Meeting the Challenges Facing Wheat Production The Strategic Research Agenda of the Global Wheat Initiative

Wheat occupies a special role in global food security since, in addition to providing 20% of our carbohydrates and protein, almost 25% of the global production is traded internationally. The importance of wheat for food security was recognised by the Chief Agricultural Scientists of the G20 group of countries when they endorsed the establishment of the Wheat Initiative in 2011. The Wheat Initiative was tasked with supporting the wheat research community by facilitating col-laboration, information and resource sharing and helping to build the capacity to address chal-lenges facing production in an increasingly variable environment. Many countries invest in wheat research. Innovations in wheat breeding and agronomy have delivered enormous gains over the past few decades, with the average global yield increasing from just over 1 tonne per hectare in the early 1960s to around 3.5 tonnes in the past decade. These gains are threatened by climate change, the rapidly rising financial and environmental costs of fertilizer, and pesticides, combined with declines in water availability for irrigation in many regions. The international wheat research community has worked to identify major opportunities to help ensure that global wheat pro-duction can meet demand. The outcomes of these discussions are presented in this paper

Anaerobic induction in conifers: Expression of endogenous and chimeric anaerobically-induced genes

Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH; EC 1.1.1.1) activity was measured in Picea glauca (Moench) Voss cell suspensions under differing conditions of hypoxia. ADH activity increased 4.5 fold after 48 h of induction. When cells were induced under different levels of hypoxia (2, 5 and 20% O2) changes in ADH activity were found to increase with lower levels of oxygen. Alanine aminotransferase (AlaAT; EC 2.6.1.2) activity increased under hypoxia in a pattern similar to ADH, however lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; EC 1.1.1.27) activity did not increase under hypoxic conditions. The ability of white spruce cells to accurately regulate heterologous anaerobic promotors was tested by electroporating chimeric ADH reporter genes into protoplasts. While protoplasts were capable of anaerobically regulating a maize ADH reporter construct, constructs with dicotyledonous promoters (pea and Arabidopsis) were not expressed

Caractérisation d'une collection de tomates issues de différentes régions du Maroc

Tomatoes are one of the most important crops in Morocco. National tomato production reached 1 231 250 tons in 2019. The sector generates thousands of jobs and is one of the pillars of the country's economy through exports. Hence, it is judicious to search for new varieties with high commercial potential. This study aimed to characterize a collection of four local tomato genotypes (‘Taliouine’, ‘Zagora’, ‘Oufella’ and ‘Cerise or Cherry tomato’) from accessions collected in different regions of Morocco, compared to two commercial genotypes (‘Campbell 33’ and ‘Rio Grande’). The analyses concerned agronomic and growth criteria, sensory criteria and physical and physicochemical criteria (humidity, pH, Brix and color). The obtained results showed a great variability between the studied genotypes. Some genotypes showed interesting performances like ‘Campbell 33’ (number of leaves per branch), ‘Rio Grande’ (number of fruits per plant), ‘Cerise tomato’ (number of fruiting branches per plant) and ‘Taliouine’ (plant height). The three genotypes with the best taste are ‘Campbell 33’, ‘Cerise tomato’ and ‘Oufella’. They also show a high intensity of red color, high skin firmness and high aroma content. Significant variations were also observed for the different physicochemical criteria. Such results will help to identify relevant criteria that can be used for varietal improvement and can also constitute basic criteria to differentiate between tomato accessions.Les tomates sont l’une des cultures les plus importantes au Maroc. La production nationale de tomates a atteint 1 231 250 tons en 2019. Le secteur génère des milliers d’emplois et constitue l’un des piliers de l’économie du pays grâce aux exportations. Il est donc judicieux de rechercher de nouvelles variétés à fort potentiel commercial. Cette étude avait comme objectif la caractérisation d’une collection de quatre génotypes de tomates locales issues d'accessions collectées dans différentes régions du Maroc (‘Taliouine’, ‘Zagora’, ‘Oufella’ et ‘Tomate cerise’), comparée à deux génotypes commerciaux (‘Campbell 33’ et ‘Rio Grande’). Les analyses ont concerné des critères agronomiques et de croissance, des critères sensoriels et des critères physiques et physicochimiques (humidité, pH, Brix et couleur). Les résultats obtenus ont montré une assez grande variabilité entre les différents génotypes étudiés. Certains génotypes ont présenté des performances importantes comme ‘Campbell 33’ (nombre de feuilles par branche), ‘Rio Grande’ (nombre de fruits par plante), ‘Tomate cerise’ (nombre de branches fructifères par plante) et ‘Taliouine’ (hauteur de la plante). Les trois génotypes les mieux appréciés pour leur goût sont ‘Campbell 33’, ‘Tomate cerise’ et ‘Oufella’. Ces derniers montrent une forte intensité au niveau de leur couleur rouge, une peau très ferme et des teneurs élevés en arômes. Des variations significatives ont été également observées pour les différents critères physicochimiques étudiés. De tels résultats aideront à identifier les critères importants qui peuvent être utilisées pour l'amélioration variétale et qui peuvent aussi constituer des critères de base pour différencier entre les accessions de tomates

The effects of promoter on transient expression in conifer cell lines

SummaryProtoplasts from suspension cultures of somatic embryos of white spruce (Picea glauca Moench Voss) were electroporated with plasmids containing the chimeric genes for chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) or β-glucuronidase (GUS), under control of one of three promoters. Transient CAT gene expression of approximately equal magnitude resulted when the CAT gene was fused to either the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter or the nopaline synthase (NOS) promoter. When the CAT gene was fused to a tandem repeat CaMV 35S promoter (pPBI-363), CAT enzyme activity compared to NOS or 35S promoters increased up to eightfold (cell line WS-34), and were up to 100-fold greater than control (electroporated without plasmid). Comparatively, protoplasts of black spruce (Picea mariana Mill) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), electroporated with pPBI-363, produced increases in CAT activity compared to control of 90-fold and 70-fold, respectively. White spruce (WS-34) protoplasts were subsequently electroporated with the GUS gene fused to the tandem repeat CaMV 35S promoter. Comparatively, GUS enzyme activity increased up to tenfold compared to GUS fused to a CaMV 35S promoter. The results indicated that transient expression of the CAT and GUS genes was influenced by the type of promoter and cell line used, as well as by electroporation conditions

The effects of promoter on transient expression in conifer cell lines

SummaryProtoplasts from suspension cultures of somatic embryos of white spruce (Picea glauca Moench Voss) were electroporated with plasmids containing the chimeric genes for chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) or β-glucuronidase (GUS), under control of one of three promoters. Transient CAT gene expression of approximately equal magnitude resulted when the CAT gene was fused to either the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter or the nopaline synthase (NOS) promoter. When the CAT gene was fused to a tandem repeat CaMV 35S promoter (pPBI-363), CAT enzyme activity compared to NOS or 35S promoters increased up to eightfold (cell line WS-34), and were up to 100-fold greater than control (electroporated without plasmid). Comparatively, protoplasts of black spruce (Picea mariana Mill) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), electroporated with pPBI-363, produced increases in CAT activity compared to control of 90-fold and 70-fold, respectively. White spruce (WS-34) protoplasts were subsequently electroporated with the GUS gene fused to the tandem repeat CaMV 35S promoter. Comparatively, GUS enzyme activity increased up to tenfold compared to GUS fused to a CaMV 35S promoter. The results indicated that transient expression of the CAT and GUS genes was influenced by the type of promoter and cell line used, as well as by electroporation conditions