Genetics of colour traits in common vetch (Vicia sativa L.)

Five parents of common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) having orange/beige cotyledon colour, brown/white testa colour, purple/green seedling colour and purple/white flower colour were crossed as a full diallele set. The inheritance patterns of cotyledon, testa or seed coat colour, flower and seedling colour, were studied by analyzing their F₁, F₂, BC₁ and BC₂ generations. The segregation pattern in F₂, BC₁ and BC₂, showed that cotyledon colour was governed by a single gene with incomplete dominance and it is proposed that cotyledon colour is controlled by two allelic genes, which have been designated Ct₁ and Ct₂. Testa colour was governed by a single gene with the brown allele dominant and the recessive allele white. This gene has been given the symbol H. Two complementary genes governed both flower and seedling colours. These flower and seedling colour genes are pleiotropic and the two genes have been given the symbols S and F.     

Inheritance of some morphological traits in grain amaranthus

Summary Intraspecific crosses involving five cultivars of Amaranthus hypochondriacus and two from A. caudatus were studied to investigate the inheritance of five morphological traits (seed coat colour, inflorescence colour, seedling colour, oval leaf mark and purple leaf mark). Seedling colour, inflorescence colour, seed coat colour and oval leaf mark segregated to a 3:1 ratio and therefore each was controlled by a single dominant gene. The purple leaf mark segregated in 9:7 ratio and hence may be controlled by two dominant genes. Simultaneous segregation for seed coat colour and inflorescence colour gave a ratio of 9:3:3:1. Similar genetic ratio was observed for the simultaneous segregation for oval leaf mark and inflorescence colour. It was suggested that each of these traits is controlled by independent genes.     

Inheritance of pigmentation and pod shape in winged bean

Summary The inheritance of five qualitative character differences in winged bean was studied in two crosses. All five character pairs were based on a single gene difference with complete dominance of purple over green stem colour, purple over green calyx colour, purple over green pod wing colour, purple specks over green pod and rectangular over flat pod shape. Linkage was observed between stem and calyx colour and also pod wing colour and pod specks.     

Isozyme variation in Ethiopian tetraploid wheat (Triticum turgidum) landrace agrotypes of different seed color groups

Summary Ethiopian landraces of tetraploid wheat can be grouped according to their seed colors in three major groups: brown, purple and white seeded. Seeds with different colours are used for different purposes, and the three seed colour groups are treated separately in breeding programs. The genetic variation between and within these groups was studied by isozyme analyses at six highly polymorphic loci in sixty landrace agrotypes. The mean number of alleles per locus was 1.95. The mean allele frequencies showed significant variation both within and between the seed colour groups. The brown and white seeded types had very high genetic identity and the genetic identity values between the brown and purple and the purple and white groups were only slightly smaller. The average coefficient of gene differentiation between the seed colour types was very low. Only about 5% of the total genetic variation was due to differences between the seed colour groups. This indicates that agrotypes of different seed colours can not be treated as genetically separate and distinct groups.     

Wheats with purple and blue grains: a review

Summary In addition to white and red grains, wheats with purple and blue grains may occur. Purple grain colour is caused by anthocyanins in the pericarp whereas blue colour is caused by anthocyanins in the aleurone layer. Purple grains occur in tetraploid wheats from Ethiopia, and in one bread wheat accession apparently native to China.Although the use of the purple and blue grain characters as markers has been suggested, their expression is often erratic, especially when heterozygous.No hexaploid wheat with blue grains was described prior to the artificial introgression of genes from diploid wheat and Agropyron species. The number of different sources of blue aleurone gene(s) from Agropyron elongatum is unknown. It is possible that with exchange between researchers the same or related accessions have been used at several research stations. Accessions of diploid wheats are known to possess blue aleurone. The breeding history of a number of purple and blue grained accessions is described. Research should indicate the source species of the gene for blue aleurone of the blue-grained Barevna.     

Inheritance of fruit colour in a wild Russian red raspberry seedling

Summary A new gene, i, from a self-incompatible wild Russian Rubus idaeus seedling is described. The gene i interacts with the fruit colour gene T, Tii plants having apricot instead of red fruits, and spines, leaves and stems pigmented to varying degrees. A deficit of apricot-fruited seedlings in progenies segregating for i could be explained by linkage between i and the self-incompatibility S locus with a crossover value of approximately 26.7%.Segregations for spine colour in crosses and backcrosses of the Russian seedling with two green-spined (ttII) raspberries selected for their yellow fruit colour, showed that both the latter carried the spine colour intensifier gene P. This suggests that earlier authors were incorrect in attributing the apricot fruit colour developed by some tt plants to a pleiotropic effect of P.     

