Medieval iconography of watermelons in Mediterranean Europe

Aims The watermelon, Citrullus lanatus (Cucurbitaceae), is an important fruit vegetable in the warmer regions of the world. Watermelons were illustrated in Mediterranean Antiquity, but not as frequently as some other cucurbits. Little is known concerning the watermelons of Mediterranean Europe during medieval times. With the objective of obtaining an improved understanding of watermelon history and diversity in this region, medieval drawings purportedly of watermelons were collected, examined and compared for originality, detail and accuracy. † Findings The oldest manuscript found that contains an accurate, informative image of watermelon is the Tractatus de herbis, British Library ms. Egerton 747, which was produced in southern Italy, around the year 1300. A dozen more original illustrations were found, most of them from Italy, produced during the ensuing two centuries that can be positively identified as watermelon. In most herbal-type manuscripts, the foliage is depicted realistically, the plants shown as having long internodes, alternate leaves with pinnatifid leaf laminae, and the fruits are small, round and striped. The manuscript that contains the most detailed and accurate image of watermelon is the Carrara Herbal, British Library ms. Egerton 2020. In the agriculture-based manuscripts, the foliage, if depicted, is not accurate, but variation in the size, shape and coloration of the fruits is evident. Both red-flesh and white-flesh watermelons are illustrated, corresponding to the typical sweet dessert watermelons so common today and the insipid citron watermelons, respectively. The variation in watermelon fruit size, shape and coloration depicted in the illustrations indicates that at least six cultivars of watermelon are represented, three of which probably had red, sweet flesh and three of which appear to have been citrons. Evidently, citron watermelons were more common in Mediterranean Europe in the past than they are today

Genetic relationships and evolution in Cucurbita pepo (pumpkin, squash, gourd) as revealed by simple sequence repeat polymorphisms

Genetic relationships among 104 accessions of Cucurbita pepo were assessed from polymorphisms in 134 SSR (microsatellite) and four SCAR loci, yielding a total of 418 alleles, distributed among all 20 linkage groups. Genetic distance values were calculated, a dendrogram constructed, and principal coordinate analyses conducted. The results showed 100 of the accessions as distributed among three clusters representing each of the recognized subspecies, pepo, texana, and fraterna. The remaining four accessions, all having very small, round, striped fruits, assumed central positions between the two cultivated subspecies, pepo and texana, suggesting that they are relicts of undescribed wild ancestors of the two domesticated subspecies. In both, subsp. texana and subsp. pepo, accessions belonging to the same cultivar-group (fruit shape) associated with one another. Within subsp. pepo, accessions grown for their seeds or that are generalists, used for both seed and fruit consumption, assumed central positions. Specialized accessions, grown exclusively for consumption of their young fruits, or their mature fruit flesh, or seed oil extraction, tended to assume outlying positions, and the different specializations radiated outward from the center in different directions. Accessions of the longest-fruited cultivar-group, Cocozelle, radiated bidirectionally, indicating independent selection events for long fruits in subsp. pepo probably driven by a common desire to consume the young fruits. Among the accessions tested, there was no evidence for crossing between subspecies after domestication

Inheritance analysis and identification of SNP markers associated with ZYMV resistance in Cucurbita pepo

