Investigation of genetic relationships within three Miscanthus species using SNP markers identified with SLAF-seq

Background Miscanthus, which is a leading dedicated-energy grass in Europe and in parts of Asia, is expected to play a key role in the development of the future bioeconomy. However, due to its complex genetic background, it is difficult to investigate phylogenetic relationships in this genus. Here, we investigated 50 Miscanthus germplasms: 1 female parent (M. lutarioriparius), 30 candidate male parents (M. lutarioriparius, M. sinensis, and M. sacchariflorus), and 19 offspring. We used high-throughput Specific-Locus Amplified Fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) to identify informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in all germplasms. Results We identified 257,889 SLAF tags, of which 87,162 were polymorphic. Each tag was 264–364 bp long. The obtained 724,773 population SNPs were used to investigate genetic relationships within three species of Miscanthus. We constructed a phylogenetic tree of the 50 germplasms using the obtained SNPs and grouped them into two clades: one clade comprised of M. sinensis alone and the other one included the offspring, M. lutarioriparius, and M. sacchariflorus. Genetic cluster analysis had revealed that M. lutarioriparius germplasm C3 was the most likely male parent of the offspring. Conclusions As a high-throughput sequencing method, SLAF-seq can be used to identify informative SNPs in Miscanthus germplasms and to rapidly characterize genetic relationships within this genus. Our results will support the development of breeding programs with the focus on utilizing Miscanthus cultivars with elite biomass- or fiber-production potential for the developing bioeconomy.

The knowledge level and practices on childhood injuries and interventions among parents at home

Background: There are many common household emergencies that may involve children. This includes poisoning, falls, burns, choking, animal bites, very high fever and also febrile fits. Knowledge about preventive measures to prevent these accidents as home as well as knowing what to do when it occurs may help in preventing further complications and may aid in recovery. Therefore, this study aims to find out the general public knowledge regarding the preventive steps and early emergency steps that can be taken upon emergencies occurring among children. Methods: A cross sectional study incorporating a questionnaire/instrument that included brief sociodemographic data and a total of 10 questions on common household injuries and emergencies, and either preventive steps or early interventions was used. The topics covered were 6 core topics on poisoning, falls, burns, choking, animal bites, high fever and also febrile fits. Results: The total number of respondents was 119 parents. This study overall showed a good knowledge, attitude and practice among the parents towards common emergency inflicting children. Older aged and female parent were found to have more knowledge and positive attitude towards common emergencies among children, respectively. Conclusion: Group identified as having a lower knowledge, attitude and/or practice should be targeted in future community education programmes to increase the knowledge as well positive attitudes and practices towards identifying and managing common emergencies among children. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol. 21(1) 2022 Page : 140-144

Embryo Rescue and Moleclar Marker-Assisted Selection of Hybrid Seedless Grape

Seedless grapes play an important role in fresh food and dry production. New varieties breeding by hybridization with seedless varieties as female parents is the most effective way to cultivate seedless varieties. However, the embryos of Seedless varieties can not develop normally, so it is difficult to obtain hybrid offspring as hybrid female parent. Moreover, grape is a perennial tree species with highly heterozygous genes, with long breeding cycle and low efficiency. In this study, embryo rescue technology was used to cultivate hybrid offspring by crossing with ‘Ruby Seedless’ as female parent and ‘Hongqitezao’ as male parent, so as to solve the problem that seedless varieties can not be female parent; and molecular technology was used to carry out assisted breeding research to solve the problems of long cycle and low efficiency. TP-M13-SSR technique was used to carry out authenticity breeding. SCAR marker SCF27-2000 was used to detect the seedless traits of hybrid plants, phenotypic traits was used to verify the results of molecular markers, and Seedless trait-related SSR markers VMC7F2, VrSD10 and P3_VvAGL11 was used to detect and verify the genotypes of individual plants with inconsistent detection results by the two methods. In this study, a total of 384 hybrid offspring were finally obtained, and the hybridization rate was 84.43%. A total of 163 fruit-bearing plants were identified, and the phenotypes of their seeds were identified. The coincidence rate of genotypic and phenotypic analyses was 93.88%. Additionally, 305 F1 plants were detected using the SCF27-2000 marker, and the abortion rate was 64.92%. We speculate that the inconsistent results were caused by parthenocarpy, SCF27 marker limitation, among other factors. Overall, this study shows that embryo rescue is an effective method for breeding seedless grape cultivars, and the application of molecular markers could facilitate the early identification of hybrid traits,and improve breeding efficiency.

