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Cabbage has significant heterosis and most commercial cultivars are hybrids. To explore genetic basis of cabbage heterosis and promote cabbage heterosis utilization, we constructed two populations by crossing 100 DH lines derived from a cabbage hybrid 01-20 ×96-100 with two female parents. Hybrids exhibited different extents of heterosis, the mean value of economic yield was 2.6 times bigger than parents. We identified 66 and 73 QTLs associated with mid-parent heterosis and transgressive heterosis of twelve yield-related traits, respectively. Some QTLs could be detected under the two-year experiment existed in two populations with different testers, showing relatively high phenotypic contribution rate (15.8%-20.0%). Heterosis QTLs exhibited clustered distribution in several cabbage chromosome regions. Two dominant genetic regions, mk300-316 and mk258-268, originated from the elite parent 01-20, exhibited significant genetic effects for yield-related heterosis, which were first identified. Three elite DH lines (D22, D46, D83) harboring these two dominant regions were selected as having strong heterosis in cabbage production. Candidate gene analysis revealed that some genes participating in biosynthetic processes of carbohydrates and some responses to auxin might affect cabbage yield heterosis. QTL identification and genetic dissection of yield-related traits provide new insights into the genetic effects of cabbage heterosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomato is an important vegetable crop in China, and its yield ranks the top among vegetables in the world. It has important nutritional value, with rich and varied tastes. Plant male sterility is caused by the abnormal development of stamens, which cannot produce pollen with normal function, while pistils develop normally and can be fertilized by foreign normal pollen. Tomato is a typical self-pollinated plant with obvious heterosis and strong disease resistance and stress resistance. At present, the production of tomato F1 hybrid seeds in China basically depends on artificial emasculation and pollination, therefore, a lot of manpower and material resources are needed in the process of seed production. In the use of tomato male sterile seed production, the seed production process can be simplified, costs be greatly reduced and and seed purity be improved, in this case, tomato yield and quality will be increased significantly. Therefore, the research and utilization of tomato male sterility is of great practical significance to tomato genetic breeding, and has always been an important research topic for the domestic and foreign scholars. This paper mainly outlines the current situation of male sterility of tomato in recent years, summarizes the types of tomato male sterility, the application of genetic engineering technology of tomato male sterility, the fine positioning and functional study of tomato male sterility gene, and the analysis of cell biological mechanism of tomato male sterility. The effect of temperature on tomato male sterility is expounded from the perspective of genetics, and the physiological and biochemical mechanism and the gene function and regulation mechanism in response temperature changes are discussed. Then, the heterosis of tomato male sterility and its utilization value in production and application are analyzed. On this basis, the problems existing in the current research work are put forward, and the innovation and basic research of tomato male sterility technology in the future are prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To extend the contemporary understanding into the grain yield heterosis of wheat, the current study investigated the contribution of deleterious alleles in shaping mid-parent heterosis (MPH). These alleles occur at low frequency in the genome and are often missed by automated genotyping platforms like SNP arrays. The deleterious alleles herein were detected using a quantitative measurement of evolutionary conservation based on the phylogeny of wheat and investigations were made to: (1) assess the benefit of including deleterious alleles into MPH prediction models and (2) understand the genetic underpinnings of deleterious SNPs for grain yield MPH using contrasting crosses viz. elite - elite (Exp. 1) and elite - plant genetic resources (PGR; Exp. 2). In our study, we found a lower allele frequency of moderately deleterious alleles in elites compared to PGRs. This highlights the role of purifying selection for the development of elite wheat cultivars. It was shown that deleterious alleles are informative for MPH prediction models: modelling their additive-by-additive effects in Exp. 1 and dominance as well as associated digenic epistatic effects in Exp. 2 significantly boosts prediction accuracies of MPH. Furthermore, heterotic-quantitative trait loci's underlying MPH was investigated and their properties were contrasted in the two crosses. Conclusively, it was proposed that incomplete dominance of deleterious alleles contributes to grain yield heterosis in elite crosses (Exp. 1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterosis has greatly improved the yield and quality of crops. However, previous studies often focused on improving the yield and quality of the shoot system, while research on the root system was neglected. We determined the root numbers of 12 F1 hybrids, all of which showed strong heterosis, indicating that tobacco F1 hybrids have general heterosis. To understand its molecular mechanism, we selected two hybrids with strong heterosis, GJ (G70 × Jiucaiping No.2) and KJ (K326 × Jiucaiping No.2), and their parents for transcriptome analysis. There were 84.22% and 90.25% of the differentially expressed genes were overdominantly expressed. The enrichment analysis of these overdominantly expressed genes showed that "Plant hormone signal transduction", "Phenylpropanoid biosynthesis", "MAPK signaling pathway - plant", and "Starch and sucrose metabolism" pathways were associated with root development. We focused on the analysis of the biosynthetic pathways of auxin(AUX), cytokinins(CTK), abscisic acid(ABA), ethylene(ET), and salicylic acid(SA), suggesting that overdominant expression of these hormone signaling pathway genes may enhance root development in hybrids. In addition, Nitab4.5_0011528g0020?Nitab4.5_0003282g0020?Nitab4.5_0004384g0070 may be the genes involved in root growth. Genome-wide comparative transcriptome analysis enhanced our understanding of the regulatory network of tobacco root development and provided new ideas for studying the molecular mechanisms of tobacco root development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of hybrids from a diallel 3 × 3 crossing of Oreochromis karongae, O. shiranus, and O. mossambicus. Fingerlings of 3.47 ± 0.04 g were stocked at 5 fish m−2 in nine treatments replicated twice. Final weights were significantly different (P < 0.05) among treatments whereby hybrids from female O. karongae and male O. mossambicus registered higher values (48.48 ± 0.58 g) than other crosses. Hybrids from female O. karongae significantly (P < 0.05) performed well in terms of AFCR as they registered lower values (<2). The proportion of males varied between 65% and 90% in hybrids; survival ranged from 62.5% to 100%. Heterosis in hybrids from crosses with female O. karongae ranged from10.72 to 33.25. The results suggest that hybrids from crosses with female O. karongae may be suitable candidates for commercial fish farming as they have superiority of the most productive performance traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mode of inheritance and heterotic effect were studied in ten F1 crosses obtained by one-way diallel crossing between five parental genotypes: MV-1, P 76/86, Adiyaman, Basma-Djebel and P 66 9 7. The following quantitative traits were studied: the number of leaves per stalk, length of leaves from the middle belt of the stalk and yield of green leaf mass per stalk and per hectare. The trial was set up in the experimental field of Scientific Tobacco Institute-Prilep, using a randomized block design with four replications in the period 2018- 2019. Traditional cultural practices were applied during the growing season of tobacco in the field. The aim of this research was to study the mode of inheritance of the quantitative traits, to detect heterosis in the F1 generation and to assess its economic viability. Analysis of variance determined statistically significant differences in traits between parents and hybrids in the two-year investigation. The most common way of trait inheritance is partial-dominant, then intermediate. The negative heterotic effect on the number of leaves per stalk has P 76/86 x P 66 9 7. The hybrids MV-1 x Adiyaman, P 76/86 x Basma-Djebel, P 76/86 x P 66 9 7 and Basma-Djebel x P 66 9 7 have a positive heterotic effect on the length of the leaves. Oriental hybrids, where one of the parents is the variety P 66 9 7, have positive heterosis in the yield of green leaf mass per stalk. The investigation provides very useful guidance for future successive selection activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterosis refers to the superior performance of a hybrid offspring over its two inbred parents. Although heterosis has been widely observed in agriculture, its molecular mechanism is not well studied. Recent advances in high-throughput genomic technologies such as RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) facilitate the investigation of heterosis at the gene expression level. However, it is challenging to identify genes exhibiting heterosis using RNA-seq data because high-dimension of hypotheses tests are conducted with limited sample size. Furthermore, detecting heterosis genes requires testing composite null hypotheses involving multiple mean expression levels instead of testing simple null hypotheses as in differential expression analysis. In this manuscript, we formulate a statistical model with parameters directly reflecting heterosis status, and develop a powerful test to detect heterosis genes. We employ a Bayesian framework where the RNA-seq count data are modeled through a Poisson-Gamma mixture with Dirichlet processes as priors for the distributions of the parameters of interest, the fold changes between each parent and the hybrid. Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling with Gibbs algorithm is utilized to provide posterior inference to detect heterosis genes while controlling false discovery rate. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed method outperformed other methods utilized to detect gene expression heterosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leading cultivars of pineapple Mauritius and Kew were hybridized and 25 hybrids were evaluated under open field conditions using randomized block design with two replications. Performance of the female parent cum check variety Mauritius, male parent Kew and check variety in Kerala state, India, Amritha, were also evaluated and compared. Based on the performance, heterobeltiosis, average heterosis and standard heterosis over two check varieties, in each hybrid, for 10 plant growth traits and 24 fruit traits, were calculated. For fruit weight, hybrid H35 had the highest heterobeltiosis and standard heterosis over Amritha whereas H62 had highest standard heterosis over Mauritius and average heterosis. For pulp weight, hybrid H17 had the highest values for all heterosis parameters. For TSS, hybrid H62 had the highest heterobeltiosis and other parameters were highest in H43. For days to attain physiological maturity, crown weight, peel weight and acidity, H27, H30, H77 and H43 respectively were lowest in all heterosis parameters. Based on the selection criterion [Σ average heterosis (fruit weight, TSS, pulp weight) -- Σ average heterosis (crown weight, peel weight, eye profile, eye relative surface, time taken for physiological maturity, acidity)]developed using the average heterosis values for desirable and undesirable fruit traits, six hybrids H66, H17, H59, H43, H70 and H35 were identified for further evaluation. The identified hybrids also satisfied the requirements infruit weight (≥1.0 kg), pulp weight (≥750.58 g), TSS (≥14.49 °Brix), days to attain physiological maturity (≤185.70 days), crown weight (≤305.50 g), peel weight (≤159.27 g) and acidity (≤1.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of assessing the resistance of some parent varieties and reciprocal F1 combinations of tomatoes to stressful (40°, 42°C) and optimal (25°C) temperatures. The analysis of the variability of the resistance character was carried out based on the length of the embryonic radicle, stem and whole seedling. In most of the cases stressful temperatures produced significant inhibition of growth organs. The differences in the manifestation of the analyzed characters in the reciprocal F1 hybrids both in the control variant and in the variants with stressful temperatures demonstrate the involvement of the parental factor in their phenotype on the background of different temperatures. The maternal effect was more pronounced at the temperature of 42°C than under optimal conditions. Manifesting of the parental entity effect on the degree and orientation of dominance reveals its influence on the allelic interactions of the F1 heterozygous genotype. The overdominance in relation to the best parent indicates that the parental entity intensifies the influence of the recessive alleles on those dominant, involved in the control of growth characters of tomato plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Kirkuk University for Agricultural Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Two location trials were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Maiduguri and screen house of the Faculty of Agriculture during 2018/2019 dry season to estimate the combining ability variance, general combining ability (GCA) effects of parents and specific combining ability (SCA) effects of crosses with six okra genotypes. They include: three improved varieties NHAe 47-4, LD-88, Clemson spineless and three locals, Chalawa, Syria and Sola, crossed in a 3 x 3 line x tester mating design to generate nine F1 hybrids. All the F1s along with their parents were evaluated in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and Completely Randomise Design (CRD), with 3 replications. Positive heterosis were observed for number of fruits per plant in the crosses Chalawa x NHAe47-4, Chalawa x Clemson Spineless, this directly indicated their important contributions toward total fruit yield in okra. The variance of GCA and SCA revealed that both additive and non-additive gene actions were important in the control of most agronomic. The ratio of GCA/SCA indicates greater preponderance of non-additive gene action for the characters in all the traits except number of leaves per plant and days to 50% flowering which were controlled by additive gene actions. The parent Syria was the overall best general combiner among the lines for all characters in the field and Chalawa was the overall best general combiner for all characters measured among lines in the screen house. LD88 recorded the highest GCA effects for all of the characters among testers in both experiments. Similarly, in the field, the hybrid Sola x NHAe47-4 recorded the maximum SCA effect for all characters except days to 50% flowering; Syria x NHAe47-4 was the best SCA for most characters except plant height and also the cross between Syria x Clemson Spineless was the best SCA for most characters except number of fruits per plant. In the screen house, the cross between Chalawa x NHAe47-4, showed superior SCA for all characters measured. Appreciable level of heterosis was observed for most of the characters studied, the overall maximum positive significant heterosis for total fruit yield (kg/ha) was observed in crosses Syria x LD88 (52.80) and Chalawa x NHAe47-4(123.30) over better parents. The preponderance of non-additive genetic effect and the tremendous level of heterosis observed among the characters in the parents and their crosses studied would be great asset in choosing the okra varieties for intercrossing and development of hybrids varieties for commercial production of okra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macrobrachium nipponense, an important economic aquaculture species in China, is experiencing degradation of shrimp germplasm resources. Hybridization is a means of genetic improvement and can contribute to overcoming this serious problem. However, the molecular mechanisms of heterosis resulting from hybridization is unknown. In this study, LC–MS/MS combined with TMT tags were used for comparative proteomics analyses of the broodstock populations (Dianshan, DS) and hybrid offspring (DS ♀ × CD [Changjiang, CJ ♂ × Dongting, DT ♀], SCD) in M. nipponense. A total of 57 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified, of which 35 proteins were up‐regulated and 22 proteins were down‐regulated. The results showed that the 57 differential proteins correspond to three functional types, including 431 biological processes, 458 cellular components and 762 molecular functions. KEGG pathway analyses identified growth‐ and immunity‐related pathways, including alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism (ko00250), arginine biosynthesis (ko00220), arginine and proline metabolism (ko00330), hippo (ko04390), apoptosis (ko04215), p53 (ko04115) and complement system (ko04610). The expression of genes encoding the differentially expressed proteins were verified using real‐time quantitative PCR, and the results showed that the hybrid population was superior to the parent population in terms of growth and immunity. This study provided important data for genetic and breeding research of Macrobrachium nipponense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Heterosis is extensively used to improve crop productivity, yet its allelic and chromatin regulation remains unclear. Based on our resolved genomes of the maternal TGY and paternal HD, we analyzed the contribution of allele‐specific expression (ASE) and chromatin accessibility of JGY and HGY, the artificial hybrids of oolong tea with the largest cultivated area in China. The ASE genes (ASEGs) of