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Quality control of flour is essential to control the quality of bread produced from it. We propose a control method based on the morphological characteristics of the granules of starch. The automation of the identification, segmentation and determination of the average size of the granules of starch of each of the cereals that make up a flour, from microscopy images, is an essential procedure for producers who want to produce bread under the protected geographical indication (PGI) ‘Galician Bread’. This identification and counting procedure, if performed manually, is a tedious activity for a trained expert, and is very time consuming. Thus, automating this task would streamline the process, in addition to saving a great deal of time. This paper addresses this problem by using deep learning approaches (Mask R–CNN) to predict the type of the granule of starch and its size for the first time. The trained models are then evaluated with the same raw microscopy images of these granules observed under polarized light, as has been previouly used for manual identification and counting. A dataset comprising 1308 2564 × 1924-pixel images is analysed. The images contain 17000 labelled granules of starch for two types of wheat: commercial wheat flour from ‘Castilla’ (type 0) and the Galician autochthonous flour ‘Caaveiro’ (type 1). The number of samples is approximately the same for each class. Instance segmentation with Mask R–CNN (Model II) achieved valid results for unseen images, with a categorical global accuracy of about 88.6% and with a discrepancy with respect to the areas of the granules as estimated by a human expert of less than 4%. The performance achieved by Mask R–CNN produces a strong correlation between the results of an expert and the results of the network, confirming the practical validity of our proposal

Association mapping conducted in 189 Spanish bread wheat landraces revealed six key genomic regions that constitute stable QTLs for yield and include 15 candidate genes. Genetically diverse landraces provide an ideal population to conduct association analysis. In this study, association mapping was conducted in a collection of 189 Spanish bread wheat landraces whose genomic diversity had been previously assessed. These genomic data were combined with characterization for yield-related traits, including grain size and shape, and phenological traits screened across five seasons. The association analysis revealed a total of 881 significant marker trait associations, involving 434 markers across the genome, that could be grouped in 366 QTLs based on linkage disequilibrium. After accounting for days to heading, we defined 33 high density QTL genomic regions associated to at least four traits. Considering the importance of detecting stable QTLs, 6 regions associated to several grain traits and thousand kernel weight in at least three environments were selected as the most promising ones to harbour targets for breeding. To dissect the genetic cause of the observed associations, we studied the function and in silico expression of the 413 genes located inside these six regions. This identified 15 candidate genes that provide a starting point for future analysis aimed at the identification and validation of wheat yield related genes.

Hot Jupiters have been perceived as loners devoid of planetary companions in close orbital proximity. However, recent discoveries based on space-borne precise photometry have revealed that at least some fraction of giant planets coexists with low-mass planets in compact orbital architectures. We report detecting a 1.446-d transit-like signal in the photometric time series acquired with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) for the WASP-84 system, which is known to contain a hot Jupiter on a circular 8.5-d orbit. The planet was validated based on TESS photometry, and its signal was distilled in radial velocity measurements. The joint analysis of photometric and Doppler data resulted in a multiplanetary model of the system. With a mass of, radius of, and orbital distance of 0.024 au, the new planet WASP-84 c was classified as a hot super-Earth with the equilibrium temperature of 1300 K. A growing number of companions to hot Jupiters indicates that a non-negligible part of them must have formed under a quiescent scenario such as disc migration or in situ formation. © 2023 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.

Modern plant-breeding practices have narrowed the genetic base of wheat, such that there is a need to introduce new germplasms with underexploited diversity into breeding programs. Wheat landraces are a very valuable resource when searching for genetic variation, which not only possess increased adaptability, but also quality-related traits. Several studies have shown a wide genetic diversity in Spanish wheat landraces compared to other germplasm collections; therefore, the main objective of this study is to analyze the variability in a collection of 189 landraces from the Spanish National Plant Genetic Resources Centre (Centro de Recursos Fitogenéticos, CRF-INIA, Alcalá de Henares), in relation to end-use quality traits. We characterized the whole collection for high-molecular-weight glutenin and puroindoline allelic composition, and for gluten strength. In addition, grain protein content, grains per spike, and thousand kernel weight were evaluated in samples from four-year field trials. The relationship between glutenin composition and quality was evaluated, and some alleles strongly associated with high quality were identified in the collection, some of them specific for Iberian landraces. The results also show the presence of novel variability within high-molecular-weight glutenin and puroindolines, which needs to be characterized further in order to assess its influence on wheat quality. In addition, a set of landraces showing outstanding values for gluten quality and a good agronomic performance was selected for testing in field trials in order to evaluate the suitability of their direct use in cropping systems.

