Rye is an important crop widely cultivated in Europe, but one of the hardest to improve due to its allogamy and self-incompatibility. The market for rye-based products is constantly growing thanks to the popularity of organic farming, feed production and diverse industry applications. To address these demands, new highly productive hybrid rye varieties are needed. Currently, full potential of heterosis in rye breeding is hard to reach due to the limited success in in vitro cultures. This review summarizes the progress in rye in vitro cultures and proposes novel approaches to overcome recalcitrance in this species.
Pedunculate and sessile oaks (Quercus robur L.; Q. petraea [Matt] Liebl.) often coexist in mixed forest stands.
However, species-specific investigations and forest management actions in such populations require reliable
methods of identification of the species status of individuals. We investigated genetic diversity and species differentiation
of adult and naturally established seedling cohorts in a mixed forest stand composed of Q. robur and
Q. petraea, located in the Jamy Nature Reserve in north-central Poland. Using nineteen nuclear microsatellite
loci and a model-based clustering approach as a tool for species delineation, we efficiently identified 105 and
60 adults, as well as 191 and 456 seedlings of pedunculate and sessile oaks, respectively. While the adult trees
of both species were randomly distributed throughout the sample plot, the seedlings demonstrated significant
spatial clustering, which was particularly evident for Q. petraea. The two oak species exhibited similar levels of
genetic diversity in adult and offspring cohorts. Inbreeding was found to be low and significant only at the stage of
seedlings. The estimates of effective population size were higher for Q. robur than Q. petraea, despite the overall
greater reproductive success of the later one. There was a significant level of differentiation between the studied
oak species, as measured by Fst coefficient (0.084 – adults; 0.099 – seedlings). The results on genetic diversity and
species differentiation obtained in the studied indigenous near-natural stand of Q. robur and Q. petraea could be
considered as a reference for other population genetic studies of oaks.
Nanotechnology has been widely applied in agriculture, and understanding of the mechanisms of plant interaction with nanoparticles (NPs) as environmental contaminants is important. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of foliar application of cobalt oxide (Co3O4) NPs on some morpho-physiological and biochemical changes of canola (Brassica napus L.) leaves. Seeds were sown in plastic pots and grown under controlled conditions. Fourteen-day-old seedlings were sprayed with different concentrations of Co3O4 NPs (0, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 mg L-1) at weekly intervals for 5 weeks. Growth parameters of the shoot (length, fresh and dry weights) were stimulated by low concentrations of Co3O4 NPs (50 and 100 mg L-1) and repressed by higher concentrations. Similar trends were observed in photosynthetic pigment contents. The results indicated that high concentrations of Co3O4 NPs increased lipoxygenase (LOX) activity and the malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and dehydroascorbate (DHA) contents, but reduced the membrane stability index (MSI), ascorbate (ASC), and glutathione (GSH). Despite the increase of antioxidant capacity (DPPH) and the accumulation of nonenzymatic antioxidants (total flavonoids and flavonols) and osmolytes (proline, glycine betaine (GB) and soluble sugars) at high concentrations of Co3O4 NPs, the growth and photosynthesis were reduced. The defence system activity did not seem to be sufficient to detoxify reactive oxygen species (ROS). Altogether, high concentrations of Co3O4 NPs showed a phytotoxic potential for canola as an oilseed crop.
Local adaptation is a key concept in biology: shift of genetic structures of populations due to differential survival of genotypes is expected to lead to phenotypes providing an advantage in the local environment. Variation of sequences of twelve candidate genes was investigated in 13 Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) provenances originating from sites distributed along an altitudinal gradient from 550 to 1300 m a.s.l. Signals of selection were assessed in 103 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). The Bayesian FST-outlier identification methods as implemented in the programs BayeScan and Arlequin did not identify any SNP with a clear evidence of selection. The approaches relying on SNP-climate associations (spatial analysis method based on logistic regression of allele frequencies with environmental variables, Bayesian method applied in BayEnv2) identified several relationships but none of them remained significant after correction for multiple testing. Gene flow, epigenetic inheritance and former management of the studied populations are discussed as potential reasons for this weak evidence of selection signals.
Rare and endemic plant species represent important components of plant biodiversity which require protection to ensure their sustainable conservation. Cerastium banaticum (Rochel) Heuff. is such an endemic and rare species from Romania, for which the genetic variability of two natural populations was studied by SSR markers. Shannon’s information index revealed low levels of genetic diversity in both populations (I = 0.296). As the first attempt in a conservation program a reproducible micropropagation protocol was established starting from seeds, followed by multiplication, rooting, and ex vitro acclimatization. Among the various plant growth regulators tested the highest multiplication coefficient was achieved on a culture medium with 0.5 mg L-1 6-furfurylaminopurine (K) and 1 mg L-1 α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). On this PGRs concentration a number of 26.6 shoots/individual explant with a mean length of 7.9 cm for new generated shoots was registered. The highest number of roots/individual initiated shoot was 2.6 and it was recorded on a culture medium with 0.5 mg L-1 2-isopentyl-adenine (2iP) and 0.1 mg L-1 NAA. The outdoor acclimatization was successfully performed in a specially designed rocky area in the ‘Alexandru Borza’ Botanical Garden, Cluj-Napoca (Romania).
