Despite drought accounting for over 80% of agricultural losses, little progress has been made towards improving drought tolerance in crops. My approach to identifying traits underlying drought tolerance involved a comparison between two accessions of the crucifer, Eutrema salsugineum, that display differential tolerance to water deficits. The accessions, originating from the semi-arid Yukon, Canada, and a monsoonal region of Shandong, China, were subjected to a two-step, water deficit and recovery protocol to identify physiological characteristics that discern their drought-responsive behaviour. Traits that discriminate between the ecotypes were used to screen recombinant inbred lines (RILs) that were generated by crossing Yukon and Shandong parent plants. Selected physiological measurements were: anthocyanin accumulation, cut rosette water loss (CRWL), solute potential, relative water content (RWC), static leaf water content (SLWC), specific leaf area (SLA), and OJIP fluorescence emission. Of the measurements taken, CRWL measurements and anthocyanin content distinguished the Yukon ecotype from the Shandong ecotype during the first drought exposure whereas SLA and fluorescence responses differentiated these accessions better after plants that experienced the first drought were rewatered and recovering or undergoing a second drought treatment. Sixty-eight RILs were screened using SLA and OJIP fluorescence emission. SLA and OJIP measurements varied among the recombinant inbred lines (RILs) with many lines showing responses to water deficit intermediate to those of the parental lines. Evidence of heritability in SLA and/or OJIP responses to water deficits would make them useful phenotypic markers for identifying quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with drought tolerance in future work. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-07-28Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:07:55Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 toppa_evb_me_botfca.pdf: 122921 bytes, checksum: 6b7c30c3b38979411e7c5aebe010b6a3 (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Como conseqüência do melhoramento de populações, novas idéias e métodos surgiram, procurando melhorar a eficiência na obtenção de linhagens e híbridos, bem como diminuir o tempo requerido na sua obtenção. Este é o caso do método dos Híbridos Crípticos, que corresponde essencialmente a um teste precoce de combinação através de cruzamentos entre plantas individuais. Apesar da possibilidade do método dos Híbridos Crípticos representar um ganho de tempo na produção de híbridos, pode ser considerado de uso restrito em programas de melhoramento de espécies alógamas, principalmente em decorrência da excessiva perda de vigor das linhagens femininas com a condução de sucessivas autofecundações. No tocante, supõe-se que em programas de melhoramento de espécies que possuem o sistema reprodutivo do tipo misto, o método possa se configurar como uma ferramenta efetiva em razão de que nestas espécies a depressão endogâmica é desprezível. Ao encontro da necessidade de informações que permitam avaliar o real potencial do método dos Híbridos Crípticos em espécies com sistema reprodutivo do tipo misto, objetivou-se neste trabalho analisar comparativamente o comportamento dos híbridos de mamoneira (Ricinus communis L.) produzidos pelo processo convencional, em que as linhagens são extraídas pelo método “Standard”, com os obtidos pelo método dos Híbridos Crípticos. O estudo relata resultados de produtividade de grãos de 24 híbridos interpopulacionais... / As a consequence of population breeding, new ideas and methods have arisen in order to improve the efficiency in obtaining lines and hybrids, as well as to decrease the time required for their production. This is the case of the Cryptic Hybrids method, which corresponds essentially to an early combination test through breeding between individual plants. Although the Cryptic Hybrids method may represent time gain in hybrid production, it can be considered of restrict use in breeding programs of allogamous species, mainly due to excessive vigor loss in female lines with the conduction of successive self-pollinations. In breeding programs of species with mixed reproductive system, the method is supposed to be an effective tool since endogamic depression is negligible in these species. Based on the need of information that allow assessing the real potential of the Cryptic Hybrids method in mixed reproductive system, this study aimed to comparatively analyze the behavior of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) hybrids produced through the conventional process, in which the lines are extracted by the Standard method, relative to those obtained by the Cryptic Hybrids method. The study reports grain productivity results for 24 interpopulational hybrids, of which 12 were conventionally produced and the other 12 were produced by the Cryptic Hybrids method; all of them were synthesized at the Department of Plant Production of the School of Agronomical Sciences.Experiments to assess the behavior of hybrids were developed in the crop cycles 2006/2007 and 2007/2008, simultaneously in the municipalities Lins and Penápolis, and were all conducted under randomized block design with four replicates. Grain productivity results for castor bean hybrids evidenced that cryptic hybrids are superior to hybrids conventionally... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Orientador: Maurício Dutra Zanotto / Banca: Tammy Aparecida Manabe Kiihl / Banca: Rogério Oliveira de Sá / Resumo: Como conseqüência do melhoramento de populações, novas idéias e métodos surgiram, procurando melhorar a eficiência na obtenção de linhagens e híbridos, bem como diminuir o tempo requerido na sua obtenção. Este é o caso do método dos Híbridos Crípticos, que corresponde essencialmente a um teste precoce de combinação através de cruzamentos entre plantas individuais. Apesar da possibilidade do método dos Híbridos Crípticos representar um ganho de tempo na produção de híbridos, pode ser considerado de uso restrito em programas de melhoramento de espécies alógamas, principalmente em decorrência da excessiva perda de vigor das linhagens femininas com a condução de sucessivas autofecundações. No tocante, supõe-se que em programas de melhoramento de espécies que possuem o sistema reprodutivo do tipo misto, o método possa se configurar como uma ferramenta efetiva em razão de que nestas espécies a depressão endogâmica é desprezível. Ao encontro da necessidade de informações que permitam avaliar o real potencial do método dos Híbridos Crípticos em espécies com sistema reprodutivo do tipo misto, objetivou-se neste trabalho analisar comparativamente o comportamento dos híbridos de mamoneira (Ricinus communis L.) produzidos pelo processo convencional, em que as linhagens são extraídas pelo método "Standard", com os obtidos pelo método dos Híbridos Crípticos. O estudo relata resultados de produtividade de grãos de 24 híbridos interpopulacionais... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: As a consequence of population breeding, new ideas and methods have arisen in order to improve the efficiency in obtaining lines and hybrids, as well as to decrease the time required for their production. This is the case of the Cryptic Hybrids method, which corresponds essentially to an early combination test through breeding between individual plants. Although the Cryptic Hybrids method may represent time gain in hybrid production, it can be considered of restrict use in breeding programs of allogamous species, mainly due to excessive vigor loss in female lines with the conduction of successive self-pollinations. In breeding programs of species with mixed reproductive system, the method is supposed to be an effective tool since endogamic depression is negligible in these species. Based on the need of information that allow assessing the real potential of the Cryptic Hybrids method in mixed reproductive system, this study aimed to comparatively analyze the behavior of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) hybrids produced through the conventional process, in which the lines are extracted by the Standard method, relative to those obtained by the Cryptic Hybrids method. The study reports grain productivity results for 24 interpopulational hybrids, of which 12 were conventionally produced and the other 12 were produced by the Cryptic Hybrids method; all of them were synthesized at the Department of Plant Production of the School of Agronomical Sciences.Experiments to assess the behavior of hybrids were developed in the crop cycles 2006/2007 and 2007/2008, simultaneously in the municipalities Lins and Penápolis, and were all conducted under randomized block design with four replicates. Grain productivity results for castor bean hybrids evidenced that cryptic hybrids are superior to hybrids conventionally... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Master of Science / Department of Agronomy / Allan K. Fritz / Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum, is an important cereal disease in humid and semi-humid wheat growing regions. In recent FHB epidemics in the USA, FHB dramatically reduced wheat yields and grain quality due to mycotoxin contamination. Five types of FHB resistance have been reported, but resistance to disease spread within a spike (Type II) and low deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation in infected kernels (Type III) have drawn the most attention. A Chinese Spring-Sumai3 chromosome 7A substitution line (CS-SM3-7ADSL) was reported to have a high level of Type II resistance, but quantitative trait locus (QTL) on chromosome 7A has never been mapped. To characterize QTL on chromosome 7A, we developed 191 Chinese Spring-Sumai3-7A chromosome recombinant inbred lines (CRIL) from a cross between Chinese Spring and CS-SM3-7ADSL and evaluated the CRIL in a greenhouse for both types of resistance in three experiments. Two major QTL with Sumai 3 (SM3) origin, conditioning Type II and Type III resistance were mapped in chromosomes 3BS and 7AC. QTL on chromosome 3BS corresponds to Fhb1, previously reported from SM3, whereas 7AC QTL, designated as Fhb5, is a novel QTL identified from SM3 in this study. Fhb5 explains 22% phenotypic variation for Type II resistance and 24% for Type III resistance. Marker Xwmc17 is the closest marker to Fhb5 for both types of resistance. Fhb1 and Fhb5 were additive and together explained 56% variation for Type II and 41% for Type III resistance and resulted in 66% reduction in FHB severity and 84% in DON content. Both QTL showed significant pleiotropy effects on Type II and Type III resistance, suggesting both types of resistance may be controlled by the same gene(s). Haplotype analysis of SM3’s parents revealed that Fhb5 originated from Funo, an Italian cultivar. A survey of worldwide germplasm collection of 400 accessions showed that Fhb5 is present mainly in Chinese cultivars, especially in Funo-related accessions. Further, Fhb5 is the second major QTL from SM3 and have potential to be used in improving wheat cultivars for both types of resistance.

