Comparative analysis of the constituents of two cultivars of Dioscorea dumetorum (Kunth) Pax. and their molecular barcoding

The edible and wild cultivars of Dioscorea dumetorum (Kunth) Pax. (Family: Dioscoreaceae) are commonly used as close substitutes in herbal markets due to their edibility and medicinal importance. Comparative study of the cultivars was done using chemical analysis of their methanol tuber extracts and by utilizing the DNA barcode regions, ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase subunits (rbcL) and the non-coding intergenic spacer gene (trnH-psbA) for nucleotide sequences comparison of cultivars. Of the 54 compounds identified from the methanol extract of the edible and wild cultivars using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), 12 are similar, while 42 are remarkably different. In particular n-hexadecanoic (palmitic) acid had a higher percentage area in the edible cultivar (31.16%) compared to the wild cultivar (0.26%). The cultivars were successfully amplified using the universal primers gene rbcL and trnH-psbA. Their nucleotide sequences showed a slight variation when aligned with CodonCode Aligner V.9.0.1. They were identified by the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) through comparison with Genbank data, which shows close similarities with submitted data. The use of molecular barcoding in identifying the cultivars of Dioscorea dumetorum as well as the chemical composition of their tubers may form an important marker in the compilation of future herbal pharmacopoeia for its proper identification.     

Genetic diversity and geographical differentiation of Iranian landrace,cultivars, and exotic chickpea lines as revealed by morphological and microsatellite markers

Assessment of the extent of genetic variability within chickpea is fundamental for chickpea breeding and conservation of genetic resources and is particularly useful as a general guide in the choice of parents for breeding hybrids. To establish genetic diversity among 60 accessions of chickpea comprising landraces, internationally developed improved lines, and cultivars, genetic distances were evaluated using 14 simple sequence repeat markers. These markers showed a high level of polymorphism; a total of 59 different alleles were detected, with a mean of 4.2 alleles per locus. The polymorphic information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.31 to 0.89. All the markers, with the exception of TAA170, TA110, GA34, and Ts35, were considered to be informative (PIC > 0.5), indicating their potential usefulness for cultivar identification. Based on the UNJ clustering method, all accessions were clustered in five groups, which indicated the probable origin and region similarity of Iranian landraces over the other cultivars. It also represents a wide diversity among available germplasm. The result has firmly established that introduction of genetic materials from exotic sources has broadened the genetic base of the national chickpea breeding program. As further implications of the findings, this study can be useful for selective breeding for specific traits and in enhancing the genetic base of breeding programs.     

Effect of environment on multi-element grain composition of pigeonpea cultivars under farmers’ conditions

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.) is often intercropped with maize (Zea mays L.) in eastern and southern Africa. The studies aimed at determining how different genotypes of pigeonpea responded in terms of grain element composition under farmers’ cropping conditions. Approx. 78 farmers participated. They came from four study sites in Tanzania (Babati and Gairo) and Malawi (Nyambi and Ntonda) that differed in terms of tradition for using pigeonpea as well as in environmental conditions. The individual grain weight of the pigeonpea crops from Malawi were 21% (P < 0.05) higher than those from Tanzania. However, only B, Cu, Mo, N, Ni, P and S were affected by grain weight (P < 0.05). Weak (r ² < 0.10) negative correlations existed between grain yield and the grains’ proportion of Ca, Mg, P, and Zn. The proportion of every element, with the exception of Cr, in the grain differed between sites (P < 0.05) but not between varieties (P > 0.05). The amounts of K, Mg, S and Fe accumulated per grain were slightly lower (P < 0.11) in ICEAP00040 compared to the more traditional varieties. Variations in DTPA-exchangeable Zn and Fe in the soil were not reflected in grain concentrations but grain P had a curvi-linear relation (r ² = 0.44) to the soil NaHCO₃^–-exchangeable P indicating P deficiency for several soils. The P and Zn content were correlated (r ² > 0.41) as the only two grain elements. Unique fingerprinting by multivariate statistics was possible for each site when using the element proportion of the grain dry matter with or without soil characteristics. In all cases, different elements contributed with varying weight to the discrimination between the sites. However, it was not possible to distinguish between the varieties when considering all four environments. Reducing the models to include Fe, K, Mg, P, S and Zn only, did however allow some distinction between the two genotypes, which indicates that genotypic variability is expressed in a fairly limited number of elements. In the cases of Gairo and Nyambi, it was possible to distinguish between varieties. In the case of Gairo, the models distinguished between ICEAP00068 and the others, i.e. ICEAP00040 and Babati White where ICEAP00068 was associated with a higher proportion of Fe, P, S, and Zn in the grain. In the case of Nyambi, the models distinguished between ICEAP00040 and ICP9145 where ICEAP00040 was associated with a lower proportion of Ca, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, P, S, and Zn and a higher proportion of Cr and Na in the grain. It is thus possible in some cases to separate varieties based on multi-element grain content across a relatively narrow environmental gradient but not generally across all environments. These findings should be included in breeding programmes focusing on the improvement of the nutritional value of our food crops.     

