Entries by Ana Valladares

Development of drought tolerant breeding lines derived from Helianthus annuus × H. argophyllus interspecific crosses (Plant Breeding)

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Due to climate change, drought stress is threatening sunflower yield, and phenotypic diversity could be the solution. Here Hussain et al. studied the introgression of silver canopy traits related to lower excised leaf water loss (high cuticular waxes, intense hairiness, and smaller leaf area) from the wild species known as “silver sunflower” (Helianthus argophyllus) into […]

Update. GMO-free RNAi: exogenous application of RNA molecules in plants (Plant Physiol)

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Criticism of transgenic plants and GMOs motivates research into effective GMO-free RNA delivery methods. In this review, Dalakouras et al. discuss different strategies for exogenous application of RNA molecules (dsRNAs, siRNAs) into plants to trigger RNA interference (RNAi) against various targets, such as endogenous plant genes, viruses, viroids, insects, mites and fungi. The authors conclude […]

Review: Engineered male sterility by early anther ablation (Frontiers Plant Sci)

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Male sterility in seed production could be used to increase crop yields, eliminate pollen allergies or avoid gene flow between genetically modified plants and other species. Here, Roque et al. developed a system to produce engineered nuclear male sterile plants using the pea Pisum sativum ENDOTHECIUM 1 (PsEND1) promoter. Immunolocalization, Northern blot and RNA in […]

Methyl jasmonate-induced changes of flavor profiles during the processing of green, oolong, and black tea (Frontiers Plant Sci)

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Tea quality depends on the product’s taste and aroma, which are provided by phenolic and volatile compounds respectively.  Here, Shi et al. analyzed changes of volatile and amino acid (AA) profiles in fresh tea leaves (Camellia sinensis L.) and during the processing of three tea products (green, oolong and black) after after preharvest methyl jasmonate […]

QTL × environment interactions underlie adaptive divergence in switchgrass across a large latitudinal gradient (PNAS)

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The main problem to elucidate the genetic basis in regards to a plant local adaptation is the geographic and climatic biased scope of the tests. Here, Lowry et al. overcame this by evaluating the contributions of individual genetic loci to the adaptation of outcrossing switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) across 10 geographic regions at the central […]

Genomic regions associated with economic traits in walnut (Plant Breeding)

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The bearing habit refers to the location of flower buds in woody plants. For walnut cultivars, lateral bearing is preferred for its yield superiority. Deciphering its genetic architecture would improve seedling and sapling selection. Here, Aradhya et al. performed a SNP-based linkage map to estimate genetic effects of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for 5 yield […]

High resolution mapping of RphMBR1012 conferring resistance to Puccinia hordei in barley (Front Plant Sci)

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Barley leaf rust (Puccinia hordei) is a biotrophic fungus, in which mutations cause newly virulent races (pathothypes) with severe effects on cultivars. Marker-assisted Selection for Rph (Resistance to P. hordei) genes has been studied to provide sustainable control of this disease. Fazlikhani et al. developed molecular markers for the construction of a high resolution map […]

Characterizing the serotonin biosynthesis pathway upon aphid infestation in Setaria viridis leaves (bioRxiv)

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In response to biotic stresses, plants produce chemical defenses to reduce damage. Adaptations to insect infestation involve synthesis of Trp-derived metabolites, leading to metabolome alterations. Here, Dangol et al. analyzed the transcriptomic and metabolomic effects after herbivore feeding in Setaria viridis, the green foxtail millet. Using transcriptomic and RNA-seq data mapped to the S. viridis […]

Development of genome-wide SNP markers for barley via reference- based RNA-Seq Analysis (Front Plant Sci)

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The availability of marker-assisted systems is key for crop improvement, allowing trait selection by identifying consensus polymorphisms. However, for discriminating between related strains, these DNA markers are limited, time-consuming and expensive. Here, Tanaka et al. developed a RNA-Seq-based genotyping pipeline for genome-wide polymorphism detection for barley. The authors compared the variations among 108 Japanese strains […]