A MYB transcription factor underlying plant height in sorghum qHT7.1 and maize Brachytic 1 loci.

Manipulating plant height is an essential component of crop improvement. Plant height was generally reduced through breeding in wheat, rice, and sorghum to resist lodging and increase grain yield but kept high for bioenergy crops. Here, we positionally cloned a plant height quantitative trait locus (QTL) qHT7.

Candidate selective sweeps in US wheat populations.

Exploration of novel alleles from ex situ collection is still limited in modern plant breeding as these alleles exist in genetic backgrounds of landraces that are not adapted to modern production environments. The practice of backcross breeding results in preservation of the adapted background of elite parents but leaves little room for novel alleles from landraces to be incorporated. Selection of adaptation-associated linkage blocks instead of the entire adapted background may allow breeders to incorporate more of the landrace's genetic background and to observe and evaluate novel alleles.

Comprehensive identification of genomic and environmental determinants of phenotypic plasticity in maize.

Maize phenotypes are plastic, determined by the complex interplay of genetics and environmental variables. Uncovering the genes responsible and understanding how their effects change across a large geographic region are challenging. In this study, we conducted systematic analysis to identify environmental indices that strongly influence 19 traits (including flowering time, plant architecture, and yield component traits) measured in the maize nested association mapping (NAM) population grown in 11 environments.

Differential induction of defense genes in hexaploid wheat roots by the plant-parasitic nematodes Pratylenchus neglectus and P. thornei.

Pratylenchus neglectus and P. thornei are among the most destructive root lesion nematodes of wheat in the Pacific Northwest, United States of America and throughout the world. The aim of this study was to determine whether both nematode species were similar in their ability to induce defense genes in roots of wheat genotype Scarlet, and whether a combination of both species induced a different pattern of gene induction than each species alone.

Evolutionary patterns of DNA base composition at polymorphic sites highlight the role of the environment in shaping barley and rice genomes.

Insights into changes in genome base composition underlying crop domestication can be gained by using comparative genomics. With this approach, previous studies have reported that crop genomes during domestication accumulate more nucleotides adenine (A) and thymine (T) (termed as [AT]-increase) across polymorphic sites. However, the potential influence of the environment or its factors, for example, solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation and temperature, on the [AT]-increase has not been well elucidated.

Novel allelic variations in and contribute to tannin absence in sorghum.

Unlabelled: Sorghum is an important food crop commonly used for brewing, feed, and bioenergy. Certain genotypes of sorghum contain high concentrations of condensed tannins in seeds, which are beneficial, such as protecting grains from herbivore bird pests, but also impair grain quality and digestibility. Previously, we identified and , each with three recessive causal alleles, regulate tannin absence in sorghum.

Research on the control strategies of data flow transmission paths for MPTCP-based communication networks.

The performance of multipath transmission control protocol (MPTCP) subflow through the enhancement mechanism of the MPTCP communication is improved. When dealing with multiple MPTCP subflows occupying the same transmission path, critical issues such as selection and optimization of multipath, and efficient scheduling of available multiple tracks are effectively addressed by incorporating the technology called software defined network (SDN) that is constructed based on four key parameters, namely, network transmission bandwidth, transmission paths, path capacity, and network latency. Besides, critical equipment such as the network physical device layer and SDN controller are integrated with the four parameters.

Genetic mapping of dynamic control of leaf angle across multiple canopy levels in maize.

Optimizing leaf angle and other canopy architecture traits has helped modern maize (Zea mays L.) become adapted to higher planting densities over the last 60 years. Traditional investigations into genetic control of leaf angle have focused on one leaf or the average of multiple leaves; as a result, our understanding of genetic control across multiple canopy levels is still limited.

PANI-Coated VO Nanobelts with Core-Shell Architecture for Flexible All-Solid-State Supercapacitor.

As a typical pseudocapacitor material, VO possesses mixed valence states, making it an ideal electrode material for symmetric screen-printed supercapacitors. However, its high internal resistance and low energy density are the main hurdles to its widespread application. In this study, a two-dimensional PANI@VO nanobelt with a core-shell architecture was constructed via a two-step route.

