Traits In Progeny Research Articles

Variability studies for needle and wood traits of different half sib progenies of Pinus roxburghii Sargent.

Genetic variability studies for needle and wood traits were carried out for the different half sib progenies of Chir pine, raised in 1985 at the main campus of University. There existed a significant variation for these traits among the different half sib progenies, viz., needle length (18.1-24.6cm), needle thickness (0.53-0.71mm), number of stomata per mm of a row (7.3-12.0), specific gravity of wood (0.36-0.46), tracheid length (1.51-1.85) and moisture content of wood (47.76-58.81). This variability was found under genetic control, as all these progenies are growing under same environment, and are of same age. Traits having high heritability and genetic gain like, needle thickness, wood specific gravity, tracheid length and others, indicate high genetic control. This variability can be exploited in tree improvement programs through selection and breeding approaches for development of advanced generations. Correlation studies for different traits at genotypic and phenotypic levels provided the basic knowledge of association to chalk out efficient breeding strategy for higher productivity through indirect selection.

Transgenic tomato plants expressing strawberry d-galacturonic acid reductase gene display enhanced tolerance to abiotic stresses

After analyzing tomato plants transformed with GalUR gene for their ascorbic acid contents, it was found that some transgenic lines contained higher levels of ascorbic acid compared to control plants. In the present study, callus induction rate was 50.2 % in the explant and shoot regeneration rate was 51.5 % from the callus with transformation efficiency of 3.0 %. Based on PCR and Southern blot analysis, three independent transformants containing the insert gene were selected. Phenotypic traits of these transgenic progeny were similar to those of control tomatoes. Tomatoes (H15) with high fruit ascorbic acid contents were selected for next generation (GalUR T3) analysis. Transgenic tomatoes with increased ascorbic acid contents were found to be more tolerant to abiotic stresses induced by viologen, NaCl, or mannitol than non-transformed plants. In leaf disc senescence assay, the tolerance of these transgenic plants was better than control plants because they could retain higher chlorophyll contents. Under salt stress of less than 200 mM NaCl, these transgenic plants survived. However, control plants were unable to survive such high salt stress. Ascorbic acid contents in the transgenic plants were inversely correlated with MDA contents, especially under salt stress conditions. The GalUR gene was expressed in H15 tomatoes, but not in control plants. Higher expression levels of antioxidant genes (APX and CAT) were also found in these transgenic plants compared to that in the control plants. However, no detectable difference in SOD expression was found between transgenic plants and control plants. Results from this study suggest that the increase in ascorbic acid contents in plants could up-regulate the antioxidant system to enhance the tolerance of transgenic tomato plants to various abiotic stresses.

A Study of Seedling Growth Traits of Open Pollinated Families of Cunninghamia lanceolata “Chen-shan Red Heartwood”

Based on the 32 open-pollinated families in the second-generation seed orchard of Cunninghamia lanceolata Chen-shan Red Heartwood,investigations were made on the growth traits of half-sib progeny in Hongya Forest Farm of Sichuan Province. The results indicated that the average seedling height and variation coefficient were 14.08 cm and 17.58%, respectively. The average ground diameter and variation coefficient were 3.10 mm and 16.65%, respectively. And there existed significant differences in seedling height and ground diameter among different families. The family heritability of seedling height and ground diameter was 0.866 and 0.889, indicating the great family heritability control for growth traits. 3 excellent families were selected on the basis of comprehensive assessment. The average tree height was 16.31 cm,the genetic gain was 13.72%, and the average ground diameter was 3.49 mm,and the average genetic gain was 11.18%. The selected excellent families could be reserved for further test and assessment.

Investigation of the effects on maternal parity on carcass traits of progeny in swine using on-farm test records

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of sex, birth year, birth season, and parity of sows on their progeny using the following on-farm test records: Backfat Thickness (BF), Fresh Meat Percent (FMP), Loin depth (LD), Age at 90kg (90D), and Average Daily Gain (ADG). Statistical analysis was performed using data collected from 1,178 Yorkshire and 13,395 Landrace progenies, which were born from 119 Yorkshire and 1,191 Landrace sows, respectively between 2011 and 2015. All results of the analysis were statistically significant (P th parity (BF), at the 3 rd parity (FMP and LD), at the 2nd parity (90D and ADG). For Yorkshire, the highest ratings were at the 2 nd parity (BF and FMP), at the 3 rd parity (LD), and at the 4th parity (90D and ADG). Although the ratings of carcass traits of progeny appear to be higher between the maternal sow’s 2 nd and 4 th progenitor, no significant relations to parity were found. Based on these results, we concluded that maternal parity is not significantly affect carcass traits of progeny and thus that the best slaughtering age of sows should not be determined solely based on maternal parity but also in consideration of other factors such as unit costs of production. The results of this study would provide fundamental information to future studies on the effect of economical parity on sows and swine breeding.

Development of Jatropha hybrids with enhanced growth, yield and oil attributes suitable for semi-arid wastelands

Attention has been focused on the utilization of useful genetic resources in developing elite parental lines and making Jatropha hybrids for incorporating superior traits in Jatropha germplasm. Evaluations of morphological and yield contributing traits in F1 progeny have been made and hybrids having high seed yield and oil content have been identified. Multiplication of these hybrid lines was undertaken through stem cuttings. To develop Jatropha hybrids through intraspecific hybridization, twenty three accessions were collected from different parts of the country and grown on wastelands under semi-arid conditions. All the germplasm were assessed for desirable traits and cross-combinations were made between identified accessions of J. curcas based on considerable seed yield and higher oil content. Growth and yield performance was recorded from plants raised through stem cuttings of various cross combinations and studies were undertaken in four leading hybrids along with their respective parents. Two years old plants developed from the cross IC565735 × IC565739 proved to be the best with 75 % fruit set, 300 g seed yield per plant and 39.02 % oil content.

Optimal spatial and temporal replications for reducing environmental variation for oil content components and fruit morphology traits in olive breeding

The need for new improved cultivars adapted to modern cultivation techniques and changing climatic environment requires genetic studies able to provide a better understanding of the phenotypic variance decomposition into genetic and environmental variances. In perennial crops, this decomposition requires evaluations carried out among years, trees within a genotype, samples within a tree and their interactions. The aim of this study was to perform such a detailed variance analysis of oil content components (fruit fresh weight-FFW, fruit moisture-FM, oil content on both fresh-OCFFW and dry-OCFDW basis) and fruit morphology traits (fruit maximum diameter-FMD and fruit circularity-FC) in an olive progeny issued from the cross ‘Oliviere’ × ‘Arbequina’. A total of 106 genotypes from this progeny, together with the parents cultivars, were evaluated over two consecutive years in two trees/genotype, and three samples/tree for oil content components and 30 samples/tree for fruit morphology traits. Two dataset were considered during analysis. The first one, including a limited number of genotypes without any missing data, was fully balanced and ANOVA was applied for variance components estimation from expected mean squares. The second dataset contained the full unbalanced information of the 106 genotypes and mixed linear models were built following to the same statistical model. Both analyses showed that variance among genotypes (σG2) was the main contributor to total variance for FFW, OCFFW and OCFDW and variance among years (σY2) for FM. Residual error effect (σe2) was the main contributor for morphology traits, whereas variance associated with the genotype × year interaction (σGY2) and tree × year interaction (σTY2) represented also important variance components for most traits, and variance among trees within a genotype (σT2) was negligible. Consistently, the mean broad sense heritabilities (H²) showed the lowest values for FM (0.40) and the highest values for OCFFW (0.94). An estimation of heritability and environmental variation under varying numbers of years and tree replications revealed that including more yearly replications could be more effective than adding trees replications. Finally, this study provides a global view of adequate spatial and temporal replications required to accurately develop criteria for both conventional and marker-assisted selection on fruit traits from olive crossing progenies, and more generally in fruit trees.

Relationship between parental genetic distance and offspring’s heterosis for early growth traits in Liriodendron: implication for parent pair selection in cross breeding

Parent-pair selection is one of crucial factors that generate progenies with strong heterosis in tree cross-breeding programmes. In our Liriodendron breeding programme, we conducted a very effective strategy on selecting elite parental combinations with strong heterosis on the basis of a large number of crosses and progeny tests. In the past two decades, we have conducted dozens of interspecies crosses in Liriodendron and the hybrids with good performance have been broadly planted for both ornamental and industrial utilization in southern China. In contrast to the application, the genetic mechanism of heterosis in Liriodendron still remains unknown. Genetic distance is one key parameter which has been considered for parent-pair selection. Here, we reported the relationship between parental genetic distance and offspring heterosis by analyzing early growth traits of progenies from intra- and inter-specific crosses in Liriodendron. The genetic distances among 13 parental trees were assessed based on polymorphisms generated from 24 microsatellites loci. Offspring heterosis was estimated based on a 6-year-old progeny test. No significant correlations were found between parental genetic distance and offspring heterosis. However, we found that the offspring heterosis of growth reached the maximum value when parental genetic distance was 1.07, which was validated in another batch of crosses based on 2-year-old growth. Our findings may be helpful for the future parent-pair selection in Liriodendron cross-breeding programmes.

Stable inheritance of excellent agricultural traits induced by <sup>12</sup>C<sup>6+</sup> heavy-ions in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)

The lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) belongs to the most important leguminous plants in Asia. It is a very popular and highly nutritious food. However, small pod size and low yield limit its agricultural use. Through irradiation mutagenesis of dry lentil seeds by 12C6+ ion beam, we found some lines with excellent agricultural traits in M2 progeny at doses of 90 Gy (grey), such as height increase and improvement of the number of branches and three-seed pods as well as seeds with increased grain yield. Six generations of irradiated lentils were screened for these traits. In the M8 generation, the grain yield of three high-yielding lentil lines (lines hyl-1, hyl-2, and hyl-3) reached 212.4%, 195.3% and 190.8%, respectively, of the non-irradiated controls. The results indicated that crop improvement was stable inherited across the generations. Statistical analysis revealed that the increase in grain yield was due to increased total pod number and seeds per pod. Fortunately, adverse effects of irradiation (e.g. reduced germination rates and poor pollen vitality) disappeared over the eight generations. In conclusion, we present a practical method for the improvement of lentils through radiation breeding, leading to high yielding cultivars, which could support the use of this crop in agriculture.

Evaluation of Genetic Variability and Correlation in Pod and Seed Traits of Pongamia Pinnata (L.) Pierre. Germplasm for Genetic Tree Improvement

Pongamia pinnata is a leguminous multipurpose tree species having enormous potential of producing high seed oil that could be as a source of biofuel. The collection of pods with higher seed quality characters is much important for Genetic tree improvement program for production of elite germplasm for nursery and plantation. A total of 24 candidate plus trees (RAKs) of Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre were selected to elucidate their variation and diversity based on twelve quantitative traits (4 pod traits, 5 seed traits of parent trees and 3 progeny traits) during 2004-2007. The results show that, RAK-5 had maximum for six traits viz pod length (65.6 mm), 100-pod weight (542.4 g), seed length (27.9 mm), seed breadth (17.4 mm), 100-seed weight (217.9 g) and plant height (164.3 cm). Lowest 100-pod and seed weight were recorded in RAK-7 (231.0 g) and RAK-24 (106.1 g). The maximum volume index was recorded in RAK-17. There was fair difference between genotypic coefficients of variation and phenotypic coefficients of variation for all traits except progeny traits. All the pod and seed traits showed high heritability and progeny growth traits had moderate heritability. The 100-pod weight exhibited highest heritability (more than 98.4%) followed by 100-seed weight (96.9%). The 100-pod weight and 100-seed weight expressed high heritability (98.4%, 96.9%), accompanied with high genetic advance (46.0%, 34.9%). Volume index expressed moderate heritability (47.4%), accompanied with high genetic advance (48.4%). It is revealed that the existence of substantial variation can be utilized for genetic resource conservation and further genetic tree improvement programmers of the species.

