Physiological and Transcriptome Analysis Illuminates the Molecular Mechanisms of the Drought Resistance Improved by Alginate Oligosaccharides in Triticum aestivum L.

Alginate oligosaccharides(AOS)enhance drought resistance in wheat(Triticum aestivum L.),but the definite mechanisms remain largely unknown.The physiological and transcriptome responses of wheat seedlings treated with AOS were analyzed under drought stress simulated with polyethylene glycol-6000.The results showed that AOS promoted the growth of wheat seedlings and reduced oxidative damage by improving peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities under drought stress.A total of 10,064 and 15,208 differentially expressed unigenes(DEGs)obtained from the AOS treatment and control samples at 24 and 72 h after dehydration,respectively,were mainly enriched in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites(phenylpropanoid biosynthesis,flavonoid biosynthesis),carbohydrate metabolism(starch and sucrose metabolism,carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms),lipid metabolism(fatty acid elongation,biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids,alpha-linolenic acid metabolism,cutin,suberine and wax biosynthesis),and signaling transduction pathways.The up-regulated genes were related to,for example,chlorophyll a-b binding protein,amylosynthease,phosphotransferase,peroxidase,phenylalanine ammonia lyase,flavone synthase,glutathione synthetase.Signaling molecules(including MAPK,plant hormones,H_(2)O_(2) and calcium)and transcription factors(mainly including NAC,MYB,MYB-related,WRKY,bZIP family members)were involved in the AOS-induced wheat drought resistance.The results obtained in this study help underpin the mechanisms of wheat drought resistance improved by AOS,and provides a theoretical basis for the application of AOS as an environmentally sustainable biological method to improve drought resistance in agriculture.

条锈病对小麦(Triticum aestivum L.)叶片光合功能及光合功能蛋白D1表达的影响

测定了小麦(Triticum aestivum L.)感染小麦条锈病后的光合常数,以及叶绿素含量、类囊体膜光合电子传递速率和光合反应中心D1蛋白的变化。实验显示,条锈病侵染导致感病小麦叶片净光合速率与叶绿素含量降低;抗病小麦经侵染后净光合速率却有恢复过程,叶绿素含量先降后升。此外,感病小麦叶片被侵染后全链电子传递速率受到抑制,PSII电子传递速率的变化与全链电子传递速率的变化趋势相似,但PSI电子传递速率受到的影响较小;抗病小麦小麦叶片被侵染后电子传递速率所受影响较小。同时发现,病程中,感病和抗病小麦PSII的光合反应中心D1蛋白含量变化总是与PSII电子传递速率的变化类似,推测D1蛋白的表达量变化是引起PSII电子传递活性与全链电子传递速率变化的主要因素之一。

土壤外源Cd和Pb复合污染对小麦(Triticum aestivum L.)根系植物络合素和谷胱甘肽合成的影响

采用盆栽实验研究了土壤外源Cd和Pb复合污染对小麦(Triticum aestivum L.)根系植物络合素(PCs)和谷胱甘肽(GSH)合成的影响。结果表明,土壤外源较高浓度Cd处理(≥3mg·kg-1)和高浓度Pb处理(630mg·kg-1)均抑制了小麦的生长,Cd和Pb复合处理加重了Cd的毒性;Pb处理小麦根内未检出PCs,仅检出GSH,但GSH并没有随Pb处理浓度的增加而增加。随Cd处理浓度(≥1mg·kg-1)的增加,小麦根内PCs和GSH含量显著增加;Cd和Pb复合处理增加了小麦根内PCs的合成水平,而降低了GSH的合成水平。回归分析显示,Cd及Cd和Pb复合污染小麦根内PCs的含量与小麦地上部生物量的抑制率保持相当好的线性关系。结果显示,PCs可用于评价土壤环境中Cd及Cd和Pb复合污染的毒性。

