Inheritance of sethoxydim resistance in foxtail millet, Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.

Interspecific hybridization between foxtail millet cultivars (Setaria italica) and a green foxtail (S. viridis) resistant to the herbicide sethoxydim were undertaken to breed foxtail millet for improved herbicide resistance. Parents, reciprocal F₁ hybrids, F₂ selfed derived populations and BC₁ backcross progeny were produced and analysed for mortality and fresh weight over a range of dosages. All resistant progeny were 700 times more resistant than susceptible cultivars and was symptom free under current field dosages. Segregations of resistant and susceptible progeny (3:1 in F₂ and 1:1 in BC₁) were not dependent upon dosage. Heterozygous individuals displayed the same magnitude of resistance as homozygous plants at twelve times the recommended field dosage. Results suggested that sethoxydim resistance in foxtail millet was controlled by a single, completely dominant, nuclear gene. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Mitochondrial DNA variation in foxtail millet, Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) wascharacterized by RFLPs in 94 strains offoxtail millet, Setaria italica (L.)P. Beauv. Three RFLP patterns wereobserved by using rice atp6 as aprobe, and were designated as types I-III. Difference between types I and II seems tobe attributed to recombination between twoatp6 genes. In East and SoutheastAsia and Afghanistan, both of types I andII were found, while type I was predominantin India, Central Asia and Europe. InChina, type III was also found. Chinesestrains showed higher gene diversity thanthose from other regions. This resultcoincided the previous studies on isozymesand nuclear RFLPs.     

Traditional maintenance and multiplication of foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.) landraces in China

Summary Foxtail millet (Setaria italica L. P. Beauv.) has been one of the most important cereals in northern China. A large number of landraces have formed under natural and man-made selection since domestication. Farmers in China have developed various traditional methods of maintenance and multiplication of foxtail millet seeds for next generation. Panicle selection was often done in fields. The selected seeds were generally stored at dry places. Archaeological and historical evidence of the origin of foxtail millet in China and the geographical distribution of landraces is also presented.     

Indentification of true genetic dwarfing sources in foxtail millet (Setaria italica Beauv.)

Summary True genetic dwarfs hither-to not reported have been located in foxtail millet. The dwarfs as a group distinguished themselves from the talls in having altered constellation of characters. The morphological differences were highly significant for plant height, internodal length, and tillering potential. The talls had elongated internodes compared to dwarfs while there was no difference for node number on the main stem suggesting that short internodal length was primarily responsible for dwarfism. The dwarfs also showed slightly higher leaf number per plant, leaf area and harvest index compared to talls. The dwarfs were insensitive to exogenous GA₃ application indicating that GA₃ synthesis is not impaired. This suggests that dwarfing gene sources presently identified are true genetic dwarfs and their behaviour is similar to dwarfs derived from Norin 10 in wheat and Dee-geo-woo-gen in rice. The superior morphological frame makes these dwarfs ideal as far as plant type is concerned and offers immense potentialities in breeding high yielding foxtail millets.     

Development and utilization of novel SSRs in foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.]

Although the foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.] is recently regarded as a model crop for studying functional genomics of biofuel grasses, its genetic improvement to some extent was limited due to the non‐availability of molecular markers, particularly the microsatellite markers and the saturated genetic linkage map. Considering this, we attempted to generate a significant number of microsatellite markers in cultivar ‘Prasad’. Two hundred and fifty‐six clones were sequenced to generate 41.82‐kb high‐quality sequences retrieved from genomic library enriched with dinucleotide repeat motifs. Microsatellites were identified in 194 (76%) of the 256 positive clones, and 64 primer pairs (pp) were successfully designed from 95 (49%) unique SSR‐containing clones. The 67.4% primer designing ability, 100% PCR amplification efficiency and 45.3% polymorphic potential in the parents of F₂ mapping population established the efficacy of genomic microsatellites. All the 64 microsatellite markers displayed high level of cross‐species amplification (~67%) in 10 millets and non‐millets species. These experimental findings suggest the utility and efficacy of SSRs in diverse genotyping applications, resolving QTLs, phylogenetic relationships and transferability in several important grass species.     

Genetic variability in foxtail millet, Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv. - RFLP using a heterologous rDNA probe

Ribosomal DNA was surveyed in a world collection (43 lines) of Setaria italica for variation in repeat unit length and restriction enzyme site variability using a non-radioactive wheat rDNA probe. Only two lengths of repeat units of about 7.9 or 7.6 kb were observed. The fact that these two repeat unit lengths were not randomly dispersed throughout the world collection suggests the existence of three genetic groups. The central European lines and most western European accessions have only the 7.6 kb repeat unit and most Asiatic lines have a 7.9 kb repeat unit. Lines originating from the north or the south of Asia showed different numbers of Bam HI fragments. The fact that the difference between the Asiatic and European pool is not continuous (7.9 or 7.6 kb) excludes the hypothesis of domestication being based on the spread of an initial population over Eurasia.     