Thesis (M.Sc. Agric. (Agronomy)) --University of Limpopo, 2018 / Two experiments were conducted at Ukulima Root Biology Centre, Waterberg district in Limpopo Province (24°32'58.1"S, 28°06'21.1"E) during 2013-2014 cropping season to select IBM population inbred lines with improved root whorl and stem diameter that can enable them to tolerate nitrogen and phosphorus stress. The experiments were laid out in a Split plot format based on a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The main plot factors were: nitrogen levels (low and high) and phosphorus (low and high), in the respective trials and maize inbred lines (MO345, MO034, MO001, MO199, MO031 and MO196) were in the sub plots. Traits investigated included shoot morphological traits (plant height, leaf area per plant, chlorophyll content, stem diameter, number of leaves), root architectural traits (Whorl angles, root area, average root density, number of adventitious roots, number basal roots, average lateral root length, lateral branching frequency, root top angle, root bottom angle, distance to the first lateral root) and dry biomass. Results showed morphological traits, root architectural traits and biomass were affected by nitrogen fertilizer. Those traits were greater under high nitrogen level. On the other hand nitrogen had no influence on stem diameter size variation and whorl distribution. Plant height, number of leaves and dry biomass were significantly different among the inbred lines. The interaction of inbred and nitrogen fertilizer level had significant effect on leaf width and leaf area per plant. The lowest leaf width was recorded on inbred MO345 under low nitrogen level, while the highest value was recorded on inbred MO345 under high nitrogen level. Inbred MO031 and MO199 had highest values of leaf area per plant under high nitrogen level and inbred MO345 had the lowest value under low nitrogen level. Inbred lines planted under high nitrogen level had relative advantage in leaf growth over inbred lines planted under low nitrogen level. The study showed that nitrogen fertilizers have positive effect on some root architectural traits and growth parameters of maize. Maximum leaf area was obtained by inbred MO031 and MO199 under high nitrogen level. Thus, in order to enhance leaf growth and physiological traits, the use of either MO031 or MO199 is recommended under high nitrogen level while any of these inbred lines MO001, MO034 or MO199 can be used under low nitrogen production as they are highly tolerant to low soil xiv nitrogen. Morphological and root architectural traits correlated positively with dry biomass in both low and high N level. Results from the phosphorus split plot showed that only projected root area was affected by phosphorus level. Chlorophyll content, plant height, 1st whorl angle, 4th whorl angle, root top angle, root bottom angle, average lateral root length and lateral branching frequency differed significantly among the inbred lines. The interaction effect of phosphorus and inbred on root top angle and average lateral root length was significant. Inbred MO199, inbred MO034 and MO031 recorded the shallowest angles under low and high phosphorus level respectively, while inbred MO345 recorded the steeper root top angle at 54.44° under high phosphorus level. Thus to enhance P uptake, inbred MO199 is a potential candidate on low P soils. To improve water and N acquisition efficiency inbred MO345 with high phosphorus level can be used, therefore MO345 with high phosphorus can be recommended for water scarce areas such as Limpopo province. Inbred MO199 had the longest lateral roots of 251.46 mm under lower P level and significantly longer than inbred MO199 and MO001 both at lower phosphorus level. Inbred MO345 (182.88 mm) and MO001 (179.22 mm) were highly tolerant to the low P conditions as the two had shorter lateral roots, a trait vital for uptake of P. Inbred MO199 (251.46 mm) had the longest lateral roots under low P conditions showing higher tolerance to low P conditions. There were positive and significant correlations between dry biomass and morphological traits and root architectural traits on both low and high phosphorus levels. A strongly negative correlation was however observed between biomass and 2nd whorl angle on high phosphorus level. The high significant correlations indicate that selection of high yielding inbreds may be useful based on phosphorus level and biomass. This study showed that several traits have potential under low N and P levels, hence they can be used as selection criteria for inbred lines with improved nutrient use efficiency. Keywords: Maize inbred lines, fertilizer, growth, correlation, root angles

The majority of genetic differences between species and individuals have been hypothesised to impact on the regulation, rather than the structure, of genes. As the details of genetic variation are uncovered by the various genome sequencing projects, understanding the functional effects on gene regulation will be key to uncovering the molecular mechanisms underying the genesis and inheritance of common phenotypes, such as complex human disease and commercially important traits in plants and animals. Unlike coding sequence polymorphisms, genetic variants affecting gene expression will reside in the transcriptional machinery and its regulatory inputs. As these are largely specific to cell- or tissue-types, we would expect that regulatory variants will also affect final mRNA levels in a tissue specific manner. Genetic variation between individuals may therefore be more complex than the sum total of sequence differences between them. Demonstrating this hypothesis is the main focus of this thesis. We use microarrays to measure mRNA levels of approximately 22,000 transcripts in inbred and recombinant inbred strains of mice, and present compelling evidence that the genetic influences on these levels are tissue-specific in at least 85% of cases. We uncover two loci which apparently influence transcript levels of multiple genes in a tissue-specific manner. We also present evidence that failure of microarray data normalisation may cause spurious linkage of expression phenotypes leading to erroneous biological conclusions, and detail a novel, extensible mathematical framework for performing tailored normalisation which can remove such systematic bias. The wider context of these results is then discussed.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-02-24Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:14:42Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 buchweitz_ed_me_jabo.pdf: 457129 bytes, checksum: fa6a9d6b3e092340a34ec3de2d5161cc (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A baixa freqüência de genes recessivos deletérios e letais e a grande proporção de locos favoráveis já fixados nos híbridos comerciais, associado a uma seleção fenotípica eficiente entre e dentro de linhagens pode permitir a obtenção de híbridos promissores. Em média, são gastos de 8 a 10 anos para que um novo híbrido chegue ao mercado, o que implica diretamente no custo final das sementes. Para reduzir esse tempo é interessante viabilizar a utilização de linhagens parcialmente endogâmicas nos cruzamentos para agilizar o processo de obtenção de híbridos superiores e reduzir os custos da produção de sementes híbridas. Diante da necessidade de identificar híbridos de destaque e de encontrar alternativas que conduzam à redução dos custos e do tempo para a obtenção de sementes híbridas, o objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar o potencial de linhagens parcialmente endogâmicas de milho com três (S3) e quatro (S4) gerações de autofecundação, obtidas de híbridos simples comerciais, com relação à heterose dos híbridos resultantes / The low frequency of deleterious recessive and lethal genes and the large proportion of favorable loci already set in commercial hybrids combined with an efficient phenotypic selection among and within strains may allow the achievement of promising lines. On average, spending 8 to 10 years for a new hybrid to reach the market, which directly implies the final cost of the seeds. To reduce this time it is interesting to enable the use of partly inbred lines at intersections to expedite the process of obtaining superior hybrids and reduce the costs of producing hybrid seeds. Faced with the need to identify hybrids highlighted and to find alternatives that lead to the reduction of costs and time required for the production of hybrid seeds, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of partly inbred lines of maize with three (S3) and four (S4) generations of selfing, obtained from commercial single cross hybrids, with respect to the follow-on hybrid heterosis

Resumo: A baixa freqüência de genes recessivos deletérios e letais e a grande proporção de locos favoráveis já fixados nos híbridos comerciais, associado a uma seleção fenotípica eficiente entre e dentro de linhagens pode permitir a obtenção de híbridos promissores. Em média, são gastos de 8 a 10 anos para que um novo híbrido chegue ao mercado, o que implica diretamente no custo final das sementes. Para reduzir esse tempo é interessante viabilizar a utilização de linhagens parcialmente endogâmicas nos cruzamentos para agilizar o processo de obtenção de híbridos superiores e reduzir os custos da produção de sementes híbridas. Diante da necessidade de identificar híbridos de destaque e de encontrar alternativas que conduzam à redução dos custos e do tempo para a obtenção de sementes híbridas, o objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar o potencial de linhagens parcialmente endogâmicas de milho com três (S3) e quatro (S4) gerações de autofecundação, obtidas de híbridos simples comerciais, com relação à heterose dos híbridos resultantes / Abstract: The low frequency of deleterious recessive and lethal genes and the large proportion of favorable loci already set in commercial hybrids combined with an efficient phenotypic selection among and within strains may allow the achievement of promising lines. On average, spending 8 to 10 years for a new hybrid to reach the market, which directly implies the final cost of the seeds. To reduce this time it is interesting to enable the use of partly inbred lines at intersections to expedite the process of obtaining superior hybrids and reduce the costs of producing hybrid seeds. Faced with the need to identify hybrids highlighted and to find alternatives that lead to the reduction of costs and time required for the production of hybrid seeds, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of partly inbred lines of maize with three (S3) and four (S4) generations of selfing, obtained from commercial single cross hybrids, with respect to the follow-on hybrid heterosis / Orientador: José Roberto Moro / Coorientador: Flávio Trevizoli Silveira / Banca: Herberte Pereira da Silva / Banca: Sandra Helena Unêda-Trevisoli / Mestre

