Genetic effects of Agropyron cristatum 2P chromosome translocation fragments in a wheat background

Agropyron cristatum(2n=4x=28,PPPP)is a wild relative of common wheat which contains a large number of desirable genes that can be exploited for wheat improvement.Wheat–A.cristatum 2P alien translocation lines exhibit many desirable traits,such as small flag leaves,a high spikelet number and density,and a compact plant type.An agronomic trait evaluation and a genetic analysis were carried out on translocation lines and backcross populations of these lines carrying different translocation fragments.The results showed that a translocation fragment from 2PT-3(2PL)reduced the length of the flag leaves,while translocation fragments from 2PT-3(2PL)and 2PT-5(2PL(0.60–1.00))reduced the width of the flag leaves.A translocation fragment from 2PT-13(2PS(0.18–0.36))increased the length and area of the flag leaves.Translocation fragments from 2PT-3(2PL)and 2PT-8(2PL(0.86–1.00))increased the density of spikelets.Translocation fragments from 2PT-7(2PL(0.00–0.09)),2PT-8(2PL(0.86–1.00)),2PT-10(2PS),and 2PT-13(2PS(0.18–0.36))reduced plant height.This study provides a scientific basis for the effective utilization of wheat–A.cristatum translocation lines.

A post-GWAS confirming the genetic effects and functional polymorphisms of AGPAT3 gene on milk fatty acids in dairy cattle

Background: People are paying more attention to the healthy and balanced diet with the improvement of their living standards. Milk fatty acids(FAs) have been reported that they were related to some atherosclerosis and coronary heart diseases in human. In our previous genome-wide association study(GWAS) on milk FAs in dairy cattle, 83 genomewide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) were detected. Among them, two SNPs, ARS-BFGL-NGS-109493 and BTA-56389-no-rs associated with C18 index(P = 0.0459), were located in the upstream of 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase 3(AGPAT3) gene. AGPAT3 is involved in glycerol-lipid, glycerol-phospholipid metabolism and phospholipase D signaling pathways. Hence, it was inferred as a candidate gene for milk FAs. The aim of this study was to further confirm the genetic effects of the AGPAT3 gene on milk FA traits in dairy cattle.Results: Through re-sequencing the complete coding region, and 3000 bp of 5′ and 3′ regulatory regions of the AGPA T3 gene, a total of 17 SNPs were identified, including four in 5′ regulatory region, one in 5′ untranslated region(UTR),three in introns, one in 3′ UTR, and eight in 3′ regulatory region. By the linkage disequilibrium(LD) analysis with Haploview4.1 software, two haplotype blocks were observed that were formed by four and 12 identified SNPs,respectively. Using SAS9.2, we performed single locus-based and haplotype-based association analysis on 24 milk FAs in 1065 Chinese Holstein cows, and discovered that all the SNPs and the haplotype blocks were significantly associated with C6:0, C8:0 and C10:0(P < 0.0001–0.0384). Further, with Genomatix, we predicted that four SNPs in 5′ regulatory region(g.146702957 G > A, g.146704373 A > G, g.146704618 A > G and g.146704699 G > A) changed the transcription factor binding sites(TFBSs) for transcription factors SMARCA3, REX1, VMYB, BRACH, NKX26, ZBED4, SP1, USF1, ARNT and FOXA1. Out of them, two SNPs were validated to impact transcriptional activity by performing luciferase assay that the alleles A of both SNPs, g.146704373 A > G and g.146704618 A > G, increased the transcriptional activities of AGPAT3 promoter compared with alleles G(P = 0.0004).Conclusions: In conclusion, our findings first demonstrated the significant genetic associations of the AGPAT3 gene with milk FAs in dairy cattle, and two potential causal mutations were detected.

Analysis of genetic effects and correlations for nutrient quality traits of indica rice in different environments

Understanding the variation for the expressionof genes in different environments is one of themajor goals in qualitative genetics. In this pa-per, the genetic models for quantitative traitsof endosperm in cereal crops were used to eval-uate the seed, cytoplasm and maternal geneticeffects as well as the genotype × environment(GE) interaction effects, and to predict thebreeding value of parents and genotypic corre-lation for nutrient quality traits of indica rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Dissection of Genetic Effects of Quantitative Trait Loci(QTL) in Transgenic Cotton

When alien DNA inserts into cotton genome in multi-copy manner,several QTL in cotton genome are disrupted,which are called dQTL in this study.Transgenic mutant line is near-isogenic to its recipient which is divergent for the dQTL from remaining QTL.So,a set of data from a

Coherent estimates of genetic effects with missing information

Genetic effect estimates for loci detected in quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping experiments depend upon two factors. First, they are parameterizations of the genotypic values determined by the model of genetic effects. Second, they are consequently also affected by the regression method used to estimate the genotypic values from the observed marker genotypes and phenotypes. There are two common causes for marker-genotype data to be incomplete in those experiments—missing marker-genotypes and within-interval mapping. Different regression methods tend to differ in how this missing information is represented and handled. In this communication we explain why the estimates of genetic effects of QTL obtained using standard regression methods are not coherent with the model of genetic effects and indeed show intrinsic inconsistencies when there is incomeplete genotype information. We then describe the interval mapping by imputations (IMI) regression method and prove that it overcomes those problems. A numerical example is used to illustrate the use of IMI and the consequences of using current methods of choice. IMI enables researchers to obtain estimates of genetic effects that are coherent with the model of genetic effects used, despite incomplete genotype information. Furthermore, because IMI allows orthogonal estimation of genetic effects, it shows potential performance advantages for being implemented in QTL mapping tools.

