Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background Pistachio ( Pistacia vera L.) is one of the most important nut crops in the world. There are about 11 wild species in the genus Pistacia, and they have importance as rootstock seed sources for cultivated P. vera and forest trees. Published information on the pistachio genome is limited. Therefore, a genome survey is necessary to obtain knowledge on the genome structure of pistachio by next generation sequencing. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers are useful tools for germplasm characterization, genetic diversity analysis, and genetic linkage mapping, and may help to elucidate genetic relationships among pistachio cultivars and species. Results To explore the genome structure of pistachio, a genome survey was performed using the Illumina platform at approximately 40× coverage depth in the P. vera cv. Siirt. The K-mer analysis indicated that pistachio has a genome that is about 600 Mb in size and is highly heterozygous. The assembly of 26.77 Gb Illumina data produced 27,069 scaffolds at N50 = 3.4 kb with a total of 513.5 Mb. A total of 59,280 SSR motifs were detected with a frequency of 8.67 kb. A total of 206 SSRs were used to characterize 24 P. vera cultivars and 20 wild Pistacia genotypes (four genotypes from each five wild Pistacia species) belonging to P. atlantica, P. integerrima, P. chinenesis, P. terebinthus, and P. lentiscus genotypes. Overall 135 SSR loci amplified in all 44 cultivars and genotypes, 41 were polymorphic in six Pistacia species. The novel SSR loci developed from cultivated pistachio were highly transferable to wild Pistacia species. Conclusions The results from a genome survey of pistachio suggest that the genome size of pistachio is about 600 Mb with a high heterozygosity rate. This information will help to design whole genome sequencing strategies for pistachio. The newly developed novel polymorphic SSRs in this study may help germplasm characterization, genetic diversity, and genetic linkage mapping studies in the genus Pistacia .

Berberis vulgaris L. is a shrub exhibiting significant morphological and biochemical diversity. This study evaluated nine wild genotypes from Isfahan Province, Iran, based on 21 morphological and biochemical traits. Fruit length varied from 0.6 to 1.07 cm, width from 0.47 to 0.72 cm, and weight from 0.14 to 0.26 g, with colors ranging from light yellow to dark red. Pearson correlation analysis revealed key relationships: fruit weight correlated positively with seed length ( r  = 0.50), fruit color had a strong negative correlation with fruit length ( r = − 0.68) and a positive correlation with leaf color ( r  = 0.74). The number of fruits per panicle correlated negatively with seed width ( r = − 0.73), while fresh fruit weight correlated positively with leaf blade length ( r  = 0.79). Biochemical analysis revealed significant antioxidant activity (ranging from 89.20 to 97.10%), which correlated with phenolic content (5.18–14.34 mg GAE/g DW) and flavonoid content (5.3–16.86 mg QE/g DW). Sample 2 had the highest total phenolics (TP) content (14.34 mg GAE/g DW.), flavonoids (13.83 mg QE/g DW), whereas sample 7 exhibited the highest flavonoid concentration (16.86 mg QE/g DW) and sample 3 showed the strong antioxidant capacity (97.10%). Hierarchical clustering grouped genotypes into three clusters: Cluster I (samples 7 and 8) with distinct biochemical profiles; Cluster II (samples 1 and 2) with darker fruits and higher phenolics; Cluster III with lighter fruits and lower biochemical levels. These results highlight the genetic diversity and medicinal potential of B. vulgaris , suggesting fruit color and morphological traits as useful markers for selecting genotypes with high antioxidant capacity. Conservation and breeding efforts should prioritize these valuable wild resources for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical uses. Future studies integrating molecular markers with morphological and biochemical traits will provide deeper insights into the genetic basis of variability and support targeted breeding programs.

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the correlation between dietary protein levels and the concentrations of various proteins in blood serum and uterine fluid during different stages of the reproductive cycle in dairy cows. Materials and Methods Forty Holstein cows, all 45 days postpartum, were randomly assigned to two groups: one receiving a diet containing 16% protein, and the other 19% protein. After a 14‐day adaptation period, oestrus synchronization was performed using the Heatsynch protocol. Cows were fed total mixed rations (TMR) three times daily, adjusted based on weight and age. Blood and uterine fluid samples were collected at different stages of the reproductive cycle and analysed for total protein, albumin and globulin fractions (alpha‐1, alpha‐2, beta‐1, beta‐2 and gamma globulin). Results Cows receiving the 19% protein diet exhibited significantly higher uterine fluid total protein levels across all cycle phases (p < 0.05), and increased uterine albumin during proestrus, oestrus and metestrus. In serum, alpha‐1‐globulin was higher in the 19% group during oestrus and metestrus, whereas alpha‐2‐, beta‐1‐, beta‐2‐ and gamma‐globulins were generally higher in the 16% group at specific phases (p < 0.05). Pearson correlations revealed stage‐specific relationships between serum and uterine proteins, with alpha‐2‐globulin and gamma‐globulin showing opposing correlation patterns during dioestrus. No significant differences were observed in fertility or pregnancy rates between treatments. Conclusion Higher dietary protein levels appear to influence reproductive parameters in dairy cows by altering protein profiles in blood and uterine fluid. These findings highlight the role of dietary management in optimizing reproductive health and performance. This study investigates the effect of different dietary protein levels (16% and 19%) on serum and uterine fluid protein concentrations in dairy cows at various stages of the reproductive cycle. The results showed that the diet with 19% protein induced significant changes in protein profiles and may enhance reproductive health and performance. The importance of nutritional management in optimizing reproduction is highlighted.

