Illustrated Flora of Food Crops and Their Wild Related Plants in China systematically examines the botanical and morphological characteristics of China's major food crops,such as rice,wheat,corn,sweet potato,potat...Illustrated Flora of Food Crops and Their Wild Related Plants in China systematically examines the botanical and morphological characteristics of China's major food crops,such as rice,wheat,corn,sweet potato,potato,mung bean,and buckwheat.Featuring more than 5000 color photos and 200 line drawings,it offers a comparative study that highlights the kinship and internal connections between cultivated and wild species.The book is an invaluable resource for breeders,offering a comprehensive morphological and genetic database that aids in the development of high-yielding,high-quality,and disease-resistant crop varieties.展开更多
Two loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) culture/density studies were established in 1995-1998 across the Lower Coastal Plain and Upper Coastal Plain/Piedmont regions of the southern USA. Each installation contains 12 plots...Two loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) culture/density studies were established in 1995-1998 across the Lower Coastal Plain and Upper Coastal Plain/Piedmont regions of the southern USA. Each installation contains 12 plots of loblolly pine planted at six levels of density from 741 to 4448 trees/ha in combination with two levels of cultural intensity, operational and intensive. The data from 37 viable installations were used to evaluate the crown ratio and relative spacing relationship of loblolly pine plantations. The effects of planting density, site quality, and cultural intensity on the relationship were investigated with a nonlinear mixed-effects modeling approach. The crown ratio and relative spacing relationship is exceedingly predictable. When loblolly pine plantation stands reached the average live crown ratio of 0.40, a critical point representing a generally acceptable level of tree vigor, the corresponding relative spacing index ranged from 0.11 to 0.20, mainly depending on initial planting density. The information about the crown ratio and relative spacing relationship would be useful for selecting the best intensity and timing of thinning.展开更多
Relative sensitivities of 30 species of common woody plants to simulated acid rain with pH values of 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.5 and control were studied. The results showed that 6 species of these plants were sensitive t...Relative sensitivities of 30 species of common woody plants to simulated acid rain with pH values of 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.5 and control were studied. The results showed that 6 species of these plants were sensitive to simulated acid rain. The moderate included 18 species. The resistant included 6. Relative sensitivities to ambient acid rain and air pollutants and visible injury degree of 30 species of common woody plants in Chongqing City were investigated. Results showed that 6 species with foliage lesion rate at above 10 percent were sensitive, that 6 species with no lesion were resistant and that other 18 species with lesion at 10 percent below were moderate. Other 7 cities (Guiyang, Zunyi, Duyun, Changsha, Zhuzhou, Liuzhou and Guilin City) were also investigated and results were consistent with those of Chongqing City. The experimental and investigated results showed relative sensitivities and visible injury degree of woody plants to simulated acid rain were consistent with those of the woody plants to ambient acid rain and air pollutants. The sensitive plants may be used as bioindicators to acid rain or air pollutants. The resistant species can be introduced to acid rain and air pollution areas to substitute damaged sensitive plants in order to improve environment.展开更多
Interactions of the stripe rust pathogen (Puccinia striiformis f. sp responses. Among various genes involved in the plant-pathogen related (PR) protein genes determine different defense responses tritici) with wh...Interactions of the stripe rust pathogen (Puccinia striiformis f. sp responses. Among various genes involved in the plant-pathogen related (PR) protein genes determine different defense responses tritici) with wheat plants activate a w^ae range OT nost nteractions, the expressions of particular pathogenesis-Different types of resistance have been recognized and utilized for developing wheat cultivars for resistance to stripe rust. All-stage resistance can be detected in seedling stage and remains at high levels throughout the plant growth stages. This type of resistance is race-specific and not durable. In contrast, plants with only high-temperature adult-plant (HTAP) resistance are susceptible in seedling stage, but become resistant when plants grow older and the weather becomes warmer. HTAP resistance controlled by a single gene is partial, but usually non-race specific and durable. The objective of this study was to analyze the expression of PR protein genes involved in different types of wheat resistance to stripe rust. The expression levels of 8 PR protein genes (PR1, PRI.2, PR2, PR3, PR4, PR5, PR9 and PRIO) were quantitatively evaluated at 0, 1, 2, 7 and 14 days after inoculation in single resistance gene lines of wheat with all-stage resistance genes YrTrl, Yr76, YrSP and YrExp2 and lines carrying HTAP resistance genes Yr52, Yr59, Yr62 and Yr7B. Races PSTv-4 and PSTv-37 for compatible and incompatible interactions were used in evaluation of PR protein gene expression in wheat lines carrying all-stage resistance genes in the seedling- stage experiment while PSTv-37 was used in the HTAP experiment. Analysis of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) revealed that all of the PR protein genes were involved in the different types of resistance controlled by different Yr genes. However, these genes were upregulated at different time points and at different levels during the infection process among the wheat lines with different Yr genes for either all-stage resistance or HTAP resistance. Some of the genes were also induced in compatible interactions, but the levels were almost always higher in the incompatible interaction than in the compatible interaction at the same time point for each Yr gene. These results indicate that both salicylic acid and jasmonate signaling pathways are involved in both race-specific all-stage resistance and non-race specific HTAP resistance. Although expressing at different stages of infection and at different levels, these PR protein genes work in concert for contribution to different types of resistance controlled by different Yr genes.展开更多
