Correlation and variability analysis of yield and quality related traits in different peanut varieties across various ecological zones of China

Peanut cultivation in China spans various ecological zones, each with unique environmental conditions. Identifying suitable peanut varieties for these regions has been challenging due to significant phenotypic variations observed across environments. This study, based on a comprehensive analysis of 256 peanut varieties, selected nine representative varieties(Huayu23, Yuanza9102, Silihong, Wanhua2, Zhonghua6, Zhonghua16, Zhonghua21,Zhonghua215, Zhonghua24) for cultivation in five distinct ecological zones including Chengdu, Hefei, Nanjing,Shijiazhuang, and Wuhan. The yield and quality related phenotypic traits of these varieties were thoroughly assessed, revealing a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. Principal component analysis(PCA) effectively distinguished varieties based on yield and quality traits. Strong correlations were observed between specific traits, such as seed size and quality components. The G × E interaction was evident, as some varieties consistently performed better in certain environments. Varieties with lower coefficient of variation(CV)values exhibited stable trait expression, making them reliable choices for broad cultivation. In contrast, varieties with higher CV values displayed greater sensitivity to environmental fluctuations, potentially due to specific genetic factors. Two high oleic acid varieties, Zhonghua24 and Zhonghua215, demonstrated remarkable stability in oleic acid content across diverse environments, suggesting the presence of genetic mechanisms that buffer against environmental variations. Overall, this study underscores the importance of selecting peanut varieties based on their adaptability and performance in specific ecological zones. These findings provide valuable insights for peanut breeders and farmers, facilitating informed decisions for improved crop production and quality.

The quantity of OA and activity of cellulase and polygalacturonase are involved in variation of virulence in Sclerotium rolfsii

In order to understand the pathogenic mechanisms of Sclerotium rolfsii on peanut and to analyze the variation of virulence in S.rolfsii strains,the highly virulent strain(ZY2)and weakly virulent strain(GP3-1)were investigated under both in vivo and in vitro conditions.The results indicated that S.rolfsii directly infected peanut by producing infection cushions.ZY2 formed infection cushions earlier than GP3-1,and ZY2 produced a greater number of infection cushions compare to GP3-1.Both strains could utilize cellulose,xylose,or polygalacturonic acid in the Czapek medium.The activities of cellulase(CL)and polygalacturonase(PG)in the inoculated peanut stems increased significantly at 9 h after inoculation.The activities of CL and PG produced by ZY2 in the inoculated stems were significantly higher than that produced by GP3-1.Both strains could produce oxalic acid(OA),and the content of OA produced by ZY2 in the inoculated stems was higher than that produced by GP3-1.In summary,it suggested that S.rolfsii destroyed peanut cells through physical and biochemical factors by secreting a large amount of OA,CL and PG during the formation of infection cushions.The difference in OA content,activity of CL and PG produced by highly and weakly virulent strains played important roles in variation of virulence.

A systematic identification of cold tolerance genes in peanut using yeast functional screening system

Peanut(Arachis hypogaea L.)is a thermophilic crop,and low temperature leads to a significant reduction in annual yields.Despite a few cold tolerant germplasms or cultivars have been discovered and developed,molecular mechanisms governing peanut cold tolerance is poorly understood.Identification of keys genes involved in cold tolerance is the first step to address the underlying mechanism.In this study,we isolated and characterized 157 genes with potentials to confer cold tolerance in peanut by using a yeast functional screening system.GO(Gene ontology)and KEGG(Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes)enrichment analysis of these genes revealed that ribosome and photosynthesis proteins might play essential roles in peanut cold response.Transcriptome results indicated that 60 cold tolerance candidate genes were significantly induced or depressed by low temperature.qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated that several candidate genes could be also regulated by salt or drought stress.Individual overexpression of two UDP-glycosyltransferases(AhUGT2 and AhUGT268)in transgenic yeast cells could enhance their tolerance to multiple abiotic stress.In conclusion,this study advances our understanding of the mechanisms associated with the cold stress responses in peanut,and offers valuable gene resources for genetic improvement of abiotic stress tolerance in crops.

含二侧苯基杂萘联苯聚芳醚砜的合成与性能

以4-(3,5-二苯基-4-羟基苯基)-2,3-二氮杂萘-1-酮(DHPZ-dP)、4-(4-羟基苯基)-2,3-二氮杂萘-1-酮(DHPZ)和4,4’-二氯二苯砜为单体,经高温溶液缩聚,通过调节DHPZ与DHPZ-dP的比例,合成了一系列含二侧苯基杂萘联苯聚芳醚砜(PPES-dPs)。核磁共振氢谱和傅里叶变换红外光谱结果表明产物结构与所设计结构相符合。PPES-dPs在N-甲基-2-吡咯烷酮与N,N-二甲基乙酰胺等溶剂中的溶解性较好,但不溶于乙醇等质子性溶剂。PPES-dPs的热性能随着DHPZ-dP含量的增加逐渐增强,5%热失重温度可达到500℃,拉伸强度大于75 MPa。

Stable major QTL on chromosomes A07 and A08 increase shelling percentage in peanut(Arachis hypogaea L.)

Peanut is a major oilseed and food legume.Shelling percentage(SP),closely associated with seed yield,is a trait whose improvement is a major goal of peanut breeding.In this study,a mapping population(Xuhua 13×Zhonghua 6)was used to map quantitative trait loci(QTL)controlling SP in four environments.Two stable major QTL for SP were mapped on both SSR-and SNP-based genetic maps.q SPA07.1 on chromosome A07 explained up to 31.7%of phenotypic variation,and q SPA08.2 on chromosome A08 explained up to 10.8%.Favorable alleles of q SPA07.1 and q SPA08.2 were derived from the female and male parents,respectively.Eight recombinant inbred lines(RILs)carrying both favorable alleles showed superiority in SP over the two parents in all environmental trials.A combination of the two favorable alleles using the linked markers was verified to increase SP by~5%in the RIL population and by~3%SP in diverse peanut cultivars.q SPA07.1 and q SPA08.2 were delimited to respectively a 0.73-Mb interval harboring 96 genes and a 3.93-Mb interval harboring 238 genes.Respectively five and eight genes with high expression in pods,including enzymes and transcription factors,were assigned as candidate genes for q SPA07.1 and q SPA08.2.These consistent major QTL provide an opportunity for fine mapping of genes controlling SP,and the linked markers may be useful for genetic improvement of SP in peanut.

Identification of major QTL for seed number per pod on chromosome A05 of tetraploid peanut(Arachis hypogaea L.)

The inheritance of pod-and seed-number traits(PSNT) in peanut(Arachis hypogaea L.) is poorly understood. In the present study, a recombinant inbred line(RIL) population of 188 lines was used to map quantitative trait loci(QTL) for number of seeds per pod(NSP),number of pods per plant(NPP), and numbers of one-, two-, and three-seeded pods per plant(N1 PP, N2 PP, and N3 PP) in four environments. A total of 28 consensus QTL and 14 single QTL were identified, including 11 major and stable QTL. Four major and stable QTL including qN3 PPA5.2, q N3 PPA5.4, qN3 PPA5.5, and qN3 PPA5.7 each explained 12.3%–33.0% of phenotype variation. By use of another integrated linkage map for the A5 group(hereafter referred to as INT A5 group), QTL for PSNT were located in seven intervals of 0.73–9.68 Mb in length on chromosome A05, and candidate genes underlying N3 PP were suggested. These findings shed light on the genetic basis of PSNT. Major QTL for N3 PP could be used as candidates for further positional cloning.

Phenotypic identification of peanut germplasm for resistance to southern stem rot

Southern stem rot,caused by Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.,is a destructive soil fungal disease of peanut in China and other countries.To evaluate resistant germplasm,a total of 256 peanut accessions were investigated on their resistance to southern stem rot in 3 environments by artificial inoculation.Variance analysis indicated that disease index was significantly influenced by environment,genotype and genotypeenvironment interactions.Peanut accessions of var.vulgaris type exhibited higher resistance to southern stem rot.Disease index was significantly negatively correlated with linoleic acid content,while positively correlated with oleic acid content.Six resistant accessions were identified,including Hua 28,Shandongzai,ICG 6326,Quanhua 7,Quanhua 9 and Guihua 836,with their disease indexes under 40 and mortality were less than 30%in the three environments.The identified resistant accessions showed the great potential to be applied in resistant peanut breeding,and would be good genetic resources for enhancing the resistance to southern stem rot.

Integrated genetic linkage map of cultivated peanut by three RIL populations

High-density and precise genetic linkage map is fundamental to detect quantitative trait locus (QTL) of agronomic and quality related traits in cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). In this study, three linkage maps from three RIL (recombinant inbred line)populations were used to construct an integrated map. A total of 2,069 SSR and transposon markers were anchored on the high-density integrated map which covered 2,231.53 cM with 20 linkage groups. Totally, 92 QTLs correlating with pod length (PL), pod width (PW), hundred pods weight (HPW) and plant height (PH) from above RIL populations were mapped on it. Seven intervals were found to harbor QTLs controlling the same traits in different populations,including one for PL, three for PW, two for HPW, and one for PH. Besides, QTLs controlling different traits in different populations were found to be overlapped in four intervals.Interval on A05 contains 17 QTLs for different traits from two RIL populations. New markers were added to these intervals to detect QTLs with narrow confidential intervals.Results obtained in this study may facilitate future genomic researches such as QTL study, fine mapping, positional cloning and marker-assisted selection (MAS) in peanut.

