April 2016 Newsletter Vol. 25:2

“FSHS is one of the oldest horticultural society in the United States – it has been in existence since 1888. Please visit our website and take some time to browse our 100 + years of Proceedings and read our quarterly newsletter.

The Florida State Horticultural Society releases a quarterly newsletter. In the newsletter you may find questions from readers, articles reflecting events of interest to memebers, a reminder calendar and much more. Whether you work in the Citrus, Handling and Processing, Garden and Landscape, Krome, or Vegetable industry, you’ll be sure to find something of interest in our newsletter.

To view the latest FSHS. newsletter, refer to the section below. To view past FSHS, newsletters click on the archives link. Subscribe to begin receiving the FSHS Newsletter.

October 2015 Newsletter Vol. 25:1

“FSHS is one of the oldest horticultural society in the United States – it has been in existence since 1888. Please visit our website and take some time to browse our 100 + years of Proceedings and read our quarterly newsletter.

The Florida State Horticultural Society releases a quarterly newsletter. In the newsletter you may find questions from readers, articles reflecting events of interest to memebers, a reminder calendar and much more. Whether you work in the Citrus, Handling and Processing, Garden and Landscape, Krome, or Vegetable industry, you’ll be sure to find something of interest in our newsletter.

To view the latest FSHS. newsletter, refer to the section below. To view past FSHS, newsletters click on the archives link. Subscribe to begin receiving the FSHS Newsletter.

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Ed Stover*, Yolanda Avila, Zhijian T. Li, and Dennis Gray

Additional index words. citrus breeding, disease resistance, tolerance, huanglongbing

Transgenic strategies offer potential solutions for major problems facing Florida citrus. Intragenics, in which all transgene components are from the target species’ gene pool, may alleviate consumer concerns and might also facilitate deregulation, providing growers with consumer-accepted transgenic solutions more quickly. Resistance to antibiotics is typically used as a selectable marker for plant transformation and this project was initiated as a proof of concept to test a plant gene as a visual screenable marker alternative to antibiotic-resistance. Transformation with Vitis MybA1 has been demonstrated to produce purple shoots in grape and was tested as a surrogate for a citrus Myb that might be used as an intragenic plant-pigmentation marker in citrus transformation. ‘Hamlin’ and Carrizo epicotyls segments were exposed to A. tumefaciens EHA105 containing the DAT or DEAT vector with Vitis MybA1 driven by the D35S promoter and neomycin phosphotransferase II (NptII, conferring kanamycin resistance, originally isolated from E. coli), driven by the Nos promoter. Transformation was compared with and without kanamycin (100 mg·L–1 = 0.00083 lb/gal) in the shoot regeneration medium with the DEAT vector. In sum, over 16 separate experiments, more than 1300 explants each of Carrizo and ‘Hamlin’ were treated. In all cases, 6–20 fold more shoots resulted when kanamycin was excluded from the medium, since there was no negative selection against non-transformed shoots, but no shoots with red pigmentation were recovered. When kanamycin was included, 28% of resulting ‘Hamlin’ shoots (6 out of 21) and 57% of Carrizo shoots (321/405) displayed anthocyanins. Phenotypes recovered included plants with blotchy reddish leaves and plants with cupped leaves. Pigmented ‘Hamlin’ shoots were very weak and subsequently died. Several deep red Carrizo transformants resulted with potential as research tools and ornamentals.

Alan W. Hodges* and Thomas J. Stevens

Additional index words. marketing, market channel, value, household survey

Consumption of local foods has developed rapidly over the past 10 years in response to concerns about food safety and quality; however, consumer behavior for purchasing local foods has not been widely studied. In a 2012 survey of 7,500 Florida households, a majority of respondents defined “local” foods as originating within a radius of 100 miles of home or within the state of Florida, while a minority defined it as within my county, city, or town. A majority of respondents purchased local foods at retail grocery stores or farmers’ markets. The total value of all foods purchased annually through local market channels in Florida was estimated at $8.314 billion, averaging $1,114 per household, or 20.1% of total food purchases for at-home consumption. Fruits and vegetables were the most commonly purchased types of local foods. These values are much higher than has been reported previously in the literature, and suggest that local food systems in Florida are better developed than most other areas of the United States. The total economic impacts of local food purchases in Florida, including indirect multiplier effects calculated with a regional economic model, were estimated at 183,625 jobs and $10.47 billion in GDP.

