A5015249812- Biofuel production and bioconversion
- Bioenergy crop production and management
- Plant Taxonomy and Phylogenetics
- Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis
- Plant pathogens and resistance mechanisms
- Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases
- Plant Molecular Biology Research
- Soybean genetics and cultivation
- Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals
- Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology
- Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
- Aluminum toxicity and tolerance in plants and animals
- Rice Cultivation and Yield Improvement
- Plant Micronutrient Interactions and Effects
- GABA and Rice Research
- Genetics and Plant Breeding
- Banana Cultivation and Research
- Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism
- Silicon Effects in Agriculture
- Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance
- Mycotoxins in Agriculture and Food
- Plant and fungal interactions
- Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Production
- Plant responses to water stress
- Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity
Earlham Institute
2015-2025
Norwich Research Park
2015-2025
Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica
2013-2016
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
2016
Universidad de Salamanca
2009-2010
Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is a globally significant forage legume in pastoral livestock farming systems. It an attractive component of grassland farming, because its high yield and protein content, nutritional value ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. Enhancing role further sustainable agriculture requires genetic improvement persistency, disease resistance, tolerance grazing. To help address these challenges, we have assembled chromosome-scale reference genome for red clover. We...
Abstract Miscanthus is a perennial wild grass that of global importance for paper production, roofing, horticultural plantings, and an emerging highly productive temperate biomass crop. We report chromosome-scale assembly the paleotetraploid M. sinensis genome, providing resource links its chromosomes to related diploid Sorghum complex polyploid sugarcanes. The asymmetric distribution transposons across two homoeologous subgenomes proves paleo-allotetraploidy identifies several balanced...
Abstract Haplotyped-resolved phased assemblies aim to capture the full allelic diversity in heterozygous and polyploid species enable accurate genetic analyses. However, building non-collapsed references still presents a challenge. Here, we used long-range interaction Hi-C reads (high-throughput chromatin conformation capture) HiFi PacBio assemble genome of apomictic cultivar Basilisks from Urochloa decumbens (2n = 4x 36), an outcrossed tetraploid Paniceae grass widely cropped feed livestock...
Apomixis, asexual reproduction through seed, enables breeders to identify and faithfully propagate superior heterozygous genotypes by seed without the disadvantages of vegetative propagation or expense complexity hybrid production. The availability new tools such as genotyping sequencing bioinformatics pipelines for species lacking reference genomes now makes construction dense maps possible in apomictic species, despite complications including polyploidy, multisomic inheritance,...
The FTF (Fusarium transcription factor) gene family comprises a single copy gene, FTF2, which is present in all the filamentous ascomycetes analysed, and several copies of close relative, FTF1, exclusive to Fusarium oxysporum. An RNA-mediated silencing system was developed target mRNA produced by genes, tested two formae speciales: F. oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli (whose host common bean) lycopersici tomato). Quantification levels showed knockdown FTF1 FTF2 randomly isolated transformants both...
Modern intensively managed pastures that receive large external nitrogen (N) inputs account for high N losses in form of nitrate (NO3-) leaching and emissions the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). The natural plant capacity to shape soil cycle through exudation organic compounds can be exploited favor sustainability by promoting retention without affecting productivity. In this study, we estimated relationship between biological nitrification inhibition (BNI), N2O productivity 119...
Abstract Background It is during embryogenesis that the plant body plan established and meristems responsible for all post-embryonic growth are specified. The molecular mechanisms governing conifer still largely unknown. Their elucidation may contribute valuable information to clarify if distinct features of embryo development in angiosperms gymnosperms result from differential gene regulation. To address this issue, we have performed first transcriptomic analysis zygotic a species ( Pinus...
Toxic concentrations of aluminium cations and low phosphorus availability are the main yield-limiting factors in acidic soils, which represent half potentially available arable land. Brachiaria grasses, commonly sown as forage tropics because their resilience demand for nutrients, show greater tolerance to high (Al3+) than most other grass crops. In this work, we explored natural variation Al3+ between tolerant species characterized transcriptional differences during stress. We identified...
Abstract Red clover ( Trifolium pratense L.) is a highly adaptable forage crop for temperate livestock agriculture. Genetic variation can be identified, via molecular techniques, and used to assess diversity among populations that may otherwise indistinguishable. Here we have genotyping by sequencing (GBS) determine the genetic population structure in red natural from Europe Asia, varieties or synthetic populations. Cluster analysis differentiated collection into four large regional groups:...
Urochloa (including Brachiaria, Megathyrus and some Panicum) tropical grasses are native to Africa now, after selection breeding, planted worldwide, particularly in South America, as important forages with huge potential for further sustainable improvement conservation of grasslands. We aimed develop an optimized approach determine ploidy germplasm collection this forage grass group using dried leaf material, including approaches collect, dry preserve plant samples flow cytometry analysis....
Recent developments in High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) technologies and bioinformatics, including improved read lengths genome assemblers allow the reconstruction of complex genomes with unprecedented quality contiguity. Sugarcane has one most complicated among grassess a haploid length 1Gbp ploidies between 8 12. In this work, we present assembly Colombian sugarcane hybrid CC 01-1940. Three types sequencing were combined for assembly: PacBio long reads, Illumina paired short Hi-C reads. We...
Diploid and polyploid Urochloa (including Brachiaria, Panicum Megathyrsus species) C4 tropical forage grasses originating from Africa are important for food security the environment, often being planted in marginal lands worldwide. We aimed to characterize nature of their genomes, repetitive DNA genome composition polyploids, leading a model evolutionary pathways within group including many apomictic species.Some 362 grass accessions international germplasm collections were studied, ploidy...
Abstract Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a legume pulse crop that provides significant dietary and ecosystem benefits globally. We investigated two key traits, determinacy photoperiod sensitivity, are integral to its management production, were early selected during the domestication of both Mesoamerican Andean gene pools. Still, variation exists among common landraces for these traits. Since form basis trait introgression in pre-breeding, understanding traits’ genetic underpinnings...
Abstract Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus) is a C4 perennial species native to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and widely used for feed cattle in the region. In this study, we sequenced genomes of 450 individuals from 18 countries, identifying over 170 million DNA variants (SNPs Indels). Approximately 1% these SNPs were informative assess genetic diversity within collection. Our resequencing study provided valuable insights into global grass. Additionally, genome-wide association on two independent...
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli strains isolated from runner bean plants showing wilt symptoms were characterized. The analysis of the genetic diversity these and comparison with formerly diseased common grown in same region Spain indicated a close similarity among them. Pathogenicity assays carried out on showed virulence differences that allowed classification into three groups: super virulent, highly weakly virulent. However, all analyzed behaved as virulent when inoculated plants,...
Abstract Background Vietnam possesses a vast diversity of rice landraces due to its geographical situation, latitudinal range, and variety ecosystems. This genetic constitutes highly valuable resource at time when the highest production areas in low-lying Mekong Red River Deltas are enduring increasing threats from climate changes, particularly rainfall temperature patterns. Results We analysed 672 Vietnamese genomes, 616 newly sequenced, that encompass range varieties grown diverse...
There are clear differences in embryo development between angiosperm and gymnosperm species. Most of the current knowledge on gene expression regulation during plant has derived from studies angiosperms species, particular model Arabidopsis thaliana. The few published transcript profiling conifer embryogenesis show existence many putative embryo-specific transcripts without an assigned function. In order to extend transcriptomic embryogenesis, we sequenced transcriptome zygotic embryos for...
Abstract Background Miscanthus is a commercial lignocellulosic biomass crop owing to its high productivity, resilience and photosynthetic capacity at low temperature. These qualities make particularly good candidate for temperate marginal land, where yields can be limited by insufficient or excessive water supply. Differences in response stress have been observed among species, which correlated origin. In this study, we compared the physiological molecular responses species under (flooded)...
Seed uniformity and stability testing, multiplication, are key steps in the seed supply chain of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) other crops. Optimizing agronomical practices these phases can ultimately ensure quality availability, germplasm prospective utilization. However, farmers have rarely standardized testing propagation protocols local landraces conserved situ. An example this is Liborino variety (var.), a promising yellow Andean known for its presumably high digestibility...
Cork oak (Quercus suber L.) has a natural distribution across western Mediterranean regions and is keystone forest tree species in these ecosystems. The fruiting phase especially critical for its regeneration but the molecular mechanisms underlying biochemical physiological changes during cork acorn development are poorly understood. In this study, transcriptome of acorn, including seed, was characterized five stages development, from early to maturation, identify dominant processes each...
Abstract Bananas (Musa spp.) are an essential fruit worldwide and rank as the fourth most significant food crop for addressing malnutrition due to their rich nutrients starch content. The potential of genetic diversity remains untapped limited molecular breeding tools. Our study examined a phenotypically diverse group 124 accessions from Colombian Musaceae Collection conserved in AGROSAVIA. We assessed 12 traits categorized into morphology, quality, yield, alongside sequence data. sequencing...
The C4Urochloa species (syn. Brachiaria) and Megathyrsus maximus Panicum maximum) are used as pasture for cattle across vast areas in tropical agriculture systems Africa South America. A key target variety improvement is forage quality: enhanced digestibility could decrease the amount of land required per unit production, lipid content methane emissions from cattle. For these traits, loss-of-function (LOF) alleles known gene targets predicted to improve them, making a reverse genetics...
Abstract Background Miscanthus is a commercial lignocellulosic biomass crop owing to its high productivity and low chemical input requirements. Within an interspecific cross, progeny with yield were shown have concentrations of starch sucrose but fructose. We performed transcriptional RNA-seq analysis between selected hybrids contrasting values for these phenotypes clarify how are genetically controlled. Results observed that genes directly involved in the synthesis degradation...
The identification of environmentally stable and globally predictable resistance to potato late blight is challenged by the clonal polyploid nature crop rapid evolution pathogen. A diversity panel tetraploid germplasm bred for multiple quality traits was genotyped genotyping sequencing (GBS) evaluated in three countries where International Potato Center (CIP) has established breeding work. Health-indexed, vitro plants 380 clones varieties were distributed from CIP headquarters tuber seed...