Search results for "Plant Biology"

The exceptionality of stress response in Magnaporthe oryzae: a set of “salt stress-induced” genes unique to the rice blast fungus

2017

The ability of pathogens to signal perception and adaptation to environmental changes is an important prerequisite for successful colonization of the host organism. Filamentous phytopathogenic fungi, for example, have to cope with rapid changes in the environment during invasive growth in planta. Consequently, they have evolved a range of specific factors contributing to environmental adaptation facilitating host invasion. In addition to conserved pathways, including genes participating in stress response, unique/individual genes within the pathogens might represent determinants of pathogenicity. Therefore, identification of unique genes could provide a set of excellent candidates for novel…

C 3 –C 4 intermediates may be of hybrid origin – a reminder

2017

Summary The currently favoured model of the evolution of C4 photosynthesis relies heavily on the interpretation of the broad phenotypic range of naturally growing C3–C4 intermediates as proxies for evolutionary intermediate steps. On the other hand, C3–C4 intermediates had earlier been interpreted as hybrids or hybrid derivates. By first comparing experimentally generated with naturally growing C3–C4 intermediates, and second summarising either direct or circumstantial evidence for hybridisation in lineages comprising C3, C4 and C3–C4 intermediates, we conclude that a possible hybrid origin of C3–C4 intermediates deserves careful examination. While we acknowledge that the current model of C…

2017

C4 photosynthesis is a carbon-concentrating mechanism that evolved independently more than 60 times in a wide range of angiosperm lineages. Among other alterations, the evolution of C4 from ancestral C3 photosynthesis requires changes in the expression of a vast number of genes. Differential gene expression analyses between closely related C3 and C4 species have significantly increased our understanding of C4 functioning and evolution. In Chenopodiaceae, a family that is rich in C4 origins and photosynthetic types, the anatomy, physiology and phylogeny of C4, C2, and C3 species of Salsoleae has been studied in great detail, which facilitated the choice of six samples of five representative …

Discovery of a Major QTL Controlling Trichome IV Density in Tomato Using K-Seq Genotyping

2021

[EN] Trichomes are a common morphological defense against pests, in particular, type IV glandular trichomes have been associated with resistance against different invertebrates. Cultivated tomatoes usually lack or have a very low density of type IV trichomes. Therefore, for sustainable management of this crop, breeding programs could incorporate some natural defense mechanisms, such as those afforded by trichomes, present in certain Solanum species. We have identified a S. pimpinellifolium accession with very high density of this type of trichomes. This accession was crossed with a S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme and a S. lycopersicum var. lycopersicum accessions, and the two resulting F2 …

Single-Spore Extraction for Genetic Analyses of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

2020

International audience; Biomass of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF, Glomeromycota) is often only available in small quantities as these fungi are obligate biotrophs and many species are difficult to cultivate under controlled conditions. Here, I describe a simple, efficient approach to produce crude extracts from single or a small number of spores that can be used for genotyping AMF.

Ongoing Evolution in the Genus Crocus: Diversity of Flowering Strategies on the Way to Hysteranthy

2021

[EN] Species of the genus Crocus are found over a wide range of climatic areas. In natural habitats, these geophytes diverge in the flowering strategies. This variability was assessed by analyzing the flowering traits of the Spanish collection of wild crocuses, preserved in the Bank of Plant Germplasm of Cuenca. Plants of the seven Spanish species were analyzed both in their natural environments (58 native populations) and in common garden experiments (112 accessions). Differences among species observed in the native habitats were maintained under uniform environmental conditions, suggesting a genetic basis for flowering mechanisms. Two eco-morphological types, autumn- and spring-flowering …

In vitro storage of plum germplasm by slow growth

2015

Gianni S., Sottile F. (2015): In vitro storage of plum germplasm by slow growth . Hort. Sci. (Prague), 42: 61–69. In this study, in vitro slow growth storage was investigated in four cultivars of two Sicilian (Southern Italy) plum species (Prunus domestica L. and Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. – two genotypes each). Established shoot cultures were preserved at 4°C in the dark in a Murashige and Skoog basal medium containing one of two different concentrations of sucrose (20 and 30 g/l) and with or without growth regulators. We tested the effects of cold storage, genotype and media on survival and re-growth capacity of explants after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of storage. Effective minimal growth under …

Phenotypic traits of berries and seeds of Sicilian grape cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.)

2020

Abstract Grapevine is characterized by high variability in seed and berry morphology and their phenotypic traits are usually used to describe V. vinifera varieties. The goal of this study was to investigate the phenotypic diversity of berry and seed traits and the relationships between berry and seed morphological characteristics of autochthonous accessions of Sicilian germplasm. In two seasons, twenty bunches per cultivar were harvested at technological maturity. Berry weight; berry longitudinal and transversal diameters; seed number/weight per berry; and seed length, thickness, width and beak length were determined, after which the diameter ratio was calculated. Black and white cultivars …

S-genotype identification, genetic diversity and structure analysis of Italian sweet cherry germplasm

2017

In this study, 186 local sweet cherry accessions from 12 Italian regions, plus eight reference accessions, were analysed for the first time, using 13 microsatellite markers. Moreover, their S-incompatibility genotypes were identified with consensus primers for the S-RNase and SFB genes. A total of 161 unique genotypes were found; 18 groups of synonyms, along with the discovery of cases of misidentification. The average number of alleles per locus was 9.7, the mean expected heterozygosity (He) was 0.63, the mean observed heterozygosity (Ho) was 0.65 and the mean polymorphic information content (PIC) was 0.58. The structure analysis revealed the presence of six populations, which reflected in…

Towards a Joint International Database: Alignment of SSR Marker Data for European Collections of Cherry Germplasm

2021

International audience; The objective of our study was the alignment of microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker data across germplasm collections of cherry within Europe. Through the European Cooperative program for Plant Genetic Resources ECPGR, a number of European germplasm collections had previously been analysed using standard sets of SSR loci. However, until now these datasets remained unaligned. We used a combination of standard reference genotypes and ad-hoc selections to compile a central dataset representing as many alleles as possible from national datasets produced in France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. Through the comparison of alleles c…