Search Results (8)

Saccharum spontaneum serves as an essential genetic resource for sugarcane improvement. Traditional breeding methods, characterized by slow selection and limited germplasm exploitation, often lead to suboptimal progeny performance. In this study, we revised the utilization strategy by initially hybridizing several S. spontaneum clones, followed by intercrossing their F1 progeny to establish a heterogeneous ‘polymeric’ population, which was then subjected to ‘nobilization’. A natural Saccharum spontaneum (S0) plant was used as the parent to create a hybrid (S1) containing two S. spontaneum bloodlines. The agronomic traits of S1 were compared, leading to the identification of three superior hybrids. These hybrids were then crossed in a complete diallel design, resulting in six crosses. Significant genetic variation was observed for the agronomic traits. Compared with S0, the plant height in S1 increased by 31.5%, and by 32.22% in S2. The stem diameter in S1 increased by 38.71%, and by 51.61% in S2. The single stem weight increased by 125% in S1 and 150% in S2. Other yield traits also showed varying degrees of improvement. A correlation analysis indicated that the plant height, stalk diameter, single stalk weight, and leaf width were significantly positively correlated with yield, and the leaf width with brix. There was no significant correlation between the millable stalks and yield. This study successfully developed a novel S. spontaneum hybrid with significantly improved agronomic traits, enhancing the genetic foundation of S. spontaneum germplasm for nobilization breeding programs. These findings provide a valuable germplasm base for developing high-performance sugarcane varieties, improving the utilization of S. spontaneum. Full article

Studying fruit genetic trends, heterosis, and growth traits in pear hybrid progeny provides the foundation for variety breeding. The aim of this research is to reveal the trait performance of the hybrid progeny of Chinese white pear and Western pear and provide a theoretical basis for other breeders to predict the trait performance of their hybrid progeny when selecting Eastern pear and Western pear as parents. Our research team constructed a ‘Yuluxiang’ × ‘Xianghongli’ interspecific hybrid population in 2015, and in 2023, we conducted a two-year investigation of 16 traits in 140 hybrid progeny, including 11 fruit traits and 5 growth traits, and analyzed and compared the genetic variation and heterosis of traits, as well as the correlation between various traits. The results showed that the hybrid progeny was widely segregated for single fruit weight (FW), soluble solid (SS) content, and titratable acid (TA) content and conformed to a normal distribution, with quantitative genetic traits under polygenic control. The highest two-year coefficients of variation for TA were 54.42% in 2023 and 39.17% in 2024. A genetic trend of decreasing FW was observed, which was greatly influenced by the male sex. The ratio of soft soluble flesh to crispy flesh was 1:1, and the gene controlling this trait may be a quality trait controlled by a single gene. The traits that showed transgressive heterosis for two years included fruit longitudinal diameter (FLoD), fruit shape index (FSI), and TA, and those that showed negative heterosis included FW, SS, leaf longitudinal diameter (LLoD), and leaf lateral diameter (LLaD). Correlation analysis indicated that the progeny of crosses in this combination, which had red fruit skin, may also present red early flowering color (EFC) and young leaf color (YLC), reddish brown annual branch color (ABC), and lower FSI, fruit stalk length (FSL), LLaD, and TA. Thus, at the seedling stage, individuals with red-colored fruit may be screened by observing the color of young leaves and young stems and the lateral diameter of the leaves. Principal component analysis showed that among the 16 traits included in six principal components, peel color (PC), FLoD, 2024SS, fruit tape (FT), and FSI were the main factors causing differences in fruit phenotypes. This study systematically elucidated the genetic trends of agronomic traits in pears and will provide a theoretical basis for the selection of parents and early selection of hybrid progeny in pear hybrid breeding. Full article

