Two consecutive cycles of selection were imposed on five F2 populations of bread wheat. The first cycle was a divergent selection for spike length conducted in favorable environment (optimal sowing date) and the response was measured under favorable and heat stress conditions of a late sowing date. Positive responses to selection for longer spikes were obtained under favorable (13.43%) heat stress (8.66%) conditions, whereas the responses for shorter spikes were 2.24 and 5.02% in the two environments, respectively. The realized heritability of spike length was greater under favorable conditions (0.25–0.56) than under heat stress (0.18–0.41). Concurrent positive responses to selection for longer spikes were obtained in grain yield per spike under favorable (25.35%) and heat stress (13.65%) environments. Selection for greater number of grains per spike imposed on F3 plants selected for spike length under heat stress resulted in significant responses (14.65%). Selection for greater number of grains per spike resulted in correlated responses in grain yield per spike (17.64%). The concurrent positive responses produced in spike length in F4 with selection for number of grains per spike (averaged 9.20%) was almost equal to that produced by the direct selection in F3 (8.66%), indicating that selection advance effected in F3 has been maintained in F4. High F4/F3 regression was obtained for spike length under heat stress (b = 0.85 ± 0.07), indicating high heritability. In conclusion, phenotypic selection for longer spikes under heat stress followed by a cycle of selection for number of grains per spike was capable of improving heat tolerance in wheat.
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A total of six markers RM3586 and RM160 on chromosome 3 and RM3735, RM3471, RM3687 and RM3536 on chromosome 4 were used to select promising lines in backcrossing populations for heat tolerance at flowering stage in rice. Fifty lines selected in BC3F2, BC4F1, and BC4F2 and parents were planted in 2013, and 2014 dry seasons at the CLRRI field under natural heat stress and greenhouse to evaluate heat tolerance at the reproductive period. Heat tolerance scoring under field condition was based on percentage of unfilled grains. All selected lines exhibited their homozygous alleles with two heat tolerance germplasm N22 or Dular in QTL loci. Twelve lines harboring homozygous alleles to QTL loci RM3586 on chromosome 3 and RM3735 on chromosome 4, respectively were selected and evaluated to agronomic traits and yield potential. Four lines BC4-1-10-1 from OM5930/N22//4 *OM5930, BC4-5-8 from OM5930/Dular//4*OM5930, BC4-5-9-4 from AS996/N22//4*AS996, and BC4-6-3 from AS996/Dular//4 *AS996, respectively were finally selected to would be for regional adaptable test in Central Coast of Vietnam under heat stress condition to release to rice farmers.
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Most eukaryotic organisms display specialized cellular and behavioral oscillations with a period of approximately 24 hours, which are called circadian rhythms. The biological clock generates a rhythm that conveys temporal information over a day. Through this system, most eukaryotic organisms appropriately respond to daily or seasonal environmental changes by regulating their physiology and development in a time-dependent manner, conferring the organism with an adaptive advantage. In plants, the endogenous timing system also controls many important physiological processes including flower opening, hormone synthesis, metabolic pathways and gene expression so that these sessile species may survive efficiently in changing environments. Temperature compensation (TC) is one of the defining features of the clock mechanism. Under this mechanism, the pace of the clock, or period, remains stable over a broad range of physiologically relevant temperatures, which is unlikely to happen in other biochemical reactions. Thus, this mechanism allows organisms to sustain their ordinary life in various thermal environments by providing an accurate measure of the passage of time, regardless of the ambient temperature. Considering the current global climate changes our planet is undergoing, understanding the fundamental mechanism underlying TC cannot be overemphasized. In this review, we discuss the molecular organization of the plant circadian clock and the concept of TC, as well as the significance of plant TC in conferring fitness under the current increasing thermal environments.
A total of 310 BC2F2 lines derived from the cross of OM5930/N22 were evaluated for heat stress at flowering. Genetic map was set up with 264 polymorphic SSRs to detect linkage to the target traits. The map covers 2,741.63 cM with an average interval of 10.55 cM between two marker loci. Markers associated with heat tolerance were located mostly on chromosomes 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 11. The proportion of phenotypic variation explained by each QTL ranged from 17.1% for RM160 to 36.2% for RM3586. Four QTLs were detected for filled grains per panicle on chromosome 4 at the interval of RM468 - RM7076 and RM241 - RM26212, explaining 13.1 and 31.0% of the total phenotypic variation, respectively. Two QTLs controling unfilled grain percentage was also detected at loci RM554 and RM3686 on chromosome 3 explaining 25.0 and 11.2% of the total phenotypic variance. One QTL was detected for 1,000-grain weight located at the locus RM103 on chromosome 6, explaining 30.6% of the total phenotypic variance. Also, a QTL at the locus RM5749 on chromosome 4 was identified which explained 10.8% of the total phenotypic variance of grain yield. A single QTL at the interval of RM3586- RM160 on chromosome 3 was detected in conformity with the QTL findings for heat tolerance in previous studies.
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