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To assess the genetic variation within and among accessions of Russian wildrye (Psathyrostachys juncea), 88 individuals of 11 accessions originated from geographically diverse locations were analyzed using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Under the optimized condition, 56% of the 200 tested primers produced polymorphic RAPDs among accessions. High level RAPD marker variations existed both within and among accessions. About 56% and 44% of the amplified fragments were polymorphic within and among accessions, respectively. Accessions from neighboring geographical regions are more similar than those from distant regions. These results are comparable with those obtained from studies on chromosome C-banding and isozyme electrophoresis.

Fifty-seven accessions ofMusa including cultivated clones of 6 genomic groups (AA, AB, AAA, AAB, ABB, ABBB),M. balbisiana Colla (BB),M. acuminata Colla ssp.banksii F. Muell. (AA),M. acuminata Colla ssp.malaccensis Ridl. (AA) andM. velutina Wendl. & Drude were examined for random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) genetic markers using PCR with sixty 10-mer random primers. Forty-nine of 60 tested primers gave reproducible DNA amplification patterns. The number of bands resolved per amplification was primer dependent and varied from 1 to a maximum of 24. The size range of the amplification products also differed with the selected primer sequence/genotype and ranged from 0.29 to 3.0 kb. RAPD data were used to generate Jaccard's similarity coefficients which were analyzed phenetically. Phenetic analysis separated clones into distinct groupings that were in agreement with clusterings revealed when data were subsequently analyzed by principal coordinate analysis (PCO). In both the phenetic and the PCO analyses, previously unclassified cultivars grouped with cultivars previously classified for their genomic group based on morphological keys. The implications of RAPD analysis forMusa germplasm classification, clonal identification, and management are discussed.

In many areas of North Africa, barley is often the only possible rainfed crop. In these regions water deficit is the primary constraint affecting crop production. Twenty barley landraces collected from different localities in south Morocco and four modern varieties were characterized in two field experiments, one under well-irrigated and one under limited-irrigated conditions. Nine agro-morphological characters were evaluated: Plant height, tiller number per plant, number of grains per spike, number of spikes per plant, spike weight, spike length, plant weight (PW), number of internodes of rachis (NIR), and length of the last internode of rachis. The correlation coefficients among characters were nearly the same in the well- and limited-irrigated experiment. Under limited-irrigated conditions, plant growth was significantly decreased as measured by all characters except NIR, which was unaffected. The percentage of reduction, ranging from 80.08% to 5.82%, was recorded on PW and NIR, respectively. The injury index ranging from 4.02 to 0.06 was recorded on PW and NIR, respectively. Using discriminant analysis the genotypes were arranged in three, clearly separated groups that varied in their tolerance to drought stress.

Blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) is a northern-adapted crop species with extremely early phenology and cold hardiness. Restricted adaptation to temperate climates is a current limitation to the crop’s mainstream potential for large-scale production. Based on the broad germplasm base at the University of Saskatchewan, vegetative growth cessation and leaf drop phenology were characterized to complement analysis of spring phenological adaptation in a temperate climate. A multi-trial site of three foundation groups and a single-site trial of three improved groups compared with their parental foundation genotypes were conducted in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada in 2012 and 2013. The current study shows that blue honeysuckle germplasm contains considerable phenological variation that will permit adaptation to temperate climates. It also demonstrates that breeding for improved adaptation is possible using the existing germplasm resources. For Russian germplasm with the earliest phenology, adaptation to northern latitudes and short growing seasons results in early floral initiation, which presents an indirect limitation to production in more southern latitudes due to secondary flowering. Early leaf drop indirectly limits production and is related to poor adaptation to high chill environments. Skew toward later leaf drop in improved groups, produced from hybridization with Japanese and Kuril germplasm with intermediate and late phenologies, respectively, shows that development of better adaptation to southern latitudes can be achieved.