Sperm vitrification is a simple, inexpensive method that allows the cryopreservation of sperm in the field and for endangered species is a useful alternative to conventional freezing. The study, therefore, is focused on the suitability of vitrification for cryopreserving Iberian wolf sperm and utilizing plasma testosterone concentration as a marker for procedure efficacy. Sperm and blood samples were collected from 17 wolves. There were 14 samples suitable for cryopreservation (12 ejaculated and two epididymal). Immediately after collection, these samples were proportioned into two aliquots for conventional freezing using a Tris-citric acid-glucose based extender (TCG) or vitrification utilizing an animal protein free extender (HTF®). Vitrification occurred by directly plunging a sperm suspension into liquid nitrogen. Sperm were assessed for motility, membrane integrity, acrosomal status and DNA integrity before and after cryopreservation. With both techniques, there were similar post-thaw/warming results (P > 0.05) with respect to progressive motility, kinetic variables VCL, VSL, VAP and BCF, DNA fragmentation, sperm membrane functionality and morphological abnormalities. Total motile sperm, progression ratios LIN, STR, and WOB, the ALH, sperm viability and sperm with intact membrane and acrosome were greater (P < 0.05) in the conventional frozen-thawed sperm than vitrified-warmed sperm. Plasma testosterone concentrations varied from 0.0 ng/mL to 7.7 ng/mL. For epididymal sperm, sperm motility and viability following thawing were greater in vitrified-warmed samples than conventionally-frozen samples; however, small sample numbers precluded statistical analysis. When considered together, these results indicate vitrification may be a possible alternative for wolf sperm cryopreservation.

Modern plant breeding practices have narrowed the genetic base of wheat throughout the world, increasing crop vulnerability. Therefore, there is clearly a need for introducing new germplasm in breeding programs to search for variability related to traits of agronomic interest for wheat improvement. The existence of subsets of accessions (core collections) that represent the diversity conserved in germplasm collections is a favored approach for breeders to explore novel variation and enhance the use of germplasm. In this study, a core collection of Spanish landraces of bread wheat has been created using high-throughput genotyping technologies (DArTseq), which yielded more than 50 K molecular markers. This marker system not only provides a robust estimate of the diversity, but also information about its distribution in the genome. Two core collections of 94 entries were created by using two common sampling strategies: the maximization strategy and the population structure-based method. Both core collections showed high geographic, phenotypic and genetic representativeness, but the collection obtained with the maximization strategy captured better the diversity displayed by the initial collection. This core collection, which includes a broad range of adapted genotypes, can be efficiently utilized for mining new alleles for useful traits in wheat breeding.

One of the main goals of the plant breeding in the twenty-first century is the development of crop cultivars that can maintain current yields in unfavorable environments. Landraces that have been grown under varying local conditions include genetic diversity that will be essential to achieve this objective. The Center of Plant Genetic Resources of the Spanish Institute for Agriculture Research maintains a broad collection of wheat landraces. These accessions, which are locally adapted to diverse eco-climatic conditions, represent highly valuable materials for breeding. However, their efficient use requires an exhaustive genetic characterization. The overall aim of this study was to assess the diversity and population structure of a selected set of 380 Spanish landraces and 52 reference varieties of bread and durum wheat by high-throughput genotyping.

The analysis of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and of bulk ground samples by droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) was investigated as an alternative to individual kernel testing for assessing the presence of local cultivars in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varietal blends. The recent Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) of ‘Pan Galego’ (Galician bread) requires that the flour comprise a minimum 25% local wheat cultivars. As a test for compliance with this minimum level, wheat flours were prepared by mixing commercial flours with 0%, 5%, 20%, 25% and 30% ‘Caaveiro’ and 100% ‘Caaveiro’ and 100% commercial flours were used as controls. A second analysis was performed with a second set of wheat flours with 5% and 25% ‘Caaveiro’. These were mixed with two different commercial flours to assess the potential ability of five SSRs to identify the percentage of ‘Caaveiro’, constituting the first reference of the use of SSRs in the traceability of specific autochthonous cultivars in flour blends. ddPCR using the QX200 system platform was used to the targeted proportions across the simulated range with two out of five SSRs, indicating that they can be used in the traceability of ‘Caaveiro’ in mixed flours and breads

‘Galician Bread’ is a traditional baked product and a national benchmark that has recently been granted the European mark of Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), which requires at least 25% of the flour to be produced from autochthonous varieties such as ‘Caaveiro’. The objective of this work was to find a method that guarantees the presence and the percentage of ‘Caaveiro’ wheat in blended flours by using microscopy techniques. Using optical microscopy, including bright-field and polarizing microscopy, autochthonous and foreign flours were analyzed and compared. ‘Caaveiro’ starch presented a different birefringence pattern (associated with a higher amount of amylose) with respect to other cultivars used to produce flours, a feature used to make a computation of the two starch granule types in the mixtures of ‘Caaveiro’ with foreign flours. Repetitions with different mixture percentages allowed us to develop a mathematical model to estimate the percentage of ‘Caaveiro’ flour present in the mixture. Firstly, the most effective method for preparing samples was determined by ensuring the homogeneity of the samples and, subsequently, a validation was carried out with blind samples. Starch birefringence properties allowed the detection of ‘Caaveiro’ wheat flour in mixtures with foreign/Castilian wheat flours and to determine the percentages used in the flour mixtures applying a calibration line (R2 = 0.9577). Deviations were due to the difficulty in obtaining precise mixtures of the blended flours, as happened with other Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR)-based methods used in the same samples. This is a novel method for detecting contraventions/infractions of the percentage of ‘Caaveiro’ used in wheat flours, which is simple, effective and inexpensive

