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Forests
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Advances in Hazelnut Germplasm and Genetic Improvement
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Advances in Hazelnut Germplasm and Genetic Improvement

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Genetics and Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 March 2024) | Viewed by 11036

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Qinghua Ma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Hazelnut Engineering and Technical Research Center of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China
Interests: germplasm investigation; breeding programs; genotyping and molecular makers; cultivar selection; precision agriculture; climatic adaptation
Dr. Valerio Cristofori

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences, University of Tuscia, Via San Camillo de’ Lellis SNC, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Interests: temperate fruit trees and nut crops; innovation in orchard management; traditional and innovative fruit plant propagation systems; precision agriculture applications on nut crops
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Lisong Liang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Hazelnut Engineering and Technical Research Center of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China
Interests: cultivar selection; nutritional evaluation; tissue culture; climatic adaptation
Dr. Tiantian Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Hazelnut Engineering and Technical Research Center of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China
Interests: genetic diversity; molecular makers; genome/transcriptome sequencing; microorganism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hazelnut (Corylus spp.) is one of the most important nut crops, having high economic and nutritional value. The Corylus genus is widely distributed across temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with species found in China, Japan, Korea, India, northern Iran, Turkey, the Caucuses, Europe, and North America. To date, 13 species are commonly recognized by taxonomists around the world. The most relevant species in the genus Corylus are European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) and its interspecific hybrids, including Ping’ou hybrid hazelnut (C. heterophylla Fisch. × C. avellana L.). This species is diploid, monoecious, wind-pollinated, and has dichogamous and sporophytic incompatibility, bearing edible nuts. Its nuts are widely used in the chocolate, confectionery, and baking industries; moreover, the plant plays relevant ecological functions.

Submissions of original research and review articles from breeders, horticulturists, and researchers are welcome to this Special Issue. Topics of interest include:

  • Advances in germplasm investigation, genetic diversity, and phylogenetic evolution;
  • Advances in genome/transcriptome sequencing and biotechnology for traits of interest;
  • Advances in hazelnut breeding programs and methods and newly released cultivars;
  • Advances in genotyping and development of markers for cultivars and genetic population;
  • Cultivar phenotyping for potential expansion of hazelnut production to new suitable areas;
  • Advances in eco-physiological plant behavior and nutritional value of hazelnuts.

Dr. Qinghua Ma
Dr. Valerio Cristofori
Dr. Lisong Liang
Dr. Tiantian Zhao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • germplasm investigation
  • genetic diversity and phylogenetic evolution
  • genome/transcriptome sequencing and biotechnology
  • breeding programs
  • genotyping and molecular makers
  • cultivar selection
  • nutritional evaluation
  • precision agriculture
  • climatic adaptation

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3988 KiB  
Article
Phenology, Yield and Nut Traits Evaluation of Twelve European Hazelnut Cultivars Grown in Central Italy
by Alberto Pacchiarelli, Michela Lupo, Andrea Ferrucci, Francesco Giovanelli, Simone Priori, Aniello Luca Pica, Cristian Silvestri and Valerio Cristofori
Forests 2024, 15(5), 833; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15050833 - 10 May 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1932
Abstract
European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cultivation has grown worldwide in recent years, even though the world’s production is still fulfilled by a few dozen cultivars well adapted to the local environments of their selection. After Turkey, Italy is the second largest producer [...] Read more.
European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cultivation has grown worldwide in recent years, even though the world’s production is still fulfilled by a few dozen cultivars well adapted to the local environments of their selection. After Turkey, Italy is the second largest producer of hazelnuts, and the province of Viterbo, in central Italy, is recognized as one of the most suitable districts for hazelnut cultivation. The production in this area relies almost entirely on local cultivar ‘Tonda Gentile Romana’, whereas cultivar ‘Nocchione’ is used as the main pollinizer. More recently, cultivar ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ has been introduced in new local plantations. Cultivation of many cultivars in different areas is of fundamental importance to test their adaptability to different environmental conditions, a need currently accentuated by ongoing climate change. With this aim, a European hazelnut collection field was established in 2000 in Caprarola municipality (Viterbo province), where plants of twelve hazelnut cultivars were observed over four growing seasons for their phenological, agronomic and nut traits. The cultivars studied, namely ‘Barcelona’, ‘Camponica’, ‘Ennis’, ‘Merveille de Bollwiller’, ‘Negret’, ‘Nocchione’, ‘Riccia di Talanico’, ‘San Giovanni’, ‘Tombul’, ‘Tonda di Giffoni’, ‘Tonda Gentile’ and ‘Tonda Gentile Romana’, showed a high diversity in their phenological behaviour, yield efficiency and nut and kernel traits. Cultivars ‘Negret’, ‘Tombul’ and ‘Tonda Gentile’, with poor yields over the years of research, do not seem suitable to be cultivated as main cultivars in the studied environment, contrary to ‘Camponica’ and ‘San Giovanni’, which produced abundantly, reaching a total of almost 30 and 25 kg plant—1 of in–shell hazelnuts, respectively. Cultivars ‘Tonda Gentile Romana’ and ‘Nocchione’ confirmed their yield consistency, whereas ‘Ennis’, ‘Barcelona’ and ‘Tombul’ seem suitable to be introduced as pollinizers thanks to their male blooming overlapping with the female blooming of the main cultivar ‘Tonda Gentile Romana’. Cultivar ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ did not perform well in the studied environment, despite being recognized as one of the highest-yield cultivars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hazelnut Germplasm and Genetic Improvement)
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17 pages, 3895 KiB  
Article
ChaWRKY40 Enhances Drought Tolerance of ‘Dawei’ Hazelnuts by Positively Regulating Proline Synthesis
by Pengfei Zhang, Ruiqiang Chao, Liping Qiu, Wenjing Ge, Jinjun Liang and Pengfei Wen
Forests 2024, 15(3), 407; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15030407 - 21 Feb 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1348
Abstract
Hazelnuts are among the most important nuts worldwide. Drought has severely restricted the development of the hazelnut industry in the wake of global warming and lack of water resources. Δ-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid synthase (P5CS) is closely related to drought stress as the rate-limiting enzyme [...] Read more.
Hazelnuts are among the most important nuts worldwide. Drought has severely restricted the development of the hazelnut industry in the wake of global warming and lack of water resources. Δ-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid synthase (P5CS) is closely related to drought stress as the rate-limiting enzyme of proline synthesis. WRKY40 had been proven to be an important transcription factor regulating drought tolerance in several plants. In this study, the hybrid hazelnut ‘Dawei’ exhibiting drought tolerance was used as the test material. Tests for simulated drought stress and ChaWRKY40 overexpression, and the yeast one-hybrid assay were performed. The results showed that the relative water content of leaves gradually decreased, but the proline content, electrolyte leakage, and expression of ChaWRKY40 and ChaP5CS increased with increasing PEG-6000 concentration in the leaves. A transient ChaWRKY40 overexpression trial indicated that overexpression of ChaWRKY40 improved the proline content and the transcription level of ChaP5CS. The Y1H experiment suggested that ChaWRKY40 directly binds to the W-box-acting element (W-box) on the promoter of ChaP5CS. In conclusion, ChaWRKY40 may increase the proline content by positively regulating the expression of the ChaP5CS gene, thereby improving the drought resistance of hazelnuts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hazelnut Germplasm and Genetic Improvement)
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13 pages, 2330 KiB  
Article
Genetic Analysis of the Cultivars of Ping’ou Hybrid Hazelnut (C. heterophylla Fisch. × C. avellana L.) in China Based on SSR Markers
by Zhen Yang, Tiantian Zhao, Lisong Liang, Lei Jiang, Lujun Wang, Sihao Hou and Qinghua Ma
Forests 2023, 14(7), 1405; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14071405 - 10 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1346
Abstract
Ping’ou hybrid hazelnut is one of the most profitable tree nuts in China, but economically important cultivars must first be genetically validated to meet industrial demand. Traditional approaches used for cultivar identification are mainly trait-based and unreliable. Previous approaches at the DNA level, [...] Read more.
Ping’ou hybrid hazelnut is one of the most profitable tree nuts in China, but economically important cultivars must first be genetically validated to meet industrial demand. Traditional approaches used for cultivar identification are mainly trait-based and unreliable. Previous approaches at the DNA level, focusing on the identification of species or/and varieties that originated in China, were not used widely in hybrid hazelnut because there was no proper standard sample. In this research, a multiplexed fingerprinting test was conducted to allow for hazelnut cultivar identification using SSR markers derived from European hazelnut. Twenty-seven SSR markers were used to fingerprint 57 genetically unique Ping’ou hybrid hazelnut and related wild species. All markers showed a high level of polymorphism, as indicated by mean values for observed heterozygosity (Ho = 0.84), expected heterozygosity (He = 0.80), and polymorphism information content (PIC = 0.78). A total of 301 alleles were detected, and the number of effective alleles varied from 6 for KG817 and GB818 to 18 for B654, with an average of 11.2 alleles per locus. Moreover, the Shannon’s information index (I) ranged from 1.293 for BR215 to 2.385 for B654, with an average of 1.908. The neighbor-joining tree, principal coordinate analysis, and Bayesian analysis revealed clear separation between hybrid cultivars and wild forms (Cluster/group I), as well as the differentiation within hybrid genotypes (Clusters/groups II and III). Additionally, the NJ dendrogram demonstrated a further split within Clusters/group III (III a and III b). Altogether, with the comparable SSR information of the European hazelnut cultivar ‘Barcelona’, the newly developed marker sets can assist in the germplasm identification of hazelnut cultivars and reproductive materials. Importantly, these combined SSR loci can be applied to characterize the genetic relationships and population structures among wild genotypes and hybrid cultivars, which will then provide information to guide hazelnut breeding based on their genetic background. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hazelnut Germplasm and Genetic Improvement)
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11 pages, 2962 KiB  
Article
Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Corylus yunnanensis (Franch.) A. Camus Using Microsatellite Markers in Sichuan Province
by Zeliang Wang, Yi Lin, Xiongcai Gou, Jincheng Du and Maolin Wang
Forests 2023, 14(5), 932; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14050932 - 1 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1625
Abstract
Corylus yunnanensis (Franch.) A. Camus is a deciduous shrub, native to the Hengduan Mountain of Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, and is an economically and ecologically important woody crop species. In the present study, one hundred and fifty trees sampled from ten populations of C. yunnanensis in [...] Read more.
Corylus yunnanensis (Franch.) A. Camus is a deciduous shrub, native to the Hengduan Mountain of Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, and is an economically and ecologically important woody crop species. In the present study, one hundred and fifty trees sampled from ten populations of C. yunnanensis in Sichuan Province were investigated to assess the population genetic variation using nine SSR markers. The results revealed that C. yunnanensis has an average value of 12.111 alleles, 3.376 effective alleles, an expected heterozygosity of 0.648, and an observed heterozygosity of 0.630, presenting a relatively high level of genetic diversity. The C. yunnanensis populations in Maoxian and Wenchuan of Aba Prefecture expressed the highest value of genetic diversity, whereas the Hanyuan and Muli populations showed the lowest. Moreover, the genetic differentiation of ten C. yunnanensis populations averaged to 0.106. Correspondingly, AMOVA revealed that 87% of the total variance was accounted for the variation within populations, and only 13% was among the populations. Both UPGMA and Bayesian STRUCTURE clustering suggested that the ten C. yunnanensis populations could fall into three clusters: the Aba Prefecture population, the Ya’an population, and the population of Ganzi and Liangshan Prefecture, indicating a significant geographic distribution, which was also confirmed by the Mantel test. Our study could provide a better understanding of population genetic diversity, and serve valuable information for the genetic improvement of C. yunnanensis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hazelnut Germplasm and Genetic Improvement)
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14 pages, 3548 KiB  
Article
Importance of Cell Wall Permeability and Cell Wall Degrading Enzymes during Infection of Botrytis cinerea in Hazelnut
by Jun Sun, Xuemei Zhang, Jinli Zheng, Guangping Liu and Lijing Chen
Forests 2023, 14(3), 565; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14030565 - 13 Mar 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2435
Abstract
The Botrytis bunch mold, Botrytis cinerea pathogen is a necrotrophic ascomycete that infects hundreds of plant species, including hazelnut. B. cinerea produces toxins that induce cell wall degrading enzymes. In the current research work, we used eight hazelnut varieties and recorded their resistance [...] Read more.
The Botrytis bunch mold, Botrytis cinerea pathogen is a necrotrophic ascomycete that infects hundreds of plant species, including hazelnut. B. cinerea produces toxins that induce cell wall degrading enzymes. In the current research work, we used eight hazelnut varieties and recorded their resistance levels in response to B. cinerea infection. Results showed that different varieties respond differently to B. cinerea infection. Disease index analysis revealed the resistance level of eight hazelnut varieties in the order of DW > OZ > L3 > PZ > XD1 > YZ > L1 > QX. Moreover, cell membrane permeability as well as the activities of cell wall degrading enzymes were measured. The increased level of cell wall degrading enzymes facilitates the fungal pathogens’ ability to colonize plants and cause infection. According to the results obtained through enzyme analysis, the hazelnut varieties L1 and QX, which were proved to be highly susceptible against B. cinerea, had the highest cell wall degrading enzyme production. DW and OZ, which were revealed to be resistant varieties through disease index data, also showed relatively lower activity of degrading enzymes as compared to other varieties. Our comparison analysis between the disease index and enzyme production confirms that disease occurrence and plant susceptibility strongly depend upon cell wall permeability. Our enzyme activity results validated the resistance order revealed by disease index assessment results (DW > OZ > L3 > PZ > XD1 > YZ > L1 > QX), and varieties DW and OZ were found to be the most resistant, while QX and L1 were found to be the most susceptible varieties against B. cinerea infection. Our study lays the foundation to further explore other factors involved in grey mold resistance in hazelnut. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hazelnut Germplasm and Genetic Improvement)
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16 pages, 5989 KiB  
Article
Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Molecular Responses in Two Contrasting Hazelnut Varieties against Botrytis cinerea Infection
by Jun Sun, Yue Zhang, Zeyang Zheng, Jiachen Hao and Lijing Chen
Forests 2023, 14(3), 493; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14030493 - 2 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1440
Abstract
Botrytis cinerea, a pathogenic fungus that causes necrosis in plants, is one of the most destructive pathogens of hazelnuts. This fungus is responsible for causing Husk Brown Rot, a significant threat to hazelnut production. The plant’s defense mechanism against this pathogen, as [...] Read more.
Botrytis cinerea, a pathogenic fungus that causes necrosis in plants, is one of the most destructive pathogens of hazelnuts. This fungus is responsible for causing Husk Brown Rot, a significant threat to hazelnut production. The plant’s defense mechanism against this pathogen, as well as other pathogens, is a complex biological process that involves changes at molecular, biochemical, and physiological levels. To better understand the molecular responses of hazelnut plants to B. cinerea infection, we conducted a comparative transcriptome profiling study between a B. cinerea-resistant Ping’ou hybrid hazelnut variety (Dawei; DW) and a susceptible variety (Qiuxiang; QX). Our study focused on the transcriptome profiles of DW and QX plants after three days of B. cinerea infection. The results of our study showed moderate changes in the defense strategies of both DW and QX plants in response to B. cinerea infection. Specifically, we observed that the expression of 14 disease-resistant genes was significantly different between DW and QX. Our comparative analysis revealed that DW had a higher number and expression of immunity-related differentially expressed genes compared to QX, which indicates that these genes play a crucial role in inducing innate resistance in DW plants against B. cinerea infection. This study highlights that plant resistance to pathogens like B. cinerea is a complex process that is controlled by multiple genes and biological pathways, each playing a specific role. Our findings provide new insights into the development of hazelnut varieties that are resistant to B. cinerea infection. By using the candidate genes identified in this study, it may be possible to enhance the resistance of hazelnut plants to B. cinerea and reduce the impact of Husk Brown Rot on hazelnut production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hazelnut Germplasm and Genetic Improvement)
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