Maize is susceptible to biotic and abiotic stresses. The most important abiotic stresses in Africa are drought and low soil fertility. Aflatoxin contamination is a potential problem in areas facing drought and low soil fertility. Three studies were conducted to evaluate maize germplasm for tolerance to stress. In the first study, fifteen maize inbred lines crossed in a diallel were evaluated under drought, low N stress, and well-watered conditions at six locations in three countries to estimate general (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA), investigate genotype x environment interaction, and estimate genetic diversity and its relationship with grain yield and heterosis. GCA effects were not significant for grain yield across environments. Lines with good GCA effect for grain yield were P501 and CML258 across stresses. Lines CML339, CML341, and SPLC7-F had good GCA effects for anthesis silking interval across stresses. Additive genetic effects were more important for grain yield under drought and well-watered conditions. Heterosis estimates were highest in stress environments. Clustering based on genetic distance calculated using marker data from AFLP, RFLP, and SSRs grouped lines according to origin. Genetic distance was positively correlated with grain yield and specific combining ability. In the second study, synthetic hybrids were evaluated at seven locations in three countries to estimate GCA and SCA effects under low N stress and optimal conditions and investigate genotype x environment interaction. GCA effects were significant for all traits across low N stress and optimal conditions. The highest yielding synthetic hybrids involved synthetics developed from stress tolerant lines. Synthetics 99SADVIA-# and SYNA00F2 had good GCA for grain yield across low N stress conditions. Heterosis was highly correlated with grain yield. Optimal environments explained more variation than stress environments. The third study evaluated the agronomic performance and aflatoxin accumulation of single and three-way cross white maize hybrids at five locations in Texas. Inbreds CML343, Tx601W, and Tx110 showed positive GCA effects for grain yield. Significant GCA effects for reduced aflatoxin concentration were observed in lines CML269, CML270, and CML78 across locations. Differences in performance between single and three-way crosses hybrids were dependent mostly on the inbred lines.

Stem rust and Yellow rust diseases are the two major wheat fungal diseases causing considerable yield losses in Turkey and all around the world. There are studies which are carried out to identify and utilize resistance sources in order to obtain resistant lines of wheat. However, virulent pathotypes are continuously being important threats to wheat production and yield. For that reason, new approaches for rapid identification are needed. The aim of this study was to investigate and to understand the structural and functional differences between the resistant and sensitive durum wheat cultivars to the plant fungal diseases of stem and yellow (stripe) rusts. To aim this, forty durum wheat recombinant inbred lines (RILs), which were previously determined to be resistant or sensitive to stem and yellow rust diseases, were investigated by the noninvasive Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) Spectroscopy. Also, classification of the resistant and sensitive lines depending on the structural and functional differences has been attempted. The FTIR spectra for stem rust disease showed that, resistant durum wheat lines had a significant increase in the population of unsaturation in acyl chains of lipid molecules, an increase in lipid and in total protein content and also an increase in carboxylic acids and alcohols. For yellow rust disease, resistant lines had a significant increase in hydrogen bonding and they had also a more ordered membrane structure. In Principal Component Analysis for stem rust disease, according to 3700-650 cm-1 region, amide III band (1213-1273 cm-1 region) and C-H stretching region (3020- 2800 cm-1), the resistant and sensitive groups were separated successfully. For yellow rust disease, according to 3700-650 cm-1 region, Amide A and Amide III bands, the resistant and sensitive lines were grouped distinctly. FTIR spectroscopy provides a useful approach to determine the differences in molecular structure of durum wheat RILs regarding resistance of lines to fungal diseases. However, further research is still needed to ensure if the structural and functional differences in biomolecules of the samples could be used as molecular markers for discrimination of rust resistant materials from rust sensitive ones.