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"Torres, Ana"
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Combination of QTL mapping and GWAS for fine mapping and gene mining of drought tolerance and seed yield components in faba bean (Vicia faba L.)
Background
Increasing crop yields in the face of climate change is a key goal in faba bean breeding. By integrating multiple data sets, we combine recent QTL and GWAS analyses for yield and drought resistance and uncover the most consistent genomic regions related with these traits. We determine the physical position of the significant markers in the reference faba bean genome and assess the co-localization of significant QTNs with stable QTLs, thus pinpointing the most likely candidate genes.
Results
One hundred fifty-two annotated genes, found in 10 overlapping genomic regions, were predicted as faba bean candidate genes for drought and yield related traits and many of them were closely related to genes previously identified and validated in other crops. Several significant markers appear to influence multiple traits, sometimes even seemingly unrelated ones suggesting potential pleiotropy or close physical linkage, although further validation is required.
Conclusion
Integrating previously published QTLs and GWAS results for yield and drought related traits and projecting the significant markers onto the physical reference genome we identified overlapping regions and mine candidate genes within those intervals. The results of this study significantly advance our understanding of the genetic architecture of various traits and provide useful information of candidate genes that might have potential for selection in future faba bean breeding programs.
Journal Article
Characterization and diagnostic marker for TTG1 regulating tannin and anthocyanin biosynthesis in faba bean
Condensed tannins, found in coloured-flowering varieties of faba bean (
Vicia faba
L) are, after vicine and convicine, one of the major anti-nutritional factors for monogastric animals. The development of tannin-free cultivars is a key goal in breeding to broaden the use of this legume in the animal feed industry. Two recessive genes,
zt-1
and
zt-2
, control the zero-tannin content and promote white-flowered plants. Previous studies exploiting synteny with the model
Medicago truncatula
reported a mutation in
TTG1
, a gene encoding a WD40 transcription factor located in chromosome II, as the responsible for the
zt-1
phenotypes. Here a comprehensive analysis of
VfTTG1
(including phylogenetic relationships, gene structure and gene expression) has been conducted to confirm the identity of the gene and to reveal structural changes that may result in different functional alleles. The results confirmed the identity of the candidate and revealed the existence of two different alleles responsible for the phenotype:
ttg1-a
, probably due to a mutation in the promoter region, and
ttg1-b
caused by a deletion at the 5′end of
VfTTG1
. Based on the sequencing results, an allele-specific diagnostic marker was designed that differentiate zt-1 from wild and zt-2 genotypes and facilitates its deployment in faba bean breeding programs.
Journal Article
Variability in drought stress response in a panel of 100 faba bean genotypes
Faba bean is an important protein crop for food and feed worldwide and provides a range of advantages in crop rotations. Its limited use in modern agriculture is mainly due to the high fluctuations in yield. A well known limiting factor in most legumes, and particularly in faba bean, is the high sensitivity to water shortage, which is further aggravated by climate change. The present study was undertaken to exploit the genetic variation in drought stress response in a faba bean collection of 100 accessions with diverse origins and to assess selection criteria for identifying drought tolerant genotypes. Physiological, phenological and yield related traits evaluated under drought or water-sufficient conditions responded significantly to the end-terminated drought stress. Comparison of yield relations showed the advantage of using a stress tolerance index (STI) to identify genotypes combining high yield potential with high stress yield. With regard to physiological traits, SPAD (chlorophyll content) values were significantly related to yield as well as to STI, while the other traits also contributed to different extents to variation in yield formation. Among the yield related traits, seeds per plant proved to be the most important trait followed by pods per plant. Interestingly, the eight genotypes with the best STI performance use different strategies to cope with drought stress.
Journal Article
Transformation of Experience: Toward a New Relationship with Nature
Despite decades of awareness about the biodiversity crisis, it remains a wicked problem. Besides preservation and restoration strategies, one approach has focused on increasing public concern about biodiversity issues by emphasizing opportunities for people to experience natural environments. In this article, we endeavor to complicate the understanding of these experiences of nature (EoN). Because EoN are embedded in social and cultural contexts, transformative or new EoN are emerging in combination with societal changes in work, home, and technology. Policies that acknowledge and accept a diversity of culturally situated EoN, including negative EoN, could help people reconnect with the complexity and dynamics of biodiversity. A new conceptualization of EoN that encompasses diverse experiences and reflects the sociocultural context could help to stimulate a broader transformation in the relationship between society and nature, one that better integrates the two spheres. Such a transformation is necessary to more effectively address the biodiversity crisis.
