Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Feng Tian Author-Workplace-Name: Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, P.R. China Author-Name: Ya Tian Author-Workplace-Name: Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, P.R. China Author-Name: Fang Yu Author-Workplace-Name: Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, P.R. China Author-Name: Jinsen Qian Author-Workplace-Name: Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, P.R. China Author-Name: Feijian Wang Author-Workplace-Name: Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, P.R. China Author-Name: Xue Li Author-Workplace-Name: Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, P.R. China Author-Name: Tongyin Li Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, USA Author-Name: Xiaofei Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: Hebei Academy of Forestry and Grassland Science, Shijiazhuang, China Author-Name: Dazhuang Huang Author-Workplace-Name: Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, P.R. China Author-Name: Xiaojie Zhao Author-Workplace-Name: Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, P.R. China Title: Association ana­lysis of the molecular characteristics and floral traits of Iris × germanica Abstract: Iris × germanica L. (bearded iris) is a popular ornamental plant with numerous commercially important cultivars; however, little is known about the genetic diversity and population structure of the species, as limited DNA markers have been explored. In this study, 34 722 expressed sequence tag (EST)-simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci were identified from RNA sequencing data. The most abundant SSR motifs belonged to the tri-nucleotide type, of which the most common were AGG/CCT followed by AAG/CTT. Overall, 50 primer pairs derived from these EST-SSRs were randomly selected and synthesized, and 22 primer pairs with good polymorphism effects were used for the following experiment. Correlation analysis of nine floral traits showed that most floral traits had significant correlations with each other. Association analysis between SSR molecular markers and nine floral traits showed that 11 EST-SSR markers were associated with 3-6 floral traits. The cluster tree constructed by using the unweighted pair group method demonstrated that the cultivars that had the same parents or similar colour were clustered together. The genotypic relations of most cultivars were consistent with their pedigree-based relationships. The EST-SSR loci identified in this study will facilitate the exploitation of genetic resources and molecular breeding of I. × germanica. Keywords: bearded iris, EST-SSR markers, flower, genetic diversity, RNA-Seq Journal: Czech Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding Pages: 55-66 Volume: 61 Issue: 2 Year: 2025 DOI: 10.17221/93/2024-CJGPB File-URL: http://cjgpb.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/93/2024-CJGPB.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjg-202502-0001.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjg:v:61:y:2025:i:2:id:93-2024-CJGPB Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Bingjie Tu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Geography and Tourism, Harbin University, Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Heilongjiang Province Cold Region Wetland Ecology and Environment Research, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Qingying Zhang Author-Workplace-Name: State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Xiaobing Liu Author-Workplace-Name: State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Shaopeng Yu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Geography and Tourism, Harbin University, Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Heilongjiang Province Cold Region Wetland Ecology and Environment Research, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Nan Xu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Geography and Tourism, Harbin University, Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Heilongjiang Province Cold Region Wetland Ecology and Environment Research, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Jia Liu Author-Workplace-Name: College of Geography and Tourism, Harbin University, Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Workplace-Name: Key Laboratory of Heilongjiang Province Cold Region Wetland Ecology and Environment Research, Harbin, P.R. China Author-Name: Changkai Liu Author-Workplace-Name: State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, P.R. China Title: Agronomic and pod traits in relation to pod shattering in cultivated soybeans Abstract: Pod dehiscence or pod shattering from mature soybean (Glycine max L.) is one of the most outstanding disadvantages in domesticated cultivars. Pod shattering in relation to 16 quantitative traits and 3 qualitative traits among 140 cultivars of vegetable soybeans, grain soybeans and small-grain soybeans was evaluated over two years. We found the pod shattering percentage is positively correlated with the number of productive branches, pod width, pod length, pod area, 100-seed weight, 1-seeded-pod percentage, 2-seeded-pod percentage and seed protein content, but negatively correlated with the plant height, pod height at the bottom, number of nodes on the main stem, 3-seeded-pod percentage, 4-seeded-pod