Is It Possible to Produce Certified Hazelnut Plant Material in Sicily? Identification and Recovery of Nebrodi Genetic Resources, in vitro Establishment, and Innovative Sanitation Technique From Apple Mosaic Virus

Eight Sicilian cultivars of hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.), namely-Curcia, Nociara Collica, Panottara Collica, Panottara Galati Grande, Parrinara, Panottara Baratta Piccola, Enzo, and Rossa Galvagno, registered into the Italian Cultivar Register of fruit tree species in 2017 were selected from Nebrodi area and established in vitro. The aim of the work was to carry out the sanitation of the cultivars and get virus-free plants from the most important viral pathogen threat, the apple mosaic virus. Virus-free plant material is essential for the production of certified plants from Sicilian hazelnut cultivars, complying the CE (cat. CAC) quality and the technical standards established in 2017 for voluntary certification by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MIPAAF). In this study, we investigated the possibility of establishing in vitro true-to-type and virus-free hazelnut plantlets via the encapsulation technology of apexes. The in vitro shoot proliferation rates were assessed for the different cultivars, sampling periods, temperature treatments, and type of explant used for culture initiation. Viability, regrowth, and conversion rates of both conventional meristem tip culture (MTC) and not conventional (MTC combined with the encapsulation technology) sanitation techniques were evaluated. Copyright © 2021 Yahyaoui, Marinoni, Botta, Ruffa and Germanà

Integrated Bayesian Approaches Shed Light on the Dissemination Routes of the Eurasian Grapevine Germplasm

The domestication and spreading of grapevine as well as the gene flow history had been described in many studies. We used a high-quality 7k SNP dataset of 1,038 Eurasian grape varieties with unique profiles to assess the population genetic diversity, structure, and relatedness, and to infer the most likely migration events. Comparisons of putative scenarios of gene flow throughout Europe from Caucasus helped to fit the more reliable migration routes around the Mediterranean Basin. Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) approach made possible to provide a response to several questions so far remaining unsolved. Firstly, the assessment of genetic diversity and population structure within a well-covered dataset of ancient Italian varieties suggested the different histories between the Northern and Southern Italian grapevines. Moreover, Italian genotypes were shown to be distinguishable from all the other Eurasian populations for the first time. The entire Eurasian panel confirmed the east-to-west gene flow, highlighting the Greek role as a “bridge” between the Western and Eastern Eurasia. Portuguese germplasm showed a greater proximity to French varieties than the Spanish ones, thus being the main route for gene flow from Iberian Peninsula to Central Europe. Our findings reconciled genetic and archaeological data for one of the most cultivated and fascinating crops in the world

The AGN fuelling/feedback cycle in nearby radio galaxies - III. 3D relative orientations of radio jets and CO discs and their interaction

This is the third paper of a series exploring the multifrequency properties of a sample of eleven nearby low-excitation radio galaxies (LERGs) in the southern sky. We are conducting an extensive study of different galaxy components (stars, dust, warm and cold gas, radio jets) with the aim of better understanding the AGN fuelling/feedback cycle in LERGs. Here, we present new, deep, sub-kpc resolution Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) data for five sample sources at 10 GHz. Coupling these data with previously acquired Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) CO(2–1) observations and measurements of comparable quality from the literature, we carry out for the first time a full 3D analysis of the relative orientations of jet and disc rotation axes in six FR I LERGs. This analysis shows (albeit with significant uncertainties) that the relative orientation angles span a wide range (≈30○–60○). There is no case where both axes are accurately aligned and there is a marginally significant tendency for jets to avoid the disc plane. Our study also provides further evidence for the presence of a jet-CO disc interaction (already inferred from other observational indicators) in at least one source, NGC 3100. In this case, the limited extent of the radio jets, along with distortions in both the molecular gas and the jet components, suggest that the jets are young, interacting with the surrounding matter and rapidly decelerating

The AGN fuelling/feedback cycle in nearby radio galaxies - I. ALMA observations and early results

This is the first paper of a series exploring the multi-frequency properties of a sample of eleven nearby low excitation radio galaxies (LERGs) in the southern sky. We are conducting an extensive study of different galaxy components (stars, warm and cold gas, radio jets) with the aim of improving our understanding of the AGN fuelling/feedback cycle in LERGs. We present ALMA Band 6 $^{12}$CO(2-1) and continuum observations of nine sources. Continuum emission from the radio cores was detected in all objects. Six sources also show mm emission from jets on kpc/sub-kpc scales. The jet structures are very similar at mm and cm wavelengths. We conclude that synchrotron emission associated with the radio jets dominates the continuum spectra up to 230 GHz. The $^{12}$CO(2-1) line was detected in emission in six out of nine objects, with molecular gas masses ranging from $2 \times 10^{7}$ to $2 \times 10^{10}$ M$_{\rm \odot}$. The CO detections show disc-like structures on scales from $\approx$0.2 to $\approx$10 kpc. In one case (NGC 3100) the CO disc presents some asymmetries and is disrupted in the direction of the northern radio jet, indicating a possible jet/disc interaction. In IC 4296, CO is detected in absorption against the radio core, as well as in emission. In four of the six galaxies with CO detections, the gas rotation axes are roughly parallel to the radio jets in projection; the remaining two cases show large misalignments. In those objects where optical imaging is available, dust and CO appear to be co-spatial.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. The Appendix is provided as on-line only supplementary materia

