Abnormal mitosis induced by wheat-rye 1R monosomic addition lines.

Octoploid triticale were derived from common wheat (Triticum aestivum L. 'Mianyang11') × rye (Secale cereale L. 'Kustro'), and some progeny were obtained by the backcrossing of triticale with 'Mianyang11' followed by self-fertilization. In situ hybridization using rye genomic DNA and repetitive sequences pAs1 and pSc119.2 as probes was used to analyze the mitotic chromosomes of these progeny. Three wheat-rye 1R monosomic addition lines and a wheat line (12FT-1685) containing a 1R and a 1BL.1RS translocation chromosome were identified. Abnormal mitosis was observed in the two lines. During mitosis of a 1R monosomic addition line (3-8-20-1R-2), lagging chromosomes, micronuclei, chromosomal bridges, and the one pole segregation of 1R chromosome were observed. Abnormal mitotic behaviour of chromosomes was also observed in some of the self-progeny plants of lines 12FT-1685 and 3-8-20-1R-2. These progeny contained 1R chromosome or 1R chromosome arm. In addition, 4B chromosomes were absent from one of the progeny of 3-8-20-1R-2. This abnormal mitotic behaviour of chromosomes was not observed in two other 1R monosomic addition lines. These results indicate that a single 1R chromosome added to wheat might cause abnormal mitotic behaviour of both wheat and rye chromosomes and different genetic variations might occurr among the sibling 1R monosomic addition lines.

[Application of polarization fluorescence to the study on the effects of oxidative stress on wheat chloroplast].

In the present paper wheat flag leaves were collected during the tasseling period, and then 1 mmol x L(-1) hydrogen peroxide was added to induce oxidative stress on leaves. In comparison, the detached leaves were also kept under drought or darkness condition for 24 h for the same purpose. Following the preparation of chloroplasts, polarization fluorescence spectroscopic method was utilized to measure fluorescence emission spectra and fluorescence excitation spectra of chloroplasts in the case of VV, VH, HV and HH, where V and H is representative of vertical polarization and horizontal polarization, respectively. Gaussian deconvolution was done on emission spectra, and the fitting data revealed that no matter whether Chla or Chlb molecules were excited upon excitation at 436 nm or 475 nm, the ratio of fluorescence peak area at 684 nm and 720 nm, i. e. A684/ A720, tends to increase slightly after oxidative stress. In addition, some useful information was available from polarization excitation spectra, where it was observed that the treatment of oxidative stress gave rise to higher ratio of excitation peak intensity between 436 nm and 475 nm (E436/E475), indicating that Chla made more contribution to PSII fluorescence emission than Chlb did. Simultaneously, the ratio of 475 nm and 600 nm (E475/E600), representing the energy transfer efficiency from Car to Chlb, was also found to be higher after the detached leaves were treated. In addition, both fluorescence polarization and viscosity were calculated in this paper, and the data showed that oxidative stress should be responsible for higher fluorescence polarization at 680 nm and higher viscosity in microenviroment. The above-mentioned phenomenon is consistent with the lipid peroxidation of unsaturated fatty acids. It also provides a simple and feasible method to study oxidative stress.

Diversity and evolution of four dispersed repetitive DNA sequences in the genus Secale.

We present the first characterization of 360 sequences in six species of the genus Secale of both cultivated and wild accessions. These include four distinct kinds of dispersed repetitive DNA sequences named pSc20H, pSc119.1, pSaO5(411), and pSaD15(940) belonging to the Revolver family. During the evolution of the genus Secale from wild to cultivated accessions, the pSaO5(411)-like sequences became shorter mainly because of the deletion of a trinucleotide tandem repeating unit, the pSc20H-like sequences displayed apparent homogenization in cultivated rye, and the second intron of Revolver became longer. In addition, the pSc20H-, pSc119.1-, and pSaO5(411)-like sequences cloned from wild rye and cultivated rye could be divided into two large clades. No single case of the four kinds of repetitive elements has been inherited by each Secale accession from a lone ancestor. It is reasonable to consider the vertical transmission of the four repetitive elements during the evolution of the genus Secale. The pSc20H- and pSaO5(411)-like sequences showed evolutionary elimination at specific chromosomal locations from wild species to cultivated species. These cases imply that different repetitive DNA sequences have played different roles in the chromosome development and genomic evolution of rye. The present study adds important information to the investigations dealing with characterization of dispersed repetitive elements in wild and cultivated rye.

