Characterization of high-molecular-weight (HMW) glutenins is an important criterion for identifying genotypes with good bread-making quality. In synthetic hexaploids (SHs), the D-genome encodes several allelic variants of HMW glutenins that require proper identification prior to their utilization for bread wheat (BW) improvement. In this study, SHs with promising agronomic features were characterized for HMW glutenin composition. Seven different allelic variants were observed at the Glu-Dt1 locus, three of which (1Dx1.5+1Dy10, 1Dx1.5+1Dy12.2 and 1Dx2.1+1Dy10) have not been previously reported in existing BW germplasm. The results also showed a variety of D-genome-encoded subunits along with superior glutenin alleles in the B-genome (1Bx7+1By8, 1Bx6+1By8 and 1Bx13+1By16). About 63% of these SHs encoded favourable allelic variants of HMW glutenins, which make them a good choice for improvement in wheat bread making. Glu-Dt1 encoded favourable allelic variants (1Dx5+1Dy10 and 1Dx1.5+1Dy10) that are frequently observed in SHs can be easily incorporated into BW through recombination breeding.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of one cycle of seed regeneration on the conservation of genetic diversity in five Italian ryegrass landraces (Lolium multiflorum Lam.). Regeneration took place outdoors, in a sheltered site surrounded by tall Galician wheat, 20 m from the nearest source of alien pollen. A balanced mixture of seed (the same weight of seed per plant) was made from 90–100 plants harvested within each population. The conservation of allele frequencies was assessed by starch gel electrophoresis. Five enzyme systems from 78–153 plants per population were examined on slices of a single histidine–citrate starch gel. Each regenerated population differed from its original landrace in at least one of the five loci. The mean heterozygosity per locus was 0.45 for original and regenerated populations, and the mean number of alleles per locus was 3.7 and 3.6 for original and regenerated populations, respectively. There was no loss of common alleles (frequency >0.05) in the five regenerated populations compared with the original populations. Only three rare alleles (frequency < 0.05) were lost (e.g. alleles phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI)-2a, PGI-2c* and shikimate dehydrogenase (SDH)-1d in Padrón, Pravia and Luarca, respectively). No regeneration effect (P>0.05) was observed in the six agromorphological characters. However, a significant landrace effect was observed (P < 0.05) in the five agromorphological traits and the regenerated landraces deviated from the original landraces in 20% of direct comparisons. The results suggest that the method of regeneration used was not very suitable for maintaining the genetic integrity of the original landraces.

Triticum urartu possesses the Au genome common to bread wheat. Similarly, Triticum monococcum contains the Am genome, which is closely related to the A-genome donor of bread wheat. Aegilops speltoides of the Sitopsis section has the S genome, which is most similar to the B genome of bread and durum wheat when compared with all other wild grasses. Amphiploids developed through bridge crossing between Am/Au and S-genome diploid resources and elite durum cultivars demonstrate enormous diversity to improve both bread and durum wheat cultivars. We evaluated such A-genome amphiploids (Triticum turgidum × T. urartu and T. turgidum × T. monococcum, 2n = 6x = 42; BBAAAmAm/AuAu) and S-genome amphiploids (T. turgidum × Ae. speltoides, 2n = 6x = 42; AABBSS) along with their durum parents (AABB) for their resistance to powdery mildew (PM) at the seedling stage. The results indicated that 104 accessions (53.6%) of A-genome amphiploids (AABBAmAm/AuAu) were resistant to PM at the seedling stage. Of their 24 durum parents, five (20.83%) were resistant to PM and 16 (66.6%) were moderately tolerant. Similarly, ten (50%) accessions of S-genome amphiploids (BBAASS) possessed seedling PM resistance, suggesting a valuable source of major resistance genes. PM screening of the amphiploids and parental durum lines showed that resistance was contributed either by the diploid progenitors or durum parents, or both. We also observed the suppression of resistance in several cases; for example, resistance in durum wheat was suppressed in respective amphiploids. The results from this germplasm screening will facilitate their utilization to genetically control PM and widen the genetic base of wheat.

