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QTL mapping of almond kernel quality traits in the F1 progeny of ‘Marcona’ × ‘Marinada’
Get PDFAlmond breeding is increasingly focusing on kernel quality. However, unlike other
agronomic traits, the genetic basis of physical and chemical kernel quality traits has
been poorly investigated. To address this gap, we conducted a QTL mapping of
these traits to enhance our understanding of their genetic control. We phenotyped
fruit samples from an F1 population derived from the cross between ‘Marcona’ and
‘Marinada’ for up to four years, using conventional and image analysis methods.
Additionally, the 91 individuals of the population were genotyped with the almond
Axiom™ 60K SNP array, and high-density linkage maps were constructed. These
analyses identified several genomic regions of breeding interest. For example, two
regions on chromosome one were found to contain QTLs for kernel shape and
dimension, while another region at the end of the same chromosome contained
QTLs for kernel fatty acid composition. Notably, QTLs for kernel symmetry and
kernel shoulder, reported for the first time in this study, were also mapped on
chromosome one. These QTLs will serve as a foundation for developing molecular
markers linked to kernel physical and chemical quality traits in almonds, facilitating
the integration of marker-assisted selection into breeding programs.The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. We acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Estate Agency of Research: Project PID2020-118612RR-I00 (Better Almonds) funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/and PID2022-140362ORI00 funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF/EU”. Authors FP, IE, IB are grateful to CERCA Program from Generalitat of Catalonia for its support. FP. wishes to acknowledge the receipt of a FPI doctoral fellowship (PRE2018- 086724) funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ESF Investing in your future”. LL has been funded by “Ministerio de Universidades” and the European-Union Next Generation EU within the frame of Grants for the Requalification of the Spanish University System, modality ‘Margarita Salas’.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Relating microtensiometer-based trunk water potential with sap flow, canopy temperature, and trunk and fruit diameter variations for irrigated ‘Honeycrisp’ apple
Get PDFInstrumentation plays a key role in modern horticulture. Thus, the microtensiomenter, a new plant-based sensor that continuously monitors trunk water potential (Ψtrunk) can help in irrigation management decisions. To compare the response of the Ψtrunk with other continuous tree water status indicators such as the sap flow rate, the difference between canopy and air temperatures, or the variations of the trunk and fruit diameter, all the sensors were installed in 2022 in a commercial orchard of ‘Honeycrisp’ apple trees with M.9 rootstocks in Washinton State (USA). From the daily evolution of the Ψtrunk, five indicators were considered: predawn, midday, minimum, daily mean, and daily range (the difference between the daily maximum and minimum values). The daily range of Ψtrunk was the most linked to the maximum daily shrinkage (MDS; R2 = 0.42), the canopy-to-air temperature (Tc-Ta; R2 = 0.32), and the sap flow rate (SF; R2 = 0.30). On the other hand, the relative fruit growth rate (FRGR) was more related to the minimum Ψtrunk (R2 = 0.33) and the daily mean Ψtrunk (R2 = 0.32) than to the daily range of Ψtrunk. All indicators derived from Ψtrunk identified changes in tree water status after each irrigation event and had low coefficients of variation and high sensitivity. These results encourage Ψtrunk as a promising candidate for continuous monitoring of tree water status, however, more research is needed to better relate these measures with other widely studied plant-based indicators and identify good combinations of sensors and threshold values.The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by the Washington State Tree Fruit Research Committee, and the AgAID Institute. LK was partially supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project 1014919. VB acknowledges the postdoctoral financial support received from the Fundación Séneca (Región de Murcia, Spain, 21261/PD/19). VB acknowledges the postdoctoral financial support received from the Fundación Séneca (Región de Murcia, Spain, 21261/PD/19).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Method: eFeederRab: A new electronic feeder to measure individual feed intake−related traits on growing rabbits raised in collective cages
