Long-term genetic studies of wild populations are very scarce, but are essential for connecting ecological and population genetics models, and for understanding the dynamics of biodiversity. We present a study of a wild wheat population sampled over a 36-year period at high spatial resolution. We genotyped 832 individuals from regular sampling along transects during the course of the experiment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs) generated by the Cas9 nuclease are commonly repaired via nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) or homologous recombination (HR). However, little is known about unrepaired DSBs and the type of damage they trigger in plants. We designed an assay that detects loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in somatic cells, enabling the study of a broad range of DSB-induced genomic events.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe majority of plant disease resistance (R) genes encode nucleotide binding-leucine-rich repeat (NLR) proteins. In melon, two closely linked NLR genes, Fom-1 and Prv, were mapped and identified as candidate genes that control resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMeiotic recombination is the main driver of genetic diversity in wheat breeding. The rate and location of crossover (CO) events are regulated by genetic and epigenetic factors. In wheat, most COs occur in subtelomeric regions but are rare in centromeric and pericentric areas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHomologous recombination (HR) in somatic cells is not as well understood as meiotic recombination and is thought to be rare. In a previous study, we showed that Inter-Homologous Somatic Recombination (IHSR) can be achieved by targeted induction of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Here, we designed a novel IHSR assay to investigate this phenomenon in greater depth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant transformation mediated by is a well-studied phenomenon in which a bacterial DNA fragment (T-DNA), is transferred to the host plant cell, as a single strand, via type IV secretion system and has the potential to reach the nucleus and to be integrated into its genome. While Agrobacterium-mediated transformation has been widely used for laboratory-research and in breeding, the time-course of its journey from the bacterium to the nucleus, the conversion from single- to double-strand intermediates and several aspects of the integration in the genome remain obscure. In this study, we sought to follow T-DNA infection directly using single-molecule live imaging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrent breeding relies mostly on random mutagenesis and recombination to generate novel genetic variation. However, targeted genome editing is becoming an increasingly important tool for precise plant breeding. Using the CRISPR-Cas system combined with the bean yellow dwarf virus rolling circle replicon, we optimized a method for targeted mutagenesis and gene replacement in tomato.
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