Use of Microsatellites to Study Agricultural Biodiversity and Food Traceability

Molecular markers are useful tools for measuring the genetic diversity among agricultural species. In plants, microsatellites are still the most used markers for germplasm characterization, conservation, and traceability purposes, while in the livestock sector, although having represented the standard for at least two decades, they are still used only for minor farm animal species. In this work, together with a review on the use of microsatellites in livestock, we also illustrate the use of these markers for the characterization of agricultural diversity and food traceability through two case studies: (i) the analysis of genetic diversity in ancient fruit tree cultivars of apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.), pear (Pyrus communis L.), sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.), and sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) from Northern Italy and (ii) the molecular authentication of wheat food chain. In the former case, a high genetic variability as well as the presence of different ploidy levels were detected, while in the latter microsatellite markers were shown to be useful for traceability and product authentication along the whole food chain. Overall, the presented evidence confirms the versatility of microsatellites as markers for both agrobiodiversity characterization and food traceability in cultivated plants and farm animals

Biodiversity of Northern Italy popcorn: a study on genetic diversity and agronomic performances of traditional landraces

Popcorn (Zea mays spp. mays - Everta) is an ancient and widely recognized maize type, of American origin, enjoyed for centuries worldwide and still highly valued for its unique popping trait. Italy, considered a secondary center of maize differentiation, still holds a rich diversity of local maize landraces survived on farm and also ex situ stored. Despite this genetic wealth, Italian popcorn varieties have largely been neglected in modern breeding programs and remain poorly characterized, with only fragmented and incomplete data available. Recent studies have confirmed the widespread presence of traditional popcorn landraces across Italy, also if relegate to small garden cultivations, yet a comprehensive understanding of their genetic and agronomic traits remains lacking. This underscores the urgent need to preserve and document these landraces to conserve biodiversity and protect Italy’s cultural heritage. In response to this gap, in this study, ten Italian popcorn landraces were collected and morphological characterization was performed. Moreover, a genetic characterization of 282 individuals was conducted using a GBS approach. The morphological characterization revealed significant phenotypic and agronomic variability for a total of 13 traits including susceptibility to fungal infection and popping traits, whereas the genetic one identified 313,342 SNP variants, uncovering evidence of local adaptation and provided insights into population structure by Admixture analysis, which revealed the presence of 8 ancestral populations consistently with morphological and historical data. This work sheds light on these neglected landraces, offering valuable information for biodiversity conservation and future breeding efforts, particularly in marginal areas where smallholder cultivation remains crucial

Wine Resveratrol: From the Ground Up

The ability of the grapevine to activate defense mechanisms against some pathogens has been shown to be linked to the synthesis of resveratrol and other stilbenes by the plant (inducible viniferins). Metabolized viniferins may also be produced or modified by extracellular enzymes released by the pathogen in an attempt to eliminate undesirable toxic compounds. Because of the important properties of resveratrol, there is increasing interest in producing wines with higher contents of this compound and a higher nutritional value. Many biotic and abiotic elicitors can trigger the resveratrol synthesis in the berries, and some examples are reported. Under the same elicitation pressure, viticultural and enological factors can substantially affect the resveratrol concentration in the wine. The production of high resveratrol-containing grapes and wines relies on quality-oriented viticulture (suitable terroirs and sustainable cultural practices) and winemaking technologies that avoid degradation of the compound. In general, the oenological practices commonly used to stabilize wine after fermentation do not affect resveratrol concentration, which shows considerable stability. Finally the paper reports on two sirtuin genes (SIRT) expressed in grapevine leaves and berries and the role of resveratrol on the deacetylation activity of the encoded enzymes

Ongoing Evolution in the Genus Crocus: Diversityof Flowering Strategies on the Way to Hysteranthy

