林木基因克隆研究进展

林木种质资源丰富, 种质间遗传差异大, 控制林木重要性状的基因克隆及转化对培育优良林木新品种具有很强的实用价值, 但许多具有潜在应用价值的林木基因未得到充分发掘和有效分离。近年来, 随着各种不同林木cDNA文库的建立, 大规模随机EST测序技术的运用以及克隆技术的不断完善, 特别是毛果杨(Populus trichocarpa)基因组测序计划的完成, 大量与林木重要性状相关的基因被分离和鉴定。这些重要基因的获得为利用转基因技术培育高产、优质、抗逆、抗病虫害的林木新品种奠定了一定的基础。该文综述了20多年来国内外林木基因克隆的研究进展, 对基因克隆及其应用过程中亟待解决的问题进行了讨论, 并对其发展趋势进行展望。     

林木基因组及功能基因克隆研究概述

在美国能源部资助下, 首个多年生木本植物-- 杨树的全基因组测序已经完成且序列信息已对公众开放。杨树全基因组测序的完成标志着林木基因组进入后基因组研究时代。克隆控制重要性状的主效基因是林木后基因组时代的主要研究内容。近年来, 在一些重要作物, 如水稻、蕃茄及玉米中, 先后成功克隆了多个控制重要农艺性状的主效基因, 分子育种在作物中已进入实用阶段。林木相对于这些重要作物而言, 分子遗传学的研究起步较晚, 同时, 由于林木自身的一些生物学特性, 在林木中精确定位与克隆未知基因一度被视为遗传学研究领域的难点。随着技术和研究手段的不断进步, 以及林木基因组资源的快速积累, 有望在这一领域取得突破, 为在林木中开展分子育种创造条件。文章综述了国际上林木基因组与功能基因克隆研究的现状与新发展, 并对后基因组时代的林木功能基因克隆研究的预期成果进行了展望, 以期为从事该领域研究的科研人员提供参考。     

燕麦雄性不育新种质在遗传改良中的应用

对燕麦CA雄性不育材料的特征与遗传表现的研究表明,该不育性状是由1对隐性核基因控制的。对原CA雄性不育材料进行改造,设计出培育不同类型不育材料的选育程序,并转育出性状独特、不育株分离比例较高的新种质。提出了利用不育新种质改进燕麦杂交技术的方法,采用改进的杂交技术建成具有高千粒重、高蛋白质、低脂肪、丰产、抗病等性状的,遗传基础丰富的后代选择群体供育种应用。     

燕麦雄性不育新种质在育种中的应用

摘 要:对燕麦CA雄性不育材料的特征与遗传表现的研究表明,该不育性状是由一对隐性核基因控制遗传的。对原CA雄性不育材料进行改造,设计出培育不同类型不育材料的选育程序,并转育出性状独特、不育株分离比例较高的新种质。提出了利用不育新种质改进燕麦杂交技术的方法,采用改进的杂交技术建成具有高千粒重、高蛋白质、低脂肪、丰产、抗病等性状的、遗传基础丰富的后代选择群体供育种应用。     

三个陆地棉芽黄突变体的遗传及育种利用研究

棉花芽黄性状是一种优良的指示性状,在棉花杂种优势研究中具有重要的利用价值。本研究以3个芽黄突变体71-7、62-17和115-23为试验材料,配制了33个杂交组合,研究芽黄性状分离规律、芽黄性状的回交转育和优势组合选配。结果表明:71-7和115-23两个突变体的芽黄基因为单基因控制的隐性性状,62-17材料为单基因控制的不完全显性性状;通过回交转育方法,创制了9份带有芽黄标记性状的陆地棉三系种质资源;通过配制的12个优势组合综合性状分析,筛选出组合Y34和Y26具有较高的籽棉产量和皮棉产量,并可作为早熟杂交棉新品系选送新疆维吾尔自治区早熟陆地棉组进行品种参试。本研究结果可为新疆棉花种质创制、新基因挖掘及新品种培育提供新的亲本及基因来源。     

基于纳米基因载体的动植物遗传转化研究进展

转基因技术在动植物优良新品种的培育中发挥着重要作用,而随着纳米生物技术的发展,基于纳米材料构建基因载体的动植物转基因技术,对于发展动植物转基因新方法以及加速转基因种质材料的大规模制备、优良新品种的培育进程具有更为重要的意义。综述了纳米基因载体的种类与性质,并结合动植物遗传育种的研究进展,分析了纳米基因载体相比于其他载体的特点及优势,同时,重点阐述了基于纳米基因载体的基因转染技术的基本原理和操作过程,及其在动植物遗传转化中的应用,以期为动植物基因工程改造提供新思路。     

