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The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of maternal lead exposure on the learning and memory ability and expression of tau protein phosphorylation (P-tau) and beta amyloid protein (Aβ) in hippocampus of mice offspring. Pb exposure initiated from beginning of gestation to weaning. Pb acetate administered in drinking solutions was dissolved in distilled deionized water at the concentrations of 0.1%, 0.5% and 1% groups. On the 21 th of postnatal day, the learning and memory ability of the mouse pups was tested by Water Maze test and the Pb levels in blood and hippocampus of the offspring were also determined. The expression of P-tau and Aβ in hippocampus was measured by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. The Pb levels in blood and hippocampus of all exposure groups were significantly higher than that of the control group ( P < 0.05). In Water Maze test, the performances of 0.5% and 1% groups were worse than that of the control group ( P < 0.05). The expression of P-tau and Aβ was increased in Pb exposed groups than that of the control group ( P < 0.05). Tau hyper-phosphorylation and Aβ increase in the hippocampus of pups may contribute to the impairment of learning and memory associated with maternal Pb exposure.

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A comparative proteomic analysis of grain proteins during five grain developmental stages of wheat cultivar Chinese Spring (CS) and its 1Sl/1B substitution line CS-1Sl(1B) was carried out in the current study. A total of 78 differentially expressed protein (DEP) spots with at least 2-fold expression difference were detected by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). Among these, 73 protein spots representing 55 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were successfully identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-offlight tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS). Differential protein spots between the two genotypes were analyzed by cluster software, which revealed significant proteome differences. There were 39 common spots (including 33 DEPs) that showed significant difference between the two lines across five grain developmental stages, of which 14 DEP spots (including 11 DEPs) were mainly involved in carbohydrate metabolism that were encoded by the genes on 1B chromosome while 25 DEP spots (including 12 DEPs) were mainly related to stress response and gluten quality that were encoded by 1S1 chromosome. These results indicated that the Sl genome harbors more stress and quality related genes that are potential valuable for improving wheat stress resistance and product quality.

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Cereal Research Communications
Authors:
Z. L. Li
,
D. D. Wu
,
H. Y. Li
,
G. Chen
,
W. G. Cao
,
S. Z. Ning
,
D. C. Liu
, and
L. Q. Zhang

Gliadin is a main component of gluten proteins that affect functional properties of bread making and contributes to the viscous nature of doughs. In this study, thirteen novel ω-gliadin genes were identified in several Triticum species, which encode the ARH-, ATDand ATN-type proteins. Two novel types of ω-gliadins: ATD- and ATN- have not yet been reported. The lengths of 13 sequences were ranged from 927 to 1269 bp and the deduced mature proteins were varied from 309 to 414 residues. All 13 genes were pseudogenes because of the presence of internal stop codons. The primary structure of these ω-gliadin genes included a signal peptide, a conserved N-terminal domain, a repetitive domain and a conserved C-terminus. In this paper, we first characterize ω-gliadin genes from T. timopheevi ssp. timopheevi and T. timopheevi ssp. araraticum. The ω-gliadin gene variation and the evolutionary relationship of ω-gliadin family genes were also discussed.

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Red coleoptile is an easily observed trait in Triticum aestivum and can provide some protection against stress. Here, TaMYB-A1 or TuMYB-A1, homologous to TaMYB-D1, which controls red coleoptile formation in the common wheat cultivar ‘Gy115’, was isolated from eight T. aestivum and 34 T. urartu cultivars. The genome sequence of TaMYB-A1 was 867 bp with an intron of 93 bp, which was similar to the MYBs regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis in T. aestivum but different from other MYB transcription factors regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis. TaMYB-A1 had an integrated DNA-binding domain of 102 amino acids and a transcriptional domain of 42 amino acids, which was responsible for regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis. TaMYB-A1 was assigned to the same branch as the MYBs regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis in a phylogenetic tree. A transient expression analysis showed that TaMYB-A1 induced ‘Opata’ coleoptile cells to synthesize anthocyanin with the help of ZmR. A non-functional allele of TaMYB-a1 existed in common wheat cultivars containing rc-a1. One single nucleotide was deleted 715 bp after the start codon in TaMYB-a1 compared with TaMYB-A1. The deletion caused a frame shift mutation, destroyed the DNA transcription activator domain, and resulted in TaMYB-a1 losing its ability to regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis in ‘Opata’ coleoptile cells. Those cultivars with functional TaMYB-A1 or TuMYB-A1 have red coleoptiles. The isolation of TaMYB-A1 should aid in understanding the molecular mechanisms of coleoptile traits in T. aestivum.

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Thinopyrum ponticum (2n = 10x = 70) has donated rust resistance genes to protect wheat from this fungal disease. In the present study, the line ES-7, derived from the progeny of the crosses between common wheat cultivar Abbondanza and Triticum aestivumTh. ponticum partial amphiploid line Xiaoyan784, was characterized by cytological, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) and EST-STS marker techniques. Cytological observations revealed that the configuration of ES-7 was 2n = 42 = 21 II. GISH and FISH results showed that ES-7 had two St chromosomes and lacked 5A chromosomes compared to common wheat. The 4A chromosome of ES-7 had small alterations from common wheat. Two EST-SSR markers BE482522 and BG262826, specific to Th. ponticum and tetraploid Pseudoroegneria spicata (2n = 4x = 28), locate on the homoeologous group 5 chromosomes of wheat, could amplify polymorphic bands in ES-7. It was suggested that the introduced St chromosomes belonged to homoeologous group 5, that is, ES-7 was a 5St (5A) disomic substitution line. Furthermore, ES-7 showed highly resistance to mixed stripe rust races of CYR32 and CYR33 in adult stages, which was possibly inherited from Th. ponticum. Thus, ES-7 can be used for wheat stripe rust resistance breeding program.

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The aphid Sitobion avenae F. is one of the most harmful pests of wheat growth in the world. A primary field screening test was carried out to evaluate the S. avenae resistance of 527 wheat landraces from Shaanxi. The results indicated that 25 accessions (4.74%) were resistant to S. avenae in the three consecutive seasons, of which accession S849 was highly resistant, and seven accessions were moderately resistant. The majority of S. avenae resistant accessions come from Qinling Mountains. Then, the genetic variability of a set of 33 accessions (25 S. avenae resistant and 8 S. avenae susceptible) originating from Qinling Mountains have been assessed by 20 morphological traits and 99 simple sequence repeat markers (SSRs). Morphological traits and SSRs displayed a high level of genetic diversity within 33 accessions. The clustering of the accessions based on morphological traits and SSR markers showed significant discrepancy according to the geographical distribution, resistance to S. avenae and species of accessions. The highly and moderately resistant landrace accessions were collected from the middle and the east part of Qinling Mountains with similar morphology characters, for example slender leaves with wax, lower leaf area, and high ear density. These S. avenae resistant landraces can be used in wheat aphid resistance breeding as valuable resources.

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Waxy wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is grown throughout the world for its specific quality. Fertilization and planting density are two crucial factors that affect waxy wheat yield and photosynthetic capacity. The objectives of the research were to determine the effects of fertilization and planting density on photosynthetic characteristics, yield, and yield components of waxy wheat, including Yield, SSR, TGW, GNPP, GWPP, PH, HI, Pn, Gs, Ci, E and WUE using the method of field experiment, in which there were three levels (150, 300, and 450 kg ha−1) of fertilizer application rate and three levels (1.35, 1.8, and 2.25 × 106 plants ha−1) of planting density. The results suggested that photosynthetic characteristics, yield, and yield components had close relationship with fertilization levels and planting density. Under the same plant density, with the increase of fertilization, Yield, SSR, TGW, GNPP, GWPP, HI, Pn, Gs, E and WUE increased and then decreased, PH increased, but Ci decreased. Under the same fertilization, with the increase of plant density, Yield, SSR, TGW, GNPP, GWPP, HI increased and then decreased, PH, Pn, Gs and E increased, PH and WUE declined. The results also showed that F2 (300 kg ha−1) and D2 (1.8 × 106 plants ha−1) was a better match in this experiment, which could obtain a higher grain yield 4961.61 kg ha−1. Consequently, this combination of fertilizer application rate and plant densities are useful to get high yield of waxy wheat.

