This study was conducted to evaluate the application of carbon isotope discrimination (CID) as a selection criterion for improving water use efficiency (WUE) and productivity of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) under field and droughtstress conditions in a greenhouse. A total of 54 genotypes were screened for variability in CID under field conditions, while 23 genotypes were evaluated under water-deficit conditions in the greenhouse. A survey of leaf CID of 54 genotypes at two field locations showed more than 2.14& difference between extreme genotypes. Significant (P £ 0.05) genotypic variation was found in WUE and CID that had a negative strong correlation. There was a negative correlation between leaf CID and aerial biomass in the greenhouse and among six-row genotypes in the field. Correlations between leaf CID across field locations and across irrigation regimes in the greenhouse were significant (experiment 1, r = 0.79 and 0.94 for six-and two-row genotypes), suggesting stability of the CID trait across different environments. Overall, these results indicate the potential of leaf CID as a reliable method for selecting for high WUE and productivity in barley breeding programmes in the Canadian prairies. Further work is currently underway to determine heritability ⁄ genetics of leaf CID and application of molecular marker-assisted selection for the traits in barley breeding programmes.

In recent years high-THC (psychoactive) and low-THC (industrial hemp) type cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) have gained immense attention in medical, food, and a plethora of other consumer product markets. Among the planting materials used for cultivation, tissue culture clones provide various advantages such as economies of scale, production of disease-free and true-to-type plants for reducing the risk of GMP-EuGMP level medical cannabis production, as well as the development and application of various technologies for genetic improvement. Various tissue culture methods have the potential application with cannabis for research, breeding, and novel trait development, as well as commercial mass propagation. Although tissue culture techniques for plant regeneration and micropropagation have been reported for different cannabis genotypes and explant sources, there are significant variations in the response of cultures and the morphogenic pathway. Methods for many high-yielding elite strains are still rudimentary, and protocols are not established. With a recent focus on sequencing and genomics in cannabis, genetic transformation systems are applied to medical cannabis and hemp for functional gene annotation via traditional and transient transformation methods to create novel phenotypes by gene expression modulation and to validate gene function. This review presents the current status of research focusing on different aspects of tissue culture, including micropropagation, transformation, and the regeneration of medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp transformants. Potential future tissue culture research strategies helping elite cannabis breeding and propagation are also presented.

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The Phaseolus vulgaris L. is one of the traditional and most important leguminous crops in the Island of Madeira. The island's bioclimatic tiers, agro-ecological environment and traditional farming practices had a great influence on the evolution of regional bean landraces. The variability of the nutritional and mineral seeds composition of 59 accessions of the Madeiran landraces, standard and commercial varieties was evaluated. Wide ranges of variability in biochemical parameters were reported among the Madeiran landraces, being the best sources of protein and mineral nutrition, according to the statistical results and literature comparative evaluation. Specifically, the content (g per 100 g DW) of ash ranged from 3.64-5.67, lipids from 0.57-2.86, protein from 18.55-29.69, starch from 23.40-52.65, soluble sugars from 2.97-6.84, while content of dry matter was from 83.35-93.55. The seeds also contained (per 100 g DW) between 2.55-4.83 g N,