Genetics of Soybean-Heterodera glycines Interactions

The soybean cyst nematode, Heterodera glycines, is one of the most economically important pathogens of soybean. Effective management of the nematode is often dependent on the planting of resistant soybean cultivars. During the past 40 years, more than 60 soybean genotypes and plant introductions (PI) have been reported as resistant to H. glycines. About 130 modern soybean cultivars registered in the United States are resistant to certain races of H. glycines. Several resistance genes have been identified and genetically mapped; however, resistance levels in many soybean cultivars are not durable. Some older cultivars are no longer resistant to certain H. glycines populations in many production areas, especially if a soybean monoculture has been practiced. Past soybean registration reports show that all resistant cultivars developed in public institutions from the mid-1960s to the present have been derived from five PIs. This narrow genetic background is fragile. To further complicate the issue, soybean-H. glycines genetic interactions are complex and poorly understood. Studies to identify soybean resistance genes sometimes have overlapped, and the same genes may have been reported several times and designated by different names. Nevertheless, many potential resistance genes in existing germplasm resources have not yet been characterized. Clearly, it is necessary to identify new resistance genes, develop more precise selection methods, and integrate these resistance genes into new cultivars. Rational deployment of resistant cultivars is critical to future sustained soybean production.     

Relationship between Meloidogyne incognita and Rotylenchulus reniformis as Influenced by Soybean Genotype

The effect of soybean genotype on competition between Meloidogyne incognita race 2 (Mi) and Rotylenchulus reniformis (Rr) was evaluated in greenhouse and microplot replacement series experiments. Soil in pots containing seedlings of ''Davis'' (susceptible to Mi) or ''Buckshot 66'' (resistant to Mi) was infested with 1,000 vermiform individuals in the following Mi:Rr ratios: 0:0, 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, or 0:100. After 91 days, the relative nematode yields (number of nematodes in mixed culture divided by the number in nonmixed culture) of each species were calculated based on soil and root nematode populations expressed as nematodes per gram of dry root tissue. To define the relationship between the two species, calculated relative nematode yields were compared with a theoretical noncompetition model using lack-of-fit regression. In the greenhouse, Mi populations on ''Davis'' were stimulated in the presence of Rr. In microplots, low Mi and Rr population densities likely resulted from severe galling and destruction of feeder roots that probably occurred early in the season. Enhanced susceptibility to Mi was not observed on ''Buckshot 66'', which remained resistant to Mi even when colonized by Rr. Host resistance is a key factor in determining the nature of the relationship between Mi and Rr.     

Ethanol Promotes Apoptosis in Cerebellar Granule Cells by Inhibiting the Trophic Effect of NMDA

Abstract: When primary cultures of cerebellar granule neurons are grown in a physiological concentration of KCl (5 m M ) they undergo apoptosis, which can be prevented by growing the cells in the presence of N -methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA). We now show that ethanol inhibits this trophic effect of NMDA, i.e., promotes apoptosis, and also inhibits the NMDA-induced increase in intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration in cells grown in 5 m M KCl. Both effects of ethanol show a similar concentration dependence and are reversed by a high concentration of glycine, the co-agonist at the NMDA receptor. The data suggest that the effect of ethanol on apoptosis is mediated, at least in part, by inhibition of NMDA receptor function. This effect of ethanol to increase apoptosis could contribute to the previously described in vivo sensitivity of the developing cerebellum to ethanol-induced damage.     

Effect of plant genotype and nitrogen fertilizer on symbiotic nitrogen fixation by soybean cultivars

Summary Isotopic as well as non-isotopic methods were used to assess symbiotic nitrogen fixation within eight soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivars grown at 20 and 100 kg N/ha levels of nitrogen fertilizer under field conditions.The¹⁵N methodology revealed large differences between soybean cultivars in their abilities to support nitrogen fixation. In almost all cases, the application of 100 kg N/ha resulted in lower N₂ fixed in soybean than at 20 kg N/ha in the first year of the study. However, N₂ fixed in one cultivar, Dunadja, was not significantly affected by the higher rate of N fertilizer application. These results were confirmed by measurements of acetylene reduction activity, nodule dry weight and N₂ fixed as measured by the difference method. Further proof of differences in N₂ fixed within soybean cultivars and the ability of Dunadja to fix similar amounts of N₂ at 20 and 100 kg N/ha was obtained during a second year experiment. Dunadja yield was affected by N fertilizer and produced larger yield at 100 kg N/ha than at 20 kg N/ha. This type of cultivar could be particularly useful in situations where soil N levels are high or where there is need to apply high amounts of N fertilizer.The present study reveals the great variability between legume germplasms in the ability to fix N₂ at different inorganic N levels, and also the potential that exists in breeding for nitrogen fixation associative traits. The¹⁵N methodology offers a unique tool to evaluate germplasms directly in the field for their N₂ fixation abilities at different N fertilizer levels.     

Breeding soybeans for the tropics capable of nodulating effectively with indigenousRhizobium spp.

Summary Most soybean varieties fail to nodulate effectively in tropical soils unless inoculated with a competitive strain ofRhizobium japonicum. Developing countries in the tropics, with few exceptions, lack inoculant industries to produce and distribute viable inoculants to small farmers and extension programs to teach them to use inoculant. Several soybean genotypes have been identified that nodulate effectively with many strains of the cowpea inoculation group which is ubiquitous in tropical soils of Africa. Soybean genotypes that nodulate and grow well without inoculant application are called promiscuous. Methodologies for incorporation of the promiscuity character into high-yielding backgrounds are discussed.Supported in part by grant 05-0560 from United Nations Development Program to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.     

Field evaluation of symbiotic nitrogen fixation by rhizobial strains using15N methodology

Summary Small differences in N₂ fixation by nodulated soybeans (Glycine max. (L.) Merr.), inoculated with various strains ofRhizobium japonicum, were assessed in field experiments using¹⁵N methodology, and compared with yields of plant dry matter and total N. Percentage of plant-N derived from atmospheric N₂ and from fertilizer, and values of %¹⁵N atom excess had lower coefficients of variation than did total N and dry matter yield. Nevertheless the precision of estimates of kg N/ha fixed were sufficient to differentiate only the extremes of the range of strains tested, and there were discrepancies between ranking of strains based on % N derived from fertilizer and on total N yield.     

Platte Valley Yellows,a chlorotic condition of soybeans: Symptoms and preliminary chemical analyses

Summary A chlorotic condition of soybeans in the river valleys of eastern Nebraska was studied. The pattern of chlorosis, presence of petiolar necrosis, reductions in rhizobial and mycorrhizal infection, and plant and soil chemical analyses suggest that the condition is more complex than normal iron deficiency chlorosis or other mineral deficiencies or toxicities. Nodulation is almost totally inhibited in affected plants. Mycorrhizal fungi, while able to infect early in the season, do not persist on affected plants. Breakdown of endodermis was observed in the roots of affected plants. The factors contributing to this condition have not yet been determined. Published with the approval of the director as Paper No. 5672, Journal Series, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station.     

Progestin metabolism in the rhesus monkey corpus luteum

For the purpose of describing the pathway by which estrogens are synthesized in the rhesus monkey ($\text{Macaca}$$\text{mulatta}$) corpus luteum (CL), CL were obtained during the midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle and fragments incubated with equimolar amounts of [7-³H]pregnenolone plus [4-¹⁴C]progesterone. Metabolites including ³H-progesterone, ³H, ¹⁴C-20α-dihydroprogesterone, ³H, ¹⁴C-17-hydroxyprogesterone, ³H-estrone and ³H-estradiol-17β appeared in the medium during the first 20 minutes of incubation, ³H, ¹⁴C-Androstenedione was not consistently noted until after 60 minutes. Despite the fact that the ¹⁴C/³H-17-hydroxyprogesterone ratio quickly approached a constant value in the medium, ¹⁴C-estrogens were not detected in the medium or tissue fragments suggesting that progesterone was not a principal precursor for estrogen synthesis. As evidenced by the observation that the ¹⁴C/³H-progesterone ratio was significantly higher in luteal fragments than the 17-hydroxyprogesterone ratio, 17-hydroxyprogesterone appeared to be synthesized from pregnenolone both by way of progesterone and by another route which did not include progesterone. C₂₁- and C₁₈-Steroids were more concentrated in tissue fragments after 120 minutes of incubation than in the medium indicating that these steroids were sequestered by luteal tissue.     

Ploidy and strain differences in seed germination of Glycine wightii at different pH levels

Summary Seeds from 27 wild strains (18 tetraploids and 9 diploids) of Glycine weightii were germinated at a pH range of 5 to 8. The differences in germination (%) between all the strains were highly significant but between pH levels they were only nearly significant (P=0.067) with no interaction between pH levels and strains. Mean germination (%) for all tetraploids seems to be slightly higher ( 2%) than that for all diploids, especially at pH's 5, 7 and 8 but this may be due to the significantly longer time ( one day) it took tetraploids to complete germination. The apparent inverse relationship between seed weight and germination (%) was not significant.Mean germination time was highly significant for strains, pH's and their interaction. Increasing mean germination (%) resulted in decreasing mean germination time among strains. Large seeds took less time to germinate especially those from some of the tetraploid strains. This indicates that it is possible to produce a variety with high germination (%), fast germination rate and possibly large seeds. If the marked difference in pH tolerance among strains will prove to be mainly hereditary, then it will be also possible to select for either specific pH tolerance or tolerance at a wide range of pH.     

Post-translational processing of 7S and 11S components of soybean storage proteins

The synthesis and processing of the major storage proteins in soybean cotyledons was studied both in vivo and in vitro. The and subunits of 7S as well as the 11S proteins are synthesized as higher molecular weight-precursors on membrane-bound polysomes. The initial translation products of the 7S are proteolytically cleaved during translation suggesting the removal of a signal peptide as evidenced by the presence of 2 and 2 peptides immunoreactive with 7S antibody in the in vitro chain completion products of the membrane-bound polysomes. This is followed or accompanied by cotranslational glycosylation, which increases their size equivalent to that of initially-synthesized precursors. In vivo pulse-labelled 7S and products are of slightly higher molecular weights than the immunoprecipitable chain-completion products, indicating further post-translational modifications. A slow post-translational processing during a period of 1.5 to 16 h yields the final 7S and glycoproteins.Acidic and basic subunits of the 11S protein appear to be synthesized from common large molecular weight (60K-59K) precursors. Antibodies to the 11S acidic component recognize both acidic and basic domains in the precursor while those raised against basic subunits appear to be specific for that region only. The processing of the 11S precursor is also very slow and occurs post-translationally. This slow rate of processing, coupled with a temporal difference in the synthesis of 7S and 11S components, suggests a highly coordinated mechanism for synthesis and packaging of these proteins into protein bodies during seed development.