Get PDFMeasuring individual intake in animals raised in groups is a paramount aspect for different fields of animal production, both with a direct implication and relevance on the production itself, i.e. within breeding programmes for the improvement of feed efficiency; or for research in different disciplines such as animal behaviour or animal nutrition. The rabbit is one of the few species for which there is no device for measuring this trait. Thus, we aimed to design and manufacture a feeding device (eFeederRab) allowing such recording. In the present study, we describe the methods behind the tool we have developed, accompanying the description with a set of descriptive statistics showing the performance of the tool. We use records from 430 animals belonging to lines selected for different feed efficiency criteria − some of them raised using the eFeederRab -, as well as from their control unselected population. Measurements were taken from 35-38 to 56–59 days of age. The lines selected for reducing residual feed intake clearly show a lower daily feed intake, 8–15% when the lines were compared using eFeederRab, and 7–10% when the lines were compared using conventional feeders. These are clear indications about the validity of the device for recording data to be used in selection to improve feed efficiency, i.e., biologically meaningful records. In spite of the biological relevance of the recorded data, when comparing performances of the lines raised using eFeederRab or conventional feeders, it was evident that feed intake was reduced by around 12–20% when using the electronic feeder, with the subsequence growth penalization. Note however that this penalty is proportional to the intake; therefore, the feed conversion ratio remains fairly similar (2.99–3.13) between the two types of feeders also reflecting the expected tendency according to the different selection criteria across lines. We hypothesise that this reduction in the intake is a consequence of the less comfortable eating posture that eFeederRab imposes: each animal must eat alone and inside a tunnel for leading the animals one by one towards the feeder to grant their proper identification by radio frequency. We can conclude that although the eFeederRab is a device with different animal feeding conditions than those on conventional feeder, the records, despite being noisy, can be successfully used to improve the genetic selection of feed efficiency in rabbits.The development of the electronic feeder was funded by one national research project (GENEF - RTA2014-00015-C02-00 -) and an EU project (Feed-a-Gene - 633531-), the selection process for feed efficiency using eFeederRab was funded by another Spanish research project (GENEF2 - RTI2018-097610-R-I00-) and currently, we are funded by GENEF3 - PID2021-128173OR-C21- to estimate the genetic response we have achieved after the selection for feed efficiency.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Exploring the relevance of the type of horizontal separator to optimize the extraction efficacy for the Arbequina variety
Get PDFThe productivity of virgin olive oil depends not only on agronomic factors but
also on the technological factors of the extraction process. The ‘Arbequina’
variety has extractability problems, which is a challenge for master millers
anywhere. This work aims to evaluate the behavior of different decanters and
seeks to modulate the effect of some processing parameters and their
interactions with oil extraction efficiency in the case of ‘Arbequina.’ Fruit
characteristics, processing parameters, and extractability were collected over
10 years from 38 decanters that belong to five different brands. The results have
shown that fruit moisture is the most relevant factor for oil extractability,
especially over 52%. Furthermore, extractability is positively correlated with
malaxing temperature, addition of water, and total fat content in the fruit.
However, the results show that before applying a regulation, the type of
decanter must be considered. The model used in this study has allowed us to
optimize the regulations for each type of decanter to reduce oil losses within the
pomace, achieving an extraction efficiency within the range of 78%–91.5%. In
fact, the best extraction efficiency results (91.5%) were obtained by processing at
temperatures >26°C and water injection of 5%.The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. AB was funded by the ‘Ministerio de Universidades’ and European UnionNext Generation EU in the framework ‘Ayudas para la Recualificación del Sistema Universitario Español’, in the modality ‘MARGARITA SALAS’. This work was financed through “Operation 01.02.01 of Technological Transfer of the Rural Development Program of Catalonia 2014–2022. The authors thank the Catalan Government for the support given to the IRTA-DACC quality improvement program.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Characterization of melanin from Exophiala mesophila with the prospect of potential biotechnological applications
Get PDFIntroducion: Fungal melanin is an underexplored natural biomaterial of great biotechnological interest in different areas. This study investigated the physical, chemical, electrochemical, and metal-binding properties of melanin extracted from the metallotolerant black fungus Exophiala mesophila strain IRTA-M2-F10.
Materials and methods: Specific inhibitory studies with tricyclazole and biochemical profiling of whole cells by synchrotron radiation-based Fourier-transform infrared spectral microscopy (SR-FTIRM) were performed. An optimized extraction protocol was implemented, and purified fungal melanin was characterized using an array of spectrophotometric techniques (UV-Vis, FTIR, and EPR) and by cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments. The metal-binding capacity of melanin extracts was also assessed by using Cr(VI) as a model heavy metal.
Results: Inhibitory studies indicated that 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene may be the main precursor molecule of E. mesophila melanin (DHN-melanin). The biochemical characterization of fungal melanin extracts were benchmarked against those from two melanins comprising the precursor molecule L-3,4-dihydroxiphenylalanine (DOPA-melanin): extracts from the ink of the cephalopod Sepia officinalis and DOPA-melanin synthesized in the laboratory. The CV results of melanin extracts incubated with and without cell suspensions of the electroconductive bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens were indicative of novel semiquinone/hydroquinone redox transformations specific for each melanin type. These interactions may play an important role in cation exchange for the adsorption of metals and in microbial interspecies electron transfer processes.
Discussion: The obtained results provided further evidence for the DHN-nature of E. mesophila melanin. The FTIR profiling of melanin extracts exposed to Cr(VI), compared to unexposed melanin, resulted in useful information on the distinct surface-binding properties of fungal melanin. The parameters of the Langmuir and Freundlicht isotherms for the adsorption of Cr(VI) were determined and compared to bibliographic data. Altogether, the inherent properties of fungal melanin suggest its promising potential as a biomaterial for environmental applications.The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación for funding (PID2019-111572RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, MIC-RICE project), and the Consolidated Research Group SOSBIO (ref. 2021 SGR 01568) Generalitat de Catalunya). Cristy Medina-Armijo was a recipient of the fellowship Agencia Nacional de investigación y Desarrollo (ANID) from Chile.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Assessing methane emissions and soil carbon stocks in the Camargue coastal wetlands: Management implications for climate change regulation
Get PDFCoastal wetlands are crucial in climate change regulation due to their capacity to act as either sinks or sources of carbon, resulting from the balance between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mainly methane (CH4), and soil carbon sequestration. Despite the paramount role of wetlands in climate regulation few studies investigate both aspects. The Camargue is one of the largest wetlands in Europe, yet the ways in which environmental and anthropic factors drive carbon dynamics remain poorly studied. We examined GHG emissions and soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and accumulation rates in twelve representative wetlands, including two rice fields, to gain insights into the carbon dynamics and how it is influenced by hydrology and salinity. Mean CH4 rates ranged between – 87.0 and 131.0 mg m−2 h−1and the main drivers were water conductivity and redox, water table depth and soil temperature. High emission rates were restricted to freshwater conditions during summer flooding periods whereas they were low in wetlands subjected to summer drought and water conductivity higher than 10 mS cm−1. Nitrous oxide emissions were low, ranging from – 0.5 to 0.9 mg N2O m−2 h−1. The SOC stocks in the upper meter ranged from 17 to 90 Mg OC ha−1. Our research highlights the critical role of low-saline wetlands in carbon budgeting which potentially are large sources of CH4 but also contain the largest SOC stocks in the Camargue. Natural hydroperiods, involving summer drought, can maintain them as carbon sinks, but altered hydrology can transform them into sources. Artificial freshwater supply during summer leads to substantial CH4 emissions, offsetting their SOC accumulation rates. In conclusion, we advocate for readjusting the altered hydrology in marshes and for the search of management compromises to ensure the compatibility of economic and leisure activities with the preservation of the inherent climate-regulating capacity of coastal wetlands.This Project has been funded by Foundation TOTAL (grant number: 2021 0439 ) and Agence de l'Eau (grant number: C002504 ). We also wish to thank Fondation MAVA for support, Claude Vella (CEREGE) for his help in collecting sediment cores, Loïc Willm for map production and remote sensing driven surface area flooding computing, The Conservatoire du Littoral et des Rivages Lacustres, The Réserve Naturelle Nationale de Camargue, the Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue, and the Réserve Naturelle Régionale de la Tour du Valat for allowing access to the study sites and their support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Farmed fish welfare research status in Latin America: A review
Get PDFLatin America (LATAM) plays an important role in the world's production of aquatic animals and is the second most productive region in the world. Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Perú contribute 87% of LATAM aquaculture production. The fish welfare in aquaculture is of increasing public concern globally, and LATAM is no exception, growing in importance for fish farmers, authorities, and scientists. Although the topic is somewhat controversial, the welfare status of farmed fish has direct implications for their production and the sustainability of the industry. Therefore, this study analyses scientific papers on animal welfare in farmed fish, from the six countries in LATAM with the highest aquaculture production. The main objectives were to quantify the number of papers published between 2000 and 2023 on fish welfare by using scientific databases. A total of 285 papers were found for the period analysed. The country with the largest number of publications was Brazil (75.79%), followed by Chile (13.33%), Mexico (7.02%), Peru (1.75%), Ecuador, and Colombia (1.05%). Nile tilapia was the most studied species, appearing in 30.18% of the publications, with most of the studies mainly dealing with nutrition (32.28%). The growth of aquaculture is leading to joint efforts to generate knowledge on welfare issues, especially in poorly studied species with high production, to create policies that help minimize welfare risks. Given this, the insights generated by this review could be a useful addition to approaches investigating the trends and concepts of fish welfare in LATAM.This work was supported by the Mexican Council of Humanities, Science and Technology (Project CONAHCYT-SEP-CB-2016-284167) coordinated by Zohar Ibarra Zatarain. We also thank the Mexican Council of Science and Technology (CONAHCYT) for supporting the PhD studies for Joel Fitzgerald Linares Cordova (19597525).info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
The use of high expansion foam for stunning and killing pigs and poultry
Get PDFThe EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the use of high-expansion foam for stunning and killing pigs and poultry. A dossier was provided by the applicant as the basis for an assessment of the extent to which the method is able to provide a level of animal welfare at least equivalent to that ensured by the currently allowed methods for pigs and poultry. According to legislation, to be approved in the EU, new stunning methods must ensure (1) the absence of pain, distress or suffering until the onset of unconsciousness, and (2) that the animal remains unconscious until death. An ad hoc Working Group set up by EFSA performed the assessment as follows: (1) The data provided were checked against the criteria laid down in the EFSA Guidance (EFSA, 2018), and was found to partially fulfil those criteria; (2) extensive literature search; (3) data extraction for quantitative assessment; (4) qualitative exercise based on non-formal expert elicitation. The assessment led to conclude that it is more likely than not (certainty > 50%–100%) that high-expansion foam for stunning and killing pigs and poultry, named NEFS in container (Nitrogen Expansion Foam Stunning in container), provides a level of welfare at least equivalent to one or more of the currently allowed methods listed in Annex I of Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009. The overall assessment of EFSA is valid only under the technical conditions described in this Opinion for laying hens, broiler chickens of all age and pigs weighing 15–41 kg in situations other than slaughter. The overall assessment of EFSA is that NEFS can be suitable for depopulation using containers for pig and poultry farms respecting the technical conditions and the categories and types of animals defined in this Scientific Opinion.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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Get PDFPèsol de primavera, amb una data d’inici de la floració més aviat tardana, fet que explicaria la seva pitjor adaptació
relativa al litoral de Girona. És sensible al fred, pel que s’ha d’evitar sembrar massa aviat (finals d’octubre o
novembre), en les zones més fredes. Planta d’altura baixa a mitjana. Presenta un gra de color verd de mida gran. És
susceptible a la cendrosa, principalment durant el període de formació del gra.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Research toward enhancing integrated management of Tuta absoluta, an ongoing invasive threat in Afro-Eurasia
Get PDFinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio