Agronomical performance and breeding value of selected strains of diploid wheat,Triticum monococcum

Summary Twenty-one germplasm accessions and breeding lines of einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum ssp. monococcum and ssp. sinskajae) were grown at two sites in Italy and evaluated for various field and seed characteristics. Grain yields of germplasm accessions were relatively high (317–3238 kg/ha), but distinctly lower than those of four modern cultivars of tetraploid (T. turgidum ssp. durum) and hexaploid wheat (T. aestivum ssp. Aestivum) included in the experiments as controls. As expected, all Einkorns-including some substantially higher yielding crossbred lines (3415–4362 kg/ha)-were defective for one or more agronomically relevant features. However, a few of the accessions examined were found to contain, as a group, practically all the genes needed to breed monococcums having the main field attributes of a modern wheat cultivar: high yielding capacity, good threshability, large kernel size, earliness, short stature and adequate lodging resistance. Still higher yielding diploid wheats, more responsive to improved growing conditions and of better seed quality, could probably be obtained from crosses with wild monococcums bearing mostly two-seeded florets and with accessions producing less slender-shaped kernels. Some of the Einkorns examined were found to carry minor genes for easy threshing which might enhance the efficacy of the major gene for soft glumes carried by T. monococcum ssp. sinskajae, a partially free-threshing diploid wheat taxon. Seed protein percentage of monococcums was markedly higher than that of durum and bread wheat cultivars even in those cases where their grain yields surpassed those of the polyploid checks. The possibilities offered by diploid wheat in the exploitation of novel endosperm mutants and F₁ hybrid vigour, as well as in the fields of celiac disease, crop diversification and resistance to agro-biological stresses are discussed. Breeding priorities and strategies are also proposed.     

A methodology for evaluating a location as a selection site for an international plant breeding program

Summary A method for comparing locations as selection sites based upon their abilities to predict yield and disease reaction over a target region is proposed. The probability of coincidence in selection for a site is defined as the probability for a line selected at the site to be selected at other sites within the region. The probability of divergence in rejection is defined as that associated with regional selection of a line given that is discarded by the site where selection is being conducted. The ideal selection site would maximize the probability of coincidence in selection and minimize the probability of divergence in rejection. The method is illustrated using a set of data from the rice yield nurseries of the International Rice Testing Program for Latin America planted under the rainfed conditions of Central América and México during the period 1978–1984. Five locations were compared for their predictive ability in selecting for the rainfed rice growing region, based on yield and disease reaction. Selection for yield was defined as performance superior to the best check in each location. Selection for disease reaction was based on an index derived from the Standard Evaluation System for Rice for diseases of regional importance. Locations varies 10–15 percent in their selection coincidence with the region for both yield and disease selection criteria applied independently.     

Assessment of the production of antioxidants from winemaking waste solids

Winemaking waste solids (WS, resulting from red grapes after fermentation and distillation to recover spirits) were subjected to various processing schemes for isolating fractions with antioxidant activity. The liquors entrapped in WS as received were separated by pressing and freeze-dried to yield a fraction with antioxidant activity (measured as DPPH radical scavenging capacity) comparable to those of synthetic antioxidants. A second approach based on the direct processing of raw WS in sulfuric acid medium under fixed operational conditions and further extraction of hydrolysis liquors with ethyl acetate enabled the isolation of a fraction with higher antioxidant ability at an improved yield. The most favorable approach started with a washing stage leading to liquors (which were directly freeze-dried to yield 1.20 g of extract/100 g of oven-dry WS and presented an EC50 of 0.41 g of extract/L) and washed solids, which were dried and subjected to hydrolytic processing (i) with water as a reactive in an autocatalyzed reaction (autohydrolysis) or (ii) with sulfuric acid solutions to give an ethyl acetate-soluble fraction with improved antioxidant properties (EC50 in the range of 0.18-0.40 g/L). Samples from washing liquors and processing of washed solids in aqueous medium were subjected to chromatographic fractionation and analysis to give isolates with remarkable antioxidant activity (with EC50 as low as 0.07 g/L) and to identify their major components.     

Influence of micelles on the basic degradation of carbofuran

The effect of micellar aggregates upon the stability of carbofuran in basic media has been studied. The effect of the presence of micelles upon the basic hydrolysis of carbofuran is a function of the nature of the surfactant monomer. Important catalysis of basic hydrolysis of carbofuran in the presence of colloid aggregates with positive surface charge has been reported. On the other hand, the presence of anionic and nonionic surfactants implies a large inhibition of the basic hydrolysis of carbofuran. Both catalysis and inhibition are due to the association of carbofuran with the micellar core. The kinetic constants for the basic hydrolysis of carbofuran in these microheterogeneous media have been obtained on the basis of a micellar pseudophase model. No significant changes in the intrinsic reactivity of HO- against carbofuran have been observed.     

