To date, several research studies addressed the topic of phytochemical analysis of the different coloured pepper berries during ripening, but none discussed it in the case of purple peppers. In this study we examine whether the anthocyanin accumulation of the berries in the early stages of ripening could result in a higher antioxidant capacity due to the elevated amount of polyphenolic compounds. Therefore, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity was measured in four distinct phenophases of fruit maturity. Furthermore, the expression of structural and regulatory genes of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway was also investigated. An overall decreasing trend was observed in the polyphenolic and flavonoid content and antioxidant capacity of the samples towards biological ripeness. Significant changes both in between the genotypes and in between the phenophases were scored, with the genotype being the most affecting factor on the phytonutrients. An extreme purple pepper yielded outstanding results compared to the other genotypes, with its polyphenolic and flavonoid content as well as its antioxidant capacity being the highest in every phenophase studied. Based on our results, besides MYBa (Ca10g11650) two other putative MYBs participate in the regulation of the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway.

In cereal breeding, in vitro androgenesis methods are frequently applied to achieve doubled haploid (DH) plants. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of genotype (three registered varieties and eight F₁ crossing combinations) and induction medium (W14mf and P4mf) on anther cultures (ACs) of triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack). Androgenesis was induced in the treatment of each tested genotype, and the genotype significantly influenced the efficiency of AC, including in embryo-like structures (ELSs), albinos, green plantlets, and transplanted plantlets. The utilized medium also had a significant effect on the number of ELSs, albinos, and transplanted plantlets. Both media were suitable for AC in triticale DH plant production. The efficiency of AC was higher when using the P4mf medium (103.7 ELS/100 anthers, 19.7 green plantlets/100 anthers) than when using the W14mf medium (90.0 ELS/100 anthers, 17.0 green plantlets/100 anthers). However, the green plantlet regeneration efficiency of microspore-derived structures was 18.0% when using the W14mf medium, while this value was 15.9% in the case of ELSs induced with the P4mf medium. After nursery seed evaluation and propagation (DH₁), the genetic homogeneity of the offspring generation (DH₂) was tested using a molecular genetic method. Most of the tested DH lines showed homogeneity and were progressed into a breeding program after agronomic selection. Some DH lines showed inhomogeneity, which could be explained by the outcross inclination of triticale. We would like to call breeders’ attention to the outcross character of triticale and emphasize the vigilant propagation and maintenance of the triticale DH lines in breeding programs. Due to the outcross nature of triticale, even in self-pollinated genotypes, breeders should focus on careful maintenance, along with isolation in the case of line propagations, in triticale breeding programs.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of sour cherries using SSR markers, correlate the data with phenotypic traits, and investigate the suitability of Prunus-specific microsatellite markers in this species. Nineteen sour cherry genotypes from the Fruit Research Institute in Érd, Hungary, were analyzed using twelve SSR primer pairs. The number of alleles ranged from two to ten, with a mean value of 4.67 per locus. The highest number of alleles was generated with BPPCT 007. All the primers displayed a polymorphic pattern. The most informative markers, based on the highest PIC values, were CPPCT022, BPPCT041, and BPPCT030. The genotypes were grouped based on flowering time, ripening time, and fruit weight. To determine the correlation, we have performed a regression analysis association with fruit traits and molecular markers. The marker PceGA025 appeared to have an allele size that statistically significantly correlates to flowering and ripening time. Also, BPPCT002, BPPCT007 and UCDCH17 have an allele that significantly correlates to ripening time. Additionally, one of the alleles of UDP 98 410 appeared to be correlated with fruit weight.

Horticulture is a dynamically evolving and an ever-changing sector which needs new ideas, plant materials, and cultivating methods to produce more. Involving different mutants in breeding lines may lead to new opportunities to create new cultivating methods. pcx (procumbent plant) and tti (tortuosa internodi) Capsicum annuum mutant plants, which present abnormal stem growth, were investigated in various in vitro experiments. The pcx breeding line presents highly diverse hypocotyl growth even in the early phenophase, such as normally growing plants and the ‘laying’ habit. On the other hand, tti plants only present their elongated slender stem trait in a more mature phase. In our experiment of reorientation, we used one-sided illumination, where each of the phenotypes sensed and reacted to light, and only the pcx plants exhibited a negative gravitropic response. It was also the result that the tti plants sensed gravity, but the weak structure of the hypocotyls made them incapable of following its direction. Since the pcx plants were the only ones with an ‘antigravitropic’ growth, we used them to evaluate the time course they needed to adapt and follow the gravity vector after reorientation. The pcx plants sensing gravity adapted similarly to controls and started bending after 120 min, but those which presented as ‘anti-gravitropic’ did not respond even after 420 min.

Postharvest fungal pathogens, such as Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria alternata and Fusarium culmorum, pose major challenges for pepper (Capsicum annuum) storage and shelf-life. To explore the basis of induced resistance, near isogenic lines (NILs) differing in pigmentation (green vs. purple fruits and their red ripe counterparts) were artificially inoculated and evaluated for disease severity by phenotyping and by qPCR, and metabolite composition by spectroscopy and by HPLC. Infection severity was strongly dependent on whether purple or green NILs were infected and on ripening stage: economically ripe fruits were most susceptible to B. cinerea, whereas biologically ripe fruits displayed higher infection rates with A. alternata. In the case of B. cinerea infection, detailed HPLC analysis revealed that chlorogenic acid and p-coumaric acid were identified as infection-responsive metabolites after analyzing the metabolite changes upon infection. Total anthocyanin content and delphinidin derivatives measured decreased upon infection; however, this effect was not significant in correlation with the infection severity, indicating that B. cinerea infection in low, moderate or severe amounts will lead to the degradation of these compounds. Overall, our findings indicate that anthocyanin accumulation alone did not confer resistance to B. cinerea in pepper, whereas specific hydroxycinnamic acids emerged as infection-responsive markers.

Oil beetles (genus Meloe, order Coleoptera) comprise over 150 species with 55 entries in GenBank to date. One of the first Meloe species was described by Linné, K. [1707–1771] M. proscarabaeus (black oil beetle) applying the early theory of Bauhin, C. [1560–1624] who suggested first the use of binomial nomenclature to describe plant and animal species. After Linné, further Meloe species were described, e.g., M. hungarus identified by Paula Schrank [1747–1835] 1776, working in city Selmecbánya, Hungarian Kingdom, Europe. Here we analyze sequences of DNA of mitogenomes (mtDNA), genes and proteins of Meloe species based on in silico data mining, sequence and cladogram analyses to reveal new phylogenetic and molecular relationships among and within Meloe species. A protein cladogram of NADH dehydrogenase subunit5 (mtDNA, 577 aa) of Meloe species revealed that M. proscarabaeus shows the closest similarity to M. poggii at the highest bootstrap (100) level. In the analysis of complete mtDNA genomes (16.154 DNA bp each) the oil beetle species of the three main genera of Meloe, Epicauta and Hycleus were discriminated sharply at high (95-100) bootstrap levels which result may provide a direct marker for molecular identification of oil beetles. In the analysis of nuclear wingless gene (wg) sequences (514 DNA bp each), and cladogram analysis the two species of M. proscarabaeus and Mylabris amorii showed distinct clade, which indicated multifunctional roles of wg genes in oil beetles. The survey of a biochemical marker revealed that not only oil beetles but plants, e.g., Butea frondosa (flame-of-the-forest) tropical tree (Fabaceae), contains cantharidin (C10H12O4; MW: 196.2 g/mol) and a related compound palasonin (i.e., demethylcantharidin; C9H10O4; MW: 182.17 g/mol) (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).