Background: Millet peppers have rich and diverse germplasm resources. It is of great significance to characterize their phenotypes and physicochemical indicators. Methods: 30 millet germplasms were selected to measure the fruit length and width, flesh thickness, number of ventricles, fruit stalk length, and single fruit weight, and the texture characteristics of fruit such as hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess, and chewiness were determined by a texture analyzer. At the same time, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC) were used to determine the fruit of capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin, fatty acids, vitamin E (VE), total phenol, total sugar, and total dietary fiber. Results: M11 showed outstanding parameters in phenotype and texture. The coefficient of variation (CV) for VE was as high as 94.943% and the highest diversity index (H’) was total soluble solid, at 1.988%. M5 and M18 contained rich and diverse fatty acids. At the same time, the content of capsaicinoids in M18 also ranks among the top, second only to M27 (with a total capsaicin content of 5623.96 μg/g). PCA analysis using phenotypic data and physicochemical data showed that the classification results were different. Further hierarchical group analysis was carried out using all the index data. The results showed that 30 millet pepper germplasms were divided into three new categories: M5, M9, M18, and M24 formed one group (C1), M10, M14, M16, M19, M20, M22, M25, M26, M28, M29, and M30 formed another cluster (C2), and the remaining germplasms formed a third cluster (C3). Among them, the abundance of fatty acids in the C1 germplasm was higher than that in the other two groups. Conclusions: Our study showed that different germplasms had significant differences in morphological traits and nutritional metabolic components and were rich in genetic diversity. This study provides a theoretical basis for the improvement of millet varieties and the development of functional food. Full article

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. Hybrids), serving as a vital sugar and energy crop, holds immense development potential on a global scale. In the process of sugarcane breeding and variety improvement, single-stalk weight stands as a crucial selection criterion. By cultivating sugarcane varieties with heavier single stalks, robust growth, high yields, and superior quality, the planting efficiency and market competitiveness of sugarcane can be further enhanced. Single-stalk weight was determined by measuring individual stalks three times in the field, calculating the average value as the phenotypic expression. The distribution of single-stalk weights in the orthogonal and reciprocal populations revealed coefficients of variation of 19.3% and 17.7%, respectively, with the reciprocal population showing greater genetic stability. After rigorous filtering of Hyper_seq_FD sequencing data from 409 sugarcane samples, we identified 31,204 high-quality single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) evenly distributed across all 32 chromosomes, providing a comprehensive representation of the sugarcane genome. In this study, we evaluated the predictive performance of various genomic selection (GS) methods for single-stalk weight in the 299 orthogonal population, with the male parent being GZ_73-204 and the female parent being GZ_P72-1210, and in the 108 reciprocal population, with the male parent being GZ_P72-1210 and the female parent being GZ_73-204. Initially, we compared the performance of five prediction approaches, including genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP), single-step genomic best linear unbiased prediction (SSBLUP), Bayes A, machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL) approaches. The results showed that the GBLUP model had the highest prediction accuracy, at 0.35, while the deep learning model had the lowest accuracy, at 0.20. To improve prediction accuracy, we assigned different scores to various regions of the sugarcane genome based on gene annotation information, thereby giving different weights to SNPs located in these regions. Additionally, we incorporated inbred and outbred populations as fixed effects into the model. The optimized SSBLUP model achieved a prediction accuracy of 0.44, which was a 17% improvement over the original SSBLUP model and a 9% increase compared to the originally optimal GBLUP model. The research results indicate that it is crucial to fully consider genomic structural regions, population structure characteristics, and fixed effects in GS predictions. Full article

In response to rising concerns over the environmental and human health ramifications of polymers derived from petroleum, particularly in the food packaging industry, research has pivoted towards more sustainable materials. Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), selected as the polymer matrix, stands out as one of the most promising bio-based and biodegradable polymers suitable for film blowing and lamination. A layered spray-coating technique was employed to apply 1, 5, 10, and 20 layers of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) between blown PBS films, creating a three-layer laminate structure. NFC sourced from minimally processed hemp stalk waste highlights the potential for minimizing environmental impact. The water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of these films, a critical parameter for food packaging, was assessed in a controlled environment at 38 °C and 90% relative humidity over a period of two months. The integration of a single NFC layer, constituting 0.35% of the composite’s weight, was observed to significantly reduce the WVTR by up to 5.5-fold. It was noted that higher NFC layer counts above 10 reduced the adhesion within the laminate layers. Morphological assessments showed that the number of structural defects increased with a higher count of NFC layers. As the count of NFC layers increased, the optical transparency of the laminates dropped from approximately 65% to 25% in the visible light spectrum. Notably, by weight percent, NFC proved to be an effective barrier even without chemical modification. The developed laminates stand out as a viable, green option for food packaging, offering a sustainable and renewable solution. Full article

