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KEY MESSAGE: AcEXPA1, an aluminum (Al)-inducible expansin gene, is demonstrated to be involved in carpetgrass (Axonopus compressus) root elongation under Al toxicity through analyzing composite carpetgrass plants overexpressing AcEXPA1. Aluminum (Al) toxicity is a major mineral toxicity that limits plant productivity in acidic soils by inhibiting root growth. Carpetgrass (Axonopus compressus), a dominant warm-season turfgrass widely grown in acidic tropical soils, exhibits superior adaptability to Al toxicity. However, the mechanisms underlying its Al tolerance are largely unclear, and knowledge of the functional genes involved in Al detoxification in this turfgrass is limited. In this study, phenotypic variation in Al tolerance, as indicated by relative root elongation, was observed among seventeen carpetgrass genotypes. Al-responsive genes related to cell wall modification were identified in the roots of the Al-tolerant genotype 'A58' via transcriptome analysis. Among them, a gene encoding α-expansin was cloned and designated AcEXPA1 for functional characterization. Observed Al dose effects and temporal responses revealed that Al induced AcEXPA1 expression in carpetgrass roots. Subsequently, an efficient and convenient Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation method was established to generate composite carpetgrass plants with transgenic hairy roots for investigating AcEXPA1 involvement in carpetgrass root growth under Al toxicity. AcEXPA1 was successfully overexpressed in the transgenic hairy roots, and AcEXPA1 overexpression enhanced Al tolerance in composite carpetgrass plants through a decrease in Al-induced root growth inhibition. Taken together, these findings suggest that AcEXPA1 contributes to Al tolerance in carpetgrass via root growth regulation.

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Native species may have adaptive traits that are advantageous for overcoming the adverse environmental conditions faced during the early stages of mine land rehabilitation. Here, we examined the nitrogen (N) growth responses of two native perennial grasses (Axonopus longispicus and Paspalum cinerascens) from canga in nutrient-poor iron mining substrates. We carried out vegetative propagation and recovered substantial healthy tillers from field-collected tussocks of both species. These tillers were cultivated in mining substrates at increasing N levels. The tillering rates of both species increased with the N application. Nonetheless, only in P. cinerascens did the N application result in significant biomass increase. Such growth gain was a result of changes in leaf pigment, stomatal morphology, gas exchanges, and nutrients absorption that occurred mainly under the low N additions. Reaching optimum growth at 80 mg N dm-3, these plants showed no differences from those in the field. Our study demonstrates that an input of N as fertilizer can differentially improve the growth of native grasses and that P. cinerascens plants are able to deposit high quantities of carbon and protect soil over the seasons, thus, making them promising candidates for restoring nutrient cycling, accelerating the return of other species and ecosystem services.

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BACKGROUND: Carpet grass [Axonopus compressus (L.)] is an important warm-season perennial grass around the world and is known for its adaptability to varied environmental conditions. However, Carpet grass lacks enough data in public data banks, which confined our comprehension of the mechanisms of environmental adaptations, gene discovery, and development of molecular markers. In current study, the DEGs (differentially expressed genes) in Axonopus compressus under drought stress (DS) were identified and compared with CK (control) by RNA-Seq. RESULTS: A total of 263,835 unigenes were identified in Axonopus compressus, and 201,303 (also added to the numbers of the remaining 2 databases) a sequence of unigenes significantly matched in at least one of the seven databases. A total of 153,697 (58.25%) unigenes classified to 144 KEGG pathways, and 7444 unigenes were expressed differentially between DS and CK, of which 4249 were up-regulated and 3195 were down-regulated unigenes. Of the 50 significantly enriched GO terms, 18, 6, and 14 items were related to BP, CC, and MF respectively. Analysis of KEGG enrichment revealed 2569 DEGs involved in 143 different pathways, under drought stress. 2747 DEGs were up-regulated and 2502 DEGs were down-regulated. Moreover, we identified 352 transcription factors (TFs) in Axonopus compressus, of which 270 were differentially expressed between CK and DS. The qRT-PCR validation experiment also supports the transcriptional response of Axonopus compressus against drought. Accuracy of transcriptome unigenes of Axonopus compressus was assessed with BLAST, which showed 3300 sequences of Axonopus compressus in the NCBI. CONCLUSION: The 7444 unigenes were found to be between DS and CK treatments, which indicate the existence of a strong mechanism of drought tolerance in Axonopus compressus. The current findings provide the first framework for further investigations for the particular roles of these unigenes in Axonopus compressus in response to drought.

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This study compared the development of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), on forage species of different genera (Arachis, Axonopus, and Cynodon) in relation to maize (preferred host) as well as its adaptability on these forage species, which are the main cultivated forages in southern Brazil. The biological performance of S. frugiperda fed on host plants studied showed the highest adaptation index (AI) in maize (26.89), followed by bermudagrass (22.02), suggesting that bermudagrass is the most suitable alternative host for the development of S. frugiperda. In contrast, the giant missionary grass (18.80) and Pinto peanut (13.81) showed lower adequacy, with a relative adaptation index (RAI) 69.93 and 51.35%, respectively, using maize as standard. The cluster analysis based on similarity of the chemical-bromatological parameters showed that maize has a richer composition than the other plant species studied. The multivariate correlation analysis between AI and chemical-bromatological composition showed a positive correlation between AI and contents of ashes, ethereal extract, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium and, to a lesser extent, with contents of nitrogen, crude protein, and copper. In this context, complexity of host composition and balance between components could explain the biological fitness of S. frugiperda on host plant species. Pasture diversification with giant missionary grass, or especially with Pinto peanut, may be an interesting strategy for integrated pest management of fall armyworm in pasturelands in a regional context.

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A grama missioneira gigante (Axonopus catharinensis Valls) é uma espécie forrageira que merece ser melhor investigada tanto pura como recebendo a inclusão de leguminosas. Objetivou-se avaliar o consumo de MS por ovinos pastejando grama missioneira gigante com ou sem acesso a pastos de amendoim forrageiro (Arachis pintoi cv. Amarillo). Para isso, foi conduzido um experimento prévio com cordeiros alojados em gaiolas metabólicas, gerando-se uma equação para a estimativa do consumo tomando como base a excreção fecal de proteína bruta (PBf), que apresentou R2= 0,91. Em um segundo experimento, foi avaliado o consumo de forragem por ovinos em pastos de grama missioneira gigante com duas alturas de entrada (25 ou 35cm), com ou sem acesso a áreas de amendoim forrageiro por duas horas diárias. A altura de entrada na grama missioneira gigante não alterou o consumo total de MS, mas o acesso aos piquetes da leguminosa aumentou o consumo em aproximadamente 20%. Em conclusão, a grama missioneira gigante pode ser manejada com alturas de entrada entre 25 e 35cm, enquanto o acesso a áreas de amendoim forrageiro por duas horas diárias aumenta o consumo de MO por cordeiros pastejando a missioneira.(AU)

The missioneira gigante grass (Axonopus catharinensis Valls) is a grass that deserves to be better investigated both pure and receiving the inclusion of legumes. The objective of this work was to evaluate the herbage intake by sheep grazing missioneira gigante grass with or without access to peanut grass (Arachis pintoi cv. Amarillo). A previous experiment was conducted using lambs housed in metabolic cages, generating an equation for estimation of herbage intake as a function of faecal crude protein excretion (CPf). The equation presented a value of R 2 = 0.91. In the grazing experiment, the herbage intake was evaluated using missioneira gigante pastures with two pre-grazing sward heights (25 or 35cm), with or without access to peanut areas during two hours per day. The pre-grazing sward height of missioneira gigante did not change the total OM herbage intake, but the access to peanut pastures increased the herbage intake by approximately 20%. In conclusion, missioneira gigante grass has shown flexibility to be used with pre-grazing sward heights between 25 and 35cm, while the access to forage peanut pastures during two hours daily increases herbage OM intake by lambs grazing grass.(AU)

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Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a morfogênese da grama-tapete (Axonopus affinis) adubada durante dois anos com dejeto líquido de suínos (DLS). Na média de dois anos, foram aplicados 0, 51, 102, 153, 204 e 255m³ de DLS ha-1, calculados para prover 0, 100, 200, 300, 400 e 500kg de N/ha/ano, respetivamente. A morfogênese foi avaliada na primavera e verão de 2008-2009 e 2009-2010, considerando-se como temperatura basal 10°C para cálculo da soma térmica no intervalo entre as amostragens. Houve aumento linear no número de perfilhos, taxa de alongamento de perfilhos, taxa de expansão foliar e índice de área foliar em função das doses de DLS. Não houve efeito da adubação na taxa de alongamento de pseudocolmo (0,004cm GD-1), taxa de aparecimento foliar (0,004 folha perfilho-1 GD-1) e filocrono (274GD).

This study aimed to evaluate the morphogenesis of carpet grass fertilized for two years with pig slurry (PS). On the average of two years were applied 0, 51, 102, 153, 204 and 255m³ of PS ha-1, calculated to provide 0, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500kg of N ha-1 year-1, respectively. The morphogenesis was evaluated in the spring and summer of 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, considering 10°C as threshold temperature to evaluate the thermal sum in degree-days (DD) between the samplings. The fertilization linearly increased the tiller number, tiller elongation rate, leaf elongation rate and leaf area index. There was no effect of the fertilization on pseudoculm elongation rate (0.004cm DD-1), leaf appearance rate (0.004 leaf tiller-1 DD-1) and phyllochron (274DD).

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Avaliou-se o desenvolvimento morfológico das gramas São Carlos (Axonopus affinis), Tifton 419 (Cynodon dactylon x C. transvaalensis) e Esmeralda (Zoysia sp.), cultivadas em casa de vegetação e colhidas integralmente aos 97, 118, 146, 174, 202, 230 e 258 dias de idade. A Tifton 419 mostrou os maiores comprimentos de estolão (83,3 cm), altura de planta (23,6 cm) e número de folhas (12-24 cm-1 de estolão); as folhas mediram 6,7 cm x 1,9 mm (textura fina). Os estolões da São Carlos atingiram em média 58,3 cm e foram os mais espessos (2,5 cm), com 2-4 folhas cm de estolão-1; as folhas mediram 10,9 cm x 12,3 mm (textura grossa) e a altura máxima da planta foi de 13 cm. A Esmeralda foi inferior quanto à altura (10 cm), comprimento de estolão (45 cm) e número de folhas (7 folhas cm de estolão-1); as folhas mediram 6,2 cm x 3,7 mm (textura média). O acúmulo de matéria seca da parte aérea (mg planta-1) atingiu 12.100 (São Carlos), 8.700 (Tifton 419) e 3.500 (Esmeralda) e a relação raiz:parte aérea foi de 0,33; 0,15 e 0,19, respectivamente. As distintas características morfológicas das gramas podem subsidiar sua escolha para diferentes propósitos.

This study evaluated the morphological development of Carpetgrass (Axonopus affinis), Tifton 419 (Cynodon dactylon x C. transvaalensis) and Emerald (Zoysia sp.) turfgrasses grown in greenhouse and harvested at 97, 118, 146, 174, 202, 230 and 258 days old. Tifton 419 showed the largest stolons (83.3 cm), height (23.6 cm) and leaf number (12-24 cm-1 stolon); leaves measured 6.7 cm x 1.9 mm (fine texture). Carpetgrass stolons reached on average 58.3 cm and were thicker (2.5 cm), with 2-4 leaf cm-1; their leaves measured 10.9 cm x 12.3 mm (coarse texture) and the maximum height of the plant was 13 cm. The Emerald presented the lowest height (10 cm), stolon length (45 cm), leaf number (7 leaves cm stolon-1); their leaves measured 6.2 cm x 3.7 mm (medium texture). The dry matter accumulation (mg plant-1) reached 12,100 (Carpetgrass), 8,700 (Tifton 419) and 3,500 (Emerald), with root:shoot relation of 0.33, 0.15 and 0.19, respectively. The distinct morphologic characteristics of the grasses may promote its use for different purposes.