水肥不同层次组合对冬小麦(Triticum aestivum L．)氮磷养分有效性和产量效应的影响

以肥熟土垫旱耕人为土为供试土样，用分层土柱试验法研究了不同层次水分、氮、磷组合对冬小麦（Triticum aestivum L．）氮磷养分有效性和产量效应的影响。结果表明，不同土层水肥处理的氮磷养分有效性和产量效应差异显著。氮素养分有效性在4．73％-41．19％之间，磷素养分有效性在4．11％-13．58％之间。对氮素养分有效性，单施氮整体湿润时（0-90cm土层湿润）较上干下湿（0-30cm土层干旱胁迫，30-90cm土层湿润）低4．87％，而氮磷配施在整体湿润时较上干下湿高6．38％，差异均达显著水平；对磷素养分有效性，氮磷配施时，在整体湿润时较上干下湿增加5．01T（P〈0．05）。从不同施肥土层看，氮素养分有效性均以0-90cm土层施肥处理最高；对氮磷配施处理，在上干下湿时分别比0-30cm、30-60cm和60-90cm土层施肥处理高9．5％、10．1％和20．2个％；对磷素养分有效性，整体湿润处理，以0-30cm土层施肥显著高于其它土层施肥处理。单施氮或磷，上干下湿时氮磷养分的产量效应均高于整体湿润处理，但氮磷配施时均以整体湿润处理较高；从不同土层施肥看，氮素养分的产量效应以0-90cm土层施肥最高；磷素养分的产量效应则表现为0-90cm与0-30cm土层施肥处理显著高于30-60cm和60-90cm土层施肥处理。分析0-90cm土层残留硝态氮和有效磷累积量可以看出，不同处理土壤残留硝态氮含量存在显著差异，上干下湿时CK、单施氮、单施磷和氮磷配施土壤残留硝态氮分别比整体湿润相应施肥处理增加125．8％、20．1％、21．9％和2．1％；不同处理有效磷差异性不及硝态氮明显。整体看，在两种水分状况下，均以0-90cm和0-30cm土层施肥有利于提高氮磷养分对冬小麦的有效性和产量效应，减少硝态氮和有效磷在土壤中的残留累积。考虑到生产上的可操作性，仍以施人0-30cm土层最适，说明即使在上千下湿情况下，保证上层有效养分供应仍具重要作用。

普通小麦(Triticum aestivum L.)T型细胞质雄性不育系及其保持系的线粒体DNA比较研究(英文)

mtDNAs of T type wheat cytoplasmic male sterile lines Ning Drawf 14(ND14) and their maintainers Ning Drawf 13 (ND13) were isolated and digested completely with restriction endonucleases EcoRI, PstI, EcoRV, BamHI. The results revealed that the molecular structure of mtDNAs from ND14 and ND13 cytoplasms were significantly deviated. The mitochondrial genomic difference between CMS line and maintainers were uncovered by southern hybridization with probes of 18S+5S rRNA、atpA genes from wheat and pea mitochondria, respectively. Due to the complexity of mtDNA and no proof of protein difference, it has not yet been demonstrated whether mtDNA difference of Normal and Male Sterile Cytoplasm of wheat is associated with CMS.

QTL Mapping for Drought Tolerance at Stages of Germination and Seedling in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Using a DH Population

Drought is a major constraint in many wheat( Triticum aestivum L.) production regions. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) conditioning drought tolerance at stages of germination and seedling in wheat were identified in a double haploid (DH) population derived from the cross, Hanxuan10×Lumai14, using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Interval mapping analysis revealed that QTLs for drought tolerance at germination stage were located on chromosomes 1B, 2B, 5A, 6B, 7A and 7B, respectively, and the most effective QTL was mapped on chromosome 2B, explaining 27.2% of phenotypic variance. The QTLs for drought tolerance at seedling stage were located on 1B, 3B and 7B, respectively, and the most effective QTL was mapped on chromosome 3B, explaining 21.6% of phenotypic variance. Their positions were different from those of QTLs conferring drought tolerance at germination stage, indicating that drought tolerance at germination stage and seedling stage was controlled by different loci. Most of the identified QTLs explained 18% or more of phenotypic variance for drought tolerance at germination and seedling stage, and would be useful in future for marker assisted selection programs and cultivar improvement.

