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    Research progress of seed dormancy and germination regulation
    SONG Song-Quan, TANG Cui-Fang, LEI Hua-Ping, JIANG Xiao-Cheng, WANG Wei-Qing, CHENG Hong-Yan
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (1): 1-15.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34012
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    Dormancy enables plant seeds to time germination until environmental conditions become favorable for seedling survival and growth. The dormancy characteristics of seeds are of important ecological adaptive significance and notable agricultural value. Phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin (GA) are the key factors for seed dormancy and germination. Mature seeds in dormancy state contain high levels of ABA and low levels of GA. ABA induces and maintains seed dormancy, while GA antagonizes ABA and promotes seed germination. DELAY OF GERMINATION-1 (DOG1) is a major regulator of seed dormancy and had a synergistic effect with ABA to delay germination. DOG1 enhances ABA signal transduction by combining with PP2C ABA hypersensitive germination (AHG1/AHG3), and inhibits the action of AHG1 to increase ABA sensitivity and impose seed dormancy. Imprinted genes are regulated by epigenetic mechanisms before and after fertilization, and are closely related to the establishment and release of seed dormancy. In recent years, remarkable progress has been made in the regulation of seed dormancy. In the present paper, we reviewed the effects of phytohormones ABA and GA on seed dormancy and germination, the action mechanism regulating seed dormancy by DOG1, and the epigenetic regulation of seed dormancy and germination. In addition, we also propose some scientific issues that need to be further investigated in this field to provide some information for understanding the molecular mechanism of seed dormancy and germination, breeding in anti-preharvest sprouting in crop plants, and promoting the germination of dormant seeds.

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    Function and application of calcium in plant growth and development
    WANG Yu, GAO Geng-Dong, GE Meng-Meng, CHANG Ying, TAN Jing, GE Xian-Hong, WANG Jing, WANG Bo, ZHOU Guang-Sheng, FU Ting-Dong
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (4): 793-807.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34145
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    Calcium is one of the essential elements in crops. It is widely present in roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds, and is of great significance for the growth and development of crops. Calcium is a difficult element to redistribute, and its absorption and transport are subject to transpiration. Therefore, crops often experience physiological calcium deficiency, which weakens their stress resistance and reduces both yield and quality. Calcium in crops has dual functions. It not only participates in the formation of cell walls and membranes but also plays a role in responding to various environmental stimuli and internal growth and development signals as an intracellular second messenger. The absorption and transportation of calcium in cells are essential for maintaining intracellular calcium homeostasis and ensuring calcium signal transduction. In recent years, the function and application of calcium in crops have been extensively studied. In this study, we describe the distribution, absorption, transportation, and demand of calcium in crops, introduce the symptoms and causes of calcium deficiency in crops, review the nutritional structure functions of calcium, the second messenger function and the mechanism of calcium signal generation, transmission, and decoding, and summarize the role of calcium in crop growth and development, including its effects on yield, quality, and stress resistance. Meanwhile, the future research direction is proposed.

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    Construction of evaluation method for tolerance to high-temperature and screening of heat-tolerant germplasm resources of bud stage in soybean
    LI Jia-Jia, LONG Qun, ZHU Shang-Shang, SHAN Ya-Jing, WU Mei-Yan, LU Yun, ZHI Xian-Guan, LIAO Wei, CHEN Hao-Ran, ZHAO Zhen-Bang, MIAO Long, GAO Hui-Hui, LI Ying-Hui, WANG Xiao-Bo, QIU Li-Juan
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2023, 49 (11): 2863-2875.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2023.34025
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    The frequent occurrence of extreme high temperature (HT) events causes continuous heat damage to soybean production, which seriously damages the yield components and quality traits. The seeds are sensitive to the changes of the external environment at germination stage. The rising temperature and the accompanying drought will affect the emergence of soybean seeds. The establishment of a set of scientific evaluation methods for HT tolerance at bud stage can provide a theoretical basis for the early identification of soybean, the breeding of HT tolerance germplasm, and the study of tolerance mechanism. In this study, 385 germplasm resources varieties were selected as the experimental materials, which creating a HT environment by artificial climate incubator and subjected to HT-stress for 3 d (40℃, 16 h light /8 h darkness) at bud stage of soybean. Compared with the control (25℃, 16 h light /8 h darkness), the hypocotyl length of soybean bud stage was significantly decreased 10.9% under HT stress (P < 0.05). The indices of fresh root weight, dry root weight, and root-shoot ratio increased by 13.10%, 22.20%, and 16.90%, respectively (P<0.01). The results showed that HT-stress significantly affected the surface and underground biomass distribution of bud stage in soybean. Meanwhile, the principal component analysis for the coefficient of HT-tolerance for each trait converted 11 indexes into two principal component factors. The comprehensive evaluation value (H-value) of soybean response to HT-stress was obtained by the standardized analysis of membership function, and cluster analysis was conducted for the tested varieties based on H-value. Ultimately, 385 germplasm resources were divided into 5 grades for the HT-tolerance at bud stage in soybean [namely: Grade I (tolerance), Grade II (strong tolerance), Grade III (medium), Grade IV (strong sensitive), and Grade V (sensitive type)] and four HT-resistant varieties based on the specific performance (H245, H070, H268, and H216) were initially selected combined with the actual heat resistance performance. After the stepwise regression analysis of each index, a predictive model for the comprehensive evaluation of HT tolerance (H-value) at bud stage of soybean was established: H = 0.191 + 0.017X1 - 0.007X2 + 0.013X7 + 0.027X8 - 0.009X10 (R2=0.9752). Five indexes main including hypocotyl length (X1), main root length (X2), hypocotyl dry weight (X7), root fresh weight (X8), and simplified vigor index (X10) were screened out as the evaluation indexes for HT tolerance at bud stage in soybean.

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    Advances in heat-stress responses at sexual reproduction stage in plants
    CHEN Sai-Hua, ZHONG Wei-Jie, XUE Ming
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2023, 49 (12): 3143-3153.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2023.32020
    Abstract635)   HTML96)    PDF(pc) (4257KB)(550)       Save

    The occurrence of extreme hot weather poses a threat to crop production. Heat stress suffered at reproductive stage in crops is always correlated with crop yield losses, and thus the underlying molecular mechanisms are of great significance in crop thermotolerance improvement. However, relevant studies are mainly focused on Arabidopsis and less is known in crops. From the perspective of plants, here, we reviewed the heat-stress responses at reproductive stage, including meiosis process, tapetum degradation, microspore development, pollen-tube germination, and fertilization, as well as seed development. Based on these advances, we proposed feasible strategies for thermotolerance improvement, which will pave a way for the breeding of heat-tolerant crop varieties.

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    Research progress on genetic basis and QTL mapping of oil content in peanut seed
    ZHANG Yue, WANG Zhi-Hui, HUAI Dong-Xin, LIU Nian, JIANG Hui-Fang, LIAO Bo-Shou, LEI Yong
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (3): 529-542.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34083
    Abstract635)   HTML119)    PDF(pc) (590KB)(611)       Save

    Peanut is an important oilseed crop in China, and oil content is an important quality trait and breeding target of peanut. One percentage point increase in peanut oil content is equivalent to an increase of two percentage points in yield, and oil processing profit can be increased by seven percentage points. This study outlined four predominant methods for phenotyping peanut oil content. The genetic characteristics of oil content in peanut were quantitative traits under polygenic control, that were affected by additive and dominant effects, and influenced by G×E interaction. There were 124 QTL reported for oil content, with 36 major effect loci by (phenotypic variation explained) more than 10%. Eight major effect QTL on A03, A05, and A08 can be consistently identified. A consistent genetic map of oil content in peanut was constructed, with a hotspot region on the 33.59-50.24 Mb of A08. In addition, the research progress of lipid synthesis and the regulatory mechanisms of associated genes was detailed. This review aspires to provide theoretical guidance for the genetic improvement of oil content and the breeding of high oil varieties of peanut.

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    Genetic analysis of seed coat and flower color based on a soybean nested association mapping population
    SONG Jian, XIONG Ya-Jun, CHEN Yi-Jie, XU Rui-Xin, LIU Kang-Lin, GUO Qing-Yuan, HONG Hui-Long, GAO Hua-Wei, GU Yong-Zhe, ZHANG Li-Juan, GUO Yong, YAN Zhe, LIU Zhang-Xiong, GUAN Rong-Xia, LI Ying-Hui, WANG Xiao-Bo, GUO Bing-Fu, SUN Ru-Jian, YAN Long, WANG Hao-Rang, JI Yue-Mei, CHANG Ru-Zhen, WANG Jun, QIU Li-Juan
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (3): 556-575.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34094
    Abstract567)   HTML35)    PDF(pc) (12248KB)(249)       Save

    Nested Association Mapping (NAM) population is widely applied in genetic study and breeding practice in many crops. A NAM panel was constructed by crossing of 35 parental lines with the common maternal lines (Zhongdou 41) based on previous evaluation of soybean germplasm. Principle component analysis and clustering analysis showed that clear genetic structure was observed between subpanel of RIL populations. Genetic analysis was performed on flower color and seed coat color in NAM subpanel with significant difference between paternal and maternal parents, and we found that qFC13-1 was significantly associated with flower color, which coincided with the W1 locus. Twelve loci identified were significantly correlated with seed coat color, among which nine loci were co-located by more than three methods, and the other three loci were co-located by two methods, including four reported loci and eight novel loci. In conclusion, NAM population was suitable for genetic analysis of soybean, which provided material basis for genetic interpretation and breeding practice for complex traits in soybean.