English

Breeding programs strive to obtain cultivars with superior traits. The association between these characters, such as those estimated by correlation coeficients, are important to the breeding selection process. In this study we analyzed phenotypic and genotypic correlations between yield and other agronomic traits in soybean progenies derived from various crosses to support breeding line selection in the the soybean breading program of the Federal University of Uberlandia (UFU). The experiment was carried out in the 2011/2012 growing season at the Capim Branco research station in Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Seventy-one soybean lines were evaluated using a randomized complete block design with three replications. In these plots plants were evaluated for the number of pods, grain yield per plant, number of days for flowering, plant height at flowering, number of days for maturity, plant height at maturity, height of the first pod insertion, number of grains per pod and grain yield per plant. The estimates for genotypic correlations were equal or greater than those for the phenotypic correlations for all the evaluated traits. This suggests a small effect of environmental factors on the trait expression. An exception of this behavior was the correlation between plant height at flowering and plant height at maturity. In this case, although the signs for the genotypic and phenotypic correlations were the same, the value for the last was greater than that for the former.. The late flowering and late-maturing plants were taller. Also, selecting plants for higher number of pods ultimately contributed for the selection of plants with higher grain yield. The selection of late-flowering and late-maturing plants have yielded taller plantsin the same way that the selection for a higher pod number could promote the selection and improvement of grains yield trait.

Marker-assisted selection for rice brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens)resistance using linked SSR markers

Abstract: Developing cultivars resistant against different biotypes of brown planthopper (BPH) through marker-assisted selection (MAS) is an effective management strategy to control this pest. In this study, 28 polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were analyzed in 108 F3 progenies derived from the cross of Rathu Heenati and MR276 rice cultivars to investigate the association with BPH resistance against biotypes 2 and 3. For statistical analysis, parents and their offspring were grouped into 2 phenotypic classes based on their levels of BPH resistance. Chi-square analysis demonstrated a good fit to a ratio of 3:1 for the segregation of resistance and susceptibility. Association of SSR markers with phenotypic traits in F3 progenies were identified. Six SSR markers (RM401, RM5953, RM217, RM210, RM242, and RM1103) were significantly associated with BPH resistance to biotypes 2 and 3 of BPH. Out of these 6 markers, RM401, RM5953, and RM217 accounted for about 17% of total phenotypic variation and RM210, RM242, and RM1103 accounted for 20% of total phenotypic variation against biotypes 2 and 3, respectively. Therefore, the above 6 markers were confirmed for MAS in rice breeding programs to develop BPH-resistant rice cultivars.

Genetic parameters of growth and stem quality traits for jack pine second-generation progeny tested in New Brunswick

Genetic variation and time trends for growth and stem quality traits were evaluated in jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) second-generation progeny tests. The study was based on a large dataset, involving 275 half-sib families and 17 field trials, planted across New Brunswick, Canada. Growth was indicated by cumulative tree height (HT) measured at trial ages from 5 to 20 years, and stem quality was evaluated on stem straightness (SST) and stem forking (SF). Results indicated that both HT and SST were moderately genetically controlled, with mean individual heritability estimates of 0.14 (range: 0.03–0.30) and 0.16 (range: 0.10–0.25), respectively, which were lower than those estimates from the first-generation progeny tests. Heritability estimates for HT increased from trial ages of 5 to 10 years and then remained stable, whereas for SST, heritability estimates showed a “Λ” shape with the highest value occurring at trial age of 15 years. HT measurements at trial ages of 5 to 10 years were highly predictive of HT growth at 15 to 20 years, and similarly, SST assessment at 10 years correlated well with assessment at 20 years. Estimates of genetic correlation between HT and SST were positively and moderately strong, which contrasted with the moderately negative genetic correlation between the two traits in the first-generation progeny. Heritability estimates for SF were generally low (mean [Formula: see text] = 0.06) and remained constant over time. SF was essentially not genetically correlated with HT or SST. Family-by-site interactions were weak for HT and SST over the trial ages but were strong for SF at trial age of 10 years or older. The potential impact of selection on genetic architecture of growth and stem quality traits in advanced generation jack pine breeding populations and on breeding and selection strategies was discussed.

