Olive variety identification by ligation detection reaction in a universal array format.

Molecular methodologies are increasingly being developed to assess the origin and authenticity of raw organic materials and processed food products. Here we describe the application of a microarray-based assay for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identification in olive cultivars. The assay distinguishes alleles in a ligation detection reaction (LDR), with subsequent fluorescent detection by hybridization on a universal array (UA).

Interaction between nitric oxide and ethylene in the induction of alternative oxidase in ozone-treated tobacco plants.

The higher plant mitochondrial electron transport chain contains, in addition to the cytochrome chain, an alternative pathway that terminates with a single homodimeric protein, the alternative oxidase (AOX). We recorded temporary inhibition of cytochrome capacity respiration and activation of AOX pathway capacity in tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv BelW3) fumigated with ozone (O(3)).

Genetic structure of wild and cultivated olives in the central Mediterranean basin.

Background And Aims: Olive cultivars and their wild relatives (oleasters) represent two botanical varieties of Olea europaea subsp. europaea (respectively europaea and sylvestris). Olive cultivars have undergone human selection and their area of diffusion overlaps that of oleasters.

Gene expression profiles of O3-treated Arabidopsis plants.

To analyse cellular response to O(3), the tolerant Arabidopsis thaliana genotype Col-0 was exposed to O(3) fumigation (300 ppb) for 6 h and the modulation of gene expression during the treatment (3 h after the beginning of the treatment, T3 h) and the recovery phase (6 h from the end of the treatment, T12 h) assessed by gene chip microarray and real-time reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR analyses. The Arabidopsis transcriptional profile is complex, as new genes (i.e.

On-going on-farm microevolutionary processes in neighbouring cowpea landraces revealed by molecular markers.

A knowledge of existing levels of diversity is fundamental for planning in situ (on-farm) conservation activities. Three neighbouring cowpea landraces (LRs) currently cultivated in central Italy were studied by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and selectively amplified microsatellite polymorphic locus (SAMPL) markers to determine the distribution of genetic variation within and among them. The three LRs studied, although relatively similar, are highly different from one another as shown by the significance of the Fisher exact test for the genic differentiation and the absence of genotype sharing among them.

Light and an exogenous transcription factor qualitatively and quantitatively affect the biosynthetic pathway of condensed tannins in Lotus corniculatus leaves.

The effects of increasing light and of a heterologous bHLH transcription factor on the accumulation of condensed tannins (CT) were investigated in leaves of Lotus corniculatus, a model legume species which accumulates these secondary metabolites in leaves as well as reproductive tissues. Light and expression of the transgene increased the level of CT in a synergistic way. To monitor how the changes in accumulation of condensed tannins were achieved, the level of expression of four key genes in the flavonoid pathway was estimated by real-time RT-PCR analysis.

Efficiency of three PCR-based markers in assessing genetic variation among cowpea (Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata) landraces.

The main objective of this study was to investigate the efficiency of RAPD, AFLP, and SAMPL marker systems in detecting genetic polymorphism in cowpea landraces (Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata (L.) Walp.