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    Genetic analysis of elite stripe rust resistance genes of founder parent Zhou 8425B in its derived varieties
    LI Yu-Jia, XU Hao, YU Shi-Nan, TANG Jian-Wei, LI Qiao-Yun, GAO Yan, ZHENG Ji-Zhou, DONG Chun-Hao, YUAN Yu-Hao, ZHENG Tian-Cun, YIN Gui-Hong
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (1): 16-31.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.31013
    Abstract552)   HTML46)    PDF(pc) (4495KB)(249)       Save

    Zhou 8425B is a widely used dwarf large panicle and disease-resistant and stress-resistant Wheat Founder Parent in the wheat production areas of the Yellow-Huaihe-Haihe Rivers regions. The analysis of stripe rust resistance of derived varieties and the genetic transmission information of stripe rust resistance gene carried by Zhou 8425B is of great value for wheat new variety breeding. In this study, we used a highly toxic race of stripe rust, Tiaozhong 34 (CYR34), to identify the resistance of 222 collected Zhou 8425B derived varieties to stripe rust at seedling stage. The hybrid strain mainly CYR34 was used to identify the resistance to stripe rust at adult stage of the derived varieties. Subsequently, molecular markers closely linked to the stripe rust resistance genes (YrZH84, YrZH84.2, Yr30, YrZH22, and Yr9 carried by Zhou 8425B) were used for genotype detection of the derived varieties. The results showed that Zhou 8425B was highly resistant to stripe rust stripe rust at seedling stage and adult stage to the current virulent dominant race CYR34. Among the 222 derivative varieties of Zhou 8425B, 14 of them, including Changmai 9, Jiyanmai 10, Bainong 4199, Saidemai 7, and Zhengmai 103, etc., showed stable disease resistance in two years, accounting for 6.3%; 52 derivative varieties, include Zhoumai 11, Zhoumai 22, Zhoumai 26, Zhoumai 36, Lantian 36, Cunmai 16 and Zhengpinmai 8, etc., had stable disease resistance during the whole growth period, accounting for 23.4%. Many derivative varieties of Zhou 8425B were mainly derived from six offspring, including Zhoumai 11, Zhoumai 12, Zhoumai 13, Zhoumai 15, Zhoumai 16, and Zhoumai 17. In the first generation, Zhoumai 16 and Zhoumai 13 directly derived more varieties because of their good agronomic characters, while Zhoumai 15 and Zhoumai 17 derived fewer varieties. Zhoumai 12 and Zhoumai 13 bred the second generation, Zhoumai 22, and then derived 45 sub-generations, and Zhoumai 11 bred Aikang 58, and then derived 54 sub-generations. The excellent stripe rust resistance gene of Zhou 8425B was continuously separated and polymerized in the process of genetic breeding. The frequencies of YrZH84, YrZH84.2, YrZH22, Yr30, and Yr9 in the derived offspring were 34.7%, 14.9%, 41.9%, 66.2%, and 67.1%, respectively. Among the derivative varieties carrying only one disease resistance gene, the average severity of YrZH84 was the lowest (14.4%). Among the derived varieties that aggregate two disease resistance genes, the average severity of carrying YrZH84+YrZH22 was the lowest (20.0%); among the derived varieties that aggregate three disease resistance genes, the average severity of carrying YrZH84+YrZH22+Yr9 was the lowest (17.2%). Among the derived varieties that aggregate four disease resistance genes, the average severity of carrying YrZH84+YrZH22+Yr30+Yr9 was 16.9%, and the average severity of carrying YrZH84.2+YrZH22+Yr30+Yr9 was 38.4%. At seedling stage, derived varieties that carried the YrZH84 resistance gene or a combination of genes containing YrZH84 during the entire growth period had better disease resistance. These results provide the information of stripe rust gene for the continuous improvement and utilization of the Founder Parent Zhou 8425B in China, identify the new derived germplasm with high resistance and high yield to the highly virulent physiological race CYR34, which providing a reference for the genetic breeding of wheat resistance to stripe rust in China.

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    Development, genetic deciphering, and breeding utilization of dwarf lines in foxtail millet
    DIAO Xian-Min, WANG Li-Wei, ZHI Hui, ZHANG Jun, LI Shun-Guo, CHENG Ru-Hong
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (2): 265-279.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34131
    Abstract537)   HTML45)    PDF(pc) (4944KB)(606)       Save

    Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is an important cereal crop in northern China’s arid and semiarid dry land agriculture, which has recently been proposed as a novel model for functional genomics. Breeding dwarf varieties is the development trend of foxtail millet industry. To date, more than 70 foxtail millet dwarf lines have been developed and reported worldwide. According to morphological characteristics, foxtail millet dwarf lines can be divided into two types: compact type with erect leaves and conventional type with droopy leaves. Gibberellins (GA) sensitivity assay indicated that four materials were not sensitive to GA and the others were sensitive. Genetic analyses detected that most of the dwarf phenotype lines were controlled by recessive genes, but the height phenotype of Ai 88 was controlled by multi-dwarf-gene. So far, 79 QTL related with plant height regulation were detected by natural population GWAS or linkage analysis. Among seven genes or QTL fine mapped in foxtail millet, the semi-dominant dwarfism gene SiD1 in 84113 was the only one cloned and functionally characterized. In the history of breeding dwarf foxtail millet variety, Ai 88 was a backbone line, which had been utilized to develop 139 cultivars with reducing plant height to meet the requirement of logging resistance and mechanized harvest. In this study, we reviewed systematically the research progress of dwarfing gene in foxtail millet, sorted out the dwarfing genes that had been located and cloned, discussed the problems in the research of dwarfing genetics and breeding, and prospected the future development in foxtail.

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    Knockout of GmBADH1 gene using CRISPR/Cas9 technique to reduce salt tolerance in soybean
    SHI Yu-Xin, LIU Xin-Yue, SUN Jian-Qiang, LI Xiao-Fei, GUO Xiao-Yang, ZHOU Ya, QIU Li-Juan
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (1): 100-109.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34056
    Abstract506)   HTML37)    PDF(pc) (3225KB)(267)       Save

    Functional identification of salt-tolerant genes is crucial for the improvement of soybean varieties and the development and utilization of saline-alkali land. Under salt stress, crops reduce the effect of salt damage on crop yield by synthesizing and accumulating betaine as osmotic protective agent. BADH gene is been proved to regulate plant response to stress in many plants, but the regulation mechanism in soybean is not clear. In this study, GmBADH1 gene was cloned, and qRT-PCR showed that the gene was expressed stems and leaves, especially in roots. The expression vector constructed by CRISPR/Cas9 system was transferred into soybean variety JACK by Agrobacterium-mediated soybean genetic transformation technology, and three targeted mutations that could regulate the salt tolerance of soybean were produced. They all occurred in the coding region, which had three difference of deletion 19 bp, insertion 1 bp, and insertion 9 bp to replace 2 bp. The first two, premature termination codons, resulting in truncated BADH1 protein, the latter occurred frameshift mutation. The mutant homozygous plants were treated with salt at the emergence stage and seedling stage, respectively. The results showed that the salt tolerance of the mutant homozygous plants was significantly lower than that of the wild type at seedling stage, and there was no significant difference compared with the wild type at seeding stage, which indicating that GmBADH1 gene may mainly regulate the salt tolerance of seedling stage. This study provides a basis for further excavation of soybean salt-tolerant genes and cultivation of soybean salt-tolerant varieties.

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    Identification of candidate genes implicated in low-nitrogen-stress tolerance based on RNA-Seq in sorghum
    WANG Rui, ZHANG Fu-Yao, ZHAN Peng-Jie, CHU Jian-Qiang, JIN Min-Shan, ZHAO Wei-Jun, CHENG Qing-Jun
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (3): 669-685.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34055
    Abstract478)   HTML27)    PDF(pc) (1360KB)(698)       Save

    The objective of this study is to explore gene differential expression between different sorghum materials under low nitrogen stress conditions and to provide the references for probing into the breeding of low-nitrogen-tolerant sorghum varieties and the molecular mechanism of low-nitrogen-stress tolerance in sorghum. Two low-nitrogen-tolerant sorghum varieties (BSX44 and BTx378) were selected as experimental materials, and both of them were subjected to normal-growth treatment and low-nitrogen-stress treatment respectively before the gene expression of sorghum was detected at seedling stage, heading stage and flowering stage via RNA-Seq technology. The biological functions and metabolic pathways of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed by bioinformatics to screen genes that may be involved in the low-nitrogen regulation, and to understand the possible molecular pathways for nitrogen efficient materials in the process of nitrogen absorption and utilization. The results showed that: For BTx378 and BSX44, under normal-growth and low-nitrogen-stress treatments, 937 and 787 DEGs were detected at the seedling stage, 1305 and 935 at the heading stage, and 1402 and 963 at the flowering stage, for BTx378 and BSX44 respectively. Then the converged DEGs at the three stages were identified, and it was found that 246 genes were differentially expressed in the two low-nitrogen-tolerant sorghum varieties at the seedling stage, 371 at the heading stage, and 306 at the flowering stage. Furthermore, a total of 28 genes were consistently detected as DEGs at all three stages in the two low-nitrogen tolerant varieties, among which 5 genes were up-regulated and 23 genes were down-regulated. The KEGG analysis of the 28 common DEGs showed that they were mainly enriched in nitrogen metabolism, alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and amino acid biosynthesis. This suggested that regulation of the genes in these pathways mainly affects the low nitrogen stress tolerance in sorghum.

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    Functional analysis of OsFLZ13, the gene encoding a small peptide zinc finger protein in rice
    ZHANG Li-Jie, ZHOU Hai-Yu, MUHAMMAD Zeshan, MUNSIF Ali Shad, YANG Ming-Chong, LI Bo, HAN Shi-Jian, ZHANG Cui-Cui, HU Li-Hua, WANG Ling-Qiang
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (3): 543-555.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.32023
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    FCS-like zinc finger (FLZ) is a protein associated with plant growth and stress. At present, there are few reports on FLZ gene family analysis and functional studies in rice. In this study, TBtools were used to blast rice genome, and a total of 29 OsFLZ genes were identified. Their gene location, gene structure, motif and promoter sequences were analyzed. The relative expression level of FLZ genes in rice from CREP database showed that, OsFLZ13, a member of this family, was predominantly expressed in anthers before flowering. β-D-glucuronidase (GUS) staining assays exhibited that OsFLZ13 began to express at stage 9 and gradually peaked at stage 14 of stamen development before flowering. Furthermore, two independent mutant lines, namely Osflz13-1 and Osflz13-2, were obtained with CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system. Compared with the 94% seed-setting rate of wild type Zhonghua 11, the setting rates of Osflz13-1 and Osflz13-2 were reduced to 44% and 36%, respectively. This study throws light on the evolution of FLZ in planta and indicates the roles of OsFLZ13 in anthers development and pollen fertility, which will be beneficial further studies of its functions. Additionally, it provides a reference for exploring the function of the FLZ family and highlights its potential value for the utilization in male sterility systems in rice.

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    Mining maize flowering traits related candidate genes based on GWAS and WGCNA data
    QIAN Fu, ZHANG Zhan-Qin, CHEN Shu-Bin, DING Yong-Fu, SANG Zhi-Qin, LI Wei-Hua
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2023, 49 (12): 3261-3276.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2023.33010
    Abstract452)   HTML21)    PDF(pc) (1510KB)(323)       Save

    The flowering time is one of the important traits in maize. It is of great significance to analyze the genetic basis and to mine the key core genes in flowering for maize varieties with wide adaptability. A natural population consisting of 580 maize inbred lines were planted for three years, to determine the three flowering traits (including days to anthesis, days to silking, and anthesis silking interval). Genome-wide association analysis was conducted using 31,826 SNPs distributed throughout the whole genome. Combined with transcriptome data of 14 different developmental stages of inbred line B73, weighted gene co-expression network analysis was performed to select tissue specific modules and key genes related to maize flowering time. A total of 14 SNPs for four flower traits under multiple environments and 10 potential candidate genes were mined by GWAS, WGCNA was used to mine 17 potential candidate genes in flowering time, three candidate genes were jointly mined by both approaches. Zm00001d052180 encodes a MADS box transcription factor 19, Zm00001d016814 encodes the NAC transcription factor 133, Zm00001d048082 encodes MADS box transcription factor 8, mainly involved in regulating inflorescence growth and development, which has certain research value and significance. These results provide a reference for the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of flowering time related traits in maize.

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    Functional identification of maize transcription factor ZmMYB12 to enhance drought resistance and low phosphorus tolerance in plants
    WANG Li-Ping, WANG Xiao-Yu, FU Jing-Ye, WANG Qiang
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (1): 76-88.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.33007
    Abstract442)   HTML80)    PDF(pc) (10999KB)(421)       Save

    Maize usually suffers from various abiotic stresses such as drought, high temperature, high salt, and deficiency of nutrient elements during growth and development period, which will eventually lead to the decline of yield and quality, resulting in serious agricultural yield reduction. MYB transcription factors are widely distributed in plants and involved in the whole process of plant growth and development and environmental response. Therefore, the screening and identification of MYB transcription factors conferring stress resistance can provide the theoretical basis and technical support for genetic improvement in maize. In this study, a R2R3-MYB family transcription factor gene, ZmMYB12, was cloned from maize materials under drought treatment. This gene showed inducible expression in response to drought, ABA, and PEG treatments. Maize plants with virus induced gene silencing (VIGS) of ZmMYB12 had higher sensitivity to drought and accumulated more reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as smaller roots. The survival rate of ZmMYB12 silencing plants was lower after re-watering than the wild type plants (WT), indicating that ZmMYB12 was a positive regulator of drought response. Overexpression of ZmMYB12 in Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in less ROS accumulation and more lateral roots than WT, thus elevating drought resistance. After low phosphorus stress, ZmMYB12 overexpression Arabidopsis had more lateral roots and stronger root system, as well as higher contents of chlorophyll and anthocyanin. The content of inorganic phosphorus in ZmMYB12 overexpression Arabidopsis was also higher than WT. In conclusion, this study indicates that ZmMYB12 positively regulates drought response and increases the uptake and utilization of phosphorus in plants, providing an elite gene for maize breeding to increase abiotic resistance.

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    Cloning, expression, and functional analysis of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) TaSPX1 gene in low nitrogen stress tolerance
    ZHANG Bao-Hua, LIU Jia-Jing, TIAN Xiao, TIAN Xu-Zhao, DONG Kuo, WU Yu-Jie, XIAO Kai, LI Xiao-Juan
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (3): 576-589.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.31025
    Abstract436)   HTML61)    PDF(pc) (6556KB)(266)       Save

    The SPX gene family includes four subgroups: SPX, SPX-EXS, SPX-MFS, and SPX-RING, which play an important role in phosphate signal response, but so far, little is known about the functions of this family in wheat. Previously, we identified a gene TaSPX1 (GenBank No. Ak332300), belonged to SPX subfamily from wheat (Triticum aestivum). Subcellular localization analysis showed that it targeted onto nucleus. Phylogenetic tree of TaSPX1 and its homologous proteins from the wheat, Arabidopsis, and rice SPX families showed that it was closely related to OsSPX1, a member of rice SPX subfamily. The relative expression level of TaSPX1 significantly increased under low nitrogen (low-N) stress when investigated by RT-qPCR. Transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) overexpression lines were generated. Using the culture methods of Murashige & Skoog (MS) hydroponic solution, the phenotype of WT and OE under low-N stress treatment was investigated. We found that the plants of OE3 and OE4, two OE lines overexpressing TaSPX1, displayed increased growth vigor and leaf area, together with the enhanced plant fresh weight and root weight, and elevated photosynthetic parameters including photosynthetic rate (Pn), intercellular carbon dioxide concentration (Ci), stomatal conductance (Gs), and transpiration rate (Tr), along with the increased contents of nitrogen, soluble sugar, soluble protein, and chlorophyll content upon low-N stress with respect to WT. Studies on transport and assimilation related parameters showed that under low-N stress, the relative expression level of some related genes and the activities of nitrogen assimilation-related enzymes were increased. Assays on the SOD, POD, and CAT, the enzymes functional as cellular protector, revealed the higher activities of them in OE plants than those in WT. On the contrary, MDA content was decreased. Further RT-qPCR analysis indicated the expression levels of several protection enzymes mentioned above were higher in OE plants than those of WT under low-N stress. Therefore, TaSPX1 played an important role in mediating plant resistance to low-N stress by improving photosynthetic parameters, enhancing nitrogen absorption and transport, and strengthening the protective enzyme system. The results enrich new understanding on the function of wheat SPX family members involved in abiotic stress, and provide a theoretical basis for genetic improvement of crops against low-N stress.

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    QTL mapping and GWAS analysis of coleoptile length in bread wheat
    HAO Qian-Lin, YANG Ting-Zhi, LYU Xin-Ru, QIN Hui-Min, WANG Ya-Lin, JIA Chen-Fei, XIA Xian-Chun, MA Wu-Jun, XU Deng-An
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (3): 590-602.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.31034
    Abstract433)   HTML30)    PDF(pc) (2089KB)(703)       Save

    Under drought conditions, the emergence rate of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) can be improved by proper deep sowing. The maximum sowing depth of wheat is determined by the length of the coleoptile, so it is very important to cultivate wheat varieties with long coleoptile. In this study, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population consisting of 275 lines derived from the cross of Doumai and Shi 4185, and 186 natural population materials were used as the experimental materials. Genotyping results of 90K SNP chip were used to identify QTL for wheat coleoptile length in three different environments. The results showed that two stable QTL sites were identified by inclusive composite interval mapping in the RIL population. The two QTL located on Chromosome 4BS (30.17-40.59 Mb) and 6BL (700.08-703.53 Mb), respectively, and explained 26.29%-28.46% and 4.16%- 4.36% of the phenotypic variance, respectively. A total of 36 stable QTL were identified in the genome-wide association study (GWAS) using the mixed linear model. They were located on Chromosome 1A (3), 1B (3), 1D (2), 2A (1), 3A (2), 3B (2), 4B (11), 5A (1), 5B (3), 6B (4), 7A (2), and 7B (2), respectively. Seven significant association loci were repeatedly detected in the three environments, three of which overlapped or were adjacent to reported loci, and the other four loci were presumed to be new loci. They were located on Chromosomes 1A (499.03 Mb), 3A (73.06 Mb), 4B (648.74-648.87 Mb), and 7A (36.31 Mb), respectively. Five candidate genes (TraesCS1A03G0748300, Rht1, TraesCS4B03G0110000, TraesCS4B03G0112200, and TraesCS7A03G0146600) were predicted. A major QTL locus on Chromosome 4BS (30.17-40.59 Mb) was identified in both RIL and natural populations, and the candidate gene Rht1 at this locus had been shown to reduce the length of wheat coleoptile. The results of this study lay a foundation for the identification of genes controlling the length of coleoptile in wheat and the maker-assisted selection breeding.

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    Function analysis of different Cas9 promoters on the efficiency of CRISPR/ Cas9 system in soybean
    NIU Zhi-Yuan, QIN Chao, LIU Jun, WANG Hai-Ze, LI Hong-Yu
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2023, 49 (12): 3227-3238.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2023.24285
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    The CRISPR/Cas9 system has been widely used in plants and animals as an efficient gene editing system. Several Cas9 promoters, such as RPS5A and YAO, have been reported to improve the efficiency of gene editing in CRISPR/Cas9 system. In soybean, the influence of different Cas9 promoters on the efficiency of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing system has not been elucidated. In this study, six efficient promoters with known functions (p35S, pGmRPS5Ab, pGmRPS5Ac, pAtRPS5A, pGmYAO, and pZmUbiquitin) and one endogenous soybean promoter with unknown function (pGmHE) were selected to construct the CRISPR/Cas9 knockout vectors. The editing efficiency of the Cas9 promoters on the endogenous soybean genes GmSPA1a and GmEID1 was tested by Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated hair roots system, which indicated that soybean endogenous promoter pGmRPS5Ab had the highest editing efficiency. The editing efficiency of pAtRPS5A, p35S, and pZmUbiquitin were higher than that of pGmYAO and pGmRPS5Ac. Further analysis of the sequencing maps of target sites showed that the high peak maps accounted for 64.0% and 58.6% in the sequencing maps of pGmRPS5Ab and pAtRPS5A promoters, respectively, while in the sequencing maps of p35S-driven hair roots, the low peak accounted for a higher proportion (63.3%). These above results indicated that pGmRP5SAb and pAtRPS5A promoters not only had high editing efficiency, but also had better editing effect, and were more conducive to the isolation of homozygous mutants in the next generation. In conclusion, this study provide the reference for the construction of efficient soybean CRISPR/Cas9 vectors and help to improve the efficiency of soybean gene editing.

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    Research progress on the intensification of agroecosystem functions through legume-based crop rotation
    LIU Chun-Yan, ZHANG Li-Ying, ZHOU Jie, XU Yi, YANG Ya-Dong, ZENG Zhao-Hai, ZANG Hua-Dong
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (8): 1885-1895.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34195
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    Although intensive agriculture plays a crucial role in ensuring global food security, the conflict between its environmental costs and sustainable development is becoming increasingly prominent. Legume inclusion into agroecosystem is vital for improving soil health, enhancing agroecosystem stability, and achieving resource utilization efficiency. This paper provides a systematic summary of the main effects of the legume-based rotation on crop production and soil function as follows: 1) Legume enhance soil nitrogen (N) content through biological N fixation, high-quality rhizosphere exudates input, and straw incorporation, resulting in positive legacy effects. This, in turn, benefits the subsequent crop yields, particularly in agroecosystems with low soil fertility. 2) Although the biological N fixation of legumes poses the risk of increasing CO2 emissions, it can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by reducing N fertilization in the rotation. 3) The low C/N ratio and high N content of legume straw promote soil microbial activity and microbial residue accumulation, thereby improving soil carbon sequestration efficiency. However, the limited amount of straw for legumes restricts C sequestration. 4) Legumes can improve water and fertilizer utilization efficiency of subsequent crops, and optimizing the root depth between legume and subsequent crop can enhance the overall efficiency of water and fertilizer usage in the rotation. In conclusion, the inclusion of legumes in crop rotation can achieve a reduction in N fertilizer usage and an increase in yield. However, the effects of soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission reduction are influenced by various factors such as crop type, fertilizer input, soil, and climate conditions. Exploring the coupling mechanisms between the effects of legumes on subsequent crop yield and belowground ecological functions is of great significance. Developing field management technologies for legume-based crop rotation and designing new ecological and efficient cropping systems suitable for various regions in China will facilitate the construction and implementation of legume-based rotations, contributing to agricultural green development.

