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The paper industry generates significant quantities of waste. The recycling of paper waste (PW) for peat replacement in growing media for ornamental plants cultivation was studied. Five ratios of PW–peat (0%, 10%, 30%, 50% or 100% v/v) were evaluated for marigold (Calendula officinalis L.), petunia (Petunia × hybrita L.) and matthiola (Matthiola incana L.) plants. Addition of PW increased the substrate pH and mineral content but decreased the air-filled porosity. In marigold, the use of 100% PW reduced plant height, plant diameter, fresh weight for both leaves and flowers and the total number of flowers produced compared to the control (100% peat). In matthiola, 100% PW reduced plant height, whereas the addition of PW even at 10% decreased plant diameter and fresh weight (biomass) but increased dry matter content. Petunia plants grown in 100% PW exhibited lower growth (plant height and diameter), whereas adding ≥ 50% of PW decreased plant fresh weight. The total number of flower buds and open flowers increased (more than twofold) on plants grown in 30% PW compared to the control substrate, indicating flower earliness. Plant leaf chlorophyll content (Chl a, Chl b, total Chl) decreased as the PW ratio increased. Total phenolics and antioxidant capacity as well as plant damage index and enzymes scavenging activities varied among species. Mineral content fluctuated among species with decreases of N and P in plants grown in PW mixtures while matthiola showed phytotoxicity symptoms. The present study suggests that peat can be substituted by up to 30% of PW for marigold and petunia for potting culture, but not for matthiola, as the physicochemical properties of the substrate need further improvement.

Background For most cruciferous plants, which are known as important crops and a number of weeds, hybrid breeding is hampered by the unavailability of a pollination control system. Male sterility induced by a gametocide can be useful for the utilization of plant heterosis. Results The gametocidal effect of sulfonylurea herbicide tribenuron-methyl was tested across seventeen cruciferous species or subspecies including Brassica juncea, B. carinata, B. oleracea ssp. capitata, B. oleracea ssp. acephala, B. rapa ssp. pekinensis, B. rapa ssp. chinensis, B. rapa ssp. parachinensis, B. nigra, Orychophragmus violaceus, Matthiola incana, Raphanus sativa, Sisymbrium altissimum, Eruca sativa, Sinapis alba, Sinapis arvensis, Capsella bursa-pastoris and Camelina sativa. The plants of 23 cultivars in these species or subspecies were foliar sprayed with 10 ml of 0.2 or 0.4 mg/L of tribenuron-methyl before the vacuolated microspore formed in the largest flower buds; the application was repeated ten to twelve days afterwards. Tribenuron-methyl exposure significantly changed the flowering phenology and reproductive function. The treated plants demonstrated a one to four day delay in flowering time and a shortened duration of flowering, as well as other slight phytotoxic effects including a reduction in plant height and floral organ size. Approximately 80% to 100% male sterility, which was estimated by both pollen staining and selfing seed-set rate, was induced in the plants. As a result, plants were rendered functionally able to out-cross, with an average 87% and 54% manually pollinated seed-set rate compared to the corresponding controls at the 0.2 mg/L and 0.4 mg/L doses, respectively. Conclusions The results suggested that male reproductive function was much more sensitive to tribenuron-methyl exposure than female function. This sulfonylurea herbicide has a promising use as the gametocide for hybrid production in cruciferous plants. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-017-1019-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Typical symptoms of Sclerotinia stem rot were observed in commercial crops of stock in several districts in Korea during the 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 winters. Based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of internal transcribed spacer sequences, the pathogen was identified as Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. This is the first report of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum infection of stock in Korea.

Anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) is a key enzyme of the proanthocyanidin biosynthetic pathway in Arabidopsis. In this study, we report cloning and characterization of an ANS homolog, BjANS, from Brassica juncea. The BjANS cDNA sequence is 1,377 bp long and has a 1,077-bp open reading frame encoding a deduced polypeptide of 358 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 40,862 Da and an estimated isoelectric point of 5.18. The putative BjANS protein shows 91–99% amino acid sequence identity with Arabidopsis thaliana, Matthiola incana, B. rapa and B. oleracea ANS proteins. The expression of BjANS was analyzed in yellow- and black-seeded B. juncea accessions to determine its physiological function. RT–PCR analysis showed that BjANS expressed in the seed coats of the black-seeded lines and in embryos of the all lines, but not in the yellow-seeded seed coats. Proanthocyanidins were also detected by histochemical analysis in the seed coat of black-seeded accessions and in embryos of all the lines, but not the yellow-seeded seed coat. Both transcriptional and histochemical analyses confirmed that BjANS was involved in the biosynthesis of proanthocyanidins and in seed coat color formation of B. juncea. Lack of BjANS expression blocked biosynthesis of proanthocyanidins in the yellow seed coat, and therefore seeds appeared yellow because of transparent testa.

