Genetic diversity and elite gene introgression reveal the japonica rice breeding in northern China

Abundant genetic diversity and rational population structure of germplasm benefit crop breeding greatly.To investigate genetic variation among geographically diverse set of japonica germplasm,we analyzed 233 japonica rice cultivars collected from Liaoning,Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces of China,which were released from 1970 to 2011 by using 62 simple sequence repeat（SSR） markers and 8 functional gene tags related to yield.A total of 195 alleles（N_a） were detected with an average of 3.61 per locus,indicating a low level of genetic diversity level among all individuals.The genetic diversity of the cultivars from Jilin Province was the highest among the three geographic distribution zones.Moreover,the genetic diversity was increased slightly with the released period of cultivars from 1970 to 2011.The analysis of molecular variance（AMOVA） revealed that genetic differentiation was more diverse within the populations than that among the populations.The neighbor-joining（NJ） tree indicated that cultivar clusters based on geographic distribution represented three independent groups,among which the cluster of cultivars from Heilongjiang is distinctly different to the cluster of cultivars from Liaoning.For the examined functional genes,two or three allelic variations for each were detected,except for IPA1 and GW2,and most of elite genes had been introgressed in modem japonica rice varieties.These results provide a valuable evaluation for genetic backgrounds of current japonica rice and will be used directly for japonica rice breeding in future.

Genetic Diversity Analysis of Rice Germplasm in Tripura State of Northeast India Using Drought and Blast Linked Markers

We genotyped 74 rice germplasms including Tripura＇s local landraces, improved varieties, cultivars and breeding lines and other rice varieties using molecular markers for genetic diversity, drought QTLs, and blast resistance genes. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 5 with an average of 2.9. The polymorphic information content value per locus ranged from 0.059（RM537） to 0.755（RM252） with an average of 0.475. Cluster analysis based on 30 simple sequence repeat markers revealed 5 clusters and also indicated the presence of variability within the rice accessions. The drought QTL q DTY2.1 was found in 56.0% of germplasms and q DTY1.1 was detected in only 6.8% of the germplasms. Out of seven rice blast resistance genes screened, only two rice varieties, RCPL-1-82 and Buh Vubuk（Lubuk）, were positive for four blast resistance genes while only Releng possessed two blast resistance genes. Among 74 rice germplasms, only three accessions, Releng, RCPL1-82 and Buh Vubuk（Lubuk）, possessed both drought-related QTLs and blast resistance genes. Overall, the 74 indigenous rice genotypes showed low level of genetic diversity, which is in contrast to high level of genetic diversity among rice varieties in northeast India, where highlights the good farming practice, conservation of germplasms and the limitation of molecular markers employed in this study. The presence of both drought related QTLs and blast resistance genes in some of the germplasms can be useful in future breeding programmes.

Evaluation of Brazilian wild Hevea germplasm for cold tolerance：genetic variability in the early mature growth

Hevea brasiliensis is a commercially cultivated species for its natural rubber（NR） latex in South East Asian countries. To meet the ever-increasing demand, NR cultivation has been extended to non-traditional regions due to the limited scope of further expansion in traditional rubbergrowing areas in India. These areas are often confronted with various abiotic stresses, especially high and low temperatures, which cause reduction in plant growth, thereby increasing its uneconomical immaturity period. Eighteen wild Hevea accessions along with two modern clones RRII203 and PB 235 and two check clones RRIM 600 and Haiken 1 were evaluated in the early mature growth phase.The site was at Nagrakata, West Bengal, the sub-Himalayan cold-prone region of India. In Hevea, crop production is governed by two major factors, growth-vigor and production capacity. Growth-vigor is of special importance because the production of rubber is a process linked with the early growth of the plant, which results in early tappability and early economic gains. The genotypes exhibited highly significant clonal differences（P = 0.05） for all the growth traits. Tappability percentage in the seventh year, ranged from 0.33 %（AC 3074, AC 3075, AC 3293） to 89.67 %（RO 2727）. The most vigorously growing accession（RO2727） reached tappabile girth early in the seventh year when the girth of plant ranged from 22.38 cm（AC 3293） to53.12 cm（RO 2727）. The general mean was 43.32 cm, and the similar growth trend was exhibited by these accessions in the tenth year also. Annual girth increment（cm a-1） over3 years ranged from 1.81 cm（AC 3075） to 6.80 cm（RO2727）. The mean winter girth increment（cm a-1） over4 years ranged from 0.13 cm（AC 3075） to 0.96 cm（RO2727） as compared to the check clone RRIM 600（1.11 cm）and Haiken 1（1.10 cm）. Wide differences between the phenotypic coefficient of variation（50.29） and genotypic coefficient of variation（24.82） were observed for winter girth increment. Girth in the tenth year recorded the highest heritability（87 %）. Girth was significantly correlated with the other growth traits. The top 30 % of the potential accessions showing high growth vigour and early tappability under cold stress were identified. These ecotypes/selections have high potential value for the development of coldtolerant clones for these regions and also in broadening the genetic base of the present-day cultivated rubber.

Microsatellite analysis of genetic diversity and population structure of freshwater mussel（Lamprotula leai）

Lamprotula leai is one of the most commercially important freshwater pearl mussels in China, but there is limited data on its genetic diversity and population structure. In the present study, 119 individuals from four major geographical populations were investigated using 15 microsatellite loci identified via cross-species amplification. A total of 114 alleles were detected, with an average of 7.6 alleles per locus（range： 2 to 21）. Among the four stocks, those from Hung-tse Lake and Poyang Lake had the lowest（0.412） and highest（0.455） observed heterozygosity respectively. The polymorphism information content（PIC） ranged from 0.374 to 0.927（mean： 0.907）. AMOVA showed that 12.56% and 44.68% genetic variances were among populations and within individuals, respectively. Pairwise Fst ranged from 0.073 to 0.146, indicating medium genetic differentiation among the populations. In aggregate, our results suggest that inbreeding is a crucial factor accounting for deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium at 12 loci. Moreover, the genetic distance among four stocks ranged from 0.192 to 0.890. Poyang Lake and Hung-tse Lake were clustered together, joined with Dongting Lake and Anqing Lake. Given that specimens from Hungtse Lake showed the highest average allele richness, expected heterozygosity and PIC, this location may be the source of the highest quality germplasm resources and the stock from this area may be the best for future breeding efforts.

Creating Wheat Germplasm for High Quality Breeding by Monosomic Backcrossing

By crossing bread wheat cultlvar GC8901 with the 1D monosonlc line of Xiaoyan No. 6 and backcrosslng the offsprlng with the Xlaoyan No. 6 1D monosonlc llne for 5 years, high-molecular-welght glutenin subunlts 1Dx5＋1Dy10 from GC8901 have been transferred Into wheat cultivar Xiaoyan No. 6. The BC5F1 offspring lines had been detected by using methods of cytology, marker, molecular marker and six elite single plants with high molecular-welght glutenin subunlts： lAx1, 1Bx14＋1 By15, 1Dx5＋1 Dy10 were Identified. Those lines have high-yleld potential with better agronomic characters and have been used In high quality wheat breeding processes as well.