Comprehensive metabolic profiling and phenotyping of interspecific introgression lines for tomato improvement

Tomato represents an important source of fiber and nutrients in the human diet and is a central model for the study of fruit biology. To identify components of fruit metabolic composition, here we have phenotyped tomato introgression lines (ILs) containing chromosome segments of a wild species in the genetic background of a cultivated variety. Using this high-diversity population, we identify 889 quantitative fruit metabolic loci and 326 loci that modify yield-associated traits. The mapping analysis indicates that at least 50% of the metabolic loci are associated with quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that modify whole-plant yield-associated traits. We generate a cartographic network based on correlation analysis that reveals whole-plant phenotype associated and independent metabolic associations, including links with metabolites of nutritional and organoleptic importance. The results of our genomic survey illustrate the power of genome-wide metabolic profiling and detailed morphological analysis for uncovering traits with potential for crop breeding.     

The effects of rootstock and scion on tobacco mosaic virus infection in susceptible, tolerant and immune cultivars of tomato

Reciprocal grafts were made between tomato cultivars Potentate, susceptible, and Virocross, tolerant (heterozygous for resistance gene Tm-i) to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) isolates of Pelham type o and between isogenic lines of cv. Craigella, susceptible and homozygous for gene Tm-i. The grafted plants were inoculated with a type o isolate; both scion and stock inoculation were studied in the former, scion inoculation only, in the latter. With scion inoculation the virus content of a tolerant scion was greater on a susceptible stock than on a tolerant one, but that of a susceptible scion was unaffected by the type of stock: in contrast, the virus content of a tolerant stock was unaffected by the type of scion but that of a susceptible stock was less with a tolerant than with a susceptible scion. With root inoculation the virus contents of both tolerant and susceptible scions were greater on a susceptible than on a tolerant stock. With cv. Craigella the genotype Tm-1/Tm-1 was found to be immune to the type o isolate used, but in grafts the leaves of Tm-1/Tm-1 scions became tolerant to leaf inoculation when on susceptible stocks and the virus entered the stock. Tm-1/Tm-1 stocks became infected when attached to infected, susceptible scions and did not affect the virus content of those scions. The results indicate that a susceptible healthy stock may change the reaction of a tolerant or immune scion to infection by a strain of TMV.     

Bacillus thuringiensis protein transfer between rootstock and scion of grafted poplar

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry1Ac protein is a toxin against different leaf‐eating lepidopteran insects that attack poplar trees. In the present study, the mode of migration of the Bt‐Cry1Ac protein within poplar grafts was investigated. Grafting was done using Pb29 (transgenic poplar 741 with cry1Ac genes), CC71 (transgenic poplar 741 with cry3A genes), non‐transgenic poplar 741 and non‐transgenic Populus tomentosa, either as scion or as rootstock. In order to detect migration of Bt‐Cry1Ac protein from one portion of the graft union to different tissues in the grafted plant, ELISA analysis was employed to assess the content of Bt‐Cry1Ac protein in the phloem, xylem, pith and leaves of the grafted poplar. To further verify migration of Bt‐Cry1Ac protein, Clostera anachoreta larvae, which are susceptible to Bt‐Cry1Ac protein, were fed leaves from the control graft (i.e., graft portion that originally did not contain Bt‐Cry1Ac protein). The results showed that Bt‐Cry1Ac protein was transported between rootstock and scion mainly through the phloem. Migration of Bt‐Cry1Ac protein in the grafted union was also evidenced in that the leaves of the control graft did have a lethal effect on C. anachoreta larvae in laboratory feeding experiments.     