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    Mapping and cloning of plant height gene PHR1 in maize
    YANG Chen-Xi, ZHOU Wen-Qi, ZHOU Xiang-Yan, LIU Zhong-Xiang, ZHOU Yu-Qian, LIU Jie-Shan, YANG Yan-Zhong, HE Hai-Jun, WANG Xiao-Juan, LIAN Xiao-Rong, LI Yong-Sheng
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (1): 55-66.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.33011
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    Plant height is an important index for the ideal maize breeding, which not only affects the mechanical harvest of maize, but also closely relates to the lodging resistance and the biological yield of maize. In this study, a plant height reducing mutant-1 (phr-1) was obtained by using low-dose fast neutron (4.19 Gy) irradiation to mutate the maize inbred line KWS39 at the low ear position. Phenotypic traits were investigated and analyzed in the field, and candidate genes were identified by mining and functional annotation of genes in the target region based on the B73 reference genome using the extreme trait pool sequencing analysis (BSA-seq) and the method of target region recombination exchange identification with F2 segregation population of phr-1×B73. These results indicated that there might be a variation site in Bin1.06 interval on chromosome 1, and the target region was precisely located between two markers, Umc1122 and Umc1583a, with a 600 kb interval by using the large segregation population and polymorphic markers. Brachytic2 (BR2), encoding a sugar protein regulating the polar transport of auxin in maize stems, is a known gene controlling plant height in this region. The sequencing of candidate genes revealed that phr-1 was a new allelic mutation of br2-1, with a 165 bp insertion in the fourth exon of the BR2 gene resulting in the amino acid at position 547 changing to a stop codon and premature protein translation termination. The mutation site and variation mode of phr-1 were completely different from those of br2-1 single base mutation site. The allelic hybridization experiment confirmed that the PHR1 candidate gene is a new allelic mutation of the BR2 gene. This study provides new germplasm resources for maize BR2 gene in plant height genetic improvement.

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    Effects of salinity stress on grain-filling characteristics and yield of rice
    WEI Huan-He, ZHANG Xiang, ZHU Wang, GENG Xiao-Yu, MA Wei-Yi, ZUO Bo-Yuan, MENG Tian-Yao, GAO Ping-Lei, CHEN Ying-Long, XU Ke, DAI Qi-Gen
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (3): 734-746.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.32021
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    To investigate the effect of salinity stress on grain-filling and yield of rice, the conventional japonica rice Nanjing 9108 and Huaidao 5 which were widely planted in saline alkali soil of Jiangsu province were used as the experimental materials. The treatments including the control (CK, 0 salt concentration), medium-salinity (medium-salinity, MS, 0.15% salt concentration), and high salt (high salinity, 0.3% salt concentration) were set. The results showed that, compared with the CK: (1) MS and HS both significantly reduced rice grain yield by 26.3% and 57.7% (average of the two cultivars), respectively. The number of panicles, spikelets per panicle, filled-grain percentage, and 1000-grain weight were all significantly decreased under salinity stress. (2) Salinity stress significantly reduced rice panicle length, the number of superior and inferior grains per panicle, filled-grain percentage, and 1000-grain weight. The decreases in filled-grain percentage and 1000-grain weight of superior grains per panicle under salinity stress were lower than those of inferior grains. (3) Salinity stress significantly reduced the dry matter weight of plants at heading and maturity stages, and the dry matter accumulation from heading to maturity, while increased the harvest index. The net photosynthetic rate and SPAD value at 15 and 30 days after heading of rice leaves under salinity stress were significantly lower than CK. (4) Salinity stress reduced the maximum and mean grain-filling rates of grains during grain-filling period, while the time to achieve the maximum grain-filling rate and effective grain-filling duration of grains increased. Salinity stress increased the days at the first, middle, and late stages during grain-filling period for superior and inferior grains, while the mean grain-filling rate and grain filling amount significantly decreased at the first, middle, and late stages during grain-filling period. The decrease in grain filling amount of superior grains at the first, middle, and late stages during grain-filling period was lower than that of inferior grains. (5) Salinity stress significantly decreased activities of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase), starch synthases (SSS), granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS), and starch branching enzymes (SBE), and the decrease was greater in inferior grains than superior grains. In conclusion, the grain-filling days for superior and inferior grains increased under salinity stress, but the decrease in grain filling rate and activities of key enzymes involved in starch synthesis was greater, resulting in a significant deterioration in grain filling traits and a significant decrease in grain weight and yield. The inhibitory effects of salinity stress on grain-filling rate and grain filling amount of inferior grains were higher than those of superior grains.

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    Transcriptomics profile of transgenic OsPHR2 wheat under different phosphorus stress
    LI Yan, FANG Yu-Hui, WANG Yong-Xia, PENG Chao-Jun, HUA Xia, QI Xue-Li, HU Lin, XU Wei-Gang
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (2): 340-353.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.31020
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    The PHR gene is the core transcription factor in the phosphorus signaling regulatory system, responsible for initiating the adaptive response of downstream parts to phosphorus starvation. At the early stage, the transgenic OsPHR2 wheat pure lines with high phosphorus efficiency were obtained, but the molecular mechanism of OsPHR2 improving the phosphorus absorption and utilization efficiency of wheat is still unclear. In order to reveal the molecular mechanism of OsPHR2 improving the phosphorus uptake and utilization efficiency in wheat, transgenic OsPHR2 wheat pure line with high phosphorus efficiency earlier as the experimental material in this study. Transgenic OsPHR2 wheat and the control were treated with low phosphorus stress when they grew to 4 leaves and 1 heart in hydroponics experiment. Transgenic OsPHR2 wheat and control under low phosphorus stress for 0, 6, 24, and 72 h were used for transcriptomes analysis by RNA-seq. The differentially expression genes (DEGs) in roots and leaves of transgenic wheat and control were analyzed. There were 22 common DEGs in the roots of transgenic wheat and control under low phosphorus stress for 0, 6, 24, and 72 h, and there were nine common DEGs in the leaves under four treatments. The functional and pathway enrichments of differentially expressed genes in roots and leaves were also performed by GO and KEGG analysis. The result showed that the number of DEGs in the root of transgenic wheat and control was the highest under low phosphorus stress for 0 h, followed by 6 h. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that DEGs were mainly clustered into biological processes such as glucose metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and molecular functions such as nutrient storage activity, ATPase activity, etc. The number of DEGs in the leaves of transgenic wheat and the control was the highest under low phosphorus stress for 72 h. DEGs were mainly clustered into biological processes such as glucose metabolism, organic acid biosynthesis, as well as molecular functions related to glycosyltransferase activity and cellulose synthase activity. Compared with the control, the key enzyme genes of the defense system such as heme peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase in the root of the transgenic line OsT5-28, as well as the trisphosphate transporter family genes in the leaf were up-regulated before and after low phosphorus stresses. The response of transgenic OsPHR2 wheat to low phosphorus stress was different from that of the control. Transgenic wheat had stronger phosphorus absorption and utilization ability than the control under low phosphorus stress, mainly because OsPHR2 regulated the relative expression level of related genes in wheat.

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    Genome-wide association analysis of morphological traits of flag leaf in wheat
    WANG Rui, REN Yi, CHENG Yu-Kun, WANG Wei, ZHANG Zhi-Hui, GENG Hong-Wei
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2023, 49 (11): 2886-2901.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2023.21085
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    The flag leaf of wheat is the primary functional leaf for photosynthesis and contributes significantly to yield. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the genetic process of flag leaf morphology and identify the candidate genes for flag leaf morphology-related features. We combined 90K SNP gene chips and 300 wheat varieties (lines) for genome-wide association analysis of flag leaf length, width, and area under normal irrigation (NI), and drought stress (DS) conditions in five environments. The results showed that flag leaf length, width, and area exhibited significant differences between the two moisture treatments and displayed rich phenotypic variation with the coefficients of variation ranging from 0.07-0.23 in different environments (P<0.05). Moreover, genome-wide association study (GWAS) revealed that a total of 37 stable genetic loci were significantly associated with flag leaf length, width, and area. These loci were distributed on chromosomes 1D, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3D, 4A, 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, 7A, and 7B, with individual SNP loci explaining 3.70%-9.05% of the genetic variation, including 22 stable genetic loci detected under normal irrigation and 15 stable genetic loci detected under drought stress. Eight stable genetic loci at the same time detected under both water treatments were discovered on chromosomes 2B, 3A, 5A, 6A, 7A, and 7B, while the five stable genetic loci related by several traits were simultaneously detected on chromosomes 2B, 3A, 6A, and 7A. By analyzing haplotypes at markers with stable inheritance and high contribution, it was found that the Kukri_c1406_275 (R2=9.05%) marker was significantly associated with flag leaf length, with three haplotypes of FLL-Hap1, FLL-Hap2, and FLL-Hap3, and the wsnp_bq170165A_Ta_1_1 (R2=7.88%) marker was also detected in three haplotypes, FLA-Hap1, FLA-Hap2, and FLA-Hap3. In combination with phenotypic analysis, the flag leaf length of 300 winter wheat varieties (lines) containing FLL-Hap1 (77.78% frequency of occurrence) or FLL-Hap2 (18.89%) haplotypes was significantly higher than that of FLL-Hap3 (3.33%) haplotypes. The flag leaf area was significantly higher in haplotypes containing FLA-Hap1 (48.19%) than in haplotypes containing FLA-Hap2 (30.80%) or FLA-Hap3 (21.01%) (P<0.05). Different haplotypes were distributed differently in different winter wheat varieties (lines). Haplotype FLL-Hap1 was more frequently distributed in foreign varieties (lines), while haplotypes FLL-Hap2 and FLL-Hap3 were more frequently distributed in the northern winter wheat region and the southwestern winter wheat region, respectively. Haplotypes FLA-Hap1 and FLA-Hap2 were more frequently distributed in the southwestern winter wheat region and the northern winter wheat region, respectively, while haplotypes FLA-Hap3 were no more frequently distributed in all winter wheat regions. Searching for stable genetic loci under both water treatments yielded and screening of five candidate genes associated with flag leaf morphology, which could be used as the important genes for flag leaf-related traits.

