Genetic traceability of cinta senese pig (Sus scrofa domesticus L.): a study of the meat and processed products by microsatellite markers

Traceability based on DNA analysis is attracting increasing interest due to the crisis of confidence that consumers show towards the products of animal origin. The present work discusses a genetic traceability system of meat and processed products from an historical Tuscan native pig breed, the Cinta Senese. The study is based on a panel of 8 ISAG (International Society for Animal Genetics) DNA microsatellite markers usage done both on pigs and derived products. The SSRs panel allowed us to obtain a unique fingerprint of the individuals to be used as a tracer “downstream” in the processed products. The molecular method used proved that the hams, analyzed just before commercialization, were obtained from Cinta Senese pigs and that the analyzed meat products derived from the Cinta Senese were produced at least with 95% of Cinta Senese meat. In perspective, the molecular testing could be introduced as a voluntarily adopted method for proving intrinsic quality of many regional food products

Ultrastructural Aspects of Unilateral Interspecific Incompatibility between Lycopersicum Peruvianum and L. Esculentum

SUMMARYObservations have been made, at the electron microscope, of the pollen tubes present in the styles of Lycopersicum esculentum and L. peruvianum after reciprocal crosses between the two species.The unilateral incompatibility barrier which isolates the two species when L. peruvianum is used as pistillate parent was then compared to the processes of pollen tube rejection which have been recently analysed (J. Cell Sci., 1972) after self-pollination in this self-incompatible species. Such a comparison, which was also carried out by means of fluorescence techniques, has permitted to find out that for both types of incompatibility the rejection process was characterised by a progressive disappearance of the callose-rich inner wall of the pollen tube and by an accumulation of bi-partite particles in the tube cytoplasm.In the case of unilateral incompatibility, however, the tube outer wall is gradually disaggregated while the callosic inner wall remains quite thick at the tube apex, becoming thinner and fin..

Localization of actin in pollen tubes of Ornithogalum virens L.

The germinating pollen grain (in vivo on the stigma or in vitro in germination medium) forms a pollen tube which transports the vegetative nucleus and generative cell/two sperm cells participating in the process of double fertilization. The growth of the tube and the transport of organelles and the cells occur due to two major motor systems existing in the pollen tubes of higher plants: the tubuline-dynein/kinesin and the actin-myosin system. In pollen tubes of Ornithogalum virens the actin filaments were labelled with TRITC-phalloidin (2 µg/ml) in the PIPES buffer and the 10% sucrose, without the fixative and DMSO. Omission of the fixative and permeabilizing agent (DMSO) allowed better preservation of the structure, and the "fluorescence" of actin was observed in living pollen tubes. Observations in CLSM (confocal laser scanning microscope) showed that actin is distributed in the vicinity of the cell membrane. This could support the view that actin filaments and the plasmalemma form the pollen tube cortex along which the cytoplasmic movement of organelles, and cell transport occurs

Vineyards genetic monitoring and Vernaccia di San Gimignano wine molecular fingerprinting

The definition of the genetic profile of Vernaccia di San Gimignano (VSG) in the areas of production is an essential step for both the implementation of a plan of analytical traceability and the evaluation of the biological future potential of the same grape variety in relation to any environmental change. The genetic variability of the VSG was monitored by use of SSRs genotyping of a representative portion of individuals belonging to both the productive vineyards and the germplasm collections that represent the “mother plants” reservoir for future vineyards. 74% of the individuals have been shown to be identical to the grapevine genotype reported in databases as VSG truetype. In order to determine the wine varietal composition by DNA analysis, four wine types commercialized as VSG were DNA-tested at 14 loci SSRs. The molecular data obtained demonstrate the presence as prevalent component of the VSG in the four wine types. All the wines revealed the presence of minor varieties, whose presence/absence was estimated by extrapolating the allele configuration that best matched to a standard genotype. Molecular data allow us to exclude the presence of three aromatic white grapevines that are not allowed by the actual production rules (Disciplinare di Produzione

