Purple Seeds Research Articles

Anthocyanin can improve the survival of rice seeds from solar light outside the international space station

A purple-pigmented (purple) rice seeds containing an anthocyanin, a major class of flavonoids, and their isogenic non-pigmented (white) seeds were exposed outside of the international space station (ISS) to evaluate the impact of anthocyanin on seed viability in space. The rice seeds were placed in sample plates at the exposed facility of ISS for 440 days, with the bottom layer seeds exposed to space radiation and the top layer seeds exposed to both solar light and space radiation. Though the seed weight of both purple and white seeds decreased after exposure to outer space, growth percentages after germination of purple and white seeds in the top layer were 55 and 15 %, respectively, compared to those in the bottom layer 100 and 70 %, respectively. RNA analysis revealed that 1,590 and 1,546 seed-stored mRNAs (long-lived mRNAs) were degraded in the white seeds of the top and the bottom layers, respectively, whereas those of the purple seeds in the top and bottom layers were 548 and 303, respectively. These results suggest that anthocyanin protected seeds and safeguarded long-lived mRNAs from solar light and space radiation to increase the seed viability.

CORRECTION OF SOWING QUALITY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS SEEDS WITH ECHINACEIA EXTRACTS

The paper presents experimental data on the effect of echinacea extracts on the sowing qualities of medicinal herbs. The biological activity of extracts obtained from the areal part (EAP) and rhizomes with roots (ERS) of pale echinacea was investigated. The object of study was the sowing quality of the seeds of such medicinal plants as blue cornflower (Centaurea cyanus L.), purple echinacea (Echinacea purpurea (L. Moench.), pale echinacea (Echinacea pallida (Nutt.) Nutt.), St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.), forest mallow (Malva sylvestris L.), which are of industrial importance for medicinal plants. The seeds were soaked in 0.01%-0.0001% solutions of extracts, under the control they were treated with water, after that they were germinated in Petri dishes by generally accepted methods according to the standards. The best results were obtained in mallow seed extracts. The solution of EAP at a concentration of 0.001% increased the energy of germination by 19.2% compared to the control, and when using ERS in all concentrations, a positive effect was obtained (by 18.2 %-23.6% to the control). Germination of variants treated with EAP solutions increased by 1.12-1.21 times, and ERS – by 1.09-1.21 times. Treatment of Echinacea purple seeds with EAP solutions was not effective, but rhizome extract treatment with roots had a positive effect on both germination energy and germination resulting 12.0%-17.3% and 8.3%-9.5% compared to the control, respectively. Similar regularities were observed in variants with the treatment of Echinacea seeds with extracts in different concentrations. The action of EAP solutions did not statistically exceed the control, but when using ERS, the results reliably exceeded the control by 10.8%-13.8% (germination energy) and by 11.0%-17.8% (germination). Treatment of St. John’s wort and cornflower seeds with extracts did not lead to changes in seed quality indicators. A general trend of greater activity of extracts in concentrations of 0.01%-0.001% was observed.

Estimation of Outcrossing Rate of Faba Bean under Natural Moroccan Conditions

Background: Faba bean is a crop of agro-ecological and socio-economic importance in Morocco. Thus, in a changing climatic context, it is important to develop varieties that are resilient to several abiotic constraints, such as synthetics. However, the reproductive system must be understood. Methods: We aimed to estimate faba beans outcrossing rate under natural Moroccan conditions, using two varieties, ‘Reina Mora’ and ‘Zina’ and two phenotypic markers, seed coat color and its size and shape, in two contrasted locations, Saïs and Gharb. Varieties were sown in six alternate rows with six seeds per row and three replicates per location. The experiment consisted in counting the number of purple seeds within ‘Zina’s beige offspring. Besides, seeds collected from ‘Reina Mora’ were counted and processed for differences in size and shape. In total, 859 seeds were measured, including their length, width, thickness, geometric diameter, area and sphericity, enabling to distinguish hybrids from parental seeds and self-seeds. Result: Results showed an average inter-crossing of 3.7% in Saïs and 7.22% in Gharb. A more reliable open-pollination could be achieved by introducing bees and bumblebees colonies as well as using varieties from same geographic gene pools.

Expression and inheritance of performance constituents and seed color in winter rye

Purpose. To establish peculiarities of inheritance of major breeding traits in lines - parents of winter rye hybrids; to assess the effectiveness of creating starting material for heterotic winter rye breeding based on lines - donors of purple seed color and a set of valuable economic characteristics. Material and methods. The experiments were conducted in the fields of Verkhniachka Experimental Breeding Station of the Institute of Bioenergy Crops and Sugar Beet (Verkhniachka EBS IBCSB) of NAAS of Ukraine (Umanskyi District of Cherkassy Region) in 2021-2022. The following F1 and F2 simple hybrids were studied: l.471 x l.44 and l.471 x l.4351H.4-1-22. F1 hybrids were sown manually in single-row sections of 1.5 m long by wide-row method (interrow distance = 25–30 cm) to a depth of 3–4 cm in 2020. The sowing design was as follows: female form – F1 – male form, using the female and male forms as references. All fully ripened plants were harvested with roots. For structural analysis, 25 plants of the hybrids, female and male forms were taken; they were evaluated for the following morphological features: plant height (PH), the productive shoot number (PSN), and spike length (SL). We analyzed such performance constituents as the flower number per spike (FMS), kernel number per spike (KNP), kernel weight per spike (KWS), kernel weight per plant (KWP), and thousand kernel weight (TKW). During the growing period, the phases of plant growth and development were monitored. Correspondence of the observed ratio of phenotypic classes to the theoretical one in F2 was assessed by the χ2 test. Results and discussion. Various forms from a genetic collection, carriers of dominant and recessive alleles of one or several marker traits were used as the starting material to explore expression and inheritance of morphological traits. Hybrid combination No. 16/17–743/18 (line 471) with purple seeds, which had been created by selection and self-pollination (inbreeding), was crossed with donors of the dominant ‘short stem’ trait with wild-type (light) color of seeds, l.44 and l.4351H.4-1-22. In F1 hybrids, the quantitative constituents of the plant performance, in particular the productive shoot number, flower number per spike, kernel number per spike, kernel weight per spike, and kernel weight per plant were higher than the parents’ mean values. High degree of dominance indicated that these traits were inherited by dominance and overdominance. In F2 hybrids, dihybrid segregation into genotypes with different colors was observed: purple due to pigments in the caryopsis coat, intermediate and wild-type color of the aleurone layer, with greater number of wild-type plants. The purple color of the caryopsis in the parental lines, l.44 and l.4351H.4-1-22, turned out to be recessive relative to the wild-type color, but at the same time it was dominant in l.471 / l.44 relative to intermediate color, and in l.4351H.4-1-22, on the contrary, it was recessive in relation to intermediate color. Epistasis in l.471 / l.44 was seen in the following sequence: wild-type ˃ purple ˃ intermediate, while in l.471 / l.4351H.4-1-22 the sequence differed: wild-type ˃ intermediate ˃ purple. Conclusions. Regardless of the genotypes of winter rye lines with colored and wild-type seeds included in crossings, the purple color of seeds showed a monogenic recessive inheritance.

Preventive and Therapeutic Effects of Punica granatum (Pomegranate) in Respiratory and Digestive Diseases: A Review

The pomegranate fruit is made of white to deep purple seeds that are enclosed in a white, spongy, astringent membrane, also known as pericarp, covered by a thick red skin and a crown-shaped calyx. It contains a variety of beneficial ingredients, including flavonoids, ellagitannin, punicalagin, ellagic acid, vitamins, and minerals. Pomegranates possess numerous health benefits, and their use in disease treatment has been widely recognized since antiquity. This fruit was known to exhibit several biological properties, including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. Pomegranate has been used in a variety of medical systems for the treatment and therapy of a wide range of diseases and illnesses. This review summarizes studies highlighting the potential role of pomegranate in the prevention and treatment of diseases related to respiratory and digestive systems.