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    Identification of candidate genes associated with drought tolerance based on QTL and transcriptome sequencing in Brassica napus L.
    LI Yang-Yang, WU Dan, XU Jun-Hong, CHEN Zhuo-Yong, XU Xin-Yuan, XU Jin-Pan, TANG Zhong-Lin, ZHANG Ya-Ru, ZHU Li, YAN Zhuo-Li, ZHOU Qing-Yuan, LI Jia-Na, LIU Lie-Zhao, TANG Zhang-Lin
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (4): 820-835.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34144
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    Drought stress severely limits planting promotion and yield increase in Brassica napus L. Drought tolerance is a complex quantitative trait controlled by multiple genes. Combining QTL and transcriptome is an effective method for identifying candidate genes associated with drought tolerance in B. napus. In this study, the seedlings of F2:6 and F2:8 recombinant inbred lines, constructed by Sanliu’ai (drought sensitivity line) and Kelina-2 (drought tolerance line), were treated with drought stress and well watering at seedling stage. Shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, leaf relative water content, malondialdehyde content, and soluble sugar content were measured. The QTL and candidate intervals were identified based on genetic linkage maps, which were constructed using SSR and SNP markers with polymorphism. Subsequently, candidate genes associated with drought tolerance were screened by combining transcriptome sequencing of No11 (drought tolerance material) and No28 (drought sensitivity material). Drought stress decreased shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, and leaf relative water content, and increased the contents of malondialdehyde and soluble sugar. QTL and candidate intervals related to drought tolerance were distributed on chromosome A01, A02, A06, A08, A09, A10, C02, C03, C04, C06, and C09. By transcriptome analysis of drought tolerance and sensitivity materials under well water, drought stress for 24, 36, and 48 h, the major different expression genes were enriched in the pathways associated with photosynthesis, fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, plant hormone signal transduction, ribosome, circadian rhythm and biosynthesis of keratin, cork and wax. A total of 28 candidate genes related to drought tolerance were identified by combining QTL and transcriptome. They coded FLC, bHLH105, TGA4, TEM1, ERF003, ACO3, CHLI1, LHCB6, PORC, etc., which had transcription factor activity, ethylene production and signal transduction, chlorophyll biosynthesis and binding, chlorophyll oxidoreductase and encoding ribosome proteins. These results could provide a basis for revealing drought tolerance mechanism and molecular breeding of drought tolerance variety in B. napus.

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    Assessment of the cultivation suitability and suitable regions of Gastrodia elata under climate change in China
    HAO Jia-Le, ZHAO Jiong-Chao, ZHAO Ming-Yu, WANG Yi-Xuan, LU Jie, SHI Xiao-Yu, GAO Zhen-Zhen, CHU Qing-Quan
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (4): 1004-1014.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34098
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    Climate change affects species growth areas by altering the suitability of their habitats. As a rare and endangered medical plant in China, the evaluation of the suitable distribution area and the impact of climate change on the suitability of Gastrodia elata can provide important information for the production layout of Gastrodia elata. In this study, the MaxEnt model was used to simulate the spatial distribution and changes of the suitability and suitable area for Gastrodia elata cultivation from 1961 to 2020, based on geographic distribution and environmental data. Results showed that the main environmental factors affecting the distribution of Gastrodia elata were solar radiation from May to July, precipitation in October and November, the minimum temperature in the coldest month, and vegetation type. The high suitable areas for Gastrodia elata cultivation in China were mainly distributed in the southwestern region around the Sichuan Basin. 1961 to 2020, the suitability for Gastrodia elata cultivation had shown a fluctuating increasing trend, with the area of improved suitability accounting for 9.10% of the total land area of China, mainly concentrated in Southwest China, the parts of central and eastern China, and Shaanxi province. The overall decrease in solar radiation from May to July over the past 60 years was the main reason for the increased suitability of asparagus cultivation. This study provided a scientific basis for the production and artificial cultivation site selection of Gastrodia elata in China, which provided reference significance for formulating strategies to respond to future climate change.

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    Gene expression characteristics of TaNRT/TaNPF family in wheat cultivars with different nitrogen efficiency
    WANG Lu-Lu, YI Zi-Bo, WANG Hao-Zhe, NAI Fu-Rong, MA Xin-Ming, ZHANG Zhi-Yong, WANG Xiao-Chun
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2023, 49 (11): 2966-2977.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2023.21063
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    Nitrogen is one of the essential elements for wheat growth and development, and NO3--N is the main form of nitrogen that wheat obtains from soil. NRT/NPF genes family encode membrane transporters, which are mainly involved in NO3--N absorption, transport, and allocation in plants. In order to understand the relationship between NRT/NPF family and nitrogen utilization in wheat, the relative expression characteristic of TaNRT/TaNPF family in flag leaves of N-efficient wheat cultivars Zhoumai 27 (ZM27) and N-inefficient wheat cultivars Aikang 58 (AK58) at flowering stage were studied with the second-generation sequencing technology. The results showed that 386 genes of TaNRT/TaNPF family were identified in the second generation transcriptome database. Compared with AK58, there were 27, 16, and 23 differentially expressed genes in ZM27 in reducing (N120), normal (N225), and excessive (N330) nitrogen treatments. There were 16 (59.26%), 12 (75%), and 19 (82.61%) up-regulated genes in ZM27, respectively. Seven genes were down-regulated in ZM27 in reducing nitrogen treatment. The relative expression level of TaNPF8.1 was the highest and significantly up-regulated by 1.5 times in nitrogen excessive condition. In conclusion, the relative expression of TaNRT/TaNPF family genes was regulated by nitrogen application rate and cultivar. Wheat network database showed that the relative expression of TaNRT/TaNPF family had tissue specificity and chromosomal preference. The highest expression level of TaNPF8.1 in flag leaf was located on chromosome 3A, and the root specific expression TaNRT2.2 and TaNRT3.1 were mainly distributed on chromosome 6. The stem specific expression of TaNPF4.5 was mainly distributed on chromosome 2. The qRT-PCR of TaNRT/TaNPF genes were consistent with the results of the second-generation transcriptome and network data. Interaction analysis of TaNPF8.1, TaNPF4.5, and TaNRT3.1 revealed that NO3--N transport may also require the collaborative participation of transcription factor MYB, chlorophyll A-B binding protein, and chaperone protein. These findings laid a foundation for further studies on the relationship between TaNRT/TaNPF family expression and nitrogen uptake and utilization.

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    Mine the genes of premature yellowing and aging in soybean leaves by BSA-seq combined with RNA-seq technology
    LI Shi-Kuan, HONG Hui-Long, FU Jia-Qi, GU Yong-Zhe, SUN Ru-Jian, QIU Li-Juan
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (2): 294-309.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2023.34062
    Abstract389)   HTML29)    PDF(pc) (9043KB)(350)       Save

    The yield of soybean is positively correlated with the duration of reproductive growth, which delays the aging of leaves after flowering, enhances their physiological performance, and supports growing plants with heavier grains. Leaf yellowing is one of the distinctive features of plant aging. Studies on leaf yellowing at the late stage of soybean drum grain have rarely been reported. The early yellowing feature of soybean late tympanic leaves was controlled by a single recessive nuclear gene, according to the genetic analysis of the hybrid of the early yellowing mutant ly and wild-type ofc in this study. Using Molecular Marker to Map-Based Cloning, a 2.23 Mb preliminary localization interval on chromosome 19 was obtained. The interval was shortened to 1.75 Mb and contained 219 genes. When this interval was combined with RNA-Seq analysis, 12 candidate genes were detected, including 4 SNP variant genes and 8 differentially expressed genes. The findings of this study provides the framework for the cloning of genes that cause aging and yellowing during the filling later period in soybean.

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    Phenotypic identification and disease resistance mechanism analysis of rice lesion mutant lms1
    YU Yao, WANG Zi-Yao, ZHOU Si-Rui, LIU Peng-Cheng, YE Ya-Feng, MA Bo-Jun, LIU Bin-Mei, CHEN Xi-Feng
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (4): 857-870.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.32010
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    Lesion mimic mutants are important genetic materials for studying molecular mechanisms of plant cell death and disease resistance. Through radiation mutagenesis of a japonica rice cultivar ‘Wuyunjing 7’, a rare lesion mimic and disease-susceptible mutant lms1 was obtained. Compared to the wild type, the leaves of this mutant spontaneously appeared reddish-brown spots, and its plant height, panicle length, number of grains per panicle, and yield per plant decreased, but the weight of 1000-grain increased. In addition, the resistance of lms1 to rice bacterial blight decreased significantly, and tissue staining showed significant cell death and excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species in the mutant leaves. Genetic analysis showed that the phenotype of the lms1 mutant was controlled by a single recessive nuclear gene, and the lms1 gene was finely located between two molecular markers, Indel7 and Indel8, on chromosome 9 of rice with a physical distance of 62 kb. PCR amplification and sequencing of candidate genes in the localization interval showed that a 654 bp sequence was inserted into the first exon of the OsLMP1 (Lesion Mimic Phenotype 1) gene, which encodes a ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase, resulting in premature termination of protein translation. The protein compositions of lms1 mutants and WT controls were analyzed by a proteomics technology, which identified a total of 19 differentially accumulated proteins (7 upregulated and 12 down-regulated), mainly involved in redox, chlorophyll synthesis, photosynthesis, and other metabolic pathways. The above results provide a reference for further research on the function of the OsLMP1 gene and its molecular mechanism of regulating programmed cell death and disease resistance.

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    Mechanism of loding residence and drought tolerance of OsCNGC10 gene in rice
    ZHU Zhong-Lin, WEN Yue, ZHOU Qi, WU Yan-Fei, DU Xue-Zhu, SHENG Feng
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (5): 1351-1360.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.32027
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    Cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels are ligand-gated cationic channels that exist in animals and plants, which are an important part of eukaryotic signaling cascades. In this study, OsCNGC10 (cyclic nucleotide-gated channel) gene in rice was used, and the overexpression vector pU1301-CNGC10-Flag and the double-target knockout vector pRGEB32-CRISPR/cas9-cngc10 were constructed. The knockout and overexpression materials were obtained by Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation. Homozygous plants oscngc10-2 and OE-CNGC10-6 were isolated from T2 generation. The analysis of stem characteristics and lodging resistance of transgenic plants showed that oscngc10-2 had enhanced stem strength and lodging resistance. Stem cell wall sections and tissue composition analysis showed that oscngc10-2 increased lodging resistance due to the increase of stem wall thickness, parenchyma cell abundance, and lignin content. The knockout of OsCNGC10 increased the lignin content and the abundance of stem-cell wall parenchyma cells. The overexpression of OsCNGC10 reduced stem wall thickness, lignin content, and cell abundance in stem cell wall, while the knockdown of OsCNGC10 increased lignin content and increased the abundance of thin-walled cells in stem cell wall, suggesting that OsCNGC10 was associated with the composition of stem cell wall and negatively regulated lodging resistance in rice. T2 generation field experiment indicated that compared with the wild type, oscngc10-2 significantly increased plant height, the effective panicle length, panicle number, seed setting rate, 1000-grain weight, and yield per plant. The results of drought stress at seedling stage showed that malondialdehyde (MDA) content accumulated rapidly in OsCNGC10 defective plants under drought stress and insufficient free proline (Pro) was formed, while the free Pro content in OsCNGC10 plants was significantly increased. Moreover, the MDA accumulation rate was relatively slow, which preliminarily indicated that OsCNGC10 positively regulated the drought resistance at seedling stage. The results of this study indicated that OsCNGC10 might have a potential function in lodging resistance and drought resistance in rice, which providing a theoretical basis and new germplasm resources for the breeding lodging resistance and high yield of new rice varieties.

