Fortification of Bread Wheat Using Synthesized Zn-Glycine and Zn-Alanine Chelates in Comparison with ZnSO4 in a Calcareous Soil

ABSTRACT

Calcareous soils typically suffer from zinc deficiency and zinc sulfate is incorporated in many cultivated soils. Utilization of ZnSO₄ has some kinds of interaction with soil particles and organic matter. In this study, the efficacy of two znic(Zn)-amino acid chelates (Zn-ACs) i.e., Zn-alanine (Zn-Ala) and Zn-glycine (Zn-Gly) on wheat (Triticum aestivum, cv. N91-8) growth characteristics and zinc concentration in wheat was examined under greenhouse conditions and compared to the a commercial ZnSO₄. Results showed that Zn-Ala and Zn-Gly significantly increased the dry weight and shoot length of wheat in comparison to ZnSO₄ treatment. Soil application of Zn-Amino acid chelates proved to be the most influential source of zinc in increasing wheat growth and yield indices. Number of fertile spikelet and grain yield increased significantly respectively compared to ZnSO₄ treatment. Zn concentration and protein content of wheat grain in Zn-ACs treatment was significantly higher than the ZnSO₄ treatment. Soil application of Zn-ACs caused a significant decrease in the grain phytic acid (PA) concentration and also phytic acid to zinc molar ratio in comparison with ZnSO₄ treatment. According to the results, Zn-ACs could be utilized as a zinc fertilizer source for improving the zinc bioavailability in wheat.     

Artificial neural network analysis of lipase-catalyzed synthesis of sugar alcohol ester

Artificial neural network (ANN) analysis of immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B-catalyzed esterification of palmitic acid with xylitol was carried out. Temperature, time, amount of enzyme, amount of molecular sieve, substrate molar ratio and volume of solvent were the six important parameters used as the inputs of the network trained by Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm. After evaluating different ANN configurations, the best network was found to be consisted of two hidden layers with six and seven neurons in the first and second layers respectively, using a hyperbolic tangent sigmoid transfer function. The coefficient of determination (R²) and mean square error (MSE) values between the actual and predicted responses were 1 and 1.5025e−24 for the training and 0.97239 and 0.03259 for the testing datasets. The results indicate the good generalization performance of the neural network model and its capability to predict the conversion of the substrates.     

Using kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) as a phytoremediation plant species for lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) removal in saline soils

Ornamental kale (Brassica oleracea var. Acephala) is usually planted from early autumn until late winter. Since most of the plants used for phytoremediation cannot be grown during this time, kale can be a suitable option for phytoremediation and utilized during autumn and winter in urban landscape, especially in metropolitan areas where high levels of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) pollutions exist. Kale growth in saline soil at different growth stages (germination and vegetative growth stages) was studied in this investigation. A factorial experiment based on completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications was used in this study. Treatments included three levels of sodium chloride (NaCl) (0, 30, and 60 mg/kg), four levels of Cd (0, 4, 8, and 16 mg/kg), and four levels of Pb (0, 1, 5, and 10 mg/kg). Results indicated that increase in Cd and Pb concentrations in the soil decreased fresh and dry weights of the plants. The results of the various growth stages revealed that under salinity stress, kale plants were able to absorb more Pb than Cd and effectively remediate Pb in polluted and saline lands. Cd accumulation in control treatment was 6.2% more than that in the saline treatments, whereas, Pb accumulation in the highest NaCl level, 60 mg/kg salinity treatment was 7.64% more than that of the control condition. Also, proline content of the plants was significantly increased under Cd and Pb stress. From the results of this study, it was concluded that using kale plant is recommended for phytoremediation of saline soils with 10 and 16 mg/kg Pb and Cd contents, respectively.     

Review of doubled haploid production in durum and common wheat through wheat × maize hybridization

Production of doubled haploids (DHs) is an important methodology to speed the process of breeding and development of mapping populations in crops. The procedure for DH production includes two major steps: haploid induction and chromosome doubling. In recent years, wide hybridization between wheat and maize has become a main approach for haploid production in wheat. In this method, the maize chromosomes are completely eliminated during the early development of the hybrid seeds after wheat spikes were pollinated with maize pollen. Numerous wheat cultivars and mapping populations have been developed using wheat–maize hybridization. In this study, we review the procedures of DH production of durum and common wheat via wide hybridization with maize, the factors which affect the efficiency of DH production, and the mechanism of selective elimination of the maize genome during the early development of the hybrid embryos. We also report a highly efficient protocol for DH production in durum and common wheat, which was established based on the optimal conditions for each of the factors that affect the efficiency of DH production.     

Contribution to the knowledge of the genetic diversity and taxonomy of some Iranian Trifolium species

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Trifolium (Fabaceae) is widely distributed with more than 255 species. The current study contributed to the knowledge of the diversity and genetic population...     

Application of unmanned aerial systems for high throughput phenotyping of large wheat breeding nurseries

Background

Low cost unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have great potential for rapid proximal measurements of plants in agriculture. In the context of plant breeding and genetics, current approaches for phenotyping a large number of breeding lines under field conditions require substantial investments in time, cost, and labor. For field-based high-throughput phenotyping (HTP), UAS platforms can provide high-resolution measurements for small plot research, while enabling the rapid assessment of tens-of-thousands of field plots. The objective of this study was to complete a baseline assessment of the utility of UAS in assessment field trials as commonly implemented in wheat breeding programs. We developed a semi-automated image-processing pipeline to extract plot level data from UAS imagery. The image dataset was processed using a photogrammetric pipeline based on image orientation and radiometric calibration to produce orthomosaic images. We also examined the relationships between vegetation indices (VIs) extracted from high spatial resolution multispectral imagery collected with two different UAS systems (eBee Ag carrying MultiSpec 4C camera, and IRIS+ quadcopter carrying modified NIR Canon S100) and ground truth spectral data from hand-held spectroradiometer.

Results

We found good correlation between the VIs obtained from UAS platforms and ground-truth measurements and observed high broad-sense heritability for VIs. We determined radiometric calibration methods developed for satellite imagery significantly improved the precision of VIs from the UAS. We observed VIs extracted from calibrated images of Canon S100 had a significantly higher correlation to the spectroradiometer (r = 0.76) than VIs from the MultiSpec 4C camera (r = 0.64). Their correlation to spectroradiometer readings was as high as or higher than repeated measurements with the spectroradiometer per se.

Conclusion

The approaches described here for UAS imaging and extraction of proximal sensing data enable collection of HTP measurements on the scale and with the precision needed for powerful selection tools in plant breeding. Low-cost UAS platforms have great potential for use as a selection tool in plant breeding programs. In the scope of tools development, the pipeline developed in this study can be effectively employed for other UAS and also other crops planted in breeding nurseries.

     

Effects of selenium as a beneficial element on growth and photosynthetic attributes of greenhouse cucumber

Selenium (Se) is an essential element for human and livestock with antioxidant and anticancer characteristics. Although Se is not an essential element for plants, it has been reported that it can improve plant growth. This experiment was conducted at the Isfahan University of Technology in winter 2010. The experiment was factorial based on a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications. Se was added to nutrient solution in four concentrations 2, 4, and 6 mg/L sodium selenite (Na₂SeO₃). Root volume, fresh and dry weights of shoots and roots, number and weight of fruits, chlorophyll content, and photosynthesis traits [photosynthesis rate, stomata internal carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration, stomata conductance] were measured. Results showed that Se increased root dry weight. Fresh and dry weights of shoot increased in the 2 mg/L Se treatment and decreased at the higher level of Se. Chlorophyll content and photosynthesis rate were not affected by Se. Stomata internal CO₂ concentration and stomata conductance decreased by Se addition. Overall, Se at 2 mg/L application rate was effective in some physiological characteristics of cucumber.     

Evaluation of Plasticizing and Antioxidant Properties of Silver Carp Protein Hydrolysates in Fish Gelatin Film

Physico-mechanical and antioxidant properties of glycerol plasticized fish gelatin films were investigated at different levels of fish protein hydrolysates (FPH) from silver carp muscle (5, 10, 15, and 20 g FPH/100 g gelatin). The films supplemented with FPH, especially at higher concentration showed significant increase in 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2, 20-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfnic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging, and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), elongation at break, difference of color, water vapor permeability and opacity, while tensile strength, elastic modulus, L*, b*, and contact angle decreased markedly (p < 0.05). However, no significant differences were observed for a* and solubility of all samples (p > 0.05). Films prepared using 20% FPH had lower glass transition temperature and more homogeneous structure, compared with control film. Also, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the increase of free groups of hydrolysates and lower interaction between chains of film incorporated with the highest content of FPH. Thus, these results indicate that FPH enhanced the antioxidant activities and affected some characteristics due to less interaction between gelatin and FPH.     

Identification of genomic regions associated with resistance to blackleg (Leptosphaeria maculans) in canola using genome wide association study

Black rot of crucifers is one of the most important diseases of wild rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia L. (D.C.)) caused by the seedborne pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris. From 2005, it frequently affected this cultivation in the south of Italy, leading to heavy crop losses. In the present work, we aimed to describe the physiological and molecular characteristics of twenty X. campestris pv. campestris strains isolated from plants and seeds. Ten Xanthomonas spp. strains contaminating seeds were identified on the basis of molecular characterization and in vivo pathogenicity on a discriminating host range. Some of seed-borne isolates were ascribed to the species Xanthomonas campestris pv. raphani and X. campestris pv. incanae, indicating the occurrence of non-host pathogenic Xanthomonas on wild rocket seeds. As well as the presence of pathogenic bacteria, even non-pathogenic Xanthomonas spp. strains were detected on the seeds, underlying the importance of identifying them to evaluate the suitability of lots intended for sowing. A phylogeny using 69 Gyrase B (gyrB) sequences retrieved from the literature, was also carried out, highlighting species relatedness. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive framework for Xanthomonas species affecting wild rocket in Southern Italy.