Plant regeneration in Stone pine (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus pinea</Emphasis> L.) by somatic embryogenesis

Regeneration of plants by somatic embryogenesis (SE) was achieved in Stone pine (Pinus pinea), one of the most characteristic tree species of the Mediterranean ecosystem. The initial explants were megagametophytes containing zygotic embryos from five selected half-sib families collected at different dates over 2 consecutive years. Rates of extrusion and initiation of SE differed in both years. However, qualitative patterns were very similar: for most families, the responsive developmental window was from late cleavage polyembryony to early cotyledonary stage. The highest overall mean frequencies of extrusion and SE initiation (7 and 0.9%, respectively, for the five families and the eight 2006 collections) were obtained on a modified Litvay’s medium with 9 μM 2,4-D and 4.5 μM BAP, supplemented with L-glutamine and casein hydrolysate. Families showed large differences in frequencies of SE initiation from year to year. Only seven embryogenic lines were induced in 2005, representing three of the five families tested, whereas 34 lines from all the families were obtained in 2006. Proliferation of embryonal masses (EM) was significantly improved when they were subcultured after dispersing in liquid medium and collected on filter paper disks, instead of being subcultured as small clumps. This effect showed a significant interaction with genotype. Several preconditioning treatments and culture media combinations were tested for embryo development and maturation. The high proliferation rate of EM hampered somatic embryo development. However, up to 42 mature embryos from different lines of three of the five families were obtained, 23 of them germinated and seven converted into somatic seedlings.     

Theoretical value of estimates of general combining ability in the autotetraploid crop

Summary The means of half-sib progenies have been indicated as selection criteria for intra-population improvement while the average of the means of full-sib progenies in diallel analyses have been proposed as predictors, in part, of the means of untested synthetic varieties. When these measures based on progeny means are expressed as deviations from a defined greater population of crosses, they are often termed the general combining ability (GCA). In this study the GCA estimates or a facsimile were theoretically investigated for the one locus, digene, autotetraploid model to verify the genetic basis and its value for selection and prediction in the presence of a naturally occurring phenomena of autopolyploids called gametic disequilibrium with three types of non-additive inheritance. Two breeding objectives were envisioned, the selection of best parents with recurrent selection based on GCA in the continued development of elite populations and the prediction of advanced generation synthetic variety performance. The first generation means of progenies with a potential bias due to gametic disequilibrium were compared to GCA estimation of same progenies in the absence of gametic disequilibrium. The results indicated that testcrossing plants to a population without gametic disequilibrium could be used for selection of best parents. The gametic disequilibrium in the cross may increase or depress selection response dependent on the array of genotypes which happen to be evaluated, on the type of genic action at the locus, and on the frequency of the desirable allele in the testor population. The GCA estimates for prediction of synthetic performance were potentially biased by gametic disequilibrium. An assumption of pollination by the same array of gametes was made for all plants, but obviously was unrealistic for GCA estimation with partial diallels, or with no selfing, and in other situations. The GCA estimate was shown to be an unreliable predictor of synthetic variety performance. When it was assumed that different plants were pollinated by different arrays of gametes, a more realistic situation, no genetic interpretation of GCA values was possible even with purely additive gene action at the locus.Cooperative investigation of the Alfalfa Production Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, and the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station, Reno, Nevada     

卡西亚松家系幼林的生长节律

为了解卡西亚松(Pinus kesiya)生长与气象因子间的关系,对17个卡西亚松家系幼林的周年生长性状进行研究。结果表明,17个卡西亚松家系的胸径、树高和抽梢次数存在显著差异(P0.05),可分为速生型(Ⅰ)和慢生型(Ⅱ),其中7、25、61、104、41家系属于速生型,其胸径和树高年均生长量分别为2.03 cm和1.46 m。两类型家系的生长趋势一致,胸径一年内出现2次生长高峰(2和8月),树高出现3次生长高峰(2-3、6和8-10月)。有3次抽梢高峰,分别在5月(春梢)、8-9月(夏梢)和11月(秋梢),一年抽1～4次新梢,以抽2次新梢的植株最多(47%),且在春(71.78%)夏(77.33%)两季抽梢的比例较高。月平均气温对卡西亚松树高的生长影响最大,在1月出现短暂的生长停滞。因此,卡西亚松幼林抚育管理宜在胸径和树高生长高峰之前进行,即5-6和12-翌年1月,1月进行幼林修枝抚育。     

The choice of selection index in kale (Brassica oleracea L.) population improvement

Summary The use of selection indices was explored in a kale (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala) breeding programme aimed at increasing digestible organicmatter (DOM) yield, and lowering S-methyl cysteine sulphoxide (SMCO) and thiocyanate ion (SCN^–) contents by half-sib family selection. The predicted overall response with the optimum index (1.59) was slightly better than with the base index (1.56) which in turn was superior to the desired gains index (1.41). All three indices were expected to increase height and reduce amino acid content, mainly because of genetical correlations between DOM yield and height (r=0.76) and between SMCO and amino acid contents (r=0.81). Elimination of these correlated responses with the desired gains index would result in virtually no progress, and with the restricted index an undesirable increase in SMCO content would occur.     

杉木半同胞子代胸径变异和大径材家系选择

为选择适宜培育大径材的优良家系,以广东杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)第二代种子园半同胞子代(28个半同胞家系)和2个对照(第一代、第一代改良种子园混合种)为对象,对林龄4、9、11、16和21 a的杉木胸径进行持续测定。结果表明,相同林龄家系间的胸径差异极显著(P0.01),表型变异系数和遗传变异系数分别为4.43%～6.29%和2.95%～3.62%。家系胸径的遗传力较高(0.335 9～0.548 6),且随年龄的增长呈增大趋势,至林龄16 a时达到0.548 6,随后趋缓。林龄9 a的胸径与早期(4 a)、晚期(11、16和21 a)的胸径遗传相关性最为密切。基于多年度育种值和林龄21 a时家系各径级立木占比统计,共选择出F5、F9、F21等3个适于培育大径材的优良家系。     

Selection of sires to reduce sampling variance in the estimates of heritability by half-sib correlation

Summary Standard methods to estimate heritability by half-sib correlation are biased if selection has operated in the parental generation. In this paper a simple method to correct for selection of animals used as sires is described. By selection of both the top and the bottom ranking sires, the sampling variances of the corrected estimates of heritability are substantially reduced. Algebraic expressions to predict the sampling variance of the estimates of heritability using selected sires are derived. Theoretical predictions were checked by Monte-Carlo simulation. The results may have application in the design of experiments to estimate heritabilities.     

Genetic architecture of a heterotic cross between two populations of maize

Summary The nature and magnitude of variability in the interpopulation cross of Mezcla Amarillo Selection (MAS), an introduction from CIMMYT, Mexico, and J607, a population developed in India using indigenous, American, and Yugoslavian germplasm, were studied. Interpopulation progenies developed by following the North Carolina Design I were evaluated at two locations. The additive genetic variance component in interpopulation cross, _A(12) ² , and in one population assuming the other population as tester, _A12 ² and _A21 ² were significant for all the traits evaluated, namely ear length, ear girth, kernel rows and days to silk, with one exception. For kernel rows, the dominance variance component, _A(12) ² , was also significant but it was smaller than _A(12) ² . The variance component due to dominance X location interaction, _DL(12) ² , was significant for all traits except kernel rows. In the case of ear length and ear girth, _DL(12) ² was greater than the other components. _AL(12) ² , _AL12 ² and _AL21 ² were not significant for any trait. Expected genetic advance indicated a superiority of half-sib reciprocal recurrent selection over full-sib reciprocal recurrent selection.     

Probability of Inadmissible Estimates of Heritability from Regression and Half-sib Analyses

Formulae are derived for the probability of obtaining inadmissible estimates of heritability (h²) in half-sib and intra-sire regression analyses, under the additive-dominance-epistasis model of gene action. Results for several combinations of sire/dam number, h² and the proportion of additive x additive epistasis are given for the balanced situation.     

14个杉木家系主要用材性状表型多样性分析与评价

为了解杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)家系间用材性状的表型变异特征,采用方差分析、聚类分析、主成分分析等方法,对14个杉木家系的10个生长指标进行表型多样性分析和综合评价。结果表明,杉木家系主要用材性状的表型多样性指数为1.438～2.008,平均为1.735,最大的是树高,最小的是管胞长度。表型多样性丰富,其中,树高、胸径、单株材积、管胞长宽比和生材密度具有较强的遗传变异性,且各性状间具有一定相关性。家系遗传力(H2)为0.012～0.934,最大的是管胞长宽比,最小的是生材密度。表型变异系数为3.81%～39.90%,平均为15.03%,最大的是单株材积、最小是管胞腔径比,遗传改良潜力大。14个杉木家系可划分为3大类群,其中,类群Ⅲ的综合性状最优,类群I的生长量最佳。综合性状排名前3的家系是JX3、JX10和JX2。因此,10个主要用材性状的表型多样性丰富,筛选出的3个家系可作为优良材料用于杉木种质的保存与高效利用。     

Linkage information content and efficiency of full-sib and half-sib designs for gene mapping

The accuracy of a genetic map depends on the amount of linkage information contained in the data set used for construction of the map. The amount of linkage information is related to the designs employed for linkage analysis. The purpose of this study was to provide general formulations for various genotyping schemes and family structures in order to evaluate the amount of linkage information in a data set. Linkage information content (LIC) was defined as the frequency of fully informative gametes, which are gametes from doubly heterozygous parents with known linkage phases. Depending on the design, LIC is based on two generations if the parental phases are determined statistically, or three generations if the parental phases are determined genetically. Different schemes were considered in deriving LIC: (1) genotyping of one parent or two parents, and (2) genotyping of two or three generation families. The LIC for a full-sib design was found to be generally greater than for a half-sib design but requires typing a large number of individuals when at least one locus has only two alleles. The efficiency of the full-sib design is reduced significantly if a sex-specific linkage map is sought.