Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) seeds have a tocopherol profile dominated by alpha-tocopherol. The objective of this research was to study the dynamics of tocopherol accumulation in sunflower lines with altered total tocopherol content or tocopherol profile. Developing seeds were sampled at regular intervals in two lines with reduced and increased total tocopherol content, respectively, and six lines with modified tocopherol profiles. The line with reduced tocopherol content showed a tocopherol accumulation rate reduced by half, whereas the line with increased tocopherol content showed a tocopherol accumulation rate twofold higher than the control. In the three cases, alpha-tocopherol followed a sigmoid accumulation pattern. Modified tocopherol profiles were expressed at early stages of tocopherol accumulation. In most lines with modified profiles, tocopherol accumulation pattern differed from the alpha-tocopherol lines, with maximum tocopherol content at 18 or 21 days after flowering (DAF) that was reduced to reach a plateau from 33 or 36 DAF onward. Such a reduction was caused by continued dry matter accumulation after tocopherol accumulation ceased or slowed down. In lines with increased levels of beta-tocopherol or both gamma- and delta-tocopherol, the synthesis of beta- and delta-tocopherol started and stopped earlier than the synthesis of alpha- and gamma-tocopherol, respectively.
No information is available on the transferability and amplification quality of microsatellite (SSR) markers of the public domain in Brassica carinata A. Braun. The objective of the presented research was to study the amplification of a set of 73 SSRs from B. nigra (L.) Koch and B. napus L. in B. carinata, and to compare the results with those obtained in the amplification of the same markers in other Brassica species of the U triangle. This set of SSRs from B. nigra (B genome) and B. napus (AC genome) allows the identification of the 3 basic genomes of the Brassica species tested. 94.3% of the SSR markers from B. nigra and 97.4% of those from B. napus amplified SSR-specific products in B. carinata. Very high-quality amplification with a strong signal and easy scoring in B. carinata was recorded for 52.8% of the specific loci from B. nigra SSRs and 59.3% of the specific loci from B. napus SSRs, compared to 66.7% in B. nigra and 62.8% in B. napus. Genome specificity and amplification quality of B. nigra and B. napus SSR markers in the 6 species under study is reported. High-quality transferable SSR markers provide an efficient and cost-effective platform to advance in molecular research in B. carinata.