Diversity and relationships of Crocus sativus and its relatives analysed by IRAPs

315. Alsayied N, Fernández JA, Schwarzacher T, Heslop-Harrison JS. 2015. Diversity and relationships of Crocus sativus and its relatives analysed by Inter Retroelement Amplified Polymorphism (IRAP). Annals of Botany 116(3): 359-368. doi:10.1093/aob/mcv103 Crocus IRAP Diversity Nouf AlSayied Ann Bot Author VersionoufAnnBotAuthorVersion Background and Aims: Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a sterile triploid (2n=3x=24) cultivated species, of…

Identification and evolutionary genomics of novel LTR retrotransposons in Brassica

315. Nouroz F, Noreen S, Heslop-Harrison JS. 2015. Identification and evolutionary genomics of Novel LTR retrotransposons in Brassica. Turkish Journal of Biology 39: 740-757 DOI: 10.3906/biy-1501-77 Link to manuscript PDF download at publisher site Retrotransposons (REs) are the most abundant and diverse elements identified from eukaryotic genomes. Using computational and molecular methods, 262 intact LTR retrotransposons…

Evolutionary genomics of miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) in Brassica

317. Nouroz F, Noreen S, Heslop-Harrison JS. 2015. Evolutionary genomics of miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) in Brassica. Molecular Genetics and Genomics (MGG) 290 (6): 2297–2312. DOI: 10.1007/s00438-015-1076-9 Brassica MITEs Author Version MGG download Miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) are truncated derivatives of autonomous DNA transposons, and are dispersed abundantly in most eukaryotic genomes. We aimed to characterize various MITEs families…

Descriptors for Crocus (Crocus spp.)

312. Molina RV, Guardiola JL, García-Luis D, Renau-Morata B, Sanchis E, González-Nebauer S, de los Mozos M, Rodríguez-Conde MF, Santana O, Pastor-Férriz MT, Fernández JA, Santaella M, Roldán M, Tsimidou M, Polissiou M, Heslop-Harrison JS, Branca F, Mathew B. 2015. Descriptors for Crocus (Crocus spp.). 74pp. Bioversity International, Rome. ISBN-13: 978-92-9043-999-8 Full document: http://www.bioversityinternational.org/uploads/tx_news/Descriptors_for_Crocus_1872_01.pdf Abstract…

Diversity and characters in Ethiopian linseed Linum #PAGXXIII Negash Worku

Many people have talked about Orphan crops – those where there has been little genetic or other research – and the characterization, evaluation and exploitation of germplasm at the #PAGXXIII Plant and Animal Genome Conference this week. Today, I am talking about work by Negash Worku on the Diversity and Characters in Ethiopian Linseed Accessions….

Chromosomal evolution in Brachiaria forage grasses with Fabiola Carvalho Santos

Fabiola Santos from University of Londrina, Brazil, is working on the Chromosomal evolution and the organization of repetitive DNA sequences in diploid and polyploid Brachiaria forage grasses in the molecular cytogenetics group in Leicester. Brachiaria is most important cultivated forage grass genus in Brazil (with billion-dollar production), and the genus includes diploid and polyploid species with similar…

Wheat-Thinopyrum introgression work wins prize for Niaz Ali, Hazara, Pakistan

Dr Niaz Ali, Hazara University, Mansehra, Pakistan works on the introgression of characters from alien species into wheat, having completed his PhD in Leicester in 2012 with Dr Trude Schwarzacher. He presented his PhD work at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Experimental Biology (SEB http://www.sebiology.org/meetings /Valencia/Programmes.html) in the session on Exploiting genetic diversity for…

Preserving genetic resources in agriculture: saffron and other EU projects

Maintaining and developing sustainable uses for agricultural genetic resources is essential for ensuring food security in a sustainable manner. In this report, the outcomes of 17 EU projects on genetic resources in animals, arable crops, forest trees and “fruits, vegetables and spices” is discussed. We were involved with the project on the Saffron Crocus, reported on pages…

Worku Mhiret: Biodiversity and its exploitation in Ethiopian Linseed

Worku Mhiret from the University of Gondar, Ethiopia and Pat Heslop-Harrison (University of Leicester, UK) are working on linseed or flax: measuring the diversity of accessions from Ethiopia and comparing this with varieties from Ireland, Canada and elsewhere. We are also making crosses between lines and between cultivars and wild species of Linum;  these are…