Article
Agronomy
Jiaowen Pan, Ximeng Zhou, Naveed Ahmad, Kun Zhang, Ronghua Tang, Huiling Zhao, Jing Jiang, Mengdi Tian, Changsheng Li, Aiqin Li, Xianying Zhang, Liangqiong He, Jing Ma, Xiaojie Li, Ruizheng Tian, Changle Ma, Manish K. Pandey, Rajeev K. Varshney, Xingjun Wang, Chuanzhi Zhao
Summary: The candidate gene AhLBA1, which controls the lateral branch angle of peanut, was fine-mapped to a specific physical region on chromosome 15 using BSA-seq and QTL mapping. Genes related to hormone metabolism and regulation were found in this region, suggesting their potential role in determining the lateral branch angle of peanut.
THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Giacomo Mangini, Antonio Blanco, Domenica Nigro, Massimo Antonio Signorile, Rosanna Simeone
Summary: The study identified QTL clusters for yield components in a durum wheat RIL population, with candidate genes affecting grain yield identified within these clusters.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Sahbi Ferjaoui, Lamia Aouini, Rim B. Slimane, Karim Ammar, Suzanne Dreisigacker, Henk J. Schouten, Suraj Sapkota, Bochra A. Bahri, Sarrah Ben M'Barek, Richard G. F. Visser, Gert H. J. Kema, Sonia Hamza
Summary: This study identified broad resistance to Zymoseptoria tritici in the Tunisian durum wheat landrace accession 'Agili39' and mapped two major and two minor QTL associated with the resistance. The findings suggest that the natural pyramiding of these QTL in 'Agili 39' contributes to its broad efficacy against STB and can be utilized for effective breeding of Z. tritici resistance in durum wheat.
Article
Agronomy
Jiajun Liu, Jieguang Zhou, Huaping Tang, Yang Tu, Yang Mu, Lulu Gou, Qiantao Jiang, Yaxi Liu, Guoyue Chen, Jirui Wang, Pengfei Qi, Wei Li, Yunfeng Jiang, Zehong Yan, Houyang Kang, Yuming Wei, Xiujin Lan, Youliang Zheng, Jian Ma
Summary: This study identified three quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to Tiller angle (TA) in wheat, with QTa.sau-2B-769 being the major QTL on chromosome arm 2BL. A linked Kompetitive Allele-Specific Polymerase chain reaction (KASP) marker was developed to validate this locus in multiple populations. The results showed that QTa.sau-2B-769 increased TA by up to 24.9%. Significant positive correlations were found between TA and flag leaf angle (FLANG). Furthermore, the expression of QTa.sau-2B-769 was independent of vernalization and the candidate gene TraesCS2B01G583800 was identified.
Article
Agronomy
Lei Zhao, Canguan Wang, Tongzhu Wang, Jinyuan Liu, Qi Qiao, Yulu Yang, Pengyu Hu, Leilei Zhang, Simin Zhao, Daiying Chen, Yan Ren, Ning Zhang, Zhongdong Dong, Feng Chen
Summary: In this study, the important gene region regulating wheat tiller angle was identified through association and linkage analysis. The results showed that the TA_Hap_4B1 and QTA.hau-4B.1 genes were located in the same region and closely related to yield traits. This research is of great significance for improving wheat plant architecture and cloning related genes.
