A Composite Analysis of Flowering Time Regulation in Lettuce

Plants undergo profound physiological changes when transitioning from vegetative to reproductive growth. These changes affect crop production, as in the case of leafy vegetables. Lettuce is one of the most valuable leafy vegetable crops in the world. Past genetic studies have identified multiple quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that affect the timing of the floral transition in lettuce. Extensive functional molecular studies in the model organism Arabidopsis provide the opportunity to transfer knowledge to lettuce to explore the mechanisms through which genetic variations translate into changes in flowering time. In this review, we integrated results from past genetic and molecular studies for flowering time in lettuce with orthology and functional inference from Arabidopsis. This summarizes the basis for all known genetic variation underlying the phenotypic diversity of flowering time in lettuce and how the genetics of flowering time in lettuce projects onto the established pathways controlling flowering time in plants. This comprehensive overview reveals patterns across experiments as well as areas in need of further study. Our review also represents a resource for developing cultivars with delayed flowering time.

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Bok Choy, an Asian Leafy Green Vegetable Emerging in Florida

EDIS ◽

10.32473/edis-hs1337-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 (6) ◽

pp. 5

Author(s):

Hai Liu ◽

Guodong Liu

Keyword(s):

Graduate Students ◽

Crop Production ◽

Health Benefits ◽

Extension Agents ◽

Vegetable Crops ◽

Green Vegetable ◽

General Overview

Asian vegetable crops are rapidly expanding in Florida in the last decade due to their health benefits combined with their high profitability. These crops can help increase vegetable growers’ income and diversify Florida’s crop production, and they are new to most Floridians. This new 5-page article provides a general overview of bok choy for vegetable growers, crop consultants, certified crop advisors, Extension agents, and graduate students. Written by Hai Liu and Guodong Liu and published by the UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1337

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Weedy Rice Diversity in Southern Brazil

Weed Science ◽

10.1017/wsc.2021.23 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-37

Author(s):

Leonard Bonilla Piveta ◽

José Alberto Noldin ◽

Nilda Roma-Burgos ◽

Vívian Ebeling Viana ◽

Lariza Benedetti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Oryza Sativa ◽

Flowering Time ◽

Weed Management ◽

Phenotypic Diversity ◽

Weedy Rice ◽

Phenotypic Traits ◽

Southern Brazil ◽

Variable Response ◽

Cultivated Rice ◽

Flowering Synchrony

Abstract Weedy rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most troublesome weeds affecting rice (Oryza sativa L.) production in many countries. Weedy rice control is difficult in rice fields because the weed and crop are phenotypically and morphologically similar. Weedy rice can be a source of genetic diversity to cultivated rice. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the morphological diversity of weedy rice in Southern Brazil. Qualitative and quantitative traits of 249 accessions from eight rice growing mesoregions in Rio Grande do Sul (RS) and Santa Catarina (SC) states were analyzed. For each accession, 24 morphological descriptors (14 qualitative and 10 quantitative) were evaluated. All the 249 accessions from RS and SC are of indica lineage. Considering all the phenotypic traits evaluated, the accessions separated into 14 distinct groups. One of the largest groups consisted of plants that were predominantly tall and with green leaves, intermediate shattering, and variable in flowering time. Distinct subgroups exist within larger clusters, showing discernable phenotypic diversity within the main clusters. The variability in flowering time was high (77 to 110 d after emergence), indicating high potential for flowering synchrony with rice cultivars and, consequently, gene flow. This indicates the need to remove escapes when planting herbicide-resistant rice. Thus, weedy rice populations in Southern Brazil are highly diverse and this diversity could result in variable response to weed management.

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Potential transceptor AtNRT1.13 modulates shoot architecture and flowering time in a nitrate-dependent manner

The Plant Cell ◽

10.1093/plcell/koab051 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hui-Yu Chen ◽

Shan-Hua Lin ◽

Ling-Hsin Cheng ◽

Jeng-Jong Wu ◽

Yi-Chen Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Flowering Time ◽

Nitrate Transport ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Transport Activity ◽

Node Number ◽

Shoot Architecture ◽

Glucuronidase Reporter ◽

Uptake Activity ◽

Delayed Flowering ◽

Severe Growth

Abstract Compared with root development regulated by external nutrients, less is known about how internal nutrients are monitored to control plasticity of shoot development. In this study, we characterize an Arabidopsis thaliana transceptor, NRT1.13 (NPF4.4), of the NRT1/PTR/NPF family. Different from most NRT1 transporters, NRT1.13 does not have the conserved proline residue between transmembrane domains 10 and 11; an essential residue for nitrate transport activity in CHL1/NRT1.1/NPF6.3. As expected, when expressed in oocytes, NRT1.13 showed no nitrate transport activity. However, when Ser 487 at the corresponding position was converted back to proline, NRT1.13 S487P regained nitrate uptake activity, suggesting that wild-type NRT1.13 cannot transport nitrate but can bind it. Subcellular localization and β-glucuronidase reporter analyses indicated that NRT1.13 is a plasma membrane protein expressed at the parenchyma cells next to xylem in the petioles and the stem nodes. When plants were grown with a normal concentration of nitrate, nrt1.13 showed no severe growth phenotype. However, when grown under low-nitrate conditions, nrt1.13 showed delayed flowering, increased node number, retarded branch outgrowth, and reduced lateral nitrate allocation to nodes. Our results suggest that NRT1.13 is required for low-nitrate acclimation and that internal nitrate is monitored near the xylem by NRT1.13 to regulate shoot architecture and flowering time.

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Plant-Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria Emerging as an Effective Bioinoculant to Improve the Growth, Production and Stress Tolerance of Vegetable Crops

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms222212245 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (22) ◽

pp. 12245

Author(s):

Manoj Kumar ◽

Ved Prakash Giri ◽

Shipra Pandey ◽

Anmol Gupta ◽

Manish Kumar Patel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Crop Production ◽

Insect Pests ◽

Vegetable Consumption ◽

Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria ◽

Vegetable Crops ◽

Vegetable Crop ◽

Plant Growth Promoting ◽

Growth Promoting

Vegetable cultivation is a promising economic activity, and vegetable consumption is important for human health due to the high nutritional content of vegetables. Vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and several phytochemical compounds. However, the production of vegetables is insufficient to meet the demand of the ever-increasing population. Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) facilitate the growth and production of vegetable crops by acquiring nutrients, producing phytohormones, and protecting them from various detrimental effects. In this review, we highlight well-developed and cutting-edge findings focusing on the role of a PGPR-based bioinoculant formulation in enhancing vegetable crop production. We also discuss the role of PGPR in promoting vegetable crop growth and resisting the adverse effects arising from various abiotic (drought, salinity, heat, heavy metals) and biotic (fungi, bacteria, nematodes, and insect pests) stresses.

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Gene body methylation mediates epigenetic inheritance of plant traits

10.1101/2021.03.15.435374 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zaigham Shahzad ◽

Jonathan D. Moore ◽

Daniel Zilberman

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Flowering Time ◽

Cytosine Methylation ◽

Plant Traits ◽

Phenotypic Diversity ◽

Strong Association ◽

Epigenetic Inheritance ◽

Evolutionary Significance ◽

Gene Body ◽

Gene Body Methylation

AbstractCytosine methylation is an epigenetically heritable DNA modification common in plant and animal genes, but the functional and evolutionary significance of gene body methylation (gbM) has remained enigmatic. Here we show that gbM enhances gene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana. We also demonstrate that natural gbM variation influences drought and heat tolerance and flowering time by modulating gene expression, including that of Flowering Locus C (FLC). Notably, epigenetic variation accounts for as much trait heritability in natural populations as DNA sequence polymorphism. Furthermore, we identify gbM variation in numerous genes associated with environmental variables, including a strong association between flowering time, spring atmospheric NO2 – a by-product of fossil fuel burning – and FLC epialleles. Our study demonstrates that gbM is an important modulator of gene expression, and its natural variation fundamentally shapes phenotypic diversity in plant populations. Thus, gbM provides an epigenetic basis for adaptive evolution independent of genetic polymorphism.

