Assessing nutritional and genetic variations within foxtail millet () landraces collected from indigenous communities across the Philippines.

Unknown to many, the Philippines is host to a few remaining accessions of the underutilised and understudied cereal foxtail millet (L.) P. Beauv.

Assessing Loss of Regulatory Divergence, Genome-Transcriptome Incongruence, and Preferential Expression Switching in Abaca × Banana Backcrosses.

The var. Abuab has high fiber quality (FQ) but is susceptible to abaca bunchy top virus (AbBTV); the var. Pacol has low FQ but is resistant against AbBTV.

Nutritional and genetic variation in a core set of Ethiopian Tef (Eragrostis tef) varieties.

Background: Tef (Eragrostis tef) is a tropical cereal domesticated and grown in the Ethiopian highlands, where it has been a staple food of Ethiopians for many centuries. Food insecurity and nutrient deficiencies are major problems in the country, so breeding for enhanced nutritional traits, such as Zn content, could help to alleviate problems with malnutrition.

Results: To understand the breeding potential of nutritional traits in tef a core set of 24 varieties were sequenced and their mineral content, levels of phytate and protein, as well as a number of nutritionally valuable phenolic compounds measured in grain.

RNA-Seq Reveals Differentially Expressed Genes Associated with High Fiber Quality in Abaca ( Nee).

Despite the importance of and current demand for abaca ( Nee) fiber, there has been limited study that capitalizes on RNA-seq to identify candidate genes associated with high fiber quality and bunchy top virus (AbBTV) resistance. Three varieties (Abuab, Inosa, and Tangongon), one wild banana variety ( Colla) Pacol, and two developed backcrosses (Abuab × Pacol BC and BC) were grown at the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB), Laguna, Philippines. The pseudostems of 3-month-old suckers of each genotype were sampled for RNA-seq.

Unraveling regulatory divergence, heterotic malleability, and allelic imbalance switching in rice due to drought stress.

The indica ecotypes, IR64, an elite drought-susceptible variety adapted to irrigated ecosystem, and Apo (IR55423-01 or NSIC RC9), a moderate drought-tolerant upland genotype together with their hybrid (IR64 × Apo) were exposed to non- and water-stress conditions. By sequencing (RNA-seq) these genotypes, we were able to map genes diverging in cis and/or trans factors. Under non-stress condition, cis dominantly explains (11.

Analysis of Allelic Imbalance in Rice Hybrids Under Water Stress and Association of Asymmetrically Expressed Genes with Drought-Response QTLs.

Background: Information on the effect of stress on the allele-specific expression (ASE) profile of rice hybrids is limited. More so, the association of allelically imbalanced genes to important traits is yet to be understood. Here we assessed allelic imbalance (AI) in the heterozygote state of rice under non- and water-stress treatments and determined association of asymmetrically expressed genes with grain yield (GY) under drought stress by in-silico co-localization analysis and selective genotyping.