Prediction of hybrid biomass in Arabidopsis thaliana by selected parental SNP and metabolic markers

A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, derived from two Arabidopsis thaliana accessions, and the corresponding testcrosses with these two original accessions were used for the development and validation of machine learning models to predict the biomass of hybrids. Genetic and metabolic information of the RILs served as predictors. Feature selection reduced the number of variables (genetic and metabolic markers) in the models by more than 80% without impairing the predictive power. Thus, potential biomarkers have been revealed. Metabolites were shown to bear information on inherited macroscopic phenotypes. This proof of concept could be interesting for breeders. The example population exhibits substantial mid-parent biomass heterosis. The results of feature selection could therefore be used to shed light on the origin of heterosis. In this respect, mainly dominance effects were detected

Intra- and interspecific molecular polymorphism of thrips species

Molecular polymorphism of six species of Thysanoptera of both sexes, collected from different locations and host plants in Hungary was studied by using RAPD-PCR technique. The specimens were classified according to sampling sites (Gödöllo, Nagykovácsi and Valkó), host plants (Lathyrus tuberosus, Medicago sativa, Taraxacum officinale, Trifolium pratense), sexes, and larvae in case of Aeolothrips intermedius. On the basis of the total of 103 fragments generated by 15 RAPD primers the genetic distances were calculated by cluster analysis using simple matching method. The dendrogram resulted in two main groups: Aeolothripidae (Aeolothrips intermedius) and Thripidae (Frankliniella intonsa, Kakothrips robustus, Odontothrips confusus, Thrips dilatatus and T. tabaci). Within the family Thripidae two subgroups were observed including (i) F. intonsa, T. dilatatus and T. tabaci, and (ii) K. robustus and O. confusus. Two population-specific and one sex-linked fragments were identified by the RAPD primers, OPQ14, NO11 and OPA08, respectively

Morphological and RAPD analysis of poplar trees of anther culture origin.

Our objectives were to improve the rate of haploid plant regeneration through increasing the rate of callus initiation on the anthers and sustaining shoot regeneration frequency, and to analyze the field population of anther culture origin by morphological and molecular methods. Regarding the callus initiation, the most responsive clones were 'N-90' (59%) in P. nigra and 'D-29' (75%) in P. deltoides. The rate of shoot regeneration and number of shoots/calli ranged from 4%-79% and 1-9, respectively. From the 208 rooted plants 8 haploid, 179 diploid, 4 tetraploid and 17 aneuploid plants were found. In the field population, the haploid plants could be easily identified by their retarded development and morphological characteristics (size and shape of the leaves, strong branching, etc). Several diploid plants showed depressed developmental and morphological traits similar to the haploid ones. Three traits (growth rate, leaf blade length and shape of leaf base) of the 6 different morphological characteristics measured were in correlation with the ploidy level within the poplar field population. Six primers of the 48 primers tested were able to detect polymorphism among the field plants

The role of organelle genomes in plant adaptation: Time to get to work!

That organellar genome variation can play a role in plant adaptation has been suggested by several lines of evidence, including cytoplasm capture, cytoplasm effects in local adaptation and positive selection in a chloroplast gene. In-depth analysis and better understanding of the genetic basis of plant adaptation is becoming a main objective in plant science. Arabidopsis thaliana has all the required characteristics to be used as a model for obtaining knowledge on the mechanisms underlying the role of organelles in plant adaptation. The availability of the appropriate tools and materials for assessing organelle genetic variation will open up new opportunities for developing novel breeding strategies