Discovery of novel unfunctional allele causing loss of pungency in sweet bell pepper ( L.).

Pungency is a characteristic trait of pepper ( spp.). Two genes, and , are known as determinative factors of pepper pungency.

Accumulation of gamma-aminobutyrate (GABA) caused by heat-drying and expression of related genes in immature vegetable soybean (edamame).

We studied the effects of drying of immature seeds of vegetable soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) on the accumulation of gamma-aminobutyrate (GABA) in the seeds. GABA accumulated after heat-drying, with the maximum at 40°C.

Identification of novel Mlo family members in wheat and their genetic characterization.

Mlo is a plant-specific gene family, which is known to show stress responses in various plants. To reveal the genetic characteristics of the Mlo family in wheat, we isolated wheat Mlo members from a database and studied their expression in young shoots and roots under salt and osmotic stress conditions. In an in silico investigation, we identified seven Mlo members in wheat and named them TaMlo-1~TaMlo-7.

Phylogenetic analysis of Carthamus species based on the nucleotide sequence of the nuclear SACPD gene and chloroplast trnL-trnF IGS region.

To clarify the phylogenetic relationships of Carthamus species, we performed sequence analysis of the nuclear stearoyl acyl carrier protein desaturase (SACPD) gene and the chloroplast intergenic spacer region between leucine and phenylalanine tRNA genes (trnL-trnF IGS) in 13 taxa of Carthamus. The previous division of the genus into 4 taxonomic sections and allocation of particular genomes to various taxa on the basis of morphological, cytogenetic, and biosystematic analyses is not supported by the present study. Our results provide evidence of the occurrence of 5 nuclear genomes (A, B, C, X, and Y) and 3 cytoplasm types (A, B, and C) in the genus Carthamus.

Assaying polymorphism at DNA level for genetic diversity diagnostics of the safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) world germplasm resources.

Carthamus tinctorius (2n = 2x = 24), commonly known as safflower, is widely cultivated in agricultural production systems of Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas as a source of high quality vegetable and industrial oil. Twenty-two RAPD primers, 18 SSR primers, and 10 AFLP primer combinations were used to assess: (1) the genetic diversity of 85 accessions (originating from 24 countries) representing global germplasm variability of safflower and (2) the interrelationships among safflower 'centers of similarity' or 'regional gene pools' proposed earlier. The RAPD and SSR primers and AFLP primer combinations revealed 57.

Genetic variations in the chloroplast genome and phylogenetic clustering of Lycoris species.

The genus Lycoris of Amaryllidaceae comprises approximately 20 species that are distributed only in the moist warm temperate woodlands of eastern Asia. The objectives of this study were: (1) to clarify the phylogeny of the Lycoris species by using the definitive DNA sequencing method and (2) to examine the possible maternal donor of the hybrid origin Lycoris species and the Japanese triploid strains of Lycoris radiata var. radiata.

Multiple origins of U genome in two UM genome tetraploid Aegilops species, Ae. columnaris and Ae. triaristata, revealed based on the polymorphism of a genome-specific PCR fragment.

To elucidate the evolutionary mode of the formation of species via polyploidization, we conducted phylogenetic analysis of the U genome of the UM genome tetraploid Aegilops species, Ae. columnaris and Ae. triaristata.

Genetic diversity of three Elymus species indigenous to Japan and East Asia (E. tsukushiensis, E. humidus and E. dahuricus) detected by AFLP.

With the aim of broadening the gene pool of Triticeae for crop improvement, the genetic diversity of three hexaploid Elymus species indigenous to Japan and East Asia (E. tsukushiensis, E. humidus and E.