tea hybrids with maternal‐biased were mainly related to the energy and terpenoid metabolism pathways, whereas the ASEGs with paternal‐biased tend to be enriched in glutathione metabolism, and these parental bias of hybrids may coordinate and lead to the acquisition of heterosis in more biological pathways. ATAC‐seq results showed that hybrids have significantly higher accessible chromatin regions (ACRs) compared with their parents, which may confer broader and stronger transcriptional activity of genes in hybrids. The number of ACRs with significantly increased accessibility in hybrids was much greater than decreased, and the associated alleles were also affected by differential ACRs across different parents, suggesting enhanced positive chromatin regulation and potential genetic effects in hybrids. Core ASEGs of terpene and purine alkaloid metabolism pathways with significant positive heterosis have greater chromatin accessibility in hybrids, and were potentially regulated by several members of the MYB, DOF and TRB families. The binding motif of CsMYB85 in the promoter ACR of the rate‐limiting enzyme CsDXS was verified by DAP‐seq. These results suggest that higher numbers and more accessible ACRs in hybrids contribute to the regulation of ASEGs, thereby affecting the formation of heterotic metabolites. Significance Statement: The regulation of alleles and chromatin accessibility in plant heterosis formation remains unclear. Here, we explored the contribution of allele‐specific expression and chromatin accessibility to heterosis formation in two of the largest cultivated oolong tea hybrids in China compared with their parents, which will provide new insights into the formation and regulation of plant heterosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of hybrid rice with high yield and grain quality is a goal of rice breeding. To investigate the genetic mechanism of heterosis for rice milling and appearance quality in indica/xian rice, QTL mapping was conducted using 1061 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross of the xian rice cultivars Quan9311B (Q9311B) and Wu-shan-si-miao (WSSM), and a backcross F1 (BC1F1) population developed by crossing the RILs with Quan9311A (Q9311A), combined with phenotyping in two environments. The F1 hybrid (Q9311A - WSSM) showed various degrees of heterosis for milling and appearance quality. A total of 142 main-effect QTL (M-QTL) and 407 pairs of epistatic QTL (E-QTL) were identified for five milling and appearance quality traits and grain yield per plant (GYP) in the RIL, BC1F1 and mid-parental heterosis (HMP) populations. Differential detection of QTL in three populations revealed that most additive loci detected in the RILs did not show heterotic effects, but some of them did contribute to BC1F1 trait performance. Unlike heterosis of GYP, single-locus overdominance and epistasis were the main contributors to heterosis for milling and appearance quality. Epistasis contributed more to the heterosis for milling quality than to that for appearance quality. Three (four) QTL regions harboring opposite (consistent) directions of favorable allele effects for GYP and grain quality were identified, indicating the presence of partial genetic overlaps between GYP and grain quality. Three strategies are proposed to develop hybrid rice with high yield and good grain quality: 1) pyramiding favorable alleles with consistent directions of gene effects for GYP and grain quality at the M-QTL on different chromosomes; 2) introgressing favorable alleles for GYP and grain quality into the parents and then pyramiding and fixing these additive effects in hybrids; and 3) pyramiding overdominant and dominant loci and minimizing or eliminating underdominant loci from the parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The first study to explain the underlying mechanism of heterosis from the perspective of 3D genome in plants. • Superior heterosis hybrids tend to contain more transcriptionally active chromatin. • 3D chromatin compartments correlate with genetic variance among parents. • More accessible chromatin accelerates highly expressed ELD (expression level dominance) genes in superior heterosis hybrids. • Hormone- and cell-cycle-related genes are more up-regulated with changes of 3D genome thereby promoting leaf size. Heterosis is the major event driving plant development and promoting crop breeding, but the molecular bases for this phenomenon remain elusive. We aim to explore the effect of three-dimensional (3D) chromatin architecture on the underlying mechanism of heterosis. Here, we constructed the North Carolina II (NC-II) population to select superior and inferior heterosis sets by comparing mid-parent heterosis (MPH) in Brassica napus. To decipher the impact of 3D chromatin architecture on the underlying mechanism of heterosis, we combined genetics, transcriptomics and 3D genomics approaches. We suggest that F1 hybrids with superior heterosis tend to contain more transcriptionally active A compartments compared with F1 hybrids with inferior heterosis, and approximately 19–21% compartment significantly altered in the F1 hybrids relative to the parental lines. Further analyses show that chromatin compartments correlate with genetic variance among parents, which may form the basis for differentially active chromatin compartments. Having more A compartments in F1 hybrids confers a more accessible chromatin circumstance, which promotes a higher proportion of highly expressed ELD (expression level dominance) genes in superior heterosis F1 hybrids (46–64%) compared with inferior heterosis F1 hybrids (22–31%). Moreover, genes related to hormones which affect plant growth, are more up-regulated with changes of 3D genome architecture, and we validate that increased hormone content contributes to cell proliferation and expansion by influencing the key genes of cell cycle thereby promoting leaf size. Dynamic 3D chromatin architecture correlates with genetic variance among parents and contributes to heterosis in Brassica napus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Agriculturae Slovenica is the property of Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Combining ability analysis is fundamental in breeding programs to select desirable parents and progenies. The objectives of this study were to determine the combining ability effects, and gene action controlling agronomic traits and resistance to Fusarium wilt (FW) caused by Fusarium udum Butler in pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh]. Twenty-five progenies were developed from 10 selected parents using a 5 × 5 North Carolina Design II. The progenies and their parents were assessed for agronomic traits and FW resistance. The genotypes were subjected to artificial FW infection using a root dip inoculation technique to evaluate seedling resistance. ICEAP 87105 and ICEAP 01285 had significantly negative general combining ability (GCA) effects for days to 75% maturity (DTM), whereas MWPLR 22, Sauma and Mwayiwathualimi had positive GCA effects for grain yield (GYD) in a desirable direction. The study selected the best hybrids such as ICEAP 01285 × MWPLR 14 for early maturity, FW resistance and a high GYD, and TZA 5582 × ICEAP 00554, TZA 5582 × MWPLR 14, and Mwayiwathualimi × MWPLR 22 for FW resistance and a high GYD. The narrow-sense heritability values varied from 27% (number of seeds per plant) to 97% (DTM). Parental lines TZA 5582 and MWPLR 14 made strong contributions to desirable gene combinations that improved agronomic traits in the selected crosses. The new hybrids form novel breeding populations useful in improving the traits of economic importance in pigeonpea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maize is a staple food of smallholder farmers living in highland regions up to 4,000 m above sea level worldwide. Mexican and South American highlands are two major highland maize growing regions, and population genetic data suggest the maize's adaptation to these regions occurred largely independently, providing a case study for convergent evolution. To better understand the mechanistic basis of highland adaptation, we crossed maize landraces from 108 highland and lowland sites of Mexico and South America with the inbred line B73 to produce F1 hybrids and grew them in both highland and lowland sites in Mexico. We identified thousands of genes with divergent expression between highland and lowland populations. Hundreds of these genes show patterns of convergent evolution between Mexico and South America. To dissect the genetic architecture of the divergent gene expression, we developed a novel allele–specific expression analysis pipeline to detect genes with divergent functional cis- regulatory variation between highland and lowland populations. We identified hundreds of genes with divergent cis- regulation between highland and lowland landrace alleles, with 20 in common between regions, further suggesting convergence in the genes underlying highland adaptation. Further analyses suggest multiple mechanisms contribute to this convergence in gene regulation. Although the vast majority of evolutionary changes associated