[Establishment of wheat-rye addition lines and De Novo powdery mildew resistance gene from chromosome 5R].

The F5 plants derived from octoploid triticale × common wheat were investigated by FISH methods using repetitive DNA sequences pAS1 and pSc119.2 as probes. The disease resistance of these plants was also screened and evaluated in the field. The 1R, 2R, 3R, 4R, 5R, 6R and 7R monosomic addition lines and 1R and 2R disomic addition lines were found. The occurrence frequencies of chromosomes 1R and 4R addition lines were higher than that of chromosomes 2R, 3R, 5R, 6R, and 7R addition lines in the high generation screened. The 5R and 6R monosomic addition lines were immune to powdery mildew. The chromosome 5R in this study might carry new powdery mildew resistance gene(s). In addition, the preferential elimination of chromosome 4B was observed in several plants.

Vascular gene transfer and drug delivery in vitro using low-frequency ultrasound and microbubbles.

AIM: To determine the effects of ultrasound exposure in combination with a microbubble contrast agent (SonoVue) on the cellular uptake and delivery of drugs/genes into human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) as well as their biological effects on migration. METHODS: HUVECs in suspension were exposed to pulsed ultrasound with a 10% duty cycle in combination with various concentrations of a microbubble contrast agent (SonoVue) using a digital sonifier at a frequency of 20 kHz and an intensity of 3.77 W/cm(2) on the surface of a horn tip. Cell culture inserts were used to determine the cell migration ability. RESULTS: Exposure to pulsed ultrasound resulted in enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene transfection efficiencies ranging from 0.2% to 2%. The transfection efficiency of HUVECs was approximately 3-fold higher in the presence of SonoVue than in its absence at the effective exposure time of 6 s. For drug delivery to HUVECs using ultrasound, the delivery efficiencies of a low-molecular-weight model drug (TO-PRO-1, M(W) 645.38) were significantly higher when compared to drug delivery without ultrasound, with a maximum efficiency of approximately 34%. However, the delivery efficiencies of a high-molecular-weight model drug (Dextran-Rhodamine B, M(W) 70,000) were low, with a maximum delivery efficiency of nearly 0.5%, and gene transfection results were similarly poor. The migration ability of HUVECs exposed to ultrasound was also lower than that of the control (no exposure). CONCLUSION: The use of low-frequency and low-energy ultrasound in combination with microbubbles could be a potent physical method of increasing drug/gene delivery efficiency. This technique is a promising nonviral approach that can be used in cardiovascular disease therapy.

[Effects of redox state of disulfide bonds on the intrinsic fluorescence and denaturation of Trx-fused gibberellin-induced cysteine-rich protein from Gymnadnia conopsea].

In the present paper, thioredoxin-fused gibberellin-induced cysteine-rich protein from Gymnadnia conopsea, desigated as Trx-GcGASA and expressed prokaryotically, was purified and identified by using Ni(2+) -NTA affinity chromatography column and SDS-PAGE, and then its intrinsic fluorescence was investigated in the absence and presence of dithiothreitol (DTT), oxidized glutathione (GSSG), peroxide and guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) by means of steady-state fluorescence spectroscopic methods. It was found that (1) at the neutral pH Trx-GcGASA had maximum fluorescence emission at 305 nm following excitation at different wavelengths varying from 250 to 280 nm, which was ascribed to the fluorescence emission from tyrosine residues. (2) The reduction of disulphide bonds lead to the changes in the relative fluorescence intensity between tyrosine and tryptophan residues from 0.7 to 1.8. (3) Both Tyr and Trp residues underwent 12%-21% decrease in fluorescence intensity with the addition of 0.5 mmol x L(-1) GSSG or 5 mmol x L(-1) peroxide. The latter was roughly consistent with the antioxidative activity reported in vivo. (4) No matter whether 1 mmol x L(-1) DTT was absent or present, the fusion protein could not be fully unfolded with lambda(max) < 350 nm following the treatment of 6 mol x L(-1) GdnHCl. (5) Fusion protein Trx-GcGASA experienced GdnHCl-induced denaturation process, and the unfolding equilibrium curve could be well fitted by using two-state model, giving the Gibbs free energy change (deltaG) of 3.7 kJ x mol(-1). However, it was not the case for reduced Trx-GcGASA protein. The aforementioned experimental results will not only provide some guides to investigate the effects of fusion partner Trx on the unfolding thermodynamics, kinetics and refolding process of Trx-GcGASA, but also will be useful for further studies on the strucuture of GA-induced cysteine-rich protein with the help of spectroscopic methods.

[Identification, characterization and utilization of simple sequence repeat markers derived from Salvia miltiorrhiza expressed sequence tags].

Despite Salvia miltiorrhiza being one of the most important medicine plants in China, there is a limited availability of genomic resources, especially of the expressed sequence tag-based markers. In this study, we selected and characterized functional markers in S. miltiorrhiza, which consisted of 4,192 non-redundant expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from 10,288 identified S. miltiorrhiza ESTs in dbEST data bank. Among them, 159 simple sequence repeats (SSR) were detected, which amounted to 3.79% of the non-redundant starting sequence population. This incidence was equivalent to one EST-SSR in every 12.74 kb of S. miltiorrhiza ESTs. Among the different motifs ranging from 1 bp to 6 bp, di-nucleotide repeat motif was the most abundant (77, 48.43%), followed by tri-nucleotide (41, 25.79%), hexa-nucleotide (23, 14.47%), penta-nucleotide (12, 7.55%) and tetra-nucleotide (6, 3.77%). In 47 identified motif types, the detected frequency above 5% were GA/CT (16.35%), AG/TC (15.09%), TCA/AGT (10.69%), AT/TA (6.29%), GAAAAG/CAAAAC (6.29%) and TA/AT (5.03%). Based on flank sequence of detected SSR, a total of 83 EST-SSR primer pairs were designed and tested for the amplification efficiency, polymorphism and transferability in thirteen S. mihiorrhiza samples and other ten species from the genus Salvia. The results showed that 72 primer pairs were successfully amplified in S. miltiorrhiza samples to yield and 279 loci with an average of 3.88 loci per primer pair. The cross-transferability of S. miltiorrhiza EST-SSR markers to other ten Salvia plants was very high, ranging from 60% to 100% with an average of 85%. Further analysis of the genetic similarity based on the polymorphic bands showed the EST-SSR could detect the genetic diversity on different levels among the whole test samples and distinguish the S. miltiorrhiza from other Salvia plants effectively. It is expected that the potential markers described here would add to the repertoire of DNA markers needed for genetic analysis, linkage mapping and comparative genomics studies in S. miltiorrhiza and related Salvia genus plants.

[Study on the effect of C-terminal acidic protein on the prokaryotic expression of alpha-thionin by FTIR microspectroscopy].