Previous studies have demonstrated that genetic identity between interacting perennial plants results in more effective defense when emitter and receiver neighbors have greater genetic similarity. However, the effects...Previous studies have demonstrated that genetic identity between interacting perennial plants results in more effective defense when emitter and receiver neighbors have greater genetic similarity. However, the effects of both genetic relatedness and presence of herbivores on fitness-related responses of neighboring plants have not yet been explored. Our aim was to examine how manipulating these two important factors genetic and environmental factors can influence indirect plant-plant communication in the annual crucifer Arabidopsis thaliana. Plants of a single genotype (receivers) were exposed to volatile emissions of neighboring emitter plants with a similar or different genotype, and either intact or damaged by larvae of a specialist herbivore for ten days. Each of the four treatments was isolated in separate environmental chambers and the full experiment was replicated twice. Receiver plant growth and reproductive-related traits were measured ten days after exposure to treatments, and at senescence. Results showed that the effect of herbivory and plant genotype of emitter plants influenced responses related growth and reproduction in receiver plants. Receiver plants grew taller, had more inflorescence branching, and produced more fruits (60% more) when exposed to undamaged emitters of a different genotype than receivers exposed to the other emitter plant treatments. Therefore, genotype identity and environmental context (presence of herbivory) may be important factors influencing indirect plant-plant communication, which could, in turn, result in selection for genotypes showing increased fitness-related responses.展开更多
Local adaptation is an important process that drives the evolution of populations within species, and it can be generally expressed by the higher fitness of individuals raised in their native habitats versus in a fore...Local adaptation is an important process that drives the evolution of populations within species, and it can be generally expressed by the higher fitness of individuals raised in their native habitats versus in a foreign location. The influence of local adaptation is especially prominent in species that subsist in small and/or highly isolated populations. This study evaluated whether the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly, Lycaeides melissa samuelis (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) is locally adapted to its exclusive larval host plant, the wild lupine (Lupinus perennis). To test for local adaptation, individuals from a laboratory-raised colony were reared on wild lupine plants from populations belonging to either their native (Indiana) or a foreign (Michigan and Wisconsin) region. For this purpose, lupine plants from the different populations were grown in a common garden in growth chambers, and one Karner blue larva was placed on each plant. Fitness traits related to growth and development were recorded for each butterfly across populations. Days from hatching to pupation and eclosion showed gender-specific significant differences across wild lupine populations and plant genotypes (within populations). The percent survival of butterflies (from hatching to eclosion) also differed among plants from different populations. These results indicate that wild lupine sources can affect some developmental traits of Karner blue butterflies. However, growth-related traits, such as pupal and adult weight of individuals reared in plants from native populations did not differ from those of foreign regions. The apparent absence of local adaptation to wild lupine suggests that, at least, some individuals of this species could be translocated from native populations to foreign reintroduction sites without experiencing decreased fitness levels. However, future studies including more populations across the geographical range of this butterfly are recommended to evaluate other environmental factors that could influence adaptation on a wider spatial scale.展开更多
It is generally believed that intelligent management for sewage treatment plants(STPs) is essential to the sustainable engineering of future smart cities.The core of management lies in the precise prediction of daily ...It is generally believed that intelligent management for sewage treatment plants(STPs) is essential to the sustainable engineering of future smart cities.The core of management lies in the precise prediction of daily volumes of sewage.The generation of sewage is the result of multiple factors from the whole social system.Characterized by strong process abstraction ability,data mining techniques have been viewed as promising prediction methods to realize intelligent STP management.However,existing data mining-based methods for this purpose just focus on a single factor such as an economical or meteorological factor and ignore their collaborative effects.To address this challenge,a deep learning-based intelligent management mechanism for STPs is proposed,to predict business volume.Specifically,the grey relation algorithm(GRA) and gated recursive unit network(GRU) are combined into a prediction model(GRAGRU).The GRA is utilized to select the factors that have a significant impact on the sewage business volume,and the GRU is set up to output the prediction results.We conducted a large number of experiments to verify the efficiency of the proposed GRA-GRU model.展开更多
