Quantitative Trait Loci Mapping of Western Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Host Plant Resistance in Two Populations of Doubled Haploid Lines in Maize (Zea mays L.).

Over the last 70 yr, more than 12,000 maize accessions have been screened for their level of resistance to western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (LeConte; Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), larval feeding. Less than 1% of this germplasm was selected for initiating recurrent selection or other breeding programs. Selected genotypes were mostly characterized by large root systems and superior root regrowth after root damage caused by western corn rootworm larvae. However, no hybrids claiming native (i.e., host plant) resistance to western corn rootworm larval feeding are currently commercially available. We investigated the genetic basis of western corn rootworm resistance in maize materials with improved levels of resistance using linkage disequilibrium mapping approaches. Two populations of topcrossed doubled haploid maize lines (DHLs) derived from crosses between resistant and susceptible maize lines were evaluated for their level of resistance in three to four different environments. For each DHL topcross an average root damage score was estimated and used for quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. We found genomic regions contributing to western corn rootworm resistance on all maize chromosomes, except for chromosome 4. Models fitting all QTL simultaneously explained about 30 to 50% of the genotypic variance for root damage scores in both mapping populations. Our findings confirm the complex genetic structure of host plant resistance against western corn rootworm larval feeding in maize. Interestingly, three of these QTL regions also carry genes involved in ascorbate biosynthesis, a key compound we hypothesize is involved in the expression of western corn rootworm resistance.

Physiological and molecular adaptations to drought in Andean potato genotypes.

The drought stress tolerance of two Solanum tuberosum subsp. andigena landraces, one hybrid (adgxtbr) and Atlantic (S. tuberosum subsp. tuberosum) has been evaluated. Photosynthesis in the Andigena landraces during prolonged drought was maintained significantly longer than in the Tuberosum (Atlantic) line. Among the Andigena landraces, 'Sullu' (SUL) was more drought resistant than 'Negra Ojosa' (NOJ). Microarray analysis and metabolite data from leaf samples taken at the point of maximum stress suggested higher mitochondrial metabolic activity in SUL than in NOJ. A greater induction of chloroplast-localized antioxidant and chaperone genes in SUL compared with NOJ was evident. ABA-responsive TFs were more induced in NOJ compared with SUL, including WRKY1, mediating a response in SA signalling that may give rise to increased ROS. NOJ may be experiencing higher ROS levels than SUL. Metabolite profiles of NOJ were characterized by compounds indicative of stress, for example, proline, trehalose, and GABA, which accumulated to a higher degree than in SUL. The differences between the Andigena lines were not explained by protective roles of compatible solutes; hexoses and complex sugars were similar in both landraces. Instead, lower levels of ROS accumulation, greater mitochondrial activity and active chloroplast defences contributed to a lower stress load in SUL than in NOJ during drought.

Altered expression of plant lysyl tRNA synthetase promotes tRNA misacylation and translational recoding of lysine.

The Arabidopsis thaliana lysyl tRNA synthetase (AtKRS) structurally and functionally resembles the well-characterized prokaryotic class IIb KRS, including the propensity to aminoacylate tRNA(Lys) with suboptimal identity elements, as well as non-cognate tRNAs. Transient expression of AtKRS in carrot cells promotes aminoacylation of such tRNAs in vivo and translational recoding of lysine at nonsense codons. Stable expression of AtKRS in Zea mays causes translational recoding of lysine into zeins, significantly enriching the lysine content of grain.

Effect of environment on resistance to the European corn borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in maize.

The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is a major pest of maize, Zea mays L., in many temperate parts of the world. Genotype-by-environment interaction effects can make relative performance unpredictable and may hamper selection for resistance to European corn borer. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of environment on genotypic reaction to European corn borer resistance in maize. A set of 12 maize inbred lines was chosen to represent a range of European corn borer responses. Eleven testing environments ranged from Delaware, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, to Mississippi. For length of stalk tunneling, environmental and genotypic main effects (estimated by restricted maximum likelihood) were >20- and 10-fold larger than their interaction effect, respectively. Length of tunneling means for genotypes (across environments) ranged from 10.1 to 35.4 cm. Several putatively resistant genotypes grouped with the susceptible checks, B73 and Mol7. By breaking factors and the interaction into single degree of freedom components, we observed that GEMS-0001 had significant crossover interactions toward less susceptibility in both Mississippi and the Nebraska environments. Environments displaying several crossover interactions indicated that European corn borer screening at these sites would not necessarily apply to other locations, whether due to small differences in experimental conduct and/or environmental effects. The five most resistant genotypes were fairly consistent across environments. Because all environments except Illinois used larvae from the same insectary, and these environments differed in damage intensity and rankings, it is unlikely that insect biotype was a factor contributing to genotype-by-environment effects.