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Conference Information: 12th International BIOVEG Symposium \"Plant Biodiversity and Food Diversification\" Place: University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, September 27-29, 2010 Cluj-Napoca, Romania The aim of the BIOVEG Symposium is to present the latest scientific results on all aspects of research in plant biotechnology. Various tools are now available to describe the biological diversity of plant species useful for food diversification. They allow fine analysis of basic components, but also their interactions, using different and complementary disciplines such as genetics, microbiology, biochemistry and physiology. The involvement of \"Plant biodiversity\" and \"Food diversification\" in one symposium is not a common process. However, the FAO data (2008) relevant to the state of the food worldwide are clear on at least two main points: I) there is a well defined relationship between quality of diet and dietary diversification; II) the most affected countries are India, countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific area of Asia and China as they have a high potential of biodiversity. If food is a vital necessity, the overall diet is different between rich and poor countries. In poor countries, cereals, roots and tubers cover 66% of eaten plants. In rich countries, fruits and vegetables play a much larger role (19% vs. 11%). In rich countries, attention is increasingly paid to the nutritional quality and food intakes for a better life. In poor countries, it is foremost \"eat to survive\". Nearly 900 million peoples suffering from hunger in the world but 90% of them live in developing countries. India (231 MH) is at the head, followed by sub-Saharan Africa (212 MH), Asia - Pacific (189 MH) and China (123 MH). The rest of the world has barely 100 MH malnourished peoples. However, the Pacific area of Asia provided the world in many domesticated plant species (Citrus, numerous fruits and vegetables). Tools to describe biodiversity of plant species for food diversification have made many advances in recent years. New technologies allow deep and detailed analysis of the biodiversity and quality of the food supply. Several different and complementary disciplines such as genetics, microbiology, biochemistry and physiology are involved. Beyond the simple description step, it is to improve products or value-added varieties and also to maintain traditional pools of genetic diversity for tomorrow. We must also appeal to disciplines such as plant breeding or the wide range of plant biotechnologies to generate new diversity aspects and to preserve existing genetic resources. This requires of course a broad collaboration of local people, the best able to defend their specificities. In this context, 2010 Conference of \"Scientific Journeys of the BIOVEG network\" was organized around five main sessions: 1. Genetic resources, local domestication, plant breeding, cytogenetics. 2. Plants - micro-organisms interaction which include phytopathology, symbiotic relationship, toxins impacts. 3. Final biochemical composition, antioxidants analysis, lipid contents and composition, metabolic pathways regulations. 4. Non-conventional diversity creation methods such as induced mutations. 5. Ex situ and in situ genetic resources conservation.

Morphological and molecular characterization of germplasm is essential for the improvement of cultivated plants efforts. This study investigated the genetic diversity of 32 Cyclamen genotypes comprising 16 C . persicum varieties and 16 Cyclamen species using multivariate analysis for 36 morphological traits (19 quantitative and 17 qualitative) and molecular characterization (SRAP and SCoT markers). The color CIELab parameters were collected via PCE-CSM7 that separately measured the leaves dark and silvery patterns and the flower’s slip (region of the petal top), eye (the region of the petal base) and sepal. Genetic diversity was also evaluated using Shannon Wiener (H′) and Simpson’s (λ) Indices, and Pilou evenness (J) using the library vegan from R software. According to the principal component analysis, the variables that contributed the most were leaf pattern color, leaf abaxial surface color, pedicel coiling, leaf and stem number. The color indicators of Cyclamen leaves showed decreased L* values in darker colored genotypes, whereas increased a* values were noticed in flower eye and lower in slip. Molecular characterization was based on 26 SRAP and 12 SCoT markers that produced clearly repeatable DNA bands and exhibited significant levels of polymorphism. Based on the morphological traits and molecular markers data, the UPGMA method for hierarchical clustering technique was used to generate the dendrograms, and their entanglement was obtained using the Tanglegram algorithm from the dendextend package with the R software. Entanglement analysis (0.30) between dendrograms obtained from the morphological and genetic analysis using SRAP markers showed a high association. Comparison between color measurements of flowers (entanglement=0.45) and leaves (entanglement=0.47) with SCoT analysis revealed differences at species level, discriminating between similar genotypes. Combined phenotypic and molecular analysis improved the comprehensive estimation of real diversity in the investigated Cyclamen genotypes. The findings of the present study are useful for quantifying diversity and genetic variability in Cyclamen breeding and genetic investigations.

