Apomixis, asexual reproduction through seed, is widespread among angiosperm families. Gametophytic apomixis in Pennisetum squamulatum and Cenchrus ciliaris is controlled by the apospory-specific genomic region (ASGR), which is highly conserved and macrosyntenic between these species. Thirty-two ASGR bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) isolated from both species and one ASGR-recombining BAC from P. squamulatum, which together cover approximately 2.7 Mb of DNA, were used to investigate the genomic structure of this region. Phrap assembly of 4,521 high-quality reads generated 1,341 contiguous sequences (contigs; 730 from the ASGR and 30 from the ASGR-recombining BAC in P. squamulatum, plus 580 from the C. ciliaris ASGR). Contigs containing putative protein-coding regions unrelated to transposable elements were identified based on protein similarity after Basic Local Alignment Search Tool X analysis. These putative coding regions were further analyzed in silico with reference to the rice (Oryza sativa) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) genomes using the resources at Gramene (www.gramene.org) and Phytozome (www.phytozome.net) and by hybridization against sorghum BAC filters. The ASGR sequences reveal that the ASGR (1) contains both gene-rich and gene-poor segments, (2) contains several genes that may play a role in apomictic development, (3) has many classes of transposable elements, and (4) does not exhibit large-scale synteny with either rice or sorghum genomes but does contain multiple regions of microsynteny with these species.

No abstract

Apomixis enables the clonal propagation of maternal genotypes through seed. If apomixis could be harnessed via genetic engineering or introgression, it would have a major economic impact for agricultural crops. In the grass species Pennisetum squamulatum and Cenchrus ciliaris (syn. P. ciliare), apomixis is controlled by a single dominant "locus", the apospory-specific genomic region (ASGR). For P. squamulatum, 18 published sequenced characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers have been identified which always co-segregate with apospory. Six of these markers are conserved SCARs in the closely related species, C. ciliaris and co-segregate with the trait. A screen of progeny from a cross of sexual × apomictic C. ciliaris genotypes identified a plant, A8, retaining two of the six ASGR-linked SCAR markers. Additional and newly identified ASGR-linked markers were generated to help identify the extent of recombination within the ASGR. Based on analysis of missing markers, the A8 recombinant plant has lost a significant portion of the ASGR but continues to form aposporous embryo sacs. Seedlings produced from aposporous embryo sacs are 6× in ploidy level and hence the A8 recombinant does not express parthenogenesis. The recombinant A8 plant represents a step forward in reducing the complexity of the ASGR locus to determine the factor(s) required for aposporous embryo sac formation and documents the separation of expression of the two components of apomixis in C. ciliaris.

Muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia) is the first native North American grape to be domesticated. During the past century, breeding programs have created a large collection of muscadine cultivars. Muscadine cultivars are usually identified by evaluating morphological traits and checking breeding records, which can be ambiguous and unauthentic. During this study, simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to generate DNA fingerprinting profiles to identify muscadine cultivars and verify their reported pedigrees. Eighty-nine Vitis accessions were genotyped using 20 SSRs from 13 linkage groups. From these, 81 unique subgenus Muscadinia accessions were identified, and a core set of five SSR markers was able to distinguish all of them. Eighteen misidentifications were found, and five previously unknown accessions were matched with cultivars in the dataset. The profiles of 12 cultivars were not consistent with their reported parentage–progeny relationships. Genetic diversity was analyzed at four levels: all V. rotundifolia cultivars (N = 67); current cultivars (N = 39); historical cultivars (N = 28); and wild V. rotundifolia accessions (N = 9). There was substantial genetic diversity in both wild and historically cultivated muscadines. The principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) showed clear separation among subgenus Vitis cultivars, wild muscadine accessions, and cultivated muscadines, with PCoA1 and PCoA2 explaining 11.0% and 9.3% of the total variation, respectively.

There is a growing interest in organic fertilizers because of increased demand for organic sweet onions and other vegetables. There are, however, limited studies on sweet onion bulb yield and quality in response to organic fertilization. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of organic fertilizer rate on sweet onion bulb yield and bulb quality before and after storage. Experiments were conducted at the Horticulture Farm, Tifton Campus, University of Georgia, in the Winters of 2012–13 and 2013–14. There were five organic fertilization treatments (organic fertilizer 3–2–3 equivalent to 0, 60, 120, 180, and 240 kg·ha−1 N). Total and marketable yields and individual bulb weight increased quadratically with increasing organic fertilization rate and responses failed to reach a plateau. The fraction of extra-large bulb increased with increasing organic fertilization rate. Incidence of onion bolting was maximal at 60 kg·ha−1 N and decreased with increasing organic fertilization rate. The percentage of bulb dry weight was highest in the unfertilized control and decreased with increasing organic fertilization rate. Organic fertilization rate had no consistent impact on bulb soluble solids content (SCC) and pungency (measured as pyruvate concentration) in the two seasons. Total antioxidant capacity (measured as gallic acid equivalents) values were among the lowest at 60 and 120 kg·ha−1 N. In conclusion, onion bulb yields increased with increasing organic fertilization rate, whereas incidences of bulb diseases responded differently to N rate. Botrytis rot was the main cause of postharvest bulb decay in all organic fertilization rates.

