Effector-Triggered Immune Response in Arabidopsis thaliana Is a Quantitative Trait

We identified loci responsible for natural variation in Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) responses to a bacterial pathogen virulence factor, HopAM1. HopAM1 is a type III effector protein secreted by the virulent Pseudomonas syringae strain Pto DC3000. Delivery of HopAM1 from disarmed Pseudomonas strains leads to local cell death, meristem chlorosis, or both, with varying intensities in different Arabidopsis accessions. These phenotypes are not associated with differences in bacterial growth restriction. We treated the two phenotypes as quantitative traits to identify host loci controlling responses to HopAM1. Genome-wide association (GWA) of 64 Arabidopsis accessions identified independent variants highly correlated with response to each phenotype. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping in a recombinant inbred population between Bur-0 and Col-0 accessions revealed genetic linkage to regions distinct from the top GWA hits. Two major QTL associated with HopAM1-induced cell death were also associated with HopAM1-induced chlorosis. HopAM1-induced changes in Arabidopsis gene expression showed that rapid HopAM1-dependent cell death in Bur-0 is correlated with effector-triggered immune responses. Studies of the effect of mutations in known plant immune system genes showed, surprisingly, that both cell death and chlorosis phenotypes are enhanced by loss of EDS1, a regulatory hub in the plant immune-signaling network. Our results reveal complex genetic architecture for response to this particular type III virulence effector, in contrast to the typical monogenic control of cell death and disease resistance triggered by most type III effectors.     

基于F3种子的胚乳性状QTL区间定位

文章提出了包括胚乳效应和母体效应的胚乳性状QTL定位的统计方法,该方法的实验设计是分子标记基因型信息来自F2母体植株和F3种子胚(或植株),胚乳性状表型值来自F3单粒种子胚乳,称之为两步等级设计。同时,用计算机全面模拟以验证该模型的可行性,模拟结果表明,只要群体足够大,该模型能较有效地进行胚乳性状QTL定位并精确地估计出胚乳QTL的各种遗传效应和母体效应。     

小麦抗赤霉病研究现状与展望

小麦是我国最重要的口粮作物之一。在小麦生产所面临的各种病害中,赤霉病的发生具有愈来愈严重的趋势,引起小麦产业界的高度关注。近几十年来,科研人员在小麦抗赤霉病遗传育种以及防控技术领域进行了持续不懈的努力,在赤霉病病原菌致病基因、小麦赤霉病抗性基因定位、克隆及功能研究以及抗赤霉病分子育种等方面取得了重大进展。本文主要从赤霉病抗性基因资源的发掘和鉴定、不同抗源遗传基础解析、小麦赤霉病抗性基因、抗赤霉病分子标记辅助选择育种与基因聚合以及小麦抗赤霉病基因的克隆和功能研究等方面进行了综述,分析了目前小麦抗赤霉病研究中存在的问题,并提出应加强基因克隆、功能分子标记开发以及应用单体型辅助选择(HAS)和标记组辅助选择(MSAS)等小麦抗赤霉病研究的相关建议。     

基于掖478导入系的玉米百粒重QTL鉴定

玉米百粒重是产量性状的主要组成因子,对其控制位点进行QTL鉴定或基因克隆,将有益于其遗传控制的研究和分子育种的实施。本研究以导入系SL19-41为材料,该导入系是以我国玉米育种中广泛应用的骨干自交系掖478(Ye478)为遗传背景导入QB80染色体片段的纯合系。使用该导入系与Ye478杂交构建分离群体(F2、F2:3家系和BC1F1),通过3个环境下的田间试验,利用Ici Mapping的逐步回归区间作图法进行百粒重QTL定位,以及进行QTL位点连锁标记的表型效应分析。结果表明:鉴定了2个百粒重QTL位点,其中位于第4染色体bnlg1784~umc1194区间QTL位点q KW4-1在3个环境下均被检测到,可解释的表型变异为6.74%~17.81%,阐明了导入系SL19-41百粒重性状的遗传机制,同时也获得了改良版的Ye478(Ye478QB80),为玉米百粒重的遗传改良提供有益的分子标记,也为克隆百粒重基因提供材料来源。     

Genomic regions affecting seed shattering and seed dormancy in rice

Non-shattering of the seeds and reduced seed dormancy were selected consciously and unconsciously during the domestication of rice, as in other cereals. Both traits are quantitative and their genetic bases are not fully elucidated, though several genes with relatively large effects have been identified. In the present study, we attempted to detect genomic regions associated with shattering and dormancy using 125 recombinant inbred lines obtained from a cross between cultivated and wild rice strains. A total of 147 markers were mapped on 12 rice chromosomes, and QTL analysis was performed by simple interval mapping and composite interval mapping. For seed shattering, two methods revealed the same four QTLs. On the other hand, for seed dormancy a number of QTLs were estimated by the two methods. Based on the results obtained with the intact and de-hulled seeds, QTLs affecting hull-imposed dormancy and kernel dormancy, respectively, were estimated. Some QTLs detected by simple interval mapping were not significant by composite interval mapping, which reduces the effects of residual variation due to the genetic background. Several chromosomal regions where shattering QTLs and dormancy QTLs are linked with each other were found. This redundancy of QTL associations was explained by ”multifactorial linkages” followed by natural selection favoring these two co-adapted traits. Received: 23 November 1998 / Accepted: 27 August 1999     

QTL x environment interactions in rice. I. heading date and plant height

One hundred twenty six doubled-haploid (DH) rice lines were evaluated in nine diverse Asian environments to reveal the genetic basis of genotype × environment interactions (GEI) for plant height (PH) and heading date (HD). A subset of lines was also evaluated in four water-limited environments, where the environmental basis of G × E could be more precisely defined. Responses to the environments were resolved into individual QTL × environment interactions using replicated phenotyping and the mixed linear-model approach. A total of 37 main-effect QTLs and 29 epistatic QTLs were identified. On average, these QTLs were detectable in 56% of the environments. When detected in multiple environments, the main effects of most QTLs were consistent in direction but varied considerably in magnitude across environments. Some QTLs had opposite effects in different environments, particularly in water-limited environments, indicating that they responded to the environments differently. Inconsistent QTL detection across environments was due primarily to non- or weak-expression of the QTL, and in part to significant QTL × environment interaction effects in the opposite direction to QTL main effects, and to pronounced epistasis. QTL × environment interactions were trait- and gene-specific. The greater GEI for HD than for PH in rice were reflected by more environment-specific QTLs, greater frequency and magnitude of QTL × environment interaction effects, and more pronounced epistasis for HD than for PH. Our results demonstrated that QTL × environment interaction is an important property of many QTLs, even for highly heritable traits such as height and maturity. Information about QTL × environment interaction is essential if marker-assisted selection is to be applied to the manipulation of quantitative traits.Communicated by G. Wenzel     

基于MAS的小麦抗赤霉病育种材料抗性评价

为了提高黄淮海麦区小麦育种材料的赤霉病抗性,采用分子标记辅助选择的方法,将来自望水白的4个抗赤霉病主效QTL 3B-QTL、4B-QTL、5A-QTL和6B-QTL导入不同的感病背景中,在后代BC1F3和BC1F4株系中评价它们的抗病效应和农艺性状回复情况。结果表明:(1)导入4个抗病QTL株系的平均病小穗率和病粒率分别为12.2%和6.3%,而受体亲本则分别达到59.1%和44.2%,抗病性显著提高;(2)病小穗数和病粒率与穗长及株高极显著负相关,但与可育小穗数、百粒重、旗叶长和旗叶宽等农艺性状指标没有显著相关性。因此,通过导入抗病主效QTL可以显著改善感病材料的抗性,为进一步选育高产抗病品种提供基础材料。不良农艺性状的紧密连锁阻碍着抗赤霉病主效QTL的高效利用,需要通过继续回交或与其他品种杂交来打破这种遗传连锁关系。     

数量性状基因座的动态定位策略

分子标记辅助数量性状基因（QTL）定位和效应分析技术为深入研究数量性状的遗传基础提供了一个有力手段．但目前的QTL定位策略是静态的,只估计各QTL在某观察时刻的累积效应,无法了解QTL的表达动态．本文提出一种新的QTL定位策略,称为“动态定位”,能够揭示QTI表达的动态过程,并能极大地提高QTL定位的统计功效.