Wild Cultivars Research Articles

Investigation of Optimum Dose of Gamma Irradiation and Ems (Single and Combination Treatments) to Induce Mutation in Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) Wild Cultivar

In induced mutation breeding program, it is necessary to find the optimum dose for inducing mutation. Effective dose is vary plant to plant depends on size of seeds. There is inverse relation size of seeds and concentration of mutagen. Parameter of consideration of optimum dose for mutagenesis is germination around 50 % of seeds after mutagenesis is indication of successive mutagenesis. In this mutagenesis investigation 50% seed germination is observed in treatment of gamma irradiation 300 Gy and EMS 0.3 %. Another great decrease in seed germination of 80 % is observed in combination treatments 300 Gy + 0.3 and 400 Gy + 0.3 %.

COMPARISONS OF ANATOMICAL TRAITS IN DIFFERENT LEAF POSITIONS OF DIVERSE SETS OF SUGARCANE GENOTYPES

Research on appropriate leaf positions in diverse sugarcane genotypes is crucial due to the significance of leaf anatomical characteristics in determining plant adaptability. This study aimed to compare the anatomical traits among the varied leaf positions within a tiller and tillers under normal conditions. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) setup used four replications. Four commercial canes, two wild types, and three F1 interspecific hybrids underwent examination on leaf thickness (LT), cuticle thickness percentage (CT%), vertical length bulliform cell percentage (VBC%), and stomatal crypt depth percentage (SCD%) across 1st to 5th leaf positions on main, first, and second tillers. The 1st to 5th leaf positions had no differences when compared within the tiller in commercial and wild cultivars for LT, CT%, VBC%, and SCD% traits, and F1 hybrids demonstrated no variation in CT% and VBC% traits. The LT, SCD, and CT of commercial canes had a high proportion, and VBC had a slender shape and a large size. Inversely, the wild type had a low LT but high SCD and CT and a circular shape with a small size VBC. Leaf anatomy in the F1 hybrid resembled the wild type, and leaf positions 1st to 3rd were not different among tillers, but the 4th and 5th leaf positions differed. Therefore, anatomical trait collection should continue among 1st to 3rd leaf positions for all sugarcane types. Moreover, the 1st to 3rd leaf positions within the 1st and 2nd tillers can represent the anatomical performance of the main tiller in commercial cane cultivars

QTL Mapping of Soybean (Glycine max) Vine Growth Habit Trait.

The vine growth habit (VGH) is a notable property of wild soybean plants that also holds a high degree of importance in domestication as it can preclude using these wild cultivars for breeding and improving domesticated soybeans. Here, a bulked segregant analysis (BSA) approach was employed to study the genetic etiology of the VGH in soybean plants by integrating linkage mapping and population sequencing approaches. To develop a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, the cultivated Zhongdou41 (ZD41) soybean cultivar was bred with ZYD02787, a wild soybean accession. The VGH status of each line in the resultant population was assessed, ultimately leading to the identification of six and nine QTLs from the BSA sequencing of the F4 population and F6-F8 population sequence mapping, respectively. One QTL shared across these analyzed generations was detected on chromosome 19. Three other QTLs detected by BSA-seq were validated and localized to the 90.93 kb, 2.9 Mb, and 602.08 kb regions of chromosomes 6 and 13, harboring 14, 53, and 4 genes, respectively. Three consistent VGH-related QTLs located on chromosomes 2 and 19 were detected in a minimum of three environments, while an additional six loci on chromosomes 2, 10, 13, and 18 were detected in at least two environments via ICIM mapping. Of all the detected loci, five had been reported previously whereas seven represent novel QTLs. Together, these data offer new insights into the genetic basis of the VGH in soybean plants, providing a rational basis to inform the use of wild accessions in future breeding efforts.