Progress on genetic and genomic research for enhanced oil content and quality in peanut

Peanut or groundnut （ Arachis hypogaea L. ） is an important source of vegetable oil in the world. Genetic enhancement for high yield and high oil content has greatly contributed to enhanced pro-ductivity of peanut and increased supply of peanut oil. Further improving oil content and quality of peanut is still crucial for increasing productivity of arable land and market competitiveness of peanut oil. Based on investigation among the peanut germplasm accessions including wild Arachis species, the oil content could be as high as 65%. Heterosis has been observed for oil content in hybrids derived from diverse crossing parents. Segregates with enhanced oil content have been obtained by pyramiding different genes or alleles with major and minor additive effects. Improved testing techniques for oil content in breeding lines with reduced cost have accelerated breeding progress for high oil content. SSR markers associated with oil content have been identified by association and linkage analysis. The stability of oil content in peanut across seasons and locations is highly associated with cold tolerance, high nutrition efficiency and drought tolerance. Recent progress on improving fatty acids in particular marker assisted backcrossing breeding has contributed to higher quality peanut oil and other products. High oil peanut lines with im-proved resistance to aflatoxin production have been developed. The wild Arachis species would be of great value for peanut breeding in increasing oil content.

Effect of non-aflatoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus on aflatoxin contamination of pre-harvest peanuts in fields in China

Aflatoxin contamination of peanuts is one of the most concerns in peanut production in China.Applying nonaflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus strains,based on competitive exclusion,has been proved to be a promising strategy to reduce aflatoxin contamination in pre-harvest peanuts.Two non-aflatoxigenic A.flavus strains collected in China,which have been proved effectively reducing aflatoxin in the laboratory,were mixed with high aflatoxin producer to the soil in peanut growing season.The two non-aflatoxigenic strains significantly(P<0.05)reduced aflatoxin contamination in peanut kernels under both normal and drought stresses in two fields.Compared to control,the total aflatoxin(sum of aflatoxin B1 and B2)was reduced 26.7–99.12%in field 1,and 84.96–99.33%in field 2.The aflatoxin was reduced 84.96–99.33%under drought stress in two fields.The present study indicated the non-aflatoxigenic A.flavus strains could be potential biocontrol agents for reducing aflatoxin contamination under field condition.

Molecular characterization of a peanut variety and its derivatives based on SSR and COP analysis

Despite the economic importance of the peanut, no studies have been carried out to deter-mine the correlation between genetic distances based on molecular markers and on coefficient of parentage （COP） data. In this study, simple sequence repeat （SSR） and pedigree data were used to assess the ge-netic distance between the Fuhuasheng variety and its derivative cultivars. A total of 39 SSR polymor-phism primers were used, and 151 bands were obtained, with an average of 2. 04 bands in each primer. The genetic SSR - based distance （GD） values ranged from 0. 02 to 0. 81, while the COP - based GD ranged from 0. 25 to 0. 98. Certain Fuhuasheng loci displayed higher transmission rates. These loci or nearby chromosomal regions might be associated with desirable traits in Fuhuasheng variety, thus being frequently selected in breeding programs. Therefore, it can be suggested that COP analysis should be the preferred method for estimating genetic diversity invarieties with available complete pedigree information and parents. In this case, marker analysis would provide the best estimations.

Gomparative analysis of DGAT3（diacylglycerol acyltraiisferase 3） gene from different peanut （Arachis hypogaea L.） varieties

Cultivated peanut is one of the primary sources of vegetable oil and protein in developing countries. DG〉A73 family in peanut cotyledons has no membrane-bound regions suggesting that cytosol is one of the sites for triacylglycerol （TAG） biosynthesis in oilseeds. According to functional annotation and classification of 5 cDNA libraries, 12 unigenes were found with relation of peanut DGAT3 in different organs. Three clones of unigenes, OCP- contig168t OCPcontig12101-3 and OCPcontigl2388-1 were selected for sequencing. Full length sequence of DGAT3 was obtained, showing over 98% sequence similarity with peanut DGAT3 gene AY875644 or EU183333. Upon cluster analysis, DGAT3 of 40 culti- vars were divided into 3 types, namely AhDGATS-1, AhDGAT3-2 and AhDGAT3-3. Coding regions are 1023, 1038 and 1026 base pairs which encoded proteins with 340-, 345- and 341-amino acids, respectively. DGAT3-3 might be a novel gene type among the DGAT3 family which provides great help for studying DGAT3 gene evolution in peanut.

Mutation N856K in spike reduces fusogenicity and infectivity of Omicron BA.1

Dear Editor,COVID-19 lung pathology is characterized by interstitial pneumonia with cell-cell fusion-induced syncytia and extensive tissue damage.1 The correlation between viral fusogenicity and pathogenicity has been reported in SARS-CoV-2 variants.2 Compared with the previous Delta or D614G variants,Omicron BA.1 has been proven to be less fusogenic and pathogenic.

季铵化杂萘联苯聚芳醚酮酮离子交换膜制备与性能

离子交换膜是全钒氧化还原液流电池的主要部件之一,其选择性和稳定性在一定程度上决定了电池的寿命,而目前大多数离子交换膜存在选择性或稳定性欠佳的状况.为了制备全钒氧化还原液流电池用高选择性离子交换膜,本文将不同溴甲基含量(0.75～0.99,平均每摩尔重复结构单元含有溴甲基的摩尔数)的含溴甲基杂萘联苯聚醚酮酮(BPPEKK)通过溶液浇铸法制备基膜,之后在三甲胺水溶液中进行胺化得到季铵化杂萘联苯聚醚酮酮阴离子交换膜(QBPPEKK).测试了QBPPEKK的离子交换容量、吸水率、溶胀率、钒渗透系数和面电阻.随着BPPEKK溴甲基含量的增加,所得QBPPEKK膜的离子交换容量和含水率增加,而其面电阻和钒离子质量传递系数降低.将QBPPEKK膜组装于全钒氧化还原液流电池中,电池的电压效率(VE)和能量效率(EE)随着QBPPEKK膜离子交换容量的增加而上升;当BPPEKK的取代度为0.99时,所制得的阴离子交换膜为QBPPEKK90膜,由其组装成电池的EE为87.7%(电流密度为40m A/cm^2),大于同条件下Nafion117的数值(86.0%).在1.5mol/L的VO_2^+溶液中浸泡60d后, QBPPEKK膜的拉伸强度高于36 MPa、膜表面形貌没有明显变化、组装电池性能变化不大,结果表明QBPPEKK膜在VO_2^+溶液中表现出良好的稳定性.

Diversity characterization and association analysis of agronomic traits in a Chinese peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) mini-core collection

Association mapping is a powerful approach for exploring the molecular basis of phenotypic variations in plants. A peanut （Arachis hypogaea L.） mini-core collection in China comprising 298 accessions was genotyped using lo9 simple sequence repeat （SSR） markers, which identified 554 SSR alleles and phenotyped for 15 agronomic traits in three different environments, exhibiting abundant genetic and phenotypic diversity within the panel. A model-based structure analysis assigned all accessions to three groups. Most of the accessions had the relative kinship of less than o.05, indicating that there were no or weak relationships between accessions of the mini- core collection. For 15 agronomic traits in the peanut panel, generally the Q ＋ K model exhibited the best performance to eliminate the false associated positives compared to the Q model and the general linear model-simple model. In total, 89 SSR alleles were identified to be associated with 15 agronomic traits of three environments by the Q＋K model-based association analysis. Of these, eight alleles were repeatedly detected in two or three environments, and 15 alleles were commonly detected to be associated with multiple agronomic traits. Simple sequence repeat allelic effects confirmed significant differences between different genotypes of these repeatedly detected markers. Our results demonstrate the great potential of integrating the association analysis and marker-assisted breeding by utilizing the peanut mini-core collection.

ACE2-targeting monoclonal antibody as potent and broad-spectrum coronavirus blocker

The evolution of coronaviruses,such as SARS-CoV-2,makes broad-spectrum coronavirus preventional or therapeutical strategies highly sought after.Here we report a human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2(ACE2)-targeting monoclonal antibody,3E8,blocked the S1-subunits and pseudo-typed virus constructs from multiple coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2,SARS-CoV-2 mutant variants(SARS-CoV-2-D614G,B.1.1.7,B.1.351,B.1.617.1,and P.1).

Construction of paclitaxel-based antibody–drug conjugates with a PEGylated linker to achieve superior therapeutic index

Dear Editor,The selection of linkers and payloads plays a crucial role in determining the therapeutic indices of antibody–drug conjugates(ADCs).1 Valine–citrulline(Val–Cit)coupled with a self-immolativeρ-aminobenzyl(PAB)spacer as a cleavable dipeptide linker,designated as“VC linker”in this letter,has been popularly used in ADC conjugation.1 However,VC linker is highly hydrophobic2 and,together with hydrophobic payloads at high DARs(drug-toantibody ratios),may turn ADC molecules that have hydrophilic parts in their antibody portions,into aggregation-prone“surfactant-like”structures.