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy was used to investigate the effects of C-terminal acidic protein on the secondary structure of wheat alpha-thionin in the absence of signal peptide during the prokaryotic expression process. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that the presence of acidic protein gave rise to the formation of inclusion body, however, the absence of acidic protein greatly enhanced the solubility of the heterogenous protein expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) with the induction of 1 mmol x L(-1) IPTG at 37 degrees C. Difference spectra in amide I region were obtained by subtraction between the spectra of intact cells containing S and Sc, which corresponds to the absence and presence of C-terminal acidic proteins, respectively. The second derivative of the difference spectra measured 2 h after induction showed one principal component at approximately 1 630 cm(-1), while no significant peak appeared at the same peak position when the spectra before induction were compared. Combined with SDS-PAGE of recombinant protein, the authors presumed that the peak absorption at approximately 1 630 cm(-1) is most likey to be assigned to protein aggregate within inclusion body. Gaussian curve-fitting was done on the Fourier self-deconvolution spectra within amide I region of intact cells containing S and Sc. The experimental data revealed that the relative content of aggregate absorption at (1 629 +/- 1) cm(-1) gradually increased with induction time, which is consistent with the results of SDS-PAGE. Simutaneously, the formation of aggregate gave rise to the increase of alpha-helix, as well as the decrease of beta-turn and random coil in the case of Sc. It was not the case for S, however, where random coil experienced the increase in the relative average fractions, while beta-turn and beta-sheet at (1 629 +/- 1) cm(-1) behaved in different ways. The above mentioned phenomenon indicated that beta-sheet and random coil are most likely to transform into aggregate and alpha-helix with the introduction of C-terminal acidic protein.

Discrimination of repetitive sequences polymorphism in Secale cereale by genomic in situ hybridization-banding.

Genomic in situ hybridization banding (GISH-banding), a technique slightly modified from conventional GISH, was used to probe the Chinese native rye (Secale cereale L.) DNA, and enabled us to visualize the individual rye chromosomes and create a universal reference karyotype of the S. cereale chromosome 1R to 7R. The GISH-banding approach used in the present study was able to discriminate S. cereale chromosomes or segments in the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) background, including the Triticale, wheat-rye addition and translocation lines. Moreover, the GISH-banding pattern of S. cereale subsp. Afghanicum chromosomes was consistent with that of Chinese native rye cv. Jingzhou rye; whereas the GISH-banding pattern of Secale vavilovii was different from that of S. cereale, indicating that GISH-banding can be used to study evolutionary polymorphism in species or subspecies of Secale. In addition, the production and application of GISH-banding to the study of adenine-thymine-riched heterochromatin is discussed.

[Development and application of a genome specific marker for Secale africanum].

Genome in situ hybridization (GISH) analysis of wheat-Secale africanum amphiploid revealed that the S. africanum genome displayed significant divergence to the Secale cereale genome. It is thus valuable to deploy genes from S. africanum. We performed the PCR analysis on S. africanum, wheat-S. afticanum amphiploid, T. eastivum cv. Anyuepaideng and other genetic stocks by 100 ISSR primers. A specific segment of 561 bp, named pSaUBC815561, was obtained from S. africanum using primer UBC815. This segment was not amplified from the control wheat lines. Primer UBC815 also am-plified fragments from wild species of genus Secale, including S. vavilovii, S. sylvestre, and other cultivated ryes. Based on the sequence of pSaUBC815561, a pair of special primers U815-F and U815-R was designed and was used to amplify the DNA of wheat related species in Triticeae aimed at validating the specificity of pSaUBC815561. PCR analysis indicated that this specific DNA fragment was amplified not only from a set of Chinese Spring wheat-Imperial rye chromosome addition lines but also from certain wheat-rye introgression lines. Therefore, pSaUBC815561 can be used as a specific marker for detection of chromosomes of Secale genome in wheat.

[Cloning and expression of Gymnadenia conopsea GcSec61beta gene encoding endosplasmic reticulum membrane translocation channel protein].

Protein translocation channel in endosplasmic reticulum (ER) of eukaryotes is composed of several subunits of Sec61 complex, which is essential for protein secretion. In the present study, we cloned a full-length cDNA fragment of 621 bp coding 107 amino acids from a psychrophile and endangered plant Gymnadenia conopsea, which grows in high land. Sequence analysis revealed that the gene was highly homologous to the member Sec61beta of ER protein transporter channel, which was thus designated as GcSec61beta. Phylogenetic tree shows that the GcSec61beta was closely related to the corresponding genes from Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa. Results of semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed that the expression of GcSec61beta was high both in leaves and the bud, and also induced by low temperature treatment. The sequence of the GcSec61beta was introduced into pET28a vector and transformed to E. coli strain BL21. The growth of E. coli was slowed down but the cold resistance was increased by the expression of GcSec61beta, which provides a new function of GcSec61beta protein.

[Analysis of St-chromosome-containing triticeae polyploids using specific molecular markers].

In this study, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was performed on Pseudoroegneria spicata, Aegilops ventricosa, Secale cereale cv. Jingzhou Rye, Dasypyrum villosum and other 11 triticeae materials using 200 random 10-based primers. A 542 bp specific RAPD fragment (Accession No. DQ992032), named OPH11542, was obtained from Ps. Spicata. Based on the sequence of OPH11542, a pair of sequence characterized amplified region PCR (SCAR-PCR) primers was designed and used to amplify the materials of triticeae. The result demonstrated that 3 specific DNA segments of 542 bp, 742 bp (DQ992033)and 743 bp (EF014218) respectively, were obtained from St chromosome, however, these 3 segments were not appear in materials not contain St chromosome. Sequence similarity analysis revealed that these 3 segments were new repeated DNA sequences. SCAR-PCR was also performed on 15 materials containing St chromosome, and the result showed that OPH11742 or OPH11743 was always found in materials containing StY chromosome, whereas OPH11542 in materials containing StH chromosome. These results indicated that, chromosome recombination or modification often occurred in St chromosome in the course of combination of St and other chromosome to form a polypolid, and OPH11542, OPH11742 and OPH11743 could be used as molecular markers for the detection of St chromosome.

[Identification and phylogenetic application of unique nucleotide sequence of nad7 intron2 in Rhodiola (Crassulaceae) species].

Genetic characterization of 9 populations of Rhodiola crenulata, R. fastigiata and R. sachalinensis (Crassulaceae) species from Sichuan and Jilin Provinces of China, was investigated using the conserved primer of nad7 intron 2. All PCR products about 800 bp long were shorter than other Crassulaceae plants, which were used as molecular markers to identify the Rhodiola species. The sequence of the products indicated that total exon of 53 bp and intron of 738 bp exhibit only 9 nucleotide variations. Blasting the nad7 sequences to GenBank and the phylogenetic analysis showed that the sequence of Rhodiola species was clusted independently, and the length was smaller than all the registered sequences of higher plants. The result suggests that the Rhiodola species had a unique sequence in this gene region, which might be related to the special growth condition.

[Variation of Rye-Specific repetitive DNA pSc119.1 among sister T1RS.1BL translocations].

Specific primers were designed according to the rye-specific repetitive sequence pSc119.1 and were used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis using the genomic DNA of two sets of sister T1RS.1BL translocations, CN12, CN17, CN18, 96 I 176-1 and 96 I 176-3 as templates. The results indicated that the target fragments were amplified from CN12, CN17, and CN18. A target and a non-target fragment were produced from 96 I 176-1. However, no products were obtained from 96 I 176-3. Southern blot analysis indicated that the elimination of pSc119.1 did not occur in line 96 I 176-3. Three target fragments were cloned from CN12, CN17, and CN18 respectively through recovering. For each target fragment, ten clones were selected randomly for sequencing. Variation of the sequence pSc119.1 was observed in all of the three wheat lines and line CN18 had the most obvious variation. Most of the 30 sequences had 94% or 95% similarity with the sequence pSc119.1 published and the variation of bases of these sequences. Most variations of most bases arose from transition, and a few of them were transversion. Furthermore, there was great coherence among these changed bases in type and site. The evolution process of progenies of wide hybrids may be continuous. For each set of sister 1RS.1BL translocation, difference of some traits was observed among the wheat lines or cultivars. The difference was probably related to the variation of the repetitive DNA. This research provides some useful information for studying on mechanism of epigenetics.

Molecular mapping and genetic analysis of a QTL controlling spike formation rate and tiller number in wheat.

Spike formation rate (SR), which is based on maximum tiller number per unit area and spike number per unit area, is an important yield-related trait in wheat. Increasing the spike formation rate reduces growth competition and wastage of photosynthate from ineffective tillers. Unfortunately, research studies involving quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for wheat spike formation rate are limited. In the present study, a set of 371 recombinant inbreed line (RIL) population, which were derived from 1BL/LRS wheat-rye translocation lines CN18 and T1208, was analysed by simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Genetic analysis showed that a stable and major QTL (QSR.sicau-4D) for spike formation rate was localized to chromosome 4D and explained 18.24% and 24.48% of the observed phenotypic variance in 2015 and 2016, respectively. This QTL was closely linked to SSR marker Xcfd23, and the genetic distance between the flank markers was 3.28cM. Furthermore, QSR.sicau-4D might be a novel pleiotropic QTL, which also controlled maximum tiller number per unit area (QMTN.sicau-4D) and tiller number during pre-winter per unit area (QTNW.sicau-4D). The marker Xcfd23 associated with SR may be utilized in marker-assisted selection in wheat breeding.

Studies on genome relationship and species-specific PCR marker for Dasypyrum breviaristatum in Triticeae.

Dasypyrum breviaristatum and nine related species in Triticeae were analyzed using the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique, in order to understand the genetic relationship and to develop species specific markers. The genome relationship dendrogram shows that D. breviaristatum and D. villosum could not be grouped together, indicating that D. breviaristatum was unlikely to be directly derived from D. villosum, while D. breviaristatum was closest to Thinopyrum intermedium, which implied that they might have similar breeding behaviors when introducing their chromatins into wheat. A D. breviaristatum genome specific RAPD product of 1182bp, was cloned and designated as pDb12H. Sequence analysis revealed that pDb12H was strongly homologuos to a long terminal repeat (LTR) Sabrina retrotransposon newly reported in Hordeum. The pDb12H was converted into a PCR based marker, which allows effectively monitoring the D. breviaristatum chromatin introgression into wheat. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) suggested that pDb12H was specifically hybridized throughout all D. breviaristatum chromosomes arms except for the terminal and centromeric regions, which can be used to characterize wheat -D. breviaristatum chromosome translocation. The genomes repetitive element will also be useful to study gene interactions between the wheat and alien genomes after the polyploidization.

Molecular characterization of high molecular weight glutenin subunit allele 1Bx23 in common wheat introduced from hexaploid triticale.

High molecular weight glutenin subunit (HMW-GS) 1Bx23, an x-type subset encoded by Glu-B1p, which is only distributed in Triticum turgidum, was successfully transferred from hexaploid triticale to common wheat line SY95-71. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) shows that subunit 1Bx23 has a faster mobility than subunit 1Bx7 and 1Bx20, but slower than 1Bx17. Primers designed from the conserved regions in wheat HMW-GS gene promoter and coding sequences were used to amplify the genomic DNA of SY95-71. Total nucleotide sequences of 3426 bp including an open reading frame of 2385 bp and upstream sequence of 1038 bp were obtained. Compared with the reported gene sequences of Glu-B1-1 alleles, including 1Bx7, 1Bx14, 1Bx20 and 1Bx17, the promoter region of the 1Bx23 was displayed close to 1Bx7 and 1Bx17. The deduced amino acid sequence of coding region of 1Bx23 exhibited 34, 30, 20 and 22 amino acid substitutions from that of 1Bx14, 1Bx20, 1Bx7 and 1Bx17, respectively. A phylogenetic tree based on the nucleotide sequence alignment of the Glu-1Bx alleles shows that the 1Bx23 are apparently clustered with 1Bx7 and 1Bx17, and more ancient than 1Bx14 and 1Bx20, suggesting that the evolution speeds are different among Glu-1Bx genes. Additionally, the potential use of wheat line SY95-71 to further screen the quality contribution of unique subunit 1Bx23 is also discussed.

