Abiotic stresses with a dehydration component (drought, salt, and freezing) involve, as a common feature, increased numbers of inactive proteins – denatured, aggregated or oxidatively damaged. Maintaining proteins in their functional conformation, preventing aggregation of nonnative proteins, refolding of denatured proteins to their native conformation and removal of nonfunctional and potentially harmful polypeptides are all vital for cell survival under dehydration stress. To achieve this, plants respond to drought by synthesis of protective proteins such as dehydrins and chaperones and by degradation of irreversibly damaged proteins by proteases. Here we review the important cellular functions of dehydrins, chaperones, proteases and protease inhibitors, together with their role in the response to drought, that make them potential biochemical markers for assessing drought tolerance.
F.02 Acquisition of new scientific knowledge
COBISS.SI-ID: 3815784In the chapter he discusses their role in the plant breeding process and in the development of improved varieties that made a major contribution to the increased productivity and quality of plants used for their food, feed, fiber, or esthetic value. Selection of appropriate variety is one of the key decisions that farmer has to make since the variety will define the limits of performance that can be achieved in any environment. The overall objective of plant breeding is to improve those characteristics of a species that contribute to its economic value. Selection can be made for direct improvement of the plant part or for the characters that are related to reliability of production, harvestability, and marketability. There is a vast list of characteristics considered by plant breeders. Traits of primary importance for plant breeding common for many species are yield, resistance to abiotic and biotic stress, quality, and adaptability to mechanization. Traits could be simply inherited and genetically complex. The success of a breeding program depends on two main factors: having the necessary variation and being able to manipulate it to produce a stable new variety.
F.17 Transfer of existing technologies, know-how, methods and procedures into practice
COBISS.SI-ID: 4246120Series of three documents describing the best practices with which one could realize optimal GM maize production in coexsistence with conventional and organic farming. Documents are result of work and experiences of experts from all EU member countries.
F.04 Increase of the technological level
COBISS.SI-ID: 4499304The scientific monograph presents not only a topic of great scientific importance, but also a practical vulnerability assessment on crop plants, in order to increase the food security, in condition of climate change and the need to promote programs for the conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. It is reporting an issue of particular importance, the need to mitigate the rate of genetic erosion and to develop a strategy for preservation of inter & intraspecific variability. The book is subdivided in 13 main chapters, with logical subdivision, discussing specific concepts related to potato culture, agrobiodiversity conservation, and the evolution of both activities, not solely in Montenegro, but also in the world. The second part of the volume is dedicated to a catalogue of most important potato accessions preserved in the Gene Bank of Montenegro.
F.27 Contribution to preserving/protecting natural and cultural heritage
COBISS.SI-ID: 4298856Results in the field of plant breeding in the last five years reflected in the development of new potato varieties (KIS Slavnik, KIS Sora, KIS Mirna, KIS Kokra, KIS Sotla, KIS Vipava, KIS Krka), that were inscribed in the Slovene List of Varieties and in the Common Catalogue of varieties of the European Union.
F.32 International patent
COBISS.SI-ID: 4892264Sampling is the first critical step that affects the reliability of any analytical testing, since it is always a source of error. A good and reliable sampling procedure, which is of crucial importance in GMO traceability, should minimize this unavoidable error whilst maximizing the representative nature of the sample. In the chapter entitled ‘GMO sampling strategies in food and feed chain’ a subchapter is dedicated to development of sampling schemes to ensure coexistence in the field. First, visualization of spatial variability of outcrossing rate using geostatistical tools is presented, followed by data mining and modelling of the spatial variability of the outcrossing rate. Distribution of outcrossing rate in the field is presented for different field types. Development of sampling approaches for determination of adventitious presence of GMO in the field before harvest is described in details.
F.02 Acquisition of new scientific knowledge
COBISS.SI-ID: 2673743Eleven microsatellite markers were developed for the leafhoppers of the genus Aphrodes using shotgun pyrosequencing and will be used to study the genetic diversity, population structure and gene flow within and between species in this genus in order to assess their conservation status. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 3 to 10, while observed and expected heterozygosity values varied from 0.421–1.000 to 0.542–0.876, respectively. Crossspecies amplification was successful among the four congeners.
F.02 Acquisition of new scientific knowledge
COBISS.SI-ID: 3149391The main aim of the research was to test a hypothesis that soil adapted beneficial fungi might have a greater biological activity against an important Brassicaceous pest, the cabbage root fly (CRF), than previously wellknown entomopathogenic fungi. The experiments involved pathogenicity assessment of 18 insectassociated or potentially plant growth promoting fungal strains. Two kinds of experiments were performed: invitro laboratory assays and soil tests. The former enabled quick pathogenicity screening and the latter mimicked natural exposure pathways of the pest to the fungi. All isolates tested were infective to CRF. Importantly, the soiladapted as well as plant growth promoting fungi achieved higher pathogenicity against CRF in soil bioassays as compared to invitro bioassays, thereby proving our hypothesis. The main achievement of the research was that we were able to prove that a selection of soil adapted fungi, previously unknown to exhibit pathogenic effects against CRF outperformed conventional, much tested, entomopathogenic fungi.
F.02 Acquisition of new scientific knowledge
COBISS.SI-ID: 4503144BACKGROUND: A 2 year study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of biological control with optimally timed Trichogramma brassicae releases as an integrated pest management tool against the European corn borer (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), in on-farm experiments (i.e. real field conditions) in three European regions with dissimilar geoclimatic conditions and ECB pressure and conventional management (i.e. insecticide treated and untreated). RESULTS: Biological control with Trichogramma (1) provided ECB protection comparable with conventional management, (2) in all cases maintained mycotoxin levels below the EU threshold for maize raw materials destined for food products, (3) was economically sustainable in southern France and northern Italy, but not in Slovenia where it resulted in a significant decrease in gross margin, mainly owing to the cost of Trichogramma product, and (4) enabled avoidance of detrimental environmental effects of lambda-cyhalothrin use in northern Italy. CONCLUSION: Optimally timed mass release of T. brassicae could be considered a sustainable tool for IPM programmes against ECB in southern France and northern Italy. Better involvement of regional advisory services is needed for the successful dissemination and implementation of biological control. Subsidy schemes could also motivate farmers to adopt this IPM tool and compensate for high costs of Trichogramma product.
F.10 Improvements to an existing technological process or technology
COBISS.SI-ID: 4813928In 2015 two scientific books in collection “Plant Protection” were published at Agricultural Institute of Slovenia. The first book “Plant viruses and their names” contains five chapters with basic information on plant viruses including their economic importance and methods for their detection and identification. The last chapter set the rules for translating official plant virus names into Slovenian and is the first comprehensive list of Slovenian names of official plant viruses. The second book ‘Transmission of plant viruses 1’ in the first chapter introduces modes of transmission of plant viruses and in next chapters presents the most important and widespread plant virus vectors in Slovenia.
C.02 Editorial board of a national monograph
COBISS.SI-ID: 281246464