Establishing the Bases for Introducing the Unexplored Portuguese Common Bean Germplasm into the Breeding World

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is among the most important grain legumes for human consumption worldwide. Portugal has a potentially promising common bean germplasm, resulting from more than five centuries of natural adaptation and farmers' selection. Nevertheless, limited characterization of this resource hampers its exploitation by breeding programs. To support a more efficient conservation of the national bean germplasm and promote its use in crop improvement, we performed, for the first time, a simultaneous molecular marker (21 microsatellites and a DNA marker for phaseolin-type diversity analysis) and seed and plant morphological characterization (14 traits) of 175 accessions from Portuguese mainland and islands traditional bean-growing regions. A total of 188 different alleles were identified and an average pairwise Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards' chord genetic distance of 0.193 was estimated among accessions. To relate the Portuguese germplasm with the global common bean diversity, 17 wild relatives and representative accessions from the Andean and Mesoamerican gene pools were evaluated at the molecular level. No correlation was detected between the variability found and the geographic origin of accessions. Structure analysis divided the collection into three main clusters. Most of the Portuguese accessions grouped with the race representatives and wild relatives from the Andean region. One third of the national germplasm had admixed genetic origin and might represent putative hybrids among gene pools from the two original centers of domestication in the Andes and Mesoamerica. The molecular marker-based classification was largely congruent with the three most frequent phaseolin haplotype patterns observed in the accessions analyzed. Seed and plant morphological characterization of 150 Portuguese common bean accessions revealed a clear separation among genetic structure and phaseolin haplotype groups of accessions, with seed size and shape and the number of locules per pod the most discriminant traits. Additionally, we used molecular and morphological data to develop a series of smaller core collections that, by maximizing the genetic and morphological diversity of the original collection, represents the Portuguese common bean germplasm with minimum repetitiveness. A core collection with 37 accessions contained 100% of the genetic variation found in the entire collection. This core collection is appropriate for a more detailed characterization and should be explored, as a priority, in national and international common bean breeding efforts. Furthermore, the identified intermediate accessions (with admixed genetic origin) may have novel genetic combinations useful in future bean breeding

The impact of CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots in cells of Medicago sativa in suspension culture

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nanotechnology has the potential to provide agriculture with new tools that may be used in the rapid detection and molecular treatment of diseases and enhancement of plant ability to absorb nutrients, among others. Data on nanoparticle toxicity in plants is largely heterogeneous with a diversity of physicochemical parameters reported, which difficult generalizations. Here a cell biology approach was used to evaluate the impact of Quantum Dots (QDs) nanocrystals on plant cells, including their effect on cell growth, cell viability, oxidative stress and ROS accumulation, besides their cytomobility.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A plant cell suspension culture of <it>Medicago sativa </it>was settled for the assessment of the impact of the addition of mercaptopropanoic acid coated CdSe/ZnS QDs. Cell growth was significantly reduced when 100 mM of mercaptopropanoic acid -QDs was added during the exponential growth phase, with less than 50% of the cells viable 72 hours after mercaptopropanoic acid -QDs addition. They were up taken by <it>Medicago sativa </it>cells and accumulated in the cytoplasm and nucleus as revealed by optical thin confocal imaging. As part of the cellular response to internalization, <it>Medicago sativa </it>cells were found to increase the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in a dose and time dependent manner. Using the fluorescent dye H₂DCFDA it was observable that mercaptopropanoic acid-QDs concentrations between 5-180 nM led to a progressive and linear increase of ROS accumulation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results showed that the extent of mercaptopropanoic acid coated CdSe/ZnS QDs cytotoxicity in plant cells is dependent upon a number of factors including QDs properties, dose and the environmental conditions of administration and that, for <it>Medicago sativa </it>cells, a safe range of 1-5 nM should not be exceeded for biological applications.</p

House dust fungal communities’ characterization: a double take on the six by sixty by six (6 × 60 × 6) project

Fungi are a group of microbes that are found with particular incidence in the indoor environment. Their direct toxicity or capability of generating toxic compounds has been associated with a large number of adverse health effects, such as infectious diseases and allergies. Given that in modern society people spend a large part of their time indoors; fungal communities’ characterization of this environmental compartment assumes paramount importance in the comprehension of health effects. House dustThis work was supported by European Funds through COMPETE and by National Funds through the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) within project PEstOE/SAU/UI0709/2014. Ana C. A. Sousa and Sónia D. Coelho acknowledge FCT for the grants SFRH/BPD/65884/2009 and SFRH/ BD/78168/2011 (supported by funding from the Human Potential Operational Programme POPH, inscribed in the National Strategic Reference Framework and partially subsidized by the European Social Fund).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Metabolomics profile responses to changing environments in a common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) germplasm collection

Metabolomics is one of the most powerful -omics to assist plant breeding. Despite the recognized genetic diversity in Portuguese common bean germplasm, details on its metabolomics profiles are still missing. Aiming to promote their use and to understand the environment’s effect in bean metabolomics profiles, 107 Portuguese common bean accessions, cropped under contrasting environments, were analyzed using spectrophotometric, untargeted and targeted mass spectrometry approaches. Although genotype was the most relevant factor on bean metabolomics profile, a clear genotype × environment interaction was also detected. Multivariate analysis highlighted, on the heat-stress environment, the existence of higher levels of salicylic acid, and lower levels of triterpene saponins. Three clusters were defined within each environment. White accessions presented the lowest content and the colored ones the highest levels of prenol lipids and flavonoids. Sources of interesting metabolomics profiles are now identified for bean breeding, focusing either on local or on broad adaptation.To FCT, Portugal, in BEGEQA project (PTDC/AGR-TEC/3555/2012), E.M. PhD fellowship (SFRH/BD/89287/2012), as well as to R&D unit, UIDB/04551/2020 (GREEN-IT – Bioresources for sustainability) and COST Action FA1403 (STSM-FA1403-290815-063873) for funding. The authors also acknowledge PORTUGAL 2020 to the Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Network, grant number LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-402-022125. The project NETDIAMOND (SAICTPAC/0047/2015), financially supported by FEEI (Lisboa 2020 and FCT/POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016385), to the iNOVA4Health (UID/Multi/04462/2013), financially supported by FCT and co-funded by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement, as well as to POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029702, funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) and by national funds (PIDDAC) through FCT/MCTES

