Banana plantation has been introduced recently to a temperate zone in the southeastern parts of Saudi Arabia (Fifa, Dhamadh, and Beesh, located in Jazan province). The introduced banana cultivars ...were of a clear origin without a recorded genetic background. In the current study, the genetic variability and structure of five common banana cultivars (i.e., Red, America, Indian, French, and Baladi) were analyzed using the fluorescently labeled AFLP technique. Nine different primer pairs combinations yielded 1468 loci with 88.96% polymorphism. Among all locations, high expected heterozygosity under the Hardy-Weinberg assumption was found (0.249 ± 0.003), where Dhamadh was the highest, followed by Fifa and Beesh, respectively. Based on the PCoA and Structure analysis, the samples were not clustered by location but in pairs in accordance with the cultivar's names. However, the Red banana cultivar was found to be a hybrid between the American and Indian cultivars. Based on Φ
, 162 molecular markers (i.e., loci under selection) were detected among cultivars. Identifying those loci using NGS techniques can reveal the genetic bases and molecular mechanisms involved in the domestication and selection indicators among banana cultivars.
Improving drought tolerance of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is integral, particularly under current climate fluctuations. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of different ...concentrations of nanoparticles of ascorbic acid (AS), benzoic acid (BA), and salicylic acid (SA) individually and in combined treatments on potato under drought-induced stress. The assessed biostimulants with different concentrations (0.50 and 0.75 mM) were applied to two potato cultivars (Spunta and Lady-Rosetta). Nodal cutting of each cultivar was exposed to drought stress via 30% polyethylene glycol (PEG) in MS media. Five growth characters (plantlet length, number of leaves plant.sup.-1, number of roots, number of lateral branches plantlet.sup.-1, and root length) were measured after 7, 14, and 21 d. The results indicated that the evaluated cultivars exhibited highly significant differences (< 0.001) in all characters. Moreover, all evaluated nano biostimulants recorded highly significant differences (< 0.001) compared to the untreated control. The co-application of two nano biostimulants was stronger than the sole use of one material. The co-application of AS+BA was the most effective, and its impact was more considerable compared to the other treatments. The assessed cultivars displayed significant interaction with the application of nano biostimulants. 'Lady-Rosetta' responded more to the applied nano biostimulants in all studied characters. In conclusion, applying AS, SA, and BA improved the growth of 'Lady-Rosetta' under drought stress conditions. Furthermore, the combined treatment AS+BA is more powerful in modulating drought stress's adverse impacts on potato plants. Key words: Drought-induced stress, heatmap, and hierarchical clustering, polyethylene glycol, principal component analysis, Solanum tuberosum.
L. is a medicinal plant, known as balsam, with pharmaceutical potential for its phytochemical activities and chemical constituents. Genetic diversity is a genetic tool used in medicinal plant ...evolution and conservation. Three accessions from
were collected from three localities in Saudi Arabia (Jeddah, Jizan and Riyadh). Genetic characterization was carried out using physio-biochemical parameters, molecular markers (inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and start codon targeted (SCoT)), DNA barcoding (18 S rRNA and ITS rDNA regions), relative gene expressions (phenylalanine ammonia-lyase 1 (PAL1), defensin (PR-12)) and pathogenesis-related protein (AFPRT). The results of this study showed that
accession C3, collected from Riyadh, had the highest content from the physio-biochemical parameters perspective, with values of 92.54 mg/g and 77.13 mg/g for total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC), respectively. Furthermore, the highest content of antioxidant enzyme activity was present in accession C3 with values of 16.87, 60.87, 35.76 and 27.98 U mg
for superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) (mol/min/mg FW) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) (U mg
protein), respectively. The highest total number of bands and number of unique bands were 138 and 59, respectively, for the SCoT marker. The SCoT marker was the most efficient for the genetic diversity of
by producing the highest polymorphism (75.63%). DNA barcoding using 18 S and ITS showed the nearby
genus and clustered
.
accessions from Jeddah and Jizan in one clade and the
accession from Ryiadh in a separate cluster. Moreover, relative gene expression of the PAL1, defensin (PR-12) and AFPRT (PR1) genes was upregulated in the
.
accession from Ryiadh. In conclusion, ecological and environmental conditions in each locality affect the genomic expression and genetic diversity, which can help the evolution of important medicinal plants and improve breeding and conservation systems.
