Drought impact on rainfed common bean production areas in Brazil.

Common bean production in Goiás, Brazil is concentrated in the same geographic area, but spread acrossthree distinct growing seasons, namely, wet, dry and winter. In the wet and dry seasons, common beansare grown under rainfed conditions, whereas the winter sowing is fully irrigated. The conventional breed-ing program performs all varietal selection stages solely in the winter season, with rainfed environmentsbeing incorporated in the breeding scheme only through the multi environment trials (METs) wherebasically only yield is recorded. As yield is the result of many interacting processes, it is challengingto determine the events (abiotic or biotic) associated with yield reduction in the rainfed environments(wet and dry seasons). To improve our understanding of rainfed dry bean production so as to produceinformation that can assist breeders in their efforts to develop stress-tolerant, high-yielding germplasm,we characterized environments by integrating weather, soil, crop and management factors using cropsimulation models. Crop simulations based on two commonly grown cultivars (Pérola and BRS Radi-ante) and statistical analyses of simulated yield suggest that both rainfed seasons, wet and dry, can bedivided in two groups of environments: highly favorable environment and favorable environment. Forthe wet and dry seasons, the highly favorable environment represents 44% and 58% of production area,respectively. Across all rainfed environment groups, terminal and/or reproductive drought stress occursin roughly one fourth of the seasons (23.9% for Pérola and 24.7% for Radiante), with drought being mostlimiting in the favorable environment group in the dry TPE. Based on our results, we argue that eventhough drought-tailoring might not be warranted, the common bean breeding program should adapttheir selection practices to the range of stresses occurring in the rainfed TPEs to select genotypes moresuitable for these environments.

Plasticity in leaf-level water relations of tropical rainforest trees in response to experimental drought.

The tropics are predicted to become warmer and drier, and understanding the sensitivity of tree species to drought is important for characterizing the risk to forests of climate change. This study makes use of a long-term drought experiment in the Amazon rainforest to evaluate the role of leaf-level water relations, leaf anatomy and their plasticity in response to drought in six tree genera. The variables (osmotic potential at full turgor, turgor loss point, capacitance, elastic modulus, relative water content and saturated water content) were compared between seasons and between plots (control and through-fall exclusion) enabling a comparison between short- and long-term plasticity in traits. Leaf anatomical traits were correlated with water relation parameters to determine whether water relations differed among tissues. The key findings were: osmotic adjustment occurred in response to the long-term drought treatment; species resistant to drought stress showed less osmotic adjustment than drought-sensitive species; and water relation traits were correlated with tissue properties, especially the thickness of the abaxial epidermis and the spongy mesophyll. These findings demonstrate that cell-level water relation traits can acclimate to long-term water stress, and highlight the limitations of extrapolating the results of short-term studies to temporal scales associated with climate change.

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the NF-Y family of transcription factors in Triticum aestivum

Nuclear Factor Y (NF-Y) is a trimeric complex that binds to the CCAAT box, a ubiquitous eukaryotic promoter element. The three subunits NF-YA, NF-YB and NF-YC are represented by single genes in yeast and mammals. However, in model plant species (Arabidopsis and rice) multiple genes encode each subunit providing the impetus for the investigation of the NF-Y transcription factor family in wheat. A total of 37 NF-Y and Dr1 genes (10 NF-YA, 11 NF-YB, 14 NF-YC and 2 Dr1) in Triticum aestivum were identified in the global DNA databases by computational analysis in this study. Each of the wheat NF-Y subunit families could be further divided into 4-5 clades based on their conserved core region sequences. Several conserved motifs outside of the NF-Y core regions were also identified by comparison of NF-Y members from wheat, rice and Arabidopsis. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that some of the wheat NF-Y genes were expressed ubiquitously, while others were expressed in an organ-specific manner. In particular, each TaNF-Y subunit family had members that were expressed predominantly in the endosperm. The expression of nine NF-Y and two Dr1 genes in wheat leaves appeared to be responsive to drought stress. Three of these genes were up-regulated under drought conditions, indicating that these members of the NF-Y and Dr1 families are potentially involved in plant drought adaptation. The combined expression and phylogenetic analyses revealed that members within the same phylogenetic clade generally shared a similar expression profile. Organ-specific expression and differential response to drought indicate a plant-specific biological role for various members of this transcription factor family.