The gene pool of Brassica oleracea was enriched via intergeneric somatic hybridization between B. oleracea (2n = 18) and Matthiola incana (2n = 14). One hundred and eighteen plants were obtained from 96 calli. Only four plants (H1, H2, H3 and H4) showed an intermediate phenotype from the parents; among these, H1 and H3 arose from the same callus. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP), and cytological analyses confirmed that H1 and H3 were hybrids. The nuclear DNA content of the regenerated plants was determined by flow cytometry. More than half of the plants contained a nuclear DNA content of 1.3 to 3.9 pg/cell, which was higher than the content of B. oleracea but lower than that of M. incana. H1 contained 4.89 ± 0.02 pg of DNA per cell, while H3 nuclear DNA content was estimated at 4.87 ± 0.06 pg/cell. Cytological study of the root-tip cells revealed that the majority of the H1 and H3 hybrid cells contained 28 chromosomes.

Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins, similar to mammalian Myc transcription factors, regulate the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in both monocots and dicots. Two Arabidopsis bHLH genes, GLABRA3 (GL3) and MYC-146, encode proteins that are similar throughout the predicted amino acid sequence to R and DELILA, which regulate anthocyanin production in maize and snapdragon, respectively. Northern blot analysis indicates that MYC-146 is most highly expressed in flower buds and flowers. Expression of a MYC-146 cDNA from the CaMV 35S promoter was unable to complement the anthocyanin deficiency in a ttg1 mutant of Arabidopsis and resulted in no obvious phenotypic change in Columbia plants. However, transient expression of GL3 and MYC-146 upon microprojectile bombardment of petals of a white-flowered mutant of Matthiola incana was able to complement anthocyanin deficiency. The lack of anthocyanin-deficient Arabidopsis mutants mapping to the locations of GL3 and MYC-146 suggests that the two bHLH proteins may be partially redundant and overlap in function.

To determine the developmental patterns of arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) in three crucifers (Brassicaceae) of differing life histories, we inoculated seedlings of the annual Capsella bursa-pastoris, biennial Hesperis matronalis, and the perennial Matthiola incana with Glomus intraradices. The plants were grown either alone or in a matrix of living roots of the mycotrophic grass Sorghum sudanense. The percent root length colonized was greatest in C. bursa-pastoris and least in H. matronalis. Colonization was greater in plants grown in the grass matrix than in plants grown alone, and colonization in grass matrix-grown plants continued to increase over the 90-day growth period, whereas colonization leveled off or decreased near the end of the growth period in crucifers grown alone. No arbuscules were observed in crucifer roots at any time, which suggests that AM in these crucifers is nonfunctional. Furthermore, the increase in colonization only in pots with both crucifers and active mycotrophic roots suggests that AM development in crucifer roots is primarily the consequence of progressive root senescence in the crucifer and continued inoculum spread from the mycotrophic plant.

The inheritance of flowering time (FT) in a cross between early-flowering (P1) and late-flowering (P2) Matthiola incana genotypes, was investigated. The distribution of FT in F1, F2 and BC1 generations indicated an additive genetic control with partial dominance of earlines alleles, particularly with regard to double-flowered plants. Single-flowered plants flowered earlier than double-flowered plants, averaged within both parental lines; however, the mean difference between singles and doubles was 16 days for P1 as compared with 6 days for P2. This flower-doubleness related delay in FT was found to be heritable, by analysis of F3 family means. The implications of these results on the breeding of stock cultivars is discussed.

The inheritance and linkage relationships of a leaf morphology gene of Matthiola incana were investigated. The allele for sinuate leaf shape, c, was found to be recessive to the allele for normal entire leaf, C. The c allele was tightly linked to the recessive allele for double flowering, s. The recombination frequency between the two loci was close to zero. The mode of inheritance of the C gene was in accordance with the hypothesis that a pollen lethal gene is responsible for the constant 1:1 segregation ratio of double-flowered (= male sterile) to single-flowered (= fertile) plants in most M. incana breeding lines. The sinuate leaf allele seemed to reduce the frequency and delay the flowering of double-flowered plants. The importance of the C gene as a double flowering marker in the cultivation and the breeding of M. incana is discussed.

