Populations of doubled haploids for genetic mapping in hexaploid winter triticale.

To create a framework for genetic dissection of hexaploid triticale, six populations of doubled haploid (DH) lines were developed from pairwise hybrids of high-yielding winter triticale cultivars. The six populations comprise between 97 and 231 genotyped DH lines each, totaling 957 DH lines. A consensus genetic map spans 4593.9 cM is composed of 1576 unique DArT markers. The maps reveal several structural rearrangements in triticale genomes. In preliminary tests of the populations and maps, markers specific to wheat segments of the engineered rye chromosome 1R (RM1B) were identified. Example QTL mapping of days to heading in cv. Krakowiak revealed loci on chromosomes 2BL and 2R responsible for extended vernalization requirement, and candidate genes were identified. The material is available to all parties interested in triticale genetics

Insights into the Genetic Architecture of Bran Friability and Water Retention Capacity, Two Important Traits for Whole Grain End-Use Quality in Winter Wheat

Bran friability (particle size distribution after milling) and water retention capacity (WRC) impact wheat bran functionality in whole grain milling and baking applications. The goal of this study was to identify genomic regions and underlying genes that may be responsible for these traits. The Hard Winter Wheat Association Mapping Panel, which comprised 299 lines from breeding programs in the Great Plains region of the US, was used in a genome-wide association study. Bran friability ranged from 34.5% to 65.9% (median, 51.1%) and WRC ranged from 159% to 458% (median, 331%). Two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on chromosome 5D were significantly associated with bran friability, accounting for 11–12% of the phenotypic variation. One of these SNPs was located within the Puroindoline-b gene, which is known for influencing endosperm texture. Two SNPs on chromosome 4A were tentatively associated with WRC, accounting for 4.6% and 4.4% of phenotypic variation. The favorable alleles at the SNP sites were present in only 15% (friability) and 34% (WRC) of lines, indicating a need to develop new germplasm for these whole-grain end-use quality traits. Validation of these findings in independent populations will be useful for breeding winter wheat cultivars with improved functionality for whole grain food applications

Physiologic Specialization of \u3ci\u3ePuccinia recondita\u3c/i\u3e f. sp. \u3ci\u3etritici\u3c/i\u3e in Nebraska During 1995 and 1996

Field samples of Puccinia recondita f. sp. tritici, collected from four wheat-growing regions in Nebraska in 1995 and from three in 1996, were characterized for virulence. Twenty virulence phenotypes were identified in 1995 and 18 in 1996. Virulence phenotypes MBR-10,18 (virulent on Lr genes, 1, 3, 3ka, 10, 11, 18, and 30) and MDR-10,18 (virulent on Lr genes 1, 3, 3ka, 10, 11, 18, 24, and 30) were the most prevalent, with each phenotype comprising 21.6% of the isolates characterized in 1995. Of the 1995 isolates, 24% were virulent on 10 or more host genes. No virulence to Lr16 and Lr17 was detected. In 1996, virulence phenotype MBR-10,18 was the most prevalent and comprised 20.5% of the isolates characterized. Of the 1996 isolates, 33% were virulent on 10 or more host genes. All isolates in both years were virulent on Lr1, Lr3, and Lr10. New virulence phenotypes were detected in 1996 that were not detected in 1995. In 1996, virulence was more frequent on Lr2a, Lr16, and Lr17 and less frequent on Lr3ka, Lr18, Lr24, Lr26, and Lr30. The number of isolates virulent on Lr24 and Lr26 has decreased from 83 and 53%, respectively, in 1992, to 34 and 1%, respectively, in 1996

Education, employment and marriage in long-term survivors of teenage and young adult cancer compared with healthy controls

