Search

Barley worldwide is affected seriously by Fusarium seedling blight (FSB) and Fusarium head blight (FHB) diseases caused by the Fusarium species. The objective of this study was to facilitate the resistance of hulled and hull-less barley at different growth stages to F. culmorum according to direct parameters: disease rating (DR), fresh weight of leaves and roots, kernel weight per spike, kernel number per spike, plump kernels, and indirect parameters - chlorophyll a fluorescence (CF). Plate assay, greenhouse and field tests were performed on 30 spring barley doubled haploid (DH) lines and their parents infected with Fusarium culmorum. Direct parameters proved that hulled genotypes show less symptoms. Most studied chlorophyll a fluorescence (CF) parameters (apart from DIo/CS - amount of energy dissipated from PSII for laboratory test, TRo/CS - amount of excitation energy trapped in PSII reaction centers, ETo/CS - amount of energy used for electron transport and RC/CS - number of active reaction centres in the state of fully reduced PSII reaction center in field experiment) were significantly affected by F. culmorum infection. In all experiments, hulled genotypes had higher values of CF parameters compared to hull-less ones. Significant correlations were detected between direct and indirect parameters and also between various environments. It was revealed that ABS/CS, TRo/CS, and RC/CS have significant positive correlation in greenhouse test and field experiment. Significant correlations suggest the possibility of applying the CF parameters in selection of barley DH lines resistant to F. culmorum infection.

Image-based phenotyping is a non-invasive method that permits the dynamic evaluation of plant features during growth, which is especially important for understanding plant adaptation and temporal dynamics of responses to environmental cues such as water deficit or drought. The aim of the present study was to use high-throughput imaging in order to assess the variation and dynamics of growth and development during drought in a spring barley population and to investigate associations between traits measured in time and yield-related traits measured after harvesting. Plant material covered recombinant inbred line population derived from a cross between European and Syrian cultivars. After placing the plants on the platform (28th day after sowing), drought stress was applied for 2 weeks. Top and side cameras were used to capture images daily that covered the visible range of the light spectrum, fluorescence signals, and the near infrared spectrum. The image processing provided 376 traits that were subjected to analysis. After 32 days of image phenotyping, the plants were cultivated in the greenhouse under optimal watering conditions until ripening, when several architecture and yield-related traits were measured. The applied data analysis approach, based on the clustering of image-derived traits into groups according to time profiles of statistical and genetic parameters, permitted to select traits representative for inference from the experiment. In particular, drought effects for 27 traits related to convex hull geometry, texture, proportion of brown pixels and chlorophyll intensity were found to be highly correlated with drought effects for spike traits and thousand grain weight.

Fuzarioza kłosów jest jednym z głównych zagrożeń biotycznych dla zbóż, w tym także dla jęczmienia. Infekcja kłosów następuje podczas kwitnienia i tuż po kwitnieniu powodując obniżenie plonów nie tylko pod względem ilościowym, ale także jakościowym. Zakumulowane w porażonym ziarnie mykotoksyny są szkodliwe zarówno dla człowieka, jak i dla zwierząt. Celem pracy była ocena zróżnicowanej reakcji linii SSD jęczmienia jarego na infekcję grzybami z rodzaju Fusarium mierzoną indeksem porażenia kłosa, odsetkiem ziarniaków z objawami infekcji oraz zawartością DON w ziarnie. Ocenę podatności badanych linii na fuzariozę kłosów przeprowadzono w dwóch wariantach: w warunkach naturalnego porażenia grzybami z rodzaju Fusarium oraz sztucznej inokulacji. Po wystąpieniu objawów choroby przeprowadzono ocenę nasilenia fuzariozy kłosów na podstawie proporcji porażonych kłosków w kłosie oraz proporcji kłosów porażonych na poletku, a po wymłóceniu kłosów określono procent uszkodzonych ziarniaków. Oznaczenie zawartości deoksyniwalenolu (DON) w ziarnie wykonano za pomocą ilościowego testu immuno­enzymatycznego. Stwierdzono, że nie zawsze wzrost stopnia porażenia ziarna w kłosie skutkował zwiększoną zawartością DON w ziarnie. Ponadto zidentyfikowano linie, dla których nie stwierdzono porażenia kłosów na poletku natomiast ich ziarno wykazało obecność DON.

The major determinants of wheat quality are Glu-1 and Glu-3 glutenin loci and environmental factors. Additive effects of alleles at the Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci, as well as their interactions, were evaluated for dough rheology and baking properties in four groups of wheat doubled haploid lines differing in high- and low-molecular-weight glutenin composition.; Results: Flour quality, Reomixer (Reologica Instruments, Lund, Sweden), dough extension, Farinograph (Brabender GmbH, Duisburg, Germany) and baking parameters were determined. Groups of lines with the alleles Glu-A3b and Glu-B3d were characterized by higher values of dough and baking parameters compared to those with the Glu-A3e and Glu-B3a alleles. Effects of interactions between allelic variants at the Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci on Reomixer parameters, dough extension tests and baking parameters were significant, although additive effects of individual alleles were not always significant.; Conclusion: The allelic variants at Glu-B3 had a much greater effect on dough rheological parameters than the variants at Glu-A3 or Glu-D3 loci. The effect of allelic variations at the Glu-D3 loci on rheological parameters and bread-making quality was non-significant, whereas their interactions with a majority of alleles at the other Glu-1 × Glu-3 loci were significant. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.; © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease in small grain cereals worldwide. The disease results in the reduction of grain yield and affects its quality. In addition, mycotoxins accumulated in grain are harmful to both humans and animals. It has been reported that response to pathogen infection may be associated with the morphological and developmental characteristics of the host plant, e.g. the earliness and plant height. Despite the many studies the effective markers for the selection of barley genotypes with increased resistance to FHB have not thus far been developed. Therefore, exploring the genetic relationship between agronomic traits (e.g. heading date or stem height) and disease resistance is of importance to the understanding of plant resistance via “diesease escape” or dwarf stature. The studied plant material consisted of 100 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) of spring barley. Plants were examined in field conditions (three locations) in a completely randomized design with three replications. Barley genotypes were artificially infected with spores of Fusarium before heading. Apart from the main phenotypic traits (plant height, spike characteristic, grain yield) the infected kernels were visually scored and the content of deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin was investigated. A set of 70 Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) were detected through phenotyping of the mapping population in field condition and genotyping using a barley Ilumina iSelect platform with 9K markers. Six loci were detected for FHB index on chromosomes 2H, 3H, 5H and 7H. The region on the short arm of the 2H chromosome was detected in the current study, in which many QTLs associated with FHB- and yield-related characters were found. This study confirms that agromorphological traits are tightly related to the FHB and should be taken into consideration when breeding barley plants for FHB resistance.

Grain legumes, especially pea and lupine, are important agricultural crops in Central and Northern Europe. Because of the high level of protein in their seeds, these species constitute an alternative to soya meal imported from South America. The breeding of new cultivars in a short time is a major problem in pea breeding, particularly since the production of homozygous lines in the DH (doubled haploid) system, as used for cereals, for example, is very difficult. An alternative approach may be the single seed descent (SSD) method. The materials for this study were lines of pea obtained by that method combined with in vitro culture of embryos. This approach enabled 9 generations to be obtained in 2.5 years. First, SSD lines (F10) were investigated in a field experiment conducted in a complete randomized design with two replications, in which the dates of flowering and ripening and seed yield per plant were observed. Seventy seven lines out of 120 (64%) were selected for a subsequent experiment in which F4 generations of each cross combination were also included. In the second field experiment SSD lines were evaluated for earliness, plant height, seed yield per plot, and 1000-seed weight. The data were processed by multivariate analysis of variance and related methods, leading to the selection of 16 lines for further breeding experiments. Multivariate analysis can be helpful for breeders in seeking plants with a new favorable complex of yield-forming traits. This article has been corrected. Link to the correction 10.2298/GENSR1703127E

High-yielding capacity of the modern barley varieties is mostly dependent on the sources of semi-dwarfness associated with the sdw1/denso locus. The objective of the study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with the plant height and yield potential of barley recombinant inbred lines (RILs) grown under various soil moisture regimes. The plant material was developed from a hybrid between the Maresi (European cv.) and CamB (Syrian cv.). A total of 103 QTLs affecting analysed traits were detected and 36 of them showed stable effects over environments. In total, ten QTLs were found to be significant only under water shortage conditions. Nine QTLs affecting the length of main stem were detected on 2H-6H chromosomes. In four of the detected QTLs, alleles contributed by Maresi had negative effects on that trait, the most significant being the QLSt-3H.1-1 in the 3H.1 linkage group. The close linkage between QTLs identified around the sdw1/denso locus, with positive alleles contributed by Maresi, indicates that the semi-dwarf cv. Maresi could serve as a donor of favourable traits resulting in grain yield improvement, also under water scarcity. Molecular analyses revealed that the Syrian cv. also contributed alleles which increased the yield potential. Available barley resources of genomic annotations were employed to the biological interpretation of detected QTLs. This approach revealed 26 over-represented Gene Ontology terms. In the projected support intervals of QGWSl-5H.3-2 and QLSt-5H.3 on the chromosome 5H, four genes annotated to ‘response to stress’ were found. It suggests that these QTL-regions may be involved in a response of plant to a wide range of environmental disturbances. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13353-016-0358-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Attainment of homozygous lines in grain legumes is multi-year procedure. It may be shortened by applying the single seed descent technique under greenhouse conditions. Additionally, this technique can be combined with in vitro culture of embryos dissected from immature seeds. The aim of this study was to establish in vitro conditions for the culture of field bean embryos as the first step in the development of homozygous lines. Four temperature regimes were applied and their influence on embryo development was evaluated. Under ex vitro conditions plant survival was observed. Our results indicate a good potential of embryo culture to shorten the time required for obtaining homozygous lines of field bean.

