Mechanisms of temperature-regulated growth and thermotolerance in crop species

Some crop species could be used inside a cropping system as part of a strategy to increase soil P availability due to their capacity to recycle P and shift the equilibrium between soil P fractions to benefit the main crop. The release of P by crop residue decomposition, and mobilization and uptake of otherwise recalcitrant P are important mechanisms capable of increasing P availability and crop yields.

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Effect of High Temperatures on the Postharvest Flowering of Specialty Floral Crop Species

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.33.3.447f ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 447f-448

Author(s):

Millie S. Williams ◽

Terri Woods Starman ◽

James E. Faust

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Heat Tolerance ◽

Flower Development ◽

Consumer Satisfaction ◽

The United States ◽

Plant Canopy ◽

Flower Number ◽

Flower Bud ◽

Crop Species ◽

Mature Flower

Flower growers experience decreased consumer satisfaction with plant species that cease flowering during the summer. The objective of this experiment was to characterize the heat tolerance of four specialty floral crop species in order to predict their summer performance in the different climatalogical regions of the United States. The effect of increasing temperatures on the duration of postharvest flower development was determined for Ageranthemum frutescens `Butterfly' and `Sugar Baby', Brachycome hybrid `Ultra', and Sutera cordata `Snowflake'. Plants were grown in a 18 °C greenhouse until marketable with foliage covering the container and flowers distributed evenly across the plant canopy. Plants were then placed in a phytotron to determine their heat tolerance. Temperature set points of 18, 23, 28, and 33 °C were delivered serially at 2-week intervals, starting at 18 °C. Plants were then returned to 18 °C after the 33 °C treatment. Immature flower bud, mature flower bud, flower and senesced flower numbers were collected once per week. Sutera `Snowflake', and Brachycome `Ultra' had the greatest flower number at the 23 °C temperature, decreasing in the 28 °C environment. Argeranthemum `Butterfly' and `Sugar Baby' had greatest flower number at 28 °C, but flowers were smaller and of lower quality than at 23 °C. Flower development of all cultivars ceased at 33 °C, but when plants were returned to the 18 °C production greenhouse, flower development resumed. According to normal average daily temperatures in Knoxville, Tenn., Ageranthemum frutescens `Butterfly' and `Sugar Baby' would flower until mid-June, while Brachycome hybrid `Ultra' and Sutera cordata `Snowflake' would flower until mid-May.

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Artificial microRNA (amiRNA) induced gene silencing in alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Botany ◽

10.1139/cjb-2012-0166 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 91 (2) ◽

pp. 117-122 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Julian C. Verdonk ◽

Michael L. Sullivan

Keyword(s):

Gene Silencing ◽

Medicago Sativa ◽

Target Gene ◽

Target Genes ◽

Mirna Precursor ◽

Crop Species ◽

Forage Crop ◽

Ribonucleic Acids ◽

Endogenous Gene ◽

Medicago Sativa L

Gene silencing is a powerful technique that allows the study of the function of specific genes by selectively reducing their transcription. Several different approaches can be used, however they all have in common the artificial generation of single stranded small ribonucleic acids (RNAs) that are utilized by the endogenous gene silencing machinery of the organism. Artificial microRNAs (amiRNA) can be used to very specifically target genes for silencing because only a short sequence of 21 nucleotides of the gene of interest is used. Gene silencing via amiRNA has been developed for Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. and rice using endogenous microRNA (miRNA) precursors and has been shown to also work effectively in other dicot species using the arabidopsis miRNA precursor. Here, we demonstrate that the arabidopsis miR319 precursor can be used to silence genes in the important forage crop species alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) by silencing the expression of a transgenic beta-glucuronidase (GUSPlus) target gene.

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Four chromosome scale genomes and a pan-genome annotation to accelerate pecan tree breeding

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-24328-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

John T. Lovell ◽

Nolan B. Bentley ◽

Gaurab Bhattarai ◽

Jerry W. Jenkins ◽

Avinash Sreedasyam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tree Breeding ◽

Pathogen Resistance ◽

Perennial Crop ◽

Crop Species ◽

Annotation Database ◽

Pan Genome ◽

Genome Integration ◽

Transformative Potential ◽

Genome Assemblies ◽

Quantitative Genomics

AbstractGenome-enabled biotechnologies have the potential to accelerate breeding efforts in long-lived perennial crop species. Despite the transformative potential of molecular tools in pecan and other outcrossing tree species, highly heterozygous genomes, significant presence–absence gene content variation, and histories of interspecific hybridization have constrained breeding efforts. To overcome these challenges, here, we present diploid genome assemblies and annotations of four outbred pecan genotypes, including a PacBio HiFi chromosome-scale assembly of both haplotypes of the ‘Pawnee’ cultivar. Comparative analysis and pan-genome integration reveal substantial and likely adaptive interspecific genomic introgressions, including an over-retained haplotype introgressed from bitternut hickory into pecan breeding pedigrees. Further, by leveraging our pan-genome presence–absence and functional annotation database among genomes and within the two outbred haplotypes of the ‘Lakota’ genome, we identify candidate genes for pest and pathogen resistance. Combined, these analyses and resources highlight significant progress towards functional and quantitative genomics in highly diverse and outbred crops.

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Silicon Effects on the Root System of Diverse Crop Species Using Root Phenotyping Technology

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10050885 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 885

Author(s):

Pooja Tripathi ◽

Sangita Subedi ◽

Abdul Latif Khan ◽

Yong-Suk Chung ◽

Yoonha Kim

Keyword(s):

Root System ◽

Root Morphology ◽

Morphological Traits ◽

Crop Production ◽

Spatial Configuration ◽

Global Climate ◽

Learning Technologies ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Crop Species ◽

Wide Range

Roots play an essential function in the plant life cycle, as they utilize water and essential nutrients to promote growth and plant productivity. In particular, root morphology characteristics (such as length, diameter, hairs, and lateral growth) and the architecture of the root system (spatial configuration in soil, shape, and structure) are the key elements that ensure growth and a fine-tuned response to stressful conditions. Silicon (Si) is a ubiquitous element in soil, and it can affect a wide range of physiological processes occurring in the rhizosphere of various crop species. Studies have shown that Si significantly and positively enhances root morphological traits, including root length in rice, soybean, barley, sorghum, mustard, alfalfa, ginseng, and wheat. The analysis of these morphological traits using conventional methods is particularly challenging. Currently, image analysis methods based on advanced machine learning technologies allowed researchers to screen numerous samples at the same time considering multiple features, and to investigate root functions after the application of Si. These methods include root scanning, endoscopy, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional imaging, which can measure Si uptake, translocation and root morphological traits. Small variations in root morphology and architecture can reveal different positive impacts of Si on the root system of crops, with or without exposure to stressful environmental conditions. This review comprehensively illustrates the influences of Si on root morphology and root architecture in various crop species. Furthermore, it includes recommendations in regard to advanced methods and strategies to be employed to maintain sustainable plant growth rates and crop production in the currently predicted global climate change scenarios.

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Disentangling transcriptional responses in plant defense against arthropod herbivores

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-92468-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alejandro Garcia ◽

M. Estrella Santamaria ◽

Isabel Diaz ◽

Manuel Martinez

Keyword(s):

Regulatory Networks ◽

Pieris Rapae ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Plant Response ◽

Plant Responses ◽

Transcriptional Responses ◽

Crop Species ◽

Physiological Processes ◽

Meta Analyses ◽

Plant Herbivore

AbstractThe success in the response of a plant to a pest depends on the regulatory networks that connect plant perception and plant response. Meta-analyses of transcriptomic responses are valuable tools to discover novel mechanisms in the plant/herbivore interplay. Considering the quantity and quality of available transcriptomic analyses, Arabidopsis thaliana was selected to test the ability of comprehensive meta-analyses to disentangle plant responses. The analysis of the transcriptomic data showed a general induction of biological processes commonly associated with the response to herbivory, like jasmonate signaling or glucosinolate biosynthesis. However, an uneven induction of many genes belonging to these biological categories was found, which was likely associated with the particularities of each specific Arabidopsis-herbivore interaction. A thorough analysis of the responses to the lepidopteran Pieris rapae and the spider mite Tetranychus urticae highlighted specificities in the perception and signaling pathways associated with the expression of receptors and transcription factors. This information was translated to a variable alteration of secondary metabolic pathways. In conclusion, transcriptomic meta-analysis has been revealed as a potent way to sort out relevant physiological processes in the plant response to herbivores. Translation of these transcriptomic-based analyses to crop species will permit a more appropriate design of biotechnological programs.

