Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2020
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
Farmers in Northern Norway frequently experience winter damaged fields caused by ice encasement. The economic consequences are severe due to loss of fodder and costs with reestablishment of swards. It is therefore important to choose the best available varieties for the local climatic and environmental conditions. We tested eight Norwegian cultivars of timothy (Phleum pratense), for tolerance to ice encasement and their regrowth capacity. Both old and new cultivars, and cultivars with good overwintering capacity and less biomass production were tested against more productive cultivars with less overwintering capacity. The experiment was a semi-field setup and plants were established in pots which were placed outside. Half of the pots were covered with ice and half were kept under snow cover. During four months, pots were brought, once per month, into a greenhouse for thawing and measurement of biomass production under normal growth conditions. The results indicate that the old winter hardy cultivar ‘Engmo’ is least affected by ice encasement but produces little biomass. The joint Nordic cultivar ‘Snorri’ produced most biomass of all the cultivars after a treatment with ice cover. In conclusion, there is a large difference between cultivars in ice encasement tolerance, and ice cover affected regrowth capacity far more than snow cover
Authors
Trygve S. Aamlid Tatsiana Espevig Karin Juul Hesselsøe Wendy Marie Waalen Pia Heltoft Thomsen Sigridur Dalmannsdottir Carl Johan Lönnberg Michelle DaCosta Eric WatkinsAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Trygve S. Aamlid Tatsiana Espevig Karin Juul Hesselsøe Wendy Marie Waalen Pia Heltoft Thomsen Sigridur Dalmannsdottir C. J. Lönnberg M. DaCosta E R WatkinsAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Min Lin Melanie Stadlmeier Volker Mohler Kar-Chun Tan Andrea Ficke James Cockram Morten LillemoAbstract
Key message We identifed allelic variation at two major loci, QSnb.nmbu-2A.1 and QSnb.nmbu-5A.1, showing consistent and additive efects on SNB feld resistance. Validation of QSnb.nmbu-2A.1 across genetic backgrounds further highlights its usefulness for marker-assisted selection. Abstract Septoria nodorum blotch (SNB) is a disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum and T. durum) caused by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum. SNB resistance is a typical quantitative trait, controlled by multiple quantitative trait loci (QTL) of minor efect. To achieve increased plant resistance, selection for resistance alleles and/or selection against susceptibility alleles must be undertaken. Here, we performed genetic analysis of SNB resistance using an eight-founder German Multiparent Advanced Generation Inter-Cross (MAGIC) population, termed BMWpop. Field trials and greenhouse testing were conducted over three seasons in Norway, with genetic analysis identifying ten SNB resistance QTL. Of these, two QTL were identifed over two seasons: QSnb.nmbu-2A.1 on chromosome 2A and QSnb.nmbu-5A.1 on chromosome 5A. The chromosome 2A BMWpop QTL co-located with a robust SNB resistance QTL recently identifed in an independent eightfounder MAGIC population constructed using varieties released in the United Kingdom (UK). The validation of this SNB resistance QTL in two independent multi-founder mapping populations, regardless of the diferences in genetic background and agricultural environment, highlights the value of this locus in SNB resistance breeding. The second robust QTL identifed in the BMWpop, QSnb.nmbu-5A.1, was not identifed in the UK MAGIC population. Combining resistance alleles at both loci resulted in additive efects on SNB resistance. Therefore, using marker assisted selection to combine resistance alleles is a promising strategy for improving SNB resistance in wheat breeding. Indeed, the multi-locus haplotypes determined in this study provide markers for efcient tracking of these benefcial alleles in future wheat genetics and breeding activities.
Authors
Hye-Seon Kim Jessica M. Lohmar Mark Busman Daren W. Brown Todd A. Naumann Hege Hvattum Divon Erik Lysøe Silvio Uhlig Robert H. ProctorAbstract
Background Sphingolipids are structural components and signaling molecules in eukaryotic membranes, and many organisms produce compounds that inhibit sphingolipid metabolism. Some of the inhibitors are structurally similar to the sphingolipid biosynthetic intermediate sphinganine and are referred to as sphinganine-analog metabolites (SAMs). The mycotoxins fumonisins, which are frequent contaminants in maize, are one family of SAMs. Due to food and feed safety concerns, fumonisin biosynthesis has been investigated extensively, including characterization of the fumonisin biosynthetic gene cluster in the agriculturally important fungi Aspergillus and Fusarium. Production of several other SAMs has also been reported in fungi, but there is almost no information on their biosynthesis. There is also little information on how widely SAM production occurs in fungi or on the extent of structural variation of fungal SAMs. Results Using fumonisin biosynthesis as a model, we predicted that SAM biosynthetic gene clusters in fungi should include a polyketide synthase (PKS), an aminotransferase and a dehydrogenase gene. Surveys of genome sequences identified five putative clusters with this three-gene combination in 92 of 186 Fusarium species examined. Collectively, the putative SAM clusters were distributed widely but discontinuously among the species. We propose that the SAM5 cluster confers production of a previously reported Fusarium SAM, 2-amino-14,16-dimethyloctadecan-3-ol (AOD), based on the occurrence of AOD production only in species with the cluster and on deletion analysis of the SAM5 cluster PKS gene. We also identified SAM clusters in 24 species of other fungal genera, and propose that one of the clusters confers production of sphingofungin, a previously reported Aspergillus SAM. Conclusion Our results provide a genomics approach to identify novel SAM biosynthetic gene clusters in fungi, which should in turn contribute to identification of novel SAMs with applications in medicine and other fields. Information about novel SAMs could also provide insights into the role of SAMs in the ecology of fungi. Such insights have potential to contribute to strategies to reduce fumonisin contamination in crops and to control crop diseases caused by SAM-producing fungi.
Authors
Baiba Krivmane Ilze Šņepste Vilnis Šķipars Igor A. Yakovlev Carl Gunnar Fossdal Adam Vivian-Smith Dainis RuņģisAbstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-protein coding RNAs of ~20–24 nucleotides in length that play an important role in many biological and metabolic processes, including the regulation of gene expression, plant growth and developmental processes, as well as responses to stress and pathogens. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize novel and conserved microRNAs expressed in methyl jasmonate-treated Scots pine needles. In addition, potential precursor sequences and target genes of the identified miRNAs were determined by alignment to the Pinus unigene set. Potential precursor sequences were identified using the miRAtool, conserved miRNA precursors were also tested for the ability to form the required stem-loop structure, and the minimal folding free energy indexes were calculated. By comparison with miRBase, 4975 annotated sequences were identified and assigned to 173 miRNA groups, belonging to a total of 60 conserved miRNA families. A total of 1029 potential novel miRNAs, grouped into 34 families were found, and 46 predicted precursor sequences were identified. A total of 136 potential target genes targeted by 28 families were identified. The majority of previously reported highly conserved plant miRNAs were identified in this study, as well as some conserved miRNAs previously reported to be monocot specific. No conserved dicot-specific miRNAs were identified. A number of potential gymnosperm or conifer specific miRNAs were found, shared among a range of conifer species.
Authors
Mekjell Meland Oddmund Frøynes Milica Fotiric Akšic Naris Pojskic Belma Kalamujic Stroil Lejla Lasic Fuad GasiAbstract
European plum cultivars (Prunus domestica L.) are hexaploid and partially self-fertile or self-sterile requiring compatible pollinizers with overlapping bloom times. Therefore, inter-planting of different pollinizer cultivars is recommended. In order to identify successful pollinizers of the plum cultivars ‘Edda’, ‘Opal’ (self-fertile), ‘Jubileum’, ‘Reeves’, ‘Mallard’, ‘Avalon’, ‘Cacanska Lepotica’ (self-fertile), and ‘Valor’, 60 fruits per cultivar were collected from nine orchards in 2017 and 2018, all of which were located in Ullensvang, western Norway. DNA extraction was subsequently conducted from the obtained embryos, followed by genetic characterization using seven microsatellite markers. Tissue samples from all possible pollinizers were collected during the summer of 2017 and the same DNA approach was conducted. Results showed that ‘Opal’ was the most successful pollinizer among the investigated plum cultivars. The main exception was ‘Cacanska Lepotica’, which consistently displayed very high level of self-pollination. The most successful foreign pollinizer of ‘Opal’ was ‘Mallard’. However, in more than two thirds of embryos extracted from ‘Opal’ fruits self-fertilization was determined. ‘Reeves’ was identified as the most successful pollinizer among embryos collected from ‘Valor’. Among the five cultivars (‘Edda’, ‘Jubileum’, ‘Reeves’, ‘Mallard’, and ‘Avalon’) that did not display self-pollination, the pollinizer success rate of ‘Opal’, ranged from 36.5% (‘Mallard’) to 93.5% (‘Edda’) in 2017, while in 2018 this rate ranged from 43.5% (‘Jubileum’ and ‘Reeves’) up to 96.5% (‘Edda’). Overall, genotyping embryos using SSRs (simple sequence repeats) proved an effective method in determining the success rate of individual pollinizers among European plum cultivars.
Abstract
In order to identify successful pollinizers of plum cultivars ‘Edda’ and ‘Opal’, 60 mature open pollinated fruit were collected from these two cultivars in autumn 2017. The fruits were harvested in three different orchards located in Ullensvang, the main fruit production area in Norway. After the harvest, kernels were separated from the fruit and used for the extraction of single embryos located within each kernel. At the same time, leaves were collected from the plum cultivars ‘Edda’ and ‘Opal’, as well as from all other plum cultivars present at the location and nearby orchards (‘Mallard’, ‘Jubileum’, ‘Reeves’, ‘Avalon’, ‘Valor’, ‘Cacanska Lepotica’ and ‘Herman’). DNA extraction was carried out for the embryos and leaves, and were used for genotyping using seven microsatellite markers. The microsatellite data were used for conducting paternity analyses based on a log likelihood ratio, where the fingerprint information from the leaves were the possible pollen donors available at the location. The results revealed within all examined orchards that the most successful pollinizer of ‘Edda’, a self-sterile cultivar, was ‘Opal’. The most successful foreign pollinizer of ‘Opal’ was ‘Mallard’. However, more than two thirds of embryos extracted from ‘Opal’ fruits did not present any alleles not already identified in ‘Opal’, which was expected considering that this plum cultivar was known to be self-fertile. European plums are hexaploid making its allele callings and paternity tests rather complicated. However, the approach used in this study gave clear answers regarding the most successful pollinizers.