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Hazelnut ( Corylus avellana L.), a member of the family Betulaceae and the order Fagales, is native to Europe, Turkey, and the Caucasus. It has been cultivated for more than 5000 years. The majority of cultivars were selected from local wild populations over the past few centuries. Hazelnut is native to northern Portugal, with local production from landrace clonal selections. In recent years, hazelnut production has declined, and landraces are in danger of being lost. In this study, we used 16 microsatellite markers to investigate genetic diversity in wild populations, Portuguese landraces, and reference cultivars. A high level of polymorphism was found, as indicated by mean values for expected heterozygosity (0.74), observed heterozygosity (0.71), and polymorphism information content (0.78). A neighbor-joining dendrogram showed a clear separation of the wild genotypes from the landraces and reference cultivars. Bayesian analysis placed individuals in three groups, showing differentiation of wild populations, landraces, and reference cultivars. Our studies provide new insights on the origin of Portuguese landraces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite not having been fully recognized, the cryptic northern refugia of temperate forest vegetation in Central and Western Europe are one of the most important in the Holocene history of the vegetation on the subcontinent. We have studied a forest grass Bromus benekenii in 39 populations in Central, Western and Southern Europe with the use of PCR-ISSR fingerprinting. The indices of genetic population diversity, multivariate, and Bayesian analyses, supplemented with species distribution modelling have enabled at least three putative cryptic northern refugial areas to be recognized: in Western Europe-the Central and Rhenish Massifs, in Central Europe-the Bohemia-Moravia region and in the Eastern/Western Carpathians. Central Poland is the regional genetic melting-pot where several migratory routes might have met. Southern Poland had a different postglacial history and was under the influence of an Eastern/Western Carpathian cryptic refugium. More forest species should be checked in a west-east gradient in Europe to corroborate the hypothesis on the Western European glacial refugia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: With over 6 million profiles currently stored in European databases and the number expected to increase with cross-border data sharing, the likelihood of random matches will undoubtedly increase as well. To improve the overall power of discrimination as well as provide standardization across Europe, the ENFSI and EDNAP committees have made a recommendation to extend the current European Standard Set (ESS) for STR systems. The five-color PowerPlex® ESX and ESI Systems allow co-amplification and detection of the current commonly tested loci, plus the five new recommended loci. These kits will be offered in multiple formats, including one to detect SE33, to accommodate various requirements or preferences. Additionally, the kits have increased tolerance to common inhibitors and increased sensitivity to obtain full profiles from low-level DNA, and are robust enough to genotype degraded DNA samples through the use of mini STR loci. In this manuscript we present an overview of these systems and data on performance, including sensitivity and resistance to inhibitors. The PowerPlex® ESX and ESI Systems are useful tools in database sharing and standardization throughout Europe. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]