Effects of S1-recurrent selection for protein yield on seven agronomic traits of oat

Summary Three S₁-recurrent selection programs (designated HG, HP, and HGP) for increasing protein yield of oat (Avena sativa L.) were conducted for five cycles of selection. The selection criteria in each program (line of descent) emphasized different components of protein yield; high grain yield in HG, both high protein concentration of the groats (caryopsis) and high grain yield in HP, and high protein yield per se in HGP. Heading date and height were restricted to no net change. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the agronomic performance of these three lines of descent and the correlated responses in agronomic traits due to selection. Thirty to sixty random S₀-derived lines from each cycle and ten check lines were grown in hill-plot experiments at two locations in 1989. Grain yield increased in all three lines of descent; HG showed the greatest rate of gain followed by HGP and then HP (0.20, 0.10, and 0.07 Mg ha^-1 per cycle, respectively). Test weight decreased in HGP by 2.6 kg m^-3 per cycle and in HP by 4.0 kg m^-3 per cycle, but remained constant in HG. Cycle 5 (C₅) means for straw yield, height, and seed weight were not significantly different from the C₀ means for any line of descent. Groat percent remained unchanged in HGP, increased from 70.1 to 71.7% in HG, and decreased from 69.9 to 67.6% in HP. Heading date decreased by 3 d in HG and HGP, but remained unchanged in HP. HG compares most favorably with commercial cultivars because of its high yield and acceptable agronomic traits, while HP tends to be low in test weight, seed weight, and groat percent.Abbreviations BM- above ground biomass - GP- groat (caryopsis) percent, fraction of average seed weight that is groat rather than hulls - GPC- groat-protein concentration - GPY- groat-protein yield - GTY- groat yield - GY- grain yield - HD- heading date - HG- selection for protein yield through high grain yield - HGP- selection for protein yield per se - HP- selection for protein yield through high grain yield and high groat-protein concentration - HT- height - PY- protein yield - SDWT- seed weight - SY- straw yield - TWT- test weight     

Functional and antigenic properties of GlpO from Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC: characterization of a flavin adenine dinucleotide-binding site deletion mutant

L-α-glycerophosphate oxidase (GlpO) plays a central role in virulence of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC, a severe bacterial pathogen causing contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP). It is involved in production and translocation of toxic H₂O₂ into the host cell, causing inflammation and cell death. The binding site on GlpO for the cofactor flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) has been identified as Gly ₁₂−Gly₁₃−Gly ₁₄−Ile₁₅−Ile₁₆−Gly ₁₇. Recombinant GlpO lacking these six amino acids (GlpOΔFAD) was unable to bind FAD and was also devoid of glycerophosphate oxidase activity, in contrast to non-modified recombinant GlpO that binds FAD and is enzymatically active. Polyclonal monospecific antibodies directed against GlpOΔFAD, similarly to anti-GlpO antibodies, neutralised H₂O₂ production of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC grown in the presence of glycerol, as well as cytotoxicity towards embryonic calf nasal epithelial (ECaNEp) cells. The FAD-binding site of GlpO is therefore suggested as a valuable target site for the future construction of deletion mutants to yield attenuated live vaccines of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC necessary to efficiently combat CBPP.     

Estimates of selection parameters associated with harvest index in oat lines derived from a bulk population

Summary Harvest index of grain crops is defined as grain yield divided by total plant yield. We estimated the heritability percentages of harvest index and its components, grain yield and plant weight, the genotypic and phenotypic correlations among these three traits, and the genotypic correlations of harvest index with plant height, 100-seed weight, grain number, and heading date by using a population of 1200 F₉-derived oat lines tested in six environments. Furthermore, we examined the relative selection efficiencies of indirect selection for yield through harvest index and of index selection for yield through yield plus harvest index.Heritability percentages were computed by use of variance-component, standard-unit, and realizedheritability methods. The heritability percentages for harvest index, grain yield, and plant weight were similar, and averaged between 50 and 65 precent across environments. Standard-unit and realized heritability percentages agreed closely and generally were lower than those computed via the variance-component method. Expected heritability percentages for harvest index calculated by using grain and plant yield data agreed almost exactly with actual values. Genotypic correlations were 0.88 between grain yield and plant weight, 0.42 between harvest index and grain yield, and –0.07 between harvest index and plant weight. Genotypic and phenotipic correlations were similar in magnitude. Theoretical and actual genotypic and phenotypic correlations of harvest index with grain yield and plant weight agreed closely. Genotypic correlations, computed via parent-offspring relationships, between harvest index and plant height, 100-seed weight, grain number, and heading date averaged –0.41, 0.43, 0.00, and –0.33 respectively.Indirect selection for grain yield through harvest index was 43 percent as efficient as direct selection, and a selection index that combined harvest index and grain yield was no more efficient than direct selection for yield. Harvest index had little value as a selection criterion for grain yield improvement when unrestricted selection was used. Indirect selection for grain yield through harvest index, however, would be expected to retain lines with a more favorable combination of yield, plant height and heading date than would unrestricted direct selection for yield.Journal Paper No. J-7914 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economic Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa 50010, Project No. 1752.     

Tail reconnection triggering substorm onset

Magnetospheric substorms explosively release solar wind energy previously stored in Earth's magnetotail, encompassing the entire magnetosphere and producing spectacular auroral displays. It has been unclear whether a substorm is triggered by a disruption of the electrical current flowing across the near-Earth magnetotail, at approximately 10 R(E) (R(E): Earth radius, or 6374 kilometers), or by the process of magnetic reconnection typically seen farther out in the magnetotail, at approximately 20 to 30 R(E). We report on simultaneous measurements in the magnetotail at multiple distances, at the time of substorm onset. Reconnection was observed at 20 R(E), at least 1.5 minutes before auroral intensification, at least 2 minutes before substorm expansion, and about 3 minutes before near-Earth current disruption. These results demonstrate that substorms are likely initiated by tail reconnection.     

Antigenic and genetic characterisation of lipoprotein lppC from Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC

Lipoprotein lppC, an immunodominant antigen, and its corresponding gene lppC were characterised in Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides small colony (SC) type, the etiological agent of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP). The lppC gene was found in the type strain of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC and in field strains isolated in Europe, Africa, and Australia, as well as in vaccine strains. Southern blot analysis indicated the presence of at least four copies of lppC in the genome of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC, of which only one seems to be functional. Genes homologous to lppC have also been detected in closely related mycoplasmas such as M. mycoides subsp. mycoides large colony (LC) type and in M. sp. bovine group 7. lppC is encoded as a precursor with a consensus sequence for a prokaryotic signal peptidase II. The amino acid sequence of lppC and its precursor showed similarity to both LppB (at the N-terminal domain) and LppQ (at the C-terminal domain), two lipoproteins described previously in M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC. The N-terminal domain of the mature lppC seems to be surface exposed. The C-terminal domain presented an integral membrane structure made up of five repeated units, rich in hydrophobic and aromatic amino acids, which may have pore forming potential in the mycoplasmal membrane. A recombinant peptide representing the N-terminal half of lppC was obtained following cloning in vector pETHIS-1 and expression in Escherichia coli hosts. The recombinant protein was used on immunoblots for serological analysis of sera from cattle that were naturally or experimentally infected with M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC.