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- Author or Editor: Irwin L. Goldman x
Genetic relationships among 37 accessions of Beta vulgaris, including 21 table beet, 14 sugar beet, and two Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris ssp. cicla) accessions, were evaluated using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Genetic distance was estimated based on the presence or absence of polymorphic RAPD bands. Multidimensional scaling plots of genetic distance values revealed that table beet inbred lines from the University of Wisconsin Table beet Breeding Program clustered in an intermediate position between sugar beet breeding lines and standard table beet germplasm, likely because of their origin from an introgression program designed to incorporate sugar beet genes.
The earthy flavor of table beet is due to an aromatic terpene derivative called geosmin. It has been hypothesized that geosmin presence in beet is due to geosmin-producing bacteria such as Streptomyces spp. that exist in the soil. However, recent findings suggest that beet may produce geosmin endogenously without microbial influence. The purpose of this study was to determine whether such endogenous production of geosmin occurred in beet by making use of an aseptic tissue culture (TC) environment to remove potential microbial influences on geosmin production. Four table beet accessions (‘Bull’s Blood’, ‘Touchstone Gold’, ‘W364B’, and ‘Pacemaker III’) were grown in three separate TC experiments and in the greenhouse and measured for geosmin concentration via gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA was used to identify potential microbial contaminants in TC. Operational taxa units (OTUs) classification resulted in RNA sequences with homology to bacterial RNA of either chloroplast (98%) or mitochondria (2%) origin. Other OTUs identified were considered within the range of sequencing error. In 15 of the 16 TC–grown samples used for the 16S rRNA aseptic validation and in all the greenhouse-grown plant samples, geosmin was detected. Geosmin concentrations from bulked beet tissue of each accession were higher in the TC environment than the greenhouse environment. The lack of microbial detection in the TC environment and the subsequent identification of geosmin from beets grown in the aseptic environment is a strong indication that geosmin is produced endogenously by beets. This finding raises several interesting questions about the functional significance of this molecule for Beta vulgaris.
Bacterial leaf spot (BLS) has emerged in the last few decades as an economically important disease of both table beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris) and Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris ssp. cicla). BLS is caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. aptata, which is spread readily on infected seeds. Symptoms appear as circular to irregular shaped, with a tan to dark brown center and a very dark border. Disease incidence and severity is dependent on cool, humid conditions and can vary widely year to year depending on the environment. Both the vegetative and reproductive phases of these biennial crops are susceptible to the pathogen. Table beet and Swiss chard commercial cultivars (n = 21), table beet breeding lines (n = 5), and table beet plant introductions (PIs) (n = 26) were screened for response to spray inoculation with P. syringae pv. aptata in a controlled greenhouse setting. Plants were rated for severity of symptoms using percent of the area of each pair of leaves (leaf set) with symptoms and an overall plant score assigned based on the scores for each leaf pair. Accessions varied in BLS susceptibility. PI accessions were most variable, with the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) ranging from 1.33 to 8.75. Highly significant differences among PIs were detected for disease scores in the vegetative stage, beginning 21 days after inoculation. Screens during the reproductive growth stage showed the least variation in AUDPC among PIs. Although cultivars varied less than PIs, good BLS resistance (low disease scores) was noted for ‘Touchstone Gold’, ‘Kestrel’, ‘Bull’s Blood’, ‘Rainbow’ chard, as well as PIs 222234 and NSL 28026. Accessions W451C, Red Cloud, Detroit Dark Red, and NSL 28020 were highly susceptible. There was no consistent association between disease score in the vegetative and reproductive phases, suggesting that breeders may need to screen for BLS in both phases of the biennial life cycle. The more resistant PIs or cultivars identified in this study can be used in future efforts to breed for host resistance to BLS and to establish mapping populations to better understand the genetic control of resistance, to aid in breeding efforts.
Half-sib recurrent selection programs were initiated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1978 and 1995 to increase betalain (betacyanin and betaxanthin) concentration in red and yellow table beets (Beta vulgaris L. ssp. vulgaris), respectively. Cycles of selection from both the red and yellow table beet breeding programs were evaluated for pigment and total dissolved solids (TDS) distribution in five tissue sections (outer, middle and center zones of the root; leaf and petiole) in two environments (early and late planting) during 2002. Betaxanthin concentration increased with the later planting date in the majority of the tissue zones in the yellow and red table beet populations. Absolute pigment concentration of the outer root zone increased the most over cycles of selection: 46.6 mg/100 g fresh weight (FW) betaxanthin and 201 mg/100 g FW betacyanin for yellow and red populations, respectively. However, the greatest rate of gain was in the center and middle tissue zones. Selection based on the outer 2 cm of root tissue has effectively increased pigmentation of the entire beet plant. A correlated response to selection in leaf and petiole tissue was measured for pigment concentration in both populations. The contribution of each tissue zone to total pigment concentration of the beet plant remained constant throughout cycles of selection averaging 39%, 25%, 25%, 6%, and 5% for outer, middle, center, petiole and leaf tissue zones, respectively. Across all table beet populations, pigment concentration of the outer root zone was 55% and 62% higher than middle and center zones, respectively. TDS of the outer root zone was 10% and 12% higher than middle and center zones, respectively.
Carotenoids and tocopherols are health-functional phytochemicals that occur in a wide range of fruit and vegetable crops. These two classes of compounds are synthesized from a common precursor, geranyl-geranyl pyrophosphate, and are typically analyzed separately via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques. Because carotenoids and tocopherols are present in many edible horticultural crops, it would be advantageous to measure them simultaneously in plant tissues. Herein we report a one-pass reverse-phase HPLC method for extraction and analysis of carotenoids and tocopherols in carrot that can be extended to other high-moisture plant organs. Elution times ranged from 5 minutes for α-tocopherol to 24 minutes for β-carotene. This method improves the efficiency of analyzing these compounds by up to 50%, and should increase the efficiency of assessing carotenoid and tocopherol profiles in horticultural crops.
Organosulfur compounds in onion extracts inhibit the aggregation of human blood platelets. Antiplatelet activity is important to human cardiovascular health. We hypothesized that modification of sulfur fertility may increase organosulfur compound concentration and thereby affect platelet inhibitory activity in onion. Four contrasting onion genotypes were grown at four sulfur levels in a hydroponic system in the greenhouse and in contrasting sulfur environments in seven field locations in Wisconsin, Oregon, and New York. The contrasting field sites were comprised of sandy soils with a mean sulfate level of 5.4 ppm and muck soils with a mean sulfate level of 20.3 ppm. Onions grown in field environments with increased soil sulfur concentrations had significantly higher antiplatelet activity (33% higher than sand-grown onions; P < 0.001). The greenhouse experiment was conducted in hydroponics with nutrient solutions containing four sulfur levels ranging from 0.8 mM to 15 mM sulfate. The 10-mM sulfur treatment resulted in onion bulbs with 10% higher antiplatelet activity over those grown in the 0.8-mM sulfur treatment (P < 0.06). These data suggest that sulfur concentration in nutrient solution and in soil may be directly responsible for the increased antiplatelet activity in onion extracts observed in this study.