Euphytica最新文献

Hybridization and polyploidy are currently known as exponential factors for biodiversity. Some Paspalum species can hybridize and originate viable allopolyploids with possible agronomic use. We collected a frost resistance hybrid in north–western Misiones and determined its ploidy level, meiotic behavior, pollen viability, cytoembryology, and seed production in open and self-pollination. To elucidate its origin, we conducted a phenotypic and geographical analysis using herbarium specimens to establish its putative parental species. The hybrid was triploid, exhibiting irregular meiosis with the formation of non-viable pollen and undeveloped embryo sacs, resulting in very low seed production under both pollination conditions. Through morphological analysis, we identified Paspalum urvillei Steud. and the Paniculata group, i.e. Paspalum juergensii Hack., Paspalum umbrosum Trin., and Paspalum paniculatum L., as the putative parental species. Geographic distribution patterns suggested a possible hybridization event between P. urvillei and P. umbrosum, though further investigation is needed to precisely identify which species from the Paniculata group hybridized with P. urvillei. Future studies will help to unravel the complex genetic interactions underlying hybridization in Paspalum species and contribute to our understanding of biodiversity dynamics.

The yield and production of several crops, including wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), which is the most significant crop in the world, have been significantly affected by drought occurrences in various parts of the world. By Using the randomized complete block design, which is based on three replications, a set of 100 wheat accessions were examined under normal and drought stress condition. The analysis of variance revealed that the genotypes significantly varied in all of the qualities in both condition under normal and drought stress, which demonstrating the wide range of genotypes that can be used in breeding strategies for improvement. The study revealed significant differences among genotypes under both normal and drought conditions, highlighting the varying responses to stress. According to the results of the correlation study, in normal conditions, the grain yield per plant exhibits a significant and favorable link with every trait that was studied. Under drought conditions, grain yield per plant has a negative association with plant height, which has an impact on grain production and results in a significant decrease in the wheat crop’s output. The genotypes G27, G28, G71, G72, and G89 performed best under drought conditions and were termed drought resistant genotypes, according to the mean variability, whereas the genotypes G50, G53, G54, G80, and G88 performed poorly and were considered as drought sensitive. Highest broad-sense heritability (84–96%) and genetic advance exceeded 20% that emphasized the role of genetic factors in influencing studied traits which exhibited significant potential for improvement through selective breeding, particularly in drought-stress. Results obtained from principal component analysis, only 4 PCs showed the significant variability due to having eigenvalues > 1. These 4 PCs cumulatively accounted for 66.1% and 63.8% of the total variability under normal and drought conditions. Eigenvalues, proportions, and cumulative values of principal components were analyzed, indicating that the first few principal components captured the majority of the variance in the dataset. Loading factor analysis further revealed the correlation between original variables and principal components, aiding in understanding the contribution of each trait to overall variance. The identification of drought-tolerant genotypes and the delineation of trait relationships provide crucial information for future breeding endeavors, aiming at enhancing wheat resilience and ensuring sustainable wheat production in the face of environmental challenges. This study will also enhance the understanding of genetic basis of wheat traits and their responses to drought stress.

The potential production and productivity of groundnuts are limited due to severe drought stress associated with climate change. The current study aimed to identify genomic regions and candidate genes associated with drought tolerance and component traits for gene introgression and to guide marker-assisted breeding of groundnut varieties. Ninety-nine genetically diverse groundnut genotypes were phenotyped under drought-stressed and non-stressed field conditions in 2018/19 and 2019/20, and using the LeasyScan platform under non-stressed conditions in 2019/20 at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)/India. The samples were genotyped using 48 K single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) markers at the University of Georgia/USA. Phenotypic data was collected on 17 agronomic traits and subjected to statistical analyses. The SNP data were computed, and population structure was inferred using a Bayesian clustering method in Structure version 2.3.4, while linkage disequilibrium was calculated using the GAPIT program in R software. Marker-trait associations were deduced using Tassel 5.2.86. Significant phenotypic variations were recorded for drought tolerance and the assessed agronomic traits. GWAS analysis using PCA + K and Q + K models identified significant SNPs associated with leaf area (1 SNP), leaf area Index (1 SNP), specific leaf area (1 SNP), leaf relative water content (43 SNPs), number of primary branches (1 SNP) and hundred seed weight (1 SNP). Forty-seven and one marker-trait associations were detected under drought-stressed and non-stressed conditions, respectively. The candidate genes and markers identified in the current study are useful for accelerated groundnut breeding targeting drought tolerance and market-preferred traits.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) has become an increasingly valuable crop for food, feed, and especially bioenergy feedstock production, which makes the crop extremely attractive for studying genomics and genetic diversity. Molecular markers and genomics play essential roles in sorghum breeding. The rapid development of next-generation sequencing technology has facilitated the identification of genome-wide insertion-deletion (InDel) polymorphisms, enabling the efficient construction of InDel markers that are suitable for user-friendly PCR. This study was conducted with the objective of discovering and developing InDel markers using double digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-Seq) data. A total of 19,226 InDels distributed across 10 chromosomes in the sorghum genome was identified. Of those, deletions constituted 65.7% while the remain was insertions. A comprehensive analysis of all the chromosomes revealed a total of 80 InDel sites with a minimum length of 10 bp. For a good conversion of the InDel regions to beneficial molecular markers, specific primers were designed for the amplification of 47 InDel regions that were selected for further investigation. A diverse panel of sorghum consisting of 16 accessions served a source for the developed InDel markers validation. Of the 47 InDel markers, 14 were tested across 16 sorghum accessions and were demonstrated their helpfulness for marker-assisted selection in sorghum. The polymorphic information content (PIC) values of the 16 markers varied between 0.11 and 0.38, with an average of 0.28. The findings of this study indicated that the identification of InDels and the development of molecular markers for sorghum were accomplished using the ddRAD-Seq data.