This work presents a comparative analysis of the phenolic composition (UHPLC-PDA-ESI-MS3, HPLC-PDAfingerprint, UV-spectrophotometric methods) and antioxidant activity (DPPH, FRAP) of leaf samples from two vegetation seasons of a medicinal and dietary plant Sorbus domestica growing in its natural habitat (Croatia, C) and cultivated in Poland (P). The samples from both sources were rich in structurally diverse polyphenols (44 analytes; P: 73.4–76.6 and C: 98.3–106.7 mg GAE/g dry leaves) including the dominating flavan-3-ols and flavonoids. The greatest qualitative and quantitative differences were observed for flavonoids (P: 14.3–20.3%; C: 27.5–34.1% of polyphenols) – in the Polish samples flavonoid diglycosides predominated, in the Croatian samples the contents of both monoglycosides and diglycosides were similar. In the case of dry methanolic extracts, despite the higher extraction efficiency obtained for the Croatian samples (32–36% vs 23–24%), the quality of the extracts was comparable, both in terms of the total phenolic content (P: 269.4–280.0; C: 297.6–304.4; mg GAE/g dry extract) and antioxidant activity parameters (DPPH, EC50, μg/mL. P: 10.5–10.9, C: 10.0–10.3; and FRAP, mmol Fe2+/g, P: 6.64–7.13, C: 7.06–7.11). As a result, the study confirmed the influence of environmental conditions on the phenolic profile and antioxidant capacity of S. domestica leaves, as well as showed that despite some differences, plant materials from both Poland and Croatia might be suitable for production of natural health products.
Micropropagation of Plantago media L. and the presence of phenolic compounds in organs of multiplied plants were investigated for the first time. Multiplication of plant material was achieved in shoot-tip cultures and via direct organogenesis on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with four variants of plant growth regulators (M1–M4). The best multiplication coefficient – 9.2 was obtained in seedling shoot-tip cultures on MS medium M3 with BA 0.2 mg/L and IAA 1.0 mg/L. Methanol extracts prepared separately from shoots and roots of in vitroderived plantlets were found to contain typical of the genus Plantago L. phenylethanoid glycosides as the only phenolics. Acteoside and plantamajoside were the major compounds – both known to possess a wide range of promising biological activities applicable for medicinal (therapeutic) and cosmetic uses. Martynoside, as a trace constituent, was also found for the first time in the studied species. The quantitative screening of the extracts by TLC video densitometric method showed a higher content of acteoside in shoots (range 62.43–93.03 mg/g, dry weight) and plantamajoside in roots (range 22.45–44.08 mg/g); the highest recorded values – 93.03 mg/g and 44.08 mg/g, respectively, were found in the organs obtained on MS medium M4 with BA 2.0 mg/L.
The experiment on Zea mays L. cv. Landmark (F1) plants was performed in a greenhouse with UV-B (305–315 nm). The pots with plants were divided into four groups: the first and the second groups were grown, respectively, at low (1.0 kJ m-2 d-1) and high (3.0 kJ m-2 d-1) biological effective dose of UV-B radiation. Half of the pots of each group were sprayed with 0.1% solution of Asahi SL (the third and fourth groups). The intensity of photosynthesis and transpiration, chlorophyll fluorescence, the content of UV-absorbing compounds and radical scavenging activity were measured using DPPH after four and six weeks of UV-B radiation. After six weeks of irradiation with a higher UV-B dose both flavonoid content and antioxidant activity increased by 112% and by 44%, respectively, compared to the plants grown at the lower dose. The plants treated with Asahi SL and exposed to the high dose of UV-B had the content of flavonoids 80% higher than the control ones. Asahi SL decreased scavenging activity in both groups of plants by 17% and 32%, respectively, in comparison with the untreated plants. The intensity of net photosynthesis, the transpiration rate and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (Fv/Fo, ETR, Rfd) did not differ in most of variants.
The pollen morphology of many collections of taxa of the tribe Nigelleae from the family Ranunculaceae which occur worldwide is presented in this study. A total of 88 specimens from 21 taxa, some of which were recently proposed, belonging to the genera Komaroffia, Garidella, and Nigella of Nigelleae were examined using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In the tribe, the pollen type is mostly trizonocolpate, but in many taxa and specimens, both trizonocolpate and non-trizonocolpate types occur together. The pollen grains are small to medium (25–53.75 μm × 20–55 μm) in size and oblate to prolate in shape. The exine pattern at the mesocolpium in all the taxa investigated is similar: micro-echinate in LM and micro-echinate-punctate in SEM. The colpus membrane in Komaroffia and Nigella is micro-echinate in both LM and SEM. In Garidella, it is micro-echinate in LM but echinate (spinulose) in SEM. In this study, multivariate analyses, principal component analysis (PCA), and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA), were used to evaluate relationships between the genera and species within the tribe with respect to pollen morphology. PCA results show three main groups in the tribe: Garidella, Komaroffia, and Nigella. Moreover, the UPGMA tree also chiefly supports generic segregation into the smaller genera. An overall synthesis of the pollen characteristics of the three genera is provided and discussed.
In this study a tetraploid sexual cytotype (2n = 160) of Athyrium christensenianum and tetraploid apogamous cytotypes (2n = 164) of Dryopteris erythrosora, D. kinokuniensis, and D. nipponensis have been reported for the first time from Japan.
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