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Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.), is an important food source for human health. It has nutritional content rich in protein, fat, fatty acids, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Such as other nuts, pistachio oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Pistachio is rich in omega fatty acids such as n-3, n-6, n-9, it is known to be beneficial in decreasing cholesterol by increasing HDL level in blood plasma. Oleic acid (C18: 1) and palmitoleic acid are the main component of unsaturated fatty acids in pistachio. It has fatty acids such as linoleic acid and alpha linoleic acid among polyunsaturated fatty acids and myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid among saturated fatty acids. Gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) is generally used for the analysis of fatty acids in foods. The main component of unsaturated fatty acids contained in pistachio is oleic acid (C18: 1) and the variety varies between 51.6% and 81.17% according to the origin. Linoleic acid (C18:2) content, which is a polyunsaturated fatty acid, varies between 15% and 30%. Stearic acid content of saturated fatty acids varies between 0.8% and 3.5%. This review provides information about the properties and curent status of the fatty acids in pistachios.

Alternate bearing is a common challenge in horticultural plants, leading to irregular yield in successive years. The potential role of phenolic compounds in regulating this phenomenon, however, is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the potential role of phenolic compounds in alternate bearing in pistachio trees by analysing samples from different parts of the "Uzun" cultivar over two consecutive years. Seven phenolic compounds (gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, catechin, and quercetin) were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography at 10-day intervals. Significant variations were observed in the levels of certain phenolic compounds between "ON" and "OFF" years, suggesting a potential role for these compounds in alternate bearing. Ferulic acid exhibited a significant decrease in leaves and shoots, indicating its translocation to the nuts, leading to a sharp decline during the nut lignification process. A negative and significant correlation between ferulic and caffeic acid levels was observed in the "ON" and "OFF" years, which may be linked to the alternate bearing and kernel development process in pistachio. These findings provide valuable insights into the role of phenolic compounds in regulating alternate bearing in pistachio trees and could inform future strategies for enhancing pistachio yields and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternate bearing is a significant economic problem that affects fruit producers, consumers and the economy of a country. Concentrations of cytokinin (CK)-like compounds in different tissues of pistachio trees (Pistacia vera ‘Uzun’) were measured to elucidate the relationship between endogenous CKs and flower bud abscission (alternate bearing). Identification and quantification of CK-like compounds of the Z, DHZ and iP types from different physiological stages and tissues were performed using high-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionisation–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLCESI-MS/MS) techniques. Five to seven different CK-like compounds were detected, respectively. Isopentenyl adenine riboside (iPR) and trans-zeatin-O-glucoside (t-ZOG) were the main isoprenoid CKs, as the dominant conjugates in all the analysed organs of pistachio trees. The leaves and shoots of ‘On’-year trees had significantly higher CK contents than those of ‘Off’-year trees on all the sampling dates. Interestingly, the relatively high CK activity was recorded before flower bud abscission in the fractions corresponding to iPR and t-ZOG, while this activity dropped considerably during the flower bud abscission period (55 DAFB). Consequently, the strong negative correlation between CK concentration and bud abscission could be the first indication of the role of CK-like compounds in this unique phenomenon in the ‘Uzun’ pistachio cultivar. It was concluded that CKs could have an important role in the alternate bearing in pistachio.

