3rd Global Summit on Plant Science August 07-09, 2017 Rome, Italy

Biography:

Shuai Li is currently working as a junior researcher at the Estonian University of Life Sciences. His research focuses on the impact of abiotic stress such as ozone, heat stress on the emissions of volatile organic compound (VOC) from leaves and flowers

Abstract:

Glandular trichomes on leaves store and secrete high amounts of secondary metabolites and are thought to play an important role in plant defense against biotic and abiotic stress. However, little is known about the function of glandular trichomes with respect to oxidative stresses such as ozone stress. The aim of the present study was to characterize the morphology and density of trichomes in 15 species and to evaluate their antioxidant role against ozone stress. We investigated the structure and density of glandular trichomes and ozone-induced visible leaf damage and changes in physiological parameters such as net assimilation rate (An), stomatal conductance (gs), chlorophyll fluorescence and lipoxygenase pathway products (LOX products) emissions from leaves under ozone stress. We show that both peltate and capitate glandular trichomes play a critical role in reducing leaf ozone uptake. Species with low trichome density were more sensitive to ozone stress and more vulnerable to ozone damage compared with species with high trichome density, which are more ozone tolerant. These results demonstrate that glandular trichomes at the leaf surface constitute a major factor in reducing ozone toxicity stress and function as a chemical barrier which improves the ozone tolerance of plants.

Biography:

Lianfeng Zhu conducted researches on rice high yield production and physiology with emphasis on improving nutrient use efficiency, root function and identifying the morphological traits and physiological processes that limit the advance of rice yield potential in the irrigated ecosystem at CNRRI. His group have developed an aerated water irrigation method which has obtained a national invention patent and published papers. His current researches focus on improving the nutrient use efficiency and reducing the nitrogen fertilizer input in rice production. Under the support of National Natural Science Foundation of China and Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, He conducts experiments to study the regulation mechanism of rhizosphere oxygen on nitrogen transform and nitrogen metabolism of rice. Simultaneously, try to develop a high-yielding rice cultivation technique with reduced nitrogen input and improved nitrogen use efficiency based on the regulation of rhizosphere oxygen concentration.

Abstract:

Glandular trichomes on leaves store and secrete high amounts of secondary metabolites and are thought to play an important role in plant defense against biotic and abiotic stress. However, little is known about the function of glandular trichomes with respect to oxidative stresses such as ozone stress. The aim of the present study was to characterize the morphology and density of trichomes in 15 species and to evaluate their antioxidant role against ozone stress. We investigated the structure and density of glandular trichomes and ozone-induced visible leaf damage and changes in physiological parameters such as net assimilation rate (An), stomatal conductance (gs), chlorophyll fluorescence and lipoxygenase pathway products (LOX products) emissions from leaves under ozone stress. We show that both peltate and capitate glandular trichomes play a critical role in reducing leaf ozone uptake. Species with low trichome density were more sensitive to ozone stress and more vulnerable to ozone damage compared with species with high trichome density, which are more ozone tolerant. These results demonstrate that glandular trichomes at the leaf surface constitute a major factor in reducing ozone toxicity stress and function as a chemical barrier which improves the ozone tolerance of plants.

Biography:

Silit Lazare is a PhD student, exploring flower bulbs physiology and development. She has a long and extensive experience in growing geophytes and other ornamentals as an agronomist of commercial nurseries. Her scientific research is focusing on several aspects of plant physiology- growth and flowering control, meristems' morphogenesis, flower development, metabolism and more. Her novel theory regarding flowering pathways in Lilium longiflorum shakes the scientific knowledge and offers an improved agricultural practice to grow this crop.

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: It is generally accepted that Lilium longiflorum has an obligatory requirement for vernalization and that long day (LD) regime hastens flowering. However, the effect of bulb size and origin, with respect to axillary or apical meristem on flowering, as well as the interactions between these meristems are largely unknown.

Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: The aim of this study was to explore the effect of bulb size, vernalization and photoperiod on L. longiflorum flowering. To this end, we applied vernalization and photoperiod treatments on the different bulb sizes and used a system of constant ambient temperature of 25^oC, above vernalization spectrum, to avoid cold-dependent floral induction during plant growth.  Findings: Vernalization and LD hasten flowering in all bulbs. Large, non-vernalized bulbs invariably remained at a vegetative stage. However, small non-vernalized bulbs flowered under LD conditions. Metabolomic profiling revealed a significant effect of a metabolic pathway on the difference between large and small bulbs.

Conclusion & Significance: The results demonstrate that cold exposure is not an obligatory requisite for L. longiflorum flowering, and that an alternative flowering pathway can by-pass vernalization in small bulbs. We suggest that apical dominance interactions determine the distinct flowering pathways of the apical and the axillary meristems, and that biosynthesis of a specific metabolite is the mechanism of this phenomenon. These innovative findings in the field of geophyte floral induction represent valuable applicative knowledge for lily production.

Biography:

Zahra Sadat Shobbar is a lecturee in Department, Agriculture Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran,  Iran

Abstract:

Drought is one of the main constraints limiting plant production. Barley is an important crop in many developing countries, where it is often exposed to severe drought stress. Barley is also known as a proper model species for abiotic stress related studies.The current research sheds light on the role of stem fructan remobilization on yield maintenance of barley under terminal drought conditions, while current photosynthesis is very limited during grain filling stage.Morocco and Yousef as drought susceptible and tolerant cultivars of barley were grown under well watered conditions until anthesis; when the drought treatment was started by withholding water. Then, peduncle, penultimate and lower internodes were sampled from well-watered and drought-stressed plants at 7-days intervals.

Yousef had significantly higher stomatal conductance, relative water content, leaf temperature, osmotic adjustment and grain yield. Maximum accumulation and remobilization of reserves was found in penultimate followed by lower internodes and peduncle. Total carbohydrate, fructan, sucrose, glucose and fructose concentration was higher significantly in the penultimate of Yousef plants under both of drought and well-water conditions than Moroco genotype.

Drought stress increased the fructan accumulation and remobilization rate in the penultimate internode of Yousef. A strong correlation was observed between the relative expression of fructan biosynthesis genes (1-SST and 6-SFT) with the fructan content and also, expression of fructan exohydrolase (1-FEH) and sucrose transporter (SUT1) genes with fructan remobilization in the tolerant cultivar during grain filling under drought stress.

Based on the achieved results, enhanced fructan accumulation and its induced remobilization under drought condition can play an important role in yield stability of Yousef under stress and current photosynthesis limitations. The genetic variation among barley cultivars in terms of the accumulation and remobilization mechanisms of stem carbon reserves indicated the possibility of improvement in these traits in plant breeding programs.

Biography:

Since 1990 joining the Institute of Cotton Research of CAAS, he has been involved with studies related to cotton germplasm identification, innovation and biodiversity research, focusing on resistant on cotton germplasm, such as sanility- and draught-resistance. He is responsible for the coordination of identification and implementation of cotton germplasm identification center in China

Abstract:

Soil salinization has become a serious global problem affecting the agricultural development and the ecological environment. Salinity，as one of the most important abiotic stresses in the world, severely limits the production of crop. Saline-alkali land in our country is widely distributed with the character of multi types and serious salt-deposition. In order to carry out the utilization of saline-alkali land efficiently, it is necessary to develop the agriculture on the saline-alkali land. Cotton, as a pioneer crop in saline-alkali land, should be paid more efforts to conduct the mechanism research of salt-tolerance and to breed new tolerant varieties. Identification of salinity-tolerance plays a vital role on cotton breeding. The abiotic-tolerant identification methods used before, mainly based on morphological characters, were usually restricted for time-wasting and labor-costing, environment influence, and seasonal restrictions. A new set of preliminary methods system, called SSR multi-markers salinity-identification method, was initially established to identify salinity tolerance of cotton by the standardization of the whole process of seedling nursing, DNA extraction, PCR amplification, amplification products detecting, and marker-combination. Another 11 materials were used to testify this method, which showed the coincidence of 90.91% in consistence with the identification result of 0.4%NaCl identification method. This study showed that the multi-markers identification method was proved to be used to assist identify the salinity tolerance of cotton germplasm. Seven salt-tolerance related genes, H⁺-pyrophosphatase gene and S-adenosylmethionine synthetase gene and others, were cloned from the salt-tolerance material on Gossypium hirsutum, which were named GhVP and GhSAMS, respectively. The bioinformatics analysis and their transformed accessions were tested and identified

Biography:

Sachesh Silwal is doing masters in agriculture at CQUniversity Australia. He is investigating the effect of supplementary irrigation and rainfed system in dry and wet tropics of Queensland, Australia. He has long research experience of participatory plant breeding and on-farm agrobiodiversity management.

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: Rice is adapted to diverse environments such as in tropical lowlands in flooded conditions and in upland rainfed conditions in aerobic soils with little or no puddled water. Rainfed rice systems are becoming more relevant in the context of the seasonal unpredictability of rainfall and declining access to irrigation water for the rice industry in Australia.

Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Field experiments were conducted during the 2015 wet season at Alton Downs, central Queensland (dry tropics) and South Johnstone, north Queensland (wet tropics), to compare varietal performance in the drier and wetter tropics of Australia. The yield performance of varieties was evaluated and related to yield determining physiological, phenological and agronomic traits. At Alton Downs the rainfall was very low during the flowering and grain filling stages, which exposed the late flowering crop to terminal drought. In contrast, in the wet tropics of South Johnstone, the rainfall amount and distribution exceeded well above the crop evapotranspiration demand during the experiment. Findings: The results suggest that the earlier varieties such as AAT 4 and AAT 6 were higher yielders under Alton Downs conditions, but the late flowering and least yielding varieties under Alton Downs conditions, such as AAT 15 and AAT 18, were among the highest yielders in South Johnstone, with their yields greater by 6–20 fold that of Alton Downs. The greater yield of these later varieties at South Johnstone was due to the higher effective tiller number per plant, heavier 1000 grain weight, and greater harvest index, and higher panicle fertility and higher number of grains per panicle. Additionally, the enhanced leaf photosynthetic rate and WUE were coupled with increased flag leaf area, which had a significant contribution to yield under favourable soil moisture conditions in the wet tropical environment of South Johnstone.

Biography:

Taoufik Ksiksi is an Associate Professor (Plant Ecology) working at the UAE University. He deals with the impact of environmental factors/stresses on eco-physiological parameters of desert plants. Karthishwaran Kandhan is Post-Doctoral fellow at the UAEU. His expertise relates to the assessment of phytochemicals on plants species

Abstract:

Convolvulus virgatus Boiss (Family: Convolvulaceae) are annual or perennial herbaceous vines, bines and woody shrubs, growing in the United Arab Emirates. The present study aims to explore the phytochemical screening, proximate analysis, estimate of total phenolics, flavonoids and to evaluate antioxidant potential of C. virgatus aerial parts. Further, the plant extract was tested for the free radical scavenging activity such as 2, 2-azinobis- (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS+) radical decolorization, DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl, 2-picryl hydrazyl), hydroxyl and nitric oxide radical. The dried powdered leaves of C. virgatus (500 g) were extracted with chloroform and then fractionated into ethyl acetate and methanol. Folin Ciocalteu reagent and aluminium chloride colorimetric methods were used to estimate total phenolic and  avonoid content of extracts. ABTS+ (2, 2-azinobis- (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical decolorization, DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl, 2-picryl hydrazyl), hydroxyl and superoxide anion radical were used to determine the free radical scavenging activity. The obtained results from the phytochemical analyses of chloroform extract showed presence of major classes of  phytochemicals such as flavonoids, tannins, carbohydrates, alkaloids, proteins, steroids, terpenoids, saponin, phenols and phlobatannins. Additionally, the methanol fraction was found to contain the highest phenolic content and flavonoids. In vitro free radical scavenging activities of all the extracts were significant and comparable with the standard ascorbic acid. The results revealed positive linear correlations between these phytochemicals and the free radical scavenging activities. In short, our findings provide evidence that the different extract possess a potential antioxidants properties, which justifies its uses in folkloric medicine. The results reported here also show that the aerial parts of C. virgatus are a rich source of phenolic compounds that can play an important role in preventing the progression of a variety of illnesses.

Biography:

Youlu Yuan has been involved with studies related to cotton hybrid vigor and molecular marker assisted selection about fiber quality, focus on cotton variety molecular design, especially on excellent fiber quality variety development. Since 2013 worked as a Director of Bio-technology Research Department and PI of cotton variety molecular design unit.  

Abstract:

Cotton (Gossypiumhirsutum L.) is widely grown in the world as it can provide renewable natural fiber resources for the global textile industry and human’s life. Technological developments in the textile industry and improvements in human living standards have increased the requirement for supplies and better quality cotton. Upland cotton 0-153 is an elite cultivar harboring strong fiber strength genes. To conduct quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for fiber quality in 0-153, we developed a population of 196 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from a cross between 0-153 and sGK9708. Three method, new SSR marker, cotton 63K chips and specific locus amplified fragment sequencing were used to construct a high-density genetic map with the RIL population. Map constructed by SSR markers harbored 997 markers with a total genetic distance of 4,110 cM with an average distance of 5.2 cM between adjacent markers. A total of 165 QTLs of fiber quality traits were identified with this map and 47 of them was stable ones which could be detected in at least three environments.  a high-density genetic map was constructed by combining the three kinds of markers. This map harbored 8295 markers, spanned a total distance of 5056.96 cM and could cover the genome of upland cotton. The average distance between adjusts markers was 0.86cM. Based on the construction of the high density map, the genetic regulation and the relation of the fiber quality traits  and the yield traits  could be explained. Further study such as identifying the functioning genes, pyramiding breeding, could be facilitated. These could make a contribution to improving the yield and the fiber quality at the same time.

Biography:

Rui Zong Jia is a professor in Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, China Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, 

Abstract:

Shortage of mobility, plant must endure a variety of biotic stress beside abiotic stress such as pathogens infection, insects bites etc. Plants possess two distinct, but complementary defense mechanisms against pathogen attack (1). The first mechanism is passive, consisting of preformed barriers such as the cuticle and cell walls. The second defense mechanism, also known as an active defense response, involves coordination of diverse genetic and physiological reactions, analogous to a counterattack (2), of which systemic defense including: systemic acquired resistance (SAR), induced systemic resistance (ISR), and wound induced resistance (WIR) (3). Analogous to innate immune system of animal, plant processes SAR response following exposure to a pathogen. Three small molecular: jasmonate acid (JA), salicylate acid (SA), and ethylene (ET) play key roles in the regulation of signaling network. A greater understanding of the JA, SA, and ET signaling pathway cross talk provide insight of mechanism of plant-pathogen interaction.

Salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) are known to play key roles in plants in the regulation of signaling pathways that are involved in induced defense response against biotrophic- /necrotrophic- pathogens and insect herbivores. Investigation via proteomic study on two papaya cultivar ‘Kamiya’ (resistance), ‘SunUp’(susceptible) against to biotrophic pathogen Phytophthroa palmivora revealed that monooxygenase (MON) and lipoxygenease (LOX) related to JA and SA biosynthesis protein upregulated in ‘Kamiya’, these gene expressed comfirmed with qPCR along with PR1 and PDF genes, the JA and SA pathway marker genes respectively. The key regulator of systemic acquired resistance (SAR), non-expresser of pathogenesesis-related gene 1 (NPR1), were overexpressed into papaya. By trigging with P. palmivora, a functional analog of SA, benzo (1, 2, 3) thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-metholy ester (BTH), and an elicitor from cell wall of Phytophthora, Pep-13 polypeptides, our results confirmed that NPR1 gene play a synergistic fashion between the SA- and JA- signaling pathway. A modified defense signaling pathway was proposed as that regulatory interaction of SA- and JA- pathway were complementary, but not additive nor anatogentic in papaya against to P. palmivora.