Addressing the yield by density interaction is a prerequisite to bridge the yield gap of rain‐fed wheat

Environmental variability induced by climate change is connected with inter‐annual variation in grain yield of rain‐fed wheat. Density‐dependent cultivars, relying on high populations, usually vary in optimum population. The optimum population is primarily affected by the water regime, while sowing date, heat, terminal drought, frost and type of soil are also indicators. These forces make it difficult to estimate optimum population on the basis of the expected yield level. Furthermore, accounting for the difficulty in foreseeing long‐term weather by variation in the planting versus seeding ratio, an appropriate population might be hard to establish and thus, harvested yield lags behind the highest possible yield. The greater the reliance on high populations, the larger the potential level of this gap and poor yield performance of individual plants is the root cause. Thus, while for drought‐prone environments cultivation at lower populations is prudent, cultivars that fall short of efficient resource capture at the single‐plant level demand much higher populations for seasons with adequate rainfalls. Therefore, flexible density‐independent cultivars performing well at wide range of populations are imperative to meet the future demands in the matter of sustainability and food adequacy. The goal appears attainable through improvement of the single‐plant performance, and the implementation of breeding for yield compensation components offers such a possibility.     

Variation in acquisition of soil phosphorus among wheat and barley genotypes

To assess the extent of variation in phosphorus acquisition efficiency of some winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), winter and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes, depletion of inorganic phosphorus (P) extractable with 0.5 M NaHCO₃ (NaHCO₃-P_i) from the rhizosphere soil was studied. Nutrients supply, rhizosphere soil pH and soil water content was kept equal for all the genotypes with the aim to reduce the confounding variation due to these factors. The experimental set up implied that no difference in the relative growth rates, nitrogen, potassium and calcium content of shoot dry matter occurred among the genotypes.The winter wheat, winter barley and spring barley genotypes differed significantly (p>0.05) in their efficiency to acquire NaHCO₃-P_i from the rhizosphere soil. The efficiency of the winter wheat genotypes to acquire NaHCO₃-P_i from rhizosphere soil ranked Kraka > Gawain > Foreman > Sleipner = Obelisk > Kosack > Pepital > Arum. Winter wheat genotypes differed in extent of P depletion profiles in the rhizosphere, indicating variation in root hair length. The winter barley and spring barley genotypes also showed significant differences in their P depletion profiles near roots. The efficiency of the winter barley genotypes to acquire soil P in the rhizosphere ranked Hamu > Frost > Marinka > Astrid > Clarine = Angora. The efficiency of spring barley genotypes to acquire NaHCO₃-P_i in the rhizosphere ranked Canut > Etna Riga > Digger > Peel > Semal > Alexis. The rhizosphere pH remained unchanged, suggesting that additional mechanisms such as root hair formation and root exudates play a significant role in causing variation in P acquisition among the genotypes.     

Translocation and nuclear accumulation of monomer and dimer of HIV-1 Tat basic domain in triticale mesophyll protoplasts

Cellular internalization of cell-penetrating peptide HIV-1 Tat basic domain (RKKRRQRRR) was studied in Triticale cv AC Alta mesophyll protoplasts. Fluorescently labeled monomer (Tat) and dimer (Tat₂) of Tat basic domain efficiently translocated through the plasma membrane of mesophyll protoplast and showed distinct nuclear accumulation within 10 min of incubation. Substitution of first arginine residue with alanine in Tat basic domain (M-Tat) severely reduced cellular uptake of the peptide (3.8 times less than Tat). Tat₂ showed greater cellular internalization than Tat (1.6 times higher). However, characteristics of cellular uptake remained same for Tat and Tat₂. Cellular internalization of Tat and Tat₂ was concentration dependent and non-saturable whereas no significant change in cellular uptake was observed even at higher concentrations of M-Tat. Low temperature (4 °C) remarkably increased cellular internalization of Tat as well as Tat₂ but M-Tat showed no enhanced uptake. Viability test showed that peptide treatment had no cytotoxic effect on protoplasts further indicating involvement of a common mechanism of peptide uptake at all the temperatures. Endocytic inhibitors nocodazole (10 μM), chloroquine (100 μM) and sodium azide (5 mM) did not show any significant inhibitory effect on cellular internalization of either Tat or Tat₂. These results along with stimulated cellular uptake at low temperature indicate that Tat peptide is internalized in the plant protoplasts in a non-endocytic and energy-independent manner. Competition experiments showed that non-labeled peptide did not inhibit or alter nuclear accumulation of fluorescent Tat or Tat₂ suggesting active transport to the nucleus was not involved. Studies in mesophyll protoplasts show that internalization pattern of Tat peptide is apparently similar to that observed in mammalian cell lines.     