Molecular characterization of a HMW glutenin subunit allele providing evidence for silencing of x-type gene on Glu-B1.

Understanding the molecular structure of high-molecular-weight glutenin subunit (HMW-GS) may provide useful evidence for the study on the improvement of quality of cultivated wheat and the evolution of Glu-1 alleles. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) shows that the subunits encoded by Glu-B1 were null, named 1Bxm, in a Triticum turgidum var. dicoccoides line PI94640. Primers based on the conserved regions in wheat HMW-GS gene promoter and coding sequences were used to amplify the genomic DNA of line PI94640. The PCR products were sequenced, and the total nucleotide sequence of 3,442 bp including upstream sequence of 1,070 bp was obtained. Compared with the reported gene sequences of Glu-1Bx alleles, the promoter region of the Glu-1Bxm showed close resemblance to 1Bx7. The Glu-1Bxm coding region differs from the other Glu-1Bx alleles for a deduced mature protein with only 212 residues, and a stop codon (TAA) at 637 bp downstream from the start codon was present, which was probably responsible for the silencing of x-type subunit genes at the Glu-B1 locus. Phylogenetic tree based on the nucleotide sequence alignment of HMW glutenin subunit genes showed that 1Bxm was the most ancient type of Glu-B1 alleles, suggesting that the evolution rates are different among Glu-1Bx genes. Further study on the contribution of the unique silenced Glu-B1 alleles to quality improvement was also discussed.

Wheat leaf chlorosis controlled by a single recessive gene.

The leaf chlorosis in the wheat genotype AIM9 was demonstrated to be controlled by a single recessive gene, which was designated as CD5. Significant difference in physiological and yield indices between chlorotic and non-chlorotic plants were observed in 10 F3 segregating families of the cross combination CN17/AIM9. Correlation analysis of both chlorotic plants and plants staying green of the F3 populations revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between yield index values and the physiological indices net photosynthetic rate (P(n)), stomatal conductance (G(s)), and chlorophyll (Chl), as well as a significant negative correlation between yield index values and the physiological indices intercellular CO2 concentration (C(i)) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Observation using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) found the irreversible centripetal movement of chloroplasts in chlorotic plants, as a result occurred in three sequential events: (1) chloroplast positions changed from face position (with long axis of chloroplasts at the cell walls perpendicular to light ray) to profile position (with long axis chloroplasts near the cell walls parallel to light ray), (2) chloroplast shapes changed from long elliptical to circular, (3) chloroplasts were separated from the cell wall and moved to the center of the cell.

[Transfer of a rye small chromosomal segment with powdery mildew-resistant gene(s) into common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)].

The advanced progeny lines (BC1F5) from the monosomic addition lines between common wheat cultivar Mianyang 11, which is highly susceptible to powdery mildew, and an inbred rye line R12 were analyzed for selection of wheat-rye translocations. Based on a rye-specific repetitive sequence of pSc20H, which spread over all chromosomes of rye but did not existed in wheat, a set of PCR primer was designed and used to identify the rye chromosome segments in wheat. From 300 of the BC1F5 progeny lines 70 were found to contain chromosome composition of rye. An advanced line, 96II691-830-98, originated from 6R monosomic addition line was observed to be immune to powdery mildew, different from its wheat parent Mianyang 11. A small segment of rye chromosome at telomere in a pair of wheat chromosome in the line was found by means of GISH. The results indicated that a small segment of rye chromosome 6R carrying the gene(s) for resistance to powdery mildew has been transferred into common wheat. In the progeny of monosomic addition lines a high frequency of wheat-alien species translocation with various segments of chromosomes could be found by application of both PCR and GISH technique.