Nomenclature and genetic relationships of apples and pears from Terceira Island

Heritage apple (Malus domestica Borkh. hybrids) and pear (Pyrus communis L. hybrid) trees grow in villages throughout Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal. Some of these pears have different names but similar morphology. The objective of this study was to determine synonymy, homology, and phylogeny of apples and pears from Terceira and to examine potential relationships of the island pears with standard apples and pears of Portuguese or American descent. Nine apple microsatellite markers were used to determine genetic relationships. Distance- and parsimony-based cluster analysis grouped these genotypes into separate apple and pear clades. The Terceira apples were divided into two clades: the maçā and the reineta-reinette. Among the 17 heritage apple genotypes, seven unique accessions were identified and four groups of synonyms, or possibly clones, were detected including: ‘Reineta Agosto’ and ‘Reineta Verde’ from Altares; ‘Reineta Castanha’ and ‘Reineta Verde Miuda’; ‘Maçā Pêra,’ ‘Maçā Calhau’, ‘Pêro Branco’ from Salga and from Terra-Chā and ‘Maçā Marmelo’; and the five genotypes ‘Maçā Sao Joao’, ‘Malápio Rosa’, ‘Maçā Gaspar’, ‘Maçā Branca’ and ‘Maçā Pato’. In addition, two homonyms were detected. ‘Pêro Vermelho’ from Terra Chā was a separate genotype from a tree from Doze Ribeiras of the same name, but Pêro Branco from Terra Chā appears to be a clone that can be distinguished by an additional allele at CH1F07a from a tree with that name from Salga. One pair of apple clones, ‘Reineta Agosto’ and ‘Reineta Verde’ from Altares appear to be derived from an unreduced gamete of ‘Golden Delicious.’ Another apple genotype ‘Maçā Acida’ could be a sibling of the ‘Maçā Pêra’ clonal group. Other tested standard apples from the US genebank were unrelated to Terceira genotypes. Of the seven heritage pears, five unique genotypes and one pair of synonyms were detected. ‘Pêra Papo Pintassilgo’ from Raminho and ‘Pêra Vermelha’ from the nursery of Serviço de Desenvolvimento Agario da Terceira (SDAT) were synonyms. ‘Passans du Portugal’ was related to ‘Pêra Cabaca’ but other standard pears from the US genebank were unrelated to Terceira genotypes. Future studies will include additional apple and pear cultivars from other Islands of the Azores and continental Portugal, and wild Asian species to further explore genetic relationships.     

基于SNP标记的玉米株高及穗位高QTL定位

为进一步弄清玉米株高和穗位高的遗传机理,为育种生产提供服务,本研究以K22×CI7、K22×Dan3402个F₂群体为作图群体,利用覆盖玉米10条染色体的SNP标记构建了2个连锁图谱。并将这2个F₂群体衍生的分别含237和218个家系的F_2:3群体用于田间性状的鉴定。用复合区间作图模型对2个群体的株高、穗位高表型进行QTL定位分析,结果显示,在武汉和南宁两种环境条件下共定位到21个株高QTL和27个穗位高QTL;单个QTL表型变异贡献率的变幅为4.9%~17.9%;株高和穗位高QTL的作用方式以加性和部分显性为主;第7染色体上可能存在控制株高和穗位高的主效QTL。     

利用籼粳交探讨水稻株高和抽穗期的遗传基础

广亲和基因的发现,克服了籼粳交杂种不育的矛盾,但杂种后代株高过高、抽穗期延迟等问题仍然限制着籼粳亚种间杂种优势的利用。本试验利用一个籼粳交(珍汕97/武育粳2号)双单倍体群体(doublehaploidpopulation,DH系)及其分别与两亲本回交构建的两个回交群体,考查了株高和抽穗期的遗传,将三个群体的表型值和两个回交群体的中亲优势值进行了数量性状位点(quantitativetraitlocus,QTL)检测及效应分析,并对结果进行了比较。2个性状在3个相关群体中一共检测到了21个主效QTL和10个上位性QTL,主效QTL的数目和贡献率都比上位性QTL大,而且,在10个上位性QTL中,发生在2个主效QTL间的互作有3个,主效QTL与背景位点间的互作有6个,2个互补位点间的互作仅有1个,进一步说明了主效QTL在株高和抽穗期遗传中的重要作用。比较加性和非加性QTL的作用,发现加性效应、显性效应和上位性效应是籼粳亚种间杂种株高和生育期变化的共同遗传基础。     

Discrimination of ‘San Marzano’ accessions: A comparison of minisatellite, CAPS and SSR markers in relation to morphological traits

‘San Marzano’ (SM) is one of the most widely known tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivars, and is a classic example of a local variety with a premium value. Unfortunately, the original cultivated form is underrepresented in the Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) area because of the incidence of contaminant and phenotypically similar genotypes. Our aim was to examine the ability of three DNA marker systems (minisatellite, cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) and simple sequence repeat (SSR)) to reveal the genetic diversity of tomato accessions that were, based on a morphological analysis, very similar. The data indicate that both minisatellites and SSRs can be used to genetically distinguish the analysed materials. Furthermore, these two marker systems depict relationships consistent with the hierarchal pattern obtained by the morphological data. As locally cultivated tomato accessions are often characterised by some degree of genetic variability, our results will be valuable in facilitating the purification, management and breeding of tomato germplasms. The differences between the marker systems employed are also discussed in relation to their usefulness in the agro-food chain.     

Genetic diversity of apricot revealed by a set of SSR markers from linkage group G1

Eight polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers located in the G1 linkage group of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) were previously developed and evaluated in a small set of cultivars. Those primers were used for studying variability in 77 apricot cultivars belonging to five different geographical groups, such as Chinese, Asian (Irano-Caucasian and Central Asian), North American, Mediterranean and Western European as well as Middle European cultivars. Six of the markers were polymorphic and revealed a total of 71 alleles ranging from 5 (aprigms11) to 20 (aprigms1) alleles per locus with a mean value of 11.83 alleles per locus. In conclusion, the SSR loci located in the G1 linkage group show a level of polymorphism which is similar to loci dispersed throughout the entire genome. The total number of alleles and the number of unique alleles were the highest in Chinese apricots and the lowest in Middle European cultivars. Heterozygosity also showed a decrease from Asia and China to Middle Europe. No association could have been observed between any SSR markers tested and plum pox virus (PPV) resistant phenotype of cultivars. PPV resistant cultivars did not form a separate clade on the dendrogram obtained by UPGMA cluster analysis. Middle European and Chinese cultivars formed separate clusters while other genotypes formed smaller multiple sub-groups or scattered among different clusters. Our results support previous hypotheses on the origin of PPV resistance in North American apricots. The allele data was also presented in a form that allowed the easy observation of allele frequencies in each geographical group at each locus. Using this data field, differences and similarities between cultivar groups can be easily assessed. The analysis demonstrated the links between the North American and Mediterranean apricot germplasm and confirmed that the Chinese and Eastern European cultivars are distantly related.     

白菜S位点糖蛋白基因的克隆与表达分析

 以白菜自交不亲和系为材料,采用RT-PCR技术,用特异引物对SLG基因进行克隆,获得SLG基因cDNA序列长度为1 324 bp,命名为BcSLG。序列分析表明：所获得的白菜BcSLG基因cDNA序列包含一完整的编码框,编码432个氨基酸,含有12个保守的半胱氨酸残基和7个N-糖基化位点。序列比对和系统进化分析表明：BcSLG与其它植物的SLG基因氨基酸序列具有较高的同源性,与大白菜和甘蓝亲缘关系最近。荧光定量PCR分析表明：BcSLG基因在自交不亲和系的柱头中表达量最高,其次是花蕾,叶片中表达最低, 在自交亲和系的柱头、花蕾和叶片中相对表达较低。     

微卫星技术对黄、渤海海域7个不同地理群体中国对虾的遗传结构和遗传分化研究

采用微卫星DNA技术对黄、渤海海域7个不同地理群体的中国对虾进行了遗传结构和遗传分化研究.7个地理群体分别来自辽东湾(LD)、渤海湾(BH)、海州湾 (HZ)、乳山湾 (RS)、海洋岛 (HYD)、朝鲜半岛西海岸(KW)以及朝鲜半岛南海岸(KS).7对多态性良好的微卫星引物共检测到109个等位基因,群体平均期望杂合度(He)范围为0.810～0.864.49个群体位点中,只有15个符合Hardy-Weinberg平衡.UPGMA聚类分析显示,各地理群体亲缘关系与地理位置关系密切.根据各地理群体间遗传距离及AMOVA遗传分化检验结果,可将中国对虾分为3个独立种群,分别为中国沿岸黄、渤海群体、朝鲜半岛西海岸群体及朝鲜半岛南海群体;其中中国沿岸黄、渤海群体内部也发生了一定程度的遗传分化,但是否达到种群水平还有待于进一步验证.     

Quantitative trait loci responsible for the difference in γ-oryzanol content in brown rice between japonica-type and indica-type rice cultivars

γ-Oryzanol is a main oleophilic component in rice bran oil and has been well recognized as a good dietary supplement for human health, as well as having uses in industrial materials. japonica-type rice cultivars generally showed significantly higher contents of total γ-oryzanol in brown rice compared with indica-type cultivars, although within-group variation was significant. The objective of this study was to explore quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for the difference in the γ-oryzanol content between japonica-type and indica-type rice cultivars, using recombinant inbred lines (RILs), backcross inbred lines (BILs), and corresponding chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) derived from crosses between japonica-type and indica-type. Results from RILs and BILs showed that eight QTLs were detected with R² from .09 to .16. Nine candidate regions for QTL were also suggested from corresponding CSSLs. These QTLs from RILs and BILs and the candidate regions from CSSLs were not overlapped, although one QTLs was mapped near the boundaries of the respective candidate region. At four QTLs and three candidate regions, alleles or segments from japonica-type caused higher contents than those from indica-type. On the other hand, at the other four QTLs and six candidate regions, alleles or segments from indica-type caused higher contents than those from japonica-type, which is a reverse result to the parental differences. This result strongly suggested that alleles with increasing effects on γ-oryzanol content could be accumulated not only from japonica-type but also from indica-type, leading to a potential for increase in γ-oryzanol content in future breeding programs.     

普通菜豆籽粒大小与形状的QTL定位

普通菜豆是世界上最重要的食用豆类作物之一,其籽粒大小和形状与产量及外观品质密切相关。本研究以来自安第斯基因库的大粒品种龙270709和来自中美基因库的小粒品种F5910配置杂交组合,获得的F2分离群体分别在哈尔滨大田与北京昌平温室种植,对百粒重、粒长、粒宽、粒厚、长宽比和长厚比6个籽粒性状进行了相关性分析和QTL定位。相关性分析表明,百粒重与粒长、粒宽、粒厚、长宽比、长厚比5个衡量籽粒大小和形状的性状均显著正相关。利用基于完备区间作图方法的Ici Mapping 4.1进行QTL定位,哈尔滨环境下定位到38个与百粒重、粒长、粒宽、粒厚、长宽比、长厚比相关的QTL,表型贡献率介于2.39%~17.37%之间,分布在除第1染色体外的其余10条染色体上;北京昌平环境下定位到21个上述性状的QTL,表型贡献率介于5.92%~22.53%之间,分布在第1、第3、第6、第7、第8、第9和第11染色体上。其中,百粒重QTLSW7与SW7’,SW6.1与SW6’,粒长QTLSL6.1与SL6.1’,粒厚QTLSH11与SH11’在2个环境下的标记区间重叠或者重合,SW7、SW6.1、SL6.1、SW6’和SL6.1’的表型贡献率在10%以上。     

Breeding for increased grain protein and micronutrient content in wheat: Ten years of the GPC-B1 gene

To provide food and nutrition security for a growing world population, continued improvements in the yield and nutritional quality of agricultural crops will be required. Wheat is an important source of calories, protein and micronutrients and is thus a priority to breed for improvements in these traits. The GRAIN PROTEIN CONTENT-B1 (GPC-B1) gene is a positive regulator of nutrient translocation which increases protein, iron and zinc concentration in the wheat grain. In the ten years since it was cloned, the impacts of GPC-B1 allelic variation on quality and yield traits have been extensively analyzed in diverse genetic backgrounds in field studies spanning forty environments and seven countries. In this review, we compile data from twenty-five studies to summarize the impact of GPC-B1 allelic variation on fifty different traits. Taken together, the results demonstrate that the functional copy of the GPC-B1 gene is associated with consistent positive effects on grain protein, Fe and Zn content with only marginally negative impacts on yield. We conclude that the GPC-B1 gene has the potential to increase nutritional and end use quality in a wide range of modern cultivars and environments and discuss the possibilities for its application in wheat breeding.