Empirical threshold values for quantitative trait mapping.

Nutritional stress is making over two billion world population malnourished. Either our commercially cultivated varieties of cereals, pulses, and oilseed crops are deficient in essential nutrients or the soils in which these crops grow are becoming devoid of minerals. Unfortunately, our major food crops are poor sources of micronutrients required for normal human growth. To overcome the problem of nutritional deficiency, greater emphasis should be laid on the identification of genes/quantitative trait loci (QTLs) pertaining to essential nutrients and their successful deployment in elite breeding lines through marker-assisted breeding. The manuscript deals with information on identified QTLs for protein content, vitamins, macronutrients, micro-nutrients, minerals, oil content, and essential amino acids in major food crops. These QTLs can be utilized in the development of nutrient-rich crop varieties. Genome editing technologies that can rapidly modify genomes in a precise way and will directly enrich the nutritional status of elite varieties could hold a bright future to address the challenge of malnutrition.

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Enhancing the Nutritional Quality of Major Food Crops Through Conventional and Genomics-Assisted Breeding.

Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the world's most important crop species. The development of new varieties resistant to multiple pathogens is an ongoing task in wheat breeding, especially in times of increasing demand for sustainable agricultural practices. Despite this, little is known about the relations between various fungal disease resistances at the genetic level, and the possible consequences for wheat breeding strategies. As a first step to fill this gap, we analyzed the genetic relations of resistance to the three fungal diseases - powdery mildew (PM), septoria tritici blotch (STB), and tan spot (TS) - using a winter wheat multiparent advanced generation intercross population. Six, seven, and nine QTL for resistance to PM, STB, and TS, respectively, were genetically mapped. Additionally, 15 QTL were identified for the three agro-morphological traits plant height, ear emergence time, and leaf angle distribution. Our results suggest that resistance to STB and TS on chromosome 2B is conferred by the same genetic region. Furthermore, we identified two genetic regions on chromosome 1AS and 7AL, which are associated with all three diseases, but not always in a synchronal manner. Based on our results, we conclude that parallel marker-assisted breeding for resistance to the fungal diseases PM, STB, and TS appears feasible. Knowledge of the genetic co-localization of alleles with contrasting effects for different diseases, such as on chromosome 7AL, allows the trade-offs of selection of these regions to be better understood, and ultimately determined at the genic level.

Genetic Dissection of Resistance to the Three Fungal Plant Pathogens Blumeria graminis, Zymoseptoria tritici, and Pyrenophora tritici-repentis Using a Multiparental Winter Wheat Population.

Unravelling consensus genomic regions associated with quality traits in wheat using meta-analysis of quantitative trait loci

Genome-wide association analysis uncovers stable QTLs for yield and quality traits of spring bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) across contrasting environments

Protein- and starch-related quality traits, which are quantitatively inherited and significantly influenced by the environment, are critical determinants of the end-use quality of wheat. We constructed a high-density genetic map containing 10,739 loci (5,399 unique loci) using a set of 184 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross of ‘Tainong 18 × Linmai 6’ (TL-RILs). In this study, a quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analysis was used to examine the genetic control of grain protein content, sedimentation value, farinograph parameters, falling number and the performance of the starch pasting properties using TL-RILs grown in a field for three years. A total of 106 QTLs for 13 quality traits were detected, distributed on the 21 chromosomes. Of these, 38 and 68 QTLs for protein- and starch-related traits, respectively, were detected in three environments and their average values (AV). Twenty-six relatively high-frequency QTLs (RHF-QTLs) that were detected in more than two environments. Twelve stable QTL clusters containing at least one RHF-QTL were detected and classified into three types: detected only for protein-related traits (type I), detected only for starch-related traits (type II), and detected for both protein- and starch-related traits (type III). A total of 339 markers flanked with 11 QTL clusters (all except C6), were found to be highly homologous with 282 high confidence (HC) and 57 low confidence (LC) candidate genes based on IWGSC RefSeq v 1.0. These stable QTLs and RHF-QTLs, especially those grouped into clusters, are credible and should be given priority for QTL fine-mapping and identification of candidate genes with which to explain the molecular mechanisms of quality development and inform marker-assisted breeding in the future.

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QTL mapping for quality traits using a high-density genetic map of wheat

Molecular mapping of two quantitative trait loci for adult-plant resistance to powdery mildew in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Abstract Transient electronics that can disappear or degrade via physical disintegration or chemical reaction over a pre-defined operational period provide essential for their applications in implantable bioelectronics due to the complete elimination of the second surgical extraction. However, the dissolution of commonly utilized bioresorbable materials often accompanies hydrogen production, which may cause potential or irreparable harm to the human body. This paper introduces germanium nanomembrane-based bioresorbable electronic sensors, where the chemical dissolution of all utilized materials in biofluidic theoretically have no gaseous products. In particular, the superior electronic transport of germanium enables the demonstrated bioresorbable electronic sensors to successfully distinguish the crosstalk of different physiological signals, such as temperature and strain, suggesting the significant prospect for the construction of dual or multi-parameter biosensors. Systematical studies reveal the gauge factor and temperature coefficient of resistance comparable to otherwise similar devices with gaseous products during their dissolution. 

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Chunyan Qu

Papers

QTL mapping for quality traits using a high-density genetic map of wheat

Molecular mapping of two quantitative trait loci for adult-plant resistance to powdery mildew in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Biodegradable germanium electronics for integrated biosensing of physiological signals

Matryoshka-Inspired Continuous Assembly of Flexible Silicon Microribbons and Photodetectors Via Selective Transfer Printing

Hierarchically nanostructured nitrogen-doped porous carbon multi-layer confining Fe particles for high performance hydrogen evolution