作物种质资源表型性状鉴定评价:现状与趋势

表型是作物基因型与环境互作后呈现出来的性状,包括形态学、生育期、产量、品质、抗性等性状。作物种质资源具有丰富的遗传多样性,并经过数千年在世界不同区域驯化利用中的人工选择,形成了表型性状的多样性,构成育种家选育作物新品种的物质基础。认识和发现作物种质资源表型的多样性需要通过系统、科学的鉴定,特别是培育适应全球气候变化下环境的品种,更需在大量种质资源中发掘和利用抗旱、耐热、抗病虫、水肥高效利用等特性的材料。作物种质资源各类表型性状的鉴定需要对环境进行有效的控制,而多年多点的鉴定可以准确观察鉴定性状的变异水平或表达稳定性,是育种家准确选择和利用性状的重要依据。作物种质资源表型性状的鉴定主要采用田间鉴定、设施鉴定、仪器分析、感官鉴定的方式。近年来,作物种质资源表型性状鉴定已从单一环境、低通量、粗放型鉴定转变为多年多环境、重点性状、高通量精准型鉴定。随着组学技术、智能与信息技术的快速发展,作物种质资源的表型性状鉴定已进入一个新阶段,形成作物育种中重要性状准确快速发掘与应用的坚实基础。     

热烈祝贺《遗传学报》创刊30周年——江苏省农科院遗传生理所麦类作物遗传与分子育种研究室

研究方向：运用细胞、分子遗传学,探索优质、高产、抗病等性状的相关基因的分子定位和遗传机制;运用细胞工程、基因工程等现代生物技术．结合常规育种,建立高效聚合育种技术平台．创造新种质．培育优质、高产、抗病新品种。     

CRISPR/Cas技术在抗除草剂作物育种中的研究与应用进展

CRISPR/Cas系统是一种简单、低成本、高效、精准的基因编辑技术,该技术能够进行基因的定向改造,加速新品种培育进程,在种质资源创制中的应用潜力较高。概述了CRISPR/Cas系统的技术原理及其在作物抗除草剂育种中的应用,简要指出了目前CRISPR/Cas技术在抗除草剂种质创制及应用过程中存在的问题及发展方向,以期为今后利用CRISPR/Cas技术创制抗除草剂新种质提供理论依据。     

甜玉米EMS突变体资源共享库的构建及初步鉴定

优异的种质资源是培育丰产、优质农作物新品种的基础和首要条件,创制甜玉米突变体材料对优良甜玉米新品种选育和玉米分子育种研究具有重要的意义。本研究中,采用甲基磺酸乙酯(EMS)诱变剂对甜玉米自交系华甜选H-16-2-2-3的花粉进行诱变及人工授粉,构建甜玉米EMS诱变突变体资源库。通过田间筛选与表型考察,共获得影响生育期、散粉抽丝间隔期、植株叶夹角、叶片大小、雄穗姿态、雄性育性、植株高、穗位高、穗行数、子粒顶端颜色、子粒大小、子粒皱缩程度等重要农艺性状的M_2代突变体材料24363份。对其中2000份M_2代突变体进行田间初步表型筛选,并借助高通量测序分析对部分单隐性核基因突变引起的突变体进行基因定位分析。在上述工作基础上,提出构建国内甜玉米种质资源共享库,为甜玉米育种及基因功能研究提供宝贵的试验材料和基因资源,促进甜玉米育种相关资源的共享。     

Transgene stability and dispersal in forest trees

Transgenics from several forest tree species, carrying a number of commercially important recombinant genes, have been produced, and are undergoing confined field trials in a number of countries. However, there are questions and issues regarding stability of transgene expression and transgene dispersal that need to be addressed in long-lived forest trees. Variation in transgene expression is not uncommon in the primary transformants in plants, and is undesirable as it requires screening a large number of transformants in order to select transgenic lines with acceptable levels of transgene expression. Therefore, the current focus of plant transformation is toward fine tuning of transgene expression and stability in the transgenic forest trees. Although a number of studies have reported a relatively stable transgene expression for several target traits, including herbicide resistance, insect resistance, and lignin modification, there was also some unintended transgene instability in the genetically modified (GM) forest trees. Transgene dispersal from GM trees to feral forest populations and their containment remain important biological and regulatory issues facing commercial release of GM trees. Containment of transgenes must be in place to effectively prevent escape of transgenic pollen, seed, and vegetative propagules in economically important GM forest trees before their commercialization. Therefore, it is important to devise innovative technologies in genetic engineering that lead to genetically stable transgenic trees not only for qualitative traits (herbicide resistance, insect resistance), but also for quantitative traits (accelerated growth, increased height, increased wood density), and also prevent escape of transgenes in the forest trees.     