with highland adaptation were region specific, our findings highlight an important role for convergence at the gene expression and gene regulation levels as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current research, the effect of strain path by two processes of conventional asymmetric rolling and asymmetric cross rolling, as well as natural aging on the microstructure and hardness of AA7075 aluminum alloy was investigated. The microstructure was examined by light microscopy and the hardness by macro -Vickers hardness tester. The results showed that the rolled sample (initial sample) had elongated grains due to rolling and the average width of the grains in this sample was 13.4 μm. By applying conventional asymmetric rolling up to 60%, the grains became more elongated and the average grain width reached 2.6 μm. By performing asymmetric cross rolling up to 40%, the average grain width reached 3.7 μm. The distribution of particles did not change significantly with rolling deformation. Shear bands were also formed in the sample after 40% and 60% conventional asymmetric rolling, as well as after 40% asymmetric cross rolling. At zero aging time, the hardness of the 60% conventionally rolled sample was higher than the 40% cross rolled sample. With increasing the aging time, the hardness of all samples increased due to natural aging. As the thickness reduction percentage increased (increasing the strain), the hardness increase percentage due to natural aging decreased. The increase in hardness due to natural aging was more noticeable in the cross-rolling process than in the conventional rolling process. After 7 days of natural aging, the hardness of the material reached its saturation limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GAHP is a freely available software package for genetic analysis with bi-parental immortalized heterozygous and pure-line populations. The package is projectbased and integrated with multiple functions. All operations and running results are properly saved in a project, which can be recovered when the project is reopen by the package. Four functionalities have been implemented in the current version of GAHP, i.e., 1) MHP: visualization of genetic linkage maps; 2) VHP: analysis of variance (ANOVA) and estimation of heritability on phenotypic data; 3) QHP: quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping on both genotypic and phenotypic data; 4) SHP: simulation of bi-parental immortalized heterozygous and pure-line populations, and power analysis of QTL mapping. VHP and QHP can be conducted in individual populations, as well as in multiple populations by the combined analysis. Input files are arranged either in the plain text format with an extension name same as the functionality or in the MS Excel formats. Output files have the same prefix name as the input file, but with different extensions to indicate their contents. Three characters before the extension names stand for the types of populations used in analysis. In the interface of the software package, input files are grouped by functionality, and output files are grouped by individual or combined mapping populations. In addition to the text-format outputs, the constructed linkage map can be visualized per chromosome or for a number of selected chromosomes; line plots and bi-plots can be drawn from QTL mapping results and phenotypic data. Functionalities and analysis methods available in GAHP help the investigation of genetic architectures of complex traits and the mechanism of heterosis in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barley has properties that can improve and maintain human health, but to upgrade the positive characteristics of grain, specific breeding programs are required. Consumption of chemically protected food is unpopular and, therefore, genetic sources of disease resistance to the most frequent diseases are essential. The aim of this contribution is to postulate genes for powdery mildew resistance in spring barley varieties bred for human consumption. One hundred and twenty-seven breeding strains selected from thirty-three crosses, commercial varieties AF Lucius and AF Cesar developed in the program, and eight other check varieties were tested with a set of numerous pathogen isolates. Fifteen known resistance genes were found including a nonspecific resistance Mlo detected in breeding lines selected from 21 crosses. For spring barley, the utilization of Mlo is generally recommended, but its importance in varieties earmarked for human consumption should be highlighted because alternative sources of genetically more complicated resistance, derived from distant relatives or based on the accumulation of minor genes, could be economically ineffective. The presented findings enable varieties for human consumption with fully effective and durable resistance to powdery mildew to be selected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, 20 F1 cross combinations developed through diallel mating design utilizing five diverse parents, namely, Res‐1, Res‐2, Hisar Shyamal, Arka Nidhi, and Arka Keshav, with respect to shape and colour of the fruits were evaluated to derive information on combining ability and heterosis for yield and yield contributing traits in eggplant. Parents Res‐2, Hisar Shyamal, and Arka Nidhi were recognized as good general combiners for most of the horticultural traits. Cross combinations, namely, Res‐2 × Arka Nidhi, Hisar Shyamal × Res‐1, and Arka Nidhi × Hisar Shyamal, recorded high SCA values for fruit yield and related traits. Cross combinations Res‐2 × Arka Nidhi, Arka Nidhi × Hisar Shyamal, Hisar Shyamal × Res‐1, and Res‐2 × Res‐1 were found to be superior based on estimates of heterosis for fruit yield. Heterosis was positively correlated with SCA, the sum of the parental GCA indicating more effective predictions of the performance of various cross combinations. These unique cross combinations, Res‐2 × Res‐1 (medium–long shape and mixed colour), Res‐2 × Arka Nidhi (long and purple), Hisar Shyamal × Res‐1 (round and purple), and Arka Nidhi × Hisar Shyamal (oblong and purple), were found to be superior based on specific combining ability and heterosis for most of the horticultural traits. Therefore, these can be utilized for fixing genes in subsequent generations to increase the chance of recovering desirable transgressive segregants with improved traits for high rainfall areas in eggplant for better economic returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) is one of the most valuable aquaculture species in China. However, the rapid development of the aquaculture industry has caused problem of germplasm degeneration. It is important to carry out genetic improvement of economic traits for H. discus hannai. This study was conducted to estimate genetic parameters of growth traits in Pacific abalone to provide a database for selective breeding programs. Data of 10 growth‐related traits—shell length (SL), shell width (SW), shell height (SH), shell weight (SWT), wet weight (WW), foot muscle weight (MW), soft tissue weight (STW), visceral mass weight (VW), foot muscle weight/wet weight ratio (MWR) and soft tissue weight/wet weight ratio (SWR)—were collected from 1059 adults sampled from 115 families. Significant growth differences existed between abalone under different culture modes. Abalone with red shell colour presented poorer growth performance than the normal shell colour group, and their hybrids displayed mid‐parent heterosis. The heritability values of SL, SW, SH, SWT, WW, MW and STW were 0.65 ± 0.06, 0.63 ± 0.06, 0.51 ± 0.08, 0.59 ± 0.09, 0.54 ± 0.05, 0.43 ± 0.08 and 0.43 ± 0.08, respectively, indicating high heritability. The heritabilities of VW and MWR were moderate, with estimates of 0.36 ± 0.07 and 0.21 ± 0.06, respectively, and SWR had low heritability with value of 0.17 ± 0.06. Genetic and phenotypic correlations among the growth traits were positive, in the ranges 0.24–0.99 and 0.12–0.99 respectively. Genetic correlation coefficients among most of the growth traits were close to or higher than 0.9. The results of this study demonstrate the genetic improvement potential of Pacific abalone in selective breeding. Traits such as SL, SW, SH and WW could be selected and improved simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferula sinkiangensis is a perennial herb, producing fruits only once through its life history, and exclusively habitated in Xinjiang being in the list of state rare and endangered plants Level 2. Besides andromonoecy, usually found in Umbelliferae, plants of male sterility were observed in their populations. Aimed to male sterility and the factors inducing it, comparative observation on morphology of male sterility individuals and functional female flowers were executed through field investigation, and study on cytology of the process of the anther degeneration in female flowers were made from paraffin sections. The results were as follows:(1)Female plants germinated at the end of March and blossomed in the middle of April, and their fruits matured at the end of May; Phenological phases of them were the same as those of andromonoecy.