QUESTIONS UNDER STUDY: Teenage and young adult (TYA) cancer patients are faced with the diagnosis during a challenging period of psychosocial development that may affect social outcomes in the long term. Therefore, we aimed to: (1) determine differences in social outcomes between long-term TYA cancer survivors and healthy controls and (2) identify factors associated with adverse social out-comes. METHODS: We sent a questionnaire to TYA cancer survivors (aged 16-25 years at diagnosis, ≥5 years after diagnosis) registered in the Cancer Registry Zurich and Zug. Information on controls was obtained from the Swiss Health Survey 2012. We assessed educational achievement, employment status, marital status and life partnership (survivors only), and compared these outcomes between survivors and controls. We used logistic regression to identify sociodemo-graphic and cancer-related factors associated with social outcomes. RESULTS: We included 160 TYA cancer survivors and 999 controls. Educational achievement of survivors differed significantly from controls (p = 0.012): more survivors than controls reported upper secondary education (33 vs 27%) and fewer survivors reported uni-versity education (12 vs 21%). No significant differences were found for employment (p = 0.515) and marital status (p = 0.357). The major-ity of survivors (91%) and controls (90%) were employed, and 37% of survivors were married, compared with 41% of controls. There were no cancer-related factors associated with having only basic educa-tion. Unemployment was associated with younger age at diagnosis (odds ratio [OR] 5.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-30.8) and self-reported late effects (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.3-19.5). Survivors of younger age at diagnosis were more likely not to be married (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3-5.7) and not to have a life partner (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.0-5.2). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that TYA cancer survivors com-pleted applied higher education rather than a university education. Future studies including larger samples of TYA cancer survivors are needed to validate our findings and to explore the reasons for and satisfaction with the observed educational pathway

Relationship status and quality of the partner relationship in parents of long-term childhood cancer survivors: The Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study-Parents

Objective The intensive and long‐lasting experience of childhood cancer is a tremendous stressor for the parental relationship. We aimed to (1) compare civil status and partner relationship of parents of long‐term childhood cancer survivors with population‐based comparisons, (2) identify cancer‐related characteristics associated with not being married, and (3) evaluate the quality of the partner relationship. Methods We sent questionnaires to parents of survivors aged ≤16 years at diagnosis and ≥20 years at study. Population‐based comparisons were derived from a random sample of the general population (≥1 child aged ≥20 years) and standardized by sociodemographic characteristics of survivor parents. We used logistic regression to identify cancer‐related characteristics associated with not being married. The quality of the partner relationship was evaluated using the relationship‐specific attachment scale for adults assessing the dimensions security (secure‐fearful) and dependency (dependent‐independent). Results A total of 784 parents (58.9% mothers) of 512 survivors (response rate: 44.0%) and 471 comparison parents completed the questionnaire. Parents of survivors were less often divorced/separated (9.0% vs 17.5%, P < 0.001) and more often in a partner relationship (89.9% vs 85.0%, P = 0.010) than comparisons. Not being married was not associated with cancer‐related characteristics. Parents of survivors reported similar security (P = 0.444) but higher dependency (P = 0.032) within the partner relationship than comparisons. In both populations, fathers indicated higher security and dependency than mothers. Conclusions Long after the diagnosis of cancer in their child, parents' relationship appears similar as in parents of the general population. The increased dependency reported by parents of survivors suggests that they managed their child's disease as a team

Administration of Steroids in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery: Impact on Clinical Outcome and Systemic Inflammatory Response

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is associated with a systemic inflammatory response. Pre-bypass steroid administration may modulate the inflammatory response, resulting in improved postoperative recovery. We performed a prospective study in the departments of cardiovascular surgery and pediatric intensive care medicine of two university hospitals that included 50 infants who underwent heart surgery. Patients received either prednisolone (30 mg/kg) added to the priming solution of the cardiopulmonary bypass circuit (steroid group) or no steroids (nonsteroid group). Clinical outcome parameters include therapy with inotropic drugs, oxygenation, blood lactate, glucose, and creatinine, and laboratory parameters of inflammation include leukocytes, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-8. Postoperative recovery (e.g., the number, dosage, and duration of inotropic drugs as well as oxygenation) was similar in patients treated with or without steroids when corrected for the type of cardiac surgery performed. After CPB, there was an inflammatory reaction, especially in patients with a long CPB time. Postoperative plasma levels of interleukin-8 were correlated with the duration of CPB time (r = 0.62, p < 0.001). Administration of steroids had no significant impact on the laboratory parameters of inflammation. Administration of prednisolone into the priming solution of the CPB circuit had no measurable influence on postoperative recovery and did not suppress the inflammatory respons

"I wish someone had once asked me how I'm doing": Disadvantages and support needs faced by parents of long-term childhood cancer survivors

