Temporal response to drought stress in several Prunus rootstocks and wild species

Prunus species are important crops in temperate regions. In these regions, drought periods are predicted to occur more frequently due to climate change. In this sense, to reduce the impact of climate warming, obtaining new tolerant/resistant cultivars and rootstocks is a mandatory goal in Prunus breeding. Therefore, the current study assembled three Prunus species including almond, (P. dulcis Mill D.A. Webb), apricot (P. armeniaca L.) and peach (P. persica L.) to model the temporal effects of drought. A hybrid peach × almond and a wild almond-relative species Prunus webbii were also included in the study. Physiological traits associated with photosynthetic activity, leaf water status, and chlorophyll content were assessed under three watering treatments. Results showed that effects of time, genotype, and treatment interact significantly in all traits. In addition, results confirmed that P. webbii have a greater tolerance to drought than commercial rootstocks. However, “Real Fino” apricot showed the fastest recovery after re-irrigation while being one of the most affected cultivars. In addition, from the better response to these watering treatments by the almond genotypes, two different trends were observed after re-irrigation treatment that clearly differentiate the response of the almond cultivar “Garrigue” from the rest of Prunus genotypes. A better characterization of the short-term drought response in Prunus, an accurate and more efficient evaluation of the genotype effect was obtained from the use of mixed models considering appropriate variance–covariance structures. Although the advantages of these approaches are rarely used in Prunus breeding, these methodologies should be undertaken in the future by breeders to increase efficiency in developing new breeding materials.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Experiencias docentes en la UPV en torno a la competencia tranversal "trabajo en equipo y liderazgo"

[Otros] Finished the studies of the first promotions under the EHEA, it is time to evaluate experiences in order to carry out the necessary adjustments. One of the first obstacles that have been pointed out froom its implementation is the way to approach generic skills. Additionally internacional accreditations through certifications such as ABET, highlight the need to work in generic skills in coordination and the necessity of developing tools to assess and to quantify the degree of acquisition of such skills by the students. These evidences are key to certify that the students have reached at least the standards included in the Curriculum of the degree. This paper sets out proposals for the development and assessment of the competency ¿Teamwork and leadership¿, which is the competency dimension nº8 of the Universitat Politécnica de València. Educational experiences included in this text can be easily extrapolated to other courses.[ES] Finalizadas las primeras promociones de estudiantes que han desarrollado sus estudios bajo el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES), llega el momento de evaluar las experiencias para poder llevar a cabo los ajustes necesarios. Uno de los primeros escollos que se vienen señalando desde su implantación es la forma de abordar las competencias transversales. Adicionalmente la acreditación internacional a través de certificaciones como ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology), pone de manifiesto la necesidad de trabajar de forma coordinada las competencias genéricas y de desarrollar herramientas que permitan evaluar y cuantificar el grado de adquisición de dichas competencias por parte de los estudiantes para certificar la consecución de los niveles mínimos recogidos en la titulación de Grado. Esta comunicación expone propuestas de desarrollo y evaluación de la competencia liderazgo y trabajo en equipo , que constituye la dimensión competencial nº8 de la Universitat Politècnica de València. Se recogen experiencias docentes que por su enfoque generalista pueden ser fácilmente extrapolables a otras titulaciones. El trabajo expuesto forma parte de los resultados obtenidos en el PIME B14/13 de la convocatoria 2013-2014 de la UPV, titulado Desarrollo de metodologías de adquisición y evaluación de la competencia trabajo en equipo y liderazgo .This work is part of the results of the PIME B14/13 of the UPV, entitled "Development of methods for the acquisition and assessment of the competency teamwork and leadership"Bañón Gomis, AJ.; Clemente Císcar, M.; Cortés Meseguer, L.; Lajara-Camilleri, N.; Pérez De Los Cobos Cassinello, M.; Rodrigo Molina, A.; Rovira, A.... (2014). Experiencias docentes en la UPV en torno a la competencia tranversal "trabajo en equipo y liderazgo". Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1-14. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/168626S11

Pedigree analysis of 220 almond genotypes reveals two world mainstream breeding lines based on only three different cultivars

