发掘稳定的数量性状位点（Quantitative trait loci，QTL），并开发其紧密连锁分子标记，是进一步提高小麦产量的重要途径。本研究以中麦578/济麦22重组自交系（Recombinant inbreed lines，RIL）群体262个家系为材料，通过调查两年五个环境千粒重、粒长、粒宽、平均灌浆速率、穗粒数和株高共六个产量相关性状，利用50K SNP芯片基因型分析数据，构建了含有1501个bin标记的遗传连锁图谱，图谱总长度2384.95 cM。利用完备区间作图法，在1D（2）、2A（9）、2B（6）、2D、3A（2）、3B（2）、4A（5）、4D、5B（8）、5D（2）、7A（7）、7B（3）和7D（5）染色体上共定位到53个产量相关QTL，可解释表型变异的2.7–25.5%，其中23个QTL可在3个以上环境定位到，表现稳定；QKl.caas-2A.1、QKl.caas-7D、QKw.caas-7D、QGfr.caas-2B.1、QGfr.caas-4A、QGfr.caas-7A和QPh.caas-2A.1等7个QTL可能是新的位点。定位到的一因多效QTL共形成六个富集区段（R1–R6），分别包含2–6个QTL，位于2A、2B、4A、5B、7A和7D染色体；TaSus2-2B和WAPO-A1分别是位于2B和7A染色体上一因多效QTL的候选基因。7D染色体上的QTL富集区段内含有4个稳定QTL，分别控制千粒重、粒长、粒宽和株高，利用与其紧密连锁的侧翼标记，开发了KASP标记，在自然群体中对其效应进行了验证。本研究结果为小麦的高产育种和中麦578的进一步改良提供了基因和分子标记。

SrUGT76G1对于合成优质甜菊糖苷至关重要，也是目前甜菊中研究最为深入的糖基转移酶基因，但是关于它的转录调控机制目前还不甚了解。本研究通过酵母单杂交手段鉴定得到了一个SrUGT76G1的上游调控因子SrMYB1。SrMYB1属于典型的R2R3类型的MYB类转录因子，其定位在细胞核并且具有转录激活活性。SrMYB1在花中的表达量较高而在叶片中较低。酵母单杂（Y1H）和凝胶阻滞（EMSA）实验证实SrMYB1可以结合在SrUGT76G1启动子的+50～-141区域即F4-3区段。进一步研究发现在烟草表皮细胞和甜菊愈伤组织中SrMYB1均可显著抑制SrUGT76G1的表达。综上所述，本研究不但发现了一个SrUGT76G1的潜在上游调控因子并且丰富了甜菊中糖苷代谢途径的调控网络。

本研究首先通过室内生物测定，对114个埃塞俄比亚春小麦品种（系）和22个中国春小麦品种（系）进行了对麦蚜优势种荻草谷网蚜（Sitobion miscanthi）抗生性筛选及鉴定，并利用刺吸电位图谱技术（EPG）和高效液相色谱（HPLC）分别对抗蚜小麦品种上蚜虫取食行为、酚类物质含量进行检测与分析。结果表明，供试小麦品种中，对荻草谷网蚜表现抗性的品种（系）共64个，其中高抗2个，中抗27个、低抗35个。与感蚜品种北京837相比，荻草谷网蚜在轮选145，Wane，轮选6，轮选103及5215等抗蚜品种（系）上，其成蚜前期及生殖前期显著延长，生殖历期缩短，繁殖力、内禀增长率（r_m）与周限增长率（λ）显著下降；EPG结果表明，在抗蚜品种（系）上蚜虫取食行为受到显著影响，蚜虫口针穿刺历期及唾液分泌历期显著增加，而在韧皮部取食历期显著缩短，表明抗蚜性可能发生在韧皮部取食阶段，并与蚜虫口针穿刺叶肉细胞困难有关。酚类物质含量测定结果表明，与感蚜品种北京837相比，轮选145，轮选103与轮选6叶片中阿魏酸含量较高；轮选145中p-香豆酸含量较高；轮选145，Wane及轮选6中香草酸含量较高；轮选103与5215分别含有较高的紫丁香酸与咖啡酸含量。相关性分析表明，小麦叶片中的一些酚类物质含量如香草酸与香豆酸与蚜虫发育历期呈显著正相关，而与蚜虫繁殖力呈负相关。因此，推测酚类物质含量是小麦对荻草谷网蚜产生抗生性的主要原因。本研究鉴定的抗蚜春小麦品种（系）将有助于春小麦抗蚜品种的培育及利用。

