Multiple shoot induction and plant regeneration in litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.)

Multiple shoot induction in Litchi chinensis Sonn. (litchi) has been achieved by two methods: (1) direct germination of litchi seeds in 6-benzylaminopurine (20 mg l^–1)-supplemented MS liquid medium and supported on a filter-paper bridge and (2) in planta treatment with 6-benzylaminopurine (100 μg on alternate days) of the axillary bud regions of plants germinated and maintained under sterile conditions. While the former method resulted in as many as 27.5±8.6 shoot buds from the cotyledonary node within 4 weeks, the latter yielded on average approximately 8 shoot buds from each treated node in 8 weeks. The cytokinin treatment in planta consisted of placing sterile filter paper moistened with sterile distilled water over the node and adding different concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine. Both methods of multiple shoot induction were found to be effective for the five genotypes of litchi that were tested. The shoots elongated and rooted directly in vermiculite after a pulse treatment with IBA (25 mg/ml) for 15 min. Fungus growth which is a serious problem in litchi tissue culture, was controlled using a fungicide, Bavistin, and by eliminating organic nutrients from the growth medium. Received: 27 July 1998 / Revision received: 30 September 1998 / Accepted: 27 October 1998     

Assessment of genetic diversity within and among germplasm accessions in cultivated sorghum using microsatellite markers

Microsatellite markers are increasingly being used in crop plants to discriminate among genotypes and as tools in marker-assisted selection. Here we evaluated the use of microsatellite markers to quantify the genetic diversity within as well as among accessions sampled from the world germplasm collection of sorghum. Considerable variation was found at the five microsatellite loci analysed, with an average number of alleles per locus equal to 2.4 within accessions and 19.2 in the overall sample of 25 accessions. The collection of sorghum appeared highly structured genetically with about 70% of the total genetic diversity occurring among accessions. However, differentiation among morphologically defined races of sorghum, or among geographic origins, accounted for less than 15% of the total genetic diversity. Our results are in global agreement with those obtained previously with allozyme markers. We were also able to show that microsatellite data are useful in identifying individual accessions with a high relative contribution to the overall allelic diversity of the collection. Received: 10 August 1999 / Accepted: 27 August 1999     

Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) from leaves of mature phase trees

Embryogenic cultures were induced from leaflets from new vegetative flushes of mature ‘Brewster’ litchi trees on B5 medium containing 400 mg l⁻¹ glutamine, 200 mg l⁻¹ casein hydrolysate, 30 g l⁻¹ sucrose, 4.52 μM 2,4-D, 9.30 μM kinetin and 3 g l⁻¹ gellan gum in darkness. Embryogenic cultures consisting of proembryonic cells and masses were maintained either on semi-solid MS medium supplemented with 4.52 μM 2,4-D and 0.91 μM zeatin or as embryogenic suspension cultures in liquid medium of the same composition. Maturation of somatic embryos occurred on semi-solid MS medium with 5–20% (v/v) filter-sterilized coconut water in darkness. Recovery of plants from somatic embryos was improved with 14.4 μM GA₃ on half-strength MS medium with 0.2 g l⁻¹ activated charcoal under a 16 h photoperiod provided by cool white fluorescent lights (60–80 μmol s⁻¹ m⁻²). Plants have been successfully acclimatized in the greenhouse.     

Agro-morphological and genetic diversity studies in Rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm using microsatellite markers

Molecular Biology Reports - Knowledge of the genetic diversity and population structure of germplasm collections is an important foundation for crop improvement. Rice production across a broad...     

荔枝果皮过氧化物酶的纯化及部分酶学性质研究

经硫酸铵分级盐析、DEAE-Sepharose和Sephadex G-75柱层析分离,从荔枝果皮中分离提纯了过氧化物酶(POD),该酶被纯化了12．5倍,产率为1．9％。经SDS-PAGE确定为单一条带。该酶最适反应温度为35℃,对热具有较强的稳定性,经75℃处理30min,酶活性只损失50％。最适pH约为6．5,但在pH4．0—8．0范围内活力仍比较稳定。该酶在25℃和0．05mol／L磷酸缓冲液(pH7．0)条件下对愈创木酚、邻苯二酚和没食子酸的Km分别是2．75、12．4和12．8mmol／L。二硫苏糖醇和抗坏血酸能完全抑制POD活性,L-半胱氨酸、柠檬酸、FeS04、GSH、SDS和ZnS04对POD活性有一定的抑制作用,而FeCl,和CuSOt对POD则有较好的激活作用。     

Identification of polysaccharides from pericarp tissues of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) fruit in relation to their antioxidant activities

