The allelic distribution and variation analysis of the NAM-B1 gene in Chinese wheat cultivars

The NAM-B1 gene is a member of the NAC（NAM,ATAF,and CUC）transcription factor family and plays an important role in regulating wheat grain protein content（GPC）.The ancestral NAM-B1 allele has been discovered in many tetraploid wild emmer（Triticum turgidum ssp.dicoccoides）accessions and few domesticated emmer accessions（T.turgidum ssp.dicoccum）,however,it is rarely found in hexaploid bread wheat（Triticum aestivum L.）.There are no systematic reports on the distribution of NAM-B1 alleles in Chinese wheat cultivars.In this study,the NAM-B1 alleles in 218 Chinese cultivars were investigated.The cultivars were collected from five major wheat regions（12 provinces）,covering most of the winter wheat growing regions in China.The results showed that the NAM-B1 gene is present in 53（24.3%）cultivars and absent in the remaining 165（75.7%）cultivars.Further analysis revealed that in contrast to the wild-type allele,the NAM-B1 gene in Chinese wheat cultivars contained a 1-bp insertion in the coding region.This caused a frame-shift mutation and introduced a stop codon in the middle of the gene,rendering it non-functional.Polymorphisms were detected in DNA sequences of 21cultivars among these 53 cultivars.However,cD NA sequence analysis suggested that these variations in the exon region were not able to restore NAM-B1 gene（1-bp insertion）function.Thus,exploring the distribution of NAM-B1 gene variations（1-bp insertion and deletion）can provide some information for improving the quality of winter wheat in China and other countries.

Responses of Some American, European and Japanese Wheat Cultivars to Soil-Borne Wheat Viruses in China

Wheat seeds of 109 cultivars from USA, Europe and Japan were sown in experiments at seven sites in different provinces of China for one or two seasons. Five of the sites were infested with the bymovirus wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV) and two jointly with WYMV and the furovirus Chinese wheat mosaic virus (CWMV). Disease symptoms were assessed visually and leaf samples were tested for virus (es) by ELISA. At least 29 cultivars were resistant to WYMV at the sites where only this virus was present but all the cultivars were severely infected at Rongcheng (Shandong Province) where CWMV was mixed with WYMV. There was evidence that the presence of CWMV assisted infection by WYMV and also resulted in more severe symptoms. At the mixed site in Yantai, Shandong Province, symptoms were mild and many cultivars had symptomless infection . Of the two strains of WYMV identified in Japan, the Chinese sites seem to be most similar to the type isolated, WYMV-T. Eleven cultivars seemed to be susceptible to WYMV only at Loutian (Hubei Province),suggesting that the virus at this site would be worth studying further.

The Variation and Stability Analysis of Wheat Dough Stability Time

Farinograph dough stability time is an important index for classifying wheat, and it often indicates the most appropriate end use for the wheat cultivars. This study aimed at the problem of large fluctuations in dough stability time that occurs during the commercial wheat production. The variations in the dough stability time and its consistency across locations and years were analyzed using 12 principal high-quality wheat cultivars （varieties） obtained from Shandong Province, China, which were grown at nine different locations for three successive years. The results showed that the coefficient of variation for the dough stability time ranged from 24.29 to 49.60% across different varieties, locations, and years. Additive main effects and multiplicative interaction （AMMI） analysis indicated that there were significant interactions for the dough stability time between the varieties, the growth locations, and the years. The genotype effect was the most noticeable, followed by the interaction of the genotype and the environment. The environmental effect was the least significant. The interactions between the varieties and the locations differ considerably, however, each cultivar （variety） apparently has a specific adaptability to the growth location. Therefore, for the successful commercial scale production of the high-quality wheat varieties, both the selection of proper cultivars and its most suitable growth locations to meet the desired requirements for the dough mixing stability time are important.

Cloning, Expression and Purification of Wheat Acetyl-CoA Carboxylases CT Domain in E. coil

The entire gene of carboxyltransferase（CT） domain of acetyl-CoA carboxylase（ACCase） from Chinese Spring wheat（CSW） plastid was cloned firstly, and the 2.3 kb gene was inserted into PET28a^＋ vector and expressed in E. coil in a soluble state. The （His）6 fusion protein was identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot. The recombinant protein was purified by affinity chromatography, and the calculated molecular mass（Mr） was 88000. The results of the sequence analysis indicate that the cloned gene（GeneBank accession No. EU124675） was a supplement and revision of the reported ACCase CT partial cDNA from Chinese Spring wheat plastid. The recombinant protein will be significant for us to investigate the recognizing mechanism between ACCase and herbicides, and further to screen new herbicides.

Biolistic Genetic Transformation of a Wide Range of Chinese Elite Wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)Varieties

Wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） is a major staple food crop worldwide. It is economically important because it can be grown in a wide range of climates and geographic regions, and it has made an enormous contribution to the increase in global food production over the past four decades （Dixon et al., 2009）. Wheat is produced on more than 18% of the arable land in the world, and is the most cultivated crop after maize and rice （FAOSTAT data, 2014）. Despite its global strategic significance, progress in genomic and genetic engineering research on wheat has lagged behind that on other major crops due to the difficulty of culturing tissues, and the complexity of its hexaploid genome. The first successful wheat trans- formation was achieved by particle bombardment （Vasil et al., 1992）. Since then additional transgenic wheat plants have been obtained by various transformation methods （Harwood, 2011）. Microprojectile bombardment is considered to be a promising method, since it is robust, versatile and relatively efficient in terms of gene delivery.