The Preference of Thrips tabaci for Allium cepa, Allium fistulosum, and Allium roylei

Thrips tabaci Lind. (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is a key pest of onions worldwide. It causes both direct and indirect damage to onion crops, resulting in high yield losses. Today, the Integrated System of Production and Plant Protection requires onion growers to use onion- thrips-resistant cultivars. It has become apparent that the improvement of existing onion cultivars may not be a sufficient, so it is necessary to search for desirable plant traits related to disease and pest resistance among existing and wild cultivars. For this purpose, we conducted bioassays on the possible preference of T. tabaci for three different cultivars of Allium cepa L., namely, Alibaba, Bila, Tęcza, one cultivar Kroll of Welsh onion, Allium fistulosum L., and the wild species Allium roylei Stearn. The settling preference and the oviposition rate of female onion thrips were evaluated using choice and no-choice laboratory tests, respectively. During the bioassay, on leaf sections of the A. roylei species, a significantly higher number of T. tabaci females was recorded compared to the cv. Tęcza of the A. cepa species and the cv. Kroll of the A. fistulosum species in each observation period. Significantly more thrips settled on cv. Kroll compared to Alibaba and Bila. Regarding the results obtained on A. cepa, significantly fewer females were found on cv. Bila compared to cv. Tęcza. Opposite results were observed in a combination of cvs. Tęcza–Alibaba, where significantly more insects settled on the leaves of cv. Alibaba. Statistically significant differences between cultivars/species were found in the number of hatched larvae on the leaves of the tested cultivars/species of onion. The lowest number of larvae hatched from eggs laid on A. roylei, as compared to A. fistulosum and the cultivars of A. cepa, except for Bila.

Genetic diversity of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) accessions using chloroplast DNA and random amplified polymorphic DNA markers

Information regarding genetic diversity and genetic relationships among different genotypes is invaluable in crop improvement of which its success is largely dependent on genetic variability. As molecular markers continue to be an effective tool for localization of a gene to improvement of plant varieties, the need to establish phylogenetic relationships becomes extremely important for the process of breeding new cultivars. This study reports genetic diversity for Tomato accessions across Nigeria (Six geo-Political Zones) as revealed by chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. cpDNA data showed a Nucleotide diversity for all accessions of Tomato at 0.302 while the number of segregated sites as well as parsimony informative sites to be 4.0. Data from five Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers showed a low Gene diversity (h) which ranged from 0.10 to 0.28, Percentage polymorphism (Pp) ranged from 20 % to 84%. The Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) dendrogram grouped the accessions into two groups at similarity coefficient of 72%, with a value of r = 0.98, showing an excellent correlation between the accessions and the values of the initial distances (similarity matrix). Similar results were seen with the dendrogram constructed for genetic relationships of Tomato accessions using RAPD or cpDNA (you have mentioned RAPD up) markers. Split tree analysis equally revealed a 2 structured gene pool for Tomato gene pool in Nigeria. The high homogeneity of species observed in the study signifies a low genetic diversity and limited variability in tomato species in Nigeria. Amongst the consequences of low genetic diversity is the absence of unique variants that can possibly combat disease conditions or adapt to unfavourable environmental changes. The use of both cpDNA and RAPD markers in this study has efficiently shown that continuous cycling/shuffling of species within the narrow gene pool is expected to lead to a continuous reduction in genetic variability. No addition of new variant into the gene pool and in turn leads to inbreeding depression, thus suggesting the need to breed with known wild cultivars to increase genetic variability. Key words: CpDNA, Gene pool, Genetic Diversity, Inbreeding depression, RAPD marker, Tomatoes breeding

Plant domestication shapes rhizosphere microbiome assembly and metabolic functions

