Proton-pumping pyrophosphatase homeolog expression is a dynamic trait in bread wheat ().

Proton-pumping pyrophosphatases (H-PPases) have been shown to enhance biomass and yield. However, to date, there has been little work towards identify genes encoding H-PPases in bread wheat () (s) and limited knowledge on how the expression of these genes varies across different growth stages and tissue types. In this study, the IWGSC database was used to identify two novel genes, and , and elucidate the complete homeolog sequences of the three known genes, bringing the total number of bread wheat s from 9 to 15.

Identifying the genetic control of salinity tolerance in the bread wheat landrace Mocho de Espiga Branca.

Salinity tolerance in bread wheat is frequently reported to be associated with low leaf sodium (Na+) concentrations. However, the Portuguese landrace, Mocho de Espiga Branca, accumulates significantly higher leaf Na+ but has comparable salinity tolerance to commercial bread wheat cultivars. To determine the genetic loci associated with the salinity tolerance of this landrace, an F2 mapping population was developed by crossing Mocho de Espiga Branca with the Australian cultivar Gladius.

Identification of salt tolerance QTL in a wheat RIL mapping population using destructive and non-destructive phenotyping.

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important food crops, however it is only moderately tolerant to salinity stress. To improve wheat yield under saline conditions, breeding for improved salinity tolerance of wheat is needed.

A single nucleotide substitution in TaHKT1;5-D controls shoot Na accumulation in bread wheat.

Improving salinity tolerance in the most widely cultivated cereal, bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), is essential to increase grain yields on saline agricultural lands. A Portuguese landrace, Mocho de Espiga Branca accumulates up to sixfold greater leaf and sheath sodium (Na ) than two Australian cultivars, Gladius and Scout, under salt stress in hydroponics.

Improved Yield and Photosynthate Partitioning in AVP1 Expressing Wheat () Plants.

A fundamental factor to improve crop productivity involves the optimization of reduced carbon translocation from source to sink tissues. Here, we present data consistent with the positive effect that the expression of the H-PPase () has on reduced carbon partitioning and yield increases in wheat. Immunohistochemical localization of H-PPases (TaVP) in spring wheat Bobwhite L.

Dual-locus DNA metabarcoding reveals southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons Owen) have a summer diet dominated by toxic invasive plants.

Habitat degradation and summer droughts severely restrict feeding options for the endangered southern hairy-nosed wombat (SHNW; Lasiorhinus latifrons). We reconstructed SHNW summer diets by DNA metabarcoding from feces. We initially validated rbcL and ndhJ diet reconstructions using autopsied and captive animals.

Genome-wide association mapping of grain yield in a diverse collection of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) evaluated in southern Australia.

Wheat landraces, wild relatives and other 'exotic' accessions are important sources of new favorable alleles. The use of those exotic alleles is facilitated by having access to information on the association of specific genomic regions with desirable traits. Here, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a wheat panel that includes landraces, synthetic hexaploids and other exotic wheat accessions to identify loci that contribute to increases in grain yield in southern Australia.

High-throughput 3D modelling to dissect the genetic control of leaf elongation in barley (Hordeum vulgare).

To optimize shoot growth and structure of cereals, we need to understand the genetic components controlling initiation and elongation. While measuring total shoot growth at high throughput using 2D imaging has progressed, recovering the 3D shoot structure of small grain cereals at a large scale is still challenging. Here, we present a method for measuring defined individual leaves of cereals, such as wheat and barley, using few images.

Mapping of novel salt tolerance QTL in an Excalibur × Kukri doubled haploid wheat population.

Novel QTL for salinity tolerance traits have been detected using non-destructive and destructive phenotyping in bread wheat and were shown to be linked to improvements in yield in saline fields. Soil salinity is a major limitation to cereal production. Breeding new salt-tolerant cultivars has the potential to improve cereal crop yields.

Identification and characterisation of a previously unknown drought tolerance-associated microRNA in barley.

Drought is the most serious abiotic stress, and causes crop losses on a worldwide scale. The present study identified a previously unknown microRNA (designated as hvu-miRX) of 21 nucleotides (nt) in length in barley. Its precursor (designated pre-miRX) and primary transcript (designated pri-miRX) were also identified, with lengths of 73 and 559 nt, respectively.

Genetics of Na exclusion and salinity tolerance in Afghani durum wheat landraces.

Background: Selecting for low concentration of Na in the shoot provides one approach for tackling salinity stress that adversely affects crop production. Novel alleles for Na exclusion can be identified and then introduced into elite crop cultivars.

Results: We have identified loci associated with lower Na concentration in leaves of durum wheat landraces originating from Afghanistan.

Variation in shoot tolerance mechanisms not related to ion toxicity in barley.

Soil salinity can severely reduce crop growth and yield. Many studies have investigated salinity tolerance mechanisms in cereals using phenotypes that are relatively easy to measure. The majority of these studies measured the accumulation of shoot Na+ and the effect this has on plant growth.

Expressing Arabidopsis thaliana V-ATPase subunit C in barley (Hordeum vulgare) improves plant performance under saline condition by enabling better osmotic adjustment.

Salinity is a global problem affecting agriculture that results in an estimated US$27 billion loss in revenue per year. Overexpression of vacuolar ATPase subunits has been shown to be beneficial in improving plant performance under saline conditions. Most studies, however, have not shown whether overexpression of genes encoding ATPase subunits results in improvements in grain yield, and have not investigated the physiological mechanisms behind the improvement in plant growth.

