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The genus Actinidia contains more than 66 species and 118 taxa. The best-known species is A. deliciosa C.F. Liang et A.R. Ferguson, the commercially developed kiwifruit. The natural range of Actinidia is remarkably wide, extending from the tropics (latitude 0°0′) to cold temperate regions (500°N). However, the original distribution of most taxa of Actinidia is centered around the mountains and hills of south-central and southeast China, with the QinLing mountain as its northern boundary and the HengDuan mountain as its western boundary. Sixty-two species, 114 taxa have been found in China. Genetic variation ranging from morphological traits to DNA is discussed in here. 1) Morphological variation (mainly horticulturally important traits): fruit size varies from 2 to 100 g, fruit skin color ranges from brown to green to white to purple, fruit surface from setose to villose, and flesh color from green to purple. 2) Nutritional value and flavor: vitamin C content varies from 10 mg/100 g to 1000 mg/100 g fresh fruit, soluble solids ranges from 2% to 22%, and flavor includes variation form bitter and astringent to desirable sour-sweet. 3) Gender variation includes six phenotype/genotypes of female, inconstant female, male, fruiting male, neuter and hermaphrodite. 4) Ploidy variation is consist of 2x, 4x, 6x, 8x in both intra- and inter-taxa variation. 5) Isozyme genetic variation: high polymorphisms were detected in commercial cultivated species and 28 wild species. 6) Genetic diversity was evaluated by RAPD, SSR, PCR-RFLP of mtDNA and cpDNA, a high level of genetic diversity was found in both inter-taxa and intra-taxa. Conservation strategy for diverse genetic resources of Actinidia in China is also discussed.
To investigate shoot physiological responses to drought stress of six tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) cultivars representing several generations of turfgrass improvement, forage-type `Kentucky-31', turf-type `Phoenix', `Phoenix', and `Houndog V', and dwarf-type `Rebel Jr` and `Bonsai' were grown in well-watered or drying soil for 35 days in a greenhouse. Net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration rate (Tr), relative water content (RWC), and photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) declined during drought progression in all cultivars, but the time and the severity of reductions varied with cultivars and physiological factors. Pn, RWC, gs, and Tr decreased significantly for `Rebel Jr', `Bonsai', and `Phoenix' when soil water content declined to 20% after 9 days of treatment (DOT) and for `Falcon II', `Houndog V', and `Kentucky-31' when soil water content dropped to 10% at 15 DOT. A significant decrease in Fv/Fm was not observed in drought-stressed plants until 21 DOT for `Rebel Jr', `Bonsai', and `Phoenix' and 28 DOT for `Houndog V', `Kentucky-31', and `Falcon II'. The decline in Pn was due mostly to internal water deficit and stomatal closure under short-term or mild drought-stress conditions. After a prolonged period of drought (35 DOT), higher Pn in `Falcon II', `Houndog V', and `Kentucky-31' could be attributed to their higher Fv/Fm.
Drought is among the most limiting factors for turfgrass growth. Understanding genetic variations and physiological mechanisms in turfgrass drought resistance would facilitate breeding and management programs to improve drought resistance. The experiment was designed to investigate shoot physiological responses of six tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) cultivars representing several generations of turfgrass improvement to drought stress. Grasses were grown in well-watered or drying (nonirrigated) soil for 35 days in the greenhouse. Net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs ), transpiration rate (Tr), relative water content (RWC), and photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) declined during drought progression in all cultivars, but the time and the severity of reductions varied with cultivar and physiological factors. The values of Pn, RWC, gs , and Tr decreased significantly for `Rebel Jr', `Bonsai', and `Phoenix' when soil water content declined to 20% after 9 days of treatment (DOT) and for `Houndog V', `Kentucky-31', and `Falcon II' when soil water content dropped to 10% at 15 DOT. A significant decrease in Fv/Fm was not observed in drought-stressed plants until 21 DOT for `Rebel Jr', `Bonsai', and `Phoenix' and 28 DOT for `Houndog V', `Kentucky-31', and `Falcon II'. The decline in Pn resulted mainly from internal water deficit and stomatal closure under mild drought-stress conditions. After a prolonged period of drought stress (35 DOT), `Falcon II', `Houndog V', and `Kentucky-31' maintained higher Pn than did `Rebel Jr', `Bonsai', and `Phoenix', which could be attributed to their higher Fv/Fm. This study demonstrated variation in drought resistance among tall fescue cultivars, which was related to their differential responses in photosynthetic capacity and water relations.
The genetic diversity within and between four geographic populations of the Ozark chinkapin was evaluated and partitioned in order to gain an understanding of the overall genetic diversity and structure of this species, which will be instrumental for its preservation and germplasm enhancement. Nuts of chinkapin trees along the natural range of the species in the Sylamore Ranger District of the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas were collected and evaluated with isozyme and RAPD markers scattered across the genome. Allozyme differences were detected among the geographic populations. Allele frequencies will be determined and subjected to genetic diversity statistics. A conservation plan will be recommended.
Cross-species amplification of 55 microsatellite loci developed in european chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) and japanese chestnut (C. crenata Sieb & Zucc.) was tested in three chestnut species from China [C. mollissima Blume, C. seguinii Dode, and C. henryi (Skan.) Rehder & Wilson]. Among all the tested loci, 47 (85.5%), 47 (85.5%), and 44 (80%) were successfully amplified in each of the three Chinese species, respectively. All microsatellite loci tested from C. crenata successfully amplified in the Chinese species, while only 80.5%, 80.5%, and 73.2% of the loci originating from C. sativa amplified in the three Chinese species. The level of polymorphism and mean number of alleles was 58.2% and 4.12 for C. mollissima, 60% and 4.64 for C. seguinii, and 60% and 4.76 for C. henryi, with mean observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.440 to 0.549 and mean expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.506 to 0.615. Transferability of Castanea Mill. microsatellites provides a powerful tool for chestnut breeding programs and conservation genetic studies of Castanea species.
Horticultural plants include fruit, vegetable, ornamental, turf, medicinal, beverage, spice, and other economic species. Although these plants originally derive from wild populations and play a vital role in our daily life, their importance on protecting biodiversity has not been addressed. With tremendous driving force of their monetary value, farmers, gardeners, breeders, and researchers have domesticated, selected, and bred many new horticultural crops, which ultimately increase biological diversity in cultivated plant communities. Both morphological and molecular data from 90 accessions of cultivated Cephalotaxus and 48 accessions of cultivated Chamaecyparis thyoides demonstrated their wide range of morphological differences and more than 43% of genetic dissimilarity coefficients. In US alone, one new cultivar of Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum was released to the nursery industry every year since the first plant was introduced from Wuhan Botanical Garden in 1983. Obviously, human activities rapidly accelerate evolutions. To preserve and reproduce new and rare taxa, regeneration of these plants is challenging. Rooting of Magnolia grandiflora stem cuttings, overcoming Cephalotaxus seed dormancy, experimenting Pinus strobus embryogenesis, and overwintering Stewartia cuttings should be applied for reproduction studies of unusual horticultural clones. For plants that could not be regenerated with today's propagation methods, their seeds, tissues, pollen, and embryos should be preserved as some USDA labs do for heirloom horticultural crops. In the future, with aid of advanced science and technology, we should be able to regenerate those plants from preserved materials and increase biological diversity.
Allozyme genetic variability in three chestnut (Castanea) species was investigated using 19 loci from ten enzyme systems. G-tests of heterogeneity of isozymic allele distribution showed significant differences in both intraspecific and interspecific populations. C. mollissima was found to possess a significantly higher value of mean gene heterozygosity (H=0.3050±0.0419), percentage of polymorphic loci (P=84.21%) and average number of alleles per locus (A=2.05) than any other species in the Castanea section Eucustanon. When the genetic variability of populations of C. mollissimo from four regions in China was investigated, population from the Changjiang river region showed a markedly higher mean gene heterozygosity (H=0.3480±0.0436) than populations from the other regions. An approximately identical genetic distance between the population from the Changjiang river region and populations from three other regions was observed, while populations from the latter regions showed almost the same genetic distance from each other.
The pawpaw is the largest tree fruit native to the United States and the only temperate member of the tropical Custard Apple family (Annonaceae). In 1995, Kentucky State Univ. was established as the USDA-ARS-National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Asimina spp. Seedling trees from 400 pawpaw accessions representing 70 distinct geographic regions from 17 states are currently being grown at our research farm. In a preliminary study, 18 pawpaw cultivars were assayed in 30 enzyme systems using an isoelectric focusing polyacrylamide slab gel system of pH 4-9. Twelve enzymes produced high resolution without tissue specificity and were further used for evaluation of allozyme diversity of geographic populations. Degree of genetic diversity within populations and differentiation between populations as evaluated by the expected heterozygosity (He), the proportion of polymorphic loci (P), the average number of alleles per locus (A), chi-squared analysis of allele frequency heterogeneity, Nei's standard genetic distance (D), and identity (I) will be discussed. Dendrograms were generated by cluster analysis using the unweighted pair group method to demonstrate the relationships of geographic populations in the 17 states evaluated. The strategy for germplasm conservation and cultivar development through breeding will also be discussed.
The population structure and genetic diversity of American chestnut trees collected in nine states along the natural range of the species was evaluated using 20 isozyme loci. Genetic heterozygosity (Ht:Nei, 1978) ranged from 0.089 in the Georgia and 0.094 in the North Carolina population to 0.172 in the northernmost (Connecticut) and 0.181 in the southernmost (Alabama) population. Four populations (Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, and Alabama) were selected for RAPD analysis using 22 loci randomly distributed across the chestnut genome. The highest level of heterozygosity was in the Alabama population. UPGMA phenograms generated for the isozyme and RAPD markers using Nei's genetic identity showed similar genetic relationships among American chestnut populations.
Forty-eight kiwifruit cultivars and selections, representing more than 90% of total world kiwifruit production, were investigated using nine SSR markers to establish genetic identities, and evaluate genetic diversity and relatedness. These nine SSRs were polymorphic and a total of 213 alleles were detected, resulting in a mean number of 23.7 alleles per locus, ranging from nine to 38 alleles. One hundred and thirty-three alleles were found to be common to both A. chinensis and A. deliciosa, while 33 and 36 were specific to A. chinensis and A. deliciosa, respectively. In addition, 34 alleles were specific to one single genotype and provided a set of valuable alleles for cultivar identification. A single SSR locus UDK 96-414 could differentiate all 48 genotypes except two presumable clones. Mean number of alleles per locus (A), percentage of polymorphic loci (P), and direct count heterozygosity (Ho) assessed for each genotype over all loci revealed considerable differences among these 48 genotypes. On average, A = 2.6, P = 89.4% and Ho = 0.546 were found in A. chinensis cultivars, while A = 3.5, P = 97.0% and Ho = 0.671 in A. deliciosa cultivars. Consensus fingerprint profiling using SSR markers is a useful and reliable method for establishing genetic identities of kiwifruit cultivars and selections. It also improves evaluation effectiveness of genetic diversity and relatedness compared to RAPD markers.