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Amaranthus tuberculatus, Amaranthus hybridus, and Amaranthus palmeri are agronomically important weed species. Here, we present the most contiguous draft assemblies of these three species to date. We utilized a combination of Pacific Biosciences long-read sequencing and chromatin contact mapping information to assemble and order sequences of A. palmeri to near-chromosome-level resolution, with scaffold N50 of 20.1 Mb. To resolve the issues of heterozygosity and coassembly of alleles in diploid species, we adapted the trio binning approach to produce haplotype assemblies of A. tuberculatus and A. hybridus. This approach resulted in an improved assembly of A. tuberculatus, and the first genome assembly for A. hybridus, with contig N50s of 2.58 and 2.26 Mb, respectively. Species-specific transcriptomes and information from related species were used to predict transcripts within each assembly. Syntenic comparisons of these species and Amaranthus hypochondriacus identified sites of genomic rearrangement, including duplication and translocation, whereas genetic map construction within A. tuberculatus highlighted the need for further ordering of the A. hybridus and A. tuberculatus contigs. These multiple reference genomes will accelerate genomic studies in these species to further our understanding of weedy evolution within Amaranthus.

Fresh-cut lettuce is popular, but highly perishable product. Genetic studies of two bi-parental populations derived from crossing parents with rapid and slow rates of deterioration showed that the deterioration rate is a heritable trait (broad spectrum heritability, H2 of 0.56–0.87). The major genetic determinant of the deterioration rate in both populations was the quantitative trait locus (QTL), qSL4, located on linkage group 4. This QTL explained 40–74% of the total phenotypic variation of the trait in the two populations. Saturating the qSL4 region with single-nucleotide (SNP) markers allowed detection of six haplotypes in a set of 16 lettuce accessions with different rates of deterioration. Three of the haplotypes were always associated with very rapid rates of deterioration, while the other three haplotypes were associated with slow rates of deterioration. Two SNPs located 53 bp apart were sufficient to separate the 16 accessions into two groups with different rates of deterioration. The accuracy of markers-trait association was subsequently tested on 350 plants from seven F2 families that originated from crossing parents with different rates of deterioration. The H2 of deterioration rate in these seven families ranged from 0.64 to 0.90. The SNP-based analysis accurately identified individuals with rapid, intermediate, and slow rates of deterioration in each family. Intermediate rate of deterioration was found in individuals having heterozygous alleles at qSL4, indicating an additive effect of the alleles. The assay can be used for fast, accurate, and reliable identification of deterioration rate after processing for salad., Salad crops: Longer-lasting lettuce Genetic studies have shown that the rate of deterioration of cut lettuce leaves in pre-packaged salads is a highly heritable trait, governed by gene regions that could be used to breed longer-lasting varieties. Many genetic studies have aimed at breeding better varieties of lettuce (Lactuca sativa), but most have focused upon those grown for whole heads, rather than the cut leaves that are becoming increasingly popular with consumers. An international team led by Ivan Simko, of the USDA in Salinas, California, have developed a genetic assay to distinguish fast- from slow-deteriorating lettuce varieties based on a single DNA region identified in a previous study. Their marker-based test may be useful in developing lettuces that show both disease resistance during cultivation, and a longer shelf life once leaves are cut for sale.

Fresh-cut lettuce (Lactuca sativa) packaged as salad mixes are increasingly popular to consumers but are highly perishable. Cultivars bred with extended shelf life could increase overall production efficiency by reducing the frequency of product replacement in the marketplace. Understanding the inheritance of shelf life is needed to develop efficient breeding strategies for this trait. A population of 95 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from slow-decaying ‘Salinas 88’ × rapidly decaying ‘La Brillante’ was grown in four field experiments. Cut lettuce was evaluated for decay in modified atmosphere (MA) packages flushed with N2 or air (control). Correlations between field experiments ranged from 0.47 to 0.84 (P < 0.01). Three quantitative trait loci (QTL) for decay of cut lettuce were detected on linkage groups (LGs) 1, 4, and 9 with ‘Salinas 88’ alleles associated with slower decay. The QTL on LG 4 (qSL4) was a major determinant of decay explaining 40% to 74% of the total phenotypic variance of the trait. The greatest effect of this QTL was observed between 29 and 50 days after harvest. QTL × environment interactions contributed less than 14% to the total variation. RILs with the ‘Salinas 88’ allele of qSL4 had slower decay when packaged in air compared with N2, whereas no difference between air and N2 packaging was detected with the ‘La Brillante’ allele. A subset of RILs with either the ‘Salinas 88’ or ‘La Brillante’ allele of qSL4 was grown in two field experiments and evaluated for decay of whole heads. Genetic variation among RILs for whole-head decay was found but could not be attributed to qSL4. Decay of cut lettuce in ‘Salinas 88’ × ‘La Brillante’ is a highly heritable trait conditioned by a few QTL and phenotypic selection is likely to be effective. However, shelf life evaluations are time-consuming, destructive, and require large amounts of field-grown lettuce. Therefore, qSL4 is a good QTL to develop molecular markers for marker-assisted selection. The mechanism of decay controlled by qSL4 is unknown but appears to be specific to cut lettuce and may have allele specific interactions with packaging atmospheric compositions.

Many cultivars of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) are susceptible to downy mildew, a nearly globally ubiquitous disease caused by Bremia lactucae. We previously determined that Batavia type cultivar ‘La Brillante’ has a high level of field resistance to the disease in California. Testing of a mapping population developed from a cross between ‘Salinas 88’ and La Brillante in multiple field and laboratory experiments revealed that at least five loci conferred resistance in La Brillante. The presence of a new dominant resistance gene (designated Dm50) that confers complete resistance to specific isolates was detected in laboratory tests of seedlings inoculated with multiple diverse isolates. Dm50 is located in the major resistance cluster on linkage group 2 that contains at least eight major, dominant Dm genes conferring resistance to downy mildew. However, this Dm gene is ineffective against the isolates of B. lactucae prevalent in the field in California and the Netherlands. A quantitative trait locus (QTL) located at the Dm50 chromosomal region (qDM2.2) was detected, though, when the amount of disease was evaluated a month before plants reached harvest maturity. Four additional QTL for resistance to B. lactucae were identified on linkage groups 4 (qDM4.1 and qDM4.2), 7 (qDM7.1), and 9 (qDM9.2). The largest effect was associated with qDM7.1 (up to 32.9% of the total phenotypic variance) that determined resistance in multiple field experiments. Markers identified in the present study will facilitate introduction of these resistance loci into commercial cultivars of lettuce.

Lettuce yields can be reduced by the disease bacterial leaf spot (BLS) caused by the pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. vitians (Xcv) and host resistance is the most feasible method to reduce disease losses. The cultivars La Brillante, Pavane and Little Gem express an incompatible host-pathogen interaction as a hypersensitive response (HR) to California strains of Xcv resulting in resistance. Little was known about the inheritance of resistance; however, resistance to other lettuce pathogens is often determined by resistance gene candidates (RGCs) encoding nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR) proteins. Therefore, we determined the inheritance of BLS resistance in the cultivars La Brillante, Little Gem and Pavane and mapped it relative to RGCs. The reaction to Xcv was analyzed in nine F1, F2 and recombinant inbred line populations of lettuce from HR×compatible or HR×HR crosses. The HR in La Brillante, Pavane and Little Gem is conditioned by single dominant genes, which are either allelic or closely linked genes. The resistance gene in La Brillante was designated Xanthomonas resistance 1 (Xar1) and mapped to lettuce linkage group 2. Xar1 is present in a genomic region that contains numerous NB-LRR encoding RGCs and functional pathogen resistance loci in the RGC2 family. The Xar1 gene confers a high level of BLS resistance in the greenhouse and field that can be introgressed into commercial lettuce cultivars to reduce BLS losses using molecular markers.

Many cultivars of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), the most popular leafy vegetable, are susceptible to downy mildew disease caused by Bremia lactucae. Cultivars Iceberg and Grand Rapids that were released in the 18th and 19th centuries, respectively, have high levels of quantitative resistance to downy mildew. We developed a population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) originating from a cross between these two legacy cultivars, constructed a linkage map and identified two QTLs for resistance on linkage groups 2 (qDM2.1) and 5 (qDM5.1) that determined resistance under field conditions in California and the Netherlands. The same QTLs determined delayed sporulation at the seedling stage in laboratory experiments. Alleles conferring elevated resistance at both QTLs originate from cultivar Iceberg. An additional QTL on linkage group 9 (qDM9.1) was detected through simultaneous analysis of all experiments with mixed-model approach. Alleles for elevated resistance at this locus originate from cultivar Grand Rapids.

An integrated map for lettuce comprising of 2,744 markers was developed from seven intra- and inter-specific mapping populations. A total of 560 markers that segregated in two or more populations were used to align the individual maps. 2,073 AFLP, 152 RFLP, 130 SSR, and 360 RAPD as well as 29 other markers were assigned to nine chromosomal linkage groups that spanned a total of 1,505 cM and ranged from 136 to 238 cM. The maximum interval between markers in the integrated map is 43 cM and the mean interval is 0.7 cM. The majority of markers segregated close to Mendelian expectations in the intra-specific crosses. In the two L. saligna x L. sativa inter-specific crosses, a total of 155 and 116 markers in 13 regions exhibited significant segregation distortion. Data visualization tools were developed to curate, display and query the data. The integrated map provides a framework for mapping ESTs in one core mapping population relative to phenotypes that segregate in other populations. It also provides large numbers of markers for marker assisted selection, candidate gene identification, and studies of genome evolution in the Compositae.