Genetic characterization of fig tree mutants with molecular markers

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The fig (Ficus caricaL.) is a fruit tree of great world importance and, therefore, the genetic improvement becomes an important field of research for better crops, being necessary to gather information on this species, mainly regarding its genetic variability so that appropriate propagation projects and management are made. The improvement programs of fig trees using conventional procedures in order to obtain new cultivars are rare in many countries, such as Brazil, especially due to the little genetic variability and to the difficulties in obtaining plants from gamete fusion once the wasp Blastophaga psenes, responsible for the natural pollinating, is not found in Brazil. In this way, the mutagenic genetic improvement becomes a solution of it. For this reason, in an experiment conducted earlier, fig plants formed by cuttings treated with gamma ray were selected based on their agronomic characteristics of interest. We determined the genetic variability in these fig tree selections, using RAPD and AFLP molecular markers, comparing them to each other and to the Roxo-de-Valinhos, used as the standard. For the reactions of Techniques that can detect polymorphism between treatments, such as DNA sequencing, must be tested. The phenotypic variation of plants may be due to epigenetic variation, necessitating the use of techniques with methylation-sensitive restriction enzymes.

Evaluation of Genetic Diversity among Persian Fig Cultivars by Morphological Traits and RAPD Markers

“…1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 1 6 1 7 1 8 1 9 2 0 2 1 1 1.000 2 0.687 1.000 3 0.693 0.619 1.000 4 0.629 0.597 0.723 1.000 5 0.554 0.596 0.590 0.532 1.000 6 0.601 0.524 0.671 0.697 0.591 1.000 7 0.595 0.570 0.634 0.631 0.538 0.745 1.000 8 0.630 0.636 0.686 0.603 0.712 0.592 0.595 1.000 five times and 7.5 fold higher than RAPD, respectively (Dunham, 2011). RAPD molecular markers have been previously used for the genetic assessment of Palestinian fig genotypes and to determine the genetic variability in fig trees (Basheer-salimia et al, 2012;Rodrigues et al, 2012). Microsatellite markers were often preferred for characterizing different fig cultivars, including Egyptian, Spanish, and Tunisian figs, because they were codominant, hypervariable, and highly reproducible (Abou-Ellail et al, 2014;Achtak et al, 2009;Balas et al, 2014;Saddoud et al, 2005).…”

Mutagenic Effect of 60Co γ-Irradiation on Rosa multiflora ‘Libellula’ and the Mechanism Underlying the Associated Leaf Changes

“…Thus, the γ-irradiation of plants can induce changes to cell physiological activities, genetic material, biochemical reactions, and tissue morphology. Specific changes include the translocation or deletion of DNA fragments [ 6 ], the swelling of chloroplast thylakoid membranes [ 7 ], decreased plant photosynthetic activities, and the accumulation of phenolic compounds [ 8 ]. Among these, chlorophyll content is an important physiological indicator of the degree of physiological damage caused by irradiation in irradiation mutagenesis breeding [ 9 ].…”

Analysis of Global DNA Methylation in Irradiated Fig Selections

“…However, no polymorphisms were observed in irradiated figs subjected to molecular analysis, including random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) techniques, indicating that no genetic modifications had occurred. This suggested that epigenetic changes were responsible for the different characteristic observed between treatments following gamma radiation [18]. Following irradiation, changes in global DNA methylation were detected using methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP) molecular markers [19].…”