Leveraging machine learning to unravel the impact of cadmium stress on goji berry micropropagation.

This study investigates the influence of cadmium (Cd) stress on the micropropagation of Goji Berry (Lycium barbarum L.) across three distinct genotypes (ERU, NQ1, NQ7), employing an array of machine learning (ML) algorithms, including Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forest (RF), Gaussian Process (GP), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). The primary motivation is to elucidate genotype-specific responses to Cd stress, which poses significant challenges to agricultural productivity and food safety due to its toxicity. By analyzing the impacts of varying Cd concentrations on plant growth parameters such as proliferation, shoot and root lengths, and root numbers, we aim to develop predictive models that can optimize plant growth under adverse conditions. The ML models revealed complex relationships between Cd exposure and plant physiological changes, with MLP and RF models showing remarkable prediction accuracy (R2 values up to 0.98). Our findings contribute to understanding plant responses to heavy metal stress and offer practical applications in mitigating such stress in plants, demonstrating the potential of ML approaches in advancing plant tissue culture research and sustainable agricultural practices.

Advanced Biotechnological Interventions in Mitigating Drought Stress in Plants.

This comprehensive article critically analyzes the advanced biotechnological strategies to mitigate plant drought stress. It encompasses an in-depth exploration of the latest developments in plant genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, shedding light on the complex molecular mechanisms that plants employ to combat drought stress. The study also emphasizes the significant advancements in genetic engineering techniques, particularly CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, which have revolutionized the creation of drought-resistant crop varieties. Furthermore, the article explores microbial biotechnology's pivotal role, such as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and mycorrhizae, in enhancing plant resilience against drought conditions. The integration of these cutting-edge biotechnological interventions with traditional breeding methods is presented as a holistic approach for fortifying crops against drought stress. This integration addresses immediate agricultural needs and contributes significantly to sustainable agriculture, ensuring food security in the face of escalating climate change challenges.

In vitro and ex vitro propagation of Turkish myrtles through conventional and plantform bioreactor systems.

The myrtle (Myrtus communis) plant naturally grows in the temperate Mediterranean and subtropical regions and is used for various purposes; thus, it is among the promising species of horticultural crops. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the performance of different propagation systems, including rooting, solid media propagation, rooting, and with the Plantform bioreactor system, in achieving healthy and rapid growth of four myrtle genotypes with diverse genetic origins and well-regional adaptation. The selection of myrtle genotypes with distinct genetic backgrounds and proven adaptability to specific regions allowed for a comprehensive assessment of the propagation systems under investigation. Present findings proved that the Plantform system, the new-generation tissue culture system, was quite successful in micropropagation and rooting myrtle genotypes. We succeeded in vitro micropropagation and rooting of diverse wild myrtle genotypes, enabling year-round propagation without reliance on specific seasons or environmental conditions. The process involved initiating cultures from explants and multiplying them through shoot proliferation in a controlled environment. This contributes to sustainable plant propagation, preserving and utilizing genetic resources for conservation and agriculture.

Recovering triploid citrus hybrids from 2x × 2x sexual crosses with the aid of embryo rescue and flow cytometry in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Turkey is one of the major exporters of mandarins in the Mediterranean region. Seedlessness in citrus, which is one of the most desired fruit quality traits, especially in fresh mandarin export markets, can be obtained via triploidy as in many fruit species. Triploid plants can be recovered by 2x × 2x hybridizations in citrus, as well as 2x × 4x and 4x × 2x crosses. Hence, we aimed to develop local triploid hybrids by using the embryo rescue technique in five crosses using eight different citrus varieties in the present study. METHODS AND RESULTS: Embryos isolated from abortive seeds derived by 135 days after pollinations were cultured on modified Murashige and Tucker (MT) medium by adding different levels of GA3 to achieve a high germination rate. A population of 574 plants was developed as a result of embryo rescue. After screening the ploidy levels of this 574-plant population with the aid of flow cytometry, 4 triploids from 'Encore' × 'Murcott', 8 triploids from 'Fortune' × 'Willow leaf', 1 triploid from 'Kiyomi' × 'Murcott', and 1 triploid from 'Ortanique' × 'Murcott' hybridization were recovered. Triploid hybrid plants and related parents were analyzed with SSR markers heterozygotic for parental mandarin varieties. In addition, we evaluated stomatal characteristics of diploid and triploid hybrids obtained from different crosses. Stomatal traits of diploid and triploid hybrids in all crosses significantly differed except the stomata index. CONCLUSIONS: Genotyping of triploid plants confirmed using Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) molecular markers and five SSRs were able to identify three alleles of triploid hybrids. Selected triploid mandarin hybrids have been grafted on several rootstocks for field trials and are in the process of yield and quality performances.

In vitro drought stress and drought-related gene expression in banana.

BACKGROUND: Banana is largely grown in tropical and subtropical climates. It is rich in various food components and has quite a high economic value. Unavailable ecological and agricultural conditions cause quantitative and qualitative losses in banana cultivation. Along with global climate change, drought stress is becoming prominent day by day. METHODS AND RESULTS: Micropropagation and rooting performance of Azman and Grand Naine banana cultivars were investigated under in vitro drought stress conditions. The expression levels of four different genes of CDPK gene family in leaf and root tissues of the rooted plants were determined with the use of qRT-PCR. Greater expression levels of four MaCDPK genes were seen in Azman cultivar than in Grand Naine cultivar. MaCDPK9 and MaCDPK21 had greater expression levels in root tissue and MaCDPK1 and MaCDPK40 genes in leaf tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Response of different banana cultivars to in vitro drought stress was determined in this study. The expression levels of the genes of CDPK gene family with a significant role in drought stress had significant contributions in elucidation of banana plant response to drought stress.

Perspectives and recent progress of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in fruits.

BACKGROUND: Earlier next-generation sequencing technologies are being vastly used to explore, administer, and investigate the gene space with accurate profiling of nucleotide variations in the germplasm. OVERVIEW AND PROGRESS: Recently, novel advancements in high-throughput sequencing technologies allow a genotyping-by-sequencing approach that has opened up new horizons for extensive genotyping exploiting single-nucleotide-polymorphisms (SNPs). This method acts as a bridge to support and minimize a genotype to phenotype gap allowing genetic selection at the genome-wide level, named genomic selection that could facilitate the selection of traits also in the pomology sector. In addition to this, genome-wide genotyping is a prerequisite for genome-wide association studies that have been used successfully to discover the genes, which control polygenic traits including the genetic loci, associated with the trait of interest in fruit crops. AIMS AND PROSPECTS: This review article emphasizes the role of genome-wide approaches to unlock and explore the genetic potential along with the detection of SNPs affecting the phenotype of fruit crops and highlights the prospects of genome-wide association studies in fruits.

Genetic transformation in citrus.

Citrus is one of the world's important fruit crops. Recently, citrus molecular genetics and biotechnology work have been accelerated in the world. Genetic transformation, a biotechnological tool, allows the release of improved cultivars with desirable characteristics in a shorter period of time and therefore may be useful in citrus breeding programs. Citrus transformation has now been achieved in a number of laboratories by various methods. Agrobacterium tumefaciens is used mainly in citrus transformation studies. Particle bombardment, electroporation, A. rhizogenes, and a new method called RNA interference are used in citrus transformation studies in addition to A. tumefaciens. In this review, we illustrate how different gene transformation methods can be employed in different citrus species.