Agromorphological characterization of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) accessions from the germplasm bank of the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation, Peru

Agromorphological characterization of cacao accessions in Peru is currently an important tool in the conservation and genetic improvement of cacao germplasm. The objective of this study was to carry out the morphological and agronomic characterization of 113 cacao accessions from the Huarangopampa germplasm bank. Tree, leaf, flower, fruit and seed descriptors were used. The data collected were processed by descriptive statistics using multivariate techniques. Five groups were formed according to similar characteristics. The accessions of group 1 are vigorous trees with an pod index of 19.27 pods/kg of seeds; the groups that presented better differential characteristics were group 2 with erect tree architecture, intermediate vigorousness, purple seed color and pod index of 20.07 pods/kg of seeds and group 3, which had the highest number of accessions with the lowest pod index of 18.77 pods/kg of seeds, besides being vigorous trees and having purple seeds. On the other hand, group 4 presented a particular characteristic of white seed color and high pod indexes with 22.11 pods/kg of seeds. Finally, group 5 accessions were characterized by intermediate tree architecture and vigor with an pod index of 21.3 pods/kg of seeds. The morphoagronomic characterization constitutes a first advance in the identification of cacaos with potential for genetic improvement and advances in the Peruvian chocolate industry.

Performance Evaluation of Induced Mutagenesis using Colchicine and EMS Solution on Cowpea M3 Purple and Mung Bean Vima1 to Increase Resistance

Induced mutagenesis is one way to improve the quality of crops, especially to increase the resistance to pests and diseases. This research aimed to determine colchicine and ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis on cowpea M3 purple and mung bean Vima1, in concatenation for developing resistant crops. This research consists of four packages: (1) first package (cowpea M3 purple seeds treated with colchicine solution, (2) second package (cowpea M3 purple seeds treated with EMS solution), (3) third package (mung bean Vima1 seeds treated with colchicine solution) and (4) fourth package (mung bean Vima1 seeds treated with EMS solution). The results of this research revealed that induced mutagenesis by colchicine solution treatment reduced the incidence of bean leaf beetles up to 19% on cowpea M3 purple, as well leaf miners by 5% to 9% and bean leaf beetles up to 5% on mung bean Vima1. Treatment of EMS solution decreased the incidence of bean leaf beetles by 17% on cowpea M3 purple and pink mealybug by 5% to 15% on mung bean Vima1. Induced mutagenesis using EMS solution significantly decreased vegetable leaf miner incidence by 33% to 93% or 71% on average. Colchicine and EMS solution treatment caused aphid attacks in cowpea M3 purple, particularly in pods. The attacks did not happen on leaves and aphid incidence in pods was slower than in control. Some promising mutant candidates were found from this research that will be used in further crop development studies. It is expected that the method and results of this research could inspire faster development of resistant crops.

The Effects of Red Clover Seed Treatment with Cold Plasma and Electromagnetic Field on Germination and Seedling Growth Are Dependent on Seed Color

This study aimed to estimate the effects of cold plasma (CP) and electromagnetic field (EMF) treatment of red clover (Trifolium pratense) seeds with different coat colors on germination kinetics, the content of seed phytohormones, and the growth of seedlings. Seeds of red clover cultivar ‘Arimaiciai’ were treated with radio-frequency EMF or capacitively coupled low-pressure CP for different durations. There were no differences in germination kinetics between yellow, brown, and dark purple seeds in control, but the germination rate of seeds treated with CP and EMF depended on seed color: The germination of yellow seeds was stimulated stronger compared to dark purple and brown seeds, and EMF did not stimulate germination in brown seeds. The content of phytohormones in control seeds and the shift in their amount induced by seed treatments were also strongly dependent on seed color. No relationship was found between the effect on germination kinetics and changes in phytohormone levels. In the control, seedlings growing from the yellow seeds were heavier, and the number of root nodules was 12.5 times larger compared to seedlings of dark purple seeds. Seed treatments with CP and EMF significantly increased the number of root nodules, and this effect was stronger in seedlings from dark purple seeds compared to those from yellow seeds.