Selecting for increased barley grain size

In this study, 120–144 commercial varieties and breeding lines were assessed for grain size attributes including plump grain (>2.8 mm) and retention (>2.5 mm+>2.8 mm). Grain samples were produced from replicated trials at 25 sites across four years. Climatic conditions varied between years as well as between sites. Several of the trial sites were irrigated while the remaining were produced under dryland conditions. A number of the dryland sites suffered severe drought stress. The grain size data was analysed for genetic (G), environmental (E) and genotype by environment (G×E) interactions. All analyses included maturity as a covariate. The genetic effect on grain size was greater than environmental or maturity effects despite some sites suffering terminal moisture stress. The model was used to calculate heritability values for each site used in the study. These values ranged from 89 to 98% for plump grain and 88 to 96% for retention. The results demonstrated that removing the sources of non-heritable variation, such as maturity and field effects, can improve genetic estimates of the retention and plump grain fractions. By partitioning all variance components, and thereby having more robust estimates of genetic differences, plant breeders can have greater confidence in selecting barley genotypes which maintain large, stable grain size across a range of environments.

Environment characterization as an aid to wheat improvement: interpreting genotype-environment interactions by modelling water-deficit patterns in North-Eastern Australia.

Genotype-environment interactions (GEI) limit genetic gain for complex traits such as tolerance to drought. Characterization of the crop environment is an important step in understanding GEI. A modelling approach is proposed here to characterize broadly (large geographic area, long-term period) and locally (field experiment) drought-related environmental stresses, which enables breeders to analyse their experimental trials with regard to the broad population of environments that they target. Water-deficit patterns experienced by wheat crops were determined for drought-prone north-eastern Australia, using the APSIM crop model to account for the interactions of crops with their environment (e.g. feedback of plant growth on water depletion). Simulations based on more than 100 years of historical climate data were conducted for representative locations, soils, and management systems, for a check cultivar, Hartog. The three main environment types identified differed in their patterns of simulated water stress around flowering and during grain-filling. Over the entire region, the terminal drought-stress pattern was most common (50% of production environments) followed by a flowering stress (24%), although the frequencies of occurrence of the three types varied greatly across regions, years, and management. This environment classification was applied to 16 trials relevant to late stages testing of a breeding programme. The incorporation of the independently-determined environment types in a statistical analysis assisted interpretation of the GEI for yield among the 18 representative genotypes by reducing the relative effect of GEI compared with genotypic variance, and helped to identify opportunities to improve breeding and germplasm-testing strategies for this region.

ACIAR Improving Postrainy Sorghum Varieties Grain and Fodder in India

Sorghum grown in India in the post-rainy season (Rabi) relies on residual soil moisture, and the crop is commonly exposed to terminal drought stress. But there is a ready market for its high-quality grain and stover (used as fodder on dairy farms). Steps to improve productivity while maintaining quality offer an attractive opportunity for sorghum farmers to improve their incomes. Genetically improving the efficiency of using stored soil moisture is a prime target to maximise grain/stover production and quality of Rabi sorghum. This project aims to achieve this through the application of DNA sequences known as quantitative trait loci (QTLs). The project scientists will introduce marker-assisted introgression of stay-green QTLs into sorghum lines, enhancing both the quality and the quantity of grain/stover of postrainy sorghum. They will also use modelling to identify the key physiological traits involved in a higher, more stable yield across water-limited environments of India and Australia, and the key stay-green QTLs contributing to these traits. The publicly available QTL isolines lines developed in this project will be the basis of new varieties to be bred in a subsequent phase.

Genetic approaches to resistance to Fusarium and Bipolaris in wheat and barley

This project provided information on the genetics of crown rot (CR) resistance to help breeding work, located new parent lines in wheat and barley, and provided an insight into yield losses that occur in commercial varieties with increasing levels of CR for risk management. Genetic experiments found some highly resistant lines were poor parents, and CR resistance was complex. Best parent lines and many specific crosses were identified for further work. New potential parent lines were identified in wheat and barley, some now used in breeding programs. Yield loss can be severe even with low levels of CR when combined with drought stress. CR can reduce yield even with a wet finish.

