Screening of wheat Landraces from Madeira Island for iron tolerance

Since the fifteen century, the rainfed-cultivation of wheat for grain is traditionally performed on the Island of Madeira. Under several microclimatic conditions and along very sloppy mountains, the landraces are grown on isolated terraces of Andosols with high amounts of iron. Iron oxides are the main inorganic binding agent contributing to the stability of aggregates and to soil fertility in long-term sustainable agriculture in acid and iron-rich soils. After a two day period of seedling initial growth, a screening test of sixty traditional wheat (Triticum spp.) landraces from the ISOPlexis Genebank at the University of Madeira, Funchal, was performed using nutrient solutions containing 10 or 600 mM Fe, during five days, under controlled laboratory conditions. The elongation of the longest primary root was measured for each genotype and the mean root increment relative to control (as, % relative root increment or RRI; n=28) calculated. This parameter appeared to be a sensitive indicator of Fe tolerance in wheat. Over 85% of wheat germplasm showed the RRI higher than 50%, while the RRI of seven accessions exceeded 70%. This indicates that those landraces are Fe tolerant and might be of particular interest for cultivation under acid rich iron soils of tropical and subtropical areas.

El rol de los actores subnacionales en la construcción de la política exterior de Japón. Estudio de caso: La disputa territorial por las islas Senkaku/Diaoyu entre Japón y China (2001-2014)

El presente estudio de caso tiene como objetivo analizar la influencia de la gobernación de Tokio en la formulación de la política exterior de Japón durante la disputa territorial por las islas Senkaku/Diaoyu. Para ello, se identifican los puntos más relevantes de la política exterior de seguridad de Japón después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Se hace un énfasis en la política bilateral de seguridad sino-japonesa, con el fin de ubicar el conflicto territorial por las islas Senkaku/Diaoyu como un punto importante en la agenda internacional de seguridad de ambos países. Se estudia y analiza el concepto de paradiplomacia; articulado, a su vez, por los conceptos de identidad y rol en política exterior de la perspectiva teórica del Constructivismo de las Relaciones Internacionales, para así analizar la influencia de Tokio en el manejo de la política exterior de Japón en el marco del conflicto territorial por las islas Senkaku/Diaoyu.

Divergência genética em genótipos de maracujazeiro azedo, com base em características físicas e químicas dos frutos.

RESUMO: Objetivou-se com o presente trabalho avaliar a divergência genética e as características físicas e químicas de frutos de duas populações do maracujazeiro azedo na região Norte do Espírito Santo, como as progênies de meio-irmãos de acesso local de um plantio comercial (genótipos: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9 e 10) e do híbrido BRS Ouro Vermelho (genótipos: 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19 e 20). A divergência genética foi avaliada por procedimentos multivariados como a distância generalizada de Mahalanobis (D2) e pelos métodos de agrupamento de otimização de Tocher e UPGMA. Encontrou-se divergência genética entre as populações estudadas promovendo a formação de grupos diferentes entre o método de Tocher e do UPGMA. As características, referentes ao tamanho do fruto, diâmetro polar e equatorial, foram as que mais contribuíram na diversidade genética dos genótipos. Nas populações estudadas de maracujazeiro azedo há grande variabilidade genética quanto às características avaliadas, o que possibilita selecionar plantas com elevado potencial para fins de melhoramento genético. O híbrido BRS Ouro Vermelho apresenta boa adaptação às condições locais. ABSTRACT: The aim of the present work was to evaluate genetic divergence and physical and chemical characteristics in fruit of two populations of sour passion fruit in the northern region of the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil, these being half-sibling progenies from local accessions of a commercial crop (genotypes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) and the hybrid BRS Ouro Vermelho (genotypes: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20). Genetic divergence was evaluated using such multivariate procedures as the generalised Mahalanobis distance (D2) and the Tocher optimisation and UPGMA clustering methods. Genetic divergence was found between the populations under study, promoting the formation of different groups between the Tocher and UPGMA methods. As characteristics for fruit size, the polar and equatorial diameters had the most impact on the genetic diversity of the genotypes. In the populations of sour passion fruit being studied, great genetic variability is seen in the evaluated characteristics, making it possible to select plants of high potential for breeding purposes. The BRS Ouro Vermelho hybrid is well adapted to the local conditions.

Genetic diversity of the forage peanut in the Jequitinhonha, São Francisco, and Paranã River valleys of Brazil.

Arachis pintoi and A. repens are legumes with a high forage value that are used to feed ruminants in consortium systems. Not only do they increase the persistence and quality of pastures, they are also used for ornamental and green cover. The objective of this study was to analyze microsatellite markers in order to access the genetic diversity of 65 forage peanut germplasm accessions in the section Caulorrhizae of the genus Arachis in the Jequitinhonha, São Francisco and Paranã River valleys of Brazil. Fifty-seven accessions of A. pintoi and eight of A. repens were analyzed using 17 microsatellites, and the observed heterozygosity (HO), expected heterozygosity (HE), number of alleles per locus, discriminatory power, and polymorphism information content were all estimated. Ten loci (58.8%) were polymorphic, and 125 alleles were found in total. The HE ranged from 0.30 to 0.94, and HO values ranged from 0.03 to 0.88. By using Bayesian analysis, the accessions were genetically differentiated into three gene pools. Neither the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean nor a neighbor-joining analysis clustered samples into species, origin, or collection area. These results reveal a very weak genetic structure that does not form defined clusters, and that there is a high degree of similarity between the two species.

Synchronizing the in vitro germination of Psidium guineense Sw. seeds by means of osmotic priming.

The Brazilian guava (Psidium guineense Swartz) is seed-propagated and, being native to the Caatinga biome, may frequently have uneven germination.Thus, we aimed to evaluate the synchronization of the in vitro seed germination of three accessions of the Brazilian guava, using water, polyethyleneglycol (PEG 6000), and potassium nitrate (KNO3) at different potentials and times of osmotic priming. Seeds from three accessions of the Brazilian guava (Y85, Y93,and Y97) from the UNEB/BA Germplasm Active Bank were subjected to the following pretreatments: -0.6, -1.0, -1.4, and -1,8 MPa PEG 6000; 10 and 20% KNO3 for 24h; 10 and 20% KNO3 for 48h; water for 24 and 48h; and non-primed seeds as the control. The experimental design was therefore a 10x3+1 factorial scheme. We assessed the germination percentage (G), mean germination time (MGT), germination speed (GS), and germination speed index (GSI). Data was subjected to analysis of variance followed by a means test (Duncan at 5% probability) and regression. There was interaction between the priming treatments and accessions for all evaluated features, except G. PEG 6000 decreased the MGT (from 6 to 8 days) and increased GS and GSI of seeds from all three accessions at potentials -1.0 to -1.5 MPa.Water-priming had a positive effect on MGT, GS, and GSI of accession Y85 seeds. KNO3 negatively affected germination of seeds from all three accessions. Thereby, we could synchronize seed germination of accessions Y85 and Y97 with PEG 6000.