Reciprocal cross differences in a 6×6 diallel set of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in the F1 generation

Summary Reciprocal cross differences were studied in a 6×6 diallel full set comprising of thirty hybrid combinations of groundnut in the F₁ generation.Reciprocal cross differences were observed for growth habit in four pairs of crosses, for leaf colour, flower colour and stem pigmentation in two pairs of crosses each. It was observed that the inheritance of flower colour, stem pigmentation and testa colour which exhibited different shades of purple colour was likely to be governed by pleiotropic gene(s). Among the quantitative characters significantly positive reciprocal effects were observed in different crosses for number of mature pods per plant, weight of pods per plant and shelling percent. Marked reciprocal cross differences were observed for pod and kernel characters like pod filling, pod beak, pod constriction and testa colour.     

Cross-fertilization behaviour of some white flowering varieties of Vicia faba

Summary Applying a special design for maximalization of cross-fertilization and using flower colour as a marker, considerable differences in the percentage of cross-fertilization between white flowering Vicia faba varieties were observed. Part of these differences were due to differences in beginning of flowering in white and coloured varieties, part of them proves to be independent of this and, therefore appear to be characteristic for the variety. Interaction between mother and father varieties was absent.     

The association of genes for purple coleoptile with chromosomes of the wheat variety Mironovskaya 808

Summary The association of genes for purple pigment in the coleoptile with the chromosomes of the winter wheat variety Mironovskaya 808 was investigated using monosomic F₂ analysis. The segregation ratio for F₂ hybrids of Chinese Spring monosomics x Mironovskya 808 seems to indicate that the purple colour of the coleoptile is determined by two dominant genes, Rc₃ and Rc₄, which are located on the chromosomes 7D and 6B respectively, and which reinforce each other. Apart from these two genes, suppressors found on the chromosomes 2A, 2B, 2D, 4B and 6A also play a role in the intensity of the purple colour.With the aid of a Chinese Spring telocentric chromosome marker it was observed that the Rc₃ gene is located on the chromosome arm 7DS, at a distance of 16±4.23 crossover units from the centromere.     

有色稻中花色素、原花色素以及黄酮含量的分析

栽培稻品种豫南黑香糯的叶鞘和颖果分别呈紫色和紫黑色,并且其颜色在整个生长发育过程中呈现不同的变化.本实验对形成颜色差异的花色素、原花色素和黄酮在叶鞘和颖果中的含量分别进行了测定.结果表明:在叶鞘部位花色素、原花色素和黄酮随着生长发育过程含量变化呈S型曲线.在分蘖期花色素和黄酮含量最高,分别为27.104 1 U/g、6.982 6 g/kg,而在拔节期时原花色素含量最高,达到149.0104 g/kg;在颖果部位上述物质则呈直线上升趋势,成熟期花色素、原花色素和黄酮的含量最高,分别为52.6193 U/g、472.3193 g/kg、31.1150g/kg.在叶鞘中相关性分析表明:花色素和原花色素呈显著水平(R=0.911*),花色素与黄酮达极显著水平(R=0.982**);然而在颖果中相关性未达到显著或极显著水平.说明在叶鞘中控制颜色的表现主要是花色素、原花色素和黄酮,在颖果中除了上述物质影响颜色的表达外还受光照、温度等环境因素影响,其深层次的调控机理有待进一步的探讨.     

Extent, variation and breeding impact of natural cross-fertilization in German winter faba beans using hilum colour as marker

Faba bean is a partially allogamous grain legume, mostly sown as spring crop in Central Europe, and in few mild coastal areas of UK and France as a winter crop. A population with a genetically wide base, conceived and selected for superior winter hardiness showing promise as winter crop in Germany was evaluated. The reproductive behaviour of this population was evaluated for its degree of cross-fertilization at five German environments (1999–2001), and inbred lines bred from it, plus one F1 bulk and further checks, were assessed for variation in cross-fertilization at three German environments (2001). Seed hilum colour, a dominant-recessive, biallelic locus, was used as a morphological marker. Cross-fertilization (population mean value of 60%) was shown to be higher than in spring faba beans and was environmentally influenced. Genetic variation was demonstrated, heritability was high (h²= 0.75), and heterosis was negative. Inbred lines with a cross-fertilization of 70% can be easily bred. Breeding synthetic cultivars is recommended, their optimum number of components is expected to be higher than the optimum recommended for spring faba beans. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Increased anthocyanin content in purple pericarp × blue aleurone wheat crosses

