Persistence of sunflower crop traits and fitness in Helianthus petiolaris populations

Transgenic plants have increased interest in the study of crop gene introgression in wild populations. Genes (or transgenes) conferring adaptive advantages persist in introgressed populations, enhancing competitiveness of wild or weedy plants. This represents an ecological risk that could increase problems of weed control. Introgression of cultivar alleles into wild plant populations via crop–wild hybridisations is primarily governed by their fitness effect. To evaluate this, we studied the second generation of seven wild–crop interspecific hybrids between weedy Helianthus petiolaris and cultivated sunflower, H. annuus var. macrocarpus. The second generation comprised open‐pollinated progeny and backcrosses to the wild parent, mimicking crosses that occur in natural situations. We compared a number of morphological, life history and fitness traits. Multivariate analysis showed that the parental species H. annuus and H. petiolaris differed in a number of morphological traits, while the second hybrid generation between them was intermediate. Sunflower crop introgression lowered fitness of interspecific hybrids, but fitness parameters tended to recover in the following generation. Relative frequency of wild/weedy and introgressed plants was estimated through four generations, based on male and female parent fitness. In spite of several negative selection coefficients observed in the second generation, introgressed plants could be detected in stands of <100 weedy H. petiolaris populations. The rapid recovery of fecundity parameters leads to prediction that any trait conferring an ecological advantage will diffuse into the wild or weedy population, even if F1 hybrids have low fitness.     

Strict paternal transmission of mitochondrial DNA of Chlamydomonas species is explained by selection against maternal nucleoids

Summary.  The non-Mendelian inheritance of organelle DNA is common in most plants and animals. Here we examined inheritance mechanisms involved in the transfer of mitochondrial DNA. We successively backcrossed (to F₅) two interfertile strains of the unicellular isogamous haploid algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlamydomonas smithii to match nuclear backgrounds and examine transmission patterns of mitochondrial DNA by PCR analysis of cob gene sequences. Mitochondrial DNA was strictly transmitted paternally. To investigate the behavior of parental mitochondrial DNA, we used F₅ progeny to form zygotes and isolated single zygotes. The results showed selective disappearance of maternal mitochondrial nucleoids occurred between 3 and 6 h after zygote formation. Received July 11, 2002; accepted September 28, 2002; published online June 13, 2003 RID="*" ID="*" Correspondence and reprints: Laboratory of Cell and Functional Biology, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan.     

“缺体回交法”选育普通小麦异代换系方法的研究

利用从蓝单体自交分离得到的自花结实的4D缺体小麦(缺72180、缺天选15)作母本与3个不同的八倍体小偃麦(小偃784、小偃7631和小偃78829)杂交,再以缺体作为轮回亲本,从F_1或F_2开始连续回交1—2次,在回交中,缺体无论作父本或母本都得到了异代换系,并且发现:(1)在回交过程中,用缺体作母本比作父本更为有效;(2)F_1自交,在F_2群体中选择生长比较正常,染色体数比较少的植株回交,比F_1作母本直接回交效果更好。并对所得的异代换系的特征特性进行了初步的观察研究,发现中间偃麦草(Agropyron intermedium2n=42) 4E染色体(以下用4Ei表示)、长穗偃麦草(Agropyron clongatum 2n=70)的4E染色体(带蓝粒基因,以下用4Ee表示)和4F染色体(带毛叶基因,以下用4Fe表示)均能正常补偿小麦4D染色体。异代换系生长旺盛,育性正常。初步总结了缺体与八倍体小偃麦杂交,回交过程中异代换系的形成规律,证明了“缺体回交法”可以推广应用于八倍体小偃麦等人工合成的新物种,以选育普通小麦异代换系。     

ph1b基因在Aegilops有益基因直接遗传转移中利用的可能性

第一次用中国春和中国春ph1b突变体对(中国春phlb突变体×Ae.uariabilis)F_1和(中国春ph1b突变体×Ae.turcomenica)F_1回交获得了成功,并通过连续回交,把Ae.turcomenica的抗白粉基因转移到了普通小麦中。证实了利用ph1b基因从山羊草属的一些种“直接遗传转移”有益基因到普通小麦中的可能性。     

Production and cytogenetic analysis of BC1, BC2, and BC3 progenies of an intergeneric hybrid between Triticum aestivum (L.) Thell. and tetraploid Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn.

Summary Intergeneric hybrids between Triticum aestivum cv Chinese Spring and Agropyron cristatum 4x (2n= 5x=35, ABDPP genomes) with a high level of homoeologous meiotic pairing between the wheat chromosomes were backcrossed 3 times to wheat. Pollination of the F₁ hybrid with Chinese Spring resulted in 22 BC₁ seeds with an average seed set of 1.52%. Five BC₁ plants with 39–41 chromosomes were raised using embryo rescue techniques. Chromosome pairing in the BC₁ was characterized by a high frequency of multivalent associations, but in spite of this there was no evidence of homoeologous pairing between chromosomes of wheat and those of Agropyron. All of the plants were self sterile. The embryo rescue technique was again essential to produce 39 BC₂ plants with chromosome numbers ranging from 37 to 67. The phenomenon of meiotic non-reduction was also observed in the BC₃ progenies. In this generation male and female fertility greatly increased, and meiotic pairing was fairly regular. Some monosomic (2n=43) and double monosomic (2n=44) lines were produced. Analysis of these progenies should permit the extraction of the seven possible wheat-Agropyron disomic addition lines including those with the added chromosomes carrying the genes involved in meiotic non-reduction and in suppression of Ph activity.     