BackgroundThe rhizosphere microbiome, which is shaped by host genotypes, root exudates, and plant domestication, is crucial for sustaining agricultural plant growth. Despite its importance, how plant domestication builds up specific rhizosphere microbiomes and metabolic functions, as well as the importance of these affected rhizobiomes and relevant root exudates in maintaining plant growth, is not well understood. Here, we firstly investigated the rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities of domestication and wild accessions of tetraploid wheat using amplicon sequencing (16S and ITS) after 9 years of domestication process at the main production sites in China. We then explored the ecological roles of root exudation in shaping rhizosphere microbiome functions by integrating metagenomics and metabolic genomics approaches. Furthermore, we established evident linkages between root morphology traits and keystone taxa based on microbial culture and plant inoculation experiments.ResultsOur results suggested that plant rhizosphere microbiomes were co-shaped by both host genotypes and domestication status. The wheat genomes contributed more variation in the microbial diversity and composition of rhizosphere bacterial communities than fungal communities, whereas plant domestication status exerted much stronger influences on the fungal communities. In terms of microbial interkingdom association networks, domestication destabilized microbial network and depleted the abundance of keystone fungal taxa. Moreover, we found that domestication shifted the rhizosphere microbiome from slow growing and fungi dominated to fast growing and bacteria dominated, thereby resulting in a shift from fungi-dominated membership with enrichment of carbon fixation genes to bacteria-dominated membership with enrichment of carbon degradation genes. Metagenomics analyses further indicated that wild cultivars of wheat possess higher microbial function diversity than domesticated cultivars. Notably, we found that wild cultivar is able to harness rhizosphere microorganism carrying N transformation (i.e., nitrification, denitrification) and P mineralization pathway, whereas rhizobiomes carrying inorganic N fixation, organic N ammonification, and inorganic P solubilization genes are recruited by the releasing of root exudates from domesticated wheat. More importantly, our metabolite-wide association study indicated that the contrasting functional roles of root exudates and the harnessed keystone microbial taxa with different nutrient acquisition strategies jointly determined the aboveground plant phenotypes. Furthermore, we observed that although domesticated and wild wheats recruited distinct microbial taxa and relevant functions, domestication-induced recruitment of keystone taxa led to a consistent growth regulation of root regardless of wheat domestication status.ConclusionsOur results indicate that plant domestication profoundly influences rhizosphere microbiome assembly and metabolic functions and provide evidence that host plants are able to harness a differentiated ecological role of root-associated keystone microbiomes through the release of root exudates to sustain belowground multi-nutrient cycles and plant growth. These findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying plant-microbiome interactions and how to harness the rhizosphere microbiome for crop improvement in sustainable agriculture.CBzZNC2FEDswGcHctbDosaVideo

Dissection of genetic diversity present in eggplant populations using simple sequence repeat markers

Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is the third most important solanaceous vegetable and most diversified within species spread across the world-geographical area. A study was conducted to assess the genetic diversity among the selected fifty-four eggplant genotypes (sub-categorized into five sub-population) using twenty-three SSR markers. The Analysis of Molecular Variance among the five sub-population of eggplant revealed the existence of 90.67% variation within populations and 9.34% variation among populations. The SSR markers analysis revealed important locus-wise information like mean Observed-Heterozygosity (0.216), mean Expected-Heterozygosity (0.496), Shannon’s Information Index (0.879), mean number of different alleles (3.209), mean number of effective alleles (2.535), Fixation-Index (0.649). Further, Phylogenetic-analysis clearly categorize genetically distinct individuals in which the most diversified clusters was cluster-1 (C1) out of total of five clusters and especially, wild cultivars were grouped into cluster-5 (C5). The obtained results can be used in eggplant breeding and germplasm conservation in a resourceful manner.

Critical review on karyotype diversity in lentil based on classical and molecular cytogenetics.

Lentil is an annual protein rich valuable edible crop with only one cultivated and six wild taxa. Keeping in mind its narrow gene pool, the genus deserves critical assessment of genomic diversity at the chromosomal level. Genetic diversity represents the heritable variation within and between populations of organisms. Over the decades classical and molecular cytogenetics have played an immense role in the field of crop improvement. Lentil, though grown in different countries, country-wise chromosomal information is inadequate. Critical evaluation of more than seven decades chromosomal information has revealed unique karyotype diversity within the landraces of different countries. Application of fluorescent banding and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) has helped to segregate cultivars based on cultivar specific chromosomal markers and landmarks. Selection of cultivated and wild cultivars based on qualitative and diseases related morpho-traits and new information from this critical review especially on molecular cytogenetics may provide more options for crop improvement. More research in the field of molecular cytogenetics from country specific species and cultivars are needed to enrich the repository of gene pool. Alien gene introgression from extended gene pool through the advanced genomics and biotechnological tools could facilitate the path of sustainable improvement of this crop.

