Qualitative resistance to powdery mildew in hybrid sweet peas

Lathyrus odoratus L. × Lathyrus belinensis L. hybrids were produced using L. belinensis as the pollen parent, with fertile seed produced by the L. odoratus parent. The F1 hybrid plants were completely self-sterile, but produced viable seeds when backcrossed to L. odoratus. The plants produced by backcrossing resembled L. odoratus, the flower colour being purple/magenta, and were self-fertile. Both hybrid plants and those produced by back crossing to L. odoratus were resistant to Erysiphe pisi DC that causes powdery mildew in sweet peas. Continued backcrossing resulted in hybrid plants, that closely resembled the L. odoratus parent, but segregated for complete resistance/susceptibility to E. pisi,with a ratio of 2.46:1 resistant to sensitive plants. This suggests the presence of a single dominant gene that confers resistance. When resistant and sensitive plants were inoculated with E. pisi and their leaf surfaces examined,using a Scanning Electron Microscope, it was found that although spores germinated on the leaves of both resistant and sensitive plants, spores present on resistant plants collapsed shortly after germination. Possible reasons for this are discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

胚珠培养获得秘鲁番茄与栽培番茄种间杂种具有非温敏抗根结线虫基因Mi-3

以含有Mi-3抗根结线虫基因的秘鲁番茄(Lycopersicon peruvianum)LA2823为父本,栽培番茄（Lycopersicon esculentum)高代优良自交系为母本,授粉后20～30d摘取幼果。将从幼果中分离出的直径大于2mm的胚珠放置在营养分化培养基上培养。2～4周后胚芽、胚根分别由两端伸出。培养的胚珠还可以通过体细胞胚发生途径产生胚芽。获得的种间杂种对根结线虫的抗性表型与野生种父本完全相同,在植物学性状上亦与其父本秘鲁番茄更相近。以栽培番茄为母本进行回交,成熟果实与母本相似,但其种子即使放置在MS培养基上也不能萌发。对回交种子胚败育现象进行了探讨。     

Hybridization of Sinapis alba L. and Brassica napus L. via Embryo Rescue

Embryo rescue techniques were used to obtain hybrids between Sinapis alba L. (white mustard) and Brassica napus L. (oilseed rape) with the goal of improving the disease tolerance of oilseed rape. Hybrid plants with 31 or 43 chromosomes were only recovered, when S. alba, was used as the female parent. One hybrid was obtained from the cross S. alba L. cv. ‘Kirby’×B. napus L. cv. ‘Topas’, while 26 hybrids were obtained, when various S. alba L. cultivars were pollinated with the rapid cycling B. napus line CrGC 5006. All F₁, hybrid plants were male sterile; however, the first generation backcross to B. napus L., also obtained by embryo rescue, produced plants with 50 chromosomes and 61–84 % pollen viability. Second backcross generation seed was produced by normal sexual crossing. Preliminary cytological analyses of pollen mother cells of hybrid plants suggests the possibility of genetic exchange between the two species.     

Morphological characteristics of hybrids between white clover, Trifolium repens L., and Caucasian clover, Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb

Hybrids between the stoloniferous Trifolium repens (2n = 4x = 32) and the rhizomatous Trifolium ambiguum (2n = 4x = 32) have been produced using T. repens as the recurrent parent. Morphological characteristics of the parent species and the F₁, BC1, BC2 and BC3 hybrids were examined in a glasshouse experiment. Leaflet ratios and general plant shape indicated that the BC3 hybrid was similar to T. repens. Separation of plants into components of above- and below-ground growth showed that T. repens had a greater total plant dry weight than T. ambiguum but 24% of its dry weight was in roots compared with 22% in roots and 44% in rhizomes in T. ambiguum. The BC3 generation contained plants that were predominantly T. repens-like with stolons, but also had a small proportion of their total dry weight (3%) as rhizome, confirming the potential to produce plants that combine stoloniferous and rhizomatous growth. The proportions of rhizome and stolon varied within the BC3 generation, enabling farther selection and plant breeding. The BC3 hybrids produced similar numbers of inflorescences to T. repens however, fertility was lower, although there was some variation within the BC3 for both characters.     

Introgression of in vitro regeneration capability of Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium Mill. into recalcitrant tomato cultivars

The goal of this research was to study the introgression of the high regeneration capacity of Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium Mill line WV-700, in recalcitrant tomato cultivars (L. esculentum Mill cvs. Petomech, Santa Rita and VFN-8) using backcrossing. Hypocotyl explants of in vitro germinated seeds were cultivated in half strength MS medium supplemented with 5mg/l 6-BA to assess their shoot regeneration capacity. The apical shoot of the in vitro germinated seeds were cultured on a separate medium. Apical shoots from genotypes showing high regeneration rates were acclimated in a glasshouse and used as pollen donors for the next backcrossing. After four backcrossings, the material showed a similar mean fruit weight for the cultivated tomato and a high regeneration capacity similar to the wild species. It is shown that L. pimpinellifolium can be used with success as donor parent to introgress in vitro regeneration capacity to recalcitrant tomato cultivars. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Maternal and Genetic Effects on Seed Weight of Tomato, and Effects of Seed Weight on Growth of Genotypes of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)

A study was made on the inheritance of seed weight of tomato, and on the effect of seed weight on growth of tomato plants. Use was made of 15 parental genotypes and 105 F₁s produced by diallel crossing (F₁-seeds). From combining ability analysis of variance carried out for weight of F₁-seeds it appeared that the weight of seeds harvested from tomato plants was mainly determined by the maternal genotype and largely independent of the genotype of the male parent. A combining ability analysis of variance for weight of seeds produced by seilfing F₁'s (F₂-seeds) showed, however, that female and male parents contributed equally to the inheritance of seed weight and that the inheritance of seed weight is determined mainly by chromosomal additiveiy acting factors, but that also non-additive gene action occurred. Genotypes with large seeds produced heavier seedlings than genotypes with small seeds, In later growth stages, the correlation between seed weight and plant weight became smaller, presumably, due to a lower relative growth rate of the seedlings from large seeds. For this reason, it is doubtful whether breeding of large seeded tomato cultivars opens up prospects of improving growth and yield of tomato plants.     

In vitro culture of immature seed for rapid generation advancement in tomato

The importance of fast-trackt generation advancement in developing superior germplasm has been recognized in breeding of many crop species. To address this issue in tomato, immature seeds were excised from fruit at different maturity stages and transferred to culture medium. The best culture medium was modified full strength Moorashige–Skoog (MS) salts supplemented with 0.1 mg l⁻¹ IAA, 0.5 mg l⁻¹ IBA, 0.5 mg l⁻¹ GA₃ and 2% sucrose. If the excised seeds were able to grow, most showed shoot formation after a week. Seeds extracted as early as 10 days after pollination were successfully cultured provided they were transferred aseptically and without injury. No morphological or physiological changes in regenerated plants and their fruit relative to the parent were detected. Germination from immature seeds of tomato is a simpler alternative to in vitro culture of immature embryos or callus, as it can be undertaken in comparatively less stringent laboratory conditions. Using this approach, five generations can be produced in a year in contrast to a maximum of three generations with conventional methods. This offers an opportunity for rapid generation advancement aimed towards population development when coupled with marker assisted selection in tomato breeding for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.     

Identification and inheritance of a partially dominant gene for yellow seed colour in Brassica napus

A yellow‐seeded doubled haploid (DH) line no. 2127‐17, derived from a resynthesized Brassica napus L., was crossed with two black‐seeded Brassica cultivars ‘Quantum’ and ‘Sprint’ of spring type. The inheritance of seed colour was investigated in the F₂, and BC1 populations of the two crosses and also in the DH population derived from the F1 of the cross ‘Quantum’× no. 2127‐17. Seed colour analysis was performed with the colorimeter CR‐300 (Minolta, Japan) together with a visual classification system. The immediate F1 seeds of the reciprocals in the two crosses had the same colour as the self‐pollinated seeds of the respective black‐ and yellow‐seeded female parents, indicating the maternal control of seed colour. The F1 plants produced yellow‐brown seeds that were darker in colour than the seeds of no. 2127‐17, indicating the partial dominance of yellow seed over black. In the segregating BC1 progenies of the two crosses, the frequencies of the black‐ and yellow‐seeded plants fit well with a 1 : 1 ratio. In the cross with ‘Quantum’, the frequencies of yellow‐seeded and black‐seeded plants fit with a 13 : 3 ratio in the F₂ progeny, and with a 3 : 1 ratio in the DH progeny. However, a 49 : 15 segregation ratio was observed for the yellow‐seeded and black‐seeded plants in the F₂ progeny of the cross with ‘Sprint’. It was postulated from these results that seed colour was controlled by three pairs of genes. A dominant yellow‐seeded gene (Y) was identified in no. 2127‐17 that had epistatic effects on the two independent dominant black‐seeded genes (B and C), thereby inhibiting the biosynthesis of seed coat pigments.     

Production of interspecific hybrids between Alstroemeria pelegrina L. var. rosea and A. magenta Bayer by ovule culture

Interspecific hybrids were efficiently produced in the cross-incompatible combination between Alstroemeria pelegrina L. var. rosea and A. magenta Bayer by culturing immature ovules with placenta 7–14 days after pollination on 2 g/l Gelrite-solidified MS medium containing 3% (w/v)sucrose. The plants showed intermediate characteristics between the parents and their hybridity was confirmed by karyotype and DNA analyses. The mean number of chromosome association per PMC at metaphase I was 2.60I+6.70II, pollen stainability was20.8%, and they produced viable seeds after self-pollination. Furthermore, mature plants were obtained when the hybrids were backcrossed as male parents with both the parents. The backcross-progeny from A. pelegrina var. rosea × hybrids exhibited 3.8 to 79.7% pollen stainability and that from A. magenta × hybrids 78.8 to 98.3%. Almost all of these plants produced viable seeds after self-pollination, which implies that they can beutilized for breeding of novel cultivars of Alstroemeria. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Hybridization Studies of Five Species of the Solanum Nigrum Complex Found in South Africa and two Cocktail Tomato Cultivars

Summary Species from the Solanum nigrum complex are not as popular as potatoes and peppers but are economically important fruit or leafy vegetables in some parts of the world. The aim of this study was to look at the hybridization potential of genotypes from the Solanum nigrum complex, and two cocktail tomato cultivars, to facilitate a future breeding program. Solanum americanum Mill., S. burbankii Bitter, S. chenopodioides Lam., S. retroflexum Dun. and S. scabrum L. are some of the species found in Southern Africa. Crosses, including reciprocals, were made between these five species and two cocktail tomato cultivars. Fifty percent of the crosses made, resulted in fruit set, but only 22.5% of the produced seeds germinated to yield progeny. Cytological analyses of the chromosome numbers showed no variation from the normal euploid series. The occurrence of polyploidy between the species is probably the most efficient barrier to natural hybridization between the species.     

Heat stress affects vegetative and reproductive performance and trait correlations in tomato (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum lycopersicum</Emphasis>)

High ambient temperature has adverse effects on plant vegetative and reproductive development and reduces crop yield. To better understand the importance of male and female fertility for tomato fruit set ability under high temperature conditions and to test whether heat tolerance levels among and between reproductive and vegetative traits of genotypes correlate with each other, 13 tomato cultivars were subjected to long-term moderate heat (LTMH) or short-term heat shock (STHS), depending on the trait that was evaluated. LTMH caused significant decrease in performance of nearly all reproductive traits, i.e. pollen viability, pollen number, female fertility, seeded-fruit set and flower number per inflorescence, but not in inflorescence number. Considerable variation was found among cultivars, both under control and LTMH conditions. The cultivars Nagcarlang, Saladette and Malintka 101 produced a higher percentage of viable pollen under LTMH. For fruit set under LTMH condition, only cultivars that had been previously reported as being heat-tolerant produced fruits with seeds. STHS negatively affected vegetative traits concerning seedling survival and membrane stability. Correlation analysis revealed relationships between various traits within the control and heat treatments, but not between the two. Under heat stress fruit set was positively correlated with pollen viability, as well as with flower number per inflorescence. However, no significant correlations were found between vegetative and reproductive traits. Our data highlight the prominent role of pollen viability for tomato fertility under LTMH growth conditions. The observed variation in thermotolerance among different cultivars offers the possibility to decipher underlying physiological and genetic mechanisms.     

秋水仙素诱导小果型番茄四倍体

【研究目的】为获得多倍体小果型番茄材料,研究小果型番茄多倍体的特征特性。【方法】以番茄半栽培型亚种（Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.ssp.subspontaneum Brezh.）的5个小果型品种为诱变材料,用改良秋水仙素涂抹法进行多倍体诱变。研究秋水仙素对不同品种番茄的诱导效果以及变异株的形态学与细胞学变化。【结果】小果型番茄经秋水仙素诱导后变异株性状表现为：苗期生长受阻,叶变厚、颜色深绿、叶形指数变小,花器变大,叶下表皮气孔器变大、气孔频度下降、保卫细胞内叶绿体含量增加,花粉变大、花粉育性下降。四倍体番茄减数分裂染色体行为复杂,同源染色体出现了多种联会方式。【结论】5个小果型品种均获得了四倍体材料     

Maternal and embryonal control of seed colour by different Brassica alboglabra chromosomes

Most oilseed rape, Brassica napus, cultivars are black‐seeded. The progenitor species, Brassica rapa, has either yellow or black seeds, while known cultivars of the other progenitor species Brassica oleracea/alboglabra have black seeds. To determine which chromosomes of B. alboglabra are carriers of seed colour genes, B. rapaalboglabra monosomic addition lines were produced from a B. napus resynthesized from yellow‐seeded B. rapa and brown/black‐seeded B. alboglabra. Eight out of nine possible lines have been developed and transmission frequencies of the alien chromosomes were estimated. Three B. alboglabra chromosomes in three of these lines influenced seed colour. B. rapa plants carrying alien chromosome 1 exhibited a maternal control of seed colour and produced only brown seeds, which gave rise to plants with either yellow or brown seeds. However, B. rapa plants carrying alien chromosome 4 or another as yet unidentified alien chromosome exhibited an embryonal control of seed colour and produced a mixture of yellow and brown seeds. The yellow seeds gave rise to yellow‐seeded plants, while the brown seeds gave rise to plants that yielded a mixture of yellow and brown seeds, depending on the absence or presence, respectively, of the B. alboglabra chromosome. Consequently, both maternal and embryonal control of seed colour are expected to contribute to the black‐seeded phenotype of oilseed rape.     

Evaluation of the High-temperature Tolerance of Floral Organs in Upland Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

The development of floral organs in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is related to squares and yield formation. The germination percentage of pollen grains, the rate of anther dehiscence and the length of filaments and styles of 11 upland cotton cultivars were determined before and after high-temperature periods by pollen grain culture in vitro. We aimed to analyze the effects of high temperature on pollen germination in styles and on stamen characteristics. The number of pollen tubes in styles and cytological structure of anthers were also tested under simulation of high temperatures by paraffin sectioning of cotton anthers. We found that the germination percentage of pollen grains and rate of anthers dehiscence of Ke 1053, Simian 4 and the male parent of Xiangzamian 3 were greater than those of other cultivars under high field temperatures. There was no significant difference in the length ratio of filaments and styles and filaments length between 11 upland cotton cultivars under high field temperatures. After high-temperature periods in the field, the difference in pollen germination percentage, anther dehiscence, style and filament length between the 11 cultivars was not significant. The number of pollen tubes in Ke 1053, Simian 4 and the male parent of Xiangzamian 3 was greater than those of other cultivars under the high simulation temperature. The number of deformed pollen grains in anthers was also less than those of other cultivars. These results were consistent with the field conditions. This experiment indicated that germination percentage of pollen grains and the rate of anther dehiscence are useful as indicators for screening high-temperature tolerance. The length ratio of filaments and styles and the filaments length could be used as parameters for screening high-temperature tolerance cultivars.     

Somaclonal variation in three Argentinean varieties of Triticum aestivum with different karyotypic instability*

Three cultivars of wheat showing different levels of spontaneous karyotypic instability were studied regarding their stability in vitro for a number of characters, i.e. chromosome structure, gliadin pattern, glume and grain colour, awn type, chlorophyll pigmentation and plant morphology. The progenies of somaclones derived from immature embryos of both aneuploid and euploid plants were used in this study along with foundation seeds and a large number of their sexual progeny in order to discriminate between pre-existent variability and any novel variation induced by the in vitro culture. Only one translocation not described before and a new gliadin pattern were detected which could be ascribed to the effects of tissue culture, suggesting that this technique is not effective for inducing novel variation for breeding purposes in wheat.     

多毛番茄主要生物学特性研究

为了更好利用番茄野生资源,以多毛番茄为材料,对其生物学特性及与栽培番茄杂交坐果情况进行研究。结果表明：多毛番茄种子较小,无毛,具有较强的发芽能力;叶片较小,小叶排列紧密,叶绿素含量与普通番茄差别较小;茎较细、节间较长;花色鲜艳,柱头呈凹状,伸出花药,低温条件下花粉具有较强萌发能力;与栽培番茄杂交时,以栽培番茄做母本,具有坐果能力,反之不坐果。     

The Response of Anther Culture in a Genetically Wide Material of Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

In a screening experiment with 215 different winter cultivars of Triticum aestivum L. for response in anther culture, pollen embryos or callus were obtained from 200 different cultivars and green plants from 93 different cultivars. On average, from the whole material, 1.3 green plants were obtained per 100 anthers cultured. Variance components estimated from replicates with selected parts of the plant material indicated that for the formation of pollen embryos from anthers, interactions between genotypes and replications were dominating, accounting for 45 to 50 per cent of the variation. Main effects from genotypes were less prominent, accounting for 25 to 30 per cent of the variation, and the replications showed relatively little effect, accounting, for about 4 to 12 per cent of total variation. Regeneration of plants from pollen embryos or callus was not significantly influenced by either genotype or replicates. The frequencies of plants regenerated being green, however, were influenced from both genotype and environments contributing 42.5 and 34.9 per cent of the total variation respectively, while only minor interactions between genotype and environments were indicated for this character.     

Identification of tetraploid regenerants from cotyledons of diploid watermelon cultured in vitro

Summary Adventitious shoots were obtained from the diploid watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai] cultivars Dixielee, Jubilee II, Mickylee, Minilee, and Royal Sweet by culturing excised cotyledons on shoot regeneration medium for six weeks. Tetraploid and diploid regenerants were identified by counting the number of chloroplasts per guard cell pair from leaves of regenerated plants. Cross fertilization of putative tetraploids with diploid pollinators and the production of triploid seed confirmed the efficacy of this approach. The mean number of chloroplasts for tetraploid regenerants was 19.1 whereas diploids averaged 11.2. These values were similar to tetraploid and diploid plants from seed. Ovary diameter, petal, and anther diameter of male flowers, and leaf length by width ratio were also good indicators of plant ploidy. Progeny obtained from self-fertile tetraploids of Mickylee were crossed with various diploid pollinators to produce triploid hybrid seed. All triploid plants from tissue culture-derived tetraploids produced fruit comparable in quality to fruit produced by currently-available triploid hybrids, demonstrating that in vitro tetraploid induction can be used to produce high quality tetraploid plants for use in triploid hybrid seed production.     

三个大果型番茄花药愈伤组织诱导分析

本研究以3个大果型番茄杂交种F1代(‘1401’,‘1403’,‘卡莱’)的花药为试验材料,对其花药愈伤组织诱导的影响因素进行初步研究。结果表明:大果型番茄花药小孢子发育时期与花蕾长度以及花药长度呈正相关。较适番茄花蕾消毒方法为用70%酒精对番茄花蕾进行表面消毒30 s,然后再用加了0.1%吐温20的15%NaClO消毒7 min。3个供试番茄品种均能诱导产生愈伤组织,但不同番茄品种的愈伤组织诱导率不同。其中,‘1401’番茄的愈伤组织诱导率最高,为19.67%。诱导培养基中添加30 g/L蔗糖能促进愈伤组织的产生,生长素与细胞分裂素浓度比为1:2有利于愈伤组织的产生。较适愈伤组织诱导培养基为(murashige and skoog medium,MS)+0.5 mg/L IAA+1 mg/L 6-BA+30 g/L蔗糖+7 g/L琼脂粉。该研究为获得大果型番茄多倍体材料提供了技术支撑。     

Bud pollination and hybrid seed production in detergent-induced male sterile plants of Brassica juncea

The efficacy of a synthetic detergent (Surf Excel) as a potential chemical hybridizing agent in Brassica juncea was studied. Foliar sprays with various concentrations of the detergent caused reductions in plant height, number of branches and leaves per plant, size of leaves, anther size, pollen per flower, ovules per flower, pollen fertility, fruits per plant, fruit size, seeds per fruit, total yield per plant and 100 seed weight as compared with those of untreated plants. The style in the floral buds of plants sprayed with different concentrations of Surf Excel elongated and so the receptive stigma protruded from the buds which facilitated cross‐pollination by honey bees. The plants sprayed once with 2% Surf Excel exhibited an elongated style with a raised receptive stigma and 100% pollen sterility without causing a significant reduction in total yield.