Plant structure type (PT) is an important complex and quantitative trait to regulating yield potential and stress tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this study, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population genotyped by wheat 50 K SNP chip was employed to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling plant structure type and seed-related eight traits in seven environments. A total of 13 QTL were detected in multiple environments. By comparing previous studies, QKw-5D-2-2 (kernel width) and QSnl-6B (spike neck length), on chromosomes 5D and 6B, respectively, were regarded as two new multi-environmental stable QTLs explaining 5.01–11.51% and 9.79–15.01% of the phenotypic variation, correspondingly. In addition, we predicted two genes associated with grain width in the interval QKw-5D-2-2, and seven multi-environmentally stable QTLs on chromosome 4D were found to be distributed in clusters; significant correlations were found between plant height (PH) and, PT, spike neck length (SNL), basal two internode length (BL), kernel width (KW) and thousand kernel weights (TKW) by genetic and correlation analyses. In summary, our results will provide help to understand the genetic relationship between plant structure type and yield potential. And the newly identified QTLs and QTL clusters lay the genetic foundation for fine localization of plant structure type related traits and molecular marker-assisted breeding in wheat genetic improvement.

Due to the narrow genetic base of both Deli and AVROS populations used in Malaysian commercial planting materials, exotic germplasm from Nigeria has been introduced into existing breeding populations. This study was conducted to select the best families from 38 dura × pisifera (D × P) families for the development of new high-yielding planting materials. The families were planted at the MPOB Research Station Hulu Paka, Terengganu, Malaysia, in 2007, in a randomised complete block design with three replications. Bunch yield recording, bunch quality components estimations, and vegetative measurements were analysed using analysis of variance, followed by comparisons between family means, heritability estimates, and cluster analysis. Highly significant genetic variation was observed for all traits among the 38 D × P families. Families PK 4044, ECP HP 496, ECP HP 500, and ECP HP 502 exhibited excellent yield-related traits such as fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield, bunch number (BNO), oil yield (OY), total economic product (TEP), and total oil content (TOT). Although the broad-sense heritability estimates were low for FFB yield (15.8%), moderate for TEP (53.8%) and TOT (55.2%), the estimates were high for BNO (80.9%) and OY (62.7%). The families clustered into three main clusters with several sub-clusters, whereby the high-yielding four families (PK 4044, ECP HP 496, ECP HP 500, and ECP HP 502) were clustered together. Using these families as commercial planting materials may potentially increase the national oil yield, which has stagnated for a few decades, and subsequently contribute to the advancement of the oil palm industry in the future.

Longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) is an important underutilized fruit crop. There is currently limited information available on the genetic background of longans, which is a key bottleneck in longan improvement. Studies on the extent of genetic variability and genetic divergence are crucial and it can provide relevant information which can be very useful for crop improvement programmes. In the present study, a total of 54 qualitative and quantitative traits were investigated of 20 different longan genotypes to determine the morphological and physiochemical traits that. Results revealed that the significant variability existed in the studied traits except few. Among the qualitative traits petiole colour, leaflet curvature, young leaf colour, mature leaf colour, branching density, leaflet midrib colour, abundance of flower, trunk surface, fruit maturity group, and tree vigour were showed more than the average value of Shannon’s diversity index. Higher PCV and GCV recorded for several traits viz., tree volume followed by aril weight, number of fruits per branch, aril/seed weight ratio, trunk girth, TSS acid ratio, aril thickness, number of days from panicle initiation to flowering, titratable acidity, width of inflorescence, length of inflorescence, petiole length, fruit weight, plant height, crown diameter and rachis length. High heritability estimates coupled with high genetic advance as % of mean were recorded for the traits viz., plant height, trunk girth, crown diameter, tree volume, rachis and petiole length, number of days from panicle initiation to flowering, length and width of inflorescence, number of fruits per bunch, fruit, aril and seed weight, aril thickness, fruit colour-a, titratable acidity and TSS acid ratio which is indicative of additive gene action and selection based on these traits would be more reliable. According to the Mahalanobis D² statistic, twenty diverse genotypes were grouped into eight groups. The presence of genetic divergence was also tested in cluster means by the significant amount of variability for various variables. Therefore, this study’s findings imply that these genotypes have variability in terms of fruit quality traits, yield and traits that contribute to yield, and other agronomic traits that could be useful in future crop improvement initiatives.

Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum is one of the most prevalent and severe disease of beans. Anthracnose resistance to most of the prevalent races in the state is provided by Co-5 gene. Therefore, deployment of this gene is more relevant as the lines developed under this study harboring Co-5 gene have potential to impart resistance against prevalent races. Hybridisation between a resistant genotype, TU having bean anthracnose resistance gene Co-5 and elite cultivar Arka Komal was done and further advanced to generate F_1, BC₁F_1, BC₂F₁ and BC₂F₂ plants. Co-5 gene linked SCAR marker SAB3 was used for screening of hybridity of F_1, BC₁F_1, BC₂F₁ and BC₂F₂ plants/pods. The results of the foreground selection in these plants revealed that out of a population of 50 BC₂F₂ plants, 36 plants portrayed Co-5 gene. Further foreground selection with SAB3 SCAR marker, revealed lack of segregation in 12 progenies. Screening of these progenies by detached pod and germinated seed dip methods using race 3 of C. lindemuthianum, validated Co-5 resistance in all 12 BC₂F₃ progenies. All 12 Co-5 gene-positive BC₂F₄ progenies were evaluated for 17 agronomic traits including 8 qualitative and 9 quantitative traits. Evaluation identified AKTU 19 and AKTU 33 lines that possessed better elite background. These progenies can further be advanced to isolate variety/(ies) directly or as prebred donor of anthracnose resistance gene Co-5 in the future breeding programmes.

Cytoplasmic male-sterility (CMS) is the primary source for the production of commercially viable onion F1 hybrids. The molecular interplay of the cytoplasmic-nuclear genes propels the restoration of fertility in the CMS system, making it cost-effective and stable. The use of the molecular markers that can determine the cytoplasm type and nuclear genotype reduces the amount of time and labour required. This study characterized the morphology of male sterile and fertile plants based on anther colour and pollen viability. Additionally, the molecular characterization of the organellar DNA differentiating cytoplasm and nuclear genotypes in 35 commercially grown open-pollinated varieties of Indian short-day onion was attempted. Our results revealed that morphological and microscopic observations for the identification of male sterile and fertile plants were not 100% corroborative. Markers located in the chloroplast (accD) and mitochondrial DNA (MKFR) revealed that Indian cultivars exhibited a greater frequency of N (normal) cytoplasm, lower frequency of S (sterile) cytoplasm and no occurrence of T (sterile) cytoplasm. All three markers viz., AcPMS1, AcSKP1, and jnurf13 revealed that 93 to 99% of the plants of all the varieties had homozygous recessive (msms) alleles at the Ms locus. The OPT marker classified the plants as having 38% msms, 39% Msms and 21% MsMs genotypes and needs further investigation. This underscores the pressing need for additional markers to precisely discern the Ms locus, facilitating the identification of male sterile and maintainer plants within open-pollinated populations of Indian short-day onions. Notably, male sterile cytoplasm was identified in eight commercial varieties, marking a pioneering revelation in Indian onion cultivation.

Banana (Musa spp.) production worldwide is seriously threatened by Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). The best way to control this disease is to grow resistant cultivars. However, it requires large-scale field evaluations and labor- and time-consuming to obtain disease-resistant germplasm. Development of early, reliable, and reproducible selection strategies are considered as the efficient approach which could speed up the selection procedure. In this study, two pairs of sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) primers related to banana Foc resistance/susceptibility were screened from 100 pairs of random primers. Correspondingly, two pairs of sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers (namely SC4-F/SC4-R and SC14-F/SC14-R, respectively) were successfully generated from these two SRAP markers using 30 cultivars either resistant or susceptible to Foc. Both SCAR markers were located in mitochondrion genome and showed discriminatory power of 96.67% and 100%, respectively. Mitochondrial proteins possibly play a very important role in banana resistance to Foc. In additional, these two SCAR markers were employed simultaneously to screen potential resistant germplasm from 53 accessions with unknown resistance to Foc, and the results revealed a consistency of 83.0% with each other, further indicating their high reliability and reproducibility. These results suggest that both SCAR markers could be used in molecular marker-assisted selection for banana germplasm resistant to Fusarium.