W badaniach nad wykorzystaniem mutagenezy w systemie DH, ziarniaki browarnej odmiany jęczmienia jarego Rudzik naświetlano biostymulującą dawką światła lasera a następnie poddawano działaniu chemomutagenu — N-metylo-N-nitrosmocznika (MNU). Otrzymane rośliny krzyżowano z Hordeum bulbosum a efektywność uzyskiwania haploidów mierzono stosunkiem liczby uzyskanych ziarniaków do liczby zapylonych kwiatów oraz liczby haploidów do liczby zapylonych kwiatów i wykładanych na pożywkę niedojrzałych zarodków. Uzyskane wyniki w porównaniu z kombinacją kontrolną (bez traktowania mutagenem) wykazały, że mutagen wpływał na obniżenie wartości wyżej wymienionych parametrów. Linie dihaploidalne (DH) uzyskane w wyniku podwajania liczby chromosomów rozmnażano, a następnie w warunkach pola doświadczalnego analizowano zmienność ich cech ilościowych, głównie plonotwórczych w porównaniu z kombinacją kontrolną. Wykorzystując wielocechową analizę statystyczna wykazano poszerzenie zakresu zmienności ocenianych cech linii DH w porównaniu z ich odmianą wyjściową Rudzik.

Xeromorphism is a set of structural traits facilitating plant functioning under the conditions of water deficit. While leaf xeromorphic traits have been widely described in a variety of species, much less is known about the ability of plants to acclimate to drought by plastically modifying their leaf structure. We hypothesized that such modification would recapitulate the xeromophic syndrome. We conducted a greenhouse experiment in which a genetically and phenotypically diverse population of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars and hybrid lines were subjected to controlled drought followed by re-watering. Leaves produced after the onset of drought were sampled for determination of lamina length and 18 anatomical traits of adaxial epidermis and central transverse lamina sections. Across all studied genotypes, mean leaf length, width, and dimensions of all internal structures were reduced by drought, whereas the density of veins, stomata, and trichomes increased. However, since anatomical traits were commonly correlated with leaf length and following drought the leaves became shorter, we statistically controlled for the leaf size-related variation. Although leaf shortening explained much anatomical response to drought, several traits exhibited additional, leaf-length independent modification. For example, vein and stomatal density increased and xylem area and vessel diameter decreased to a greater extent than expected from leaf size reduction. These results confirm the occurrence of modest facultative xeromorphism in barley but also emphasize the need to use allometric analysis to uncouple the true plasticity of traits from changes attributable to altered plant and organ size.

Recent advances in cereal genomics have made it possible to analyse the architecture of cereal genomes and their expressed components, leading to an increase in our knowledge of those genes that are associated with the key agronomical traits. Presently, use of a dwarfing gene in breeding process is crucial for the development of modern cultivars. In barley, more than 30 types of dwarfs or semi-dwarfs have been hitherto described. However, only a few of them have been successfully used in barley breeding programs. Both breeding and molecular mapping experiments were undertaken to enhance and evaluate the performance of semi-dwarf barley lines. The semi-dwarfing cultivars had improved lodging resistance and a higher harvest index. There have been a lot of investigations that have contributed new information to our basic understanding of the mechanisms underlying growth regulations in barley. This paper reviews semi-dwarfing genes in barley in general and special attention is paid to mapping of the sdw1/denso locus, changes in protein abundance and associations of the semi-dwarfness with gibberellins.

