Hybrid and Monosomic Analyses of Smoky Coloration of the Ear in Common Wheat

The results of the hybrid and monosomic analyses of smoky ear coloration in the common wheat variety columbina are reported. The character has been found to be monogenic, and its gene has been located to chromosome 1DS. The smoky ear coloration is determined by an allele of gene Rg2 introgressed to wheat from Aegilops tauschii.__________Translated from Genetika, Vol. 41, No. 8, 2005, pp. 1147–1149.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Pshenichnikova, Bokarev, Shchukina.     

Inheritance of heading date in crosses of wheat cultivar responsiveness to light intensity

The inheritance of heading date has been studied in crosses of spring bread wheat cultivars differing in their reaction to various light intensities. The parental cultivars were similar in their Vrn and Ppd gene systems and differed in heading dates. Domination of higher reaction to light intensity has been shown in F1 on duration of "ear emergence-heading" period. Analysis of F2 populations has shown the identity of earliness per se genetic systems in Novosibirskaya 22 and Ordynskaya cultivars. Digenic differences have been revealed for both these cultivars from Tyumenskaya rannyaya cultivar on duration of "ear emergence--heading" period.     

Effect of the 5R(5A) alien chromosome substitution on the growth habit and winter hardiness of wheat

The growth habit, ear emergence time, and frost tolerance of wheat/rye substitution lines have been studied in cultivars Rang and Mironovskaya Krupnozernaya whose chromosome 5A is substituted with chromosome 5R of Onkhoyskaya rye. Hybrid analysis has demonstrated that the spring habit of the recipient cultivars Rang and Mironovskaya Krupnozernaya is controlled by dominant gene Vrn-A1 located in chromosome 5A. Onokhoyskaya rye has a dominant gene for the spring habit (Sp1) located in chromosome 5R. It has been found that the resultant 5R(5A) alien-substitution lines have a winter type of development and ears do not emerge during summer in plants sown in spring. The change in growth habit has been shown to be related to the absence of the rye Spl gene expression in the substitution lines. The winter hardiness of winter 5R(5A) alien-substitution lines has been studied under the environmental conditions of Novosibirsk. Testing the lines in the first winter demonstrated that their winter survival is 20-27%. The possible presence of the frost resistance gene homeoallelic to the known genes Fr1 and Fr2 of the common wheat located on chromosomes 5A and 5D, respectively, is discussed.     

Ear culture as a technique to overcome hybrid necrosis in wheat

Hybrid necrosis in wheat is a problem for gene transfer in wheat breeding. Hybrid necrosis occurs due to dominant complementary interaction of two genes, Ne1 and Ne2. A cross between wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties C306 (drought tolerant, Ne1 carrier) and WL711(high yielding, Ne2 carrier) produced necrotic F1 hybrids, which died before ear emergence and produced no seeds. To overcome the problem of hybrid necrosis, ears enclosed in the leaf sheath were taken and cultured to maturity in liquid medium containing 5% sucrose and 0.04% glutamine. The necrotic hybrids produced only a few seeds per ear compared to parents, but individual grain weight was similar in the hybrid and the parents. The F1 ear culture study has been repeated for three years and F2 seeds obtained. In 1996–97, the cultured ears of F1 hybrids produced 62 seeds, of which only 52 showed germination and were grown under normal field conditions. Out of the 52 seeds, 50% were non-necrotic and showed segregation for various physiological traits. The results reveal that hybrids ears had the potential to form viable seeds. Culturing of wheat ears before ear emergence and production of viable F2 seeds from necrotic hybrids is a simple and efficient method for overcoming the problem of hybrid necrosis. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Histological study of oogenesis pathology in smoky mutant mice

The various pathology of female mice reproductive system with the mutation smoky (smk) was observed. This recessive autosomal gene dilutes the black colour of hair to the light smoky. The cases with ovarian agenesis and dysgenesis of the mutants WR-smk/smk and B6-smk/smk without the germ cells or with the acute deficit was discovered. The oogenesis pathology of the mutants B6-smk/smk was revealed by the block of oocyte growth and their nucleus development in the growing nonatretic follicles leading to the female infertility. Endogene causes of the female hypogonadism and infertility associated with the mutation smoky are proposed.     

Effect of the 5R(5A) Alien Chromosome Substitution on the Growth Habit and Winter Hardiness of Wheat

The growth habit, ear emergence time, and frost tolerance of wheat/rye substitution lines have been studied in cultivars Rang and Mironovskaya Krupnozernaya whose chromosome 5A is substituted with chromosome 5R of Onkhoyskaya rye. Hybrid analysis has demonstrated that the spring habit of the recipient cultivars Rang and Mironovskaya Krupnozernaya is controlled by dominant gene Vrn-A1 located in chromosome 5A. Onokhoyskaya rye has a dominant gene for the spring habit (Sp1) located in chromosome 5R. It has been found that the resultant 5R(5A) alien-substitution lines have a winter type of development and ears do not emerge during summer in plants sown in spring. The change in growth habit has been shown to be related to the absence of the rye Sp1 gene expression in the substitution lines. The winter hardiness of winter 5R(5A) alien-substitution lines has been studied under the environmental conditions of Novosibirsk. Testing the lines in the first winter demonstrated that their winter survival is 20–27%. The possible presence of the frost resistance gene homeoallelic to the known genes Fr1 and Fr2 of the common wheat located on chromosomes 5A and 5D, respectively, is discussed.     

环境因子和外源化学物质对果树UFGT基因的影响

近几年来,花色苷对果树叶片和果皮着色的作用虽备受关注,但对其合成途径中UDP-葡萄糖：类黄酮-3-O-葡萄糖基转移酶基因（UFGT）的研究以及环境因子和外源化学物质对该基因的影响仍缺乏系统评述。文章描述了UFGT基因的基本特性,并基于国内外相关研究进展,介绍了UFGT基因在果树花色苷合成及果皮着色等方面的作用,重点总结分析了环境因子和外源化学物质对UFGT基因的影响,并对今后的研究方向进行了展望,以期为进一步研究UFGT基因提供参考依据。     

不同生态区小麦品种的穗发芽抗性评价

本研究对来自不同生态区的137个小麦品种进行穗发芽抗性鉴定,计算相对发芽指数,并分析这些品种穗部籽粒性状、品质指标、吸胀萌发后0～72 h α-淀粉酶活性及其基因表达量与穗发芽抗性之间的关系。结果表明: 长江中下游麦区小麦的平均发芽指数最低,抗穗发芽品种最多,其次是长江上游麦区,黄淮麦区抗穗发芽品种相对较少。红粒品种小麦的相对发芽指数低于白粒品种,相对发芽指数与籽粒长度、宽度呈极显著正相关,与小穗数呈显著正相关,与穗型、穗色、穗长、小穗密度、穗粒数、千粒重无显著相关性。相对发芽指数与容重呈极显著负相关,与面团形成时间和出粉率呈显著负相关,与蛋白质含量、湿面筋含量、吸水率、稳定时间、沉降值、拉伸面积、延展性、最大阻力无显著相关性。不同品种的α-淀粉酶活性随吸胀萌发时间的延长呈上升趋势,萌发24～72 h的相对发芽指数与α-淀粉酶活性呈极显著正相关,穗发芽中抗以上品种萌发48 h后α-淀粉酶活性聚类分析结果与穗发芽鉴定结果一致。萌发后各时段α-淀粉酶基因表达量与相对发芽指数呈极显著正相关。     

小麦形成大穗的生态学基础

研究了不同光、温条件下３个小麦品种的生育特征、幼穗分化、幼穗生长和穗部性状,探讨了促进穗大粒多、提高小麦单产的可行途径．结果表明,因播种期的不同而导致的小麦生长期间光、温条件的不同,使之各生育期出现的时间及其持续的天数有了较大的差异．小麦幼穗分化的历期天数多与平均气温和平均日照长度呈显著或极显著负相关．不同的积温是幼穗生长量和每穗总小穗数产生差异的重要原因．在条件适宜的麦区,可望通过引种适宜品种并适当提早播种期,以促进德大粒多、实现单产的明显提高．     

Identification of Vibrio spp. in vibriosis Penaeus vannamei using developed monoclonal antibodies

Immunohistochemical study using monoclonal antibodies specific to various shrimp viruses and Vibrio spp. was performed in shrimp samples died from unknown cause with symptoms of black stripes on lateral sides of cephalothorax or smoky body coloration. The positive results in muscular tissue were obtained with MAb VAL57 (specific to Vibrio spp.) and in hepatopancreas tissues with MAbs VVB158 (specific to V. vulnificus) and VPC701 (specific to V. parahaemolyticus). Twelve isolates of Vibrio spp. isolated from shrimp tissues were identified with various MAbs by dot blotting, biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene. The results revealed three groups of V. vulnificus and one group of V. shilonii. All four groups of isolated Vibrio spp. were immunologically and biochemically different. None of the V. parahaemolyticus-like bacterium was isolated. The results demonstrated that the mortality in shrimp is accompanied by the presence of Vibrio spp.     

Comparative genetic analysis of diploid naked wheat Triticum sinskajae and the progenitor T. monococcum accession

The inheritance of several morphological and biochemical traits was studied in diploid (2n = 2x = 14) naked wheat Triticum sinskajae. The electrophoretic pattern of storage proteins (gliadins) of T. sinskajae differed only in two components from the pattern of T. monococcum accession k-20970, in a population of which T. sinskajae had been discovered. Analysis of biochemical polymorphisms revealed a difference between T. monococcum k-20970 and T. sinskajae in a slow 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase region but not in the other eight enzyme systems examined. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the nuclear Acc-1 (acetyl-CoA carboxylase) gene revealed a 46-bp deletion from intron 11 in T. monococcum k-20970 but not in T. sinskajae. This difference was not regarded as species-specific in view of the intraspecific polymorphism of the Acc-1 locus in T. monococcum. A monogenic control was demonstrated for the spring growth habit of T. sinskajae, and the monogenic control of the specific T. sinskajae ear shape was verified. The T. sinskajae ear shape is controlled by a recessive gene, while the T. monococcum ear shape is controlled by a dominant gene. The T. sinskajae ear shape, nakedness, soft glume, aristate glume, and the oblique brachium of the outer glume proved to be linked. The set of E. sin-skajae diagnostic characters is determined by a single (possibly, regulatory) gene or a set of closely linked genes. The two other genes specific to T. sinskajae-awnS, determining the awnlessness, and fig, determining the nonfissile inner (flower) glume--are, respectively, 1.35 +/- 0.98 and 3.34 +/- 1.54% of crossing over away from the mom gene, which determines the T. sinskajae ear shape.     

No evidence for a genetic association between female mating preference and male secondary sexual trait in a Lake Victoria cichlid fish

Sexual selection by female mating preference for male nuptial coloration has been suggested as a driving force in the rapid speciation of Lake Victoria cichlid fish. This process could have been facilitated or accelerated by genetic associations between female preference loci and male coloration loci. Preferences, as well as coloration, are heritable traits and are probably determined by more than one gene. However, little is known about potential genetic associations between these traits. In turbid water, we found a population that is variable in male nuptial coloration from blue to yellow to red. Males at the extreme ends of the phenotype distribution resemble a reproductively isolated species pair in clear water that has diverged into one species with blue-grey males and one species with bright red males. Females of the turbid water population vary in mating preference coinciding with the male phenotype distribution. For the current study, these females were mated to blue males. We measured the coloration of the sires and male offspring. Parents-offspring regression showed that the sires did not affect male offspring coloration, which confirms earlier findings that the blue species breeds true. In contrast, male offspring coloration was determined by the identity of the dams, which suggests that there is heritable variation in male color genes between females. However, we found that mating preferences of the dams were not correlated with male offspring coloration. Thus, there is no evidence for strong genetic linkage between mating preference and the preferred trait in this population [Current Zoology 56 (1): 57-64 2010].     

Molecular Characterization and Expression Analysis of Triticum aestivum Squamosa‐Promoter Binding Protein‐Box Genes Involved in Ear Development

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important crops in the world. Squamosa‐promoter binding protein (SBP)‐box genes play a critical role in regulating flower and fruit development. In this study, 10 novel SBP‐box genes (TaSPL genes) were isolated from wheat ((Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar Yanzhan 4110). Phylogenetic analysis classified the TaSPL genes into five groups (G1–G5). The motif combinations and expression patterns of the TaSPL genes varied among the five groups with each having own distinctive characteristics: TaSPL20/21 in G1 and TaSPL17 in G2 mainly expressed in the shoot apical meristem and the young ear, and their expression levels responded to development of the ear; TaSPL6/15 belonging to G3 were upregulated and TaSPL1/23 in G4 were downregulated during grain development; the gene in G5 (TaSPL3) expressed constitutively. Thus, the consistency of the phylogenetic analysis, motif compositions, and expression patterns of the TaSPL genes revealed specific gene structures and functions. On the other hand, the diverse gene structures and different expression patterns suggested that wheat SBP‐box genes have a wide range of functions. The results also suggest a potential role for wheat SBP‐box genes in ear development. This study provides a significant beginning of functional analysis of SBP‐box genes in wheat.     

Genetical analysis of chromosome 5A of wheat and its influence on important agronomic characters

Summary Chromosome 5A of bread wheat, Triticum aestivum carries the major gene, Vrnl, which is one of the main determinants of the winter/spring growth habit polymorphism in this species. Genetical analysis of this chromosome has been carried out using single-chromosome recombinant lines to establish the pleiotropic effects of this locus and two other major genes, q determining ear morphology and bl determining the presence of awns, on important agronomic characters. The three major genes were located on the long arm of chromosome 5A with a gene order of: centromere -bl-q-Vrnl. Analysis of quantitative characters from a winter sowing revealed pleiotropic effects of Vrnl or the effects of closely linked loci on the characters plant height, tiller number and spikelet number. However effects on ear emergence time were not associated with Vrnl but with q as were effects on spikelet number and ear length. In addition a locus determining yield/plant was located between Vrnl and q. Independant loci determining height and ear length were apparent on the short arm of chromosome 5A. From a spring sowing, however, there was a large pleiotropic effect of Vrnl on ear emergence time, as well as the effects previously detected. In addition, associated with q were effects on plant height and grain size which were not expressed from the winter sowing.     

小麦芒基因定位及其与农艺性状的相关性分析

芒是位于植物穗上的针状结构,广泛存在于禾本科作物水稻、小麦、高粱和大麦中,不同作物芒的结构存在差异.小麦中,芒对提高穗光合效率和产量、防鸟、抗虫及抗逆有重要作用.前人已经对抑制小麦芒发育的主要基因进行了定位和遗传分析,4个主效基因中仅有B1(Tipped1)基因被克隆.本研究基于人工群体云南3号和偃展1号BC3F6群体...     

Utilization of blue-grained character in wheat breeding derived from Thinopyrum poticum

The blue grain trait in common wheat （Triticum aestivum L., 2n = 6x = 42, AABBDD）, which is caused by blue pigments in the aleurone layer, was originally derived from the tall wheatgrass （Thinopyrum ponticum Liu ＆ Wang = Agropyron elongatum, 2n = 10x = 70, StStStStEeEeEbEbEXEx） during chromosome engineering research. Over the last few decades, there have been continued interests in the genetic mechanism of this blue coloration and the practical utilization of the blue aleurone character as a phenotypic marker. This article reviews the research history and the recent progress of the studies on blue-grained wheat, with emphases on genetic and biochemical analysis and practical applications of blue-grained wheat.     

LOOSE SMUT (USTILAGO TRITICI (PERS.) ROSTR.) OF WHEAT: PHYSIOLOGIC SPECIALIZATION AND REACTION OF VARIETIES IN ENGLAND

Three physiologic races of loose smut (named Ci, C2 and C3), found in wheat varieties grown at Cambridge, differ from those identified in Holland. The resistance or susceptibility of fifty-seven wheat varieties to races Ci, C2 and C3 has been determined. Experiments have shown that infection of an ear can take place over a period of several days. There is a close relationship between the percentage of plants attacked and the severity of attack in a single plant.     

Nymph and adult biology of Dichelops melacanthus (Dallas) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) feeding on cultivated and non-cultivated host plants

The biology of the pentatomid Dichelops melacanthus (Dallas) feeding on cultivated and non-cultivated plants was studied in the laboratory. Nymph mortality varied from approximately 60 on corn (seed mature) to 77% on wheat (ear immature); no nymphs survived on seedlings of corn or wheat. Nymph developmental time on soybean, corn or wheat (seed, pod or ear) varied from 25.5 to 32.8 days. Body weight at adult emergence was similar and greater on most foods than on wheat ear. Nymphs fed preferentially on soybean (pod immature). On non-cultivated hosts, nymphs showed high mortality (73%) on crotalaria (pod immature); on tropical spiderwort (stem) all nymphs died. Nymphs took longer time to develop on crotalaria and/or on spiderwort than on soybean. Body weight at adult emergence did not differ on crotalaria or soybean. Survivorship decreased with time on most foods, with approximately 50% of adults alive at day 30. On corn and wheat seedlings approximately 80% of adults were dead on day 20. Adult longevity ranged 31-43 days, except on corn and wheat seedlings < 15 days. Females % ovipositing peaked ( approximately 76%) on soybean (pod or seed immature), and was minimum ( approximately 9%) on wheat ear (immature); no females reproduced on seedlings of corn or wheat. Preoviposition period was shorter ( approximately 12 days) on soybean (immature pod or seed) and longer ( approximately 37 days) on wheat (ear immature). Fecundity was similar and higher on all foods than on wheat (ear immature). Body weigh gain occurred on all foods, but on corn and wheat seedlings. Adults fed preferably on soybean (pod immature and seed mature); wheat (seedling) was the least preferred food.     

Comparison of Two Pearl Sacs Formed in the Same Recipient Oyster with Different Genetic Background Involved in Yellow Pigmentation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinctada fucata</Emphasis>

Color is one of the most important factors determining the commercial value of pearls. Pinctada fucata is a well-known pearl oyster producing high-quality Akoya pearls. Phenotypic variation in amount of yellow pigmentation produces white and yellowish pearls. It has been reported that polymorphism of yellow pigmentation of Akoya pearls is genetically regulated, but the responsible gene(s) has remained unknown. Here, we prepared pearl sac pairs formed in the same recipient oyster but coming from donor oysters that differ in their color. These two pearl sacs produced pearls with different yellowness even in the same recipient oyster. Yellow tone of produced pearls was consistent with shell nacre color of donor oysters from which mantle grafts were prepared, indicating that donor oysters strongly contribute to the yellow coloration of Akoya pearls. We also conducted comparative RNA-seq analysis and retrieved several candidate genes involved in the pearl coloration. Whole gene expression patterns of pair sacs were not grouped by pearl color they produced, but grouped by recipient oysters in which they were grown, suggesting that the number of genes involved in the yellow coloration is quite small, and that recipient oyster affects gene expression of the majority of genes in the pearl sac.