Genetic relationships among Eurasian Puccinellia distans genotypes

Puccinellia distans (Jacq.) Parl. is a common grass species found throughout the world. It can grow in arid and saline environments as well as under toxic boron concentrations. In this work we performed sequence related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) marker analysis on 20 wild P. distans genotypes to understand the genetic relationships among different genotypes and subspecies. We tested 119 SRAP primer pairs and found that 43 were polymorphic. The molecular data were then analyzed to determine the genetic relationships and population structure of the genotypes. We were able to trace the origin of genotypes that were carried to distant locations or gathered for research purposes. We also found that geographical distance between genotypes was not an important determinant of genetic relationships as even distantly located Puccinellia genotypes were closely related. As P. distans is known to be tolerant to salinity stress and toxic mineral concentrations, the findings of this work can be used as a starting point for selection of genotypes that should be tested under such conditions.Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (113Z930

Genetic diversity and population structure of faba bean (Vicia faba) from Turkey

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is an important food and feed legume because of the nutritional value of its seed protein and starch content, good biomass, and high efficiency nitrogen fixation.This study analyzed the molecular genetic diversity and population structure of 101 Turkish faba bean accessions using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers.A total of 32 SSR markers yielded 281 loci of which 277 (98.6%) were polymorphic.Mean dissimilarity between genotypes was 0.355, a relatively high value which was expected given faba bean’s large genome and limited breeding history.According to the results, faba bean individuals grouped into three main clusters based on both distance matrix (neighbor-joining algorithm) and model-based (population structure) clustering analyses.Clustering was not correlated with seed size or origin within Turkey.Six cultivars were included in the analysis and showed high genetic diversity compared with the landraces, as expected, given the fact that at least some of the cultivars were bred by hybridization.A total of 47 individuals were selected for the core collection to represent the diversity of Turkish faba bean germplasm.This core set encompasses material adapted to all growing regions and should be a priority for morphological characterization. © 2016, American Society for Horticultural Science.All rights reserved.Republic of Turkey's Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology (0424.STZ.2013-2

Determination of genetic diversity in watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum & Nakai] germplasm

The genetic diversity and relatedness of 90 watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. lanthus and Citrullus. lanatus var. citroides) accessions were molecularly characterized using 30 sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) marker combinations. The accessions were collected from Turkey (59 accessions) and other regions of the world by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the molecular data were analysed using UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method Analysis). The SRAP combinations were highly polymorphic (97%) with 87 polymorphic bands determined among 201 amplified fragments (43%). The UPGMA analysis characterized five major clusters (A, B, C, D and E). While minimum genetic similarity among groups A, B and C was high (83%), group E was the most distant with 63% genetic similarity. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed and used to produce a two-dimensional plot from which two main groups could be distinguished. Based on the analyses, genetic diversity of watermelons was very low and Turkish watermelons were not distinct from other countries' accessions. These results could be used for generation of a core collection of watermelon by elimination of redundant accessions and for watermelon breeding by helping to identify useful, genetically distinct lines. In addition, the study indicated that SRAP markers are useful for analysing genetic diversity in crops like watermelon which have low variability

Development of genomic simple sequence repeat markers in opium poppy by next-generation sequencing

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) is an important pharmaceutical crop with very few genetic marker resources. To expand these resources, we sequenced genomic DNA using pyrosequencing technology and examined the DNA sequences for simple sequence repeats (SSRs). A total of 1,244,412 sequence reads were obtained covering 474 Mb. Approximately half of the reads (52 %) were assembled into 166,724 contigs representing 105 Mb of the opium poppy genome. A total of 23,283 non-redundant SSRs were identified in 18,944 contigs (11.3 % of total contigs). Trinucleotide and tetranucleotide repeats were the most abundant SSR repeats, accounting for 49.0 and 27.9 % of all SSRs, respectively. The AAG/TTC repeat was the most abundant trinucleotide repeat, representing 19.7 % of trinucleotide repeats. Other SSR repeat types were AT-rich. A total of 23,126 primer pairs (98.7 % of total SSRs) were designed to amplify SSRs. Fifty-three genomic SSR markers were tested in 37 opium poppy accessions and seven Papaver species for determination of polymorphism and transferability. Intraspecific polymorphism information content (PIC) values of the genomic SSR markers were intermediate, with an average 0.17, while the interspecific average PIC value was slightly higher, 0.19. All markers showed at least 88 % transferability among related species. This study increases sequence coverage of the opium poppy genome by sevenfold and the number of opium poppy-specific SSR markers by sixfold. This is the first report of the development of genomic SSR markers in opium poppy, and the genomic SSR markers developed in this study will be useful in diversity, identification, mapping and breeding studies in opium poppy.Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK-109O797