Growth performance, and carcass and meat quality traits in progeny of Poll Nellore, Angus and Brahman sires under tropical conditions

This study aimed to characterise progeny of sires representing major families in the Poll Nellore breed. Fourteen Poll Nellore sires, two Angus sires and one Brahman sire were mated by AI to ~400 multiparous Poll Nellore dams. Calves were raised and stocked on pasture in central Brazil until reaching ~18 months of age, then fed a sugarcane bagasse-based diet on an ad libitum basis until reaching market weight and finish (average 23 months). There were 236 Poll Nellore (N), 38 Angus × Poll Nellore (AN) and 31 Brahman × Poll Nellore (BN) calves born in total. The weaning and 423-day weight weights, and growth rates and pre- and post-weaning were greater (P < 0.05) in males than in female calves, and were influenced by breed and by sire within the N animals. The weaning weights were higher (P < 0.05) in AN and BN than in N calves. The 423-day weight weights were greater (P < 0.05) in AN calves, followed by BN, with straightbred N being lightest. Feedlot average daily gain was unaffected (P > 0.05) by sex or by sire within N, but was lowest (P < 0.05) in N cattle, and highest in AN and BN animals, which did not differ (P > 0.05). Heifers reached the end of the study with lower bodyweight (BW) and dressing percentage than steers, resulting in lower carcass weights, smaller longissimus muscle areas (LMA), but greater 12th to 13th rib backfat (BF) and similar marbling score and mean shear force. However, the proportion of carcasses grading Choice or Prime was numerically greater in heifers than in steers (23.6% vs 9.8%). AN cattle reached greater harvest weights than BN, and those were heavier than N cattle (P < 0.001). However, dressing percentages were lowest in AN animals, so that there was no significant difference in carcass weight between AN and BN cattle. AN carcasses also had greater LMA, BF and marbling scores than the N carcasses. The proportion of carcasses grading Choice or Prime was numerically greater in AN cattle than in the BN and N groups (25.9%, 11.8% and 15.9%, respectively). Steaks from AN calves were more tender than N steaks, with the BN steaks being intermediate. There was significant variation among N sires for final BW, dressing percentage, carcass weight, LMA and marbling score, but not for BF or mean shear force. The percentages of carcasses of N cattle grading Choice or Prime ranged from 0% to 61.5%. Three N sires produced progeny with greater than 40% of carcasses grading Choice or above (Berílio OB, Furador OB, and Litoral OB). Likewise, three N sires (Blitz OB, Furador OB and Sossego OB) had progeny with 67%, 62% and 75%, respectively, of steaks classified as tender. This study confirmed that Zebu cattle have inferior carcass and meat quality relative to AN crossbreds under tropical conditions, however there is substantial variation within the N breed for these traits, and several sires have a proportion of their progeny comparable in terms of meat tenderness to those of Angus sires.

Evaluation of the growth traits of Toxicodendron vernicifluum progeny based on their genetic groups assigned using new microsatellite markers

AbstractToxicodendron vernicifluum (Stokes) F. A. Barkley is a tree species cultivated in Japan for production of Japanese lacquer. To facilitate the low-cost improvement of T. vernicifluum, we developed microsatellite markers for DNA fingerprinting and family and lineage reconstruction. Nine useful microsatellites were developed, with 3 to 23 alleles per locus and an expected heterozygosity of 0.162-0.838 based on a commercially planted population that included 783 offspring. Six clusters were detected in this population based on the Bayesian clustering method, and 93 half-sib families were identified using parentage and sibship assignment analysis based on a maximum likelihood method. Many members (40-96%) of large (≥10) half-sib families included specific clusters, and members from different families included the same clusters. The cluster effect for tree height was more significant than the half-sib family effect using a linear mixed model, although these effects were not significant for other traits (diameter at breast height and number of forked trunks). Based on the findings from pedigree reconstruction, backward selection for tree height seems possible. We discuss the direction of research for improving T. vernicifluum using our proposed approach.

Studies on Variation, Heritability, Genetic Gain and Correlation in Biomass Characters of Progenies of Drek (Melia Azedarach)

The seeds were collected from selected mother trees (ortets) one each at twenty seven locations and progenies were raised to study the extent and pattern of variation among biomass characters. The site S27 (Nauni), S14 (Ropar) and S11 (Jwalaji), showed better performance for these progeny traits as compared to others. High heritability with high genetic gain was observed for root dry weight (H= 0.88, GG= 88.49 %) and root fresh weight (H= 0.83, GG = 81.01 %) while high heritability with moderate genetic gain was found for shoot fresh weight (H= 0.87, GG= 64.84 %). Highly significant and positive genotypic and phenotypic correlations were observed for most of the characters.

