Genome-wide association study reveals major loci for resistance to septoria tritici blotch in a Tunisian durum wheat collection.

Septoria tritici blotch (STB) is a devastating fungal disease affecting durum and bread wheat worldwide. Tunisian durum wheat landraces are reported to be valuable genetic resources for resistance to STB and should prominently be deployed in breeding programs to develop new varieties resistant to STB disease. In this study, a collection of 367 old durum and 6 modern wheat genotypes previously assessed using single Tunisian Zymoseptoria tritici isolate TUN06 during 2016 and 2017 and TM220 isolate during 2017 were phenotyped for resistance to a mixture of isolates (BULK) under field conditions.

Unlocking the story of resistance to Zymoseptoria tritici in Tunisian old durum wheat germplasm based on population structure analysis.

Background: Septoria tritici blotch (STB) remains a significant obstacle to durum wheat cultivation on a global scale. This disease remains a challenge for farmers, researchers, and breeders, who are collectively dedicated to reduce its damage and improve wheat resistance. Tunisian durum wheat landraces have been recognized as valuable genetic ressources that exhibit resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses and therefore play a crucial role in breeding program aimed at creating new wheat varieties resistant to fungal diseases as STB, as well as adapted to climate change constraints.

Morphological characterization and genetic diversity analysis of Tunisian durum wheat (Triticum turgidum var. durum) accessions.

Background: Tunisia is considered a secondary center of diversification of durum wheat and has a large number of abandoned old local landraces. An accurate investigation and characterization of the morphological and genetic features of these landraces would allow their rehabilitation and utilization in wheat breeding programs. Here, we investigated a diverse collection of 304 local accessions of durum wheat collected from five regions and three climate stages of central and southern Tunisia.

Genetic diversity and population structure of six species of Capparis in Tunisia using AFLP markers.

In order to study the genetic diversity, the phylogeographic pattern and hybridization between six Tunisian Capparis species, 213 accessions of Caper were genotyped with three primer combinations of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Out of 750 fragments generated, 636 were polymorphic and 407 of them were restricted to a single species. STRUCTURE and PCoA analyses clearly separated morphologically different populations into six distinct genetic ones.

Technological and safety properties of Lactobacillus plantarum strains isolated from a Tunisian traditional salted meat.

A total of 17 strains of Lactobacillus plantarum, isolated from a Tunisian traditional salted meat and identified by biochemical and molecular methods, were characterized according to their technological properties including acidifying, antimicrobial and enzymatic activities as well as antibiotic resistance in order to select the most suitable for use as starter cultures for the production of fermented sausages. All the strains studied showed good acidifying activity and were able to reduce the pH to less than 4.3 in 72, 48 and 24h at 15, 25 and 37°C respectively.