Adventitious rooting is a complex process and a key step in the vegetative propagation of-economically important woody, horticultural and agricultural species, playing an important role in the successful production of elite clones. The formation of adventitious roots is a quantitative genetic trait regulated by both environmental and endogenous factors. Among phytohormones, auxin plays an essential role in regulating roots development and it has been shown to be intimately involved in the process of adventitious rooting. Great progress has been made in elucidating the auxin-induced genes and auxin signaling pathway, especially in auxin response Aux/IAA and Auxin Response Factor gene families. Although some important aspects of adventitious and lateral rooting signaling have been revealed, the intricate signaling network remains poorly understood. This review summarizes some of the current knowledge on the physiological aspects of adventitious root formation and highlights the recent progress made in the identification of putative molecular players involved in the control of adventitious rooting. Despite much has been discovered regarding the effects and regulation of auxins on plant growth since the Darwin experiments, there is much that remains unknown.

Cyclamen species (swinebread spp.) are perennial herbaceous plants which belong to the Primulaceae family, widely used as medicinal or ornamental plants. Currently, gibberellic acid (GA3), an environmentally friendly bioregulator is widely used to enhance the productivity and phenotypic characteristics of multiple ornamental crops. A dual experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of gibberellic acid (50, 100 or 150 mg/L), on germination earliness of seeds, along with growth and ornamental quality of selected Cyclamen species. Additionally, a greenhouse experiment with long and short sunlight photoperiod was conducted to evaluate its importance in the development of Cyclamen plants. Our results indicated that under short sunlight exposure, seeds germinated earlier than those kept in long sunlight photoperiod. Plants treated with foliar applications of GA3 exhibited higher plant height, leaf area, number of leaves, root length and tuber development. Significant differences were found in germination percentage (GP), mean germination time (MGT) and seedling vigor index (SVI), within different GA3 supplementation and greenhouse sunlight intensity (short and long days). In conclusion, our study suggests that seedling vigor and ornamental quality can be increased by GA3 application, an economic strategy for enhancing germination and growth of selected Cyclamen species.

The genetic variability of five populations of Quercus petraea originating from the Transylvania and Maramureș regions of Romania was investigated in this study to provide insights into the species’ adaptability, population dynamics, and potential for preservation in the face of environmental challenges. To achieve this, sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers, in conjunction with a set of 18 primer combinations, were employed. The outcomes of the analysis revealed a range of polymorphisms spanning from 69.78% to 85.75%. Additionally, the assessment of genetic diversity using Shannon’s information index (I) yielded values ranging between 0.2887 and 0.3955, while Nei’s gene diversity (He) exhibited a spectrum from 0.1833 to 0.2582. The analysis of genetic variability, conducted via molecular variance (AMOVA), unveiled that 9% of the genetic variation was attributable to differences among the populations, while a substantial 91% resided within the populations. A further investigation of the population structure revealed that the construction of a UPGMA dendrogram based on Nei’s genetic distances elucidated the presence of two principal genetic clusters, a finding that was reinforced by a Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA). The genetic diversity revealed by Quercus petraea using SRAP molecular markers offers promising potential for upcoming breeding programs to identify optimal genitors, facilitating the development of well-adapted oak populations in the Transylvania and Maramureș regions.

