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- Author or Editor: Chao Fang x
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DNA methylation plays an important role in the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes. The extent and patterns of DNA methylation were assessed in the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) mother plants and their offshoots using the methylation sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) technique. Three types of bands were generated using 12 pairs of primers. Type I bands were present in both EcoR I + Hpa II and EcoR I + Msp I lanes; type II bands were present in EcoR I + Hpa II lanes, but not in EcoR I + Msp I lanes; and type III bands were present in EcoR I + Msp I lanes, but not in EcoR I + Hpa II lanes. The total numbers of these three types of bands were 782, 55, and 34. Among these three types of bands, the polymorphic bands were 34, 10, and 0, respectively. The distribution of polymorphic bands among mother-plants and offshoots could suggest the methylation variation occurred to the mother plants and offshoots. The methylation variation during offshoot growth of date palm was characterized as a process involving mainly of demethylation. Hypomethylation of DNA in offshoots compared with mother plants reflects the marked expression of this molecular feature, which may related to gene expression during development of offshoots. The methylation or demethylation status of specific loci in the mother plants and their offshoots might not relate their lineage but occurred randomly.
MicroRNAs (miRNA) are endogenous tiny RNAs (about 22 nucleotides in length) that can play important regulatory roles in plants and animals by targeting mRNAs for cleavage or involved in translational suppression. Based on the sequence conservation of many miRNA genes in different plant genomes, it is possible to identify miRNAs in citrus. Identification of miRNA is the prerequisite for understanding the miRNA function in citrus. Citrus is an important fruit crop in the world and the publicly available citrus EST databases are increasing. Thirty known miRNAs from Arabidopsis were used to search the citrus EST databases for miRNA precursors. Nine possible citrus miRNA sequences were predicted to have fold-back structures. The Northern results indicated most of the 26 Arabidopsis miRNAs are expressed ubiquitously in the leaf, young shoot, flower, and root tissues of Nules Clementine mandarin (Citrus clementina Hort. Ex Tan.) and Trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata [L.] Raf.). Some miRNAs accumulated preferentially in different tissues.
A selection of Congo produced fruit that were not infected by blotch (pathogen Acidovorax avenae subsp. citrulli) in a replicated trial interplanted with infected seedlings. Ninety percent of Congo fruit not infected with the bacterial pathogen had a darker green background than those infected. PI 295843 and PI 299318 selections were also not infected. Infection rates in susceptible checks ranged from 22.5% to 47.6% and from 0 to 13.9% among triploids. Both ploidy level and genotype significantly affected infection rates. Infestation rates in triploid seeds were reduced but not eliminated by dry heat up to 75C. Heat treatment necessary to kill the pathogen was detrimental to germination.
We used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers to analyze 14 fruiting mei cultivars from China and Japan. The levels of polymorphism and genetic relationship among cultivars were studied using two types of AFLP primer combinations [EcoR I + Mse I (E+M) and EcoR I + Taq I (E+T)] and the combined data from both types of primer combinations (E+M+T). The polymorphism among the cultivars was 57.92% based on E+M primers and 63.04% based on E+T primers. All three dendrograms generated by the three sets of data showed similar relationships among the fruiting mei cultivars. The corresponding main clusters contained the same cultivars and the subgroups correlated closely with the known geographic origins of the cultivars.
The genetic relationship among 50 fruiting-mei (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) cultivars from China and Japan was investigated using 767 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and 103 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. The polymorphism among the cultivars was 69.77% based on EcoR I + Mse I AFLP primer pairs. The sequence alignment of 11 group sequences derived from 50 samples yielded 103 SNPs with a total length of 3683-bp genomic sequences. Among these SNPs, 73 were heterozygous in the loci of different cultivars. The SNP distribution were: 58% transition, 40% transversion, and 2% InDels. There was also one tri-nucleotide deletion. Both AFLP and SNP allowed the evaluation of genetic diversity of these 50 fruiting-mei cultivars; however, the two derived cladograms have some differences: 1) all the cultivars formed two sub-clusters (1A and 1B) within cladogram based on AFLP polymorphisms, and there were three sub-clusters (2A, 2B and 2C) formed in the cladogram based on SNP polymorphisms; and 2) most cultivars from G-F, Y-H-S regions and Japan are grouped in cluster 1A and 18 (78.26%) out of 23 cultivars from J-Z origin are grouped in cluster 1B in the cladogram generated based on AFLP polymorphisms. The results show cultivars from Japan are clustered within cultivars from China and supports the hypothesis that fruitingmei in Japan was introduced from China in the past. Cultivars from J-Z region of China have higher genetic similarities. Cultivars from G-F and Y-S-H regions have lower genetic similarities and suggest more germplasm exchanges in the past.