Aegilops tauchii is a D-genome donor of hexaploid wheat and is a potential source of genes for various biotic and abiotic stresses including heat and drought. In the present study, we used ...multi-stage evaluation technique to understand the effects of heat and drought stresses on Ae. tauschii derived introgression lines (ILs). Preliminary evaluation (during stage-I) of 369 ILs for various agronomic traits identified 59 agronomically superior ILs. In the second stage (stage-II), selected ILs ( i.e. , 59 ILs) were evaluated for seedling heat (at 30 °C and 35 °C) and drought (at 20% poly-ethylene glycol; PEG) stress tolerance under growth chambers (stage-II). Heat and drought stress significantly reduced the seedling vigour by 59.29 and 60.37 percent, respectively. Genotype × treatment interaction analysis for seedling vigour stress tolerance index (STI) identified IL-50, IL-56, and IL-68 as high-performing ILs under heat stress and IL-42 and IL-44 as high-performing ILs under drought stress. It also revealed IL-44 and IL-50 as the stable ILs under heat and drought stresses. Furthermore, in the third stage (stage-III), selected ILs were evaluated for heat and drought stress tolerance under field condition over two cropping seasons (viz., 2020–21 and 2021–22), which significantly reduced the grain yield by 72.79 and 48.70 percent, respectively. Stability analysis was performed to identify IL-47, IL-51, and IL-259 as the most stable ILs in stage-III. Tolerant ILs with specific and wider adaptability identified in this study can serve as the potential resources to understand the genetic basis of heat and drought stress tolerance in wheat and they can also be utilized in developing high-yielding wheat cultivars with enhanced heat and drought stress tolerance.
High temperature is a major environmental stress that devastatingly affects wheat production. Thenceforth, developing heat-tolerant and high-yielding wheat genotypes has become more critical to ...sustaining wheat production particularly under abrupt climate change and fast-growing global population. The present study aimed to evaluate parental genotypes and their cross combinations under normal and heat stress conditions, exploring their diversity based on dehydration-responsive element-binding 2 gene (DREB, stress tolerance gene in response to abiotic stress) in parental genotypes, and determining gene action controlling yield traits through half-diallel analysis. Six diverse bread wheat genotypes (local and exotic) and their 15 F1 hybrids were evaluated at two different locations under timely and late sowing dates. Sowing date, location, genotype, and their interactions significantly impacted the studied traits; days to heading, chlorophyll content, plant height, grain yield, and its attributes. Cluster analysis classified the parents and their crosses into four groups varying from heat-tolerant to heat-sensitive based on heat tolerance indices. The parental genotypes P2 and P4 were identified as an excellent source of beneficial alleles for earliness and high yielding under heat stress. This was corroborated by DNA sequence analysis of DREB transcription factors. They were the highest homologies for dehydrin gene sequence with heat-tolerant wheat species. The hybrid combinations of P1 × P5, P1 × P6, P2 × P4, and P3 × P5 were detected to be good specific combiners for grain yield and its attributes under heat stress conditions. These designated genotypes could be used in wheat breeding for developing heat-tolerant and climate-resilient cultivars. The non-additive genetic variances were preponderant over additive genetic variances for grain yield and most traits under both sowing dates. The narrow-sense heritability ranged from low to moderate for most traits. Strong positive associations were detected between grain yield and each of chlorophyll content, plant height, number of grains/spike, and thousand-grain weights, which suggest their importance for indirect selection under heat stress, especially in early generations, due to the effortlessness of their measurement.
BackgroundOkra is a plant farmed for its pods, leaves, and stems all of which are edible. It is famous for its ability to tolerate long desiccation periods. It belongs to the Malvaceae family and is ...a sister species to hibiscus, cotton, and cacao plants.MethodsIn the current study, okra plants were used as a model to sequence, assemble, and analyze the evolutionary and functional characteristics of the Dicer-like protein gene family (DCL) based on DNAseq and qPCR techniques.ResultsFour Dicer-like (DCL) single-copy genes of the okra plant Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench (AeDCL) were successfully assembled. The lengths of the AeDCL copies were 8,494, 5,214, 4,731, and 9,329 bp. The detected exons in these samples ranged from a single exon in AeDCL3 to 24 exons in AeDCL4. AeDCLs had five functional domains of two DEAD-like helicase superfamilies, N and C; one Dicer domain; one ribonuclease III domain (a and b); and one double-stranded RNA-binding domain. The PAZ domain was completely annotated only for AeDCL1 and AeDCL3. All AeDCLs were up-regulated under drought conditions, with leaves showing more extensive fold changes than roots. The study focused on a comprehensive genome-wide identification and analysis of the DCL gene family in naturally drought-tolerant okra plants, an orphan crop that can be used as a model for further genomic and transcriptomic studies on drought-tolerance mechanisms in plants.
In recent years, there has been significant progress in enhancing the genetic foundation underlying important agricultural traits such as resistance to scab and the development of a columnar growth ...habit.
