scholarly journals Identification of QTL for barley grain size

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11287
Author(s):  
Junmei Wang ◽  
Xiaojian Wu ◽  
Wenhao Yue ◽  
Chenchen Zhao ◽  
Jianming Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Pleiotropic Effect ◽  
Barley Grain ◽  
Barley Variety ◽  
Malt Extract ◽  
Malting Barley ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Grain Width ◽  
Dh Lines

Background Barley grain size is one of the key factors determining storage capacity during grain filling. Large, well-filled grains also have a high malt extract potential. Grain size is a complex quantitative trait and can be easily affected by environmental factors thus the identification of genes controlling the trait and the use of molecular markers linked to the genes in breeding program is the most effective way of improving grain size. Methods Grain sizes of 188 doubled-haploid (DH) lines derived from the cross of a Japanese malting barley variety (Naso Nijo) and a Chinese feed barley variety (TX9425) were obtained from three different sites in two consecutive years. The average data were used for identifying QTL for grain size. Results A total of four significant QTL were identified for grain length (GL) and three for grain width (GW). The two major GL QTL are located at similar positions to the QTL for malt extract on 2H and uzu gene on 3H, respectively. However, the GL QTL on 2H is more likely a different one from the malt extract QTL as most of the candidate genes are located outside the fine mapped QTL region for malt extract. The GL QTL on 3H is closely linked with uzu gene but not due to a pleiotropic effect of uzu. The three QTL for grain width on 1H, 2H and 5H, respectively, were located at same position to those for GL.

scholarly journals The Rho-family GTPase OsRac1 controls rice grain size and yield by regulating cell division

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (32) ◽  
pp. 16121-16126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Yan Xiong ◽  
Renyi Liu ◽  
Hong-Wei Xue ◽  
Zhenbiao Yang
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Rice Grain ◽  
Rop Gtpase ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Grain Width

Grain size is a key factor for determining grain yield in crops and is a target trait for both domestication and breeding, yet the mechanisms underlying the regulation of grain size are largely unclear. Here we show that the grain size and yield of rice (Oryza sativa) is positively regulated by ROP GTPase (Rho-like GTPase from plants), a versatile molecular switch modulating plant growth, development, and responses to the environment. Overexpression of rice OsRac1ROP not only increases cell numbers, resulting in a larger spikelet hull, but also accelerates grain filling rate, causing greater grain width and weight. As a result, OsRac1 overexpression improves grain yield in O. sativa by nearly 16%. In contrast, down-regulation or deletion of OsRac1 causes the opposite effects. RNA-seq and cell cycle analyses suggest that OsRac1 promotes cell division. Interestingly, OsRac1 interacts with and regulates the phosphorylation level of OsMAPK6, which is known to regulate cell division and grain size in rice. Thus, our findings suggest OsRac1 modulates rice grain size and yield by influencing cell division. This study provides insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the control of rice grain size and suggests that OsRac1 could serve as a potential target gene for breeding high-yield crops.

scholarly journals Breeding Malting Barley under Stress Conditions in South America

2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 140-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Germán S
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
South America ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Leaf Rust ◽  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Malting Quality ◽  
Malt Extract ◽  
Malting Barley ◽  
Net Blotch ◽  
Early Maturity

The annual average area sown with barley (Hordeum vulgare) in South America during 1999–2003 was 795 000 ha. In Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, two-rowed spring cultivars are used mostly for malt production. Research has been developed in private malting companies and official institutions supported by the industry. In Argentina, tolerance to drought and heat stress during grain filling are important in drier areas. Yield and malt extract had been improved in cultivars released from 1940 to 1998. In Brazil, progress in grain yield, grain size, malting quality, early maturity, and resistance to net blotch, powdery mildew, and leaf rust has been achieved by EMBRAPA and malting companies. Higher tolerance to soil acidity and resistance to spot blotch are required. Since 1976, malting barley breeding in INIA-Chile has improved grain yield, grain size, beer production efficiency, and resistance to scald, net blotch, stripe rust, and leaf rust. Uruguay produces high quality malt exported mainly to Brazil. Malting companies have released locally bred and introduced cultivars since the early 1970’s. Initiated in 1988, INIA-Uruguay breeding program has improved yield, malting quality, and lodging and disease resistance. Fusarium head blight is a new challenge for research in Brazil and Uruguay. Information regarding malting barley production, the most important stresses in different areas of production, and breeding progress under South American conditions is provided.  

