Identification of resistance to rust (Uromyces appendiculatus) and powdery mildew (Erysiphe diffusa) in Portuguese common bean germplasm

Portugal has a diverse common bean germplasm, which is still grown in farmers' fields. In this work, we searched for resistance to rust (Uromyces appendiculatus) and powdery mildew (Erysiphe diffusa) in a representative collection of the Portuguese common bean germplasm. Despite many accessions depicting intermediate levels of resistance when compared to the susceptible check, 24 and 13 accessions showed low levels of infection, in spite of a compatible interaction (disease severity (DS) values lower than 5% and infection type (IT) of 4), to rust and powdery mildew, respectively, indicative of partial resistance. Moreover, a resistant reaction was observed in 11 accessions when inoculated with powdery mildew (IT = 0–1) and in additional 11 accessions (one in common) when inoculated with rust (IT = 0–2). The levels of resistance found in this report anticipate great potential of the Portuguese national germplasm, recently reported as genetically closer to the Andean common bean gene pool, for disease resistance breeding of this important crop.     

The effect of pod elimination on water stress in relation to antioxidant enzymes activity and proline in three annual medics species

Despite the importance of pod removal in the seeds of annual medics, there have been few studies carried out in this area. In this research, the role of pod removal in growth and biochemical enzyme activities was examined in three annual medic species during drought stress and subsequent recovery. This study was carried out as a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design. The treatments were carried out on annual medic species of three levels: Medicago rigidula, M. scutellata, M. polymorpha, presence or removal of the pod and water stress. Water stress was split into the following four levels: 100%, 80%, 60%, and 40% field capacity (FC) during the stress period. The results showed that drought stress and subsequent recovery increased proline content and antioxidant enzyme activity. The highest proline content and antioxidant enzyme activity was observed in M. Scutellata. However, the rate at which proline increased, decreased at 40% FC whereas the antioxidant enzyme reached their highest activity at 40% FC. The antioxidant enzymes’ activity and proline content without the pod experiment were significantly higher than with the pod experiment. Since the activation of an antioxidant system and the increasing of the proline content helps the plants with stress induced damages, our results indicated that elimination of pods of annual medics before sowing helps seedlings to perform better under drought stress. This data is useful to gain a better understanding of the physiological basis of the changes in drought resistance as well as the crop breeding projects.     

Climate change impact on corn suitability in Isabela province,Philippines

Climate change is expected to affect agricultural crop production in the Philippines. Several studies were already done to quantify the effect of climate change on agricultural crop production in the country. Most of these studies focus only on the effect of climate change on crop yield. This study estimated the effect of climate change on the area (suitable area) for corn production. Using the Land Use Suitability Evaluation Tool (LUSET), change in corn suitability in the province of Isabela was estimated for the years 2050, 2060, and 2070. Based on the results, climate change will negatively impact corn suitability in the province. Decreasing trend in corn suitability rating was observed due to increasing temperature resulting to loss of highly suitable areas for corn production. For example, during the first cropping season the estimated average decreases in suitability scores due to an increase in temperature were 6.7, 11.4, and 20.7% in the years 2050, 2060, and 2070, respectively. These decreases in suitability resulted in the loss of 6,777 ha highly suitable areas for corn production.     

Characterization of donor genome contents of backcross progenies detected by SSR markers in rice

Backcrossing is a trait introgression method of renewed importance in crops. The evolution of introgressed or substituted segments through backcross generations has been analyzed theoretically using simulations. In this study, the content of donor genomes, including donor segment number (DSN), donor segment length (DSL), and donor genome size (DGS), were directly analyzed in six crosses over three successive backcrosses using a set of single sequence repeat (SSR) markers covering the entire rice genome. The results of this analysis demonstrated that the average DSN in each genome was 8.39 in BC₂F₁, 4.13 in BC₃F₁, and 2.41 in BC₄F₁, decreasing nearly by half with each backcrossing. The average DSL was 33.43 cM (centiMorgans) in BC₂F₁, 29.04 cM in BC₃F₁, and 25.07 cM in BC₄F₁, display a progressive decrease slightly greater than 10% in each additional backcross generation. Meanwhile the average DGS was 280.51 cM in BC₂F₁, 119.97 cM in BC₃F₁, and 60.53 cM in BC₄F₁, decreasing 57.2% from BC₂F₁ to BC₃F₁ and 50.4% from BC₃F₁ to BC₄F₁. This revealed that the reduction in DGS was approximately 50% with each backcrossing. These results provide a guide for introgression or substitution of target chromosome segments from donors into recipients in backcross programs. Zhang-Ying Xi and Feng-Hua He contributed equally to this work.     