Ania Pinares, Wagner A. Vendrame*, and Alba Myers

Additional index words. jatropha, gene expression, space biology

Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) has been identified as a suitable species for biofuel production. However, breeding and genetic improvement programs are necessary. Microgravity is a unique environment for the assessment of genetic variation aiming at genetic improvement. The goal of this study was to evaluate the differential gene expression in in vitro jatropha cultures exposed to microgravity. Specific objectives included the evaluation and ranking of RNA isolation methods according to RNA quality and quantity for microarray analysis. In vitro cultures of two jatropha accessions (Brazil and India) were initiated from cotyledon (CO), leaf (L), and stem (ST) sections. Groups of eight petri dishes containing treatments (accession × explant tissue) were arranged in flight hardware and exposed to microgravity for periods varying from 14 to 111 d. Once returned, cultures were processed for RNA isolation and microarray analysis. Gene expression comparisons were performed between ground and orbit samples for the effects of medium and microgravity exposure time. The Plant Reagent protocol gave the highest mean yield in micrograms of RNA and it was almost 30 times greater than the mean concentration given from RNeasy mini kit protocol. The A260/280 ratio mean for the Plant Reagent protocol was higher than 2.0, which is a ratio generally accepted as “pure” for RNA. For all comparisons performed, between 9 and 522 genes were differentially expressed. Over 20% of those genes were expressed at higher levels by more than 2-fold. Differential gene expression was affected by culture medium, with higher levels of expression observed in orbit. Gene expression was also affected by exposure time to microgravity, with periods of 111 d showing higher expression levels. There were 29 genes with high expression levels that were expressed in at least two comparisons. Those genes showing differential gene expression and their importance are discussed. Differential gene expression in microgravity may assist in future jatropha genetic improvement programs.

Hayk Khachatryan*

Additional index words. purchase decisions, plant benefits, information effects

The effects of plant benefits information on consumer preferences and demand is investigated using data from an Internet survey conducted in the U.S. (N=1151). A number of recent research efforts identified consumer profiles based on socio-demographic measures such as income, education, gender, race, and preferences for product-specific characteristics and attributes such as new colors, scents, and vase life guarantees, to name a few. Further, research literature supports claims that being around plants contributes to concentration, boosts creativity, and accelerates the healing process. Other benefits that were discussed in recent studies include household energy savings through reduced solar radiation effects and potential increase in property values. However, the effects of environmental and economic benefits related information, on consumer preferences and demand for ornamental plants remains less investigated. The present study addresses this research gap by investigating the influence of environmental and economic benefits related information on consumer willingness to purchase more plants. The results showed that environmental benefits related information (relative to economic benefits) has a higher impact on purchase intentions and may offer a greater potential to increase consumers’ likelihood of purchasing more plants in the future.

AlbaMyers, Wagner A. Vendrame*, and AniaPinares 

 Additional index words. Jatropha curcas, micropropagation, space biology

Jatropha is a species identified for biofuel production. Microgravity offers a unique environment for genetic variation studies and in vitro cell cultures are suitable for space-based experiments. The main objective of this study was to compare the in vitro growth of jatropha cell cultures between orbit and ground. The effects of genotype, culture medium, and explant type were evaluated. In vitro cultures were initiated from three jatropha accessions: Brazil, India, and Mexico. Cotyledon, leaf, and stem sections were utilized as explants. A basal Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium was used, modified with either 4.5 μM TDZ (MS1) or 0.75 μM IBA + 3.6 μM 6-BA (MS2). Cultures were maintained in petri dishes, in the dark, at 25 ± 2 °C, arranged in Group Activation Packs (petriGAPs) flight hardware. Control petriGAPs were maintained on the ground. Spaceflight experiments were conducted in the International Space Station for 111 d (STS-133) and in the mid-deck of the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-135) for 14 d. In vitro jatropha cultures showed normal growth in microgravity. The MS1 medium produced structures similar to globular stage somatic embryos, while the MS2 medium produced mostly callus. The genotype had an effect on somatic embryo formation and subsequent shoot regeneration, and cultures from Brazil had the best regeneration capability. Stem sections showed the best capability to form somatic embryos in vitro. Cultures exposed to microgravity showed efficient development of embryogenic cultures. Future efforts should focus on improved root formation and plantlet regeneration.

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