Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the important oil crops of the world. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity of 384 peanut germplasms including 100 Korean germplasms and 284 core collections from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) using an Axiom_Arachis array with 58K single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We evaluated the evolutionary relationships among 384 peanut germplasms using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of seed aspect ratio data processed by ImageJ software. In total, 14,030 filtered polymorphic SNPs were identified from the peanut 58K SNP array. We identified five SNPs with significant associations to seed aspect ratio on chromosomes Aradu.A09, Aradu.A10, Araip.B08, and Araip.B09. AX-177640219 on chromosome Araip.B08 was the most significantly associated marker in GAPIT and Regularization method. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) was found among the eleven genes within a linkage disequilibrium (LD) of the significant SNPs on Araip.B08 and could have a strong causal effect in determining seed aspect ratio. The results of the present study provide information and methods that are useful for further genetic and genomic studies as well as molecular breeding programs in peanuts.

Cowpea is one of the most essential legume crops providing inexpensive dietary protein and nutrients. The aim of this study was to understand the genetic diversity and population structure of global and Korean cowpea germplasms. A total of 384 cowpea accessions from 21 countries were genotyped with the Cowpea iSelect Consortium Array containing 51,128 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). After SNP filtering, a genetic diversity study was carried out using 35,116 SNPs within 376 cowpea accessions, including 229 Korean accessions. Based on structure and principal component analysis, a total of 376 global accessions were divided into four major populations. Accessions in group 1 were from Asia and Europe, those in groups 2 and 4 were from Korea, and those in group 3 were from West Africa. In addition, 229 Korean accessions were divided into three major populations (Q1, Jeonra province; Q2, Gangwon province; Q3, a mixture of provinces). Additionally, the neighbor-joining tree indicated similar results. Further genetic diversity analysis within the global and Korean population groups indicated low heterozygosity, a low polymorphism information content, and a high inbreeding coefficient in the Korean cowpea accessions. The population structure analysis will provide useful knowledge to support the genetic potential of the cowpea breeding program, especially in Korea.

Torque teno virus (TTV) load has emerged as a potential surrogate marker of net immunosuppression in solid organ transplantation. However, the clinical significance of pre-transplant TTV levels for early outcomes after lung transplantation remains unclear. In this multicenter cohort of 334 adult first-time lung transplant recipients (2015-2022), plasma samples were collected immediately prior to transplantation. The primary endpoint was infection within 3 months. One hundred healthy individuals served as controls for TTV comparisons. Secondary outcomes were acute rejection and 1-year graft failure. Associations were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression for early infection and time-to-event analyses for rejection and graft failure. Pre-transplant TTV levels were higher in recipients than in controls (6.7 vs 5.9 log₁₀ copies/mL; p<0.001). Early infections occurred in 103 patients (30.8%). Patients with infection had higher pre-transplant TTV levels than those without infection (7.8 vs 6.3 log₁₀ copies/mL; p<0.001). Each 1-log₁₀ increase in TTV was associated with higher infection risk (adjusted odds ratio 15.05; 95% CI 7.25-31.20; p<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed good discrimination for identifying early infection (AUC 0.89; 95% CI 0.85-0.92). Higher TTV levels were associated with lower acute rejection risk (adjusted hazard ratio 0.70; 95% CI 0.56-0.87; p = 0.001) and higher 1-year graft failure (adjusted hazard ratio 1.40; 95% CI 1.13-1.74; p = 0.002). Pre-transplant plasma TTV load was associated with early infection, fewer rejection events, and increased 1-year graft failure after lung transplantation, supporting its potential role as a biomarker for immune risk stratification.