This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund through the Innovative Economy Programme 2007?2013, project WND-POIG.01.03.01?00?101/08 POLAPGEN-BD "Biotechnological tools for breeding cereals with increased resistance to drought"., Drought has become more frequent in Central Europe causing large losses in cereal yields, especially of spring crops. The development of new varieties with increased tolerance to drought is a key tool for improvement of agricultural productivity. Material for the study consisted of 100 barley recombinant inbred lines (RILs) (LCam) derived from the cross between Syrian and European parents. The RILs and parental genotypes were examined in greenhouse experiments under well-watered and water-deficit conditions. During vegetation the date of heading, yield and yield-related traits were measured. RIL population was genotyped with microsatellite and single nucleotide polymorphism markers. This population, together with two other populations, was the basis for the consensus map construction, which was used for identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting the traits. The studied lines showed a large variability in heading date. It was noted that drought-treatment negatively affected the yield and its components, especially when applied at the flag leaf stage. In total, 60 QTLs were detected on all the barley chromosomes. The largest number of QTLs was found on chromosome 2H. The main QTL associated with heading, located on chromosome 2H (Q.HD.LC-2H), was identified at SNP marker 5880–2547, in the vicinity of Ppd-H1 gene. SNP 5880–2547 was also the closest marker to QTLs associated with plant architecture, spike morphology and grain yield. The present study showed that the earliness allele from the Syrian parent, as introduced into the genome of an European variety could result in an improvement of barley yield performance under drought conditions., European Regional Development Fund

The major determinants of wheat quality are Glu-1 and Glu-3 glutenin loci and environmental factors. Additive effects of alleles at the Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci, as well as their interactions, were evaluated for dough rheology and baking properties in four groups of wheat doubled haploid lines differing in high- and low-molecular-weight glutenin composition.Flour quality, Reomixer (Reologica Instruments, Lund, Sweden), dough extension, Farinograph (Brabender GmbH, Duisburg, Germany) and baking parameters were determined. Groups of lines with the alleles Glu-A3b and Glu-B3d were characterized by higher values of dough and baking parameters compared to those with the Glu-A3e and Glu-B3a alleles. Effects of interactions between allelic variants at the Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci on Reomixer parameters, dough extension tests and baking parameters were significant, although additive effects of individual alleles were not always significant.The allelic variants at Glu-B3 had a much greater effect on dough rheological parameters than the variants at Glu-A3 or Glu-D3 loci. The effect of allelic variations at the Glu-D3 loci on rheological parameters and bread-making quality was non-significant, whereas their interactions with a majority of alleles at the other Glu-1 × Glu-3 loci were significant. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Background: Marker-assisted introgression currently represents the most widely spread application of DNA markers as an aid to selection in plant breeding. New barley germplasm should be supplemented by genes that facilitate growth and development under stressful conditions. The homology search against known genes is a fundamental approach to identify genes among the generated sequences. This procedure can be utilized for SNP search in genes of predicted function of interest and associated gene ontology (GO). Results: Backcross breeding enhanced by marker selection may become a powerful method to transfer one or a few genes controlling a specific trait. In the study, the integrated approach of combining phenotypic selection with marker assisted backcross breeding for introgression of LTP2 gene, in the background of semi-dwarf spring barley cultivar, was employed. This study discusses the efficiency of molecular marker application in backcrossing targeted on the selected gene. Conclusions: BC 6 lines developed in this study can serve as a unique and adequate plant material to dissect the role of LTP2 gene. Due to its role in lipid transfer, the LTP2 may be crucial in lipidome modification in response to abiotic stress. Normal 0 21 false false false PL X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabla normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:PL; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}

Badania dotyczące molekularnych podstaw zmienności cech ilościowych są obecnie szeroko podejmowane, zarówno dla roślin, jak i zwierząt czy człowieka. Celem tych badań jest m.in. rozwój systemów markerów funkcjonalnych DNA (FM). Do opracowania markerów FM niezbędne jest więc funkcjonalne scharakteryzowanie wybranych genów i znajomość sekwencji ich alleli, identyfikacja polimorficznych motywów funkcjonalnych w obrębie tych genów i potwierdzenie związku między polimorfizmem sekwencji DNA a zmiennością cechy ilościowej. W pracy przedstawiono przykłady genów kandydujących do opracowania markerów funkcjonalnych: geny półkarłowatości Dwarf8 u kukurydzy i denso u jęczmienia oraz geny Glu1 kodujące wysokocząsteczkowe podjednostki białek gluteninowych u pszenicy. Przedyskutowano przewagę markerów funkcjonalnych nad markerami sprzężonymi z loci dla cech ilościowych.

