New genomic regions for high accumulation of 10 minerals were identified. The 1B:1R and 2NS translocations enhanced concentrations of four and two minerals, respectively, in addition to disease resistance. Puccinia species, the causal agents of rust diseases of wheat, have the potential to cause total crop failures due their high evolutionary ability to acquire virulence for resistance genes deployed in commercial cultivars.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study presents a comprehensive study of the genetic bases controlling variation in the rice ionome employing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with a diverse panel of indica accessions, each genotyped with 5.2 million markers. GWAS was performed for twelve elements including B, Ca, Co, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, P, and Zn and four agronomic traits including days to 50% flowering, grain yield, plant height and thousand grain weight.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenomic selection enabled accurate prediction for the concentration of 13 nutritional element traits in wheat. Wheat biofortification is one of the most sustainable strategies to alleviate mineral deficiency in human diets. Here, we investigated the potential of genomic selection using BayesR and Bayesian ridge regression (BRR) models to predict grain yield (YLD) and the concentration of 13 nutritional elements in grains (B, Ca, Co, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P and Zn) using a population of 1470 spring wheat lines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite its importance to plant function and human health, the genetics underpinning element levels in maize grain remain largely unknown. Through a genome-wide association study in the maize Ames panel of nearly 2,000 inbred lines that was imputed with ∼7.7 million SNP markers, we investigated the genetic basis of natural variation for the concentration of 11 elements in grain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe development of high-yielding wheat genotypes containing micronutrient-dense grains are the main priorities of biofortification programs. At the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, breeders have successfully crossed high zinc progenitors including synthetic hexaploid wheat, T. dicoccum, T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNovel barley (1 → 3, 1 → 4)-β-glucan endohydrolases with increased thermostability. Rapid and reliable degradation of (1 → 3, 1 → 4)-β-glucan to produce low viscosity wort is an essential requirement for malting barley. The (1 → 3, 1 → 4)-β-glucan endohyrolases are responsible for the primary hydrolysis of cell wall β-glucan.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBarley (1→3,1→4)-β-glucan endohydrolases (β-glucanases; EI and EII) are primarily responsible for hydrolyzing high molecular weight (1→3,1→4)-β-glucans (β-glucan) during germination. Incomplete endosperm modification during malting results in residual β-glucan that can contribute to increased wort viscosity and beer chill haze. Four newly identified forms of EI and EII and the reference enzymes EI-a and EII-a were expressed in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant proteins were characterized for enzyme kinetics and thermostability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWater uptake by mature barley grains initiates germination and is the first stage in the malting process. Here we have investigated the effects of starchy endosperm cell wall thickness on water uptake, together with the effects of varying amounts of the wall polysaccharide, (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan. In the latter case, we examined mutant barley lines from a mutant library and transgenic barley lines in which the (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan synthase gene, HvCslF6, was down-regulated by RNA interference.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF