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Several environmental and genetic factors affect the isoflavone and anthocyanin contents in soybeans. This study aimed to assess the influences of cotyledon color and harvest period on the contents of five major isoflavones and three major anthocyanins in 323 black soybean landraces grown in Korea. In all the soybeans, malonylgenistin, malonyldaidzin and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside were the foremost components. The total isoflavone (TIC) and total anthocyanin (TAC) contents were in the ranges of 491.29-1998.39 μg/g and 452.60-2789.37 mg/100 g on dry weight basis, respectively. Both the average TIC and TAC were higher in green cotyledon soybeans (1493.93 μg/g and 1656.05 mg/100 g, respectively) than in yellow cotyledon soybeans (1423.09 μg/g and 1489.30 mg/100 g, respectively). With respect to the harvest period, the average TIC was in the order of Late-October (1517.31 μg/g) > Mid-October (1454.54 μg/g) > Early-October (1340.95 μg/g). Moreover, the average TAC decreased in the order of Late-October (1765.76 mg/100 g) > Mid-October (1503.93 mg/100 g) > Early-October (1350.91 mg/100 g). In general, cotyledon color appeared to cause a significant variation on TAC (P 1800 μg/g) and TAC (> 2000 mg/100 g) in their seeds and hence, could be considered as important sources of dietary isoflavones and anthocyanins. Besides, they possibly provide a wide spectrum of options if considered during the development of improved soybean genotypes.

The primary bioactive components of buckwheat seeds, rutin, and quercetin, have health-related benefits such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancerous. In the current study, we characterized the agro-morphological traits of diverse tartary buckwheat germplasm accessions under the spring cultivation and estimated the major flavonoid contents of seeds. The content of rutin and quercetin ranged from 4354.1 to 17,196.01 and 8.9 to 611.7 µg g−1 DW, respectively. The highest content of rutin was found in ‘C9714’ collected from China. The highest and lowest content of quercetin was found in Indian accessions ‘I8345’ and ‘I8622’, respectively. Moreover, we found that accessions with dark-brown seed coat color had a significantly higher mean rutin content than that of accessions with other seed coat color. In the principal component analysis, the first three components (PC1, PC2, and PC3) accounted for 77.14% of the total variation. The number of nodes and branches, number of days to flower, and maturity were the main contributors of variability to PC1. The 1000-seed weight was the main contributor of variability to PC2; whereas, the rutin and quercetin were the main contributors of variation to PC3. We identified nine accessions with the rutin content above 10,000 µg g−1 DW and three accessions with quercetin content above 40 µg g−1 DW. The selected accessions could be used as a nutritional source of health-related bioactive metabolites.

Buckwheat is an important grain crop known for its nutritional value and content of bioactive compounds, particularly rutin. In this study, we characterized diverseFagopyrum esculentumMoench germplasm for the diversity of agro-morphological characteristics and the rutin and quercetin content in seeds under the spring cultivation. Of the 251 germplasm accessions assessed, 193 had red stems, 182 had a pale brown seed coat color, and 238 had ovate seeds. The times taken to reach 50% flowering and 80% maturity ranged from 38–45 to 73–95 days, respectively. The 1000-seed weight (TSW) varied from 21 to 42 g. Overall, the content of rutin and quercetin ranged from 7.22–47.86 to 0–1.22 mg/100 g DW, respectively. The number of days to flowering and maturity showed negative correlations with TSW and rutin and quercetin content. However, we found that at 73–80 days after sowing, early-maturing germplasm had significantly higher mean rutin content than either intermediate-or late-maturing germplasm. The TSW weight showed a positive correlation with the content of rutin and quercetin. We identified promising accessions based early maturity (

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) or broomcorn millet is among the most important food crops to be domesticated by humans, it is widely distributed in America, Europe, and Asia. In this study, we genotyped 578 accessions of P. miliaceum using 37 single-sequence repeat (SSR) markers, to study the genetic diversity and population structure of each accession. We also investigated total phenolic content (TPC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and performed association analysis using SSR markers. The results showed that genetic diversity and genetic distance were related to geographic location and the fixation index (Fst). Population structure analysis divided the population into three subpopulations. Based on 3 subpopulations, the population is divided into six clusters in consideration of geographical distribution characteristics and agronomic traits. Based on the genetic diversity, population structure, pairwise Fst, and gene flow analyses, we described the topological structure of the six proso millet subpopulations, and the geographic distribution and migration of each cluster. Comparison of the published cluster (cluster 1) with unique germplasms in Japan and South Korea suggested Turkey as a possible secondary center of origin and domestication (cluster 3) for the cluster. We also discovered a cluster domesticated in Nepal (cluster 6) that is adapted to high-latitude and high-altitude cultivation conditions. Differences in phenotypic characteristics, such as TPC, were observed between the clusters. The association analysis showed that TPC was associated with SSR-31, which explained 7.1% of the total variance, respectively. The development of markers associated with TPC and SOD will provide breeders with new tools to improve the quality of proso millet through marker-assisted selection.

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is one of the world’s most important cereal crops, owing to its use as an important source of essential nutrients for both humans and animals. In the present study, the main nutritional components of 975 oat germplasm accessions were investigated. Crude fiber content ranged from 0.08 to 6.79%, with a mean of 2.14%, whereas total dietary fiber content ranged from 5.32 to 17.59%, with a mean of 11.01%, β-glucan content ranged from 1.02 to 6.33%, with a mean of 3.05%, and lipid content ranged from 1.41 to 8.72%, with a mean of 4.73%. Furthermore, most of the germplasm accessions exhibited 1-3% crude fiber content in the range of 1-3%, 9-12% total dietary fiber content, 2-4% β-glucan content, and 4-5% lipid content. Both the crude fiber and total dietary fiber contents were significantly but weakly correlated with β-glucan content, and the nutritional contents of germplasm accessions from different countries varied significantly. The highest mean crude fiber, total dietary fiber, β-glucan, and lipid contents were exhibited by the germplasm accessions collected from Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, and Turkey, respectively, and the accessions that exhibited the highest crude fiber (n=4), total dietary fiber (n=7), β-glucan content (n=5), and lipid (n=12) contents were identified. These findings provide valuable information for breeding programs aiming to improve the nutritional value of already existing high-yielding oat cultivars.