[Natural nucleotide polymorphism of the Srlk gene that determines salt stress tolerance in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L)].

Based on legume genome syntheny, the nucleotide sequence of Srlk gene, key role of which in response to salt stress was demonstrated for the model species Medicago truncatula, was identified in the major forage and siderate crop alfalfa (Medicago sativa). In twelve alfalfa samples originating from regions with contrasting growing conditions, 19 SNPs were revealed in the Srlk gene. For two nonsynonymous SNPs, molecular markers were designed that could be further used to analyze the association between Srlk gene nucleotide polymorphism and the variability in salt stress tolerance among alfalfa cultivars.

[Detection of genetic determinants that define the difference of near-isogenic Triticum aestivum L. Lines in photoperiodic sensitivity].

Identification of genetic determinants that define different degrees of line sensitivity to the photoperiod was conducted on material of near-isogenic lines of the soft hexaploid wheat Triticum aestivum L. using SSR markers and markers specific to the Vrn and Ppd genes. It was established that the Ppd-s line contains a dominant Ppd-Dla allele located on chromosome 2D. This allele is characterized by a vast deletion in the gene promoter region. For two other lines (Ppd-m and Ppd-w), introgression of the Ppd-B1 gene on chromosome 2B was shown from the parental Sonora variety, which is slightly sensitive to the length of the day; however, the previously described Ppd-Bla. 1 allele was not found. Another polymorphism that can cause weak photoperiodic sensitivity, an increased amount of the Ppd-B1 gene copies, was detected for these lines.

Introgressions of Vitis rotundifolia Michx. to obtain grapevine genotypes with complex resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Vitis rotundifolia Michx. is one of the species of the family Vitaceae, with resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses. The present study reports new scientif ic knowledge about the inheritance of resistance to downy mildew, powdery mildew and frost by V. vinifera varieties from V. rotundifolia. Recombinant lines of three hybrid populations from the crossing of the maternal genotype ♀M. 31-77-10 with V. rotundifolia hybrids were used as the object of the study. As a result of laboratory screening, more than 40 % of recombinants of the ♀M. 31-77-10 × × [DRX-M5-734 + DRX-M5-753 + DRX-M5-790] population showed a high degree of frost resistance (-24 °C), while 6 % of transgressive recombinants were characterized by a very high degree of resistance (-27 °Ð¡). The maternal genotype ♀M. 31-77-10 does not carry alleles of resistance to powdery mildew at the Run1 locus and in the f ield suffers from powdery mildew much more than the paternal genotypes. The prevalence of powdery mildew on vegetative organs in the three recombinant populations over the years varies on average between 3.2-17.1, 0.3-17.7 and 0.6-5.2 %, respectively. As a result, almost all recombinant genotypes that received a resistant allele from the paternal genome are highly resistant to powdery mildew.

[The transcriptome analysis of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) using the Affymetrix Barley1 GeneChip].

An alternative to complete genome sequencing is development and analysis of ESTs-fragments of transcribed coding DNA sequences. The EST collections also enhanced the development of cDNA microarray technologies, which make possible assessing the transcription levels of several thousand genes in a studied tissue of an organism in the same experiment. This paper provides an overview of the results of experiments with a barley microarray, Affymetrix Barley1 GeneChip. The variation in transcription levels of over 22000 genes in germinating barley grain of 150 barley double haploid lines produced by crossing cultivars Steptoe and Morex. Variation in gene expression of each gene is a quantitative trait, which can be mapped in population of double haploids as the genetic loci determining its variation (expressed QTL or eQTL). A regulatory locus (eQTL) can colocalize with the corresponding gene on genetic map (cis-eQTL) or be distant from it, frequently on another chromosome (trans-eQTL). Thus, it is possible to detect and analyze cis- and trans-regulatory loci for genes on a genome-wide scale. The design of the Affymetrix oligonucleotide arrays makes it possible not only to concurrently test the transcription level of several thousand genes, but also to simultaneously detect the polymorphic regions in cDNA sequences, thereby finding a considerable fraction of all nucleotide substitutions between the compared genotypes. Two types of data (the expression levels of several thousand genes and the presence of polymorphic sites in their sequences) can be obtained concurrently when processing the results of the same experiment. The details of both procedures are illustrated with explanatory examples.

SFP genotyping from affymetrix arrays is robust but largely detects cis-acting expression regulators.

The recent development of Affymetrix chips designed from assembled EST sequences has spawned considerable interest in identifying single-feature polymorphisms (SFPs) from transcriptome data. SFPs are valuable genetic markers that potentially offer a physical link to the structural genes themselves. However, most current SFP prediction methodologies were developed for sequenced species although SFPs are particularly valuable for species with complex and unsequenced genomes. To establish the sensitivity and specificity of prediction, we explored four methods for identifying SFPs from experiments involving two tissues in two commercial barleys and their doubled-haploid progeny. The methods were compared in terms of numbers of SFPs predicted and their ability to identify known sequence polymorphisms in the features, to confirm existing SNP genotypes and to match existing maps and individual haplotypes. We identified >4000 separate SFPs that accurately predicted the SNP genotype of >98% of the doubled-haploid (DH) lines. They were highly enriched for features containing sequence polymorphisms but all methods uniformly identified a majority of SFPs ( approximately 64%) in features for which there was no sequence polymorphism while 5% mapped to different locations, indicating that "SFPs" mainly represent polymorphism in cis-acting regulators. All methods are efficient and robust at predicting markers for gene mapping.