[EN] Cucurbit crops are economically important worldwide. One of the most serious threats to cucurbit production is Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV). Several resistant accessions were identified in Cucurbita moschata and their resistance was introgressed into Cucurbita pepo. However, the mode of inheritance of ZYMV resistance in C. pepo presents a great challenge to attempts at introgressing resistance into elite germplasm. The main goal of this work was to analyze the inheritance of ZYMV resistance and to identify markers associated with genes conferring resistance. An Illumina GoldenGate assay allowed us to assess polymorphism among nine squash genotypes and to discover six polymorphic single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between two near-isogenic lines, "True French" (susceptible to ZYMV) and Accession 381e (resistant to ZYMV). Two F-2 and three BC1 populations obtained from crossing the ZYMV-resistant Accession 381e with two susceptible ones, the zucchini True French and the cocozelle "San Pasquale," were assayed for ZYMV resistance. Molecular analysis revealed an approximately 90% association between SNP1 and resistance, which was confirmed using High Resolution Melt (HRM) and a CAPS marker. Co-segregation up to 72% in populations segregating for resistance was observed for two other SNP markers that could be potentially linked to genes involved in resistance expression. A functional prediction of proteins involved in the resistance response was performed on genome scaffolds containing the three SNPs of interest. Indeed, 16 full-length pathogen recognition genes (PRGs) were identified around the three SNP markers. In particular, we discovered that two nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) protein-encoding genes were located near the SNP1 marker. The investigation of ZYMV resistance in squash populations and the genomic analysis performed in this work could be useful for better directing the introgression of disease resistance into elite C. pepo germplasm.This work was supported by the Ministry of University and Research (GenHORT project).Capuozzo, C.; Formisano, G.; Iovieno, P.; Andolfo, G.; Tomassoli, L.; Barbella, M.; Picó Sirvent, MB.... (2017). Inheritance analysis and identification of SNP markers associated with ZYMV resistance in Cucurbita pepo. Molecular Breeding. 37(8). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-017-0698-5S378Addinsoft (2007) XLSTAT, Analyse de données et statistique avec MS Excel. Addinsoft, NYAndolfo G, Ercolano MR (2015) Plant innate immunity multicomponent model. Front Plant Sci 6:987Andolfo G, Sanseverino W, Rombauts S et al (2013) Overview of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) candidate pathogen recognition genes reveals important Solanum R locus dynamics. New Phytol 197:223–237Andolfo G, Ferriello F, Tardella L et al (2014) Tomato genome-wide transcriptional responses to fusarium wilt, and tomato mosaic virus. PLoS One 9:e94963Blanca J, Cañizares J, Roig C, Ziarsolo P, Nuez F, Picó B (2011) Transcriptome characterization and high throughput SSRs and SNPs discovery in Cucurbita pepo (Cucurbitaceae). BMC Genomics 12:104Brown RN, Bolanos-Herrera A, Myers JR, Jahn MM (2003) Inheritance of resistance to four cucurbit viruses in Cucurbita moschata. Euphytica 129:253–258Burge CB, Karlin S (1998) Finding the genes in genomic DNA. Curr Opin Struct Biol 8:346–354Cipollini D (2008) Constitutive expression of methyl jasmonate-inducible responses delays reproduction and constrains fitness responses to nutrients in Arabidopsis thaliana. Evol Ecol 24:59–68Cohen R, Hanan A, Paris HS (2003) Single-gene resistance to powdery mildew in zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo). Euphytica 130:433–441Collum TD, Padmanabhan MS, Hsieh YC, Culver JN (2016) Tobacco mosaic virus-directed reprogramming of auxin/indole acetic acid protein transcriptional responses enhances virus phloem loading. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 113:E2740–E2749Desbiez C, Lecoq H (1997) Zucchini yellow mosaic virus. Plant Pathol 46:809–829Ercolano MR, Sanseverino W, Carli P, Ferriello F, Frusciante L (2012) Genetic and genomic approaches for R-gene mediated disease resistance in tomato: retrospects and prospects. Plant Cell Rep 31:973–985Esteras C, Gómez P, Monforte AJ, Blanca J, Vicente-Dólera N, Roig C, Nuez F, Picó B (2012) High-throughput SNP genotyping in Cucurbita pepo for map construction and quantitative trait loci mapping. BMC Genomics 13:80Formisano G, Paris HS, Frusciante L, Ercolano MR (2010) Commercial Cucurbita pepo squash hybrids carrying disease resistance introgressed from Cucurbita moschata have high genetic similarity. Plant Genet Resour 8:198–203Fulton TM, Chunwongse J, Tanksley SD (1995) Microprep protocol for extraction of DNA from tomato and other herbaceous plants. Plant Mol Biol Report 13:207–209Gal-On A (2007) Zucchini yellow mosaic virus: insect transmission and pathogenicity—the tails of two proteins. Mol Plant Pathol 8:139–150Gilbert-Albertini F, Lecoq H, Pitrat M, Nicolet JL (1993) Resistance of Cucurbita moschata to watermelon mosaic virus type 2 and its genetic relation to resistance to zucchini yellow mosaic virus. Euphytica 69:231–237Gómez P, Rodríguez-Hernández AM, Moury B, Aranda MA (2009) Genetic resistance for the sustainable control of plant virus diseases: breeding, mechanisms and durability. Eur J Plant Pathol 125:1–22Gong L, Stift G, Kofler R, Pachner M, Lelley T (2008a) Microsatellites for the genus Cucurbita and an SSR-based genetic linkage map of Cucurbita pepo L. Theor Appl Genet 117:37–48Gong L, Pachner M, Kalai K, Lelley T (2008b) SSR-based genetic linkage map of Cucurbita moschata and its synteny with Cucurbita pepo. Genome 51:878–887Iovieno P, Andolfo G, Schiavulli A, Catalano D, Ricciardi L, Frusciante L et al. (2015) Structure, evolution and functional inference on the MildewLocusO (MLO) gene family in three cultivated Cucurbitaceae. BMC Genomics 16:1112. doi: 10.1186/s12864-015-2325-3Ishibashi K, Kezuka Y, Kobayashi C, Kato M, Inoue T, Nonaka T et al (2014) Structural basis for the recognition–evasion arms race between Tomato mosaic virus and the resistance gene Tm-1. PNAS 111:E3486–E3495Lecoq H, Pitrat M, Clément M (1981) Identification et caractérisation d’un potyvirus provoquant la maladie du rabougrissement jaune du melon. Agronomie 1:827–834Lefebvre V, Palloix A (1996) Both epistatic and additive effects of QTLs are involved in polygenic induced resistance to disease: a case study, the interaction pepper—Phytophthora capsici Leonian. Theor Appl Genet 93:503–511Levi A, Thomas CE, Newman M, Zhan X, Xu Y, Wehner TC (2003) Massive preferential segregation and nonrandom assortment of linkage-groups produce quasi-linkage in an F2 mapping population of watermelon. Hortscience 38:782Lisa V, Lecoq H (1984) Zucchini yellow mosaic virus. Descriptions of Plant Viruses, Commonwealth Mycological Institute and Association of Applied Biologists 282Lisa V, Boccardo G, D'Agostino G, Dellavalle G, d’Aquilio M (1981) Characterization of a potyvirus that causes zucchini yellow mosaic. Phytopathology 71:667–672MacQueen A, Bergelson J (2016) Modulation of R-gene expression across environments. J Exp Bot 67:2093–2105Mantel N (1967) The detection of disease clustering and a generalized regression approach. Cancer Res 27:209–220Munger HM, Provvidenti R (1987) Inheritance of resistance to zucchini yellow mosaic virus in Cucurbita moschata. Cucurbit Genet Coop Rep 10:8–81Nameth ST, Dodds JA, Paulus AO, Laemmlen FF (1986) Cucurbit viruses of California: an ever-changing problem. Plant Dis 70:8–12Ott J, Wang J, Leal SM (2015) Genetic linkage analysis in the age of whole-genome sequencing. Nat Rev Genet 16(5):275–284Pachner M, Lelley T (2004) Different genes for resistance to zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) in Cucurbita moschata. In: Lebeda A, Paris HS (eds) Progress in cucurbit genetics and breeding research: Proceedings of Cucurbitaceae 2004. Palacky University, Olomouc (Czech Republic), pp 237–243Pachner M, Paris HS, Lelley T (2011) Genes for resistance to zucchini yellow mosaic in tropical pumpkin. J Hered 102:330–335Pachner M, Paris HS, Winkler J, Lelley T (2015) Phenotypic and marker-assisted pyramiding of genes for resistance to zucchini yellow mosaic virus in oilseed pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo). Plant Breed 134:121–128Paris HS (1986) A proposed subspecific classification for Cucurbita pepo. Phytologia 61:133–138Paris HS (2001) Characterization of the Cucurbita pepo collection at the Newe Ya‘ar Research Center, Israel. Plant Genet Resour Newsl 126:41–45Paris HS (2008) Summer squash. In: Prohens J, Nuez F (eds) Handbook of plant breeding, Vegetables I: 351–379Paris HS, Cohen S (2000) Oligogenic inheritance for resistance to zucchini yellow mosaic virus in Cucurbita pepo. Ann Appl Biol 136:209–214Paris HS, Cohen S, Burger Y, Joseph R (1988) Single-gene resistance to zucchini yellow mosaic virus in Cucurbita moschata. Euphytica 37:27–29Peakall PE, Smouse R (2012) GenAlEx 6.5: genetic analysis in Excel. Population genetic software for teaching and research—an update. Bioinformatics 28:2537–2539Sakamoto T, Deguchi M, Brustolini OJ, Santos AA, Silva FF, Fontes EP (2012) The tomato RLK superfamily: phylogeny and functional predictions about the role of the LRRII-RLK subfamily in antiviral defense. BMC Plant Biol 12:229Sanseverino W, Ercolano MR (2012) In silico approach to predict candidate R proteins and to define their domain architecture. BMC Res Notes 5:678Tamura K, Peterson D, Peterson N, Stecher G, Nei M, Kumar S (2011) MEGA5: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis using maximum likelihood, evolutionary distance, and maximum parsimony methods. Mol Biol Evol 28:2731–2739Teare MD, Santibanez Koref MF (2014) Linkage analysis and the study of Mendelian disease in the era of whole exome and genome sequencing. Brief Funct Genomics 13(5):378–383Valkonen JPT, Wiegmann K, Hämäläinen JH, Marczewski W, Watanabe KN (2008) Evidence for utility of the same PCR-based markers for selection of extreme resistance to Potato virus Y controlled by Rysto of Solanum stoloniferum derived from different sources. Ann Appl Biol 152:121–130Wessel-Beaver L (2005) Cultivar and germplasm release. Release of ‘Soler’ tropical pumpkin. J Agric Univ P R 89:263–266Whitaker TW, Davis GN (1962) Cucurbits: botany, cultivation and utilization. Interscience, New York, pp 105–116Whitaker TW, Robinson RW (1986) Squash breeding. In: Bassett MJ (ed) Breeding vegetable crops. Avi, Westport, pp 209–242Xu Y, Crouch JH (2008) Marker-assisted selection in plant breeding: from publications to practice. Crop Sci 48:391–407Xu R, Zhang S, Huang J, Zheng C (2013) Genome-wide comparative in silico analysis of the RNA helicase gene family in Zea mays and Glycine max: a comparison with Arabidopsis and Oryza sativa. PLoS One 8:e78982Ye G, Smith KF (2008) Marker-assisted gene pyramiding for inbred line development: basic principles and practical guidelines. Int J Plant Breed 2:1–10Zdobnov EM, Apweiler R (2001) InterProScan—an integration platform for the signature-recognition methods in InterPro. Bioinformatics 17:847–848Zraidi A, Stift G, Pachner M, Shojaeiyan A, Gong L, Lelley T (2007) A consensus map for Cucurbita pepo. Mol Breed 20:375–38

