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The genetic diversity among 48 persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) accessions, indigenous in Korea and introduced from Japan and China, was evaluated by using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. From 20 SSR primer sets, a total of 114 polymorphic markers were detected among 12 pollination-constant non-astringent (PCNA), 13 pollination-variant non-astringent (PVNA), 15 pollination-variant astringent (PVA), and 8 pollination-constant astringent (PCA) cultivars. Analysis of pair-wise genetic similarity coefficient (Nei-Li) and unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averaging (UPGMA) clustering revealed two main clusters and four subclusters for cluster I. The subclustering pattern was in accordance with the classification of persimmon cultivars based on the nature of astringency loss. Phenetic relationships among the subclusters showed a closer relatedness of the PCNA group with the PVNA group, and the PVA with the PCA group. Genetic similarity co-efficiency was 0.499 on average and the highest (0.954) similarity was observed between 'Cheongdo-Bansi' and 'Haman-Bansi'. The similarity was lowest (0.192) between 'Damopan'and 'Atago'. Identification of each cultivar with the execption of 'Cheongdo-Bansi' and 'Gyeongsan-Bansi' was possible based on the SSR fingerprints, suggesting that these SSR markers are a useful tool for protecting intellectual property on newly developed cultivars.

How functional genetics research can be applied to improving crop yields is a timely challenge. One of the most direct methods is to produce larger inflorescences with higher productivity, which should be accompanied by a balance between stem cell proliferation and lateral organ initiation in meristems. Unbalanced proliferation of stem cells causes the fasciated inflorescences, which reflect the abnormal proliferation of meristems, derived from the Latin word ‘fascis’, meaning ‘bundle’. Maize, a model system for grain crops, has shown tremendous yield improvements through the mysterious transformation of the female inflorescence during domestication. In this review, we focus on maize inflorescence architecture and highlight the patterns of fasciation, including recent progress.

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