Genetic stability of Morus alba, Morus indica, Morus laevigata (indigenous collection) and Morus species (exotic collection) have been studied in in vitro regenerated plants of mulberry (fresh, before and after cryopreservation) using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. This study examined the genetic stability of cryopreserved dormant buds o...

Festuca arundinacea Schreb., commonly known as tall fescue, is a major forage crop in temperate regions. Recently, a molecular analysis of different accessions of a world germplasm collection of tall fescue has demonstrated that it contains different species from the genus Festuca and allowed their rapid classification into the three major morphotypes (Continental, Mediterranean and Rhizomatous...

To ascertain genetic diversity, population structure and linkage disequilibrium (LD) among a representative collection of Chinese winter wheat cultivars and lines, 90 winter wheat accessions were analyzed with 269 SSR markers distributed throughout the wheat genome. A total of 1,358 alleles were detected, with 2 to 10 alleles per locus and a mean genetic richness of 5.05. The average genetic di...

Th e world's food production systems must keep up with an ever-increasing demand in spite of the challenges caused by climate change and environmental degradation. To meet this challenge, plant breeders must have access to genetic diversity for crop improvement. However, genetic homogeneity in the handful of major crops that feed the world limits options for breeding progress (Swaminathan, 2009...

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, the causal agent of Sclerotinia stem rot, is a devastating fungal pathogen of soybean that can cause significant yield losses to growers when environmental conditions are favorable for the disease. The development of resistant varieties has proven difficult. However, poor resistance in commercial cultivars can be improved through additional breeding efforts and underst...

42 Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) is an important cause of quality loss in many cereal crops 43 and is particularly prevalent and damaging in wheat. Resistance to PHS is therefore a 44 valuable target trait in many breeding programmes. The Phs-A1 locus on wheat 45 chromosome arm 4AL has been consistently shown to account for a significant 46 proportion of natural variation to PHS in diverse mappin...

Broadening the genetic base is essential for genetic improvement of lint yield and fi ber quality in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). An exotic germplasm population derived from multiple crosses between G. barbadense L. and G. hirsutum was obtained from USDA-ARS at Las Cruces, NM. Experiments were designed to evaluate this germplasm for genotypic variation in lint yield and fi ber quality...

42 Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) is an important cause of quality loss in many cereal crops 43 and is particularly prevalent and damaging in wheat. Resistance to PHS is therefore a 44 valuable target trait in many breeding programmes. The Phs-A1 locus on wheat 45 chromosome arm 4AL has been consistently shown to account for a significant 46 proportion of natural variation to PHS in diverse mappin...

Several classes of seed proteins limit the utilisation of plant proteins in human and farm animal diets, while plant foods have much to offer to the sustainable intensification of food/feed production and to human health. Reduction or removal of these proteins could greatly enhance seed protein quality and various strategies have been used to try to achieve this with limited success. We investi...

The management of genetic resources is a complex, multi-faceted process. It involves a number of distinct stages, which are nevertheless linked and interrelated, from the selection of priority taxa, to the design and implementation of complementary conservation strategies and the development and exchange of the results of germplasm use (Maxted et al., 1997a). These different components generate...