Polyploidy means having more than two basic sets of chromosomes. Polyploid plants may be artificially obtained through chemical, physical and biological (2n gametes) methods. This approach allows an increased gene scope and expression, thus resulting in phenotypic changes such as yield and product quality. Nonetheless, breeding new cultivars through induced polyploidy should overcome deleterious effects that are partly contributed by genome and epigenome instability after polyploidization. Furthermore, shortening the time required from early chromosome set doubling to the final selection of high yielding superior polyploids is a must. Despite these hurdles, plant breeders have successfully obtained polyploid bred-germplasm in broad range of forages after optimizing methods, concentration and time, particularly when using colchicine. These experimental polyploids are a valuable tool for understanding gene expression, which seems to be driven by dosage dependent gene expression, altered gene regulation and epigenetic changes. Isozymes and DNA-based markers facilitated the identification of rare alleles for particular loci when compared with diploids, and also explained their heterozygosity, phenotypic plasticity and adaptability to diverse environments. Experimentally induced polyploid germplasm could enhance fresh herbage yield and quality, e.g. leaf protein content, leaf total soluble solids, water soluble carbohydrates and sucrose content. Offspring of experimentally obtained hybrids should undergo selection for several generations to improve their performance and stability.

Polyploid seeds production is laborious, complicated, and costly work. Tetraploid and triploid plants produce a fewer number of seeds/fruit, and triploid embryos are fairly weak, covered with a more hardened seed coat as compared to diploid seeds. Here we investigated the interactive effect of new grafting technique of polyploid watermelon scion onto rootstock on plants' survival rate, biochemical, and hormones contents. In this study, three different branches, apical meristem (AM), branch with 1 node (1N), and 2 nodes (2N) from di, Tri, and tetraploid watermelon plants, were used as scion and grafted onto squash rootstock. The results showed highly significant differences between polypoid watermelon when 1N using as a scion, tetraploid showed maximum survival rates, higher contents of hormones, and antioxidants (AOX) activities, compared to diploid, these may be the possible reasons for high compatibility in tetraploid and degrading the grafting zone in diploid. RTq-PCR results confirm that the expression of genes linked to compatibility is consistent with the hormonal and AOX activities. This study provides an alternative and economical approach to produce more tetraploid and triploid plants for breeding or seeds production by using branches as scions.

Polyploid seed production is complicated, and costly work, produce a fewer number of seeds/fruits as compared to diploid seeds. Here we investigated the interactive effect of a new grafting technique of polyploid watermelon scion onto rootstock on plants' survival rate. In this study, three different branches, apical meristem (AM), branch with 1 node (1N), and 2 nodes (2N) from di, tri, and tetraploid watermelon plants, were used as scion and grafted onto squash rootstock. The results showed highly significant differences between polypoid watermelon when 1N was used as a scion. Tetraploid showed maximum survival rates, higher contents of hormones, carbohydrates, and antioxidants activities, compared to diploid. Here, we also performed applied sucrose exogenously, on the rootstocks seedlings before grafting to enhance survival rates. Significant survival rates were observed in the case of 2% sucrose application in all polyploids when 1N was used as a scion. RTq-PCR results confirm that the expression of genes linked to compatibility is consistent with the carbohydrates, hormonal and antioxidants activities. This study provides an alternative and economical approach to produce more tetraploid and triploid plants for breeding and seed production by using branches as scions, furthermore, provides more understanding of graft compatibility.

We are currently witnessing a strong global transition towards new, more sustainable models of development and consumption. This transition is both activating and highlighting a series of discrepancies between the various actors in agri-food marketing systems, including the institutions that govern regulatory and trade aspects. These discrepancies highlight how, on a global level, the agri-marketing system is unable to provide adequate responses to the new principles of sustainability that are increasingly expected by civil society. This inability is often linked to the phenomena of opportunism, information asymmetries and lock-in effects (resulting from the slowness or inability of some sectors or actors to evolve technologically and culturally). The control of all these factors is often ineffective and often involves high transaction costs . These conditions lead the global market into an ongoing state of failure, creating structural holes, in which new forms of exchange are born, in response to the principles mentioned above. We identify these as nested markets: hybrid market forms that, thanks to new information technologies, create a new form of proximity that transcends the classical concept of physical proximity. This new proximity directly links producers and consumers in relationships based mainly on two substantial values: reciprocity and reputation. Both of these values significantly reduce transaction costs which today play an increasing role in determining the form and repetition of exchanges. This condition is difficult to interpret from classical and neo-classical economic theories. To do so it is necessary to use a multidisciplinary approach. In this article we combine neo-institutional theory and network analysis to interpret phenomena that are increasingly emerging in all areas of the world. Using these two theories, and case studies from Brasil, North America, China and Europe, we try to highlight how the market is not only the place where the price of products and of their quantities are formed. Market is a complex social spaces, where more-or-less stable relationships are formed, based on the values of reciprocity and reputation that determine behaviour and codes of conduct aimed at containing opportunism and encouraging sustainable, autonomous, forms of self-regulation. These relationships are also the driving forces that ensure the ongoing continuation of the exchanges and the diffusion and preservation of knowledge over time and space. These relationships represent the beating heart of nested markets and their dynamic ability to adapt to the continuous changes that occur in the socio-economic and environmental context in which they are rooted. In this way sustainability is built as an expression of the co-production between different actors (producers, consumers, institutions) and natural resources.

In an era marked by rapid technological progress and global dynamics, the Neo-Language Acquisition and Learning Theory challenges conventional language acquisition paradigms through its conceptualization of 'Grit: The Unyielding Will to Connect,' emphasizing determination, motivation, and adaptability as the primary drivers of language learning, transcending age-related constraints and critical periods. This theory also underscores 'Self-Preservation: Language as the Canvas of Reality,' as language plays a pivotal role in preserving and conveying our individual and collective experiences. Recent global events have underscored the theory's relevance, prompting a reevaluation of language education in response to changing circumstances. Moreover, 'Techno-Training: Language Acquisition and Learning in the Digital Age' is integral to the theory, as it recognizes the influence of technology on modern language education. Beyond traditional methods, these three reshape our fundamental understanding of said theory. Drawing from historical evidence, psychological principles, and contemporary applications, they supported the conceptualization of the theory itself. Overall, the Neo-Language Acquisition and Learning Theory revolutionizes language education, spotlighting the power of motivation, determination, and adaptability to navigate the evolving landscape of language learning and acquisition.

Mobility is a vital welfare indicator which may influence broilers’ daily activities. Classical broiler mobility assessment methods are laborious and cannot provide timely insights into their conditions. Here, we proposed a semi-supervised Deep Learning (DL) model, YOLOv5, combined with Deep Sort algorithm conjoined with our newly proposed algorithm, Neo-Deep Sort, for individual broiler mobility tracking. Initially, 1,650 labeled images from five days were employed to train the YOLOv5 model. Through semi-supervised learning (SSL), this narrowly trained model was then used for pseudo-labeling 2,160 images, of which 2,153 were successfully labeled. Thereafter, the YOLOv5 model was fine-tuned on the newly labeled images. Lastly, the trained YOLOv5 and the Neo-Deep Sort algorithm were applied to detect and track 28 broilers in two pens and categorized them in terms of hourly and daily traveled distances and speeds. SSL helped in increasing the YOLOv5 model’s mean Average Precision (mAP), in detecting birds, from 81% to 98%. As compared with the manually measured covered distances of broilers, the combined model provided individual broiler's hourly moved distances with a validation accuracy of about 80%. Eventually, individual and flock level mobilities were quantified while overcoming the occlusion, false and miss detection issues.

The Italian Architect Antonio Sant’Elia is considered the father of Futurist Architecture, the one who envisioned the future of cities on the basis of the native population’s work culture and habitual traits. It has been a century since his ideas were introduced in his ‘L-Architettura Futurista - Manifesto’ and later circulated by F.T. Marinetti, today they are making a prodigious impact on the architecture style of the entire world. His revolutionary ideas percolated through the murky aftermath of 19th & 20th century art movements. His out-worldly pre-modernist principles gave rise to the notion of exclusive habitats for generations and started the post-war trend of housing typologies as an industrialized and fast track medium of creating ample habitats. This review paper outlines the ideas and design theory of Antonio Sant’Elia through the advancements and achievements of the 20th & 21st century architects and their significant difference with the rest of historical architecture along with identification of elements of futurist principles in different architectural movements. The paper also makes a deliberate attempt to establish a timeline of developments within the said premise for futurist architecture.