WASP-148 is a recently announced extra-solar system harbouring at least two giant planets. The inner planet transits its host star. The planets travel on eccentric orbits and are near the 4:1 mean-motion resonance, which implies significant mutual gravitational interactions. In particular, this causes transit-timing variations of a few minutes, which were detected based on ground-based photometry. This made WASP-148 one of the few cases where such a phenomenon was detected without space-based photometry. Here, we present a self-consistent model of WASP-148 that takes into account the gravitational interactions between all known bodies in the system. Our analysis simultaneously fits the available radial velocities and transit light curves. In particular, we used the photometry secured by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and made public after the WASP-148 discovery announcement. The TESS data confirm the transit-timing variations, but only in combination with previously measured transit times. The system parameters we derived agree with those previously reported and have a significantly improved precision, including the mass of the non-transiting planet. We found a significant mutual inclination between the orbital planes of the two planets: I = 41.0+6.2°-7.6 based on the modelling of the observations, although we found I = 20.8 ± 4.6° when we imposed a constraint on the model enforcing long-term dynamical stability. When a third planet was added to the model – based on a candidate signal in the radial velocity – the mutual inclination between planets b and c changed significantly allowing solutions closer to coplanar. We conclude that more data are needed to establish the true architecture of the system. If the significant mutual inclination is confirmed, WASP-148 would become one of the only few candidate non-coplanar planetary systems. We discuss possible origins for this misalignment. © J. M. Almenara et al. 2022.

Context. Current exoplanet surveys using the radial velocity (RV) technique are targeting M dwarfs because any habitable zone terrestrial-mass planets will induce a high RV and orbit on shorter periods than for more massive stars. One of the main caveats is that M dwarfs show a wide range of activity levels from inactive to very active, which can induce an asymmetry in the line profiles and, consequently, a spurious RV measurement. Aims. We aim to benchmark the impact of stellar activity on high-precision RV measurements using regular-cadence CARMENES visible and near-infrared observations of the active M3.5 dwarf EV Lac. Methods. We used the newly developed technique of low-resolution Doppler imaging to determine the centre-of-light, or spot-induced RV component, for eight observational epochs. Results. We confirm a statistically significant and strong correlation between the independently measured centre-of-light and the chromatic index, which is a measure of the amplitude variation with wavelength of the RVs. We also find circular “closed-loop” relations of several activity indices with RV for a subset of data that covers only several rotation periods. We also investigate the implications of large phase gaps in the periodograms of activity indicators. Finally, by removing the spot-induced RV component we improve the planet-mass sensitivity by a factor of at least three. Conclusions. We conclude that for active M stars, a regular-cadence observing strategy is the most efficient way to identify and eliminate sources of correlated noise. © S. V. Jeffers et al. 2022.

Context. Hot Jupiters on extremely short-period orbits are expected to be unstable due to tidal dissipation and spiral toward their host stars. That is because they transfer the angular momentum of the orbital motion through tidal dissipation into the stellar interior. Although the magnitude of this phenomenon is related to the physical properties of a specific star-planet system, statistical studies show that tidal dissipation might shape the architecture of hot Jupiter systems during the stellar lifetime on the main sequence. Aims. The efficiency of tidal dissipation remains poorly constrained in star-planet systems. Stellar interior models show that the dissipation of dynamical tides in radiation zones could be the dominant mechanism driving planetary orbital decay. These theoretical predictions can be verified with the transit timing method. Methods. We acquired new precise transit mid-times for five planets. They were previously identified as the best candidates for which orbital decay might be detected. Analysis of the timing data allowed us to place tighter constraints on the orbital decay rate. Results. No statistically significant changes in their orbital periods were detected for all five hot Jupiters in systems HAT-P-23, KELT-1, KELT-16, WASP-18, and WASP-103. For planets HAT-P-23 b, WASP-18 b, and WASP-103 b, observations show that the mechanism of the dynamical tidal dissipation probably does not operate in their host stars, preventing their orbits from rapidly decaying. This finding aligns with the models of stellar interiors of F-type stars, in which dynamical tides are not fully damped due to convective cores. For KELT-16 b, the span of transit timing data was not long enough to verify the theoretical predictions. KELT-1 b was identified as a potential laboratory for studying the dissipative tidal interactions of inertial waves in a convective layer. Continued observations of those two planets may provide further empirical verification of the tidal d