Colored shade nets may affect plant growth and fruit yield of horticultural crops. The understanding of how colored shade nets influence plants, however, is far from complete. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of colored shade nets on bell pepper fruit yield, postharvest transpiration, color, chemical composition, and antioxidant capacity. The experiment was conducted in Tifton, GA, during the spring of 2015 and 2016. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replications and five colored shade net treatments (black, red, silver, and white nets, and an unshaded control). The nets were placed on the top of wooden rectangular structures (15 m wide × 6 m long × 5 m high), leaving the sides of the structures uncovered. Results showed that in both 2015 and 2016, marketable and total fruit number, yield, and individual fruit weight were reduced under the unshaded treatment. There were inconsistent differences in marketable and total fruit number, yield, and individual fruit weight among colored shade nets. Postharvest fruit transpiration and skin permeance were also reduced in unshaded conditions, and no differences were found among colored shade nets. Fruit color L* and b* values were highest, and a* value was lowest in unshaded conditions. Fruit soluble solids, total phenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity [Cupric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity (CUPRAC) and Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC)] responded differently among colored shade nets in the 2 years. Total phenols, flavonoids, and TEAC, however, were among the highest in unshaded conditions. In conclusion, results of the present study support previous findings that shade nets increase fruit yield and quality in bell pepper compared with fruit produced in unshaded conditions. Nevertheless, there were no consistent differences in fruit total and marketable yield and postharvest fruit transpiration and chemical composition of fruit produced under colored shade nets.

Stenospermocarpic seedlessness from Vitis vinifera L. is being introgressed into muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia Michx.) germplasm through the use of a cross-fertile hybrid of the two species. Recently, a sequence-tagged site (STS) molecular marker, p3_VvAGL11, has been developed which enables detection of the dominant allele controlling stenospermocarpic seedlessness in V. vinifera. This marker was evaluated in six Euvitis Planch. × Muscadinia Planch. hybrid progenies to determine its association with seedlessness in this material. The presence of the 214-bp seedlessness-associated p3_VvAGL11 allele in seedling vines resulted in a nearly 3-fold reduction in mean seed fresh weight (MSFW) and significantly reduced mean seed weight per berry (MSWB), percent berry weight composed of seed (BWCS), and mean berry weight (MBW). When the lack of lignified seed was used as the determinant of seedlessness, the p3_VvAGL11 marker was able to correctly judge seedlessness in ≈85% of the progeny. Analysis of seedlessness in the progenies was hampered by poor vigor and fruiting ability of the hybrid seedlings. The p3_VvAGL11 marker shows potential to speed the introduction of the stenospermocarpic seedlessness into Muscadinia germplasm by identifying seedless progeny at the seedling stage.

There is limited information on the effect of organic fertilizers on seed germination and subsequent transplant growth. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of application rate of blood meal (BM) and feather meal (FM) fertilizers on germination of tomato seeds. Both organic fertilizers were applied as amendments to peat-based organic substrates at rates ranging from 0 to over 50 g·kg−1 N. Tomato ‘Brandywine’ seed were sown in trays. Seed germination was recorded daily until the germination percentage remained unchanged. Ammonia concentration in the substrates (Pro-Mix and Miracle-Gro) increased with increasing rate of substrate N concentration. Ammonia concentration also increased with increasing time after incorporation of BM and FM reaching maximum values (16 ppm) at day 9. Tomato seed germination was little affected at BM and FM rates lower than ≈3 g·kg−1 N (4% w/w for BM or FM), but declined above 3 g·kg−1 N reaching 0% germination rate at ≈14 g·kg−1 N for both BM and FM. Substrates pH was 5.9 in the absence of BM or FM and increased to about pH 7 with addition of low rates of BM (2.7 g·kg−1 N) and FM (2.6 g·kg−1 N). Substrate electrical conductivity (EC) increased with increasing substrate N concentration as supplied by BM and FM; FM, however, had a stronger effect on increasing EC compared with BM. In conclusion, BM and FM had inhibitory effects on tomato seed germination when applied at more than 3 g·kg−1 N (4% w/w for BM or FM). High ammonia concentration in the substrates for the first 2 weeks after incorporation of BM or FM likely caused, at least partially, inhibition of tomato seed germination. Thus, substrate mixed with BM or FM should be allowed to incubate for at least 2 weeks before planting tomato seed.