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are co-dominant markers, and are very useful in constructing consensus maps in heterozygous perennial plant species like pistachio. Pistacia vera L. is the only cultivated species in the genus Pistacia. It is dioecious with a haploid chromosome count of n = 15. Saturated genetic linkage maps can be a reference to identify markers linked to economically important phenotypic traits that could be useful for early breeding and selection programs. Therefore, this study aimed to develop polymorphic SSR markers in silico and to construct the first SSR-based genetic linkage map in pistachio. The DNA sequences of three cultivars (Siirt, Ohadi, and Bagyolu) of P. vera and one genotype belonging to P. atlantica (Pa-18) were obtained by next-generation sequencing, and 625 polymorphic SSR loci were identified from 750 screened in silico polymorphic SSR primer pairs. The novel SSRs were used to construct SSR-based genetic linkage maps in pistachio along with published SSRs in Siirt × Bagyolu F1 population. Most (71.4%) of the SSRs were common markers that were used to construct consensus and parental maps spanning 15 linkage groups (LGs). A total of 384, 317, and 341 markers were mapped in the consensus, female, and male genetic maps with total lengths of 1511.3, 1427.0, and 1453.4 cM, respectively. The large number of SSR markers discovered and the first SSR-based genetic linkage map constructed in this study will be useful for anchoring loci for map integration, and will facilitate marker-assisted selection efforts for important horticultural traits in the genus Pistacia.

Pistachio is one of the most commercially important nut trees in the world. To characterize the genetic controls of horticultural traits and facilitate marker-assisted breeding in pistachio, we constructed an SSR-based linkage map using an interspecific F 1 population derived from a cross between the cultivar “Siirt” ( Pistacia vera L.) and the monoecious Pa-18 genotype of Pistacia atlantica Desf. This population was also used for the first QTL analysis in pistachio on leaf and shoot characters. In total, 1312 SSR primers were screened, and 388 loci were successfully integrated into parental linkage maps. The Siirt maternal map contained 306 markers, while the “Pa-18” paternal map included 285 markers along the 15 linkage groups. The Siirt map spanned 1410.4 cM, with an average marker distance of 4.6 cM; the Pa-18 map covered 1362.5 cM with an average marker distance of 4.8 cM. Phenotypic data were collected during the growing seasons of 2015 and 2016 for four traits: leaf length (LL), leaf width (LW), leaf length/leaf width ratio (LWR), number of leaflet pairs (NLL), and young shoot color (YSC). A total of 17 QTLs were identified in the parental maps. Four QTLs for LL and LW were located on LG2 and LG4, while four QTLs for LWR ratio on LG13 and LG14, two QTLs for NLL and two QTLs for YSC were on LG7 and LG9, respectively, with similar positions in both parental maps. The SSR markers, linkage maps, and QTLs reported here will provide a valuable resource for future molecular and genetic studies in pistachio.

The Apiaceae family includes a few agronomic and medicinal species, one of which is Scaligeria lazica Boiss. In this study, the genetic diversity of S. lazica was analyzed based on novel simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers using next-generation sequencing (NGS). A total of 15.17G clean Illumina data set was obtained and dinucleotide repeats were the most abundant repeats in S. lazica. Of the tested 150 SSR primer pairs, 139 ones produced amplification and 84 ones were polymorphic. Forty polymorphic SSR loci were used in genetic diversity analysis of 40 S. lazica accessions from four locations. A total of 264 alleles were amplified with an average of 6.6 alleles per locus. The polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.60, while the observed homozygosity (Ho) and expected heterozygosity (He) values were 0.47 and 0.66, respectively. According to cluster and structure analysis, all accessions were grouped into four different clusters according to their collection sites. The SSR markers developed in this study can be tested for other Scaligeria species due to their high transferability and can be used for genetic studies in genus Scaligeria DC.