Clubroot resistance introgression in interspecific hybrids between Raphanus sativus and Brassica napus

Clubroot is a prevailing soil-borne disease affecting rapeseed production worldwide.However,few clubroot resistant rapeseed accessions were available for breeding.Identification and introgression of new clubroot resistant genes from closely related species by distant hybridization is an effective strategy.In the present study,9 radish(Raphanus sativus L.,2n=18,RR)lines resistant to Plasmodiophora brassicae pathotype 4 were used as donors to transfer clubroot resistance into a susceptible rapeseed(Brassica napus L.,2n=38,AACC)line by distant hybridization combined with embryo rescue.Nine intergeneric crosses were made but only 1(411×93039)produced F1 plants both from embryo rescue and natural seed-setting.Authenticity of triploid F1 hybrids(2n=28,ACR)were verified by flower color,cytological observation and molecular marker analysis,and 2 genuine F1 hybrids were identified.After chromosome doubling,these synthetic allohexaploid plants(2n=56,AACCRR)became partially fertile(pollen viability rate=35%)and were backcrossed with rapeseed parent to generate a BC1 population(2n=47,AACCR).Totally 178 BC1 plants were obtained,of which the majority(96.1%)were resistant to clubroot.These backcrossing progenies could be used for the breeding of new rapeseed varieties resistant to clubroot.

Relationship of Milk Line Position with Grain Weight and Mechanized Harvest of Summer Corn

To investigate the relationship of milk line position with grain weight and mechanized harvest of summer corn in Huang-Huai-Hai Region, 8 varieties （A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H） with large planting areas were selected to measure the grain filling rate, 100-grain weight, water content and milk line position, and the correlation was analyzed. Results showed that when the milk line position was 90%, the grain filling of all the 8 varieties finished and 100-grain weight reached the highest value, which was 43.02 g. The grain filling time was in positive correlation with 100-grain weight. However, when the milk line position completely disappeared, the 100-grain weight was reduced by 8.66% at most. There was no significant difference during the periods of grain weight rising, but in the periods of grain weight falling, the traits of D, E, H were significantly different with the other varieties, and water loss rate of C and A showed significant difference with the other six varieties. The water content of grain was negatively correlated with milk line position. When the milk line percentage was 90% , the grain water content was less than 30% . The key factor influencing the mechanized harvest of summer corn is harvesting time, rather than the varieties. Moreover, milk-line position of 90% is the best time for harvest; if the harvest is too late, the yield will be reduced with varying degrees.

Induced Systemic Resistance in Two Genotypes of <i>Brassica napus</i>(AACC) and <i>Raphanus oleracea</i>(RRCC) by <i>Trichoderma</i>Isolates against <i>Sclerotinia sclerotiorum</i>

Two different species, Trichoderma viride TV10 and Trichoderma harzianum TH12 from 30 Trichoderma isolates were selected out based on their high growth inhibition of the phytopathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib) de Bary, which reached 84.44% and 100%, respectively. Their untreated culture filtrates (CF) and culture filtrates treated with heat (CFH) also were tested for growth inhibition of the pathogen in potato dextrose agar (PDA). Morphological and molecular characterisation by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) PCR provided consistent identification of these isolates. The degree of infection and disease index (DI) of S. sclerotiorum were examined in Brassica napus (AACC) and Raphanus alboglabra (RR) and Brassica alboglabra (CC). The results revealed that Raphanus alboglabra showed higher disease resistance than that of B. napus. Biotic elecitors T. harzianum TH12 and T. viride TV10 and their CF and CFH demonstrated the ability to cause induced systemic resistance (ISR) in B. napus and Raphanus alboglabra against sclerotinia stem rot (SSR) disease. Furthermore, a high ability to reduce the degree of infection and DI in B. napus with the biotic elicitors T. harzianum TH12 and T. viride TV10 was observed, with numbers reaching 7.22% to 6.67% and 17.78% to 11.67%, respectively. When CF were used, reached 20.00% to 16.67% and 33.33% to 23.33%, respectively;with CFH, values reached 35.00% to 21.67% and 37.78% to 28.33%, respectively. While in Raphanus alboglabra the degree of infection and DI reached 0.00% and 0.00% with all biotic elicitors treatments. These results show that biotic elicitor treatments significantly (P B. napus and Raphanus alboglabra ranked as most effective. This study showed for the first time the ability of genotype Raphanus alboglabra (RRCC) to demonstrate resistance against S. sclerotiorum with or without treatment by biotic elicitors and the ability of genotype B. napus (AACC) to demonstrate resistance to the pathogen after treatment with biotic elicitors.

High-resolution characterization of hexagonal boron nitride coatings exposed to aqueous and air oxidative environments

Hexagonal boron nitride （h-BN） is believed to offer better passivation to metallic surfaces than graphene owing to its insulating nature, which facilitates blocking the flow of electrons, thereby preventing the occurrence of galvanic reactions. Nevertheless, this may not be the case when an h-BN-protected material is exposed to aqueous environments. In this work, we analyzed the stability of mono and multilayer h-BN stacks exposed to H202 and atmospheric conditions. Our experiments revealed that monolayer h-BN is as inefficient as graphene as a protective coating when exposed to H202. Multilayer h-BN offered a good degree of protection. Monolayer h-BN was found to be ineffective in an air atmosphere as well. Even a 10-15 layers-thick h-BN stack could not completely protect the surface of the metal under consideration. By combining Auger electron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry techniques, we observed that oxygen could diffuse through the grain boundaries of the h-BN stack to reach the metallic substrate. Fortunately, because of the diffusive nature of the process, the oxidized area did not increase with time once a saturated state was reached. This makes multflayer （not monolayer） h-BN a suitable long-term oxidation barrier. Oxygen infiltration could not be observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This technique cannot assess the chemical composition of the deeper layers of a material. Hence, the previous reports, which relied on XPS to analyze the passivating properties of h-BN and graphene, may have ignored some important subsurface phenomena. The results obtained in this study provide new insights into the passivating properties of mono and multilayer h-BN in aqueous media and the degradation kinetics of h-BN-coated metals exposed to an air environment.

Identification of QTLs for Branch Number in Oilseed Rape(Brassica napus L.)

Oilseed rape （Brassica napus L.） is one of the most important oil crops worldwide and provides about 50 percent of the vegetable oil supply in China （Yin et al., 2009）. The development of rapeseed varieties with higher yield is an effective measure to optimize balance between the supply and demand of edible vegetable oil. In oilseed rape, the number of silique per plant （SP） contributes most to the yield performance （Diepenbrock, 2000）. However, compared with the other two yield-component traits, seeds per silique （SS） and seed weight （SW）, SP is more sensitive to environmental changes （Li et al., 2007; Shi et al., 2009）. Therefore, it is difficult to perform the genetic improvement on SP trait directly in oilseed rape.