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of electromagnetic radio frequency treatment of water on the growth of pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants. For this experiment, one hundred one-week old plants w...The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of electromagnetic radio frequency treatment of water on the growth of pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants. For this experiment, one hundred one-week old plants were divided into two groups. The first group of plants was watered with water subjected to radio frequency electromagnetic radiation from an internet router for one hour a day, while the other group was watered with tap water (control). The overall results showed changes of growth characters of plant watered with electromagnetic water. The length of pepper plants is significantly affected by the treated water, where the length of shoot was lower in plants grown under the effect of treated water (22.43 ± 7.17 cm) than those grown without treated water (28.11 ± 8.57 cm). The results revealed that the stem diameter of control plants (1.74 ± 0.39 cm) was significantly higher than that of the treated plants (1.66 ± 0.35 cm). In addition, the root length was lower in plants grown under the effect of treated water than those grown without treated water. Pepper plants watered with electromagnetic treated water exhibited marked decreases in health index, fresh and dry weight, relative water content, number of flowers and fruits/plant as well as number of seeds/fruit. In addition, the current experiment showed a significant decrease in the number of leaves, branch and flower per plant when watered with electromagnetic treated water. The results revealed that the first flowering time for plants in treated group was remarkably decelerated when compared to other plants in control group.展开更多
In recent years, proteomics has played a key role in identifying changes in protein levels in plant hosts upon infection by pathogenic organisms and in characterizing cellular and extracellular virulence and pathogeni...In recent years, proteomics has played a key role in identifying changes in protein levels in plant hosts upon infection by pathogenic organisms and in characterizing cellular and extracellular virulence and pathogenicity factors produced by pathogens. Proteomics offers a constantly evolving set of novel techniques to study all aspects of protein structure and function. Proteomics aims to find out the identity and amount of each and every protein present in a cell and actual function mediating specific cellular processes. Structural proteomics elucidates the development and application of experimental approaches to define the primary, secondary and tertiary structures of proteins, while functional proteomics refers to the development and application of global (proteome wide or system-wide) experimental approaches to assess protein function. A detail understanding of plant defense response using successful combination of proteomic techniques and other high throughput techniques of cell biology, biochemistry as well as genomics is needed for practical application to secure and stabilize yield of many crop plants. This review starts with a brief introduction to gel- and non gel-based proteomic techniques followed by the basics of plant-pathogen interaction, the use of proteomics in recent pasts to decipher the mysteries of plant-pathogen interaction, and ends with the future prospects of this technology.展开更多
Cotton bollworm/legume pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera is one of the most damaging pests worldwide. Be-cause of the difficulties associated with chemical control of this pest, emphasis has been placed on developing tr...Cotton bollworm/legume pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera is one of the most damaging pests worldwide. Be-cause of the difficulties associated with chemical control of this pest, emphasis has been placed on developing transgenic plants with resistance to H. armigera. Since toxin genes from the bacterium, Bacillus thuringien-sis (Bt) have been deployed on a large scale, there is need to scout for alternate genes which could be deployed alone or in combination with the Bt genes for pest management. Therefore, we evaluated the wild relatives of pigeonpea, which have shown high levels of resistance to this pest, for the protease inhibitors (PIs) under in vivo and in vitro inhibitions. Accessions belonging to Cajanus albicans, C. cajanifolius, C. sericeus, Flemingia bracteata, and Rhynchosia bracteata showed complete inhibition of H. armigera gut proteinases (HaGPs). Some of the C. scarabaeoides accessions (ICPW 116, 152, 278 and 280) exhibited partial inhibition at low concentrations of the PIs. All accessions of wild relatives of pigeonpea showed high to moderate level of inhibition at pH 7.8. Cultivated pigeonpea, ICPL 87 exhibited monomorphism in terms of trypsin inhibitor (TI) and chymotrypsin inhibitor (CTI) isoforms, contrary to the diverse inhibitory profiles of wild pigeonpeas. Cajanus albicans, C. platycarpus, C. scarabaeoides, and R. bracteata showed more number of TI and CTI bands than the cultivated pigeonpea. Protease inhibitor isoforms of wild relatives of pigeonpea showed significant variation in number, band pattern, and protein specificities towards trypsin, chymotrypsin, and H. armigera gut proteinases (HaGPs) as compared to the cultivated pigeonpea. The PIs from the wild relatives of pigeonpea showed considerable potential against the HaGPs, and could be considered as potential candidates for use in genetic transformation of crops for pest management, including H. armigera.展开更多
文摘Illustrated Flora of Food Crops and Their Wild Related Plants in China systematically examines the botanical and morphological characteristics of China's major food crops,such as rice,wheat,corn,sweet potato,potato,mung bean,and buckwheat.Featuring more than 5000 color photos and 200 line drawings,it offers a comparative study that highlights the kinship and internal connections between cultivated and wild species.The book is an invaluable resource for breeders,offering a comprehensive morphological and genetic database that aids in the development of high-yielding,high-quality,and disease-resistant crop varieties.