Seleksi Generasi F2 untuk Mendapatkan Jagung dengan Kandungan Antosianin

Purple corn is one type of corn plant with high anthocyanin content, which is good for health. Hybridization activities can obtain purple corn with anthocyanin content and yield power of 9.85 tons/ha with selection. This study aims to select F2 generation corn strains that have a purple color. The genetic materials were planted without replicated design. The lines used are derived from the F2 seed results of a cross between purple corn of Marassempulu and white corn of Magetan. There were 120 plant samples. The results showed about 24 lines that had purple seeds in the F2 generation. The selection results with a selection intensity of 50% obtained 12 lines of corn which could be continued for the next generation, namely F2-PxU11-14, F2-PxU11-20, F2-PxU11-21, F2-PxU6-15, F2-PxU11-2, F2-PxU6-16, F2-PxU11-13, F2-PxU11-11, F2-PxU6-5, F2-PxU6-8, F2-PxU11-6, and F2-PxU11-16.
 Kata kunci: corn, free-based, hybridization, purple, selection

Metabolite Profiling of Sorghum Seeds of Different Colors from Different Sweet Sorghum Cultivars Using a Widely Targeted Metabolomics Approach.

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is one of the most important cereal crops in the world with colorful seeds. To study the diversity and cultivar-specificity of phytochemicals in sweet sorghum seeds, widely targeted metabolomics was used to analyze the metabolic profiles of the white, red, and purple seeds from three sweet sorghum cultivars Z6, Z27, and HC4. We identified 651 metabolites that were divided into 24 categories, including fatty acids, glycerolipids, flavonoids, benzoic acid derivatives, anthocyanins, and nucleotides and its derivatives. Among them, 217 metabolites were selected as significantly differential metabolites which could be related to the seed color by clustering analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and orthogonal signal correction and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). A significant difference was shown between the red seed and purple seed samples, Z27 and HC4, in which 106 were downregulated and 111 were upregulated. The result indicated that 240 metabolites were significantly different, which could be related to the purple color with 58 metabolites downregulated and 182 metabolites upregulated. And 199 metabolites might be involved in the red phenotype with 54 downregulated and 135 upregulated. There were 45 metabolites that were common to all three cultivars, while cyanidin O-malonyl-malonyl hexoside, cyanidin O-acetylhexoside, and cyanidin 3-O-glucosyl-malonylglucoside were significantly upregulated red seeds, which could be the basis for the variety of seed colors. Generally, our findings provide a comprehensive comparison of the metabolites between the three phenotypes of S. bicolor and an interpretation of phenotypic differences from the point of metabolomics.

Quality grading of soybean seeds using image analysis

<span>Image processing and machine learning technique are modified to use the quality grading of soybean seeds. Due to quality grading is a very important process for the soybean industry and soybean farmers. There are still some critical problems that need to be overcome. Therefore, the key contributions of this paper are first, a method to eliminate shadow noise for segment soybean seeds of high quality. Second, a novel approach for color feature which robust for illumination changes to reduces problem of color difference. Third, an approach to discover a set of feature and to form classifier model to strengthen the discrimination power for soybean classification. This study used background subtraction to reduce shadow appearing in the captured image and proposed a method to extract color feature based on robustness for illumination changes which was H components in HSI model. We proposed classifier model using combination of the color histogram of H components in HSI model and GLCM statistics to represent the color and texture features to strengthen the discrimination power of soybean grading and to solve shape variance in each soybean seeds class. SVM classifiers are generated to identify normal seeds, purple seeds, green seeds, wrinkled seeds, and other seed types. We conducted experiments on a dataset composed of 1,320 soybean seeds and 6,600 seed images with varies in brightness levels. The experimental results achieved accuracies of 99.2%, 97.9%, 100%, 100%, 98.1%, and 100% for overall seeds, normal seeds, purple seeds, green seeds, wrinkled seeds, and other seeds, respectively</span>

Purple prairie clover seed viability and germinability after passing through the digestive tracts of yearling steers