Article
Plant Sciences
Osvin Arriagada, Agata Gadaleta, Ilaria Marcotuli, Marco Maccaferri, Matteo Campana, Samantha Reveco, Christian Alfaro, Ivan Matus, Andres R. Schwember
Summary: In this study, a comprehensive MQTL analysis was conducted to identify genomic regions associated with grain-yield related traits in durum wheat. Candidate genes associated with MQTL were identified and their expression analysis under drought conditions was carried out. These results are important for increasing wheat grain yields under different water conditions and obtaining new genotypes adapted to climate change.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Meryem Zaim, Miguel Sanchez-Garcia, Bouchra Belkadi, Abdelkarim Filali-Maltouf, Ayed Al Abdallat, Zakaria Kehel, Filippo M. Bassi
Summary: Durum wheat is a staple food in the Mediterranean Basin and is often exposed to moisture stress. Genetic factors controlling water productivity were identified through genome wide association studies. Three loci were found to improve water productivity, which can be used to improve the moisture conversion of durum wheat.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Behailu Mulugeta, Kassahun Tesfaye, Rodomiro Ortiz, Eva Johansson, Teklehaimanot Hailesilassie, Cecilia Hammenhag, Faris Hailu, Mulatu Geleta
Summary: The growing global demand for wheat for food is rising due to population growth and climate change. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) using 10,045 SNP markers was conducted to identify genomic regions associated with grain yield and related traits in Ethiopian durum wheat. The study revealed high heritability estimates and identified novel marker-trait associations (MTAs) that could potentially improve durum wheat production globally. The research also highlighted the importance of the Ethiopian durum wheat gene pool in this improvement.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Shan Duan, Chunge Cui, Liang Chen, Zujun Yang, Yin-Gang Hu
Summary: This study identified and mapped the Rht14 dwarf gene in durum wheat, and found that it regulates the expression of GA2oxA9 through DNA methylation. This provides insights for cloning Rht14 and further investigating its regulatory mechanism.
FUNCTIONAL & INTEGRATIVE GENOMICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jose Miguel Soriano, Pasqualina Colasuonno, Ilaria Marcotuli, Agata Gadaleta
Summary: The genetic improvement and enhancement of plant performance in durum wheat largely rely on stable QTL identification and closely linked molecular markers. This study conducted a comprehensive meta-QTL analysis on 45 traits of durum wheat, identifying a total of 368 QTL distributed across all 14 chromosomes of genomes A and B. These QTL were further grouped into 85 meta-QTL (MQTL), with quality-related traits having the highest number of QTL, followed by abiotic and biotic stress-related traits. This work will aid in the development of new cultivars with specific quantitative traits and accelerate breeding programs.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Lei Zhao, Yueting Zheng, Ying Wang, Shasha Wang, Tongzhu Wang, Canguan Wang, Yue Chen, Kunpu Zhang, Ning Zhang, Zhongdong Dong, Feng Chen
Summary: The TaHST1L gene, identified through genome-wide association study and bulked segregant analysis, controls wheat tiller angle and has the potential to improve wheat yield by regulating plant architecture. TaHST1L has a significant impact on tiller angle and tiller number, and it may mediate auxin signal transduction and regulate endogenous auxin levels to change plant architecture.
PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gururaj Pralhad Kadkol, Jess Meza, Steven Simpfendorfer, Steve Harden, Brian Cullis
Summary: The study investigated Fusarium crown rot tolerance in 34 durum wheat genotypes and found that some conventional durum wheat genotypes as well as those derived from crosses exhibited comparable tolerance to Suntop. Suntop was identified as the most tolerant genotype, while EGA Bellaroi was identified as very intolerant based on FCR tolerance index.
Article
Agronomy
McKenna M. Volkman, John M. Martin, Andrew C. Hogg, Lucas Wright, Caleb Hale, Patrick M. Carr, Michael J. Giroux
Summary: The yield of wheat is influenced by tiller number and seeds per tiller, both of which are regulated by the TB1 gene. Screening and testing wheat cultivars revealed several TB1 alleles, including one new allele. Mutating the TB1 gene using ethyl methanesulfonate resulted in an increase in tiller number and plant biomass. Integrating these mutant alleles into wheat may help optimize plant biomass and yield under different growing conditions.
