Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is one of the oldest and most nutritional oilseed crops, of which domestication history has been poorly understood. This study suggested that sesame has undergone domestication bottleneck during its use for a long time. In this investigation, the molecular analysis included 4.4 Mbp of the genomic DNA of sesame comprising stearoyl acyl desaturase (sad), fatty acid desaturase 2 (fad2) and omega 3 fatty acid desaturase (o3fad) genes in 99 accessions of four populations of sesame germplasm namely: wild species, landraces, improved cultivars and introgressed lines. Results indicated that the improved cultivars and landraces lost 46.6 and 36.7% of nucleotide diversity, respectively, which indicate that the genetic diversity of the crop had been eroded due to selection after domestication. However, there was no significant reduction in genetic diversity of improved cultivars compared with landraces, indicating that unique improved cultivars generated through crosses were of less frequency in this population. Moreover, introgressed lines retained only 17.77% (π) and 4.57% (θ) of landrace diversity. To evaluate the impact of selection across fatty acid biosynthetic pathway, individual nucleotide diversity at three major genes involved in the pathway was surveyed. The analysis between wild and improved cultivars supported positive selection in fad2 and o3fad loci. Though locus-to-locus sequence variation was observed, positive results with two most important loci supported selection after domestication. Reduced diversity in these critical quality governing genes in improved cultivars suggested that future sesame cultivation would benefit from the incorporation of alleles from sesame's wild relatives.

Climate change-induced events are causing salinization of many rice-growing areas, requiring the identification of new sources of genetic variation for salt tolerance in plant genetic resources since commonly grown cultivars are sensitive to salt. To identify the level of salt tolerance across a wide range of genotypes, we used a multivariate screening method using multiple growth and physiological traits simultaneously. For this purpose, four indica, two japonica and two wild rice genotypes were grown hydroponically under 40 and 80 mM NaCl stresses; fourteen different growth, qualitative and physiological traits, e.g. plant height, biomass, root and shoot elongation rates, and tissue ion accumulation, were recorded. In general, indica varieties performed better than both japonica and wild species. Our approach identified the existence of qualitatively different mechanisms of salt tolerance across the genotypes. For example, Pokkali, a salt-tolerant indica variety, displayed both ‘Na exclusion’ and ‘ion balance’ mechanisms, whereas PSBRc50 and IR58 showed only ‘Na exclusion’, and the Japonica genotypes Banikat and Nipponbare showed only ‘ion balance’. The results demonstrated that the tolerance is dependent on the level of stress and that this varies between genotypes; Nipponbare is moderately tolerant to 40 mM NaCl but not to 80 mM. We also suggest that the use of multivariate analyses can simplify the complex salinity tolerance picture and can effectively reveal the salinity tolerant genotype from a wide range of germplasm. The results reported here identify different physiological mechanism of tolerance across the genotypes and provide a sound basis for future studies examining their underlying molecular mechanisms.

Iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) contents in hexaploid wheat are very low and are further reduced because of the removal of micronutrient-rich bran of wheat grains during milling and processing. Therefore, hexaploid wheat, its wild species and wheat–Aegilops kotschyi substitution lines were evaluated to identify the genome(s) carrying gene(s) for high Fe and Zn concentrations in bran and endosperm fractions of grains. It is reflected from the results that Triticum monococcum (acc. W463) may serve as a promising donor for biofortification of Fe, and Aegilops speltoides (acc. 3804) may serve as a promising donor for biofortification of Zn in the endosperm of cultivated wheat. Further, among the three wheat–Ae. kotschyi substitution lines, the higher concentration of Fe and Zn in endosperm fraction was observed in BC2F4 63-2-13-1. The work on precise transfer of useful gene(s) from 7Uk chromosome of this line is in progress to reduce linkage drag.

Genetic diversity identified in the Capsicum genepool has been utilized extensively to improve pepper disease resistance, fruit quality and varied yield attributes. Little attention has been dedicated to evaluating the breadth of potential diversity within Capsicum for fresh-cut attributes and genetic enhancement of fresh-cut fruit quality. We evaluated fresh-cut attributes in pepper accessions with diverse fruit phenotype selected from available cultivars and the USDA, ARS Capsicum genebank. Subjective assessment of product quality and objective measurement of package atmospheric composition, tissue juice leakage and membrane electrolyte leakage after 7, 10 and 14 d of storage identified significant differences for fresh-cut attributes among as well as within sweet bell, large elongate, jalapeno and serrano germplasm. Sweet bell and large elongate fruited accessions generally exhibited increasing electrolyte leakage over days of storage, whereas jalapeno and serrano accessions maintained stable electrolyte leakage levels. Jalapeno and serrano fruit classes were typified by faster decline in package headspace O2 and accumulation in CO2 partial pressures in comparison to sweet bell and large elongated fruit classes. Regression analysis demonstrated a relationship between overall visual quality and electrolyte leakage after 14 d of storage for sweet bell and large elongated fruit classes. The results demonstrate extensive variation in Capsicum germplasm to improve pepper for fresh-cut applications and facilitate research to better understand physiological and heritable determinants of fresh-cut product quality.