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The relative abundance of wheat Rubisco activase isoforms is post-transcriptionally regulated

Photosynthesis Research ◽

10.1007/s11120-021-00830-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Juan Alejandro Perdomo ◽

Peter Buchner ◽

Elizabete Carmo-Silva

Keyword(s):

Relative Abundance ◽

Light Availability ◽

Transcript Level ◽

Rubisco Activase ◽

Small Subunit ◽

Diel Cycle ◽

Diurnal Rhythms ◽

Crop Species ◽

Β Protein ◽

Wheat Leaves

AbstractDiurnal rhythms and light availability affect transcription–translation feedback loops that regulate the synthesis of photosynthetic proteins. The CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco is the most abundant protein in the leaves of major crop species and its activity depends on interaction with the molecular chaperone Rubisco activase (Rca). In Triticum aestivum L. (wheat), three Rca isoforms are present that differ in their regulatory properties. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the relative abundance of the redox-sensitive and redox-insensitive Rca isoforms could be differentially regulated throughout light–dark diel cycle in wheat. While TaRca1-β expression was consistently negligible throughout the day, transcript levels of both TaRca2-β and TaRca2-α were higher and increased at the start of the day, with peak levels occurring at the middle of the photoperiod. Abundance of TaRca-β protein was maximal 1.5 h after the peak in TaRca2-β expression, but the abundance of TaRca-α remained constant during the entire photoperiod. The redox-sensitive TaRca-α isoform was less abundant, representing 85% of the redox-insensitive TaRca-β at the transcript level and 12.5% at the protein level. Expression of Rubisco large and small subunit genes did not show a consistent pattern throughout the diel cycle, but the abundance of Rubisco decreased by up to 20% during the dark period in fully expanded wheat leaves. These results, combined with a lack of correlation between transcript and protein abundance for both Rca isoforms and Rubisco throughout the entire diel cycle, suggest that the abundance of these photosynthetic enzymes is post-transcriptionally regulated.

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Combining metabolomic and transcriptomic approaches to assess and improve crop quality traits

CABI Agriculture and Bioscience ◽

10.1186/s43170-020-00021-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Delphine M. Pott ◽

Sara Durán-Soria ◽

Sonia Osorio ◽

José G. Vallarino

Keyword(s):

Quality Trait ◽

Quality Traits ◽

Crop Species ◽

Breeding Programs ◽

Crop Quality ◽

Crop Varieties ◽

New Genes ◽

Technical Advances ◽

Health Promoting ◽

Selection Of

AbstractPlant quality trait improvement has become a global necessity due to the world overpopulation. In particular, producing crop species with enhanced nutrients and health-promoting compounds is one of the main aims of current breeding programs. However, breeders traditionally focused on characteristics such as yield or pest resistance, while breeding for crop quality, which largely depends on the presence and accumulation of highly valuable metabolites in the plant edible parts, was left out due to the complexity of plant metabolome and the impossibility to properly phenotype it. Recent technical advances in high throughput metabolomic, transcriptomic and genomic platforms have provided efficient approaches to identify new genes and pathways responsible for the extremely diverse plant metabolome. In addition, they allow to establish correlation between genotype and metabolite composition, and to clarify the genetic architecture of complex biochemical pathways, such as the accumulation of secondary metabolites in plants, many of them being highly valuable for the human diet. In this review, we focus on how the combination of metabolomic, transcriptomic and genomic approaches is a useful tool for the selection of crop varieties with improved nutritional value and quality traits.

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Chemical Variability of Peel and Leaf Essential Oils in the Citrus Subgenus Papeda (Swingle) and Few Relatives

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10061117 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 1117

Author(s):

Clémentine Baccati ◽

Marc Gibernau ◽

Mathieu Paoli ◽

Patrick Ollitrault ◽

Félix Tomi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Essential Oils ◽

13C Nmr ◽

Chemical Diversity ◽

Field Crop ◽

High Chemical ◽

Crop Species ◽

Nmr Spectrometry ◽

Chemical Variability ◽

Almost All ◽

Experimental Crosses

The Papeda Citrus subgenus includes several species belonging to two genetically distinct groups, containing mostly little-exploited wild forms of citrus. However, little is known about the potentially large and novel aromatic diversity contained in these wild citruses. In this study, we characterized and compared the essential oils obtained from peels and leaves from representatives of both Papeda groups, and three related hybrids. Using a combination of GC, GC-MS, and 13C-NMR spectrometry, we identified a total of 60 compounds in peel oils (PO), and 76 compounds in leaf oils (LO). Limonene was the major component in almost all citrus PO, except for C. micrantha and C. hystrix, where β-pinene dominated (around 35%). LO composition was more variable, with different major compounds among almost all samples, except for two citrus pairs: C. micrantha/C. hystrix and two accessions of C. ichangensis. In hybrid relatives, the profiles were largely consistent with their Citrus/Papeda parental lineage. This high chemical diversity, not only among the sections of the subgenus Papeda, but also between species and even at the intraspecific level, suggests that Papeda may be an important source of aroma diversity for future experimental crosses with field crop species.

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