Technika pojedynczego ziarna (ang. single seed descsent, SSD) jest coraz częściej stosowana do uzyskiwania form homozygotycznych w hodowli zbóż. Stanowi ona modyfikację klasycznego ramszu i polega na losowym wyborze w każdym pokoleniu, począwszy od F2, po 1 ziarnie z rośliny. W pokoleniu F5 lub dalszym zbiera się wszystkie nasiona z rośliny; potomstwo pojedynczej rośliny stanowi linię SSD. Praca przedstawia modyfikację techniki SSD polegającą na połączeniu jej z kulturą in vitro niedojrzałych zarodków. Pozwala to wyeliminować okres spoczynku nasion i tym samym przyspieszyć cykl hodowlany. Wykazano, że stosując zaproponowaną technikę można w ciągu pierwszych trzech lat przyspieszyć cykl hodowli jęczmienia ozimego o 2–3 lata.

Celem badań była analiza zmienności wybranych cech technologicznych ziarna w populacjach mieszańców pszenicy ozimej o tym samym składzie alleli Glu–1 przy jednoczesnym uwzględnieniu podobieństwa genetycznego odmian rodzicielskich. Materiał do badań stanowiło 18 odmian pszenicy ozimej oraz 76 mieszańców pokolenia F2. Dokonano charakterystyki form wyjściowych pod względem składu wysokocząsteczkowych podjednostek białek glutenionowych (HMW). Zbadano także zróżnicowanie genetyczne pomiędzy parami form rodzicielskich przy użyciu markerów molekularnych typu SSR. Dla mieszańców i ich form wyjściowych określono zawartość białka w s.m. ziarna oraz wykonano analizy farinograficzne przy użyciu aparatu Brabendera. Mieszańce (rodziny) podzielono na grupy o tym samym składzie podjednostek gluteninowych, a następnie grupy te porównano pod względem parametrów technologicznych. Określono zmienność fenotypową między grupami rodzin o różnym składzie alleli Glu-1 oraz przeprowadzono wielowymiarową ocenę wyróżnionych grup. Tworzące poszczególne grupy rodziny, mimo takiego samego składu alleli Glu-1 różniły się pod względem analizowanych cech technologicznych ziarna. Nie stwierdzono związku pomiędzy odległością genetyczną par form rodzicielskich tworzących rodziny wchodzące w skład poszczególnych grup a podobieństwem fenotypowym tych grup.

Jakość ziarna pszenicy zależy od wielu cech, spośród których twardość ziarna uważana jest za jedną z ważniejszych. Rezultaty wielu badań wskazują, że twardość ziarna ma związek z wymiałowością oraz z podstawowymi wskaźnikami wartości wypiekowej, jak wodochłonność mąki, test sedymentacyjny i objętość chleba. Praca przedstawia wyniki badań cech technologicznych oraz twardości ziarna 104 rodów pszenicy ozimej polskiej hodowli. Rody te oraz odmiany wzorcowe Muszelka i Bogatka badane były w doświadczeniach polowych w dwóch miejscowościach. Określano — używając aparatu NIR System Infratec 1241 Analyzer (Foss, Hillerod, Denmark) — na 600-gramowych próbach pełnego ziarna relatywną twardość ziarna, zawartość białka, gluten mokry, liczbę sedymentacji Zeleny’ego oraz parametr alweograficzny. Uzyskane dane analizowano statystycznie stosując wielozmienną analizę wariancji i pokrewne metody wielu zmiennych. Utworzono teoretyczną linię charakteryzującą się najkorzystniejszymi wartościami analizowanych cech, z którą porównywano badane rody, zarówno pod względem poszczególnych cech, jak i wszystkich cech traktowanych łącznie. Zastosowane metody pozwoliły wyodrębnić grupę rodów nie różniących się istotnie od najlepszej linii pod względem wszystkich analizowanych parametrów jakościowych. Zaproponowane podejście może być wykorzystane w programach hodowli pszenic jakościowych.

Infection of plants by pathogens is a biotic environmental stress. Barley plants are infected, among others, by Fusarium culmorum —a pathogen affecting seedling, head, root and stem. The infection can result in reduced yield and grain quality. The aim of the study was to compare the reaction of inoculated and non-inoculated barley doubled haploids (DHs) with F. culmorum in various environments. Thirty-four genotypes were inoculated with an isolate of F. culmorum . The experiment was carried out over 6 years. Kernel weight per spike, 1000-kernel weight and percentage of plump kernels were observed in control and inoculated plants. Genotype-by-environment (GE) interaction and its structure with reference to the environments and genotypes were analysed. Additional information about the sensitivity of healthy and infected genotypes to environments was determined by the regression analysis. Statistical computation was made using the SERGEN software. Lines were considered as unstable when their GE interaction was significant at P = 0.05. Unstable genotypes were classified as intensive or extensive according to the results of the regression analysis. It was found that infection with Fusarium decreased the stability of barley lines in different environments. Interaction of unstable infected genotypes with environments, most often, could not be explained by the regression—their response to various environmental conditions appeared to be unpredictable. Selection of lines less susceptible to biotic and abiotic stresses was possible due to comparison of classification of healthy and infected lines, which was made based on their main effects and GE interaction.

Fusarium culmorum (W.G.Sm.) Sacc. is a pathogen affecting seedling, head, root and stem of barley, and the infection can result in significantly reduction of yield and grain quality. The aim of the studies was to compare the susceptibility of hulless and hulled barley doubled haploids (DH) to infection with F. culmorum. Thirty DH lines (15 hulled and 15 hulless) and their parents were inoculated with a conidial suspension of the isolate of F. culmorum KF350 (IPO348-01) (nivalenol chemotype). Experiment was carried out over six years. Spike infection score, kernel weight per spike, 1000-kernel weight and percentage of plump kernels (>2.5 mm) were examined in control and inoculated plants. In addition, in three environments, nivalenol (NIV) accumulation in infected kernels was analysed. Significant influence of genotypes and environments on spike infection, yield-related traits and NIV accumulation was found in inoculated plants. Hulless genotypes appeared to be more susceptible to infection than the hulled lines. The difference in NIV accumulation was not important — mean NIV content over three environments was similar for both groups of DH lines. Results suggest that glumes adhered to seed may protect it, to a certain degree, against penetration of the pathogen inside the seed.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of the types and amounts of individual HMW glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) is important for predicting technological quality. In this study, 228 wheat doubled haploids were compared in respect of HMW-GS composition, seed protein content, flour yield, rheological properties of dough, and loaf properties. The quantitative and qualitative composition of particular HMW-GS was determined by CE. The relative amounts of x-type and y-type subunits encoded by individual Glu-1 loci were considered. RESULTS: The results show that the amounts of some pairs x + y of HMW-GS are correlated with technological properties. The importance of quantities of particular pairs of HMW-GS for technological values depends on allele compositions in all the Glu-1 loci. Positive correlation was found between the amount of subunits Ax1, Ax2*, Bx7 + By8 or Dx5 + Dy10 and loaf volume (r = 0.215–0.618, P < 0.05). The influence of an increasing amount of Ax1 was positively correlated with dough softening (r = 0.451, P < 0.01) and negatively with dough development time (r = − 0.209, P < 0.05) and stability (r = − 0.351, P < 0.01), whereas for subunit Ax2* these associations were opposite. CONCLUSION: The results confirm the occurrence of epistatic interactions between alleles of Glu-1 loci. The effects of amounts of HMW subunits on bread-making quality should be considered only within glutenin subunit compositions. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the relationship between the genetic distances (GD) and phenotypic distances (PD) of parents and the specific combining ability (SCA) and heterosis effects. The experiment comprised 18 parental genotypes of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and 76 F2 hybrids, obtained after crossing in a line × tester scheme. Parents and hybrids were examined in a field experiment conducted in a block design with three replications. SCA as well as mid-parent heterosis effects were estimated for selected morphological and technological traits. PDs and GDs were investigated between pairs of parental genotypes. GD between parental genotypes was evaluated by using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers. Heterosis was observed in all hybrids, and protein content exhibited the highest heterosis among the seven examined traits. The relationship between PD and GD as well as the SCA and mid-parent heterosis effects were evaluated using correlation coefficient. The correlation between PD, SCA and heterosis were low and not significant for the examined traits, whereas the correlation between SCA, heterosis and GDs were significant for protein content and rheological properties. The results indicate that GDs between parents can be used to predict performance of hybrids for selected technological traits.

In response to climatic changes, breeding programmes should be aimed at creating new cultivars with improved resistance to water scarcity. The objective of this study was to examine the yield potential of barley recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from three cross-combinations of European and Syrian spring cultivars, and to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for yield-related traits in these populations. RILs were evaluated in field experiments over a period of three years (2011 to 2013) and genotyped with simple sequence repeat (SSR) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers; a genetic map for each population was constructed and then one consensus map was developed. Biological interpretation of identified QTLs was achieved by reference to Ensembl Plants barley gene space. Twelve regions in the genomes of studied RILs were distinguished after QTL analysis. Most of the QTLs were identified on the 2H chromosome, which was the hotspot region in all three populations. Syrian parental cultivars contributed alleles decreasing traits' values at majority of QTLs for grain weight, grain number, spike length and time to heading, and numerous alleles increasing stem length. The phenomic and molecular approaches distinguished the lines with an acceptable grain yield potential combining desirable features or alleles from their parents, that is, early heading from the Syrian breeding line (Cam/B1/CI08887//CI05761) and short plant stature from the European semidwarf cultivar (Maresi).