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    Application of maize 6H-60K chip in identification of maize essentially derived varieties
    TIAN Hong-Li, ZHANG Ru-Yang, FAN Ya-Ming, YANG Yang, ZHANG Yun-Long, YI Hong-Mei, XING Jin-Feng, WANG Feng-Ge, ZHAO Jiu-Ran
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2023, 49 (11): 2876-2885.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2023.23066
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    The identification of maize essentially derived variety has become the hot spot in the intellectual property protection of seed industry. In order to speed up the establishment of its accurate and efficient molecular identification technology, this article used multiple types of derived varieties as research materials: Jing 2416 and Jing 2416C (two inbred lines with highly similar genetic backgrounds), Jing 724 and Jing 72464 (two inbred lines with similar genetic backgrounds), as well as 893 DH lines of genetic population constructed by Jing 724 and Jing 72464. The study researched and analyzed the potential of maize 6H-60K chip including 61,214 SNPs in identification of maize essentially derived varieties. The results were as follows: (1) There were 829 SNPs differences between Jing 2416 and Jing 2416C, the GS value (genetic similarity) was 98.7%, and 56.7% of the difference loci were concentrated in the 39 Mb region of chromosome 5. (2) There were 4912 SNPs differences between Jing 724 and Jing 72464, the GS value was 90.1%, and 44.8% of the difference loci were concentrated on chromosome 3. (3) The distribution of genetic similarity values between 893 DH lines and two parents (Jing 724 and Jing 72464) was continuous. The GS value range between 893 DH lines and Jing 724 was 88.0%-97.0%, with an average of 92.6%. The GS value range between 893 DH lines and Jing 72464 was 88.3%-98.6%, with an average of 94.5%. (4) 893 DH lines were paired comparison, a total of 398,278 pairs were compared. There were specific SNP differences between all DH lines. The GS values of 893 DH lines in pairs ranged from 87.5% to 99.9%, with an average of 94.3%. Among them, the proportion of GS value ≥ 97.0% was 8.6%, and the proportion of GS value ≥ 99.0% was 1.3%. This study showed that maize 6H-60K SNP sets could accurately evaluate the genetic background of maize derived, similar or extremely similar inbred and DH lines, identify and distinguish all materials one by one, and had the potential to further lock the linkage markers of derived traits. It is suggested that the technical system for maize essentially derived variety molecular identification based on Maize6H-60K SNP sets using chip, genotyping by target sequencing (GBTS) and other platforms should be urgently established, so as to provide technical support for intellectual property protection and variety innovation of maize varieties.

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    Effects of light intensity and nitrogen fertilizer interaction on carbon and nitrogen metabolism at grain-filling stage and its relationship with yield and quality of southern soft japonica rice
    CHEN Xin-Yi, ZHU Ying, MA Zhong-Tao, ZHANG Ming-Yue, WEI Hai-Yan, ZHANG Hong-Cheng, LIU Guo-Dong, HU Qun, LI Guang-Yan, XU Fang-Fu
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2023, 49 (11): 3042-3062.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2023.22054
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    Southern soft japonica rice Nanjing 9108 and Yangnongxiang 28 were selected as the experimental materials, and two light intensity treatments, and four nitrogen treatments were set. Light intensity treatments [100% natural light intensity (L1) and 50% natural light intensity (L2)] and four nitrogen treatments [no nitrogen fertilizer (N1) in the middle and late growth stages, one-time nitrogen fertilizer applied at the top sixth leaf stage (N2), one-time nitrogen fertilizer applied at the top fourth leaf stage (N3), and one-time nitrogen fertilizer applied at the top second leaf stage (N4)] were conducted at grain-filling stage. The difference of carbon and nitrogen metabolism at grain-filling stage and its effects on rice yield and quality under the conditions of different light intensity and nitrogen application period as well as light-nitrogen interaction conditions were investigated. The results showed that with the decrease of light intensity at grain-filling stage the net photosynthetic rate of flag leaf decreased by 7.35%-42.36% on average, sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), and sucrose synthase (SS) had low activity, the C/N ratio of leaves decreased by 3.98-6.49, the transportation of photosynthetic products to grains decreased, and the content of grain starch (including amylose) decreased. Meanwhile, the activities of nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), and glutamate synthetase (GOGAT) increased, plant nitrogen concentration increased, and the accumulation of protein increased relatively, which were not conducive to the formation of yield and good quality. After the application of nitrogen fertilizer at the middle and late growth stages, the activities of key enzyme in carbon and nitrogen metabolism in leaves were significantly increased, the aging of leaves was slowed down, and the grain-filling period of rice was prolonged, which were conducive to the increase of yield. With the delay of nitrogen fertilizer application period, nitrogen metabolism became more vigorous, and the protein content in grain had a relative significant increase, resulting in the decrease of the ratio of starch to protein and the ratio of amylose to protein, and the decrease of taste value. Under the experimental condition, normal light intensity combined with nitrogen fertilizer treatment (L1-N3) at the top fourth leaf stage synergistically improved the activities of key enzymes of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in leaves, thus the photosynthetic products and nitrogen-containing compounds were transported to grains in the appropriate proportions. Ultimately, the ratio of starch to protein in grain ranged from 11.43 to 12.03, and the ratio of amylose to protein ranged from 1.34 to 1.50, the rice had low hardness, high viscosity, and balance as well as good taste, high yield, and excellent quality could be obtained simultaneously.

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    Effects of interaction of nitrogen level and sowing rate on yield, growth, and ecological field characteristics of winter wheat
    ZHOU Qi, LI Lan-Tao, ZHANG Lu-Lu, MIAO Yu-Hong, WANG Yi-Lun
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2023, 49 (11): 3100-3109.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2023.21070
    Abstract376)   HTML27)    PDF(pc) (2505KB)(566)       Save

    The objective of this study is to study the effects of different nitrogen level and sowing rate on the yield, growth and development, and ecological field characteristics of winter wheat, to explore the relationships between the wheat population competitiveness and its yield based on the ecological field theory, and to find a balance between nitrogen level and sowing dates for high yield and high efficiency in winter wheat. Field experiments were established as a split-plot design of five nitrogen levels (0, 90, 180, 270, and 360 kg hm-2) and four sowing rates (135, 180, 225, and 270 kg hm-2) from 2020 to 2022 at Wen County, Henan Province. The grain yield, nitrogen accumulation, growth and development indexes (i.e., plant height, crown width, and tillering) were measured and calculated for the aforementioned treatments. Results showed that the optimal sowing rate were both 225 kg hm-2 for the two growing seasons, and the correspondingly nitrogen rates were 270 kg hm-2 and 180 kg hm-2, respectively, which achieving the highest grain yield. Compared to the other treatments, the yield increased by 7.5% and 18.1% with the optimal nitrogen and sowing rate treatment combinations. Moreover, nitrogen accumulation increased by 57.3% for nitrogen application treatments, and the potential energy of growth was increased by 72.7%. However, the tillering increased by 34.7%, and the development level per plant decreased with the sowing rates increased, the potential energy of growth decreased by 11.4%. Plant height and crown width were also significantly influenced by nitrogen level and the sowing rate. Compared to the 135 kg hm-2 sowing rate and without nitrogen, the scope of ecological field increased by 23.0% in the other treatments. The relationship between winter wheat population ecological field area and yield was a quadratic function. When nitrogen was applied and seeding rate was increased, the population ecological field area of winter wheat increased by 116.7% and 52.5%, respectively. The appropriate N level and sowing rate in winter wheat for improved growth, yield, and ecological field characteristics in the experimental area was 239.8 kg N hm-2 and 228.7 kg hm-2, respectively, which could be extended to the application in the northern of Henan.

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    Identification for yield and fiber quality traits and evaluation of molecular markers in modern cotton varieties
    KE Hui-Feng, SU Hong-Mei, SUN Zheng-Wen, GU Qi-Shen, YANG Jun, WANG Guo-Ning, XU Dong-Yong, WANG Hong-Zhe, WU Li-Qiang, ZHANG Yan, ZHANG Gui-Yin, MA Zhi-Ying, WANG Xing-Fen
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (2): 280-293.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2023.34075
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    Cotton is an important cash crop and natural raw material for the textile industry. Cultivar is a major restrictive factor for cotton production, which depends on the identification, evaluation, and effective utilization of elite germplasms. In view of this, 141 modern cotton cultivars derived from the three major cotton-growing regions (the Yellow River valley, the Yangtze River valley, and the Northwest Inland cotton-growing areas) in China were used in the present study, and four yield and five fiber quality traits of these varieties were evaluated under different environments. The genetic diversity of these varieties based on KASP and SSR markers was also analyzed. The results showed that the varieties from the Yangtze River valley presented the highest lint percentage and lint index, the varieties from the Yellow River valley displayed the highest boll weight and seed index, while the varieties from the Northwest Inland cotton-growing areas possessed the best fiber quality traits. The analysis of variance showed that the yield and fiber quality traits were significant different among cotton varieties. The coefficient of variation (CV) of lint index was the largest (10.09%) in the yield traits while the CV of fiber strength was the largest (8.81%) in the fiber quality traits, indicating a great improvement potential in these two traits. The clustering result based on phenotypic traits showed that 141 varieties were divided into two groups with different yield and fiber quality traits. Meanwhile, a total of 74 polymorphic binds were amplified by 30 pairs of SSR primers, and 32 KASP markers were clearly classified among the tested varieties. Based on SSR and KASP markers, the average value of genetic similarity coefficient was 0.62, indicating a high genetic diversity in these cotton varieties. The clustering results based on molecular markers showed that 141 varieties were also divided into two groups, which indicating some consistent with the cluster result based on phenotypic traits. Moreover, three elite germplasms with high boll weight (> 7 g), 24 elite germplasms with high lint percentage (> 42%), six elite germplasms with high fiber length and strength (> 30), and two germplasms with multiple elite yield and fiber quality traits were screened out, which provides elite parents for developing new cotton varieties and theoretical basis for the further utilization of these germplasms.