Article
Agronomy
Jian Yang, Yu'e Zhang, Weiguo Hu, Yanjie Zhou, Xicheng Wang, Hong Zhao, Shenghui Zhou, Zhiyong Liu, Tingjie Cao
Summary: Effective tillers play a crucial role in wheat improvement by adjusting plant population, affecting 1000-kernel weight and kernel number per spike. This study identified a significant QTL, qTN-7B.1, for tillering ability in wheat, which explained a considerable proportion of phenotypic variations. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that lignin biosynthesis and energy metabolism were associated with tillering ability. A candidate gene, TraesCS7B02G282100, encoding cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase, was identified and a genetic marker within the qTN-7B.1 region was developed for plant architecture improvement.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jingjuan Zhang, Maoyun She, Rongchang Yang, Yanjie Jiang, Yebo Qin, Shengnan Zhai, Sadegh Balotf, Yun Zhao, Masood Anwar, Zaid Alhabbar, Angela Juhasz, Jiansheng Chen, Hang Liu, Qier Liu, Ting Zheng, Fan Yang, Junkang Rong, Kefei Chen, Meiqin Lu, Shahidul Islam, Wujun Ma
Summary: In this study, large-scale field trials were conducted over two years using doubled haploid wheat populations, leading to the mapping of 227 QTL on 18 chromosomes, forming 35 QTL clusters. The variations in correlations within these clusters were shown to be important for wheat breeding. QTL clusters with positive correlations may be directly utilized for improving wheat yield, while those with negative correlations may have potential value for GPC or yield improvement in specific environments.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Antonio Giovino, Carmine Guarino, Annalisa Marchese, Rosaria Sciarillo, Gianniantonio Domina, Marco Tolone, Isabel Mateu-Andres, Bouchaib Khadari, Calogero Schillaci, Miguel Guara-Requena, Sergio Saia
Summary: The European fan palm, the only native palm in continental Europe, is facing population decline due to anthropogenic effects including climate change. Genetic variability among natural populations of this palm is scarce, but essential for conservation planning and preventing genetic contamination. In this study, genetic structure in the European fan palm was analyzed using specific genetic markers, revealing lower variability in populations from the eastern half of its distribution. The study also identified two patterns of spread and differentiation, with implications for ecological management and species conservation.
BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Jay Ram Lamichhane, Lionel Alletto, Wen-Feng Cong, Elana Dayoub, Pierre Maury, Daniel Plaza -Bonilla, Moritz Reckling, Sergio Saia, Elias Soltani, Gilles Tison, Philippe Debaeke
Summary: Relay cropping is a multiple cropping system where a second crop is planted into a standing first crop before harvest. Despite its potential benefits, RC is poorly adopted worldwide, especially in Europe, compared to other innovative cropping systems. There are severe knowledge gaps on key factors affecting the performance of RC.
FIELD CROPS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Lorenza Pacini, Felipe Yunta, Arwyn Jones, Luca Montanarella, Pierre Barre, Sergio Saia, Songchao Chen, Calogero Schillaci
Summary: Soil Bulk Density (BD) is an important variable for site characterization and policy development. This study integrated BD sampling data with coarse fragment data to improve accuracy in estimating soil organic carbon (SOC) stock. The results showed that computing SOC stock with coarse mass fraction leads to underestimation, especially in woodlands and shrublands.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Food Science & Technology
Eda Bozkir, Chiara Santamarina, Marco Mariotti, Sergio Saia
Summary: Information on the resistant starch (RS) of common bean seed, its concentration and health effects is limited. A systematic review of the RS concentration in common bean revealed that the mean RS concentration is 16.4% with a high standard deviation. The industrial uses of bean RS and the determinants of RS accumulation in common beans are lacking in research.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Mustafa Bulut, Regina Wendenburg, Elena Bitocchi, Elisa Bellucci, Magdalena Kroc, Tania Gioia, Karolina Susek, Roberto Papa, Alisdair R. Fernie, Saleh Alseekh
Summary: This article assesses the metabolic diversity in five common legume species grown in Europe using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Over 3400 metabolites were detected and quantified, including major nutritional and anti-nutritional compounds. The data generated will be valuable for metabolomics-assisted crop breeding and metabolite-based genome-wide association studies in legume species.
