Antisense Transcription in Plants: A Systematic Review and an Update on cis-NATs of Sugarcane.

Initially, natural antisense transcripts (NATs, natRNAs, or asRNAs) were considered repressors; however, their functions in gene regulation are diverse. Positive, negative, or neutral correlations to the cognate gene expression have been noted. Although the first studies were published about 50 years ago, there is still much to be investigated regarding antisense transcripts in plants.

Planting Season Impacts Sugarcane Stem Development, Secondary Metabolite Levels, and Natural Antisense Transcription.

To reduce the potentially irreversible environmental impacts caused by fossil fuels, the use of renewable energy sources must be increased on a global scale. One promising source of biomass and bioenergy is sugarcane. The study of this crop's development in different planting seasons can aid in successfully cultivating it in global climate change scenarios.

Amino Acid and Carbohydrate Metabolism Are Coordinated to Maintain Energetic Balance during Drought in Sugarcane.

The ability to expand crop plantations without irrigation is a major goal to increase agriculture sustainability. To achieve this end, we need to understand the mechanisms that govern plant growth responses under drought conditions. In this study, we combined physiological, transcriptomic, and genomic data to provide a comprehensive picture of drought and recovery responses in the leaves and roots of sugarcane.

Assembly of the 373k gene space of the polyploid sugarcane genome reveals reservoirs of functional diversity in the world's leading biomass crop.

Background: Sugarcane cultivars are polyploid interspecific hybrids of giant genomes, typically with 10-13 sets of chromosomes from 2 Saccharum species. The ploidy, hybridity, and size of the genome, estimated to have >10 Gb, pose a challenge for sequencing.

Results: Here we present a gene space assembly of SP80-3280, including 373,869 putative genes and their potential regulatory regions.

Evidence for Strong Kinship Influence on the Extent of Linkage Disequilibrium in Cultivated Common Beans.

is an important grain legume for human consumption. Recently, association mapping studies have been performed for the species aiming to identify loci underlying quantitative variation of traits. It is now imperative to know whether the linkage disequilibrium (LD) reflects the true association between a marker and causative loci.

Microsatellite markers: what they mean and why they are so useful.

Microsatellites or Single Sequence Repeats (SSRs) are extensively employed in plant genetics studies, using both low and high throughput genotyping approaches. Motivated by the importance of these sequences over the last decades this review aims to address some theoretical aspects of SSRs, including definition, characterization and biological function. The methodologies for the development of SSR loci, genotyping and their applications as molecular markers are also reviewed.