Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis was used to assess genetic inter-relationships among olive varieties cultivated in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin. The genotypes sampled included most of the important cultivars from Turkey, Greece and the Middle East and selected genotypes from the Western Mediterranean area. A total of 119 polymorphic markers were generated from five selective primer-pair combinations. The combined data sets generated by just two primer-pairs were adequate to discriminate between all 65 genotypes, while each primer-pair could individually identify up to 64 genotypes. A factorial correspondence analysis (FCA) plot indicated that the cultivars clustered into two relatively modestly defined groups. The first broad group was dominated by cultivars from Turkey but also included genotypes originating from the Middle East (Syria and Lebanon) that collectively formed a tight subcluster. The second group comprised Greek cultivars and those originating from the Western Mediterranean. A significant genetic distance value between Greek and Turkish cultivars was provided by an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA). There was also evidence of substructure here, with an apparent separation of most Spanish and Italian clones. These findings are in general accordance to previous suggestions of an East-West divergence of olive cultivars, although the dichotomy is less extensive than reported previously and complicated by regional variation within each group.

Prolyl 4-hydroxylases (P4Hs) catalyze the proline hydroxylation, a major post-translational modification, of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins. Two carnation petal P4H cDNAs, (Dianthus caryophyllus prolyl 4-hydroxylase) DcP4H1 and DcP4H2, were identified and characterized at the gene expression and biochemical level in order to investigate their role in flower senescence. Both mRNAs showed similar patterns of expression with stable transcript abundance during senescence progression and differential tissue-specific expression with DcP4H1 and DcP4H2 strongly expressed in ovaries and stems, respectively. Recombinant DcP4H1 and DcP4H2 proteins were produced and their catalytic properties were determined. Pyridine 2,4-dicarboxylate (PDCA) was identified as a potent inhibitor of the in vitro enzyme activity of both P4Hs and used to determine whether inhibition of proline hydroxylation in petals is involved in senescence progression of cut carnation flowers. PDCA suppressed the climacteric ethylene production indicating a strong correlation between the inhibition of DcP4H1 and DcP4H2 activity in vitro by PDCA and the suppression of climacteric ethylene production in cut carnation flowers.

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The expression of two CTR-gene homologues was investigated during flower senescence in two Rosa hybrida cultivars. A fragment of a gene for a protein kinase, termed RhCTR1 (GenBank Acc. No. AF271206), was amplified by PCR and used to isolate the corresponding full-length cDNA (Acc. No. AY032953) from a rose petal cDNA library. The protein RhCTR1 has 66% amino acid identity to Arabidopsis CTR1. A fragment of a second CTR homologue, termed RhCTR2 (Acc. No. AY029067) is 69% identical to the corresponding region of RhCTR1. RhCTR1 expression increased during flower senescence, while RhCTR2 was constitutively expressed during flower development. The expression of both RhCTR1 and RhCTR2 was increased in response to exogenous ethylene.

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Sporadic incidences of Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) in western Crete resulting from the introduction of a mild strain (Spanish isolate T385) have been reported previously. Further analysis within this region has identified an emerging second CTV strain with minimal genetic divergence, sharing 99% nucleotide identity with the severe stem‐pitting isolate Taiwan‐Pum/SP/T1. Other severe isolates from the Mediterranean region appear in the same phylogenetic cluster, indicating movement or new introductions and the need for targeted control actions and improved phytosanitary measures in this area.

Two full‐length cDNAs encoding alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH, EC 1.1.1.1) and pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC, EC 4.1.1.1), named Dcadh1 and Dcpdc1, respectively, were cloned from the petals of cut carnation flowers exposed to hypoxia (1.5% O2). Dcadh1 and Dcpdc1 transcripts were accumulated in large amounts in the petals of carnation flowers 2 and 3 h after the exposure of the flowers to hypoxia and anoxia, respectively. The accumulation of the transcripts was accompanied by subsequent increases in the ADH and PDC activities in the petals. The rapid and massive induction of Dcadh1 and Dcpdc1 expression and their enzymatic activities make these genes useful molecular markers for the early events of hypoxic adaptation in cut carnation flowers. The long‐term objective of this research is to induce a hypoxia‐like response in cut carnation flowers maintained under normoxic conditions in order to extend their vase life. Cut carnation flowers represent a good model system to study the molecular triggering of the hypoxic response.