Genetic variation in cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.) populations for mottle virus resistance

Summary Highly significant and continuous variation in the degree of injury due to cocksfoot mottle virus (CfMV) infection was found among clones of 7 cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.) populations, taken at random among surviving plants in 9 year old swards. Broad sense heritabilities for CfMV injury ranged from 0.52 to 0.91 within populations, and genotypic correlations between CfMV injury and total DM-yield ranged from –0.46 to –0.88. The relationship between CfMV injury and DM-yield could be described by a second degree curve. CfMV injury was to some extent genotypically correlated in the positive direction with crude protein content and digestibility, and negatively with crude fiber content, especially in the first cut. Artificial infection of plants from the original populations with CfMV in a simulated sward experiment, did not reveal any significant differences between populations in tolerance towards CfMV infection. Infection caused a 54.5% increase in the number of dead plants per plot, relative to uninfected plots, but only a 4.5% reduction in dry matter yield. There is a clear tendency that synthetic populations selected for high yield are less tolerant towards CfMV infection than unselected or low yielding populations. The resistance found in these cocksfoot populations is a sort of tolerance, and the results indicate that the level of tolerance can be increased by selection.     

Intraspecific phenotypic variation associated with nuclear DNA content in Lolium perenne L.

The variation in nuclear DNA content and its association with phenotypic traits were examined in 15 cultivated populations of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), including herbage and turf populations. Nuclear DNA contents of 15 populations were measured by a flow cytometric method using DAPI (4′-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) as a fluorochrome. DNA contents were also measured using PI (propidium iodide) for six populations that showed large differences in DAPI values to confirm the difference. There were significant differences in nuclear DNA contents among the populations for both dyes. Of the total variation in nuclear DNA content measured with DAPI, 29% was ascribed to the inter-population variation, 46% was ascribed to the intra-population variation, 24% was ascribed to the random error variation. Herbage populations tended to have larger DNA content than did turf populations. 2C DNA content was positively correlated with cell size, seed size and single leaf size, although significant correlations were mainly due to a small number of populations with large and small DNA contents. These results suggest that intraspecific variation in nuclear DNA content plays important roles in determining phenotypic differences between cultivated populations of L. perenne. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Soyabean-seed Yield Response in Row- and Hill-plots under a Recurrent Selection Programme

Several studies have indicated a possible link between genome size and earliness in maize. In this study, an original maize population, South African photo-period insensitive maize composite II (C₀) and several selected generations were analyzed for days to flowering, plant height, ear height, and yield. The selection criterion was earliness. Over six cycles of selection a 14-day decrease in days to flowering was obtained with no significant reduction in grain yield. In the initial population (C₀) and the most advanced selection (C₆) 101 plants were analyzed for nuclear DNA content. A significant decrease in the mean nuclear DNA content of the C₀ population (102 AU) was observed with respect to the C₀ population (105 AU). This reduction was the result of a decrease in frequency of plants in the C₆ population with large genome sizes. Therefore it was concluded that selection for earliness resulted in selection against plants with large genome sizes. Hence, the nucleotype of a maize plant can be modified by selection such as early flowering time.     

Selection for Oil Content in East Indian Lemongrass

The response of oil content to phenotypic selection was studied in a population of lemongrass raised from seeds of a clonally propagated variety SD-68. During November-December 1982, 400 plants were evaluated for oil content. Five per cent of the evaluated plants were selected for high and low oil content and were separately intermated in isolated polycross (PC) blocks in November 1983-February 1984. The populations derived from high and low oil PC blocks were evaluated, along with the unselected parental population and OD-19, a variety used as a local check, in a randomized complete block design, during October 1984, January and May 1985 for leaf yield, oil content and citral content in oil. The high oil PC population had a significantly higher oil content than the unselected parental population and the local check OD-19, during all the three seasons. The low oil PC population had a significantly lower oil content than the unselected parental population in January and May 1985. Over seasons, the high oil PC population had 0.15 per cent higher oil content than the unselected parent population. Realized heritabilities for high and low oil content were 0.52 and 0.50, respectively. No significant differences were observed between the different populations for leaf yield in all the three seasons and for citral content in October 1984. In January and May 1985, the differences in citral content were not related to the differences in oil content.     

Evaluation of seedling selection for salinity tolerance in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Summary Salt-tolerance in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) was selected on the basis of germination and survival of seed sown in trays of perlite suspended in either 75 or 150 mM NaCl. Salinity reduced the germination of seed. Genetic differences in salt-tolerance were apparent with salt reducing germination more in seed collected from cv. Cara than in that collected from cv. Maris Piper. Progeny from the seedling selection were then grown to maturity to produce tubers.The relative tolerance of the parental cultivars and of unselected and selected progeny to long-term exposure to salinity was examined in a pot experiment in which plants were irrigated with either fresh water or 50 mM NaCl solution from one week after plant emergence. In this experiment, salinity significantly reduced leaf conductance, total dry matter production and partitioning of assimilate to tubers. Salinity reduced dry matter production and assimilate partitioning to tubers to a greater extent in Cara than in M. Piper. Progeny selected for short-term salt-tolerance did not exhibit greater long-term salt-tolerance than unselected progeny, and both were more sensitive than M. Piper.These results demonstrate genetic variation in salt-tolerance in potato. However, although there was a correlation between the performance of the parent to long-term salinity and survival of progeny in the seedling selection, there was no correlation between short- and long-term salt-tolerance. This suggests that characters underlying short-term tolerance may contribute to long-term tolerance but do not of themselves confer long-term tolerance. Future progress in selecting for improved salt-tolerance depends on understanding the effects of salinity on the physiological processes underlying growth and carbon partitioning.     

磷脂酶D对拟南芥抗冻性的影响

为了探索磷脂酶D（PLD）在调控植物抗冻性中的作用,进一步揭示植物抗冻机理和磷脂低温信号转导机制的研究。笔者应用人工气候霜箱,对PLDγ1、PLDγ3基因分别被敲除的拟南芥突变体及野生型材料,进行低温驯化和冻害胁迫处理。试验发现,这2个基因的敲除型无论是经过还是未经过低温驯化冻害处理的离子渗漏率都与相同处理野生型拟南芥的离子渗漏率无显著差异。试验结果表明,PLDγ1和PLDγ3这2个基因既未参与组成型调控植物的抗冻性,也未参与低温信号转导过程。     

Variation and association of morphological and biochemical characters in grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.)

Fifty grass pea land race populations of Ethiopia that were selected based on administrative regions and different altitude classes were used in this study to determine variability in morphological characters, Oxalyl Diamino Propanoic acid(ODAP) – a causative agent of lathyrism, and protein contents and their associations. Highly significant differences were observed among the populations for most of the morphological characters. Populations collected from Gondar region and the higher altitude group (>2550 m) showed the highest mean and coefficient of variation indicating the presence of high genetic diversity in this region and altitude group. ODAP analysis from single plants showed significant variation both within a population and between populations. Four individual plants with low ODAP contents ranging from 0.149% to 0.182% (range within safe level) were identified in populations collected from different regions, indicating the diversity and variation of this trait with in one population and between regions. These low ODAP lines are considered important for further breeding. The association of ODAP with grain yield, biomass, plant height and seed size was negative, suggesting that the selection of tall and late maturing varieties with large seed size and high grain yield potential will enable the development of varieties with low ODAP content. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

超级杂交稻‘Y两优2号’耐冷性QTL定位与杂种优势分析

挖掘耐冷基因并提高耐冷性对于保证水稻在气候变化条件下的高产稳产具有至关重要的意义。本研究利用‘远恢2号’和‘Y58S’杂交而成的超级杂交稻‘Y两优2号’的高世代重组自交系(RIL F14)276个家系作为作图群体,以SNP为分子标记构建了高密度遗传图谱,对水稻的芽期耐冷性(cold tolerance at the bud bursting period,CTBP)性状进行数量性状位点(quantitative trait locus,QTL)定位分析;同时对全世界范围内收集的水稻自然变异微核心(Minicore)种质群体进行芽期耐冷性全基因组关联分析(genome-wide association study,GWAS)。结果表明,水稻芽期耐冷性在水稻群体内呈连续分布,是由多基因控制的数量性状。同时,在RIL群体的第9号染色体上定位到1个与耐冷性性状相关的QTL,位于区间Block73479和Block72824之间,对表型变异的解释率为9.65%。进一步分析表明该QTL对水稻芽期耐冷性为负显性。结果还显示‘Y两优2号’耐冷性显著强于亲本,具有杂种优势。     

Spring Freeze Effect on Wheat Yield is Modulated by Winter Temperature Fluctuations: Evidence from Meta‐Analysis and Simulating Experiment

Increasing climatic variability is projected to affect large‐scale atmospheric circulation, triggers and exacerbates more extreme weather events, including winter warming and more frequent extreme low temperatures in spring. Historical data from 1961–2000 indicate these temperature fluctuations may seriously affect grain yield of winter wheat crops. In this study, a field air temperature control system (FATC) was used to simulate the winter warming, spring cold and freezing events in the field experiment in 2010–2011 to explore their impacts on growth and yield of winter wheat. Eight elite wheat varieties released during 1961–2000 were included and four temperature scenarios were applied, including late spring freeze alone, winter warming + late spring freeze, early spring cold + late spring freeze and the normal temperature condition as control. Winter warming combined with late spring freeze significantly decreased tiller survival rate, leaf photosynthetic rate and leaf growth in wheat plants, and reduced the spike number and kernel number per spike, and the final grain yield. In contrast, the wheat plants experienced early spring cold had higher tiller survival rate, leaf photosynthetic capacity and sugar accumulation and improved tolerance to the late spring freeze, resulting in less yield loss, as compared with those without experiencing early spring cold. Both the meta‐analyses and the field experimental data demonstrated that the effects of later spring freeze stress on wheat yield were exacerbated by winter warming but were extenuated by early spring cold events. Therefore, it is important to consider the characteristics of temperature fluctuations during winter to spring for precise evaluation of climate change effects on wheat production.     

Variation within and among Ladino white clover ecotypes for agronomic traits

Summary One set of 285 genotypes from three landraces and one natural population and a second set of 165 genotypes from two landraces and one natural population were evaluated in separate trials. Variation among populations was mostly accounted for by the difference between landrace and natural population genotype groups, the former showing features related to higher seed yield and short-term aerial dry matter (DM) yield and to lower persistence, cold tolerance and protein content. Compared to variance among ecotypes, that within ecotypes was never lower and it was at least four-fold higher for important traits such as aerial and total (aerial plus stolon) DM yield, stolon density, production of seed heads and cold tolerance. Landraces and natural populations showed similar levels of intra-population variation for all traits except cold tolerance, for which landraces tended to somewhat greater variation. Trait associations were less definite at the genotype level than what previously found in terms of mean values of the ecotypes. This finding and the relatively high broad sense heritability which was observed for all components of DM and seed yield can support the breeding activity on this clover. The level of variation and of heritability found for protein content do not suggest the routine evaluation of this trait in breeding programmes.     

