Integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses provide insights into cold stress response in wheat
In this study, we used integrated transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses to investigate changes in gene/metabolite activity in a winter-hardy wheat cultivar of (cv. Jing 411) when subjected to sold stress. The 223 metabolites mainly enriched during cold acclimation included carbohydrates, flavonoids, and amino acids. Eight common metabolites had altered abundance following freezing treatment; six increased and two decreased. Transcriptome analysis revealed that 29,066 genes were differentially expressed in wheat crowns after cold acclimation compared to the non-acclimated control. Among them, 745 genes were up-regulated...
Source: The Crop Journal - October 22, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Performance and yield stability of maize hybrids in stress-prone environments in eastern Africa
The objectives of this study were to (i) assess the performance of maize hybrids under well-watered and drought stress conditions; (ii) evaluate grain yield stability of 65 intermediate-maturing and 55 early-maturing hybrids in 24 well-watered locations and seven drought stress locations; and (iii) identify representative and/or discriminative testing locations for increasing genetic gains for the target traits. There were significant differences for grain yield among early- and intermediate-maturing hybrids tested under well-watered and drought stress environments. Among the early-maturing hybrids, the top 10 hybrids prod...
Source: The Crop Journal - October 20, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Transcriptomic responses in resistant and susceptible maize infected with Fusarium graminearum
Publication date: Available online 20 October 2019Source: The Crop JournalAuthor(s): Guangsheng Yuan, Xiujing He, Hui Li, Kui Xiang, Li Liu, Chaoying Zou, Haijian Lin, Zhiming Zhang, Guangtang PanAbstractGibberella ear rot (GER) caused by Fusarium graminearum (teleomorph Gibberella zeae) is a common maize disease that not only severely reduces grain yield but also contaminates maize grain with mycotoxins. We investigated the molecular mechanism underlying the host defense responses against pathogen infection using comparative transcriptomic analysis. We injected F. graminearum spore suspensions into plants of resistant (IB...
Source: The Crop Journal - October 20, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Genome-wide association study of vitamin E in sweet corn kernels
Publication date: Available online 20 October 2019Source: The Crop JournalAuthor(s): Yingni Xiao, Yongtao Yu, Gaoke Li, Lihua Xie, Xinbo Guo, Jiansheng Li, Yuliang Li, Jianguang HuAbstractVitamin E, consisting of tocopherols and tocotrienols, serves as a lipid-soluble antioxidant in sweet corn kernels, providing nutrients to both plants and humans. Though the key genes involved in the vitamin E biosynthesis pathway have been identified in plants, the genetic architecture of vitamin E content in sweet corn kernels remains largely unclear. In the present study, an association panel of 204 inbred lines of sweet corn was const...
Source: The Crop Journal - October 20, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Improvement of three popular Indian groundnut varieties for foliar disease resistance and high oleic acid using SSR markers and SNP array in marker-assisted backcrossing
Publication date: Available online 20 October 2019Source: The Crop JournalAuthor(s): Yaduru Shasidhar, Murali T. Variath, Manish K. Vishwakarma, Surendra S. Manohar, Sunil S. Gangurde, Manda Sriswathi, Hari Kishan Sudini, Keshavji L. Dobariya, Sandip K. Bera, Thankappan Radhakrishnan, Manish K. Pandey, Pasupuleti Janila, Rajeev K. VarshneyAbstractFoliar fungal diseases (rust and late leaf spot) incur large yield losses, in addition to the deterioration of fodder quality in groundnut worldwide. High oleic acid has emerged as a key market trait in groundnut, as it increases the shelf life of the produce/products in addition ...
Source: The Crop Journal - October 20, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Positional cloning of PmCH1357 reveals the origin and allelic variation of the Pm2 gene for powdery mildew resistance in wheat
Publication date: Available online 20 October 2019Source: The Crop JournalAuthor(s): Fang Chen, Haiyan Jia, Xiaojun Zhang, Linyi Qiao, Xin Li, Jun Zheng, Huijuan Guo, Carol Powers, Liuling Yan, Zhijian ChangAbstractPowdery mildew, caused by the biotrophic fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), is a prevalent disease in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and causes serious yield losses worldwide. We used a map-based approach to clone the major broad-spectrum powdery mildew resistance gene PmCH1357 from wheat breeding line CH1357. PmCH1357 was mapped to a 526 kb region containing only TraesCS5D01G044600. The Traes...
Source: The Crop Journal - October 20, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Wheat breeding in northern China: Achievements and technical advances
Publication date: Available online 20 October 2019Source: The Crop JournalAuthor(s): Hongjie Li, Yang Zhou, Wenli Xin, Yiqin Wei, Junling Zhang, Lilei GuoAbstractCommon wheat is the major cereal crop that underpins the food safety of China. Both winter wheat and spring wheat are grown on ~24 million ha. This review aims to summarize the current status of wheat production and breeding progress in the northern wheat production areas of the country, and to review recently advanced technologies being applied in wheat breeding, including the use of dwarf-male-sterile (DMS) wheat, speed breeding and specialized wheat breedin...
Source: The Crop Journal - October 20, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Pyramiding disease resistance genes in elite winter wheat germplasm for Western Canada
We report on pyramiding different disease resistance genes against fungal pathogens in Canadian winter wheat germplasm based on available DNA markers and gene sequences. Genetic resistance represents a safe, economical and ecological method for protecting plants, growers and the health of consumers. Major diseases of wheat on the Canadian Prairies are common bunt, rusts (leaf, stem and stripe) and Fusarium head blight. Over the years markers for resistance genes against these diseases have been identified and used by the international wheat community. We describe markers that we have used to pyramid different resistance ge...
Source: The Crop Journal - October 20, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Less and shrunken pollen 1 (LSP1) encodes a member of the ABC transporter family required for pollen wall development in rice (Oryza sativa L.)
Publication date: Available online 20 October 2019Source: The Crop JournalAuthor(s): Tao Luo, Ting Zou, Guoqiang Yuan, Zhiyuan He, Wenjie Li, Yang Tao, Miaomiao Liu, Dan Zhou, Hongfeng Zhao, Jun Zhu, Yueyang Liang, Qiming Deng, Shiquan Wang, Aiping Zheng, Huainian Liu, Lingxia Wang, Ping Li, Shuangcheng LiAbstractPollen fertility is an agronomic trait that strongly influences rice yield. Recent studies have revealed that the development of the pollen wall is required for pollen fertility and is regulated by several genes. However, the mechanisms underlying pollen and pollen wall development in rice remain largely unknown. ...
Source: The Crop Journal - October 20, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Genetic analysis of the seed dehydration process in maize based on a logistic model
Publication date: Available online 20 October 2019Source: The Crop JournalAuthor(s): Shuangyi Yin, Jun Liu, Tiantian Yang, Pengcheng Li, Yang Xu, Huimin Fang, Shuhui Xu, Jie Wei, Lin Xue, Derong Hao, Zefeng Yang, Chenwu XuAbstractSeed moisture at harvest is a critical trait affecting maize quality and mechanized production, and is directly determined by the dehydration process after physiological maturity. However, the dynamic nature of seed dehydration leads to inaccurate evaluation of the dehydration process by conventional determination methods. Seed dry weight and fresh weight were recorded at 14 time points after poll...
Source: The Crop Journal - October 20, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Relay-intercropping soybean with maize maintains soil fertility and increases nitrogen recovery efficiency by reducing nitrogen input
In conclusion, N fertilizer was more efficiently used under RN than under CN; in particular, the relay intercropping system promoted N fertilizer utilization in comparison with the corresponding monocultures. An intercropping system helps to maintain soil fertility because interspecific N competition promotes biological N fixation by soybean by reducing N input. Thus, a maize-soybean relay intercropping system with reduced N application is sustainable and environmentally friendly. (Source: The Crop Journal)
Source: The Crop Journal - August 16, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Genetic analysis and QTL mapping of stalk cell wall components and digestibility in maize recombinant inbred lines from B73 × By804
Publication date: Available online 10 August 2019Source: The Crop JournalAuthor(s): Qi Wang, Kun Li, Xiaojiao Hu, Huimin Shi, Zhifang Liu, Yujin Wu, Hongwu Wang, Changling HuangAbstractThe cell wall composition and structure of the maize stalk directly affects its digestibility and in turn its feed value. Previous studies of stem quality have focused mostly on common maize germplasm, and few studies have focused on high-oil cultivars with high grain and straw quality. Investigation of the genetic basis of cell wall composition and digestibility of maize stalk using high-oil maize is desirable for improving maize forage qua...
Source: The Crop Journal - August 10, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Assessment of the individual and combined effects of Rht8 and Ppd-D1a on plant height, time to heading and yield traits in common wheat
Publication date: Available online 10 August 2019Source: The Crop JournalAuthor(s): Kunpu Zhang, Junjun Wang, Huanju Qin, Zhiying Wei, Libo Hang, Pengwei Zhang, Matthew Reynolds, Daowen WangAbstractGrain yield in cereal crops is a complex trait controlled by multiple genes and influenced by developmental processes and environment. Here we report the effects of alleles Rht8 and Ppd-D1a on plant height, time to heading, and grain yield and its component traits. Association analysis and quantitative trait locus mapping using phenotypic data from 15 environments led to the following conclusions. First, both Rht8 and Ppd-D1a re...
Source: The Crop Journal - August 10, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Effect of high-nitrogen fertilizer on gliadin and glutenin subproteomes during kernel development in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
In this study, we performed the first comparative analysis of gliadin and glutenin subproteomes during kernel development in the elite Chinese wheat cultivar Zhongmai 175 under high-N conditions by reversed-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography and two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE). Application of high-N fertilizer led to significant increases in gluten macropolymer content, total gliadin and glutenin content, and the accumulation of individual storage protein components. Of 126 differentially accumulated proteins (DAPs) induced by high-N conditions, 24 gliadins, 12 high-molecular-weight glut...
Source: The Crop Journal - August 9, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
Breeding wheat for resistance to Fusarium head blight in the Global North: China, USA, and Canada
The objective of this paper is to review progress made in wheat breeding for Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance in China, the United States of America (USA), and Canada. In China, numerous Chinese landraces possessing high levels of FHB resistance were grown before the 1950s. Later, pyramiding multiple sources of FHB resistance from introduced germplasm such as Mentana and Funo and locally adapted cultivars played a key role in combining satisfactory FHB resistance and high yield potential in commercial cultivars. Sumai 3, a Chinese spring wheat cultivar, became a major source of FHB resistance in the USA and Canada, an...
Source: The Crop Journal - July 27, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research