This paper presents experimental research on cutting a single stalk of triticale straw for the production of biofuel in the process of its compaction using the piston technique. In the first stage of the experimental study of cutting single triticale straws, the variable parameters were the moisture contents of the stem equal to 10% and 40%, the offset between the blade and the counter-blade g, and the linear velocity of the knife blade V. The blade angle and rake angle were equal to α = 0° and β = 0°. In the second stage, the variables, including the blade angle values α = 0°, 15°, 30°, and 45° and the rake angle values β = 5°, 15°, and 30°, were introduced. Taking into account the analysis of the distribution of forces on the knife edge leading to the determination of the force quotients F_c″/F_c and F_w/F_c, and on the basis of the optimization performed and the adopted optimization criteria, the optimal knife edge angle α can be determined (at values g = 0.1 mm and V = 8 mm/s) at α ≅ 0° and the angle of attack β within the range of 5–26°. What the value will be in this range depends on the value of the weight adopted in the optimization. The choice of their values may be decided by the constructor of the cutting device. Full article

A halotolerant, exopolysaccharide-producing bacterium isolated from the Salar de Uyuni salt flat in Bolivia was identified as Bacillus atrophaeus using next-generation sequencing. Comparisons indicate that the genome most likely (p-value: 0.0024) belongs to a subspecies previously not represented in the database. The growth of the bacterial strain and its ability to produce exopolysaccharides (EPS) in synthetic media with glucose or xylose as carbon sources, and in hydrolysates of quinoa stalks, was investigated. The strain grew well in all synthetic media, but the growth in glucose was better than that in xylose. Sugar consumption was better when initial concentrations were low. The growth was good in enzymatically produced cellulosic hydrolysates but was inhibited in hemicellulosic hydrolysates produced using hydrothermal pretreatment. The EPS yields were up to 0.064 g/g on initial glucose and 0.047 g/g on initial xylose, and was higher in media with relatively low sugar concentrations. The EPS was isolated and purified by a sequential procedure including centrifugation, cold ethanol precipitation, trichloroacetic acid treatment, dialysis, and freeze-drying. Glucose and mannose were the main sugars identified in hydrolyzed EPS. The EPS was characterized by size-exclusion chromatography, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, heteronuclear single-quantum coherence nuclear magnetic resonance (HSQC NMR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. No major differences were elucidated between EPS resulting from cultivations in glucose- or-xylose-based synthetic media, while some divergences with regard to molecular-weight averages and FTIR and HSQC NMR spectra were detected for EPS from hydrolysate-based media. Full article

Increasing plant density seems to improve the productivity of maize crops, and the understanding of how the metabolism of non-structural carbohydrates is affected in plants under high crop density is critical. Thus, with the objective of further clarifying this issue, maize plants were subjected to densities from 30,000 to 90,000 plants ha⁻¹, and the plant growth, soluble sugars and starch contents, invertase and sucrose synthase activities, and plant production were evaluated. We found that the stalk is more sensitive to the increasing plant density than leaves and kernels. The dry weight of the stalk and leaves per single plant decreased more drastically from low to intermediate plant densities, while grain production was reduced linearly in all plant density ranges, leading to higher values of harvest index in intermediate plant densities. The sucrose concentration did not change in leaves, stalk, or kernels of plants subjected to increasing plant densities at the R4 stage. Also, the specific activity of soluble invertase, bound invertase, and sucrose synthase did not change in leaf, stalk, or kernels of plants subjected to increased plant density. The productivity was increased with the increase in plant density, using narrow row (0.45 m) spacing. Full article