Spatial–temporal evolution of the port–hinterland relationship: A case study of the Midstream Yangtze River,China

Most scientific attention on port studies centers on deep sea ports, especially container ports. In this paper, in contrast, attention is focused on the spatial–temporal development of inland waterway ports on the Midstream Yangtze River from 2001 to 2013. The aim of this study is to assess two relevant and complementary questions of the hinterland evolution: its geographical extent and the coordination relationship with the inland port. To conduct the study, it was necessary to first identify the boundaries of the ports' hinterlands within the given timeframe. Then, the coupling coordination degree model was introduced to explore the underlying relationship between the port service and hinterland economy. Furthermore, to better depict the intricate economic characteristics of the hinterland, the development stage theory was applied in the models. The results highlight the emergence of a discontinuous hinterland at Wuhan Port and its reinforcement of primacy with respect to fierce hinterland rivalry. It also demonstrates that an interplay between major ports and their corresponding hinterlands evolves from the transitional stage, characterized by lagging port service, to the multi‐stage, wherein the supply of ports partly outstrips hinterland demand.     

The role of ear environment in postharvest susceptibility of maize to toxigenic Aspergillus flavus

A kernel screening assay (KSA) was used to assess the genetic and environmental effects on the vulnerability of maize to aflatoxin accumulation. Kernels of 26 inbred lines that had been grown in seven environments, and 190 lines of the Intermated B73xMo17 (IBM) population grown in one location in the United States, were inoculated with a toxigenic strain of A. flavus and incubated in the dark at 30°C for 6 days. Percent kernel colonization (PKC), sporulation and aflatoxin were influenced by the maize genotypes (G), the location (“ear environment” or E) and the GxE interactions. Overall, low broad‐sense heritabilities were observed for PKC, sporulation and aflatoxin. PKC was significantly correlated with sporulation in all environments. Aflatoxin was positively correlated with colonization for two and with sporulation for all ear environments. Higher grain sulphur or magnesium in IBM was associated with less colonization or aflatoxin. Postharvest susceptibility of maize to aflatoxin is thus influenced by factors that are modulated by the ear environment. In a KSA, sporulation could be a proxy test for aflatoxin accumulation.     

Development of colchicine‐induced tetraploid St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) lines

St. Augustinegrass is well suited for lawns and commercial landscapes. While many genotypes are cross‐fertile, all cultivars are propagated vegetatively in sod production. To ensure varietal purity, development of sterile triploid hybrids by crossing tetraploid and diploid genotypes has been successfully used in other warm‐season turfgrasses. Applying this model in St. Augustinegrass would be beneficial to sod producers and turf managers who require purity for certification and uniformity for performance, respectively. This study was conducted to develop colchicine‐induced tetraploid lines of St. Augustinegrass. Seeds of cultivar ‘Raleigh’ were treated with four colchicine concentrations at four exposure times. A non‐treated control was included among the treatments. Seedlings that germinated were screened for genome size changes using flow cytometry. Line DSA 13005 and two progeny lines derived through selfing, DSA 16001 and DSA 16016, were corroborated as tetraploids (2n = 4x = 36) through chromosome counts. These lines will be used in future breeding efforts to attempt development of sterile triploid cultivars of St. Augustinegrass.     

紫花槭秋季叶色表达转录组初步分析

为了丰富紫花槭转录组数据,进一步开展紫花槭秋季叶片呈色机制研究.本研究以紫花槭秋季转色期三个阶段(前期,中期,后期)叶片为材料,采用高通量测序技术进行转录组初步分析.转录组数据共获得50501条Unigene,有35316条Unigene在数据库中得到注释,其中NR数据库中注释到的Unigene数量最多,共35024条,占69.4％.在注释到的物种中,紫花槭比对的Unigene与甜橙(Citrus sinensis)相似度最高,共有4290条,占12.25％.紫花槭转录组中的Unigene根据GO功能可分为生物学过程、细胞组分和分子功能3大类,共有25375条,其中生物学过程的基因最多,主要聚集于代谢过程和细胞过程等.基于Unigene库的基因结构分析,其中SSR分析共获得12711个SSR标记,占Unigene总数的36％.SSR位点共包含150种重复基元,单碱基重复所占比例最高(7184个,61.86％),四碱基重复、五碱基重复和六碱基重复所占比例较低.Unigene库中共有328239个SNP位点,发生频率为1/190 bp,SNP位点分为转换和颠换两种类型的碱基替换方式,其中碱基转换位点213787个(65.13％),碱基颠换位点114452个(34.87％),碱基转换类型发生频率高于颠换类型.6种单碱基变异中,2种转换类型A/G、C/T的发生频率分别为33.03％和32.10％;4种颠换类型中A/T发生频率最高,为11.52％;C/G发生频率最低,为5.79％.紫花槭转录组秋季叶色表达的转录组分析,可为紫花槭叶色基因调控、定向分子育种和培育彩叶新品种提供研究提供基础的数据信息.     

优质国审棉品种——ZHM19

概述了ZHM19的选育过程、特征特性、产量、纤维品质和抗病性等特点及主要栽培技术措施。     

The efficiency of nitrogen in cattle manures when applied to a double‐annual forage cropping system

The use of cattle manure (CM) for fertilization presents challenges for optimizing nitrogen (N) use. Our work aimed to assess N efficiencies, in a 6‐year experiment with three biennial rotations of four crops: oat–sorghum (first year) and ryegrass–maize (second year) in a rainfed humid Mediterranean area of Spain. Fertilization treatments included the following: control (no N), 250 kg mineral N ha^?1 year^?1 (250MN), three CM rates (supplying 170, 250 and 500 kg N ha^?1 year^?1) and four treatments where the two lowest CM rates were complemented with either 80 or 160 kg mineral N ha^?1 year^?1. Treatments were distributed randomly in each of three blocks. Maximum dry‐matter yield (~44–49 t ha^?1 rotation^?1) was achieved in the third rotation, and only the control and the 170CM yielded significantly less. Within the limitations of the EU Nitrate Directive, the N steady state supply of 170CM always requires a complement of mineral N (80 kg N ha^?1) to maximize N agronomic efficiency. The maximum N‐fertilizer replacement value (250CM vs. 250MN) was 0·67, without significant differences between the two treatments in other N‐related efficiency indexes, which indicates that plants took advantage of residual‐N effects. Nitrogen losses by leaching in the 250CM treatment were around 5–7% of the N applied. This reinforces the sustainability of manure recycling in long cropping seasons.     

Getting cosy in freshwater: Assumed to be brackish pike are not so brackish after all

Pike (Esox lucius) occupy coastal streams and rivers of the Baltic Sea, where they attain large sizes (>5 kg). These large sizes are perhaps due to the fact that they can tolerate relatively high salinities and can thus forage in the nearby more productive brackish environments. In an attempt to quantify the extent to which pike utilise brackish environments, and to provide some insight into the underlying causes for brackish water migrations, we tagged 30 pike from a western Baltic river with acoustic transmitters and were able to track 21 individuals for 1 year. Based on experienced from local anglers, this population was assumed to be brackish in nature, where individuals underwent freshwater migrations to spawn. Our findings however suggest that the smallest and most active individuals make short exits into brackish waters and do so on rare occasions. Our results further indicate that neither sex nor size is related to activity level. We suggest that these patterns reflect two distinct behaviours—active and passive—and that large pike can be supported by the food availability in the river, without the need to venture into coastal zones, thus defying the conventional view that Baltic pike are all brackish in nature.     

胡麻脂肪酸去饱和酶基因(fads)差异表达分析

为了了解fad基因在胡麻蒴果发育过程中对不饱和脂肪酸的调控,对高、中、低三个不同亚麻酸(C18:3)含量的胡麻品种(’CDC Gold’,‘内亚7号’,’Linola’)进行了不同时期的品质测定,以及脂肪酸去饱和酶2a基因(fad2a)、脂肪酸去饱和酶2b基因(fad2b)、脂肪酸去饱和酶2c基因(fad2c)、脂肪酸去饱和酶3a基因(fad3a)、脂肪酸去饱和酶3b基因(fad3b)的qRT-PCR定量分析。结果表明,随着蒴果成熟,可溶性糖含量呈降低趋势,粗脂肪与粗蛋白不断积累,且差异显著(p<0.05)。fad2a基因、fad3a基因以及fad3b基因在各个时期中的表达符合正态分布。以0 d的蒴果为对照,在胡麻种子形成过程中,‘内亚7号’的三个基因在5 d和15 d的表达量迅速增加,到30 d时急剧减少,15 d的fad2a基因表达量为5.23倍,fad3a基因表达量是fad2a基因表达量的14.52倍,fad3b基因的表达量是fad2a基因表达量的16.14倍,表明这三个基因参与不饱和脂肪酸积累过程。在低亚麻酸含量品种‘Linola’30 d中,fad3a基因是fad2a基因表达量的52.71倍,fad3b呈下调趋势;在高亚麻酸含量品种‘CDCGold’30d中,fad3a基因与fad2a基因的表达量均呈下调趋势,fad3b的表达量为3.92倍;在中等亚麻酸含量品种‘内亚7号’中,fad2a基因表达量降低了0.31倍,fad3a基因是fad3b基因表达量的1.87倍。fad2b基因、fad2c基因熔解曲线不稳定,峰值低,可以在后续试验中继续探索。     

Quantitative trait loci analysis for root traits in synthetic hexaploid wheat under drought stress conditions

Synthetic hexaploid wheat(SHW), possesses numerous genes for drought that can help breeding for drought-tolerant wheat varieties. We evaluated 10 root traits at seedling stage in 111 F9 recombinant inbred lines derived from a F2 population of a SHW line(SHW-L1) and a common wheat line, under normal(NC) and polyethylene glycol-simulated drought stress conditions(DC). We mapped quantitative trait loci(QTLs) for root traits using an enriched high-density genetic map containing 120 370 single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs), 733 diversity arrays technology markers(DArT) and 119 simple sequence repeats(SSRs). With four replicates per treatment, we identified 19 QTLs for root traits under NC and DC, and 12 of them could be consistently detected with three or four replicates. Two novel QTLs for root fresh weight and root diameter under NC explained 9 and 15.7% of the phenotypic variation respectively, and six novel QTLs for root fresh weight, the ratio of root water loss, total root surface area, number of root tips, and number of root forks under DC explained 8.5–14% of the phenotypic variation. Here seven of eight novel QTLs could be consistently detected with more than three replicates. Results provide essential information for fine-mapping QTLs related to drought tolerance that will facilitate breeding drought-tolerant wheat cultivars.     

Whitened kernel surface: A fast and reliable method for assessing Fusarium severity on cereal grains by digital picture analysis

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a cereal disease of major importance responsible for yield losses and mycotoxin contaminations in grains. Here, we introduce a new measurement approach to quantify FHB severity on grains based on the evaluation of the whitened kernel surface (WKS) using digital image analysis. The applicability of WKS was assessed on two bread wheat and one triticale grain sample sets (265 samples). Pearson correlation coefficients between Fusarium‐damaged kernels (FDK) and WKS range from r = 0.77 to r = 0.81 and from r = 0.61 to r = 0.86 for the correlation between deoxynivalenol (DON) content and WKS. This new scoring method facilitates fast and reliable assessment of the resistance to kernel infection and shows significant correlation with mycotoxin content. WKS can be automated and does not suffer from the “human factor” inherent to visual scorings. As a low‐cost and fast approach, this method appears particularly attractive for breeding and genetic analysis of FHB resistance where typically large numbers of experimental lines need to be evaluated, and for which WKS is suggested as an alternative to visual FDK scorings.