scholarly journals Transcriptomic Analysis of the Maize Mutant TC19 Identifies Genes Regulating the Development of Grain Size Through the IAA and BR Pathways

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanrong Zhang ◽  
Fuchao Jiao ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Yuhe Pei ◽  
Meiai Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Signal Transduction Pathway ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Maize Breeding ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Cell Components ◽  
Length Width ◽  
Grain Width ◽  
Grain Filling Stage

Abstract Backgrounds: Grain size is a key factor in crop yield that gradually develops after pollination. However, few studies have reported gene expression patterns in maize grain development using mutants. To investigate the developmental mechanisms of grain size, we analyzed a large-grain mutant, named TC19, at the morphological and transcriptome level at five stages corresponding to days after pollination (DAP).Results: After maturation, the grain length, width, and thickness in TC19 were greater than that in Chang 7-2 (control) and increased by 3.57%, 8.80%, and 3.88%, respectively. Further analysis showed that grain width in TC19 was lower than in Chang 7-2 at 7, 14, and 21 DAP, but greater than that in Chang 7-2 at 28 and 35 DAP, indicating that 21 to 28 DAP was the critical stage for kernel width development. For all five stages, the concentrations of indole-3-acetic acid and brassinosteroids were significantly higher in TC19 than in Chang 7-2. Gibberellin was higher at 7, 14, and 21 DAP, and cytokinin was higher at 21 and 35 DAP, in TC19 than in Chang 7-2. Through transcriptome analysis at 14, 21, and 28 DAP, we identified 2987, 2647, and 3209 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between TC19 and Chang 7-2. Gene Ontology analysis indicated that most of the grain size–related genes corresponded to three aspects, including cell components, molecular functions, and biological processes. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis showed that 77 DEGs were enriched in the plant hormone signal transduction pathway. We further analyzed several highly expressed candidate genes, including AO2, ARF3, and IAA15, which are involved in the synthesis of IAA; and DWF4 and XTH, which are involved in the synthesis of BR.Conclusions: Our results elucidated the mechanisms of grain size development at the grain-filling stage and have potential application in maize breeding.

scholarly journals Partitioning and Translocation of Dry Matter and Nitrogen During Grain Filling in Spring Barley Varieties and Their Roles in Determining Malting Quality

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gero Barmeier ◽  
Yuncai Hu ◽  
Urs Schmidhalter
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Protein Content ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
Grain Filling ◽  
Malting Quality ◽  
Malting Barley ◽  
N Accumulation ◽  
N Remobilization

To meet the strict requirements for the malting quality of both grain size and protein content for malting barley, a better understanding of the partitioning and remobilization of dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) from individual vegetative organs during grain filling may contribute to adjusting a balance in both quality parameters to satisfy the malting criteria of the brewing industry. A 2-year experiment that included 23 spring malting barley varieties was carried out to determine the DM and N partitioning in different organs at anthesis and maturity and to estimate their remobilization to grains. In contrast to the genetic variation of the 23 barley varieties, year effect was the most important single factor influencing the DM and N accumulation at pre-anthesis, and the DM and N translocation from their reserves at pre-anthesis. Post-anthesis assimilates accounted for 71–94% of the total grain yield among the barley varieties in 2014 and 53–81% in 2015. In contrast, the N reserved in vegetative tissues at anthesis contributed to barley grain N from 67% in the variety Union to 91% in the variety Marthe in 2014, and 71% in the variety Grace to 97% in the variety Shakira in 2015. The results concluded that photosynthetically derived assimilates at post-anthesis played an important role in determining grain size, whereas N reserves at pre-anthesis and N remobilization at post-anthesis probably determined the grain protein content of the malting barley. To achieve a high quality of malting barley grains in both grain size and protein content simultaneously, balancing photosynthetic assimilates at post-anthesis and N reserves at pre-anthesis and N remobilization should be considered as strategies for the combination of the selection of spring malting barley varieties together with agronomic N management.

