Identification of Theobroma cacao genes differentially expressed during Phytophthora megakarya infection

Deciphering the Theobroma cacao self-incompatibility system: from genomics to diagnostic markers for self-compatibility

“…Ovaries were harvested at various time intervals after SC and SI pollinations (0 h; 2-5-8 h; 12-24 h, and 48-72 h) and conserved at –20 °C in RNA later solution (Sigma). Isolation of total RNA and cDNA synthesis were conducted according to Legavre et al (2015) .…”

“…qPCR was carried on 12 candidate genes together with two reference genes that were used for normalization, Tc04_g000050 (Isocitrate dehydrogenase) and Tc08_g003640 (Tubulin beta-6 chain), as previously described ( Pinheiro et al , 2011 ). Primers were designed using the Primer3 program ( http://bioinfo.ut.ee/primer3-0.4.0/ ) and qPCR was performed as described in Legavre et al (2015) (see Supplementary Table S2 ). The absence of non-specific products was verified by a melting-curve analysis.…”

Cacao biotechnology: current status and future prospects

“…Also, comprehensive genomewide analysis of pathogenesis‐related (PR) gene family in the two published T. cacao genomes has identified a set of candidate genes that are likely to be involved in mediating defence responses against major pathogens such as Phytophthora palmivora (Maora et al ., ) and Colletotrichum theobromicola (Fister et al ., ). Arrays constructed from subtractive libraries have also been used in an investigation of molecular responses to cocoa black pod infection (Legavre et al ., ). Such findings may contribute to a better understanding of the genetics and genomics of T. cacao .…”

“…This rapid discovery of molecular markers also permits the efficient identification and study, in cacao, of the genetic basis of QTL for many agronomic traits such as bean traits and the number of ovules per ovary (Clement et al ., ), butter content and its hardness in cocoa beans (Araújo et al ., ), diseases resistance for Ceratocystis wilt (Santos et al ., ), resistance for Phytophthora species (Akaza et al ., ; Clement et al ., ; Efombagn et al ., ; Flament et al ., ; Lanaud et al ., ; Legavre et al ., ; Motilal et al ., ; Risterucci et al ., ), resistance for WBD (Brown et al ., ; Faleiro et al ., ; Motilal et al ., ; Queiroz et al ., ; Royaert et al ., ), number of filled seeds (Motilal et al ., ), yield (Clement et al ., ; Crouzillat et al ., ) and self‐compatibility/incompatibility (Royaert et al ., ; da Silva et al ., ). Furthermore, meta‐analysis on QTL related to disease resistance in cacao has been performed by Lanaud et al .…”

Residual Effects of Moisture Stressed Seedlings in the Nursery on Field Performance of Cacao Genotypes

“…Water account for large proportion of living weight of plants, is essential for many physiological functions and it is most critical at certain periods in the life of cacao. Legavre et al (2006) and Daymond et al (2004) asserted that varietal improvement for tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress factors has been identified as a priority of research programs of cocoa producing countries.…”