磷素对小麦(Triticum aestivum L.)淀粉粒微观特性的影响及其形成机理

【目的】磷是小麦生长发育必需的三大营养元素之一。小麦淀粉粒表面存在微孔和微通道结构,对淀粉的生物合成和理化特性有重要影响。探索磷素对淀粉粒微观特性的影响及其形成机理,可为研究不同磷素条件下小麦淀粉的生物合成及品质变化机理提供新途径。【方法】采用新疆冬小麦主栽品种新冬23号为参试材料,设置3种施磷水平,不施磷(CK:P_2O_5 0 kg·hm^(-2))、常规施磷(CP:P_2O_5 105 kg·hm^(-2))和高量施磷(HP:P_2O_5 210 kg·hm^(-2)),所用肥料为重过磷酸钙,于小麦播种后160 d(大约5%的植株已返青)开沟条施,并于花后7、14、21、28和35 d取样。通过扫描电镜观察不同磷素水平成熟期淀粉粒微观结构以及淀粉粒在内源(种子萌发)和外源淀粉酶(淀粉葡萄糖苷酶)酶解条件下的形态变化,同时测定淀粉粒经淀粉葡萄糖苷酶水解后产生的还原糖浓度;通过激光共焦显微镜观察淀粉粒微通道结构的变化;通过实时荧光定量PCR研究籽粒发育过程中淀粉合成酶与降解酶基因表达量,并通过原位杂交技术对淀粉降解酶关键基因进行定位。【结果】不同磷素条件下小麦胚乳淀粉粒形态未发生明显改变,但CP处理条件下更容易观察到淀粉粒的微孔结构,且其内部显示出较多荧光;另外,籽粒发芽6 d时,CP处理条件下淀粉粒表面的孔洞最多。经外源淀粉葡萄糖苷酶处理后,HP和CP处理条件下更容易观察到被水解成两半的A型淀粉粒,同时其产生的还原糖浓度也显著提高,这说明不同磷素条件下淀粉粒表面和高部微观结构发生了变化。常规施磷条件下,小麦胚乳淀粉合成与降解相关酶基因的表达量显著高于不施磷和高量施磷。施磷条件下胚乳外缘amy4、bam1和bam5转录水平提高,且常规施磷条件下转录水平更高。【结论】常规施磷条件下胚乳边缘淀粉酶基因转录水平的提高可能影响了淀粉合成酶和降解酶之间的平衡,进而影响淀粉粒的合成和微观特性变化。

小麦抗吸浆虫主效QTL功能标记的开发

麦红吸浆虫(Sitodiplosis mosellana Géhin)是影响我国小麦生产的重要害虫之一。为提高抗麦红吸浆虫的选择效率和实现抗虫性与其它性状的聚合,本研究在前期定位基础上,对抗虫主效QTL(QSm.hbau-4A)3.4 Mb的候选目标区间内的序列差异进行开发和标记设计,并检测了标记在不同遗传背景材料间的检测效率。结果表明:在目标区间内存在371个SSR位点和3处插入缺失(InDel),据此开发出5个多态性标记。这些标记在由近等基因系构建的F2单株间的分型结果与相应品系的抗虫性符合程度约为90%左右。其中,标记Xcg116在检测到具有4AL抗虫主效位点QSm.hbau-4A的可能性超过80%(80%~88.89%);In1在不同抗性品种中的平均检测效率为67%左右(67.39%~70.97%)。研究认为Xcg116和In1这2个标记可用于对携带QSm.hbau-4A位点的小麦种质资源进行吸浆虫抗性筛选。

Molecular Characterization and Expression Analysis of TaZFP15, a C_2H_2-Type Zinc Finger Transcription Factor Gene in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Based on sequencing of part clones in a root subtractive cDNA library, an expressed sequence tag （EST） sharing high similarity to a rice C2H2 zinc finger transcription factor （ZFP15） was obtained in wheat. Through bioinformatics approach, the wheat C2H2-type ZFP gene referred to TaZFP15 has been identified and characterized. As a full-length cDNA of 670 bp, TaZFP15 has an open reading frame of 408 bp and encodes a 135-aa polypeptide. TaZFP15 contains two C2H2 zinc finger domains and each one has a conserved motif QALGGH. The typical L-box, generally identified in the C2H2 type transcription factors, has also been found in TaZFP15. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that TaZFP15 shares high similarities with rice ZFP15 （GenBank accession no. AY286473）, maize ZFP （GenBank accession no. NM_001159094） and a subset of other zinc-finger transcription factor genes in plant species. The expression of TaZFP15 was up-regulated by starved-Pi stress, showing a pattern to be gradually elevated along with the progression of the Pi-stress in a 23-h treatment regime. Similarly, the transcripts of TaZFP15 in roots were also induced by nitrogen deficiency, and abiotic stresses of drought and salinity. No responses of TaZFP15 were detected in roots to nutrition deficiencies of P, Zn, and Ca, and the external treatment of abscisic acid （ABA）. TaZFP15 could be specifically amplified in genome A, B, and D, and without variability in the sequences, suggesting that TaZFP15 has multi-copies in the homologous hexaploid species. Transgenic analysis in tobacco revealed that up-regulation of TaZFP15 could significantly improve plant dry mass accumulation via increasing the plant phosphorus acquisition capacity under Pi-deficiency condition. The results suggested that TaZFP15 is involved in mediation of signal transductions of diverse external stresses.