The fatty acid composition of seed-oil of breeding lines and F1 hybrids of Matthiola incana was analyzed, using direct esterification and gas chromatography. The breeding lines tested differed significantly with respect to the levels of palmitic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids. Embryonic-stage heterosis in linolenic acid concentration was demonstrated by F1 hybrid seeds, derived from mating horticulturally different lines of M. incana. Linolenic acid content was negatively correlated with both oleic acid content (r=−0.85) and linoleic acid content (r=−0.66). None of the breeding lines or the F1 hybrids significantly passed the limit of 67% linolenic acid. Possible genetic and biochemical explanations for the above phenotypic data are discussed.

Flower color was modified in forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia cv ‘Spring Glory’) by inducing anthocyanin synthesis in petals through sequential Agrobacterium-mediated transformation with dihydroflavonol 4-reductase from Antirrhinum majus (AmDFR) and anthocyanidin synthase from Matthiola incana (MiANS) genes. This is the second report of flower color modification of an ornamental shrub after rose, and the first time an ANS gene is used for this purpose. Double transformants (AmDFR+MiANS) displayed a novel bronze-orange petal color, caused by the de novo accumulation of cyanidin-derived anthocyanins over the carotenoid yellow background of wild type (wt), and intense pigmentation of vegetative organs. Transformation with single genes (either AmDFR or MiANS) produced no change in flower color, showing a multistep control of late anthocyanin pathway in petals of forsythia. Analysis of relevant late flavonoid pathway genes – an endogenous flavonoid glycosyltransferase (FiFGT) and transformed DFR and ANS genes – showed appropriate expression in flower organs. Functional characterization of FiFGT expressed in E. coli revealed its ability to metabolize both flavonols and anthocyanidin substrates, a prerequisite for effective anthocyanin accumulation in petals of plants transformed with constructs leading to anthocyanidin synthesis. Biochemical analyses of flavonoid compounds in petals and leaves showed that, besides anthocyanin induction in petals of double transformants, the accumulation pattern of flavan-3-ols was quantitatively and qualitatively modified in petals and leaves of transformants, in agreement with the most recent model proposed for flavan-3-ol synthesis. On the other hand, phenylpropanoid, flavone and flavonol pools were not quantitatively affected, indicating a tight regulation of early flavonoid pathway.

A protocol for obtaining regenerated fertile plants from mesophyll protoplasts of three lines of Matthiola incana is described. Protoplasts were isolated from leaves of 21-28 days old Matthiola plants grown in controlled environment. Sustained divisions were achieved when protoplasts were embedded in sodium alginate. Up to 2.0 % of the protoplasts developed into colonies which could be transferred to shoot regeneration media. More than 25 % of the obtained calluses regenerated shoots. About 4 % of these shoots could be rooted and after transfer to soil phenotypically normal plants have been obtained.

A disease of stock (Matthiola incana) in Australia, caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola, is described for the first time. The pathogen is systemic, causing vascular necrosis and progresses basipetally from infected flowers. Bacteria were isolated from seed produced from inoculated blossoms; however, transmission to seedlings grown from infected seed was not proven. The symptoms differ from those of a disease reported to be caused by P. syringae pv. syringae.

Accessions ofM. tricuspidata (L.) R. Br.,M. aspera Boiss. andMatthiola longipetala (Vent.) DC. were tested for their reaction to bacterial blight of stock (M. incana R. Br.), caused byXanthomonas campestris pv.incanae. Potted plants were sprayed with bacterial cell suspension, adjusted to 108 cells/ml. The tested accessions of the three species were found highly resistant, while control plants ofM. incana were severely infected. InterspecificF 1 hybrid plants betweenM. incana andM. tricuspidata also exhibited high resistance to the disease. The implications and the expected difficulties in breeding stock for bacterial blight resistance are discussed.

After application of dihydroflavonols, naringenin, or suitable substituted chalcones, anthocyanins were synthesized in three genetically defined acyanic lines of Matthiola incana, indicating that the corresponding genetic block concerns the synthesis of the chalcone-flavanone intermediate. Independent of the precursors used, only cyanidin derivatives were produced. This supports the hypothesis that the oxygenation pattern of the B ring in anthocyanin formation is determined at a stage of a C15 intermediate. In addition to the gene responsible for the oxygenation of the 3' position, the genes responsible for the glycosylation in the 3 and 5 positions of the anthocyanin molecule, and those responsible for the acylation with various hydroxycinnamic acids can still exert their influence. Two further genetically defined lines containing flavonol glycosides were not able to synthesize anthocyanins with any of the precursors tested. Their genetic blocks are assumed to be localized after dihydroflavonol synthesis but before anthocyanin formation.

