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Seed traits are very important agronomic traits that contribute significantly into crop yield and are considered useful indicators to monitor the inheritance of quantitative traits influenced by genotype and environmental conditions. To investıgate genomic regions useful for breeding high-yielding and highly nutritious common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars, a mini core collection of Turkish common bean germplasm was screened under five environments and two locations for seed traits (seed width, seed yield/plant (SYP), and hundred seed weight). The results of analysis of variance (ANOVA) across the environments revealed significant effects of genotypes and genotype by environment interaction (G × E) for all studied traits except hundred seed weight (HSW), where G × E was found nonsignificant. During this study, mean seed width, SYP, and HSW were 7.038 mm, 21.815 g, and 42.1 g, respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficient revealed a significant and positive correlation (p = 0.01) of seed width with SYP and HSW. At the provinces level, minimum and maximum HSW was reflected by Elazığ and Bolu provinces, respectively. Studied germplasm was grouped into two populations in constellation analysis based on their HSW. A total of 7900 DArTseq markers identified through genotyping by sequencing (GBS) were used for the investigation of marker-trait association. DArT-3373385 marker present on chromosome Pv08 showed a significant association for seed width. DArT-8215545 marker showed a significant association for SYP and this marker was also present on chromosome Pv08. A total of four DArTseq markers were determined to be associated with HSW, and DArT-3372052 contributed maximum (11.32%) to phenotypic variations. We believe that the reported genomic regions will be helpful for future marker-assisted breeding regarding yield-related traits in common bean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential heavy metal having toxic effects on all living organisms. Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) is widely used in human diets but has the potential to accumulate Cd. It also has a high level of genetic diversity, which may be exploited to develop cultivars with low Cd content. We aimed to perform marker-assisted selection and validate previously identified Cd markers in durum wheat germplasm for use in the investigation of accessions that accumulate low grain Cd content. We assessed 130 durum wheat accessions phenotypically and using three different molecular markers. Grain Cd contents of the studied germplasm varied 4.91-fold (26.2–128.7 μg/kg) with an average of 58.2 μg/kg. Landraces showed lower average values of grain Cd content than cultivars. Three molecular markers (usw47, Cad-5B and KASP marker Cad-5B) were used to differentiate high and low Cd accumulating lines. Results showed high correlation and successfully classified the accessions to the expected high or low Cd level; 87 accessions showed the low Cd alleles, and 43 accessions the high Cd alleles, except for five accessions with the usw47 marker that showed heterozygous status. A significant correlation coefficient (r = 0.944*) was observed among the three molecular markers. Based on molecular markers, 96.2% of the accessions were classified accurately. The KASP assay was highly effective in successfully separating low from high Cd content accessions and could be used as a molecular tool in durum wheat breeding programs, with less cost and time, targeting reduced grain Cd levels. The results of this study will allow durum wheat breeders to accelerate their progress to select suitable genotypes with the desired alleles. Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) has great genetic diversity and is widely used in human diets but has the potential to accumulate Cd, which has significant adverse effects on human health. We assessed 130 durum wheat accessions phenotypically and using three different molecular markers. Results showed that utilisation of appropriate molecular markers will reduce the time and cost for grain Cd evaluation, and will allow durum breeders to accelerate progress to select genotypes with desired alleles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential heavy metal having toxic effects on all living organisms. Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) is widely used in human diets but has the potential to accumulate Cd. It also has a high level of genetic diversity, which may be exploited to develop cultivars with low Cd content. We aimed to perform marker-assisted selection and validate previously identified Cd markers in durum wheat germplasm for use in the investigation of accessions that accumulate low grain Cd content. We assessed 130 durum wheat accessions phenotypically and using three different molecular markers. Grain Cd contents of the studied germplasm varied 4.91-fold (26.2–128.7 μg/kg) with an average of 58.2 μg/kg. Landraces showed lower average values of grain Cd content than cultivars. Three molecular markers (usw47, Cad-5B and KASP marker Cad-5B) were used to differentiate high and low Cd accumulating lines. Results showed high correlation and successfully classified the accessions to the expected high or low Cd level; 87 accessions showed the low Cd alleles, and 43 accessions the high Cd alleles, except for five accessions with the usw47 marker that showed heterozygous status. A significant correlation coefficient (r = 0.944*) was observed among the three molecular markers. Based on molecular markers, 96.2% of the accessions were classified accurately. The KASP assay was highly effective in successfully separating low from high Cd content accessions and could be used as a molecular tool in durum wheat breeding programs, with less cost and time, targeting reduced grain Cd levels. The results of this study will allow durum wheat breeders to accelerate their progress to select suitable genotypes with the desired alleles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human body needs sufficient quantity of protein on daily basis for the normal functioning. Dietary protein in sufficient quantity is becoming a key issue for huge population of the world particularly in developing countries. Present investigation aimed to explore the phenotypic variation and to investigate the genomic regions associated with seed protein contents in Turkish common bean germplasm collected from 19 provinces. Field experiments were conducted according to augmented block design at two locations (Bolu and Sivas) for two consecutive years (2017 and 2018). Analysis of variance revealed highly significant environmental effects (p < 0.05) on seed protein contents within environments, while genotype by environment interaction revealed nonsignificant effects. Overall mean protein contents were 36.36%, while Balikesir-3 and Hakkari-38 yielded minimum (31.64%) and maximum (40.70%) protein contents. Among 19 provinces, accessions from Hakkari and Erzincan provinces disclosed maximum and minimum mean protein contents respectively. Scatter plot between seed protein contents and plant height divided the accessions according to their protein contents and plant height. A total of eight stable accessions were selected and can be recommended for future breeding activities. The implemented constellation plot separated the studied germplasm into two populations on the basis of their protein contents. Genotyping by sequencing resulted 7900 DArTseq markers was used for marker-trait association and a total of 11 markers showed significant association for protein contents. During this study, DArT-3365703 marker was identified in both locations (Sivas and Bolu) during 2017 and might be used for future common bean breeding. Physical map revealed the presence narrow regions between identified markers on Pv02 and Pv05. Therefore, these regions should be considered for future breeding activities. We are confident that results of present study will be helpful for marker-assisted breeding of common bean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Durum wheat genetic resources from Turkey and Syria are expected to harbor novel alleles for most traits that are of interest to breeders and consumers. However, there have not been sufficient efforts to investigate the genetic structure of this gene pool. In this study, cultivar Kunduru-1149 (selected from one of the unique landraces, Kunduru) from Anatolia was crossed with a Syrian cultivar, Cham1, to produce recombinant inbred lines (RILs) for quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis. The RIL population was genotyped with simple sequence repeats, amplified fragment length polymorphism, and seed storage protein markers and analyzed for 9 different important quality traits of durum wheat in 8 different environments in Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. We identified 59 QTLs of various quality and rheology traits using single-marker analysis. Some of the QTLs were also reported in earlier studies; however, new major QTLs were also identified in our QTL mapping population. In future studies, after validation, the markers linked with these QTLs can be used in marker-assisted durum wheat breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present study was aimed to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of Turkish common bean germplasm. A total of 96 bean genotypes were characterized with iPBS-retrotansposons that yielded a mean polymorphism information contents of 0.8. Mean gene diversity and Shannon information index were 0.14 and 0.25, respectively. Neighbor joining analysis divided the bean genotypes into two main group (A and B) according to their geographical regions, growth habits and seed size. Bingol-l7, Sivas-14 and Hakkari-11 genotypes were found very distinct and can