scholarly journals Grain Size Selection Using Novel Functional Markers Targeting 14 Genes in Rice

Rice ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Zhang ◽  
Bin Ma ◽  
Zhong Bian ◽  
Xiaoyuan Li ◽  
Changquan Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Width Ratio ◽  
Functional Markers ◽  
Rice Breeding ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Yield And Quality ◽  
Grain Width ◽  
Grain Yield And Quality

Abstract Background Grain size is an extremely important aspect of rice breeding, affecting both grain yield and quality traits. It is controlled by multiple genes and tracking these genes in breeding schemes should expedite selection of lines with superior grain yield and quality, thus it is essential to develop robust, efficient markers. Result In this study, 14 genes related to grain size (GW2, GS2, qLGY3, GS3, GL3.1, TGW3, GS5, GW5, GS6, TGW6, GW6a, GLW7, GL7 and GW8) were selected for functional marker development. Twenty-one PCR-gel-based markers were developed to genotype the candidate functional nucleotide polymorphisms (FNPs) of these genes, and all markers can effectively recognize the corresponding allele types. To test the allele effects of different FNPs, a global collection of rice cultivars including 257 accessions from the Rice Diversity Panel 1 was used for allele mining, and four grain-size-related traits were investigated at two planting locations. Three FNPs for GW2, GS2 and GL3.1 were genotyped as rare alleles only found in cultivars with notably large grains, and the allele contributions of the remaining FNPs were clarified in both the indica and japonica subspecies. Significant trait contributions were found for most of the FNPs, especially GS3, GW5 and GL7. Of note, GW5 could function as a key regulator to coordinate the performance of other grain size genes. The allele effects of several FNPs were also tested by QTL analysis using an F2 population, and GW5 was further identified as the major locus with the largest contribution to grain width and length to width ratio. Conclusions The functional markers are robust for genotyping different cultivars and may facilitate the rational design of grain size to achieve a balance between grain yield and quality in future rice breeding efforts.

A Novel Type of Magnetic Fe2O3/Fe3O4 Heterogeneous Microparticles Prepared via the Ethanol-Water Reflux and Rapid Combustion Process

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 2998-3003
Author(s):  
Jia Liu ◽  
Zhou Wang ◽  
Yanyan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Magnetic Properties ◽  
Saturation Magnetization ◽  
Calcination Temperature ◽  
Ethyl Alcohol ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Absolute Ethyl Alcohol ◽  
Grain Sizes ◽  
Rapid Combustion

A novel type of magnetic Fe2O3/Fe3O4 heterogeneous microparticles with ellipsoidal macropores was prepared via the ethanol-water reflux and rapid combustion process. The experimental results showed that the volume of absolute ethyl alcohol and the calcination temperature were the key factors to the grain sizes and the magnetic properties, the calcination temperature largely affected the saturation magnetization and the grain size of Fe2O3/Fe3O4 heterogeneous microparticles, and the amount of absolute ethyl alcohol also tremendously affected the saturation magnetization, however, the amount of absolute ethyl alcohol affected little on the grain size. Fe2O3/Fe3O4 heterogeneous microparticles calcined at 200 °C for 1 h with absolute ethyl alcohol of 20 mL had the largest saturation magnetization of 90.1 Am2/kg.

scholarly journals Influence of genotype and nitrogen nutrition on grain size variability in spring malting barley

Genetika ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 1095-1104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladanka Stupar ◽  
Aleksandar Paunovic ◽  
Milomirka Madic ◽  
Desimir Knezevic
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Nitrogen Fertilization ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Class Ii ◽  
Class I ◽  
Favorable Effect ◽  
Malting Barley ◽  
Class Iii ◽  
Nitrogen Rates ◽  
Barley Genotypes

