Provided are a parthenogenetic haploid induction gene DMP and an application thereof. The parthenogenetic haploid induction genes AtDMP8 and AtDMP9 are cloned from Arabidopsis thaliana. Experiments have shown that mutations of AtDMP8 and AtDMP9 can produce parthenogenetic haploid inducibility, to enable dicotyledonous crops to be induced to produce haploids via parthenogenetic means. The present invention was further verified in tomatoes, and it was also found in tomatoes that the mutation of SlDMP can produce parthenogenetic haploid inducibility. The invention lays an important foundation for broadening the application of haploid breeding technology on dicotyledonous plants and revealing the biological mechanism of parthenogenetic haploid production. Given the universality of the utilization of haploid breeding technology in the current breeding industry, the invention has very wide application space and market prospects.

An automated method for sampling seeds generally includes removing material from a seed at an automated sampling station and then, after removing the material from the seed, detecting, by at least one sensor, movement of the seed out of the automated sampling station. The automated method may also include, after removing the material from the seed, transferring the seed from the automated sampling station to a seed container and transferring the material removed from the seed from the automated sampling station to a sample container.

The invention relates to a method of increasing seed size and/or seed quality in a plant, the method comprising increasing the permease activity of an amino acid permease (AAP). The invention also relates to method of making such plants as well as plants that display an increased seed size and/or seed quality.

A more efficient breeding against infestation with beet cyst nematode, or the development of new resistant lines, is enabled via the provision of the Heterodera resistance-mediating nucleic acid molecule according to the invention; in particular, a dominant resistance effect in the target plant is evoked by the property of the identified nucleic acid molecule. The Heterodera resistance-mediating nucleic acid molecule, and embodiments of the present invention that are described in the preceding, offer additional applications, e.g., the use of the resistant gene allele in cis-genetic or trans-genetic approaches, with the goal of developing new resistant cultivars.

The present invention provides high-throughput methods capable of screening compounds for herbicidal activity or plant growth regulating activity and further allows for the prediction of the mode of action of herbicidal compounds or plant growth regulators. The methods provided herein also facilitate the identification of mutation/s responsible for resistance to herbicides in plants and the identification of the herbicide target. The methods further provide for the identification of mutation/s responsible for plant growth regulation and the identification of the plant growth regulator target.

The present invention relates to a Cucumis sativus plant which may comprise a QTL, a copy number variant region, at least two copies of an ERF gene, or a mutation leading to increased expression of an ERF gene, which leads to Pythium resistance. The invention further relates to propagation material suitable for producing such Cucumis sativus plant. The invention also relates to a method for producing such Cucumis sativus plant and to methods for identification and selection of such a plant. In addition, the invention relates to a marker for identification of the QTL or copy number variant region, or for identification of the presence of at least two copies of an ERF gene resulting in Pythium resistance in Cucumis sativus, and to use of said marker. The invention also relates to seed which may comprise the QTL, copy number variant region, at least two copies of an ERF gene, or a mutation leading to increased expression of an ERF gene, which leads to Pythium resistance in the plant grown from such seed.

The present invention relates to genetic elements comprising powdery mildew-conferring QTLs derived from a plant of the species Cucumis melo, or powdery mildew-conferring part or variant thereof. The invention also relates to markers for identification of said QTLs, use thereof and methods for producing plants with increased resistance to powdery mildew and the plants thus obtained.

The present disclosure provides Capsicum annuum BCMS plants exhibiting uniform female fertility. Such plants comprise novel introgressed genomic regions associated with uniform female fertility from Capsicum annuum on chromosome 6. In certain aspects, compositions and methods for producing, breeding, identifying, and selecting plants or germplasm with a uniform female fertility phenotype are provided.

A Sidwf1 gene of Sesamum indicum, including two exons and an intron, is 1638 bp in total, and has a sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 1. Also provided is a method for determining the internode length type in sesame samples, the method including: 1) extracting a genomic DNA of a sesame sample; 2) synthesizing three primers including SiSNPdwf1 F1, SiSNPdwf1 F2, and SiSNPdwf1 R; amplifying the Sidwf1 gene or an allele SiDWF1 thereof with the genomic DNA of the sesame sample as a template, with a combination of SiSNPdwf1 F1, SiSNPdwf1 F2, and SiSNPdwf1 R a combination of SiSNPdwf1 F1 and SiSNPdwf1 R, or a combination of SiSNPdwf1 F2 and SiSNPdwf1 R, as primers, thereby yielding a PCR product; and performing electrophoresis on the PCR product or sequencing the PCR product, and determining the phenotype of the sesame sample according to an electrophoresis or sequencing result.

The present invention provides methods and compositions for identifying, selecting, and/or producing a soybean plant or germplasm resistant to Asian soybean rust using markers, genes and chromosomal intervals derived from Glycine max strain SX6907. Asian soybean rust resistant soybean seeds, plants, and germplasms are also provided.