Environmental context of phenotypic plasticity in flowering time in sorghum and rice.

Phenotypic plasticity is an important topic in biology and evolution. However, how to generate broadly applicable insights from individual studies remains a challenge. Here, with flowering time observed from a large geographical region for sorghum and rice genetic populations, we examine the consistency of parameter estimation for reaction norms of genotypes across different subsets of environments and searched for potential strategies to inform the study design.

Generation of Sesame Mutant Population by Mutagenesis and Identification of High Oleate Mutants by GC Analysis.

Sesame is one of the important oilseed crops in the world. Natural genetic variation exists in the sesame germplasm collection. Mining and utilizing the genetic allele variation from the germplasm collection is an important approach for seed quality improvement.

Machine learning for predicting phenotype from genotype and environment.

Predicting phenotype with genomic and environmental information is critically needed and challenging. Machine learning methods have emerged as powerful tools to make accurate predictions from large and complex biological data. Here, we review the progress of phenotype prediction models enabled or improved by machine learning methods.

Leveraging prior biological knowledge improves prediction of tocochromanols in maize grain.

With an essential role in human health, tocochromanols are mostly obtained by consuming seed oils; however, the vitamin E content of the most abundant tocochromanols in maize (Zea mays L.) grain is low. Several large-effect genes with cis-acting variants affecting messenger RNA (mRNA) expression are mostly responsible for tocochromanol variation in maize grain, with other relevant associated quantitative trait loci (QTL) yet to be fully resolved.

Combining GWAS and TWAS to identify candidate causal genes for tocochromanol levels in maize grain.

Tocochromanols (tocopherols and tocotrienols, collectively vitamin E) are lipid-soluble antioxidants important for both plant fitness and human health. The main dietary sources of vitamin E are seed oils that often accumulate high levels of tocopherol isoforms with lower vitamin E activity. The tocochromanol biosynthetic pathway is conserved across plant species but an integrated view of the genes and mechanisms underlying natural variation of tocochromanol levels in seed of most cereal crops remains limited.

Phenotypic plasticity in plant height shaped by interaction between genetic loci and diurnal temperature range.

Phenotypic plasticity is observed widely in plants and often studied with reaction norms for adult plant or end-of-season traits. Uncovering genetic, environmental and developmental patterns behind the observed phenotypic variation under natural field conditions is needed. Using a sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) genetic population evaluated for plant height in seven natural field conditions, we investigated the major pattern that differentiated these environments.

Comprehensive analytical and empirical evaluation of genomic prediction across diverse accessions in maize.

Efficiently exploiting natural genetic diversity captured by accessions stored in genebanks is crucial to genetic improvement of major crops. Selecting accessions of interest from genebanks has traditionally required information from extensive and expensive evaluation; however, low-cost genotyping combined with genomic prediction have enabled us to generate predicted genetic merits for the entire set with targeted phenotypic evaluation of representative subsets. To explore this general approach, analytical assessment and empirical validation of the maize (Zea mays L.

Genetic dissection of seasonal vegetation index dynamics in maize through aerial based high-throughput phenotyping.

Plant phenotyping under field conditions plays an important role in agricultural research. Efficient and accurate high-throughput phenotyping strategies enable a better connection between genotype and phenotype. Unmanned aerial vehicle-based high-throughput phenotyping platforms (UAV-HTPPs) provide novel opportunities for large-scale proximal measurement of plant traits with high efficiency, high resolution, and low cost.

De novo assembly, annotation, and comparative analysis of 26 diverse maize genomes.

We report de novo genome assemblies, transcriptomes, annotations, and methylomes for the 26 inbreds that serve as the founders for the maize nested association mapping population. The number of pan-genes in these diverse genomes exceeds 103,000, with approximately a third found across all genotypes. The results demonstrate that the ancient tetraploid character of maize continues to degrade by fractionation to the present day.