[Genetic singularity coefficients of common vetch Vicia sativa L. accessions determined with molecular markers].

Organization and practical application of ex situ collections require estimation of genetic differences between numerous accessions of local cultivars and field weed forms collected from the same ecological and geographical region and similar in their morphophysiological characteristics. A mathematical algorithm for estimating the degree of genetic singularity of a specimen in the system of local gene pool determined with the help of molecular markers is described. The utility of this algorithm is demonstrated by the example of classification of 677 common vetch accessions from the collection of the Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry from 11 ecological-geographic regions of Russia analyzed using AFLP. The proposed classification of accessions is the result of processing the AFLP data by weighting the marker traits based on their frequency in particular regions. This allowed each accession to be characterized according to the ratio of rare and frequent alleles as a genetic singularity coefficient. The proposed method is appropriate for any types of molecular markers. A practical result of its application is the classification of accessions using a five-point score scale, which can be added to descriptors of certificate databases and used for optimization of the work with collections.

AFLP diversity in the common vetch ( Vicia sativa L.) on the world scale.

The Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) keeps a living seed collection of about 700 accessions of landraces and local cultivars of common vetch ( Vicia sativa L.) that have been collected over a period of more than 50 years throughout the former USSR. Much of the material is available nowhere else. The collection of this economically important fodder crop is well adapted to the various growing regions of Russia and serves as a basis for the all domestic vetch breeding programs. Using AFLP as a DNA fingerprinting method we investigated 673 accessions from the VIR and compared their genetic variability with that of the worldwide vetch collection of the Institut für Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung (IPK), 450 accessions. The analysis is a first assessment of the intra-specific diversity of V. sativa stored ex situ on a scale of more than 1,000 accessions. Six primer combinations, which gave clear polymorphic amplification products with 96 test samples, were chosen from 111 primer combinations tested. The selected AFLP primers used to analyse the V. sativa intra-specific diversity resulted in 70 unequivocally recognizable polymorphic fragments. We found that all of the AFLP fragments generated can be detected with varying frequency throughout the entire distribution area of V. sativa. The difference in frequency of some AFLP fragments between the regions may amount to 90%. The arrangement of most of the accessions in all dendrograms reflects their geographical origin, with a differentiation between Russia, Western Europe, Turkey and Bulgaria, and the Mediterranean. The "Russian" genepool stored at the IPK is a limited and biased sample of the available diversity when compared to the material stored at the VIR. Approximately 10-15% of the accessions in each geographical group showed AFLP patterns that clustered with members of other groups. This appreciable overlap raises several questions: (1) to which degree is an AFLP pattern representative of the overall genetic similarity of the samples; (2) to which degree are samples collected at a site adaptively limited to that site? Since our data identify accessions with very similar AFLP patterns from very diverse geographic origins, a comparison of the agronomic performance of these accessions (possibly in the two regions) will provide important information for the utilization of ex situ germplasm collections.

Expression genetics and haplotype analysis reveal cis regulation of serine carboxypeptidase I (Cxp1), a candidate gene for malting quality in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

Using a cDNA array-based functional genomics approach in barley, several candidate genes for malting quality including serine carboxypeptidase I (Cxp1) were previously identified (Potokina et al. in Mol Breed 14:153, 2004). The gene was mapped as a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker on chromosome 3H using the Steptoe (feeding grade)xMorex (malting grade) mapping population. Subsequently, the relative level of Cxp1 expression was determined by real-time RT-PCR for each of the 134 progeny lines and mapped as a quantitative trait. Only one quantitative trait locus (QTL) could be identified that significantly influenced the level of the Cxp1 expression. The expressed QTL maps to the same region on chromosome 3H as does the structural gene and corresponds to a QTL for "diastatic power," one among several traits measured to assess malting quality. An analysis of 90 barley cultivars sampled from a worldwide collection revealed six SNPs at the Cxp1 locus, three of which display complete linkage disequilibrium and define two haplotypes. The Cxp1 expression level in a set of barley accessions showing haplotype I was significantly higher than that of accessions displaying haplotype II. The data provide evidence that (1) the expression of Cxp1 is regulated in cis and that (2) the level of diastatic power in the barley seed is influenced by the level of Cxp1 expression.

Differential gene expression during seed germination in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

A barley cDNA macroarray comprising 1,440 unique genes was used to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of gene expression in embryo, scutellum and endosperm tissue during different stages of germination. Among the set of expressed genes, 69 displayed the highest mRNA level in endosperm tissue, 58 were up-regulated in both embryo and scutellum, 11 were specifically expressed in the embryo and 16 in scutellum tissue. Based on Blast X analyses, 70% of the differentially expressed genes could be assigned a putative function. One set of genes, expressed in both embryo and scutellum tissue, included functions in cell division, protein translation, nucleotide metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism and some transporters. The other set of genes expressed in endosperm encodes several metabolic pathways including carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism as well as protease inhibitors and storage proteins. As shown for a storage protein and a trypsin inhibitor, the endosperm of the germinating barley grain contains a considerable amount of residual mRNA which was produced during seed development and which is degraded during early stages of germination. Based on similar expression patterns in the endosperm tissue, we identified 29 genes which may undergo the same degradation process.