Thidiazuron-induced formation of strawberry microshoots on different nutrient media

The present study was aimed to improve in vitro shoot proliferation of octoploid strawberry cultivar ‘Solnechnaya polyanka’ on different nutrient media (MS, B5 or MS+B5), supplemented with various concentrations (2.0, 4.0, 8.0 ȝM) of thidiazuron (TDZ). The best regeneration frequency (100%) with the highest rate of strawberry axillary shoot proliferation (14.1 ± 1.24 shoots per explant) and maximum shoot length (1.92 ± 0.04 cm) were achieved using precultivation of explants for 3 days on induction media B5 supplemented with 4.0 ȝM TDZ followed by cultivation of regenerants on hormone-free media B5 for 6 weeks

An innovative approach to ex vitro rooting and acclimatization of Fragaria × ananassa Duch. microshoots using а biogenic silica- and green-tea-catechin-based mechanocomposite

A new approach for rapid ex vitro rooting and acclimatization of Fragaria × ananassa micropropagated plantlets of two cultivars (“Alpha” and “Festivalnaya”) has been developed using a mechanocomposite based on biogenic silica and green-tea catechins. Two different mechanocomposite treatments were studied: dipping the cut ends of microshoots in the mechanocomposite powder (the dry dip method) and single watering with solutions at concentrations of 0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 g L⁻¹. These variants were compared with pulse treatment of microplants with 30 mg L⁻¹ indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) for 4 h and a control group of microshoots that were moistened with hormone-free ¼-strength MS medium. The frequencies of ex vitro rooting at the end of the acclimatization period (30 d) varied from 24.8 to 99.7%. The dry dip treatment was best (rooting frequency about 100%) with up to 7.15 ± 0.54-cm root length, and 6.10 ± 0.31 roots per plantlet. Moreover, this study showed that the growth-stimulating effect of this mechanocomposite treatment on root formation resulted in increased rosette height, leaf number, leaf area, and dry weight of aerial parts. Histological analysis of the leaf blades revealed decreased mesophyll thickness of microshoots treated with the mechanocomposite (up to 88.77 ± 2.95 vs. 111.51 ± 3.56 μm for the control). Morphometric analysis of scanning electron microscopy data showed that mechanocomposite treatments led to increased stomata density and stomata length. These structural changes led to normalization of the water regime and indicated successful acclimatization. The combination of ex vitro rooting and acclimatization reduced the procedure time by 4 wk, and may be used for commercial strawberry micropropagation

Identification of miRNAs Potentially Involved in Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome: A Computational Study

<div><p>The pathogenesis of Bronchiolitis Obliterans Syndrome (BOS), the main clinical phenotype of chronic lung allograft dysfunction, is poorly understood. Recent studies suggest that epigenetic regulation of microRNAs might play a role in its development. In this paper we present the application of a complex computational pipeline to perform enrichment analysis of miRNAs in pathways applied to the study of BOS. The analysis considered the full set of miRNAs annotated in miRBase (version 21), and applied a sequence of filtering approaches and statistical analyses to reduce this set and to score the candidate miRNAs according to their potential involvement in BOS development. Dysregulation of two of the selected candidate miRNAs–<i>miR-34a</i> and <i>miR-21 –</i>was clearly shown in in-situ hybridization (ISH) on five explanted human BOS lungs and on a rat model of acute and chronic lung rejection, thus definitely identifying <i>miR-34a</i> and <i>miR-21</i> as pathogenic factors in BOS and confirming the effectiveness of the computational pipeline.</p></div

Genomic Designing for Climate-Smart Tomato

Tomato is the first vegetable consumed in the world. It is grown in very different conditions and areas, mainly in field for processing tomatoes while fresh-market tomatoes are often produced in greenhouses. Tomato faces many environmental stresses, both biotic and abiotic. Today many new genomic resources are available allowing an acceleration of the genetic progress. In this chapter, we will first present the main challenges to breed climate-smart tomatoes. The breeding objectives relative to productivity, fruit quality, and adaptation to environmental stresses will be presented with a special focus on how climate change is impacting these objectives. In the second part, the genetic and genomic resources available will be presented. Then, traditional and molecular breeding techniques will be discussed. A special focus will then be presented on ecophysiological modeling, which could constitute an important strategy to define new ideotypes adapted to breeding objectives. Finally, we will illustrate how new biotechnological tools are implemented and could be used to breed climate-smart tomatoes