Due to their antioxidant activity, anthocyanins are of increasing interest for nutritionists, food scientists and plant breeders. Anthocyanins in wheat grains are expressed in either the pericarp or aleurone layer. Previous studies revealed that different anthocyanins are present in wheat varieties carrying genes for either the purple pericarp or the blue aleurone trait. Progeny from crosses between red‐, purple‐ and blue‐grained wheat varieties were selected over several cycles for grain colour by visual scoring. Bulked F₅ grains were evaluated for their total anthocyanin content by UV‐VIS spectrophotometry and HPLC‐MS. The results demonstrate that it is possible to increase the anthocyanin content by the combination of the different genetic backgrounds for purple pericarp and blue aleurone, even though the majority of progeny were within the range of the purple‐ and blue‐grained check varieties. Visual scoring for grain colour is efficient, reliable and fast for selection in early breeding generations. Advanced breeding lines with high anthocyanin content can be identified by simple extraction methods and spectrophotometric measurements.     

Development of a seedling screening test for predicting relative grain protein content in oats

Summary Growth room experiments were conducted to study associations of grain protein content with properties of seedling leaf sections of oats (Avena sativa L.) using (1) 10 cultivars differing genetically in grain % protein, and (2) 10 populations of a single high protien cultivar (Hinoat) differing phenotypically in grain % protein. These populations, which were derived from a nitrogen fertilizer experiment, had grain protein concentrations which varied over the whole range displayed by the high and low protein cultivars when the latter were tested in a conventional field trial.Seedling leaf % protein was closely associated with grain % protein in both (1) and (2). Chlorophyll content per unit leaf area and leaf dry weight per unit leaf area were significantly higher in the high than in the low protein cultivars, and were significantly higher in all the Hinoat populations than in the low protein cultivars.Excised seedling leaf sections were placed on filter paper moistened with 1 ppm kinetin solution and kept in the dark at 25°C. After 96 h chlorophyll content per unit leaf area was again significantly higher in the high protein cultivars and in all the Hinoat populations than in the low protein cultivars, and the consequent differences in leaf colour were then readily visible. Absolute amounts of chlorophyll lost per unit leaf area were similar in all cultivars and populations, but the low protein cultivars showed a greater proportional loss (as % of initial content). A colour scale was used to visually rate the senesced leaf sections. The visual rating allowed the rapid separation of the high and low protein cultivars, and there was no significant variation in the ratings of the Hinoat populations.It is suggested that this procedure may be useful in the early selection phases of protein breeding programs for screening large populations rapidly at the seedling stage to detect genetic differences in potential grain protein content.Contribution No. 438 from Ottawa Research Station.     

蓝、紫粒小麦的营养品质研究

利用色素基因来源于6种不同的遗传背景的15份蓝、紫粒小麦种质资源材料，进行了子粒品质分析，结果证明，无论色素基因来源于哪种遗传背景，蓝、紫粒的品质性状普遍好于白粒品种，同一粒色不同色素基因来源的种质资源的子粒品质不同，这些蓝紫粒材料不仅可用于小麦优质育种，还可以作为人们生活的保健食品。     

Colour development and quality of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) fruit during ripening and after harvest

The colour of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) fruit changes from green to purple black after harvest as the fruit ripens, and is used as a quality guide for growers and consumers. We determined the relationship between anthocyanin composition and content during fruit colour development in relation to fruit maturity and postharvest quality. Fruit at different stages of maturity (light greenish yellow with 5% scattered pink spots to purple black) were harvested and kept at 25 °C (85–90% RH). Fruit from each maturity stage all developed to the final purple black stage. During the postharvest period, hue angle values and pericarp firmness decreased significantly, while soluble solids contents increased. Anthocyanin contents in the outer pericarp were higher than in the inner pericarp and increased to a maximum at the final colour stage. Sensory evaluation and fruit quality (hue angle values, soluble solids and titratable acidity) of fruit harvested at the different stages did not differ once the fruit had finally developed to the purple black stage. The anthocyanins in the outer pericarp mainly consisted of five compounds, identified by HPLC/MS as cyanidin-sophoroside, cyanidin-glucoside, cyanidin-glucoside-pentoside, cyanidin-glucoside-X, cyanidin-X₂ and cyanidin-X, where X denotes an unidentified residue of m/z 190, a mass which does not correspond to any common sugar residue. Cyanidin-3-sophoroside and cyanidin-3-glucoside were the major compounds and the only ones that increased with fruit colour development.     

Inheritance of flower and pod colour in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.)

Inheritance of flower colour and pod colour in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) has followed a qualitative pattern. Purple flower colour is dominant over white flower colour, whereas black pod colour is partially dominant over white pod colour. A segregation ratio of 3 purple:1 white flowers in F₂ generations of two crosses indicated that white flower colour is controlled by a single recessive. Segregation ratio of F₂ 1 white:2 light black:1 black indicated that black pod colour is partially dominant over white pod colour and is governed by one gene. These results were further confirmed by backcross generations. White flower and pod colour are controlled by single recessive genes on separate chromosome. Gene symbols were assigned. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Genetic gain from early generation selection for cold chipping genotypes in potato

Early generation selection for chip colour may accelerate potato chipping cultivar development. The research objective was to measure the response from early generation selection for light potato chip colour. Progeny from 175 4×× 4× families were propagated to the field using greenhouse grown tubers or seedling transplants. Tubers from progeny were made into potato chips after 3 and 6 months’ storage at 4° C. Chip colour was rated as 1 = light to 10 = dark. Genotypes were categorized as retained (≥ 4) or discarded (> 4) based on the 6‐month chip colour, then field grown a second year at two locations and re‐evaluated for chip colour. Positive selection responses resulted, but were lower in the seedling transplants. Interaction between genotype and environment, and genotype and storage duration reduced responses. Selected genotypes should be evaluated over multiple environments and storage conditions to insure reliable performance. Expanding variation by introgressing favourable alleles from wild species may further enhance breeding success.     

Uniparental inheritance of purple leaf and the associated resistance to leafminer in castor bean

Leafminer ( Liriomyza trifolii Burgess), Diptera Agromyzidae, is one of the insect pests that causes economic damage to castor bean ( Ricinus communis L.) foliage. Green leaf type is a common phenotype in castor bean and highly susceptible to leafminer. The rare purple leaf type germplasm accessions showed stable resistance to leafminer. Studies were carried out to understand the inheritance of purple leaf and the associated leafminer resistance. Direct and reciprocal crosses were made between a purple leaf parent RG1930 and a green leaf parent RG2788. RG1930 is resistant to leafminer while RG2788 is susceptible. Reciprocal differences were noted in segregation pattern of purple leaf colour as well as resistance to leafminer. Purple leaf phenotype was obtained only in purple × green (RG1930 × RG2788) cross where the female parent was a purple leaf phenotype. The reciprocal cross green × purple (RG2788 × RG1930) produced only the green leaf phenotype. Uniparental inheritance was observed for purple leaf phenotype and resistance to leafminer in F₁, F₂, F₃ and backcross generations. Progenies with a dark purple leaf were resistant to leafminer while those with a green leaf were susceptible. Visual association between a purple leaf and resistance to leafminer and their uniparental inheritance were clearly established. The role of heritable epigenetic effects are discussed in expression of purple pigment in offspring.     

谷子（粟）品种资源抗旱性鉴定研究

采用苗期反复干旱法鉴定谷子抗旱性,结果可靠,有实用性.谷子抗旱性与米质粳糯、产地、苗子萎蔫早晚有关,而与苗色和生育期无关.露地全生育期鉴定,苗期与穗期鉴定结果一致的品种有94.3%,将苗期鉴定结果应用于穗期,失误机率为2.9%;苗期与成熟阶段鉴定结果一致的仅75.6%.苗期反复干旱法鉴定结果表明,谷子忍耐干旱程度的强弱、苗期的长短可作为衡量忍耐干旱持续时间的指标.根据谷子忍耐干旱的强度和持续时间,可因地制宜选用抗旱品种材料.     

杂交水稻品种鉴定技术研究

该试验用幼苗形态鉴定法对杂交裟品种进行鉴定。结果表明，通过特定的温度、光照和药剂处理，杂交一代Ｆ１的茎基部呈深红色，而不育系Ａ和保持系Ｂ的茎基部无色或仅呈微红色。故可鉴定出Ｆ１的纯度，但不能将Ａ与Ｂ区分出来。