Somatic variants for seed and fruit set in grapevine

Background: Grapevine reproductive development has direct implications on yield. It also impacts on berry and wine quality by affecting traits like seedlessness, berry and bunch size, cluster compactness and berry skin to pulp ratio. Seasonal fluctuations in yield, fruit composition and wine attributes, which are largely driven by climatic factors, are major challenges for worldwide table grape and wine industry. Accordingly, a better understanding of reproductive processes such as gamete development, fertilization, seed and fruit set is of paramount relevance for managing yield and quality. With the aim of providing new insights into this field, we searched for clones with contrasting seed content in two germplasm collections. Results: We identified eight variant pairs that seemingly differ only in seed-related characteristics while showing identical genotype when tested with the GrapeReSeq_Illumina_20K_SNP_chip and several microsatellites. We performed multi-year observations on seed and fruit set deriving from different pollination treatments, with special emphasis on the pair composed by Sangiovese and its seedless variant locally named Corinto Nero. The pollen of Corinto Nero failed to germinate in vitro and gave poor berry set when used to pollinate other varieties. Most berries from both open- and cross-pollinated Corinto Nero inflorescences did not contain seeds. The genetic analysis of seedlings derived from occasional Corinto Nero normal seeds revealed that the few Corinto Nero functional gametes are mostly unreduced. Moreover, three genotypes, including Sangiovese and Corinto Nero, were unexpectedly found to develop fruits without pollen contribution and occasionally showed normal-like seeds. Five missense single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified between Corinto Nero and Sangiovese from transcriptomic data. Conclusions: Our observations allowed us to attribute a seedlessness type to some variants for which it was not documented in the literature. Interestingly, the VvAGL11 mutation responsible for Sultanina stenospermocarpy was also discovered in a seedless mutant of Gouais Blanc. We suggest that Corinto Nero parthenocarpy is driven by pollen and/or embryo sac defects, and both events likely arise from meiotic anomalies. The single nucleotide polymorphisms identified between Sangiovese and Corinto Nero are suitable for testing as traceability markers for propagated material and as functional candidates for the seedless phenotype

The AGN fuelling/feedback cycle in nearby radio galaxies - IV. Molecular gas conditions and jet-ISM interaction in NGC 3100

This is the fourth paper of a series investigating the AGN fuelling/feedback processes in a sample of 11 nearby low-excitation radio galaxies (LERGs). In this paper, we present follow-up Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of one source, NGC 3100, targeting the 12CO(1-0), 12CO(3-2), HCO+(4-3), SiO(3-2), and HNCO(6-5) molecular transitions. 12CO(1-0) and 12CO(3-2) lines are nicely detected and complement our previous 12CO(2-1) data. By comparing the relative strength of these three CO transitions, we find extreme gas excitation conditions (i.e. Tex ≳ 50 K) in regions that are spatially correlated with the radio lobes, supporting the case for a jet–ISM interaction. An accurate study of the CO kinematics demonstrates that although the bulk of the gas is regularly rotating, two distinct non-rotational kinematic components can be identified in the inner gas regions: one can be associated to inflow/outflow streaming motions induced by a two-armed spiral perturbation; the second one is consistent with a jet-induced outflow with vmax ≈ 200 km s−1 and M˙≲0.12 M⊙ yr−1. These values indicate that the jet-CO coupling ongoing in NGC 3100 is only mildly affecting the gas kinematics, as opposed to what expected from existing simulations and other observational studies of (sub-)kpc scale jet–cold gas interactions. HCO+(4-3) emission is tentatively detected in a small area adjacent to the base of the northern radio lobe, possibly tracing a region of jet-induced gas compression. The SiO(3-2) and HNCO(6-5) shock tracers are undetected: this – along with the tentative HCO+(4-3) detection – may be consistent with a deficiency of very dense (i.e. ncrit > 106 cm−3) cold gas in the central regions of NGC 3100

The AGN fuelling/feedback cycle in nearby radio galaxies II. Kinematics of the molecular gas

This is the second paper of a series exploring the multicomponent (stars, warm and cold gas, and radio jets) properties of a sample of 11 nearby low-excitation radio galaxies, with the aim of better understanding the active galactic nuclei (AGN) fuelling/feedback cycle in these objects. Here, we present a study of the molecular gas kinematics of six sample galaxies detected in 12CO(2-1) with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). In all cases, our modelling suggests that the bulk of the gas in the observed (sub-)kpc CO discs is in ordered rotation. Nevertheless, low-level distortions are ubiquitous, indicating that the molecular gas is not fully relaxed into the host galaxy potential. The majority of the discs, however, are only marginally resolved, preventing us from drawing strong conclusions. NGC 3557 and NGC 3100 are special cases. The features observed in the CO velocity curve of NGC 3557 allow us to estimate a supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass of (7.10 ± 0.02) × 108 M⊙, in agreement with expectations from the MSMBH–σ* relation. The rotation pattern of NGC 3100 shows distortions that appear to be consistent with the presence of both a position angle and an inclination warp. Non-negligible radial motions are also found in the plane of the CO disc, likely consistent with streaming motions associated with the spiral pattern found in the inner regions of the disc. The dominant radial motions are likely to be inflows, supporting a scenario in which the cold gas is contributing to the fuelling of the AGN