Nemátodos fitoparásitos en palma africana Elaeis guineensis (Jacq) y cocotero Cocos nucifera L. en el Atlántico Sur, Nicaragua

Este estudio se llevó a cabo en plantaciones de Palma africana y cocotero de las regiones de Río San Juan y en la Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur (R.A.A.S), con el objetivo de identificar nematodos asociados en ambos cultivos, contribuir a la actualización del listado nacional de nemátodos y determinar las infestación de Rhadinaphelencus cocophilus Cobb. en picudos (Rhynchophorus palmarum L.) de la palma y el cocotero Este trabajo se realizó en dos etapas; la primera consistió de dos muestreos (uno por región) y la última etapa fue de procesamiento y análisis de muestras. El primer muestreo se realizó en los lotes de las cooperativas Luisa A. Espinoza, El Borbollón y Teodoro Martinez en Kukra Hill para la palma africana y en coco se muestreo un lote del INTA, posteriormente se muestrearon las fincas; San Nicolás y San Mariano, luego se realizó un segundo muestreo en palma africana en el lote de la cooperativa Luisa A. Espinoza en Boca de Sábalos, Rio San Juan. La segunda etapa consistió en el análisis de las muestras; el cual se realizó inmediatamente después del muestreo. Se identificaron los géneros; Rotylenchulus, Trichodorus, Psilenchus, Aphe/enchoides, Paratylenchus, He/icotylenchus, Tylenchus, Xiphinema y Meloidogyne en el cultivo de palma africana y en cocotero se lograron identificar los siguientes géneros; Psílenchus, Aphelenchoides, Paratylenchus, Pratylenchus, Helicoty/enchus, Ty/enchus, Xiphinema y Rhadinaphelenchus. Para el cultivo de la palma africana, los géneros; Roty/enchus, Gracilacus, Psilenchus, Aphelenchoides, Paratylenchus y Meloidogyne fueron reportados por primera vez por lo que deberán ser agregados al listado nacional de plagas del MAG­FOR de la misma manera para el cultivo de coco, con los géneros; Aphelenchoides, Paratylenchus y Psilenchus. En los muestreos realizados en palma africana y coco en las localidades de Boca de Sábalos y en Kukra Hill se encontró la presencia de Rhynchophorus palmarum Linnaeus. En las fincas "San Nicolás" y "San Mariano", mas del 50 por ciento de los insectos (Rhynchophorus pa/marum Linnaeus) se encontraron infestados con el género Rhadinaphelenchus.

Avaliação da incidência de pragas em híbridos de coqueiro (Cocos nucifera L.) no município de Umbauba/SE.

1997

Quantificação e isolamento de bactérias diazotróficas associadas a coqueiro (Cocos nucifera L.).

1997

Caracterização morfológica reprodutiva do coqueiro gigante (Cocos nucifera L. var. Typica) em condições de sequeiro.

1998

Caracterização da emissão de inflorescências em coqueiro-anão (Cocos nucifera L. Var. Nana).

Pesquisa que busca caracterizar as emissões de inflorescências do coqueiro anão por ano.

Componentes dos frutos de cultivares de coqueiro-anão (Cocos nucifera L. Var. Nana).

Estabelece as percentagens dos componentes de frutos de coqueiro anao, nos pontos de colheita para agua de coco, seis meses e sete meses, e para albumen solido, doze meses.

Levels and distribution of genetic diversity of coconut (Cocos nucifera L., var. Typica form typica) from Sri Lanka assessed by microsatellite markers

The coconut variety Typica, form typica, commonly known as Sri Lanka tall coconuts is the most widely exploited and grown variety in Sri Lanka. Under the coconut bio-diversity conservation programme, several Typica populations have been collected by island-wide surveys and planted ex situ. Thirty-three coconut populations were subjected to microsatellite assay with eight coconut-specific microsatellite primer pairs in order to study the levels and distribution of genetic variation of the collected materials for formulating future collection strategies and selecting parents for the breeding programme. A total of 56 alleles were detected ranging from 3 to 10 alleles per primer pair with an average of 7 alleles per locus. Overall a very high level of genetic diversity was detected (0.999) for all the populations studied ranging from 0.526 for population Debarayaya to 0.683 for population Dickwella. Only four introduced coconut populations, i.e. Clovis, Margeret, Dickwella, Mirishena and an embryo-cultured population were clearly separated from the resulting dendrogram. A very high level of within population variation (99%) accounted for native populations suggests a common history and a restricted genetic base for native Sri Lankan tall coconuts. Categorization of alleles into different classes according to their frequency and distribution confirmed the results of the dedrogram and concluded the adequacy of single large collection from the entire target area to represent the total genetic diversity in Sri Lanka. This study discusses useful information regarding conservation and breeding of coconut in Sri Lanka.

Isolation and characterization of an AINTEGUMENTA-like gene in different coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) varieties from Sri Lanka

Development of an efficient tissue culture protocol in coconut is hampered by numerous technical constraints. Thus a greater understanding of the fundamental aspects of embryogenesis is essential. The role of AINTEGUMENTA-like genes in embryogenesis has been elucidated not only in model plants but also in economically important crops. A coconut gene, CnANT, that encodes two APETALA2 (AP2) domains and a conserved linker region similar to those of the BABY BOOM transcription factor was cloned, characterized, and its tissue specific expression was examined. The full-length cDNA of 1,780 bp contains a 1,425-bp open reading frame that encodes a putative peptide of 474 amino acids. The genomic DNA sequence includes 2,317 bp and consists of nine exons interrupted by eight introns. The exon/intron organization of CnANT is similar to that of homologous genes in other plant species. Analysis of differential tissue expression by real-time polymerase chain reaction indicated that CnANT is expressed more highly in in vitro grown tissues than in other vegetative tissues. Sequence comparison of the genomic sequence of CnANT in different coconut varieties revealed one single nucleotide polymorphism and one indel in the first exon and first intron, respectively, which differentiate the Tall group of trees from Dwarfs. The indel sequence, which can be considered a simple sequence repeats marker, was successfully used to distinguish the Tall and Dwarf groups as well as to develop a marker system, which may be of value in the identification of parental varieties that are used in coconut breeding programs in Sri Lanka.

Transcriptome analysis for discovering candidate genes involve in embryogenesis in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) through 454 pyrosequencing

Coconut, Cocos nucifera L. is a major plantation crop, which ensures income for millions of people in the tropical region. Detailed molecular studies on zygotic embryo development would provide valuable clues for the identification of molecular markers to improve somatic embryogenesis. Since there is no ongoing genome project for this species, coconut expressed sequence tags (EST) would be an interesting technique to identify important coconut embryo specific genes as well as other functional genes in different biochemical pathways. The goal of this study was to analyse the ESTs by examining the transcriptome data of the different embryo tissue types together with one somatic tissue. Here, four cDNA libraries from immature embryo, mature embryo, microspore derived embryo and mature leaves were constructed. cDNA was sequenced by the Roche-454 GS-FLX system and assembled into 32621 putative unigenes and 155017 singletons. Of these unigenes, 18651 had significant sequence similarities to non-redundant protein database, from which 16153 were assigned to one or more gene ontology categories. Homologue genes, which are responsible for embryo development such as chitinase, beta-1,3-glucanase, ATP synthase CF0 subunit, thaumatin-like protein and metallothionein-like protein were identified among the embryo EST collection. Of the unigenes, 6694 were mapped into 139 KEGG pathways including carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism and nucleotide metabolism. This collection of 454-derived EST data generated from different tissue types provides a significant resource for genome wide studies and gene discovery of coconut, a non-model species.

Development of a heavy metal sorption system through the P=S functionalization of coconut (Cocos nucifera) fibers

Lignocellulosic residues are interesting materials for the production of heavy metal adsorbents for aquatic systems. Whole fibers taken from coconut (Cocos nucifera) husks were functionalized with the thiophosphoryl (P=S) group by means of the direct reaction with CI(3)P=S, (CH(3)O)(2)CIP=S or (CH(3)CH(2)O)(2)CIP=S in order to obtain an adsorptive system for `soft` metal ions, particularly Cd(2+). These functionalized fibers (FFs) were characterized by means of elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis and acid-base titration. Adsorption isotherms for Cd(2+) fitted the Langmuir model, with binding capacities of 0.2-5 mmol g(-1) of FF at 25 degrees C. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transcriptomics-based analysis using RNA-Seq of the coconut (Cocos nucifera) leaf in response to yellow decline phytoplasma infection

Invasive phytoplasmas wreak havoc on coconut palms worldwide, leading to high loss of income, food insecurity and extreme poverty of farmers in producing countries. Phytoplasmas as strictly biotrophic insect-transmitted bacterial pathogens instigate distinct changes in developmental processes and defence responses of the infected plants and manipulate plants to their own advantage; however, little is known about the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying host–phytoplasma interactions. Further, phytoplasma-mediated transcriptional alterations in coconut palm genes have not yet been identified. This study evaluated the whole transcriptome profiles of naturally infected leaves of Cocos nucifera ecotype Malayan Red Dwarf in response to yellow decline phytoplasma from group 16SrXIV, using RNA-Seq technique. Transcriptomics-based analysis reported here identified genes involved in coconut innate immunity. The number of down-regulated genes in response to phytoplasma infection exceeded the number of genes up-regulated. Of the 39,873 differentially expressed unigenes, 21,860 unigenes were suppressed and 18,013 were induced following infection. Comparative analysis revealed that genes associated with defence signalling against biotic stimuli were significantly overexpressed in phytoplasma-infected leaves versus healthy coconut leaves. Genes involving cell rescue and defence, cellular transport, oxidative stress, hormone stimulus and metabolism, photosynthesis reduction, transcription and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites were differentially represented. Our transcriptome analysis unveiled a core set of genes associated with defence of coconut in response to phytoplasma attack, although several novel defence response candidate genes with unknown function have also been identified. This study constitutes valuable sequence resource for uncovering the resistance genes and/or susceptibility genes which can be used as genetic tools in disease resistance breeding.