The cytogenetics of a Triticum turgidum x Psathyrostachys juncea hybrid and its backcross derivatives

Psathyrostachys juncea (2n = 2x = 14, NN), a source of barley yellow dwarf (BYDV) virus resistance with tolerance to drought and salinity, has been successfully hybridized in its autotetraploid form (2n = 4x = 28, NNNN) as the pollen parent to durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.). The 2n = 4x = 28 (ABNN) F₁ hybrid has a mean meiotic metaphase-I configuration of 20.29 univalents + 0.29 ring bivalents + 3.36 rod bivalents + 0.14 trivalents. Spike length, internode length, glume awn length and lemma awn length, as well as the general spike morphology of the F₁ hybrid, are intermediate with those of the two parents. Pollinating the ABNN F₁ hybrid has given backcross (BC)-I derivatives of an amphiploid (AABBNN) that expresses limited self-fertility. BC-2 derivatives have been obtained from these plants. Direct transfers of useful genes from Ps. juncea to wheat would require substantial genetic manipulation strategies. Both conventional and novel methodologies, which may complement each other, and so facilitate reaching an agricultural objective end point, are addressed.     

BC群体不同连锁模式分子区间标记QTL作图相关方法的精确度分析

该文分析了BC群体不同连锁模式分子区间标记QTL作图相关方法的精确度,提出了相应参数的适用范匿,连锁顺序的检测方法,分析步骤,为QTL作图提供了理论基础。     

不同细胞质埃塞俄比亚芥的获得及其生物学特性比较研究

以埃塞俄比亚芥(Brassica carinata)为轮回亲本,分别对甘蓝型油菜(Brassica napus)和芥菜型油菜(Brassica juncea)连续回交7代,获得了具有核基因组基本相同而细胞质不同的新材料:N/BBCC和J/BBCC。两个新材料及其轮回亲本C/BBCC在生长发育时期、植株外部形态特征、POD酶活性等方面表现基本一致,但在雄性育性、脯氨酸含量及相对电导率上存在着明显差异,其中N/BBCC雄蕊发育不完善、花药瘦小、药内花粉量很少且多为无生活力的畸形花粉,表现严重败育;J/BBCC和N/BBCC的脯胺酸含量及相对电导率明显低于其轮回亲本C/BBCC。     

Inbreeding and interbreeding in Darwin's finches

Studies of inbreeding and interspecific hybridization are generally pursued separately with different metrics. There is a need to integrate them because they have the common goal of seeking an understanding of the genetic and ecological basis of fitness variation in populations. We use mean expected heterozygosity as an axis of variation on which to compare the fitness of inbreeding and hybridizing Darwin's finches (Geospiza scandens and G. fortis) relative to the fitness of matched outbred controls. We find that relative fitness of inbred finches is less than one in the 1991 cohorts of both species. Inbreeding depression is stronger in the species (G. scandens) with the lower genetically effective population size. Relative fitness of hybrids (backcrosses) in the same cohort of G. scandens is greater than one. Evidence of heterosis in G. fortis is mixed. Thus the two interbreeding species displayed somewhat different fitness patterns under the same set of environmental conditions. Hybridization may enhance fitness to different degrees by counteracting the effects of inbreeding depression, by other additive and nonadditive genetic effects, and by producing phenotypes well suited to exploit particular ecological conditions.     

Initial stages of reproductive isolation in two species of the endangered Sonoran topminnow

Long-term geographic isolation can result in reproductive incompatibilities due to forces such as mutation, genetic drift, and differential selection. In the Sonoran topminnow, molecular genetic studies of mtDNA, microsatellites, and MHC genes have shown that the endangered Gila and Yaqui topminnows are substantially different, suggesting that divergence took place approximately two million years ago. Here we examined hybrid crosses and backcrosses between these two allopatric taxa to evaluate the accumulation of postmating barriers to reproduction. These results are then compared with results from a previous study where male topminnows were shown to mate assortatively with conspecific females. Despite their preference for conspecific mates, both types of interspecific crosses successfully produced offspring. There was evidence of reduced hybrid fitness, including smaller mean brood size and male-biased sex ratio, for some classes of backcrosses. Brood sizes and interbrood intervals varied significantly when hybrids were subdivided into different cross categories. Our results illustrate the importance of distinctly defining hybrid classes in studies of reproductive isolation. To our knowledge, this is the first such detailed evolutionary analysis in endangered fish taxa.