(2)The average height and diameter of plant, and number of the first level branch of female individuals were(71.00±10.92)cm,(71.67±17.64)cm, and(23.83±2.04), separately; The average length and width of basal leaves were(33.41±11.63)cm and(24.47±8.60)cm; The female and the andromonoecy were the same in size of both the plant and the leaf.(3)On female plants, inflorescences on the first and the second level branches were all female, which could bear fruits wholly; The number of umbels in the inflorescence(13.22±4.70)and number of flowers in the umbel(12.03±2.30)and number of total flowers in the inflorescence(159.08)were higher than those in individuals of hermaphrodite; Female plants produced more flowers which could set fruits and bore out-crossing seeds of heterosis.(4)In female umbels flowers located tightly and the distance among flowers were shorter than those in both hermaphrodite and male umbels; Female flowers opened slightly in the whole flowering stage, while petals of both hermaphrodite and male flowers folded reversely.(5)There were no differences in morphological characteristics of petals and pistils among different sexual flowers. But the length(1.79±0.39 mm)and width(1.10±0.21 mm)of petals, and the length of stamens(0.6-1.3 mm)in the functional female flower were the smallest, where anthers degenerated and no pollen stain well developed.(6)Abnormal development of the anther on the degenerated stamen appeared in both of parietal cells and male gametophytes from sporogenous cell stage to microspore tetrad stage. In conclusion, the nutrients productivity in plants of male sterility is similar as andromonoecy, but patterns of resource distribution are quite different; there are significant differences between female and hermaphrodite/male flowers in both the morphology and the function; abnormal development of parietal cells, especially because of the lack of tapetum, caused abortion of microspores in the functional female flower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously observed an over‐dominant silkworm heterosis of increased yield in a cross of Bombyx mori nuclear polyhydrosis virus‐resistant strain NB with a susceptible strain 306. In the present study, we found that heterosis also exists in crosses of NB with other susceptible strains, indicating it is a more general phenomenon. We performed comparative transcriptome and proteome and identified 1624 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 298 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in silk glands between parents and F1 hybrids, of which 24 DEGs/DEPs showed consistent expression at mRNA and protein levels revealed by Venn joint analysis. Their expressions are completely non‐additive, mainly transgressive and under low‐parent, suggesting recombination of parental genomes may be the major genetic mechanism for the heterosis. GO and KEGG analyses revealed that they may function in generally similar but distinctive aspects of metabolisms and processes with signal transduction and translation being most affected. Notably, they may not only up‐regulate biosynthesis and transport of silk proteins but also down‐regulate other unrelated processes, synergistically and globally remodelling the silk gland to increase yield and cause the heterosis. Our findings contribute insights into the understanding of silkworm heterosis and silk gland development and provide targets for transgenic manipulation to further increase the silk yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A full diallel mating design was used to hybridize seven pumpkin inbred parental lines, yielding 42 F1 hybrids, including reciprocals. The generated F1 hybrids, parental lines and commercial check hybrid were evaluated in two environments to investigate the per se performances, combining ability effects and magnitude of heterosis over mid-parent, better-parent and commercial check hybrids for yield, yield attributed, sweetness, total carotenoid and antioxidant traits, using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The analysis of variance for most of the examined traits revealed highly significant differences (p ≤ 0.01) for GCA, SCA, reciprocal, maternal and non-maternal variances and their interaction with the environment. Since the inheritance of yield and its contributing fruit quality, and antioxidant traits is governed by non-additive gene action, it suggests heterosis breeding would be useful in obtaining further improvements in pumpkin. From the experiment, it was found that the paternal lines P1 (Gold Butter 315) for dry matter content and DPPH (%), P4 (Asian pumpkin) for total carotenoid content, P6 (Sarawak) for fruit number per plant and P7 (Australia-1) for single fruit weight, fruit flesh thickness, yield per plant and total soluble solid were shown to be good general combiners. In respect to per se performance, combining ability effects and magnitude of heterosis over mid-parent, better-parent and commercial check, the cross P2 (928 Fuxiang) × P1 (Gold Butter 315) and P4 (Asian pumpkin) × P5 (Sarawak) for single fruit weight and yield per plant, the cross P5 (Sarawak) × P2 (928 Fuxiang) for fruits number per plant, P1 (Gold Butter 315) × P7 (Australia-1) and P1 (Gold Butter 315) × P6 (Sarawak) for total soluble solid and dry matter content, P7 (Australia-1) × P2 (928 Fuxiang) for total carotenoid content and P3 (Ser Bajadi) × P1 (Gold Butter 315) for DPPH (antioxidant) were identified to be highly significant positive specific combiners and the highest performers, and these crosses may be exploited as commercial hybrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To generate high-yielding cultivars with favorable fiber quality traits, cotton breeders can use information about combining ability and gene activity within a population to locate elite parents and potential F1 crosses. To this end, in the current study, twelve cotton parents (eight genotypes as female parents and four testers) and their F1 crosses obtained utilizing the linex tester mating design were evaluated for their general and specialized combining abilities (GCA and SCA, respectively) of yield traits. The findings showed that for all the investigated variables, variances owing to genotypes, parents, crosses, and parent vs cross showed extremely significant (P ≤ 0.01) differences. Additionally, throughout the course of two growing seasons, the mean squares for genotypes (parents and crosses) showed strong significance for all the variables under study. The greatest and most desired means for all the examined qualities were in the parent G.94, Pima S6, and tester G.86. The best crossings for the qualities examined were G.86 (G.89 × G.86), G.93 × Suvin, and G.86 × Suvin. The parents' Suvin, G89x G86 and TNB were shown to have the most desired general combining ability effects for seed cotton yield/plant, lint yield/plant, boll weight, number of bolls/plants, and lint index, while Suvin, G.96 and pima S6 were preferred for favored lint percentage. For seed cotton yield, lint percentage, boll weight, and number of bolls per plant per year, the cross-G.86 x (G.89 × G.86) displayed highly significant specific combining ability impacts. The crosses G.86 × Suvin, Kar x TNB, G.93 × Suvin, and G.93 × TNB for all the studied traits for each year and their combined were found to have highly significant positive heterotic effects relative to better parent, and they could be used in future cotton breeding programs for improving the studied traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the three-way crossbred commercial pigs are extensively cultured in Tibet. However, there have been few studies about the effect of high-altitude hypoxic environment on intestinal health of them. Therefore, we selected Tibetan pigs (TP) and the three-way crossbred commercial pigs (CPH) living in the Tibet (3,500-3,700m in altitude) as a positive control group and treatment group, respectively. The three-way crossbred commercial pigs (CPL) living at altitudes 800-1,000m sea level were selected as a negative control group. The colonic chyme, colonic mucosa, colonic tissue and serum samples were collected for the detection of gut microbiota and intestinal inflammation. The results showed that high-altitude hypoxic environment promoted the occurrence of colonic inflammation, disrupted the colonic barrier to some extent. And Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) staining revealed that mild inflammatory cell infiltration was observed in colon of CP-H. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that the microbial community composition of CP-H was changed compared with CP-L. Gut bacterial communities formed distinctly different clusters in principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) space, and Chao 1 index of CP-H was also decreased. At the genus level, Terrisporobacter showed greater enrichment in the CP-H than lower-altitude pigs. Colstridium-sensu-stricto-1 showed lower enrichment in the CP-H than lower-altitude pigs. However, the concentration of valeric acid in colonic chyme of CP-H was higher than CP-L and TP. Correlation analysis indicated that Terrisporobacter was positively associated with the relative mRNA expression level of IL-1ß and the content of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and was negatively correlated with the relative mRNA expression level of IL-10. The Streptococcus was positively associated with the concentrations of valerate. In summary, high-altitude hypoxic environment changed compositions of gut microbiota, promoted the occurrence of colonic inflammation, and disrupted intestinal barrier of the three-way crossbred commercial pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out using seven parental lines including check CSV 46F and their 21 diallel crosses, excluding reciprocal. The experiment was evaluated in randomised block design with three replications during Kharif 2021 at the Centre for Millets Research, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Deesa. The analysis of variance (mean sum of squares) revealed significant differences for the genotypes, parents, hybrids and parents vs. hybrids among most of the characters, which explained a sufficient amount of heterosis and was reflected in crosses for fodder yield and its attributing characters. The parents SH 1488 and DS 200 recorded maximum mean performance for green forage yield and dry fodder yield per plant. The result of ANOVA for combining ability revealed that the mean sum of squares due to GCA and SCA were found highly significant for studied characters. The ratio (σ²GCA/ σ²SCA) of variances for various characters bare standing of non-additive gene action type in the appearance of forage yield and supporting characters. The parent CSV 21F was found to be a good general combiner for green fodder yield per plant. While, parents SH 1488, DS 200 and CSV 21F were found to be good general combiners for dry fodder yield. The parent SSG 59-3 was a very good general combiner for days to flowering, total plant height, stem diameter, crude protein and HCN content. The crosses S 652 × CSV 46F, DS 200 × CSV 21F and SSG 59-3 × S 652 for green fodder yield per plant, while SSG 59-3 × S 652, DS 200 × CSV 21F and SSG 59-3 × CSV 46F for dry fodder yield per plant recorded the highest sca effects. Based on all the genetic parameters, the crosses SSG 59-3 × S 652, SH 1488 × S 652, SH 1488 × DSF 182 and DS 200 × CSV 21F with high mean performance, high sca effects and at least one parent having good to moderate gca effects would increase the frequency of favourable alleles. Therefore, it may be hopeful to select good homozygous lines to ameliorate respective characters in forage sorghum. It can also be used directly in varietal breeding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maize (Zea mays, L.) productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains low, despite breeding efforts spanning across decades. Currently, three-way cross hybrids (TWCH) dominate SSA; however, there is the potential to increase yields by using single-cross hybrids. In this study, five new and four elite CIMMYT lines were inter-mated in a half diallel mating scheme to estimate the combining ability of the lines and to determine the stability of their corresponding 36 single-cross hybrids for grain yield under low-nitrogen stress and optimum growing conditions in Zimbabwe and Zambia. The results revealed that the new inbred line CL121290 showed the highest GCA effects under optimum conditions (1.4 tha−1; p < 0.001) and across sites (0.93 tha−1; p < 0.001). The single-cross hybrids G12 (CML311 × DJL173527) and G16 (DJL173887 × CL1211559) were highly stable and were observed as ideal crosses within both the low-nitrogen and optimal environments. However, G18 (CML311 × DJL173887), which was depicted as ideal genotype under the two management conditions, was an unstable genotype. Hybrid G31 (CML311 × CML312) had the least grain yield under low-nitrogen, optimum and across environments. The hybrid G11 (DJL173527 × CL121290) was the highest yielding genotype amongst the new single-cross hybrids and across environments but was unstable and can be recommended for high potential in environments. Overall, the data demonstrated the potential of single-cross hybrids to supplement TWCH in boosting maize productivity under optimal and nitrogen-stress environments in SSA as well as under other areas with similar climatic conditions in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potassium (K+) is essential for crop growth. Increasing the K+ content can often directly promote the improvement of crop yield and quality. Heterosis plays an important role in genetic improvement and leads to genetic gains. We found that the K+ content of tobacco showed significant heterosis, which is highly significant for cultivating tobacco varieties with high K+ content. However, the mechanism by which K+ content heterosis occurs in tobacco leaves is not clear. In this study, a comprehensive comparative transcriptome sequencing analysis of root samples from the hybrid G70 × GDH11 and its parental inbred lines G70 and GDH11 was performed to elucidate the importance of the root uptake capacity of K+ in the formation of heterosis. The results showed that 29.53% and 60.49% of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) exhibited dominant and over-dominant expression patterns, respectively. These non-additive upregulated DEGs were significantly enriched in GO terms, such as metal ion transport and reaction, ion balance and homeostasis, ion channel activity, root meristem growth, and regulation of root hairs. The KEGG annotation results indicated that these genes were mainly involved in the pathways such as energy metabolism, carbohydrate formation, amino acid metabolism, and signal transduction. Further analysis showed that probable potassium transporter 17 (NtKT17) and potassium transporter 5-like (NtKT5), associated with potassium ion absorption, glutamate receptor 2.2-like and glutamate receptor 2.8-like, associated with ion channel activity, LOC107782957, protein detoxification 42-like, and probable glutamate carboxypeptidase 2, associated with root configuration, showed a significantly higher expression in the hybrids. These results indicated that the over-dominant expression pattern of DEGs played a key role in the heterosis of K+ content in tobacco leaves, and the overexpression of the genes related to K+ uptake, transport, and root development in hybrids helped to improve the K+ content of plants, thus showing the phenomenon of heterosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the heterosis and agronomic performance of raspberry (Rubus idaeus) F1 families derived from open-pollinated parents, and to investigate the heterotic relationships between yield and its components. Design/methodology/approach: A total of thirty-five genotypes, including eight open-pollinated raspberry cultivars, their 28 F1 families and one check, were evaluated for vegetative and fruit traits. The trial was carried out under a randomized block design and under open field conditions. Results: Mid-parent heterosis (MH) ranged from -94.83 to 311.67 %, whereas the better parent heterosis (BPH) values varied from -94.26 to 235.00%. We observed that the heterosis values for yield had a strong and positive correlation (r=0.89) with the heterosis values for number of fruits per plant. Limitations on study/implications: Heterosis and performance of F1 families in raspberry would depend on the pedigree of parents as their relativeness is a key factor to exploit the heterosis in plants. Findings/conclusions: High values of heterosis were found in some raspberry crosses. Progeny derived from parents MU1 and TD865 showed considerable mid-parent heterosis (MH) and good performance for fruit size-related traits, soluble solids content and yield, evidencing that both parents may be utilized as donor parents in raspberry breeding program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Plant Production is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Six varieties of bread wheat were crossed in half diallel analysis. The fifteen F1's and their parents were evaluated. The experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications at the Experimental farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Menoufia University Shebin El - Kom, Egypt during 2020/2021. The results cleared that genotypes, parents and the resultant fifteen crosses mean squares were found to be highly significant for all traits studied. Parent vs. crosses mean squares as an indication to average heterosis over all crosses were found to be highly significant for all traits studied. Variance of general combining ability was found to be highly significant for all traits studied. The parental variety Shandaweel-1 proved to be good general combiner for grain yield per spike and grain yield per plant. Also, Giza-171 was good general combiner in heading date, grain yield per spike. The most desirable SCA effects for grain yield per plant were detected by the seven hybrids i.e. Shandaweel-1 × Giza-171, Shandaweel-1 × Misr-3, Giza-171× Misr-3, Misr-3 × Sakha-95, Sakha-95 × Sids-1, Sakha-95 × Morocco and Sids-1 × Morocco. Desirable and significant useful heterosis for grain yield per plant was detected in all 15 F1's. The results show the dendogram on the basis of the molecular parameters on two groups and on the basis of the crop characteristics on three main groups and they were not identical, which indicates the existence of morphological and molecular differences between the varieties. The study indicates that the molecular parameters and yield characteristics can be used successfully in estimating the genetic diversity in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed at assessing the mid (MPH) and better (BPH) parents heterosis, potence ratio (PR) and genetic parameters for yield, its components and fiber traits in eighteen F1 hybrids developed by crossing between six lines and three testers using line × tester mating design.Pearson correlation coefficient and principal component analysis (PCA) were used for a better understanding of the relationship during this study. The lines, testers and their F1 hybrids were evaluated in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at Sakha Agriculture Research Station, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, Egypt, during the 2020 cropping season. The variances due to the sources of variation in line x tester analysis exhibited significant differences for most measured traits.The proportional contribution of line × tester was higher than the individual contribution of lines and testers for most studied traits. The lines G.90x Aus.12 and Uzbekistan as well as the tester G.97 showed superior cotton yield and most studied traits based on mean performance compared to the other parents. The hybrid combinations TNB x G. 94, (G.90x Aus.12) x G.86 and G.96 x G.94 were identified as excellent based on mean performance, MPH, BPH and PCA analysis for cotton yield and most studied traits. Potence ratio exhibited that the hybrid combinations have positive or negative nature for studied traits.Genetic parameters indicated that non-additive gene action effects had a more important role compared to the additive in controlling all the studied traits, except the number of seeds/boll trait. Significant correlation coefficients were found between all possible pairs of mean performances, MPH, BPH (positive) and PR (negative) parameters for most investigated traits. PCA can be used as a suitable method for studying the studied traits and to determine the best hybrids across line x tester analysis. Finally, and based on the results of statistical methods used in this study, the parents and hybrids above are promising enhancement and improvement of cotton productivity and its fiber quality through use in cotton breeding programs in Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving tomatoes keeping quality is crucial for reducing post-harvest losses. Knowledge of heterosis, and combining ability is a prerequisite for breeding high yielding and good shelf life heterotic hybrids. An investigation was undertaken with each of 3 lines, testers, and 9 hybrids to identify desirable parents and crosses for 20 fruit biochemical, morpho-physiological, and yield traits and to elucidate the nature of gene action for shelf life and its contributing traits through line × tester analysis. The lines contributed to most of hybrids variability than testers and fruit quality traits had a higher degree of SCA variance as compared to GCA variance. pH, ascorbic acid, fruit firmness, and plant height governed by additive gene action. Lycopene, titratable acidity, TSS, calcium, magnesium, pericarp thickness, pulp content, locule number, fruit length, diameter, weight, shelf life, number of branches, number of clusters, number of fruit/cluster, and yield/plant were under the control of non-additive gene action. All the lines and Arka Saurabh were the best general combiners and IIHR 2349 × Arka Vikas, IIHR 2349 × Arka Saurabh, IIHR 2358 × Arka Ahuti and IIHR 2357 × Arka Ahuti were the best specific combiner in producing heterotic hybrids. IIHR 2349 × Arka Vikas and IIHR 2349 × Arka Saurabh were promising hybrids for high yield and shelf life. The crosses involved both parents with high, one parent with high and other with low and both parents with low good overall general combining ability status respectively indicated the additive, non-additive and epistatic gene action in fruit quality and yield traits inheritance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In tomato cultivation, a rare natural mutation in the flowering repressor antiflorigen gene SELF-PRUNING (sp-classic) induces precocious shoot termination and is the foundation in determinate tomato breeding for open field production. Heterozygous single flower truss (sft) mutants in the florigen SFT gene in the background of sp-classic provide a heterosis-like effect by delaying shoot termination, suggesting the subtle suppression of determinacy by genetic modification of the florigen–antiflorigen balance could improve yield. Here, we isolated three new sp alleles from the tomato germplasm that show modified determinate growth compared to sp-classic, including one allele that mimics the effect of sft heterozygosity. Two deletion alleles eliminated functional transcripts and showed similar shoot termination, determinate growth, and yields as sp-classic. In contrast, amino acid substitution allele sp-5732 showed semi-determinate growth with more leaves and sympodial shoots on all shoots. This translated to greater yield compared to the other stronger alleles by up to 42%. Transcriptome profiling of axillary (sympodial) shoot meristems (SYM) from sp-classic and wild type plants revealed six mis-regulated genes related to the floral transition, which were used as biomarkers to show that the maturation of SYMs in the weaker sp-5732 genotype is delayed compared to sp-classic, consistent with delayed shoot termination and semi-determinate growth. Assessing sp allele frequencies from over 500 accessions indicated that one of the strong sp alleles (sp-2798) arose in early breeding cultivars but was not selected. The newly discovered sp alleles are potentially valuable resources to quantitatively manipulate shoot growth and yield in determinate breeding programs, with sp-5732 providing an opportunity to develop semi-determinate field varieties with higher yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild relatives of okra represent a good source of variation for breeding programs, particularly for traits related to biotic and abiotic stresses and fruit quality. However, wild species remain largely unexploited for okra breeding. The cultivated okra accession Abelmoschus esculentus cv. 'Arka Anamika' was crossed with three wild accessions: Abelmoschus manihot, Abelmoschus ficulens and Abelmoschus moschatus. The crossability was estimated based on fruit set, seed set and germination rate. The results of cross compatibility studies revealed that the crosses are compatible only when cultivated A. esculentus is used as a female, and reciprocal crosses were not successful in any of the three wild species. Higher fruit set (87.2%) and seed germination (92%) were obtained from the crosses 'Arka Anamika' × Abelmoschus manihot. The interspecific F1s exhibited normal growth, flowering and fruit formation, but the hybrids were completely sterile on selfing due to abnormal meiosis. Characterization of the parents and interspecific hybrids revealed that the interspecific hybrids were generally more vigorous than the parents and displayed greater alliance towards their wild parent. The sterile F1s were further treated with 0.1% colchicine to restore fertility. The three interspecific crosses showed considerable differences in mean performance and heterosis over mid parent and better parent. The cross 'A. Anamika' × A. manihot displayed positive heterosis over mid parent and better parent for the yield traits, viz., fruit yield per plant, number of fruits per plant, number of primary branches per plant and plant height. The information obtained in the study on crossability relationship, phenotypic characterization and heterosis in interspecific hybrids will assist breeders in the development of prebreeding material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Plant Production is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Plant Production is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Analysis of stool offers simple, non-invasive monitoring for many gastrointestinal (GI) diseases and access to the gut microbiome, however adherence to stool sampling protocols remains a major challenge because of the prevalent dislike of handling one's feces. We present a technology that enables individual stool specimen collection from toilet wastewater for fecal protein and molecular assay. Human stool specimens and a benchtop test platform integrated with a commercial toilet were used to demonstrate reliable specimen collection over a wide range of stool consistencies by solid/liquid separation followed by spray-erosion. The obtained fecal suspensions were used to perform occult blood tests for GI cancer screening and for microbiome 16S rRNA analysis. Using occult blood home test kits, we found overall 90% agreement with standard sampling, 96% sensitivity and 86% specificity. Microbiome