Fruits of four berry species (strawberry, raspberry, red and black currants) were compared in their elemental composition (Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, and Zn) and redox parameters involving total phenol content (TPC), ferric reducing ability (FRAP), 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, and total radical scavenger activity (TRSA). Berry cultivars contained significantly higher ( P ≤ 0.05) amounts of most detected elements as compared with apple with many maximum elemental values demonstrated by the black currant ‘Otelo’. Black currant also had the greatest antioxidant capacity as demonstrated through all conducted assays. The results obtained through FRAP, TPC, and TRSA assays were closely correlated, whereas TRSA and DPPH varied independently. Our study provides valuable information on the antioxidant capacity of several berry species grown in Hungary and highlights the crucial influence of cultivar on elemental content and antioxidant power of berry fruits. This study demonstrated the ability to select berry cultivars for specific nutritional purposes or assign parental lines in functional breeding programs.
Abstract In recent years, most East European countries have reached a level of economic development, marked primarily by an end to the extensive possibilities for the growth of production. Now, the dynamism of these societies depends on the speed and the means by which the transition to intensive development takes place. Far-reaching changes are simultaneously taking shape in consumption: mass poverty ceases to determine social conditions, and differentiated needs are beginning to spread widely, a circumstance brought about not only by the internal evolution of the countries in questiopn, but also by the influence of the civilizatory model of the more developed industrial countries.
The following parameters were studied in apricot fresh fruits: colour (lightness, hue angle and chroma); ferric reducing ability (FRAP); DPPH-radical scavenging activity; total radical scavenging capacity measured with chemiluminescence methods; as well as total phenol (TPC) and vitamin C contents measured with spectrophotometer and HPLC-DAD, respectively. Altogether, 29 apricot cultivars and 18 hybrids obtained from the apricot breeding programme of Corvinus University of Budapest were evaluated. High levels of variation could be detected among genotypes in all tested redox parameters, while colour indices suggested lower levels of variation in fruits' carotenoid content. The variations in antioxidant capacity of different genotypes could be attributed mainly to the phenolics, but vitamin C also had a considerable contribution. A perspective hybrid with an outstanding antioxidant capacity and content could be identified, which might be used as a donor genotype in future functional breeding programmes.
A plum pox virus (PPV) susceptible traditional cultivar (Besztercei Bt.2) and a clone of a PPV resistant autochthonous landrace, Nemtudom (Nábrád) of the hexaploid European plum (Prunus domestica) were used to identify and characterize an isoform of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor, eIF(iso)4E, a host susceptibility factor required for PPV infection in plum. The cDNA and intron sequences of the eIF(iso)4E gene and the modeled 3D structure of the encoded proteins revealed sequence alterations that are not expected to critically influence the structure and function of the protein. The introns shared the canonical GT–AG splice sites, although they showed base substitutions and indels among alleles, and were different in intron phases. However, none of the sequence variations seem to challenge the splicing efficiency of the introns. The expression rates of the gene were similar in the leaves of the PPV susceptible Besztercei Bt.2 and the tolerant Nábrád cultivars, suggesting the eIF(iso)E4 gene is not responsible for differences in the reaction of those cultivars to PPV. Our results indicate natural differences in the PPV-tolerance of Besztercei Bt.2 and Nábrád were not induced by the eIF(iso)4E gene and hence the PPV tolerant Nábrád and other Nemtudom accessions might be valuable donors of PPV resistance in breeding programs. By providing the first information on the allelic variations, exon–intron structure, and expression of the eIF(iso)4E gene in P. domestica, our results will help in both conventional and molecular breeding of the studied and other European plum cultivars.
The growth rate of three rosemary clones, `Harmat', 'Salem' and `Horvát', their essential oil content and its components as well as the total phenol content and total antioxidant capacity in their aqueous and ethanolic extracts were compaired. Total phenol content (determined by Folin-Ciocalteau reagent) and antioxidant power (FRAP-value) of aqueous and ethanolic rosemary extracts were measured by spectrophotometric method. The essential oil content was determined from drug by water-steam distillation. `Harmat' showed the most intensive growth through the vegetation period. The total antioxidant power of the ethanolic extracts from all the three clones was similar: a decrease was observed at the end of the season. In most cases more antioxidant compounds were dissolved in the aqueous extracts. The total quantity of phenolic compounds shows a good correlation with the potential extent of stress effects. The difference among the phenol contents of the various clones can be derived from the difference in their tolerance, because phenols have antioxidant effects contributing to protection against harmful impacts. Difference between the two extraction methods (aqueous and ethanolic) is due to the distinct solubility of compounds. Some other components, like essential oil compounds also possess antioxidant effect and in this way they may influence the antioxidant power of extracts.
A traditional cultivar, Besztercei Bt.2, and a clone of an autochthonous landrace (Nemtudom P3) of the hexaploid European plum ( Prunus domestica ) were studied to highlight their breeding perspectives. Five self-incompatibility ribonuclease ( S-RNase ) alleles were detected in both cultivars, with one allele shared. DNA sequence analysis confirmed it as a new, previously unidentified allele in P. domestica , which we labeled as S 18 . This allele was found to share ∼99% identity with the Prunus spinosa S B - RNase allele. Because Prunus species are readily hybridizing, sequence variations in 10 chloroplast DNA regions and nuclear internal transcribed spacers were studied to check if ‘Nemtudom P3’ and ‘Besztercei Bt.2’ are indeed P. domestica . The majority-rule consensus tree of maximum likelihood and Bayesian inferences confirmed it, and also indicated genetic differentiation with ‘Nemtudom P3’ and ‘Besztercei Bt.2’ forming a statistically supported subclade within the P. domestica germplasm. Our results pointed to some regions of the P. domestica chloroplast genome ( trnS - trnG - trnG , trnC-ycf6 , and trnD - trnT ) that can be used to detect intraspecific variations. The proportion of parsimony informative characters compared with the total length of amplified regions was the highest in the case of nrITS with 12.1%. The S -genotyping of 68 wild-growing Nemtudom trees showed the genetic consequences of long-term vegetative propagation and occasional crossing between Besztercei and Nemtudom accessions. Controlled pollinations confirmed the self-compatibility of ‘Nemtudom P3’. By clarifying their phylogenetic position, and characterizing the S -locus, our results will help breeding P. domestica cultivars and pave the way to understanding how the S -locus works in a hexaploid Prunus species.
Insertions of transposable elements in the S-haplotype-specific F-box gene were shown many times to confer self-compatibility in Prunus species. In apricot, we identified a miniature inverted repeat transposable element (MITE) with structural features (its 349-bp size, 82-bp terminal inverted repeats and 9-bp target site duplications) that are consistent with this MITE being a putative member of the Mutator-like transposase superfamily. This non-autonomous element was labelled as FaSt (Falling Stones). FaSt showed a preferential accumulation in short AT-rich segments within euchromatin regions of the peach genome. A bioinformatics based survey of the known Rosaceae and other genomes and a newly designed PCR-assay verified the Prunoideae-specific occurrence of FaSt elements. In addition, FaSt copies in diploid apricot and hexaploid plum showed considerable sequence variations. Several copies were found in promoter regions and introns of certain genes. This is the first study to report on a presumably active MITE in the Prunus genus that might have exhibited direct and indirect genome shaping forces. FaSts and other transposable elements are compared in their contribution to the breakdown of self-incompatibility in Prunus species.