本研究从历史数据以及公开文章中收集了57个与大豆种子可溶性糖含量相关的数量性状位点(QTLs)。通过meta、overview和共线性分析来细化QTL区间，共得到8个共有QTL。使用染色体片段代换系(CSSLs)群体对这些共有QTL进行验证，选择了两个包含共有QTL和有导入片段的品系：其中一个与共有QTL区间相关的一个品系可溶性糖含量较高，另一个品系可溶性糖含量较低。在种子发育的早期、中期和晚期对这两个品系进行转录组测序，分别鉴定出158个、109个和329个差异表达基因。通过重测序数据和共有QTL区间分析，在野生大豆遗传导入片段中鉴定出3个候选基因Glyma.19G146800、Glyma.19G122500和Glyma.19G128500。通过对两个CSSL亲本SN14和ZYD00006的序列比对，发现Glyma.19G122500编码序列发生单核苷酸多态性(SNP)突变，导致氨基酸序列发生非同义突变，影响了蛋白质结构。基于这一SNP，我们开发了竞争性等位基因特异性PCR (KASP)标记，并将其用于CSSL品系的鉴定。这些结果为进一步鉴定大豆可溶性糖相关基因及进一步育种奠定了基础。

黄花蒿是绿盲蝽重要的秋季寄主，其释放的挥发物对绿盲蝽具有吸引作用。黄花蒿中的挥发性物质青蒿酸是合成青蒿素的前体物质，在中草药领域被深入研究。迄今为止，关于青蒿酸调控绿盲蝽趋向行为的生物学作用研究鲜有报道。本研究使用顶空固相微萃取（HS-SPME）收集幼苗期黄花蒿的挥发物，通过气相色谱-质谱联用仪（GC-MS）分析，在挥发性样品和研磨样品中检测到的青蒿酸的浓度分别为11.03±6.00 ng h^-1和238.25±121.67 ng h^-1。随后，在工程酿酒酵母中表达了青蒿酸合成的关键基因细胞色素P450（cyp71av1）加入外源的青蒿醇或青蒿醛为催化底物，工程酿酒酵母能够合成青蒿酸。在触角电位（EAG）测试中，3日龄的绿盲蝽成虫对青蒿醇、青蒿醛和青蒿酸均表现出强烈的电生理反应。行为学试验表明，浓度为10 mmol L^-1的青蒿酸和青蒿醇能够显著吸引3日龄的雌性绿盲蝽虫成虫，而10 mmol L^-1 青蒿酸和青蒿醛明显吸引3日龄的雄性绿盲蝽虫成虫。 因此， 青蒿酸及其前体物质可作为潜在的绿盲蝽引诱剂组分，用于设计绿盲蝽的综合防治策略。

荻草谷网蚜是一种在中国温带地区对小麦作物最具破坏性的蚜虫。但是关于这种蚜虫的遗传结构以及不同地理位置对种群的影响却知之甚少。在本研究中，我们通过使用一个线粒体基因COI，一个核基因EF-1α，以及两个内共生菌布赫纳氏菌基因gnd和trpA分析了中国18个地理种群，从而研究了荻草谷网蚜的种群遗传结构和种群历史动态。各群体的数据分析显示单倍型多样性高，核苷酸变异低。SAMOVA分析没有发现遗传距离和地理距离之间的相关性。然而，种群多样性较高的地区具有较高的单倍型多样性。因此，我们推测，在中国荻草谷网蚜的自然迁移途径主要有两条。一条路径是从云南到四川盆地，另外一条是从武汉、信阳、胶东半岛地区到西北地区。基于这一假设，我们推断这些蚜虫首先出现在西南和南部地区，并在东南和西南季风的帮助下于春夏季在北方发生。秋季，蚜虫随东北和西北季风向南扩散。

打顶是棉花栽培广泛应用的农艺措施由于其无限生长的习性。在不同的打顶方法中，人工打顶似然费时费力，但在黄河流域应用较为普遍。本研究旨在研究不同打顶处理对棉花发育、产量和品质的影响。本研究为两年（2015-2016）大田实验，设置三种打顶方式：人工打顶（MT），化学打顶（CT）（缩节铵），不打顶（NT）处理。我们发现CT处理的株高、果枝数及上部果枝长度要显著低于NT处理。CT处理的叶绿素含量与NT处理相比无显著差异，在生育后期要高于MT处理。CT处理通过降低赤霉素和脱落酸含量来促进棉株发育，并且抑制了主茎的顶端发育。和MT处理相比，CT处理显著增加了营养器官的生物量。最重要的是，CT和MT处理间的产量和品质并无显著差异。上述结果表明，化学打顶是一种简便、有效的打顶方法，可在我国黄河流域代替人工打顶。

本研究的目标是构建冬小麦叶片颜色动态模型，以模拟不同生育期和施氮水平下小麦不同叶位叶色变化。基于不同品种和施氮量下两个生长季的冬小麦试验，获取各主茎叶位叶片颜色的RGB（红、绿、蓝）数据。基于获取的RGB数据，构建了冬小麦叶片颜色动态模拟模型。结果表明，冬小麦叶片颜色变化经历了早期发育期（ES）、早熟期（MS）和早衰期（SS）三个不同的阶段，三个阶段的颜色特征分别为浅绿、深绿、黄色。在ES期，R和G颜色从初始值逐渐下降到稳定值，而B值基本保持不变。RGB值在MS阶段保持稳定，但在SS阶段三个值会逐渐增加到稳定值。采用不同的线性函数来模拟RGB值在时间和空间上的动态变化，在叶色模型中引入了品种参数（叶色矩阵M_RGB）和氮素影响因子（FN）来量化它们各自的影响。利用独立的试验数据集对模型进行了检验，实测值与模拟值的均方根误差（RMSE）在7.0-10.0之间，相对RMSE（RRMSEs）在7%-9%之间。将叶色模型应用于冬小麦叶片的三维模拟，叶色可视化结果与叶色实际变化较为一致。此叶色模型可为作物在时空上生长发育的模拟提供坚实基础。

为筛选大豆香味种质，建立大豆叶片中香味特征化合物2-乙酰基-1-吡咯啉（2-acetyl-l-Pyrroline，2AP）的鉴定方法。本研究通过单因素及三因素四水平（L9 (34)的正交试验，以峰形、总峰面积及检测样品时间为考察指标，建立了利用气质联用仪（GC-MS）快速检测香味的方法，明确了仪器运行最佳参数包括：柱温70℃，进样口温度180℃，以及样品最优萃取时间条件（酒精含量1ml、NaCl含量0.1g，超声时间10min，萃取时间为1h）。该检测方法重复性好、简单快速、样本试剂消耗少，可精准快速测定2AP含量。利用该方法对不同地理来源的101个大豆基因型进行了分析筛选。结果表明， 2-AP平均含量为0.29ppm，变幅为0.094ppm到1.816ppm，遗传多样性指数为0.54。可被划分为3个等级，其中，1级香型大豆有7份，包括中龙608、黑农88、哈13-2958、红面豆、黑农82、黄毛豆、吉育21。本研究建立的方法及筛选的优异种质为大豆香味育种和基因发掘提供了技术和材料支撑。

Understanding yield potential, yield gap and the priority of management factors for reducing the yield gap in current intensive maize production is essential for meeting future food demand with the limited resources. In this study, we conducted field experiments using different planting modes, which were basic productivity (CK), farmer practice (FP), high yield and high efficiency (HH), and super high yield (SH), to estimate the yield gap. Different factorial experiments (fertilizer, planting density, hybrids, and irrigation) were also conducted to evaluate the priority of individual management factors for reducing the yield gap between the different planting modes. We found significant differences between the maize yields of different planting modes. The treatments of CK, FP, HH, and SH achieved 54.26, 58.76, 65.77, and 71.99% of the yield potential, respectively. The yield gaps between three pairs: CK and FP, FP and HH, and HH and SH, were 0.76, 1.23 and 0.85 t ha^–1, respectively. By further analyzing the priority of management factors for reducing the yield gap between FP and HH, as well as HH and SH, we found that the priorities of the management factors (contribution rates) were plant density (13.29%)>fertilizer (11.95%)>hybrids (8.19%)>irrigation (4%) for FP to HH, and hybrids (8.94%)>plant density (4.84%)>fertilizer (1.91%) for HH to SH. Therefore, increasing the planting density of FP was the key factor for decreasing the yield gap between FP and HH, while choosing hybrids with density and lodging tolerance was the key factor for decreasing the yield gap between HH and SH.

Abiotic stress poses a great threat to plant growth and can lead to huge losses in yield.  Gene enolase2 (ENO2) is important in resistance to abiotic stress in various organisms.  ENO2 T-DNA insertion mutant (eno2^–) plants of Arabidopsis thaliana showed complete susceptibility to sodium chloride treatment when were analyzed either as whole plants or by measuring root growth during NaCl treatment.  Quantitative real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed to investigate the expression profile of ENO2 in response to NaCl stress in Arabidopsis.  The transcript level of ENO2 was rapidly elevated in 300 mmol L^–1 NaCl treatment.  ENO2 also responded to 300 mmol L^–1 NaCl treatment at the protein level.  To illuminate the mechanism underlying ENO2 resistance to salt at the transcriptional level, we studied the wild-type and eno2^– Arabidopsis lines that were treated with 300 mmol L^–1 NaCl for 18 h using 454 GS FLX, which resulted in an expressed sequence tag (EST) dataset.  A total of 961 up-regulated and 746 down-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the pairwise comparison WT-18 h:eno2^–-18 h.  The DEGs were identified and functionally annotated using the databases of Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG).  The identified unigenes were subjected to GO analysis to determine biological, molecular, and cellular functions.  The biological process was enriched in a total of 20 GO terms, the cellular component was enriched in 13 GO terms, and the molecular function was enriched in 11 GO terms.  Using KEGG mapping, DEGs with pathway annotations contributed to 115 pathways.  The top 3 pathways based on a statistical analysis were biosynthesis of the secondary metabolites (KO01110), plant-pathogen interactions (KO04626), and plant hormone signal transduction (KO04075).  Based on these results, ENO2 contributes to increased resistance to abiotic stress.  In particular, ENO2 is involved in some of the metabolic stress response pathways in Arabidopsis.  Our work also demonstrates that this EST dataset will be a powerful resource for further studies of ENO2, such as functional analyses, investigations of biological roles, and molecular breeding.  Additionally, 3-phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), 3-phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1), triosephosphate isomerase (TPI), and pyruvate kinase (PK) in glycolysis interactions with ENO2 were verified using the yeast two-hybrid experiment, and ENO2 may regulate the expression of PGK, PGK1, TPI, and PK.  Taken together, the results from this study reflects that ENO2 gene has an important role in the response to the high salt stress.

The objective of this work was to develop a dynamic model for describing leaf curves and a detailed spatial geometry model of the rice leaf (including sub-models for unexpanded leaf blades, expanded leaf blades, and leaf sheaths), and to realize three-dimensional (3D) dynamic visualization of rice leaves by combining relevant models.  Based on the experimental data of different cultivars and nitrogen (N) rates, the time-course spatial data of leaf curves on the main stem were collected during the rice development stage, then a dynamic model of the rice leaf curve was developed using quantitative modeling technology.  Further, a detailed 3D geometric model of rice leaves was built based on the spatial geometry technique and the non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) method.  Validating the rice leaf curve model with independent field experiment data showed that the average distances between observed and predicted curves were less than 0.89 and 1.20 cm at the tilling and jointing stages, respectively.  The proposed leaf curve model and leaf spatial geometry model together with the relevant previous models were used to simulate the spatial morphology and the color dynamics of a single leaf and of leaves on the rice plant after different growing days by 3D visualization technology.  The validation of the leaf curve model and the results of leaf 3D visualization indicated that our leaf curve model and leaf spatial geometry model could efficiently predict the dynamics of rice leaf spatial morphology during leaf development stages.  These results provide a technical support for related research on virtual rice.

    Flixweed (Descurainia sophia L.) is a problematic and widespread weed in winter wheat fields and has been controlled by tribenuron-methyl for more than twenty years in China. In this study, a flixweed accession (Hebei 25, HB25) with an Asp-376-Glu mutation in acetohydroxy acid synthase (AHAS) was identified and purified. The purified HB25 accession (pHB25) developed 758.1-fold resistance to tribenuron-methyl and exhibited obvious cross-resistance to four AHAS-inhibiting herbicides. The resistant/susceptible (R/S) ratios of 50% plant growth reduction (GR₅₀) to herbicides of halosulfuron-methyl, flumetsulam, imazethapyr and pyribenzoxim were 346.1, 15.7, 8.1 and 7.1, respectively. The reduced AHAS sensitivities to four different AHAS-inhibiting herbicides, which were caused by the Asp-376-Glu mutation, were responsible for the resistance and cross-resistance to AHAS-inhibiting herbicides. The R/S ratios of 50% inhibition of AHAS activity (I₅₀) to tribenuron-methyl, halosulfuron-methyl, flumetsulam, imazethapyr and pyribenzoxim were 844.5, 532.9, 74.5, 13.3 and 5.5, respectively. The results of AHAS activity in vitro were highly correlated with that of whole-plant response experiments.

The Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) uses 3 silencing suppressor genes, p20, p23 and p25, to resist the attacks from its Citrus hosts. Inactivating these genes is therefore obviously a potential defensive option in addition to the current control strategies including aphid management and the use of mild strain cross protection. In this study, we cloned partial DNA fragments from the three genes, and used them to construct vectors for expressing hairpin RNAs (hpRNAs). To facilitate the formation of hpRNAs, the constructs were introduced in a loop structure. Following transformation of sour orange (Citrus aurantium) with these constructs, 8 p20 hpRNA (hp20) and 1 p25 hpRNA (hp25) expressing lines were obtained. The 7 hp20 transgenic lines were further characterized. Their reactions to CTV were tested following inoculation with CT14A and/ or TR-L514, both of which are severe strains. Results showed that 3 lines (hp20-5, hp20-6 and hp20-8) were completely resistant to TR-L514 under greenhouse conditions for no detectable viral load was found in their leaves by PCR. However, they exhibited only partial suppression of TR-L514 under screen house conditions since the virus was detected in their leaves, though 2 months later compared to non-transgenic controls. Further tests showed that hp20-5 was tolerant also to CT14A under screen house conditions. The growth of hp20-5 was much better than others including the controls that were concurrently challenged with CT14A. These results showed that expressing p20 hpRNA was sufficient to confer sour orange with CTV resistance/tolerance.

A real-time RT-PCR assay using TaqMan-MGB probes was developed to detect and type the bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in cattle. Universal primers and TaqMan-MGB probes were designed from the 5´-untranslated region of known pestiviral sequences. Prior to optimizing the assay, cRNAs were transcribed in vitro from the BVDV 1 and BVDV 2 RTPCR products to make standard curves. The detection limit of the assay was 1.72×102 copies for BVDV 1 and 2.14×102 copies for BVDV 2. The specificity of the assay evaluated on several BVDV strains including bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV 1), foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) and several classical swine fever virus (CSFV) strains showed specific detection of the positive virus over 40 cycles. The assay was highly reproducible with the coefficient of variance ranging from 1.04 to 1.33% for BVDV 1 and from 0.83 to 1.48% for BVDV 2, respectively. Using this method, we tested a total of 2 327 cattle from three dairy farms for the presence of BVDV persistently infected (PI) animals. In this assay, each RT-PCR template contained a mixture of ten samples from different animals. The occurrence rate of PI cattle in three farms ranging from 0.9 to 2.54% could represent partly the PI rates in cattle farm in China. In conclusion, using our real-time PCR assay, we could effectively detect and type BVDV and identify PI cattle in a rapid and cost-effective manner.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, single stranded, non-coding RNA molecules, about 19–25 nucleotides in length, which regulate the development and functions of reproductive system of mammal. To discover novel miRNAs and identify the differential expression of them in ovine ovary and testis tissues, the study constructed two libraries by using next-generation sequencing technologies (Solexa high-throughput sequencing technique). As a result, 9 321 775 and 9 511 538 clean reads were obtained from the ovary and testis separately, which included 130 562 (90 genes of ovary) and 56 272 (85 genes of testis) of known miRNAs and 486 potential novel miRNAs reads. In this study, a total of 65 conserved miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed (P<0.01) between the two samples. Among them, 28 miRNAs were up-regulated and 3 miRNAs were down-regulated on ovary compared with testis. In addition, the known miRNAs with the highest expression level (5 miRNAs) and 30 novel miRNAs with the functions related to reproduction were validated using the real-time quantitative RT-PCR. Moreover, the gene ontology (GO) annotation and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that differentially expressed miRNAs were involved in ovary and testis physiology, including signal transduction, gonad development, sex differentiation, gematogenesis, fertilization and embryo development. The results will be helpful to facilitate studies on the regulation of miRNAs during ruminant reproduction.

The full-length cDNA of functionally-unknown salivary protein C002 in Schizaphis graminum was cloned using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and designated as SgC002 (GenBank accession no. KC977563). It is 767 bp long and encodes a protein of 190 amino acid residues with a predicted mass of 21.5 kDa and a predicted cleavage site of N-terminal signal peptide between the 24th and the 25th residues. SgC002 is specifically expressed in salivary gland with the highest level at the 2nd instar. Introducing SgC002-specific 476-siRNA, but not 546-siRNA to aphids through artificial diet significantly suppressed SgC002 expression. Silencing SgC002 gene led to lethality of the aphid on wheat plants, but not on pure artificial diet. Our study demonstrated that artificial diet-mediated RNAi can be a useful tool for research on the roles of genes in aphid salivary gland, and also provided new insights into the characteristics of C002 in wheat aphids.

This paper was to develop a model for simulating the leaf color changes in rice (Oryza sativa L.) based on RGB (red, green, and blue) values. Based on rice experiment data with different cultivars and nitrogen (N) rates, the time-course RGB values of each leaf on main stem were collected during the growth period in rice, and a model for simulating the dynamics of leaf color in rice was then developed using quantitative modeling technology. The results showed that the RGB values of leaf color gradually decreased from the initial values (light green) to the steady values (green) during the first stage, remained the steady values (green) during the second stage, then gradually increased to the final values (from green to yellow) during the third stage. The decreasing linear functions, constant functions and increasing linear functions were used to simulate the changes in RGB values of leaf color at the first, second and third stages with growing degree days (GDD), respectively; two cultivar parameters, MatRGB (leaf color matrix) and AR (a vector composed of the ratio of the cumulative GDD of each stage during color change process of leaf n to that during leaf n drawn under adequate N status), were introduced to quantify the genetic characters in RGB values of leaf color and in durations of different stages during leaf color change, respectively; FN (N impact factor) was used to quantify the effects of N levels on RGB values of leaf color and on durations of different stages during leaf color change; linear functions were applied to simulate the changes in leaf color along the leaf midvein direction during leaf development process. Validation of the models with the independent experiment dataset exhibited that the root mean square errors (RMSE) between the observed and simulated RGB values were among 8 to 13, the relative RMSE (RRMSE) were among 8 to 10%, the mean absolute differences (da) were among 3.85 to 6.90, and the ratio of da to the mean observation values (dap) were among 3.04 to 4.90%. In addition, the leaf color model was used to render the leaf color change over growth progress using the technology of visualization, with a good performance on predicting dynamic changes in rice leaf color. These results would provide a technical support for further developing virtual plant during rice growth and development.

Somatic hybridization is performed to obtain significant cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) lines, whose CMS genes are derived either from the transfer of sterile genes from the mitochondrial genome of donor parent to the counterpart of receptor or production of new sterile genes caused by mitochondrial genome recombination of the biparent during protoplast fusion. In this study, a novel male sterile line, SaNa-1A, was obtained from the somatic hybridization between Brassica napus and Sinapis alba. The normal anther development of the maintainer line, SaNa-1B, and the abortive process of SaNa-1A were described through phenotypic observations and microtome sections. The floral organ of the sterile line SaNa-1A was sterile with a shortened filament and deflated anther. No detectable pollen grains were found on the surface of the sterile anthers. Semi-thin sections indicated that SaNa-1A aborted in the pollen mother cell (PMC) stage when vacuolization of the tapetum and PMCs began. The tapetum radically elongated and became highly vacuolated, occupying the entire locule together with the vacuolated microspores. Therefore, SaNa-1A is different from other CMS lines, such as ogu CMS, pol CMS and nap CMS as shown by the abortive process of the anther.

Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is considered to be a key factor that affects the marbling, tenderness, juiciness and flavor of pork. To investigate the effects of myristic acid (MA) on the differentiation of porcine intramuscular adipocytes, cells were isolated from longissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) and treated with 0, 10, 50 or 100 μmol L-1 MA. The results showed that MA significantly promotes the differentiation of intramuscular adipocytes in a dose-dependent manner. MA also led to a parallel increase in the expression of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) and adipose-related genes, such as glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), adipocyte fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4/aP2), fatty acid translocase (FAT), acetyl-CoA carboxylase α (ACCα), adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and fatty acid synthase (FASN). However, no significant effects of MA were observed on the expression of CAAT enhancer binding protein-α (C/EBPα) or hormone sensitive lipase (HSL). The expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) was increased by MA during the early stages of differentiation (day 1-3). In addition, MA also increased the absolute content of C14 (P<0.001) and saturated fatty acids (SFA) (P<0.05) to varying degrees, but no effects were observed on other fatty acids. These results suggest that MA might be able to enhance the IMF content of pork and increase the accumulation of myristic and myristoleic acid in muscle, which might have beneficial implications for human health.

Water shortage is a serious issue threatening the sustainable development of agriculture in the North China Plain, with the winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as its largest water-consuming crop. The effects of tillage practices on the water consumption and water use efficiency (WUE) of wheat under high-yield conditions using supplemental irrigation based on testing soil moisture dynamic change were examined in this study. This experiment was conducted from 2007 to 2010, with five tillage practice treatments, namely, strip rotary tillage (SR), strip rotary tillage after subsoiling (SRS), rotary tillage (R), rotary tillage after subsoiling (RS), and plowing tillage (P). The results showed that in the SRS and RS treatments the total water and soil water consumptions were 11.81, 25.18% and 12.16, 14.75% higher than those in SR and R treatments, respectively. The lowest ratio of irrigation consumption to total water consumption in the SRS treatment was 18.53 and 21.88% for the 2008-2009 and 2009- 2010 growing seasons, respectively. However, the highest percentage of water consumption was found in the SRS treatment from anthesis to maturity. No significant difference was found between the WUE of the flag leaf at the later filling stage in the SRS and RS treatments, but the flag leaf WUE at these stages were higher than those of other treatments. The SRS and RS treatments exhibited the highest grain yield (9 573.76 and 9 507.49 kg ha-1 for 3-yr average) with no significant difference between the two treatments, followed by P, R and SR treatments. But the SRS treatment had the highest WUE. Thus, the 1-yr subsoiling tillage, plus 2 yr of strip rotary planting operation may be an efficient measure to increase wheat yield and WUE.

This study is first to investigate proteomic changes in sheep sperm induced by carbon ion radiation using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) analysis in the project of breeding a new variety of sheep. Differential expression proteins were detected using the PDQuest 8.0 software after staining with Coomassie blue. Valid spots were then analyzed through liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Among the 480 total protein spots displayed in 2-D gels, 6 specific protein spots were observed in sperm gels. A search against protein sequences in the National Center for Biotechnology Information databases (NCBI) indicated that differentially expressed proteins correspond to two proteins, identified to be enolase and transcription factor AP-2-alpha (TFAP-2α). The two proteins were up-regulated in the irradiated sperm. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to identify proteomic changes induced by carbon ion radiation in sheep sperm. The analysis of differential expression protein may be useful in identifying new breeding markers in sheep reproduction and in clarifying the mechanisms involved in irradiation or space breeding.

Cry toxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are effective biological insecticides against certain insect species. However, there are potential risks of the evolved resistance of insects to Cry toxin owing to decreased binding of toxins to target sites in the brush border membranes of the larva midgut. The Cry toxins with different binding sites in the larval midgut have been considered to be a good combination to deploy in delaying resistance evolution. Bioassay results demonstrated that the toxicity of different Cry toxins ranked differently for each species. The toxicity ranking was Cry1Ac>Cry1Ab>Cry2Ab for Helicoverpa armigera, Cry1B>Cry1C>Cry2Ab for Spodoptera exigua, and Cry2Ab>Cry1B> Cry1C for S. litura. Only Cry2Ab was toxic to Agrotis ipsilon. Binding experiments were performed with 125I-Cry1Ab, 125ICry1Ac, 125I-Cry1B, 125I-Cry1C, 125I-Cry2Ab and the brush border membranes vesicles (BBMV) from H. armigera, S. exigua, S. litura and A. ipsilon. The binding of Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac was shown to be saturable by incubating with increasing concentrations of H. armigera BBMV (Kd=(45.00±2.01) nmol L-1 and (12.80±0.18) nmol L-1, respectively; Bmax=(54.95±1.79) ng and (55.44±0.91) ng, separately). The binding of Cry1B was shown to be saturable by incubating with increasing concentrations of S. exigua BBMV (Kd=(23.26±1.66) nmol L-1; Bmax=(65.37±1.87) ng). The binding of 125ICry toxins was shown to be non-saturable by incubating with increasing concentrations of S. litura and A. ipsilon BBMV. In contrast, Cry1B and Cry1C showed some combination with the BBMV of S. litura, and a certain amount of Cry2Ab could bind to the BBMV of A. ipsilon. These observations suggest that a future strategy could be devised for the focused combination of specific cry genes in transgenic crops to control target pests, widen the spectrum of insecticide effectiveness and postpone insect resistance evolution.

A chemosensory protein named HarmCSP5 in cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) was obtained from antennal cDNA libraries and expressed in Escherichia coli. The real time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) results indicated that HarmCSP5 gene was mainly expressed in male and female antennae but also expressed in female legs and wings. Competitive binding assays were performed to test the binding affinity of recombinant HarmCSP5 to 60 odor molecules including some cotton volatiles. The resules showed that HarmCSP5 showed strong binding abilities to 4-ehtylbenzaldehyde and 3,4-dimethlbenz aldehyde, whereas methyl phenylacetate, 2-decanone, 1-pentanol, carvenol, isoborneol, nerolidol, 2- nonanone and ethyl heptanoate have relatively weak binding affinity. Moreover, the predicted 3D model of HarmCSP5 consists of six α-helices located among residues 33-38 (α1), 40-48 (α2), 62-72 (α3), 80-96 (α4), 98-108 (α5), and 116-119 (α6), two pairs of disulfide bridges Cys49-Cys55, Cys75-Cys78. The two amino acid residues, Ile94 and Trp101, may play crucial roles in HarmCSP5 binding with ligands and need further study for confirmation.