Petals of genetically defined lines of Matthiola incana R.Br. contain a glycosyltransferase which catalyzes the transfer of the xylosyl moiety of uridine 5'-diphosphate-xylose to the glucose of cyanidin 3-glucoside. The enzyme also uses 3-glucosides of pelargonidin and delphinidin, cyanidin 3-(p-coumaroyl)-glucoside and 3-(caffeoyl)-glucoside as substrates. The xylosyltransferase exhibits a pH optimum of 6.5. The enzyme activity depends on the stage of bud and flower development. Accumulation of cyanidin 3-glucoside during flower development is correlated with xylosyltransferase activity.

Based on 256 defined genotypes of the Brassicaceae Matthiola incana the influence of the alleles at four different loci and of their combinations on homeostasis was investigated against an isogenic background. The measured character was the anthocyanin content of the flowers. There are significant maternal and paternal influences on homeostasis. Moreover the extent of heterozygosity as well as the number of wildtype alleles, summarized over all loci, are positively correlated with the increase of homeostasis. The analysis of individual gene effects shows distinct graduations between the contributions of the particular loci. In principle, the wild-type allele proved to be more homeostatic when compared to the mutant; in some cases monogenic heterosis was indicated. Nonallelic interactions of first and second order do considerably modify the degree of expression of homeostasis; they are neither strongly correlated with the individual gene effects nor with the interactions of lower order, and hence they are not predictable. This means also that it is not possible to formulate a general hypothesis as to the causes of homeostasis. We have to assume rather that homeostasis depends on specific gene combinations which enable the organism to stabilize its phenotype by means of certain physiological conditions.

(+)Leucopelargonidin [(2R,3S,4R)-3,4,5,7,4'-pentahydroxyflavan] and (+)leucocyanidin [(2R,3S,4R)-3,4,5,7,3',4'-hexahydroxyflavan] were synthesized from (+)dihydrokaempferol and (+)dihydroquercetin, respectively, by sodium-borohydride reduction. The chemical and optical purity of these compounds was established by ultraviolet, proton-nuclear-magnetic-resonance, and optical-rotatory-dispersion spectroscopy. Supplementation experiments with these leucoanthocyanidins were carried out with genetically defined acyanic flowers of Matthiola incana. Feeding of leucopelargonidin and leucocyanidin to line 17 (blocked between dihydroflavonols and anthocyanins) and line 18 (blocked in the chalcone-synthase gene) led to formation of the corresponding anthocyanidin 3-O-glucosides, whereas supplementation of line 19 (blocked in a locus other than line 17 between dihydroflavonols and anthocyanins) did not result in anthocyanin synthesis. The conversion of leucopelargonidin into pelargonidin 3-O-glucoside was further confirmed by incorporation of [4-(3)H]leucopelargonidin into pelargonidin derivatives. The results are strong indications for the role of leucoanthocyanidins (flavan-3,4-diols) as intermediates in anthocyanin biosynthesis.

A cell-free extract from flowers of Matthiola incana catalyzes a NADPH-dependent stereospecific reduction of (+)-dihydrokaempferol to 3,4-cis-leucopelargonidin (5,7,4'-trihydroxyflavan-3,4-cis-diol). The pH-optimum of this reaction is around 6. The rate of reaction with NADH was about 50% of that found with NADPH. (+)-Dihydroquercetin and (+)-dihydromyricetin were also reduced by the enzyme preparation to the corresponding flavan-3,4-cis-diols. Correlation between the genotype of M. incana and the presence of dihydroflavonol 4-reductase is strong evidence that this enzyme is involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis.

DNA samples from various higher plants (Phaseolus aureus, Glycine max, Matthiola incana, Brassica pekinensis, Cucumis melo) were centrifuged in actinomycin-caesium chloride gradients and the genes coding for the ribosomal RNAs were detected by hybridisation with tritium labelled 5S and 25S+18S rRNA, respectively. With DNA of low molecular weight ( 10×106 daltons) indicating that at least most of the 5S rRNA genes are not linked to, or interspersed with, the genes coding for 25S and 18S rRNA. This result is in agreement with the situation in animal cells and in contrast to that reported for bacteria, lower eukaryotes and chloroplasts.