Differences among maize cultivars in the utilization of soil nitrate and the related losses of nitrate through leaching

In a 2-year field experiment conducted on a Gleyic Luvisol in Stuttgart-Hohenheim one experimental and nine commercial maize cultivars were compared for their ability to utilize soil nitrate and to reduce related losses of nitrate through leaching. Soil nitrate was monitored periodically in CaCl₂ extracts and in suction cup water. Nitrate concentrations in suction water were generally higher than in CaCl₂ extracts. Both methods revealed that all cultivars examined were able to extract nitrate down to a soil depth of at least 120 cm (1988 season) or 150 cm (1987 season). Significant differences among the cultivars existed in nitrate depletion particularly in the subsoil. At harvest, residual nitrate in the upper 150 cm of the profile ranged from 73–110 kg N ha^–1 in 1987 and from 59–119 kg N ha^–1 in 1988. Residual nitrate was closely correlated with nitrate losses by leaching because water infiltration at 120 cm soil depth started 4 weeks after harvest (1987) or immediately after harvest (1988) and continued until early summer of the following year. The calculated amount of nitrate lost by leaching was strongly influenced by the method of calculation. During the winter of 1987/88 nitrate leaching ranged from 57–84 kg N ha^–1 (suction cups) and 40–55 kg N ha^–1 (CaCl₂ extracts), respectively. The corresponding values for the winter of 1988/89 were 47–79 and 20–39 kg N ha^–1, respectively. ei]Section editor: B E Clothier     

Fungal Avirulence Genes: Structure and Possible Functions

Avirulence (Avr) genes exist in many fungi that share a gene-for-gene relationship with their host plant. They represent unique genetic determinants that prevent fungi from causing disease on plants that possess matching resistance (R) genes. Interaction between elicitors (primary or secondary products ofAvrgenes) and host receptors in resistant plants causes induction of various defense responses often involving a hypersensitive response.Avrgenes have been successfully isolated by reverse genetics and positional cloning. Five cultivar-specificAvrgenes (Avr4,Avr9, andEcp2 fromCladosporium fulvum; nip1fromRhynchosporium secalis;andAvr2-YAMOfromMagnaporthe grisea) and three species-specificAvrgenes (PWL1andPWL2fromM. griseaandinf1fromPhytophthora infestans) have been cloned. Isolation of additionalAvrgenes from these fungi, but also from other fungi such asUromyces vignae,Melampsora lini, Phytophthora sojae,andLeptosphaeria maculans,is in progress. Molecular analyses of nonfunctionalAvrgene alleles show that these originate from deletions or mutations in the open reading frame or the promoter sequence of anAvrgene. Although intrinsic biological functions of mostAvrgene products are still unknown, recent studies have shown that twoAvrgenes,nip1andEcp2, encode products that are important pathogenicity factors. All fungalAvrgenes cloned so far have been demonstrated or predicted to encode extracellular proteins. Current studies focus on unraveling the mechanisms of perception of avirulence factors by plant receptors. The exploitation ofAvrgenes and the matchingRgenes in engineered resistance is also discussed.     

牡丹品种鉴定用ISSR引物的筛选与开发

用于牡丹品种鉴定的DNAISSR-PCR反应体系已经建立。利用DNAISSR分子标记分析少量牡丹品种时,容易获得各品种的特有ISSR标记。然而,中国牡丹品种约有1500个,在小批量品种范围内找到的品种特有ISSR标记有可能出现在其它品种中。因此,利用DNAISSR分子标记对数量庞大的中国牡丹品种进行区分和鉴定时,寻找品种特有标记成为突出的技术难题。标记是由引物通过PCR扩增产生的。因此,关键在于找到理想的ISSR引物。对已知的ISSR引物的筛选未获得良好的PCR扩增结果。报道牡丹鉴定用ISSR引物的设计与开发新途径。     

Responses of some Asian and European barley cultivars to UK and Chinese isolates of soil-borne barley mosaic viruses

In field plots at Yancheng, Jiangsu, China, a range of European and Asian barley cultivars was grown in soil from three sites in China infested with barley yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV). Most of the cultivars resistant to the common European strain of BaYMV were susceptible to the Chinese isolates but cv. Energy remained disease-free. Barley mild mosaic virus (BaMMV) was also detected in one of these soils but affected only one Chinese cultivar and not those susceptible to BaMMV in Europe. This is the first report of BaMMV in China. Inoculation experiments confirmed the different cultivar response to UK and Chinese isolates of BaYMV and showed that resistance was to the virus and not to the vector. A range of Chinese cultivars selected for resistance to BaYMV were also resistant to a UK isolate of BaMMV.     

Heat-shock-mediated elimination of the nptII marker gene in transgenic apple (Malus×domestica Borkh.)

Production of marker-free genetically modified (GM) plants is one of the major challenges of molecular fruit breeding. Employing clean vector technologies, allowing the removal of undesired DNA sequences from GM plants, this goal can be achieved. The present study describes the establishment of a clean vector system in apple Malus×domestica Borkh., which is based on the use of the neomycin phosphotransferase II gene (nptII) as selectable marker gene and kanamycin/paramomycin as selective agent. The nptII gene can be removed after selection of GM shoots via site-specific excision mediated by heat-shock-inducible expression of the budding yeast FLP recombinase driven by the soybean Gmhsp17.5-E promoter. We created a monitoring vector containing the nptII and the flp gene as a box flanked by two direct repeats of the flp recognition target (FRT) sites. The FRT-flanked box separates the gusA reporter gene from the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S (CaMV 35S) promoter. Consequently, GUS expression does only occur after elimination of the FRT-flanked box. Transformation experiments using the monitoring vector resulted in a total of nine transgenic lines. These lines were investigated for transgenicity by PCR, RT-PCR and Southern hybridization. Among different temperature regimes tested, exposure to 42 °C for 3.5 to 4h led to efficient induction of FLP-mediated recombination and removal of the nptII marker gene. A second round of shoot regeneration from leaf explants led to GM apple plants completely free of the nptII gene.     

Direct somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from ray florets of chrysanthemum

Direct somatic embryogenesis from ray floret explants of five chrysanthemum cultivars has been obtained within 12 – 15 d on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 6-benzyladenine (BA). Scanning electron microscopic observation also confirmed the direct origin of somatic embryos from explants. Somatic embryos developed asynchronously on the adaxial surface of explants. Among the five cultivars tested, Birbal Sahani was best responding (40 % explants responded on 4 mg dm^–3 2,4-D and 2 mg dm^–3 BA supplemented medium). Precocious germination of somatic embryos was noticed on the same medium. The best sucrose concentration in the medium was found to be 60 g dm^–3 where 70 % explants responded while 55 % embryogenic response was obtained on medium supplemented with 400 mg dm^–3 inositol. Plants developed from somatic embryos were transferred to soil and produced true-to-type flowers.     

毛木耳‘昊阳黄背1号’的选育报告

‘昊阳黄背1号’是黄背木耳新品种,适宜工厂化液体菌种扩繁和农法固体菌种生产。该品种是从上海引进的SH0072号菌株,经组织分离纯化、系统选育而成。成熟新鲜子实体为单片簇生型,有明显耳基,耳片有明显荷叶边;鲜耳子实体背面和腹面灰褐色,背面有短绒毛。菌丝生长适宜温度16-25℃,出耳适宜温度15-32℃;原基分化至第一潮耳采摘41-55d,一般可采3潮耳,出耳转化率达20.6%;抗毛木耳柱霉。适宜四川省成都市、德阳市和简阳市等地及相似生态区棚栽,冬季制袋,春夏季出耳。