Morphological and genetic characteristics of F1 hybrids introgressed from Brassica napus to B. rapa in Taiwan

Interspecific hybridization for transfer of hull-less seed trait from Cucurbita pepo to C. moschata

Hull-less seed trait is preferred by nut and oil industries worldwide for snacking and oil extraction as it evades the expensive decorticating (dehulling) process. This seed trait is available in C. pepo only, which has small seed cavity, sensitive to various biotic and abiotic stresses, and restricted to temperate regions for cultivation. Contrarily, the related species C. moschata has wider adaptability, disease tolerance and high seed yield. Therefore, attempt was made to transfer this trait into C. moschata through conventional pollination and ovule culture using four parents of hull-less C. pepo and six of hulled C. moschata. Through conventional approach, few viable F₁ seeds (12-23) were obtained by using C. pepo as female parent, but in three crosses (HLP36 × HM1343, HLP36 × HM1022 and HLP44 × HM1022) only, whereas, its use as male parent was not successful. This incompatibility issue of reciprocals was resolved through ovule culture of C. moschata genotypes HM1343 and HM6711 after 17 to 19 days of pollination with C. pepo genotypes HLP53 and HLP72, respectively. The hybridity of interspecific crosses was confirmed through SSR markers (alleles inherited from both the parents), morphological characters and micromorphological leaf traits (differed from both the parents). The successful transfer through interspecific hybridization was further established with the presence of hull-less seed in fruits of F₂ populations. Outcome of this study would pave the way for enhancing the productivity and multi-season cultivation of snack-seeded pumpkin even in subtropical and tropical regions.

Characteristics and Fitness Analysis through Interspecific Hybrid Progenies of Transgenic Brassica napus and B. rapa L. ssp

Interspecific hybridization between transgenic crops and their wild relatives is a major concern for transgene dispersal in the environment. Under controlled conditions, artificial hand pollination experiments were performed in order to assess the hybridization potential and the fitness of interspecific hybrids between Brassica rapa and genetically modified (GM) Brassica napus. Initially, six subspecies of B. rapa were hybridized with GM B. napus through hand pollination. In the resulting F₁ hybrids, the combination of B. rapa ssp. narinosa (♀) × GM B. napus (♂) had the highest crossability index (16.9 ± 2.6). However, the F₁ selfing progenies of B. rapa ssp. rapa (♀) × GM B. napus were found to be more effective in producing viable future generations with the highest crossability index (1.6 ± 0.69) compared to other subspecies. Consequently, they were used for the generation of F₂ and F₃ progenies. The 18 different morphological characteristics among the parental cross-combinations and F₁ hybrid progenies were measured and visualized through hierarchical clustering. Different generations were found to be grouped based on their different morphological characteristics. The chromosome numbers among the interspecific hybrids ranged from 2n = 29 to 2n = 40. Furthermore, the SSR markers revealed the presence of genomic portions in the hybrids in comparison with their parental lines. There is a high possibility of transgene flow between GM B. napus and B. rapa. The study concluded that the interspecific hybrids between B. napus and B. rapa can be viable and can actively hybridize up to F₃ generations and more. This suggests that the GM B. napus can disperse the transgene into B. rapa, and that it can pass through for several generations by hand pollination in a greenhouse environment.

Interspecific Hybridization of Transgenic Brassica napus and Brassica rapa-An Overview

In nature, interspecific hybridization occurs frequently and can contribute to the production of new species or the introgression of beneficial adaptive features between species. It has great potential in agricultural systems to boost the process of targeted crop improvement. In the advent of genetically modified (GM) crops, it has a disadvantage that it involves the transgene escaping to unintended plants, which could result in non-specific weedy crops. Several crop species in the Brassica genus have close kinship: canola (Brassica napus) is an ancestral hybrid of B. rapa and B. oleracea and mustard species such as B. juncea, B. carinata, and B. nigra share common genomes. Hence, intraspecific hybridization among the Brassica species is most common, especially between B. napus and B. rapa. In general, interspecific hybrids cause numerous genetic and phenotypic changes in the parental lines. Consequently, their fitness and reproductive ability are also highly varied. In this review, we discuss the interspecific hybridization and reciprocal hybridization studies of B. napus and B. rapa and their potential in the controlled environment. Further, we address the fate of transgenes (herbicide resistance) and their ability to transfer to their progenies or generations. This could help us to understand the environmental influence of interspecific hybrids and how to effectively manage their transgene escape in the future.

Discrimination of Transgenic Canola (Brassica napus L.) and their Hybrids with B. rapa using Vis-NIR Spectroscopy and Machine Learning Methods

In recent years, the rapid development of genetically modified (GM) technology has raised concerns about the safety of GM crops and foods for human health and the ecological environment. Gene flow from GM crops to other crops, especially in the Brassicaceae family, might pose a threat to the environment due to their weediness. Hence, finding reliable, quick, and low-cost methods to detect and monitor the presence of GM crops and crop products is important. In this study, we used visible near-infrared (Vis-NIR) spectroscopy for the effective discrimination of GM and non-GM Brassica napus, B. rapa, and F1 hybrids (B. rapa X GM B. napus). Initially, Vis-NIR spectra were collected from the plants, and the spectra were preprocessed. A combination of different preprocessing methods (four methods) and various modeling approaches (eight methods) was used for effective discrimination. Among the different combinations, the Savitzky-Golay and Support Vector Machine combination was found to be an optimal model in the discrimination of GM, non-GM, and hybrid plants with the highest accuracy rate (100%). The use of a Convolutional Neural Network with Normalization resulted in 98.9%. The same higher accuracy was found in the use of Gradient Boosted Trees and Fast Large Margin approaches. Later, phenolic acid concentration among the different plants was assessed using GC-MS analysis. Partial least squares regression analysis of Vis-NIR spectra and biochemical characteristics showed significant correlations in their respective changes. The results showed that handheld Vis-NIR spectroscopy combined with chemometric analyses could be used for the effective discrimination of GM and non-GM B. napus, B. rapa, and F1 hybrids. Biochemical composition analysis can also be combined with the Vis-NIR spectra for efficient discrimination.

Fungal diversity notes 1387-1511: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions on genera and species of fungal taxa

This article is the 13th contribution in the Fungal Diversity Notes series, wherein 125 taxa from four phyla, ten classes, 31 orders, 69 families, 92 genera and three genera incertae sedis are treated, demonstrating worldwide and geographic distribution. Fungal taxa described and illustrated in the present study include three new genera, 69 new species, one new combination, one reference specimen and 51 new records on new hosts and new geographical distributions. Three new genera, Cylindrotorula (Torulaceae), Scolecoleotia (Leotiales genus incertae sedis) and Xenovaginatispora (Lindomycetaceae) are introduced based on distinct phylogenetic lineages and unique morphologies. Newly described species are Aspergillus lannaensis, Cercophora dulciaquae, Cladophialophora aquatica, Coprinellus punjabensis, Cortinarius alutarius, C. mammillatus, C. quercoflocculosus, Coryneum fagi, Cruentomycena uttarakhandina, Cryptocoryneum rosae, Cyathus uniperidiolus, Cylindrotorula indica, Diaporthe chamaeropicola, Didymella azollae, Diplodia alanphillipsii, Dothiora coronicola, Efibula rodriguezarmasiae, Erysiphe salicicola, Fusarium queenslandicum, Geastrum gorgonicum, G. hansagiense, Helicosporium sexualis, Helminthosporium chiangraiensis, Hongkongmyces kokensis, Hydrophilomyces hydraenae, Hygrocybe boertmannii, Hyphoderma australosetigerum, Hyphodontia yunnanensis, Khaleijomyces umikazeana, Laboulbenia divisa, Laboulbenia triarthronis, Laccaria populina, Lactarius pallidozonarius, Lepidosphaeria strobelii, Longipedicellata megafusiformis, Lophiotrema lincangensis, Marasmius benghalensis, M. jinfoshanensis, M. subtropicus, Mariannaea camelliae, Melanographium smilaxii, Microbotryum polycnemoides, Mimeomyces digitatus, Minutisphaera thailandensis, Mortierella solitaria, Mucor harpali, Nigrograna jinghongensis, Odontia huanrenensis, O. parvispina, Paraconiothyrium ajrekarii, Parafuscosporella niloticus, Phaeocytostroma yomensis, Phaeoisaria synnematicus, Phanerochaete hainanensis, Pleopunctum thailandicum, Pleurotheciella dimorphospora, Pseudochaetosphaeronema chiangraiense, Pseudodactylaria albicolonia, Rhexoacrodictys nigrospora, Russula paravioleipes, Scolecoleotia eriocamporesi, Seriascoma honghense, Synandromyces makranczyi, Thyridaria aureobrunnea, Torula lancangjiangensis, Tubeufia longihelicospora, Wicklowia fusiformispora, Xenovaginatispora phichaiensis and Xylaria apiospora. One new combination, Pseudobactrodesmium stilboideus is proposed. A reference specimen of Comoclathris permunda is designated. New host or distribution records are provided for Acrocalymma fici, Aliquandostipite khaoyaiensis, Camarosporidiella laburni, Canalisporium caribense, Chaetoscutula juniperi, Chlorophyllum demangei, C. globosum, C. hortense, Cladophialophora abundans, Dendryphion hydei, Diaporthe foeniculina, D. pseudophoenicicola, D. pyracanthae, Dictyosporium pandanicola, Dyfrolomyces distoseptatus, Ernakulamia tanakae, Eutypa flavovirens, E. lata, Favolus septatus, Fusarium atrovinosum, F. clavum, Helicosporium luteosporum, Hermatomyces nabanheensis, Hermatomyces sphaericoides, Longipedicellata aquatica, Lophiostoma caudata, L. clematidis-vitalbae, Lophiotrema hydei, L. neoarundinaria, Marasmiellus palmivorus, Megacapitula villosa, Micropsalliota globocystis, M. gracilis, Montagnula thailandica, Neohelicosporium irregulare, N. parisporum, Paradictyoarthrinium diffractum, Phaeoisaria aquatica, Poaceascoma taiwanense, Saproamanita manicata, Spegazzinia camelliae, Submersispora variabilis, Thyronectria caudata, T. mackenziei, Tubeufia chiangmaiensis, T. roseohelicospora, Vaginatispora nypae, Wicklowia submersa, Xanthagaricus necopinatus and Xylaria haemorrhoidalis. The data presented herein are based on morphological examination of fresh specimens, coupled with analysis of phylogenetic sequence data to better integrate taxa into appropriate taxonomic ranks and infer their evolutionary relationships.