Sulfometuron resistance as a genetic marker for yeast populations in wine fermentations

Winemaking with selected yeasts requires simple and cheap techniques to monitor the yeast population dynamics. We obtained new sulfometuron (smr) resistant mutants, easy to detect by replica-plate assay, from selected wine yeasts. The mutations were dominant and were located at the ilv2 locus that encodes for acetolactate synthase enzyme. The mutants were genetically stable and maintained the killer phenotype of the parent yeast strain. They were genetically improved by elimination of recessive growth-retarding alleles followed by spore clone selection according to the must fermentation kinetics and the organoleptic quality of the wine. Some mutants were tested in industrial winemaking and were easily monitored during must fermentation using a simple plate assay. They accounted for more than 95% of the total yeasts in the must, and the resulting wine had as good a quality as those made with standard commercial wine yeasts.     

Off-vine grape drying effect on volatile compounds and aromatic series in must from Pedro Ximénez grape variety

Changes in 36 volatile compounds of must from ripe grapes dried by direct exposure to sun and must from ripe grapes were studied. Compounds not dependent on sampling site in both musts were selected, and their concentration/Brix degree ratio values, were subjected to variance analysis. Only butan-1-ol and isoamyl alcohols showed no differences, while (E)-hex-3-en-1-ol, (Z)-hex-3-en-1-ol, (E)-hex-2-en-1-ol, (E)-hex-2-enal, hexanoic acid, isobutanol, benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, gamma-butyrolactone, gamma-hexalactone, and 5-methylfurfural, showed significant differences between the two must types, which may be ascribed to the drying process. An approach to describe must odor has been carried out by grouping volatile compounds in aromatic series, increasing their values in the fruity, solvent, sweet, and roasted series and diminishing the herbaceous as a consequence of the drying process.     

Syntheses of (Z,E)-5,7-dodecadienol and (E,Z)-10,12-hexadecadienol,lepidoptera pheromone components,via zinc reduction of enyne precursors. test of pheromone efficacy against the Siberian moth

Efficient syntheses of (Z,E)-5,7-dodecadienol, a pheromone component of the Siberian moth, Dendrolimus superans sibiricus, and (E,Z)-10,12-hexadecadienol, a pheromone component of various Lepidoptera pheromones, were accomplished by cis reduction of the corresponding enynols with activated zinc. The most energetic reagent was zinc galvanized with copper and silver (Zn/Cu/Ag) that achieved rapid and high-yield reduction in methanol-water. The stereoselectivity of semi-hydrogenation was > or =98%. A process whereby zinc dust was continuously activated throughout the reduction with an acid was also satisfactory (95-98% cis). Field evaluation of the 1:1 mixture of (Z,E)-5,7-dodecadienol and (Z,E)-5,7-dodecadienal with the Siberian moth in Russia showed that the rubber septa pretreated with compound and stored at -80 degrees C were as effective as freshly treated septa. Moth responses to septa aged in open air indicated that lure effectiveness declined significantly after 2 weeks of aging. Thus, if rubber septa are used as pheromone dispensers in Siberian moth traps monitoring, they should be replaced biweekly with fresh septa for optimal trap effectiveness.     

Volatile compounds in Hispánico cheese manufactured using a mesophilic starter,a thermophilic starter,and bacteriocin-producing Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis INIA 415

The effect of the addition of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis INIA 415, a strain harboring the structural genes of nisin Z and lacticin 481, on the formation of volatile compounds in Hispánico cheese manufactured with a mesophilic starter or with the mesophilic starter and a thermophilic starter was investigated. Addition of bacteriocin-producing L. lactis subsp. lactis INIA 415 to milk enhanced the formation of 2-methyl-propanal, 2-methylbutanal, 3-methylbutanal, 2-methyl-1-propanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-octanol, 2-butanone, and 2,3-butanedione. On the other hand, addition of thermophilic starter enhanced the formation of acetaldehyde, ethanol, 3-methyl-2-buten-1-ol, ethyl butanoate, ethyl hexanoate, 2-butanone, and 2,3-butanedione in Hispánico cheese. Stepwise discriminant analysis using the relative abundances of volatile compounds classified cheeses by type of starter, with function 1 related to thermophilic starter and function 2 to bacteriocin producer.