scholarly journals A New Breeding Strategy towards Introgression and Characterization of Stay-Green QTL for Drought Tolerance in Sorghum

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 598
Author(s):  
Nasrein Mohamed Kamal ◽  
Yasir Serag Alnor Gorafi ◽  
Hanan Abdeltwab ◽  
Ishtiag Abdalla ◽  
Hisashi Tsujimoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Expression ◽  
Phenotypic Selection ◽  
Breeding Strategy ◽  
Stay Green ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
The Public ◽  
Drought Tolerant ◽  
Selection Step ◽  
The Cost

Several marker-assisted selection (MAS) or backcrossing (MAB) approaches exist for polygenic trait improvement. However, the implementation of MAB remains a challenge in many breeding programs, especially in the public sector. In MAB introgression programs, which usually do not include phenotypic selection, undesired donor traits may unexpectedly turn up regardless of how expensive and theoretically powerful a backcross scheme may be. Therefore, combining genotyping and phenotyping during selection will improve understanding of QTL interactions with the environment, especially for minor alleles that maximize the phenotypic expression of the traits. Here, we describe the introgression of stay-green QTL (Stg1–Stg4) from B35 into two sorghum backgrounds through an MAB that combines genotypic and phenotypic (C-MAB) selection during early backcross cycles. The background selection step is excluded. Since it is necessary to decrease further the cost associated with molecular marker assays, the costs of C-MAB were estimated. Lines with stay-green trait and good performance were identified at an early backcross generation, backcross two (BC2). Developed BC2F4 lines were evaluated under irrigated and drought as well as three rainfed environments varied in drought timing and severity. Under drought conditions, the mean grain yield of the most C-MAB-introgression lines was consistently higher than that of the recurrent parents. This study is one of the real applications of the successful use of C-MAB for the development of drought-tolerant sorghum lines for drought-prone areas.

scholarly journals Phenotypic and molecular characterization of a set of tropical maize inbred lines from a public breeding program in Brazil

BMC Genomics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sirlene Viana de Faria ◽  
Leandro Tonello Zuffo ◽  
Wemerson Mendonça Rezende ◽  
Diego Gonçalves Caixeta ◽  
Hélcio Duarte Pereira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Population Structure ◽  
Inbred Lines ◽  
Breeding Program ◽  
Tropical Maize ◽  
Maize Breeding ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
The Public ◽  
Maize Inbred Lines

Abstract Background The characterization of genetic diversity and population differentiation for maize inbred lines from breeding programs is of great value in assisting breeders in maintaining and potentially increasing the rate of genetic gain. In our study, we characterized a set of 187 tropical maize inbred lines from the public breeding program of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) in Brazil based on 18 agronomic traits and 3,083 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers to evaluate whether this set of inbred lines represents a panel of tropical maize inbred lines for association mapping analysis and investigate the population structure and patterns of relationships among the inbred lines from UFV for better exploitation in our maize breeding program. Results Our results showed that there was large phenotypic and genotypic variation in the set of tropical maize inbred lines from the UFV maize breeding program. We also found high genetic diversity (GD = 0.34) and low pairwise kinship coefficients among the maize inbred lines (only approximately 4.00 % of the pairwise relative kinship was above 0.50) in the set of inbred lines. The LD decay distance over all ten chromosomes in the entire set of maize lines with r2 = 0.1 was 276,237 kb. Concerning the population structure, our results from the model-based STRUCTURE and principal component analysis methods distinguished the inbred lines into three subpopulations, with high consistency maintained between both results. Additionally, the clustering analysis based on phenotypic and molecular data grouped the inbred lines into 14 and 22 genetic divergence clusters, respectively. Conclusions Our results indicate that the set of tropical maize inbred lines from UFV maize breeding programs can comprise a panel of tropical maize inbred lines suitable for a genome-wide association study to dissect the variation of complex quantitative traits in maize, mainly in tropical environments. In addition, our results will be very useful for assisting us in the assignment of heterotic groups and the selection of the best parental combinations for new breeding crosses, mapping populations, mapping synthetic populations, guiding crosses that target highly heterotic and yielding hybrids, and predicting untested hybrids in the public breeding program UFV.

scholarly journals Enhancement of Fixation Nitrogen in Food Legumes

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edi Wiraguna
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
High Nitrogen ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Drought Tolerant ◽  
Food Legumes ◽  
Food Productivity ◽  
Induced Mutants ◽  
The Cost

Increasing the capability of nitrogen fixation in legumes is crucial because the population has been risen dramatically and predicted to be doubled by 2050. In order to feed this high population, food productivity needs to be increased. A solution to overcome this problem is through improvement of crop productivity by applying fertilizer. However, the application of fertilizer such as nitrogen is over the recommended amount and the cost is high at approximately $US 40 billion per year. Therefore, legumes are important in order to minimize the cost and enhance soil fertility through nitrogen fixation (nodulation). To achieve high nitrogen fixation, agriculture managements such as minimum tillage, breeding programs and induced mutants have been developed. In breeding program, it was found that BT-477 had high nitrogen fixation and drought tolerant based on selection among 7 common bean genotypes. Induced mutants were applied by soaking swollen seeds in EMS and resulted to higher number of nodules (10x).

scholarly journals Exploitation by cheaters facilitates the preservation of essential public goods in microbial communities

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Moreno-Fenoll ◽  
Matteo Cavaliere ◽  
Esteban Martinez-Garcia ◽  
Juan F Poyatos
Keyword(s):  
Public Goods ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Lag Phase ◽  
The Public ◽  
Common Resource ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Spontaneous Mutants

How are public goods maintained in bacterial cooperative populations? The presence of these compounds is usually threatened by the rise of cheaters that do not contribute but just exploit the common resource. Minimizing cheater invasions appears then as a necessary maintenance mechanism. However, that invasions can instead add to the persistence of cooperation is a prospect that has yet remained largely unexplored. Here, we show that the detrimental consequences of cheaters can actually preserve public goods, at the cost of recurrent collapses and revivals of the population. The result is made possible by the interplay between spatial constraints and the essentiality of the shared resource. We validate this counter-intuitive effect by carefully combining theory and experiment, with the engineering of an explicit synthetic community in which the public compound allows survival to a bactericidal stress. Notably, the characterization of the experimental system identifies additional factors that can matter, like the impact of the lag phase on the tolerance to stress, or the appearance of spontaneous mutants. Our work emphasizes the unanticipated consequences of the eco-evolutionary feedbacks that emerge in microbial communities relying on essential public goods to function, feedbacks that reveal fundamental for the adaptive change of ecosystems at all scales.

scholarly journals Using high-throughput phenotypes to enable genomic selection by inferring genotypes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Whalen ◽  
Chris Gaynor ◽  
John M Hickey
Keyword(s):  
Genomic Selection ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Genetic Gain ◽  
Phenotypic Selection ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Plant Breeding Program ◽  
Phenotype Data ◽  
The Cost

AbstractIn this paper we develop and test a method which uses high-throughput phenotypes to infer the genotypes of an individual. The inferred genotypes can then be used to perform genomic selection. Previous methods which used high-throughput phenotype data to increase the accuracy of selection assumed that the high-throughput phenotypes correlate with selection targets. When this is not the case, we show that the high-throughput phenotypes can be used to determine which haplotypes an individual inherited from their parents, and thereby infer the individual’s genotypes. We tested this method in two simulations. In the first simulation, we explored, how the accuracy of the inferred genotypes depended on the high-throughput phenotypes used and the genome of the species analysed. In the second simulation we explored whether using this method could increase genetic gain a plant breeding program by enabling genomic selection on non-genotyped individuals. In the first simulation, we found that genotype accuracy was higher if more high-throughput phenotypes were used and if those phenotypes had higher heritability. We also found that genotype accuracy decreased with an increasing size of the species genome. In the second simulation, we found that the inferred genotypes could be used to enable genomic selection on non-genotyped individuals and increase genetic gain compared to random selection, or in some scenarios phenotypic selection. This method presents a novel way for using high-throughput phenotype data in breeding programs. As the quality of high-throughput phenotypes increases and the cost decreases, this method may enable the use of genomic selection on large numbers of non-genotyped individuals.

