Expression of grapevine AINTEGUMENTA-like genes is associated with variation in ovary and berry size

Fruit size is a highly important trait for most fruit and vegetable crops. This trait has been a main selection target and could be involved in divergent selection processes leading to the differentiation between modern table and wine cultivars. Even though its determination is highly influenced by cultural practices, several regions within the grapevine genome have been identified affecting berry size, either directly or indirectly through their effect on seed content. Using grapevine seeded cultivars, we have analyzed the relationship between ovary cell number and the final size of ovaries and berry fruits. We also performed the characterization of the grapevine AINTEGUMENTA-LIKE family, since it is well reported in Arabidopsis that AINTEGUMENTA (ANT) regulates cell proliferation and organ growth in flower organ primordia by maintaining the meristematic competence of cells during organogenesis. Here we show that orthologous grapevine gene expression associate with flower developmental stages suggesting a similar biological role for this gene family in this species. Moreover, we detected a correlation between those organs size and the level of expression of VviANT1 the grapevine homolog of AtANT. This grapevine gene also co-localizes in linkage group 18 with the confidence interval of a previously detected QTL for berry size. Thus our results suggest the involvement of ANT in the regulation of berry size in grapevine. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

The evolutionary history of the two karyotypic groups of the common shrew, Sorex araneus, in Poland

Times Cited: 144International audienceGenetic variability within and among two karyotypic groups and five chromosome races of the common shrew (Sorex araneus) in Poland was assayed by sequencing a 1023 bp part of the cytochrome b gene (mtDNA) from 28 individuals. Thirty-four variable positions defined 21 distinct haplotypes with a maximum sequence divergence of 0.88%. No significant differentiation in the cytochrome b gene between Western and Eastern Karyotypic groups was found. Haplotype diversity estimates within the races and groups sampled were high (h = 0.800-0.928), while nucleotide diversity estimates were low (pi = 0.0034-0.0053). The distribution of pairwise nucleotide differences fits well with expectations of a 'sudden expansion' model. High haplotype diversity was accompanied by relatively high expected heterozygosity (Hr.) values in nuclear genes (calculated over 47 enzyme loci: HE = 0.031 - 0.049), giving no evidence for a recent bottleneck after the process of post-Pleistocene recolonization of Poland by the shrews. Thus, for S. araneus chromosome races in Poland, the data on the cytochrome b gene variability support the hypothesis assuming the Robertsonian fusions having spread into an ancestral acrocentric distribution