The expression of the key enzyme of flavonoid biosynthesis, chalcone synthase (CHS), has been followed in different genotypes of Matthiola incana R.Br. (Brassicaceae) which are genetically defined with respect to anthocyanin production. Enzyme activity was determined by a radioactive assay in crude flower extracts. The amount of enzyme protein in the developing flower was determined by use of SDS-PAGE, protein blotting, reaction with an antiserum against CHS of parsley (Petroselinum hortense), and PAP staining. The molecular weight of about 41 500 of the CHS subunits corresponds with that obtained from other higher plants. Steps of flower development were subdivided into stages-1,0, I-IV. During flower development of a Matthiola line with coloured petals (line 07) a defined pattern of CHS enzyme production can be observed: At the stage of bud opening (stage 0-I) a dramatic increase of the amount of CHS enzyme prodein in the petals occurs. This is quite different from results obtained with petals of the white flowering mutant line 18 bearing a genetic defect in the gene f coding for CHS. Here a reduced and nearly constant level of CHS enzyme protein can be observed during flower development. This line is most attractive for our studies of the regulation of enzyme synthesis because under stress conditions a slight colouring of the flower petals occurs, which is uniformly distributed and line-specific. This suggests that we are dealing with a CHS mutant producing a rather inactive enzyme protein at a low level. This protein may regain enzyme activity under certain environmental conditions. Preliminary investigations suggest a rather high level of CHS mRNA transcription at the bud opening stage of the flowers. Other white flowering mutant lines, line 17 (genotype ee) and line 19 (gg) with a late block in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway, exhibit a concomitant reduction of CHS enzyme activity and protein content in comparison to anthocyanin-producing lines with the f(+)f(+)e(+)e(+)g(+)g(+)-genotype.

Six groups of genetic materials were developed in a cruciferous garden plant, Matthiola incana R. Br., to produce simplified genetic systems of a pair of loci in each group. There were only two alleles at each locus, which were directly involved in the modification of anthocyanins in the plant tissue. The parental lines and their F1's in each group constituted an ideal 4 × 4 diallel cross and satisfied all but one condition necessary for a valid diallel analysis. Nonallelic interaction was the only possible offending postulate.The diallel analysis of the data on anthocyanin content in the flower tissues and a comparison of the results with that of a relatively straightforward method of analysis indicated that in the presence of epistasis, the dominance ratio (H1/D) ceases to be a reliable measure of the average degree of dominance. In such situations additional genetic information obtained from the diallel analysis are not in agreement with the expectations on the basis of the already available genetic information on the materials. The estimator H2/4 H1, a measure of average value of the product of alleles with positive and negative effects, seemed to remain unaffected by epistasis. The Wr/Vr regression analysis does not always permit the detection of nonallelic gene interactions. The results suggest that duplicate interaction may escape detection by the regression analysis.

(1) Tests have been carried out of the germination on artificial media of the pollen of double-throwing races (d. races) and pure breeding single races (no-d. races) of Stocks (Matthiola incana M. Br.). The percentage of germination obtained in the no-d. races ranged from 76 to 29, and that in the d. races from 29 to 1.5. The difference is statistically significant. (2) The evidence of the germination tests can, perhaps, be accepted as sufficient to show that a difference exists between the pollen of the d. and no-d. races in respect to the possibility of germination. If this is so, theories which attempt to explain the genetical behaviour of Stocks in terms of pre-maturation segregation lose their main support. (3) Rival theories, such as those which postulate gametic lethals, must therefore be considered. A theory of this type is brought forward, which is claimed to account for the facts better than previous similar theories: but it does not fit the facts any better than does Saunders’ scheme, which, however, does not account for the lack of certain classes of gametes. (4) It is shown that the hypothesis brought forward in this paper provides a plausible explanation of the breeding results which have been obtained by Frost, working with the trisomic race Slender.

1-Sinapoylglucose was isolated in cristalline form from mutants of Matthiola incana. In addition, 1-feruloyl-glucose and 1-p-cumaroyl-glucose were isolated and identified by paper chromatography. The molecular weights of penta-(trimethylsilyl)-1-sinapoyl-glucose and penta-(trimethylsilyl)-1-feruloyl-glucose have been determined by mass-spectroscopy.

Callus cultures were derived from different parts of 8 anthocyanin producing and 2 white flowering lines of the crucifer Matthiola incana. The tissue cultures of the cyanic lines were shown to produce genotype specific anthocyanin patterns, whereas in the calli of the acyanic lines no anthocyanin synthesis occured.