Parentage determination of black sea bream(Acanthopagrus schlegelii)for stock enhancement:effectiveness and loss of genetic variation

The stock enhancement programs for black sea bream Acanthopagrus schlegelii have been conducted in China for a fewyears.However,little information has been reported concerning the effectiveness and genetic effect of black sea bream stock enhancement.In order to detect the contribution of released individuals in Zhujiang River Estuary(ZRE)and Daya Bay(DB),six microsatellite markers were used to identify the hatchery-released individuals.In addition,this pedigree of hatchery populations(broodfish and hatchery-released offspring)was traced to detect the number of effective parents(N_(e)),the inbreeding coefficient and the decrease of genetic variability in the reproduction.The pedigree reconstruction showed that at least 69(out of 93)broodfish had offspring.The estimated N_(e) was 54.8,consequently the inbreeding coefficient was 0.91%.The genetic diversity of hatchery-released offspring was lower than that in that of broodfish(heterozygosity alleles,0.727-0.774),some alleles(number of alleles,61-69)and genetic variance were lost during reproduction.It was observed that wild samples had higher levels of genetic diversity compared with hatchery populations as well as recaptured samples in releasing area.A total of 128 hatchery-released black sea bream were identified among 487 recaptured samples in ZRE,while a total of 15 samples were identified among 96 samples in DB.In summary,there was a high survival of released fish.N_(e)vertheless,the results provided evidence to consider a loss of genetic variation in hatcheryreleased stock and a negative genetic effect of the stock enhancement.

Longitudinal genetic analysis of growth-related traits in red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard)

The red swamp crayfish,Procambarus clarkii,is an economically important species especially in China.Their exoskeleton places serious constraints on growth and culture management.Their growth is achieved through intermittent molting/ecdysis.The longitudinal genetic dynamics for growth-related traits at different ecdysial points in P.clarkii has been unclear to date.In this study,conditional genetic analysis was carried out for growth-related traits(body weight,body length,chela length,and cephalothorax length)based upon a mixed genetic model with conditional additive,dominance,and genotype by environment effects in P.clarkii.A complete diallel cross was made among three geographic populations of P.clarkii for the genetic mating design.Results of the conditional genetic analysis showed that from 4 th molt to 9 th molt the conditional additive variations were increased significantly whereas the conditional non-additive genetic variations(dominance and genotype by environment interaction)were decreased significantly for these growth-related traits.This indicated that lots of new expression of additive effect genes for body weight,body length,chela length,and cephalothorax length occurred during ontogeny,and environment played a signifi cant role in the expression of genes affecting these growth-related traits.Growth of the four traits was mainly affected by non-additive genetic effects in early developmental stage(prior to 4 th molt).The cumulative conditional additive variation for the growth-related traits from 4 th molt to 9 th molt accounted for a large majority of the total conditional additive variations from 2 nd molt to 9 th molt,indicating that this period was very important for the growth of this species.Using the conditional analysis method,dynamics of growth-related traits during an important ontogenetic phase of red swamp crayfish was uncovered.Our results provide valuable insights into refining production of this species.

Genomic prediction of yield performance among single-cross maize hybrids using a partial diallel cross design

Genomic prediction(GP)in plant breeding has the potential to predict and identify the best-performing hybrids based on the genotypes of their parental lines.In a GP experiment,34 elite inbred lines were selected to make 285 single-cross hybrids in a partial-diallel cross design.These lines represented a mini-core collection of Chinese maize germplasm and comprised 18 inbred lines from the Stiff Stalk heterotic group and 16 inbred lines from the Non-Stiff Stalk heterotic group.The parents were genotyped by sequencing and the 285 hybrids were phenotyped for nine yield and yield-related traits at two locations in the summer sowing area(SUS)and three locations in the spring sowing area(SPS)in the main maizeproducing regions of China.Multiple GP models were employed to assess the accuracy of trait prediction in the hybrids.By ten-fold cross-validation,the prediction accuracies of yield performance of the hybrids estimated by the genomic best linear unbiased prediction(GBLUP)model in SUS and SPS were 0.51 and 0.46,respectively.The prediction accuracies of the remaining yield-related traits estimated with GBLUP ranged from 0.49 to 0.86 and from 0.53 to 0.89 in SUS and SPS,respectively.When additive,dominance,epistasis effects,genotype-by-environment interaction,and multi-trait effects were incorporated into the prediction model,the prediction accuracy of hybrid yield performance was improved.The ratio of training to testing population and size of training population optimal for yield prediction were determined.Multiple prediction models can improve prediction accuracy in hybrid breeding.

