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.     

茶树蛋白激酶基因CsCIPK的克隆与表达特性分析

以茶树品种‘龙井43’作为材料,利用RT-PCR方法,从茶树的cDNA中克隆得到1个编码蛋白激酶的基因,命名为CsCIPK。序列分析表明,CsCIPK开放阅读框长度为1 341 bp,编码446个氨基酸,蛋白质分子量为414234。蛋白功能域预测和多重对比显示,CsCIPK蛋白含有1个保守的N端激酶结构域和1个相对不保守的C端调节结构域,即丝氨酸/苏氨酸激酶结构域和NAF结构域。理化性质、亲/疏水性、无序化分析显示,CsCIPK属于疏水性蛋白,理论等电点为7.04,有4段无序化区域,其二级结构分析显示主要由α螺旋、不规则卷曲组成。通过实时荧光定量PCR对‘龙井43’和‘安吉白茶’中的CsCIPK表达特性进行分析。结果显示‘龙井43’中CsCIPK的相对表达量在高温、干旱及盐处理4 h、低温处理24 h时达到最高。‘安吉白茶’中CsCIPK的相对表达量在高温及盐处理4 h、低温及干旱处理1h时达到最高。CsCIPK在‘龙井43’的根中,‘安吉白茶’茎中表达量最高。不同浓度的GA和IBA处理‘龙井43’茶苗,结果显示0.2 mmol·L-1 GA处理后,CsCIPK表达量先升高后下降,6 d时处理组为对照组的62倍;0.6 mmol·L-1 IBA处理后,CsCIPK的表达量在3 d时显著高于对照组;不同浓度GA和IBA处理后,9 d时CsCIPK表达量均显著低于对照。     

Proteomic profiles during adventitious rooting of Eucalyptus species relevant to the cellulose industry

New Forests - Adventitious rooting (AR) is an obligatory step for vegetative propagation of commercial woody species. Paper industries have interest in Eucalyptus globulus Labill and its hybrids...     

Development of a core set of KASP markers for assaying genetic diversity in Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis Makino

Single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are rapid, economical and reliable genotyping tools. Non‐heading Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. subsp. chinensis Makino) is now an economically important vegetable crop worldwide. In this study, 1,167 SNPs were evaluated for 7polymorphism among 70 representative non‐heading Chinese cabbage inbred lines using a Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) genotyping assay. On the basis of identified polymorphisms and the results of a principal component analysis, we selected 50 core SNPs that were balanced sufficiently to provide adequate information for genetic identification. The core SNPs were used for construction of a neighbour‐joining dendrogram that separated the 70 inbred lines into four main groups and several subgroups corresponding to Caixin, Heiyebaicai, Huangxinwu, Naibaicai, Taitsai, Pak‐choi, and Wutatsai. This categorization was superior to that achieved using a dataset of 479 polymorphic SNPs. To confirm the utility of the core SNP markers in genetic identification, we tested their stability and resolution using 162 commercial hybrid cultivars. The SNPs, which represent a cost‐effective, accurate marker set for germplasm analysis and cultivar identification, are suitable for molecular marker‐assisted breeding in non‐heading Chinese cabbage.     

Revisiting rice breeding methods – evaluating the use of rapid generation advance (RGA) for routine rice breeding

Rice production needs to increase in the future in order to meet increasing demands. The development of new improved and higher yielding varieties more quickly will be needed to meet this demand. However, most rice breeding programmes in the world have not changed in several decades. In this article, we revisit the evidence in favour of using rapid generation advance (RGA) as a routine breeding method. We describe preliminary activities at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to re-establish RGA on a large scale as the main breeding method for irrigated rice breeding. We also describe experiences from the early adoption at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute. Evaluation of RGA breeding lines at IRRI for yield, flowering time and plant height indicated transgressive segregation for all traits. Some RGA lines were also higher yielding than the check varieties. The cost advantages of using RGA compared to the pedigree method were also empirically determined by performing an economic analysis. This indicated that RGA is several times more cost effective and advantages will be realized after 1 year even if facilities need to be built. Based on our experience, and previous independent research empirically testing the RGA method in rice, we recommend that this method should be implemented for routine rice breeding in order to improve breeding efficiency.     

Embodied Resources in Fish and Shrimp Feeds

Global averages were obtained for amounts of energy, land, water, wildfish, nitrogen, and phosphorus embodied in aquaculture feed ingredients. These data allowed amounts of these embodied resources to be calculated for typical feed formulations for channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus; hybrid catfish, I. punctatus♀ × I. furcatus♂; Vietnamese catfish, Pangasius spp.; Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar; rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss; tilapia, Oreochromis spp.; whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei; and black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon. Embodied resource use per m.t. of feed varied among species: energy, 4.90–12.48 GJ/m.t.; land, 0.082–0.312 ha/m.t.; water, 502–1227 m³/m.t.; wildfish, 0–2880 kg/m.t.; nitrogen, 3.08–8.63 kg/m.t.; phosphorus, 1.16–5.62 kg/m.t. These calculations did not account for variations in site‐specific factors related to embodied resources and feed composition and use. But they suggest that reducing feed conversion ratio (FCR) by 0.1 unit for the seven species (species groups) could potentially reduce feed use by around 1.1 million tonne (Mt) while conserving 9.8 million GJ of energy, 270,000 ha of agricultural land, 1.4 billion m³ of freshwater, and 1.24 Mt of wildfish. Reduction of the FCR is a powerful means of lessening farm‐level production costs and negative impacts of feed production and use.     

夹竹桃花挥发油的GC-MS分析及β-葡萄糖苷酶对夹竹桃花的增香和豚鼠离体子宫平滑肌的作用

目的:建立夹竹桃花挥发油GC-MS的色谱分离鉴定方法,分析夹竹桃花挥发油的化学成分和对豚鼠离体子宫平滑肌的作用。方法:采用挥发油提取器提取夹竹桃花挥发油,以GC-MS法进行分析鉴定,建立了豚鼠离体子宫模型。结果:分别从无酶和有酶的夹竹桃花挥发油提取物中确证了58和57个化合物,挥发油对豚鼠离体子宫平滑肌有收缩作用。结论:对夹竹桃的挥发油化学成分进行了比较分析结果表明,β-葡萄糖苷酶对夹竹桃花有较弱增香作用,也能增加豚鼠离体子宫平滑肌收缩。     

Effects of Feeding Frequency on Apparent Energy and Nutrient Digestibility/Availability of Channel Catfish,Ictalurus punctatus,Reared at Optimal and Suboptimal Temperatures

This study examined the effects of feeding frequency (daily versus every other day [EOD]) on nutrient digestibility/availability of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, reared at optimal (30 C) and suboptimal (24 C) temperatures. A 28% protein practical diet was used as the test diet, and chromic oxide was used at 0.75% of the diet as a maker. Twenty channel catfish of a mean weight of 141 g/fish were stocked into 12 flow‐through aquaria (110 L). Fish were fed daily or EOD to apparent satiation for 7 d before fecal samples were collected by the dissection method. Fish fed EOD to apparent satiation consumed more diet on days fed than those fed daily, and fish reared at 30 C consumed more diet than those reared at 24 C. Neither feeding frequency nor water temperature significantly affected apparent digestibility coefficients for energy and protein and apparent availability coefficients for total amino acids. Results show no advantage by feeding EOD over feeding daily on nutrient digestibility and diet utilization efficiency.