Most of agronomically important characters are biometric traits. An improvement of these traits in cultivated plants by deriving segregants superior to parents, which could be developed as cultivars, is a main goal in breeding of self-pollinated crops. Two problems need to be solved: when will the progeny be better than its parents and how can a genetic potential of a given pair of parental genotypes be predicted? In this paper, transgressive segregation in homozygous barley populations is shortly reviewed. Various approaches to choosing parental forms are shown, and a theoretical method for predicting the frequency of transgressive segregants in a homozygous population is presented. Additionally, relationships between parental diversity estimated with molecular markers and the progeny performance are discussed. Although the prediction of transgressive segregation is still a problem, it seems promising to apply an approach measuring the performance of the parental genotypes and estimating their genetic distance by molecular markers.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between genetic and phenotypic distances of parents and the genetic potential of crosses as measured by the frequency of transgressive segregants in homozygous populations. Material for the study involved 17 barley cross-combinations. In each cross, the parental genotypes, F 2 hybrids and doubled haploid (DH) lines were analysed. Yield and yield-related traits were observed in the experiments. Phenotypic (univariate and multivariate) and genetic distances (GD) were investigated between pairs of parental genotypes. Genetic distance was evaluated by using random amplified polymorphic DNA markers. In F 2 generations, the genetic coefficient of variability (GCV) was evaluated. Within all the cross-combinations studied, each DH line was compared with both parents to distinguish the positive and negative transgressive lines. In addition, the coefficient of gene distribution (r) along parental genomes was evaluated. Relationships between frequency of transgression and both phenotypic and GDs, GCV and r, were assessed by regression analysis. It was found that for all the traits studied the frequency of transgressive lines depended mainly on gene distribution (r). Genetic distance between parents appeared to be significant for the occurrence of transgression effects in plant height, ear length, grain weight per ear and grain yield per plot. Regression analysis has shown that phenotypic differences between parental genotypes were also important for the frequency of transgressive lines. A weak relationship was found between the variation of F 2 hybrids and the occurrence of transgressive lines. The results indicate that occurrence of transgressive segregants in a homozygous population should be considered as a phenomenon dependent simultaneously on several factors characterizing parental genotypes. Among them, the most important are: gene distribution, phenotypic diversity and GD.

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by the fungal plant pathogen Fusarium, is a fungal disease that occurs in wheat and can cause significant yield and grain quality losses. The present paper examines variation in the resistance of spring wheat lines derived from a cross between Zebra and Saar cultivars. Experiments covering 198 lines and parental cultivars were conducted in three years, in which inoculation with Fusarium culmorum was applied. Resistance levels were estimated by scoring disease symptoms on kernels. In spite of a similar reaction of parents to F. culmorum infection, significant differentiation between lines was found in all the analyzed traits. Seven molecular markers selected as linked to FHB resistance QTLs gave polymorphic products for Zebra and Saar: Xgwm566, Xgwm46, Xgwm389, Xgwm533, Xgwm156, Xwmc238, and Xgwm341. Markers Xgwm389 and Xgwm533 were associated with the rate of Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK) as well as with kernel weight per spike and thousand kernel weight in control plants. Zebra allele of marker Xwmc238 increased kernel weight per spike and thousand kernel weight both in control and infected plants, whereas Zebra allele of marker Xgwm566 reduced the percentage of FDK and simultaneously reduced the thousand kernel weight in control and infected plants.

The doubled haploid (DH) system and the single seed descent (SSD) technique are frequently applied in breeding of self-pollinated crops to rapidly obtain homozygous lines from heterozygous hybrids. This study presents a comparison of populations of barley DH and SSD lines in terms of traits of stem structure. The SSD and DH lines derived from F1 and F2 hybrids Roland x Apex were examined in a field experiment. On the basis of a comparison of means, variances and correlations between traits in the F1DH, F2DH and SSD populations the occurrence/absence of linkage between genes responsible for the analysed traits was inferred. Independent inheritance was found for 1000-grain weight and the length of particular internodes, spike length and stem wall thickness. Moreover, no linkage was found for stem wall thickness and spike length, length of internodes I, II and thickness of stem walls, stem diameter and thickness of stem walls. The results obtained for the other pairs of traits indicate the presence of linkage.