Reuma.pt/vasculitis - the Portuguese vasculitis registry

BACKGROUND: The vasculitides are a group of rare diseases with different manifestations and outcomes. New therapeutic options have led to the need for long-term registries. The Rheumatic Diseases Portuguese Register, Reuma.pt, is a web-based electronic clinical record, created in 2008, which currently includes specific modules for 12 diseases and > 20,000 patients registered from 79 rheumatology centres. On October 2014, a dedicated module for vasculitis was created as part of the European Vasculitis Society collaborative network, enabling prospective collection and central storage of encrypted data from patients with this condition. All Portuguese rheumatology centres were invited to participate. Data regarding demographics, diagnosis, classification criteria, assessment tools, and treatment were collected. We aim to describe the structure of Reuma.pt/vasculitis and characterize the patients registered since its development. RESULTS: A total of 687 patients, with 1945 visits, from 13 centres were registered; mean age was 53.4 ± 19.3 years at last visit and 68.7% were females. The most common diagnoses were Behçet's disease (BD) (42.5%) and giant cell arteritis (GCA) (17.8%). Patients with BD met the International Study Group criteria and the International Criteria for BD in 85.3 and 97.2% of cases, respectively. Within the most common small- and medium-vessel vasculitides registered, median [interquartile range] Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS) at first visit was highest in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) (17.0 [12.0]); there were no differences in the proportion of patients with AAV or polyarteritis nodosa who relapsed (BVAS≥1) or had a major relapse (≥1 major BVAS item) during prospective assessment (p = 1.00, p = 0.479). Biologic treatment was prescribed in 0.8% of patients with GCA, 26.7% of patients with AAV, and 7.6% of patients with BD. There were 34 (4.9%) deaths reported. CONCLUSIONS: Reuma.pt/vasculitis is a bespoke web-based registry adapted for routine care of patients with this form of rare and complex diseases, allowing an efficient data-repository at a national level with the potential to link with other international databases. It facilitates research, trials recruitment, service planning and benchmarking.publishersversionpublishe

Grass Pea (<i>Lathyrus sativus</i> L.)—A Sustainable and Resilient Answer to Climate Challenges

Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is an annual cool-season grain legume widely cultivated in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and in the Mediterranean region. It is a stress-resilient crop with high nutritional value, considered a promising source of traits to breed for adaptation/mitigation of climate change effects. It is also reported as a suitable crop for more sustainable production systems such as intercropping. In this review, we elaborate an integrative perspective including not only an agronomic-based but also a variety-breeding-based strategy in grass pea to deal with climate change impacts, summarizing the current knowledge on grass pea biotic/abiotic stress resistance. Additionally, we highlight the importance of implementing fundamental techniques to create diversity (as interspecific hybridization or gene editing) and increase genetic gains (as speed breeding or the efficient identification of breeding targets via genomics) in the development of multiple stress-resistant varieties that simultaneously provide yield and quality stability under climate vulnerable environments

Advances in Legume Research

Legumes crops have an extraordinary importance for the agriculture and the environment. In a world urgently requiring more sustainable agriculture, food security and healthier diets the demand for legume crops is on the rise. The International Legume Society (http://ils.nsseme.com) organizes a triannual series of conferences with the goal to serve as a forum to discuss interdisciplinary progress on legume research. The Second International Legume Society Conference (ILS2) hosted in October 2016 at Troia, Portugal was the starting point for the Research Topic “Advances in Legume Research” in FiPS, that was also open to spontaneous submissions

Soil carbon stocks and stability across an altitudinal gradient in southern Peru

Carbon accumulation and sequestration in Andean soils are scarcely documented. Carbon contents, carbon stocks, and stability were determined in five Peruvian agroecologies, along a 1,000 km (621 mi) transect covering the arid Pacific coast, the Andean high plateau, and the tropical highland rainforest in the eastern flank of the Andes. It was hypothesized that the carbon stocks and stability varied with land use and altitudinal gradient. Results showed that the soils in the tropical highland rainforest site presented the higher (p > 0.05) carbon contents (134 g kg−1 [13.4%]). Coffee plantations in the tropical highland rainforest and alfalfa under irrigation in the dry valleys presented larger (p > 0.05) carbon stocks (83 Mg ha−1 [37 tn ac−1]) than primary rainforests. The dry lowlands showed the lowest carbon contents (51 g kg−1 [5.1%]) and carbon stocks (40 Mg ha−1 [18 tn ac−1]). Soil organic carbon increased with elevation in the arid environments. In the high plateau potato systems, low carbon contents (68 g kg−1 [6.8%]) and carbon stocks (47 Mg ha−1 [21 tn ac−1]) were found. The soils in both the tropical highland rainforest and the dry valleys presented lower humification index, when compared to other agroecologies. Humification increased with soil depth due to the presence of recalcitrant carbon, while at the surface the presence of labile carbon dominates as a result of a constant input of plant residues. Results suggest that diversified production systems with crops and livestock are more stable for carbon stocks, which might be essential to help farmers adapting to the effects of climate change. Therefore, viable land uses, from the carbon economy perspective, must be promoted to support sustainable agricultural practices for most important ecological conditions