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Malt barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is an important cash crop with stringent grain quality standards. Timing of the switch from vegetative to reproductive growth and timing of whole-plant senescence and nutrient remobilization are critical for cereal grain yield and quality. Understanding the genetic variation in genes associated with these developmental traits can streamline genotypic selection of superior malt barley germplasm. Here, we determined the effects of allelic variation in three genes encoding a glycine-rich RNA-binding protein (HvGR-RBP1) and two NAC transcription factors (HvNAM1 and HvNAM2) on malt barley agronomics and quality using previously developed markers for HvGR-RBP1 and HvNAM1 and a novel marker for HvNAM2. Based on a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the first intron, the utilized marker differentiates NAM2 alleles of low-grain protein variety 'Karl' and of higher protein variety 'Lewis'. We demonstrate that the selection of favorable alleles for each gene impacts heading date, senescence timing, grain size, grain protein concentration, and malt quality. Specifically, combining 'Karl' alleles for the two NAC genes with the 'Lewis' HvGR-RBP1 allele extends grain fill duration, increases the percentage of plump kernels, decreases grain protein, and provides malt quality stability. Molecular markers for these genes are therefore highly useful tools in malt barley breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to emotion socialization theory, parent characteristics interact with child and contextual factors to influence parent responding to youth emotions, which impacts youth emotional reactivity and regulation. However, little is known about how treatments for youth emotional disorders, particularly those with significant parent intervention components, may impact parents' own emotional reactivity and their responses to youth emotion. We investigated whether parents (N = 91) participating in a transdiagnostic treatment for youth emotional disorders experienced change in their own emotional reactivity (i.e., symptoms, distress tolerance [DT], emotion regulation), supportive responses to youth emotion (e.g., expressive encouragement), and unsupportive responses to youth emotion (e.g., punitive, minimizing). We also examined the relationship of these changes to treatment-related change in youth symptoms. Parent anxiety, depression, stress, DT, and cognitive reappraisal significantly improved from pre- to post-treatment. Unsupportive responses to youth emotions also decreased. Change in parent DT and baseline youth symptoms were the only significant predictors of parent-rated post-treatment youth anxiety and depressive symptoms when all variables were included in regression models. This is the first known investigation of changes in parent emotional reactivity and responses to youth emotions in response to a transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders for youth. Results support the beneficial impact of treatment involvement on parents' own emotional reactivity and behaviors, as well as the potential importance of targeting parent DT to improve youth symptoms. Highlights: Youth-focused transdiagnostic treatment led to significant improvements in parent psychopathology and distress tolerance. Youth-focused transdiagnostic treatment led to significant decreases in unsupportive parent responses to youth negative emotions. Improvement in parent distress tolerance was significantly associated with youth treatment outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genotyping by sequencing (GBS) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip technologies are the primary SNP genotyping technologies used today. However, these genotyping technologies have some drawbacks that limit their usefulness in analysis. We have developed a robust protocol called genotyping by multiplexed sequencing (GMS) using SNP markers, providing informative genotypic data with greater flexibility. The genotypes derived from direct sequence reads reduce ambiguity in genetic analysis. The advantages of this protocol include: (1) This PCR-based direct sequencing protocol generates information from markers of interest and provides a more streamlined and accurate analysis process, by multiplexing hundreds of informative markers into a single sequencing run. (2) The marker sets are easily customized to the species of interest and can readily be changed. In this study we have taken the GMS protocol developed in wheat and adapted it to barley. We have identified 577 SNP markers that work well using this protocol providing adequate genome coverage for genomic selection and tag 267 QTL's for genes of interest. Good markers have an adequate read depth of at least 5 amplicons and are reliably present across the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health agencies call for the immediate mobilization of existing interventions in response to numerous child and family mental health concerns that have arisen as result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Answering this call, this pilot study describes the rapid, full-scale change from a primarily clinic-based Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) model to a virtual service model (i.e., I-PCIT) in an academic and community-based program in Miami, Florida. First, we describe the virtual service training model our program developed and its implementation with 17 therapists (MAge = 32.35, 88.2% female, 47.1% Hispanic) to enable our clinic to shift from providing virtual services to a small portion of the families served (29.1%) to all of the families served. Second, we examine the effect of I-PCIT on child and caregiver outcomes during the 2-month stay-at-home period between March 16, 2020, and May 16, 2020, in 86 families (MChildAge = 4.75, 71% Hispanic). Due to the rapid nature of the current study, all active participants were transferred to virtual services, and therefore there was no comparison or control group, and outcomes represent the most recently available scores and not treatment completion. Results reveal that I-PCIT reduced child externalizing and internalizing problems and caregiver stress, and increased parenting skills and child compliance with medium to large effects even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the study examined components of our virtual service training model associated with the greatest improvements in child and caregiver outcomes. Preliminary findings revealed that locally and collaboratively developed strategies (e.g., online communities of practice, training videos and guides) had the strongest association with child and caregiver outcomes. Implications for virtual service delivery, implementation, and practice in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-021-01225-8 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Two key barley genes independently control anthesis and senescence timing, enabling the manipulation of grain fill duration, grain size/plumpness, and grain protein concentration. Plant developmental processes such as flowering and senescence have direct effects on cereal yield and quality. Previous work highlighted the importance of two tightly linked genes encoding a glycine-rich RNA-binding protein (HvGR-RBP1) and a NAC transcription factor (HvNAM1), controlling barley anthesis timing, senescence, and percent grain protein. Varieties that differ in HvGR-RBP1 expression, 'Karl'(low) and 'Lewis'(high), also differ in sequence 1 KB upstream of translation start site, including an ~ 400 bp G rich insertion in the 5′-flanking region of the 'Karl' allele, which could disrupt gene expression. To improve malt quality, the (low-grain protein, delayed-senescence) 'Karl' HvNAM1 allele was introgressed into Montana germplasm. After several seasons of selection, the resulting germplasm was screened for the allelic combinations of HvGR-RBP1 and HvNAM1, finding lines combining 'Karl' alleles for both genes (−/−), lines combining 'Lewis' (functional, expressed) HvGR-RBP1 with 'Karl' HvNAM1 alleles (±), and lines combining 'Lewis' alleles for both genes (+ / +). Field experiments indicate that the functional ('Lewis,' +) HvGR-RBP1 allele is associated with earlier anthesis and with slightly shorter plants, while the 'Karl' (−) HvNAM1 allele delays maturation. Genotypes carrying the ± allele combination therefore had a significantly (3 days) extended grain fill duration, leading to a higher percentage of plump kernels, slightly enhanced test weight, and lower grain protein concentration when compared to the other allele combinations. Overall, our data suggest an important function for HvGR-RBP1 in the control of barley reproductive development and set the stage for a more detailed functional analysis of this gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative interpretation bias, a correlate of anxiety, is defined as an individual's tendency to interpret ambiguous events as negative or threatening. The current study examined associations between interpretation bias and anxiety symptoms in clinically anxious youth and potential moderators of these relationships. Thirty anxious youth and their parents participated in a clinical interview and reported on child anxiety symptoms. Youth completed implicit, explicit-personally irrelevant, and explicit-personally relevant interpretation bias measures. Child-reported anxiety was only associated with negative interpretation bias on the explicit-personally relevant measure and parent-reported social anxiety was negatively associated with positive bias on this measure. Hispanic individuals displayed marginally higher anxiety symptoms and significantly more intense negative interpretation on the implicit measure. While this pilot study revealed preliminary findings that Hispanic ethnicity may play a role in relationships between interpretation bias and anxiety, future work may further elucidate associations between interpretation bias, anxiety, and ethnicity in anxious youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message : Genetic diversity in quantitative loci associated with plant traits used by insects as cues for host selection can influence oviposition behavior and maternal choice. Abstract: Host plant selection for oviposition is an important determinant of progeny performance and survival for phytophagous insects. Specific cues from the plant influence insect oviposition behavior; but, to date, no set of host plant quantitative trait loci (QTLs) have been shown to have an effect on behavioral sequences leading to oviposition. Three QTLs in wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) have been identified as influencing resistance to the wheat stem sawfly (WSS) ( Cephus cinctus Norton). Wheat near-isogenic lines (NILs) for each of the three QTLs were used to test whether foraging WSS were able to discriminate variation in plant cues resulting from allelic changes. A QTL on chromosome 3B ( Qss- msub- 3BL) previously associated with stem solidness and larval antibiosis was shown to affect WSS oviposition behavior, host preference, and field infestation. Decreased preference for oviposition was also related to a QTL allele on chromosome 2D ( Qwss. msub- 2D). A QTL on chromosome 4A ( Qwss. msub- 4A. 1) affected host plant attractiveness to foraging females, but did not change oviposition preference after females landed on the stem. These findings show that oviposition decisions regarding potential plant hosts require WSS females to discriminate signals from the plant associated with allelic variation at host plant quantitative loci. Allele types in a host plant QTL associated with differential survival of immature progeny can affect maternal choices for oviposition. The multidisciplinary approach used here may lead to the identification of plant genes with important community consequences, and may complement the use of antibiosis due to solid stems to control the wheat stem sawfly in agroecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Quantitative trait loci conferring adult plant resistance to Ug99 stem rust in Thatcher wheat display complementary gene action suggesting multiple quantitative trait loci are needed for effective resistance. Abstract: Adult plant resistance (APR) in wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) to stem rust, caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici ( Pgt), is desirable because this resistance can be Pgt race non-specific. Resistance derived from cultivar Thatcher can confer high levels of APR to the virulent Pgt race TTKSK (Ug99) when combined with stem rust resistance gene Sr57 ( Lr34). To identify the loci conferring APR in Thatcher, we evaluated 160 RILs derived from Thatcher crossed to susceptible cultivar McNeal for field stem rust reaction in Kenya for two seasons and in St. Paul for one season. All RILs and parents were susceptible as seedlings to race TTKSK. However, adult plant stem rust severities in Kenya varied from 5 to 80 %. Composite interval mapping identified four quantitative trait loci (QTL). Three QTL were inherited from Thatcher and one, Sr57, was inherited from McNeal. The markers closest to the QTL peaks were used in an ANOVA to determine the additive and epistatic effects. A QTL on 3BS was detected in all three environments and explained 27-35 % of the variation. The peak of this QTL was at the same location as the Sr12 seedling resistance gene effective to race SCCSC. Epistatic interactions were significant between Sr12 and QTL on chromosome arms 1AL and 2BS. Though Sr12 cosegregated with the largest effect QTL, lines with Sr12 were not always resistant. The data suggest that Sr12 or a linked gene, though not effective to race TTKSK alone, confers APR when combined with other resistance loci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we developed 359 detection primers for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously discovered within intron sequences of wheat genes and used them to evaluate SNP polymorphism in common wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.). These SNPs showed an average polymorphism information content (PIC) of 0.18 among 20 US elite wheat cultivars, representing seven market classes. This value increased to 0.23 when SNPs were pre-selected for polymorphisms among a diverse set of 13 hexaploid wheat accessions (excluding synthetic wheats) used in the wheat SNP discovery project (). PIC values for SNP markers in the D genome were approximately half of those for the A and B genomes. D genome SNPs also showed a larger PIC reduction relative to the other genomes ( P < 0.05) when US cultivars were compared with the more diverse set of 13 wheat accessions. Within those accessions, D genome SNPs show a higher proportion of alleles with low minor allele frequencies (<0.125) than found in the other two genomes. These data suggest that the reduction of PIC values in the D genome was caused by differential loss of low frequency alleles during the population size bottleneck that accompanied the development of modern commercial cultivars. Additional SNP discovery efforts targeted to the D genome in elite wheat germplasm will likely be required to offset the lower diversity of this genome. With increasing SNP discovery projects and the development of high-throughput SNP assay technologies, it is anticipated that SNP markers will play an increasingly important role in wheat genetics and breeding applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four different inversion heterozygotes of maize were examined for the occurrence of synaptic adjustment. Three substages of pachytene were identified in synaptonemal complex (SC) spreads using side-by-side comparisons of chromosome squashes with two-dimensional spreads of SCs. In SC spreads, inversion loop frequency did not change substantially from early through late pachytene for any of the four inversion heterozygotes examined. In addition, the position and size of the inversion loops remained essentially constant throughout pachytene. These results indicate that synaptic adjustment of inversion loops does not occur during pachytene in Zea mays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]