History of the Triticeae Symposia

The International Triticeae Symposia were initiated to encourage scientists working on different aspects of the Triticeae1 to share information and examine the distant relatives of its cereal species. There have now been seven symposia, each in a different country. The scope of these symposia is briefly reviewed. The merits of the symposium series are identified as their interdisciplinary nature and small size.     

麦类作物体细胞基因组原位杂交(GISH)效果影响因素的分析

以八倍体小滨麦、八倍体小黑麦、八倍体小偃麦、小麦-中间偃麦草双体异附加系为实验材料对影响麦类作物体细胞GISH技术实验效果的因素进行分析,研究结果表明:细胞分裂相多、染色体分散良好、无杂质影响的高质量的染色体制片是取得理想实验效果的基础;探针DNA浓度与封阻DNA浓度的比例及杂交后洗脱条件的控制是取得理想实验效果的关键。此外,还对麦类作物体细胞基因组原位杂交实验中出现的染色体丢失、外源染色体无杂交信号、杂交信号的强弱、杂交信号过多(杂交背景重)或过少、噪音信号及杂交污点产生的原因进行了分析,并提出了相应的解决方法或注意事项。     

Linkage mapping of mutant loci in rye (Secale cereale L.)

Eight mutant loci determining the traits waxy plant (w and wa1), brown culm (cb), multiple pistils (mp), weak plant with reduced plant height (np), monoculm growth habit (mc), compactum growth habit (ct3) and anthocyaninless (an) were mapped on rye chromosomes 4R (w, np), 6R (cb, mc) and 7R (mp, wa1, ct3, an). For five mutants (w, wa1, cb, mp, np) molecular and biochemical markers were applied, whereas for mc, ct3 and an a classical linkage analysis was performed. Furthermore, it could be demonstrated that homoeologous relationships exist between most of the mapped rye loci and comparable mutants in wheat and barley. It was confirmed not only that genes controlling fundamental aspects of plant biology are highly conserved across the Triticeae species but so also were many mutant loci. Received: 19 June 2000 / Accepted: 18 October 2000     

The highly divergent Jekyll genes,required for sexual reproduction,are lineage specific for the related grass tribes Triticeae and Bromeae

Phylogenetically related groups of species contain lineage‐specific genes that exhibit no sequence similarity to any genes outside the lineage. We describe here that the Jekyll gene, required for sexual reproduction, exists in two much diverged allelic variants, Jek1 and Jek3. Despite low similarity, the Jek1 and Jek3 proteins share identical signal peptides, conserved cysteine positions and direct repeats. The Jek1/Jek3 sequences are located at the same chromosomal locus and inherited in a monogenic Mendelian fashion. Jek3 has a similar expression as Jek1 and complements the Jek1 function in Jek1‐deficient plants. Jek1 and Jek3 allelic variants were almost equally distributed in a collection of 485 wild and domesticated barley accessions. All domesticated barleys harboring the Jek1 allele belong to single haplotype J1‐H1 indicating a genetic bottleneck during domestication. Domesticated barleys harboring the Jek3 allele consisted of three haplotypes. Jekyll‐like sequences were found only in species of the closely related tribes Bromeae and Triticeae but not in other Poaceae. Non‐invasive magnetic resonance imaging revealed intrinsic grain structure in Triticeae and Bromeae, associated with the Jekyll function. The emergence of Jekyll suggests its role in the separation of the Bromeae and Triticeae lineages within the Poaceae and identifies the Jekyll genes as lineage‐specific.     

Phylogenetic analysis of the genus Pseudoroegneria and the Triticeae tribe using the rbcL gene

The Pseudoroegneria species are perennial grasses in the Triticeae tribe, whose St genome has been linked to several important polyploid species. Due to frequent hybridization and complex genetic mechanism, the relationships within Pseudoroegneria, and within the Triticeae have been heavily disputed. Using the chloroplast rbcL gene we estimated the nucleotide diversity of 8 Pseudoroegneria species. We also examined the phylogenetic relationships within Pseudoroegneria and of Pseudoroegneria within the Triticeae. The estimates of nucleotide diversity indicated that Pseudoroegneria tauri and Pseudoroegneria spicata species had the highest diversity, while Pseudoroegneria gracillima had the lowest diversity. The phylogenetic analysis of Pseudoroegneria placed all P. spicata species into a clade separate from the other Pseudoroegneria species, while the relationship of the other Pseudoroegneria species could not be determined. Due to the groupings of Pseudoroegneria with the polyploid Elymus, our results strongly supported Pseudoroegneria as the maternal genome donor to Elymus. There was also weak support that P. spicata may be the maternal donor to the StH Elymus species.     

Presence and organization of an osmotic stress response domain in wild Triticeae species

Sixteen Triticeae species of the genera Aegilops L., Pseudoroegneria (Nevski) Löve, Taeniatherum Nevski and Thinopyrum Löve were investigated by PCR amplification for the presence of a wheat germin gene internal domain involved in osmotic stress resistance. In all of the species studied a single band of identical or very similar size was detected, After cloning and sequencing of these fragments, different degrees of homology were found with the original wheat domain, which suggested that in these species there are functional differences in the osmotic response involving the germin core.     

Pollen size in Hordeum L.: correlation between size,ploidy level,and breeding system

The size of pollen in the genus Hordeum (Poaceae) is correlated with ploidy level and breeding system. Generally, the pollen size increases with the ploidy level, and outbreeding species possess significantly larger pollen than inbreeders. In H. roshevitzii (2x), H. pusilplum (2x), H. murinum subsp. murinum (4x), and H. parodii (6x) pollen, heteromorphisms occur between the central and the lateral florets of the triplet. In all four taxa, pollen from florets in which the anthers are exserted is larger than pollen from florets where the anthers remain inside the floret. The biological consequences of heteromorphic pollen are discussed, and a model for the evolution of breeding strategies in Hordeum is suggested.     

鹅观草属三个种的染色体组分析与同工酶分析

本文通过对鹅观草属的三个种:鹅观草(Roegneria kamoji Ohwi)、纤毛鹅观草(R. ciliaris (Trin.) Nevski)和竖立鹅观草(R. japonensis (Honda)Keng)的染色体组分析和二种同工酶电泳酶谱的分析,研究了这三个种的系统关系。两个种均含有两个相同的染色体组。R. kamoji和R. ciliari、R. japonensis的杂种F_1减数分裂均不正常,不能结实;而R. ciliaris和R. japonensis的正反交杂种F_1减数分裂规则,结实正常,两个种之间无生殖隔离。R. kamoji的酯酶和酸性磷酸酯酶同工酶谱与R. ciliaris和R. japonensis有明显区别,而后二种的上述酶谱无明显差异。上述结果均一致地支持了将R. ciliaris和R. japonensis合并为一种的观点,将R. japonensis处理为R. ciliaris的变种。     

小麦族遗传资源的多样性及其保护

禾木科小麦族中包含了三种世界最重要的粮食作物,即：小麦、大麦和黑麦以及许多具有重要经济价值的牧草种类。小麦族植物种类繁多、分布广泛、生态多样,具有极其丰富的形态和遗传变异类型。作为巨大的基因资源库,小麦族植物在通过现代生物技术而导入外源有益基因的麦类作物育种程序中,具有重要和特殊的价值。然而对于小麦族植物的生物多样性的研究和了解还远远不足。同时在全球环境的不断改变和遭到破坏的今天,一些小麦族的物种已处于濒危的状态而面临灭绝,因此对于小麦族丰富的遗传多样性制定有效的措施进行保护是摆在我们面前亟待解决的课题。     

Phylogeny and maternal donors of the tetraploid species with St genome (Poaceae: Triticeae) inferred from CoxII and ITS sequences

Mitochondrial CoxII and ITS sequences of 29 tetraploid species with St genome were compared with their related genera and species of Pseudoroegneria (Nevski) Á. Löve (St), Hordeum L. (H), Thinopyrum bessarabicum (Savul. & Rayss) Á. Löve (E^b), Lophopyrum elongatum (Host) Á. Löve (E^e), Agropyron Gaertner (P), Australopyrum (Tzvelev) Löve (W) and Psathyrostachys Nevski (Ns). The results indicate that: (1) the maternal donors of North American and Eurasian StStHH tetraploid species may have acquired their St genome from distinct Pseudoroegneria gene pools, with Pse. spicata (Pursh) Á. Löve potentially the maternal donor of North American species; (2) Lophopyrum is the maternal donor of StStE^eE^e tetraploid species, hence, Pse. geniculata ssp. scythica (Nevski) Á. Löve, Elytrigia caespitosa (K. Koch) Nevski and El. caespitosa ssp. nodosa (Nevski) Tzvelev should be identified as species of Trichopyrum Á. Löve; (3) tetraploid species with the same maternal donors were more closely related to each other than those with different maternal donors.