Heteromorphic seeds of wheat wild relatives show germination niche differentiation

• Crop wild relatives are fundamental genetic resources for crop improvement. Wheat wild relatives often produce heteromorphic seeds that differ in morphological and physiological traits. Several Aegilops and Triticum species possess, within the same spikelet, a dimorphic seed pair, with one seed being larger than the other. A comprehensive analysis is needed to understand which traits are involved in seed dimorphism and if these aspects of variation in dimorphic pairs are functionally related.
• To this end, dispersal units of Triticum urartu and five Aegilops species were X‐rayed and the different seed morphs weighed. Germination tests were carried out on seeds, both dehulled and left in their dispersal units. Controlled ageing tests were performed to detect differences in seed longevity among seed morphs, and the antioxidant profile was assessed in terms of antioxidant compounds equipment and expression of selected antioxidant genes. We used PCA to group seed morphs sharing similar patterns of germination traits, longevity estimates and antioxidant profile.
• Different seed morphs differed significantly in terms of mass, final germination, germination timing, longevity estimates and antioxidant profile in most of the tested species. Small seeds germinated slower, had lower germination when left in their dispersal units, a higher antioxidant potential and were longer‐lived than large seeds. The antioxidant gene expression varied between morphs, with different patterns across species but not clearly reflecting the phenotypic observations.
• The results highlight different trait trade‐offs in dimorphic seeds of Aegilops and T. urartu, affecting their germination phenology and longevity, thereby resulting in recruitment niche differentiation.

     

Characterization and analysis of sesamolinol diglucoside in sesame seeds

A new lignan glucoside was isolated from defatted sesame seed flour and its structure was established as sesamolinol diglucoside [2-(3-methoxy-4-(O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl (1-->6)-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside)phenoxyl)-6-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-cis-3,7-dioxabicyclo-(3.3.0)-octane] by mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. A quantitative analysis of 65 sesame seed samples showed that this sesamolinol diglucoside ranged from <5 to 232 mg/100 g of seeds (98+/-57 mg/100 g) with no difference between white and black sesame seeds.     

作物野生近缘种的保护与利用

作物野生近缘种将是保证下一世纪粮食充足的重要因素。近30余年来国际国内非常重视作物野生种质资源的搜集、保存、鉴定、评价和利用的研究。我国作物野生近缘种特别丰富,同时受威胁非常严重。因此,加大力度开展作物及其野生近缘种种质资源的遗传多样性、保存技术、种质创新和利用的研究是刻不容缓的。     

Identification of a taurine transport inhibitory substance in sesame seeds

An ethanol extract from sesame seeds inhibited the taurine uptake in human intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells. The uptake of such alpha-amino acids as leucine and glutamic acid was not inhibited by the extract, indicating that this inhibition is specific to the taurine uptake. The unknown inhibitor in the sesame extract was purifled by reversed-phase HPLC by monitoring the inhibitory effect on taurine uptake. The isolated substance was identified as lysophosphatidylcholine, linoleoyl (Lyso-PC), by NMR and MS analysis. Lyso-PC inhibited the taurine uptake in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 value of approximately 200 microM. Although Lyso-PC is known to be a surface active and cell lytic compound, neither damage nor loss of integrity of the Caco2 cell monolayer was apparent after treating with 200 microM Lyso-PC. Inhibition was observed by incubating cells with Lyso-PC for only 1 min prior to the uptake experiments. These results suggest the direct effect of Lyso-PC on the cell membrane to be the main mechanism for this inhibition. Lyso-PC may play a role in the regulation of certain intestinal transporters.     

Risk assessment of gene flow from genetically engineered virus resistant cassava to wild relatives in Africa: an expert panel report

The probability and consequences of gene flow to wild relatives is typically considered in the environmental risk assessment of genetically engineered crops. This is a report from a discussion by a group of experts who used a problem formulation approach to consider existing information for risk assessment of gene flow from cassava (Manihot esculenta) genetically engineered for virus resistance to the ‘wild’ (naturalized) relative M. glaziovii in East Africa. Two environmental harms were considered in this case: (1) loss of genetic diversity in the germplasm pool, and (2) loss of valued species, ecosystem resources, or crop yield and quality due to weediness or invasiveness of wild relatives. Based on existing information, it was concluded that gene flow will occur, but it is not likely that this will reduce the genetic diversity in the germplasm pool. There is little existing information about the impact of the virus in natural populations that could be used to inform a prediction about whether virus resistance would lead to an increase in reproduction or survival, hence abundance of M. glaziovii. However, an increase in the abundance of M. glaziovii should be manageable, and would not necessarily lead to the identified environmental harms.     

In situ conservation of crop wild relatives: status and trends

Recognized as a priority three decades ago, in situ conservation of crop wild relatives has developed theoretical and methodological focus and achieved significant on-the-ground progress in the last 10 years, most notably under the impetus of the plant genetic resources community. Literature and Internet searches and interviews with experts were undertaken as a basis for reviewing the current status and trends of this effort worldwide. Country-by-country summaries on in situ crop wild relatives conservation activities are presented, and recommendations are made for future action. Principal recommendations include flagging of appropriate taxa as crop wild relatives in botanical and conservation databases, undertaking gap analyses to locate crop wild relatives hotspots, and enhancing cooperation between the plant genetic resources and plant conservation communities.     

Furanocoumarins in seeds of wild and cultivated parsnip

The furanocoumarin content of ripe seeds of seven cultivars of Pastinaca sativa was compared to that of ripe seeds from a naturalized population in central Illinois. Five furanocoumarins were identified and quantified in the intact seeds. While seeds of wild and cultivated plants contain furanocoumarin components in identical proportions, seeds from wild plants contain almost three times the quantity of furanocoumarins on a dry weight basis as do seeds of cultivars.     

栽培植物野生近缘种的保护与利用

栽培植物是人类赖以生存和发展的重要物质基础。全球人口与人均需求量的持续增长导致对植物资源的需求与日俱增。栽培植物较低的遗传多样性是限制其产量增长和质量提高的主要因素。栽培植物野生近缘种在自然环境中积累了丰富的遗传变异, 并在应对环境变化的过程中产生了很多新的适应性状, 是栽培植物种质创新和品种改良的重要遗传资源。然而, 栽培植物野生近缘种的存续和自然进化因生境破坏以及全球气候变化等正面临严重威胁, 需要采取有效的措施进行保护。本文总结了国内外对栽培植物野生近缘种进行原生境保护与迁地保护所取得的进展, 并基于我国实际情况提出了栽培植物野生近缘种的保护建议。此外, 本文还对栽培植物野生近缘种利用技术进行了梳理, 探讨了栽培植物野生近缘种遗传资源可持续利用的新思路。最后, 我们以长江流域几种代表性栽培植物为例, 对主要作物类型的保护与利用情况进行了讨论。     

Allozyme variation in domesticated annual sunflower and its wild relatives

 The annual sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is a morphologically and genetically variable species composed of wild, weedy, and domesticated forms that are used for ornament, oilseed, and edible seeds. In this study, we evaluated genetic variation in 146 germplasm accessions of wild and domesticated sunflowers using allozyme analysis. Results from this survey showed that wild sunflower exhibits geographically structured genetic variation, as samples from the Great Plains region of the central United States were genetically divergent from accessions from California and the southwestern United States. Sunflower populations from the Great Plains harbored greater allelic diversity than did wild sunflower from the western United States. Comparison of genetic variability in wild and domesticated sunflower by principal coordinate analysis showed these groups to be genetically divergent, in large part due to differences in the frequency of common alleles. Neighbor-Joining analyses of domesticated H. annuus, wild H. annuus and two closely related wild species (H. argophyllus T. & G. and H. petiolaris Nutt.) showed that domesticated sunflowers form a genetically coherent group and that wild sunflowers from the Great Plains may include the most likely progenitor of domesticated sunflowers. Received: 2 December 1996/Accepted: 4 April 1997     

Dormancy and enzyme levels in seeds of wild oats

Nine enzymes were compared in dry and steeped mature dormant and non-dormant seeds of wild oats. In dry seeds only glutamate-pyruvate transaminase and phosphoglycerate kinase were greater in non-dormant seeds. In steeped non-dormant seeds glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity doubled while the enzyme declined sharply in dormant seeds. Increases in isocitrate dehydrogenase, glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase and acid phosphatase in non-dormant seeds, during steeping, are consistent with the hypothesis that the pentose phosphate and glycolysis-tricarboxylic acid pathways are involved in the control of dormancy of wild oat seed.     

Production of low input and stress tolerant wheat germplasm through the use of biodiversity residing in the wild relatives

Agricultural biodiversity adds value to crop, induces resistance, contributes enormously to human foodstuff, removes fear of genetic uniformity and ensure food security of the world. For these reasons, NIAB initiated a programme on collection, evaluation, and utilisation of agro-biodiversity related with wheat and wheat wild relatives. The focus of the programme was on the addition of stress tolerance from wild species to cultivated wheat. The objectives were i) to have a permanent source of stress tolerant germplasm, ii) to facilitate availability of such germplasm for environment friendly, profitable and sustainable agriculture on stressed lands and iii) to ensure safety of biodiversity (through gene conservation) for the stability of future agriculture. During 1998-2001, we tested wheat lines developed by using biodiversity residing in the Aegilops species. The material was tested in an area that required stress tolerant germplasm. Planting was done in fields where cotton was already growing up to the stage of second picking. The inputs included only half the amount of recommended dose of fertiliser, approximately half of the normal irrigation, no herbicide and two applications of compost. Two of the lines tested in these trials out-yielded all existing wheat cultivars traditionally grown in this area and convinced the farmers that biodiversity does play a role in adding value to the existing material, making it suitable for specific requirement. This paper describes, in detail, the significance of the plant material for the area, practical achievements, acceptance by the farmers and economic feasibility of the stress tolerant material developed at NIAB.     

Cloning and sequence analysis of cDNA encoding thiamin-binding proteins from sesame seeds

The amino acid sequences of the large polypeptides of thiamin-binding proteins (TBPs) from sesame ( Sesamum indicum L.) seeds (STBP-I, -II and -III) were analyzed. The large polypeptides of STBP-I, -II and -III had the same amino acid sequences as did their small polypeptides. The peptide sequence information obtained from STBPs was used to synthesize DNA primers for amplification of the gene(s) encoding STBPs. A 200-bp fragment was amplified from cDNA synthesized from RNA from sesame seeds 4 weeks after flowering. The 200-bp fragment was used to clone full-length cDNA(s) encoding STBP(s) with RACE techniques. A 644-bp fragment was amplified, cloned and sequenced. The cDNA was a full-length clone encoding STBP(s). It contained an open reading frame, which defined a 143-residue polypeptide. The identified small and large polypeptide sequences of STBPs exactly matched the sequence encoded within the cDNA clone. These results indicated that the small and large polypeptides of STBPs were encoded on the mRNA as a single large proprotein precursor and that the final mature forms were generated by post-translational processing in the same manner as the other 2S albumins of plant seeds.     

Distribution of the Tnt1 retrotransposon family in the amphidiploid tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and its wild Nicotiana relatives

Transposable elements can generate considerable genetic diversity. Here we examine the distribution of the Tnt1 retrotransposon family in representative species of the genus Nicotiana . We show that multiple Tnt1 insertions are found in all Nicotiana species. However, Tnt1 insertions are too polymorphic to reveal species relationships. This indicates that Tnt1 has amplified rapidly and independently after Nicotiana speciation. We compare patterns of Tnt1 insertion in allotetraploid tobacco ( N. tabacum ) with those in the diploid species that are most closely related to the progenitors of tobacco, N. sylvestris (S-genome donor) and N. tomentosiformis (T-genome donor). We found no evidence for Tnt1 insertion sites of N. otophora origin in tobacco. Nicotiana sylvestris has a higher Tnt1 content than N. tomentosiformis and the elements are distributed more uniformly across the genome. This is reflected in tobacco where there is a higher Tnt1 content in S-genome chromosomes. However, the total Tnt1 content of tobacco is not the sum of the two modern-day parental species. We also observed tobacco-specific Tnt1 insertions and an absence of tobacco Tnt1 insertion sites in the diploid relatives. These data indicate Tnt1 evolution subsequent to allopolyploidy. We explore the possibility that fast evolution of Tnt1 is associated with 'genomic-shock' arising out of interspecific hybridization and allopolyploidy.  © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2004, 82 , 639–649.     

Vicia johannis and wild relatives of the faba bean: a taxonomic study

Preliminary taxonomic and agronomic investigation was made of close relatives of the faba bean (Vicia faba) to aid future plant breeding. Cluster analysis of 2 yr’s morphometric data showed thatV. johannis is clearly separable from other members of theV. narbonensis complex. AlsoV. faba was much more distinct from eitherV. narbonensis orV. johannis than they are from each other. Petal colours at anthesis provided a rapid method of field identification forV. faba, V. narbonensis, andV. johannis. The 2 varieties ofV. johannis can also be distinguished by their petal colours: var. procumbens shows a marked colour change at anthesis and var. johannis does not. The geographical distribution of the plant material studied suggests thatV. johannis is found in Turkey and Europe despite being omitted from the major published floras. BothV. johannis andV. narbonensis possess agronomically useful characters of importance to faba bean breeders, including increased frost tolerance and resistance to bothAphis fabae andBotrytis fabae.     

Use of wild relatives to improve salt tolerance in wheat

There is considerable variability in salt tolerance amongst members of the Triticeae, with the tribe even containing a number of halophytes. This is a review of what is known of the differences in salt tolerance of selected species in this tribe of grasses, and the potential to use wild species to improve salt tolerance in wheat. Most investigators have concentrated on differences in ion accumulation in leaves, describing a desirable phenotype with low leaf Na+ concentration and a high K+/Na+ ratio. Little information is available on other traits (such as "tissue tolerance" of accumulated Na+ and Cl-) that might also contribute to salt tolerance. The sources of Na+ "exclusion" amongst the various genomes that make up tetraploid (AABB) durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum), hexaploid (AABBDD) bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ssp. aestivum), and wild relatives (e.g. Aegilops spp., Thinopyrum spp., Elytrigia elongata syn. Lophopyrum elongatum, Hordeum spp.) are described. The halophytes display a capacity for Na+ "exclusion", and in some cases Cl- "exclusion", even at relatively high salinity. Significantly, it is possible to hybridize several wild species in the Triticeae with durum and bread wheat. Progenitors have been used to make synthetic hexaploids. Halophytic relatives, such as tall wheatgrass spp., have been used to produce amphiploids, disomic chromosome addition and substitution lines, and recombinant lines in wheat. Examples of improved Na+ "exclusion" and enhanced salt tolerance in various derivatives from these various hybridization programmes are given. As several sources of improved Na+ "exclusion" are now known to reside on different chromosomes in various genomes of species in the Triticeae, further work to identify the underlying mechanisms and then to pyramid the controlling genes for the various traits, that could act additively or even synergistically, might enable substantial gains in salt tolerance to be achieved.     

Distribution and physiology of microorganisms in petrochemical oily sludge of plant

The occurrence, vertical distribution, and the physiological state of microorganisms in a petrochemical oily sludge deposit were studied. The total number and the number of viable microbial cells at depths of 0.2 and 3 m were about 10 and 10(8) cells/g dry wt. sludge. Most microbial cells taken from the middle (1 m deep) and the bottom (3 m deep) sludge horizons showed a delayed colony-forming ability, which suggested that the cells occurred in a hypometabolic state. The relative number of microaerobic denitrifying microorganisms steeply increased with depth. The amount of microorganisms tolerant to 3, 5, and 10% NaCl and capable of growing at 7 and 40 degrees C varied from 10(2) to 10(8) CFU/g dry wt. sludge. Petrochemical oily sludge was found to maintain the growth of heterotrophs, among which the degraders of oily sludge and ten different individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were detected. The occurrence of highly adaptable microorganisms with an adequate metabolic potential in the petrochemical oily sludge deposit implies that its bioremediation is possible without introducing special microorganisms.     

Wheat's wild relatives vary in their response to nitrogen and ozone

The wild relatives of bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) are valued by plant breeders for their genetic diversity. However, increasing levels of nitrogen (N) deposition and ground‐level ozone (O₃) threaten plant biodiversity in the Mediterranean and Near‐East, a hotspot for many crop wild relatives. Knowledge of the effect of these air pollutants in combination is still limited, but early indications are that effects vary depending on the level of pollutants, and on the sensitivity of the species to N and O₃. This study examined the responses of four important wheat wild relatives ( Aegilops tauschii , Aegilops speltoides , Triticum dicoccoides and Triticum monococcum ) and one modern wheat cultivar ( T. aestivum ‘Cadenza’) to treatments of N (equivalent to 50 kg ha^?1 year^?1 ammonium nitrate) and O₃ (100 ppb for 21 days), alone and in combination. Measurements included root, shoot and seed biomass, and electrolyte ratios. The O₃ sensitivity of A. tauschii and T. aestivum ‘Cadenza’ were exacerbated by the addition of N, while A. speltoides was found to be nitrophilous, with N ameliorating the negative effect of O_3. Both T. aestivum ‘Cadenza’ and T. dicoccoides produced immature seed heads, with the cultivar's seed head biomass reduced in response to O₃ and N + O₃ while that of T. dicoccoides was largely unaffected. These data suggest that all four wild relatives are likely to be affected when N and O₃ air pollutants co‐occur, and there in situ populations may therefore be at risk. Equally, the results of this study can inform use of their beneficial traits by wheat breeders, and alert them to the inadvertent inclusion of N and O₃ sensitivity.     

Toward sustainable use of Palm leaves by a rural community in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

There is increasing pressure from communities neighbouring protected areas in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to harvest resources from these areas. For example,Hyphaene coriacea Geartn. (vegetable ivory palm) leaves are extensively used by Zulu people for commercial and subsistence craftwork. This study investigates the effect of varying leaf harvest intensities on leaf production ofHyphaene coriacea in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and aims to provide some management guidelines for sustainable use. Replicate plots subjected to three different harvest intensities were established and numbers and lengths of unopened leaves were monitored over four years. Results suggest that a harvest intensity of one leaf stem^-1 year^-1 would be sustainable. This is equivalent to 34% of calculated annual production. The 650 ha harvest area is estimated to produce 191 750 leaves year^-1 (4793 bundles) which could be harvested sustainably. The effects of leaf harvest, even at maximum harvest rate, on leaf production over the four year study period appear negligible although there was a slight decline over time in leaf production of trees subjected to high harvest intensity. A slight increase in leaf production was observed at moderate levels of harvest intensity.