Alternate bearing (AB) is of great importance in horticulture and leads to fluctuations in yield variation. Although AB is a natural phenomenon to optimize resource allocation and improve crop productivity and profitability in plants, understanding the factors that influence AB can help in implementing effective management strategies to reduce the negative effects and promote consistent and sustainable production. This study aimed to investigate the variation in carbohydrate levels in various tissues of both bearing and non-bearing pistachio (Pistacia vera L. cv Uzun) trees during different periods of growth development in two consecutive years to gain a deeper understanding of their potential contribution to AB. Twelve 34-year-old pistachio trees, consisting of six "ON" and six "OFF" year trees, were accidentally selected from a pistachio orchard. The "OFF" year trees were induced two years before sampling to be in the "OFF" year state by artificially removing flower buds. Sucrose was the main soluble sugar in the different parts of the pistachio tree studied. In general, the amount of sugar was higher in the non-bearing year than in the bearing year. It was found that non-structural carbohydrates of trees decreased between June and July, resulting in flower buds to abscise. The amount of carbohydrates decreased during nut development in "ON" trees, indicating the possible role of carbohydrates in AB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study investigates whether, and how, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) is concerned in flower bud abscission of pistachio (Pistacia vera L.). Abscission was studied about the activation of the abscission zone, located between shoot and flower bud, from Uzun pistachio cultivar where the abscission profiles and the scanning electron micrographs pictorial differences in the abscission program, under natural conditions of flower bud. ACC content was investigated in the flower bud abscission zone during growth and abscission using liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-MS/MS). Results showed that abscission layers were started at first 45 days after full blooming (DAFB) and accomplished on 55 and 65 DAFB from 'On' year sampling. The activities of ACC in the flower bud abscission zone were significantly increased and decreased by flower bud abscission. A strong rise of ACC synthase in leaf and panicle was observed at the beginning of abscission, corresponding to stage 45 DAFB. High levels of ACC activity were found in whole abscission period indicating a possible role of ACC in pistachio flower bud abscission. At the end of the period (65 DAFB), the ACC levels gradually decreased and reached to minimum. Consequently, abscission-promoting effect of ACC depends on the phenological periods. These results provide strong evidence of flower abscission zone and the role of ACC in flower bud abscission possibly for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) is octoploid (2n = 8x = 56) and has been the focused fruit species of which an increasing number of molecular and genetic research has been conducted in recent years. The aim of this study is to identify the relationships between sucrose metabolism, invertase enzyme activity and gene expression in four different fruit development periods (red, pink, green and white) of two commercially important strawberry varieties 'Rubygem' and 'Fortuna'. The metabolite profiles (glucose, fructose, sucrose and total sugar content) of two varieties were discovered to be extremely similar. The highest amount of total sugar was found in red fruits, while the lowest was obtained from green fruits. Invertase represents one of the key enzymes in sucrose metabolism. The lowest invertase activity was obtained from the green fruits in 'Rubygem' and 'Fortuna' during four developmental periods. In these varieties, the amount of sucrose was found to be close to glucose and fructose and the lowest amount was detected in green period, while invertase activity was relatively high during red and pink periods and invertase gene expression was determined at high levels in both primers (St-4 and St-6) in the green period. The results of the study indicated that sugar content and invertase activity were positively correlated while enzyme activity and gene expression were negatively correlated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almond is one of the most important nut crops in Turkey. Simple sequence repeat (SSR)‐based linkage maps are very reliable in constructing linkage maps due to the co‐dominant and highly reproducible nature of the SSR markers. The objective of this study was to construct well‐saturated, SSR‐based genetic linkage maps using 'Gulcan‐2 × Lauranne' and 'Guara × Nurlu' F1 populations and to identify QTLs related to the flower colour, stigma–anther position and full blooming date in almond. A total of 275 SSR primer pairs selected from the previous studies of various Prunus species were tested in both populations. A total of 175 SSR loci segregated in 'Gulcan‐2 × Lauranne' population and 162 SSR loci were mapped into eight linkage groups. The total map length was 514.6 cM, with an average marker density of 3.2 cM. In 'Guara × Nurlu' population, 159 markers segregated, and 153 SSR loci were mapped. The total map length was 493.9 cM with an average marker distance of 3.2 cM. Five and four major QTLs were detected in 'Gulcan‐2 × Lauranne' and 'Guara × Nurlu' populations, respectively. The linkage maps constructed in this study can be used in QTL analysis of important phenotypic traits in almond, whereas identified QTL regions and closely related markers can be used for marker assisted selection in future almond breeding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is one of the most common nuts in the world. There are a wide walnut variety of genotypes that differ in forestry, physical and chemical properties. Most of the walnut genotypes, which are natural resources have been evaluated as promising and germplasm sources for breeding. Walnuts are high in many beneficial biochemical compounds, so they have a useful profile for many people in relation to disease risk. Therefore, the demand for production and consumption of walnut is increasing day by day. In the present study, fatty acid and tocopherol profiles of 156 F1 genotypes belonging to Chandler × Kaplan-86 walnut population and their parents were investigated. Fatty acids and tocopherol isomers (α, β, γ) were determined by GC/FID (gas chromatography/flame lonizing detector) and HPLC (high-pressure liquid chromatography) techniques, respectively. The fatty acid content of F1 walnut genotypes and their parents were found to be 0.00%-3.34% for myristic acid, 5.86%-10.05% for palmitic acid, 0.01%-4.46% for stearic acid, 0.00%-0.89% for palmitoleic acid, 10.00%-20.89% for oleic acid, 45.36%-66.20% for linoleic acid and 9.04%-20.55% for a-linolenic acid. The content of a-tocopherol, ß-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol from the walnut population were determined to be 1.61-23.65 µg/g, 1.90-12.57 µg/g, 90.22-394.96 µg/g, respectively. The Chandler × Kaplan-86 F1 hybrid walnut population showed a significant variation in terms of the fatty acids and tocopherol contents. This research contains up-to-date scientific data on very wide walnut genetic resources and composition. Our data show that 156 F1 walnut genotypes have a potential source of monounsaturated fatty acids and tocopherols and the results are very important for future breeding studies on walnut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we aimed to develop novel genic simple sequence repeat (eSSR) markers and to study phylogenetic relationship among Pistacia species. Transcriptome sequencing was performed in different tissues of Siirt and Atl cultivars of pistachio (Pistacia vera). A total of 37.5-Gb data were used in the assembly. The number of total contigs and unigenes was calculated as 98,831, and the length of N50 was 1,333 bp after assembly. A total of 14,308 dinucleotide, trinucleotide, tetranucleotide, pentanucleotide, and hexanucleotide SSR motifs (4–17) were detected, and the most abundant SSR repeat types were trinucleotide (29.54%), dinucleotide (24.06%), hexanucleotide (20.67%), pentanucleotide (18.88%), and tetranucleotide (6.85%), respectively. Overall 250 primer pairs were designed randomly and tested in eight Pistacia species for amplification. Of them, 233 were generated polymerase chain reaction products in at least one of the Pistacia species. A total of 55 primer pairs that had amplifications in all tested Pistacia species were used to characterize 11 P. vera cultivars and 78 wild Pistacia genotypes belonging to nine Pistacia species (P. khinjuk , P. eurycarpa , P. atlantica , P. mutica , P. integerrima , P. chinensis , P. terebinthus , P. palaestina , and P. lentiscus). A total of 434 alleles were generated from 55 polymorphic eSSR loci with an average of 7.89 alleles per locus. The mean number of effective allele was 3.40 per locus. Polymorphism information content was 0.61, whereas observed (Ho) and expected heterozygosity (He) values were 0.39 and 0.65, respectively. UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averages) and STRUCTURE analysis divided 89 Pistacia genotypes into seven populations. The closest species to P. vera was P. khinjuk. P. eurycarpa was closer P. atlantica than P. khinjuk. P. atlantica – P. mutica and P. terebinthus – P. palaestina pairs of species were not clearly separated from each other, and they were suggested as the same species. The present study demonstrated that eSSR markers can be used in the characterization and phylogenetic analysis of Pistacia species and cultivars, as well as genetic linkage mapping and QTL (quantitative trait locus) analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, significant variations were identified for seven fruit traits of the walnut accessions. The highest correlations were detected between nut height and nut width, and between nut weight and kernel weight. Most traits had a continuous normal binominal distribution. A total of 16,774 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers based on diversity arrays technology were generated and after filtering the missing data, the remaining 13,611 SNP data were used for genotyping. STRUCTURE (v.2.2) analysis revealed two possible scenarios (K = 3 and K = 5) according to the results of AK computation. While K = 3 indicated that walnut cultivars were clustered into three different groups, K = 5 revealed five different groups. Results of the dendrogram tree analysis were supported by the results presented in the STRUCTURE analysis. A total of 98 association signals were detected with FDR < 0.05 from MLM (K) using BLUP predictors for the seven agronomic traits. Out of these 98 associations, seven SNPs were associated with nut weight, 26 SNPs with nut length, 15 SNPs with nut height, 18 SNPs with nut width, 18 SNPs with shell thickness, 12 SNPs with kernel weight, and 2 SNPs with kernel ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regulation of auxin (indole-3-acetic acid, IAA) level in plants is a complex mechanism and the concept is not completely understood. There are many lines of evidence suggesting that amino acid conjugates of IAA play a vital role in auxin homeostasis, but the involved plant enzymes are still under investigation. In the present study, the alteration in the levels of auxin and its conjugates in the different physiological stages and organs, as well as its role in flower bud abscission in Pistacia vera L., were investigated. The levels of the auxin and its conjugates, such as IAA, indole butyric acid (IBA), IAA-Ala, IAA-Leu, IAA-Asp, and IAA-Glu, were analyzed by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-MS/MS) technique. Among the auxin conjugates, IAA was the main conjugate and dominant indole detected in pistachio extract observed in this work. It has also been determined that quite a few organs of 'Off-year' trees have higher auxin content than 'On-year' trees. It was observed that the auxin level is low in fruit-bearing trees in both leaves and shoots. It affects fruit yield and fruit bud abscission and plays some role in the alternate bearing. Decreased levels of auxin were observed in most of the organs of 'On-year' trees during kernel development resulting in bud abscission. This study shows that auxin conjugates play an important role in IAA metabolism, particularly in flower bud abscission and fruit kernel development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternate bearing is a significant economic problem adversely affecting the producers, consumers, and economy of a country. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the physiological role of free polyamines (PAs) in fruit bud abscission of the Uzun pistachio variety, which has a strong alternate bearing tendency. The identification and quantification of PAs, such as putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd), and spermine (Spm), at different physiological stages and in different organs, were carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography. Putrescine was the major PA in all the organs of pistachio trees. Furthermore, the concentrations of Put and Spd in the leaves and shoots sharply declined and reached the minimal levels during the fruit bud abscission period (June), and then increased during the period of kernel development. The concentration of Put and Spd in the panicles increased gradually until the beginning of kernel growth and then decreased until harvest. The concentration of Spm exhibited a negative correlation between shoots and leaves, especially in the 'On-year' trees. There was a significant decrease in PAs in the leaves during the period of bud abscission in the 'Off-year' trees. In the 'On-year' trees, the concentration of PAs exhibited a negative correlation with the panicles, especially when the concentration of Put and Spd increased during the kernel development period, and then decreased. The concentration of PAs in the panicles of the 'On-year' trees was higher than that in the nuts, and it exhibited a negative correlation with that in the nuts. The results suggest that PAs might lead to physiological changes during the growth and development stages of pistachios, and a strong relationship was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is the most important species in the genus Juglans due to the high commercial value of its nuts and timber. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are considered as the markers of choice owing to their codominant nature. Since very few SSRs have been developed in walnut, this study aimed to develop numerous polymorphic SSRs from Class I repeats by using DNA sequences of the Chandler cultivar. In all, 800 SSRs were designed and tested in 8 Turkish, 3 French, and 5 US walnut cultivars, of which 88 (11%) did not produce bands, 161 (20.1%) were monomorphic, and 551 (68.9%) were polymorphic. In all, 2696 alleles were produced by the 551 polymorphic SSR loci in the 16 walnut cultivars, ranging from 2 to 14 alleles per locus with an average number of 4.9. Polymorphism information content ranged from 0.21 to 0.89 with an average of 0.62. Cluster analysis produced a very robust dendrogram. The walnut cultivars were separated into two main groups: all Turkish cultivars were included in one group, whereas the US and French cultivars were included in the other group. A set of 20 SSRs was selected for their high genetic diversity values to be used in further genetic studies in walnut. The novel SSR markers developed in this study could be used in future studies for constructing a genetic linkage map, analyzing population genetics, identifying parents, and conducting marker-assisted breeding, fingerprinting, and germplasm characterization in walnut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Turkey, quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) is found as both a wild and a cultivated tree species. The Karanlıkdere Valley is a pit area between Şefaatli and Yerköy districts in Yozgat Province that originates from the River Delice. Members of the Yozgat Karanlıkdere Valley quince population, containing 17 quince accessions and 15 commercial quince cultivars, were DNA fingerprinted using 30 simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers to identify the genetic relationships among them. A total of 111 alleles were detected for all 32 accessions, and the number of alleles revealed by SSR analysis ranged from 2 to 10 alleles per locus with a mean value of 3.70 alleles per locus. The Ms06g03 primer gave the highest number of alleles (Na = 10). Polymorphism information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.20 (CH05e04) to 0.78 (Ms06g03) with a mean PIC value of 0.45. Structure analysis and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA) clustering of the accessions depicted three major clusters, where several pairs of accessions could not be separated. This study indicated that the SSR markers could be utilized as a reliable tool for the determination of genetic variations and relationships of quince accessions. Furthermore, the results of this study will be useful for starting a cross-breeding cultivar program for quince. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Apiaceae family includes a few agronomic and medicinal species, one of which isScaligeria lazicaBoiss. In this study, the genetic diversity ofS.lazicawas analyzed based on novel simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers using next-generation sequencing (NGS). A total of 15.17G clean Illumina data set was obtained and dinucleotide repeats were the most abundant repeats inS. lazica. Of the tested 150 SSR primer pairs, 139 ones produced amplification and 84 ones were polymorphic. Forty polymorphic SSR loci were used in genetic diversity analysis of 40S. lazicaaccessions from four locations. A total of 264 alleles were amplified with an average of 6.6 alleles per locus. The polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.60, while the observed homozygosity (Ho) and expected heterozygosity (He) values were 0.47 and 0.66, respectively. According to cluster and structure analysis, all accessions were grouped into four different clusters according to their collection sites. The SSR markers developed in this study can be tested for otherScaligeriaspecies due to their high transferability and can be used for genetic studies in genusScaligeriaDC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the sexual incompatibility andS-allele diversity of 24 Turkish apricot cultivars, Paviot and Sakıt-1 as parents and 127 F1progenies were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing techniques. Additionally, genetic diversity and relatedness among the 24 cultivars were determined using 18 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers from the genusPrunus. PCR forS_alleles identified nine differentS-RNase alleles in the 24 apricot cultivars, namelySc,S1,S2,S8,S9,S20,S24,S52, andS53. All primers amplified only oneS_allele in the cultivars Adilcevaz-1, Adilcevaz-3, Ethembey, Pasamismisi, Canakkale, and Soganci. Most of the Turkish cultivars were self-incompatible. TheScallele was present in only three cultivars (Canakkale, Ethembey, Imrahor) that are, therefore, self-compatible. TheS_alleles of cultivars Paviot and Sakıt-1 displayed homology with theSc,S2andS20, andS52alleles. In the 127 F1genotypes, the twoS_alleles of Paviot were inherited by roughly half of the offspring, while about 76% of the offspring inherited theS52allele from Sakıt-1, and less than 24% inheritedS20. The amplification using all SSR 18 primers was successful and produced 128 polymorphic alleles with an average of 7.11 alleles per locus. Among the apricot cultivars studied, expected heterozygosity (He) ranged from 0.33 to 0.72, observed heterozygosity (Ho) ranged from 0.42 to 1.00, PIC values were between 0.28 and 0.89, and similarity rates were between 0.30 and 0.68. The cultivars Levent and Ozal were genetically closest (0.68) while cultivars Sakıt-3 and Sogancı were the most distinct (0.30). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is one of the most important nut crops in the world. There are about 11 wild species in the genus Pistacia, and they have importance as rootstock seed sources for cultivated P. vera and forest trees. Published information on the pistachio genome is limited. Therefore, a genome survey is necessary to obtain knowledge on the genome structure of pistachio by next generation sequencing. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers are useful tools for germplasm characterization, genetic diversity analysis, and genetic linkage mapping, and may help to elucidate genetic relationships among pistachio cultivars and species. Results: To explore the genome structure of pistachio, a genome survey was performed using the Illumina platform at approximately 40× coverage depth in the P. vera cv. Siirt. The K-mer analysis indicated that pistachio has a genome that is about 600 Mb in size and is highly heterozygous. The assembly of 26.77 Gb Illumina data produced 27,069 scaffolds at N50 = 3.4 kb with a total of 513.5 Mb. A total of 59,280 SSR motifs were detected with a frequency of 8. 67 kb. A total of 206 SSRs were used to characterize 24 P. vera cultivars and 20 wild Pistacia genotypes (four genotypes from each five wild Pistacia species) belonging to P. atlantica, P. integerrima, P. chinenesis, P. terebinthus, and P. lentiscus genotypes. Overall 135 SSR loci amplified in all 44 cultivars and genotypes, 41 were polymorphic in six Pistacia species. The novel SSR loci developed from cultivated pistachio were highly transferable to wild Pistacia species. Conclusions: The results from a genome survey of pistachio suggest that the genome size of pistachio is about 600 Mb with a high heterozygosity rate. This information will help to design whole genome sequencing strategies for pistachio. The newly developed novel polymorphic SSRs in this study may help germplasm characterization, genetic diversity, and genetic linkage mapping studies in the genus Pistacia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]