Ascorbic acid metabolism: New knowledge on mitigation of aluminum stress in plants.

Ascorbic acid (ASC) is an important antioxidant in plant cells, being the main biosynthesis pathway is L-galactose or Smirnoff-Wheeler. ASC is involved in plant growth and development processes, being a cofactor and regulator of multiple signaling pathways in response to abiotic stresses. Aluminum toxicity is an important stressor under acidic conditions, affecting plant root elongation, triggering ROS induction and accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (HO).

Role of boron and its interaction with other elements in plants.

Boron (B) is an essential microelement for plants, and its deficiency can lead to impaired development and function. Around 50% of arable land in the world is acidic, and low pH in the soil solution decreases availability of several essential mineral elements, including B, magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), and potassium (K). Plants take up soil B in the form of boric acid (HBO) in acidic soil or tetrahydroxy borate [B(OH)] at neutral or alkaline pH.

Genome-wide genetic architecture for plant maturity and drought tolerance in diploid potatoes.

Cultivated potato () is known to be highly susceptible to drought. With climate change and its frequent episodes of drought, potato growers will face increased challenges to achieving their yield goals. Currently, a high proportion of untapped potato germplasm remains within the diploid potato relatives, and the genetic architecture of the drought tolerance and maturity traits of diploid potatoes is still unknown.

Structure and genetic diversity of Canadian Maritimes wild hops.

Studies on the northeastern American native hops ( ssp ) from the Canadian Maritimes are scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic structure and diversity among 25 wild-collected hops from three Canadian Maritime provinces using microsatellite (simple sequence repeat (SSR)) markers. Based on 43 SSR markers, four distinct subgroups were found, with a low molecular variance (19%) between subgroups and a high variance (81%) within subgroups.

Physiological and molecular effects of TiO nanoparticle application on UV-A radiation stress responses in Solanum lycopersicum L.

Nanoparticles (NPs) of titanium dioxide (TiO) alter photosynthetic and biochemical parameters in Solanum lycopersicum L., possibly due to their photocatalytic properties given by energy absorption in the UV-A range; however, the joint effects TiO NPs and UV-A radiation are not well understood. This work evaluates the combined responses of TiO NPs and UV-A radiation at the physiological and molecular levels in S.

Assessment of the Nutritional Value of Traditional Vegetables from Southern Chile as Potential Sources of Natural Ingredients.

There is an increasing interest in consuming healthy foods motivated by the need of boosting the immune system naturally. In this sense, vegetables rich in bioactive compounds are a clear example of "superfoods" that promotes overall health and strengthen the immune response. Therefore, in this study eight traditional vegetables usually produced in southern Chile (pea, corn, carrot, leek, spinach, chard, coriander and parsley) were characterized in terms of their nutritional composition to evaluate their potential as lyophilized natural ingredients.

Genetic dissection of flowering time in flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) through single- and multi-locus genome-wide association studies.

In a rapidly changing climate, flowering time (FL) adaptation is important to maximize seed yield in flax (Linum usitatissimum L.). However, our understanding of the genetic mechanism underlying FL in this multipurpose crop remains limited.

Loci harboring genes with important role in drought and related abiotic stress responses in flax revealed by multiple GWAS models.

QTNs associated with drought tolerance traits and indices were identified in a flax mini-core collection through multiple GWAS models and phenotyping at multiple locations under irrigated and non-irrigated field conditions. Drought is a critical phenomenon challenging today's agricultural sector. Crop varieties adapted to moisture deficit are becoming vital.

Genome-Wide Association Analysis of Mucilage and Hull Content in Flax ( L.) Seeds.

New flaxseed cultivars differing in seed mucilage content (MC) with low hull content (HC) represent an attractive option to simultaneously target the food and feed markets. Here, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted for MC and HC in 200 diverse flaxseed accessions genotyped with 1.7 million single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers.

Genome-Wide Association Study and Selection Signatures Detect Genomic Regions Associated with Seed Yield and Oil Quality in Flax.

A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed on a set of 260 lines which belong to three different bi-parental flax mapping populations. These lines were sequenced to an averaged genome coverage of 19× using the Illumina Hi-Seq platform. Phenotypic data for 11 seed yield and oil quality traits were collected in eight year/location environments.

Association mapping of seed quality traits using the Canadian flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) core collection.

The identification of stable QTL for seed quality traits by association mapping of a diverse panel of linseed accessions establishes the foundation for assisted breeding and future fine mapping in linseed. Linseed oil is valued for its food and non-food applications. Modifying its oil content and fatty acid (FA) profiles to meet market needs in a timely manner requires clear understanding of their quantitative trait loci (QTL) architectures, which have received little attention to date.

Outlier Loci and Selection Signatures of Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) in Flax ( L.).

Genomic microsatellites (gSSRs) and expressed sequence tag-derived SSRs (EST-SSRs) have gained wide application for elucidating genetic diversity and population structure in plants. Both marker systems are assumed to be selectively neutral when making demographic inferences, but this assumption is rarely tested. In this study, three neutrality tests were assessed for identifying outlier loci among 150 SSRs (85 gSSRs and 65 EST-SSRs) that likely influence estimates of population structure in three differentiated flax sub-populations ( = 0.

The potential of pale flax as a source of useful genetic variation for cultivated flax revealed through molecular diversity and association analyses.

Pale flax ( Mill.) is the wild progenitor of cultivated flax ( L.) and represents the primary gene pool to broaden its genetic base.

Genomic regions underlying agronomic traits in linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) as revealed by association mapping.

The extreme climate of the Canadian Prairies poses a major challenge to improve yield. Although it is possible to breed for yield per se, focusing on yield-related traits could be advantageous because of their simpler genetic architecture. The Canadian flax core collection of 390 accessions was genotyped with 464 simple sequence repeat markers, and phenotypic data for nine agronomic traits including yield, bolls per area, 1,000 seed weight, seeds per boll, start of flowering, end of flowering, plant height, plant branching, and lodging collected from up to eight environments was used for association mapping.

Genetic characterization of a core collection of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) suitable for association mapping studies and evidence of divergent selection between fiber and linseed types.

Background: Flax is valued for its fiber, seed oil and nutraceuticals. Recently, the fiber industry has invested in the development of products made from linseed stems, making it a dual purpose crop. Simultaneous targeting of genomic regions controlling stem fiber and seed quality traits could enable the development of dual purpose cultivars.