Publications by authors named "Salvador Soler"

The MEGGIC (Magic EGGplant InCanum) population here presented is the first highly inbred eggplant () multiparent advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) population developed so far, derived from seven cultivated accessions and one wild from arid regions. The final 325 S5 lines were high-throughput genotyped using low-coverage whole-genome sequencing (lcWGS) at 3X, yielding 293 783 high-quality SNPs after stringent filtering. Principal component analysis (PCA) and neighbor-joining clustering revealed extensive genetic diversity driven by the unique genetic profile of the wild founder, and lack of genetic structure, suggesting a well-mixed population with a high degree of recombination.

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Urban expansion has led to two significant environmental challenges: the reduction in green spaces and the rise in urban temperatures, decreasing city livability. Green roofs have emerged as a sustainable solution to mitigate these issues, offering ecological and economic benefits while improving building energy efficiency. Some species of the genus , particularly and , are ideal for such green infrastructure due to their non-aggressive and superficial root system, high drought tolerance, low nutrient needs, pest and disease resistance, and metabolic adaptability during dry periods.

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Background: Tomato mating systems were strongly affected by domestication events. Mutations disrupting self-incompatibility paralleled by changes retracting the stigma position (SP) within the staminal cone conferred strict autogamy and self-fertility to the cultivated forms. Although major genes affecting these changes have been identified, SP control in domesticated forms that retain a constitutive or heat-inducible noninserted SP needs elucidation.

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European traditional tomato varieties have been selected by farmers given their consistent performance and adaptation to local growing conditions. Here we developed a multipurpose core collection, comprising 226 accessions representative of the genotypic, phenotypic, and geographical diversity present in European traditional tomatoes, to investigate the basis of their phenotypic variation, gene×environment interactions, and stability for 33 agro-morphological traits. Comparison of the traditional varieties with a modern reference panel revealed that some traditional varieties displayed excellent agronomic performance and high trait stability, as good as or better than that of their modern counterparts.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Fluorimetry analysis is a method used to determine the genome size and ploidy levels in various life stages, tissues, and populations of seaweed species, making it a useful tool for research.
  • - The process involves using DAPI fluorochrome staining, which is simpler and more efficient than traditional techniques, leading to time and resource savings.
  • - This method allows researchers to measure up to a thousand nuclei in one session, enabling fast and effective analysis of nuclear DNA content in seaweeds in comparison to Gallus gallus erythrocytes as a reference.
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The agricultural scenario of the upcoming decades will face major challenges for the increased and sustainable agricultural production and the optimization of the efficiency of water and fertilizer inputs. Considering the current and foreseen water scarcity in several marginal and arid areas and the need for a more sustainable farming production, the selection and development of cultivars suitable to grow under low-input conditions is an urgent need. In this study, we assayed 42 tomato genotypes for thirty-two morpho-physiological and agronomic traits related to plant, fruit, and root characteristics under standard (control) and no-nitrogen fertilization or water deficit (30% of the amount given to non-stressed trials) treatments in two sites (environments), which corresponded to organic farms located in Italy and Spain.

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The Mediterranean basin countries are considered secondary centres of tomato diversification. However, information on phenotypic and allelic variation of local tomato materials is still limited. Here we report on the evaluation of the largest traditional tomato collection, which includes 1499 accessions from Southern Europe.

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Interest in the cultivation of lettuce landraces is increasing because native varieties, as high-quality products, are particularly attractive to consumers. Lettuce is a popular leafy vegetable worldwide, and interest in the consumption of first leaves (microgreens) and seedlings (baby leaves) has grown due to the general belief that young plants offer higher nutritional value. The content of some bioactive compounds and antioxidants (chlorophylls, carotenoids, anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, phenols, antioxidant activity) was monitored in six lettuce landraces and five commercial varieties, and compared across three development stages: microgreen, baby, and adult.

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Article Synopsis
  • The text discusses the opportunities and challenges in agriculture, focusing on the increasing demand for sustainable food production, using a large collection of tomato varieties for research on important agricultural traits.
  • A study involving 244 tomato accessions grown organically revealed significant phenotypic diversity and demonstrated that certain traits, like fruit weight, have high heritability, indicating strong genetic control.
  • Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified 59 loci associated with specific flower and fruit traits, highlighting key genes linked to fruit characteristics and suggesting areas for future breeding efforts.
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The study of the diversity within and between major Solanaceae crops (pepper, tomato, eggplant) is of interest for the selection and development of balanced diets. We have measured thirty-six major fruit composition traits, encompassing sugars, organic acids, antioxidants and minerals, in a set of 10 accessions per crop for pepper, tomato and eggplant, grown under the same cultivation conditions. The aim was to evaluate the diversity within species and to provide an accurate comparison of fruit composition among species by reducing to a minimum the environmental effect.

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Given the little variability among commercialised eggplants mainly in developed countries, exploring, and structuring of traditional varieties germplasm collections have become a key element for extending ecotypes and promoting biodiversity preservation and consumption. Thirty-one eggplant landraces from Spain were characterised with 22 quantitative and 14 qualitative conventional morphological descriptors. Landraces were grouped based on their fruit skin colour (black-purple, striped, white, and reddish).

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  • The 'de penjar' tomato is a local variety from Spain known for its long shelf-life and resilience to adverse conditions due to low-input farming practices.
  • A study evaluated the nutritional composition of 44 'de penjar' tomato varieties under two nitrogen fertilization levels, revealing significant variation in traits like lycopene content and sweetness.
  • Results indicated that local varieties outperformed commercial ones in sweetness-to-acidity ratio and vitamin C, highlighting their potential for breeding programs aimed at improving tomato quality with lower nitrogen inputs.
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  • Sweet pepper is a significant economic fruit with vital nutritional benefits, and the study focused on its bioactive compounds and antioxidant levels across 18 landraces at two maturity stages (green and red).
  • The ripening process notably increased most bioactive compounds, with red fruits showing substantial gains, indicating that ripeness is crucial for enhancing fruit quality.
  • Certain landraces, like P-44 and P-46, stood out for their high levels of carotenoids, antioxidants, and phenolic compounds, highlighting the variability in bioactive concentration and the role of traditional landraces in agricultural biodiversity and potential breeding efforts.
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The wild Solanum pimpinellifolium (SP) and the weedy S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme (SLC) are largely unexploited genetic reservoirs easily accessible to breeders, as they are fully cross-compatible with cultivated tomato (S.

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  • ddRAD-seq was used to analyze the genomic diversity among 288 diverse tomato accessions, focusing on long shelf life (LSL) 'da serbo' varieties primarily from Italy and Spain.
  • The study identified 32,799 high-quality SNPs, revealing six genetic subgroups that show variations based on the type and geographical origin of the accessions.
  • The research highlighted several alleles linked to stress tolerance and fruit maturation, suggesting that 'da serbo' germplasm may be a valuable resource for breeding resilient tomato varieties.
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Genebanks were created by the middle of the twentieth century to preserve cultivated biodiversity when landraces began to be substituted by modern varieties. This move was generally accepted as a necessary step to safeguard the future. After about 75 years of collecting and maintaining genetic resources, the increasing ability of biotechnology to create new variability brings the roles of genebanks in the present and near future into question.

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Long shelf-life tomato () landraces, characterized by carrying the allele in the NOR.NAC locus, have been traditionally cultivated in the Mediterranean region. These materials are adapted to open field conditions under low input conditions.

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The interest of farmers in growing lettuce landraces is increasing, as landrace varieties prove particularly appealing to consumers striving to purchase natural, local, and high-quality produce. Although high genetic diversity exists in the landrace gene pool, this has scarcely been studied, thus hindering landrace utilization in agriculture. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity and the agronomic and quality traits of lettuce landraces in organic agrosystems, by characterizing 16 landraces and 16 modern varieties.

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Legal limits on the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content in Cannabis sativa plants have complicated genetic and forensic studies in this species. However, Cannabis seeds present very low THC levels. We developed a method for embryo extraction from seeds and an improved protocol for DNA extraction and tested this method in four hemp and six marijuana varieties.

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Introduction: classical studies have compared the glycemia with the nutritional status in both children and adults; however studies that consider also somatotype are unknown.

Objective: associating the somatotype and nutritional status with the glycemic level of students of Pedagogy in Physical Education (PPE).

Methods: the sample included 40 subjects, divided between 13 women and 27 men.

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Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) occurs worldwide and causes production losses in many important horticultural crops such as tomato and pepper. Breeding resistant cultivars has been the most successful method so far for TSWV disease control, but only two genes have been found to confer resistance against a wide spectrum of TSWV isolates: Sw-5 in tomato and Tsw in pepper. However, TSWV resistance-breaking isolates have emerged in different countries a few years after using resistant cultivars.

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Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) local varieties are having an increasing demand. We characterized 69 local tomato accessions from eight cultivar groups for proximate composition traits, major sugars, acids and antioxidants. A large diversity was found, with differences among accessions of almost tenfold for lycopene.

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Nuclear DNA content in gametophytes and sporophytes or the prostrate phases of the following species of Bonnemaisoniaceae (Asparagopsis armata, Asparagopsis taxiformis, Bonnemaisonia asparagoides, Bonnemaisonia clavata and Bonnemaisonia hamifera) were estimated by image analysis and static microspectrophotometry using the DNA-localizing fluorochrome DAPI (4', 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, dilactate) and the chicken erythrocytes standard. These estimates expand on the Kew database of DNA nuclear content. DNA content values for 1C nuclei in the gametophytes (spermatia and vegetative cells) range from 0.

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