Development of a versatile resource for post-genomic research through consolidating and characterizing 1500 diverse wild and cultivated soybean genomes

BackgroundWith advances in next-generation sequencing technologies, an unprecedented amount of soybean accessions has been sequenced by many individual studies and made available as raw sequencing reads for post-genomic research.ResultsTo develop a consolidated and user-friendly genomic resource for post-genomic research, we consolidated the raw resequencing data of 1465 soybean genomes available in the public and 91 highly diverse wild soybean genomes newly sequenced. These altogether provided a collection of 1556 sequenced genomes of 1501 diverse accessions (1.5 K). The collection comprises of wild, landraces and elite cultivars of soybean that were grown in East Asia or major soybean cultivating areas around the world. Our extensive sequence analysis discovered 32 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (32mSNPs) and revealed a SNP density of 30 SNPs/kb and 12 non-synonymous SNPs/gene reflecting a high structural and functional genomic diversity of the new collection. Each SNP was annotated with 30 categories of structural and/or functional information. We further identified paired accessions between the 1.5 K and 20,087 (20 K) accessions in US collection as genomic “equivalent” accessions sharing the highest genomic identity for minimizing the barriers in soybean germplasm exchange between countries. We also exemplified the utility of 32mSNPs in enhancing post-genomics research through in-silico genotyping, high-resolution GWAS, discovering and/or characterizing genes and alleles/mutations, identifying germplasms containing beneficial alleles that are potentially experiencing artificial selection.ConclusionThe comprehensive analysis of publicly available large-scale genome sequencing data of diverse cultivated accessions and the newly in-house sequenced wild accessions greatly increased the soybean genome-wide variation resolution. This could facilitate a variety of genetic and molecular-level analyses in soybean. The 32mSNPs and 1.5 K accessions with their comprehensive annotation have been made available at the SoyBase and Ag Data Commons. The dataset could further serve as a versatile and expandable core resource for exploring the exponentially increasing genome sequencing data for a variety of post-genomic research.

Glucose lowering effect of wild banana cultivar of <em>Musa acuminata </em>L. fruit peels from Bandarban, Bangladesh in Swiss albino mice

Diabetes is a debilitating disease, which has become a serious concern in Bangladesh. Earlier studies have shown that extracts of fruit skins of various cultivars of banana species can improve glucose tolerance in glucose-loaded mice. The objective of this study was to evaluate through oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) of methanol extract of fruit peels of a wild cultivar of Musa acuminata, which can be found in southeast Bangladesh forests. In OGTT, ripe fruit skin methanolic extract of Musa acuminata (MEMA) showed a reduction by 0.04, 19.65, 19.80 and 26.84%, when administered per kg body weight in mice at doses of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg, respectively. A standard glucose lowering drug, glibenclamide decreased blood glucose levels by 21.08 and 37.38% at doses of 2 and 10 mg. Overall, the findings indicate that MEMA can improve glucose tolerance and may be of potential use to diabetic patients.

Mānuka Clones Differ in Their Volatile Profiles: Potential Implications for Plant Defence, Pollinator Attraction and Bee Products

The New Zealand native plant mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium) is representative of the country’s North and South Islands flora. This species is essential to the growing community of honey producers due to its honey’s antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, attributed to the presence of methylglyoxal (MGO), derived from dihydroxyacetone (DHA) in the nectar. Several clones and cultivars have been selected to optimize DHA production. Still, nothing is known about the volatile emissions of these artificially selected plants. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can influence their interactions with the environment, such as pollinator foraging decisions, which may subsequently affect the plants’ products. This study explored the aboveground volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by eight different mānuka genotypes (six clones and two wild cultivars) under field conditions during the spring season. Volatiles were collected using the “push–pull” headspace sampling technique and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Our results show that mānuka plants emit large amounts of terpenoids, with sesquiterpenes and monoterpenoids being the most abundant groups of compounds. The results also show variation in the total green leaf volatiles, total sesquiterpenes, and specific compounds between genotypes and suggest that artificially selected plants have a significant variation in their chemical profiles. The potential impacts of these results on the plant’s defence, pollinator attraction and bee products are discussed.

