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Autotetraploid Emergence via Somatic Embryogenesis in Vitis vinifera Induces Marked Morphological Changes in Shoots, Mature Leaves, and Stomata
2021
Polyploidy plays an important role in plant adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses. Alterations of the ploidy in grapevine plants regenerated via somatic embryogenesis (SE) may provide a source of genetic variability useful for the improvement of agronomic characteristics of crops. In the grapevine, the SE induction process may cause ploidy changes without alterations in DNA profile. In the present research, tetraploid plants were observed for 9.3% of ‘Frappato’ grapevine somatic embryos regenerated in medium supplemented with the growth regulators β-naphthoxyacetic acid (10 µM) and N6-benzylaminopurine (4.4 µM). Autotetraploid plants regenerated via SE without detectable changes in the …
Maritime Pine Pinus Pinaster Aiton
2018
Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) is the most abundant conifer in the Mediterranean basin. Currently, maritime pine is considered to be a model conifer species for study of the adaption responses to drought stress from a genomics approach. In this context, the availability of protocols that allow not only mass vegetative propagation of selected families or genotypes, but also facilitate the functional analyses needed to verify and further to study the effects of candidate genes are necessary. Here we describe an improved protocol to generate maritime pine plants through somatic embryogenesis from immature megagametophytes. Accurate procedures for explant preparation, somatic embryo induc…
Homozygote Depression in Gamete-Derived Dragon-Fruit (Hylocereus) Lines
2018
Putative gamete-derived progenies from two Hylocereus species, the diploid H. monacanthus and the tetraploid H. megalanthus, were studied with the dual aims to confirm their gamete origin and to evaluate their potential use as genetic resources. An additional goal was to determine the origin (allotetraploid vs. autotetraploid) of H. megalanthus by exploring morphological variations in the di-haploid (2x) H. megalanthus progeny. Gamete origin was proved in all five H. monacanthus lines obtained and in 49 of the 70 H. megalanthus lines by using flow cytometry and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The five double-haploid (2x) H. monacanthus lines showed low vigor and abnormal flower develo…
Repeated switches from cooperative to selfish worker oviposition during stingless bee evolution
2018
Reproductive division of labour is a defining feature of insect societies. Stingless bees (Meliponini) are an interesting exception among the highly eusocial insects in that workers of many species contribute significantly to the production of males. Since workers remain sterile in other species of this large tropical tribe, it has been hypothesized that, in the latter species, ancestral queens have won the conflict over who produces the males. The fact that sterile workers of some species lay trophic eggs to feed the queen and display ritualized behaviours towards her during oviposition has been interpreted as an evolutionary relic of this ancient conflict. Here, I used ancestral state est…
Enemy recognition is linked to soldier size in a polymorphic stingless bee
2017
Many ant and termite colonies are defended by soldiers with powerful mandibles or chemical weaponry. Recently, it was reported that several stingless bee species also have soldiers for colony defence. These soldiers are larger than foragers, but otherwise lack obvious morphological adaptations for defence. Thus, how these soldiers improve colony fitness is not well understood. Robbing is common in stingless bees and we hypothesized that increased body size improves the ability to recognize intruders based on chemosensory cues. We studied the Neotropical species Tetragonisca angustula and found that large soldiers were better than small soldiers at recognizing potential intruders. Larger so…
Infestation of broad bean (Vicia faba) by the green stink bug (Nezara viridula) decreases shoot abscisic acid contents under well-watered and drought…
2017
The response of broad bean (Vicia faba) plants to water stress alone and in combination with green stink bug (Nezara viridula) infestation was investigated through measurement of: (1) leaf gas exchange; (2) plant hormone titres of abscisic acid (ABA) and its metabolites, and of salicylic acid (SA); and (3) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content. Furthermore, we evaluated the effects of experimentally water-stressed broad-bean plants on N. viridula performance in terms of adult host–plant preference, and nymph growth and survival. Water stress significantly reduced both photosynthesis (A) and stomatal conductance (gs), while infestation by the green stink bug had no effects on photosynthesis but s…
Spoilage potential of Brettanomyces bruxellensis strains isolated from Italian wines
2018
Abstract Brettanomyces bruxellensis is an important wine spoilage agent. In this study a population of Brettanomyces strains isolated from Italian wines was thoroughly investigated to evaluate adaptability to wine conditions and spoilage potential. The presumptive isolates of Brettanomyces were identified at species level with 26S rRNA gene sequencing and species-specific PCR, and subsequently subjected to analysis of intra-species variability through the study of intron splice sites (ISS-PCR). Although, some strains were tracked in wines from different regions, extensive genetic biodiversity was observed within the B. bruxellensis population investigated. All strains were evaluated for the…
Two consecutive Wolbachia ‐mediated mitochondrial introgressions obscure taxonomy in Palearctic swallowtail butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae)
2019
Swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae) are among the most spectacular and well-known Lepidoptera in the European fauna, but their systematics is not fully elucidated. A notable case is that of Iphiclides feisthamelii which, after more than 180 years since description, still has a debated status, being often considered as a subspecies of Iphiclides podalirius. To elucidate the relationship between the two taxa and the evolutionary processes that led to their separation, we combine mitochondrial and nuclear DNA (mtDNA and nDNA) data, Wolbachia screening, genitalia morphology and wing UV reflectance. Our results show that the two taxa clearly differ in male and female genital morphology, male …
Marine Cryptophytes Are Great Sources of EPA and DHA
2017
Microalgae have the ability to synthetize many compounds, some of which have been recognized as a source of functional ingredients for nutraceuticals with positive health effects. One well-known example is the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are essential for human nutrition. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are the two most important long-chain omega-3 (-3) PUFAs involved in human physiology, and both industries are almost exclusively based on microalgae. In addition, algae produce phytosterols that reduce serum cholesterol. Here we determined the growth rates, biomass yields, PUFA and sterol content, and daily gain of eight strains of marine…
Trichoderma harzianum Strain T22 Modulates Direct Defense of Tomato Plants in Response to Nezara viridula Feeding Activity
2021
AbstractPlant growth-promoting fungi belonging to genus Trichoderma are known to help plants when dealing with biotic stressors by enhancing plant defenses. While beneficial effects of Trichoderma spp. against plant pathogens have long been documented, fewer studies have investigated their effect on insect pests. Here, we studied the impact of Trichoderma root colonization on the plant defense responses against stink bug feeding attack. For this purpose, a model system consisting of tomato plant, Solanum lycopersicum cv Dwarf San Marzano, Trichoderma harzianum strain T22 and the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula, was used. We firstly determined stink bug performance in terms of rela…