Molecular diversity and identification of alleles for Verticillium wilt resistance in elite cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) germplasm

Cotton is an important crop in the textile, food and pharmaceutical industries. In the present study, a panel of 108 elite cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) lines was genotyped with 177 genome-wide SSR markers to assess genetic diversity, linkage disequilibrium, population structure and association analyses. A total of 967 loci were assayed and the lines fell into four main groups with a mean genetic distance of 39%. The linkage disequilibrium (LD) decay rate was estimated to be 20–30 cm (r2 ≤ 0.5). Association analyses were performed with both general linear model and mixed linear model methods to identify SSR marker loci linked to Verticillium wilt resistance. Verticillium wilt is a fungal disease that causes huge yield losses in cotton production throughout the world. A total of 26 marker loci distributed on 14 chromosomes were associated with resistance at p ≤ 0.05. Eight of the 26 associated marker loci were highly significant (p < 0.01). The phenotypic variation explained (r2) by individual markers ranged from 3.2% to 8.2%. Three of the 26 marker loci (JESPR153, JESPR274 and CIR218) were consistent with previous studies. Our results should be useful in improving Verticillium wilt resistance in cotton breeding lines.GDARP (General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock Republic of Turkey) (TAGEM-11/AR-GE/17

Conservation of gene function in the Solanaceae as revealed by comparative mapping of domestication traits in eggplant

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for domestication-related traits were identified in an interspecific F2 population of eggplant (Solanum linnaeanum × S. melongena). Although 62 quantitative trait loci (QTL) were identified in two locations, most of the dramatic phenotypic differences in fruit weight, shape, color, and plant prickliness that distinguish cultivated eggplant from its wild relative could be attributed to six loci with major effects. Comparison of the genomic locations of the eggplant fruit weight, fruit shape, and color QTL with the positions of similar loci in tomato, potato, and pepper revealed that 40% of the different loci have putative orthologous counterparts in at least one of these other crop species. Overall, the results suggest that domestication of the Solanaceae has been driven by mutations in a very limited number of target loci with major phenotypic effects, that selection pressures were exerted on the same loci despite the crops' independent domestications on different continents, and that the morphological diversity of these four crops can be explained by divergent mutations at these loci.U.S. Department of Agriculture National Research Initiative Cooperative Grants Program (no. 96-35300-3646); The Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (no. US 2427-94); The National Science Foundation (No. 9872617) to S.D.T

A primer to molecular phylogenetic analysis in plants

Reconstructing a tree of life by inferring evolutionary history is an important focus of evolutionary biology. Phylogenetic reconstructions also provide useful information for a range of scientific disciplines such as botany, zoology, phylogeography, archaeology and biological anthropology. Until the development of protein and DNA sequencing techniques in the 1960s and 1970s, phylogenetic reconstructions were based on fossil records and comparative morphological/physiological analyses. Since then, progress in molecular phylogenetics has compensated for some of the shortcomings of phenotype-based comparisons. Comparisons at the molecular level increase the accuracy of phylogenetic inference because there is no environmental influence on DNA/peptide sequences and evaluation of sequence similarity is not subjective. While the number of morphological/physiological characters that are sufficiently conserved for phylogenetic inference is limited, molecular data provide a large number of datapoints and enable comparisons from diverse taxa. Over the last 20 years, developments in molecular phylogenetics have greatly contributed to our understanding of plant evolutionary relationships. Regions in the plant nuclear and organellar genomes that are optimal for phylogenetic inference have been determined and recent advances in DNA sequencing techniques have enabled comparisons at the whole genome level. Sequences from the nuclear and organellar genomes of thousands of plant species are readily available in public databases, enabling researchers without access to molecular biology tools to investigate phylogenetic relationships by sequence comparisons using the appropriate nucleotide substitution models and tree building algorithms. In the present review, the statistical models and algorithms used to reconstruct phylogenetic trees are introduced and advances in the exploration and utilization of plant genomes for molecular phylogenetic analyses are discussed.TUBITAK (109O979

Molecular genetic diversity and association mapping of morphine content and agronomic traits in Turkish opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) germplasm