Chestnut Production And Its Prospects In Nepal

The Global Hunger Index ranked Nepal as 73 out of 107 countries in 2020. Food security is one burning issue. For Nepalese farmers it is high time to diversify their food items as well as production and gain better market access with competency. In this case, chestnut can be the potential one. Chestnut is a high-demanding nut with a unique nutrient quality that distinguishes it from other nuts. Its demand is increasing in country as well globally. Chestnuts elevated its use confectionery, associated with their health benefits and is anticipated to push the chestnuts market forward. Increasing the health consciousness of the people and increasing research on the analysis of the nutritional constituent and their role in human health its importance is flourishing. Chestnut flour is now becoming quite prevalent in pastries, which is propelling the worldwide manufacturing and trade market for chestnuts. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, Asia-Pacific dominates the chestnut market. Nepal too is predicted to have a wonderful production opportunity and marketplace due to its geographical comparative advantage. Nepal has a good opportunity to utilize the wild cultivar as the root-stock to make high yielding varieties by grafting it with some high yielding varieties (Japanese and Chinese). Nepal has the possibility of upgrading the utilization of underutilized land and resources to enhance the economy. Further, research and extension works, variety improvement and collaboration among the concerned authorities are must for improvement, commercial production and increasing import of chestnut.

Systematic Genome-Wide Study and Expression Analysis of SWEET Gene Family: Sugar Transporter Family Contributes to Biotic and Abiotic Stimuli in Watermelon.

The SWEET (Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporter) proteins are a novel family of sugar transporters that play key roles in sugar efflux, signal transduction, plant growth and development, plant–pathogen interactions, and stress tolerance. In this study, 22 ClaSWEET genes were identified in Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) through homology searches and classified into four groups by phylogenetic analysis. The genes with similar structures, conserved domains, and motifs were clustered into the same groups. Further analysis of the gene promoter regions uncovered various growth, development, and biotic and abiotic stress responsive cis-regulatory elements. Tissue-specific analysis showed most of the genes were highly expressed in male flowers and the roots of cultivated varieties and wild cultivars. In addition, qRT-PCR results further imply that ClaSWEET proteins might be involved in resistance to Fusarium oxysporum infection. Moreover, a significantly higher expression level of these genes under various abiotic stresses suggests its multifaceted role in mediating plant responses to drought, salt, and low-temperature stress. The genome-wide characterization and phylogenetic analysis of ClaSWEET genes, together with the expression patterns in different tissues and stimuli, lays a solid foundation for future research into their molecular function in watermelon developmental processes and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Genetic diversity in wild species and cultivars of strawberry for the FanAAMT gene controlling fruit flavor volatiles

Background. An important consumer trait of strawberry fruits is their aroma. Methyl anthranilate makes a considerable contribution to the fruit flavor. The methyl anthranilate content in strawberry fruits is controlled by the FanAAMT (аnthranilic acid methyltransferase) gene. Identification of genetic determinants for this trait facilitates targeted selection of promising forms based on diagnostic DNA markers. The purpose of this study was to study the allelic diversity of the FanAAMT fruit flavor gene in wild strawberry species and strawberry cultivars for identification of promising genotypes.Materials and methods. The objects of this study were wild species of Fragaria L. as well as F. × anaschata Kantor. and F. × ananassa Duch. cultivars of different ecogeographic origin. The FanAAMT gene was identified with the dominant marker FanAAMT.Results and conclusion. In the analyzed collection of strawberry genotypes, the FanAAMT gene was identified in 36.4% of the forms, including the wild species F. vesca L., F. moschata Duch. and F. virginiana subsp. platypetala (Rydb.) Staudt, and cv. ‘Kupchikha’ (F. × anaschata). Among the analyzed F. × ananassa cultivars, the FanAAMT gene was found in 31.6% of the tested forms, specifically in 27.3% of the 22 Russian cultivars, and 37.5% of the analyzed foreign ones. Promising sources of high methyl anthranilate content in fruits were identified: wild spp. F. moschata, F. vesca, and F. virginiana subsp. platypetala; cv. ‘Kupchikha’ (F. × anaschata); Russian garden strawberry cvs. ‘Bylinnaya’, ‘Zenit’, ‘Lastochka’, ‘Neznakomka’, ‘Feyerverk’ and ‘Tsarskoselskaya’; and foreign garden strawberry cvs. ‘Karmen’, ‘Ostara’, ‘Samson’, ‘Symphony’, ‘Troubadour’ and ‘Vima Tarda’, in which the functional allele of the FanAAMT gene was found. In the remaining studied strawberry genotypes the marker FanAAMT was not detected, which presumably indicates that the FanAAMT gene is absent. cells (R9.4.1).

