'No.80' (Capsicum chinense) from the Caribbean is a valuable genetic source from the aspect of its non-pungent and highly aromatic traits. In the present study, the non-pungency, volatile components, and phylogenetic origin of 'No.80' were analyzed with another C. chinense cultivar, 'No.2' from Brazil, which is also non-pungent but less aromatic. Expressions and deduced amino acid sequences of acyltransferase (Pun1) Based on these results, the approaches for breeding highly aromatic non-pungent cultivars are discussed.

Plants are exposed to high light intensity, high leaf temperatures and high air-to-leaf water vapor pressure deficit (ALVPD) during the day. These environmental stresses cause stomatal closure and photoinhibitory damage, leading to midday depression of photosynthesis. Chloroplast positioning is essential for the efficient operation of photosynthesis. However, chloroplast behavior before, during, and even after the midday depression of photosynthesis remains unknown. We investigated changes in the intracellular positioning of chloroplasts and photosynthetic traits under a diurnal pattern of light. Sorghum leaves were exposed to a 12-h regime of light mimicking the natural light environment, with constant leaf temperature and ALVPD. Net photosynthetic rate (P n) showed a diurnal pattern, and midday depression in P n was observed at 3.8 h of irradiation. Depression in P n was attributed to stomatal limitation because the decrease in P n was in accordance with the decrease in stomatal conductance. The maximum efficiency of photosystem II decreased with the increase in light intensity and remained low after 12 h of irradiation. Bundle sheath chloroplasts swelled after 8 h of irradiation, representing the accumulation of starch. Conversely, mesophyll chloroplasts exhibited avoidance response after 4 h of irradiation, and the avoidance position was maintained during the remainder of the daytime. These data suggest that chloroplasts are subject to light stress during and after the midday depression of photosynthesis. The intensity of natural light is excessive for most of the day and this light stress induces chloroplast avoidance response and depression of photosynthesis.

BackgroundParthenocarpy is a desired trait in tomato because it can overcome problems with fruit setting under unfavorable environmental conditions. A parthenocarpic tomato cultivar, ‘MPK-1’, with a parthenocarpic gene, Pat-k, exhibits stable parthenocarpy that produces few seeds. Because ‘MPK-1’ produces few seeds, seedlings are propagated inefficiently via cuttings. It was reported that Pat-k is located on chromosome 1. However, the gene had not been isolated and the relationship between the parthenocarpy and low seed set in ‘MPK-1’ remained unclear. In this study, we isolated Pat-k to clarify the relationship between parthenocarpy and low seed set in ‘MPK-1’.ResultsUsing quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis for parthenocarpy and seed production, we detected a major QTL for each trait on nearly the same region of the Pat-k locus on chromosome 1. To isolate Pat-k, we performed fine mapping using an F4 population following the cross between a non-parthenocarpic cultivar, ‘Micro-Tom’ and ‘MPK-1’. The results showed that Pat-k was located in the 529 kb interval between two markers, where 60 genes exist. By using data from a whole genome re-sequencing and genome sequence analysis of ‘MPK-1’, we could identify that the SlAGAMOUS-LIKE 6 (SlAGL6) gene of ‘MPK-1’ was mutated by a retrotransposon insertion. The transcript level of SlAGL6 was significantly lower in ovaries of ‘MPK-1’ than a non-parthenocarpic cultivar. From these results, we could conclude that Pat-k is SlAGL6, and its down-regulation in ‘MPK-1’ causes parthenocarpy and low seed set. In addition, we observed abnormal micropyles only in plants homozygous for the ‘MPK-1’ allele at the Pat-k/SlAGL6 locus. This result suggests that Pat-k/SlAGL6 is also related to ovule formation and that the low seed set in ‘MPK-1’ is likely caused by abnormal ovule formation through down-regulation of Pat-k/SlAGL6.ConclusionsPat-k is identical to SlAGL6, and its down-regulation causes parthenocarpy and low seed set in ‘MPK-1’. Moreover, down-regulation of Pat-k/SlAGL6 could cause abnormal ovule formation, leading to a reduction in the number of seeds.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12870-018-1285-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Mesophyll (M) chloroplasts in finger millet are known to aggregate to the bundle sheath side when leaves are constantly irradiated with extremely high-intensity light. This aggregative movement of M chloroplasts is also observed in natural environment, but whether a natural light regime is effective in inducing the response remains unclear. Abscisic acid is reported to trigger not only the aggregative movement but also stomatal closure, but photosynthetic responses accompanying the aggregative movement also remain unknown.We investigated changes in chloroplast positioning and photosynthetic traits under diurnal patterns of light, mimicking the natural light environment. M chloroplasts showed the aggregative movement with increasing light intensity whether it frequently fluctuated or not, and kept their aggregative positions in the midday. With decreasing light intensity, M chloroplasts returned to the random position in the evening. These results suggest that M chloroplasts often rearrange their intracellular positions during the daytime and that the chloroplast aggregative movement can be induced by a natural regime of light. The chloroplast aggregative movement was observed with increasing stomatal conductance, suggesting that stomatal closure is not crucial to trigger the chloroplast response.

