Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Underlying Response Mechanism to Salt Stress in Maize Seedling Roots.

Crop growth and development can be impeded by salt stress, leading to a significant decline in crop yield and quality. This investigation performed a comparative analysis of the physiological responses of two maize inbred lines, namely L318 (CML115) and L323 (GEMS58), under salt-stress conditions. The results elucidated that CML115 exhibited higher salt tolerance compared with GEMS58.

Identification of Rice Seed Varieties Based on Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging Technology Combined with Deep Learning.

Rice is one of the most important food crops in the world, and rice seed varieties are related to the yield and quality of rice. This study used near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral technology with conventional machine learning methods (support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression (LR), and random forest (RF)) and deep learning methods (LeNet, GoogLeNet, and residual network (ResNet)) to establish variety identification models for five common types of rice seeds. Among the deep learning methods, the classification accuracies of most models were higher than 95%.

Transcriptome Analysis Revealed the Key Genes and Pathways Involved in Seed Germination of Maize Tolerant to Deep-Sowing.

To improve our understanding of the mechanism of maize seed germination under deep sowing, transcriptome sequencing and physiological metabolism analyses were performed using B73 embryos separated from ungerminated seeds (UG) or seeds germinated for 2 d at a depth of 2 cm (normal sowing, NS) or 20 cm (deep sowing, DS). Gene ontology (GO) analysis indicated that "response to oxidative stress" and "monolayer-surrounded lipid storage body" were the most significant GO terms in up- and down-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of DS. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis suggested that "phenylpropanoid biosynthesis" and "starch and sucrose metabolism" were critical processes in maize seed germination under deep-sowing conditions.

QTL Mapping Low-Temperature Germination Ability in the Maize IBM Syn10 DH Population.

Chilling injury poses a serious threat to seed emergence of spring-sowing maize in China, which has become one of the main climatic limiting factors affecting maize production in China. It is of great significance to mine the key genes controlling low-temperature tolerance during seed germination and study their functions for breeding new maize varieties with strong low-temperature tolerance during germination. In this study, 176 lines of the intermated B73 × Mo17 (IBM) Syn10 doubled haploid (DH) population, which comprised 6618 bin markers, were used for QTL analysis of low-temperature germination ability.

An R2R3-MYB Transcription Factor OsMYBAS1 Promotes Seed Germination under Different Sowing Depths in Transgenic Rice.

MYB-type transcription factors play essential regulatory roles in seed germination and the response to seedling establishment stress. This study isolated a rice R2R3-MYB gene, , and functionally characterized its role in seed germination by generating transgenic rice plants with the overexpression and knockout of . Gene expression analysis suggested that was highly expressed in brown rice and root, respectively.

Overexpression of Maize Gene Plays a Negative Regulatory Role in Seed Germination in and .

MYB transcription factors are involved in many biological processes, including metabolism, stress response and plant development. In our previous work, was down-regulated by deep sowing during maize seed germination. However, there are few reports on seed germination regulated by MYB proteins.

Quantitative Trait Locus Analysis for Deep-Sowing Germination Ability in the Maize IBM Syn10 DH Population.

Deep-sowing is an effective measure to ensure seeds absorbing water from deep soil layer and emerging normally in arid and semiarid regions. However, existing varieties demonstrate poor germination ability in deep soil layer and some key quantitative trait loci (QTL) or genes related to deep-sowing germination ability remain to be identified and analyzed. In this study, a high-resolution genetic map based on 280 lines of the intermated B73 × Mo17 (IBM) Syn10 doubled haploid (DH) population which comprised 6618 bin markers was used for the QTL analysis of deep-sowing germination related traits.

QTL Mapping of Low-Temperature Germination Ability in the Maize IBM Syn4 RIL Population.

Low temperature is the primary factor to affect maize sowing in early spring. It is, therefore, vital for maize breeding programs to improve tolerance to low temperatures at seed germination stage. However, little is known about maize QTL involved in low-temperature germination ability.

Mapping QTL controlling maize deep-seeding tolerance-related traits and confirmation of a major QTL for mesocotyl length.

Deep-seeding tolerant seeds can emerge from deep soil where the moisture is suitable for seed germination. Breeding deep-seeding tolerant cultivars is becoming increasingly important in arid and semi-arid regions. To dissect the quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling deep-seeding tolerance traits, we selected a tolerant maize inbred line 3681-4 and crossed it with the elite inbred line-X178 to generate an F(2) population and the derivative F(2:3) families.