Search

Eastern Africa is a significant region of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production and genetic diversity. Insect pests are a major biotic constraint in subsistence crop production systems. Bean fly (Ophiomyia spencerella) is a serious pest of beans in eastern Africa highlands. Breeding efforts focus on combining adaptability traits with user preferred seed types. However, lack of information on molecular markers linked to genes modulating bean fly resistance has slowed breeding progress. The objectives were to: (i) characterize genetic diversity and uncover putative bean fly resistant genotypes within diverse seed types and market classes and (ii) identify genomic regions controlling bean fly resistance using genome-wide association analysis (GWAS). A set of 276 diverse genotypes comprising local landraces and varieties from Kenya alongside introductions from International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), were assembled. The germplasm represented varied bean production ecologies and seed types. Genetic diversity conforming to Andean and Mesoamerican genepools was established. Out of 276 genotypes evaluated, 150 were Andean, 74 were Mesoamerican and 52 were admixed. Twenty-two genotypes were resistant to bean fly. Association mapping results for stem damage score and plant mortality identified six significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on chromosomes Pv01 and Pv09. The most significant SNP marker was 12 kilobases downstream of Phvul.001G074900 gene with LOD score > 4.0 hence in linkage disequilibrium with the postulated gene. The identified candidate gene is pleiotropic and modulates both flowering time and plant responses to stress. These findings are a key step towards marker-enabled breeding in common bean for sub-Saharan Africa.

Highlights • HTB encodes a SUMO protease required for fruit shape in Capsella • Anisotropic cell growth is suppressed in the fruit valves of the htb mutant • HTB stabilises CrIND through deSUMOylation to facilitate local auxin biosynthesis

Common bean (Phaesolus vulgaris L.) distribution across eastern, central and southern Africa region is widely driven by choice of grain types, which is affecting the genetic composition and adaptation to target production environments for biotic and abiotic constraints. Two bean fly species, Ophiomyia spencerella and Ophiomyia phaseoli are harmful insect pests of beans causing significant yield losses. Our objectives were to assess the population structure of common bean germplasm of different market classes and to identify polymorphic loci associated with resistance to O. spencerella. The study was carried out on a diversity panel of 284 genotypes using 9040 SNP markers. The genotypes were differentiated in to 14 distinct clusters. The mean FST of 0.4849, revealed major differentiation among the populations. Andean gene pool was more diverse compared to Mesoamerica gene pool which could be attributed to preference for large seeded cultivars. Multi-dimensional scaling and structure analyses revealed admixture among seed types. From genome wide association studies (GWAS), major genomic regions associated with O. spencerella resistance were identified on chromosome 1 (Pv01). The most significant SNP on Pv01 was aligned to gene PHAVU_001G075500g that is related to the Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase (IRAK) pathway, critical in regulating inherent immune responses to disease infection and insect herbivore attack. The diversity uncovered on the basis of market classes of beans and the presence of QTL regions associated with resistance to bean fly could serve as a valuable genetic resource for improvement of beans of different seed types in eastern and southern Africa region.nnCore IdeasO_LIGWAS revealed major loci associated with bean fly resistance on chromosome 01.nC_LIO_LINew sources of resistance to bean fly were uncovered from different market classes.nC_LIO_LIGenetic diversity uncovered is based on recent farmer preferences selection events.nC_LI

Fruits exhibit a vast array of different 3D shapes, from simple spheres and cylinders to more complex curved forms; however, the mechanism by which growth is oriented and coordinated to generate this diversity of forms is unclear. Here, we compare the growth patterns and orientations for two very different fruit shapes in the Brassicaceae: the heart-shaped Capsella rubella silicle and the near-cylindrical Arabidopsis thaliana silique. We show, through a combination of clonal and morphological analyses, that the different shapes involve different patterns of anisotropic growth during three phases. These experimental data can be accounted for by a tissue level model in which specified growth rates vary in space and time and are oriented by a proximodistal polarity field. The resulting tissue conflicts lead to deformation of the tissue as it grows. The model allows us to identify tissue-specific and temporally specific activities required to obtain the individual shapes. One such activity may be provided by the valve-identity gene FRUITFULL, which we show through comparative mutant analysis to modulate fruit shape during post-fertilisation growth of both species. Simple modulations of the model presented here can also broadly account for the variety of shapes in other Brassicaceae species, thus providing a simplified framework for fruit development and shape diversity., Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe, 986

Summary Morphological variation is the basis of natural diversity and adaptation. For example, angiosperms (flowering plants) evolved during the Cretaceous period more than 100 mya and quickly colonized terrestrial habitats [1]. A major reason for their astonishing success was the formation of fruits, which exist in a myriad of different shapes and sizes [2]. Evolution of organ shape is fueled by variation in expression patterns of regulatory genes causing changes in anisotropic cell expansion and division patterns [3, 4, 5]. However, the molecular mechanisms that alter the polarity of growth to generate novel shapes are largely unknown. The heart-shaped fruits produced by members of the Capsella genus comprise an anatomical novelty, making it particularly well suited for studies on morphological diversification [6, 7, 8]. Here, we show that post-translational modification of regulatory proteins provides a critical step in organ-shape formation. Our data reveal that the SUMO protease, HEARTBREAK (HTB), from Capsella rubella controls the activity of the key regulator of fruit development, INDEHISCENT (CrIND in C. rubella), via de-SUMOylation. This post-translational modification initiates a transduction pathway required to ensure precisely localized auxin biosynthesis, thereby facilitating anisotropic cell expansion to ultimately form the heart-shaped Capsella fruit. Therefore, although variation in the expression of key regulatory genes is known to be a primary driver in morphological evolution, our work demonstrates how other processes—such as post-translational modification of one such regulator—affects organ morphology., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • HTB encodes a SUMO protease required for fruit shape in Capsella • Anisotropic cell growth is suppressed in the fruit valves of the htb mutant • HTB stabilizes CrIND through de-SUMOylation to facilitate local auxin biosynthesis, Dong et al. reveal post-translational modification as a so-far-undisclosed driver of morphological diversity. They show that the SUMO protease HEARTBREAK is required to de-SUMOylate a key regulator of fruit-shape determination in Capsella, thereby initiating a transduction pathway leading to local auxin biosynthesis and anisotropic cell growth.

New data on endosperm development in the early-divergent angiosperm Trithuria (Hydatellaceae) indicate that double fertilization results in formation of cellularized micropylar and unicellular chalazal domains with contrasting ontogenetic trajectories, as in waterlilies. The micropylar domain ultimately forms the cellular endosperm in the dispersed seed. The chalazal domain forms a single-celled haustorium with a large nucleus;, this haustorium ultimately degenerates to form a space in the dispersed seed, similar to the chalazal endosperm haustorium of waterlilies. The endosperm condition in Trithuria and waterlilies resembles the helobial condition that characterizes some monocots, but contrasts with Amborella and Illicium, in which most of the mature endosperm is formed from the chalazal domain. The precise location of the primary endosperm nucleus governs the relative sizes of the chalazal and micropylar domains, but not their subsequent developmental trajectories. The unusual tissue layer surrounding the bilobed cotyledonary sheath in seedlings of some species of Trithuria is a belt of persistent endosperm, comparable with that of some other early-divergent angiosperms with a well-developed perisperm, such as Saururaceae and Piperaceae. The endosperm of Trithuria is limited in size and storage capacity but relatively persistent.

Local adaptation may be important for the preservation of genetic diversity and the promotion of speciation. However, local adaptation may also constrain establishment in different environments. The consequences of local adaptation depend strongly on the pleiotropic effects of the genes involved in adaptation. Here, we investigated the pleiotropic effects of the genetic response to selection in outbred lines of Arabidopsis artificially selected to flower earlier under both winter- and spring-annual simulated conditions. The consequences of adaptation were evaluated by reciprocally transplanting selected and control lines between the two conditions. Selected lines always flower earlier than their controls, independent of growing conditions. However, selected lines, growing in the same condition in which they were selected, flower earlier than plants selected in the alternative environment. Plants selected to flower earlier in spring produce more fruits than controls when growing in the spring, and less fruits when growing in the winter; indicating that local adaptation has negative pleiotropic effects in another environment. Our results indicate that local adaptation can arise even when selection targets the same trait in the same direction. Furthermore, it suggests that adaptation under the two different environments can generate fitness trade-offs that can maintain genetic variation for flowering time.