Exploring the genetic potential of eggplant's wild relatives for sustainable agriculture
2023-10-13
(Press-News.org)
In the pursuit of sustainable agriculture, enhancing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in crops stands as a primary objective. With the prolific use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers since the 20th century, agricultural productivity has seen remarkable growth. However, excessive use of N fertilizers has resulted in serious environmental threats and energy consumption. Crop wild relatives (CWR) provide valuable genetic resources to address this issue through breeding programs. Wild relatives of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) are classified into primary (GP1), secondary (GP2), and tertiary (GP3) gene pools, which are unexploited gene pool. Yet, direct utilization of CWRs in breeding is complex due to inherent genetic barriers. This underscores the imperative to develop and study advanced backcrosses (ABs) for seamlessly incorporating these beneficial traits.
In July 2023, Horticulture Research published a research paper entitled by “Evaluation of three sets of advanced backcrosses of eggplant with wild relatives from different gene pools under low N fertilization conditions ”.
In this study, 22 morpho-agronomic, physiological, and NUE traits were evaluated under low nitrogen (LN) fertilization conditions in CWRs of eggplant (S. insanum, S. dasyphyllum and S. elaeagnifolium) and their advanced backcrosses (ABs; BC3 to BC5 generations). Genome coverage of the donor wild relatives varied, with the highest coverage observed in S. elaeagnifolium at 99.2%. For S. insanum, significant representation was observed on chromosomes 1 (86.8%) and 3 (80.9%), while for S. dasyphyllum, emphasis was on chromosomes 1 (84.8%) and 5 (86.3%). Upon characterizing S. melongena recurrent parents (MEL5, MEL1, and MEL3), notable disparities emerged between nitrogen treatments. For instance, a 3.7-fold and 5.0-fold change in yield and fruit number (F-Number), respectively, was identified across treatments for MEL5. Additionally, fruit metrics, such as fruit pedicel length in MEL5, exhibited differences under varied nitrogen conditions. Principal components analysis (PCA) revealed trait groupings among the AB sets, with 48.8% total variation accounted for in the S. insanum and its recurrent parent S. melongena MEL5. Pearson linear correlations showcased significant trait relationships across the AB sets. A total of 16 putative quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified across the AB sets, hinting at underlying genetic controls for specific traits, and potential candidate genes were pinpointed from the eggplant reference genome assembly. Of the 16 putative quantitative trait loci (QTLs) identified, five were localized to the same position on chromosome 9 of S. insanum. The '67/3' eggplant reference genome further pinpointed potential candidate genes, including the NITRATE TRANSPORTER 1/PEPTIDE TRANSPORTER on chromosome 9.
In summary, this research emphasizes the vast potential of eggplant wild relatives for genetic improvement under low nitrogen conditions to promote sustainable agriculture. The identified QTLs and their associations provide a basis for innovative eggplant breeding efforts to support improved yield, quality and nitrogen use efficiency of eggplant under LN conditions.
###
References
Authors
Gloria Villanueva*, Mariola Plazas, Pietro Gramazio, Reyes D Moya, Jaime Prohens, Santiago Vilanova
Affiliations
Instituto de Conservación y Mejora de la Agrodiversidad Valenciana, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera 14, 46022, Valencia, Spain
About Gloria Villanueva
Gloria Villanueva: Her reserach focuses on plant genetics and breeding.
END
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2023-10-13
RICHLAND, Wash.—Less pollution settling into snow should help cut the decline of snowpack in the Northern Hemisphere later this century. Though the snowpack will still diminish due to rising temperatures, the outlook is less dire when the cleaner snow of the future is considered.
In some scenarios, the researchers predict that the reduction in snowpack will be less than half what has been predicted—good news for the many people who rely on subsequent snowmelt in high mountains for water and food production, as well as for those who depend on winter recreation.
The ...
2023-10-13
Media Contacts: Lisa Black, lblack@aap.org, 630-626-6084
Adam Alexander, aalexander@aap.org, 630- 626-6765
Jamie Poslosky, jposlosky@aap.org, 202-724-3301
Devin Mazziotti, dmazziotti@aap.org, 202-724-3308
WASHINGTON, DC – The 2023 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference & Exhibition presents exciting new research and policies concerning children’s health this year in the nation’s capital, where more than 10,000 pediatric medical professionals will arrive from across the country and world.
The conference, held Oct. 20-24, 2023, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, ...
2023-10-13
Release No. 23-35
Contact: Justin Samuel
+1-303-357-1026
jsamuel@geosociety.org
Contributed by Emily Zawacki
Pittsburgh, Pa., USA: The discovery of a spectacular fossil site in Argentina is helping shed new light on life at the end of the Cretaceous, the time period just before the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct. New research presented this Monday at the Geological Society of America’s GSA Connects 2023 meeting by Matthew Lamanna, a paleontologist and the principal dinosaur researcher at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, describes exciting fossil finds from a site known as the Cañadón Tomás Quarry ...
2023-10-13
Contributed by Emily Zawacki
Pittsburgh, Pa., USA: With its low quantities of rain and soaring high temperatures, the Sahara Desert is often regarded as one of the most extreme and least habitable environments on Earth. While the Sahara was periodically much greener in the distant past, an ancient society living in a climate very similar to today’s found a way to harvest water in the seemingly dry Sahara—thriving until the water ran out.
New research that will be presented Monday, 16 Oct., ...
2023-10-13
Toronto, Canada
A new study published by researchers at the University of Toronto indicates a very high level of resilience among Canadians with arthritis whose activities were restricted due to pain.
The vast majority (76%) of these individuals were free of any mental illness in the past year, including depression. The paper was published online this week in PLOS ONE.
More than half (56%) of the respondents went beyond just being free of psychiatric disorders to achieving excellent mental health. ...
2023-10-13
The Texas ocelot (Leopardus pardalis albescens) is endangered due to historic hunting, habitat loss, inbreeding, and traffic collisions. Today, only between 50 and 80 ocelots remain in the US, exclusively in Willacy and Cameron counties in southern Texas. These two populations are isolated from the larger one in northwestern Mexico by highways and urban development.
“Here we show that a range of species, including middle-sized carnivores such as bobcats and coyotes, successfully use wildlife exits, a new type of mitigation structure specifically designed for the US endangered ...
2023-10-13
This summer, the planet is suffering from unprecedented heat waves and heavy rainfalls. Developing renewable energy and expanding associated infrastructure has become an essential survival strategy to ensure the sustainability of the planet in crisis, but it has obvious limitations due to the volatility of electricity production, which relies on uncertain variables like labile weather conditions. For this reason, the demand for energy storage systems (ESS) that can store and supply electricity as needed is ever-increasing, but lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) currently employed in ESS are not only highly expensive, but also prone to potential fire, so there is an urgent need to ...
2023-10-13
A team of European researchers has developed a new test that can accurately measure biological aging in a clinical setting. The discovery was made while studying patients for the aging effects of chronic kidney disease.
The new test is an epigenetic clock – a type of biochemical assessment that looks at DNA to understand how well the body is aging in contrast to its chronological age – and is the first of these cutting-edge tests to be proven to perform accurately in a clinical setting, in ...
2023-10-13
Scientists from The Florey are among the world’s leading stroke experts who have mapped out how researchers and clinicians can improve outcomes for people who have survived a stroke.
The third Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Roundtable, an initiative of the International Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Alliance, has made a series of key recommendations about managing fatigue, measuring mobility, harnessing non-invasive brain stimulation technologies and improving how trials are designed. The highly influential gathering of world stroke experts published their findings in a special ...
2023-10-13
A new study endorses closed-loop use in type 1 diabetes pregnancy and highlights how the technology can facilitate positive pregnancy experiences. The study is published in the peer-reviewed journal Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT). Click here to read the article now.
Julia Lawton, from the University of Edinburgh, and coauthors, on behalf of the AiDAPT Collaborative Group, interviewed closed-loop participants in the Automated insulin Delivery Amongst Pregnant women with T1D (AiDAPT) trial. “Women described how closed-loop lessened the physical and mental demands ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Exploring the genetic potential of eggplant's wild relatives for sustainable agriculture