Sweet sorghum is highly coveted to contribute and take up food and energy challenges. A collection of 84 West Africa landraces mostly from Senegal and four control cultivars were screened to identify relevant accessions and trait combination for multi-purpose (sugar/grain/biomass). The implication of photoperiod sensitivity was particularly addressed. A total of 20 traits related to phenology, morphology, grain and sugar production were assessed in two sowing dates (July and August) at CNRA Bambey in Senegal. Late sowing resulted in shortened vegetative phase and a significant decrease in traits related to plant size, stem sugar, biomass and grain productions. Broad-sense heritability was moderate to high for most of the phenology, morphology, grain and sugar-related traits, suggesting their interest for breeding. All the traits related to plant size were positively correlated with plant sugar production except plant height. A cluster analysis identified three groups contrasting in their ability to combine sugar, grain or fodder production based on 18 traits measured for the early sowing. Clusters I and III were suitable for one purpose: grain and sugar, respectively. Cluster II was the most suitable for multi-purpose, showing the best trade-off among grain, sugar and vegetative biomass production. The best accessions for stem sugar yield belonged to durra, caudatum and their intermediate types. The relationship between internode size and sweetness should be further studied, in particular exploring their relationship with internode tissue anatomy. Further studies are also needed to evaluate the role that stay-green can play in sugar yield maintenance under post-flowering drought.

Sorghum halepense grows in a vast range of ecological regions of Iran. In this study, inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphism (IRAP) markers were used to assess the genetic diversity of 38 accessions of S. halepense and two accessions of Sorghum bicolor (used as out groups) collected from different regions of Iran. In total, 180 DNA fragments were amplified from eight combinations of IRAP primers, from which 178 (98.9%) were polymorphic. The IRAP-based trees and two-dimensional plot of principal coordinate analysis demonstrated six different groups corresponding to their geographical origin in Iranian germplasm of S. halepense: (1) in the south-west region; (2) in the west along the Zagros Mountains; (3) in the north-west of the country; (4) in the centre of the country; (5) and (6) in the northern region along the eastern and western coast of Caspian Sea. The most variable populations were found in the centre and the west of Iran. The results showed high gene flow among different regions, although the south-western accessions were well differentiated from those growing in other regions. The accessions collected from western coast of Caspian Sea were differentiated from neighbouring regions in both morphological characters and IRAP data. The measured genetic distances were independent of geographical distances. This survey demonstrates high genetic dynamism in Iranian germplasm of S. halepense and indicates that the present germplasm is of great value in terms of sampling for new alleles for crop improvement.

Belgian agriculture could decrease its heavy dependency on imported protein crops by a local production of soybean. Unfortunately, soybean production is hampered by Belgium's short and cold growing season. We evaluated 409 varieties, breeding lines and genebank accessions planted at two planting dates in a row-plot experiment to explore the genotypes that are suitable for growing in Belgium. The current MG000 varieties may require additional crossings with very early-maturing genotypes to guarantee an optimal and safe harvest. Within such crossings, care must be taken to maintain the indeterminate or semi-determinate growth habit. Vegetative development was negatively correlated with flowering date and maturity date, but positively correlated with cold tolerance. Seed quality was mainly affected by mould infection (associated with strong lodging and late maturity) and mottling caused by soybean mosaic virus. Planting 3 weeks earlier resulted in 8 d earlier flowering and 7 d earlier maturing, without significant losses in seed yield per plant. The results of this row-plot experiment hold promise to select for genotypes adapted to the Belgian conditions.

Our investigation was based on a molecular study of the genetic relationships among raspberry genotypes collected around selected medieval castles, Carthusian monasteries and nearby villages. We assumed that the hypothetical medieval raspberry genotypes could be traced to isolated medieval settlements that used to be highly prosperous during the feudal era but were later abandoned. Some of these genotypes could have survived in natural conditions without seed multiplication for at least three centuries. The molecular genetic analysis was based on microsatellite data. A total of 155 alleles were detected at 18 microsatellite loci. The clustering method grouped the analysed genotypes into seven main clusters. The analyses indicated that the most probable medieval genotypes had been collected around the ruins of two abandoned Carthusian monasteries: Zice and Jurkloster. They were morphologically very similar, vigorous and primitive but obviously not wild genotypes. The plants could be more than 2.3 m high, the canes were medium waxy, the lower and upper parts of the canes were covered by sparse short spines, the mid part was more or less completely smooth, the fully developed leaves were 15–25 cm long and the inflorescences were loose. In addition, the flowers were relatively small, the fruit setting was poor and the fruits were small, ovoid to conical and more aromatic than those of modern cultivars.

Next-generation sequencing is a new technique for plant genome sequencing at a large scale that is faster and cheaper than previous sequencing technologies. The present work reports the development of new polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) using Illumina HiSeq sequencing data. More than 39 Gb (total 39,086,646,904 bases) was generated from the selected oil palm clone, D4. After de novo assembly, a total of 130,840 potential SSRs were identified. For SSR validation, 144 out of 762 SSR primer pairs were designed, including tri-nucleotide motifs, from the D4 contigs. Using 11 lines from three different clones of oil palm, 61 SSR primers revealed polymorphic alleles and high average polymorphic information content (PIC) values. Cluster analysis separated all oil palm plants into three clusters: clones A, B and C. These identified genome-wide SSR markers will enrich current genomic resources of the oil palm crop.