Journal Article
PLGA Nanoparticles for the Intraperitoneal Administration of CBD in the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer: In Vitro and In Ovo Assessment
The intraperitoneal administration of chemotherapeutics has emerged as a potential route in ovarian cancer treatment. Nanoparticles as carriers for these agents could be interesting by increasing the retention of chemotherapeutics within the peritoneal cavity. Moreover, nanoparticles could be internalised by cancer cells and let the drug release near the biological target, which could increase the anticancer efficacy. Cannabidiol (CBD), the main nonpsychotropic cannabinoid, appears as a potential anticancer drug. The aim of this work was to develop polymer nanoparticles as CBD carriers capable of being internalised by ovarian cancer cells. The drug-loaded nanoparticles (CBD-NPs) exhibited a spherical shape, a particle size around 240 nm and a negative zeta potential (−16.6 ± 1.2 mV). The encapsulation efficiency was high, with values above 95%. A controlled CBD release for 96 h was achieved. Nanoparticle internalisation in SKOV-3 epithelial ovarian cancer cells mainly occurred between 2 and 4 h of incubation. CBD antiproliferative activity in ovarian cancer cells was preserved after encapsulation. In fact, CBD-NPs showed a lower IC50 values than CBD in solution. Both CBD in solution and CBD-NPs induced the expression of PARP, indicating the onset of apoptosis. In SKOV-3-derived tumours formed in the chick embryo model, a slightly higher—although not statistically significant—tumour growth inhibition was observed with CBD-NPs compared to CBD in solution. To sum up, poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles could be a good strategy to deliver CBD intraperitoneally for ovarian cancer treatment.
Journal Article
QTL dissection and mining of candidate genes for Ascochyta fabae and Orobanche crenata resistance in faba bean (Vicia faba L.)
Background
Ascochyta blight caused by
Ascochyta fabae
Speg. and broomrape (
Orobanche crenata)
are among the economically most significant pathogens of faba bean. Several QTLs conferring resistance against the two pathogens have been identified and validated in different genetic backgrounds. The aim of this study was to saturate the most stable QTLs for ascochyta and broomrape resistance in two Recombinant Inbred Line (RIL) populations, 29H x Vf136 and Vf6 x Vf136, to identify candidate genes conferring resistance against these two pathogens.
Results
We exploited the synteny between faba bean and the model species
Medicago truncatula
by selecting a set of 219 genes encoding putative WRKY transcription factors and defense related proteins falling within the target QTL intervals, for genotyping and marker saturation in the two RIL populations. Seventy and 50 of the candidate genes could be mapped in 29H x Vf136 and Vf6 x Vf136, respectively. Besides the strong reduction of the QTL intervals, the mapping process allowed replacing previous dominant and pedigree-specific RAPD flanking markers with robust and transferrable SNP markers, revealing promising candidates for resistance against the two pathogens.
Conclusions
Although further efforts in association mapping and expression studies will be required to corroborate the candidate genes for resistance, the fine-mapping approach proposed here increases the genetic resolution of relevant QTL regions and paves the way for an efficient deployment of useful alleles for faba bean ascochyta and broomrape resistance through marker-assisted breeding.
Journal Article
Long-Term Outcomes of First-Admission Psychosis: A Naturalistic 21-Year Follow-Up Study of Symptomatic, Functional and Personal Recovery and Their Baseline Predictors
Abstract
This study was aimed at characterizing long-term outcomes of first-admission psychosis and examining their baseline predictors. Participants were assessed at baseline for 38 candidate predictors and re-assessed after a median follow-up of 21 years for symptomatic, functional, and personal recovery. Associations between the predictors and the outcomes were examined using univariate and multivariate Cox regression models. At baseline, 623 subjects were assessed for eligibility, 510 met the inclusion/exclusion criteria and 243 were successfully followed-up (57.3% of the survivors). At follow-up, the percentages of subjects achieving symptomatic, functional, and personal recovery were 51.9%, 52.7%, and 51.9%, respectively; 74.2% met at least one recovery criterion and 32.5% met all three recovery criteria. Univariate analysis showed that outcomes were predicted by a broad range of variables, including sociodemographics, familial risk, early risk factors, premorbid functioning, triggering factors, illness-onset features, neurological abnormalities, deficit symptoms and early response to treatment. Many of the univariate predictors became nonsignificant when entered into a hierarchical multivariate model, indicating a substantial degree of interdependence. Each single outcome component was independently predicted by parental socioeconomic status, family history of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, early developmental delay, childhood adversity, and mild drug use. Spontaneous dyskinesia/parkinsonism, neurological soft signs and completion of high school remained specific predictors of symptomatic, functional, and personal outcomes, respectively. Predictors explained between 27.5% and 34.3% of the variance in the outcomes. In conclusion, our results indicate a strong potential for background and first-episode characteristics in predicting long-term outcomes of psychotic disorders, which may inform future intervention research.
Journal Article