紫斑牡丹与牡丹种间杂交后代的DNA分子证据

据推测紫斑牡丹Paeoniarockii (S .G .HawetL .A .Lauener)T .HongetJ .J.Li是直接或间接参与中国牡丹品种群起源的野生种之一 ,杂交是栽培牡丹品种的重要培育途径。但尚未见到DNA分子方面相关证据的报道。本研究以紫斑牡丹作母本 (♀ ) ,分别以 3个牡丹品种‘海棠争润’ (P suffruticosa‘HaiTangZhengRong’)、‘胭脂红’(P suffruticosa‘YanZhiHong’)和‘盛丹炉’ (P suffruticosa‘ShengDanLu’)作父本(♂ ) ,进行人工杂交 ,获得了杂交后代。利用DNAISSR (Inter simplesequencerepeats,简单重复序列间隔区 )标记技术构建的亲子代DNA指纹图谱显示 ,在杂交后代中检测到了分别来自双亲的特征带 ,因而在DNA水平上证实了花瓣基部带紫斑的栽培牡丹品种杂交起源的可能性     

AFLP based alternatives for the assessment of Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability of sugar beet varieties

Three approaches for addressing criteria for Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) assessment by means of AFLP data are presented. AFLP data were obtained for three consecutive seed deliveries of 15 sugar beet varieties that were under investigation for the official Belgian list (’93, ’94 and ’95). In total, 696 AFLP markers were scored on 1350 plants. As a first approach, a cluster analysis based on Nei’s standard genetic distances between varieties and/or seed deliveries was made. Three major groups put together varieties belonging to corresponding breeding programmes. Statistical procedures, involving bootstrapping and random sampling of subsets of markers, were applied to test the reproducibility of the ordinations and the redundancy present in the data set. In a second approach, the genetic structure inferred by varieties and seed deliveries was submitted to an Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA). Major genetic variation was attributed to individual plant differences within seed deliveries. Differences among seed deliveries seemed to be as important as differences among varieties or breeding programmes. Individual plant data were used for assignment tests. The computation of the assignment was based on the ranking of individual genotypes to one other (based on Jaccard similarity coefficients). The distribution over the accessions for each variety or seed delivery was used to check what group of plants each individual is genetically most similar to. Varieties were classified according to the degree to which the distribution over the different accessions was mainly allocated to their appropriate seed deliveries (from the same variety) or cross- allocated to other varieties. Criteria for DUS-evaluation could be set by each of the approaches; it is discussed in what way the result obtained differs and agrees. Received: 26 June 2000 / Accepted: 13 March 2001     

用ISSR标记技术分析山药品种遗传多样性

利用ISSR标记技术对28个山药品种的遗传多样性进行分析。结果表明,从44条ISSR引物中可筛选出7条能够扩增出清晰、稳定条带的引物;这7条ISSR引物对28个山药品种扩增条带间存在较大差异,多态性条带比率为83．01％,Shannon多样性指数为0．3191;构建的分子树状图将28个山药品种划分为4组：第一组含有日本白、花山药和日本园3个品种;第二组为小叶山药;第三组为嵩野1号;其余23个品种归入第四组。而且主成分分析结果支持上述的聚类分析结果。这为利用ISSR标记技术鉴定山药品种,为有效地利用山药种质资源提供了依据。     

‘挽春’(Paeonia rockii‘Wan Chun’)——中国西北紫斑牡丹品种群中的一个优良品种

紫斑牡丹品种群是中国的主要牡丹品种群之一。文中描述了一个优良紫斑牡丹品种‘挽春’(Paeonia rockii‘Wan Chun’)的特征、习性和表现,该品种在紫斑牡丹品种群中具有代表性。紫斑牡丹品种可用于园艺观赏、经济林营造、荒山绿化以及荒漠治理。根据多年的调查和相关文献,按照紫斑牡丹品种的生长适应程度和引种栽培难易程度,将中国有可能引种栽植紫斑牡丹品种的地区划分为4类。介绍了各类地区在引种栽培方面需要注意的关键技术措施,分析了紫斑牡丹品种向全国各地推广过程中存在的问题,并提出了建议。     

中国猕猴桃种质资源的研究与利用

全世界猕猴桃属植物共有66种,中国分布有62种,种质资源极为丰富。猕猴桃属植物中经济栽培价值较高的是中国特有的美味猕猴桃、中华猕猴桃、软枣猕猴桃和毛花猕猴桃等。以此为主要对象,对其起源、栽培历史及利用价值、种类与分布、品种资源与特异种质、种质保存、花粉形态、染色体数目与倍性、同工酶分析以及DNA分子标记等研究利用现状作一综述,并讨论了中国猕猴桃种质资源今后的研究展望。这将有助于猕猴桃种质资源的可持续利用和品种改良。     

Development of SCAR markers in olive (Olea europaea) by direct sequencing of RAPD products: applications in olive germplasm evaluation and mapping

RAPD markers generated by mixtures of two different 10-mer primers were developed for eight different olive cultivars used as parental lines in olive-breeding programs. Two RAPD bands were converted into dominant SCAR markers by direct sequencing of the RAPD products, avoiding the costly and time-consuming cloning step. The SCARs generated have maintained the original RAPD polymorphism among the cultivars and segregated according to Mendelian inheritance. Preliminary results suggest the use of the SCAR SCOeMS-2 for the marker-assisted selection of the high flesh/stone ratio. This strategy provides a rapid method for the characterization of RAPD markers and for the development of PCR-based markers with applications in olive mapping, paternal testing and germplasm characterization. The use of these markers in multiplexed PCRs, and the direct ethidium bromide detection of the PCR products in the test tube, facilitate their efficient and reliable breeding applications. Received: 1 November 2000 / Accepted: 24 November 2000