Gravitational Waves From Known Pulsars: Results From The Initial Detector Era

We present the results of searches for gravitational waves from a large selection of pulsars using data from the most recent science runs (S6, VSR2 and VSR4) of the initial generation of interferometric gravitational wave detectors LIGO (Laser Interferometric Gravitational-wave Observatory) and Virgo. We do not see evidence for gravitational wave emission from any of the targeted sources but produce upper limits on the emission amplitude. We highlight the results from seven young pulsars with large spin-down luminosities. We reach within a factor of five of the canonical spin-down limit for all seven of these, whilst for the Crab and Vela pulsars we further surpass their spin-down limits. We present new or updated limits for 172 other pulsars (including both young and millisecond pulsars). Now that the detectors are undergoing major upgrades, and, for completeness, we bring together all of the most up-to-date results from all pulsars searched for during the operations of the first-generation LIGO, Virgo and GEO600 detectors. This gives a total of 195 pulsars including the most recent results described in this paper.United States National Science FoundationScience and Technology Facilities Council of the United KingdomMax-Planck-SocietyState of Niedersachsen/GermanyAustralian Research CouncilInternational Science Linkages program of the Commonwealth of AustraliaCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research of IndiaIstituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare of ItalySpanish Ministerio de Economia y CompetitividadConselleria d'Economia Hisenda i Innovacio of the Govern de les Illes BalearsNetherlands Organisation for Scientific ResearchPolish Ministry of Science and Higher EducationFOCUS Programme of Foundation for Polish ScienceRoyal SocietyScottish Funding CouncilScottish Universities Physics AllianceNational Aeronautics and Space AdministrationOTKA of HungaryLyon Institute of Origins (LIO)National Research Foundation of KoreaIndustry CanadaProvince of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development and InnovationNational Science and Engineering Research Council CanadaCarnegie TrustLeverhulme TrustDavid and Lucile Packard FoundationResearch CorporationAlfred P. Sloan FoundationAstronom

Quantum correlation measurements in interferometric gravitational-wave detectors

Quantum fluctuations in the phase and amplitude quadratures of light set limitations on the sensitivity of modern optical instruments. The sensitivity of the interferometric gravitational-wave detectors, such as the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), is limited by quantum shot noise, quantum radiation pressure noise, and a set of classical noises. We show how the quantum properties of light can be used to distinguish these noises using correlation techniques. Particularly, in the first part of the paper we show estimations of the coating thermal noise and gas phase noise, hidden below the quantum shot noise in the Advanced LIGO sensitivity curve. We also make projections on the observatory sensitivity during the next science runs. In the second part of the paper we discuss the correlation technique that reveals the quantum radiation pressure noise from the background of classical noises and shot noise. We apply this technique to the Advanced LIGO data, collected during the first science run, and experimentally estimate the quantum correlations and quantum radiation pressure noise in the interferometer.National Science Foundation (U.S.)Kavli Foundation (Kavli Foundation

