Tuber aestivum is becoming an important commodity of great economical value in some European countries. At the same time, it is a highly protected organism in other countries, where it needs careful treatment. A reliable method of detection in roots and soil is thus needed for assessment of geographic distribution, ecological studies and inoculation efficiency testing in man-made experiments. A PCR-based method of detection of T. aestivum using specific primers was therefore developed. A pair of PCR primers Tu1sekvF/Tu2sekvR selective for T. aestivum and some genotypes of Tuber mesentericum was designed on the basis of the known internal transcribed spacer T. aestivum sequences. TaiI restriction cleavage was then used to distinguish the two species. The selectivity of the designed primer pair was evaluated using DNA extracted from specimens of a further 13 Tuber spp. Subsequently, the selectivity and robustness to false-positive results with nontarget DNA of the designed primers was compared with two other primer pairs (UncI/UncII and BTAE-F/BTAEMB-R). The occurrence of T. aestivum in soil and ectomycorrhizae collected in its native habitat has been successfully detected using the designed primers and nested PCR. The method is reliable and thus suitable for detection of T. aestivum in the field.

The publication aims to present some knowledge about the less-known but at the same time very scarce bituminous rock alginite with comprehensive practical use in the form of a brief overview. Alginite is an organic-bituminous rock that was formed about six million years ago from dead fossil algae Botryococcus braunii Kütz and diatoms in the area of today's Pannonian Basin. In Europe, alginite deposits have been discovered in Hungary, Austria and Slovakia in Pinciná village. Alginite mining is mostly used in Hungary in the Gerce area. Alginite is grey to dark grey, in the wet state dark laminated, clayey with the form of disintegrating clay. Alginite has very valuable physical, mechanical and chemical properties. It is a natural bituminous rock with a favourable content of basic nutrients (P, K, Ca, Mg and S) for plants except for nitrogen content. Alginite contains a large number of microelements, which increase the agrochemical possibilities of its use. It can be applied in its natural form without chemical treatment. It is an ecological raw material that improves the soil and does not negatively affec the environment. Alginite has become the subject of research in many workplaces. The overview presents the basic physical, mechanical and chemical properties of alginite and selected knowledge and research results that have enabled the practical use of alginite in natural or technologically modified form in agriculture in the formation of growth, development and crop formation and quality of seeds and fruits of cultivated crops, forestry, remediation and improvement of soil and water properties, decomposition of herbicides, stabilization of beneficial microorganisms in animal organisms and other areas.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of 19 - 24 nucleotide long non-coding RNAs derived from hairpin precursors, regulating various biological, metabolic and developmental processes at the post-transcriptional level. Many of the known miRNAs are evolutionary conserved across diverse plant species and function in the regulatory control of fundamentally important biological processes. It is known that exogenous plant miRNAs specifically target approximately 30% of protein-coding genes in mammals. The research was focused to analyze the occurrence of selected families of miRNAs (miR156, miR168 and miR171) in less used species but nutritionally important plant food resources (flax and medlar) and medicinal plant (milk thistle). The analyses were done by two individual approaches, by (a) miRNA-based molecular markers - as a novel type of functional markers and (b) qualitative Real-Time PCR. The expression pattern of selected miRNAs was analyzed depending on various plant tissues and developmental stages. Results have confirmed the significance and reliability of novel type of markers based on miRNA molecules as well as the species-specific and tissues-specific expression patterns of plants miRNAs. Significant polymorphism profile of miR156b was detected in various flax tissues of genotypes varying in the content of alpha-linolenic acid. Conclusions indicate that the variable behavior of the miRNA molecules, depending on various factors, may reflect the variability of the gene expression regulation of the human genome.  The exploitation of the background of miRNA functioning within different species and plant tissues will help us to understand the molecular machinery as well as the regulatory mechanisms involved in the expression of miRNAs in plants and consequently in human genome.

A study of summer truffle genetic resources, their description and evaluation of economically important traits in Slovak natural truffiéres started since 2005. Draft of national descriptor list has been developed to manage truffle genetic resources collected in the information system "Tuber Aestivum/ Uncinatum Phenotype Data" (TAUPD). Revision was performed in TAUPD to increase effectiveness of truffle breeding process.

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