Genetic Diversity and Identification of Species Through Microsatellite Analysis.

The genus contains about 500 species distributed worldwide but only a limited number of species have been studied for genetic diversity using molecular markers. In this study, a genetic analysis was conducted on three Vaccinium species (four cultivars of , four wild populations of , and two cultivars of ), for a total of 95 genotypes, using eight microsatellite (SSR) loci. A total of 57 alleles were detected.

Cowpea Immature Pods and Grains Evaluation: An Opportunity for Different Food Sources.

Currently, the sustainability of agro-food systems is one of the major challenges for agriculture and the introduction of new pulse-based products can be a good opportunity to face this challenge. Cowpea ( L. Walp.

Effects of exogenous compound sprays on cherry cracking: skin properties and gene expression.

Background: Cherry fruit cracking is a costly problem for cherry growers. The effect of repeated sprayings (gibberellic acid - GA ; abscisic acid - ABA; salicylic acid - SA; glycine betaine - GB, and Ascophyllum nodosum - AN) combined with CaCl , on 'Sweetheart' cherry fruit-cracking characteristics was investigated. Cracking was quantified in terms of cracking incidence, crack morphology, confocal scanning laser microscopy, cuticular wax content, cell-wall modification, and cuticular wax gene expression.

Evaluating stress responses in cowpea under drought stress.

Drought impact on plants is an increasing concern under the climate change scenario. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.

Microsatellite High-Resolution Melting (SSR-HRM) to Track Olive Genotypes: From Field to Olive Oil.

The need to support food labelling has driven to the development of PCR-based techniques suitable for food analysis. DNA-based markers have been successfully employed for varietal tracing in Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) olive oils. In this study, we report a fast, sensitive, and easy-to-use strategy for PDO olive varietal identification.

Genetic diversity and structure of Iberian Peninsula cowpeas compared to world-wide cowpea accessions using high density SNP markers.

Background: Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) is an important legume crop due to its high protein content, adaptation to heat and drought and capacity to fix nitrogen. Europe has a deficit of cowpea production.

European cowpea landraces for a more sustainable agriculture system and novel foods.

Background: Genetic diversity is fundamental to breeding programs and consequently has an important role in obtaining new varieties. To properly use the genetic diversity present in germplasm collections, a good knowledge of the agro-morphological traits of each accession is needed. The aim of this study was to explore the production capacity of 24 cowpea landraces from southern Europe, through phenotypic characterization and evaluation in three different locations in Greece and Portugal.

Cowpea: a legume crop for a challenging environment.

Cowpea is a grain legume native from Africa and is a primary source of protein for millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the developing world. The main important characteristics of this crop include a good protein quality with a high nutritional value, its nitrogen-fixing ability, and an ability to be more drought- and heat-tolerant than most of its legume relatives. In a research perspective, studies of cowpea are relatively scarce, despite its relevance to agriculture in the developing world and its resilience to stress.

Phenotypic diversity and evaluation of fresh pods of cowpea landraces from Southern Europe.

Background: Cowpea fresh pods are consumed as green vegetables in many countries in Southern Europe. Among cowpea cultivated material, a relatively large number of landraces can be found, maintaining species genetic diversity. To assess the value of these landraces in breeding programs, the characterization and estimation of diversity levels is therefore required.

Influence of soil fertility on dye flavonoids production in weld (Reseda luteola L.) accessions from Portugal.

A HPLC-diode array detector (DAD) methodology was developed to allow the simultaneous identification and quantification of Reseda luteola L. (weld) dye flavonoids, luteolin, apigenin, luteolin 7-O-glucoside, apigenin 7-O-glucoside, luteolin 3',7-O-diglucoside and luteolin 4'-O-glucoside. The method was validated with excellent results in linearity, sensibility, accuracy and precision.

HPLC quantification of dye flavonoids in Reseda luteola L. from Portugal.

A HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous identification of Reseda luteola L. (weld) flavonoids and quantification of the main compounds responsible for the yellow color. This method was applied to a large number of wild Portuguese weld to evaluate its potential application as dyestuff for textile factories, as a substitute for the synthetic dyes currently used.