Chinese Spring (CS) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is commonly used in genetic research including cytogenetic analysis, molecular mapping and germplasm development. Aneuploid lines of alien chromosomes in the CS background have been used in studies with diverse objectives. Thousands of genomic and complementary DNA sequences from expressed sequence tag (EST) libraries of biotic- and abiotic-stressed tissues are publicly available from CS. Gene expression analysis of salt-tolerant wheat lines, W4909 and W4910, compared with the CS common wheat background led to the discovery of several expressed sequences that were absent in the CS accession held in our laboratory. A survey of 20 CS accessions from 13 laboratories using the polymerase chain reaction with gene-specific primers for eight salt-responsive genes resulted in amplification success ranging from 15 to 100%. Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis showed that 99% of the genetic variation was among the accessions while the remaining 1% was within the accessions. A neighbour-joining phylogram showed that four of the five CS accessions from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) grouped with the salt-tolerant wheat cultivar Yecora Rojo while the remaining 16 CS accessions had limited genetic differences. Thus, variation exists among these highly self-pollinating CS sources, suggesting that appropriate consideration should be taken when using CS accessions to conduct molecular and genetic analyses.

Sweet cherries can be grafted on a wide range of rootstocks belonging to Prunus avium, Prunus cerasus, Prunus mahaleb, Prunus angustifolia or hybrids of different Prunus species. Identification of Prunus rootstocks using morphological traits is almost impossible particularly during the dormant season. However, molecular analysis carried out on actively growing shoot tips, leaves or dormant buds provides good opportunity to reliably distinguish rootstocks. In this study, DNA was extracted from the leaves of a total of 184 sweet cherry rootstock candidates belonging to P. avium L., P. cerasus L., P. mahaleb L. and P. angustifolia L. previously selected from the north-western part of Turkey. The rootstock candidates were tested with ten simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers, developed for the Prunus genus. The primers successfully identified all rootstock candidates. The results showed that the number of alleles per locus ranged from 10 (UDAp-401, UCD-CH21 and CPSCT010) to 20 (UCD-CH31) with an average of 13.3 alleles per locus, indicating that the SSRs were highly informative. Unweighted Pair-Group Method with Arithmetic mean analysis demonstrated that P. avium accessions are closely related to P. cerasus. The reference rootstocks were clustered with their associated botanical species.

Cryopreservation using an aluminium cryo-plate was successfully applied to in vitro-grown strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) shoot tips. The shoots were cold-hardened at 5°C for 3 weeks with an 8-h photoperiod. The shoot tips (1.5–2.0 mm × 0.5–1.0 mm) were dissected from the shoot and pre-cultured at 5°C for 2 d on Murashige and Skoog medium containing 2 M glycerol and 0.3 M sucrose. The pre-cultured shoot tips were placed on the aluminium cryo-plate containing ten wells embedded in alginate gel. Osmoprotection was performed by immersing the cryo-plates in a loading solution (2 M glycerol and 0.8 M sucrose) for 30 min at 25°C. Dehydration was performed by immersing the cryo-plates in plant vitrification solution 2 for 50 min at 25°C. Then, the cryo-plate with shoot tips was transferred into an uncapped cryotube that was held on a cryo-cane and directly immersed into liquid nitrogen (LN). After storage in LN, shoot tips attached to the cryo-plate were directly immersed into 2 ml of a 1 M sucrose solution for regeneration. Using this procedure, the average regrowth level of vitrified shoot tips of 15 strawberry cultivars reached 81%. This new method has many advantages and will facilitate the cryostorage of strawberry germplasm.

Cowpea is an important grain legume crop in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where, on a worldwide basis, the bulk is produced and consumed. The dry savanna area of SSA is where cowpea is mostly grown under rain-fed conditions. The crop is therefore prone to drought which may occur early, mid and/or late in the cropping season. Compared with many other crops, cowpea is drought tolerant, even though drought is still a major constraint limiting its productivity in SSA. Increasing the level of drought tolerance in existing cowpea varieties grown by farmers would enable them to obtain more and stable yield from their cowpea fields. As a first step towards enhancing drought tolerance in existing cowpea varieties, 1288 lines were selected randomly from cowpea germplasm collections maintained at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, and evaluated for their drought tolerance at Ibadan. Drought was imposed by withdrawal of irrigation from 5 weeks after sowing. On average, drought reduced the number of days to flower by 12 d, and the mean grain yield per plant was also reduced by 67.28%. A few of the cowpea lines stayed green for up to 6 weeks after irrigation was stopped, even though some of these produced no pods when the study was terminated. Further evaluation in the screenhouse of 142 selected drought-tolerant lines helped to identify six lines that could be potential parents for developing breeding lines with enhanced drought tolerance.

