Transcriptome profiling reveals insights into the molecular mechanism of drought tolerance in sweetpotato

Sweetpotato,Ipomoea batatas(L.) Lam.,is a globally important food crop and usually grown on arid-and semi-arid lands.Therefore,investigating the molecular mechanism of drought tolerance will provide important information for the improvement of drought tolerance in this crop.In this study,transcriptome analysis of the drought-tolerant sweetpotato line Xushu 55-2 was conducted on Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform.A total of 86.69 Gb clean data were generated and assembled into 2 671 693 contigs,222 073 transcripts,and 73 636 unigenes.In total,11 359 differentially expressed genes(DEGs) were identified after PEG6000 treatment,in which 7 666 were up-regulated and 3 693 were down-regulated.Of the 11 359 DEGs,10 192 DEGs were annotated in at least one database,and the remaining 1 167 DEGs were unknown.Abscisic acid(ABA),ethylene(ETH),and jasmonic acid(JA) signalling pathways play a major role in drought tolerance of sweetpotato.Drought-inducible transcription factors were identified,some of which have been reported to be associated with drought tolerance and others are unknown in plants.In addition,7 643 SSRs were detected.This study not only reveals insights into the molecular mechanism of drought tolerance in sweetpotato but also provides the candidate genes involved in drought tolerance of this crop.

Performance of Different Cultivars in Direct Seeded Rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i>L.) with Various Seeding Densities

Optimum seeding density is necessary to achieve the production potential of a cultivar in all crops. To investigate the performance of different cultivars in direct seeded rice in response to various seeding densities, a field experiment was conducted at Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during the kharif 2012. Super basmati (fine rice) and KSK-133 (coarse rice) were sown using seeding densities of 30, 45, 60 and 75 kg&middotha-1. Results indicated that leaf area index and crop growth rate varied among rice cultivars as well as various seeding densities. The growth of rice at seeding density of 75 kg&middotha-1 was higher than rest of treatments. The response of rice yield and its components like number of productive tillers, number of kernels per panicle and 1000-kernal weight differed significantly under the influence of cultivars and various seeding densities. Seeding density of 75 kg&middotha-1 remained superior for both rice cultivars regarding final yield. This treatment furnished kernel yields of 3.83 and 5.49 t&middotha-1 in fine and coarse rice, respectively which were significantly higher than other treatments. However, Kernel quality was improved in terms of lower number of sterile and chalky kernels at lower seeding densities (30 kg&middotha-1). Based on these findings, it is concluded that using seeding density of 75 kg&middotha-1 for direct seeded fine and coarse rice cultivars is beneficial in terms of better growth and higher yield but kernel quality is reduced by increasing the seeding density.

A simulation of winter wheat crop responses to irrigation management using CERES-Wheat model in the North China Plain

To improve efficiency in the use of water resources in water-limited environments such as the North China Plain（NCP）, where winter wheat is a major and groundwater-consuming crop, the application of water-saving irrigation strategies must be considered as a method for the sustainable development of water resources. The initial objective of this study was to evaluate and validate the ability of the CERES-Wheat model simulation to predict the winter wheat grain yield, biomass yield and water use efficiency（WUE） responses to different irrigation management methods in the NCP. The results from evaluation and validation analyses were compared to observed data from 8 field experiments, and the results indicated that the model can accurately predict these parameters. The modified CERES-Wheat model was then used to simulate the development and growth of winter wheat under different irrigation treatments ranging from rainfed to four irrigation applications（full irrigation） using historical weather data from crop seasons over 33 years（1981–2014）. The data were classified into three types according to seasonal precipitation： 〈100 mm, 100–140 mm, and 〉140 mm. Our results showed that the grain and biomass yield, harvest index（HI） and WUE responses to irrigation management were influenced by precipitation among years, whereby yield increased with higher precipitation. Scenario simulation analysis also showed that two irrigation applications of 75 mm each at the jointing stage and anthesis stage（T3） resulted in the highest grain yield and WUE among the irrigation treatments. Meanwhile, productivity in this treatment remained stable through different precipitation levels among years. One irrigation at the jointing stage（T1） improved grain yield compared to the rainfed treatment and resulted in yield values near those of T3, especially when precipitation was higher. These results indicate that T3 is the most suitable irrigation strategy under variable precipitation regimes for stable yield of winter wheat with maximum water savings in the NCP. The application of one irrigation at the jointing stage may also serve as an alternative irrigation strategy for further reducing irrigation for sustainable water resources management in this area.

A plastidic ATP/ADP transporter gene, IbAATP, increases starch and amylose contents and alters starch structure in transgenic sweetpotato

A plastidic adenosine triphosphate（ATP）/adenosine diphosphate（ADP） transporter（AATP） is responsible for importing ATP from the cytosol into plastids. In dicotyledonous plants, increasing ATP supply is a potential way to facilitate anabolic synthesis in heterotrophic plastids. In this study, a gene encoding the AATP protein, named Ib AATP, was isolated from sweetpotato（Ipomoea batatas（L.） Lam.）. Transcripts of Ib AATP were predominantly detected in the storage roots and leaves and were induced by exogenous sucrose and subjected to circadian rhythm. Transient expression of Ib AATP in tobacco and onion epidermal cells revealed the plastidic localization of Ib AATP. The overexpression of Ib AATP in sweetpotato significantly increased the starch and amylose contents and led to enlarged starch granules. The IbA ATP-overexpressing plants showed altered fine structure of amylopectin, which contained an increased proportion of chains with a degree of polymerization（DP） of 10–23 and a reduced number of chains with a DP of 5–9 and 24–40. In addition, starch from the transgenic plants exhibited different pasting properties. The transcript levels of starch biosynthetic genes, including Ib AGP, Ib GBSSI, Ib SSIIV, and Ib SBE, were differentially regulated in the transgenic plants. These results revealed the explicit role of Ib AATP in the starch biosynthesis of sweetpotato and indicated that this gene has the potential to be used to improve starch content and quality in sweetpotato and other plants.

Roles of Carbohydrate Supply and Ethylene,Polyamines in Maize Kernel Set

Glucose appears to have an antagonistic relationship with ethylene and ethylene and polyamines appear to play antagonistic roles in the abortion of seeds and fruits. Moreover, ethylene, spermidine, and spermine share a common biosynthetic precursor. The synchronous changes of them and the relationships with kernel set are currently unclear. Here, we stimulated maize （Zea mays L.） apical kernel set and studied their changes at 4, 8, 12, and 16 d after pollination （DAP）. The status of the apical kernels changed from abortion to set, showing a pattern similar to that of the middle kernels, with slow decrease in glucose and rapid decline in ethylene production, and a sharp increase in spermidine and spermine after four DAP. Synchronous changes in ethylene and spermidine were also observed. However, the ethylene production decreased slowly in the aborted apical kernels, the glucose and polyamines concentrations were lower. Ethephon application did not block the change from abortion to set for the setting apical kernels. These data indicate that the developmental change may be accompanied by an inhibition of adequate glucose to ethylene synthesis and subsequent promotion of spermidine and spermine synthesis, and adequate carbohydrate supply may play a key role in the developmental process.