Effects of reduced nitrogen and suitable soil moisture on wheat(Triticum aestivum L.) rhizosphere soil microbiological,biochemical properties and yield in the Huanghuai Plain,China

Soil management practices affect rhizosphere microorganisms and enzyme activities, which in turn influence soil ecosystem processes. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of different nitrogen application rates on wheat(Triticum aestivum L.) rhizosphere soil microorganisms and enzyme activities, and their temporal variations in relation to soil fertility under supplemental irrigation conditions in a fluvo-aquic region. For this, we established a split-plot experiment for two consecutive years(2014–2015 and 2015–2016) in the field with three levels of soil moisture: water deficit to no irrigation(W1), medium irrigation to(70±5)% of soil relative moisture after jointing stage(W2), and adequate irrigation to(80±5)% of soil relative moisture after jointing stage(W3);and three levels of nitrogen: 0 kg ha^–1(N1), 195 kg ha^–1(N2) and 270 kg ha^–1(N3). Results showed that irrigation and nitrogen application significantly increased rhizosphere microorganisms and enzyme activities. Soil microbiological properties showed different trends in response to N level;the highest values of bacteria, protease, catalase and phosphatase appeared in N2, while the highest levels of actinobacteria, fungi and urease were observed in N3. In addition, these items performed best under medium irrigation(W2) relative to W1 and W3;particularly the maximum microorganism(bacteria, actinobacteria and fungi) amounts appeared at W2, 5.37×10^7 and 6.35×10^7 CFUs g^–1 higher than those at W3 in 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, respectively;and these changes were similar in both growing seasons. Microbe-related parameters fluctuated over time but their seasonality did not hamper the irrigation and fertilization-induced effects. Further, the highest grain yields of 13 309.2 and 12 885.7 kg ha^–1 were both obtained at W2 N2 in 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, respectively. The selected properties, soil microorganisms and enzymes, were significantly correlated with wheat yield and proved to be valuable indicators of soil quality. These results clearly demonstrated that the combined treatment(W2 N2) significantly improved soil microbiological properties, soil fertility and wheat yield on the Huanghuai Plain, China.

Growth traits and nitrogen assimilation-associated physiological parameters of wheat(Triticum aestivum L.) under low and high N conditions

In this study, 14 wheat cultivars with contrasting yield and N use efficiency （NUE） were used to investigate the agronomic and NUE-related traits, and the N assimilation-associated enzyme activities under low and high N conditions. Under deficient-N, the cultivars with high N uptake efficiency （UpE） and high N utilization efficiency （UtE） exhibited higher plant biomass, yields, and N contents than those with medium and low NUEs. The high UpE cultivars accumulated more N than other NUE type cultivars. Under sufficient-N, the tested cultivars showed similar patterns in biomass, yield, and N content to those under deficient-N, but the varietal variations in above traits were smaller. In addition, the high UpE cultivars displayed much more of root biomass and larger of root length, surface area, and volume than other NUE type cultivars, indicating that the root morphological traits under N deprivation are closely associated with the plant biomass through its improvement of the N acquisition. The high UtE cultivars showed higher activities of nitrate reductase （NR）, nitrite reductase （NIR）, and gluta- mine synthetase （GS） at stages of seediling, heading and filling than other NUE type cultivars under both low and high N conditions. Moreover, the high UpE and UtE cultivars also displayed higher photosynthetic rate under deficient-N than the medium and low NUE cultivars. Together, our results indicated that the tested wheat cultivars possess dramatically genetic variations in biomass, yield, and NUE. The root morphological traits and the N assimilation enzymatic acitivities play critical roles in regulating N accumulation and internal N translocation under the N-starvation stress, respectively. They can be used as morphological and biochemical references for evaluation of UpE and UtE in wheat.