Endozoochory by cattle has been considered an important method for population self-regeneration; however, the effects of cattle digestive tracts on the viability and germinability of purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea Vent.), a native North American species, remain understudied. The experiment was conducted at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Swift Current Research and Development Centre in the semiarid prairie of western Canada. Purple prairie clover seeds extracted from cattle dung pats were tested for germination and compared with uningested and scarified seeds from the same paddock. The germination percentage (within 200 d) of the ingested seeds was 16.5% ± 0.8%, two times higher after passing through digestive tracts than uningested seeds (8.3% ± 1.2%), while 76.6% ± 1.5% of ingested seeds remained dormant. As many as 92.4% ± 0.9% of purple prairie clover seeds survived digestion due to their high hard seed rate (90.5% ± 1.0%), which was lower than the uningested seeds by 6.9%. Therefore, cattle dispersing purple prairie clover seeds with high viability and germinability is a low-cost method to increase and rejuvenate purple prairie clover for late-season grazing pastures.

Sanitary and physiological quality of ‘purple’ corn (Zea mays L.) seeds submitted to thermotherapy

ABSTRACT: The use of seeds with good sanitary and physiological potential ensures the establishment of the crop, with a uniform, vigorous and disease-free seedling stand, which will result in good productivity levels. Seen that, the objective was to evaluate the sanitary and physiological quality of purple corn seeds (Zea mays L.) submitted to thermotherapy. They were subjected to heat treatment with immersion in sterile distilled water (SDW) heated at 50, 60 and 70 °C for 1, 2, and 3 minutes. The control (0 min) correspondens only to immersing the seeds in SDW, which were submitted to sanitary and germination tests in a completely randomized experimental design, in a factorial arrangement 3 × 3 + 1 (exposure time × temperature + additional control). Data were subjected to analysis of variance, and the means were compared with the Scott-Knott test up to 5% of probability, with the aid of the statistical program SISVAR®. Immersing Zea mays seeds in hot water at 50, 60 and 70 °C for 1, 2, and 3 minutes is efficient to prevent the increased incidence of Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., and Fusarium sp. The heat treatment at 60 °C for 1 and 2 minutes of immersion reduces the incidence of fungal mycoflora without impairing the physiological quality of seeds.

Kajian Pertumbuhan Dan Produksi Varietas Jagung Lokal Dan Kacang Hijau Dalam Sistem Tumpangsari

The objective of this research was to determine appropriate variety combinations maize and mungbeans in multiple cropping system and the effect on yield, and also to determine Land Equivalency Ratio in the multiple cropping system. The experiment was conducted in Paso Village, Ambon City. A Randomized Block Design was used with two factors The first factor was maize variety consisting of 3 varieties: BISI-2 hybrid (J1), local variety with purple seeds (J2) and local variety with white seeds (J3). The second factor was mungbean variety, consisting of 3 varieties: Murai variety (K1), local variety with red seeds (J2) and local variety with matt seeds (J3). Each treatment had three replicates and 6 monocultures were added as control. Results of the experiment showed that maize variety and mungbeans variety affected significantly on growth and crop yield. BISI-2 maize produced highest seed number per row, 100 seed weight and seed weight per plot, and pod number per plant. J1K1 treatment combination gave highest seed weight per hectare, i.e. 7,63 ton of maize and 0.73 ton/ha of mungbean seeds. There was a significant effect of the interaction on Land Equivalency Ratio, and the highest value (4.07) was found in the treatment combination of J1K1

The effects of temperature on the germination behavior of white, yellow, red and purple maize plant seeds

Even though seeds are hidden inside fruit, they differ in color; an interesting, but puzzling, phenomenon. Here, the antioxidant capacities of white, yellow, red and purple seeds from a single variegated maize plant ear were measured and the effects of temperature (15, 30 and 40 °C) on germination behavior assessed. The antioxidant capacity of the seeds followed the order: purple > red > yellow > white. The most favorable temperature for all of the seeds was 30 °C. However, the highest germination rates (GRs) were observed in purple seeds, compared to the other colored seeds, when exposed to 40 °C, and white seeds, when exposed to 30 °C. The germination speeds among the seeds remained consistent (white > yellow > red > purple), irrespective of temperature. The impaired germination observed at 40 °C was significantly improved by adding exogenous antioxidants, but was further impaired by adding H2O2, especially for the white seeds; similar effects on GR were observed at 30 °C and 15 °C. High negative (at 30 °C) and positive (at 40 °C) correlations were observed between antioxidant capacity and GR. However, only high negative correlations were detected between antioxidant capacity and germination speed. In addition, no significant difference in heat stress tolerance was observed in the seedlings produced by the different colored seeds. Thus, we speculate that adverse conditions favor the germination of deeper colored seeds, whereas favorable conditions favor lighter colored ones. We discuss the significance of color, from the perspective of seed antioxidant capacity and germination ability under different environmental conditions.