A comparison of the cost of research in South Africa's public research and higher education institutions

2008 ◽  
Vol 104 (11/12) ◽  
Author(s):  
D.R. Walwyn
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Public Research ◽  
Pricing Policy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Annual Salary ◽  
Research Sector ◽  
Salary Survey ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Comparative Information

Despite the importance of labour and overhead costs to both funders and performers of research in South Africa, there is little published information on the remuneration structures for researchers, technician and research support staff. Moreover, there are widely different pricing practices and perceptions within the public research and higher education institutions, which in some cases do not reflect the underlying costs to the institution or the inherent value of the research. In this article, data from the 2004/5 Research and Development Survey have been used to generate comparative information on the cost of research in various performance sectors. It is shown that this cost is lowest in the higher education institutions, and highest in the business sector, although the differences in direct labour and overheads are not as large as may have been expected. The calculated cost of research is then compared with the gazetted rates for engineers, scientists and auditors performing work on behalf of the public sector, which in all cases are higher than the research sector. This analysis emphasizes the need within the public research and higher education institutions for the development of a common pricing policy and for an annual salary survey, in order to dispel some of the myths around the relative costs of research, the relative levels of overhead ratios and the apparent disparity in remuneration levels.

Facing the Challenge of Democracy

2011 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Thinking ◽  
Democratic Representation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Party Polarization

Citizens are political simpletons—that is only a modest exaggeration of a common characterization of voters. Certainly, there is no shortage of evidence of citizens' limited political knowledge, even about matters of the highest importance, along with inconsistencies in their thinking, some glaring by any standard. But this picture of citizens all too often approaches caricature. This book brings together leading political scientists who offer new insights into the political thinking of the public, the causes of party polarization, the motivations for political participation, and the paradoxical relationship between turnout and democratic representation. These studies propel a foundational argument about democracy. Voters can only do as well as the alternatives on offer. These alternatives are constrained by third players, in particular activists, interest groups, and financial contributors. The result: voters often appear to be shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent because the alternatives they must choose between are shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent.

The Internet Trap

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Hindman
Keyword(s):  
The Internet ◽  
Net Neutrality ◽  
The Public ◽  
Attention Economy ◽  
Digital News ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Over Time

The Internet was supposed to fragment audiences and make media monopolies impossible. Instead, behemoths like Google and Facebook now dominate the time we spend online—and grab all the profits from the attention economy. This book explains how this happened. It sheds light on the stunning rise of the digital giants and the online struggles of nearly everyone else—and reveals what small players can do to survive in a game that is rigged against them. The book shows how seemingly tiny advantages in attracting users can snowball over time. The Internet has not reduced the cost of reaching audiences—it has merely shifted who pays and how. Challenging some of the most enduring myths of digital life, the book explains why the Internet is not the postindustrial technology that has been sold to the public, how it has become mathematically impossible for grad students in a garage to beat Google, and why net neutrality alone is no guarantee of an open Internet. It also explains why the challenges for local digital news outlets and other small players are worse than they appear and demonstrates what it really takes to grow a digital audience and stay alive in today's online economy. The book shows why, even on the Internet, there is still no such thing as a free audience.

Strategy for Protecting the North Sea: A Chemical Industry Perspective

1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 269-276
Author(s):  
J. R. Lawrence ◽  
N. C. D. Craig
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Chemical Industry ◽  
Important Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
The North ◽  
Anthropogenic Inputs ◽  
Seven Principles ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Cost

The public has ever-rising expectations for the environmental quality of the North Sea and hence of everreducing anthropogenic inputs; by implication society must be willing to accept the cost of reduced contamination. The chemical industry accepts that it has an important part to play in meeting these expectations, but it is essential that proper scientific consideration is given to the potential transfer of contamination from one medium to another before changes are made. A strategy for North Sea protection is put forward as a set of seven principles that must govern the management decisions that are made. Some areas of uncertainty are identified as important research targets. It is concluded that although there have been many improvements over the last two decades, there is more to be done. A systematic and less emotive approach is required to continue the improvement process.

scholarly journals Exploring Smallholder Farmers’ Preferences for Climate-Smart Seed Innovations: Empirical Evidence from Southern Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2786
Author(s):  
Shimelis Araya Geda ◽  
Rainer Kühl
Keyword(s):  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Preference Heterogeneity ◽  
Southern Ethiopia ◽  
Significant Preference ◽  
Experiment Data ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Drought Tolerant ◽  
The Face ◽  
Mnl Model ◽  
Participatory Research Methods