The Italian wheat cv. Strampelli displays high resistance to powdery mildew caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici. The objective of this study was to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for resistance to powdery mildew in a population of 249 F2:3 lines from Strampelli/Huixianhong. Adult plant powdery mildew tests were conducted over 2 yr in Beijing and 1 yr in Anyang and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used for genotyping. QTLs Qpm.caas-3BS, Qpm.caas-5BL.1, and Qpm.caas-7DS were consistent across environments whereas, Qpm.caas-2BS.1 found in two environments, explained 0.4-1.6, 5.5-6.9, 27.1-34.5, and 1.0-3.5% of the phenotypic variation respectively. Qpm.caas-7DS corresponded to the genomic location of Pm38/Lr34/Yr18. Qpm.caas-4BL was identified in Anyang 2010 and Beijing 2011, accounting for 1.9-3.5% of phenotypic variation. Qpm.caas-2BS.1 and Qpm.caas-5BL.1 contributed by Strampelli and Qpm.caas-3BS by Huixianhong, seem to be new QTL for powdery mildew resistance. Qpm.caas-4BL, Qpm.caas-5BL.3, and Qpm.caas-7DS contributed by Strampelli appeared to be in the same genomic regions as those mapped previously for stripe rust resistance in the same population, indicating that these loci conferred resistance to both stripe rust and powdery mildew. Strampelli could be a valuable genetic resource for improving durable resistance to both powdery mildew and stripe rust in wheat.

In recent years, subgroup J avian leukosis virus (ALV-J) has been found to frequently infect layers in China. This virus is responsible for economic losses due to both mortality and decreased performance in chickens. In this study, 45-d-old cloned free-range layers were suspected to be infected with ALV and other immunosuppressive diseases because their feathers were unkempt and their growth rate was impaired. To estimate the infection status and determine the source of ALV-J in the flock, 30 cloacal swabs were randomly collected to measure the p27 antigen level by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Among the birds that were tested, 87% (26/30) were positive. In addition, 6 anticoagulant blood samples were aseptically collected at random from the flock when the layers were 60 d old. These samples were centrifuged to obtain the leukocytes, which were then used to inoculate chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cells for the identification of ALV-J by indirect immunofluorescence (IFA). Of the samples tested, 100% (6/6) were positive. The flock’s production performance was also investigated, and 10 layers were necropsied to evaluate pathological changes at 115 d of age. The flock never laid eggs even though they reached the age of the first laying (110 d). Furthermore, there were pathological changes present, including atrophy of the thymus and bursa of Fabricius, undeveloped ovaries, glandular stomach haemorrhage, and hepatosplenomegaly. Paraffin-embedded sections of intumescent liver and spleen were prepared for antigen localisation using IFA. Positive signals were prevalent in paraffin-embedded sections of the intumescent liver and spleen. Furthermore, provirus DNA was extracted from 4 cloned free-range layers, and 2 paternal parents (HR native cocks), and the gp85 gene of ALV-J was amplified by PCR to analyse the genetic variation. The results of the autogenous variation analysis showed that the 6 strains were 98.5-99.7% homologous. This study indicated that there was persistent infection with ALV-J by dynamic inspection, which seriously reduced the production performance of the flock. In addition, the genetic variation analysis showed that ALV-J in the flock was more likely to have originated from the paternal parent, the HR native cock.

To evaluate the possible genetic interrelationships between flour components and the sedimentation volume (SD), a doubled haploid (DH) population comprising 168 lines were used to identify the conditional quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for SD in three environments. Ten additive QTLs and 15 pairs of epistatic QTLs were detected for SD through unconditional and conditional QTL mapping. Three major additive QTLs were detected for SD conditioned on the seven quality traits. Two additive QTLs were found to be independent of these traits. Three additive QTLs were suppressed by three of the seven traits because of non-detection in unconditional mapping. Three pairs of epistatic QTLs were completely affected by the seven traits because of detection in unconditional mapping but no-detection in conditional mapping. Twelve pairs of epistatic QTLs were detected in conditional mapping. Our results indicated that conditional mapping could contribute to a better understanding of the interdependence of different and closely correlated traits at the QTL molecular level, especially some minor QTLs were found. The conditional mapping approach provides new insights that will make it possible to avoid the disadvantages of different traits by breeding through molecular design.