil microbial biomass P. It was also observed that these soils harboured bacteria and fungi that have the capability of dissolving aluminium phosphate (AIPO₄) and tricalcium phosphate [Ca₃(PO₄)₂].
Based on the area of clear zone on plates, it seem that there were variations of ability in dissolving Al-P or Ca-P. DNA sequence analysis shown that Burkholderia sp. was the common P solubilizing bacterium found in the rhizosphere of rice varieties Siam Unus, Siam Ubi and Siam Puntal. The presence of other bacteria was specific for each rice variety grown.     

Influence of humic acid and salicylic acid on yield,fruit quality,and leaf mineral elements of strawberry (Fragaria × Ananassa duch.) cv. Camarosa

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of foliarly-applied Humic Acid (HA) and Salicylic Acid (SA) on strawberry (Fragaria × Ananassa cv. Camarosa). On average, HA applications, regardless of concentration, increased overall yield, Soluble Solids Concentrations (SSC), Titratable Acidity (TA), vitamin C, red tone (a*), leaf potassium (K), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) while had no effect on pH and fruit luminosity (L*). In contrast, fruit from the untreated control tended to have higher Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) and SSC: TA ratio than HA-treated plants. Application of SA significantly increased yield, vitamin C, SSC, SSC: TA ratio, TAC, a*, leaf P and Ca while had no effect on TA, fruit size, L* and pH. In general, application of either HA at 25 mg L¹ or SA at 2 mM resulted in better strawberry performance than did other rates of these compounds.     

Evaluation of different methods for the prediction of saturated hydraulic conductivity in tilled and untilled soils

The larger the bulk density of the soil, the smaller the saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s), however, the relationship between K_s and dry bulk density for tilled and untilled conditions is different. K_s is lower in tilled soil than in untilled soil with the same texture at the same bulk density. The purpose of this study was to compare different models for the prediction of K_s for two soil textures under both tilled and non-tilled conditions. We compred two models based on the non-similar media concept (NSMC-0, NSMC-1), a model based on the similar media concept (SMC) and a model based on the Kozeny equation and Poiseuille law for prediction of K_s (KC-1 and KC-2). This study was conducted at two areas with loam and silty clay loam soils under tilled and untilled conditions. It is concluded that the SMC model is not able to predict K_s under either tilled or untilled conditions. Further, the NSMC-0 model, along with an equation to estimate the shape factor, was able to predict K_s versus dry bulk density for tilled soils. According to our study, under untilled conditions, the KC-1 and NSMC-1 models, and under tilled conditions, the NSMC-1 and NSMC-0 models, predicted K_s accurately. It is concluded that the NSMC models together with the optimized Kozeny–Carman models could reliably be used to predict K_s in different soil textures.     

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.     

Alternate‐day fasting diet improves fructose‐induced insulin resistance in mice

Increased fructose consumption is linked to insulin resistance, weight gain, hyperlipidemia and hypertension. Although the advantages of several dietary restriction regimens have been demonstrated, the effects of alternate‐day fasting (ADF) on fructose‐induced insulin resistance have not yet been studied. This study is based on a new modification on ADF by combining the fructose‐rich solution (10% w/v) and regular mice diet. Mice were randomly allocated into four groups: ADF50% (50% restriction in chow food intake but ad libitum fructose drink), ADF100% (100% restriction for chow food but ad libitum fructose drink), control (ad libitum chow food intake plus tap water) and daily food and fructose (DFF) (had free access to both chow and fructose solution). Biweekly fasting blood sugar (FBS), glucose tolerance test (GTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT) were conducted. All groups gained weight during the study (p < 0.05). Body weights of DFF and control groups did not differ from that of ADF groups, but ADF50% gained more (p < 0.01) weights than ADF100% through the study. Total calorie intake (feed + fast days) of ADF50% was higher than that of ADF100% (p < 0.001) and control (p < 0.03). In addition, ADF groups consumed more energy than the control and DFF groups in feed (ad libitum) days (p < 0.05). At the end of the study, the mean FBS levels in the control and ADF100% groups were similar and significantly lower in relation to that of DFF and ADF50% groups (p < 0.01). Measurements of area under the curve in GTT and ITT revealed that the ADF100% group was more insulin‐sensitive than the DFF and ADF50% groups. In conclusion, these data suggest that the ADF100% improves fructose‐induced insulin resistance in mice.     

Variation in seed morphometric characters,oil content and azadirachtin content of seeds,in vitro shoot cultures and callus cultures among different populations of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Azadirachta indica</Emphasis>

We studied seed morphometric characters, oil content and azadirachtin content in a medicinally important and insect repellent tree species Azadirachta indica A. Juss. Ten populations were selected from two central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and twenty candidate plus trees were selected from each population based on tree attributes. Azadirachtin content was estimated in seeds, in vitro shoots and callus cultures through HPLC. Significant variation (p < 0.05) was observed in seed morphometric characters, oil content and azadirachtin content among the ten populations. Maximum value for 100 seed weight was obtained in seeds of Raigarh (30.51 g) which was on par with seeds of Bargi (28.37 g) and Chhatarpur (26.36 g). The ratio of highest kernel to seed was also obtained in seeds of Raigarh (60.11%). Kernels from Chhatarpur population recorded the highest oil content (24.20%), which was equal to that in Sihore (23.75%) and Katni (21.75%). We recorded highly significant variation in azadirachtin content in seed samples, in vitro shoot samples and callus cultures. Maximum azadirachtin was present in the seeds of Gwalior (0.882%) which was on par with azadirachtin content in seeds of Chhatarpur, Katni, Sihore, Shahdol and Chhindwara. Maximum azadirachtin in the in vitro shoots was present in the cultures of Gwalior (0.218%) which was statistically on par with Sihore (0.176%). Similarly, in callus cultures of nodal segments maximum azadirachtin was recorded in the Gwalior population (0.033%) which was statistically on par with Sihore (0.028%). The trees of Gwalior and Sihore populations can be produced in large numbers through vegetative propagation to obtain seeds with higher azadirachtin content.