不同砧穗组合葡萄植株对部分根区干旱的生理生化响应

利用自制木箱对嫁接在3309C、420A和110R砧木上的玛瓦斯亚葡萄（M）进行双侧根区交替灌溉（AI）和单侧灌溉（UI）两种水分胁迫处理,以探讨不同葡萄砧穗组合对干旱的适应能力.结果表明：水分胁迫导致葡萄叶片ABA浓度大幅度增加,AI和UI的3种组合平均分别提高了267.5％和394.7％,而气孔导度和蒸腾速率显著下降.UI处理的3种组合叶片SOD和CAT活性显著增加,脯氨酸（Pro）含量极显著增加,且均以M/110R增幅较大,M/3309C增幅较小;而AI处理的SOD和CAT活性增加较小,但Pro含量显著增加.干旱胁迫导致葡萄叶片质膜透性、MDA和H₂O₂含量极显著增加,以M/3309C增加最多,M/110R增加较少.不同砧穗组合适应干旱逆境的能力主要取决于砧木品种,110R适应干旱逆境的能力强于420A和3309C,其对应的嫁接植株的生长量亦呈同样趋势.与根区单侧灌溉相比,双侧根区交替灌溉对植株造成的伤害较小,是可推广的节水灌溉方式.     

Root interactions and tomato growth in tomato/potato onion companion-cropping system under different phosphorus levels

When two plants interact, changes in plant growth are usually related to variations in root distribution and phosphorus (P) levels. However, root distributions and root tendencies are difficult to study because root systems grow beneath the soil surface. In this study, a transparent root box was used to observe interactions between root systems in situ, and the relation between tomato growth and root proliferation at different depths and distance from the rows at no P added and 120?mg kg^-1 P added levels were also tested. We found that tomato shoot and total biomass increased and roots grew deeper when companion cropped with potato onion under both P levels. Moreover, tomato roots tended to grow away from the potato onion roots. Our results suggest that a deeper and more evasive root distribution may be related to the increased plant growth of tomato when companion cropped with potato onion.     

Gas exchange,water relations and osmotic adjustment in two scion/rootstock combinations of Prunus under various salinity concentrations

Plant and Soil - Growth, gas exchange and water relations have been studied on hydroponically grown peach (cv. Armking) plants, grafted on GF677 (Arm/GF) and Mr.S.2/5 (Arm/MrS), exposed to 0, 40,...     

Protoplast fusion for production of tetraploids and triploids: applications for scion and rootstock breeding in citrus

Protoplast fusion technology has been utilized in many crops to generate allotetraploid somatic hybrids, and sometimes autotetraploids as a byproduct of the process. A brief history of this technology development is provided, along with a simple protocol developed for citrus, which can be easily adapted to other plants. Protoplast fusion has become a significant tool in ploidy manipulation that can be applied in various cultivar improvement schemes. In rare cases, a new somatic hybrid may have direct utility as an improved cultivar; however, the most important application of somatic hybridization is the building of novel germplasm as a source of elite breeding parents for various types of conventional crosses for both scion and rootstock improvement. Somatic hybridization is generating superior allotetraploid breeding parents for use in interploid crosses to generate seedless triploids. Seedlessness is a primary breeding objective for new fresh fruit citrus varieties, and several thousand triploid hybrids have been produced using somatic hybrids as the tetraploid parent. Protoplast fusion is also being utilized to produce somatic hybrids that combine complementary diploid rootstocks, which have shown good potential for tree size control. Tree size control has gained importance as a means of reducing harvesting costs, maximizing the efficiency of modern cold protection methodology, and facilitating the adaptation of new fruit production systems. Successful somatic hybridization in citrus rootstock improvement has enabled rootstock breeding at the tetraploid level via sexual hybridization, which can yield maximum genetic diversity in zygotic progeny upon which to impose selection for the many traits required in improved rootstock cultivars, including disease and insect resistance, broad adaptation, tree size control, and the ability to consistently produce high yields of quality fruit. Recent progress and successful examples of these applications are discussed. Finally, a discussion of the genetic potential of somatic hybrids as breeding parents, including meiotic behavior and inheritance is provided.     

Metabolic profiling and biochemical phenotyping of plant systems

Over the last two decades incredible progress has been made in the development of technologies to both create and characterise genetic diversity. In plant systems, the development of knockout populations, transposon insertions and chemical mutagenesis programs has facilitated the generation of an enormous base of diversity. During this period, the elucidation of complete genomes and the rapid development of tools to describe the expression of genes and the protein complement have also been achieved. To complement such studies, methods allowing non-biased, simultaneous and rapid determination of metabolites important in both primary and secondary metabolism have been developed. Our intention here is to review current methodologies for metabolic profiling in plants, highlighting the strategies for biochemical phenotyping of plants by determining the steady-state concentrations of a broad spectrum of metabolites. Emphasis will be placed on cells cultured in vitro, and the future prospects of this rapidly expanding research field will be discussed     

Variation in the content of bioflavonoids of orange as affected by scion,rootstock, and fruit part

Fruits of citrus cultivars contain bioflavonoids and some other important secondary metabolites in pharmaceutical and nutritional industries. The present experiment was designed to investigate the correlation between the content of flavonoid components like naringin, hesperidin, and neohesperidin of the scions fruits and the same parameters in rootstocks fruits. Six-year-old trees including four citrus cultivars of ‘Moro’, ‘Mars’, ‘Salustiana’, and ‘Italian’ which were previously grafted on the four different rootstocks including ‘Yuzu’, ‘Shelmahalleh’, ‘Citromelo’, and ‘Sour orange’ were selected as experimental trees. The content of the mentioned flavonoids was investigated in the peel and pulp of the fruits of both scions and rootstocks. The results showed that the measured parameters were significantly influenced by scions, rootstocks, and tissues. Based on the obtained results, it can be suggested that the accumulation of chemicals in citrus fruit depends on genetic and inherent abilities of the scion, more than what was previously believed, while the rootstock can also play an important role in the accumulation of these substances.     

Changes in the anatomical structure of tree rings of the rootstock and scion in the heterografts of Siberian pine

The analysis of the anatomical characteristics of tree rings of the Pinus sibirica scions and Pinus sylvestris rootstocks is presented. The main anatomical features maintain the seasonal dynamics characteristic of the reference (ungrafted) trees of scion and rootstock, pointing to the stability of the genetic control of the xylem differentiation. However, various anatomical characteristics are reduced for rootstocks and increased for scions relative to the reference trees. A mechanism consistent with our results is that the graft union zone creates a barrier for the ascending and descending transport of substances, including phytohormones. The reaction of the scion and rootstock to climatic factors is weakened relative to the reaction of the reference trees. Thus, the presumed shift towards phytohormone disbalance reduces the influence of external factors on xylem differentiation. The interannual variation of the individual characteristics of the scions and rootstocks is increased relative to the reference trees, reflecting either the influence of the graft partners on each other or the non-uniform distribution of the growth regulators across the graft union. Thus, heterografts can be used to evaluate the interaction of the internal and external mechanisms of xylem differentiation.     

Modification of gibberellin biosynthesis in the grafted apple scion allows control of tree height independent of the rootstock

The availability of short stature apple scions that required minimal applications of chemical growth retardants and could be used with a range of rootstocks would be of considerable benefit to fruit growers. We have suppressed the expression of a gene encoding the gibberellin (GA) biosynthetic enzyme GA 20-oxidase to reduce the levels of bioactive GAs in a scion variety, resulting in significant reductions in stem height. Application of GA3 reversed the effect. The scion remained dwarfed after grafting on to normally invigorating rootstocks, whilst control plants of the same cultivar displayed the expected vigour when grafted on to these rootstocks. This approach could be applicable to any perennial crop variety, allowing dwarf trees to be obtained on any available rootstock or on their own roots without the need for chemical growth retardant application. In effect, seedlings that are well suited to local conditions (drought, salinity) could be employed as tree rootstocks, as could existing rootstocks valued for characters other than vigour control, such as pest and disease resistance.