Bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi L.) is an important pest on spring-sown cereals. The aphid reduces yield and can act as a vector of barley yellow dwarf virus. R. padi does not give visible symptoms, but heavy infestation can reduce the yield substantially. R. padi is one of the most important pests of barley, which has the fourth rank among the cereals in global production. In order to overcome this problem, the plants are treated with pesticides. However, some of the pesticides are no longer permitted to use due to their negative environmental effects. Another problem is that the aphids develop resistance against them. Therefore, a new approach is to identify genetic factors that could be used in breeding host plants for resistance. There are many examples of successful plant breeding for resistance to aphids, but in the case of R. padi and barley, no resistant cultivar is commercially available. The aim of this thesis was to identify and characterise aphid resistance and susceptibility factors in barley. This was done using two major approaches. Firstly, constitutive and aphid-induced gene expression was studied in a large number of barley genotypes with known levels of resistance. Secondly, two cDNAs putatively adding to aphid resistance were transformed to Arabidopsis and barley and the effect of transformation on aphid performance and behaviour was evaluated.      The study of constitutive transcript abundance in 23 barley genotypes gave suggestive evidence that two genes might be related to aphid resistance; a thionin and a proteinase inhibitor gene, and that a lipoxygenase gene might be related to aphid susceptibility.The study of both constitutive and aphid-induced transcript abundances of three glucanase genes, gave support to the idea that two of them might be susceptibility factors. The cDNA of the proteinase inhibitor mentioned above was expressed in Arabidopsis, under control of either a constitutive or a phloem-specific promoter and the effects were evaluated using the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae Sulzer. This aphid is a generalist, feeding on many different plant species, both monocot (such as barley) and dicot (such as Arabidopsis).  The results showed lower settling and fecundity on some of the transgenic lines as compared to on controls.        In conclusion, the thesis suggests a role in resistance against R. padi in barley for two genes encoding a thionin and a proteinase inhibitor. It has also given support for a role in susceptibility against R. padi of genes encoding a lipoxygenase and two glucanases. The work further shows that a cDNA from barley, selected based on the interaction between a monocot plant and an essentially monocot specialist aphid, affected the resistance of the dicot Arabidopsis against a generalist aphid. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>

Hordeum bulbosum L. (bulbous barley grass) is an important genetic resource for barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) improvement. As the sole member of the secondary genepool of Hordeum; H. bulbosum represents a relatively untouched source of genetic diversity which can provide novel allelic variation for traits critical to the future of barley breeding. In order to access this resource efficiently, a complete set of molecular marker resources is necessary to assist the introgression of chromatin from H. bulbosum into a barley genetic background. For breeders to access traits from H. bulbosum for barley improvement, recombinant lines need to be developed to transfer regions of the H. bulbosum genome into a barley background for trait identification and for incorporation into elite barley breeding programs. The chromosomal location of H. bulbosum introgressions in thirty eight unique recombinant lines was performed using RFLP analysis using mostly distal probes from barley genetic linkage maps However, this analysis was labour intensive, restrictive and prone to inconsistencies due to low intensity signals and complex banding in H. bulbosum. Due to the low level of interspecific recombination detected between the two species, a retrotransposon-like marker, pSc119.1, was developed which could be used to quickly screen progeny from an interspecific cross to determine which lines possessed introgressions of chromatin from H. bulbosum. After initial screening, putative recombinants were further characterised using co-dominant single locus PCR markers from throughout the genome. A focus was made on using the EST resources of barley and wheat, combined with the rice genome to create intron-spanning markers. Subsequent allele-sequencing revealed high frequencies of species-diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the intron regions of these markers, coupled with relatively low frequencies of species-diagnostic SNPs in the flanking exon regions. Overall, interspecific SNP frequencies were not significantly higher in intron-spanning markers than those consisting of exon-only sequence. However, species-diagnostic indels were more frequently discovered within intron sequence providing additional polymorphism. Recombinant lines with phenotypes that differed from the barley parent allowed those traits to be assigned to particular chromosomal regions. These characterised recombinant lines will provide a resource for barley breeders to identify novel traits for barley improvement and allow identification of new alleles in different chromosomal locations for current traits, allowing greater flexibility for cultivar construction. A targeted backcross population of the recombinant line 38P18/8/1/10 (possessing leaf rust resistance derived from H. bulbosum) was created. The introgressed region was saturated for PCR markers using a variety of marker types and techniques (AFLP, cDNA-AFLP). Two lines were subsequently identified with introgressions of reduced size relative to the parental recombinant line, both of which have retained the leaf rust resistance trait. The leaf rust resistance was finally linked to two co-dominant EST-based markers located on chromosome 2HL by using these two lines and the direct screening of progeny from interspecific hybrids possessing introgression junctions in the region of interest. In general, recombinant material between barley and H. bulbosum suffers from certation effects which cause distorted segregation that favours heterozygous and homozygous barley genotypes. Two unique lines have been identified during this research that possess gametocidal-type loci that result in the absolute retention of H. bulbosum chromatin with the termination of gametes lacking the introgression (barley genotype only).