Genomics to tree breeding and forest health

Genomic discovery in forest trees follows paradigms from both agricultural crop and livestock improvement and human medicine. Forest trees in a domesticated state can be improved using genomic-based breeding technologies, whereas the health of trees in a natural and undomesticated state might be managed using those same technologies. These applications begin by first dissecting complex traits in trees to their individual gene components and for that the association genetics approach is quite powerful in trees. This is true for several reasons including large, random mating, and unstructured populations and the rapid decay of linkage disequilibrium in many tree species. Once marker by trait associations are discovered, they can be used in genomic-based breeding and forest health diagnostics. Initial studies in trees have found ample nucleotide diversity in candidate genes to perform association studies and single nucleotide polymorphisms have been associated with economic and adaptive traits. Population genetic neutrality tests have been applied to identify genes probably under natural selection and thus make good candidates for developing forest health diagnostic tools.     

Fate of transgenes in the forest tree genome

During the last two decades, genetic engineering (GE) has been progressing at a steady pace in the forest trees. Transgenic trees carrying a variety of different transgenes have been produced, and are undergoing confined field trials in the world. However, there are questions regarding stability of transgene expression, and transgene escape that need to be addressed in the long-lived forest trees. Although relatively stable transgene expression has been reported for several target traits, including herbicide resistance, insect resistance, and lignin reduction in the vegetative propagules of several forest tree species, there were still unintended unstable events in transgenic plants. Long-term stability of transgene expression involved in these traits and others affecting yield (impacting growth) would be desirable in the vegetative propagules, and also in the generative progeny of the forest trees. Transgene escape through pollen, seed, and vegetative propagules from GE trees to native forest populations, although inevitable, remains an important regulatory issue. However, it may be possible to manage/minimize the risk of transgene spread via isolation in confined areas, and use of incompatible genotypes of feral tree populations in the vicinity of transgenic forest trees. Therefore, it is desirable to produce genetically stable transgenic trees, and have biocontainment measures in place for testing and deployment of the GE forest trees. Toward these goals (transgene stability and containment), innovative biotech strategies are being actively pursued, with reasonable success, in forest trees.     

Forest biotechnology: Innovative methods, emerging opportunities

Summary The productivity of plantation forests is essential to meet the future world demand for wood and wood products in a sustainable fashion and in a manner that preserves natural stands and biodiversity. Plantation forestry has enormously benefited from development and implementation of improved silvicultural and forest management practices during the past century. A second wave of improvements has been brought about by the introduction of new germplasm developed through genetics and breeding efforts for both hardwood and conifer tree species. Coupled with the genetic gains achieved through tree breeding, the emergence of new biotechnological approaches that span the fields of plant developmental biology, genetic transformation, and discovery of genes associated with complex multigenic traits have added a new dimension to forest tree improvement programs. Significant progress has been made during the past five years in the area of plant regeneration via organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis (SE) for economically important tree species. These advances have not only helped the development of efficient gene transfer techniques, but also have opened up avenues for deployment of new high-performance clonally replicated planting stocks in forest plantations. One of the greatest challenges today is the ability to extend this technology to the most elite germplasm, such that it becomes an, economically feasible means for large-scale production and delivery of improved planting stock. Another challenge will be the ability of the forestry research community to capitalize rapidly on current and future genomics-based elucidation of the underlying mechanisms for important but complex phenotypes. Advancements in gene cloning and genomics technology in forest trees have enabled the discovery and introduction of value-added traits for wood quality and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses into improved genotypes. With these technical advancements, it will be necessary for reliable regulatory infrastructures and processes to be in place worldwide for testing and release of trees improved through biotechnology. Commercialization of planting stocks, as new varieties generated through clonal propagation and advanced breeding programs or as transgenic trees with high-value traits, is expected in the near future, and these trees will enhance the quality and productivity of our plantation forests.     

Importance of functional traits and regional species pool in predicting long-distance dispersal in savanna ecosystems

Long-distance dispersal (LDD) of plants is difficult to measure but disproportionately important for various ecological and evolutionary processes. Dispersal of seeds of gallery-forest trees in savanna provides an opportunity for the study of colonisation processes and species coexistence driven by LDD. Investigations were carried out on 91 isolated trees along four gallery forests sampled in the Biosphere Reserve of Pendjari, Benin. The abundance of adult trees within nearest gallery forest was combined with functional traits (species maximum height, seed weight, morphological adaptation for dispersal by wind, water, birds and mammals) to explain the floristic composition of forest seedlings and saplings under isolated trees and in savanna. Stepwise negative binomial regression was used to identify the most significant variables explaining abundance of seedlings and saplings beneath isolated trees and in savanna and then derive colonisation from seedlings and persistence from saplings. The maximum height of species and seed weight explained the highest proportion of variance in species colonisation. Morphological dispersal syndromes by wind and birds had poor explanatory importance. Species rare in gallery forest had higher potential to colonise new environments through LDD whilst abundant species had higher persistence abilities. Contrary to the predictions of the seedling-size effect, small-seeded species dominated the sapling stage. The findings revealed the strong dependence of LDD and subsequent colonisation and persistence processes on species traits specialised for a variety of dispersal vectors. They also suggest that LDD towards isolated trees established far away from gallery forest can be difficult.     

单核苷酸多态性在林木中的研究进展

摘要: 单核苷酸多态性(Single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs)是许多生物体最丰富的遗传变异形式。林木是重要的植物类群和陆地植物生态系统的重要组成部分, SNP作为新的分子标记已应用于松、杨、黄杉、桉和云杉等属的多个树种的遗传育种学研究, 获得了包括核苷酸多样性、连锁不平衡及群体结构等相关的遗传信息, 这些研究主要建立在对候选基因序列进行测序分析的基础上。基于SNP的关联遗传学分析或连锁不平衡(Linkage disequilibrium, LD)作图, 已成为研究林木复杂数量性状的理想工具, 对桉树和火炬松的关联遗传学研究发现, 多个基因内的SNP位点与不同的木材性状相关联。利用SNP标记对林木遗传参数的估算从不同程度上揭示了林木群体进化规律及其生态学意义。SNP标记在林木中应用的不断深入, 必将极大地推动林木遗传育种学研究的发展。     

树木抗病基因研究进展

在长期进化过程中,植物形成了一系列防御机制,抵抗各类病原物入侵,抗病R基因在其中发挥着关键作用。R基因的研究,在农作物中取得很大进展,已成为植物病理学的研究热点。相比之下,树木抗病基因研究较为落后,虽从苹果、杨树和柚子中已分离了几个与已知R基因具有类似结构与功能的基因,但还没有真正的树木抗病R基因被克隆出来;目前,大部分研究主要集中在利用分子标记构建连锁图谱,寻找抗病数量性状位点（Quantitative trait loci,QTL）和与R基因紧密连锁或共分离的质量性状标记;其中一些标记已经应用在分子辅助选育中,并显示了诱人的应用前景。另外,利用已知抗病R基因的保守区域,从多种植物中已扩增出许多抗病基因类似序列,它们大多被转化为与R基因紧密连锁的标记或被当作抗病候选基因。     

The molecular basis of quantitative variation in foliar secondary metabolites in Eucalyptus globulus

Eucalyptus is characterized by high foliar concentrations of plant secondary metabolites with marked qualitative and quantitative variation within a single species. Secondary metabolites in eucalypts are important mediators of a diverse community of herbivores. We used a candidate gene approach to investigate genetic associations between 195 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 24 candidate genes and 33 traits related to secondary metabolites in the Tasmanian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus). We discovered 37 significant associations (false discovery rate (FDR) Q < 0.05) across 11 candidate genes and 19 traits. The effects of SNPs on phenotypic variation were within the expected range (0.018 < r(2) < 0.061) for forest trees. Whereas most marker effects were nonadditive, two alleles from two consecutive genes in the methylerythritol phosphate pathway (MEP) showed additive effects. This study successfully links allelic variants to ecologically important phenotypes which can have a large impact on the entire community. It is one of very few studies to identify the genetic variants of a foundation tree that influences ecosystem function.