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Chitinases, a subgroup of pathogenesis-related proteins, are responsible for catalyzing the hydrolysis of chitin. Accumulating reports indicate that chitinases play a key role in plant defense against chitin-containing pathogens and are therefore good targets for defense response studies. Here, we undertook an integrated bioinformatic and expression analysis of the cucumber chitinases gene family to identify its role in defense against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum. A total of 28 putative chitinase genes were identified in the cucumber genome and classified into five classes based on their conserved catalytic and binding domains. The expansion of the chitinase gene family was due mainly to tandem duplication events. The expression pattern of chitinase genes was organ-specific and 14 genes were differentially expressed in response to F. oxysporum challenge of fusarium wilt-susceptible and resistant lines. Furthermore, a class I chitinase, CsChi23, was constitutively expressed at high levels in the resistant line and may play a crucial role in building a basal defense and activating a rapid immune response against F. oxysporum. Whole-genome re-sequencing of both lines provided clues for the diverse expression patterns observed. Collectively, these results provide useful genetic resource and offer insights into the role of chitinases in cucumber-F. oxysporum interaction.

Image analysis was used to quantify size of endospermic starch granules in 39 species of Hordeum. A set of 279 samples, each with ca. 25 replicates, representing most species of the genus was analyzed by various multivariate techniques. Two groups can be distinguished. One group consisting of 6 species (H. vulgare, H. spontaneum, H. bulbosum, H. glaucum, H. murinum, and H. leporinum) is characterized by possessing granules greater than 35 μm in diameter and a bimodal distribution of all the sizes. The second group, consisting of the remaining 33 species, had granules less than 35 μm in diameter, unimodally size distributed. Univariate statistics for each species are summarized in box plots and bar diagrams. Some species can be uniquely identified. The usefulness of starch in Hordeum systematics is discussed.

The status of the taxa Elymus dahuricus Turcz. ex Griseb., E. excelsus Turcz. ex Griseb., E. woroschilowii Probat. and E. tangutorum (Nevski) Hand.-Mazz., all of which are sometimes treated as members of E. dahuricus s.l. or as constituting the E. dahuricus complex, has been investigated using morphological, biochemical (SDS-PAGE of endosperm proteins) and molecular (DNA-AFLP) variation characteristics. Populations include accessions from Siberia, Far East (Russia), Tien-Shan (Kirghizstan), and Tibet and Sichuan Provinces (China). Variation in the morphological characteristics and endosperm proteins patterns have been found in all populations of the complex. DNA variation was very low within populations but was different among populations; this was attributed to genetic drift. Seed fertility of artificial hybrids and F2-F3 progenies in 38 combinations was analyzed. All biotypes studied form a common recombination genepool (RGP). The reproductive compatibility of hybrid combinations decreases with increased geographical separation of the parents. Differences in protein patterns and in genetic variation drawn from DNA-AFLPs and phenotypical segregation in F2 on series of diagnostic characters does not support existing taxonomic treatments of the E. dahuricus complex in Southern Russia, and Central-Asian area. The E. dahuricus complex seems to be a polymorphic species having a wide geographical range and wide genetic variation. The different species need probably be relegated to infraspecific rank. We have refrained from making the necessary combinations pending examination of additional specimens, including specimens of taxa not included in this study and the type specimens of all taxa involved.