Seed traits matter—Endozoochoric dispersal through a pervasive mobile linker

The study of diversity in common bean was based on morphological and agronomical characteristics, differentiation of collected accessions by morphological and molecular markers, detection of genetic variation, and duplicates detection in bean landraces. The analysed 82 accessions of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were collected in the Western andEastern Carpatien as landrace mixtures. Their seeds were segregated and pooled according to their characteristics; they were further multiplicated, and introduced into the collection. An extensive variation in plant and seed traits was discovered in thirty-three morphological and agronomical characteristics. Nevertheless, some of the accessions were identical in these characteristics. Cluster analysis grouped genotypes into two main branches, reflecting the growth type, seed size parameters, and thousand-seed weight. Molecular differentiation studies were performed by multilocus polymorphism detection in microsatellite and minisatellite DNA regions. Cluster analysis based on molecular data also grouped genotypes but no linkage to morphological traits was revealed. Bean accessions with very similar or identical morphological characters were clearly distinguished by DNA banding patterns. The presence of duplicates was excluded.  

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Genome-wide association study identified candidate genes for seed size and seed composition improvement in M. truncatula

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-83581-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Zhijuan Chen ◽

Vanessa Lancon-Verdier ◽

Christine Le Signor ◽

Yi-Min She ◽

Yun Kang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Association Study ◽

Protein Content ◽

Seed Size ◽

Seed Protein ◽

Genome Wide Association Study ◽

Genome Wide Association ◽

Strong Positive Correlation ◽

Seed Composition ◽

Seed Traits ◽

Genome Wide

AbstractGrain legumes are highly valuable plant species, as they produce seeds with high protein content. Increasing seed protein production and improving seed nutritional quality represent an agronomical challenge in order to promote plant protein consumption of a growing population. In this study, we used the genetic diversity, naturally present in Medicago truncatula, a model plant for legumes, to identify genes/loci regulating seed traits. Indeed, using sequencing data of 162 accessions from the Medicago HAPMAP collection, we performed genome-wide association study for 32 seed traits related to seed size and seed composition such as seed protein content/concentration, sulfur content/concentration. Using different GWAS and postGWAS methods, we identified 79 quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) as regulating seed size, 41 QTNs for seed composition related to nitrogen (i.e. storage protein) and sulfur (i.e. sulfur-containing amino acid) concentrations/contents. Furthermore, a strong positive correlation between seed size and protein content was revealed within the selected Medicago HAPMAP collection. In addition, several QTNs showed highly significant associations in different seed phenotypes for further functional validation studies, including one near an RNA-Binding Domain protein, which represents a valuable candidate as central regulator determining both seed size and composition. Finally, our findings in M. truncatula represent valuable resources to be exploitable in many legume crop species such as pea, common bean, and soybean due to its high synteny, which enable rapid transfer of these results into breeding programs and eventually help the improvement of legume grain production.

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MicroRNA-mediated regulation of agronomically important seed traits: a treasure trove with shades of grey!

Critical Reviews in Biotechnology ◽

10.1080/07388551.2021.1873238 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 594-608

Author(s):

Namrata Dhaka ◽

Rita Sharma

Keyword(s):

Seed Traits ◽

Treasure Trove

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Effect of leaf spotting diseases on grain yield and seed traits of wheat in southern Saskatchewan

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.4141/p01-128 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 82 (3) ◽

pp. 507-512 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

H. Wang ◽

M. R. Fernandez ◽

F. R. Clarke ◽

R. M. DePauw ◽

J. M. Clarke

Keyword(s):

Grain Yield ◽

Protein Concentration ◽

Flag Leaf ◽

Kernel Weight ◽

Test Weight ◽

Grain Protein ◽

Seed Traits ◽

Grain Protein Concentration ◽

Leaf Emergence ◽

Weight Test

Although leaf spotting diseases have been reported to have a negative effect on grain yield and seed characteristics of wheat (Triticum spp.), the magnitude of such effects on wheat grown on dryland in southern Saskatchewan is not known. A fungicide experiment was conducted at Swift Current (Brown soil) and Indian Head (Black soil) from 1997 to 1999 to determine the effect of leaf spotting diseases on yield and seed traits of wheat. Two fungicides, Folicur 3.6F and Bravo 500, were applied at different growth stages on three common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and three durum wheat (T. turgidum L. var durum) genotypes. Fungicide treatments generally did not affect yield, kernel weight, test weight or grain protein concentration, and these effects were relatively consistent among genotypes. Folicur applied at head emergence in 1997 and at flag leaf emergence and/or head emergence in 1998 increased yield at Indian Head (P < 0.05). Fungicides applied at and before flag leaf emergence tended to increase kernel weight. Grain protein concentration increased only in treatments of Bravo applications at Indian Head in 1998. These results suggested that under the dryland environment and management in southern Saskatchewan leaf spotting diseases generally have a small effect on yield, kernel weight, test weight and protein concentration. Key words: Wheat, leaf spotting diseases, fungicide, yield

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Variation in relation to geographical distribution of wild oats-seed traits

Euphytica ◽

10.1007/bf00039862 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

pp. 113-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

A. Rezai ◽

K. J. Frey

Keyword(s):

Geographical Distribution ◽

Seed Traits ◽

Wild Oats

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The effect of pollen source on seed traits and dispersability in the heterocarpic annual Crepis sancta

Journal of Plant Ecology ◽

10.1093/jpe/rtaa105 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Efrat Dener ◽

Hagai Shemesh ◽

Itamar Giladi

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Success ◽

Reproductive Output ◽

Seed Traits ◽

Dispersal Strategy ◽

Physiological Constraints ◽

Dispersal Traits ◽

Distant Neighbor ◽

The Common ◽

Nonsignificant Effect ◽

Crepis Sancta

Abstract Aims The evolution and expression of dispersal-related traits are intertwined with those of other life-history functions and are manifested within various physiological constraints. Such a relationship is predicted between inbreeding levels and dispersability, which may be anatomically and ontogenetically linked so that the selection pressures on one may affect the other. While both the effect of inbreeding on reproductive success and on dispersal strategies received much attention, only a few studies considered both simultaneously. Furthermore, such studies often rely on two dichotomic representations of breeding and dispersal: using selfing vs. outcrossing as a representation of breeding level, and dispersal ratio as the sole representation of dispersal strategy. Methods Here we used pollination experiments in the heterocarpic Crepis sancta (Asteraceae) to expand in two different manners on the common practice of using dichotomic representations of breeding and dispersal. First, we used pollination treatments that represent a continuum from selfing through pollination by kin to pollination by a distant neighbor. Second, we measured a whole set of continuous morphological and dispersal-related traits, in addition to measurements of reproductive success and dispersal ratio. Important findings The proportion of developed capitula and the number of both dispersed and non-dispersed achenes were significantly lower in the self-pollination treatment in comparison to the out-crossed treatments. The effect of pollen sources on dispersal ratio was not statistically significant, though self-pollinated plants rarely produced non-dispersing seeds. Achene’s biomass increased with distance between parent plants, but pappus width did not, leading to a nonsignificant effect of pollination on falling velocity. Overall, pollen source affected mainly traits that were associated with reproductive output, but it had no clear effect on predominately dispersal-related traits. Such differences in the response of reproduction and dispersal traits to variation in pollen source suggest that dispersal-related selection is probably weak and/or masked by other forces.

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