TaMIR1119, a miRNA family member of wheat(Triticum aestivum),is essential in the regulation of plant drought tolerance

Through regulating target genes via the mechanisms of posttranscriptional cleavage or translational repression, plant miRNAs involve diverse biological processes associating with plant growth, development, and abiotic stress responses, in this study, we functionally characterized TaMIR1119, a miRNA family member of wheat （Triticum aestivum）, in regulating the drought adaptive response of plants. TaMIR1119 putatively targets six genes categorized into the functional classes of transcriptional regulation, RNA and biochemical metabolism, trafficking, and oxidative stress defense. Upon simulated drought stress, the TaMIR1119 transcripts abundance in roots was drastically altered, showing to be upregulated gradually within a 48-h drought regime andthat the drought-induced transcripts were gradually restored along with a 48-h recovery treatment. In contrast, most miRNA target genes displayed reverse expression patterns to TaMIR1119, exhibiting a downregulated expression pattern upon drought and whose reduced transcripts were re-elevated along with a normal recovery treatment. These expression analysis results indicated that TaMIR1119 responds to drought and regulates the target genes mainly through a cleavage mechanism. Under drought stress, the tobacco lines with TaMIR1119 overexpression behaved improved phenotypes,, showing increased plant biomass, photosynthetic parameters, osmolyte accumulation, and enhanced antioxidant enzyme （AE） activities relative to wild type. Three AE genes, NtFeSOD, NtCAT1;3, and NtSOD2,1, encoding superoxide dismutase （SOD）, catalase （CAT）, and peroxidase （POD） proteins, respectively, showed upregulated expression in TaMIR1119 overexpression lines, suggesting that they are involved in the regulation of AE activities and contribution to the improved cellular reactive oxygen species （ROS） homeostasis in drought-challenged transgenic lines. Our results indicate that TaMIR1119 plays critical roles in regulating plant drought tolerance through transcriptionally regulating the target genes that modulate osmolyte accumulation, photosynthetic function, and improve cellular ROS homeostasis of plants.

The Relationship Between Developmental Accumulation of Leaf Soluble Proteins and Vernalization Response of Wheat(Triticum aestivum L.em. Thell)

The relationship between vernalization requirement and quantitative and qualitative changes in total leaf soluble proteins were determined in one spring （cv. Kohdasht） and two winter （cvs. Sardari and Norstar） cultivars of wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） exposed to 4℃. Plants were sampled on days 2, 14, 21 and 35 of exposure to 4℃. The final leaf number （FLN） was determined throughout the vernalization periods （0, 7, 14, 24, and 35 d） at 4℃. The final leaf number decreased until days 24 and 35 in Sardari and Norstar eultivars, respectively, indicating the vernalization saturation at these times. No clear changes were detected in the final leaf number of Kohdash cultivar, verifying no vernalization requirement for this spring wheat cultivar. Comparing with control, clear cold-induced 2-fold increases in proteins quantity occurred after 48 h following the 4℃-treatment in the leaves of the both winter wheat cultivars but, such response was not detected in the spring cultivar. However, the electrophoretic protein patterns showed between-cultivar and between-temperature treatment differences. With increasing exposure time to 4℃, the winter cultivars tended to produce more HMW polypeptides than the spring cultivar. Similar proteins were induced in both Sardari and Norstar winter wheat cultivars, however, the long vernalization requirement in Norstar resulted in high level and longer duration of expression of cold-induced proteins compared to Sardari with a short vernalization requirement. These observations indicate that vernalization response regulates the expression of low temperature （LT） tolerance proteins and determines the duration of expression of LT- induced proteins.

Detection of Allelic Variation in Chinese Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Germplasm with Drought ToleranceUsing SSR Markers

Allelic variation in two domestic wheat landraces, Pingyaobaimai and Mazhamai, two cornerstone breeding materials and their derived cultivars with drought tolerance was detected by SSR (simple sequence repeat) markers. The clustering of 25 accessions showed that the similarity between Pingyaobaimai and Yandal817, the latter was developed from the former, was 0.71, the highest one of all accessions, but the similarities were very low between these two accessions and other accessions including their derived cultivars. A similar situation was revealed between Mazhamai and its derived cultivars. Pingyaobaimai and its three derived cultivars shared three alleles at loci Xgwm526, Xgwm538 and Xgwm126 on chromosome arms 2BL, 4BL and 5AL, respectively. There were six shared alleles in Mazhamai and its derived cultivars, in order of Xgwm157, Xgwm126, Xgwm212, Xgwm626, Xgwm471 and Xgwm44 on chromosome arms 2DL, 5AL, 5DL, 6BL, 7AS and 7DC, respectively. Only one shared allele was detected between the pedigrees of Pingyaobaimai and Mazhamai. The difference of shared alleles in two cornerstone breeding materials and their derived cultivars revealed the diversity in Chinese wheat germplasm with drought tolerance and the complication in genetic basis of drought tolerance in wheat.