It had been generally accepted that salinity adversely affects the growth of plants. This study examined how the salinity level affects the growth of H. jubatum. A green house study was conducted to determine the effects of salinity levels on growth, and anatomy of root and leaf of H. jubatum. One week-old seedlings were transplanted and grown on 10-cm plastics pots filled with sand at Ball State University green house. Plants were subirrigated with hydroponic solution Dyna gro liquid 9-7-5 (NPK) and 0%, 0.5%, 1 %, and 1.5% NaCl for each treatment. The solutions were changed bi-weekly, evaporation losses were replaced daily. After aproximately 45 days, randomly chosen plants were harvested, washed, measured and weighted, to determine their growth such as: root biomass, shoot biomass, shoot height, leaf lenght, and leaf width. Slides of root and leave tissues were prepared with microtechnic standard using rotary microtome and N-butyl alcohol series. Anatomical variables measured included; root diameter, stele diameter, ratio of stele to root, thickness of leaf at mid vein, diameter of vb in mid vein, diameter of metaxylem in midvein, thickness of leaf at second lateral vein (left and right), diameter of vb at second lateral vein (left and right). The slides then were potoghraped with Olympus camera. Statistical analysis supported that salinity significantly affected the growth, morphology, and anatomy of H. jubatum. / Department of Biology

Diss. (sammanfattning) Alnarp : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

The theoretical part of the thesis consists of research on the spring barley and chemical composition of its grains. Attention is paid to the stress factors which has inpact on plants such as heavy metals and in particular cadmium and its influence on the plants. The last part deals with the importance of selected trace elements such as copper, iron, manganese and zinc. The experimental part of the work is devoted to the influence of cadmium contamination on content of selected elements which are copper, iron, manganese and zinc in plants of spring barley. Two experiments were performed. In both experiments, plants were hydroponically cultivated in Knop nutrient solution. Plants were divided into two parts in each experiment, the first part was cultivated without contamination and served as a control samples, the second part was contaminated. The third day of cultivation was added CdCl2.2,5 H2O at a concentration of 10-5 mol/l to the nutrient solution of the second part. In the first experiment the plants were harvested on the 10th day of cultivation and divided into roots, hypocotyls and shoots. In the second experiment were plants harvested on the 13th day of cultivation and separated into roots, hypocotyls, stem base, 1st (oldest), 2nd and 3th (youngest) leaf. From each part of the plant were prepared samples, which were mineralized and consequentely was measured using the ICP-OES method the content of the above mentioned metals in the contaminated and control-sample plants and the content of cadmium in the contaminated plants. The content of cadmium in the control-sample plants was measured by the ETA-AAS. The measured datae were analyzed and described in to the taps and graphs. Highest concentration of cadmiu was discovered in roots of the control sample plants, in case of the first experiment the roots contained 91 %, in the second 95,5 % from the entire amount of cadmium contained in the plant. As a result of the contamination changes in contents of the selected elements ocured. In both of the experimentes the amount of Cu in roots increased, in the upper part of the plants (shoots) the amount was lower comparing non-contaminated plants. The iron content in the first experiment increased in roots and hypocotyl, in the upper part of the plants (shoots) the content decreased in comparison with control variant. In the second experiment, was the iron content lower in all plant parts. The manganese content was lower in the contaminated plants in almost all parts, only in the first experiment was found minimal increase of manganese content in roots. In both experimentes was found minimal change in content of zinc in roots, in the first experimente increased zinc content in hypocotyls and decreased in the upper part of the plants (shoots), while in the second experiment there was little change of content in hypocotyls but zinc increased in the upper part of the plants (shoots). The deferences in results of both experimentes may be dependent on varions lenght of the cultivation.

No description available.

Seed germination and early plant development is a crucial phase of plants' life. Multiple internal and external stimuli influence germination progress and have a serious impact on a plant's survival and vitality. Biotic and abiotic stimuli trigger a whole range of changes, both on molecular and developmental levels, but the complex molecular mechanisms regulating these responses are far from being resolved. This thesis reviews the seed germination process and outlines the role of external stimuli in its progress. The experimental part describes the development of a method for seed germination monitoring, provides new insight into the role of hydrogen peroxide in germination, and analyzes effects of cadmium ions, temperature, salt and drought on proteome and metabolome of germinating seeds of Hordeum vulgare. In total, 2000 proteins and 800 metabolites were identified. The analyses revealed over 95 putative abiotic stress markers, including 63 and 36 proteins and metabolites, respectively

Barley has had wide acceptance not only as a cultivated crop but also as an excellent source of genetic material. Barley was being used in inheritance studies by Tschermak when he rediscovered Mendel's laws of heredity. Since then barley has become one of the most widely used plants for genetic studies known today. More than 100 characters have been investigated indicating the relative ease of classification. There are 7 linkage groups corresponding to the 7 chromosomes in which 2 or more characters have been located as reported by Robertson (1939). But Kramer, Veyl, and Hanson (1954), from translocation experiments, suggest that linkage group III and VII should be combined in separate arms of the same chromosome. The present work is a study of character inheritance and linkage relationships aimed toward identifying the number of genes conditioning individual characters and associating them with linkage groups. When barley genes are more completely placed in their respective linkage groups, breeding for various good characteristics can be enhanced materially. This is readily accomplished when linkages are found between desirable characters for which selection is difficult or time-consuming.