A large number of polysaccharides are present in the pericarp tissues of harvested litchi fruits. A DEAE Sepharose fast-flow anion-exchange column and a Sephadex G-50 gel-permeation column were used to isolate and purify the major polysaccharides from litchi fruit pericarp tissues. Antioxidant activities of these major polysaccharide components were also evaluated. An aqueous extract of the polysaccharides from litchi fruit pericarp tissues was chromatographed on a DEAE anion-exchange column to yield two fractions. The largest amount of the polysaccharide fraction was subjected to further purification by gel filtration on Sephadex G-50. The purified product was a neutral polysaccharide, with a molecular weight of 14 kDa, comprised mainly of 65.6% mannose, 33.0% galactose and 1.4% arabinose. Analysis by Smith degradation indicated that there were 8.7% of (1-->2)-glycosidic linkages, 83.3% of (1-->3)-glycosidic linkages and 8.0% of (1-->6)-glycosidic linkages in the polysaccharide. Furthermore, different polysaccharide fractions extracted and purified from litchi fruit pericarp tissues exhibited strong antioxidant activities. Among these fractions, the purified polysaccharide had the highest antioxidant activity and should be explored as a novel potential antioxidant.     

Intergeneric Hybridisation between Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) and Longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.)

The breeding barriers between commercial litchi (Litchi chinensisSonn.) and longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) cultivars were investigatedby conducting reciprocal pollinations. This work has shown thatit is possible to generate intergeneric hybrids using litchias the female parent. Investigation of comparative in vivo pollentube growth demonstrated that there is discrimination againstcross- compared to self-pollen at all sites in the pistil. Pollentubes were frequently observed in the ovary after cross-pollinationin litchi but rarely in longan. Fruit production was reducedafter crossing in both longan and litchi. Isozyme analysis usingphosphoglucose isomerase revealed that hybrid progeny only developedwhen litchi was the maternal parent. Morphologically the hybridplants were similar to the maternal parent but leaves were smaller.Three types of seeds developed in litchi following pollinationwith longan pollen. These were (1) normal seeds with a developedtesta and embryo, (2) seeds with aborted embryos but normaltesta development, and (3) seedless fruit where the ovule remainedthe same size as at anthesis without further development ofembryo or testa. The potential germplasm available to improvethese crops within the Sapindaceae is discussed.Copyright 1994,1999 Academic Press Litchi, Litchi Longan, Dimocarpus, hybridisation, isozyme     

Genetic diversity analysis of traditional and improved Indonesian rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm using microsatellite markers

The archipelago of Indonesia has a long history of rice production across a broad range of rice-growing environments resulting in a diverse array of local Indonesian rice varieties. Although some have been incorporated into modern breeding programs, the vast majority of these landraces remain untapped. To better understand this rich source of genetic diversity we have characterized 330 rice accessions, including 246 Indonesian landraces and 63 Indonesian improved cultivars, using 30 fluorescently-labeled microsatellite markers. The landraces were selected across 21 provinces and include representatives of the classical subpopulations of cere, bulu, and gundil rices. A total of 394 alleles were detected at the 30 simple sequence repeat loci, with an average number of 13 alleles per locus across all accessions, and an average polymorphism information content value of 0.66. Genetic diversity analysis characterized the Indonesian landraces as 68% indica and 32% tropical japonica, with an indica gene diversity of 0.53 and a tropical japonica gene diversity of 0.56, and a Fst of 0.38 between the two groups. All of the improved varieties sampled were indica, and had an average gene diversity of 0.46. A set of high quality Indonesian varieties, including Rojolele, formed a separate cluster within the tropical japonicas. This germplasm presents a valuable source of diversity for future breeding and association mapping efforts.     

Assessment of genetic diversity patterns in Chilean quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) germplasm using multiplex fluorescent microsatellite markers

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a staple seed crop in the Andean region of South America. Improving quinoa productivity is a primary food-security issue for this region, and has been part of the impetus for the establishment of several new quinoa breeding programs throughout the Andean region. Chilean quinoa has been characterized as morphologically diverse and bifurcated into coastal and highland ecotypes. The success of emerging breeding programs will rely heavily on the development of core germplasm collections and germplasm evaluation—especially of the coastal quinoa ecotypes that are often neglected in traditional breeding programs. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize and quantify the genetic diversity within 28 Altiplano and 31 coastal Chilean accessions of quinoa using microsatellite markers. To facilitate the analysis, we also report the development of seven sets of fluorescent multiplexed microsatellite PCR reactions that result in genetic information for 20 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci. A total of 150 alleles were detected among the quinoa accession, ranging from 2 to 20 alleles per locus and an average 7.5 allele/locus. Both cluster (UPGMA) and principal component analyses separated the accessions into two discrete groups. The first group contained quinoa accessions from the north (Andean highlands) and the second group consisted of accessions from the south (lowland or coastal). Three accessions from Europe were classified into the southern quinoa group. The data obtained in the diversity analyses highlights the relationships within and among northern and southern Chilean quinoa accessions and provides the quinoa scientific community with a new set of easy to use and highly informative genetic markers.     

Identification of Proanthocyanidins from Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) Pulp by LC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS and Their Antioxidant Activity

Content of total proanthocyanidins as well as total phenolics, flavonoids, antioxidant activities were evaluated for litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) pulp of 32 cultivars. One cultivar, Hemaoli, showed the highest total proanthocyanidins and total phenolics, and DPPH or ABTS radical scavenging activities. ESI-MS and NMR analysis of the Hemaoli pulp crude extracts (HPCE) showed that procyandins composed of (epi)catechin unites with degree of polymerization (DP) of 2–6 were dominant proanthocyanidins in HPCE. After the HPCE was fractionated by a Sephadex LH-20 column, 32 procyanidins were identified by LC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS in litchi pulp for the first time. Quantification of individual procyanidin in HPCE indicated that epicatechin, procyanidin B2, procyanidin C1 and A-type procyanidin trimer were the main procyanidins. The radical scavenging activities of different fractions of HPCE as well as six procyanidins standards were evaluated by both DPPH and ABTS assays. HPCE fractions showed similar antioxidant activities with those of Vc and six individual procyanidins, the IC₅₀ of which ranged from 1.88 ± 0.01 to 2.82 ± 0.10 μg/ml for DPPH assay, and from 1.52 ± 0.17 to 2.71 ± 0.15 μg/ml for ABTS assay. Such results indicate that litchi cultivars rich in proanthocyanidins are good resources of dietary antioxidants and have the potential to contribute to human health.     

Molecular characterization and genetic diversity analysis of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) germplasm accessions in India

Molecular characterization and genetic diversity among 82 soybean accessions was carried out by using 44 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Of the 44 SSR markers used, 40 markers were found polymorphic among 82 soybean accessions. These 40 polymorphic markers produced a total of 119 alleles, of which five were unique alleles and four alleles were rare. The allele number for each SSR locus varied between two to four with an average of 2.97 alleles per marker. Polymorphic information content values of SSRs ranged from 0.101 to 0.742 with an average of 0.477. Jaccard’s similarity coefficient was employed to study the molecular diversity of 82 soybean accessions. The pairwise genetic similarity among 82 soybean accessions varied from 0.28 to 0.90. The dendrogram constructed based on genetic similarities among 82 soybean accessions identified three major clusters. The majority of genotypes including four improved cultivars were grouped in a single subcluster IIIa of cluster III, indicating high genetic resemblance among soybean germplasm collection in India.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12298-014-0266-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Genetic diversity analysis of 60 ginger germplasm core accessions using ISSR and SSR markers

Molecular techniques play a critical role in studies of phylogeny and, thus, have been applied to understand the distribution and extent of genetic variation within and between species. In the present study, a genetic analysis was undertaken using molecular markers (9 ISSR and 13 SSR) on 60 ginger cultivars from different regions of the eastern coast of India (Odisha). The data obtained with 22 polymorphic markers revealed moderate to high diversity in the collection. Both ISSR and SSR markers were efficient in distinguishing all the 60 ginger cultivars. A total of 42 and 160 polymorphic bands were observed with ISSR and SSR markers, respectively. However, SSR markers were observed to be better at displaying average polymorphism (63.29%) than ISSR markers (55%). Analysis of molecular variance results showed that 52 and 66% of the variation occurred among different ginger populations, whereas 48 and 34% of the variation was found within populations, respectively, using ISSR and SSR markers, indicating that ginger cultivars display significant genetic diversity at the population level. Principal coordinates analysis and the dendrogram constructed out of combined data of both markers showed grouping of ginger accessions to their respective area of collection, indicating geographical closeness due to genetic similarity irrespective of the relationship that exists at the morphological level.     

