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Farnesoic acid O-methyl transferase (FAMeT) is the enzyme that catalyzes the formation of methyl farnesoate (MF) from farnesoic acid (FA) in the biosynthetic pathway of juvenile hormone (JH). This work reports the cloning, sequencing, and expression of FAMeT gene from the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris (MsFAMeT). The MsFAMeT in silico analysis showed that greatest sequence similarity is found in Apis mellifera and other insects, while relatively less similarity is shown in crustaceans. Evidence of alternative splicing of a 27 nucleotide (nt) microexon explains the presence of the detected isoforms, 1 and 2. The expression analysis of the two isoforms showed a marked difference when castes were compared, suggesting that they could be involved differently in the JH metabolism in M. scutellaris, providing new insights for the comprehension of female plasticity.

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Understanding genetics and the gene interactions involved in the expression of certain characteristics becomes a determining factor for better exploration of its use. The development of breeding programs that combine one or more desirable trait into a single cultivar is directly impacted by this lack of knowledge of the genetic bases involved. The objective of the present study was to estimate the genetic parameters involved in pigment expression and agronomic characteristics in lettuce. Parental evaluations of lettuce, P1 (green) and P2 (purple) parental generations, the segregating generations F1 and F2, and the backcrosses Bc1 and Bc2 originating from the UFU-Crespa199#1#1 x UFU-Albina#2 crossing were evaluated. The chlorophyll and anthocyanin contents, number of leaves and plant diameter were evaluated. The study was conducted by testing all generations and the estimates obtained by averages and variances. Indications of polygenic or oligogenic inheritance were verified by the characteristic number of leaves, plant diameter, and anthocyanin content. The complete and additive-dominant models satisfactorily explained the performance of the variables, except the anthocyanin content.

The aim of this study was to estimate genetic divergence and select BC 1 F 3 populations of dwarf tomato plant within the Santa Cruz segment by computational intelligence techniques. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse in the Vegetable Crop Experimental Station of the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU), Monte Carmelo, MG, Brazil. A randomized block experimental design was used with 17 treatments and four replications. The genetic material evaluated comprised thirteen dwarf tomato plant populations obtained by a backcross and two self-fertilizations, plus both parents (recurrent and donor), and two commercial check varieties. The traits evaluated were mean fruit weight (MFW), soluble solids content (SSC), fruit diameter (FD), fruit length (FL), fruit shape (FS), pulp thickness (PT), number of locules (NL), distance between internodes, and acylsugar, β-carotene, and lycopene content. The data were analyzed by means testing, and genetic divergence was measured using Mahalanobis generalized distance by the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) and through computational intelligence using Kohonen self-organizing maps (SOM). Genetic dissimilarity in relation to the donor parent could be confirmed through both methodologies. However, the SOM was able to detect differences and organize the similarities among the populations in a more consistent manner, resulting in a larger number of groups. In addition, the computational intelligence techniques allow the weight of each variable in formation of the groups to be ascertained. Among the BC 1 F 3 populations, UFU-SC#3 and UFU-SC#5 stood out for agronomic traits, and UFU-SC#10 and UFU-SC#11 stood out for quality parameters.