Grain size is an important quality parameter of malting barley, which depends on genotypes, environmental factors and their interactions. Also, grain size is governed by the efficiency of assimilation and translocation of mineral nutrients (mainly nitrogen) during grain endosperm development, which affects grain yield. The aim of this study was to evaluate variability in the percentage of three different grain size classes: class I (thickness ?2.5 mm), class II (2.2-2.5 mm) and class III (<2.2 mm) in spring malting barley genotypes ('Novosadski 448', 'Novosadski 456', 'Dunavac' and 'Jadran'). The experiment was conducted during three years (2012-2014) in a randomized complete block design with three replications at different rates of nitrogen fertilization (N1=45, N2=75, N3=105 and N4=135 kg ha-1). The presence of different grain sizes in barley cultivars in all N fertilization treatments after harvest was investigated. The proportion of the three grain classes was dependent upon year, cultivar and nitrogen fertilization rate. The highest percentage of class I grains was recorded in 'Novosadski 456', and that of class II and class III grains in 'Dunavac'. The percentage of class I grains increased significantly with increasing nitrogen rates up to 75 kg ha-1, stagnated at 105 kg ha-1, and decreased significantly as the nitrogen level was further increased to 135 kg ha-1. Class II and class III grain contents decreased at nitrogen rates up to 105 kg ha-1, but increased significantly at 135 kg ha-1. The best response to favorable environmental conditions and the highest percentage of class I grain in all years were recorded in ?Novosadski 456?. The most favorable effect on grain size in the studied spring malting barley genotypes was exhibited by the nitrogen rate of 75 kg ha-1.

Dissection of Closely Linked QTLs Controlling Grain Size in Rice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pao Xue ◽  
Yu-yu Chen ◽  
Xiao-xia Wen ◽  
Bei-fang Wang ◽  
Qin-qin Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Genetic Resources ◽  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Cell Expansion ◽  
Grain Weight ◽  
Cytological Observation ◽  
Yield Improvement ◽  
Transcript Levels ◽  
Grain Width ◽  
Successive Generations

Abstract Grain size is a key constituent of grain weight and appearance in rice. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the small-effect QTLs on grain size. In the present study, residual heterozygous populations were developed for mapping two genetically linked small-effect QTLs for grain size. After genotyping and phenotyping of five successive generations, qGS7.1 was dissected into three QTLs and two were selected for further analysis. qTGW7.2a was finally mapped into a 21.10-kb interval containing four annotated candidate genes. Transcript levels assay showed that the expression of candidates LOC_Os07g39490 and LOC_Os07g39500 were significantly reduced in the NIL- qTGW7.2a BG1 . Cytological observation indicated that qTGW7.2a regulated grain width through controlling cell expansion. Use the same strategy, qTGW7.2b was fine mapped into a 52.71-kb interval, showing a significant effect on grain length and width with opposite allelic directions but little on grain weight. Our study provides new genetic resources for yield improvement and fine-tunes of grain size in rice.

scholarly journals Molecular structure-property relations controlling mashing performance of amylases as a function of barley grain size

Amylase ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Ping Quek ◽  
Wenwen Yu ◽  
Glen P. Fox ◽  
Robert G. Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Structure ◽  
Grain Size ◽  
Structural Parameters ◽  
Barley Grain ◽  
Size Exclusion ◽  
Structure Property ◽  
Grain Sizes ◽  
Starch Fermentation ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In brewing, amylases are key enzymes in hydrolyzing barley starch to sugars, which are utilized in fermentation to produce ethanol. Starch fermentation depends on sugars produced by amylases and starch molecular structure, both of which vary with barley grain size. Grain size is a major industrial specification for selecting barley for brewing. An in-depth study is given of how enzyme activity and starch structure vary with grain size, the impact of these factors on fermentable sugar production, and the underlying mechanisms. Micro-malting and mashing experiments were based on commercial methodologies. Starch molecular structural parameters were obtained using size-exclusion chromatography, and fitted using biosynthesis-based models. Correlation analysis using the resulting parameters showed larger grain sizes contained fewer long amylopectin chains, higher amylase activities and soluble protein level. Medium grain sizes released most sugars during mashing, because of higher starch utilization from the action of amylases, and shorter amylose chains. As starch is the substrate for amylase-driven fermentable sugars production, measuring its structure should be a prime indication for mashing performance, and should be used as an industry specification when selecting barley grains for brewing.

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