文摘Two loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) culture/density studies were established in 1995-1998 across the Lower Coastal Plain and Upper Coastal Plain/Piedmont regions of the southern USA. Each installation contains 12 plots of loblolly pine planted at six levels of density from 741 to 4448 trees/ha in combination with two levels of cultural intensity, operational and intensive. The data from 37 viable installations were used to evaluate the crown ratio and relative spacing relationship of loblolly pine plantations. The effects of planting density, site quality, and cultural intensity on the relationship were investigated with a nonlinear mixed-effects modeling approach. The crown ratio and relative spacing relationship is exceedingly predictable. When loblolly pine plantation stands reached the average live crown ratio of 0.40, a critical point representing a generally acceptable level of tree vigor, the corresponding relative spacing index ranged from 0.11 to 0.20, mainly depending on initial planting density. The information about the crown ratio and relative spacing relationship would be useful for selecting the best intensity and timing of thinning.
文摘Relative sensitivities of 30 species of common woody plants to simulated acid rain with pH values of 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.5 and control were studied. The results showed that 6 species of these plants were sensitive to simulated acid rain. The moderate included 18 species. The resistant included 6. Relative sensitivities to ambient acid rain and air pollutants and visible injury degree of 30 species of common woody plants in Chongqing City were investigated. Results showed that 6 species with foliage lesion rate at above 10 percent were sensitive, that 6 species with no lesion were resistant and that other 18 species with lesion at 10 percent below were moderate. Other 7 cities (Guiyang, Zunyi, Duyun, Changsha, Zhuzhou, Liuzhou and Guilin City) were also investigated and results were consistent with those of Chongqing City. The experimental and investigated results showed relative sensitivities and visible injury degree of woody plants to simulated acid rain were consistent with those of the woody plants to ambient acid rain and air pollutants. The sensitive plants may be used as bioindicators to acid rain or air pollutants. The resistant species can be introduced to acid rain and air pollution areas to substitute damaged sensitive plants in order to improve environment.
基金supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (2090-22000018-00D)the Washington Grain Commission, USA (13C3061-5665)+2 种基金the Idaho Wheat Commission, USA (13C3061-5665 13C-3061-4232)The Fulbright fellowship
文摘Interactions of the stripe rust pathogen (Puccinia striiformis f. sp responses. Among various genes involved in the plant-pathogen related (PR) protein genes determine different defense responses tritici) with wheat plants activate a w^ae range OT nost nteractions, the expressions of particular pathogenesis-Different types of resistance have been recognized and utilized for developing wheat cultivars for resistance to stripe rust. All-stage resistance can be detected in seedling stage and remains at high levels throughout the plant growth stages. This type of resistance is race-specific and not durable. In contrast, plants with only high-temperature adult-plant (HTAP) resistance are susceptible in seedling stage, but become resistant when plants grow older and the weather becomes warmer. HTAP resistance controlled by a single gene is partial, but usually non-race specific and durable. The objective of this study was to analyze the expression of PR protein genes involved in different types of wheat resistance to stripe rust. The expression levels of 8 PR protein genes (PR1, PRI.2, PR2, PR3, PR4, PR5, PR9 and PRIO) were quantitatively evaluated at 0, 1, 2, 7 and 14 days after inoculation in single resistance gene lines of wheat with all-stage resistance genes YrTrl, Yr76, YrSP and YrExp2 and lines carrying HTAP resistance genes Yr52, Yr59, Yr62 and Yr7B. Races PSTv-4 and PSTv-37 for compatible and incompatible interactions were used in evaluation of PR protein gene expression in wheat lines carrying all-stage resistance genes in the seedling- stage experiment while PSTv-37 was used in the HTAP experiment. Analysis of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) revealed that all of the PR protein genes were involved in the different types of resistance controlled by different Yr genes. However, these genes were upregulated at different time points and at different levels during the infection process among the wheat lines with different Yr genes for either all-stage resistance or HTAP resistance. Some of the genes were also induced in compatible interactions, but the levels were almost always higher in the incompatible interaction than in the compatible interaction at the same time point for each Yr gene. These results indicate that both salicylic acid and jasmonate signaling pathways are involved in both race-specific all-stage resistance and non-race specific HTAP resistance. Although expressing at different stages of infection and at different levels, these PR protein genes work in concert for contribution to different types of resistance controlled by different Yr genes.