Analyzing and optimizing yield formation of tomato introgression lines using plant model

Generally, the relation between quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and yield is empirical, and their roles in source-sink dynamics are unclear. A tomato introgression line (IL) population (S. pennellii ILs) was applied to analyze the effect of chromosome segment from wild cultivar on numerous yield-related phenotypes, including plant yield, the weight of vegetative part, the number and weight of individual fruits. A functional-structural plant model was applied to analyze the difference in yield formation of tomato ILs. Measurements on organ biomass were performed at four stages during the growth period of plants. Source and sink parameters were estimated from the experimental measurements of different organs for each IL, discovering how the final yield is linked to the fruit number, size and expansion process. The correlation and distribution of source-sink parameters for ILs were analyzed. The sink parameters were optimized to find a better combination of ILs to improve the yield using Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) algorithm. Optimization results indicate a potential yield increase of 35% for the control M82. This model-assisted analysis provides a promising approach to deeper insight in phenotypic data.

Pathogenesis and Immune Response in Resistant and Susceptible Cultivars of Grapevine (Vitis spp.) Against Elsinoë ampelina Infection.

Elsinoë ampelina is the main cause of grape anthracnose, and the majority of grapevine cultivars are susceptible to this fungus. Some Chinese wild grape cultivars are resistant, however. It is therefore apt to compare the pathogenesis and immune responses in susceptible and resistant cultivars of grapevine to explore the detailed molecular and biochemical mechanisms of resistance to this fungus. In this study, ultrastructural and histopathological observations were used to demonstrate the resistance responses to E. ampelina in the resistant Chinese wild cultivar Vitis quinquangularis clone 'Shang-24' and the susceptible cultivars V. davidii 'Tangwei' and V. vinifera 'Thompson Seedless'. Seventy-two hours postinoculation (hpi) with E. ampelina, brown necrotic spots were clearly visible on the leaves of the susceptible 'Tangwei' and 'Thompson Seedless'. The infection was characterized by rapid colonization of the host cells by hyphae and massive spread of the pathogen in the intercellular spaces, ultimately leading to host cell collapse, cuticle dissolution, and extensive hyphal growth. In the resistant clone 'Shang-24', the conidia were lysed, a large quantity of electronically dense matter appeared, the hyphal growth was suppressed, and the host cells remained intact. In addition, six genes associated with disease resistance were differentially expressed in the susceptible and resistant cultivars. These disease-related genes were significantly up-regulated following infection with E. ampelina. This study illustrates the differences in infection and colonization of E. ampelina in resistant and susceptible grape leaves.

Genetic diversity assessment and population structure analysis of pomegranate cultivars from different countries and Himalayan wild accessions

ABSTRACT Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is a hardy crop packed with nutritional and medicinal benefits. Exploitation of wild pomegranate germplasm is necessary to meet the modern-breeding objectives of superior quality, high yield and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Genetic diversity and genetic relatedness among 61 cultivars of six countries and 35 wild accessions of Himalaya (India) were assessed using 60 SSR markers. Seventeen polymorphic markers produced 55 polymorphic alleles with an average of 3.24 alleles per locus, 1.69 effective alleles, moderate polymorphic information content (0.33) and moderate gene diversity (0.37). Low-to-moderate genetic differentiation was observed among the accessions from different countries with FST values ranging from 0.015 to 0.140. Himalyan wild accessions exhibited modest genetic differentiation of 0.152 from rest of the cultivars. Phenetic analysis based on genetic distance, clustered 97 genotypes into two major clusters of Himalayan wild accessions and cultivars, with no clear distinction between countries. Congruently, population STRUCTURE analysis revealed the presence of two sub-populations, one of Himalayan wild type and the other of cultivated type (Central Asian). Genetically distant Himalayan wild accessions with high gene diversity can be exploited in breeding for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses using modern breeding tools.