To prove the post-natal depression model, the antidepressant sertraline, was assessed in rat mothers (n=14) divided into Prenatally Stressed (PS) and Non-Stressed (NS) groups. The data failed to support the hypothesis that ‘the progeny of 10mg of sertraline-treated PS mothers displayed less anxiety than the progeny of vehicle-treated PS mothers’. The forced swim test (FST) was used to examine depressive-like behaviour in mice. Barley successfully increased mobility in mice exposed to the FST. Barley was antidepressant at low doses (0.8g/kg and upwards) if used subchronic; and at high doses(6.4g/kg and 12.8g/kg) if used acutely;(n=113,56acute,57 subchronic- treated). Barley (6.4g/kg) was also able to alleviate the depressive-behaviour in mice induced by the Reserpine Test (n=114, 58 reserpinised, 56 non-reserpinised) and Social ‘Defeat’ Test (n=24, 8 vehicle undefeated, 8 barley defeated, 8 vehicle defeated mice). To confirm that the anti-depressant effects of barley(6.4g/kg) were not simply due to increased locomotor activity in the FST, an Open Field Test(OFT) was undertaken (n=14,7 vehicle, 7 barley). Barley had no effect on locomotor activity and also caused no significant changes in weight (n=16, 8vehicle, 8 barley). In mice,Barley(6.4g/kg) significantly delayed the tremorogenic effects of Physostigmine (n=18, 6 control,6 Physostigmine, 6 Physostigmine with barley); reduced bradykinesia induced by reserpine (n=18,6 control, 6 vehicle, 6 barley treated);and was analgesic in nociception tests (n =20, 5 control, 5 barley, 5 pain, 5 pain with barley). Overall, barley was seen to have many useful properties, though its effect in PND remains to be assessed. / Saudi Cultural Bureau in London; Medical Services Department of the Ministry of Interior in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. / The full text of this thesis is embargoed indefinitely.

Net blotch is one of the most devastating diseases of barley (<i>Hordeum vulgare</i> L.) and occurs in two distinct forms, net-type net blotch (NTNB) and spot-type net blotch (STNB), caused by the fungal pathogens <i>Pyrenophora teres</i> f. sp. <i>teres</i> Smedeg. and <i>P</i>. <i>teres</i> f. sp. <i>maculata</i> Smedeg., respectively. Several sources of resistance have been previously reported, however, few barley cultivars with high levels of resistance have been developed from these sources. Efficient utilization of available resistance sources is dependent upon successful characterization of genes governing resistance in each resistant parent. Five net blotch resistant parents and one susceptible parent were crossed to identify novel resistance genes, postulate gene number and mode of inheritance, and conduct linkage mapping of novel genes for net blotch resistance. Results indicate that the highly resistant spring barley lines CIho 2291 and CIho 5098, and the winter barley cultivar Nomini each have single dominant genes for NTNB resistance. Resistance to NTNB in CIho 5098 is controlled by the same dominant gene conferring resistance in Nomini. Resistance to NTNB in CIho 2291 is controlled by one dominant gene which putatively is the same gene conferring resistance in ND B112, but differs from the resistance genes carried by the other parents in this study. An F2 population of 238 individuals derived from a cross between Nomini and the susceptible parent "Hector", and an F2 population of 193 individuals derived from a cross between CIho 2291 and Hector were used to map the genes governing NTNB resistance in Nomini and CIho 2291. The dominant gene governing resistance in Nomini, temporarily designated <i>Rpt-Nomini</i>, was mapped to a 9.2 cM region near the centromere of barley chromosome 6H between the flanking microsatellite markers Bmag0344a (r2=0.70) and Bmag0103a (r2=0.90), which were 6.8 cM and 2.4 cM away from <i>Rpt-Nomini</i>, respectively. The dominant gene governing resistance in CIho 2291, temporarily designated <i>Rpt-CIho2291</i>, was mapped to the distal region of barley chromosome 6H between the flanking microsatellite markers Bmag0173 (r2=0.65) and Bmag0500 (r2=0.26), which were 9.9 cM and 24.4 cM from <i>Rpt-CIho2291</i>, respectively. Previous studies have reported genes governing net blotch resistance in this region; however, allelism tests have not been conducted to determine the relationship between these genes. Identification of the chromosomal location of <i>Rpt-Nomini</i> and <i>Rpt-CIho2291</i> will facilitate future efforts in pyramiding multiple independent genes for net blotch resistance. / Ph. D.