Genetic variability in foxtail millet, Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.: Identification and classification of lines with RAPD markers

The DNA of 37 lines of Setaria italica, representative of Eurasian diversity, were used for the detection of polymorphism using the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method. Four 10-mer primers, differing from each other by one or two G-C inversions, were used. Each one gave specific RAPD products. Twenty-five bands were polymorphic and allowed the identification of 33 different genotypes. A factorial analysis of correspondence was performed on the presenc-absence data, through which three genetic groups could be identified. These genetic groups were closely related to the geographical origin of the different lines: one central European and two Asiatic groups (the first Asiatic lines originating in latitudes below 35°N and the second comprising the Asiatic lines originating in latitudes above 35° N). The lines originating from western Europe were very variable and were dispersed in the three genetic groups described previously.     

谷子SiPRR37基因对光温、非生物胁迫的响应特点及其有利等位变异鉴定

从谷子品种延谷11号克隆生物钟基因SiPRR37,通过生物信息学分析、组织特异性表达分析、4种不同光温组合条件的昼夜表达模式分析以及对NaCl、ABA、PEG、低温、Fe 5种非生物胁迫的响应特点分析,揭示SiPRR37参与谷子光温互作调控以及应对非生物胁迫的作用机制;并对160份谷子材料重测序检测SiPRR37基因的突变位点进行单倍型分析,探究该基因对谷子主要农艺性状的影响。结果表明,SiPRR37基因蛋白质编码区(sequence coding for amino acids in protein,CDS)全长2247 bp,编码748个氨基酸,含有REC和CCT 2个结构域,基于PRR37蛋白的系统进化分析发现,谷子与糜子、高粱、玉米亲缘关系最近;启动子预测分析发现,SiPRR37启动子区存在光、温、生长素、赤霉素、脱落酸、茉莉酸甲酯、干旱和盐胁迫等多种应答元件。SiPRR37相对表达量从高到低依次为根、穗颈、穗、顶叶、次顶叶、茎秆;4个光温组合条件SiPRR37均只在光照期出现1个表达峰,无论高温(27℃)还是低温(22℃),短日照相比长日照表达峰均要提前,无论长日照还是短日照,低温(22℃)相比高温(27℃)表达峰均要提前;NaCl、低温(15℃)胁迫能够抑制SiPRR37表达,PEG模拟干旱胁迫和Fe胁迫能够诱导SiPRR37基因表达,SiPRR37参与了ABA信号传导过程。位于SiPRR37 CDS区的10个SNP将160份谷子材料分为19个单倍型,其中3个单倍型(Hap_7、Hap_10、Hap_19)是改善穗部性状的有利单倍型。谷子SiPRR37基因表达具有昼夜节律性,同时受光周期和温度调控,并且参与了谷子对盐胁迫、低温胁迫、干旱胁迫和铁胁迫的应答反应,同时SiPRR37与抽穗期和多个穗部性状相关,在开展谷子高产分子辅助选育中具有一定应用潜力。     

The transfer of triazine resistance from Brassica napus L. to B. oleracea L. III. First backcross to parental species

Summary Atrazine resistant Brassica napus × B. oleracea F₁ hybrids were backcrossed to both parental species. The backcrosses to B. napus produced seeds in both directions but results were much better when the F₁ hybrid was the pollen parent. Backcrosses to B. oleracea failed completely but BC₁s were rescued by embryo culture both from a tetraploid hybrid (2n = 4x = 37; A₁C₁CC) and sesquidiploid hybrids (2n = 3x = 8; A₁C₁C). Progeny of crosses between the tetraploid hybrid and B. oleracea had between 25 and 28 chromosomes. That of crosses between the sesquidiploid hybrid and B. oleracea had between 21 and 27. A few plants that had chromosome counts outside the expected range may have originated from either diploid parthenogenesis, unreduced gametes or spontaneous chromosome doubling during in vitro culture. Pollen stainability of the BC₁s ranged from 0% to 91.5%. All the BC₁s to B. oleracea were resistant to atrazine.     