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    Whole genome identification and analysis of GRFs transcription factor family in wheat and its ancestral species
    WANG Tian-Ning, FENG Ya-Lan, JU Ji-Hao, WU Yi, ZHANG Jun, MA Chao
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (4): 897-813.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.31046
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    Growth-regulating factors (GRFs) play important roles in plant growth, stress response, and hormone signal transduction. Systematic analysis of the distribution, structure, evolution, and expression characteristics of the GRF transcription factor family members in the genome of wheat and its ancestral species is of great significance for in-depth research on the biological functions of GRF family and the evolution of wheat. In this study, bioinformatics methods were used to identify the whole genome of GRF members from five species (Triticum urartu, Aegilops speltoides, Aegilops tauschii, Triticum turgidum, and Triticum aestivum), and their physical and chemical properties, phylogenetic relationships, gene structure, promoter cis-regulatory element, and expression characteristics were also analyzed. The results showed that there were 15, 12, 19, 29, and 53 GRF members in Triticum urartu, Aegilops speltoides, Aegilops tauschii, Triticum turgidum, and Triticum aestivum, respectively. Through interspecific colinearity analysis, we found that 18 and 29 members of TtGRFs were colinear with TuGRFs and AesGRFs, and 36 and 37 members of TaGRFs were colinear with TtGRFs and AetGRFs, respectively. The prediction of promoter cis-regulatory element found that GRF gene had basic transcription elements and some binding elements with growth, development, and stress response. RT-qPCR analysis revealed that most GRF genes up-regulated under exogenous IAA, GA, and drought stress, but down-regulated under high temperature stress, indicating that members of the GRF family exerted a crucial influence in hormone response and stress. Phylogenetic analysis evidenced that there was a conserved and complex evolutionary relationship between the GRF members of wheat and its ancestral species. The above results provide a theoretical basis for the evolution and functional research of the GRF transcription factor family.

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    Identification and gene mapping of soybean mutant Mrstz in root-stem transition zone
    MIAO Long, SHU Kuo, LI Juan, HUANG Ru, WANG Ye-Xing, Soltani Muhammad YOUSOF, XU Jing-Hao, WU Chuan-Lei, LI Jia-Jia, WANG Xiao-Bo, QIU Li-Juan
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (5): 1091-1103.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34142
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    Root-stem transition zone (RSTZ) connects roots and stems, and its morphology modifies the structure of aerial part and lodging resistance potential in soybean. In this study, a soybean mutant Mrstz, appearing with curved or rotated RSTZ, was obtained by EMS mutagenesis. Its morphological characteristics were stably inherited and could provide specific sources for exploring the development patterns of soybean stems. Therefore, this mutant was crossed with Zhonghuang 13 to construct a recombinant inbred line population. By comparing the anatomical structure of vertical RSTZ and curved RSTZ, the wider vascular cambium, more secondary xylem cell layers and irregular cell shape were identified in curved lines, indicating that vascular cambium differentiation may be one of the important factors leading to the difference of RSTZ morphology. Subsequently, the chemical compositions of lines with vertical RSTZ or curved RSTZ were determined, respectively. It was found that the higher lignin and crude fiber content in the RSTZ, the more difficult to bend. The RSTZ with curved or vertical lines were further selected for BSA-seq. SNP-index and InDel-index methods were employed to mine a significant association region, Chr. 19: 43,030,943-45,849,854 containing 319 genes, which may regulate RSTZ morphology. Combined bioinformatics analysis, gene annotation information and expression abundance analysis, seven candidate genes (Glyma.19G170200, Glyma.19G201500, Glyma.19G187800, Glyma.19G178200, Glyma.19G197000, Glyma.19G179100, Glyma.19G196900) were screened. Among them, Glyma.19G187800, Glyma.19G178200, and Glyma.19G196900 potentially affected RSTZ morphogenesis in soybean domestication. This study not only provides germplasm resources for the understanding of soybean RSTZ tissue formation and its genetic basis, but also provides new insights for further exploration of genes regulating soybean stalk development.

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    Changes of root characteristics of super hybrid rice variety contributing to high nitrogen accumulation under low nitrogen application at seedling stage
    WU Yu, LIU Lei, CUI Ke-Hui, QI Xiao-Li, HUANG Jian-Liang, PENG Shao-Bing
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (2): 414-424.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.32015
    Abstract373)   HTML19)    PDF(pc) (459KB)(485)       Save

    Crop root system plays an important role in nitrogen uptake. In this study, two rice varieties, conventional rice variety Huanghuazhan (HHZ) and super hybrid rice variety Yangliangyou 6 (YLY6), were grew hydroponically under high nitrogen (HN) and low nitrogen (LN) treatments to investigate the changes of root characteristics and their relationships with nitrogen accumulation at seedling stage. Compared to HN, LN significantly decreased the total N accumulation in HHZ by 19.7% and had no substantial effect in YLY6. Under LN, root dry weight, the total root length, root surface area, and root tips in YLY6 significantly increased by 41.3%, 57.1%, 74.9%, and 20.6%, respectively. However, these four morphological parameters had no significant change in HHZ. Under LN, root diameter and root cortical area in YLY6 significantly increased by 12.4% and 24.2%, respectively. However, the two parameters and root stele diameter in HHZ significantly reduced by 12.0%, 21.9%, and 11.4%, respectively. In YLY6, LN significantly up-regulated the relative expression level of root ammonium transporter genes (AMT2;1, AMT2;3, AMT3;1, and AMT3;2) by 195.6%, 29.3%, 314.9%, and 388.9%, respectively, and increased the relative expression level of glutamine synthetase gene GS1;1 by 158.2%. However, LN had no effect on the relative expression level of the five genes in HHZ. Total nitrogen accumulation was significantly and positively correlated with the root characteristics (but thickness of root cortical sclerenchyma) and expression of above-mentioned genes under LN. These results indicated that the enhanced positive responses of above-mentioned root characteristics contributed to high nitrogen accumulation in YLY6 seedlings under LN. Developing varieties with root positive responses to nitrogen reduction should be a considerable target for green rice production.

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    Identification and screening of salt tolerance of cotton germplasm resources at germination stage
    LI Hang, LIU Li, HUANG Qian, LIU Wen-Hao, SI Ai-Jun, KONG Xian-Hui, WANG Xu-Wen, ZHAO Fu-Xiang, MEI Yong-Jun, YU Yu
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (5): 1147-1157.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34148
    Abstract368)   HTML22)    PDF(pc) (699KB)(419)       Save

    Seed germination stage is sensitive to salt. The determination of cotton seed germination under different salt concentration stress is one of the important bases for screening cotton salt-tolerant germplasm. In this study, 629 cotton germplasm resources were treated with 0 mmol L-1 and 150 mmol L-1 NaCl, and the salt tolerance coefficients of 6 traits such as fresh weight and germination potential were analyzed. The results showed that there were significant differences in each trait under salt stress compared with the control. Principal component analysis and membership function analysis were used to comprehensively evaluate the salt tolerance of cotton germplasm. Cluster analysis was carried out on the comprehensive evaluation value (D-value), and 629 germplasm resources were divided into 5 categories according to the D-value: 188 medium salt-tolerant materials, 376 salt-tolerant materials, 36 high salt-tolerant materials, 28 salt-sensitive materials, 1 high salt-sensitive material. A prediction model for salt tolerance evaluation of cotton at germination stage was established by stepwise regression analysis: D = 0.277RFW + 0.29RGP + 0.189RPL + 0.387RGR-0.32 (R2 =0.992). Four indexes of fresh weight, hypocotyl length, germination potential, and germination rate were selected as the indexes of salt tolerance identification in cotton germination stage. In this study, a set of accurate and efficient salt tolerance identification system was established, and 4 high salt-tolerant materials and 1 high salt-sensitive material were screened, which providing the reference for the study of salt tolerance mechanism and the cultivation of new salt tolerant varieties in cotton.

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    Effects of bandwidth and plant spacing on biomass accumulation and allocation and yield formation in strip intercropping soybean
    YUAN Xiao-Ting, WANG Tian, LUO Kai, LIU Shan-Shan, PENG Xin-Yue, YANG Li-Da, PU Tian, WANG Xiao-Chun, YANG Wen-Yu, YONG Tai-Wen
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (1): 161-171.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34070
    Abstract366)   HTML38)    PDF(pc) (523KB)(615)       Save

    Reasonable field configuration can improve crop growth environment and increase system yield in intercropping systems. To further improve the field configuration technology for high yield and efficiency in the soybean-maize strip intercropping system in Southwest China, the soybean-maize strip intercropping system was used as the research object, and two factor split zone design was adopted. The effects of two bandwidths of 2.0 m (B1) and 2.4 m (B2) and four plant spacings of 9 cm (P1), 11 cm (P2), 14 cm (P3), and 18 cm (P4) on soybean biomass accumulation, allocation, grain filling, and yield were comprehensively analyzed. The results showed that the net photosynthetic rate of each plant spacing treatment under B2 bandwidth was higher than that of B1, and the two-year average increased by 14.26% compared with B1 under B2. At the same bandwidth, the net photosynthetic rate reached the maximum in B1P4 and B2P4, which increased by 13.57% and 25.21% compared with B1P1 and B2P1 at flowering stage, respectively. The biomass accumulation of soybean population increased and then decreased with the increase of plant spacing under the two bandwidths, and reached the maximum at B1P3 and B2P2, respectively, and B2 increased by 9.82%-22.08% compared with B1 at maturity stage. And the increase of bandwidth and plant spacing promoted the accumulation and transfer of soybean post-flowering matter to grain. Compared with B1, post-flowering dry matter accumulation and dry matter transfer increased by 13.82-28.01% and 13.38%-37.76% under B2 treatment, respectively, and the proportion of grain matter accumulation increased to 41.80%-44.26%. The increase of biomass accumulation improved the grain filling process, and the active grain-filling period (D) of soybean under B2 was extended by 2-3 days compared with B1. The mean grain-filling rate reached its maximum at P4 and increased by 5.80% and 6.58% compared with P1 under the two bandwidths. The yield results showed that, with the increase of bandwidth and plant spacing, the effective plants decreased, and the seeds per plan and 100-seed weight increased in the soybean-maize strip intercropping model. The soybean yield under B2 bandwidth increased by 22.32%-36.87% compared with B1, it reached the maximum in B1P3 and B2P2 under the two bandwidths, respectively, and increased by 17.83%-26.44% and 10.71%-10.76% compared with B1P1 and B2P1 for two years. In summary, the soybean plant spacing of 11 cm at the bandwidth of 2.4 m can effectively improve the post-flowering dry matter accumulation and allocation, promote grain filling, increase the number of seeds per plant and 100-seed weight, improve soybean population yield, and achieve the high yield and high efficiency in the soybean-maize intercropping system.