Solanum aethiopicum L. is indigenous to Africa and constitutes an important vegetable. Morpho-agronomic traits were used to study diversity among 44 accessions of S. aethiopicum groups to identify traits of high discriminatory ability and donor parents with specific or multiple traits for introgression and utilization in breeding programmes. Field experiments were conducted from 2008 to 2010. The principal component (PC) analysis of morpho-agronomic data indicated high discriminatory ability for fruit calyx length, fruit length and leaf length. On PC1, fruit length showed positive and significant correlation coefficients with leaf length, fruit calyx length and width. An independent association was recorded among fruit width, fruits per infructescence and seed yield (t/ha). Ordination (biplot) and grouping (dendrogram) revealed genetic variation and relatedness, phenotypic plasticity and geographical heterogeneity among the accessions within and among the clusters. Members of cluster 1 (group ‘c’) are a promising donor parent for multiple traits (earliness and fruit length), and members of group ‘b’ are superior for fruits per plant, fruits per infructescence and fruit infructescence per plant. Hybridization among distant clusters would provide an opportunity for bringing together gene constellations of diverse background. Earliness and fruit length were highly variable among the S. aethiopicum groups. The results are important for the breeding and selection of this crop.

Nicaragua is located in the Mesoamerican diversity centre for common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Yet, there is insufficient knowledge of the molecular characteristics of most common bean landraces in Nicaragua. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the genetic diversity of common bean landraces and to identify promising sources of genetic variation for breeding purposes. Two cultivars and 40 landraces never studied before were selected from a collection based on the geographic origin, seed coloration and information provided by farmers. Fourteen microsatellite markers distributed in different linkage groups were analysed. The study revealed that there is a high genetic diversity (mean 8.9 alleles per locus). The populations showed structuring into three groups where seed weight had a strong relationship with population clustering. At least 20% of the populations hold promising allelic variation and potential for good market acceptance that could be maximized in breeding programmes. Additionally, four markers revealed a high correlation with seed length, width and weight, suggesting that marker-assisted selection for these yield-determinant traits could be straightforward. Nonetheless, more marker–trait associations should be addressed in order to enforce this practice.

Biotechnological techniques comprise useful tools for the conservation of endangered plant genetic resources. In the present work, polymorphism and usefulness of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers in assessing the genetic diversity in populations of Billbergia zebrina were investigated in nodular cultures and adult plants of the species. AFLP markers revealed moderate-to-high genetic diversity based on the estimations of Nei's gene diversity (mean He = 0.28), Shannon index of diversity (mean HS = 0.48) and the number of polymorphic fragments (mean of 56.17 polymorphic fragments over six primer pairs). In comparison to published studies of population genetics performed in other bromeliad species, the present study suggests that natural populations of B. zebrina likely maintain high levels of genetic diversity, an important feature towards conservation of plant genetic resources. The results obtained reveal that AFLP markers comprise a powerful tool in order to assess the levels of genetic diversity in natural populations of this endangered species. Integrating AFLP markers with in vitro propagation techniques is understood as an adequate strategy for conservation programmes of this species.

Investigation of genetic diversity and the relationships among varieties and breeding lines is of great importance to facilitate parental selection in the development of inbred and hybrid rice varieties and in the construction of heterotic groups. The technology of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is being advanced for the assessment of population diversity and genetic structures. We characterized 215 widely cultivated indica rice varieties developed in southern China and at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) using IRRI-developed SNP oligonucleotide pooled assay (OPA) to provide grouping information of rice mega-varieties for further heterotic pool study. The results revealed that the Chinese varieties were more divergent than the IRRI varieties. Two major subpopulations were clustered for the varieties using a model-based grouping method. The IRRI varieties were closely grouped and separated clearly from the majority of the Chinese varieties. The Chinese varieties were subclustered into three subgroups, but there was no clear evidence to separate the Chinese varieties into subgroups geographically, indicating a great degree of genetic integration of alleles and shared ancestries among those high-yielding modern varieties.

Global food security could be imperilled by the combined pressures from the effects of continually evolving climatic conditions, demographics and other socio-economic factors, the demands of the livestock, bioenergy and fibre industries for food-based substrates, the static or decreasing availability of natural resources for agriculture and the impracticality of increased use of economically and environmentally costly agricultural inputs. The optimal harnessing of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) in manners that translate their repertoire of hidden potentials into significantly enhanced crop productivities has been severally identified as crucial to achieving the required considerably significant increases in food production. The scope of the problems and the plausible means for addressing them compel the devising of novel and more efficient ways for deploying PGRFA in need-based crop improvement programmes. We posit a continuum approach to the management of PGRFA which links seamlessly the effective conservation and access to PGRFA through their use in developing superior and resilient crop varieties to the provision of their high-quality seeds and planting materials to the growers. To achieve the mainstreaming of this paradigm, we propose the institutionalization of overarching national PGRFA strategies that prescribe result-oriented action plans spanning above three components of the management of PGRFA for a country's priority crops. We also describe the strategy as a means for identifying and assigning responsibilities to critical stakeholders and providing for the governance of all aspects of PGRFA activities over specific time frames. Steps to developing and adopting a national PGRFA strategy are also suggested.

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture maintains 2544 cassava accessions (Manihot esculenta Crantz) from 28 countries in its field bank. Being vegetatively propagated, this poses challenges in maintenance in terms of cost as well as in labour requirements. A core collection representing the range of phenotypic diversity present in the entire collection would enhance the conservation aspects and increase the potential for its exploitation in crop improvement programmes. The present study aimed to establish a core collection using 40 agro-morphological traits evaluated at two locations using a different number of accessions in each location. To meet the challenges generated by the types of variables and include maximum diversity in the core collection, a sequential strategy based on five major concepts was used: hierarchical multiple factor analysis allowing the mixture of variables of different kinds; three-way analysis that included the effect of genotype × environment interaction in the clustering process; linear discriminant function to assign all those individuals who were included in one location but not in the other to the groups that were generated from the common number of accessions evaluated in both locations; and D-allocation method to select samples from each cluster. The representativeness of the core subset to the entire collection was further estimated by comparing means and variances, range, and distances between accessions. The established cassava core collection consisted of 428 accessions that conserved 15% higher phenotypic diversity with no redundancies. The phenotypic diversity represented in this core collection will be a guide to users of cassava germplasm in their crop improvement programmes.

The present study was undertaken to examine the population structure of the Solanum pimpinellifolium collection maintained by AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center – and to construct a core set of this collection. Out of the entire collection of 322 accessions, a diverse subset of 190 accessions was chosen representing 14 countries of origin. Data on 32 qualitative and 22 quantitative phenotypic traits (IPGRI–AVRDC descriptor traits) and 48 simple sequence repeat markers evenly distributed over the genome were used to develop the core set. A total of 377 alleles were detected with 7.85 alleles per locus, on average. Of these, 52 alleles at 28 loci were extremely rare-frequency alleles. The 190 accessions clustered into two main populations and an admixture group. Population I (PopI) included 99 accessions, 93 of which originated from Peru. Population II (PopII) contained 49 accessions, the majority of which originated from Ecuador and Mexico. The remaining 42 accessions were classified as admixture group. The two main populations were further subdivided into five subgroups. Values of Fst among the five sub-populations were significant (average pairwise Fst of 0.296), suggesting a real difference between these populations. A clear differentiation was observed among and within populations based on geography. Peruvian accessions were genetically more diverse than accessions originating in Ecuador and Mexico. Within the Peruvian group, a gradual increase in genetic diversity was observed from southern to northern Peru. The constructed core collection consists of 75 accessions representing 23.4% of AVRDC's entire S. pimpinellifolium collection and 39.5% of the subset used in this study. It is a well-balanced core with a good representation of the different populations (31 accessions from PopI, 22 from PopII and 22 from the Admixture group) and geographic origins (40 accessions from Peru, 17 from Ecuador, 14 from Mexico and four from other countries).