The influence of inoculation with Fusarium culmorum (W. G. Sm.) Sac. on yield performance of 2-rowed and 6-rowed barley doubled haploid (DH) lines was studied in a 3-year field experiment. The following traits were analysed: kernel number and weight per ear, 1000-kernel weight, percentage of plump kernels (>2.5 mm) and germination rate. The inoculated lines were compared with the control using univariate and multivariate statistical methods. It was found that mean values of the studied traits were significantly reduced as a result of infection. The reduction was greater for 6-rowed lines than for 2-rowed lines. The inoculation with F. culmorum resulted in a decrease in differences between 2-rowed and 6-rowed genotypes, especially in the case of kernel weight per ear. No positive transgression in relation to the whole complex of yield traits was observed in any of the studied lines.

The susceptibility of barley doubled haploids (DH) to Fusarium head blight (FHB) was investigated. Heads of 24 DH lines (11 two-rowed and 13 six-rowed) derived from F 1 Maresi (two-rowed) x Pomo (six-rowed) hybrids were inoculated with a conidial suspension of the single isolate IPO348-01 of Fusarium culmorum. The experiment was carried out in three consecutive years (1996-98) in one location. The number of kernels per ear, 1000-kernel weight and kernel weight per ear were recorded in inoculated and control plots. In the infected kernels nivalenol (NIV) content and deoxynivalenol (DON) content were determined. The effects of genotype, year and genotype-year interaction on reduction of yield traits were significant. For mycotoxin content only genotype and year effects were found to be important. The average NIV concentration in kernels of inoculated lines ranged from 0.15 mg/kg in the two-rowed line MP7 to 6.36 mg/kg in the six-rowed line MP113. A low accumulation of DON was observed in the studied population (from 0.01 to 0.20 mg/kg). Generally, no significant differences in mycotoxin content were found between two-rowed and six-rowed genotypes. The line MP7 was found to be superior - with the lowest mycotoxin accumulation, and reduction in yield traits. Environmental conditions (years) affected DON and NIV level in kernels; however, the tendency to a lower or higher accumulation of mycotoxin in individual lines was stable over the years.

The genotype-environment (GE) interaction of barley doubled haploid (DH) lines was studied in relation to some malting quality characters. DH lines were obtained, using the bulbosum method, from F 1 hybrids between the cultivars 'Grit' and 'Havila'. Thirty DH lines, the parental forms, F 2 and F 3 hybrids of 'Grit' × 'Havila' and the standard cultivar 'Rudzik' were studied in a series of field experiments repeated at six environments. Malt protein content, Kolbach index, extract yield and malt fine-coarse difference were measured. The statistical analysis was performed using the computer program SERGEN. For protein content, it was found that most of the lines studied were stable, i.e. their GE interactions were not significant. Among the malt traits, phenotypic values of Kolbach index and fine-coarse difference were most dependent on environmental conditions. For Kolbach index, only one line was found to be stable, while for fine-coarse difference, all lines displayed interaction with the environment.

Auto- and alloplasmic doubled haploid (DH) lines of barley were examined for susceptibility to Fusarium culmorum (W.G.Sm.) Sacc. (isolate KF350) seedling blight. Inoculated kernels were incubated at 20 °C in a chamber saturated to 100% RH a with 12/12 h dark/light cycle. Germination capacity, disease score on a 5-degree scale and root length were evaluated. The data were analysed statistically using three-factor analysis of variance. It was observed that the infection score of roots of DH lines with H. bulbosum cytoplasm was higher than that of their autoplasmic analogues. Length of infected seedling roots expressed as per cent of the control root length ranged from 81 to 56% in autoplasmic DH lines and from 60 to 48% in alloplasmic lines. These differences were statistically significant (at P = 0.01). It was evident, that H. bulbosum cytoplasm increase susceptibility of barley genotypes to Fusarium seedling blight.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is an important cereal crop grown for both the feed and malting industries. The allelic dwarfing gene sdw1/denso has been used throughout the world to develop commercial barley varieties. Proteomic analysis offers a new approach to identify a broad spectrum of genes that are expressed in the living system. Two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry were applied to investigate changes in protein abundance associated with different juvenile growth habit as effect of the denso locus in barley homozygous lines derived from a Maresi × Pomo cross combination. A total of 31 protein spots were revealed that demonstrate quantitative differences in protein abundance between the analyzed plants with different juvenile growth habit, and these protein spots were selected to be identified by mass spectrometry. Identification was successful for 27 spots, and functional annotations of proteins revealed that most of them are involved in metabolism and disease/defense-related processes. Functions of the identified proteins and their probable influence on the growth habit in barley are discussed.