Breeding for low seed caffeine content of coffee (Coffea L.) by interspecific hybridization

Summary Seeds from open-pollinated flowers collected from hybrids of several Coffea species were analysed for caffeine content. The caffeine content was not always intermediary to that of the parents; higher and lower values were found. Diploid F₁ hybrids between accessions of C. eugenioides and C. salvatrix showed the lowest seed caffeine content. Seeds of the tetraploid hybrids C. arabica × C. salvatrix or C. arabica × C. eugenioides hybrids presented low caffeine content. The possibility of breeding coffee to reduce the caffeine content in the seeds by interspecific hybridization of C. arabica with other Coffea species is discussed.     

Intraspecific differentiation and geographical distribution of Wx alleles for low amylose content in endosperm of foxtail millet, Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.

To clarify the genetic mechanism which controls the variation in amylose content among nonwaxy landraces of foxtail millet, the inheritance of different starch types in endosperm was examined by I₂-KI staining. The level of starch granule bound protein in foxtail millet endosperm was also analyzed using SDS-PAGE. The segregation for starch types in F₂ and F₃ seeds determined by I₂-KI staining showed that there are three different alleles at the waxy (wx) locus. A major protein bound to starch granules was detected in nonwaxy endosperm but it was absent in most of the waxy endosperm, suggesting that the protein is the Wx gene product which is responsible for the synthesis of amylose in endosperm. The level of Wx protein proportionally corresponded to the amylose content among nonwaxy landraces. This implies that two different Wx alleles regulate quantitative levels of Wx protein. Landraces with the allele for low amylose content are from Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The transfer of triazine resistance from Brassica napus L. to B. oleracea L. I. Production of F1 hybrids through embryo rescue

Summary Triazine resistant Brassica napus ssp. oleifera and ssp. rapifera were hybridized to cultivars of B. oleracea ssp. italica, ssp. botrytis, ssp. capitata and ssp. fimbriata. The interspecific embryos did not survive in vivo but could be rescued in vitro using a culture medium developed by Monnier (1973). The embryos did not grow directly into normal plants but were successfully regenerated using the protocol developed by Keller (1984). Hybridization efficiency ranged from 0 to 2.64 hybrids per pollination. Interspecific embryo abortion may be related to abnormal endosperm development.     

High regeneration potential in vitro of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) lines derived from interspecific hybridization

Successful selection of interspecific hybrid progenies with superior ability to regenerate shoots from apical meristems was performed in sunflower which now allows for the development of lines for improved biotechnological applications. Early generations of interspecific hybrids originating from crosses between the two H. annuus CMS lines ‘HA89’ and ‘Baso’, and 9 wild species were screened for their ability to regenerate in vitro. Evaluation of 36 progenies allowed to identify seven progenies from crosses involving H. mollis, H. giganteus, H. strumosus, and H. decapetalus which showed a significantly higher regeneration potential than the commercial hybrid ‘Albena’ regarding the number of shoots per explant. Among these progenies, 47.2 to 62.4% of explants produced shoots with an average of 2.3 to 3.5 shoots per cultured explant. Regeneration in vitro was significantly determined by the genotype. More than half of the investigated interspecific hybrids performed better than the inbred ‘HA89’ demonstrating that the high regeneration potential available in the wild species can be efficiently transferred to cultivated sunflower. The seven progenies with high regeneration potential in vitro were characterised by agronomic performance in the field. Two of the interspecific hybrids derived from H. strumosus and H. decapetalus not only showed a superior regeneration potential but also proved to be competitive to commercial hybrids with regard to important agronomic traits, e.g. fat content and TGW. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Multivariate analysis of morphological characters in Setaria leiantha Hackel

Summary Continuous characters related to plant morphology and seed production were measured in eight populations of Setaria leiantha. Phenotypic variation for 12 traits was analyzed by multivariate methods. A canonical variate analysis provided a preliminary criteria for distinguishing the populations. The first three canonical components account for 93% of the total variance. Seed weight per ear was the most important character to discriminate among populations. The preliminari groups formed will serve as centers of diversity for future collections.     

Incongruity in the interspecific crosses of Vitis L. Morphological abnormalities in the F2 progeny

Summary The F₂ generation of interspecific crosses of Vitis were examined for symptoms of incongruity, manifested as morphological abnormalities in the seedlings. Dwarfing, achlorophyllic variegation, deformed leaves, yellow mottling, sparse roots, and enation were documented. Most comparisons between classed of crosses were significantly different. The V. riparia x V. vinifera class exhibited the greatest frequency of abnormalities, the V. riparia x V. riparia class displayed the lowest frequency of abnormalities, and the highly-intercrossed V. riparia x French Hybrid class demonstrated an intermediate frequency of abnormal plants. When incongruity was viewed as a syndrome, or collection of symptoms, differences between classed were consistently evident. The highly-intercrossed nature of the French Hybrid ancestry appears to have been responsible for attenuating incongruity.Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, Scientific Journal Series No. 20834     