文摘Previous studies have demonstrated that genetic identity between interacting perennial plants results in more effective defense when emitter and receiver neighbors have greater genetic similarity. However, the effects of both genetic relatedness and presence of herbivores on fitness-related responses of neighboring plants have not yet been explored. Our aim was to examine how manipulating these two important factors genetic and environmental factors can influence indirect plant-plant communication in the annual crucifer Arabidopsis thaliana. Plants of a single genotype (receivers) were exposed to volatile emissions of neighboring emitter plants with a similar or different genotype, and either intact or damaged by larvae of a specialist herbivore for ten days. Each of the four treatments was isolated in separate environmental chambers and the full experiment was replicated twice. Receiver plant growth and reproductive-related traits were measured ten days after exposure to treatments, and at senescence. Results showed that the effect of herbivory and plant genotype of emitter plants influenced responses related growth and reproduction in receiver plants. Receiver plants grew taller, had more inflorescence branching, and produced more fruits (60% more) when exposed to undamaged emitters of a different genotype than receivers exposed to the other emitter plant treatments. Therefore, genotype identity and environmental context (presence of herbivory) may be important factors influencing indirect plant-plant communication, which could, in turn, result in selection for genotypes showing increased fitness-related responses.
文摘Local adaptation is an important process that drives the evolution of populations within species, and it can be generally expressed by the higher fitness of individuals raised in their native habitats versus in a foreign location. The influence of local adaptation is especially prominent in species that subsist in small and/or highly isolated populations. This study evaluated whether the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly, Lycaeides melissa samuelis (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) is locally adapted to its exclusive larval host plant, the wild lupine (Lupinus perennis). To test for local adaptation, individuals from a laboratory-raised colony were reared on wild lupine plants from populations belonging to either their native (Indiana) or a foreign (Michigan and Wisconsin) region. For this purpose, lupine plants from the different populations were grown in a common garden in growth chambers, and one Karner blue larva was placed on each plant. Fitness traits related to growth and development were recorded for each butterfly across populations. Days from hatching to pupation and eclosion showed gender-specific significant differences across wild lupine populations and plant genotypes (within populations). The percent survival of butterflies (from hatching to eclosion) also differed among plants from different populations. These results indicate that wild lupine sources can affect some developmental traits of Karner blue butterflies. However, growth-related traits, such as pupal and adult weight of individuals reared in plants from native populations did not differ from those of foreign regions. The apparent absence of local adaptation to wild lupine suggests that, at least, some individuals of this species could be translocated from native populations to foreign reintroduction sites without experiencing decreased fitness levels. However, future studies including more populations across the geographical range of this butterfly are recommended to evaluate other environmental factors that could influence adaptation on a wider spatial scale.
基金Project(KJZD-M202000801) supported by the Major Project of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission,ChinaProject(2016YFE0205600) supported by the National Key Research&Development Program of China+1 种基金Project(CXQT19023) supported by the Chongqing University Innovation Group Project,ChinaProjects(KFJJ2018069,1853061,1856033) supported by the Key Platform Opening Project of Chongqing Technology and Business University,China。
文摘It is generally believed that intelligent management for sewage treatment plants(STPs) is essential to the sustainable engineering of future smart cities.The core of management lies in the precise prediction of daily volumes of sewage.The generation of sewage is the result of multiple factors from the whole social system.Characterized by strong process abstraction ability,data mining techniques have been viewed as promising prediction methods to realize intelligent STP management.However,existing data mining-based methods for this purpose just focus on a single factor such as an economical or meteorological factor and ignore their collaborative effects.To address this challenge,a deep learning-based intelligent management mechanism for STPs is proposed,to predict business volume.Specifically,the grey relation algorithm(GRA) and gated recursive unit network(GRU) are combined into a prediction model(GRAGRU).The GRA is utilized to select the factors that have a significant impact on the sewage business volume,and the GRU is set up to output the prediction results.We conducted a large number of experiments to verify the efficiency of the proposed GRA-GRU model.