[EN] Species of the genus Crocus are found over a wide range of climatic areas. In natural habitats, these geophytes diverge in the flowering strategies. This variability was assessed by analyzing the flowering traits of the Spanish collection of wild crocuses, preserved in the Bank of Plant Germplasm of Cuenca. Plants of the seven Spanish species were analyzed both in their natural environments (58 native populations) and in common garden experiments (112 accessions). Differences among species observed in the native habitats were maintained under uniform environmental conditions, suggesting a genetic basis for flowering mechanisms. Two eco-morphological types, autumn- and spring-flowering species, share similar patterns of floral induction and differentiation period in summer. The optimal temperature for this process was 23 degrees C for both types. Unlike Irano-Turanian crocuses, spring-flowering Spanish species do not require low winter temperatures for flower elongation. Hysteranthous crocuses flower in autumn prior to leaf elongation. We conclude that the variability in flowering traits in crocuses is related to the genetic and environmental regulation of flower primordia differentiation and elongation prior to emergence above the soil surface. The elucidation of the physiological differences between eco-morphological types of crocuses: synanthous with cold requirements and synanthous and hysteranthous without cold requirements, unlocks a new approach to the flowering evolution of geophytes in Mediterranean regions. Crocus species can serve both as a new model in the study of the molecular basis of hysteranthy and for the purposes of developing the molecular markers for desirable flowering traits.The collection activities of plant materials included in this study were mainly supported by successive Spanish research projects funded by the "Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria" [INIA RF2004-00032-C03, INIA RF2008-00012-C03, INIA RF2011-00005-C03], co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF-FEDER), and also by means of the European Action 018 Agri Gen Res (CrocusBank). The activities of PhD. TPF were supported by a pre-doctoral grant from the "Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria" within the framework of the project INIA RF2011-0005-C03-01. The preservation of these materials in the facilities of the Bank of Plant Germplasm of Cuenca (CIAF Albaladejito -IRIAF), as part of the Spanish Germplasm Collection of Saffron and other Crocus, is currently supported by the Spanish National Program for Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Agriculture and Food (action INIA RFP2014-00012). Some activities have been also funded by the "Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades de Espana" [AGL2016-77078-R].Pastor-Férriz, T.; De-Los-Mozos-Pascual, M.; Renau-Morata, B.; Nebauer, SG.; Sanchís, E.; Busconi, M.; Fernández, J.... (2021). Ongoing Evolution in the Genus Crocus: Diversityof Flowering Strategies on the Way to Hysteranthy. Plants. 10(3):1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants1003047711810

The Rediscovery of Traditional Maize Agrobiodiversity: A Study Case from Northern Italy

Nowadays, agriculture is under the pressure of climate change and new pathogen outbreaks while farmers are requiring breeders to develop more resistant and resilient genotypes. The genetic base for breeding may be increased through appropriate conservation, description and characterization of local varieties and germplasm collections that have never been used in breeding, and which could be sources of useful alleles. In this framework, the present paper focuses on eight maize landraces of the eastern part of Emilia-Romagna, derived from the Italian maize collection sampled in 1954. Landraces are characterized by a short cycle length and different kernel types—mainly flint-like or an intermediate type of yellow or yellow–orange color—while dent landraces are less represented. Pigmented and white corns are absent even though one landrace (Va213) showed the presence of scattered blue kernels on yellow ears. Ear shape is frequently conical, a trait associated with drought-resistance and common in Italian traditional landraces. Genetic characterization was carried out on 529 individuals by using 10 SSR markers. A total of 68 different alleles, ranging from 4 for markers (phi084 and umc1401) to 11 (phi031) and from 27 (Va217) to 50 (Va211), were evidenced at the individual and population level. AMOVA analysis revealed a small amount (19%) of variability between populations, as supported also by PCoA, with the only exception of Va217, which is different from the others, as evidenced also by phylogenetic analysis. Population structure analysis resulted in the identification of three and four population levels, which are consistent with previous results

Morphological and Genetic Characterization of Local Maize Accessions from Emilia Romagna Region, Italy

Italian maize germplasm is particularly rich in local materials and each region is characterized by the presence of peculiar local varieties deriving from centuries of adaptation, selection and cultivation. While the introduction of hybrids, during the 1950s, led to the disappearing of many of these varieties, some have been maintained in cultivation by farmers, frequently in marginal areas, as a kind of family heritage. Local varieties were identified throughout field surveys carried out in recent years. The discovery of a traditional popcorn variety over the most common flint and semi-flint materials used for production of polenta was interesting. Since these varieties have never been adequately described and reported in scientific literature, this study was aimed to solve this lack of knowledge on recently discovered local maize populations. Characterization represents the first step of a process focused on the preservation and possible exploitation of important genetic resources. Traditional materials are a useful reservoir of genes for adaptation to local conditions and climate changes. Adequate breeding programs can use such germplasm for developing new and more resilient varieties. These local materials have been characterized at the morphological level highlighting plant, ear and kernel differences. Genetic characterization, carried out on 455 individuals by the use of 10 SSR markers, revealed 62 different alleles ranging from four for markers phi127, phi076 and phi084 to nine for marker p-bnlg176. The landraces are well distinguishable at genetic level since 40% of genetic variability is present among accessions. Five landraces are characterized by the presence of private alleles and heterozygosity levels are generally good. These findings support the possibility to correctly preserve local materials through in situ conservation. Phylogenetic analysis evidenced the presence of varietal clusters, the clearest one formed by three red-pigmented accessions. STRUCTURE analysis revealed that five landraces have a well-defined genetic attribution while the remaining two (EMR04-Mais Rosso di Rasora and EMR10-Mais del Principe di Scavolino) are both constituted by two different backgrounds