Natural drug sources for respiratory diseases from Fritillaria: chemical and biological analyses

Fritillaria naturally grows in the temperate region of Northern Hemisphere and mainly distributes in Central Asia, Mediterranean region, and North America. The dried bulbs from a dozen species of this genus have been usually used as herbal medicine, named Beimu in China. Beimu had rich sources of phytochemicals and have extensively applied to respiratory diseases including coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Fritillaria species have alkaloids that act as the main active components that contribute multiple biological activities, including anti-tussive, expectorant, and anti-asthmatic effects, especially against certain respiratory diseases. Other compounds (terpenoids, steroidal saponins, and phenylpropanoids) have also been identified in species of Fritillaria. In this review, readers will discover a brief summary of traditional uses and a comprehensive description of the chemical profiles, biological properties, and analytical techniques used for quality control. In general, the detailed summary reveals 293 specialized metabolites that have been isolated and analyzed in Fritillaria species. This review may provide a scientific basis for the chemical ecology and metabolomics in which compound identification of certain species remains a limiting step.

Using a zero-inflated model to assess gene flow risk and coexistence of Brassica napus L. and Brassica rapa L. on a field scale in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

The cropping area of genetically modified (GM) crops has constantly increased since 1996. However, currently, cultivating GM crops is associated with many concerns. Transgenes are transferred to non-GM crops through pollen-mediated gene flow, which causes environmental problems such as superweeds and introgressive hybridization. Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.), which has many GM varieties, is one of the most crucial oil crops in the world. Hybridization between Brassica species occurs spontaneously. B. rapa grows in fields as a weed and is cultivated as a crop for various purposes. Both B. rapa weeds and crops participate in gene flow among rapeseed. Therefore, gene flow risk and the coexistence of these two species should be studied.

RESULTS

In this study, field experiments were conducted at two sites for 4 years to evaluate gene flow risk. In addition, zero-inflated models were used to address the problem of excess zero values and data overdispersion. The difference in the number of cross-pollination (CP) events was nonsignificant between upwind and downwind plots. The CP rate decreased as the distance increased. The average CP rates at distances of 0.35 and 12.95 m were 2.78% and 0.028%, respectively. In our results, zero-inflated negative binomial models were comprehensively superior to zero-inflated Poisson models. The models predicted isolation distances of approximately 1.36 and 0.43 m for the 0.9% and 3% threshold labeling levels, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Cultivating GM crops is prohibited in Taiwan; however, the study results can provide a reference for the assessment of gene flow risk and the coexistence of these two species in Asian countries establishing policies for GM crops.