Geographical patterns of phenotypic diversity in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryza sativa</Emphasis> landraces of Côte d’Ivoire

The knowledge of agro-morphological diversity and the distribution pattern of variation among conserved accessions could be an invaluable aid in germplasm management and crop improvement strategies. In this study, the geographical pattern of morphological variation of 880 landrace rice (Oryza sativa (L.)) accessions in Côte d’Ivoire was evaluated for 13 agro-morphological characters. Shannon –weaver diversity index indicated an overall mean of 0.47 ± 0.07 in the collection, with the greatest diversity from derived Savanna and north-west (H′ = 0.52 and 0.50) while the west-central had the lowest diversity (H′ = 0.41). Canonical discriminant analysis showed that traits such as panicle length, grain size (weight and length), tillering ability, number of days to heading and maturity were the main discriminatory characteristics. Result of the phenotypic frequency shows that, the landraces from the north and north-western zones were mostly tall, early heading and maturity, compared to those from the west and west-central which were mainly dwarf to medium height, late heading and maturing. This differential distribution of landraces with height, heading and maturity period reflected the distribution pattern of different Oryza sativa landraces in Côte d’Ivoire, which could be useful in germplasm management and breeding programs.     

The Panama Tall and the Maypan hybrid coconut in Jamaica: did genetic contamination cause a loss of resistance to Lethal Yellowing?

We applied Bayesian population assignment methods to assess the trueness to type of four populations of the coconut cultivar Panama Tall (PNT) located in Jamaica and found that two of them presented a high percentage of off-types, while genetic contamination was low in the two others. The PNT is the pollen parent of the MAYPAN hybrid, which used to be planted in Jamaica to control an epidemic disease: Lethal Yellowing. The main source of contamination was the susceptible Jamaica Tall, thus increasing the susceptibility in the resulting MAYPAN progeny. The incidence of genetic contamination seems however to be insufficient to be the only cause of the latest outbreak of the disease. Neither the MAYPAN nor its parents can be said resistant in the present context of Jamaica.     

Double haploids,markers and QTL analysis in vegetable brassicas

Double haploid (DH) plants of Brassica spp. can be produced via anther culture or culture of microspores. This paper reviews the uses of double haploids in crop improvement research in vegetable brassicas (B. oleracea). Applications of DH lines are described for breeding; construction of linkage maps; genetic analysis of quantitative traits and capturing genetic variation. The advantages and disadvantages of DH lines are discussed     

Genetic variation in F<Subscript>2</Subscript> populations and their potential in the improvement of grain yield in tef (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Eragrostis tef</Emphasis>)

Tef is a staple cereal of Ethiopia in high demand by consumers. In order to cope up with this high consumer demand, productivity per unit of land must increase through the development and use of high-yielding varieties. To this effect, the National Tef Research Project has long been striving towards the development of high yielding varieties through direct selection from germplasm and concentrating favourable alleles through hybridization and selection, despite the tedious crossing technique. The objective of this study was to assess the degree of genetic variation in F₂ populations of tef as a basis for improving grain yield. F₂ populations from 12 crosses and their parents were grown at the Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center, Ethiopia, and assessment was made on eight traits on individual plant basis. Eleven of the 12 crosses showed substantial genetic variation for grain yield and its components, indicating the potential for improvement through selection. Moreover, grain yield, plant weight and yield related traits showed moderate to high heritability values (17–80%). In all the crosses, tiller number, panicle weight, yield per panicle and panicle length showed significant (P ≤ 0.05) and positive association with grain yield. Considering the degree of genetic variation and heritability values, emphasis should be given to selected crosses in an effort to developing high-yielding tef varieties.     

Genetic mapping of a new flowering time gene on chromosome 3B of wheat

The single chromosome substitution lines of chromosome 3B of the Czech alternative wheat variety Česká Přesívka (CP 3B) into two spring varieties Zlatka and Sandra, revealed clear differences in flowering time compared to the recipient varieties. To map this gene(s), recombinant substitution lines for chromosome 3B were produced from crosses of the substitution lines with their recipient parents and genetic maps developed using SSR markers. Two populations were mapped, Sandra//Sandra 3B/Sandra (CP 3B) and Zlatka//Zlatka/Zlatka (CP 3B). Combining the genotype data with phenotype data on flowering time in five independent experiments under natural long day or controlled short day conditions revealed a single flowering time QTL. This gene had an additive effect of 1–6 days, depending on environment and genetic background, and was mapped in both populations to a position in the region of marker Xbarc164 near the centromere on the long arm of 3B. Comparisons of the genetic maps with other 3B maps developed by the authors indicated that the QTL may be homologous to a QTL segregating in UK germplasm.