Loss of genetic variability is an increasing challenge in tree breeding programs due to the repeated use of a reduced number of founder genotypes. However, in almond, little is known about the genetic variability in current breeding stocks, although several cases of inbreeding depression have been reported. To gain insights into the genetic structure in modern breeding programs worldwide, marker-verified pedigree data of 220 almond cultivars and breeding selections were analyzed. Inbreeding coefficients, pairwise relatedness, and genetic contribution were calculated for these genotypes. The results reveal two mainstream breeding lines based on three cultivars: “Tuono”, “Cristomorto”, and “Nonpareil”. Descendants from “Tuono” or “Cristomorto” number 76 (sharing 34 descendants), while “Nonpareil” has 71 descendants. The mean inbreeding coefficient of the analyzed genotypes was 0.041, with 14 genotypes presenting a high inbreeding coefficient, over 0.250. Breeding programs from France, the USA, and Spain showed inbreeding coefficients of 0.075, 0.070, and 0.037, respectively. According to their genetic contribution, modern cultivars from Israel, France, the USA, Spain, and Australia trace back to a maximum of six main founding genotypes. Among the group of 65 genotypes carrying the Sf allele for self-compatibility, the mean relatedness coefficient was 0.125, with “Tuono” as the main founding genotype (24.7% of total genetic contribution). The results broaden our understanding about the tendencies followed in almond breeding over the last 50 years and will have a large impact into breeding decision-making process worldwide. Increasing current genetic variability is required in almond breeding programs to assure genetic gain and continuing breeding progress.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pedigree analysis of 220 almond genotypes reveals two world mainstream breeding lines based on only three different cultivars

[ES]: Reducir la pérdida de variabilidad genética es un reto en los programas de mejora debido al repetido uso de un escaso número de genotipos. Para estudiar la variabilidad genética del almendro en su mejora a nivel mundial se utilizaron datos genealógicos de 222 variedades y selecciones provenientes de Argentina, Australia, Francia, Grecia, Israel, Italia, Rusia, España y EE. UU. Se calculó la consanguinidad, las relaciones por parejas y la contribución genética para todos los genotipos. Los resultados señalan dos principales líneas de mejora basadas en tres cultivares ‘Tuono’–‘Cristomorto’ y ‘Nonpareil’. Existen 75 descendientes directos (compartiendo 30) de ‘Tuono’ o ‘Cristomorto’ mientras que ‘Nonpareil’ tiene 72 descendientes directos. El coeficiente medio de consanguinidad de los genotipos analizados fue 0,036, con 13 presentando una elevada consanguinidad. Los programas de mejora de EE. UU. (0,06), Francia (0,05) y España (0,03) mostraron consanguinidad. De acuerdo con su contribución genética, las variedades modernas de Israel, Francia, EE. UU., España y Australia, se basan en seis, cinco, cuatro, cuatro y dos genotipos fundadores principales respectivamente. Entre el grupo de 65 genotipos con el alelo Sf de autocompatibilidad, el coeficiente medio de relación fue de 0,133, con ‘Tuono’ como principal fundador (23,75% de la contribución genética total).[EN]: Loss of genetic variability is a challenge increasing when breeding due to the repeated use of a reduced number of founders. Pedigree data of 222 almond cultivars and selections were used to study worldwide genetic variability in modern programs from Argentina, Australia, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Russia, Spain and USA. Inbreeding coefficients, pairwise relatedness and genetic contribution were calculated. The results reveal two mainstream breeding lines based in three cultivars: ‘Tuono’–‘Cristomorto’ and ‘Nonpareil’. Direct descendants from ‘Tuono’ or ‘Cristomorto’ account to 75 (sharing 30 descendants), while ‘Nonpareil’ has 72 direct descendants. The mean inbreeding coefficient of the analyzed genotypes was 0.036, with 13 genotypes presenting a high inbreeding coefficient. Breeding programs from USA (0.06), France (0.05) and Spain (0.03) showed inbreeding. According to their genetic contribution, modern cultivars from Israel, France, USA, Spain and Australia, trace back to six, five, four, four and two main founders respectively. Among the group of 65 genotypes with the Sf allele for self–compatibility, the mean relatedness coefficient was 0.133, with ‘Tuono’ as main founder (23.75% of total genetic contribution).Peer reviewe

Identification of reference genes in circadian series in Petunia x hybrida

El objetivo del proyecto es determinar los genes de referencia necesarios para poder llevar a cabo normalizado de expresión génica. El presente proyecto tiene como principal reto que la luz y el reloj afecta aproximadamente al 30% del transcriptoma de las plantas. Esto hace que la identificación de genes de expresión robusta en diferentes horas del día sea una tarea compleja pero necesaria.Escuela Técnica superior de Ingeniería AgronómicaUniversidad Politécnica de Cartagen

Integration of moleculars markers into the IRTA almond breeding: program

Resumen del trabajo presentado a la 10th Rosaceae Genomics Conference (RGC), celebrada de forma virtual del 9 al 11 de diciembre de 2020.Peer reviewe

Exploring large-scale gene coexpression networks in peach (Prunus persica L.): a new tool for predicting gene function

Peach is a model for Prunus genetics and genomics, however, identifying and validating genes associated to peach breeding traits is a complex task. A gene coexpression network (GCN) capable of capturing stable gene–gene relationships would help researchers overcome the intrinsic limitations of peach genetics and genomics approaches and outline future research opportunities. In this study, we created four GCNs from 604 Illumina RNA-Seq libraries. We evaluated the performance of every GCN in predicting functional annotations using an algorithm based on the ‘guilty-by-association’ principle. The GCN with the best performance was COO300, encompassing 21 956 genes. To validate its performance predicting gene function, we performed two case studies. In case study 1, we used two genes involved in fruit flesh softening: the endopolygalacturonases PpPG21 and PpPG22. Genes coexpressing with both genes were extracted and referred to as melting flesh (MF) network. Finally, we performed an enrichment analysis of MF network and compared the results with the current knowledge regarding peach fruit softening. The MF network mostly included genes involved in cell wall expansion and remodeling, and with expressions triggered by ripening-related phytohormones, such as ethylene, auxin, and methyl jasmonate. In case study 2, we explored potential targets of the anthocyanin regulator PpMYB10.1 by comparing its gene-centered coexpression network with that of its grapevine orthologues, identifying a common regulatory network. These results validated COO300 as a powerful tool for peach and Prunus research. This network, renamed as PeachGCN v1.0, and the scripts required to perform a function prediction analysis are available at https://github.com/felipecobos/PeachGCN.We acknowledge financial support through the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centers of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2015-0533 and CEX2019-000902-S). Also, this work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Estate Agency of Research: Project PID2020-118612RR-I00 (Better Almonds) and PID2019-110599RR-I00. Authors F.P. C., I. E., I. B. are grateful to CERCA Program from Generalitat of Catalonia for its support. F. P. C. wishes to acknowledge the receipt of a FPI doctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. This work was also supported by grants PID2021-128865NB-I00 and RYC- 2017-23645 awarded to J.T.M. and the PRE2019-088044 fellowship awarded to L.O. from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU, Spain), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI, Spain), and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, European Union).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Petunia CHANEL Gene is a ZEITLUPE Ortholog Coordinating Growth and Scent Profiles

The floral perianth, comprising sepals and petals, conceals the sexual organs and attracts pollinators. The coordination of growth and scent emission is not fully understood. We have analyzed the effect of knocking down CHANEL (PhCHL), the ZEITLUPE ortholog in petunia (PhCHL) by hairpin RNAs. Plants with low PhCHL mRNA had overall decreased size. Growth evaluation using time lapse image analysis showed that early leaf movement was not affected by RNAi:PhCHL, but flower angle movement was modified, moving earlier during the day in knockdown plants than in wild types. Despite differences in stem length, growth rate was not significantly affected by loss of PhCHL. In contrast, petal growth displayed lower growth rate in RNAi:PhCHL. Decreased levels of PhCHL caused strongly modified scent profiles, including changes in composition and timing of emission resulting in volatile profiles highly divergent from the wild type. Our results show a role of PhCHL in controlling growth and development of vegetative and reproductive organs in petunia. The different effects of PhCHL on organ development indicate an organ-specific interpretation of the down regulation of PhCHL. Through the control of both timing and quantitative volatile emissions, PhCHL appears to be a major coordinator of scent profiles.This research was funded by Fundacion Seneca 19398/PI/14, 19895/GERM/15 and MC BFU-2017 88300-C2-1-R and BFU-2017 88300-C2-2-R. We would like to acknowledge María José Roca for technical assistance

The Petunia CHANEL Gene is a ZEITLUPE Ortholog Coordinating Growth and Scent Profiles

The floral perianth, comprising sepals and petals, conceals the sexual organs and attracts pollinators. The coordination of growth and scent emission is not fully understood. We have analyzed the effect of knocking down CHANEL (PhCHL), the ZEITLUPE ortholog in petunia (PhCHL) by hairpin RNAs. Plants with low PhCHL mRNA had overall decreased size. Growth evaluation using time lapse image analysis showed that early leaf movement was not affected by RNAi:PhCHL, but flower angle movement was modified, moving earlier during the day in knockdown plants than in wild types. Despite differences in stem length, growth rate was not significantly affected by loss of PhCHL. In contrast, petal growth displayed lower growth rate in RNAi:PhCHL. Decreased levels of PhCHL caused strongly modified scent profiles, including changes in composition and timing of emission resulting in volatile profiles highly divergent from the wild type. Our results show a role of PhCHL in controlling growth and development of vegetative and reproductive organs in petunia. The different effects of PhCHL on organ development indicate an organ-specific interpretation of the down regulation of PhCHL. Through the control of both timing and quantitative volatile emissions, PhCHL appears to be a major coordinator of scent profiles.This research was funded by Fundación Seneca 19398/PI/14, 19895/GERM/15 and MC BFU-2017 88300-C2-1-R and BFU-2017 88300-C2-2-RWe acknowledge support by the CSIC Open Access Publication Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI