A Framework for Identification of Stable Genotypes Based on MTSI and MGDII Indexes: An Example in Guar (Cymopsis tetragonoloba L.)

Guar, the most popular vegetable, is tolerant of drought and is a valuable industrial crop enormously grown across India, Pakistan, USA, and South Africa for pharmaceutically and cosmetically usable galactomannan (gum) content present in seed endosperm. Guar genotypes with productive traits which could perform better in differential environmental conditions are of utmost priority for genotype selection. This could be achieved by employing multivariate trait analysis. In this context, Multi-Trait Stability Index (MTSI) and Multi-Trait Genotype-Ideotype Distance Index (MGIDI) were employed for identifying high-performing genotypes exhibiting multiple traits. In the current investigation, 85 guar accessions growing in different seasons were assessed for 15 morphological traits. The results obtained by MTSI and MGIDI indexes revealed that, out of 85, only 13 genotypes performed better across and within the seasons, and, based on the coincidence index, only three genotypes (IC-415106, IC-420320, and IC-402301) were found stable with high seed production in multi-environmental conditions. View on strengths and weakness as described by the MGIDI reveals that breeders concentrated on developing genotype with desired traits, such as quality of the gum and seed yield. The strength of the ideal genotypes in the present work is mainly focused on high gum content, short crop cycle, and high seed yield possessing good biochemical traits. Thus, MTSI and MGIDI serve as a novel tool for desired genotype selection process simultaneously in plant breeding programs across multi-environments due to uniqueness and ease in interpreting data with minimal multicollinearity issues.

Classifying Soybean Cultivars Using an Univariate and Multivariate Approach

Selection indices are good for classification because they consider several evaluated traits simultaneously to identify superior cultivars with a combination of the traits of interest. Adaptability/stability methods enable determining contributions to the genotype-by-environment (G × E) interaction and the risk associated with each cultivar. This study used a univariate and multivariate strategy to identify commercial soybean cultivars that presented both precocity and good productive performance and studied the G × E interaction considering all cultivars both simultaneously and by maturation groups. The experiments were conducted in the agricultural years 2014/15 and 2015/16 in seven distinct environments in southern Minas Gerais State, Brazil, considering a combination of locations and seasons. A randomized complete block design was used, and the treatments included 35 commercial soybean cultivars. In the univariate analysis, were evaluate several traits. Selection indices were calculated considering yield, harvest index, plant height, first pod insertion height and absolute maturation. The selection strategy efficiencies were quantified using the coincidence index. Each cultivar’s contribution to the G × E interaction and associated risk were determined using the ecovalence and confidence index methods, respectively. The results showed that the NS 7000 IPRO and NS 7209 IPRO cultivars were the most productive. The NS 7000 IPRO cultivar, although obtaining a good yield, contributed greatly to the G × E interaction when considering the maturation groups. The low coincidence in ranking the strategies indicates that more than one agronomic trait should be used to classify the superior cultivars.

The Structure of the Natural Microbiome of Sturgeons

In order to determine the structure of the natural microbiome of sturgeons grown in a recirculating aquaculture system, samples from the surfaces of the fish body and systems of organs that have the most frequent contacts with external environment (surface of the skin, respiratory and digestive organs of fish) were studied. Pieces of fins, fragments of gill filaments and contents of the intestine were taken from ten conditionally healthy spiny sturgeons (Acipenser nudiventris) kept in two nursery pools and were used as the material for research. To conduct the study of the metagenome of sturgeon fish, the following was performed: extraction of DNA samples in accordance with the kit manufacturer instructions; analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the fragments; processing of the obtained sequences using conventional methods. The level of community diversity was assessed using the following environmental indicators: the Simpson (evenness), Chao (richness) and Shannon coefficients. Сluster analysis was used to assess diversity between communities (beta diversity). The Dice coincidence index, which accounts only for the presence or absence of a taxon, was used as a similarity measure. It was found that the highest values for all three estimates were characteristic of communities obtained from the surface of the gills and the lowest values were observed in communities obtained from intestinal scrapings. The results of cluster analysis with the use of the principal component method showed that the intestinal microbiomes of the two pools had the greatest difference and the microbiomes of the fin surfaces had the smallest difference. Thus, the dependence of the degree of differences between microbiomes on the pool they were obtained from increased in the following order: fin surface communities – gill surface communities – intestinal communities. Microbiomes obtained from the surface organs of fish were more similar to each other and intestinal microbiomes were less.

DIVERSIDADE GENÉTICA EM PINHÃO MANSO COM BASE EM MARCADORES ISSR

A utilização de espécies oleaginosas constitui uma alternativa à busca crescente por biocombustíveis, fazendo com que o pinhão manso venha ganhando destaque pela qualidade do seu óleo e rusticidade. Surge assim uma demanda pelo desenvolvimento de cultivares desta espécie e para isso o conhecimento de sua variabilidade genética é fundamental. Objetivou-se com o presente estudo avaliar a diversidade genética de 23 acessos de pinhão manso coletados em diferentes regiões do Brasil. Os DNAs dos acessos foram extraídos e analisados por meio de 12 iniciadores ISSR. A partir dos perfis eletroforéticos das bandas foi gerada a matriz de dissimilaridade genética, utilizada na elaboração do dendrograma e no agrupamento dos indivíduos, que também foi realizado segundo o método de Tocher. O Índice de Coincidência foi calculado para verificar a existência de relação entre o agrupamento dos acessos e seu local de coleta. Um total de 44 bandas foram amplificadas, sendo 26 polimórficas (49,08%). As distâncias genéticas entre os genótipos variaram de 0,034 a 0,314. Os métodos de agrupamento permitiram a formação de grupos distintos, com um total de três grupos formados pelo Método de Tocher e sete pelo método UPGMA. Os acessos estudados apresentaram base genética estreita, o que poderá trazer dificuldades ao processo de melhoramento da cultura e levar a uma maior vulnerabilidade genética das novas cultivares lançadas.Palavras-chave: Jatropha curcas; marcadores moleculares; diversidade genética. GENETIC DIVERSITY IN THE PHYSIC NUT BASED ON ISSR MARKERS ABSTRACT: The use of oleaginous species is an alternative in the growing search for biofuels, where the physic nut (Jatropha curcas) stands out due to its robustness and the quality of its oil. The result is a demand to develop cultivars of this species, and for this, a knowledge of its genetic variability is fundamental. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of 23 accessions of jatropha collected in different regions of Brazil. The DNA of the accessions was extracted and analysed by means of 12 ISSR primers. A genetic dissimilarity matrix was generated from the electrophoretic profiles of the bands and used in elaborating the dendrogram and in grouping the individuals, which was also carried out as per the Tocher method. A Coincidence Index was calculated to check the existence of a relationship between the groups of accessions and their places of collection. A total of 44 bands were amplified, of which 26 were polymorphic (49.08%). The genetic distance between the genotypes ranged from 0.034 to 0.314. The clustering methods resulted in the formation of distinct groups, where three groups were formed by the Tocher Method and seven by the UPGMA. The accessions under study had a narrow genetic base, which could cause difficulties for the process of crop breeding, and lead to greater genetic vulnerability in the new cultivars.Keywords: Jatropha curcas; molecular markers; genetic diversity.

Predicting China's Economic Running State Using Machine Learning

China's business index of macro-economic includes early warning index, coincidence index, leading index and lagging index, among which early warning index reflects the economic running state. However, obtaining these indexes is a complex and daunting task. To simplify the task, this article mainly explores how to use machine learning algorithms including multiple linear regression (MLR), support vector machine regression (SVM), random forest (RF), artificial neural network (ANN) and extreme learning machine (ELM) to accurately predict early warning index. Finally, it can be found that the warning index can be well predicted by above machine learning algorithms with coincidence index, leading index and lagging index to be variables, furthermore, extreme learning machine and random forest are superior to other methods.

Anticipated selection for intrapopulation breeding of passion fruit

The aim of this work was to verify the efficiency of the anticipated selection of superior plants in intrapopulation breeding of passion fruit. The experiment was conducted at the Mato Grosso State University experimental area. Eight populations were evaluated. Planting was carried out in August 2010 following the randomized blocks experimental design, with ten repeats and ten plants per plot. The production characteristics of mass and number of fruits were evaluated from data obtained from two cultivation periods, the first year and the full two-year cycle of culture. Estimates of genetic parameters indicate the possibility of selection gains. The accuracies of fruit production, fruit number and fruit mass characteristics had high magnitude, independent of the selection cycle. Coincidence index estimates were high for all characteristics. Based on the results, early selection (first year) was efficient and reduced the time of selection for the best plants and can be used for passion fruit breeding.

Coincidence indices of sublattices and coincidences of colorings

Even though a lattice and its sublattices have the same group of coincidence isometries, the coincidence index of a coincidence isometry with respect to a lattice Λ

INTERACTION BETWEEN DARK ENERGY AND DARK MATTER: OBSERVATIONAL CONSTRAINTS FROM OHD, BAO, CMB AND SNe Ia

In order to test if there is energy transfer between dark energy (DE) and dark matter (DM), we investigate cosmological constraints on two forms of nontrivial interaction between the DM sector and the sector responsible for the acceleration of the universe, in light of the newly revised observations including OHD, CMB, BAO and SNe Ia. More precisely, we find the same tendencies for both phenomenological forms of the interaction term Q = 3γHρ, i.e. the parameter γ to be a small number, |γ| ≈ 10-2. However, concerning the sign of the interaction parameter, we observe that γ > 0 when the interaction between dark sectors is proportional to the energy density of dust matter, whereas the negative coupling (γ < 0) is preferred by observations when the interaction term is proportional to DE density. We further discuss two possible explanations to this incompatibility and apply a quantitative criteria to judge the severity of the coincidence problem. Results suggest that the γm IDE model with a positive coupling may alleviate the coincidence problem, since its coincidence index C is smaller than that for the γd IDE model, the interacting quintessence and phantom models by four orders of magnitude.