Molecular identification of the wheat male fertility gene Ms1 and its prospects for hybrid breeding.

The current rate of yield gain in crops is insufficient to meet the predicted demands. Capturing the yield boost from heterosis is one of the few technologies that offers rapid gain. Hybrids are widely used for cereals, maize and rice, but it has been a challenge to develop a viable hybrid system for bread wheat due to the wheat genome complexity, which is both large and hexaploid.

Gene Ontology-Based Analysis of Zebrafish Omics Data Using the Web Tool Comparative Gene Ontology.

Gene Ontology (GO) analysis is a powerful tool in systems biology, which uses a defined nomenclature to annotate genes/proteins within three categories: "Molecular Function," "Biological Process," and "Cellular Component." GO analysis can assist in revealing functional mechanisms underlying observed patterns in transcriptomic, genomic, and proteomic data. The already extensive and increasing use of zebrafish for modeling genetic and other diseases highlights the need to develop a GO analytical tool for this organism.

Endopolyploidy levels in barley vary in different root types and significantly decrease under phosphorus deficiency.

Increased endopolyploidy is important for plant growth and development as well as for adaptation to environmental stresses. However, little is known about the role of reduced endopolyploidy, especially in root systems. In this report, endopolyploidy variations were examined in different types of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.

Quantifying Wheat Sensitivities to Environmental Constraints to Dissect Genotype × Environment Interactions in the Field.

Yield is subject to strong genotype-by-environment (G × E) interactions in the field, especially under abiotic constraints such as soil water deficit (drought [D]) and high temperature (heat [H]). Since environmental conditions show strong fluctuations during the whole crop cycle, geneticists usually do not consider environmental measures as quantitative variables but rather as factors in multienvironment analyses. Based on 11 experiments in a field platform with contrasting temperature and soil water deficit, we determined the periods of sensitivity to drought and heat constraints in wheat () and determined the average sensitivities for major yield components.

The impact of drought on wheat leaf cuticle properties.

Background: The plant cuticle is the outermost layer covering aerial tissues and is composed of cutin and waxes. The cuticle plays an important role in protection from environmental stresses and glaucousness, the bluish-white colouration of plant surfaces associated with cuticular waxes, has been suggested as a contributing factor in crop drought tolerance. However, the cuticle structure and composition is complex and it is not clear which aspects are important in determining a role in drought tolerance.

Exploring genetic variation for salinity tolerance in chickpea using image-based phenotyping.

Soil salinity results in reduced productivity in chickpea. However, breeding for salinity tolerance is challenging because of limited knowledge of the key traits affecting performance under elevated salt and the difficulty of high-throughput phenotyping for large, diverse germplasm collections. This study utilised image-based phenotyping to study genetic variation in chickpea for salinity tolerance in 245 diverse accessions.

Transition from a maternal to external nitrogen source in maize seedlings.

Maximizing NO uptake during seedling development is important as it has a major influence on plant growth and yield. However, little is known about the processes leading to, and involved in, the initiation of root NO uptake capacity in developing seedlings. This study examines the physiological processes involved in root NO uptake and metabolism, to gain an understanding of how the NO uptake system responds to meet demand as maize seedlings transition from seed N use to external N capture.

Phenotyping of plants in competitive but controlled environments: a study of drought response in transgenic wheat.

In recent years, the interest in new technologies for wheat improvement has increased greatly. To screen genetically modified germplasm in conditions more realistic for a field situation we developed a phenotyping platform where transgenic wheat and barley are grown in competition. In this study, we used the platform to (1) test selected promoter and gene combinations for their capacity to increase drought tolerance, (2) test the function and power of our platform to screen the performance of transgenic plants growing in competition, and (3) develop and test an imaging and analysis process as a means of obtaining additional, non-destructive data on plant growth throughout the whole growth cycle instead of relying solely on destructive sampling at the end of the season.

Evolutional dynamics of 45S and 5S ribosomal DNA in ancient allohexaploid Atropa belladonna.

Background: Polyploid hybrids represent a rich natural resource to study molecular evolution of plant genes and genomes. Here, we applied a combination of karyological and molecular methods to investigate chromosomal structure, molecular organization and evolution of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) in nightshade, Atropa belladonna (fam. Solanaceae), one of the oldest known allohexaploids among flowering plants.

Comparative and Evolutionary Analysis of Grass Pollen Allergens Using Brachypodium distachyon as a Model System.

Comparative genomics have facilitated the mining of biological information from a genome sequence, through the detection of similarities and differences with genomes of closely or more distantly related species. By using such comparative approaches, knowledge can be transferred from the model to non-model organisms and insights can be gained in the structural and evolutionary patterns of specific genes. In the absence of sequenced genomes for allergenic grasses, this study was aimed at understanding the structure, organisation and expression profiles of grass pollen allergens using the genomic data from Brachypodium distachyon as it is phylogenetically related to the allergenic grasses.

Diverging temperature responses of CO2 assimilation and plant development explain the overall effect of temperature on biomass accumulation in wheat leaves and grains.

There is a growing consensus in the literature that rising temperatures influence the rate of biomass accumulation by shortening the development of plant organs and the whole plant and by altering rates of respiration and photosynthesis. A model describing the net effects of these processes on biomass would be useful, but would need to reconcile reported differences in the effects of night and day temperature on plant productivity. In this study, the working hypothesis was that the temperature responses of CO assimilation and plant development rates were divergent, and that their net effects could explain observed differences in biomass accumulation.