Sensitivity of the Advanced LIGO detectors at the beginning of gravitational wave astronomy

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) consists of two widely separated 4 km laser interferometers designed to detect gravitational waves from distant astrophysical sources in the frequency range from 10 Hz to 10 kHz. The first observation run of the Advanced LIGO detectors started in September 2015 and ended in January 2016. A strain sensitivity of better than 10−23/Hz−−−√ was achieved around 100 Hz. Understanding both the fundamental and the technical noise sources was critical for increasing the astrophysical strain sensitivity. The average distance at which coalescing binary black hole systems with individual masses of 30  M⊙ could be detected above a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 8 was 1.3 Gpc, and the range for binary neutron star inspirals was about 75 Mpc. With respect to the initial detectors, the observable volume of the Universe increased by a factor 69 and 43, respectively. These improvements helped Advanced LIGO to detect the gravitational wave signal from the binary black hole coalescence, known as GW150914

Search for post-merger gravitational waves from the remnant of the binary neutron star merger GW170817

In Advanced LIGO, detection and astrophysical source parameter estimation of the binary black hole merger GW150914 requires a calibrated estimate of the gravitational-wave strain sensed by the detectors. Producing an estimate from each detector's differential arm length control loop readout signals requires applying time domain filters, which are designed from a frequency domain model of the detector's gravitational-wave response. The gravitational-wave response model is determined by the detector's opto-mechanical response and the properties of its feedback control system. The measurements used to validate the model and characterize its uncertainty are derived primarily from a dedicated photon radiation pressure actuator, with cross-checks provided by optical and radio frequency references. We describe how the gravitational-wave readout signal is calibrated into equivalent gravitational-wave-induced strain and how the statistical uncertainties and systematic errors are assessed. Detector data collected over 38 calendar days, from September 12 to October 20, 2015, contain the event GW150914 and approximately 16 of coincident data used to estimate the event false alarm probability. The calibration uncertainty is less than 10% in magnitude and 10 degrees in phase across the relevant frequency band 20 Hz to 1 kHz

Effects of Data Quality Vetoes on a Search for Compact Binary Coalescences in Advanced LIGO's First Observing Run

The first observing run of Advanced LIGO spanned 4 months, from September 12, 2015 to January 19, 2016, during which gravitational waves were directly detected from two binary black hole systems, namely GW150914 and GW151226. Confident detection of gravitational waves requires an understanding of instrumental transients and artifacts that can reduce the sensitivity of a search. Studies of the quality of the detector data yield insights into the cause of instrumental artifacts and data quality vetoes specific to a search are produced to mitigate the effects of problematic data. In this paper, the systematic removal of noisy data from analysis time is shown to improve the sensitivity of searches for compact binary coalescences. The output of the PyCBC pipeline, which is a python-based code package used to search for gravitational wave signals from compact binary coalescences, is used as a metric for improvement. GW150914 was a loud enough signal that removing noisy data did not improve its significance. However, the removal of data with excess noise decreased the false alarm rate of GW151226 by more than two orders of magnitude, from 1 in 770 years to less than 1 in 186000 years.Comment: 27 pages, 13 figures, published versio

First narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves from known pulsars in advanced detector data

In Advanced LIGO, detection and astrophysical source parameter estimation of the binary black hole merger GW150914 requires a calibrated estimate of the gravitational-wave strain sensed by the detectors. Producing an estimate from each detector's differential arm length control loop readout signals requires applying time domain filters, which are designed from a frequency domain model of the detector's gravitational-wave response. The gravitational-wave response model is determined by the detector's opto-mechanical response and the properties of its feedback control system. The measurements used to validate the model and characterize its uncertainty are derived primarily from a dedicated photon radiation pressure actuator, with cross-checks provided by optical and radio frequency references. We describe how the gravitational-wave readout signal is calibrated into equivalent gravitational-wave-induced strain and how the statistical uncertainties and systematic errors are assessed. Detector data collected over 38 calendar days, from September 12 to October 20, 2015, contain the event GW150914 and approximately 16 of coincident data used to estimate the event false alarm probability. The calibration uncertainty is less than 10% in magnitude and 10 degrees in phase across the relevant frequency band 20 Hz to 1 kHz