Article
Plant Sciences
Leonardo Perez de Souza, Elena Bitocchi, Roberto Papa, Takayuki Tohge, Alisdair R. Fernie
Summary: The process of crop domestication leads to a reduction in gene expression associated with metabolic diversity, particularly in genes involved in specialized metabolism. The reduction in diversity at the metabolite level has been assumed but never adequately assessed and quantified. This study used high coverage metabolomics to investigate metabolic diversity in common bean and found a shift towards lower diversity and specialization in domesticated bean accessions. Molecular networking analysis enabled a broader annotation of metabolites and revealed a metabolic shift from specialized metabolism to central metabolism upon domestication of this crop.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Elisa Bellucci, Andrea Benazzo, Chunming Xu, Elena Bitocchi, Monica Rodriguez, Saleh Alseekh, Valerio Di Vittori, Tania Gioia, Kerstin Neumann, Gaia Cortinovis, Giulia Frascarelli, Ester Murube, Emiliano Trucchi, Laura Nanni, Andrea Ariani, Giuseppina Logozzo, Jin Hee Shin, Chaochih Liu, Liang Jiang, Juan Jose Ferreira, Ana Campa, Giovanna Attene, Peter L. Morrell, Giorgio Bertorelle, Andreas Graner, Paul Gepts, Alisdair R. Fernie, Scott A. Jackson, Roberto Papa
Summary: A study reveals that the first common bean cultigens introduced in Europe after 1492 were of Andean origin and that hybridization, selection, and recombination played a role in shaping the genomic diversity of the European common bean. The study also highlights the adaptive introgression and selection of genes related to flowering and environmental adaptation in the process of disseminating this tropical crop to temperate Europe.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Andrea Genre, Katharina Pawlowski, Sabine Dagmar Zimmermann, Sergio Saia
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anna Maria Fausto, Anna Rita Taddei, Federica Batocco, Maria Cristina Belardinelli, Marcella Carcupino, Achille Schiavone, Sergio Saia, Annelisse Castillo, Margherita Marzoni
Summary: This study assessed the quality of sperm in sexually mature goshawks reared in captivity and imprinted on humans for three breeding seasons. The parameters analyzed included ejaculate volume and sperm concentration, motility, viability, and morphology. The results showed that the highest quality of reproductive material was observed in April, with fluctuations in ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, and motility throughout the reproductive season. The viability of the sperm was not affected by age or month of collection. This study provides important information for the development of protocols to improve artificial insemination and semen cryopreservation in goshawks and other bird of prey species.
Article
Plant Sciences
Souhir Sghayar, Ahmed Debez, Giorgio Lucchini, Alessandro Abruzzese, Walid Zorrig, Noemi Negrini, Silvia Morgutti, Chedly Abdelly, Gian Attilio Sacchi, Nicola Pecchioni, Patrizia Vaccino
Summary: Salinity is a major environmental issue that negatively affects agricultural production. Seed priming with gibberellic acid, calcium chloride, and mannitol can alleviate the adverse effects of salinity and promote seed germination in bread wheat cultivars. Priming treatments had varying effects on water status, ionic balance, and seed reserve mobilization. Sodium accumulation impaired carbohydrate and protein mobilization in seedlings, but had lesser effects on primed seeds. Calcium chloride was effective at limiting sodium accumulation and gibberellic acid was the most effective priming treatment for promoting germination under salt stress. Genotypic differences in wheat response to salinity stress were also observed, with Ardito showing better tolerance and Aubusson showing high germination recovery under priming conditions.
Article
Horticulture
Valeria Menga, Clara Fares, Ana Campa, Juan Jose Ferreira, Elena Bitocchi, Roberto Papa, Romina Beleggia
Summary: A study characterized 54 snap bean lines grown under organic farming for various traits and grouped them based on pod cross-section shape and color. Significant differences were observed among lines and groups for all the investigated traits. The phenolic composition and antioxidant activity of selected lines with contrasting firmness and belonging to different color groups were investigated, revealing a general decrease in some compounds after cooking. The study provides useful information for designing specific varieties for different markets and purposes.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Flavia Fulvio, Giuseppe Mandolino, Cinzia Citti, Nicola Pecchioni, Giuseppe Cannazza, Roberta Paris
Summary: Cannabis sativa is a plant with high genetic and phenotypic diversity, resulting in the synthesis of various bioactive compounds. We studied the transcription levels of cannabinoid pathway genes during early stages of plant development and compared them with the chemical characterization of the samples. The results showed that cannabinoid synthase genes are already expressed in the seed, indicating the significance of this metabolism for the plant.
Article
Plant Sciences
Madita Lauterberg, Henning Tschiersch, Roberto Papa, Elena Bitocchi, Kerstin Neumann
Summary: Precise and high-throughput phenotyping allows for improved screening of chickpea plant genetic resources with low biomass loss and reliable physiological performance. This can provide insights into drought tolerance and recovery mechanisms.
Article
Agronomy
Salvatore Esposito, Paolo Vitale, Francesca Taranto, Sergio Saia, Ivano Pecorella, Nunzio D'Agostino, Monica Rodriguez, Vincenzo Natoli, Pasquale De Vita
Summary: The improvement of grain yield and grain protein concentration through GWAS and GBLUP has significant implications for durum wheat breeding.
THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS
(2023)