V. inaequalis
is a hemibiotrophic fungus widely distributed in temperate regions where apples are grown on commercial scale. The present investigation was undertaken to identify
Vf
gene and
Co
gene, which, respectively, confer resistance against apple scab disease and columnar phenotype in apple cultivar ‘Rosalie’ and introgression of both the genes in commercially important cultivar ‘Fuji’. Polymorphism survey was carried out between the two parents using 22 simple sequence repeat (SSR) and sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers. The observations revealed that almost 50% hybrids fall in resistant category and 50% in susceptible category. The results of marker-assisted screening confirmed 38 F
1
s carrying resistance gene for scab while the remaining 32 F
1
plants were found to be lacking the gene. The 38 genotypically scab-resistant hybrids were selected for further characterization as columnar and non-columnar plants. Based on the selection criteria, 21 individuals were categorized as columnar and the remaining 17 were categorized as non-columnar. The phenotypic screening was followed by screening of F
1
s using molecular markers for
Co
gene. The amplification of
Co
-specific markers yielded columnar-specific fragments in the population and fitted the expected 1:1 Mendelian ratio. 18 scab-resistant F
1
hybrids were found to carry
Co
gene and the remaining 20 did not possess the gene for columnar growth habit. Gene-specific primers identified in the present study can be directly used for screening large apple germplasm in a short period of time for developing resistant varieties against apple scab as well as varieties with columnar growth habit. Hybrids with verified scab resistance and columnar growth can be swiftly utilized as scab-resistant columnar cultivars.
Genetic improvement mainly depends on the level of genetic variability present in the population, and the degree of genetic diversity in a population largely determines the rate of genetic ...advancement. For analyzing genetic diversity and determining cultivar identities, a molecular marker is a useful tool. Using 30 SSR (simple sequence repeat) and 30 RAPD (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA) markers, this study evaluated the genetic divergence of 17 mango cultivars. The effectiveness of the two marker systems was evaluated using their genetic diversity characteristics. Additionally, the effects of SM (simple matching) and Dice similarity coefficients and their effects on mango clustering were evaluated. The findings showed that SSR markers generated 192 alleles, all of which were polymorphic (100%). With RAPD markers, 434 bands were obtained, 361 of which were polymorphic (83%). The average polymorphic information content (PIC) for RAPD and SSR was 0.378 and 0.735, respectively. Using SSR markers resulted in much higher values for other genetic diversity parameters compared to RAPD markers. Furthermore, grouping the genotypes according to the two similarity coefficients without detailed consideration of these coefficients could not influence the study results. The RAPD markers OPA_01, OPM_12 followed by OPO_12 and SSR markers MIAC_4, MIAC_5 followed by mMiCIR_21 were the most informative in terms of describing genetic variability among the cultivars under study; they can be used in further investigations such as genetic mapping or marker-assisted selection. Overall, ‘Zebda’ cultivar was the most diverse of the studied cultivars.
Wild medicinal plants are the main source of active ingredients and provide a continuous natural source for many folk medicinal products, a role that is important for society's health with an ...impressive record of utilization. Thus, surveying, conserving, and precisely identifying wild medicinal plants is required. The current study aimed to precisely identify fourteen wild-sourced medicinal plants from southwest Saudi Arabia, within the Fifa mountains area located in Jazan province, using the DNA barcoding technique. Two DNA regions (nuclear ITS and chloroplast rbcL) were sequenced and analyzed for the collected species using BLAST-based and phylogeny-based identification methods. Based on our analysis, ten of the fourteen species were successfully identified by DNA barcoding, five were identified as morphologically inspected, and three were morphologically indifferent. The study was able to distinguish some key medicinal species and highlight the importance of combining morphological observation with DNA barcoding to ensure the precise identification of wild plants, especially if they are medicinally relevant and associated with public health and safety usage.
Proteins participate in defense mechanisms after a pathogen attacks a host. Pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins in wheat plants play the important role of defense against Puccinia striiformis f. sp. ...Tritici. This study uses various analytic methods to describe the expression of five (PR) protein genes (PR1, PR2, PR4, PR9 and PR10) and genetic polymorphism among sixteen wheat genotypes to understand the mechanisms underlying of PR genes in Egyptian wheat compared with the Yr genotype. The PR protein genes were semi-quantitatively and quantitatively assessed in four selected wheat genotypes; two resistant (Misr-3 and Yr-29) and two susceptible (Sids-12 and Avocet-S). Reverse transcriptase PCR analysis results indicated that all PR protein genes exhibited different expression levels among the four studied genotypes and overexpression at the resistant genotypes in the different time points of Pst inoculation. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis indicated that the expression of PR protein genes was elevated in adult plant resistant (APR) genotypes. Plant stage in combination with the infection process by stripe rust provided even greater upregulation in the expression of PR genes and enhanced induction of defense enzyme activities in the same sample at different time points for various wheat genotypes.
•Sixteen wheat genotypes were evaluated under artificial infection with stripe rust, Misr-3 was the most resistant genotype.•Five PR protein genes were used to evaluate and produce unique DNA profiles for the studied genotypes.•Expression of PR protein genes was more effective in adult plant than the seedling.•Induction of PR protein genes was correlated with CAT and POX defense enzyme activities at the same time point.
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