TaARR1, a cytokinin response regulator gene in Triticum aestivum, is essential in plant N starvation tolerance via regulating the N acquisition and N assimilation

Plant N starvation response is closely associated with the N signaling components that involve transduction of the low-N cues. In this study, we functionally characterized Ta ARR1, a cytokinin(CK) response regulator gene in Triticum aestivum, in mediating the N starvation adaptation in plants. Ta ARR1 harbors two conserved domains specified by plant ARR family members;subcellular localization analysis indicated its target onto nucleus after endoplasmic reticulum assortment. Ta ARR1 displayed modified expression upon the N starvation stressor, showing upregulated expression in roots and leaves over a 27-h N starvation treatment and whose induced transcripts were gradually recovered along with progression of the N recovery treatment. The tobacco lines overexpressing Ta ARR1 displayed improved low-N stress tolerance, displaying enlarged phenotype, increased biomass and N accumulation, and enhanced glutamine synthetase(GS) activities compared with wild type(WT) following the N starvation treatment. Expression analysis on genes encoding the nitrate transporter(NRT) and GS proteins in Nicotiana tabacum revealed that Nt NRT2.2 and Nt GS3 are upregulated in expression in the N-deprived transgenic lines, whose expression patterns were contrasted to other above family genes that were unaltered on transcripts between the transgenic lines and WT. Transgene analysis validated the function of Nt NRT2.2 and Nt GS3 in regulating N accumulation, GS activity, growth traits, and N use efficiency in plants. These results suggested the internal connection between the Ta ARR1-mediated N starvation tolerance and the modified transcription of distinct N acquisitionand assimilation-associated genes. Our investigation together indicates that Ta ARR1 is essential in plant N starvation adaptation due to the gene function in transcriptionally regulating distinct NRT and GS genes that affect plant N uptake and assimilation under the N starvation condition.

Effects of Auxins and Media on Callus Induction of Chinese Spring Wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)

The effects of auxins and media on callus induction from the mature and immature embryos of Chinese spring wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） varieties were investigated. It was found that genotype, medium, auxin source and concentration had the significant effects on the induction of embryogenic callus, explants germination and the increment of callus fresh weight. For immature embryos cultured on MS medium, 2 mg L^-1 of 2, 4-D was optimal, and the highest frequency of embryogenic callus （33.50%） was observed. For the mature embryos on N6 medium, 4 mg L^-1 of 2, 4-D was optimal. The frequency of embryogenic callus and increment of callus fresh weight on 2, 4, 5-T media were higher than those on 2, 4-D media, and in the presence of 2, 4, 5-T the precocious germination of explants for all genotypes were significantly suppressed. These results indicated that 2, 4, 5-T was superior to 2, 4-D and NAA in the culture of immature embryos. This is the first report about the effect of 2, 4, 5-T and NAA on wheat tissue culture, particularly in comparison with 2, 4-D in detail.

Cloning of TaCYP707A1 Gene that Encodes ABA 8′-Hydroxylase in Common Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

The plant hormone abscisic acid （ABA） regulates many important physiological and developmental processes in plants. The objective of this study was to clone the ABA 8′-hydroxylase gene in common wheat. In the present study, we used the eDNA sequence of barley HvCYP707A1 gene （GenBank accession no. AB239299） as a probe for BLAST search against the common wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） EST database in GenBank. All wheat ESTs sharing high similarity with the reference gene were subjected to contig assembly. Primers were designed based on the constructed contigs to clone the wheat CYP707A1 gene, designated as TaCYP707A1. The genomic DNA sequence of TaCYPTO7A1 gene comprised five exons and four introns, with a size of 2225 bp. The corresponding cDNA sequence of TaCYP707A1 was 1737 bp, containing an open reading frame （ORF） of 1431 bp, a 42-bp 5′-untranslated region （UTR） and a 264-bp 3′UTR, with 94.9% of identical sequences to HvCYP707A1 gene （AB239299）. The neighbor joining tree indicated that the deduced amino acid sequences of TaCYP707A1 gene was highly similar to those of barley and rice. The TaCYP707A1 gene was located on chromosome 6BL using a set of Chinese Spring nullisomic-tetrasomic lines and ditelosomic line 6BS. These results will be of high importance in understanding of molecular mechanism of ABA catabolism.

