Transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling of the potato plant response to zebra chip disease.

Zebra chip disease of potato is caused by a bacterial pathogen, 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum', vectored by the tomato potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli Sulc.). The plant response to the disease was explored using a combined transcriptomic and metabolomic approach.

Genomic Selection for Ascochyta Blight Resistance in Pea.

Genomic selection (GS) is a breeding tool, which is rapidly gaining popularity for plant breeding, particularly for traits that are difficult to measure. One such trait is ascochyta blight resistance in pea ( L.), which is difficult to assay because it is strongly influenced by the environment and depends on the natural occurrence of multiple pathogens.

Association mapping of starch chain length distribution and amylose content in pea (Pisum sativum L.) using carbohydrate metabolism candidate genes.

Background: Although starch consists of large macromolecules composed of glucose units linked by α-1,4-glycosidic linkages with α-1,6-glycosidic branchpoints, variation in starch structural and functional properties is found both within and between species. Interest in starch genetics is based on the importance of starch in food and industrial processes, with the potential of genetics to provide novel starches. The starch metabolic pathway is complex but has been characterized in diverse plant species, including pea.

Starch phosphorylation in potato tubers is influenced by allelic variation in the genes encoding glucan water dikinase, starch branching enzymes I and II, and starch synthase III.

Starch phosphorylation is an important aspect of plant metabolism due to its role in starch degradation. Moreover, the degree of phosphorylation of starch determines its physicochemical properties and is therefore relevant for industrial uses of starch. Currently, starch is chemically phosphorylated to increase viscosity and paste stability.