Sorbent Materials Characterization Based on Mechanical or Thermal Pretreated Montmorillonite Modified by Surfactant Loading for Improved Chromium Retention

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution - The treatment efficiency of Chlorella sorokiniana and Scenedesmus species, immobilized in sodium alginate, was evaluated for removing nitrate from groundwater....     

Estimation of irrigation requirements for drip-irrigated maize in a sub-humid climate

Drip-irrigation is increasingly applied in maize (Zea mays L.) production in sub-humid region. It is critical to quantify irrigation requirements during different growth stages under diverse climatic conditions. In this study, the Hybrid-Maize model was calibrated and applied in a sub-humid Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China to estimate irrigation requirements for drip-irrigated maize during different crop physiological development stages and under diverse agro-climatic conditions. Using dimensionless scales, the whole growing season of maize was divided into diverse development stages from planting to maturity. Drip-irrigation dates and irrigation amounts in each irrigation event were simulated and summarized in 30-year simulation from 1981 to 2010. The maize harvest area of Heilongjiang Province was divided into 10 agro-climatic zones based on growing degree days, arid index, and temperature seasonality. The simulated results indicated that seasonal irrigation requirements and water stress during different growth stages were highly related to initial soil water content and distribution of seasonal precipitation. In the experimental site, the average irrigation amounts and times ranged from 48 to 150 mm with initial soil water content decreasing from 100 to 20% of the maximum soil available water. Additionally, the earliest drip-irrigation event might occur during 3- to 8-leaf stage. The water stress could occur at any growth stages of maize, even in wet years with abundant total seasonal rainfall but poor distribution. And over 50% of grain yield loss could be caused by extended water stress during the kernel setting window and grain filling period. It is estimated that more than 94% of the maize harvested area in Heilongjiang Province needs to be irrigated although the yield increase varied (0 to 109%) in diverse agro-climatic zones. Consequently, at least 14% of more maize production could be achieved through drip-irrigation systems in Heilongjiang Province compared to rainfed conditions.     

Responses of glutamine synthetase activity and gene expression to nitrogen levels in winter wheat cultivars with different grain protein content

Glutamine synthetase (GS) plays a central role in plant nitrogen (N) metabolism, which improves crops grain protein content. A pot experiment in field condition was carried out to evaluate GS expression and activity, and grain protein content in high (Wanmai16) and low grain protein (Loumai24) wheat cultivars under two N levels (0.05 and 0.15 g N kg⁻¹ soil). High nitrogen (HN) resulted in significant increases in GS1 and GS2 expression at 10 days after anthesis (DAA), and higher GS activity during the entire grain filling stage. HN also significantly increased yield, grain protein content and protein fraction (except for glutenin of Luomai24) in two wheat cultivars, which indicated that it increased grain yield and protein content by improving nitrogen metabolism. Wanmai16 showed higher grain protein content, gliadin and glutenin content, and had higher expression level of GS2 both in flag leaves and grains at early grain filling stage. However, Luomai24 had greater yield and higher expression level of GS1. The difference expression of GS2 and GS1 genes indicates they had various contributions to the accumulation of protein and starch in wheat grains, respectively. The results suggest that GS2 would be serving as a potential breeding target for improving wheat quality.     

Identification of genotyping-by-sequencing sequence tags associated with milling performance and end-use quality traits in hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) utilizes Next-Generation sequencing to genetically and physically map traits of interest. Here we use GBS to identify QTLs and SNP markers associated with milling and end-use quality traits in an hard red spring wheat recombinant inbred line (RIL) population. The RIL population and parents were phenotyped for eleven milling and end-use quality traits, and genotyped using GBS technology, simple sequence repeat (SSR) and allele specific sequence tagged site markers. A genetic map comprising 696 markers was used to map the end-use quality traits. Multiple QTL mapping identified 79 QTLs, 19 of which were declared ‘major’ as they explained greater than 15% of the phenotypic variance each. Transgressive segregants were observed for all phenotypes and co-locating QTLs controlling multiple quality traits were confirmed on chromosomes 1BL, 5AS, 7AS, 7AL and 7BS. To date, no GBS analysis to locate end-use quality QTLs in wheat has been conducted, thus the reporting and validation of these GBS sequence tags and their associated QTLs will shed light on the genetic architecture underlying these quantitative traits and assist wheat breeders in developing cultivars with favorable alleles through the use of marker assisted selection.     

Identifying and exploring significant genomic regions associated with soybean yield,seed fatty acids,protein and oil

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] yield and seed fatty acids, protein, and oil content are important traits for which an improved understanding of significant genomic regions would be useful. To accomplish this, a soybean population consisting of 203 F5 derived recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was developed and genotyped with 11,633 polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Each RIL was grown in a single plot at Knoxville, TN in 2010; followed by replicated, multi-location field trials in 2013 and 2014. The data from 2010, 2013, and 2014 were analyzed together in order to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) for these traits, and 30 total QTLs were detected. Five QTLs are candidates for confirmed status and one QTL is a candidate for positional confirmation. Many of the genes with mutations in close proximity to the fatty acid QTLs are involved in biological processes for fatty acids and/or lipids and could be considered possible candidate genes. Similarly, genes with mutations in genomic regions near yield, protein, and oil QTLs were plentiful and may contribute to the variation observed in these traits. Except for yield and stearic acid, each trait displayed pleiotropic effects with other traits in this study. Notable are the pleiotropic effects for oleic and linolenic acid on chromosomes 9, 13, and 19. Overall, the findings from this research contribute new information to the genetic understanding of soybean yield and seed fatty acids, protein and oil content. This understanding will be useful in making trait improvements.