CHARACTERIZING HETEROSIS IN A SET OF RECOMBINANT INTERCROSSES (RIXS) DEVELOPED FROM A MULTIPARENTAL MAIZE POPULATION

The exploitation of heterosis is key in modern maize breeding to capture the superior performance of heterozygous genotypes. Here, we developed a recombinant intercross (RIX) population in maize by crossing pairs of multiparental MAGIC recombinant inbred lines (RILs) to evaluate the heterosis across mosaics of eight maize haplotypes. Field phenotyping was performed on 400 RIX genotypes considering 11 agronomic traits as well as the resistance to Fusarium Ear Rot (FER), caused by Fusarium verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg, in 2018 and 2019 in Piacenza, northern Italy. Phenotypic data showed a broad range of diversity in production and phenology traits thanks to the high level of allelic diversity available in parental genomes. The heterotic response of agronomic traits was computed based on RIL values as mid parent heterosis (MPH) and best parent heterosis (BPH). Both heterosis measures showed different magnitudes for different traits, with higher level of heterosis in yield and lower in flowering time, suggesting effects from partial dominance to over-dominance. No correlation was observed between phenotypic performance and heterozygosity level of RIXs for most of the agronomic traits. A preliminary quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping detected a number of significant associations with agronomic traits across all chromosomes. The RIX collection showed a moderate heritability of FER resistance, and QTL were associated to this trait as well. The allelic effect estimates by our mapping model indicated the presence of minor effect QTL with relatively small additive effects on disease resistance in both years. Our findings confirm the usefulness of the RIX population to decipher heterotic loci in maize and support utilizing this resource in future to accelerate crop improvement

Is the Cross-modal Congruency Effect modulated by schizotypal traits?

L’abilità di integrare stimoli di differenti modalità sensoriali provenienti dall’ambiente e l’aspettativa che ci costruiamo attivamente di tali stimoli sono due meccanismi adattivi fondamentali che ci permettono di creare una rappresentazione coerente della realtà e di interagire con essa. Numerosi studi hanno dimostrato che tali processi sono alterati nella Schizofrenia, e, per quanto in misura minore, nel Disturbo Schizotipico di Personalità, considerato all’interno di un continuum dimensionale con i Disturbi dello Spettro della Schizofrenia. Lo scopo del nostro studio è indagare se tali processi siano alterati anche in soggetti che presentano tratti sub-clinici di personalità schizotipica. La presenza di tali tratti nel nostro campione non clinico è stata valutata con lo Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), e i soggetti che hanno ottenuto un punteggio compreso tra 1 e 50 sono stati sottoposti ad una recente versione del Crossmodal Congruency Task. Tale paradigma, che comprendeva un cue uditivo, un distrattore visivo e un target vibro-tattile, ci ha permesso di valutare la relazione tra i tempi di reazione dei soggetti al task e due fattori within-subjects: la congruenza del distrattore visivo con l’elevazione del target vibro-tattile (condizione congruente vs condizione incongruente) e il tipo di trial (conditioning trials, in cui il distrattore visivo era presente, vs expectation trials, in cui il distrattore visivo era atteso, ma omesso). Il nostro studio ci ha dunque permesso di indagare un tema fino ad ora poco esplorato dalla letteratura psicologica, cioè l’influenza dei tratti di personalità nei processi di interazione crossmodale.Two crucial adaptive mechanisms, which allow us to create a coherent representation of reality and to interact with it, are the abilities to integrate stimuli of different sensory modalities coming from the environment and the expectation of those stimuli that we actively create. Many studies demonstrated that these processes are altered in Schizophrenia, and, although to a lesser degree, in Schizotypal Personality Disorder, which is considered to be within a dimensional continuum with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders. The aim of our study is to investigate if these processes are also altered in people who present sub-clinical traits of schizotypal personality. The presence of these traits in our non-clinical sample was evaluated using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), and subjects who had obtained scores between 1 and 50 in the test perfomed a recent version of the Crossmodal Congruency Task. The experimental paradigm, which included an auditory cue, a visual distractor and a vibro-tactile target, allowed us to evaluate the relationship between Reaction Times of the subjects and two within-subjects factors: the congruency of the visual distractor with respect to the elevation of the vibro-tactile target (congruent condition vs. incongruent condition) and the type of trial (conditioning trials, in which the visual distractor was presented, vs expectation trials, in which the visual distractor was expected, but actually omitted). Our study allowed us to investigate a topic until not so studied in psychological literature, that is the influence of personality traits within crossmodal interaction processes