analysis revealed no significant difference in within-sample species diversity compared to standard sampling and specimen cross-contamination was below the detection limit of the assay. Furthermore, we report on the use of an analogue turbidity sensor to assess in real time loose stools for tracking of diarrhea. Implementation of this technology in residential settings will improve the quality of GI healthcare by facilitating increased adherence to routine stool monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Histone methylation usually plays important roles in plant development through post-translational regulation and may provide a new visual field for heterosis. The histone methyltransferase gene family has been identified in various plants, but its members and functions in hybrid wheat related in heterosis is poorly studied. Results: In this study, 175 histone methyltransferase (HMT) genes were identified in wheat, including 152 histone lysine methyltransferase (HKMT) genes and 23 protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) genes. Gene structure analysis, physicochemical properties and subcellular localization predictions of the proteins, exhibited the adequate complexity of this gene family. As an allohexaploid species, the number of the genes (seven HKMTs orthologous groups and four PRMTs orthologous groups) in wheat were about three times than those in diploids and showed certain degrees of conservation, while only a small number of subfamilies such as ASH-like and Su-(var) subfamilies have expanded their members. Transcriptome analysis showed that HMT genes were mainly expressed in the reproductive organs. Expression analysis showed that some TaHMT genes with different trends in various hybrid combinations may be regulated by lncRNAs with similar expression trends. Pearson correlation analysis of the expression of TaHMT genes and two yield traits indicated that four DEGs may participate in the yield heterosis of two-line hybrid wheat. ChIP-qPCR results showed that the histone modifications (H3K4me3, H3K36me3 and H3K9ac) enriched in promoter regions of three TaCCA1 genes which are homologous to Arabidopsis heterosis-related CCA1/LHY genes. The higher expression levels of TaCCA1 in F1 than its parents are positive with these histone modifications. These results showed that histone modifications may play important roles in wheat heterosis. Conclusions: Our study identified characteristics of the histone methyltransferase gene family and enhances the understanding of the evolution and function of these members in allohexaploid wheat. The causes of heterosis of two-line hybrid wheat were partially explained from the perspective of histone modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nine morphologically distinct kenaf genotypes were hybridized to produce 36 hybrids following a half diallel mating design. The combining ability and gene action of 15 yield and yield components were assessed in hybrids and their parents across two environments. Except for the mid diameter and plant height traits, there were highly significant differences (p ≤ 0.01) between the environments and the interaction of genotype and environment. Additive gene effects were considerable for the inheritance of these traits, and the expression of these additive genes was heavily influenced by the environment. Significant differences were found for all studied traits for GCA except top diameter and SCA except plant height and top diameter, implying the presence of both additive and non-additive gene action for the inheritance of the concerned characters. For all features except top diameter and number of nodes, the magnitude of GCA variation was significantly higher than that of SCA variance, indicating the additive gene's predominance. The parental lines P1, P3 and P4 were outstanding general combiners for fiber yield and yield-related parameters. Considering combining ability and genetic analysis study, the crosses P1 × P4, P1 × P9, P2 × P3, P2 × P5, P4 × P6, P4 × P7, P4 × P9, P5 × P8, and P7 × P9 were found promising for their heterotic response to higher fiber yield, stick yield, seed yield and could be for future improvement in kenaf breeding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Heterosis is an important biological phenomenon in which the hybrids exceed the parents in many traits. However, the molecular mechanism underlying seedling heterosis remains unclear. Results: In the present study, we analyzed the leaf transcriptomes of strong hybrids (AM, HM) and weak hybrids (CM, HW) and their parents (A, C, H, M, and W) at two periods. Phenotypically, hybrids had obvious biomass heterosis at the seedling stage, with statistically significant differences between the strong and weak hybrids. The transcriptomic analysis demonstrated that the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between parents was the highest. Further analysis showed that most DEGs were biased toward parental expression. The biological processes of the two periods were significantly enriched in the plant hormone signal transduction and photosynthetic pathways. In the plant hormone signaling pathway, DEG expression was high in hybrids, with expression differences between strong and weak hybrids. In addition, DEGs related to cell size were identified. Similar changes were observed during photosynthesis. The enhanced leaf area of hybrids generated an increase in photosynthetic products, which was consistent with the phenotype of the biomass. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis of different hybrids and parents revealed that hub genes in vigorous hybrid were mainly enriched in the plant hormone signal transduction and regulation of plant hormones. Conclusion: Plant hormone signaling and photosynthesis pathways, as well as differential expression of plant cell size-related genes, jointly regulate the dynamic changes between strong and weak hybrids and the generation of seedling-stage heterosis. This study may elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying early biomass heterosis and help enhance canola yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Blackgram is one of the important pulse crops. To improve the yield levels in this crop, studies on combining ability and heterosis are a method to select suitable parents based on their general and specific combing ability and heterotic effects for use in further breeding programmes. Methods: The present investigation was conducted during Kharif 2019. The crosses were made in line  tester mating fashion during the summer season of 2019 for obtaining 15 (Fifteen) crosses. Fifteen hybrids and their parents (3 lines and 5 testers), including one check, were grown and eleven traits were recorded to estimate general and specific combining ability in the modified line  tester method. Result: In the present investigation the predominance of non-additive gene effect in the expression of plant height, no. of clusters per plant, no. of pods per cluster, no. of pods per plant, seed yield per plant, biological yield per plant, 100 seed weight and harvest index was found. Among parents, KUP 18-346 and KUP 18-350, Pant U-31 were found to be good general combiner for seed yield and some other characters. Hybrids viz., KUP 18-350  Pant U-31, KUP 18-345  T-9 and KUP 18-345  Uttara were found promising combinations for seed yield per plant. Hybrid, KUP 18-350  Pant U-31 recorded significant standard heterosis, heterobeltiosis and average heterosis for most of the important characters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New highly productive forms of small radish (Raphanus sativus L.), adapted for growing under conditions of intense light culture, were obtained on the basis of the methodology of accelerated transgressive breeding developed at the Agrophysical Research Institute. Their genetic, morphobiological, and biochemical assessment was carried out, as well as the assessment of parental forms, in controlled and natural conditions of the environment. It has been shown that new radish forms, transgressive in terms of size and weight of root, are characterized by a complex of economically valuable traits: compact rosette, glabrous leaf, intense root growth, resistance to bolting, and improved biochemical composition. It was revealed that the characteristics of the length and diameter of the root, the compactness of the rosette, the resistance to bolting, and the degree of leaf pubescence are weakly dependent on the growing conditions, and the weight of the root and the yield of new forms exceed those for the parent varieties both in light culture and in open ground. The results of research allow us to conclude that the use of intense light culture is highly efficient for carrying out genetic selection studies and accelerating the breeding process by establishing the effects of the "genotype-environment" interaction. Evaluation and selection of hybrid plants can be carried out in a light culture for various growing conditions, including traditional protected and open ground by simulating the typical characteristics of growing conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]