Assessment of tea plant (Camellia sinensis L.) accessions for pollen sources in natural crossing by using microsatellites

Tea (Camellia sinensis L. [O.] Kuntze) is a highly cross-pollinated and self-incompatible plant. Seeds can be harvested from specific individual mother plants in polyclonal tea gardens. Whether the pollen donor plays an important role in seed formation remains unclear. This study aimed to identify the male parents of 72 natural hybridized progenies (F1) from one female parent on the basis of a putative specific allele by using simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers and the exclusion-likelihood method with Cervus 3.0 software. The genetic material, which comprised seven accessions of C. sinensis L., was acquired from Assamica planted in the Kayulandak polyclonal seed garden of the Pagilaran tea plantation in Batang District, Central Java, Indonesia, and was studied during 2019 and 2020. The genotype PGL-15 was used as the female parent, whereas the six candidate genotypes PGL-10, GMB-9, GMB-7, TPS-93, GMB-11, and TRI-2025 were used as the male parents. In this study, 13 SSR loci were used to identify the male parents of the F1 progenies obtained through natural hybridization between one female and six male tea accessions. Results indicated that the exclusion-likelihood method, which correctly predicted 100% of the male parents, was more effective than the putative specific allele approach, which correctly predicted only 34.72% of the male parents in the 72 hybridized F1 progenies of tea plants.

New cultivar of soybean Gorinskaya

The paper presents results of research into breeding of the new soybean cultivar Gorinskaya by the methods of hybridization and individual selection. Soybean varieties SibNIIK-315 (female parent) and Fiskebi V (male parent) were used as a starting material. The studies were carried out in the forest-steppe zone of the Western Siberia (Novosibirsk region). Soybean Gorinskaya belongs to the Manchu subspecies. The plants have a light brown (reddish) pubescence of the stem, leaves, beans. The growth pattern and the type of apex is intermediate, the number of branches is 1–3, the angle of branching is 20–30 degrees, the bush is compressed. The height to the first branch is 6–10 cm, the attachment height of the lower pod is 10–13 cm. The beans are distributed evenly throughout the plant. The length of the stem is 55–75 cm, the number of internodes on the stem is 12–15. The inflorescence is a small-flowered raceme of 3-5 flowers. The corolla is purple in color. The pods are slightly curved with a pointed tip; when ripe, they acquire a brown color. The seeds are elongated-oval, greenish-yellow in color, without pigmentation. The seed hilum is brown. The cultivar is the grain variety for use. The yield in the competitive variety testing reached 29.4 c / ha. The mass of seeds per plant is 10–12 g, the mass of 1000 seeds is 150–160 g. The number of seeds per pod is 2-3; the average number of pods per 1 productive node is 2-3. The protein content in seeds is 35-38, fat – 17-19%. Duration of the vegetative period is 100-105 days. The cultivar is medium resistant to diseases, cold, drought, and soil salinity. In 2018, the Gorinskaya soybean variety was included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements Approved for Use in the Russian Federation for the East Siberian region.

Seed yield of simple and tri-linear corn (Zea mays L.) hybrids for the mexican humid tropics