Genetic control of nodal root angle in sorghum and its implications on water extraction

Genotypic variability in root system architecture has been associated with root angle of seedlings and water extraction patterns of mature plants in a range of crops. The potential inclusion of root angle as a selection criterion in a sorghum breeding program requires (1) availability of an efficient screening method, (2) presence of genotypic variation with high heritability, and (3) an association with water extraction pattern. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility for inclusion of nodal root angle as a selection criterion in sorghum breeding programs. A high-throughput phenotypic screen for nodal root angle in young sorghum plants has recently been developed and has been used successfully to identify significant variation in nodal root angle across a diverse range of inbred lines and a mapping population. In both cases, heritabilities for nodal root angle were high. No association between nodal root angle and plant size was detected. This implies that parental inbred lines could potentially be used to asses nodal root angle of their hybrids, although such predictability is compromised by significant interactions. To study effects of nodal root angle on water extraction patterns of mature plants, four inbred lines with contrasting nodal root angle at seedling stage were grown until at least anthesis in large rhizotrons. A consistent trend was observed that nodal root angle may affect the spatial distribution of root mass of mature plants and hence their ability to extract soil water, although genotypic differences were not significant. The potential implications of this for specific adaptation to drought stress are discussed. Results suggest that nodal root angle of young plants can be a useful selection criterion for specific drought adaptation, and could potentially be used in molecular breeding programs if QTLs for root angle can be identified. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization of north-eastern Australian environments using APSIM for increasing rainfed maize production

Recurring water stresses are a major risk factor for rainfed maize cropping across the highly diverse agro-ecological environments of Queensland (Qld) and northern New South Wales (NNSW). Enhanced understanding of such agro-ecological diversity is necessary to more consistently sample target production environments for testing and targeting release of improved germplasm, and to improve the efficiency of the maize pre-breeding and breeding programs of Qld and New South Wales. Here, we used the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) – a well validated maize crop model to characterize the key distinctive water stress patterns and risk to production across the main maize growing regions of Qld and NNSW located between 15.8° and 31.5°S, and 144.5° and 151.8°E. APSIM was configured to simulate daily water supply demand ratios (SDRs) around anthesis as an indicator of the degree of water stress, and the final grain yield. Simulations were performed using daily climatic records during the period between 1890 and 2010 for 32 sites-soils in the target production regions. The runs were made assuming adequate nitrogen supply for mid-season maize hybrid Pioneer 3153. Hierarchical complete linkage analyses of the simulated yield resulted in five major clusters showing distinct probability distribution of the expected yields and geographic patterns. The drought stress patterns and their frequencies using SDRs were quantified using multivariate statistical methods. The identified stress patterns included no stress, mid-season (flowering) stress, and three terminal stresses differing in terms of severity. The combined frequency of flowering and terminal stresses was highest (82.9%), mainly in sites-soils combinations in the west of Qld and NNSW. Yield variability across the different sites-soils was significantly related to the variability in frequencies of water stresses. Frequencies of water stresses within each yield cluster tended to be similar, but different across clusters. Sites-soils falling within each yield cluster therefore could be treated as distinct maize production environments for testing and targeting newly developed maize cultivars and hybrids for adaptation to water stress patterns most common to those environments.

Modelling the effect of plant water use traits on yield and stay-green expression in sorghum

Post-rainy sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) production underpins the livelihood of millions in the semiarid tropics, where the crop is affected by drought. Drought scenarios have been classified and quantified using crop simulation. In this report, variation in traits that hypothetically contribute to drought adaptation (plant growth dynamics, canopy and root water conducting capacity, drought stress responses) were virtually introgressed into the most common post-rainy sorghum genotype, and the influence of these traits on plant growth, development, and grain and stover yield were simulated across different scenarios. Limited transpiration rates under high vapour pressure deficit had the highest positive effect on production, especially combined with enhanced water extraction capacity at the root level. Variability in leaf development (smaller canopy size, later plant vigour or increased leaf appearance rate) also increased grain yield under severe drought, although it caused a stover yield trade-off under milder stress. Although the leaf development response to soil drying varied, this trait had only a modest benefit on crop production across all stress scenarios. Closer dissection of the model outputs showed that under water limitation, grain yield was largely determined by the amount of water availability after anthesis, and this relationship became closer with stress severity. All traits investigated increased water availability after anthesis and caused a delay in leaf senescence and led to a ‘stay-green’ phenotype. In conclusion, we showed that breeding success remained highly probabilistic; maximum resilience and economic benefits depended on drought frequency. Maximum potential could be explored by specific combinations of traits.