As the sole plant source of many potent alkaloids, opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) is an important medicinal crop. Nevertheless, few studies have characterized opium poppy germplasm with crop-specific molecular markers. Because Turkey is a diversity center for opium poppy, Turkish germplasm is a valuable genetic resource for association mapping studies aimed at identifying QTLs controlling morphine content and agronomic traits. In this study, the morphological diversity and molecular diversity of 103 Turkish opium poppy landraces and 15 cultivars were analyzed. Potentially useful morphological variation was observed for morphine content, plant height, and capsule index. However, the landraces exhibited limited breeding potential for stigma number, and seed and straw yields. Both morphological and molecular analyses showed distinct clustering of cultivars and landraces. In addition, a total of 164 SSR and 367 AFLP polymorphic loci were applied to an opium poppy association mapping panel composed of 95 opium poppy landraces which were grown for two seasons. One SSR and three AFLP loci were found to be significantly associated with morphine content (P < 0.01 and LD value (r2) = 0.10–0.32), and six SSR and 14 AFLP loci were significantly associated with five agronomic traits (plant height, stigma number, capsule index, and seed and straw yields) (P < 0.01 and LD value (r2) = 0.08–0.35). This is the first report of association mapping in this crop. The identified markers provide initial information for marker-assisted selection of important traits in opium poppy breeding.Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK TOVAG 109O797

Water-soluble antioxidant potential of Turkish pepper cultivars

In this work, 29 pepper cultivars that represent the diversity of types and varieties grown in Turkey were analyzed for water-soluble antioxidant capacity and phenolic and vitamin C contents. In addition, 14 non-Turkish cultivars were tested for comparison. Significant diversity was observed in the different cultivars with the most variation (7.4-fold) seen for total antioxidant capacity, which ranged from 2.57 to 18.96 mmol Trolox/kg. Vitamin C content for the peppers ranged from 522 to 1631 mg·kg-1, a 3.1-fold difference, whereas total phenolic content for the pepper cultivars ranged from 607 to 2724 mg·kg-1, a 4.5-fold difference. When cultivars were grouped by morphology/ use, it was found that some types had significantly more variation and higher antioxidant activities than other types. Thus, for water-soluble antioxidant capacity, most variation was seen in long, blunt-ended Çarliston types, whereas long, pointed Sivri peppers had the highest mean capacity. Bell-shaped Dolmalik and Sivri peppers had the most variation for phenolic content, but fancy Süs and Sivri types had the highest means for this trait. Dolmalik types showed the most variation for vitamin C content, whereas Süs and Sivri peppers had the highest means for this character. All three parameters were significantly and positively correlated with the strongest correlation between total antioxidant capacity and phenolic content (r = 0.71). The presence of significant variation for antioxidant content in Turkish germplasm indicates that this material can be used for improvement and genetic mapping of nutritional content in pepper

Salt tolerance in Solanum pennellii: antioxidant response and related QTL

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Excessive soil salinity is an important problem for agriculture, however, salt tolerance is a complex trait that is not easily bred into plants. Exposure of cultivated tomato to salt stress has been reported to result in increased antioxidant content and activity. Salt tolerance of the related wild species, <it>Solanum pennellii</it>, has also been associated with similar changes in antioxidants. In this work, <it>S. lycopersicum </it>M82, <it>S. pennellii </it>LA716 and a <it>S. pennellii </it>introgression line (IL) population were evaluated for growth and their levels of antioxidant activity (total water-soluble antioxidant activity), major antioxidant compounds (phenolic and flavonoid contents) and antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and peroxidase) under both control and salt stress (150 mM NaCl) conditions. These data were then used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) responsible for controlling the antioxidant parameters under both stress and nonstress conditions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Under control conditions, cultivated tomato had higher levels of all antioxidants (except superoxide dismutase) than <it>S. pennellii</it>. However, under salt stress, the wild species showed greater induction of all antioxidants except peroxidase. The ILs showed diverse responses to salinity and proved very useful for the identification of QTL. Thus, 125 loci for antioxidant content under control and salt conditions were detected. Eleven of the total antioxidant activity and phenolic content QTL matched loci identified in an independent study using the same population, thereby reinforcing the validity of the loci. In addition, the growth responses of the ILs were evaluated to identify lines with favorable growth and antioxidant profiles.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Plants have a complex antioxidant response when placed under salt stress. Some loci control antioxidant content under all conditions while others are responsible for antioxidant content only under saline or nonsaline conditions. The localization of QTL for these traits and the identification of lines with specific antioxidant and growth responses may be useful for breeding potentially salt tolerant tomato cultivars having higher antioxidant levels under nonstress and salt stress conditions.</p