The objective of the work was to evaluate the agronomic performance and seed yield of tropical corn (Zea mays L.) of single and tri-linear crosses. In the spring-summer of 2015 and 2016, two essays were established in the states of Veracruz and Tabasco, Mexico. In the first essay, a group of 12 single crosses was evaluated, and in the second, a group of 18 tri-linear crosses was evaluated. In both essays, the treatments were distributed under a completely randomized block design with three replicates in 5 m long, two-row plots and 0.8 m between rows, with an initial population density of 62.500 plants ha-1. Within the simple cross trial, hybrids HE-3W, COMERCIAL 1, LT-164xLT-165, and HE-1W presented seed yields above the general mean (3384 kg ha-1). Within this outstanding group is the LT-164xLT-165 cross, which participates as a female parent in the formation of the recently released commercial hybrid H-567. In the tri-linear crosses essay, a group of varieties and hybrids including H-567, (LT-164xLT-165) xLT-156, (LT-164xLT-165) xLT-155, (LT-154xLT-155) xLT-165, VS-536, H-520, VS-563, (LT-154xLT-155) xLT-170, (LT-171xLT-172) xLT-156, (LT-164xLT-165) xLT-164, and (LT-171xLT-172) xLT-170 recorded seed yields of 6669.8, 6515.4, 6498.6, 6431.1, 6260, 6024.7, 5935.4, 5664.3, 5580.8, and 5527.1 kg ha-1, respectively. The LT-154, LT-155, and LT-156 lines are common as a male and female parent, suggesting a good genetic combination. The prevailing environmental conditions during the development of the experiments did not significantly influence the productivity of the crosses. There is genetic variability that can be used to continue developing lines, open pollination varieties, and corn hybrids.

Brood Division and the Ontogeny of Caching Behaviour in the North Island robin (Petroica longipes)

<p>The post-fledging period is an important, but understudied, stage of avian development. This is despite the fact that the parental care and behavioural development of young observed during this period contribute significantly toward offspring survival. A key factor that has contributed to the lack of research in this area has been the difficulty with which parents and offspring can be observed during this period. The North Island robin (Petroica longipes) is a small insectivorous passerine native to New Zealand forests. As a result of the historic absence of mammalian predators, North Island robins lack pronounced anti-predator behaviours and are fearless towards humans. This makes them ideal subjects for behavioural studies in the wild because human presence does not alter their daily activities. Using field observations, the present study examined parental care and the development of caching during the post-fledging period in wild North Island robins. Brood division is a form of preferential post-fledging care that is well documented among avian species in the northern hemisphere. In contrast, little is known about the incidence and function of brood division in avian species outside this region. Across two breeding seasons (2014-2015 and 2015-2016), feeding interactions between parents and offspring were observed during nestling and fledgling development to determine the timing of and factors influencing brood division in robins. Brood division occurred around the time young left the nest and was common amongst broods which fledged two or more young. The male parent typically cared for male and larger fledglings and the female parent for female and smaller fledglings. The results of this study match patterns observed in northern hemisphere species suggesting that brood division provides the same adaptive advantages to species regardless of geographical context. Caching, the handling of food to preserve it for future consumption, is an important strategy which allows numerous avian species to deal with natural fluctuations in food supply. In recent decades, caching has become a widely-used paradigm for examining a range of cognitive processes in birds, such as social cognition and spatial memory. However, much is still unknown about how caching develops in young birds, especially in the wild. Over a 12-week period following fledging, the ontogeny of caching and cache retrieval was observed for 34 juvenile robins. Juveniles began caching shortly after achieving foraging independency (approximately 5 weeks after fledging) and their caching rates increased gradually with age. Retrieval of caches began spontaneously as soon as they had begun to cache and retrieval rates remained constant throughout development. Results suggest that caching behaviour in North Island robins is likely to be innate, but that age and experience have an important role in the development of adult caching behaviours. The two studies described in this dissertation examine behaviours that have either been previously difficult to document in the wild or have not been documented in this species. Overall, the results highlight the behavioural similarities between the North Island robin and other avian species exhibiting brood division and caching. Additionally, they also demonstrate the suitability of the North Island robin for future behavioural research given the ease with which these birds can be observed in the wild.</p>

Brood Division and the Ontogeny of Caching Behaviour in the North Island robin (Petroica longipes)