Eighty-six chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes, including 44 Kabuli type and 42 Desi type, were evaluated for their phenological, physicochemical and cooking quality traits. There were significant differences among the genotypes for days to 50% flowering (34–81 d), days to maturity (85–122 d), number of pods per plant (13–66), number of seeds per plant (15–85), 100-seed weight (10.5–58.6 g), seed yield (561–1852 kg/ha), hydration capacity (0.11–0.68 g water/seed), hydration index (0.80–1.21), swelling capacity (0.11–0.7 ml/seed), seed volume (0.1–0.52 ml/seed) and cooking time (38–125 min). The Desi and Kabuli types of chickpea differed significantly from each other for all the traits except for hydration index, swelling index and cooking time. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance was recorded for 100-seed weight, hydration capacity, swelling capacity and seed volume in both Desi and Kabuli genotypes. Seed size (100-seed weight and seed volume) showed significant positive correlations with hydration capacity and swelling capacity. Cooking time did not show any significant positive or negative correlation with any of the traits studied, including seed size, indicating that other additional factors may be involved in controlling cooking time. The results of this study indicate that it is possible to develop cultivars with faster cooking time in both Kabuli and Desi types and in all seed size categories.

The genus Malacomeles (Decne.) G. N. Jones (Rosaceae subtribe Pyrinae) represents several fruit shrubs, which is mainly distributed in North and Central America, from southern USA to Honduras and Guatemala, although the main distribution of this genus is in Mexico. Five species of the genus Malacomeles have been reported to exist in Mexico. Malacomeles is widely distributed in several mountainous ranges in Mexico, although it is unknown where most of the diversity of the Malacomeles genus is located in the country. The aim of this biogeographic study was to determine the areas of highest diversity of the genus Malacomeles in Mexico based on species richness and diversity indices in order to identify the best regions of Mexico to collect germplasm. The results indicated that most of the diversity of the genus Malacomeles is concentrated in northeast Mexico, mainly in the biogeographic province of Sierra Madre Oriental. In this province, the highest values on three biodiversity indices were found. Thus, this area can be considered as the priority area to collect the germplasm of Malacomeles. M. denticulata is the predominant and the most interesting species in Mexico from the viewpoint of collecting plant genetic resources; this species is mainly distributed in the provinces of Trans-Mexican Volcanic Axis, Mexican Plateau and Sierra Madre del Sur, where secondary priority areas to collect germplasm are located.

Germination tests are performed on a routine basis to determine the viability of genebank accessions. The results determine which accessions have to be rejuvenated. The reliability of the germination test results used by the Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands was determined by the retesting of 641 random samples anonymously, in the same year and by the same testing agency as the original tests. Results showed alarmingly low reliabilities, with error levels much higher than expected based on sampling effects. The result of a germination test of a random sample with a germination of 80% was shown to have a 95% confidence interval from 63 to 97%. The errors differed strongly over crops and testing years, and were larger for crop wild relatives than for crop species.

The stagnation of sorghum grain yields worldwide and utilization of inbred lines by public and private organizations (multinational seed companies) warrant the understanding of genetic diversity present in inbred lines. The objectives of this study were (1) to compare morphological and molecular diversity analysis and (2) to identify heterotic pools from the genotypes evaluated. Sixty-five rainy-season elite lines were evaluated during the 2006 and 2007 rainy seasons, and 15 post-rainy-season genotypes in the 2003 and 2004 post-rainy seasons for their distinctiveness, uniformity and stability at the Directorate of Sorghum Research, Hyderabad, India. Ninety-three genotypes (ten rainy-season B lines, 13 rainy-season R lines, 36 rainy-season varieties, seven rainy-season hybrids, ten forage varieties and 17 post-rainy-season genotypes) were evaluated using 48 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers that are uniformly distributed over the sorghum genome. From the 93 genotypes analysed, 310 alleles were observed, with an average of 6.5 alleles per locus. A high level of polymorphism (mean 97%) was detected. A significant positive correlation (r = 0.463; P = 0.001) between genetic similarities and morphological similarities was obtained. Unlike previous reports, both methods clearly distinguished B lines, R lines, rainy-season varieties, post-rainy-season varieties and forage varieties. Forage and post-rainy-season varieties present a higher diversity of 60%. This could be because the post-rainy-season varieties are developed from local landraces and forage genotypes from crosses such as Sorghum bicolor × Sudan grass. Herein, we further discuss the grouping of elite genotypes into different heterotic pools.