Inheritance of fiber quality and lint yield in a chemically mutated population of cotton

The narrow germplasm base of the upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), grown on the Texas high plains historically, has limited improvement of fiber quality. Chemical mutagenesis and subsequent selection have helped the development of lines with improved fiber quality in cultivars adapted to this region. This study was conducted to determine the inheritance of improvements in fiber quality. M₃ lines with divergent fiber properties of micronaire, length, and strength were selected from a population of Paymaster HS 200 treated with 3% v/v ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) for two hours. The 115 selected lines of M₄ and M₅ generation were evaluated for fiber quality and lint yield. Regression of the M₄ and M₅ on the M₃ generation, as well as the M₅ on the M₄ was used to generate narrow sense heritability coefficients. Significant variations were observed between the mutant lines in all generations except for lint yield in the M₅ (1997). The highest heritability estimates were found in fiber length (h ²= 0.29** to 0.46**). Micronaire and strength showed intermediate heritability estimates of h ²= 0.14 to 0.19, while lint yield had a very low heritability estimate of h ²= 0.03. Fiber length and strength were correlated (r= 0.58** to 0.46**) in all the three generations. The mutants identified in these studies have the potential to improve fiber quality of upland cotton without introducing alien genes that may reduce adaptation to short growing season production regions.     

柽柳MnSOD基因

在环境胁迫下,植物体内活性氧(ROS)的大量积累会对其本身产生毒害作用。SOD酶在清除这些活性氧化酶机制中发挥关键作用。大量研究表明,MnSOD可有效增强转基因植物抵抗氧化胁迫的能力。我们从抗逆性较强的木本植物紫杆柽柳中克隆到一个新的MnSOD基因,并将该全长基因在GenBank上注册,其登录号分别为AY573576(基因序列)和AAS77885(氨基酸序列)。这将为研究木本植物的抗逆机理和该酶在抗逆基因工程中的应用奠定基础。     

Genetic analysis of flowering and maturity time in high latitude spring wheat

Due to the short growing season in the high northern latitudes, the development of early maturing spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars is important to avoid frost damage which can lower production and quality. We investigated earliness of flowering and maturity, and some associated agronomic traits, using a set of randomly selected high northern latitude adapted spring wheat cultivars (differing in maturity) and their F₁ and F₂ crosses made in a one-way diallel mating design. The parents, and their F₁ and F₂ crosses were evaluated under field conditions over 2 years. Anthesis and maturity times were controlled by both vernalization response and earliness per se genes, mainly acting additively. Non-additive genetic effects were more important in controlling grain fill duration, grain yield and plant height. Additive × additive epistatic effects were detected for all traits studied except time to anthesis. Segregation analyses of the F₂ populations for time to anthesis indicated the presence of different vernalization response genes. Molecular genetic analyses revealed the presence of Vrn-A1 and Vrn-B1 genes in the parental cultivars. Narrow-sense heritability was medium to high (60–86%) for anthesis and maturity times but low to medium (13–55%) for grain fill duration, plant height and grain yield. Selection for early flowering/maturity in early segregating generations would be expected to result in genetic improvement towards earliness in high latitude spring wheats. Incorporation of the vernalization responsive gene Vrn-B1 in combination with vernalization non-responsive gene Vrn-A1 into spring wheats would aid in the development of early maturing cultivars with high grain yield potential for the high latitude wheat growing regions of the northern hemisphere.     

砒砂岩区水土流失治理措施调研

通过对砒砂岩区治理水土流失的生物措施及工程措施进行调研,本文对最适合砒砂岩区生长的油松、沙棘、柠条的特点进行了详细的调查分析,给出砒砂岩区植被建设的几点建议.提出了砒砂岩区综合治理的总体思路,并总结了不同类型砒砂岩区的措施空间配置模式.生物措施方面以沙棘作为砒砂岩区生物措施治理的突破口,在立地条件较好的地方栽种油松、柠条,在造林方式上宜采用混交造林;在工程措施方面要结合沙棘植物"柔性坝"技术,以大、中型拦泥库为骨架,以淤地坝为主体,建设支流坝系.实现淤粗排细,改善进入下游河道的水沙条件及泥沙组成.     

IMPACT OF SELENIUM FERTILIZATION ON GLUCOSINOLATE CONCENTRATION IN ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA AND RAPID CYCLING BRASSICA OLERACEA

Brassica vegetables are a significant source of glucosinolates (GSs), which are sulfur (S)-containing phytonutrients exhibiting, upon hydrolysis by endogenous myrosinase, antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic activity. Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient in mammalian health exhibiting antioxidant activity by inhibiting experimental carcinogenesis in animal models and reducing cancer incidence in human clinical trials. Selenium is readily accumulated in both Brassica species and Arabidopsis thaliana, a model species with similar S-metabolism. The research objectives for this project were to: 1) compare the impact of Se fertilization on GS concentrations between Arabidopsis thaliana and rapid cycling Brassica oleracea; and 2) determine the level of Se fertilization needed to optimize plant tissue Se concentration to maximize potential human health benefits. Both S and Se concentrations increased in A. thaliana and B. oleracea tissues in response to increasing Se treatments. Concentrations of glucoiberin, glucoraphanin, aliphatic, and total GS differed significantly between A. thaliana and B. oleracea. Data demonstrates that anti-carcinogenic GSs can be modified through changes in Se treatment concentrations, yet high levels of anti-carcinogenic GSs can be maintained while increasing Se concentration to 0.8 mg Se L^-1. Thus, it is feasible to increase Se to beneficial dietary levels without compromising GS concentrations.     

Environmental and spatial characterisation of bacterial community composition in soil to inform sampling strategies

Soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities are highly heterogeneous and vary widely over spatial scales, necessitating careful consideration of sampling strategies to provide representative and reproducible soil samples across field sites. To achieve this, the study aimed to establish appropriate sampling methodology and to determine links between the variability of parameters, utilising two sampling strategies. The first (design 1) involved extracting 25 cores from random locations throughout the field and pooling them into five sets of five cores. The second (design 2) involved a further 25 cores within five 1 m² sub-plots. Sub-samples from each sub-plot were pooled in order to determine between and within sub-plot variability. All samples were analysed independently and as pooled sub-samples. Results indicate that pooling spatially separated samples significantly reduced the variability in pH, compared to individual samples. Pooling samples from a small area resulted in lower within sub-plot variability than between sub-plots for pH and bacterial community composition assessed by terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Following multivariate statistical analysis, a large amount of variation in community composition was explained by soil pH, which is remarkable given the relatively small size of the sampling area and minor differences in pH. Moisture content was also important in determining bacterial communities in the random design (design 1). In the 1 m² sub-plot design (design 2), the spatial location of the plots explained a large degree of the variation in bacterial community composition between plots, which was due to spatial autocorrelation of pH and possible additional environmental parameters. This study emphasises the importance of sampling design for obtaining representative samples from soil.     

Oxygen Demand of Aircraft and Airfield Pavement Deicers and Alternative Freezing Point Depressants

Aircraft and pavement deicing formulations and other potential freezing point depressants were tested for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Propylene glycol-based aircraft deicers exhibited greater BOD₅ than ethylene glycol-based aircraft deicers, and ethylene glycol-based products had lower degradation rates than propylene glycol-based products. Sodium formate pavement deicers had lower COD than acetate-based pavement deicers. The BOD and COD results for acetate-based pavement deicers (PDMs) were consistently lower than those for aircraft deicers, but degradation rates were greater in the acetate-based PDM than in aircraft deicers. In a 40-day testing of aircraft and pavement deicers, BOD results at 20°C (standard) were consistently greater than the results from 5°C (low) tests. The degree of difference between standard and low temperature BOD results varied among tested products. Freshwater BOD test results were not substantially different from marine water tests at 20°C, but glycols degraded slower in marine water than in fresh water for low temperature tests. Acetate-based products had greater percentage degradation than glycols at both temperatures. An additive component of the sodium formate pavement deicer exhibited toxicity to the microorganisms, so BOD testing did not work properly for this formulation. BOD testing of alternative freezing point depressants worked well for some, there was little response for some, and for others there was a lag in response while microorganisms acclimated to the freezing point depressant as a food source. Where the traditional BOD₅ test performed adequately, values ranged from 251 to 1,580?g/kg. Where the modified test performed adequately, values of BOD₂₈ ranged from 242 to 1,540?g/kg.     

多喷枪协同式喷涂五轴混联机器人设计

针对大型扁平型立方体工件的喷涂工艺特点,将并联机构应用于喷涂工艺,设计了一种控制解耦性很好的五轴混联喷涂机器人,阐述了这种喷涂机器人的机构设计、工作原理、运动学分析、驱动方式、控制系统硬件组成及其控制方式。该机器人具有结构紧凑、喷涂效率高、涂层厚度均匀和操作简便等特点,具有较好的应用前景。     

工厂化水产养殖智能监控系统设计

提出了一种工厂化水产养殖中具有可溯源功能的智能监控系统.系统利用PROFIBUS-DP总线和工业以太网技术实现了数据的传输与共享,利用模糊控制与神经网络相结合的算法实现了对数据的处理分析,并得到控制信号,进行闭环控制,利用无线射频识别技术( RFID)实现了水产品质量的可溯源功能.结果表明,养殖环境各关键环境因子均满足控制精度,水产品的可溯源信息写入与读出均完整有效,完全达到了设计要求,能够满足工厂化水产养殖智能化的需要.