The de novo, chromosome-level genome assembly of the sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) Cv. Marrone Di Chiusa Pesio.

Objectives: The sweet chestnut Castanea sativa Mill. is the only native Castanea species in Europe, and it is a tree of high economic value that provides appreciated fruits and valuable wood. In this study, we assembled a high-quality nuclear genome of the ancient Italian chestnut variety 'Marrone di Chiusa Pesio' using a combination of Oxford Nanopore Technologies long reads, whole-genome and Omni-C Illumina short reads.

Identification of a Unique Genomic Region in Sweet Chestnut ( Mill.) That Controls Resistance to Asian Chestnut Gall Wasp Yasumatsu.

The Asian chestnut gall wasp (ACGW) (Hymenoptera Yasumatsu) is a severe pest of sweet chestnut ( Mill.) with a strong impact on growth and nut production. A comparative field trial in Central Italy, including provenances from Spain, Italy, and Greece, was screened for ACGW infestation over consecutive years.

The Intriguing Biogeographic Pattern of the Italian Wall Lizard (Squamata: Lacertidae) in the Tuscan Archipelago Reveals the Existence of a New Ancient Insular Clade.

The Tuscan Archipelago is one of the most ancient and ecologically heterogeneous island systems in the Mediterranean. The biodiversity of these islands was strongly shaped by the Pliocene and Pleistocene sea regressions and transgression, resulting in different waves of colonization and isolation of species coming from the mainland. The Italian wall lizard, , is present on the following islands of the Tuscan Archipelago: Elba, Giglio, Giannutri, Capraia, Montecristo and Cerboli.

Biocultural diversity of common walnut ( L.) and sweet chestnut ( Mill.) across Eurasia.

A biocultural diversity approach integrates plant biology and germplasm dispersal processes with human cultural diversity. An increasing number of studies have identified cultural factors and ethnolinguistic barriers as the main drivers of the genetic diversity in crop plants. Little is known about how anthropogenic processes have affected the evolution of tree crops over the entire time scale of their interaction with humans.

Genetic Analysis by nuSSR Markers of Silver Birch ( Roth) Populations in Their Southern European Distribution Range.

In the main distribution area the genetic pattern of silver birch is dominated by two haplotypes: haplotype A located in the western and north-western Europe, and haplotype C in eastern and southeastern Europe, characterized by high levels of neutral genetic variability within populations, and low differentiation among populations. Information about the amount and structure of genetic variation in the southern marginal areas, representing rear populations left during the expansion of this species from southern glacial refugia, are lacking. The general aim of the study was to investigate the existence of the climatic characteristics typical of the environmental niche of the species, jointly to genetic organization, variation and gene flow, in marginal populations on the Italian Apennines and Greek Southern Rhodope and compare them with populations of the southern part of the main distribution range on the Alps and Balkans.

DNA analysis of Castanea sativa (sweet chestnut) in Britain and Ireland: Elucidating European origins and genepool diversity.

Castanea sativa is classified as non-indigenous in Britain and Ireland. It was long held that it was first introduced into Britain by the Romans, until a recent study found no corroborative evidence of its growing here before c. AD 650.

An Assessment of Genetic Diversity and Drought Tolerance in Argan Tree () Populations: Potential for the Development of Improved Drought Tolerance.

The argan tree () occurs in a restricted area of Southwestern Morocco characterized by low water availability and high evapotranspirative demand. Despite the adaptation of the argan tree to drought stress, the extent of the argan forest has declined markedly due to increased aridity, land use changes and the expansion of olive cultivation. The oil of the argan seed is used for cooking and as the basis for numerous cosmetics.

Microsatellite markers reveal a strong geographical structure in European populations of Castanea sativa (Fagaceae): evidence for multiple glacial refugia.

Premise Of The Study: Large-scale studies on the genetic diversity of forest trees are relevant for the inventory, conservation, and management of genetic resources and provide an insight into the geographical origins of the species. This approach is appropriate to use with Castanea sativa, a tree of great economic importance and the only species from the genus Castanea in Europe. The history of C.

Comparative mapping in the Fagaceae and beyond with EST-SSRs.

Background: Genetic markers and linkage mapping are basic prerequisites for comparative genetic analyses, QTL detection and map-based cloning. A large number of mapping populations have been developed for oak, but few gene-based markers are available for constructing integrated genetic linkage maps and comparing gene order and QTL location across related species.

Results: We developed a set of 573 expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) and located 397 markers (EST-SSRs and genomic SSRs) on the 12 oak chromosomes (2n = 2x = 24) on the basis of Mendelian segregation patterns in 5 full-sib mapping pedigrees of two species: Quercus robur (pedunculate oak) and Quercus petraea (sessile oak).

Microsatellite development for the relictual conifer Araucaria araucana (Araucariaceae) using next-generation sequencing.

Premise Of The Study: In this study, the 454 GS-FLX genome sequence system was used for the identification and characterization of microsatellites in Araucaria araucana, one of the most important and endangered species of Chilean and Argentinean native forests.

Methods And Results: A total of 35876 reads were identified, 96% of which were within the size range selected for further analysis. Of these, 1563 contained a microsatellite insert suitable for primer design.

A fast and cost-effective approach to develop and map EST-SSR markers: oak as a case study.

Background: Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) are a source of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) that can be used to develop molecular markers for genetic studies. The availability of ESTs for Quercus robur and Quercus petraea provided a unique opportunity to develop microsatellite markers to accelerate research aimed at studying adaptation of these long-lived species to their environment. As a first step toward the construction of a SSR-based linkage map of oak for quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, we describe the mining and survey of EST-SSRs as well as a fast and cost-effective approach (bin mapping) to assign these markers to an approximate map position.