Evolutionary Cancer Cell Biology (ECCB) reveals that the majority of cancer hallmarks trace their origins back to the premetazoic era, approximately 2300 to 1750 million years ago. These cancer hallmarks share deep homology with the oxygen-sensitive non-gametogenic NG (Urgermline), which evolved from the common ancestor of Amoebozoan, Metazoan, and Fungi (AMF). The genes, gene modules, and gene regulatory networks of the premetazoic cell system are preserved in the ancestral genome compartment of metazoans and humans. The Urgermline serves as a blueprint for all germ and stem cell lineages, including parasitic amoebae. As observed in amoebae, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) manifest in the homologous recombination (HR) genes of NG germlines and stem cell lineages when exposed to specific hyperoxic conditions, referred to as AMF hyperoxia, characterized by an oxygen content exceeding 6.0%. The cells lose their stemness and differentiation potential but persist in proliferation as low-grade polyploids (4n) through defective symmetric cell division (DSCD phenotype). Genomic integrity can be restored through homotypic cell and nuclear fusion, resulting in the formation of high-grade polyploids known as multinuclear genome repair syncytia (MGRSs), or by inductive hyperpolyploidization of more than 64n, as observed in single-celled polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCCs). Interestingly, low-, middle-, and high-grade polyploidization are not exclusive to cancer. Therefore, we investigate (i) functional polyploidies that occur in healthy cells, including humans, mammals, and protists, (ii) dysfunctional polyploidies that occur in cells with impaired homologous recombination (HR) and irreparable DNA DSB defects, and (iii) the restoration of genome integrity through cyst-like and high-grade polyploidization events. Additionally, we explore dysfunction in aging stem cells, hepatocytes, and cardiomyocytes

The orchid market is a dynamic horticultural business in which novelty and beauty command high prices. The development of miniature to large and showy flowers, in addition to fragrance, is mainly of interest. Overall organ size might be modified by doubling the chromosome number, which can be accomplished by careful study of meiotic chromosome disjunction in hybrids or species. Meiosis is the process in which diploid (2n) pollen mother cells recombine their DNA sequences and then undergo two rounds of division to give rise to four haploid (n) cells called sporads. Thus, by interfering in chromosome segregation, one can induce the development of diploid recombinant sporads called dyads. These dyads may be used for breeding polyploid progenies with enhanced fertility and large flower size. This review gives an overview of developments in orchid breeding placed in the large context of ploidy breeding in higher plants to facilitate innovation

During analysis of kiwifruit derived from hybrids between the high AsA species Actinidia eriantha and A. chinensis var chinensis, we observed bimodal segregation of fruit AsA concentration suggesting major gene segregation. To test this hypothesis we performed whole-genome sequencing on pools of high and low AsA fruit from tetraploid A. chinensis var. deliciosa x A. eriantha backcross families. Pool-GWAS revealed a single QTL spanning more than 5 Mbp on chromosome 26, which we denote as qAsA26.1. A co-dominant PCR marker was used to validate this association in four diploid (A. chinensis x A. eriantha) x A. chinensis backcross families, showing that the eriantha allele at this locus increases fruit AsA levels by 250 mg/100 g fresh weight. Inspection of genome composition and recombination in other A. chinensis genetic maps confirmed that the qAsA26.1 region bears hallmarks of suppressed recombination. The molecular fingerprint of this locus was examined in leaves of backcross validation families by RNASEQ. This confirmed strong allelic expression bias across this region as well as differential expression of transcripts on other chromosomes. This evidence suggests that the region harboring qAsA26.1 constitutes a supergene, which may condition multiple pleiotropic effects on metabolism.

Legumes play a significant role in the alleviation of food insecurity, maintaining soil fertility and achieving sustainable crop production under adverse environmental conditions. The increased demand in legume production contemplates that attention on the genetic improvement of these crops through various means such as genetic engineering and mutation breeding should take a centre stage in global agriculture. Therefore, this paper provides succinct analysis of currently available literature on morphological and physiological traits in polyploidised leguminous plants to counter the adverse effects of drought stress. The effects of colchicine on various morphological and physiological traits of polyploidised legumes compared to their diploid counterparts were examined. Numerous reports revealed variations in these traits such as improved root and shoot growth, plant biomass, chloroplastidic content, protein, RNA and DNA. The differences observed were also associated with the strong relationship between plant ploidy-induction and colchicine application. Furthermore, the analysis indicated that polyploidisation remains dose-dependent, and may be achievable at a shorter space of time as this antimitotic chemical interferes with chromosome separations in somatic plant cells. The efficiency of this process also depends on the advancement of treatment conditions (in vitro, in vivo or ex vitro) and successful regeneration of polyploidised plants for adaptation under drought stress conditions. As such, the improvement in metabolite profile and other essential growth characteristics serves as a clear indication that induced polyploidy needs to be further explored to confer resilience to environmental stress, and improve crop yield under drought stress conditions in leguminous plants.

The genetic systems of Paspalum species have not been extensively studied. We analysed the ploidy, reproductive mode, mating system, and fertility of four Paspalum species - P. durifolium, P. ionan-thum, P. regnellii, and P. urvillei. An analysis of 378 individuals from 20 populations of north-eastern Argentina was conducted. All populations of the four Paspalum species were pure tetraploid and had a sexual and stable reproductive mode. However, some populations of P. durifolium and P. ionanthum showed low levels of apospory. Populations of P. durifolium and P. ionanthum had low seed sets under self-pollination but were fertile under open pollination, showing that self-incompatibility likely caused self-sterility. In contrast, populations of P. regnellii or P. urvillei showed no evidence of apospory and seed set in both self- and open pollination conditions were high, suggesting that they are self-compatible, due to the absence of pollen-pistil molecular in-compatibility mechanisms. The evolutionary origin of the four Paspalum species could explain these differences. This study supplies valuable insights into the genetic systems of Paspalum species, which could have implications for their conservation and management.

Triatoma infestans (Klug) is an insect recognized as not only an important vector of South-American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) but also a model of specific cellular morphofunctional organization and epigenetic characteristics. The purpose of the present review is to highlight certain cellular processes that are particularly unveiled in T. infestans, such as 1) somatic polyploidy involving nuclear and cell fusions that generate giant nuclei; 2) diversification of nuclear phenotypes in the Malpighian tubules during insect development; 3) heterochromatin compartmentalization into large bodies with specific spatial distribution and presumed mobility in the cell nuclei; 4) chromatin remodeling and co-occurrence of necrosis and apoptosis in the Malpighian tubules under stress conditions; 5) epigenetic markers; 6) unexplained response of heterochromatin to valproic acid, an epidrug that inhibits histone deacetylases and induces DNA demethylation in other cell systems. These cellular processes and epigenetic characteristics emphasize the role of T. infestans as an attractive model for cellular research.

Polyploidy induction is recognized as one of the major evolutionary processes presenting remark-able morphological, physiological, and genetic variations in plants. Soybean (Glycine max L.), also known as soja bean or soya bean, is an annual leguminous crop of the pea family (Fabaceae) that shares a paleopolypoidy history, dating back to approximately 56.5 million years ago with other leguminous crops such as cowpea and other Glycine specific polyploids. This crop has been documented as one of the polyploid complex species among legumes whose gene evolution and result-ant adaptive growth characteristics, following induced polyploidization has not been fully explored. Furthermore, there are no successfully established in vivo or in vitro based polyploidy in-duction protocols that have been reported so far, particularly, with the intention to develop mutant plants showing strong resistance to abiotic salinity stress. This review, therefore, describes the role of synthetic polyploid plant production in soybean for the mitigation against high soil salt stress levels, and how this evolving approach could be used to further enhance nutritional, pharmaceutical and economic industrial value of soybeans, including addressing challenges involved during the polyploidization process.

Background: Alfalfa, the most economically important forage legume worldwide, features modest genetic progress due to long selection cycles and large extent of non-additive genetic variance associated with its autotetraploid genome. Methods: To improve the efficiency of genomic selection in alfalfa, we explored the effects of genome parametrization (as autotetraploid and diploid dosage, plus allele ratios) and SNP marker subsetting (all available SNPs; only genic regions; only non-genic regions) on genomic regressions, together with various levels of filtering on reading depth and missing rates. We used Genotyping by Sequencing-generated data and focused on traits of different genetic complexity, i.e., dry biomass yield in moisture-favorable (FE) and drought stress (SE) environments, leaf size, and onset of flowering, assessed on 143 genotyped plants from a genetically-broad European reference population and their phenotyped half-sib progenies. Results: On average, allele ratio improved the predictive ability compared with other genome parametrizations (+7.9% vs. tetraploid dosage, +12.6% vs. diploid dosage), SNP subsetting offered an advantage compared with any tested subsettings (+3.7% vs. genic regions, +7.6% vs. non-genic regions). However, when focusing on specific traits, different combinations of genome parametrization and subsetting reached better performances. We also released Legpipe2, a SNP calling pipeline tailored for reduced representation (GBS, RAD) medium-sized genotyping experiments.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent type of primary liver cancer. Low numbers of HCC patients being suitable for liver resection or transplantation and multidrug resistance development during pharmacotherapy leads to high death rates for HCC patients. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of HCC aetiology contributes to development of novel therapeutic strategies for prevention and treatment of HCC. UDP-glucose ceramide glycosyltransferase (UGCG), a key enzyme in glycosphingolipid metabolism, generates glucosylceramide (GlcCer), which is the precursor for all glycosphingolipids (GSLs). Since UGCG gene expression is altered in 0.8 % of HCC tumors, GSLs may play a role in cellular processes in liver cancer cells. Here, we discuss current literature about GSLs and their abundance in normal liver cells, Gaucher disease and HCC. Furthermore, we review the involvement of UGCG/GlcCer in multidrug resistance development, globosides as a potential prognostic marker for HCC, gangliosides as a potential liver cancer stem cell marker, and the role of sulfatides in tumor metastasis. Only a limited number of molecular mechanisms executed by GSLs in HCC are known, which we summarize here briefly.