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    Relative expression profiles of genes response to salt stress and constructions of gene co-expression networks in Brassica napus L.
    YANG Chuang, WANG Ling, QUAN Cheng-Tao, YU Liang-Qian, DAI Cheng, GUO Liang, FU Ting-Dong, MA Chao-Zhi
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (1): 237-250.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.34076
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    Brassica napus L. is an important oil crop. Salt stress is one of the major environmental conditions affecting the growth and development of B. napus, which may lead to yield reduction, quality deterioration, and even the death of B. napus. In this study, the B. napus semi-winter cultivar ZS11 was used as the experimental material to perform transcriptome sequencing on the leaf and root tissues with salt stress treatment (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h). The measured 90 RNA-seq data provided the high-resolution time dynamic transcriptional expression spectrum of rapeseed tissues responding to salt stress was obtained. Correlation analysis showed that the samples exhibited significant clustering differences in early response and late response before and after 1 h salt stress treatment. Using DESeq2 for differential gene analysis, we identified 20,462 and 29,334 differential genes for the response of root and leaf tissues, respectively, indicating that the overall response of leaf tissue in rapeseed was more severe than the root. Furthermore, WGCNA was used to construct gene co-expression networks for the salt stress response in root and leaf tissues, respectively, and tan and yellow modules were significantly related to the early response to salt stress, and green and red modules were significantly related to the late response to salt stress. GO enrichment analysis was then performed, and 41 and 26 core transcription factors responding to salt stress at the early and late stages, respectively, were selected from these networks. Functional annotation showed that the known Arabidopsis homologous genes involved in salt stress responses at different stages existed in all four modules, and core genes, such as BnWRKY46 and BnWRKY57, had abundant SNPs variation and haplotypes in 505 salt stress-treated rape population variation data, suggesting that these core transcription factors might be key candidate genes for rape salt stress response. This study provides a reliable data reference and candidate gene resources for improving salt tolerance in B. napus.

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    Evaluation of field waterlogging tolerance and selection of waterlogging-resistant germplasm resources of Brassica napus L.
    LI Ji-Jun, CHEN Ya-Hui, WANG Yi-Jin, ZHOU Zhi-Hua, GUO Zi-Yue, ZHANG Jian, TU Jin-Xing, YAO Xuan, GUO Liang
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2023, 49 (12): 3162-3175.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2023.34034
    Abstract361)   HTML28)    PDF(pc) (12471KB)(573)       Save

    Brassica napus L. (B. napus) is one of the most important oil crops in China, and has high risk of waterlogging stress during its production. The objective of this study is to evaluate the field waterlogging tolerance and screen stable waterlogging-resistant germplasm resources. The appropriate waterlogging duration for waterlogging tolerance identification was determined under pot conditions first, and then the comprehensive evaluation and comparison of the waterlogging tolerance of 505 germplasm resources of B. napus were carried out. The stable extreme materials were screened in field experiments. The results showed that the growth of B. napus plants began to be affected after four-day-waterlogging, and severely inhibited after about 10-day-waterlogging under pot conditions. In the two-year field experiment, 27 indexes extracted using the UAV phenotype acquisition platform were converted into two common factors by factor analysis. The common factor 1 represented the growth state of B. napus under waterlogging, and the common factor 2 represented the physiological state. The comprehensive evaluation value of waterlogging resistance (D-value), which was calculated according to the load and variance contribution rate of the two common factors, divided the waterlogging resistance of B. napus germplasm resources into four types, including extremely waterlogging resistant type (Cluster I, 99 materials), waterlogging resistant type (Cluster II, 200 materials), sensitive type (Cluster III, 187 materials), and extremely sensitive type (Cluster IV, 19 materials). In the two-year field experiment, nine stable waterlogging sensitive materials and nine resistant materials were identified, and the results were confirmed by the field experiments in 2022. Moreover, in the two-year experiment, the vegetation indexes, MTVI2D, and MCARI2D had high correlations with the D-value, and the correlation coefficients were greater than 0.76, which can be used for rapid and efficient comprehensive evaluation of B. napus waterlogging resistance. In conclusion, the evaluation system and rapid and comprehensive evaluation methods for waterlogging tolerance of B. napus in the field were established, which were applied to analyze the types of waterlogging tolerance of B. napus germplasm resources and identify the stable waterlogging resistant and sensitive materials in this study, providing reliable evaluation methods and important germplasm resources for the research and genetic improvement of waterlogging resistance of B. napus.

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    Difference in germination characteristics of different winter wheat cultivars under drought stress
    QIAO Zhi-Xin, ZHANG Jie-Dao, WANG Yu, GUO Qi-Fang, LIU Yan-Jing, CHEN Rui, HU Wen-Hao, SUN Ai-Qing
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (6): 1568-1583.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.31037
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    Drought is an important stress affecting wheat production, which can reduce the quality of germination and seedling establishment. In order to understand the seed germination characteristics of wheat cultivars under drought stress, the germination characteristics under drought stress of 128 wheat cultivars widely used in production were identified by sand cultivation and water control method. Six wheat cultivars with significant differences in germination characteristics under drought stress ((Shannong 28 (SN28), Chang 6878 (C6878), Yannong 19 (YN19), Shannong 23 (SN23), Xinmai 296 (XM296), and Xinmai 38 (XM38)) were selected for physiological and biochemical analysis during seed germination under drought stress. The results showed that the germination characteristics under drought stress of 128 wheat cultivars were divided into 5 categories according to the drought tolerance coefficient of vigor index: good, the better, medium, the worse, and the worst. Eighteen wheat cultivars with good germination characteristics under drought stress, including SN28 and C6878, had fast seed germination and healthy seedlings. Twenty-six wheat cultivars with poor germination characteristics under drought stress, such as XM38 and Lemai 185, had slow seed germination, dispersed germination time, low germination percentage (GP), and poor seedling uniformity. The physiological and biochemical indices of wheat cultivars with different germination characteristics under drought stress were further determined. The results showed that the relative expression level of TDP1 gene at the early stage of germination under drought in SN28 and C6878 with good germination characteristics under drought stress was significantly higher than the control. POD activity at the early stage of germination under drought was significantly higher than the control. The activities of α-amylase and cysteine protease were less affected by drought, and the soluble protein content at the late stage of germination was significantly higher than the control. However, the relative expression levels of DNA and protein repair genes in seed embryos of XM296 and XM38 with poor germination characteristics under drought stress were relatively delayed under drought stress. The activity of cysteine protease decreased significantly under drought stress. The above results indicated that wheat cultivars with good germination characteristics under drought stress showed strong macromolecular repair ability in seed embryos and antioxidant capacity in seed, early mobilization of storage substances during seed germination and seedling establishment under drought stress, and finally had fast germination speed and high seedling quality.

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    Carbon emission reduction in dry sloping land in Southwest China
    WANG Xie, YANG Qin, LIU Yu-Chi, LI Qin, YANG Qin, CHEN Guan-Tao, YUE Li-Jie, ZHANG Jian-Hua, CHEN Xin-Ping, LIU Yong-Hong
    Acta Agronomica Sinica    2024, 50 (7): 1635-1646.   DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2024.32029
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    The agricultural ecosystem is both a carbon source and a carbon sink, with strong potential for carbon sequestration and thus makes significant contributions to the global carbon cycle. The traditional small-scale and fragmented agricultural production pattern on dry slopes in the southwestern region have brought great uncertainty to regional carbon emissions. Exploring the characteristics of carbon emissions and reduction pathways on dry slopes in the southwest is of great significance for improving the environment and enhancing the potential of regional agricultural production. This study systematically summarized the production processes of major greenhouse gases (CO2, N2O, CH4) in the agricultural ecosystem of dry slopes in the southwestern region of China. We discussed the effects of new materials and technologies application for carbon sequestration and emission reduction on dry slopes, and proposed carbon sequestration and emission reduction strategies for dry slopes in the future. (1) Given the significant differences in regional resources, industrial foundation, production scale, management methods, and ecological functions in dry slopes in the southwestern mountainous areas, suitable carbon sequestration and emission reduction measures and monitoring systems should be developed based on the specific agricultural production conditions of the region. The aim was to explore the carbon emission process and its underlying mechanisms in the context of global warming, and comprehensively enhanced the resilience of regional agricultural production to climate change. (2) Considering the high crop replanting index and fragmented spatial distribution of crops in the southwestern mountainous areas, agricultural production methods should be improved and industrial spatial layout should be optimized based on national strategies and local plans, aiming for an agricultural ecosystem with low carbon emission and high productivity. (3) As carbon emission reduction on dry slopes in the southwestern mountainous areas was a complex process, it was currently necessary to optimize and combine mature emission reduction technologies, carbon sequestration products, and carbon sequestration models in a targeted manner based on the actual structure and functional needs of regional agricultural production in the foreseeable future. This would form comprehensive carbon sequestration and emission reduction plans. In summary, this review hoped to provide a comprehensive and effective reference for further research on the carbon source and carbon sink characteristics of the agricultural ecosystem in dry slopes in the southwestern region, as well as for rational adjustment of farmland management measures.

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Co-sponsored:
the Crop Science Society of China
the Institute of Crop Science, CAAS
China Science Publishing & Media Ltd.
Published: Science Press
Editor-in-chief: Wan Jian-min
Associate Editors-in-Chief:
Chen Xiao-ya Yang Jian-chang Zhang Xian-long Wang Jian-kang Xu Ming-liang Liu Chun-ming Wang Dao-wen Sun Chuan-qing Ding Yan-feng Jin Wei-wei Chu Cheng-cai Cheng Wei-hong
Director of the editorial department:
Yan Chun-ling
CN 11-1809/S
ISSN 0496-3490
Post subscription code: 82-336

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  • Started in 2013
  • Covered by SCIE
  • Open access in ScienceDirect

Editor in chief: Wan Jian-min
CN 10-1112/S
ISSN 2095-5421, 2214-5141(online)
Online published:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/the-crop-journal
Submission: https://www.editorialmanager.com/cj/
E-mail: cropjournal@caas.cn
Tel: 8610-82108548

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