Genetic differentiation between Cinta Senese and commercial pig breeds using microsatellite

Background: Cinta Senese (CS) is an autochthonous Tuscan breed, which risked extinction since the \u201860s. Results: Monitoring the genetic variability of the actual population by use of DNA molecular markers is essential to address a correct breeding policy, finalized to obtain the race preservation and its fitness in the future. 17 SSRs autosomal markers and 1 associated to the X chromosome were used to genotype 86 individuals belonging to the CS and 12 belonging to two main white races Landrace (L), Large White (LW) and crosses between LW and L and L and CS widespread in Tuscany and used in the recent past to obtain hybrids with the CS. Conclusions: A dendrogram of similarity measures the relative genetic distance between individuals in the population. Data show that CS pigs have a distinct genotype from L, LW, LW x L and L x CS

Are kinesins required for organelle trafficking in plant cells?

Plant cells exhibit active movement of membrane-bounded materials, which is more pronounced in large cells but is also appreciable in medium-sized cells and in tip-growing cells (such as pollen tubes and root hairs). Trafficking of organelles (such as Golgi bodies, endoplasmic reticulum, peroxisomes, and mitochondria) and vesicles is essential for plant cell physiology and allows a more or less homogeneous distribution of the cell content. It is well established that the long-range trafficking of organelles is dependent essentially on the network of actin filaments and is powered by the enzyme activity of myosins. However, some lines of evidence suggest that microtubules and members of the kinesin microtubule-based motor superfamily might have a role in the positioning and/or short-range movement of cell organelles and vesicles. Data collected in different cells (such as trichomes and pollen tubes), in specific stages of the plant cell life cycle (for example, during phragmoplast development) and for different organelle classes (mitochondria, Golgi bodies, and chloroplasts) encourage the hypothesis that microtubule-based motors might play subtle yet unclarified roles in organelle trafficking. In some cases, this function could be carried out in cooperation with actin filaments according to the model of “functional cooperation” by which motors of different families are associated with the organelle surface. Since available data did not provide an unambiguous conclusion with regard to the role of kinesins in organelle transport, here we want to debate such hypothesis

Changes in the accumulation of alfa- and beta-tubulin during bud development in Vitis vinifera L.

3Microtubules play important roles duringgrowth and morphogenesis of plant cells. Multiple isoformsof - and -tubulin accumulate in higher plant cells andoriginate either by transcription of diVerent genes or bypost-translational modiWcations. The use of diVerenttubulin isoforms involves the binding of microtubules todiVerent associated proteins and therefore generates microtubuleswith diVerent organizations and functions. Tubulinisoforms are diVerentially expressed in vegetative andreproductive structures according to the developmental programof plants. In grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), vegetativeand reproductive structures appear on the same stem, makingthis plant species an excellent model to study the accumulationof tubulin isoforms. Proteins were extracted fromgrapevine samples (buds, leaves, Xowers and tendrils)using an optimized extraction protocol, separated by twodimensionalelectrophoresis and analyzed by immunoblotwith anti-tubulin antibodies. We identiWed eight -tubulinand seven -tubulin isoforms with pI around 4.8–5 thatgroup into separate clusters. More acidic -tubulin isoformswere detected in buds, while more basic -isoforms wereprevalently found in tendrils and Xowers. Similarly, moreacidic -tubulin isoforms were used in the bud stage whilea basic -tubulin isoform was essentially used in leaves andtwo central -tubulin isoforms were characteristically usedin tendrils and Xowers. Acetylated -tubulin was notdetected in any sample while tyrosinated -tubulin wasessentially found in large latent buds and in bursting budsin association with a distinct subset of tubulin isoformsreservedmixedParrotta, Luigi; Cai, Giampiero; Cresti, MauroParrotta, Luigi; Cai, Giampiero; Cresti, Maur