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Cereal Research Communications
Authors:
L. Wei
,
S.G. Bai
,
X.J. Hou
,
J.M. Li
,
B. Zhang
,
W.J. Chen
,
D.C. Liu
,
B.L. Liu
, and
H.G. Zhang

Among 20 awnless Tibetan wheat cultivars analyzed by SDS-PAGE, the migration rate of an HMW-GS in XM001584 and XM001593, named 1BX23*. was shown to be slightly faster than 1Bx6. and slower than Bx7. Its nucleotide sequence was isolated based on homology clones. In a phylogenetic tree of 1Bx genes, 1Bx23* was apparently clustered with 1Bx23. Compared with 1Bx23. eight single nucleotide replacements caused four single amino acid replacements in 1Bx23*. The deletion of “G” at base pair 1463 and insertion of “A” at 1509 bps induced a 42-nucleotide frame shift. “GQRQQAGQWQRPGQ” was replaced by “DKGNRQDNGNDRDK”. The new segment cannot be found in other HMW-GSs, and it is very similar to a segment found in collagen. Moreover, an 18-nucleotide deletion made 1Bx23* six amino acids shorter than 1Bx23. The cultivar XM001593 had 28 chromosomes, which signifies that it was tetraploid wheat, and that the new HMW-GS 1Bx23* cannot be used directly for breeding in common wheat.

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Cereal Research Communications
Authors:
G. Chen
,
M.H. Zhang
,
X.J. Liu
,
J.Y. Fu
,
H.Y. Li
,
M. Hao
,
S.Z. Ning
,
Z.W. Yuan
,
Z.H. Yan
,
B.H. Wu
,
D.C. Liu
, and
L.Q. Zhang

Premature termination codons (PTCs) are an important reason for the silence of highmolecular- weight glutenin subunits in Triticum species. Although the Glu-A1y gene is generally silent in common wheat, we here isolated an expressed Glu-A1y gene containing a PTC, named 1Ay8.3, from Triticum monococcum ssp. monococcum (AmAm, 2n = 2x = 14). Despite the presence of a PTC (TAG) at base pair positions 1879–1881 in the C-terminal coding region, this did not obviously affect 1Ay8.3 expression in seeds. This was demonstrated by the fact that when the PTC TAG of 1Ay8.3 was mutated to the CAG codon, the mutant in Escherichia coli bacterial cells expressed the same subunit as in the seeds. However, in E. coli, 1Ay8.3 containing the PTC expressed a truncated protein with faster electrophoretic mobility than that in seeds, suggesting that PTC translation termination suppression probably occurs in vivo (seeds) but not in vitro (E. coli). This may represent one of only a few reports on the PTC termination suppression phenomenon in genes.

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Aegiolops kotschyi cytoplasmic male sterile system often results in part of haploid plants in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). To elucidate the origin of haploid, 235 wheat microsatellite (SSR) primers were randomly selected and screened for polymorphism between haploid (2n = 3x = 21 ABD) and its parents, male-sterile line YM21 (2n = 6x = 42 AABBDD) and male fertile restorer YM2 (2n = 6x = 42 AABBDD). About 200 SSR markers yielded clear bands from denatured PAGE, of which 180 markers have identifiable amplification patterns, and 20 markers (around 8%) resulted in different amplification products between the haploid and the restorer, YM2. There were no SSR markers that were found to be distinguishable between the haploid and the male sterile line YM21. In addition, different distribution of HMW-GS between endosperm and seedlings from the same seeds further confirmed that the haploid genomes were inherited from the maternal parent. After haploidization, 1.7% and 0.91% of total sites were up- and down-regulated exceeding twofold in the shoot and the root of haploid, respectively, and most of the differentially expressed loci were up/down-regulated about twofold. Out of the sensitive loci in haploid, 94 loci in the shoot, 72 loci in the root can be classified into three functional subdivisions: biological process, cellular component and molecular function, respectively.

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