Genetic diversity generated by introgression between wild species and cultivars of tree peony in Baokang, China

Tree peonies distributed in Baokang County (Hubei Province, China) (BKTPs) displayed extensive morphological variation, especially in flower color patterns and fruit setting rates. The genetic diversity of BKTPs and their relationships to nine wild species and 14 representative traditional cultivars were assessed using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in this study. All 19 analyzed loci were polymorphic, and 85 alleles were found. The number of alleles per locus varied from 3 to 7, with an average of 4.474. Cluster analysis with UPGMA method based on SSR markers partitioned 46 accessions of BKTPs into two major clusters and six subgroups, closing to P. ostii, P. qiui, P. rockii, P. jishanensis and different cultivars, respectively. Analysis of flavonoids with UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS revealed that Pn3G5G and Cy3G5G were the main anthocyanins of the pink and reddish-purple flowers of BKTPs, which were undetectable in white flowers. The fruit and seed setting rates of BKTPs ranged from 4.00 to 26.00 per plant, and 130.00 to 858.00 per plant, respectively. The content of unsaturated fatty acids was over 90% of the total fatty acids in the seed oils of BKTPs, with α-linolenic acid as the dominant compound (42.51–54.93%). Both phenotypic and molecular data suggested that the accessions of BKTPs were a hybrid complex resulted from introgression between the sympatrically distributed wild species and cultivars in Baokang, which provided novel genetic resources for tree peony breeding and germplasm innovation.

Harvesting Strategy for Different Mango Varieties Based on Comparative Sugar and Phenol Contents

The main objective of the study is to assess the key harvesting time based on the comparative evaluation of the total sugar and phenol contents and also their health beneficial antioxidant potentiality during the stages of fruit development of three mango cultivars, viz. Amrapali, Laxmanbhog, and Gooti, to extend the post-harvest storage and shelf-life for mango fruit consumption and processing. The study reflects that the gross total sugar contents (30–80 mg/g) of all three varieties were the same at the final stage of ripening, while there were remarkable differences in phenol and antioxidant contents. Total phenol contents (TPCs) in the epicarp and mesocarp region of fruits were ranged from 10 to 95 µg/g and 7 to 40 µg/g, respectively, in the different varieties. The Amrapali variety showed the highest TPC in the epicarp in stage one (95 µg/g) than the other cultivars. The antioxidant capacity of this variety gradually increased with the ripening stages which were quite contradictory to the other two varieties. The greater antioxidant activity of Amrapali and Laxmanbhog was observed throughout the developmental stages than the wild cultivar, Gooti. These results indicate that the late 3rd stage or early 4th stage would be the key harvesting time and post-harvest storage with extended shelf-life with reduced incidence of anthracnose and other fruit spoilage diseases. The high sugar and antioxidant contents in these cheap fruits, apart from delicacies, could contribute a valuable source of antioxidants to all classes of people in their daily diet.

Comparative analysis of the constituents of two cultivars of Dioscorea dumetorum (Kunth) Pax. and their molecular barcoding

The edible and wild cultivars of Dioscorea dumetorum (Kunth) Pax. (Family: Dioscoreaceae) are commonly used as close substitutes in herbal markets due to their edibility and medicinal importance. Comparative study of the cultivars was done using chemical analysis of their methanol tuber extracts and by utilizing the DNA barcode regions, ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase subunits (rbcL) and the non-coding intergenic spacer gene (trnH-psbA) for nucleotide sequences comparison of cultivars. Of the 54 compounds identified from the methanol extract of the edible and wild cultivars using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), 12 are similar, while 42 are remarkably different. In particular n-hexadecanoic (palmitic) acid had a higher percentage area in the edible cultivar (31.16%) compared to the wild cultivar (0.26%). The cultivars were successfully amplified using the universal primers gene rbcL and trnH-psbA. Their nucleotide sequences showed a slight variation when aligned with CodonCode Aligner V.9.0.1. They were identified by the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) through comparison with Genbank data, which shows close similarities with submitted data. The use of molecular barcoding in identifying the cultivars of Dioscorea dumetorum as well as the chemical composition of their tubers may form an important marker in the compilation of future herbal pharmacopoeia for its proper identification.