Characterization of maize growing environments in eastern and southern Africa using the APSIM model

Maize grown in eastern and southern Africa experiences random occurrences of drought. This uncertainty creates difficulty in developing superior varieties and their agronomy. Characterisation of drought types and their frequencies could help in better defining selection environments for improving resistance to drought. We used the well tested APSIM maize model to characterise major drought stress patterns and their frequencies across six countries of the region including Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The database thus generated covered 35 sites, 17 to 86 years of daily climate records, 3 varieties and 3 planting densities from a total of 11,174 simulations. The analysis identified four major drought environment types including those characterised by low-stress which occurred in 42% of the years, mid-season drought occurring in 15% of the years, late-terminal stress which occurred in 22% of the years and early-terminal drought occurring in 21% of the years. These frequencies varied in relation to sites, genotypes and management. The simulations showed that early terminal stress could result in a yield reduction of 70% compared with low-stress environmental types. The study presents the importance of environmental characterization in contributing to maize improvement in eastern and southern Africa.

夏玉米不同生育期对干旱胁迫的响应与适应机制

干旱化问题将在全球环境变化下进一步加剧，并可能严重影响玉米。玉米是我国主要粮食和最重要的饲料作物，其重要性日益突出。水分是制约玉米产量的关键因子。为此，本研究利用大型活动遮雨棚对玉米进行了出苗后全程水分控制试验，研究大田条件下玉米不同生育期对不同土壤水分（包括水分充足well-watered, WW;适度干旱moderately stressed,MS;和严重干旱severely stressed,SS）的响应及适应机制。研究结果表明： 在吐丝和籽粒形成期，Ms对叶片相对含水量和相对电导率的影响没有达到显著或极显著水平，而SS则极其显著地降低叶片相对含水量和增加质膜透性。并且干旱胁迫下，夏玉米生育进程中保护酶SOD、POD和CAT活性基本呈现一致下降的态势，膜脂过氧化作用增强。短期干旱胁迫对SOD）和POD（在第十三叶期）保护酶有一定的激发效应，但此效应维持不长，其后骤降。 干旱会引起叶绿素a，b含量及总叶绿素含量的减少。MS下营养阶段的叶绿素含量没有明显变化，但随着MS的延续，叶绿素含量在生殖阶段显著降低。而SS的叶绿素含量最初就呈现降低并逐渐扩大。另外，在干旱胁迫下叶净光合速率(PN)和蒸腾速率(E)的降低因干旱强度和时间以及发育阶段而异，而且Ss所引起的不利影响更为凸现。SS显著降低营养和生殖阶段的水分利用效率( WUE)，然而MS基本导致前中期WUE增加，后期则减少。 土壤干旱胁迫下，绿色LAI明显降低，特别是生殖时期最高穗位叶面积显著降低：地上部生物量积累在各生育期均为减少。而且，干旱显著减少各生育期的根干重，但MS对第十八叶期(V18)的根干重有短期的促进作用。干旱胁迫下，根冠比在不同生育时期有增有减。MS对第十七叶期(V17)的叶面积、抽雄吐丝出现、叶片展开、最终叶片数以及收获指数影响不大，但其却显著减少各阶段株高、叶面积（第十七叶期除外）、茎粗和生物量积累。随着MS的延续，产量性状诸如穗粒数、百粒重均为降低，而SS对各生育阶段所有生长特性、产量性状及收获指数的影响都较MS更为不利。 生育前期遭遇干旱，可使叶片展开明显迟缓，并且最终叶片数减少。尤其SS减少最终叶片数1～2片，并且延迟抽雄4—5 d，吐丝4—5 d，从而可能导致成熟期推迟。 植物器官的营养吸收动态在短期干旱作用和长期作用之间有所不同。而且P和K元素的积累方式也有别。基本上，干旱胁迫显著降低植物器官在不同生育期的全P和K元素的吸收，尽管后期一些器官诸如叶、鞘和茎等的吸收有所增加，特别是干旱严重影响了根的吸收能力，而且SS较MS对全P.K吸收影响更甚。总之，干旱所导致的生物量减少与植物器官的全P、K吸收的减少是相伴而生的。 与WW相比较，MS和SS的产量两年内分别降低了20,4%—26,1%和59.2%～84.5%，穗粒数分别降低了12.1%～19.7%和39,8%～88.1%，以及百粒重分别降低了2.1%~2.7%和17.7%—46,9%。研究进一步表明，干旱胁迫对多数玉米籽粒的营养品质有利。与WW相较而言，N含量、可溶性总糖、可溶性还原糖、Zn. Ca. Cu. Mg和Mn元素在MS下分别提高了5.9%，39-0%，97.5%，12.1%，4.4%，7.5%，6.1%和2.9%，而在SS下则分别提高了8.6%，99.3%，300.0%，27.8%，24.0%，1 5.3%，9.8%和7.9%。但是，一些玉米籽粒的营养品质诸如淀粉、P和K含量却受到干旱胁迫的不利影响，与WW相比较，MS使籽粒淀粉、P和K含量分别降低了8.3%．12.6%和3.7%，而SS则分别降低了33.3%, 14.6%和18.6%。粗脂肪含量则表现有所不同，与WW比较而言，MS对之有利，2年平均增加9.2%，而SS对之不利，2年平均减少11.3%。 总之，玉米生理生态特征、地上部各部分干物质生产、根系生长、营养吸收、产量性状、营养品质对干旱胁迫的响应和适应不仅依赖于干旱的严重程度（包括强度和时间），而且也依赖于玉米发育阶段。本研究认为，在半湿润地区水分缺乏的条件下，有限灌溉（最低土壤相对含水量55%士5%）在营养阶段抽雄前实施可行。