We identified a novel allele of the Vrn-A3 gene that is associated with an early flowering trait in wheat. This trait is caused by a cis-element GATA box in Vrn-A3. To identify novel flowering genes in wheat, we investigated days from germination to heading (DGH) in tetraploid wheat accessions. We found that the tetraploid variety Triticum turgidum L. ssp. dicoccum (TN26) harbors unknown genes that surpass the earliness effect of the early flowering allele Ppd-A1a harbored by TN28 (T. turgidum L. ssp. turgidum conv. pyramidale). Using recombinant inbred lines resulting from a cross between TN26 and TN28, we performed a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis for DGH. We identified a QTL for earliness in TN26 on chromosome 7AS, the chromosome on which Vrn-A3 is located. By sequence analysis for the Vrn-A3 locus in both TN26 and TN28, we identified a 7-bp insertion that included a cis-element GATA box sequence at the promoter region of the Vrn-A3 locus of TN26. Based on an expression analysis using sister lines for Vrn-A3, we suggest that the early flowering trait of TN26 was caused by the GATA box in Vrn-A3. In addition, we identified tetraploid wheat as a useful genetic resource for wheat breeding.

Parthenocarpy is a trait where fruit set and growth are triggered without pollination and fertilization. In the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), this trait is considered attractive as it reduces the cost and labor requirements for fruit setting. In this study, we investigated the inheritance of parthenocarpy in 'MPK-1'-a parthenocarpic tomato cultivar derived from a cross between a variant from a self-fertilization posterity of 'Severianin', which exhibited strong parthenocarpy and a non-parthenocarpic cultivar. It was reported that 'MPK-1' contains a pat-2 gene because 'Severianin' which has a pat-2 gene is its only parthenocarpic ancestor. However, we found that parthenocarpy in 'MPK-1' is controlled by a novel parthenocarpic gene, not pat-2. This novel gene, which was designated as Pat-k, is semi-dominant and located on chromosome 1. We also showed that the size of the parthenocarpic fruit of 'MPK-1' is similar to that of the pollinated fruit at maturity. Thus, 'MPK-1' may be used as a new parthenocarpic resource for breeding.

MIG-seq (Multiplexed ISSR genotyping by sequencing) has been developed as a low cost genotyping technology, although the number of polymorphisms obtained is assumed to be minimal, resulting in the low application of this technique to analyses of agricultural plants. We applied MIG-seq to 12 plant species that include various crops and investigated the relationship between genome size and the number of bases that can be stably sequenced. The genome size and the number of loci, which can be sequenced by MIG-seq, are positively correlated. This is due to the linkage between genome size and the number of SSRs through the genome. The applicability of MIG-seq to population structure analysis, linkage mapping, and QTL analysis in wheat, which has a relatively large genome, was further evaluated. The results of population structure analysis for tetraploid wheat showed the differences among collection sites and subspecies, which agreed with previous findings. Additionally, in wheat biparental mapping populations, over 3,000 SNPs/indels with low deficiency were detected using MIG-seq, and the QTL analysis was able to detect recognized flowering-related genes. These results revealed the effectiveness of MIG-seq for genomic analysis of agricultural plants with large genomes, including wheat.

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) infections result in decreased tomato growth and reduced yields, and the production is almost entirely lost if plants are infected during early growth. 'Kyo-temari' is the commercial name for the parthenocarpic tomato 'MPK-1', which has been vegetatively propagated and distributed to local farmers in Kyoto City for commercial cultivation. During the winter of 2013, the typical yellow leaf curl symptoms of TYLCV were observed in 10 parthenocarpic tomato cultivars, including 'MPK-1', maintained as mother stock for vegetative propagation at Kyoto University. When microtissue direct polymerase chain reaction was conducted, a begomovirus-specific amplicon was detected in the plants with yellow leaf curl symptoms. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis clarified that a TYLCV-Mild isolate was infecting the parthenocarpic tomatoes. Because signals of TYLCV were not detected in the shoot apical meristems (SAMs) of TYLCV-infected 'MPK-1' by in situ hybridization, elimination of TYLCV was conducted by regenerating plants from leaf primordia (LP)-free SAMs of parthenocarpic tomato cultivars. By combining the LP-free SAM culture and in vitro grafting, TYLCV-free plants were obtained in approximately three months. The technique developed in this study will contribute to the efficient elimination of TYLCV from vegetatively propagated parthenocarpic tomatoes.