The present study, using RAPD analysis, was undertaken to characterize genetic variation in three forms of V. angularis, cultivated, wild and weedy forms, and their relationships. The materials used consisted of 171 individuals (plants) or cultivars from 23 populations including 5 wild populations, 6 weedy populations, 6 cultivated populations and 6 populations with plants having wild and weedy or intermediate morphology, denoted here as complex populations. The materials used were collected on Honshu Island, Japan and seeds collected directly from the field were germinated for DNA extraction. In addition, 6 landrace accessions of V. angularis from the genebank were also analyzed. Genetic variation was highest in the wild form (Hg= 0.132; GD = 0.388), followed by the weedy form (Hg= 0.124; GD = 0.341) and the least in the cultivated form (Hg= 0.079; GD = 0.274). Intra-population genetic variation was high in the weedy and in the wild populations. However, inter-population was greater than intra-population genetic variation for all groups of populations studied in the V. angularis complex. 93% of the total diversity in the present study was exhibited by plants from complex populations and specific RAPD bands were found in these populations. Our results provide evidence that complex populations would be a logical focus for efforts to conserve the V. angularis complex in situ. Our results suggest that weedy populations are usually an ecotype of the wild form adapted to a different habitat.

Echinosophora koreensis Nak. 1923 is a plant species endemic to Korean peninsula, belonging to the genus Sophora L. of the Fabaceae family. In this study, a phylogenetic study was carried out on 13 species of 11 genera of Fabaceae distributed in DPR Korea. Morphological differences of these species of Fabaceae were analyzed based on their typical traits such as leaf, flower and fruit, and compared to the molecular phylogenetic tree constructed by unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) method based on sequence related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers. The results of morphological comparative analysis of leaf, flower and fruit traits and the genetic structure obtained using STRUCTURE HARVESTER V. 2.3.4. software (K = 11) support the taxonomic status of E. koreensis as a single species of its genus.

Gewebekulturen verschiedenerDatura-Arten zeigten in ihrem Alkaloid-spektrum erhebliche qualitative und quantitative Abweichungen von dem intakter Pflanzen. Hyoscyamin und Scopolamin konnten nicht nachgewiesen werden. Bei exogener Zufuhr von Hyoscyamin zuDatura-Gewebekulturen wurde während 14-tägiger Versuchsdauer ein erheblicher Schwund des zugesetzten Alkaloids beobachtet; eine Umwandlung von Hyoscyamin in Scopolamin, wie sie aus intakten Pflanzen bekannt ist, war nicht festzustellen.

The Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was used to amplify DNA segments, with the objective of finding markers linked to sex determination in male and female plants of Piper betle L. Two bulks of DNA were made drawing one each from male and female, by pooling an equal volume of DNA samples from each group of individual contributing to the bulk analysis. Fifty different random decamer primers were screened with the two bulks to identify markers associated with sex expression of which only four primers were found to be associated with sex expression. These four primers were then tested with individual plant DNA samples where sex-associated RAPD markers were identified. A ~1,400 and ~850 bp fragment from the primer OPA04 and OPN 02 respectively was found to be present in all the male individuals and absent in all the female plants. In another primer, a ~980 bp amplification product from the primer OPC 06 was present only in the female individuals. A common primer OPA 08 showed both male and female specific markers of 650 and 1,200 bp respectively. Thus, the three male- specific RAPD markers OPA041400, OPA08650 and OPN02850 and two female-specific markers OPA081200 and OPC06980 can reliably differentiate the male and female plants of P. betle L. Ploidy comparison also showed the differences in male and female plants.

It is commonly agreed that cultivation of wild barley preceded the selection of the domesticated, non-brittle spike type. However, how common was wild barley cultivation before domestication and how many domesticated mutants gave rise to the barley crop could not be inferred from botanical and archaeological evidence. Some clues, nevertheless, can be obtained from the pattern of allozyme diversity in wild and cultivated barley obtained by Kahler and Allard (1981). Parallel variation, in terms of number of alleles per locus and frequency of the various alleles, was found in wild and domesticated barley. This similarity has been taken as an indication of multiple domestications and the frequency of the rarest alleles has been used to estimate that about 100 tough-rachis different mutants were necessary for the inclusion of the allozyme diversity of the wild barley in the domesticated crop. Assuming mutation rate of 10−6 in the locus governing tough rachis, the plant population required to generate these 100 mutants in one year would extend over about 200 hectares, or 10 hectares if the 100 mutants have been formed over a period of 20 years. The simplified calculations suggest that prior to domestication cultivation of wild barley was not a common practice.