2··, a new high molecular weight glutenin subunit coded by Glu-A1: its predicted structure and its impact on bread-making quality

The suitability of wheat varieties for bread‐making depends on their glutenin subunits. The amino acid composition of these gluten building‐blocks have a strong influence on the rheology of the dough and, thus, on the suitability of the variety for bread‐making. This study reports a new x‐type high molecular weight glutenin subunit coded by the locus Glu‐A1 and named 2··. To investigate the impact of this allele on 10 quality parameters, a doubled haploid (DH) population of Triticum aestivum, segregating for Glu‐A1, was created. The statistical analysis demonstrates that, at Glu‐A1, the subunit 2·· is as favourable for quality as the subunit 2*. This is in accordance with results showing that the 2·· open reading frame still has the same number of cysteines as 2*. The small differences in the length of the central domain had no detectable effect on the elasticity, tenacity and baking quality, of the dough.     

Isozyme polymorphism in three gene pools of cultivated chicory (Cichorium intybus L.)

Summary Polymorphism of ten enzymes, acid phosphatase (APH), isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), phosphorylase (PP), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malic enzyme (ME), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase 1 and 2 (GOT-1, GOT-2) and phosphoglucomutase 1 and 2 (PGM-1 and PGM-2), was investigated in three gene pools of cultivated chicory, including six cultivated wild chccory, eight industrial chicory and eight Brussels chicory varieties. LAP, APH, PP and PGM-2 showed high phenotypic polymorphism whilst GOT-1 and ME had poor polymorphism. For three enzyme coding loci Lap, Pgm-1 and Got-2, allele frequencies were determined. Isozyme composition in the three chicory gene pools was significantly different, showing, respectively, high, intermediate and poor average amount of phenotypic polymorphism in cultivated wild chicory, industrial chicory and Brussels chicory. Isozyme variation within and between varieties of the three gene pools is discussed in relation to breeding practices.     

Genetical control of alkaloid production in Lupinus mutabilis and the effect of a mutant allele Mutal isolated following chemical mutagenesis

Summary A new mutant allele, described here as mutal, which reduces the alkaloid content in dry matter of lupinus mutabilis has been identified following seed treatment with ethyl methane sulphanate. The allele, when homozygous, reduces the alkaloid content from levels of > 2.0 per cent found in seed dry matter of existing populations to 0.2–0.3 per cent and produces plants with vegetative and seed tissues that are organoleptically sweet. Component alkaloids in plants homozygous for mutal differ in respect of the percentage composition of sparteine and of lupanine, as well as possibly of oxa-sparteine and 4-hydroxylupanine, but none is eliminated in genotypes homozygous for the mutant allele. Alkaloid concentration, in so far as not under the control of mutal, has low heritability but lines were isolated following two generations of successive selection which possessed reduced alkaloid levels. These were interpreted to have arisen as a result of recombination of alleles affecting reduction in alkaloid level at several loci. the mutant, mutal, has been established in a pure breeding line which represents a crucial additional step in the evolution of Lupinus mutabilis towards full status as a crop plant.     

Identification of a diverse mini‐core panel of Indian rice germplasm based on genotyping using microsatellite markers

Identification of a small core germplasm set representing the available genetic diversity is essential for its proper evaluation and subsequent utilization in rice improvement programmes. For constituting a small diverse mini‐core panel of Indian rice germplasm, a representative set of 6912 accessions drawn based on their geographic origin from the whole rice germplasm collection available in the National Gene Bank was genotyped using 36 microsatellite markers. Automated fragment analysis of amplicons yielded a total of 435 alleles, with an average 12.4 and range of 3–29 alleles per locus. Polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0.08 (RGNMS190) to 0.86 (RM552) with an average of 0.528. Based on genotyping data, a mini‐core consisting of 98 genotypes was identified. Ninety‐four per cent of the alleles present in the core set were present in the mini‐core. The identified small but diverse panel will be useful for further intensive trait‐specific evaluation and utilization in allele mining.     

A gamete abortion locus detected by segregation distortion of isozyme locus Est-9 in wide crosses of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Summary A locus for male gamete abortion in hybrids for Japonica and Indica rice was identified with the aid of marker genes Rc and Est-9 on chromosome 7. In an Indica-Japonica cross, AKAMAI 1/IR50, the Indica allele Est-9 ² was transmitted via the male gamete with a ratio of 0.29 instead of the normal 0.5, whereas no segregation distortion was observed for the Rc locus. The recombination value (p) for Est-9 and Rc was estimated to be 0.38 by a least square method after adjusting Mendelian segregation ratios with the male transmission ratios of 0.29 (Tr) for Est-9 ² and 0.71 (1-Tr) for Est-9 ¹. The recombination value (q) for the new locus for male gamete abortion, ga-11, and Est-9 was estimated to be 0.23 by using 56 F₃ lines from F₂ plants which were heterozygous for the Est-9 locus. No linkage for Rc and ga-11 was found. Therefore, the two markers and ga-11 were located in the order of ga-11-Est-9-Rc. Using the estimated recombination value (q), the male transmission rate (k) of ga-11 ^a was estimated to be 0.11 with the F₂ data and-0.07 with the F₃ line data. Thus, it was apparent that male gametes possessing ga-11 ^a were frequently aborted in the Indica-Japonica hybrid.     

Distribution of microsatellite alleles linked to Rht8 dwarfing gene in wheat

A wheat microsatellite locus, Xgwm 261, whose 192-bp allele closelylinked to the dwarfing gene Rht8, on chromosome 2D, was used toscreen 71 wheat cultivars from 13 countries to assess the variation at thislocus. Screening of this wheat collection showed that a 165-bp allele anda 174-bp allele were the most frequent. None of the New Zealand cultivarspossessed a 192-bp allele specific to Rht8, while only one cultivarfrom the US produced this important allele. The frequency of a 192-bpallele among these wheat cultivars was 5.63%. The highest allelefrequency was observed for a 174-bp fragment (52.11%) followed by a165-bp fragment (26.76%). The only durum wheat `Cham 1', did notshow any amplification due to the absence of D genome. Four new novelalleles, 180-bp, 198-bp, 200-bp and 204-bp present in the US and NewZealand wheat cultivars are reported.     

Scrapie resistance alleles are not associated with lower prolificity in Rasa Aragonesa sheep

Scrapie is a prion disease characterised by the accumulation of the pathological associated form of cellular prion protein (PrP(SC)) in the central nervous system. Susceptibility to scrapie is associated with polymorphism in the ovine prion protein (PrP) gene. The European Union has implemented scrapie control programs, relying on selective breeding for scrapie resistance; the use of ARR-carrier and the exclusion of VRQ-carrier were recommended. In this study, 4323 individuals from Rasa Aragonesa Sheep breed were genotyped for the PrP gene and the individual estimated breeding values (EBV) for prolificity were calculated. Most represented PrP alleles do not work against prolificity. Only a significant association between VRQ/VRQ genotype and a lower EBV was observed (p = 0.027, eta2 = 0.002). Therefore, avoiding reproduction of VRQ/VRQ individuals would not cause negative effect regarding prolificity.     

Practical capability of a DNA pool‐based genome‐wide association study using BovineSNP50 array in a cattle population

Genome‐wide association mapping for complex traits in cattle populations is a powerful, but expensive, selection tool. The DNA pooling technique can potentially reduce the cost of genome‐wide association studies. However, in DNA pooling design, the additional variance generated by pooling‐specific errors must be taken into account. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate factors such as: (i) the accuracy of allele frequency estimation; (ii) the magnitude of errors in pooling construction and in the array; and (iii) the effect of the number of replicate arrays on P‐values estimated by a genome‐wide association study. Results showed that the Illumina correction method is the most effective method to correct the allele frequency estimation; pooling errors, especially array variance, should be taken into account in DNA pooling design; and the risk of a type I error can be reduced by using at least two replicate arrays. These results indicate the practical capability and cost‐effectiveness of pool‐based genome‐wide association studies using the BovineSNP50 array in a cattle population.     

太行鸡Mx基因抗性位点与体尺和胴体性状的关联分析

采用错配PCR-RFLP对太行鸡Mx基因2032位点多态性进行检测,结果发现太行鸡Mx基因2032位点经RsaⅠ酶切后,检测到AA、AG和GG3种基因型,基因型频率分别为0.185,0.577和0.238,抗性基因A的频率为0.473。χ2适合性检验表明该多态位点上等位基因的分布处于Hardy-Weinberg平衡状态。对3个基因型与太行鸡一些经济性状间的关联性分析,结果表明,发现除胸深、胫围和胫长外,AA基因型个体其他体尺小于或接近AG和GG基因型个体;抗性纯合子AA基因型个体胴体性状均显著小于GG基因型个体。     

马铃薯晚疫病菌对甲霜灵抗性的快速检测方法

为快速检测马铃薯晚疫病菌——致病疫霉Phytophthora infestans对甲霜灵的抗性,基于已知致病疫霉RPA190基因的T1145A变异引起的F382Y氨基酸点突变与甲霜灵抗性有关,通过设计4对特异性引物F382Y-F1/F382Y-R、F382Y-F2/F382Y-R、F382Y-F3/F382Y-R和F382Y-F4/F382Y-R建立等位基因特异性PCR(allele specific-polymerase chain reaction,AS-PCR)快速分子检测法,其中F382Y-R引物在4对引物里保持不变,并分析所建分子检测法的特异性和灵敏度。结果表明,正向特异性引物F382Y-F2、F382Y-F3和F382Y-F4的3''末端在致病疫霉抗甲霜灵菌株原有核苷酸突变位点1145A(对应引物为F382Y-F1)的基础上,再人工引入第1144位的核苷酸突变,将1144T分别突变成1144G、1144C和1144A,并优化退火温度和特异性引物与内参引物ITS1/ITS4比例,最终确定最适退火温度分别为54、60和58℃,特异性引物与内参引物最适浓度比例均为5∶1。以该3条引物对应的3对特异性引物和内参引物ITS1/ITS4组成的3组多重AS-PCR引物对甲霜灵敏感和抗性菌株具有良好的特异性,敏感菌株的扩增产物含1条879bp的内参片段,抗性菌株的扩增产物为1条879bp的内参片段和1条461bp的目的片段。3组AS-PCR检测体系均具有较高的灵敏度,其中引物F382Y-F4/F382Y-R对致病疫霉DNA的检测灵敏度达0.4pg/μL,引物F382Y-F2/F382Y-R和F382YF3/F382Y-R的检测灵敏度达4pg/μL。