Plant tissue culture can induce a variety of genetic and epigenetic changes in regenerated plantlets, a phenomenon known as somaclonal variation. Such variation has been widely used in the ornamental foliage plant industry as a source for selection of new cultivars. In ornamental aroids alone, at least 63 somaclonal-derived cultivars have been released. In addition to morphological differences, many somaclonal aroid cultivars can be distinguished by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis. However, a few cultivars have no detectable polymorphisms with their parents or close relatives by AFLP fingerprints. It is postulated that DNA methylation may be involved in the morphological changes of these cultivars. In this study, methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP) technique was used to study DNA methylation in selected somaclonal cultivars of Alocasia, Aglaonema, Anthurium, Dieffenbachia, Philodendron, and Syngonium. Results showed that polymorphisms were detected in the somaclonal cultivars, suggesting that DNA methylation polymorphisms may associate with tissue culture-induced mutation in ornamental aroids. This is the first study of methylation variation in somaclonal variants of ornamental foliage plants. The results clearly demonstrate that the MSAP technique is highly efficient in detecting DNA methylation events in somaclonal-derived cultivars.
Single-nucleotide-polymorphism (SNP) is the most abundant genetic variation among individuals within a species. SNPs can be used as markers for gene discovery and for assessment of biodiversity. We established a practical strategy for discovering candidate SNPs in fruiting-mei (Prunusmume Sieb. et Zucc.), a non-model tree fruit, from amplified-fragment-length-polymorphism (AFLP) fragments. Eighty-one of the 150 chosen bands from 10 cultivars of fruiting-mei were successfully re-amplified and 67 of these re-amplified PCR products yielded 13 groups of reliable sequences. The sequencing results from both directions of 23 randomly selected PCR products using the corresponding selective primers showed that all the purified fragments from the gels were EcoR I-EcoR I fragments. The sequence alignment of 13 groups of sequence yielded 95 SNPs from a total of 5252 bp, averaging one SNP every 55 bp. Among these SNPs, 73 were heterozygous in the loci of some individual cultivars. The SNPs distribution were: 58% transition, 40% transversion, and 2% InDels. There were also one di-nucleotide polymorphism and one tetra-nucleotide deletion. The procedure of SNP isolation from AFLP fragments can be useful for transferring AFLP markers into sequence-tagged-site markers.
Six date varieties from Egypt, one `Deglet Noor' and four `Medjool' date accessions from California, and 66 accessions of `Medjool' date from Morocco, the country of origin of `Medjool' date, were examined using four sets of fluorescent labeled amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. A total of 402 AFLP bands were generated and 160 were polymorphic (39.8%). The 66 `Medjool' accessions from Morocco shared minimum 79% of genetic similarity. These results support the hypothesis that `Medjool' date is a landrace variety and not a genetically uniform variety. `Medjool' is the first confirmed landrace variety of date palm worldwide. This raises the possibility that other landrace varieties of date palm may exist in different date-growing areas and in centers of diversity. The confirmation of a landrace variety of date palm also has significant impact on future date palm germplasm collection and preservation. The mechanism(s) creating the genetic variation within `Medjool' accessions remains unknown. One possible mechanism is that spontaneous genetic changes could occur frequently within vegetative tissues of date palm like offshoots under high temperature and drought stresses.
Cowpea (2n=2x=22) is a high protein, short-cycle, and essential legume food crop of the tropics, especially in the low input agricultural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and South America. Lack of genetic diversity within breeding programs can limit long-term gains from selection. The cowpea gene pool is thought to be narrow and the genetic diversity within breeding programs could be even less diverse. Genetic relationships among 87 cowpea accessions, including 60 advanced breeding lines from six breeding programs in Africa and the United States, and 27 accessions from Africa, Asia, and South America were examined using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers with six near-infrared fluorescence labeled EcoR I + 3/Mse I + 3 primer sets. A total of 382 bands were scored among the accessions with 207 polymorphic bands (54.2%). Overall, the 87 cowpea accessions have narrow genetic basis and they shared minimum 86% genetic similarities. The data also show that the advanced breeding lines of different programs have higher genetic affinities with lines from the same program but not with lines from other programs. The results suggest that there is a need to incorporate additional germplasm of different genetic background into these breeding lines and to ensure the long-term genetic gains of the programs.
Ethylene response factor (ERF) genes have been characterized in numerous plants, where they are associated with responses to biotic and abiotic stress. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is an effective treatment to prevent lotus root browning. However, the possible relationship between ERF transcription factors and lotus root browning under MAP remains unexplored. In this study, the effects of phenol, phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and peroxidase (POD) enzyme activities; and PPO, PAL, POD, and ERF gene expression on fresh-cut lotus root browning were studied with MAP. The expression pattern of ERF2/5 correlated highly with the degree of browning. It is suggested that NnERF2/5 can be used as an important candidate gene for the regulation of fresh-cut lotus root browning under MAP, and the correlation of each gene should be studied further.