In vitro pollen germination and tube growth of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) and its relation with plant growth

Summary In vitro pollen germination at 10°C, 14°C and 22°C of four groups of two pure line tomato varieties was compared with their plant growth at 19°C D/10°C N under controlled environmental conditions. Generally, pollen germination was slow at 10°C but after 6 h the percentage of germination was similar to that at 22°C. Maximum germination was obtained at 14°C already after 4 h. The longest pollen tubes occurred at 22°C. The two varieties within each group differed significantly from each other for percentage of pollen germination. For one group, this difference was greater at 10°C than at 22°C. The varieties in two groups also differed significantly for pollen tube growth. These differences in pollen tube growth rate were greater at 22°C than at 10°C. There was no clear relationship between pollen germination, pollen tube growth and plant growth in any of the four pairs of varieties. The results are discussed with regard to the possibility of pollen selection at low temperature in order to improve the efficiency of breeding for growth at low temperature.     

Resistance to Sappaphis devecta (Wlk.) in apple

Summary Simple methods of selection for resistance to Sappaphis devecta (Wlk.), the rosy leaf-curling aphid, are described. Cox's Orange Pippin was shown to carry a single dominant resistance gene, for which the symbol Sd is suggested. There was clear evidence that the apple varieties James Grieve, Northern Spy and Ashmead's Kernel also provide monogenic sources of resistance, and there were similar indications for Gascoyne's Scarlet and ST 14/20.     

Improving Drought Tolerance of Rice by Designed QTL Pyramiding

Drought is the most important factor limiting rice yields in the rainfed areas of Asia. To overcome the problem, we developed a new strategy ＇designed QTL pyramiding＇ to more efficiently develop drought tolerant （DT） rice cultivars. In the first phase of this strategy, we developed large numbers of introgression lines （ILs） in elite backgrounds using backcross （BC） breeding, each of which carries multiple genomic segments for improved DT from a known donor. Then, we genotyped all ILs with SSR markers to track the genomewide pattern of introgression in the DT ILs of 16 BC populations derived from crosses between 2 recipients （IR64 and Teqing） and four different donors. X^2 tests and linkage disequilibrium analyses of introgression in the DT ILs revealed significant frequency shifts at many loci across the genome and non-random associations at the multilocus level as a result of selection for DT in the ILs, which led us to the discovery of putative genetic networks underlying DT in the ILs. The networks each containing all DT loci detected in ILs from a BC population showed some interesting features.     

TILLING and Ecotilling the Plant Kingdom

The modem crop scientist has a large amount of available nucleotide sequence information to identify genes of potential agronomic importance. Using reverse genetic approaches, specific genes can be disrupted, and hypotheses regarding gene function directly tested in vivo. Although a number of reverse genetic methods have been introduced, many are limited in application because they are organism-specific, expensive, transgenic, or only transiently disrupt gene function. However, traditional mutagenesis using chemical mutagens has been widely used as a forward genetics strategy to create many new crop plant varieties at relatively low cost. Mutagens such as ethyl methanesulphonate （EMS） cause stable point mutations and thus produce an allelic series of truncation and missense changes that can provide a range of phenotypes （Greene et al., 2003）. TILLING （targeting induced local lesions IN genomes） is a high-throughput reverse genetic strategy that combines traditional mutagenesis and SNP discovery methods （Colbert et al., 2001; McCallum et al., 2000）. To identify mutations, target regions of-l.5 kb are amplified with fluorescently labeled gene specific primers. Heteroduplexes are then formed between wild-type and mutant strands, mismatches are cleaved by incubation with a single-strand specific nuclease,     

Development of Elongated Uppermost Intemode CMS Lines for Hybrid Rice Breeding in India

Development of cytoplasmic male sterile （CMS） lines with elongated uppermost internode （EUI） trait provides a genetic option to eliminate the use of GA3 in hybrid rice. During the past two decades, extensive work has been carried out on the subject that resulted in identification of several mutants with EUI trait for use in developing cytoplasmic/thermo-sensitive genic male-sterile lines with complete panicle exsertion （Okuno and Kawai, 1978; Rutger and Carnahan, 1981; Shen et al., 1987; Yang et al., 2000; 2002; Gangashetti et al., 2004）. Two recessive genes （eui-1 and eui-2） mapped on chromosome 5 and 10 respectively have so far been reported to control the internode elongation in rice （Librojo and Khush, 1986; Yang et al., 2001; Ma et al., 2004）. Considerable progress has been made in China in exploiting ＇eur gene for development of hybrid rice parental lines （Yang et al., 2000; 2002; Zhang et al., 2002）.     

Sex-linked SSR markers in hemp

Hemp is a dioecious plant with sex chromosomes X and Y, the male sex being heterogametic. The quality of the fibre depends on the sex type. The sex chromosomes can be characterized by molecular markers. In this report, sex‐linked simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers are described. One SSR marker was polymorphic in both the populations derived from single crosses, two other markers in but one of the two populations. Three alleles were detected for two SSR markers indicating polymorphism not only between X and Y, but also between different X chromosomes. In addition, several sex‐linked RAPD markers were detected in one population. Recombination within the sex chromosomes was observed for nearly all markers.     

The measurements of acid detergent fibre in rapeseed by visible and near-infrared spectroscopy

Visible and near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) calibrations for acid detergent fibre (ADF) in intact rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) were performed for two different sample volumes (10 ml, 500 seeds approximately; and 1 ml, 50 seeds approximately). The inclusion of brown and yellow‐seeded cultivars in this work has allowed the whole range of ADF currently described in the literature for this character to be covered. Chemometric techniques have been used for developing calibration equations for both procedures when measuring the two different seed sample volumes. On the basis of the coefficient of determination in the cross‐validation (R²cv) obtained for the 10 and 1 ml assays (0.80 and 0.73), and SECV/SEL ratios (2.30 and 2.57), respectively, both equations showed an accuracy sufficient for screening purposes in an ADF range from 6.80 to 13.46% dry wt, which is presented in this work.     

The Deterioration of Eating and Cooking Quality Caused by High Temperature During Grain Filling in Early-Season indica Rice Cultivars

The effect of temperature during grain filling on eating and cooking quality of early-season indica rice was investigated by using four cultivars with different amylose content. Starting from flowering stage until maturity, the plants of all cultivars were subjected to two temperature treatments, referred as optimum (mean daily air temperature, 22 °C) and high (32 °C) temperature regimes. The results showed that the effect of high temperature on apparent amylose content and gel consistency in milled rice was cultivar-dependent. Under high temperature, amylose content increased for cv. Jiayu353 and remained little changed for cv. Guangluai4, which had intrinsically higher amylose content, and decreased for cv. Zhefu49 and cv. Jiazao935, which had lower amylose content. By contrast, high temperature reduced or kept stable gel consistency values for cultivars with higher amylose content and increased gel consistency values for those with lower amylose content. Moreover, high temperature significantly increased the gelatinization temperature of all cultivars. Pasting profiles and X-ray diffraction pattern of rice were also affected by temperature. The results suggest that high temperature during grain filling change the component and crystalline structure of starch and result in deterioration of eating and cooking quality for early-season indica rice.     

Effects of elevated carbon dioxide and ozone on potato tuber quality in the European multiple-site experiment ‘CHIP-project’

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L cv. Bintje) was exposed to ambient and elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂), to ambient and elevated ozone (O₃) and to elevated levels of both gases during two growing seasons, 1998 and 1999. Experiments in open-top chambers (OTC) were carried out in Finland, Sweden, Ireland, United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium and a FACE (Free Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment) experiment was carried out in Italy. In OTCs the plants were grown under ambient CO₂ concentrations or with 550 and 680 μl l⁻¹ CO₂ alone or in combination with ambient or elevated O₃ concentrations (target seasonal mean of 60 nl l⁻¹ 8 h per day). In the FACE systems the plants were exposed to ambient or 550 μl l⁻¹ CO₂. In the OTC experiments the reducing sugar content of potato tubers decreased significantly with increased concentration of O₃. The starch content of potato tubers decreased, with negative impact on tuber quality, but the ascorbic acid concentration increased as a function of the AOT40 (The sum of the differences between hourly ozone concentration and 40 nl l⁻¹ for each hour when the concentration exceeds 40 nl l⁻¹ during a relevant growing season). However, simultaneous exposure to elevated CO₂ counteracted the ozone effect. With increase in the CO₂ exposure, glycoalkaloid and nitrate concentrations decreased yielding improved quality, while the citric acid concentration decreased causing a higher risk for discoloration after cooking. The amount of dry matter and starch increased significantly in the FACE experiment.