Development of Triticum aestivum-Leymus racemosus ditelosomic substitution line 7Lr#1S(7A) with resistance to wheat scab and its meiotic behavior analysis

Leymus racemosus is highly resistant to wheat scab (Fusarum head bright). The transfer of scab resistant gene from L. racemosus to Triticum aestivum is of great significance for broadening the base of wheat resistance. In the present study, the pollen of T. aestivum-L. racemosus monosomic addition line with scab resistance was treated by irradiation with 1200 R 60Co-γ-rays prior to pollinating to emasculated wheat cv. Mianyang 85-45. Nine plants with a telocentric chromosome 7Lr#1S were observed in M1, and one ditelosomic substitution line 7Lr#1S was selected from selfcrossing progenies and confirmed by chromosome C-banding and GISH. Furthermore, a co-dominant EST-SSR marker CINAU 31 was employed to identify this substitution line. A pair of chromosome 7A of common wheat were found to be replaced by a pair of telocentric chromosome 7Lr#1S, and further investigation showed that chromosome configuration of the substitution line at MI of PMCs after GISH was 17.50○II W 2.19 IIW 0.42II7Lr#1S 1.08 I7Lr#1S 0.69 IW. Two telocentric chromosomes paired as a bivalent in 59.7% of PMCs. Abnormal chromosome behaviors of telocentric chromosomes were observed in part of PMCs at anaphase I and telophase I, including the moving of two telocentric chromosomes to the same pole, lagging and earlier separation of their sister chromatid. All these abnormal behaviors can be grouped into three distinct types of tetrads according to different numbers of 7Lr#1S in their daughter cells and various micronucleus in some tetrads. However, due to the high transmission frequency of the female and male gametes with a 7Lr#1S, 84% of the selfcrossing progeny plants had ditelosomic substitution. The substitution line showed high resistance to wheat scab in a successive two-year test both in the greenhouse and field; hence, the line will be particularly valuable for alien gene mapping, small fragment translocation induction and telosomic cytological behavior analysis.     

Protective effects of nitric oxide on salt stress-induced oxidative damage to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) leaves

The changes of chlorophyll and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, plasma membrane permeability confirmed that 0.1 and 1 mmol/L sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a donor of nitric oxide (NO) in vivo, could markedly alleviate the oxidative damage to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) leaves induced by 150 and 300 mmol/L NaCl treatments, respectively. Further results proved that NO significantly enhanced the activities of Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), both of which separately contributed to the delay of O ₂ ⁻ and H₂O₂ accumulation in wheat leaves under salt stress. Meanwhile, the accumulation of proline was apparently accelerated. Therefore, these results suggested that NO could strongly protect wheat leaves from oxidative damage caused by salt stress.     

Sequence analysis of the gene correlated with cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) in rape-seed (Brassica napus) Polima and Shaan 2A

orf224 is a CMS-related mitochondrial gene discovered in Polima cytoplasm. Shaan 2A CMS line is the parent of the first rapeseed hybrid cultivar Qinyou No. 2 that has been grown in many regions of China. In this work, genomic DNA of Polima CMS line and Shaan 2A CMS line were used as templates, two primers of specific oligonucleotides at 5′ and 3′ ends were used, PCR was performed, the amplification fragments were cloned into pGEM-T Easy vectors and DNA sequences were determined. The CMS-associated gene, orf224-1 present in Shaan 2A CMS line, has a sequence highly homologous to the orf224 of the Polima CMS line, except for one nucleotide at position +398. There were only one base (AAC→AGC) and one amino acid (Asn →Ser) differences between the two. The homologies of the two sequences in nucleotide and amino acid were 99.9% and 99.6%, respectively. It is concluded that orf224 in Polima CMS line and orf224-1 of Shaan 2A CMS line are the allele at the same locus in mitochondria.