Breeding crops for improved mineral nutrition under climate change conditions.

Improvements in understanding how climate change may influence chemical and physical processes in soils, how this may affect nutrient availability, and how plants may respond to changed availability of nutrients will influence crop breeding programmes. The effects of increased atmospheric CO2 and warmer temperatures, both individually and combined, on soil microbial activity, including mycorrhizas and N-fixing organisms, are evaluated, together with their implications for nutrient availability. Potential changes to plant growth, and the combined effects of soil and plant changes on nutrient uptake, are discussed. The organization of research on the efficient use of macro- and micronutrients by crops under climate change conditions is outlined, including analysis of QTLs for nutrient efficiency. Suggestions for how the information gained can be used in plant breeding programmes are given.

Genetic control of interactions among individuals: contrasting outcomes of indirect genetic effects arising from neighbour disease infection and competition in a forest tree.

Indirect genetic effects (IGEs) are heritable effects of individuals on trait values of their conspecifics. IGEs may substantially affect response to selection, but empirical studies on IGEs are sparse and their magnitude and correlation with direct genetic effects are largely unknown in plants. Here we used linear mixed models to estimate genetic (co)variances attributable to direct and indirect effects for growth and foliar disease damage in a large pedigreed population of Eucalyptus globulus. We found significant IGEs for growth and disease damage, which increased with age for growth. The correlation between direct and indirect genetic effects was highly negative for growth, but highly positive for disease damage, consistent with neighbour competition and infection, respectively. IGEs increased heritable variation by 71% for disease damage, but reduced heritable variation by 85% for growth, leaving nonsignificant heritable variation for later age growth. Thus, IGEs are likely to prevent response to selection in growth, despite a considerable ordinary heritability. IGEs change our perspective on the genetic architecture and potential response to selection. Depending on the correlation between direct and indirect genetic effects, IGEs may enhance or diminish the response to natural or artificial selection compared with that predicted from ordinary heritability.

Sources of variation in self-incompatibility in the Australian forest tree, Eucalyptus globulus.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: One of the major factors affecting the outcrossing rate in Eucalyptus globulus is thought to be the inherent self-incompatibility (SI) level of the female tree. SI in this species is mainly due to late-acting pre- and post-zygotic mechanisms operating in the ovary, and not S alleles. This study aimed to assess the phenotypic variation in SI levels within E. globulus and determine its genetic control and stability across pollination techniques, sites and seasons. METHODS: SI levels were estimated for 105 genotypes originating from across the geographical range of E. globulus over multiple years of crossing. Separate grafted trees of some genotypes growing at the same and different sites allowed the genetic basis of the variation in SI to be tested and its stability across sites and seasons to be determined. The SI level of a tree was measured as the relative reduction in seeds obtained per flower pollinated following selfing compared with outcross pollinations. Thus, if seed set is the same, SI is 0 %, and if no self seed is set, SI is 100 %. KEY RESULTS: The average SI in E. globulus was 91 % and genotypes ranged from 8 to 100 % SI. Most genotypes (>75 %) had SI levels >90 %. There were highly significant differences between genotypes and the within-site broad-sense heritability of percentage SI was high (H(2) = 0.80 +/- 0.13). However, there was evidence that growing site, and to a lesser extent season, can affect the expression of SI levels. Trees with low reproductive loads produced relatively more seed from selfed flowers. CONCLUSIONS: There is a strong genetic basis to the phenotypic variation in SI in E. globulus within a site. However, the level of SI was affected, but to a lesser extent, by the environment, which in part may reflect the higher probability of selfed zygotes surviving on sites or in seasons where competition for resources is less.

Hybrid weakness controlled by the dosage-dependent lethal (DL) gene system in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is caused by a shoot-derived inhibitory signal leading to salicylic acid-associated root death.

Certain crosses of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) result in temperature-dependent hybrid weakness associated with a severe root phenotype. This is controlled by the interaction of the root- and shoot-expressed semidominant alleles dosage-dependent lethal 1 (DL(1)) and DL(2), which communicate via long-distance signaling. Previously, apparent reciprocal effects on root growth and the restoration of normal root growth by exogenous sucrose led to the hypothesis that the dosage-dependent lethal (DL) system may control root-shoot carbon partitioning. Here, recombinant inbred lines were used to map the DL loci and physiological and biochemical analysis, including metabolite profiling, was used to gain new insights into the signaling interaction and the root phenotype. It is shown that the DL system does not control root-shoot carbon partitioning and that roots are unlikely to die from carbon starvation. Instead, root death likely occurs by defense-related programmed cell death, as indicated by salicylic acid accumulation. DL(2)-expressing cotyledons supply a potent inhibitory signal that is sufficient to cause such death in DL(1)-expressing roots. These data implicate the DL system in defense-related signaling and provide support for the recent hypothesis of defense-related autoimmunity as a potential isolating mechanism in plant speciation, in particular, setting a precedence for the potential roles of long-distance signaling and temperature dependence.