Identification of causal relationships among traits related to drought resistance in Stylosanthes scabra using QTL analysis.

Previous studies have shown that a negative relationship exists between transpiration efficiency (TE) and carbon isotope discrimination (Delta) and between TE and specific leaf area (SLA) in Stylosanthes scabra. A glasshouse experiment was conducted to confirm these relationships in an F(2) population and to study the causal nature of these relationships through quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. One hundred and twenty F(2) genotypes from a cross between two genotypes within S. scabra were used. Three replications for each genotype were maintained through vegetative propagation. Water stress was imposed by maintaining plants at 40% of field capacity for about 45 d. To facilitate QTL analysis, a genetic linkage map consisting of 151 RAPD markers was developed. Results from this study show that Delta was significantly and negatively correlated with TE and biomass production. Similarly, SLA showed significant negative correlation with TE and biomass production. Most of the QTL for TE and Delta were present on linkage groups 5 and 11. Similarly, QTL for SLA, transpiration and biomass productivity traits were clustered on linkage groups 13 and 24. One unlinked marker was also associated with these traits. There were several markers coincident between different traits. At all the coincident QTL, the direction of QTL effects was consistent with phenotypic data. At the coincident markers between TE and Delta, high alleles of TE were associated with low alleles of Delta. Similarly, low alleles of SLA were associated with high alleles of biomass productivity traits and transpiration. At the coincident markers between trans-4-hydroxy-N:-methyl proline (MHP) and relative water content (RWC), low alleles of MHP were associated with high alleles of RWC. This study suggests the causal nature of the relationship between TE and Delta. Phenotypic data and QTL data show that SLA was more closely associated with biomass production than with TE. This study also shows that a cause-effect relationship may exist between SLA and biomass production.

Rationalization of the effects of compatible solutes on protein stability in terms of thermodynamic nonideality.

Inhibition by compatible solutes such as proline and glycine betaine of the rate of coagulation, at 60 degrees C, of bovine serum albumin in 0.1 M acetate buffer, pH 5, is used as a model system to substantiate the concept that the production of high concentrations of osmolytes by plants and other organisms in response to stress (e.g., drought) results in stabilization of native enzyme structures via nonspecific excluded volume effects. The paradoxical situation whereby this effect of compatible solutes counters to some extent the protein-precipitating effect of poly(ethylene glycol) is also seemingly resolved.

Variability in Proline-Accumulating Ability of Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Cultivars Induced by Vapor Pressure Deficit.

This work was undertaken in an effort to reconcile the conflicting proline-accumulating responses of the barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars, Excelsior and Proctor, reported by Singh et al. (1972) and Hanson et al. (1976). It deals with the effects of different vapor pressure deficits (VPD) during growth and subsequent drought stress on several barley cultivars. A higher VPD (1.2 kilopascals) during Clipper seedling growth resulted in higher solute-accumulating ability, seemingly independently of leaf water potential, than a lower VPD (0.12 kilopascals). The higher VPD during stress also resulted in higher solute contents, and this response may be more closely related to leaf water potential. When the responses of Excelsior and Proctor were examined in detail, it was found that the relative proline-accumulating ability of the two cultivars was dependent upon the VPD under which they were grown. At low VPD, Proctor accumulated significantly more proline than did Excelsior; whereas at higher VPD, Excelsior accumulated more proline than did Proctor. The crossover occurred at a VPD of about 0.72 kilopascals. This reversal of cultivar response was enhanced by multiplying seed under the two VPD extremes. Glycinebetaine accumulation did not demonstrate the crossover effect, although the concentration of this compound in all cultivars also depended on the VPD prevailing during growth and/or stress. Solute levels, in general, were more closely related to the decrease in relative water content than to a decrease in leaf water potential. It is concluded that the conflicting proline-accumulating responses of Excelsior and Proctor could be explained by these findings.

Circadian rhythmicity in phosphorylase activity and glycogen content in the heart muscle of the scorpion, Heteromentrus fulvipes, C.L. Koch.

Maximal activity levels of phosphorylase A and AB at 20.00 h alternate with minimal levels at 08.00 h of the day, while the glycogen content exhibited a reverse trend in the heart of the scorpion, Heterometrus fulvipes.