be used as candidate parents for the bean breeding. The higher efficiency and reproducibility of iPBS-retrotransposons was witnessed in common bean as compared to earlier studies using the same marker system. Results of this study will boost up the investigators for genotyping the larger germplasm of common bean with minimum laboratory infrastructure in developing and least developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to evaluate the genotype × environment interaction of the yield and quality traits for five bread wheat varieties commonly grown in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey and 20 advanced lines developed within the framework of the International Winter Wheat Improvement Project. We also determined the allelic pattern of the Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci of these genotypes and examined whether these loci had an effect on the quality traits. There was a significant variation among the genotypes and environments in terms of grain yield, protein content, sedimentation volume (SV), and the extensograph dough energy value (EDEV). The results of the study indicated that genotypic effect was more influential on SV and EDEV than environmental effect; thus, both traits could be used in breeding programs to develop elite cultivars with better quality. Twelve different high-molecularweight (HMW) glutenin alleles were identified at the Glu-A1, Glu-B1, and Glu-D1 loci, resulting in 14 allelic combinations, and 17 different alleles were observed in 19 combinations for low-molecular-weight (LMW) subunits. Furthermore, among all the genotypes, 13 + 16 and 13 + 19 alleles at Glu-B1 and 5 + 12 at Glu-D1 were observed to have the lowest frequency. Our study indicated that the combinations of HMW glutenin alleles with 2* at Glu-A1, 17 + 18 and 13 + 16 at Glu-B1, and 5 + 10 at Glu-D1, as well as the combinations of LMW alleles with subunits c and d at Glu-A3; subunits d, b, c, and g at Glu-B3; and subunits a and b at Glu-D3 had positive effects on the quality traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until now, little attention has been paid to the geographic distribution and evaluation of genetic diversity of durum wheat from the Central Fertile Crescent (modern-day Turkey and Syria). Turkey and Syria are considered as primary centers of wheat diversity, and thousands of locally adapted wheat landraces are still present in the farmers’ small fields. We planned this study to evaluate the genetic diversity of durum wheat landraces from the Central Fertile Crescent by genotyping based on DArTseq and SNP analysis. A total of 39,568 DArTseq and 20,661 SNP markers were used to characterize the genetic characteristic of 91 durum wheat land races. Clustering based on Neighbor joining analysis, principal coordinate as well as Bayesian model implemented in structure, clearly showed that the grouping pattern is not associated with the geographical distribution of the durum wheat due to the mixing of the Turkish and Syrian landraces. Significant correlation between DArTseq and SNP markers was observed in the Mantel test. However, we detected a non-significant relationship between geographical coordinates and DArTseq (r = -0.085) and SNP (r = -0.039) loci. These results showed that unconscious farmer selection and lack of the commercial varieties might have resulted in the exchange of genetic material and this was apparent in the genetic structure of durum wheat in Turkey and Syria. The genomic characterization presented here is an essential step towards a future exploitation of the available durum wheat genetic resources in genomic and breeding programs. The results of this study have also depicted a clear insight about the genetic diversity of wheat accessions from the Central Fertile Crescent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fertile Crescent is a primary center of wheat domestication and diversity. Despite its importance for bread wheat breeding, few efforts have been made to fully understand the genetic structure of the Anatolian bread wheat. A lack of information regarding the genetic structure of the bread wheat from this region is evident. Therefore, this study aimed to provide new insights into the genetic structure of bread wheat from Anatolia. A genetic linkage map was constructed based on recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross between the Turkish cultivar Gerek-79 and the Moroccan cultivar Arrehane, by using DArT markers anchored with simple sequence repeat markers. This map consisted of 54 linkage groups belonging to 21 bread wheat chromosomes, spanning a total of 935.629 cM. The total number of mapped markers varied from 5 to 87, depending on the chromosome. Seventy-seven DArT markers with unpublished chromosomal locations were mapped on different chromosomes, whereas 23 were mapped onto chromosomes that deviated from those detailed in the literature. This linkage map represents a key starting point towards our understanding of the genome structure of Anatolian bread wheat, which would, in turn, permit us to genetically dissect important agromorphological and quality characteristics. This linkage map will be useful for the identification of QTL for biotic and abiotic stresses, and for important agronomic traits that are valuable for Anatolian wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to determine the effects of some priming treatments on seed germination properties, grain yield, and several agromorphological characteristics of bread wheat. Two commonly grown bread wheat varieties, namely Adana-99 and Pandas, were selected for experimentation conducted during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 growing periods. The seeds of the Adana-99 and Pandas wheat varieties were primed with the following: (1) distilled water, (2) 100 ppm indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), (3) 2.5% potassium chloride (KCl), (4) 1% potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4), (5) 10% polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000), or (6) gibberellic acid (GA3, used only for field experiments). Nonprimed seeds were used as the control group. First 1000 mL of priming media was prepared for each priming treatment, and seeds of both varieties were rinsed in the solution for 12 h at room temperature. Germination percentage at two different temperatures (10 °C and 20 °C), coleoptile length, seedling emergence percentage, and seedling growth rate were evaluated under laboratory conditions. Primed seeds of both varieties were sown on two different dates under field conditions to evaluate certain agromorphological characteristics. PEG, IAA, and distilled water treatments increased seed germination percentage, seedling emergence percentage, and seedling growth rate. PEG, KCl, and hydropriming treatments increased grain yield compared to the control. Among the different priming agents used in the study, PEG, KCl, and hydropriming were the most effective treatments to attain higher germination percentage and grain yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retrotransposons have been highly studied in monocots; however retrotransposon diversity in dicot crops has not been well documented. Our objective was to assess the diversity harbored by field pea landraces using retrotranposon markers. In this research, molecular characterization of 104 landraces and 34 field pea breeding lines was assessed using newly developed iPBS-retrotransposon markers. The 12 iPBS-retrotransposon primers generated a total 106 scorable bands, and 81 of these were found to be polymorphic (76.4%), with an average of 6.75 polymorphic fragments per primer. Polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0.33 to 0.84 with an average of 0.61. It was evident that field pea landraces from the same geographical region were often placed in different groups in the neighbor joining analysis, indicating that grouping based on genetic parameters was not closely related to the geographical origin. The population structure was determined by using STRUCTURE software, and three populations at K = 3 and five populations at K = 5 were identified among landraces. The plentiful diversity present in Turkish field pea landraces could be used as genetic resource in designing breeding program, and may also contribute to worldwide pea breeding programs. Our data also suggested a role of iPBS-retrotransposons as ‘a universal marker’ for molecular characterization of pea germplasm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though lentil has been an important food legume for centuries, genetic studies in lentil are still in their infancy. Genetic diversity and relationships among wild Lens species from Turkey has seldom been investigated. Additionally, a limited number of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers have been developed for use in breeding and genetic studies of lentil crop. In this study, molecular characterization of 50 accessions mostly from Turkey, belonging to 6 wild and 1 cultivated Lens species, was performed using newly developed inter-primer binding site (iPBS) retrotransposons and inter-SSR (ISSR) markers. The 10 iPBS primers generated a total of 151 scorable bands, of which 150 were polymorphic (99.3%) with an average of 15.0 polymorphic fragments per primer. The 10 ISSR primers detected 138 scorable bands showing 100% polymorphism, with an average of 13.5 bands per primer. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) value for ISSR markers (0.97) was higher than that for iPBS markers (0.90). Lens orientalis was found to be the most diverse species, raising the possibility of wide crosses with cultivated species Lens culinaris . Cultivated varieties also showed high level of polymorphism, at 82.92% and 51.92% with ISSR and iPBS markers, respectively. Lens lamottei and Lens tomentosus were found as the least polymorphic species using both marker systems. The grouping of accessions and species within clusters were almost similar when iPBS and ISSR graphs were compared. Our data also suggested the role of iPBS-retrotransposons as ‘ a universal marker ’ for molecular characterization of wild and cultivated Lens species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first step towards the biofortification of edible portions of crop species with improved nutritional value is to understand the genetic diversity available to breeders in germplasm collections. A faba bean germplasm (129 landraces and 4 cultivars) from diverse geographic regions of Turkey was assessed for micro- and macroelement contents of seeds. The results showed high diversity in open-pollinated faba bean germplasm for contents of N (27.5-93.3 g kg-1), P (1.24-4.89 g kg-1), K (4.5-19.3 g kg-1), Fe (29.7-96.3 mg kg-1), Mn (15.5-29.2 mg kg-1), Cu (10.3-33.0 mg kg-1), and Zn (10.4-49.3 mg kg-1). Meanwhile, the ranges of mineral elements in the landraces were significantly higher than those in the commercial cultivars. Concentrations of these mineral elements were significantly and positively correlated with each other. Principal component analysis clearly split the faba bean landraces into 2 groups and the first 2 principal components accounted around 70.91% of the total variations. These findings indicate a wide range of variations for the investigated minerals in the Turkish gene pool that can provide a good source of diversity to use in faba bean biofortification for increased levels of available mineral elements and better yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faba bean is cultivated worldwide and widely used in Mediterranean countries, Asia and Europe. However, only a few faba bean breeders are active in cultivar development. As a result, a limited number of varieties are available for growers. Plant genetic resources or germplasm are fundamental sources for plant breeding, and the assessment of the genetic diversity among germplasm accessions is useful to facilitate more efficient use of plant genetic resources. A mini-core collection of faba bean germplasm (178 landraces and four cultivars), from diverse geographic regions of Turkey, was assessed for agro-morphological performance and some quality traits. There were substantial variations for the investigated morphological and quality characteristics. The analysis of variance revealed that the differences among 182 accessions were significant for all the studied characters. Some accessions showed very good agronomic performance for some traits. Positive and negative correlations existed among different morphological and agronomic traits. Landraces have been classified into four different groups using a cluster analysis. These results suggest that an a priori classification of accessions according to the growing area does not strictly correspond to phenotypic grouping. From the spatial distribution of landraces, however, it has been possible to identify ‘superior’ accessions of some traits. These findings indicate a number of useful traits in the gene pools and a wide range of phenotypic variation that provides a good source of diversity for use in modern faba bean breeding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing successful strategies to ensure future increase in yield of soybean and peanut crops hinges in part, on improving the genetic basis of the cultivars. Knowledge of genetic relationships in crop breeding programs provides valuable information that can be used by plant breeders as a parental line selection tool. So far, a thorough analysis of genetic diversity among the soybean and peanut genotypes grown in Turkey had not been attempted at DNA level. In this study, inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) and sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity between 21 soybean and 32 peanut cultivars and breeding lines adapted to different regions of Turkey. The ISSR analysis, which was performed with 46 primers in soybean and 47 primers in peanut, yielded 31 and 26 polymorphic bands, respectively, while 26 and 17 polymorphic amplicons were amplified by 34 and 36 SRAP primer combinations in soybean and peanut, respectively. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic means dendrograms (UPGMA), based on Jaccard similarities,were obtained from the combined ISSR + SRAP data for both soybean and peanut. In soybean, UPGMA dendrogram clustered all soybean cultivars into the same group except 'Yeşilsoy', whereas, in peanut, it separated cultivars southwest runner and spantex from all the other cultivars, breeding lines, and plant introductions. In light of the narrow germplasm base of soybean and peanut genotypes grown in Turkey, a renewed emphasis should be placed on the introduction of new sources of germplasm into the breeding pool in order to enhance genetic variability to permit continued progress in developing high yielding cultivars and lead to greater gains for selections. The results obtained from this study will be helpful for soybean and peanut breeders in Turkey to gain information about genetic diversity and will enable them to make a future strategy for broadening the genetic basis of these crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Very little information exists on the relative genetic architecture of the grain physical properties of wheat. The physical properties of grain have a direct or indirect influence on the milling and baking quality of wheat. Therefore, understanding the inheritance of grain physical properties will be useful to improve varieties with better quality. Five bread wheat cultivars were crossed in order to evaluate the mode of inheritance and combining ability and the correlation of the grain's physical properties. Analysis of variance for combining ability showed that both additive and non-additive gene actions were involved in controlling most of the traits. Magnitudes of general combining ability (GCA) for all features except grain weight (GW) and grain height (GH) were higher than those of specific combining ability (SCA) The effect of general combining ability was more prominent for 8 out of 10 traits in accordance with ratio of GCA:SCA. Path coefficient analysis showed that grain width (GWI), number of grains per spike (GS), and grain height (GH) had the highest significant direct and indirect effect on most of the other features. The results obtained from this study might be helpful for wheat breeders trying to develop new varieties with better grain features to improve the milling and baking quality of wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) is the 10th most cultivated crop and is a vital food source for human consumption. Genetic diversity in durum wheat is still an unexplored subject, and gene banks are filled with accessions waiting to be screened. Here, four different groups of durum wheat, Turkish and foreign cultivars, and in situ and ex situ landraces were evaluated for population structure and genetic diversity. A collection of 129 durum wheat accessions were genotyped, with a total of 6,357 markers (SilicoDArT, SNP [single‐nucleotide polymorphism], and simple sequence repeats [SSRs]). The highest mean allele number per marker (1.562) was obtained with SNP markers in ex situ landraces; the lowest mean allele number per marker (0.788) was obtained with SSR markers in the foreign cultivars. The minimum percentage of polymorphic loci was 38.70% observed with SSR markers in foreign cultivars; the maximum was 76.20% in SilicoDArT markers in ex situ landraces. According to Neighbor‐Joining analyses, the studied collection was divided into groups of cultivars and landraces, with some level of admixtures. Structure and principal coordinate analysis obtained distinct clusters for ex situ landraces and foreign cultivars, supported by Neighbor‐Joining analysis. A significant level of intergroup and intragroup variation was observed, and Turkish ex situ landraces were found as the most diverse and distinct group in the collection. Turkish landraces may be a promising source of novel allelic diversity that can be used in durum wheat breeding worldwide. Core Ideas: Turkish durum wheat landraces may provide novel allelic diversity.Turkish durum wheat cultivars released in the late 20th century has close pedigree relations with foreign cultivars.Turkish modern wheat germplasm/gene pool have experienced a bottleneck for several reasons.Turkish cultivars divide into two distinct groups: foreign related and landrace related. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spring durum wheat occupies over 0.5 M ha in Kazakhstan and represents an important domestic and export commodity. This study aimed to characterize 151 durum wheat cultivars and advanced lines originating from eight breeding programs of the Kazakhstan–Siberia Spring Wheat Improvement Network (KASIB) between 2003 and 2018. The phenotypic characterization was performed in two contracting evaluation sites more than 1000 km apart (Almaty in the Southeast and Shortandy in the North) for two years and a total of 11 agronomic traits were recorded. Field trials at both locations followed regional agronomy practices, including sowing, harvesting, and genotype evaluation using a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The growing season was longer in Almaty, resulting in a higher number of grains per spike. Though grains are smaller in size with an overall higher yield, 243 g/m2 versus 170 g/m2, there was no correlation between germplasm performance at the two sites. Molecular characterization was performed with 10 iPBS-retrotransposons primers that resulted in a total of 345 bands and showed a mean polymorphism of 91.9%. Mean values of gene diversity (0.251), Shannon's information index (0.388), and expected heterozygosity (0.233) revealed a relatively high level of genetic diversity in the KASIB set. AMOVA revealed higher genetic variations due to differences within the populations. Marker-based cluster analysis, including STRUCTURE and neighbor-joining algorithms, divided the material into two populations with clear differences in geographic origin. Superiors and diverse germplasm identified in the study are recommended for marker assisted selection and breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two cryoprotectant solutions, including trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and several loading durations were used to evaluate the cryopreservation of the shoot tip of Eriobotrya plants. The best results for regrowth (59.91%) were obtained from 10% TMAO compared to 10% DMSO as cryoprotectant, although nonsignificant differences were found for survival between the two cryoprotectants. We detected pronounced effects of loading duration on survival and regrowth rates of shoot tips. The maximum regrowth (56.36%) was observed at 9 h of loading duration. The cryoprotectants and loading durations greatly affected the regrowth of Eriobotrya shoot tips, and TMAO could be introduced as a nontoxic and efficient cryoprotectant. These results could lay a foundation for the cryopreservation of Eriobotrya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. & Zucc.), the progenitor of cultivated soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), is widely distributed in the Sino-Japanese Floristic Region (SJFR). Therefore, it is an excellent model organism to study the effect of Quaternary climatic changes on the distribution and migration of plant taxa in the SJFR. To investigate the phylogeography of G. soja, a total of 632 individuals representing 52 populations throughout the species distribution range were genotyped by using the sequencing data of a nuclear locus, AF105221, and a chloroplast locus, trnQ-rps16. We detected a total of 23 haplotypes from two loci, including five common and 18 rare haplotypes. Among them, 17 rare haplotypes were limited to Northeast Asia (Northeast China (NEC) and Korea) and the Yangzi River basin (middle and downstream of the Yangzi River (MDYR) and the eastern end of Southwest China (SWC)). Moreover, two common haplotypes were detected throughout the species distribution wide range. All the haplotypes from Japan and the Korean peninsula were also found in China. The haplotype distribution patterns of the two loci suggested that Northeast Asia (NEC and Korea) and the Yangzi River basin (MDYR and the eastern end of SWC) might have been the refugia for G. soja during the Quaternary glacial period, and G. soja expanded rapidly after the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. There was a land bridge between East China, the Korean peninsula, and Japan that permitted gene flow among populations of these regions in the ice age during the Quaternary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methods for the diagnostics and detection of plant pathogens need to be quick, simple, reliable, and cost effective. In the present study, inter-priming binding sites (iPBS)-retrotransposons were used to study the genetic diversity of 96 isolates belonging to 16 different fungal species at intra- and inter-species levels. The 6 iPBS-retrotransposon primers amplified 389 bands, of which 387 were polymorphic (99%) with an average of 64.83 polymorphic fragments per primer. Polymorphism information contents per primers ranged from 0.976 to 0.870 with the average being 0.972. Neighbor-joining analysis differentiated all fungal isolates according to their species, and at the intra-specific level revealed considerable genetic variability among fungal isolates. The data supports the use of iPBS-retrotransposons as ‘a universal marker’ for the molecular characterization of different fungal species. It also suggests that only one or a few iPBS-retrotransposon primers would be sufficient for the discrimination of fungal isolates at both intra- and inter-species levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic purity is a prerequisite for exploiting the potential of hybrids in cross-pollinated crops, such as sunflower. In this regard DNA-based study was conducted using 110 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to check the genetic purity of 23 parents and their 60 hybrids in sunflower. The polymorphism was shown in 92 markers with value 83.63%. The SSR markers ORS-453 and CO-306 showed the highest PIC values of 0.76 and 0.74, respectively. The primer ORS-453 amplified allele size of 310 base pairs (bp) for female parent L6 and 320 bp for L11, while for male parents, T1 and T2 had allele size 350 bp and 340 bp, respectively. The hybrids from these parents showed a similar size of alleles with parents, including hybrids L6×T1 (310 bp and 350 bp), L6×T2 (310 bp and 340 bp), and L11×T2 (320 bp and 340 bp). Similarly, the primer CO-306 amplified allele size 350 bp and 330 bp for female parents L6 and L11, respectively, while, allele size 300 bp and 310 bp for male parents T1 and T2, respectively. The hybrids' allele size was like the parents viz., L6×T1 (350 bp and 300 bp), L6×T2 (350 bp and 310 bp), and L11×T2 (330 bp and 310 bp). All 60 hybrids and their 23 parents were grouped into three main clusters (A, B and C) based upon DARWIN v.6.0 and STRUCTURE v.2.3 Bayesian analyses using genotypic data. Further, each main cluster was divided into two sub-divisions. Each sub-division showed the relatedness of parents and their hybrids, thus authenticating the genetic purity of hybrids. In conclusion, this study provides useful for accurate and effective identification of hybrids, which will help to improve seed genetic purity testing globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human being has strong and historic connections with plants to fulfill food, feed, and shelter. Moreover, human uses plants as medicine for the treatment of various diseases. Plants are chemical factories for the biosynthesis of the huge number of secondary metabolites (SMs) that are directly used as a medicine or indirectly used in the development of commercial pharmaceutical drugs. Their improvement through classical breeding remains a difficult struggle for plant breeders. Hence, rapidly advancing research on the plant omics era has accelerated our understanding of the complex structure of SMs synthesis in medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). In addition, sequencing technologies and the completion of several genome sequences of MAPs have opened numerous opportunities for fine mapping and gene characterization. The accessibility of these technologies together with research of quantitative trait loci (QTL) and candidate genes for key characteristics such as SMs content and biologic activity and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses pave the way for the development of new strategies for the improvement of MAPs. To explore the knowledge of SMs in MAPs, several reviews have been published over the last three decades for researchers with advanced knowledge of plant biotechnology. However, this review has offered a summary of the recent developments, limitations, and future potential in molecular breeding of MAPs species and their application to plant breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) is a significant pathogen that affects common bean, leading to substantial yield losses and reduced crop quality. To mitigate BCMV attacks, certain genes, including diacylglycerol kinases genes (PvDGKs), genes associated with defense and stress responses (PvGST , PvPAL, PvLOX , and PvPOD), as well as genes related to plant defense (PvPR 1, PvPR 2, and PvPR 3) play an essential functional role in various stress responses in common bean. In this study, the expression levels of PvDGK 1 , PvDGK 2 , PvDGK 3 , PvDGK 5a , PvDGK 5b , PvDGK 6, PvGST , PvPAL, PvLOX , PvPOD , PvPR 1, PvPR 2, and PvPR 3 genes were investigated in the leaves of different common bean genotypes under BCMV infection conditions. Through quantitative real-time PCR analysis, we observed varying expression patterns for all these genes at different time points during viral infection. The tolerant genotype exhibited higher expression levels of all PvDGKs , PvGST , PvPAL , PvPOD , PvPR 1, and PvPR 2 genes compared to the susceptible genotype, with the PvPR 1 gene showing the highest transcript levels. These findings provide the initial evidence of the potential roles of PvDGK s, PvGST , PvPAL, PvLOX , PvPOD , PvPR 1, PvPR 2, and PvPR 3 in responding to the stress induced by BCMV in common bean. The results presented herein will serve as a valuable resource for guiding future breeding studies aimed at addressing BCMV-induced stress in common bean cultivation. • This study marks the expression levels of different genes in Phaseolus vulgaris during BCMV infection. • These findings provide the initial evidence of the potential roles of diacylglycerol kinase genes. • The results will guide future breeding efforts to address BCMV-induced stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcription factors are regulatory proteins known to modulate gene expression. These are the critical component of signaling pathways and help in mitigating various developmental and stress responses. Among them, bZIP, BBR, and BZR transcription factor families are well known to play a crucial role in regulating growth, development, and defense responses. However, limited data is available on these transcription factors in Triticum aestivum. In this study, bZIP, BBR, and BZR sequences from Brachypodium distachyon, Oryza sativa, Oryza barthii, Oryza brachyantha, T. aestivum, Triticum urartu, Sorghum bicolor, Zea mays were retrieved, and dendrograms were constructed to analyze the evolutionary relatedness among them. The sequences clustered into one group indicated a