Effects of self-superparasitism and host age on fitness-correlated traits in the solitary endoparasitoid wasp Meteorus pulchricornis.

The domed fitness functions are suggested to describe developmental patterns of progeny parasitoids in relation to host age at oviposition in solitary koinobint parasitoids that are engaged in single parasitism, but few studies have investigated the applicability of the functions as related to superparasitism. The present study was designed to compare fitness functions between single parasitism and superparasitism by examining developmental patterns of Meteorus pulchricornis (Wesmael) (Hymneoptera: Braconidae) progeny in relation to the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), either singly parasitized or self-superparasitized as second-fifth instar larvae. Self-superparasitism caused deleterious effects on the fitness-related traits of parasitoid progeny, as demonstrated by a prolonged egg-to-adult emergence time, a smaller body size, and shorter longevity of the emerging adults, and decreased survival to adult emergence. While the domed fitness function was detected for development time, survival, adult body size, and longevity in relation to host larvae that were singly parasitized, the function was observed only for progeny survival in relation to host larvae that were self-superparasitized. This study suggests that developmental fitness functions with self-superparasitism can deviate from those with single parasitism in solitary koinobiont parasitoids.

Agronomic traits of coffee tree progenies from Timor Hybrid x Catuaí crossing

The objective of this work was to evaluate the agronomic traits of coffee tree progenies. The experiment was set in Ouro Verde Farm, located at Campos Altos County, MG. Twenty three coffee progenies and seven control cultivars were used. These progenies are from the fourth generation of crossing between Timor Hybrid and Catuaí. The experiment was set in a randomized block design with four replicates, a total of 120 plots with 8 plants per plot. The yield of processed coffee sacks ha-1 was evaluated in eight crop years from the 2003 to the 2011 harvests. The percentage of fruits at the cherry stage, floating fruits, coffee classification (sieve above 17), income and plant vigor were evaluated in the 2010 and in the 2011 harvests. It was concluded that the progenies showed a great variability for the agronomic traits. Progenies 514-7-4-C130, 493-1-2-C134 and 518-2-10-C408 had the highest yield in the four two-year periods. The progenies 436-1-4-C26, 516-8-2-C109, 493-1-2-C134, 518-2-10-C408, 514-7-16-C211 and 514-7-16-C208 presented the highest values for plant vigor. Progeny 493-1-2-C134 stood out in all analyzed traits, showing to be promising for the advance of the generations.

MOLECULAR CYTOGENETICS IN LILIUM BREEDING

In horticulture, interspecific hybridization is one of the most important tools to achieve genetic variation; this is especially true when it comes to ornamental crops, where it is always necessary to introduce new traits, such as flower colour, petal shapes, stem size and strength, longevity, disease resistances and more. However, to maintain such traits in the progeny is necessary to introgress the genes of the alien species into the gene pool of the receptor species. To accomplish this, first sterility must be overcome, because, as a general rule, interspecific hybrids tend to be sterile. Mitotic polyploidization is a useful technique to come to such end, but the use of unreduced gametes is preferred because recombination occurs between the parental genomes and introgression might be achieved. Here it is described i) the production of interspecific, intersectional lily hybrids, obtained through the use special pollination techniques combined with ovary- and embryo-rescue techniques, in crosses of distantly related lily hybrids, cultivars and species from different taxonomical sections (L. longiflorum × Asiatic hybrids (LA), L. longiflorum × Oriental hybrids (LO), L. longiflorum × L. rubellum (LR), L. longiflorum × L. henryi (LH), L. henryi × L. candidum (HC), L. auratum × L. henryi (AuH), L. martagon × Asiatic hybrids (MA), Oriental hybrids × Asiatic hybrids (OA), Oriental hybrids × Trumpet hybrids (OT) and Oriental hybrids × L. pardalinum (OP)); ii) the use of molecular Genomic in situ Hybridization (GISH) to depict the mechanisms of 2n gamete formation and their use for the production of sexual polyploids; iii) the utilization of allotriploid BC1 progenies in introgression breeding and iv) the application of N2O to induce the formation of unreduced gametes in sterile lily hybrids.

Genetic analysis of safflower domestication.

BackgroundSafflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is an oilseed crop in the Compositae (a.k.a. Asteraceae) that is valued for its oils rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Here, we present an analysis of the genetic architecture of safflower domestication and compare our findings to those from sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), an independently domesticated oilseed crop within the same family.We mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying 24 domestication-related traits in progeny from a cross between safflower and its wild progenitor, Carthamus palaestinus Eig. Also, we compared QTL positions in safflower against those that have been previously identified in cultivated x wild sunflower crosses to identify instances of colocalization.ResultsWe mapped 61 QTL, the vast majority of which (59) exhibited minor or moderate phenotypic effects. The two large-effect QTL corresponded to one each for flower color and leaf spininess. A total of 14 safflower QTL colocalized with previously reported sunflower QTL for the same traits. Of these, QTL for three traits (days to flower, achene length, and number of selfed seed) had cultivar alleles that conferred effects in the same direction in both species.ConclusionsAs has been observed in sunflower, and unlike many other crops, our results suggest that the genetics of safflower domestication is quite complex. Moreover, our comparative mapping results indicate that safflower and sunflower exhibit numerous instances of QTL colocalization, suggesting that parallel trait transitions during domestication may have been driven, at least in part, by parallel genotypic evolution at some of the same underlying genes.

Fetal programming in 2-year-old calving heifers: peri-conception and first trimester protein restriction alters fetal growth in a gender-specific manner

Protein restriction in early bovine gestation affects post-natal reproduction and production traits in progeny. This experiment evaluated the effects of dietary protein restriction during the peri-conception period and first trimester in yearling heifers on conceptus growth and development; this period of dietary intervention being earlier than any previous bovine fetal programming studies. Three-hundred and sixty primiparous 12-month-old Santa Gertrudis heifers were individually fed high [14% crude protein (CP)] or low (7% CP) diets for 60 days before conception. At 23 days post-conception (dpc), each high (HPERI) or low (LPERI) group was again split into high (HPOST) or low (LPOST) protein groups yielding four treatment groups in a 2 × 2 factorial design. From the end of the first trimester of gestation (98dpc), the pregnant heifers were individually fed a 12% CP diet until parturition. Forty-six fetuses were excised at 98dpc. Sixty-four heifers went on to calve. Conceptus development was assessed via transrectal ultrasound from 36dpc, fetal necropsy at 98dpc and live calf measures at term. At 36dpc, HPERI diet increased fetal crown–rump length (CRL) (P < 0.05) and at the 60dpc scan, biparietal diameter (BPD) tended to be increased by HPOST diet (P < 0.1) though the greater effect upon BPD was still the HPERI diet (P < 0.05). At 60dpc, BPD in the male fetus was affected by the peri-conception diet (P < 0.05), while in females, BPD was not different among nutritional groups. These ultrasound measures of fetal growth were validated by measures of the excised fetus at 98dpc. Fetal weight was heavier (P < 0.01) in those whose mothers were fed the HPOST diet than their LPOST counterparts. Males fetuses were heavier than female fetuses (P < 0.001). Fetal CRL was increased by HPERI diet (P < 0.05) and tended to be increased by HPOST diet (P < 0.1). Fetal BPD tended to be increased by HPERI diet (P < 0.1). In males, BPD tended to be increased in those fetuses whose mothers were fed HPERI (P < 0.1). For females, maternal nutrition during PERI or POST did not affect BPD at 98dpc (P > 0.1). At term, no dietary effect on birthweight was observed (P > 0.1) and males were not heavier than females (P > 0.1). These results suggest that maternal protein intake during the peri-conception (–60 to 23dpc) and first trimester (24–98dpc) may influence early conceptus growth and development in the bovine. The long-term effects on offspring metabolism and post-natal development of this dietary intervention are yet to be determined.