The present study was carried out to evaluate and compare in vitro antioxidant (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP)), antimicrobial, anticancer activities, and the individual carotenoids and anthocyanins content of methanol extracts of the Cyclamen genotypes: Persian cyclamen accessions (Cyclamen persicum Mill.), sowbread (C. mirabile Hildebr.), and ivy-leaved cyclamen (C. hederifolium Mill.) aerial parts. The HPLC-PDA analysis revealed the presence of five individual carotenoids (i.e., neoxanthin, violaxanthin, lutein, β-carotene, and cis-β-carotene) as the main compounds in Cyclamen leaves, and the presence of seven individual anthocycanins (i.e., cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside, peonidin-rutinoside, peonidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside, peonidin 3-O-glucoside, malvidin 3-O-glucoside, malvidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside, and malvidin-rutinoside) in Cyclamen flowers reported, hereby, for the first time. The highest phenolic content was found in the leaves of LC6, C. mirabile (46.32 ± 0.14 mg/g gallic acid equivalents [GAE]), and in the flowers of C. persicum Merengue Magenta (FC15) (58.63 ± 0.17 mg/g GAE), whereas the highest flavonoid content was reported in C. persicum Halios Falbala leaves, namely LC9 (54.90 ± 0.27 mg/g quercetin equivalents [QE]) and in flowers of C. persicum Victora (FC2) (77.87 ± 0.25 mg/g QE). The highest antioxidant activity in DPPH and FRAP assays was reported in C. persicum Dark Violet (LC1) and Victoria (LC2), whereas C. mirabile (LC6) had the highest activity in the TEAC assay. In flowers, high antioxidant activities in DPPH and TEAC were noticed in C. persicum Superserie Red (FC7) and Dark Violet (FC1), respectively, and Halios Falbala (FC9) exhibited the highest activity in the TEAC assay. Additionally, FC9 exhibited the highest antibacterial activity in almost all tested bacteria compared with the leaves extracts. Furthermore, the highest in vitro citotoxicity in MDA-MB-231 cells was noticed in C. hederifolium LC18 (56.71–69.35%) and FC18 (40.07–41.43%), with a lower effect against BJ cells demonstrating selective toxicity. The above findings, highlight the potential use of the Cyclamen flower and leaf extracts as significant anticancer agents along with their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.

Micropropagation has an important role in the large-scale production of blackberry plant material, given the high proliferation rates of this species. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the proliferative capacity of blackberry grown in vitro on wheat starch-gelled culture medium compared to classical agar-gelled medium and to assess the genetic fidelity between the proliferated shoots in starch-gelled culture medium and their mother plants. Six blackberry varieties (‘Čačanska Bestrna’, ‘Chester Thornless’, ‘Driscoll’s Victoria’, ‘Loch Ness’, ‘Polar’, and ‘Karaka Black’) were tested. For the in vitro shoots proliferation, Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.5 mg dm−3 6-benzyladenine (BA) was used. The conventional medium was gelled with 0.5% plant agar, and wheat starch was used as an alternative gelling agent in a concentration of 5%. The results showed that for all blackberry cultivars, the highest number of shoots/inoculum was obtained in wheat starch-gelled culture medium, with a maximum value of 54.42 ± 4.18 presented by ‘Karaka Black’. Considering the length of the proliferated shoots, all tested cultivars presented outstanding results on the culture medium gelled with 5% wheat starch. The highest values regarding shoots length were observed on the ‘Chester Thornless’ followed by ‘Čačanska Bestrna’, and ‘Loch Ness’ with values of 5.55 ± 0.04 cm, 5.46 ± 0.06 cm, and 5.37 ± 0.09 cm, respectively. The genetic uniformity of the micropropagated shoots in relation to their mother plants was confirmed by sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) and start codon targeted (SCoT) molecular markers.

Astragalus exscapus L. subsp. transsilvanicus (Schur) Nyár. (Fabaceae) is a rare plant endemic to the Transylvanian Plateau, represented by 24 identified populations. Limited information on the genetic variation and population structure is available, which obstructs efficient measures for conservation strategy. The present study aimed to analyze the genetic diversity and population structure of eight populations of A. exscapus subsp. transsilvanicus revealed by sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers. A total of 164 bands were amplified, 96.7% of which (159) were polymorphic. Nei’s gene diversity index (He) was estimated to be 0.228 at the population level and 0.272 at the subspecies level. The genetic differentiation among populations (Gst) was 0.165, which indicated a low proportion of total genetic diversity. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that 17% of the total variation of A. exscapus subsp. transsilvanicus is found among the populations, while 83% was found within the populations. A UPGMA dendrogram, principal coordinate analysis, and the STRUCTURE software grouped the populations into two clusters uncorrelated with the provenience of the 125 individuals, which might be attributed to fragmentation processes, insect pollination, population size, and specific environmental conditions of the habitats.

Cyclamen genus is part of the Primulaceae family consisting of 24 species widely cultivated as ornamental and medicinal plants. They also possess high plasticity in terms of adaptability to alternating environmental conditions. In this regard, the present study investigates the germination and morphological parameters of heat-tolerant and heat-sensitive Cyclamen persicum accessions in the presence of different GA3 solutions (0, 30, 70 and 90 mg/L) under ambient temperature and heat stress conditions. Heat-tolerant genotypes, mainly C3-Smartiz Victoria (6.42%), C15-Merengue magenta (6.47%) and C16-Metis silverleaf (5.12%) had the highest germination rate with 90 mg/L GA3 treatment compared with control. Regarding heat-sensitive genotypes, C11-Verano (5.11%) and C13-Metis Origami (4.28%) had the lowest values in mean germination time, along with the Petticoat genotypes C1 (73.3%) and C2 (80.0%) with a high germination percentage. Heat-tolerant genotypes positively responded to GA3 (70 and 90 mg/L) even under heat stress conditions, by their higher values in plant height, an ascending trend also seen in heat-sensitive genotypes under GA3 treatment (70 and 90 mg/L). According to the hierarchical clustering, several heat-tolerant genotypes showed peculiar behavior under heat stress conditions, namely C3 (Smartiz Victoria), C7 (Halios falbala) and C8 (Latinia pipoca) which proved to be susceptible to heat stress even under GA3 application, compared with the other genotypes which showed tolerance to higher temperatures. In the case of heat-sensitive genotypes, C4 (Smartiz violet fonce), C6 (Metis blank pur), C11 (Verano) and C13 (Metis origami) possessed higher positive or negative values compared with the other heat-sensitive genotypes with increased doses of GA3. These genotypes were shown to be less affected by heat stress, suggesting their positive response to hormone treatment. In conclusion, the above-mentioned genotypes, particularly heat-tolerant C15 and heat-sensitive C2 with the highest germination capacity and development can be selected as heat-resistant genotypes to be deposited in gene banks and used in further amelioration programs under biotic and/or abiotic stresses to develop resistant genotypes.

The Chi-Square test (χ2 test) is a family of tests based on a series of assumptions and is frequently used in the statistical analysis of experimental data. The aim of our paper was to present solutions to common problems when applying the Chi-square tests for testing goodness-of-fit, homogeneity and independence. The main characteristics of these three tests are presented along with various problems related to their application. The main problems identified in the application of the goodness-of-fit test were as follows: defining the frequency classes, calculating the X2 statistic, and applying the χ2 test. Several solutions were identified, presented and analyzed. Three different equations were identified as being able to determine the contribution of each factor on three hypothesizes (minimization of variance, minimization of square coefficient of variation and minimization of X2 statistic) in the application of the Chi-square test of homogeneity. The best solution was directly related to the distribution of the experimental error. The Fisher exact test proved to be the “golden test” in analyzing the independence while the Yates and Mantel-Haenszel corrections could be applied as alternative tests.