Effects of Different Nitrogen Fertilizer Levels on Fe,Mn,Cu and Zn Concentrations in Shoot and Grain Quality in Rice (Oryza sativa)

In a pot experiment, effects of N fertilizer application on the concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn in shoot of rice and the quality of brown rice were studied. In the treatments with N fertilizer application, the concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn in most parts of rice shoot increased compared with control （no N fertilizer application）. This indicated that the transportation ability of microelements from root to shoot in rice was improved with N fertilizer application. Effect of N fertilizer on IR68144 was similar to that of on IR64, but the concentrations of the microelements in plant differed, suggesting that the characteristic expression of the two rice genotypes was not controlled by the amount of N fertilizer supplied. The concentrations of those microelements in brown rice increased at first and then decreased with increasing N fertilizer application, reaching the highest at 160 kg/ha, at which the Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn concentrations in brown rice increased by 28.96%, 41.34%, 58.31% and 16.0% for IR64, and by 22.16%, 13.75%, 8.75% and 20.21% for IR68144 compared with control, respectively. Moreover, N fertilizer promoted the accumulation of protein, decreased the accumulation of amylose in grain, and enhanced gel consistency of brown rice. These results indicate that appropriate N fertilizer management could increase micronutrient contents in grain and improve nutrition quality of rice.

Studies on the Mechanism of Single Basal Application of Controlled-Release Fertilizers for Increasing Yield of Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

This paper was to explore the mechanism of single basal application of controlled-release fertilizers for increasing yield of rice （Oryza sativa L.）. Pot trials and cylinder trials were carried out from 2002 to 2005 to study the influences of single basal application of 3 controlled-release fertilizers on the changes of soil available N, root development, senescence and lodging resistance at late growth stages. Results showed that at 30 days after fertilization, single basal application of controlled-release fertilizers coated with vegetal-substance （CRF1） and polymer materials （CRF3） increased soil available N to 12.0 and 147.9%, respectively, in comparison to split fertilization of rice-specific fertilizer （RSF1）. Treatments of the two CRFs obviously benefited the development of root system, resulting in greater rice root weights with extensive distribution and higher root activity. In addition, the two CRF treatments, in comparison to RSF1, enhanced chlorophyll consents of the flag leaves to 9.5 and 15.5%, and soluble protein up to 89.7 and 108.0% respectively. Application of the two CRFs also made the base of rice stems strong and large, declined the proportion of shoot and root, increased root depth index. Though relatively low K rate, single basal application of the CRF3 coated with NH4MgPO4 could also promote the development of root system, enhance root activity and some physiological functions of flag leaves. Based on these results, it was concluded that major mechanisms for increasing rice yield by single basal application of the CRFs should be attributed to grater soil available N supply, superior development of root systems, better nutrient absorption capacity, slower senescence and enhancement of lodging resistance at late stages.

Characterization and fine mapping of the rice blast resistance gene Pia

Blast,caused by Magnaporthe oryzae,is one of the most widespread and destructive diseases of rice.Breeding durable resistant cultivars(cvs) can be achieved by pyramiding of various resistance(R) genes.Pia,carried by cv.Aichi Asahi,was evaluated against 612 isolates of M.oryzae collected from 10 Chinese provinces.The Pia gene expresses weak resistance in all the provinces except for Jiangsu.Genomic position-ready marker-based linkage analysis was carried out in a mapping population consisting of 800 F2 plants derived from a cross of Aichi Asahi×Kasalath.The locus was defined in an interval of approximately 90 kb,flanked by markers A16 and A21.Four candidate genes(Pia-1,Pia-2,Pia-3,and Pia-4) ,all having the R gene conserved structure,were predicted in the interval using the cv.Nipponbare genomic sequence.Four candidate resistance gene(CRG) markers(A17,A25,A26,and A27) ,derived from the four candidates,were subjected to genotyping with the recombinants detected at the flanking markers.The first three markers completely co-segregated with the Pia locus,and the fourth was absent in the Aichi Asahi genome and disordered with the Pia locus and its flanking markers,indicating that the fourth candidate gene,Pia-4,could be excluded.Co-segregation marker-based genotyping of the three sets of differentials with known R gene genotypes revealed that the genotype of A26(Pia-3) perfectly matched the R gene genotype of Pia,indicating that Pia-3 is the strongest candidate gene for Pia.

Lead Induced Changes in the Growth and Antioxidant Metabolism of the Lead Accumulating and Non-accumulating Ecotypes of Sedum alfredii

The phytotoxicity and antioxidative adaptations of lead （Pb） accumulating ecotype （AE） and non-accumulating ecotype （NAE） of Sedum alfredii Hance were investigated under different Pb treatments involving 0, 0.02 mmol/L Pb, 0.1 mmol/L Pb and 0.1 mmol/L Pb/0.1 mmol/L ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid （EDTA） for 6days. With the increasing Pb level, the Pb concentration in the shoots of AE plants enhanced accordingly, and EDTA supply helped 51% of Pb translocation to shoots of AE compared with those treated with 0.1 mmol/L Pb alone. Moreover, the presence of EDTA alleviated Pb phytotoxicity through changes in plant biomass, root morphology and chlorophyll contents. Lead toxicity induced hydrogen peroxide （H2O2） accumulation and lipid peroxidation in both ecotypes of S. alfredii. The activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD）, guaiacol peroxidase （G-POD）, ascorbate peroxidase, and dehydroascorbate reductase elevated in both leaves and roots of AE as well as in leaves of NAE with the increasing Pb levels, but SOD and G-POD declined in roots of NAE. Enhancement in glutathione reductase activity was only detected in roots of NAE while a depression in catalase activity was recorded in the leaves of NAE. A significant enhancement in glutathione and ascorbic acid （AsA） levels occurred in both ecotypes exposed to Pb and Pb/EDTA treatment compared with the control, however, the differences between these two treatments were insignificant. The dehydroascorbate （DHA） contents in roots of both ecotypes were 1.41 to 11.22-fold higher than those in leaves, whereas the ratios of AsA to DHA （1.38 to 6.84） in leaves altering more to the reduced AsA form were much higher than those in roots. These results suggested that antioxidative enzymes and antioxidants play an important role in counteracting Pb stress in S. alfredii.

Identification of the novel recessive gene pi55(t) conferring resistance to Magnaporthe oryzae

The elite rice cultivar Yuejingsimiao 2 (YJ2) is characterized by a high level of grain quality and yield, and resistance against Magnaporthe oryzae. YJ2 showed 100% resistance to four fungal populations collected from Guangdong, Sichuan, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang Provinces, which is a higher frequency than that shown by the well-known resistance (R) gene donor cultivars such as Sanhuangzhan 2 and 28zhan. Segregation analysis for resistance with F 2 and F 4 populations indicated the resistance of YJ2 was controlled by multiple genes that are dominant or recessive. The putative R genes of YJ2 were roughly tagged by SSR markers, located on chromosomes 2, 6, 8, and 12, in a bulked-segregant analysis using genome-wide selected SSR markers with F 4 lines that segregated into 3 resistant (R):1 susceptible (S) or 1R:3S. The recessive R gene on chromosome 8 was further mapped to an interval 1.9 cM/152 kb in length by linkage analysis with genomic position-ready markers in the mapping population derived from an F 4 line that segregated into 1R:3S. Given that no major R gene was mapped to this interval, the novel R gene was designated as pi55(t). Out of 26 candidate genes predicted in the region based on the reference genomic sequence of the cultivar Nipponbare, two genes that encode a leucine-rich repeat-containing protein and heavy-metalassociated domain-containing protein, respectively, were suggested as the most likely candidates for pi55(t).