荔枝若干重要果实品质性状的QTL分析

以‘马贵荔＇ב焦核三月红＇76株F_1代群体为试材,检测了酒石酸、苹果酸、蔗糖含量和单果重4个果实性状分离的情况。结果表明,4个性状表现为连续分布,具有数量性状的典型特征,与4个果实性状连锁的QTL位点23个,其中控制酒石酸的QTL为2个,控制苹果酸的QTL为4个,控制蔗糖的QTL为12个和控制单果重的QTL为5个。各QTL的LOD值在3.15～5.61之间,可解释13.85%～88.3%的表型变异。     

Biology and control of the fruit borer, Conopomorpha sinensis Bradley on litchi （Litchi chinensis Sonn.） in northern Thailand

Fruit and leaf shoot of litchi （Litchi chinensis） infestation by naturally occurring populations of the fruit bprer, Conopomorpha sinensis larvae and C. sinensis parasitization rates were determined in litchi orchards in northern Thailand at high （ca. 1 400 m ASL） and low （ca. 800 m ASL） elevations with different, non-overlapping fruiting seasons. In addition, spray applications of Bacillus thuringiensis var. aizawai, the natural compound spinosad and the chemical pesticide imidacloprid were conducted in the field to test the effects of these agents on C. sinensis fruit infestation rate. Fruit infestation rate and fruit growth, studied in a low elevation orchard, were sigmoidal and showed a highly significant positive correlation （P ≤ 0.01）. Leaf shoot infestation rate in the low elevation orchard decreased in the course of the fruiting season （March until May）, but increased in the high elevation orchard, where no fruits were present within the same period of time. Together, these results indicate that females of C. sinensis clearly prefer fruits over shoots for oviposition. If no fruits are available, which was the case in the high elevation orchard during that time, they are constrained to lay their eggs on shoots. The parasitization rate of C. sinensis larvae in untreated fruits was 54.3%. The parasitoid species were Chelonus chailini （90.8%） and Phanerotoma sp. （9.2%）. In the leaf shoots, C. sinensis was found to be parasitized by Phanerotoma sp. and Apanteles briareus. The applications of the different active agents had no significant effect on C. sinensis fruit infestation compared to the untreated control. Besides the cryptic life of the larvae, this is most probably explained by the fact that C. sinensis has several generations during the fruiting season. Because of the high parasitization rates recorded, an alternative and more effective control measure than the application of pesticides might be the augmentative release of parasitoids.     

Population structure and genetic diversity analysis of Indian and exotic rice (Oryza sativa L.) accessions using SSR markers

In order to understand the population structure and genetic diversity among a set of 82 rice genotypes collected from different parts of the Asian countries including India were characterized using 39 microsatellite loci. The Population structure analysis suggested that the optimum number of subpopulations was four (K = 4) among the rice genotypes, whereas phylogenetic analysis grouped them into three populations. The results obtained from phylogenetic and STRUCTURE analysis proved to be very powerful for the differentiation of rice genotypes based on their place of origin. The genetic diversity analysis using 39 SSR loci yielded 183 scorable alleles, out of which 182 alleles were observed to be polymorphic with an average of 4.8 alleles per locus. The Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) values for all the polymorphic primers across 82 rice genotypes varied from 0.02 to 0.77, with an average of 0.50. Gene diversity (He) was found to be in the range of 0.02 (RM484) to 0.80 (OSR13) with an average value of 0.55, while heterozygosity (Ho) was observed with an average of 0.07, ranging from 0.01 (RM334) to 0.31 (RM316). The present study resulted in identification of seven highly polymorphic SSR loci viz., OSR13, RM152, RM144, RM536, RM489, RM259 and RM271 based on the parameters like PIC value (≥0.70), gene diversity (≥0.71), and polymorphic alleles (≥6). These seven polymorphic primers can effectively be used in further molecular breeding programs and QTL mapping studies of rice since they exhibited very high polymorphism over other loci. SSR analysis resulted in a more definitive separation of clustering of genotypes indicating a higher level of efficiency of SSR markers for the accurate determination of relationships between accessions.     

中国96个荔枝种质资源的EST-SSR遗传多样性分析

根据本实验室已获得的荔枝果皮cDNA文库EST序列,通过SSRIT在线检索,从3391条EST序列中,发现305条含有SSR,占整个文库EST的8.99%。利用SSR-ESTs序列共设计100对EST-SSR引物,其中62对在荔枝上有扩增产物,50对有扩增多态性,即具有一定的通用性。接着从96份荔枝种质中选取12个品种的基因组DNA,开展核心引物筛选,共筛选出多态性较好的EST-SSR分子标记30个;这30个EST-SSR分子标记在96份资源共扩出284条带,不同引物的扩增条带在3～18条之间,平均9.47条,其中有282条为多态性带,多态率高达99.30%,每对引物的Nei's基因多样度范围为0.186～0.396,香农信息指数范围为0.318～0.558;此外,系统聚类分析结果表明,在相似系数0.5525处,可将96份荔枝种质资源分成了8大类群,该8大类群基本与其生态类型和植物学性状特征相符。在此基础上,还对荔枝的主栽品种和特殊种质进行鉴别,结果表明,该30个EST-SSR分子标记在不同品种间可产生较清晰可辨的多态性差异,为荔枝品种以及种质资源鉴别和鉴定的分子指纹的构建奠定了良好基础。