A preliminary survey of Erythrocebus patas in Anbesa Chaka, Bambesi Woreda of Benishangul-Gumuz Region, western Ethiopia

A preliminary survey conducted in Benishangul-Gumuz Region, Bambesi Woreda from late January to early February, 2010 resulted in finding two groups of the same taxon of patas monkeys. Each of the two groups had one adult male, and one of them consisted of 33 individuals, where as the other had a total of 23 individuals including the adult males, adult and sub-adult females and infants. The survey was conducted on foot and by a vehicle and behavioural data were collected using adlibtum method. From the structure of the two groups and the season during which they probably had their newborns, they belong to the species Erythrocebus patas which are also found elsewhere. However, the long black fur coloration along the shoulder, back and upper fore limbs of the males is different from any of the four different subspecies, namely, E. patas patas, E. patas villiersi, E. patas pyrrhonotus and E. patas baumstarki, and others found in Athi plains, southeast of Nairobi and east of the rift valley, which have pink faces and a blue nasal spot and not given subspecific names. Thus, it is reasonable to think of the Benishangul patas as subspecies, as they are distinct from the other subspecies

Multi-locus genome-wide association studies reveal the genetic architecture of Fusarium head blight resistance in durum wheat

Durum wheat is more susceptible to Fusarium head blight (FHB) than other types or classes of wheat. The disease is one of the most devastating in wheat; it reduces yield and end-use quality and contaminates the grain with fungal mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON). A panel of 265 Canadian and European durum wheat cultivars, as well as breeding and experimental lines, were tested in artificially inoculated field environments (2019–2022, inclusive) and two greenhouse trials (2019 and 2020). The trials were assessed for FHB severity and incidence, visual rating index, Fusarium-damaged kernels, DON accumulation, anthesis or heading date, maturity date, and plant height. In addition, yellow pigment and protein content were analyzed for the 2020 field season. To capture loci underlying FHB resistance and related traits, GWAS was performed using single-locus and several multi-locus models, employing 13,504 SNPs. Thirty-one QTL significantly associated with one or more FHB-related traits were identified, of which nine were consistent across environments and associated with multiple FHB-related traits. Although many of the QTL were identified in regions previously reported to affect FHB, the QTL QFhb-3B.2, associated with FHB severity, incidence, and DON accumulation, appears to be novel. We developed KASP markers for six FHB-associated QTL that were consistently detected across multiple environments and validated them on the Global Durum Panel (GDP). Analysis of allelic diversity and the frequencies of these revealed that the lines in the GDP harbor between zero and six resistance alleles. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the genetic basis of FHB resistance and DON accumulation in durum wheat. Accessions with multiple favorable alleles were identified and will be useful genetic resources to improve FHB resistance in durum breeding programs through marker-assisted recurrent selection and gene stacking

Anthropogenic and natural causes influencing population genetic structure of Juniperus procera Hochst. ex Endl. in the Ethiopian highlands

Juniperus procera is economically highly important but threatened tree species. It is the only species among 67 taxa in the genus Juniperus that naturally grows in Africa and south of the equator extending up to 18°S in Zimbabwe. Ethiopia is assumed to host the largest J. procera populations, which are also believed to have high genetic variation owing to their wide ecological amplitude. This study assessed genetic variation at AFLPs of J. procera populations in the Ethiopian highlands. In the study six populations, namely Chilimo, Goba, Menagesha-Suba, Wef-Washa, Yabelo and Ziquala were included. A total of 20-24 trees from each population were investigated based on 128 AFLP band positions. AMOVA revealed that most of the variation (94%) resided within populations of J. procera suggesting extensive gene flow among populations which is attributable to the outcrossing mating system and effective gene transport mechanisms of the species. However, genetic differentiation among populations was still significant (P \u3c 0.05), and the differentiation was significantly (P \u3c 0.05) correlated with geographic distance. All population pairs were significantly (P \u3c 0.05) differentiated except for Menagesha-Suba and Wef-Washa. These two populations also showed the highest gene diversity (Hj = 0.301 and Hj = 0.297, respectively). These results are in accordance with historical records that claim the establishment of the Menagesha-Suba juniper population as plantation of seedlings from Wef-Washa back in fifteenth century. © 2010 The Author(s)