Absence of a genetic relationship between salt tolerance during seed germination and vegetative growth in tomato

Two approaches were used to determine the relationship between salt tolerance during seed germination and vegetative growth in tomato. First, F₄ progeny families of a cross between a breeding line, ‘UCT5’ (salt sensitive at all developmental stages), and a primitive cultivar, ‘PI 174263’ (salt tolerant during germination and vegetative growth), were evaluated in separate experiments for salt tolerance during germination and vegetative growth. There were significant differences among the F₄ families in both the rate of seed germination and the plant growth (dry matter production) under salt stress. There was, however, no significant correlation between the ability of seeds to germinate rapidly and the ability of plants to grow under salt stress. In the second approach, selection was made for rapid germination under salt stress in an F₂ population of the same cross and the selected progeny was evaluated for salt tolerance during both germination and vegetative growth. The results indicated that selection for salt tolerance during germination significantly improved germination performance under salt stress; a realized heritability estimate of 0.73 was obtained. Selection for salt tolerance during germination, however, did not affect plant salt tolerance during vegetative growth; there was no significant difference between the selected and unselected progeny based on either absolute or relative growth under salt stress. Obviously, in these genetic materials, salt tolerance during germination and vegetative growth are controlled by different mechanisms. Thus, to develop tomato cultivars with improved salt tolerance, selection protocols that include all critical developmental stages would be desirable.     

Selection of cell-lines and regeneration of plants resistant to fusaric acid from Gladiolus × grandiflorus cv. ‘Peter Pears’

Cell suspension cultures of ‘Peter Pears’, a cultivar of Gladiolus x grandiflorus (Hort.), susceptible to the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. gladioli (Mass.), have been challenged with fusaric acid, one of the toxins produced by this pathogen. Selected cell-lines showed increased tolerance to the toxin and grew even on concentrations of fusaric acid up to 0.5 mm. When inoculated with a conidial suspension, the mycelial growth on selected cell-lines was limited compared to the control. Fusaric acid greatly reduced plant regeneration, and only two plants were obtained from the callus subcultured for a prolonged time on medium with fusaric acid. These plants have a significantly altered DNA content compared to the control. A reduced callus phase on toxin-containing medium, resulted in an improved regeneration and the DNA content of the regenerated plantlets was similar to the control. Some plants regenerated from these fusaric acid-insensitive cell-lines showed an increased tolerance to the toxin when cultured in vitro in presence of fusaric acid. The selected plants will be further tested for Fusarium-resistance once maturity is reached. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Breeding tomato for pollen tolerance to low temperatures by gametophytic selection

Haploid selection for traits related to pollen cold tolerance in tomato was performed in segregating populations derived from a Lycopersicon esculentum × L. pennellii hybrid. BC₁ populations were obtained by combining normal and low temperature treatments on two stages of pollen development: pollen formation, and germination and pollen tube growth. F₁ hybrids were cultivated under low and normal temperatures and their pollen was used to pollinate L. esculentum plants at low and normal temperatures. The four BC₁ populations obtained were tested for the quality and quantity of pollen produced at low temperatures. The population obtained by cold treatment at both stages had a significantly improved pollen germination ability at low temperatures. The two other coldselected BC₁ populations showed no differences compared with the unselected BC population. A second cycle of pollen selection, corresponding to BC₂, was applied in order to test its persistence in the subsequent generations and the possibility to further improve the character. This second cycle showed no improvement although some plants retained the high pollen germination ability at low temperatures that was observed in the first cycle. Hence, gametophytic selection of some characters related with tomato pollen performance may be feasible, at least for the first cycle of selection.     

Effect of gamma radiation on growth and lignin content in Brachypodium distachyon

Brachypodium distachyon has been highlighted as a model monocot plant with small genome and short life cycle. Biofuels are being developed as renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels. Bioethanol production is negatively correlated with lignin content. Here, Brachypodium was acutely or chronically irradiated at doses of 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 Gy. The effect of radiation on plant growth and generation of mutant populations was explored. The lethal effect of radiation was higher in acutely irradiated M0 populations. A dose-dependent negative effect in plant height, tiller number, floral spikelet, and total seed number was observed, with a positive effect in days to heading. The phenotype of 1,773 M₁ plants was evaluated, with 417 plants being selected to construct the M₂ population. The 31 M₂ plants that showed the least staining with phloroglucinol were selected. These mutants could be useful materials for studies such as identification of nucleotide substitutions in genes involved in lignin biosynthesis pathway, monitoring of mutant physiological traits, and evaluation of fitness for bioethanol production. As biological resources, the M₂ populations generated in this work will contribute to studies of functional genomics of Brachypodium and to the breeding of grass crops.     

Expression of barley yellow dwarf virus and Russian wheat aphid resistance genes in and fertility of spring wheat × triticale hybrids and backcross lines

Summary The Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus disease (BYDV) and the Russian wheat aphid (RWA) Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko) have caused significant losses to wheat and barley in several areas of the world. Important sources of resistance to both BYDV and RWA have been found in Triticale. Different generations of interspecific wheat x Triticale crosses were produced and the progenies were screened for BYDV and RWA tolerance. Plants with equal chromosome numbers showed different levels of fertility. A significant correlation was observed between pollen fertility and seed set in primary florets (r=0.57). In generaL, pollen fertility, seed set and the number of euploid plants (2n=42) increased from one generation to the next. The expression of BYDV tolerance varied from population to population. Additive effects were predominant in F₁ and some backcross populations. A dominant effect of rye tolerance genes was also observed in few populations. A monogenic trait or a quantitative (polygenic) character would not agree with the observed segregation patterns. The heritability of this oligogenic tolerance was quite different between populations and in many populations the tolerance genes were only partially expressed. Some transgressive segregation for tolerance and sensitivity was demonstrated. The genes controlling tolerance to RWA in Triticale lines, Muskox 658 and Nord Kivu were not expressed in advanced lines resistant to BYDV. This indicates that tolerance genes for BYDV and RWA in these lines are located on different chromosomes.     

Improvement of Salt Tolerance in Maize by Selection and Breeding

Genetic variation for NaCl tolerance at the vegetative stage was assessed in nutrient solution culture in maize (Zea mays L.). Shoot growth, and plant fresh and dry weight of the two cultivars, Akbar and Sadat were severely reduced after three weeks growth in 120, 150, and ISO mol m^?3 NaCl. There was however considerable variability between seedlings. Ten-thousands seeds of cv. Akbar were therefore screened for shoot growth at 180 mol m^?3 NaCl after four weeks growth in sand culture. A selection intensity of 0.42 % was achieved. Eighteen selected plants were polycrossed for estimation of narrow-sense heritability based on female parent-progeny regression. A narrow-sense heritability estimate of 0.54 was obtained. The progeny of the salt-tolerant selection line and selfed progeny plants of the unselccted control lines of cvs Akbar and Sadat were grown for six weeks in 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 mol m^?3 NaCl in sand culture. The tolerant line produced significantly greater fresh and dry biomass and had greater shoot length than the unselected cv. Akbar, but the selection line derived from cv. Akbar was equal to the salt tolerant cv. Sadat in all the growth parameters measured. These data suggest that in maize, improvement in salt tolerance could be obtained through further cycles of selection and breeding.     

中棉所12配制的2个杂交棉DNA甲基化遗传与传递

DNA甲基化在真核生物的生长发育过程中起着重要的调控作用。本研究用MSAP方法分析了中棉所12配制的2个杂交棉和亲本不同发育时期的基因组DNA 5′-CCGG位点胞嘧啶的甲基化水平及其遗传传递模式。研究表明: (1)杂交棉及其亲本不同发育时期的胞嘧啶甲基化水平不同,随着生育期的逐步推进,出现两头低而中间高现象;(2)两个杂交棉组合的DNA 甲基化总体水平为12.41%~20.05%,其中以内侧胞嘧啶全甲基化为主(约占6.90%~11.47%);(3)棉花中绝大多数CCGG胞嘧啶甲基化位点是由亲本稳定遗传给杂交种的,但杂交棉仍有1.14%~3.39%的位点显示了变异,其变异频率在不同亲本组合之间和不同发育时期都存在差异;(4)对甲基化差异条带测序分析发现,其功能涉及到富含亮氨酸重复、类PDR的ABC转运蛋白、GTP结合蛋白、病程相关蛋白、磷酸激酶、功能未知的蛋白质和反转录酶等,部分差异序列没有产生有意义的匹配。     

Physiological Effects of Winter Rape (Brassica napus var. oleifera) Prehardening to Frost. II. Growth, Energy Partitioning and Water Status during Cold Acclimation

Prehardening of winter rape, i.e. its early growth in a reduced day temperature (+12°C) from emergence to the beginning of cold acclimation at chilling temperatures (the 1^st stage of cold acclimation), has a beneficial influence on frost resistance. In earlier studies it has been demonstrated that during prehardening, plants formed leaf rosettes and increased the photosynthetic efficiency at chilling temperatures. In the present study investigations were carried out on the effect of prehardening on the growth rate of the plants during the 1^st stage of cold acclimation, and the progress of selected physiological processes occurring during this stage and resulting in increased frost resistance. It has been demonstrated that a greater inflow of photoassimilates during the 1^st stage of cold acclimation results in greater increments of the dry mass of prehardened plants. These plants show also a distinct inhibition both of the elongation growth and the rate of expanding new leaves. The acquired energy is thus spent to a greater extent on the processes associated with increasing frost resistance, and not on growth. In prehardened seedlings, during the 1^st stage of cold acclimation, there have been observed in leaves a higher rate of both water content decrease and drop in the osmotic potential of the cell sap and water potential in the tissues. Also an increased accumulation of soluble sugars and free proline was noticed. However, the beginning of these processes was not observed during the prehardening period. Prehardening stimulated the effectiveness of the 1^st stage indirectly through changes leading to the increased amount of available energy and enabling the utilisation of the greater part of acquired energy in the cold acclimation process.     

Assessing freeze tolerance in St. Augustinegrass: II. acclimation treatment effects

The adaptation of St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum [Walt.] Kuntze) in the transitional climatic zone of the United States is limited due to a lack of sufficient freeze tolerance. Lab-based freeze testing provides plant breeders with a reliable method for evaluating freeze tolerance. However, in developing protocols for freeze testing it is important to account for the underlying mechanisms that affect freeze tolerance. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of cold acclimation and deacclimation on nine St. Augustinegrass genotypes ranging in their levels of freeze tolerance. Results indicated that accounting for all levels of acclimation provided excellent genotype separation across freezing temperatures (? 3 and ? 4 °C) and supports the hypothesis that the inclusion of acclimation response offers the best overall assessment of freeze tolerance. Genotypes with the highest known field winter survival had also the highest improved freeze tolerance upon cold-acclimation. Other genotypes did not respond to cold-acclimation which resulted in poor survival and recovery rates. Conversely, a significant loss of freeze tolerance was identified when plants were subjected to deacclimation events suggesting that St. Augustinegrass can be negatively affected by rapid temperature changes in the transitional climatic zone leading to increased sensitivity to winterkill. Overall, this study provides preliminary information regarding the complex relationships within and between mechanisms affecting freeze tolerance in St. Augustinegrass. Moreover, results presented here should aid in the development of protocols for selection of freeze tolerant breeding materials under controlled environmental conditions.     

Rhodes grass breeding in Kenya I. Intra-variety variation and character relationships

Summary Spaced swards of 3000 plants and a selected subpopulation of 750 plants of 3 commericial Rhodes varieties, Mbarara, Masaba and Pokot, were studied between 1969 and 1975. Intra-variety variation was large in heading date, vigour of growth, seed (PGS) yield, persistence, drought tolerance and in vitro digestibility.There were on average 6 weeks between the heading date of the first and the last 5% of the plants within a variety. Variation in heading date was largely accounted for by variation in vigour and vice versa. Vigorous plants tended to be early heading and only few plants were found to possess a combination of high vigour and late heading.Among plants equally selected for high vigour from within a variety, early-heading plants were higher in PGS yield, persistence, drought tolerance and digestibility.