根茎在羊草响应短期盐胁迫和干旱胁迫过程中的作用

羊草 (Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel.) 又称碱草，隶属禾本科，赖草属，因其营养价值高，富含蛋白质，适口性好，抗旱，耐盐碱，耐贫瘠，抗逆性强，适应广等优点，对我国发展草原畜牧业和退化草地、荒漠化治理方面具有举足轻重的作用。近年来，由于自然环境变劣，荒漠化加剧，以及过渡放牧等不利影响，已对我国草地构成了严重威胁，严重制约了我国人工草地建设和天然草地的改良和沙化治理的步伐。目前, 国内外关于羊草的报道大多集中在草原生态等宏观领域，在羊草根茎生理学方面的研究却十分匮乏。作为一种典型的根状茎型克隆植物，羊草根茎在无性繁殖和克隆基株间的克隆整合、形态可塑性和分工合作等方面具有重要的作用,但羊草根茎在羊草感应环境胁迫中的作用却研究甚少。为了探讨根茎在植物感应环境胁迫中的作用, 本文以羊草为实验材料，通过分别处理羊草根茎和根，研究和比较了短期NaCl、PEG胁迫根、根茎、根和根茎三种处理方式下羊草对盐胁迫和干旱胁迫的生理响应。主要研究结果如下： 1、200 mmol• L-1 NaCl处理羊草根、根茎、根和根茎24小时显著降低羊草叶片净光合速率和蒸腾速率，增加叶片渗透浓度与脯氨酸含量;其中同时处理根和根茎，叶片蒸腾速率和净光合速率的降低程度显著高于分别处理根和根茎。在分别处理根与根茎的情况下，叶片含水量、脯氨酸含量、净光合速率、蒸腾速率均无显著性差异。不论单独胁迫根、根茎还是同时胁迫根和根茎，羊草根、根茎和叶片内钠离子（Na+）含量增加，而钾离子（K+）含量和K+/Na+ 比降低。 这些结果表明：（1）羊草根茎在感应和响应盐胁迫的生理过程中与根系具有类似的功能;（2）羊草根茎在盐胁迫条件下参与Na+ 吸收和向地上部的转运;（3）鉴于根茎的生物量和表面积都明显的低于根系，在盐胁迫下羊草根茎吸收Na+ 的效率高于根系。 2、15％ 聚已二醇（PEG－6000）处理羊草根、根茎、根和根茎24 小时显著降低羊草叶片含水量、净光合速率、蒸腾速率和水分利用效率，增加叶片脯氨酸含量。在分别胁迫根与根茎两种处理下，处理根茎对叶片的净光合速率影响程度更大，表明根茎对干旱胁迫反应更敏感。

不同pH缓冲液处理下蚕豆幼苗叶片SOD、POD和CAT活性的变化

利用不同pH值的酸碱溶液处理蚕豆或者离体蚕豆叶片,研究酸碱胁迫下蚕豆叶片保护酶活性的变化。结果表明,离体蚕豆叶片处理10 min和30 min的SOD活性相差不大,整株处理5 h的蚕豆叶片SOD活性远大于处理12 h的SOD活性;离体蚕豆叶片和整株蚕豆处理,较长时间处理下的CAT活性基本上高于短时间处理的CAT活性,短时间处理下(10 min、5 h)POD活性均显著低于对照值,较长时间处理(30 min、12h)下POD活性变化的规律性不强,且变化幅度较小。