percentage and seed oil content. The pod shattering percentage in vegetable soybeans is remarkably high, reaching up to 93%, 7.8 times higher than that of grain soybeans. A schematic model of the characteristics for shatter-susceptible and shatter-resistant soybean cultivars is proposed. The pod shattering in vegetable soybeans is related to the "umbrella-shaped" architecture and pod size. It is suggested to select lines with more 2-seeded and 3-seeded pods for vegetable soybeans, but a higher seed oil content and greater node number on the main stem for grain soybeans and small-grain soybeans, to avoid pod shattering in future breeding programmes. Keywords: breeding, dehiscence, plant type, pod level, quantitative traits Journal: Czech Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding Pages: 67-76 Volume: 61 Issue: 2 Year: 2025 DOI: 10.17221/119/2024-CJGPB File-URL: http://cjgpb.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/119/2024-CJGPB.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjg-202502-0002.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjg:v:61:y:2025:i:2:id:119-2024-CJGPB Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Weida Chen Author-Workplace-Name: Hubei Province Engineering Research Center of Legume Plants, College of Life Science, Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China Author-Workplace-Name: Hubei Engineering Research Center for Protection and Utilization of Special Biological Resources in the Hanjiang River Basin, School of Life Science, Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China Author-Name: Lifen Gao Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Systems Biology, Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China Author-Name: Gao Chen Author-Workplace-Name: Hubei Province Engineering Research Center of Legume Plants, College of Life Science, Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China Author-Name: Ting Yang Author-Workplace-Name: Hubei Engineering Research Center for Protection and Utilization of Special Biological Resources in the Hanjiang River Basin, School of Life Science, Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China Author-Name: Zixin Zhao Author-Workplace-Name: Hubei Province Engineering Research Center of Legume Plants, College of Life Science, Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China Author-Name: Wenhao Xia Author-Workplace-Name: Hubei Province Engineering Research Center of Legume Plants, College of Life Science, Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China Author-Name: Niannian Fan Author-Workplace-Name: Hubei Province Engineering Research Center of Legume Plants, College of Life Science, Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China Author-Name: Siming Chen Author-Workplace-Name: Hubei Province Engineering Research Center of Legume Plants, College of Life Science, Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China Title: Ectopic expression of the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) VuCERK1 gene confers enhanced resistance to Pto DC3000 hrcC- in Arabidopsis Abstract: Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) play multiple roles in plants. As a kind of PRRs, chitin elicitor receptor kinase 1 (CERK1) proteins were reported to function in plant resistance to fungal and bacterial pathogens, and tolerance to salt stress. In this study, a predicted cowpea CERK1 homologous gene, designated as VuCERK1, was identified by database search. VuCERK1 protein contains 618 amino acid residues, with a predicted molecular mass of 67.5 kDa and a predicted isoelectric point of 5.04. VuCERK1 shows 58% and 60% sequence identity with AtCERK1 and OsCERK1, respectively. VuCERK1 also shows similar subcellular pattern with AtCERK1 and OsCERK1, suggesting VuCERK1 may function in cowpea immune responses. Gene expression assay indicated, that VuCERK1 was expressed in four different seedling tissues tested, comprising first leave, epicotyl, hypocotyl and root, and it could be induced by salt stress. Furthermore, transient expression of VuCERK1 in Nicotiana benthamiana induced obvious cell death. In addition, heterologous overexpression of VuCERK1 in Arabidopsis thaliana conferred enhanced disease resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000 hrcC- (Pto DC3000 hrcC-). Keywords: chitin elicitor receptor kinase 1, cowpea, pattern recognition receptors, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000 hrcC- Journal: Czech Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding Pages: 77-85 Volume: 61 Issue: 2 Year: 2025 DOI: 10.17221/112/2024-CJGPB File-URL: http://cjgpb.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/112/2024-CJGPB.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjg-202502-0003.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjg:v:61:y:2025:i:2:id:112-2024-CJGPB Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Peter Amoah Author-Workplace-Name: Pan African University, Life and Earth Sciences Institute, Ibadan, Nigeria Author-Name: Victor O. Adetimirin Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Crop and Horticultural Sciences, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria Author-Name: Bismark Anokye Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA Author-Name: Oluyinka J. llesanmi Author-Workplace-Name: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria Author-Name: Nnanna Unachukwu Author-Workplace-Name: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria Author-Name: Elisabeth Ivania Aporva Author-Workplace-Name: Pan African University, Life and Earth Sciences Institute, Ibadan, Nigeria Title: Characterization of carotenoid profiles and presence of functional markers in sub-tropical maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines Abstract: Biofortification provides a sustainable, pragmatic strategy to address the lack of vitamin A and the associated health complications. The objectives of the study encompassed the quantification of the carotenoid content of 147 maize inbred lines, the identification of variable regions within the ZEP1 gene, the correlation of these observed variances in the presence of this gene with carotenoid content, and the identification of lines harbouring the favourable alleles of the crtRB1 gene. The observed correlations among the carotenoids synthesised by distinct branches of the biosynthetic process were both significant and positive. Utilising gel-based genotyping, 24 lines with contrasting carotenoid profiles were selected, evaluated and sequenced. Analysis of the variation in the sequence classified these lines based on their similarities to give 8 allele groups. The findings highlight that inbred lines both group 1 and group 8 exhibited significant associations with the carotenoid content of the lines. Specifically, ZEP1_7852, a discernible variation belonging to group 8, was found to be significantly associated with zeaxanthin content and total carotenoid content. Furthermore, 25 lines were found to have provitamin A content above 15 μg/g, harbouring the favourable alleles of the crtRB1 gene using KASP SNP zm0016. These lines can serve as parents for source populations and hybrids, leading to the further enhancement of provitamin A in maize. Keywords: carotenoid, KASP, provitamin A, sub-tropical maize lines, ZEP1 Journal: Czech Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding Pages: 86-99 Volume: 61 Issue: 2 Year: 2025 DOI: 10.17221/143/2024-CJGPB File-URL: http://cjgpb.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/143/2024-CJGPB.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjg-202502-0004.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjg:v:61:y:2025:i:2:id:143-2024-CJGPB Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: José Imery-Buiza Author-Workplace-Name: Plant Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biology, Universidad de Oriente, Cumaná, Sucre, Venezuela Author-Name: Wendy Ozols-Narbona Author-Workplace-Name: Plant Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biology, Universidad de Oriente, Cumaná, Sucre, Venezuela Title: Reciprocal hybridisation of Aloe species (Aloe arborescens with A. vera) and their characterisation in a highland region of Venezuela Abstract: Aloe vera and A. arborescens are succulent plants widely used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food supplements. The objective of this study was to perform interspecific crosses and agronomically characterise three genotypes cultivated in a Venezuelan highland region (altitude 1 727 m, 13-17.9 °C). Successful hybridisation was achieved only when A. arborescens pollen (P1) was used on A. vera pistils (P2), whereas the reciprocal cross was largely unsuccessful. Hybrid seed germination reached 11.86%, and adult hybrids exhibited significant vegetative superiority over P1, particularly in leaf volume, leaf weight, and flower number. The progeny outperformed both parents in leaf base width and lateral tooth size, thereby enhancing its ornamental value. The expected 2n = 2x = 14 karyotype was confirmed in the root meristems of hybrids. The analysis of leaf pulp processing indicated that the hybrid was promising for juice production (39.8% yield, 1 203 ppm acemannan), thus highlighting its potential for agro-industrial applications in tropical highlands or comparable temperate regions. Other agronomic traits, including number, thickness, colour, and shape of leaves; sprouting of stem branches and basal suckers, flowering period, inflorescence, eggs/ovary, and details of the colour and dimensions of bracts, perianth, pedicel, and ovary, were also evaluated. Keywords: Aloe breeding, chromosomes, hybridisation, morphological markers Journal: Czech Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding Pages: 100-109 Volume: 61 Issue: 2 Year: 2025 DOI: 10.17221/7/2025-CJGPB File-URL: http://cjgpb.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/7/2025-CJGPB.html File-Format: text/html X-File-Ref: http://agriculturejournals.cz/RePEc/caa/references/cjg-202502-0005.txt Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjg:v:61:y:2025:i:2:id:7-2025-CJGPB Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Tomáš Mezlík Author-Workplace-Name: National Plant Variety Office, Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture, Brno, Czech Republic Title: List of varieties registered in the Czech Republic in 2024 Journal: Czech Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding Pages: 110-112 Volume: 61 Issue: 2 Year: 2025 DOI: 10.17221/16/2025-CJGPB File-URL: http://cjgpb.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/16/2025-CJGPB.html File-Format: text/html Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlcjg:v:61:y:2025:i:2:id:16-2025-CJGPB