Early changes of gene activity in developing seedlings of Arabidopsis hybrids relative to parents may contribute to hybrid vigour

Hybrid vigour (heterosis) has been used for decades in crop industries, especially in the production of maize and rice. Hybrid varieties usually exceed their parents in plant biomass and seed yield. But the molecular basis of hybrid vigour is not fully understood. In this project, we studied heterosis at early stages of seedling development in Arabidopsis hybrids derived from crossing Ler and C24 accessions. We found that early heterosis is associated with non‐additive gene expression that resulted from earlier changes in gene expression in the hybrids relative to the parents. The non‐additively expressed genes are involved in metabolic pathways, including photosynthesis, critical for plant growth. The early increased expression levels of genes involved in energy production in hybrids is associated with heterosis in the young seedlings that could be essential for biomass heterosis at later developmental stages of the plant.     

籼型杂交稻淀粉RVA谱特征值的杂种优势分析

以6个籼型三系不育系和5个籼型恢复系按不完全双列杂交设计配制的30个杂交稻组合及其亲本为材料,对其籽粒淀粉RVA谱各特征值进行了测定和分析。结果表明：（1）亲本间和杂交稻组合间的淀粉RVA谱各特征值均存在极显著的差异,其中变异最大的是消减值,最小的是糊化开始温度。（2）杂交稻组合淀粉RVA谱各特征值的变异系数均小于杂交稻亲本的变异系数;峰值粘度、崩解值、最低粘度和最终粘度的平均值杂交稻组合大于亲本,其他性状的平均值杂交稻组合小于亲本。（3）峰值粘度存在极显著的正向超亲优势;崩解值、最低粘度、最终粘度和回复值存在极显著的正向中亲优势;消减值和峰值时间存在极显著的负向中亲优势和正向低亲优势;糊化开始温度存在极显著的负向低亲优势;最终粘度、回复值和糊化开始温度表现为极显著的负向竞争优势,其他性状表现为正向竞争优势。（4）峰值粘度、崩解值、消减值和回复值等4个性状,各杂交稻组合与其母本、中亲值呈现极显著正相关,峰值时间与中亲值呈显著正相关。而与其父本的相关均未达显著水平。     

Optimal allocation in designs for assessing heterosis from cDNA gene expression data

Heterosis is defined as the superiority of a hybrid cross over its two parents. Plant and animals breeders have long been exploiting heterosis, but the causes of this phenomenon are as yet only partly understood. Recently, chip technology has opened up the opportunity to study heterosis at the gene expression level. This article considers the cDNA chip technology, which allows assaying two genotypes simultaneously on the same chip. Heterosis involves the response of at least three genotypes (two parents and their hybrid), so a chip or microarray constitutes an incomplete block, which raises a design problem specific to heterosis studies. The question to be answered is how genotype pairs should be allocated to chips. We address this design problem for two types of heterosis: midparent heterosis and better-parent heterosis. The general picture emerging from our results is that most of the resources should be allocated to parent-hybrid pairs, while chips with parent-parent pairs or hybrid-reciprocal pairs should be used sparingly or not at all.     

Nonadditive expression of lipid metabolism pathway-related genes in intestine of hybrids of Nile tilapia females (Oreochromis niloticus) and blue tilapia males (Oreochromis aureus)

Nonadditive expression contributes to heterosis in hybrids. In this study, the expression profiles of twelve lipid metabolism pathway-related genes were investigated in the intestine of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) ♀?×?blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus) ♂ hybrid. The expression of genes from the hybrid were assigned to nonadditive and additive expression pattern groups and compared with expression patterns from Nile tilapia and blue tilapia. In the intestine of the hybrid, apoA4B was expressed at intermediate levels, but apoB and MTP were assigned to ELD-B and ELD-N categories, respectively. The LPL and LRP1 showed transgressive up-regulation in the hybrid, but LDLR was assigned to the ELD-B category. For fatty acid uptake related genes, only FABP11a was categorized as nonadditive expression with transgressive up-regulation, while CD36 and FABP3 were categorized as additive expression in the intestine of the hybrid. Two genes in triacylglycerol metabolism, namely, FAS and DGAT2, showed transgressive up-regulation in the hybrid. Most of the genes analyzed in the present study showed nonadditive expression (8 in 12), and five genes showed transgressive up-regulation. These results indicated that the stimulation of lipid metabolism in the hybrid compared to that of its parents. The hyperactive expression of these genes in the hybrid may be associated with the growth and lipid usage vigor.

     

小麦杂交种与亲本发育早期种子的基因表达差异及其与杂种优势关系的初步研究

为深入探讨小麦杂种优势形成的分子机理,选取3个冬小麦品种(系)为一组亲本,3个为另一组亲本,配制了正反交18个杂交组合,以授粉后6d的杂交和自交种子为材料,应用mRNA差异显示技术(DDRT—PCR)研究了小麦杂交当代种子与其亲本自交种子基因的表达差异,并与杂种优势进行相关分析。为降低DDRT—PCR技术假阳性的不利影响,对每个引物组合均作了两次PCR扩增,在处理数据时,仅统计能重复出现的条带。结果发现：杂交种和亲本之间的基因表达模式有8类共15种：(1)单亲沉默型(2种),(2)单亲一致型(2种),(3)正交或反交沉默型(2种),(4)正交或反交特异型(2种),(5)正交或反交单亲一致型(4种),(6)杂交种特异型(1种),(7)双亲共沉默型(1种),(8)表达一致型(1种)。分析发现,小麦杂交种和亲本间存在显著的表达差异。在差异表达类型中,杂交种特异型和双亲共沉默型比例最低。对上述15种表达模式与杂种优势进行相关分析,结果表明,表达一致型与各产量性状杂种优势之间的相关均不显著,说明杂种优势是由某些有表达差异的基因造成。9个产量性状均能检测到一种以上与其显著或极显著相关的基因表达模式,有些性状受正负相关效应的共同影响;沉默型(包括单亲沉默型、正交或反交沉默型和双亲共沉默型)和正交或反交单亲一致型在杂种优势形成中发挥重要作用。这些研究表明,在种子发育早期,基因的差异表达与杂种优势形成之间可能存在较为复杂的关系。     

杂交粳稻花优14及其亲本孕穗期剑叶的基因表达谱芯片分析

本文以孕穗期的杂交粳稻花优14及其母本申9A和父本繁14的剑叶为材料,利用Affymetrix水稻基因组芯片检测了3个样品中的基因表达谱,并用生物信息学方法对差异表达基因进行了分析。结果表明：与其亲本相比,杂交粳稻花优14中共有2057个基因的表达水平出现了2倍(变化倍数≥2或≤0.5)以上的变化。通过对这些差异表达基因进行GO(Gene Ontology)功能分类,发现差异表达基因在光合系统Ⅰ、叶绿体膜和叶绿体被膜等与叶绿体相关的细胞组分中显著富集;同时差异表达基因还在叶绿素合成、叶绿素代谢和类胡萝卜素合成等生物学过程中富集。光合作用效率的改变可能和花优14杂种优势的形成相关。与已报道结果不同,本文在代谢途径分析结果中并没有发现花优14中差异表达基因在碳固定和光合作用等途径中显著的富集,但是发现差异表达基因在光合作用-天线蛋白以及淀粉和蔗糖的代谢途径中显著富集。该结果表明,在不同的杂交组合中,参与杂种优势形成的基因或者代谢途径可能是不同的。     

普通小麦不同优势杂交种及其亲本苗期根系基因的差异表达

为探讨小麦(Triticum aestivum L.)杂种优势形成的分子机理,选用普通小麦品种(系)3338、6554和2410TD及其强优势杂种A(3338×6654)和无优势杂种B(2410TD×6554),采用mRNA差异显示技术,对生长至三叶一心的根系(初生根)基因表达差异进行了比较研究.结果发现,小麦杂种一代苗期根系基因表达较亲本明显不同,表现为数量水平和质量水平上的差异,且差异表达基因的数目远高于我们以苗期叶片为材料的研究结果,表明小麦杂交种与其亲本间的基因差异表达与所研究的组织和器官有关.比较分析发现,在强优势杂种组合A中,超亲表达和偏高亲表达基因所占比例均明显高于无优势杂种组合B.以家族特异基因替代随机引物进行的差异显示结果表明,MADS-box家族基因在小麦杂交种和亲本苗期根系中存在着显著的表达差异,且差异表达类型以杂种特异表达和亲本基因在杂种一代沉默为主,说明MADS-box家族基因可能与小麦的杂种优势形成具有重要关系.对杂种和亲本基因表达差异与杂种优势的关系进行了分析和讨论.     

Relationship between seed yield heterosis and molecular marker heterozygosity in soybean

 In soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] heterosis has been reported for seed yield. Molecular markers may be useful to select diverse parents for the expression of heterosis and yield improvement. The objective of this study was to determine if molecular markers could be used to predict yield heterosis in soybean. From each Maturity Group (MG) II and III, 21 genotypes were selected on the basis of high yield (HY), different geographic origin (GO), and isozyme loci (ISO) and for diversity in restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP), and crosses were made within MGs and selection criteria groups to obtain 6 F₁ hybrids per group. The 21 parents and the 24 F₁ hybrids of each MG were evaluated for yield in replicated tests at two locations in 2 years, and midparent heterosis (MPH) and high-parent heterosis (HPH) estimates were calculated. On the basis of hybrid performance during the first year, 12 parents (3 per selection criteria group) were chosen in each MG to conduct a second RFLP analysis using 129 probes. Genetic distances (GD_M) for pairs of the 12 genotypes were calculated with this RFLP information and correlated with MPH and HPH estimates. Significant MPH averages for seed yield were observed in the combined analysis of variance in each of the four selection criteria groups of MG II, and in the HY, ISO, and GO of MG III. Significant HPH averages were observed only in the ISO and GO groups of MG II. The greatest frequency of F₁ hybrids with significant MPH was observed in the ISO and GO groups of both MGs. For HPH, the greatest frequency was observed in the ISO group of both MGs. In both MGs, the ISO group had the largest absolute MPH value; the RFLP group had generally the smallest. The observations indicated that the expression of heterosis in seed yield might be associated with diversity in the isozyme loci present in the parents. For the genotypes included in the second RFLP analysis, correlations of GD_Ms with MPH and HPH values on an entry-mean basis were low and not significant, indicating that heterosis in yield may not be associated with genetic diversity at the molecular level as determined by RFLPs. The results suggest that in soybean, parent selection on the basis of RFLPs and isozyme loci to exploit heterosis in seed yield may not be feasible. There was no association between genetic distance estimated by the RFLP analysis and seed yield heterosis, and in spite of the observed relationship between isozyme loci and heterosis for yield, the practicality of using the isozyme markers to select parents may be limited because of the reduced number of assayable isozyme loci in soybean. Received: 8 March 1996 / Accepted: 21 February 1997