degree of evolutionary correlation highlighting the common lineage of cereal grains. This analysis also exhibited that these genes were highly conserved among studied monocots emphasizing their common ancestry. Furthermore, these transcription factor genes were evaluated for envisaging conserved motifs, gene structure, and subcellular localization in T. aestivum. This comprehensive computational analysis has provided an insight into transcription factor evolution that can also be useful in developing approaches for future functional characterization of these genes in T. aestivum. Furthermore, the data generated can be beneficial in future for genetic manipulation of economically important plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safflower is an underutilized and minor oilseed crop that received less attention from the scientific community compared to other oilseed crops like soybean and sunflower. Exploring the genetic basis associated with agronomic traits is crucial for markerassisted breeding of safflower. A genome-wide association study was conducted using a total of 12,232 DArTseq markers to identify the marker-trait association for important agronomic traits in an international safflower panel derived from 26 different geographical countries of the world. Statistically significant genotypic effects (p < 0.05) were observed across mean data of both locations (Pakistan and Turkey). Moderate to high heritability estimates were observed for the studied traits. Studied material showed higher performance for all traits except seeds per capitulum in Pakistan compared to Turkey. Phenotypic diversity for important agronomic traits, such as plant height (60.08 to 121.48 cm), capitula per plant (8.7 to 80.4), seeds per capitulum (15 to 42.05), and seed yield per plant (4.85 to 51.02 g), was illustrated. Seed yield per plant showed a highly significant and positive correlation with capitula per plant (0.4985***). Constellation plot analysis resulted in four groups, i.e. A, B, C, and D. Genotyping by sequencing resulted in 12,232 DArTseq markers being used for the investigation of marker-trait association through mixed linear model (Q + K) approach. DArT-38077549 showed significant association with capitula per plant, while two markers (DArT-22763576, DArT-22763253) were associated with plant height. A total of two markers (DArT-38079422, DArT-100043360) were associated with seeds per capitulum. A total of five DArTseq markers showed significant association with seed yield per plant and maximum variation was resulted by DArT-100004992. The results of this study provide a new insight to understand the genetic basis associated with agronomic traits in safflower. We envisage that significant markers identified through this investigation may be applicable in future safflower marker-assisted breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants are vulnerable to many environmental constraints which include drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, heavy metals, etc., thereby posing damage to the development and yield of major crops. Of these stresses, drought represents a severe environmental threat to plant productivity in agriculture. Drought stress reduces the yield by affecting the key plant metabolic pathways. The capability of plants to switch on or off a series of genes result in alterations of the physiological and morphological attributes, thereby allowing plants to escape, tolerate or avoid drought stress. Different genes, transcription factors and signal transduction pathways are induced by drought stress. Advances in genome editing technologies have revolutionized the agriculture sector by using more accurate genome engineering techniques for targeted crop traits. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) technology is a robust and efficient approach for developing plant/crop varieties tolerant to different climatic changes. The use of new genome editing technologies like CRISPR facilitates the creation of plant species with improved drought tolerance. Thus this review aims to elucidate the basic plant responses to stress and the mechanisms for the adaptation and attainment of tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common bean is an important legume crop having high quality protein, micronutrients, vitamins and antioxidants, which makes it a "grain of hope" for poor communities. Hence, a good number of breeding activities have been performed on the improvement of various key traits for years. However, recent advancements in molecular markers, sequencing technologies and the completion of the common bean genome sequence have opened numerous opportunities for fine mapping and gene characterization. The availability of these tools together with investigations of quantitative trait loci (QTL) and candidate genes for key traits such as morpho-agronomic, iron and zinc contents, cooking and quality traits, antioxidant activity, biotic and abiotic stresses pave the way to the development of new strategies for common bean genetic improvement. As a food source, it can contribute to the reduction of food scarcity worldwide in the coming years. Therefore, it is very important to take synergic efforts to integrate common bean genetic and genomic resources in breeding activities to ensure food security and contribute significantly to improved livelihoods in developing countries. Moreover, Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) and CRISPR-Cas9 should be used to develop climate resilience common bean varieties. Here, we provide an overview of the evolution of common bean research by highlighting the past and recent advances in genomics, transgenics, transcriptomics and proteomics and also critically discuss the future prospects for further genetic improvement and better expansion of this crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastrodia elata is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine with good therapeutic effect on various nervous and cerebrovascular diseases. In the present study, we generated 20,611,556 raw reads from the young tuber transcriptome of a G. elata hybrid (Gastrodia elata BI.f.elata × Gastrodia elata BI.f.pilifera) by using Illumina HiSeq™ 4000 sequencing platform. De novo assembly and bioinformatics analysis revealed 20,237,474 clean reads, including 2,529,684,250 bp that assembled into 34,323 unigenes with an average length of 695.19 bp. Among them, 24,698 (71.96%) unigenes were annotated by at least one of the Nr, Swiss-Prot, COG and KEGG databases. A total of 4236 (12.34%) unigenes were identified as candidate transcription factors, and 2007 (5.85%) unigenes were found to contain at least one single sequence repeat (SSR). Of these SSRs, AG/CT repeat motif was the most frequent, with a total of 498 (21.67%). This study will enhance our understanding about the molecular mechanism of physiological metabolism, growth and development of G. elata, particularly abundant SSR markers will offer plenty of alternative tools for further studies about molecular genetics, molecular breeding and association analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quinoa is an important staple food crop for millions of impoverished rural inhabitants of the Andean region. Quinoa is considered a good source of protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. This study aimed to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of world quinoa germplasm originating from 8 countries through the iPBS-retrotransposon marker system. Molecular characterization was performed using the 11 most polymorphic primers. A total of 235 bands were recorded, of which 66.8% were polymorphic. Mean polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.410. Various diversity indices including mean effective number of alleles (1.269), mean Shannon's information index (0.160) and gene diversity (0.247) revealed the existence of sufficient amount of genetic diversity in studied germplasm. Bolivia-17 and Mexico-1 were found to be genetically distinct accessions and can be suggested as candidate parents for future breeding activities. Various diversity indices were also calculated among germplasm collection counries and the results clearly showed the existence of higher genetic diversity in Bolivian and Peruvian accessions. The model-based structure, neighbor-joining, and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) grouped quinoa germplasm according to their collection country. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that most of the variations (69%) in world quinoa germplasm are due to differences within populations. Findings of this study can be used for deeper understanding of the genetic relationship and in the determination of appropriate breeding and conservation strategies for quinoa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Both selection effects and whole genome duplication played very important roles in plant speciation and evolution, and to decipher the corresponding molecular footprint has always been a central task of geneticists. Vaccinium is species rich genus that comprised of about 450 species, and blueberry is one of the most important species of Vaccinium genus, which is gaining popularity because of high healthful value. In this article, we aimed to decipher the molecular footprints of natural selection on the single copy genes and WGD events occur in the evolutionary history of blueberry species. Results: We identified 30,143, 29,922 and 28,891 putative protein coding sequences from 45,535, 42,914 and 43,630 unigenes assembled from the leaves' transcriptome assembly of 19 rabbiteye (T1), 13 southern highbush (T2) and 22 northern highbush (T3) blueberry cultivars. A total of 17, 21 and 27 single copy orthologs were found to undergone positive selection in T1 versus T2, T1 versus T3, and T2 versus T3, respectively, and these orthologs were enriched in metabolic pathways including "Terpenoid backbone biosynthesis", "Valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis", "Butanoate metabolism", "C5-Branched dibasic acid metabolism" "Pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis". We also detected significant molecular footprints of a recent (about 9.04 MYA), medium (about 43.44 MYA) and an ancient (about 116.39 MYA) WGD events that occurred in the evolutionary history of three blueberry species. Conclusion: Some important functional genes revealed positive selection effect in blueberry. At least three rounds of WGD events were detected in the evolutionary history of blueberry species. Our work provides insights about the genetic mechanism of adaptive evolution in blueberry and species radiation of Vaccinium in short geological scale time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing high yielding safflower cultivars with good adaptation to diverse environmental conditions can improve production in terms of seed yield and reduce the deficiency in edible oil. The genetic variability that exists among and within populations for desirable agronomic traits can be used to develop elite cultivars. A total of 94 safflower accessions from 26 different countries were used in this study to evaluate morphoagronomic performance, determine the pattern of similarity centers, and identify the best performing accessions by conducting 2 field experiments in Pakistan and Turkey using augmented design. Genetic diversity for important yield and yield traits was described including capitulum diameter (17.30 to 28.30 mm), branches per plant (5.10 to 17.30), capitula per plant (8.70 to 80.40), and seed yield per plant (4.86 to 51.02 g). These analyses showed a good level of variation in the current study. Using principal component analysis, it was observed that days to flower initiation, days to 50% flowering, days to flower completion, seed yield per plant, capitula per plant, branches per plant, seeds per capitulum, and capitulum diameter were the major contributors to the observed genetic variability in the evaluated safflower panel. Seed yield per plant reflected a significant and positive correlation with capitula per plant, branches per plant, and capitulum diameter, and these traits can be suggested as a selection criterion in safflower breeding programs. The hierarchical clustering was in agreement with the patterns of 7 similarity centers based on seed yield per plant, capitula per plant, capitulum diameter, and branches per plant. During this study, a few promising safflower accessions were selected for future breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blueberry is a kind of new rising popular perennial fruit with high healthful quality. It is of utmost importance to develop new blueberry varieties for different climatic zones to satisfy the demand of people in the world. Molecular marker assisted breeding is believed to be an ideal method for the development of new blueberry varieties for its shorter breeding cycle than the conventional breeding. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) markers are widely used molecular tools for marker assisted breeding, which could be detected at large scale by the transcriptome sequencing. Here, we sequenced the leaves transcriptome of 19 rabbiteye (Vaccinium ashei Reade), 13 southern highbush (Vaccinium. corymbosum L × native southern Vaccinium Spp) and 22 cultivars of northern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L) by using next generation sequencing technologies. A total of 80.825 Gb clean data with an average of about 12.525 million reads per cultivar were obtained. We assembled 58,968, 55,973 and 53,887 unigenes by using the clean data from rabbiteye, southern highbush and northern highbush blueberry cultivars, respectively. Among these unigenes, 3599, 3495 and 3513 unigenes were detected as candidate resistance genes in three blueberry crops. Moreover, we identified more than 8756, 9020, and 9198 SSR markers from these unigenes, and 7665, 4861, 13,063 SNPs from the annotated single copy unigenes, respectively. The results will be helpful for the molecular genetics and association analysis of blueberry and the basic molecular information of pest and disease resistance of blueberry, and would also offer huge number of molecular tools for the marker assisted breeding to produce blueberry cultivars with different adaptive characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulose synthase A (CESA) is a key enzyme involved in the complex process of plant cell wall biosynthesis, and it remains a productive subject for research. We employed systems biology approaches to explore structural diversity of eudicot CESAs by exon–intron organization, mode of duplication, synteny, and splice site analyses. Using a combined phylogenetics and comparative genomics approach coupled with co-expression networks we reconciled the evolution of cellulose synthase gene family in eudicots and found that the basic forms of CESA proteins are retained in angiosperms. Duplications have played an important role in expansion of CESA gene family members in eudicots. Co-expression networks showed that primary and secondary cell wall modules are duplicated in eudicots. We also identified 230 simple sequence repeat markers in 103 eudicot CESAs. The 13 identified conserved motifs in eudicots will provide a basis for gene identification and functional characterization in other plants. Furthermore, we characterized (in silico) eudicot CESAs against senescence and found that expression levels of CESAs decreased during leaf senescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a multipurpose crop of dry land yielding very high quality of edible oil. Present study was aimed to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of 131 safflower accessions originating from 28 different countries using 13 iPBS-retrotransposon markers. A total of 295 iPBS bands were observed among which 275 (93.22%) were found polymorphic. Mean Polymorphism information content (0.48) and diversity parameters including mean effective number of alleles (1.33), mean Shannon’s information index (0.33), overall gene diversity (0.19), Fstatistic (0.21), and inbreeding coefficient (1.00) reflected the presence of sufficient amount of genetic diversity in the studied plant materials. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that more than 40% of genetic variation was derived from populations. Model-based structure, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means (UPGMA) algorithms clustered the 131 safflower accessions into four main populations A, B, C, D and an unclassified population, with no meaningful geographical origin. Most diverse accessions originated from Asian countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Turkey, and India. Four accessions, Turkey3, Afghanistan4, Afghanistan2, and Pakistan24 were found most genetically distant and might be recommended as a candidate parents for breeding purposes. The findings of this study are most probably supported by the seven similarity centers hypothesis of safflower. This is a first study to explore the genetic diversity and population structure in safflower accessions using the iPBS-retrotransposon markers. The information provided in this work will therefore be helpful for scientists interested in safflower breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey presents a great diversity of common bean landraces in farmers’ fields. We collected 183 common bean accessions from 19 different Turkish geographic regions and 5 scarlet runner bean accessions to investigate their genetic diversity and population structure using phenotypic information (growth habit, and seed weight, flower color, bracteole shape and size, pod shape and leaf shape and color), geographic provenance and 12,557 silicoDArT markers. A total of 24.14% markers were found novel. For the entire population (188 accessions), the expected heterozygosity was 0.078 and overall gene diversity, Fst and Fis were 0.14, 0.55 and 1, respectively. Using marker information, model-based structure, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means (UPGMA) algorithms clustered the 188 accessions into two main populations A (predominant) and B, and 5 unclassified genotypes, representing 3 meaningful heterotic groups for breeding purposes. Phenotypic information clearly distinguished these populations; population A and B, respectively, were bigger (>40g/100 seeds) and smaller (<40g/100 seeds) seed-sized. The unclassified population was pure and only contained climbing genotypes with 100 seed weight 2–3 times greater than populations A and B. Clustering was mainly based on A: seed weight, B: growth habit, C: geographical provinces and D: flower color. Mean kinship was generally low, but population B was more diverse than population A. Overall, a useful level of gene and genotypic diversity was observed in this work and can be used by the scientific community in breeding efforts to develop superior common bean strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isoflavones prevent the incidence of cancer, reduce cardiovascular problems, and decrease menopausal symptoms. In soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. & Zucc.) seeds, the content is greatly affected by growing conditions. The variations in soy-isoflavone content were investigated by growing 346 Korean wild soybean accessions from natural habitats under the same agroclimatic conditions. Highperformance liquid chromatography was used to measure the profiles of six soy-isoflavones, i.e. glycosides (daidzin, glycitin, genistin) and malonyl glycosides (malonyl-daidzin, malonyl-glycitin, and malonyl-genistin). The soy-isoflavone content of the wild soybeans ranged from 0.5 to 5.51 mg/g with an average of 2.78 mg/g. The highest mean total soy-isoflavone was genistin (1.393 mg/g), followed by daidzin (0.939 mg/g) and glycitin (0.250 mg/g). Korean wild soybean seeds examined in this study were rich in malonyl-genistin. An increasing trend for total soy-isoflavone content was observed from the north to the southeast in the geographical distribution sites, which signifies the effect of genotype and collection site. The information generated in this report will greatly aid soybean breeding stratagems aimed at improving soy-isoflavone concentration in soybean seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of genetic diversity could be beneficial by contributing important information in the selection of breeding material. The objective of this study was to explore the genetic diversity and relationship in the Turkish tobacco germplasm with the iPBS-retrotransposons marker that emerged as a universal method. A total of 90 landraces and 6 commercial cultivars collected from different geographical regions of Turkey were used in this study. Eleven most polymorphic iPBS-retrotransposons primers yielded a total of 119 scorable bands and 98 of these bands were found to be polymorphic (82.35%), with an average of 8.91 polymorphic fragments for each primer. The mean polymorphism information contents were found to be 0.33, ranging from 0.10 to 0.80. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean revealed that the genotypes belonging to the same geographical regions were often present in the same group and very close to each other. Based on the Bayesian clustering model, the genetic structure of Turkish tobacco germplasm was divided into 2 main groups. This is first study to explore the genetic diversity of Turkish tobacco by the iPBS-retrotransposons and we believe that in future the results of this study will serve as a foundation for the development of new and improved tobacco varieties in Turkey and the rest of world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of molecular marker technology in the 1980s, the fate of plant breeding has changed. Different types of molecular markers have been developed and advancement in sequencing technologies has geared crop improvement. To explore the knowledge about molecular markers, several reviews have been published in the last three decades; however, all these reviews were meant for researchers with advanced knowledge of molecular genetics. This review is intended to be a synopsis of recent developments in molecular markers and their applications in plant breeding and is devoted to early researchers with a little or no knowledge of molecular markers. The progress made in molecular plant breeding, genetics, genomic selection and genome editing has contributed to a more comprehensive understanding of molecular markers and provided deeper insights into the diversity available for crops and greatly complemented breeding stratagems. Genotyping-by-sequencing and association mapping based on next-generation sequencing technologies have facilitated the identification of novel genetic markers for complex and unstructured populations. Altogether, the history, the types of markers, their application in plant sciences and breeding, and some recent advancements in genomic selection and genome editing are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having knowledge on genetic similarity and DNA profile of potato genotypes facilitates a breeder's decision for parent selection and provides accurate variety identification. Fingerprinting and identification of genetic similarity among 151 potato genotypes were achieved using an inter-primer-binding sites (iPBS) retrotransposon marker system. Our study is the first application of iPBS markers for fingerprinting and distinguishing large numbers of Solanum tuberosum genotypes. Initially, 16 potato genotypes were screened using 45 iPBS retrotransposon markers to identify polymorphisms. Seventeen of these primers were selected for fingerprinting the whole set of accessions due to strong, reproducible and polymorphic bands. The 17 iPBS primers produced 290 scorable bands of which 224 were polymorphic. The number of bands per primer ranged from 10 to 26 with an average of 17.1. The number of polymorphic bands per primer was between 6 and 21. The polymorphism percentage per primer ranged from 46.2 to 100.0% with an average of 77.2% per primer. The mean polymorphism information content (PIC) values of iPBS primers varied from 0.12 to 0.31 per primer. Genetic similarity based on Jaccard's coefficient of potato genotypes ranged from 0.61 to 0.93 with an average of 0.73. The data produced herein may be used for selection of appropriate parents and variety description in the future. The findings of the present study suggest that iPBS retrotransposons are powerful and easy DNA markers for fingerprinting the large samples of potato germplasm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plant cellulose synthase gene superfamily belongs to the category of type-2 glycosyltransferases, and is involved in cellulose and hemicellulose biosynthesis. These enzymes are vital for maintaining cell-wall structural integrity throughout plant life. Here, we identified 78 putative cellulose synthases (CS) in the soybean genome. Phylogenetic analysis against 40 reference Arabidopsis CS genes clustered soybean CSs into seven major groups (CESA, CSL A, B, C, D, E and G), located on 19 chromosomes (except chromosome 18). Soybean CS expansion occurred in 66 duplication events. Additionally, we identified 95 simple sequence repeat makers related to 44 CSs. We next performed digital expression analysis using publically available datasets to understand potential CS functions in soybean. We found that CSs were highly expressed during soybean seed development, a pattern confirmed with an Affymatrix soybean IVT array and validated with RNA-seq profiles. Within CS groups, CESAs had higher relative expression than CSLs. Soybean CS models were designed based on maximum average RPKM values. Gene co-expression networks were developed to explore which CSs could work together in soybean. Finally, RT-PCR analysis confirmed the expression of 15 selected CSs during all four seed developmental stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycine soja , also called wild soybean, is the wild ancestor of domesticated soybean ( Glycine max ), and one of the world's major cultivated crops. Wild soybean is a valuable resource for the breeding of cultivated soybean and harbors useful genes or agronomic traits. To use and conserve this valuable resource, we conducted a study to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure of wild soybean using the sequencing data of two nuclear loci ( AF105221 and PhyB ) and one chloroplast locus ( trnQ - rps16 ) of more than 600 individuals representing 53 populations throughout the natural distribution range. The results showed that most of the variation was found within the populations and groups, but significant genetic differentiation was also detected among different eco-geographical groups. Correlations between genetic and geographical distance at all the loci were consistent with the isolation by distance gene flow model. G. soja exhibited the highest genetic diversity in middle and downstream of Yangzi River (MDYR) region, followed by North East China (NEC), and was the lowest in North West China (NWC). We concluded that both in situ and ex situ conservation strategies required for wild soybean populations, especially which are native to MDYR and NEC regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Korea is considered one of the centers of genetic diversity for cultivated as well as wild soybeans. Natural habitats of wild soybeans are distributed across the Korean mainland and the islands surrounding the Korean peninsula. In this study, the genetic diversity of 100 mainland Korean wild soybean accessions was evaluated by using 42 simple sequence repeat markers covering 17 soybean chromosomes. All analyzed loci were polymorphic and a total of 114 alleles were found. The observed average genetic diversity was low (0.4). The results showed that the 100 selected accessions did not exactly follow the geographical distribution. These results were further confirmed by the phylogeny inferred from five morphological characteristics (i.e., leaf shape, leaf area, plant shape, seed area, and 100-seed weight). Together, the genetic and morphological evaluations suggested conclusively that the selected population did not follow the geographical distribution pattern. The present study could provide useful information for the ex situ conservation and exploitation of wild soybean accessions in soybean improvement stratagems, and will aid in further understanding about the phylogeography of the species in the Korean center of diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic diversity and its geographical patterns play a very important role in species conservation and exploitation. Here, nucleotide polymorphism patterns of four single copy nuclear gene loci in wild ( Glycine soja ) and cultivated soybean ( Glycine max ) populations from different geographical regions as well as their demographic history were analyzed. The results showed that: (1) Southern subpopulation has the highest, while central subpopulation revealed the lowest genetic diversity among three Chinese G . soja subpopulations. (2) Northern Chinese G . max subpopulation depicted higher genetic diversity than other two Chinese, Korean, Japanese and American G . max subpopulations. (3) Significant genetic differentiation ( P < 0.001) was observed among Chinese G . soja subpopulations from three ecological zones. There was also a significant genetic differentiation（ P < 0.01）between three Chinese and Japanese subpopulations of G . max . (4) The demographic dynamics revealed that effective population size of G . soja is expanding, while it was constant in G . max . G . soja is a useful germplasm resource to widen the genetic diversity of G . max . This study suggests that native populations of G . soja from different geo-ecological regions should be protected to conserve the genetic diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Determination of Se contents of different sesame accessions. • Even 10 g of sesame seeds from some accessions may be enough to meet the RDI of Se. • Sesame seeds can be an economical alternative Se source for low-income families. Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for human health and plays an important role in fundamental physiological functions. Se accumulates in sesame seeds and this situation may differ between genotypes. Determination of Se content in food is very important because there is a narrow margin of safety between an adequate amount and overconsumption. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the variability in Se content among different sesame accessions from Turkey (12 sesame accessions) and 22 other countries from four continents (Asia, Africa, Europe and America). The determination of total Se in seed was performed with an atomic absorption spectrometer. The Se content of sesame seeds samples exhibited a wide range i.e. 0–9.32 mg kg−1, with an average value of about 2.29 mg kg−1. The accession India 1 had the highest Se concentration. The mean Se contents of sesame from 23 countries varied between 0.24–8.31 mg kg−1 and with an average value of about 2.29 mg kg−1. Sesame breeders can use the results of the present study to further the breeding programs for the development of new biofortified varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant landraces represent a repository of a gene pool, local adaptation of their domestic species, and thereby are considered a great source of genetic variations. Such genetic variation can be helpful to mitigate the current and future food challenges. A total of 183 common bean accessions including three commercial varieties collected from 19 Turkish provinces were grown to record their morpho-agronomic variations and to evaluate the best performing accessions under multi-environmental conditions. Plant height, days to maturity, pods weight, seed length, and 100-seed weight were used to evaluate the best performing accessions under different environmental conditions. A wide range of variations for traits like days to maturity (99–161), plant height (21–168.7 cm), seed length (7.41–16.4 mm), seeds per plant (17.8–254.4), and 100-seeds weight (24.97–73.8 g) were observed and can be useful for breeding purposes. The analytic results derived from the first three eigenvectors suggested that plant height, plant weight, 100-seed weight, and days to flowering were biologically significant bean traits. Seed yield per plant was positively and significantly correlated with plant weight and pods weight. Genotype × environment biplot discriminated the studied common bean accessions based on their plant height and growth habit. Plant height, days to maturity, seed width, and first pod height were found highly heritable traits and were least affected by environmental forces. Among 19 provinces, accessions of Bilecik showed maximum pods per plant, seed yield per plant and 100-seed weight, while Erzincan and Sivas provinces reflected the prevalence of bushy and early maturing accessions. Information provided herein comprehensively explored the occurrence of genotypic variations which can be used for the development of candidate varieties responding to breeder, farmer, and consumer preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antioxidants play an important role in animal and plant life owing to their involvement in complex metabolic and signaling mechanisms, hence uncovering the genetic basis associated with antioxidant activity is very important for the development of improved varieties. Here, a total of 182 common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) landraces and six commercial cultivars collected from 19 provinces of Turkey were evaluated for seed antioxidant activity under four environments and two locations. Antioxidant activity was measured using ABTS radical scavenging capacity and mean antioxidant activity in common bean landraces was 20.03 µmol TE/g. Analysis of variance reflected that genotype by environment interaction was statistically non-significant and heritability analysis showed higher heritability of antioxidant activity. Variations in seed color were observed, and a higher antioxidant activity was present in seeds having colored seed as compared to those having white seeds. A negative correlation was found between white-colored seeds and antioxidant activity. A total of 7900 DArTseq markers were used to explore the population structure that grouped the studied germplasm into two sub-populations on the basis of their geographical origins and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity contents. Mean linkage disequilibrium (LD) was 54%, and mean LD decay was 1.15 Mb. Mixed linear model i.e., the Q + K model demonstrated that four DArTseq markers had significant association (p < 0.01) for antioxidant activity. Three of these markers were present on chromosome Pv07, while the fourth marker was located on chromosome Pv03. Among the identified markers, DArT-3369938 marker showed maximum (14.61%) variation. A total of four putative candidate genes were predicted from sequences reflecting homology to identified DArTseq markers. This is a pioneering study involving the identification of association for antioxidant activity in common bean seeds. We envisage that this study will be very helpful for global common bean breeding community in order to develop cultivars with higher antioxidant activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytosine DNA methylation (5mC) is an epigenetic mark that regulates gene expression in plant responses to environmental stresses. Zinc-finger protein (ZFP) is the largest family of DNA-binding transcription factors that also plays an essential role in eukaryote. In plant we have already identified and characterized different useful ZFP-genes. While, the main objective of this research was to observe and identify more targeted stress responsive genes of ZFPs epigenetically throughout genome in rice for the first time. A comprehensive correlation analysis was performed through methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP)-chip hybridization in rice under salt and osmotic stresses. High salinity and drought are two major abiotic hazards that are destroying the crop world-wide. As a result, Through-out genome 14 unique stress responsive transcription factors of ZFP-genes with varying level of methylation and expression under two conditions (control vs. stress) were isolated. All the identified genes were confirmed from different databases for their specific structure, cis-regulatory elements, phylogenetic analysis, and synteny analysis. Moreover, the tissue-specific expression patterns, and expression under abiotic and phytohormones stresses were also investigated. Phylogenetically all the genes were divided into 6 distinct subgroups with Arabidopsis and orthologous proteins were find-out through synteny analysis. Available RNA-seq data in response to various phytohormones provided hormone inducible gene expression profile. Through Reverse Transcriptase qPCR (RT-qPCR) analysis tissue-specific expression in shoot and root over various time points against salt and osmotic stresses exhibited the diverse expression patterns of identified genes. Overall, the present study providing a foundation for in-depth characterization of identified genes and to further understand the epigenetic role of DNA methylation for genes expression and environmental stresses regulation in higher plant. • 14 unique OsZFP genes partially or fully methylated were identified through MeDIP-chip. • All OsZFPs were clustered in three clades. • RNA-seq data in response to various phytohormones provided hormone specific genes expression profiles. • The candidate rice ZFP genes exhibited diverse expression patterns under salinity and drought stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laurel is a medicinally important plant and is known to the world for its essential oil. Turkey is the main market in the laurel leaf trade by sharing about 90% of the world trade. Here we made an effort to elucidate genetic diversity and population structure of 94 Turkish laurel genotypes collected from 26 provinces and four geographical regions using inter-primer binding site (iPBS) retrotransposon markers. A total of 13 most polymorphic primers were selected which yielded 195 total bands, of which 84.10% were found polymorphic. Mean polymorphism information content (PIC) was (0.361) and diversity indices including mean effective number of alleles (1.36), mean Shannon's information index (0.35) and overall gene diversity (0.22) revealed the existence of sufficient amount of genetic diversity in the studied plant material. Most diversity was found in genotypes collected from the Mediterranean region. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that most of the variation (85%) in Turkish laurel germplasm is due to differences within populations. Model-based structure, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and neighbor-joining algorithms were found in agreement and clustered the studied germplasm according to their collection provinces and regions. This is a very first study exploring the genetic diversity and population structure of laurel germplasm using iPBS-retrotransposon marker system. We believe that information provided in this work will be helpful for the scientific community to take more interest in this forgotten but the medicinally important plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]