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Milk thistle, Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. (Asteraceae), is an economically important medicinal plant utilized for silymarin production. Moreover, the species has been positively evaluated for vegetable oil and biomass production. Despite these positive characteristics, milk thistle is still marked by traits that are typical of undomesticated species (most importantly natural fruit dispersal at maturity) and requires further genetic improvement for its complete exploitation. This manuscript summarizes all the information collected through time about a collection of nine milk thistle wild and mutant lines and it discusses the possible further utilization of these genotypes. The accessions are characterized by interesting traits related to: fruit silymarin composition (S. marianum chemotype A and B), fruit fatty acid composition (high oleic and high stearic acid lines), fruit condensed tannins content, vegetative biomass composition (modification of xylans or lignin content), vegetative biomass structure (dwarf and tall lines), modifications of leaf variegation (hypervareigated line) and different types of fruit shatter resistance at maturity. All the lines underwent subsequent generations of selfing and are stable for all the described traits. The accessions will be made available at the Genebank of the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK, Gatersleben) and may prove to be a useful genetic material for the improvement of qualitative fruit traits (silymarin quality, fatty acid composition) and for the further development of shatter-resistant S. marianum genotypes towards the complete domestication of this promising species.

Milk thistle [Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.] is used as a medicinal plant for the production of silymarin. Other than silymarin, the fruit also contains valuable compounds such as oil and protein, and the lignocellulosic biomass of this species has been positively evaluated for biogas, syngas, and energy production. Despite these positive characteristics, the plant is still marked by traits that are typical of undomesticated species. Specifically, fruit shattering at maturity severely hampers its possible utilization as a crop. Therefore, for the first time, an ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis program was implemented to identify milk thistle lines with reduced fruit shattering, and its effectiveness was evaluated through genome-wide analysis. The candidate nonshattering lines were multiplied up to M₆ for the validation of the favorable traits. The lignocellulosic biomass of the selected shatter resistant lines was analyzed according to compositional analysis. The natural milk thistle fruit dispersal mechanism was shown to be modulated by changing air relative humidity. Three vigorous, stable, shatter-resistant lines were identified. This is the first report that describes milk thistle nonshattering lines. At this stage in the three lines, the morphological description and the compositional analysis of the lignocellulosic biomass indicated that shatter resistance was concomitant to changes in vegetative biomass structure and composition. This observation is compatible with the described natural fruit dispersal mechanism, and it is of interest for the design of new milk thistle crop ideotypes for the complete domestication of the species.

Silybum marianum (milk thistle) is currently utilised as a medicinal plant which provides raw material for the production of silymarin. Silymarin is composed of a group of flavonolignans that are well known and studied for their medicinal properties. However, the biomass yield potential and the chemical composition of its biomass suggest opportunities for much broader utilisation of S. marianum. This paper reviews the available literature about S. marianum biomass productivity and composition and about properties of products and byproducts of silymarin extraction. Alternative uses of whole plant biomass include fodder, bioenergy production and phytoremediation. Byproducts of silymarin extraction such as oil and flour have possible applications in food, feed and cosmetics. Moreover, the review explores potential alternative applications of silymarin. We conclude that a pivotal issue for further utilisation of S. marianum is the development of improved cultivars suited for the different possible utilisations.

Silybum marianum is a medicinal plant cultivated for silymarin production in central Europe and Asia. It is also considered a weed of both arable lands and pastures. Although S. marianum still exhibits traits that are typical of wild species; both its fruit and biomass productivity are remarkable. Therefore, the species is gaining interest as a potential novel commercial crop for multiple uses (i.e. medicinal plant, bioenergy, and vegetable oil production). Despite the intriguing characteristics of this plant and its economic importance, a detailed description of the phenological growth stages of S. marianum has never been developed. A precise and univocal description of the growth stages of this species will offer a useful tool for several agronomic and research activities, weed management practices and for further genetic improvement programmes. In the present manuscript, the description of the phenological development of S. marianum is proposed utilising the extended BBCH (Biologische Bundesantalt, Bundessortenamt and Chemische Industrie) scale. The phenological growth stages are described utilising both the 2- and 3-digit BBCH coding system. Pictures of the most representative stages supplement the manuscript.

BACKGROUND: Camelina sativa (CS) is an oilseed crop used for biofuel production. By-products from oil extraction are high in protein and can be used in ruminant rations; more information about their nutritive value is required also considering the antinutrional factor content of the by-products. The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritive value of CS meal genotypes in comparison with canola. RESULTS: TenCSgenotypesandonecanolacultivarwereevaluated.Mealswereobtainedfromseedsaftersolventoilextraction. CSaveragecrudeprotein(CP)content(gkg −1 drymatter)was457.Numericaldifferencesinlysineandsulfuraminoacidcontent were observed among CS genotypes. Glucosinolate (mmolkg −1 ) content was higher for CS (23.1) than canola (7.2). Sinapine content (gkg −1 ) was lower for CS (2.79) than for canola (4.32). Differences were observed among CS genotypes for rumen undegraded protein (RUP). Average RUP (gkg −1 CP) was 316 for CS and 275 for canola. CONCLUSIONS: CS meal has potential for use in ruminant rations as a high-quality protein source.Invivo studies are needed to compare CS with other protein sources used in cattle rations. Implementation of breeding programs for improved meal quality is recommend. c � 2013 Society of Chemical Industry