With worsening environmental degradation and increasing international demand for human health, plant cell based technology will be more important. The aim of this review is to give an overview regarding key points of current progress and development trend of nature medical and edible plants from the framework of whole plant cell engineering including cell cultures, cell fusion and cell splitting derived biotechnology. Here we sum up three main application trends of medical plants cell cultures covering industrial output, technology upgrading and potential resource development. We also provide classification and typification insights to summarize the development of somatic hybridization in cereal, vegetables crops and other medicinal and edible plants as well as application of artificial polyploidy induction in major medicinal herbs. Development medicinal and edible homologous plants based on modern plant cell engineering will bring us a promising future.

The present paper reviews evidence for ecological evolution of Montiaceae. Montiaceae (Portulacineae) comprise a family of ca. 275 species and ca. 25 subspecific taxa of flowering plants distributed mainly in extreme western America, with additional endemism elsewhere, including other continents and islands. They have diversified repeatedly across steep ecological gradients. Based on narrative analysis, I argue that phylogenetic transitions from annual to perennial life history have been more frequent than suggested by computational phylogenetic reconstructions. I suggest that a reported phylogenetic correlation between the evolution of life history and temperature niche is coincidental and not causal. I demonstrate how statistical phylogenetic comparative analysis (PhCA) missed evidence for marked moisture niche diversification among Montiaceae. I discount PhCA evidence for the relation between Montiaceae genome duplication and ecological diversification. Based on the present analysis of Montiaceae evolution, I criticize the premise of the prevalent statistical approach to PhCA, which tests Darwinian deterministic hypotheses against stochastic evolutionary null models. I discuss theoretical/empirical evidence that evolution is neither stochastic, nor Darwinistically-determined, but idiosyncratic. Idiosyncraticity describes the outcome of a stochastically perturbed nonlinear chaos-like process. The Principle of Evolutionary Idiosyncraticity (PEI) is based on the evolutionary theory of Natural Drift, which maintains that determinism in evolution is a property of the organism and not, as maintained by the theory of Natural Selection, its traits or its milieu. This determinism is characteristic of chaotic functions, which are absolutely determinate, generate self-similarity, but remain absolutely unpredictable. PEI explains precisely observations that evolution proceeds not linearly, but chaotically, producing both quasi-linear fractal-like patterns and non-linear jumps. PEI has ramifications for all areas of macroevolutionary research. In particular, it demonstrates both the fallacy and futility of the statistical PhCA approach that interprets evolutionary causes in terms of evolutionary correlations. However, statistical methods of PhCA can be applied heuristically and fruitfully to reveal idiosyncraticity and discover evolutionary novelty. This, in turn, is demonstrated by the emergence of statistical anomalies in evolutionary analyses of Montiaceae.

Whole genome duplication (WGD) or polyploidization can occur at the cellular, tissue, and organismal levels. At the cellular level, tetraploidization has been proposed as a driver of aneuploidy and genome instability, and correlates strongly with cancer progression, metastasis, and development of drugs resistance[1–6]. WGD is also a key developmental strategy for regulating cell size, metabolism, and cellular function[1,7–10]. In specific tissues, WGD is involved in normal development (e.g. organogenesis), tissue homeostasis, wound healing, and regeneration[10–17]. At the organismal level, WGD propels evolutionary processes such as adaptation[18], speciation[19], and crop domestication[20]. An essential strategy to further our understanding of the mechanisms promoting WGD and its effects is to compare isogenic strains that differ only in their ploidy. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is emerging as an animal model for these comparisons, in part because relatively stable and fertile tetraploid strains can be produced rapidly from nearly any diploid strain[7]. Here we review the use of Caenorhabditis polyploids as tools to understand important developmental processes (e.g. sex determination, dosage compensation, and allometric relationships)[21–27] and cellular processes (e.g. cell cycle regulation, chromosome dynamics during meiosis)[28–32]. We also discuss how the unique characteristics of the C. elegans WGD model will enable significant advances in our understanding of mechanisms of polyploidization and its role in development and disease.