Search Results (8)

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of an ultra-diluted complex on the health status, growth performance, and blood parameters of dairy calves during the preweaning phase in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. During a 75-period trial, thirty-four Holstein newborn calves at the second day of life were completely randomized individually into two treatments: (1) control (CON), oral saline supplementation (5 mL/d); and (2) oral supplementation with 5 mL/d of a ultra-diluted complex (UD): Sulfur: ${10}^{60}$ + Viola tricolor: ${10}^{14}$ + Caladium seguinum: ${10}^{30}$ + Zincum oxydatum: ${10}^{30}$ + Phosphorus: ${10}^{60}$ + Cardus marianus: ${10}^{60}$ + Colibacillinum: ${10}^{30}$ + Podophyllum: ${10}^{30}$ + Vehicle: alcohol. Free access to water and a starter was ensured during the trial period. Feed intake and fecal and health scores were monitored daily. Calves were weighed and measured weekly. Blood samples were collected at enrollment on the first day and every 21 days until the 75th day, 2 h after morning milk feeding, and tested for hematology, blood urea nitrogen, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, total protein albumin, globulin, and creatinine. At 70 days of age, calves were disbudded following the standard management practices of the farm. The inflammatory profile, including Immunoglobulin A, Immunoglobulin G, ceruloplasmin, transferrin, albumin, and haptoglobin, was quantified in serum samples. The ultra-diluted complex was ineffective in reducing the incidence of diseases, starter feed intake, daily weight gain, and body measurements and inflammatory profile. Blood parameters were also not affected. Thus, the ultra-diluted complex was inefficient in reducing the incidence of diseases and did not affect the performance and metabolites of pre-weaned Holstein calves. Full article

4-methyl-5-vinylthiazole (MVT) is a significant volatile of caladium (Caladium bicolor) which produces a very high level of thiamin thiazole synthase (THI4) in male flowers. We explored transcriptomes upregulating MVT using RNA-seq during the six developmental stages of the male flower (Day−10 to Day0) in C. bicolor ‘Tapestry’. THI4 was the highest transcript throughout the male flower development. Additionally, the genes showing the high expression associated with floral volatiles of caladium on Day0 were trans-resveratrol di-O-methyltransferase (ROMT), chalcone synthase (CHS), 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase 2 (KAT2), and linalool synthase (TPS). These four genes correspond to the following elevated volatiles of caladium: 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene, MVT, indole, methyl salicylate, and linalool on Day0 compared to Day−10. The upstream THI4 gene was cloned to drive a fluorescent gene (ZsGreen1) in transient and stable transgenic petunia and tobacco plants, showing the gene expression only in the male tissue. The tissue-specific expression of the caladium THI4 promoter could benefit crop production with minimal modification of plants. Investigating transcriptomes associated with caladium fragrance can help provide insight into understanding the regulatory mechanisms of floral volatiles of caladium. Full article

Leaf color is a key ornamental characteristic of cultivated caladium (Caladium × hortulanum Birdsey), a plant with diverse leaf colors. However, the genetic improvement of leaf color in cultivated caladium is hindered by the limited understanding of leaf color diversity and regulation. In this study, the chlorophyll and anthocyanin content of 137 germplasm resources were measured to explore the diversity and mechanism of leaf color formation in cultivated caladium. Association analysis of EST-SSR markers and pigment traits was performed, as well as metabolomics and transcriptomics analysis of a red leaf variety and its white leaf mutant. We found significant differences in chlorophyll and anthocyanin content among different color groups of cultivated caladium, and identified three, eight, three, and seven EST-SSR loci significantly associated with chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, total chlorophyll and total anthocyanins content, respectively. The results further revealed that the white leaf mutation was caused by the down-regulation of various anthocyanins (such as cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, and others). This change in concentration is likely due to the down-regulation of key genes (four PAL, four CHS, six CHI, eight F3H, one F3′H, one FLS, one LAR, four DFR, one ANS and two UFGT) involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis. Concurrently, the up-regulation of certain genes (one FLS and one LAR) that divert the anthocyanin precursors to other pathways was noted. Additionally, a significant change in the expression of numerous transcription factors (12 NAC, 12 bZIP, 23 ERF, 23 bHLH, 19 MYB_related, etc.) was observed. These results revealed the genetic and metabolic basis of leaf color diversity and change in cultivated caladium, and provided valuable information for molecular marker-assisted selection and breeding of leaf color in this ornamental plant. Full article

Caladiums are promising colorful foliage plants due to their unique leaf shapes and dazzling colors. Until now, over 2000 varieties of Caladium have been cultivated worldwide. The long-term natural variation and artificial selection have enriched the germplasm resources of Caladium in the market, yet have blurred its genetic background. In this study, 16 informative EST-SSR markers were used to screen 144 Caladium accessions, indicating that 16 EST-SSRs could distinguish all genotypes with a minimum cumulative identity probability (PI) of 2.0 2 × 10⁻¹⁵. Using the simulated annealing method, the richest genetic information was acquired at the same compression ratio. A final core of 44 accessions was selected, comprising 30.6% of the individuals and retraining more than 95% of the total genetic information. No significant differences were observed in allele frequency distributions or genetic diversity parameters between the core collection and the entire population. Cluster analysis roughly divided the core collections into four populations, where 66.7% of the private alleles were detected in Pop2. Finally, DNA molecular fingerprints of 44 core accessions were established, including barcodes and quick response (QR) code molecular identities (ID). The results will lay a theoretical foundation for identifying, preserving, and utilizing Caladium germplasm resources. Full article

Caladiums are promising colorful foliage plants due to their dazzling colors of the leaves, veins, stripes, and patches, which are often cultivated in pots or gardens as decorations. Four wild species, including C. bicolor, C. humboldtii, C. praetermissum, and C. lindenii, were employed in this study, where their chloroplast (cp) genomes were sequenced, assembled, and annotated via high-throughput sequencing. The whole cp genome size ranged from 162,776 bp to 168,888 bp, and the GC contents ranged from 35.09% to 35.91%. Compared with the single large copy (LSC) and single small copy (SSC) regions, more conserved sequences were identified in the inverted repeat regions (IR). We further analyzed the different region borders of nine species of Araceae and found the expansion or contraction of IR/SSC regions might account for the cp genome size variation. Totally, 131 genes were annotated in the cp genomes, including 86 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 37 tRNAs, and eight rRNAs. The effective number of codons (ENC) values and neutrality plot analyses provided the foundation that the natural selection pressure could greatly affect the codon preference. The GC₃ content was significantly lower than that of GC₁ and GC₂, and codons ending with A/U had higher usage preferences. Finally, we conducted phylogenetic relationship analysis based on the chloroplast genomes of twelve species of Araceae, in which C. bicolor and C. humboldtii were grouped together, and C. lindenii was furthest from the other three Caladium species occupying a separate branch. These results will provide a basis for the identification, development, and utilization of Caladium germplasm. Full article

Aneuploids are valuable materials of genetic diversity for genetic analysis and improvement in diverse plant species, which can be propagated mainly via in vitro culture methods. However, somaclonal variation is common in tissue culture-derived plants including euploid caladium. In the present study, the genetic stability of in vitro-propagated plants from the leaf cultures of two types of caladium (Caladium × hortulanum Birdsey) aneuploids obtained previously was analyzed morphologically, cytologically, and molecularly. Out of the randomly selected 23 and 8 plants regenerated from the diploid aneuploid SVT9 (2n = 2x − 2 = 28) and the tetraploid aneuploid SVT14 (2n = 4x − 6 = 54), respectively, 5 plants from the SVT9 and 3 plants from the SVT14 exhibited morphological differences from their corresponding parent. Stomatal analysis indicated that both the SVT9-derived variants and the SVT14-originated plants showed significant differences in stomatal guard cell length and width. In addition, the variants from the SVT14 were observed to have rounder and thicker leaves with larger stomatal guard cells and significantly reduced stomatal density compared with the regenerants of the SVT9. Amongst the established plants from the SVT9, two morphological variants containing 3.14–3.58% less mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) lost one chromosome, and four variants containing 4.55–11.02% more MFI gained one or two chromosomes. As for the plants regenerated from the SVT14, one variant with significantly higher MFI gained two chromosomes and three plants having significantly lower MFI resulted in losing four chromosomes. Three, out of the twelve, simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers identified DNA band profile changes in four variants from the SVT9, whereas no polymorphism was detected among the SVT14 and its regenerants. These results indicated that a relatively high frequency of somaclonal variation occurred in the in vitro-propagated plants from caladium aneuploids, especially for the tetraploid aneuploid caladium. Newly produced aneuploid plants are highly valuable germplasm for future genetic improvement and research in caladium. Full article

Although both the petiole and lamina of foliage leaves have been thoroughly studied, the transition zone between them has often been overlooked. We aimed to identify objectively measurable morphological and anatomical criteria for a generally valid definition of the petiole–lamina transition zone by comparing foliage leaves with various body plans (monocotyledons vs. dicotyledons) and spatial arrangements of petiole and lamina (two-dimensional vs. three-dimensional configurations). Cross-sectional geometry and tissue arrangement of petioles and transition zones were investigated via serial thin-sections and µCT. The changes in the cross-sectional geometries from the petiole to the transition zone and the course of the vascular bundles in the transition zone apparently depend on the spatial arrangement, while the arrangement of the vascular bundles in the petioles depends on the body plan. We found an exponential acropetal increase in the cross-sectional area and axial and polar second moments of area to be the defining characteristic of all transition zones studied, regardless of body plan or spatial arrangement. In conclusion, a variety of terms is used in the literature for describing the region between petiole and lamina. We prefer the term “petiole–lamina transition zone” to underline its three-dimensional nature and the integration of multiple gradients of geometry, shape, and size. Full article

Roots are vital to plant survival and crop yield, yet few efforts have been made to characterize the expressed genes in the roots of non-model plants (root transcriptomes). This study was conducted to sequence, assemble, annotate, and characterize the root transcriptomes of three caladium cultivars (Caladium × hortulanum) using RNA-Seq. The caladium cultivars used in this study have different levels of resistance to Pythium myriotylum, the most damaging necrotrophic pathogen to caladium roots. Forty-six to 61 million clean reads were obtained for each caladium root transcriptome. De novo assembly of the reads resulted in approximately 130,000 unigenes. Based on bioinformatic analysis, 71,825 (52.3%) caladium unigenes were annotated for putative functions, 48,417 (67.4%) and 31,417 (72.7%) were assigned to Gene Ontology (GO) and Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG), respectively, and 46,406 (64.6%) unigenes were assigned to 128 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. A total of 4518 distinct unigenes were observed only in Pythium-resistant “Candidum” roots, of which 98 seemed to be involved in disease resistance and defense responses. In addition, 28,837 simple sequence repeat sites and 44,628 single nucleotide polymorphism sites were identified among the three caladium cultivars. These root transcriptome data will be valuable for further genetic improvement of caladium and related aroids. Full article