Genetic variation in alkaloid accumulation in leaves of Nicotiana

Alkaloids are plant secondary metabolites that are widely distributed in Nicotiana species and contribute greatly to the quality of tobacco leaves. Some alkaloids, such as nornicotine and myosmine, have adverse effects on human health. To reduce the content of harmful alkaloids in tobacco leaves through conventional breeding, a genetic study of the alkaloid variation among different genotypes is required. In this study, alkaloid profiles in leaves of five Nicotiana tabacum cultivars and Nicotiana tomentosiformis were investigated. Six alkaloids were identified from all six genotypes via gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry(GC-MS). Significant differences in alkaloid content were observed both among different leaf positions and among cultivars. The contents of nornicotine and myosmine were positively and significantly correlated(R2=0.881), and were also separated from those of other alkaloids by clustering. Thus, the genotype plays a major role in alkaloid accumulation, indicating a high potential for manipulation of alkaloid content through traditional breeding.

Effects of soluble starch synthase genes on eating and cooking quality in semi waxy japonica rice with Wx^(mp)

The purpose of this study is to reveal the genetic mechanism of the variation of amylose content among different semi waxy or glutinous japonica rice in the background of Wxmp gene.Sixty-four semi waxy lines derived from the hybrid progenies of Wujing 13 and Milky Princess(Kantou 194)with polymorphism in soluble starch synthase gene SSIIa(SSII-3)and SSIIIa(SSIII-2)but no polymorphism in other starch synthase related genes were used as test materials.The genotypes of SSIIa and SSIIIa allele were identified by molecular markers,and the allelic effects of SSIIa and SSIIIa gene on amylose content(AC),gel consistency(GC),gelatinization temperature(GT)and rapid visco analyzer(RVA)profile characteristics were analyzed.The significant effects of SSIIa and SSIIIa alleles and the interactive effects between two genes on AC,GT,GC and RVA profile characteristics were found.The SSIIa and SSIIIa alleles from Wujing13 shown positive effects on AC with an average increase of 1.87 and 1.23%in 2 years respectively.There was no significant effect on GT for SSIIa or SSIIIa allele but remarkable influence on GT when the co-existence of the two genes.The genotype SSIIa^(mp)SSIIIa^(mp) shown 1.34℃higher GT than genotype SSIIawjSSIIIawj(mp and wj indicated that the gene was derived from Milky Princess and Wujing 13 respectively,the same as in the below).Different genes and alleles resulted in significant different GC.The genetic effect of SSIIawj and SSIIIamp on GC was 8.74 and 9.62mm respectively.The GC of SSIIa^(wj)SSIIIa^(mp) was 10.64 and 16.95mm higher than that of SSIIa^(mp)SSIIIa^(wj) and SSIIawjSSIIIawj,respectively.The allele SSIIa^(wj) could increase the peak viscosity(PKV),hot paste viscosity(HPV),cool paste viscosity(CPV)and breakdown viscosity(BDV),while decrease the consistency viscosity(CSV)and setback viscosity(SBV).However for the allele SSIIIa^(wj) the opposite was true.The genotype SSIIa^(wj)SSIIIa^(mp) had the largest PKV,HPV and CPV,the genotype SSIIa^(wj)SSIIIa^(wj) had the largest BDV and CSV,but the genotype SSIIa^(wj)SSIIIa^(mp) had the least SBV.According to the comprehensive effect of each trait,the genotype SSIIawjSSIIIamp was the best.The allelic variation and interaction effect of SSIIa and SSIIIa genes have important reference value for improving cooking and eating quality of semi waxy japonica rice.

Developmental toxicity and programming alterations of multiple organs in offspring induced by medication during pregnancy

Medication during pregnancy is widespread,but there are few reports on its fetal safety.Recent studies suggest that medication during pregnancy can affect fetal morphological and functional development through multiple pathways,multiple organs,and multiple targets.Its mechanisms involve direct ways such as oxidative stress,epigenetic modification,and metabolic activation,and it may also be indirectly caused by placental dysfunction.Further studies have found that medication during pregnancy may also indirectly lead to multi-organ developmental programming,functional homeostasis changes,and susceptibility to related diseases in offspring by inducing fetal intrauterine exposure to too high or too low levels of maternal-derived glucocorticoids.The organ developmental toxicity and programming alterations caused by medication during pregnancy may also have gender differences and multi-generational genetic effects mediated by abnormal epigenetic modification.Combined with the latest research results of our laboratory,this paper reviews the latest research progress on the developmental toxicity and functional programming alterations of multiple organs in offspring induced by medication during pregnancy,which can provide a theoretical and experimental basis for rational medication during pregnancy and effective prevention and treatment of drug-related multiple fetal-originated diseases.