The genetic constitutions of complementary genes Pp and Pb determine the purple color variation in pericarps with cyanidin-3-O-glucoside depositions in black rice

The purple pericarp color in rice was controlled by two dominant complementary genes, Pb and Pp. Crossing black rice ‘Heugnambyeo’ variants with three varieties of white pericarp rice gave a segregation ratio of 9 purple: 3 brown: 4 white. The Pp genes were segregated by homozygous PpPp alleles for the dark purple pericarps, heterozygous Pppp alleles for the medium and mixed purple pericarps, and homozygous pppp alleles for either brown or white pericarps with a 1 PpPp: 2 Pppp: 1 pppp segregation ratio, indicating that the Pp allele in rice is incompletely dominant to the recessive pp allele. Among the purple seeds, the amount of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside was higher in the dark purple seeds (Pb_PpPp) than in the medium purple seeds (Pb_Pppp). Moreover, no cyanidin-3-glucoside was detected in brown (Pb_pppp) or white pericarp seeds (pbpbpppp). These findings indicated that the level of cyanidin-3-glucoside was determined by the copy number of the Pp allele. Further genotype investigation of the F3 progeny demonstrated that the dominant Pb allele was present in either purple or brown pericarp. A 2-bp (GT) deletion from the DNA sequences of the dominant and functional Pb was found in the same DNA sequences of the recessive and non-functional pb allele. These findings suggested that the presence of at least a dominant Pb allele was an essential factor for color development in rice pericarps. In conclusion, the Pp allele in rice is incompletely dominant to the recessive pp allele; thus, the number of dominant Pp alleles determines the concentration of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside in black rice.

Expression of foreign transcription genes <italic>Bi</italic> and <italic>Cl</italic> on anthocyanin synthesis pathway in maize: A novel expression system of visual tracking for transgene

Anthocyanin is a kind of water-soluble flavonoids, which make the plants showing red, blue, purple, red purple or other colors. Expression of the metabolic regulation gene causes the accumulation of anthocyanins in plant cells, and makes the plant organs change color, easy to observe. In this paper, using Bi and Cl gene which involved in anthocyanin synthesis pathway as a visual reporter, and glyphosate resistant gene epsp ,encoding 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3 phosphate synthase,as a selection marker, plant expression vector pBAC9009 was constructed. Immature embryos and embryogenic callus of several excellent maize inbred lines were transformed with biolistic bombardment. Undertaking in vitro culture steps of callus induction, glyphosate resistance selection, differentiation and plant regeneration, 75 transgenic plants were regenerated, and 43 ears of corn were harvested. There are 18 T0 lines expressed parts or whole purple on the seedling or the growth stage, 8 ears of these lines with scattered purple seeds. Analysis of PCR, RT-PCR and anthocyanin content showed that exogenous genes were well integrated in the genome of maize and efficiently expressed in the purple leaves and seeds. In conclusion, we successfully constructed a visual tracking system for transgene which make the transformed plants can be easily distinguished from their appearance, only by its color appearance at the early stage. Application of the system can greatly improve efficiency of transgene, and save costs. It is very important for plant transgenic research.

Genotype × environment interactions in populations possessing Ga1-s and ga1 alleles for cross incompatibility in maize

Use of cross incompatibility in corn (Zea mays L.) by the Ga1-s allele may reduce cross-fertilization in specialty and conventional organic corn with pollen from genetically-modified (GM) corn. For effective use, information about environment, and genotype × environment effects on cross-fertilization by ga1 as well as heritability of cross incompatibility in maize is necessary. Our objective was to obtain this information. Four population pairs differing in their genotype at ga1 were evaluated for cross incompatibility with ga1 pollen in different environments. Populations were derived by crossing the recurrent parents B116, PHG35, ARZM16035:S19, and (CHZM05015:Mo17)Mo17 to Ga1-s donor parent Mo508W/Mo506W. Two replicates of each treatment were grown in the center of 952 m2 fields planted with purple corn as an adventitious source of ga1/ga1 pollen. Open pollination was allowed and the amount of cross-fertilization estimated by averaging the percentage of purple seeds. Environment and genotype × environment effects were not significant. Contrasts to evaluate differences in cross-fertilization between Ga1-s and ga1 populations revealed that mean percentages of cross-fertilization in Ga1-s populations of B116, ARZM16035:S19, and (CHZM05015:Mo17)Mo17 were significantly lower than in ga1 populations. The estimated broad-sense heritability on an entry-mean basis for cross incompatibility was 0.81. Results suggest differences in genotype at ga1 played a major role in cross-fertilization of populations differing in their genotype at the ga1 locus. Incompatibility may be selected effectively over different environments and the Ga1-s system may be of value to reduce cross-fertilization with GM corn pollen.

Cytomorphological analysis of a novel hybrid from Solanum melongena 'Golden' x S. scabrum 'Scabrum' (Solanaceae)

Genotype manipulation through the introduction of novel genes for improved yield, agronomic qualities and a larger gene pool informed an experimental cross between diploid Solanum melongena 'Golden' (2n = 2x = 24) and tetraploid S. scabrum 'Scabrum' (2n = 4x = 48). The F1 fruit contained eight seeds which had a 100% germination and a chromosome number 2n = 6x = 72. Surviving hybrids were closer to the diploid parent in many characters. Leaves were fairly lobed, sparsely hairy and were 13.5 x 8.6 cm in the hybrid compared to the hairy, deeply lobed, 14.8 x 10.6 cm leaves in the diploid and glabrous, entire and 11.4 x 10.6 cm leaves in the tetraploid parent. The inflorescence in the hybrid was a raceme as in the diploid parent but was umbellate in the tetraploid. Pollen viability was 38.2% in the hybrid but was 71% and 97.4% in the diploid and tetraploid parents, respectively. Fruit was seedless in the F2; it was round and red, containing 384 seeds, globose-shaped, yellow seeds in the diploid, and 67, round, purple seeds in the tetraploid parent. Meiosis was regular in the hybrid with few univalents and impaired bivalents due to dissimilar parental genomes. Mitotic chromosomes were asymmetrical with various sizes. Epistasis and negative gene interaction mechanisms were implicated in the hybrids' low quality and breakdown. Backcross to the tetraploid parent may bring about gene recombination and allelic realignment for desirable phenotypes in the F2 and subsequent generations. Endoduplication of the triploid zygote might have produced an autoallohexaploid hybrid.

A map of rye chromosome 2R using isozyme and morphological markers

The segregation of isozymic loci for leaf peroxidases (L2Per) has been investigated in backcrosses and F2 offspring of rye lines having purple seeds (Ps) and monstrosum ears (mo). The Ps, L2Per-3b, mo, and L2Per-2 loci were linked. The Ps and mo loci have been previously located on the 2R chromosome, and the L2Per-3b and L2Per-2 loci have been located on the 2RS chromosome arm. The results favor the gene order Ps ... L2Per-3b ... mo ... L2Per-2 or Ps ... mo... L2Per-3b ... L2Per-2. The position of the loci relative to the centromere is still not known, but the obtained results suggest that the mo locus could be located on the 2RS chromosome arm. On the basis of previously reported linkage groups, the most probable arrangement of the loci located on chromosome 2R is: dw2 ... Ps ... (L2Per-3a ... L2Per-3b ... mo) ... L2Per-2. It has not been possible to know the position of L2Per-4 loci (also located on 2RS chromosome arm) relative to L2Per-3a and L2Per-3b loci.