Incongruity in the interspecific crosses of Vitis L. Reproductive expression in the F1 progeny

Summary F₁ progeny from three classes of crosses were studied for indications of incongruity in the form of reproductive dysfunction. Percent fruit set was found to be approximately equivalent to the additive inverse of percent aborted flowers, as the effect of shot berries was small and not significant. In interspecific crosses, barriers were manifested as reduced fruit set and seed number per berry. These two characters were used to create an index of reproductive efficiency. Nine F₁s from crosses of most divergent class, V. riparia × V. vinifera (R × V), displayed significantly tower reproductive efficiency, percent fruit set, and seed number per berry. Four female F₁s from the least divergent class, V. riparia × V. riparia (R × R), had the highest reproductive efficiency, percent fruit set and seed number per berry, when pollinated by two V. riparia pollen sources. Seventeen F₁s from the highly-intercrossed class, V. riparia × French Hybrid (R × FH), displayed intermediate levels of reproductive efficiency, percent fruit set, and seed number per berry. The R × FH class involved V. vinifera, V. rupestris, V. aestivalis, V. labrusca, V. berlandieri, V. cinerea, and V. riparia. It is proposed that the complex intercrossing in the pedigrees of the R × FH class ameliorated incongruity. In the most divergent class, R × V, progenies of one of the V. riparia parents displayed fewer incongruity effects than progenies of the other V. riparia parents. Progeny testing of many proposed parental combinations may be used to uncover useful congruent combinations.Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, Scientific Journal Series No. 20835     

Independent segregation of two isozyme markers and inter-plant differences in nuclear DNA content in the interspecific backcross (Allium fistulosum L. × A. cepa L.) × A. cepa L.

Summary From backcrosses of three interspecific hybrids (A. fistulosum x A. cepa) with a. cepa 14 diploid and 2 triploid plants were recovered.In this BC1 population introgression of A. fistulosum genetic material into the A. cepa nuclear genome was studied using two isozyme markers: Got-1 and Got-2. Both loci carried two alleles. A. cepa was monomorphic for both markers. A. fistulosum was polymorphic for Got-2. Based on their Got isozyme pattern seven out of the 14 diploid BC1 plants had a recombinant genotype. The loci appeared to be unlinked. Differences were observed in nuclear DNA contents between the diploid BC1 plants, indicating that gametes produced by the interspecific hybrids contained different combinations of chromosomal material from A. cepa and A. fistulosum.Abbreviations Adh alcohol dehydrogenase - Got glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase - Idh isocitrate dehydrogenase - Pgi phosphoglucoisomerase - Pgm phosphoglucomutase     

Characterization of morphological variation and cold resistance in interspecific somatic hybrids between potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and S. brevidens Phil.

Summary Somatic hybrids between Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Gracia (2n=4x=48) and Solanum brevidens Phil. (2n=2x=24) were produced via fusion of mesophyll protoplasts. Selection of the protoplast derived putative hybrid calli was based on their vigorous growth. Additive isozyme patterns and chromosome numbers as well as the expression of parental morphological characters have proved the hybrid origin of the selected regenerants. Extensive chromosome loss during the regeneration process resulted in aneuploid hybrids with high frequency. Genomic instability could not be detected in these plants during the period of vegetative propagation. Regenerants from hybrid tissues exhibited wide morphological variation especially in tuber formation. The detailed morphological analysis based on the use of multivariate method (principal component analysis, PCA) enabled to identify morphological groups among the hybrid clones. The positioning of hybrid clones in the PCA space could not be correlated with chromosome numbers. The genomic ratio represented by the tetraploid and diploid parents influenced the morphology of somatic hybrid population according to the applied analytical system. Two selected hybrid clones have exhibited an intermediate degree of frost tolerance compared to the parents, based on the recovery of plants from lower buds after freezing of potted plants.     

Interspecific hybridization in Cucumis (L.). I. Need for genetic variation,biosystematic relations and possibilities to overcome crossability barriers

Summary The genetic variation in pickling and slicing cucumbers (C. sativus L.) seems insufficient to enable the breeder to solve serious cultivation problems. Wild allies of C. sativus possess a wide range of interesting characters which could be incorporated by means of species crosses. In the past, attempts to achieve such crosses have failed. Important characters of Cucumis species are mentioned and biosystematic problems discussed. Results of previous research on species crosses prompted an examination of the prospects of further research.