油料作物育种的分子工具和技术创新

油料作物的主要育种目标是提高产量、品质和抗逆性。目前,就产量而言,全球主要油料作物依次为大豆、油菜、向日葵和花生。本文综述了这些主要油料作物育种的分子工具和技术创新,包括基因组选择、基因组编辑、分子设计育种等新技术,指出了当前在遗传研究和育种实践中存在的主要问题,并对技术进展和未来应用前景进行了展望,旨在为油料作物高产、优质、高效育种提供借鉴。

Identification of KASP markers and putative genes for pre-harvest sprouting resistance in common wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)

Common wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)is the most important crop in the world and a typical allopolyploid with a large and complex genome.Pre-harvest sprouting(PHS)leads to a significant reduction in grain quality worldwide.PHS is a complex trait with related QTL located on different chromosomes.However,the study of markers and genes related to PHS resistance is limited especially for whitegrained wheat.Four pairs of near isogenic lines(NILs)from a white-grained wheat cross of Chara
DM5637B*8 targeting a major QTL for PHS resistance(Qphs.ccsu-3A.1)on wheat chromosme 3AL were genotyped using the 90K SNP Illumina iSelect array.Ten SNPs were identified,with a 75%-100%consistency between genotype and phenotype in the resistant or susceptible isolines.The 10 SNPs were converted to cost-effective kompetitive allele-specific PCR(KASP)markers.Screening of 48 wheat cultivars with different phenotypes of PHS identified four KASP markers with 81.3%-85.4%conformity between genotype and phenotype.Further investigation revealed that the four SNPs(BS00022245_51,Kukri_c49927_151,BS00022884_51 and BS00110550_51)corresponding to the four validated KASP markers are residing in three independent genes(TraesCS3A03G1072800,TraesCS3A03G1072400,TraesCS3A03G1071800)close to each other with a distance of 4.28-4.48 Mb to the targeted QTL.These three annotated genes have potential functions related to PHS resistance.Our study revealed that combined use of NILs and the 90K SNP chip is a powerful approach for developing KASP markers and mining functional genes in wheat.The KASP markers for PHS resistance on chromosome 3AL are useful for high-throughput evaluation and marker-assisted selection,and the three identified genes could lead to a better understanding of the genetic pathways controlling PHS.

第二届生态系统评估与管理(EAM)国际会议综述

自2005年联合国《千年生态系统评估》发布以来,旱区农业生态系统评估与管理研究越来越受到世界各国的广泛关注和重视。综述了2010年7月19日至25日在兰州大学举行的第二届生态系统评估与管理(Ecosystem assessment and management,EAM)国际会议28场特邀专家报告,围绕"气候变化与旱区农业生态系统管理"主题,分别从生态系统时空格局、全球变化生态学、植物逆境适应机制、植物与土壤关系和生态系统管理五个方面进行总结,旨在探讨全球气候变化条件下如何提高干旱与半干旱脆弱农业生态系统生产力和可持续性发展的创新理论研究。对生态系统评估与管理的未来发展趋势和目标进行了探讨,并对该会议将来的举办和组织形式提出了建议。

气候变化下旱区农业生态系统的可持续性

农业生产是将自然资源不断转化为农产品的过程。简单的说就是将阳光、空气、水和土壤等无机资源转化为可以供人类消费的有机产物。农业生态系统必须对全球气候变化、市场竞争、自然环境的恶化、经济等政策法规和人民的需求等因素做出灵活的应对策略，同时还要保证自然生态系统的稳定性。在发展中国家，

Pravastatin alleviates lipopolysaccharide-induced placental TLR4 over-activation and promotes uterine arteriole remodeling without impairing rat fetal development

Preeclampsia is associated with over-activation of the innate immune system in the placenta,in which toll-like receptor 4（TLR4） plays an essential part.With their potent anti-inflammatory effects,statins have been suggested as potential prevention or treatment of preeclampsia,although evidence remains inadequate.Herewith,we investigated whether pravastatin could ameliorate preeclampsia-like phenotypes in a previously established lipopolysaccharide（LPS）-induced rat preeclampsia model,through targeting the TLR4/NF-κB pathway.The results showed that pravastatin reduced the blood pressure [maximum decline on gestational day（GD） 12,（101.33±2.49） mmHg vs.（118.3±1.37） mmHg,P〈0.05] and urine protein level [maximum decline on GD9,（3,726.23± 1,572.86） μg vs.（1,991.03 ±609.37）μg,P〈 0.05],which were elevated following LPS administration.Pravastatin also significantly reduced the rate of fetal growth restriction in LPS-treated rats（34.10% vs.8.99%,P〈0.05）.Further pathological analyses suggested a restoration of normal spiral artery remodeling in preeclampsia rats by pravastatin treatment.These effects of pravastatin were associated with decreased TLR4/NF-κB protein levels in the placenta and IL-6/MCP-1 levels in serum.Additionally,no obvious abnormalities in fetal liver,brain,and kidney were found after administration of pravastatin.These results provide supportive evidence for use of pravastatin in preventing preeclampsia.

