Marker-assisted backcross selection in an interspecific <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucumis</Emphasis> population broadens the genetic base of cucumber (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucumis sativus</Emphasis> L.)

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is a major cucurbit vegetable species whose genetic base has been drastically reduced during its domestication. The crop’s narrow genetic base (3–12% DNA polymorphism) has resulted from the use of limited genetic material and intense selection during plant improvement. Recently, however, interspecific hybridization has been successful in Cucumis via mating of C. hystrix Chakr. and C. sativus, which resulted in the amphidiploid C. hytivus. We report herein a marker-assisted strategy for increasing genetic diversity in cucumber through introgression backcrossing employing C. hytivus. The comparatively late-flowering but high-yielding, indeterminate, monoecious line WI 7012A (P₁; donor parent) derived from a C. hytivus × C. sativus-derived line (long-fruited Chinese C. sativus cv. Beijingjietou) was initially crossed to the determinate, gynoecious C. sativus line WI 7023A (P₂; recurrent parent 1), and then advanced backcross generation progeny (BC₂) were crossed with the gynoecious indeterminate line WI 9-6A (P₃; recurrent parent 2). More specifically, a single F₁ individual (P₁ × P₂) was backcrossed to P₂, and then BC progeny were crossed to P₂ and P₃, where marker-assisted selection (MAS) for genetic diversity (8 mapped and 16 unmapped markers; designated Sel) or no selection (designated NSel) was applied to produce BC₃P₂ (Sel) and BC₃P₃ (Sel), and BC₂P₂ (NSel) and BC₂P₂S₁ (NSel) progeny. Relative vegetative growth, number of lateral branches (LB), days to flowering (DF), yield (fruit number), and fruit quality [as measured by length:diameter (L:D) and endocarp:total diameter (E:T) ratios] were assessed in parents and cross-progeny. DF varied from ~20 (BC₃P₂Sel) to ~25 days (BC₂P₃Sel) among the populations examined, where progeny derived from P₂ possessed the shortest DF. Differences in cumulative yield among the populations over six harvests were detected, varying from ~8 fruits per plant in BC₃P₂ (Sel) to ~39 fruits per plant in BC₂P₃ (Sel). Although the vigorous vegetative growth of line P₁ was observed in its backcross progeny, highly heterozygous and polymorphic backcross progeny derived from P₃ were comparatively more vigorous and bore many high-quality fruit. Response to selection was detected for LB, DF, L:D, and E:T, but the effectiveness of MAS depended upon the parental lines used. Data indicate that the genetic diversity of commercial cucumber can be increased by introgression of the C. hystrix genome through backcrossing.     

Genetic loci linking improved heat tolerance in wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum aestivum</Emphasis> L.) to lower leaf and spike temperatures under controlled conditions

Heat stress adversely affects wheat production in many regions of the world and is particularly detrimental during reproductive development. The objective of this study was to identify novel quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with improved heat tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and to confirm previous QTL results. To accomplish this, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population was subjected to a three-day 38°C daytime heat stress treatment during early grain-filling. At maturity, a heat susceptibility index (HSI) was calculated from the reduction of three main spike yield components; kernel number, total kernel weight, and single kernel weight. The HSI, as well as temperature depression (TD) of the main spike and main flag leaf during heat stress were used as phenotypic measures of heat tolerance. QTL analysis identified 14 QTL for HSI, with individual QTL explaining from 4.5 to 19.3% of the phenotypic variance. Seven of these QTL co-localized for both TD and HSI. At all seven loci, the allele for a cooler flag leaf or spike temperature (up to 0.81°C) was associated with greater heat tolerance, indicated by a lower HSI. In a comparison to previous QTL results in a RIL population utilizing the same source of heat tolerance, seven genome regions for heat tolerance were consistently detected across populations. The genetic effect of combining three of these QTL, located on chromosomes 1B, 5A, and 6D, demonstrate the potential benefit of selecting for multiple heat tolerance alleles simultaneously. The genome regions identified in this study serve as potential target regions for fine-mapping and development of molecular markers for more rapid development of heat tolerant germplasm.     

番茄疮痂病病原菌分类、抗性遗传和分子标记辅助选择进展

番茄疮痂病是世界上所有番茄种植地区主要的细菌性病害之一，该病能引起严重的产量损失和品质下降，几十年来一直受到育种界的关注。由于该病病原菌存在多个种和小种以及对该病的抗性呈数量性状遗传，因此通过育种途径来改良抗性进展缓慢。分子标记辅助选择为育种家筛选、聚合或累加对多个小种的抗性提供了一种工具。以前的综述对1997年以前在病害的发生、症状、危害、综合防治、遗传分析和育种等方面的研究进行了较为详尽的总结。近年来，在病原菌种与小种的鉴定、抗源的发掘、抗性遗传的分子定位和分子标记辅助选择方面的研究取得了很大进展，传统育种与分子生物学方法有机结合的策略也初见成效。本文将对这些进展进行总结，并对分子标记在番茄疮痂病抗性育种中的应用前景进行讨论。     

Loss of IGF2 imprinting: a potential marker of colorectal cancer risk

Loss of imprinting (LOI), an epigenetic alteration affecting the insulin-like growth factor II gene (IGF2), is found in normal colonic mucosa of about 30% of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, but it is found in only 10% of healthy individuals. In a pilot study to investigate the utility of LOI as a marker of CRC risk, we evaluated 172 patients at a colonoscopy clinic. The adjusted odds ratio for LOI in lymphocytes was 5.15 for patients with a positive family history [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.70 to 16.96; probability P = 0.002], 3.46 for patients with adenomas (95% CI, 1.14 to 11.37; P = 0.026), and 21.7 for patients with CRC (95% CI, 3.48 to 153.6; P = 0.0005). LOI can be assayed with a DNA-based blood test, and it may be a valuable predictive marker of an individual's risk for CRC.     

Identification of the sex pheromone of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica

The sex pheromone of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, has been characterized as gentisyl quinone isovalerate. This cockroach is a major cause of allergic disease and serves as a mechanical vector of pathogens, making it one of the most important residential and food-associated pests worldwide. The sex pheromone-producing gland in adult females was identified in 1993, but thermal instability of the pheromone made characterization difficult. Now, using a new preparative gas chromatography approach coupled with electroantennographic detection, we have isolated and characterized the pheromone, which we term blattellaquinone, and confirmed the identification by chemical synthesis. The synthetic pheromone was active in behavioral assays and highly effective in field trapping tests, which suggest that it may provide a new tool in cockroach population detection, monitoring, and control.     

Traces of human migrations in Helicobacter pylori populations

Helicobacter pylori, a chronic gastric pathogen of human beings, can be divided into seven populations and subpopulations with distinct geographical distributions. These modern populations derive their gene pools from ancestral populations that arose in Africa, Central Asia, and East Asia. Subsequent spread can be attributed to human migratory fluxes such as the prehistoric colonization of Polynesia and the Americas, the neolithic introduction of farming to Europe, the Bantu expansion within Africa, and the slave trade.     

Diphosphonates inhibit formation of calcium phosphate crystals in vitro and pathological calcification in vivo

Two diphosphonates containing the P-C-P bond, CH(3)C(OH)(PO(3)HNa)(2) and H(2)C(PO(3)HNa)(2), inhibit the crystallization of calcium phosphate in vitro and prevent aortic calcification of rats given large amounts of vitamin D(3). The diphosphonates therefore have effects similar to those described for compounds containing the P-O-P bond but are active when administered orally.     

Maximum benefit of a precise nitrogen application system for wheat

Research is ongoing to develop sensor-based systems to determine crop nitrogen needs. To be economic and to achieve wide adoption, a sensor-based site-specific application system must be sufficiently efficient to overcome both the cost disadvantage of dry and liquid sources of nitrogen relative to applications before planting of anhydrous ammonia and possible losses if weather prevents applications during the growing season. The objective of this study is to determine the expected maximum benefit of a precision N application system for winter wheat that senses and applies N to the growing crop in the spring relative to a uniform system that applies N before planting. An estimate of the maximum benefit would be useful to provide researchers with an upper bound on the cost of delivering an economically viable precision technology. Sixty five site-years of data from two dryland winter wheat nitrogen fertility experiments at experimental stations in the Southern Plains of the U.S.A. were used to estimate the expected returns from both a conventional uniform rate anhydrous ammonia (NH₃) application system before planting and a precise topdressing system to determine the value of the latter. For prices of $0.55 and $0.33 kg⁻¹ N for urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN) and NH₃, respectively, the maximum net value of a system of precise sensor-based nitrogen application for winter wheat was about $22–$31 ha⁻¹ depending upon location and assumptions regarding the existence of a plateau. However, for prices of $1.10 and $0.66 kg⁻¹ N for UAN and NH₃, respectively, the value was approximately $33 ha⁻¹. The benefit of precise N application is sensitive to both the absolute and relative prices of UAN and NH₃.This is journal paper AEJ-260 of the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, project H-2574.     

Ground-Sensor Soil Reflectance as Related to Soil Properties and Crop Response in a Cotton Field

Bare soil reflectance from airborne imagery or laboratory spectrometers has been used to infer soil properties such as soil texture, organic matter, water content, salinity and crop residue cover. However, the relation of soil properties to reflectance data often varies with soil type and conditions and surface reflectance may not be representative of the conditions in the root zone. The objectives of this study were to assess the soil reflectance data obtained by ground-based sensors and to model soil properties in the root zone as a function of surface soil reflectance and plant response. Ground-based sensors were used to simultaneously monitor soil and canopy reflectance in the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) along six rows and in two growth stages in a 7 ha cotton field. The reflectance data were compared to soil properties, leaf nutrients and biomass measured at 33 sampling positions along the rows. Brightness values of the blue and green bands of soil reflectance were better correlated to soil water content, particulate organic matter and extractable potassium and phosphorus, while those in the red and NIR bands were correlated to soil carbonate content, total nitrogen, electrical conductivity and foliar nutrients. The correlation of red soil reflectance with canopy reflectance was significant and indicated an indirect inverse relationship between soil fertility and plant stress. The integration of surface soil reflectance and plant response variables in a multiple regression model did not substantially improve the prediction of soil properties in the root zone. However, crop nutrient status explained a significant portion of the spatial variability of soil properties related to nitrification processes when soil reflectance did not. The implication of these findings to agricultural management is discussed.     

Neodymium-142 evidence for Hadean mafic crust

Neodymium-142 data for rocks from the Nuvvuagittuq greenstone belt in northern Quebec, Canada, show that some rock types have lower 142Nd/144Nd ratios than the terrestrial standard (epsilon142Nd = -0.07 to -0.15). Within a mafic amphibolite unit, 142Nd/144Nd ratios correlate positively with Sm/Nd ratios and produce a 146Sm-142Nd isochron with an age of 4280(-81)(+53) million years. These rocks thus sample incompatible-element-enriched material formed shortly after Earth formation and may represent the oldest preserved crustal section on Earth.