文摘The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of electromagnetic radio frequency treatment of water on the growth of pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants. For this experiment, one hundred one-week old plants were divided into two groups. The first group of plants was watered with water subjected to radio frequency electromagnetic radiation from an internet router for one hour a day, while the other group was watered with tap water (control). The overall results showed changes of growth characters of plant watered with electromagnetic water. The length of pepper plants is significantly affected by the treated water, where the length of shoot was lower in plants grown under the effect of treated water (22.43 ± 7.17 cm) than those grown without treated water (28.11 ± 8.57 cm). The results revealed that the stem diameter of control plants (1.74 ± 0.39 cm) was significantly higher than that of the treated plants (1.66 ± 0.35 cm). In addition, the root length was lower in plants grown under the effect of treated water than those grown without treated water. Pepper plants watered with electromagnetic treated water exhibited marked decreases in health index, fresh and dry weight, relative water content, number of flowers and fruits/plant as well as number of seeds/fruit. In addition, the current experiment showed a significant decrease in the number of leaves, branch and flower per plant when watered with electromagnetic treated water. The results revealed that the first flowering time for plants in treated group was remarkably decelerated when compared to other plants in control group.
文摘In recent years, proteomics has played a key role in identifying changes in protein levels in plant hosts upon infection by pathogenic organisms and in characterizing cellular and extracellular virulence and pathogenicity factors produced by pathogens. Proteomics offers a constantly evolving set of novel techniques to study all aspects of protein structure and function. Proteomics aims to find out the identity and amount of each and every protein present in a cell and actual function mediating specific cellular processes. Structural proteomics elucidates the development and application of experimental approaches to define the primary, secondary and tertiary structures of proteins, while functional proteomics refers to the development and application of global (proteome wide or system-wide) experimental approaches to assess protein function. A detail understanding of plant defense response using successful combination of proteomic techniques and other high throughput techniques of cell biology, biochemistry as well as genomics is needed for practical application to secure and stabilize yield of many crop plants. This review starts with a brief introduction to gel- and non gel-based proteomic techniques followed by the basics of plant-pathogen interaction, the use of proteomics in recent pasts to decipher the mysteries of plant-pathogen interaction, and ends with the future prospects of this technology.
文摘Cotton bollworm/legume pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera is one of the most damaging pests worldwide. Be-cause of the difficulties associated with chemical control of this pest, emphasis has been placed on developing transgenic plants with resistance to H. armigera. Since toxin genes from the bacterium, Bacillus thuringien-sis (Bt) have been deployed on a large scale, there is need to scout for alternate genes which could be deployed alone or in combination with the Bt genes for pest management. Therefore, we evaluated the wild relatives of pigeonpea, which have shown high levels of resistance to this pest, for the protease inhibitors (PIs) under in vivo and in vitro inhibitions. Accessions belonging to Cajanus albicans, C. cajanifolius, C. sericeus, Flemingia bracteata, and Rhynchosia bracteata showed complete inhibition of H. armigera gut proteinases (HaGPs). Some of the C. scarabaeoides accessions (ICPW 116, 152, 278 and 280) exhibited partial inhibition at low concentrations of the PIs. All accessions of wild relatives of pigeonpea showed high to moderate level of inhibition at pH 7.8. Cultivated pigeonpea, ICPL 87 exhibited monomorphism in terms of trypsin inhibitor (TI) and chymotrypsin inhibitor (CTI) isoforms, contrary to the diverse inhibitory profiles of wild pigeonpeas. Cajanus albicans, C. platycarpus, C. scarabaeoides, and R. bracteata showed more number of TI and CTI bands than the cultivated pigeonpea. Protease inhibitor isoforms of wild relatives of pigeonpea showed significant variation in number, band pattern, and protein specificities towards trypsin, chymotrypsin, and H. armigera gut proteinases (HaGPs) as compared to the cultivated pigeonpea. The PIs from the wild relatives of pigeonpea showed considerable potential against the HaGPs, and could be considered as potential candidates for use in genetic transformation of crops for pest management, including H. armigera.