Allelic Variation in Loci for Adaptive Response and Its Effect on Agronomical Traits in Chinese Wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)

Heading date was an important trait that decided the adaptation of wheat to environments. It was modiifed by genes involved in vernalization response, photoperiod response and development rate. In this study, four loci Xgwm261, Xgwm219, Xbarc23 and Ppd-D1 which were previously reported related to heading time were analyzed based on three groups of wheat including landraces （L）, varieties bred before 1983 （B82） and after 1983 （A83） collected from Chinese wheat growing areas. Generally, heading date of landrace was longer than that of varieties. Signiifcant differences in the heading time existed within the groups, which implied that diversiifcation selection was much helpful for adaptation in each wheat zone. Photoperiod insensitive allele Ppd-D1a was the ifrst choice for both landrace and modern varieties, which promoted the heading date about four days earlier than that of sensitive allele Ppd-D1b. The three SSR loci had different characters in the three groups. Predominant allele combination for each zone was predicted for wheat group L and A83, which made great contribution to advantageous traits. Xgwm219 was found to be signiifcantly associated with heading date in Yellow and Huai River Winter Wheat Zone （Zone II） and spike length in Middle and lower Yangtze Valley Winter Wheat Zone （Zone III）, which implied functional diversiifcation for adaption. Variation for earliness genes provided here will be helpful for whet breeding in future climatic change.

Conditional and unconditional QTLs mapping of gluten strength in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Dissecting the genetic relationships among gluten-related traits is important for high quality wheat breeding. Quantita- tive trait loci （QTLs） analysis for gluten strength, as measured by sedimentation volume （SV） and gluten index （GI）, was performed using the QTLNetwork 2.0 software. Recombinant inbred lines （RILs） derived from the winter wheat varieties Shannong 01-35xGaocheng 9411 were used for the study. A total of seven additive QTLs for gluten strength were identi- fied using an unconditional analysis. QGi1D-13 and QSv1D-14 were detected through unconditional and conditional QTLs mapping, which explained 9.15-45.08% of the phenotypic variation. QTLs only identified under conditional QTL mapping were located in three marker intervals： WPT-3743-GLU-D1 （1D）, WPT-7001-WMC258 （1B）, and WPT-8682-WPT-5562 （1B）. Six pairs of epistatic QTLs distributed nine chromosomes were identified. Of these, two main effect QTLs （QGi1D-13 and QSvlD-14） and 12 pairs of epistatic QTLs were involved in interactions with the environment. The results indicated that chromosomes 1B and 1D are important for the improvement of gluten strength in common wheat. The combination of conditional and unconditional QTLs mapping could be useful for a better understanding of the interdependence of different traits at the QTL molecular level.

Expression Pattern Analysis of Zinc Finger Protein Genes in Wheat(Triticum aestivum L.) Under Phosphorus Deprivation

Zinc finger protein（ZFP） genes comprise a large and diverse gene family, and are involved in biotic and abiotic stress responses in plants. In this study, a total of 126 ZFP genes classified into various types in wheat were characterized and subjected to expression pattern analysis under inorganic phosphate（Pi） deprivation. The wheat ZFP genes and their corresponding GenBank numbers were obtained from the information of a 4×44K wheat gene expression microarray chip. They were confirmed by sequence similarity analysis and named based on their homologs in Brachypodium distachyon or Oriza sativa. Expression analysis based on the microarray chip revealed that these ZFP genes are categorized into 11 classes according to their gene expression patterns in a 24-h of Pi deprivation regime. Among them, ten genes were differentially up-regulated, ten genes differentially downregulated, and two genes both differentially up- and down-regulated by Pi deprivation. The differentially up- or down-regulated genes exhibited significantly more or less transcripts at one, two, or all of the checking time points（1, 6, and 24 h） of Pi stress in comparison with those of normal growth, respectively. The both differentially up- and down-regulated genes exhibited contrasting expression patterns, of these, TaWRKY70;5 showed significantly up-regulated at 1 and 6 h and down-regulated at 24 h whereas TaAN1AN20-8;2 displayed significantly upregulated at 1 h and downregulated at 6 h under deprivation Pi condition. Real time PCR analysis confirmed the expression patterns of the differentially expressed genes obtained by the microarray chip. Our results indicate that numerous ZFP genes in wheat respond to Pi deprivation and have provided further insight into the molecular basis that plants respond to Pi deprivation mediated by the ZFP gene family.