BACKGROUND: Childhood cancer affects the whole family and can have a lasting impact on parents of childhood cancer survivors (CCS). We aimed to (1) describe parents' perspective of currently experienced disadvantages and of their support needs during treatment, after treatment, and today; (2) identify characteristics associated with disadvantages and support needs; and (3) describe the use of existing support services. PROCEDURE: In this population-based study, we identified parents of CCS (diagnosed ≤16 years of age, ≥5 years since diagnosis, aged ≥20 years at study) through the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry (SCCR). Parents completed a questionnaire on perceived disadvantages (e.g., job-related, financial, etc.), support needs (e.g., job-related, financial, etc.), and socio-demographics. Cancer-related characteristics were available from the SCCR. We used multivariable multilevel logistic regression to identify characteristics associated with disadvantages and support needs. RESULTS: An average of 24 years after diagnosis, one-fifth of parents (n = 59/308; 19.2%) reported disadvantages, and 7.1% reported support needs. Many parents had desired more support during (66.9%) or after (34.4%) their child's cancer treatment. Parents whose child experienced late effects (OR = 26.6; 95% CI, 2.9-241.0) or was dependent on parents (OR = 10.6; 95% CI, 2.1-53.7) reported greater current need for more support. Almost half of parents (43.5%) reported having used existing support services. CONCLUSIONS: Many parents need more support during and after active treatment of their child's cancer, and some experience support needs and disadvantages long into survivorship. Better promotion of existing services for parental and familial support and setting up new services, where needed, may help parents in the long term

Coleoptile length comparison of three winter small grain cereals adapted to the Great Plains

Successful crop stand establishment is critical to realize high yield potential, which is dependent on depth of seed placement to access soil moisture. The coleoptile determines sowing depth by its length and ability to emerge from depth. This study was conducted to assess coleoptile length among three sets of three Great Plains winter small grain cereals—wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and triticale (X triticosecale Wittm.)—and to evaluate the effect of the Rht-B1b dwarfing allele on coleoptile length in wheat and triticale. Fifty seeds of each genotype were sown in wet germination paper in two replications utilizing a randomized complete block design, which were placed in dark growth chambers at 25°C. Measurements were conducted after 7 d, and analysis of variance and comparison of least square means for coleoptile length among and within each set of genotypes were performed in Statistix 8.1 software using Fisher’s protected least significance difference at the α = 0.05 significance level. Results revealed that triticale had the longest coleoptiles, which were significantly longer (P \u3c 0.05) than those measured in both barley and wheat. Additionally, significant variation in coleoptile length (P \u3c 0.05) was also found within each set of wheat (3.52–6.41 cm), barley (4.32–6.63 cm) and triticale (4.05–6.92 cm) genotypes, respectively. These findings confirm other reports that the presence of the Rht-B1b allele was pleiotropic for coleoptile length, but development of semi-dwarf wheats with longer coleoptiles is possible if breeders deploy concurrent selection strategies

Genomic Selection in Preliminary Yield Trials in a Winter Wheat Breeding Program

Genomic prediction (GP) is now routinely performed in crop plants to predict unobserved phenotypes. The use of predicted phenotypes to make selections is an active area of research. Here, we evaluate GP for predicting grain yield and compare genomic and phenotypic selection by tracking lines advanced. We examined four independent nurseries of F3:6 and F3:7 lines trialed at 6 to 10 locations each year. Yield was analyzed using mixed models that accounted for experimental design and spatial variations. Genotype-by-sequencing provided nearly 27,000 high-quality SNPs. Average genomic predictive ability, estimated for each year by randomly masking lines as missing in steps of 10% from 10 to 90%, and using the remaining lines from the same year as well as lines from other years in a training set, ranged from 0.23 to 0.55. The predictive ability estimated for a new year using the other years ranged from 0.17 to 0.28. Further, we tracked lines advanced based on phenotype from each of the four F3:6 nurseries. Lines with both above average genomic estimated breeding value (GEBV) and phenotypic value (BLUP) were retained for more years compared to lines with either above average GEBV or BLUP alone. The number of lines selected for advancement was substantially greater when predictions were made with 50% of the lines from the testing year added to the training set. Hence, evaluation of only 50% of the lines yearly seems possible. This study provides insights to assess and integrate genomic selection in breeding programs of autogamous crops