Phenotypic characterisation of almond accessions collected in Afghanistan

Almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] accessions of Afghanistan have been surveyed, propagated, and grown in ex situ collections. Trees, leaves, flowers, and fruits were characterised following standardized procedures taking into account 48 phenotypic traits. The National Collection of Varieties of Almonds of Afghanistan showed a significant variability in terms of morphological traits, with a predominance of early flowering time accessions. Among the 56 accessions, Sattarbai, a unique group of cultivar typology characterized by crescent dry fruit, soft and thin "paper shell"  and high kernel/dry fruit weight ratio (>0.65) was clearly represented by Cluster Analysis. Other accessions resulted closer to the international cultivars Lauranne, Carmel, Ferraduel and Ferragnes, considered as reference

Implications of investigating pollination and cross compatibility in the almond varieties of Afghanistan

Survey and collection of almond accessions for a National Collection of Fruit and Nuts of Afghanistan began in 2007. Investigations into cross compatibility of almond accessions began in 2008 on in situ collected exemplar trees, and in 2010 on trees in the ex situ collections. The methods varied in relation to specific trials, nevertheless as an average 150 flower buds were isolated ahead of flowering on 7 one-year-old shoots per tree, and used as pollen donors or receptors. The initial trials on in situ accessions were performed on one single tree per variety, while six trees were used for the tests carried on in the ex situ collections. Fruit set percentage from self-pollination, cross-pollination and open pollination was calculated. All native Afghan varieties tested were shown to be self incompatible. Various problems related to weather and other conditions worked against a comprehensive testing of all combinations of varieties, although many useful and surprising conclusions were reached

Selected pomegranate germplasm from Afghanistan: morphological variability and relationship among collected accessions

During the period 2008-09 and in the frame of PHDP 58 Afghan and 18 foreign pomegranate accessions have been collected and grown under homogeneous environmental and cultivation practice conditions in ex situ collections. Standardized procedures were adopted to describe mature trees, leaves, flowers and fruits for a total of 30 phenotypic traits. Within the National Collection of Pomegranate of Afghanistan, coefficients of variability ranged from 8.8 to 31.7% for fruit diameter and weight of non edible part, respectively. Principal component analysis revealed the absence of correlated variables among different organs. The whole set of accessions resulted discriminated on the basis of the studied morphological parameters and all the accessions were grouped into 3 sub-sets by hierarchical cluster analysis. Local accessions resulted distributed in the 3 clusters, nevertheless the largest one held all the foreign varieties while the second one included all the accessions collected under the putative name of ‘Bedana’. The adopted morphological studies allowed to identify one true-to-type ‘Bedana’ accession, considered the best Afghan variety for fresh consume due to its very soft seed, and to solve the cases of homonymy. Analogously, various accessions originally collected from different regions of Afghanistan under the name of ‘Kandahari’ were identified and renamed

Heterogeneity of mature oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system

Mature oligodendrocytes form myelin sheaths that are crucial for the insulation of axons and efficient signal transmission in the central nervous system. Recent evidence has challenged the classical view of the functionally static mature oligodendrocyte and revealed a gamut of dynamic functions such as the ability to modulate neuronal circuitry and provide metabolic support to axons. Despite the recognition of potential heterogeneity in mature oligodendrocyte function, a comprehensive summary of mature oligodendrocyte diversity is lacking. We delve into early 20th-century studies by Robertson and Río-Hortega that laid the foundation for the modern identification of regional and morphological heterogeneity in mature oligodendrocytes. Indeed, recent morphologic and functional studies call into question the long-assumed homogeneity of mature oligodendrocyte function through the identification of distinct subtypes with varying myelination preferences. Furthermore, modern molecular investigations, employing techniques such as single cell/nucleus RNA sequencing, consistently unveil at least six mature oligodendrocyte subpopulations in the human central nervous system that are highly transcriptomically diverse and vary with central nervous system region. Age and disease related mature oligodendrocyte variation denotes the impact of pathological conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and psychiatric disorders. Nevertheless, caution is warranted when subclassifying mature oligodendrocytes because of the simplification needed to make conclusions about cell identity from temporally confined investigations. Future studies leveraging advanced techniques like spatial transcriptomics and single-cell proteomics promise a more nuanced understanding of mature oligodendrocyte heterogeneity. Such research avenues that precisely evaluate mature oligodendrocyte heterogeneity with care to understand the mitigating influence of species, sex, central nervous system region, age, and disease, hold promise for the development of therapeutic interventions targeting varied central nervous system pathology