Rapid plant breeding is essential to overcome low productivity problems in the face of climatic challenges. Despite considerable efforts to improve breeding practices in Ethiopia, increasing varietal release does not necessarily imply that farmers have access to innovative varietal choices. Prior research did not adequately address whether varietal attributes are compatible with farmers’ preferences in harsh environmental conditions. With an agricultural policy mainly aiming to achieve productivity maximization, existing breeding programs prioritize varietal development based on yield superiority. Against this background, we estimated a multinomial logit (MNL) model based on choice-experiment data from 167 bean growers in southern Ethiopia to explore whether farmers’ attribute preferences significantly diverge from those of breeders’ priorities. Four important bean attributes identified through participatory research methods were used. The results demonstrate that farmers have a higher propensity toward drought-tolerant capability than any of the attributes considered. The model estimates further show the existence of significant preference heterogeneity across farmers. These findings provide important insight to design breeding profiles compatible with specific producer segments. We suggest demand-driven breeding innovations and dissemination strategies in order to accelerate the adoption of climate-smart and higher-yielding bean innovations that contribute to achieve the national and global sustainability goals in Ethiopia.

scholarly journals AB1062 LIPODERMATOSCLEROSIS AS A TYPE OF LOBULAR PANNICULITIS: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT METHODS

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1821.1-1821
Author(s):  
M. Sukhareva ◽  
O. Egorova ◽  
B. Belov
Keyword(s):  
Subcutaneous Fat ◽  
Lymphatic Drainage ◽  
Normal Body Mass Index ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Group I ◽  
Positive Clinical Effect ◽  
Group Ii ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Lobular Panniculitis

Background:In medical practice lobular panniculitis-lipodermatosclerosis (LDS) is becoming more and more common. It is manifested by degenerative-dystrophic changes in subcutaneous fat (SCF) and occurs more often in middle-aged women affected by chronic venous insufficiency.Objectives:to evaluate the effectiveness of mesotherapy (MT) and shockwave ultrasound therapy (UST) for LDSMethods:among 539 patients referred to the V.A. Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology with the referral diagnoses of erythema nodosum or panniculitis 8.5% (46) of patients (44 women, 2 men) aged 18 to 82 with overweight (32) LDS with the disease duration of 11,8±6.4 months was verified. Patients were randomized into two groups of 23 patients each: group I received daily MT (10 sessions) therapy with drugs that have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, lymphatic drainage and lipolytic effects, and 3 MHz UST of the node area twice a week (5 sessions). In group II MT was performed daily with 9% Natrii chloridum solution at a dose comparable to group I. The control methods included general clinical examination (characterization of induration on the lower legs with an assessment of the effect of pain pressing according to visual analogue scale (VAS pain), general blood and urine tests and ultrasound with elastography (USE) of the compaction. The main stages of control: initial (T0), after 14 days (T1), 1 month (T2) and 3 months (T3).Results:before treatment 38 patients with LDS demonstrated asymmetric (83%) inflammation of SCF of the lower legs (100%) on its medial surface (91%). LDS regressed faster with normal body mass index (p = 0,04). In all patients of group I, after a course of physiotherapy a positive trend was registered, that is a decrease in VAS pain intensity (T0 50±18 mm; T1 35±11 mm), decrease in diameter (T0 6±2.2 cm; T1 4.5±1, 7 mm) and color intensity of the node (p<0.002), SCF thickening which results in “lumping” with macrovascularization according to USE, and decrease in ESR and CRP. In 44% of cases the treatment effect increased to T2 (p <0.05). After 3 months of observation, 15 patients required a second course of physiotherapy. In group II a positive clinical effect was registered for T2 in 14 patients (60.8%) and for T3 in 19 patients (83%) (p<0.05). Over the entire observation period LDS recurrence was registered in 19 patients (41%), the median of recurrence was 3 [1; 6] months, mainly in patients of group I. Recurrence was associated with node fusion into conglomerates (OR 4.33, 95% CI 1.05-17.8; p = 0.037). MT and UST were tolerated well, no side effects were detected.Conclusion:the use of MT with 9% Natrii chloridum solution allowed us to achieve positive dynamics in patients with LDS, which significantly reduced the cost of treatment. Further studies are needed to evaluate the significance of these techniques.Disclosure of Interests:None declared

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