<p>The post-fledging period is an important, but understudied, stage of avian development. This is despite the fact that the parental care and behavioural development of young observed during this period contribute significantly toward offspring survival. A key factor that has contributed to the lack of research in this area has been the difficulty with which parents and offspring can be observed during this period. The North Island robin (Petroica longipes) is a small insectivorous passerine native to New Zealand forests. As a result of the historic absence of mammalian predators, North Island robins lack pronounced anti-predator behaviours and are fearless towards humans. This makes them ideal subjects for behavioural studies in the wild because human presence does not alter their daily activities. Using field observations, the present study examined parental care and the development of caching during the post-fledging period in wild North Island robins. Brood division is a form of preferential post-fledging care that is well documented among avian species in the northern hemisphere. In contrast, little is known about the incidence and function of brood division in avian species outside this region. Across two breeding seasons (2014-2015 and 2015-2016), feeding interactions between parents and offspring were observed during nestling and fledgling development to determine the timing of and factors influencing brood division in robins. Brood division occurred around the time young left the nest and was common amongst broods which fledged two or more young. The male parent typically cared for male and larger fledglings and the female parent for female and smaller fledglings. The results of this study match patterns observed in northern hemisphere species suggesting that brood division provides the same adaptive advantages to species regardless of geographical context. Caching, the handling of food to preserve it for future consumption, is an important strategy which allows numerous avian species to deal with natural fluctuations in food supply. In recent decades, caching has become a widely-used paradigm for examining a range of cognitive processes in birds, such as social cognition and spatial memory. However, much is still unknown about how caching develops in young birds, especially in the wild. Over a 12-week period following fledging, the ontogeny of caching and cache retrieval was observed for 34 juvenile robins. Juveniles began caching shortly after achieving foraging independency (approximately 5 weeks after fledging) and their caching rates increased gradually with age. Retrieval of caches began spontaneously as soon as they had begun to cache and retrieval rates remained constant throughout development. Results suggest that caching behaviour in North Island robins is likely to be innate, but that age and experience have an important role in the development of adult caching behaviours. The two studies described in this dissertation examine behaviours that have either been previously difficult to document in the wild or have not been documented in this species. Overall, the results highlight the behavioural similarities between the North Island robin and other avian species exhibiting brood division and caching. Additionally, they also demonstrate the suitability of the North Island robin for future behavioural research given the ease with which these birds can be observed in the wild.</p>

The Inactivation of Arabidopsis UBC22 Results in Abnormal Chromosome Segregation in Female Meiosis, but Not in Male Meiosis

Protein ubiquitination is important for the regulation of meiosis in eukaryotes, including plants. However, little is known about the involvement of E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes in plant meiosis. Arabidopsis UBC22 is a unique E2 enzyme, able to catalyze the formation of ubiquitin dimers through lysine 11 (K11). Previous work has shown that ubc22 mutants are defective in megasporogenesis, with most ovules having no or abnormally functioning megaspores; furthermore, some mutant plants show distinct phenotypes in vegetative growth. In this study, we showed that chromosome segregation and callose deposition were abnormal in mutant female meiosis while male meiosis was not affected. The meiotic recombinase DMC1, required for homologous chromosome recombination, showed a dispersed distribution in mutant female meiocytes compared to the presence of strong foci in WT female meiocytes. Based on an analysis of F1 plants produced from crosses using a mutant as the female parent, about 24% of female mutant gametes had an abnormal content of DNA, resulting in frequent aneuploids among the mutant plants. These results show that UBC22 is critical for normal chromosome segregation in female meiosis but not for male meiosis, and they provide important leads for studying the role of UBC22 and K11-linked ubiquitination.

The effect of parental plant and washing materials on seed germination of F2 generation apple cactus (Cereus spp.)

Apple cactus (Cereus sp.) is a genus of cactus, and two species that are often crossed are long spines (Cereus jamacaru) and short spines (Cereus peruvianus). Those species have seeds with physical dormancy, that is, seed mucilage that can inhibit the germination process. This research aims to study the effect of parental plants and washing materials on the germination of F2 apple cactus seeds. This study used two-factor RCBD using 3 parental plants of the F2 generation of apple cactus (C. jamacaru open pollination, C. peruvianus × C. jamacaru, C. jamacaru × C. peruvianus) and 5 washing materials (without washing, pH 8, distilled water (pH 7), pH 5, and pH 9) which was carried out in 3 repetitions. The results showed that seeds of the cross C. jamacaru as female parent (C. jamacaru open pollination and C. jamacaru × C. peruvianus) produced better germination than seeds from the cross of C. peruvianus as female parent (C. peruvianus × C. jamacaru). Although the washing material didn’t significantly affect the germination of F2 apple cactus seeds, there was an influence of using pH 9 to minimize seed mucilage so that the extraction process was easier.