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Effects of genomic and functional diversity on stand-level productivity and performance of non-native Arabidopsis

10.1101/2020.04.20.049593 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kathryn G. Turner ◽

Claire M. Lorts ◽

Asnake T. Haile ◽

Jesse R. Lasky

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Flowering Time ◽

Phenotypic Diversity ◽

A Priori ◽

Interference Competition ◽

Genomic Data ◽

Total Biomass ◽

High Resource ◽

And Performance ◽

Resource Conditions

AbstractBiodiversity can affect the properties of groups of organisms, such as ecosystem function and the persistence of colonizing populations. Genomic data offer a newly available window to diversity, complementary to other measures like taxonomic or phenotypic diversity. We tested whether native genetic diversity in field experimental stands of Arabidopsis thaliana affected their aboveground biomass and fecundity in their colonized range. We constructed some stands of genotypes that we a priori predicted would differ in performance or show overyielding. We found no relationship between genetic diversity and stand total biomass. However, increasing stand genetic diversity increased fecundity in high resource conditions. Polyculture (multiple genotype) stands consistently yielded less biomass than expected based on the yields of component genotypes in monoculture. This under-yielding was strongest in stands with late-flowering and high biomass genotypes, potentially due to interference competition by these genotypes. Using a new implementation of association mapping, we identified genetic loci whose diversity was associated with stand-level yield, revealing a major flowering time locus associated with under-yielding of polycultures. Our field experiment supports community ecology studies that find a range of diversity-function relationships. Nevertheless, our results suggest diversity in colonizing propagule pools can enhance population fitness. Furthermore, interference competition among genotypes differing in flowering time might limit the advantages of polyculture.

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Trends of development of agricultural enterprises specializing in plant production in Ukraine

Economics. Finances. Law ◽

10.37634/efp.2020.12(1).5 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 24-27

Author(s):

Maryna POLENKOVA

Keyword(s):

Crop Production ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Regional Distribution ◽

Plant Production ◽

Vegetable Crops ◽

Sugar Beets ◽

Agricultural Enterprises ◽

Agricultural Potential ◽

Berry Crops ◽

Taxonomic Groups

The paper defines the structural distribution of sown area of crops. The dynamics of production of cereals and legumes, sugar beets, sunflowers, potatoes, vegetables, fruits and berries. The clustering of regions of Ukraine under similar conditions of development of the enterprises of the agricultural sector specializing in crop production is carried out. According to the results of the analysis, 3 clusters were identified, which gave rise to the possibility of forming (developing) joint effective organizational and economic mechanisms to enhance the development of crop enterprises, favorable for implementation within the cluster. In the course of this study, we focus on the development trends of enterprises specializing in crop products. The lion's share (54.7 %) of sown areas falls on cereals and legumes. Technical crops occupy, which is 32.6 %, and potatoes, vegetables and melons – 6.5 %. It is important to note the long-term positive dynamics of production of cereals and legumes and the growth of production can be traced to all categories of farms – in farms and households. The production of sunflower and vegetable crops was also marked by positive dynamics. The decrease was observed in the production of sugar beets, potatoes, fruit and berry crops. In the context of the study, it is important to identify similar conditions (environment, resources, etc.) for the development of agricultural enterprises between the regions of Ukraine. For this purpose, multifactor statistical analysis (cluster analysis) of key factors of their development was used on the basis of a matrix of 25 selected indicators of development of enterprises specializing in crop production in all regions (600 indicators). To enhance the objectivity of the results, the analysis was conducted in 2010, 2015 and 2019. According to the results of the analysis, taxonomic groups (clusters) were singled out, which made it possible to single out similar regional conditions within each group. Since 2010, there have been significant changes in the regional distribution of Ukraine's agricultural potential. However, during 2015–2019 there is a relative stability in terms of resource provision and use within specific clusters. According to the results of the analysis, three clusters are distinguished: I. Volyn, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne, Chernivtsi, as well as Donetsk and Luhansk regions. II. Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytsky regions. III. Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Sumy, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions.

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Creating Porcine Biomedical Models Through Recombineering

Comparative and Functional Genomics ◽

10.1002/cfg.404 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 262-267 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Margarita M. Rogatcheva ◽

Laurie A. Rund ◽

Kelly S. Swanson ◽

Brandy M. Marron ◽

Jonathan E. Beever ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Information ◽

Positional Cloning ◽

Reverse Genetics ◽

Genetic Model ◽

Phenotypic Diversity ◽

Model Organism ◽

Artificial Chromosome ◽

Forward Genetics ◽

Working Definition ◽

Definition Of

Recent advances in genomics provide genetic information from humans and other mammals (mouse, rat, dog and primates) traditionally used as models as well as new candidates (pigs and cattle). In addition, linked enabling technologies, such as transgenesis and animal cloning, provide innovative ways to design and perform experiments to dissect complex biological systems. Exploitation of genomic information overcomes the traditional need to choose naturally occurring models. Thus, investigators can utilize emerging genomic knowledge and tools to create relevant animal models. This approach is referred to as reverse genetics. In contrast to ‘forward genetics’, in which gene(s) responsible for a particular phenotype are identified by positional cloning (phenotype to genotype), the ‘reverse genetics’ approach determines the function of a gene and predicts the phenotype of a cell, tissue, or organism (genotype to phenotype). The convergence of classical and reverse genetics, along with genomics, provides a working definition of a ‘genetic model’ organism (3). The recent construction of phenotypic maps defining quantitative trait loci (QTL) in various domesticated species provides insights into how allelic variations contribute to phenotypic diversity. Targeted chromosomal regions are characterized by the construction of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) contigs to isolate and characterize genes contributing towards phenotypic variation. Recombineering provides a powerful methodology to harvest genetic information responsible for phenotype. Linking recombineering with gene-targeted homologous recombination, coupled with nuclear transfer (NT) technology can provide ‘clones’ of genetically modified animals.

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The water flea Daphnia pulex (Cladocera, Daphniidae), a possible model organism to evaluate aspects of freshwater ecosystems

Crustaceana ◽

10.1163/15685403-00003948 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 92 (11-12) ◽

pp. 1415-1426

Author(s):

Juan-Alejandro Norambuena ◽

Jorge Farías ◽

Patricio De los Ríos

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Trees ◽

Daphnia Pulex ◽

Model Organism ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Intraspecific Diversity ◽

Molecular Tools ◽

Water Flea ◽

Future Studies ◽

Molecular Studies

Abstract Daphnia pulex is a freshwater planktonic crustacean, allegedly a cosmopolitan species, which is found in lentic ecosystems. The aim of this study was to conduct a literature review of D. pulex related to its life history and genetic variability, in order to mark a route for future studies. We noted that D. pulex is a model species on which ecological studies have been carried out, as well as molecular studies, in which its molecular diversity has been characterized and such in specimens from different environments: both pristine and under human influence. In particular those studies are highlighted, in which molecular tools have been used to construct phylogenetic trees for study intraspecific differences. Also, in some of these molecular studies, analyses of genetic, inter- and intraspecific diversity have been performed. In addition, analyses of protein expression in D. pulex and related species seem promising in evaluating the detailed role of this species.

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A Linear Optimization Approach for Increasing Sustainability in Vegetable Crop Production

Computational Methods for Agricultural Research ◽

10.4018/978-1-61692-871-1.ch012 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 234-265 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lana dos Santos ◽

Marcos Arenales ◽

Alysson Costa ◽

Ricardo Santos

Keyword(s):

Crop Rotation ◽

Crop Production ◽

Optimization Problems ◽

Linear Optimization ◽

Future Research ◽

Optimization Approach ◽

Vegetable Crops ◽

Vegetable Crop ◽

Modeling Framework ◽

Ecological Criteria

This chapter is concerned with a set of optimization problems associated to crop rotation scheduling in the context of vegetable crop production according to some ecological criteria: no crop of the same botanic family is planted in sequence, green manure and fallow periods must be present in any schedule. A core mathematical model called the crop rotation scheduling model is proposed to represent these ecological criteria together with specific technical constraints associated to the growing of vegetable crops. Three optimization problems based on crop rotation schedules are written in detail in this chapter. For each problem, the authors present a general modeling framework and a solution methodology based on a technique known as column generation, which iteratively builds crop rotation plans for a number of plots. Some extensions are also presented, with the aim of incorporating additional characteristics found in production field conditions. This chapter ends with a brief discussion on a set of computational experiments and some suggestions for future research.

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