Camelina sativa is an alternative oilseed crop that is shown to be adaptable to marginal areas and suitable for low-input cultivation. Moreover, the species shows a good productivity and interesting agronomic features. As a result of particular characteristics, the oil produced by this species has been shown to be suitable for many food and non-food applications. Despite the interesting characteristics of this plant, a detailed description of the phenological growth stages of C. sativa has never been performed. A precise and univocal description of the different growth stages of this crop will provide a useful tool for several agronomic and research activities. In this article, the description of the phenological development of C. sativa is proposed utilising the extended BBCH (Biologische Bundesantalt, Bundessortenamt and Chemische Industrie) scale (Meier et al., 2009). The different phenological growth stages are described, utilising both the two- and three-digit BBCH coding system. This article is supplemented by drawings of the most representative stages.

We have developed a new version of the cTBP (combinatorial tubulin-based polymorphism) method, a previously described approach based on intron-length polymorphism (ILP), to rapidly characterize the β-tubulin gene family of Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz, a plant species of importance for oil production but still largely unexplored at genomic level. The method, named h-TBP, allows the rapid cloning of the β-tubulin genomic sequences that encompass the two introns, invariantly present at fixed positions within the coding region of the vast majority of the plant species. The β-tubulin sequences cloned by h-TBP also comprise part of exon1 and exon3 and the whole sequence of exon2. The h-TBP method has then been used to isolate, clone and characterize the β-tubulin gene family of C. sativa, composed of at least 20 different β-tubulin isotypes, named CsTUB1 through CsTUB20. The relatively high number of β-tubulin genes has been further substantiated by Southern-blot analysis. Comparison of the β-tubulin exon sequences of C. sativa with those of Arabidopsis thaliana, the closest relative among crucifers, defines distinct groups of putative orthologous genes, identified by a UPMGA cluster analysis. Analysis of the C. sativa β-tubulin intron sequences reveals some molecular features that can provide the first hints for the understanding of intron plasticity and evolution. From a more immediate perspective, these data provide the first substantial contribution to the characterization of the largely unexplored genome of C. sativa, and the tools for assisting programmes of breeding and selection of the most productive plants.

Summary Accumulation of soluble carbohydrates during dehydration stress is thought to be a very important mechanism for the acquisition of desiccation tolerance. Despite the proposed importance of soluble carbohydrate accumulation (especially sucrose), nothing is known about the cellular localization of carbohydrates in desiccation-tolerant plants. The present study proposes a novel and selective method for the in situ localization of sucrose and glucose in the desiccation-tolerant plant Sporobolus stapfianus . The detection of sucrose and glucose is based on a series of coupled enzymatic reactions leading to the formation of NADH. Iodonitrotetrazolium (INT) reacts with NADH, thereby providing the red-colored insoluble INT-formazan. Stained tissue sections were immediately visualized using light microscopy. Localization of the respective sugars was site specific. Sucrose was visualized in all leaf cell types during dehydration: vascular bundles, bundle sheath cells, mesophyll cells and epidermal cells. Similarly, glucose was shown to be localized in the same leaf compartments as reported for sucrose. This is the first report that describes sucrose localization in dehydrating leaf tissues of a “resurrection” plant. We conclude that, during dehydration stress, sucrose accumulates in all viable tissues; these results are in agreement with the previously proposed theories about its function as a cellular protectant.

Milk thistle [Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.] is an officinal crop species native to the Mediterranean. The species is gaining increasing interest as a multipurpose crop, but lack of information exists about the natural phenotypic variability available in the species for the traits of interest. In the present work, the fruit morphological and chemical traits of a collection of 26 milk thistle accessions have been analyzed. The results show that the most variable traits are related to single flavonolignan content. When the most abundant fatty acids present in the fruit are considered, oleic acid appears to have the higher variability between accessions. Correlations between variables highlight strong relationships between the different flavonolignans and a strong positive correlation between isosilybin A and the total silymarin content, suggesting a central role of this minor flavonolignan in silymarin biosynthetic pathway. The clustering procedure displays considerable diversity between the accessions that originate from localities where milk thistle is described as a native species.

The agronomic performance of Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz (camelina or false flax) sown in autumn and spring over two consecutive years was tested in northern Italy. Seven C. sativa genotypes were tested and compared with rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). The main phenological stages and biometric traits were recorded, along with seed yield. In general, camelina showed a seed yield similar to that of rapeseed cultivated in the same locality and in the last decade in Italy. On average, the grain yields of camelina and rapeseed grown in the same location and conditions were ~1340 and 1625 kg ha–1, respectively. The agronomic performance of camelina varied, with climatic events having a greater effect than sowing season or genotypes. Among the investigated genotypes, however, C. sativa accession CAM 40 was the most adaptable to unfavourable environmental conditions and CAM 172 to favourable conditions. With regard to the two sowing seasons, autumn planting allowed for better performance than spring planting during the second cultivation year. The phenotypic plasticity of camelina was estimated for the first time in the present work. Branching capability was the most plastic trait under favourable yielding conditions. Among the tested genotypes, CAM 40 showed limited yield plasticity and CAM 172 demonstrated high plasticity for the same trait, offering a greater potential for future genetic improvement.