Wheat genotypes tolerant to heat at seedling stage tend to be also tolerant at adult stage:The possibility of early selection for heat tolerance breeding

Wheat production is seriously influenced by extreme hot weather,which has attracted increasing attention.It is important to compare wheat responses to heat at seedling and reproductive stages,to explore the potential relationship between the performances at different growing stages and the possibility of early selection to accelerate heat tolerance breeding.In this study,forty wheat genotypes were screened under heat stress at both seedling and adult stages.It was found that root lengths at seedling stage were severely reduced by heat stress with significant variations among wheat genotypes.Heat-tolerant genotypes at seedling stage showed less root length decrease than susceptible ones.Wheat genotypes tolerant at seedling stage showed higher yield at adult stage after heat treatment.The performances of wheat genotypes screened under heat stress at seedling and adult stages were ranked by seedling damage index and adult damage index.A significant positive relationship was found between heat tolerance at seedling stage and at adult stage(r=0.6930),suggesting a similar tolerant/susceptible mechanism at different plant growth stages and the possibility of early selection at seedling stage for breeding heat tolerance.Extremely tolerant and susceptible genotypes with consistent performances at seedling and adult stages were genetically compared and associated SNP markers and linked candidate genes were identified.

Transplantation of UC-MSCs on collagen scaffold activates follicles in dormant ovaries of POF patients with long history of infertility

Premature ovarian failure(POF) is a refractory disease for clinical treatment with the goal of restoring fertility. In this study,umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells on a collagen scaffold(collagen/UC-MSCs) can activate primordial follicles in vitro via phosphorylation of FOXO3 a and FOXO1. Transplantation of collagen/UC-MSCs to the ovaries of POF patients rescued overall ovarian function, evidenced by elevated estradiol concentrations, improved follicular development, and increased number of antral follicles. Successful clinical pregnancy was achieved in women with POF after transplantation of collagen/UC-MSCs or UC-MSCs. In summary, collagen/UC-MSC transplantation may provide an effective treatment for POF.

Transplantation of collagen scaffold with autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells promotes functional endometrium reconstruction via downregulating ΔNp63 expression in Asherman＇s syndrome

Asherman's syndrome(AS) is a common disease that presents endometrial regeneration disorder. However, little is known about its molecular features of this aregenerative endometrium in AS and how to reconstruct the functioning endometrium for the patients with AS. Here, we report that ΔNp63 is significantly upregulated in residual epithelial cells of the impaired endometrium in AS; the upregulated-ΔNp63 induces endometrial quiescence and alteration of stemness. Importantly, we demonstrate that engrafting high density of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells(BMNCs) loaded in collagen scaffold onto the uterine lining of patients with AS downregulates ΔNp63 expression, reverses ΔNp63-induced pathological changes, normalizes the stemness alterations and restores endometrial regeneration. Finally, five patients achieved successful pregnancies and live births. Therefore, we conclude that ΔNp63 is a crucial therapeutic target for AS. This novel treatment significantly improves the outcome for the patients with severe AS.

The neonatal ketone body is important for primordial follicle pool formation and regulates ovarian ageing in mice

Adverse nutritional conditions during the perinatal stage are related to early menopause in adulthood;however,the underlying mechanism is still unclear.Herein,we revealed that colostrum-activated ketone body elevation during the postnatal stage regulated primordial follicle reservoir size and then affected ovarian ageing.We found that the expression of the ketogenesis rate-limiting enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase 2(Hmgcs2)was largely enhanced during primordial follicle pool formation after birth and might be activated in the ovaries by colostrum.Reactive oxygen species(ROS)elevation in the ovaries leads to follicle apoptosis to deplete damaged follicles,while Hmgcs2 deficiency enhances follicle apoptosis and thus decreases the size of the primordial follicle pool and leads to premature ovarian ageing(POA),which might be related to the activation of cellular endogenous antioxidant system.All these defects could be rescued by ketone body administration,which suppressed ROS-activated follicle apoptosis.Our results suggest that the internal metabolic homeostasis of newborn mice is critical for the primordial reservoir and that any intrauterine and perinatal undernutrition could result in POA.

Umbilical cord artery-derived perivascular stem cells for treatment of ovarian failure through CD146 signaling

Dear Editor,Chemotherapy-induced ovarian failure significantly diminishes ovarian blood flow,ovarian size,and follicular development.Angiogenesis plays a vital role in repairing ovarian damage.1 Perivascular stem cells(PSCs),known as mural cells covering the vasculature,are essential for blood vessel formation and postulated as progenitors of mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs).2,3 We previously established umbilical cord artery-derived PSCs(UCA-PSCs)and Wharton’s jelly-derived MSCs(WJ-MSCs)and UCAPSCs display optimal angiogenic capacity in vitro.4 Therefore,we explored the angiogenesis and pro-angiogenesis mechanisms of UCA-PSCs and provided them as an efficient treatment strategy for ovarian failure.