Sunflower Hybrid Breeding: From Markers to Genomic Selection

In sunflower, molecular markers for simple traits as, e.g., fertility restoration, high oleic acid content, herbicide tolerance or resistances to Plasmopara halstedii, Puccinia helianthi, or Orobanche cumana have been successfully used in marker-assisted breeding programs for years. However, agronomically important complex quantitative traits like yield, heterosis, drought tolerance, oil content or selection for disease resistance, e.g., against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum have been challenging and will require genome-wide approaches. Plant genetic resources for sunflower are being collected and conserved worldwide that represent valuable resources to study complex traits. Sunflower association panels provide the basis for genome-wide association studies, overcoming disadvantages of biparental populations. Advances in technologies and the availability of the sunflower genome sequence made novel approaches on the whole genome level possible. Genotype-by-sequencing, and whole genome sequencing based on next generation sequencing technologies facilitated the production of large amounts of SNP markers for high density maps as well as SNP arrays and allowed genome-wide association studies and genomic selection in sunflower. Genome wide or candidate gene based association studies have been performed for traits like branching, flowering time, resistance to Sclerotinia head and stalk rot. First steps in genomic selection with regard to hybrid performance and hybrid oil content have shown that genomic selection can successfully address complex quantitative traits in sunflower and will help to speed up sunflower breeding programs in the future. To make sunflower more competitive toward other oil crops higher levels of resistance against pathogens and better yield performance are required. In addition, optimizing plant architecture toward a more complex growth type for higher plant densities has the potential to considerably increase yields per hectare. Integrative approaches combining omic technologies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and phenomics) using bioinformatic tools will facilitate the identification of target genes and markers for complex traits and will give a better insight into the mechanisms behind the traits

Proteome analysis of some sunflower hybrids and inbred lines under drought stress

Heterosis is the superior performance of heterozygous F1-hybrid plants compared with their homozygous genetically distinct parents. The proteome of leaves of one sunflower hybrid and its parental inbred lines was analyzed by label free LC–MS/MS. A total of 1998 proteins were identified. Among them 38 proteins indicated heterosis pattern in hybrid compared with midparents. The results showed an increment of photosynthesis capacity, assimilation rate, nitrogen fixation, cell growth and reducing in some energy-consuming processes like protein production, response to stresses and respiration. These results suggest that heterosis mechanisms increase input energy of plant with reinforcement of carbon fixation pathway and reduction in consumed energy toward production of superior hybrid. This study could help to better elucidate what mechanisms are involved in heterosis of sunflower leaves and what happens at proteome level. Biological significance: The current work describes the first study in which gel-free shotgun proteomics was used to compare the proteome of leaves of one sunflower hybrid to its parental inbred lines. In this study 1998 proteins were identified from sunflower leaves with label free nano LC–MS/MS. The numbers of 38 proteins significantly showed heterosis pattern. The comparison between hybrid and parental inbred lines showed that hybrid vigor is actually linked by emphasizing the assimilation rate and low energy consumption

A Defense of Moral Luck

In this paper, I will argue that philosophers who deny the existence of moral luck must pay a cost that has been widely neglected. Section I is dedicated to introducing the problem of moral luck. In section II, I will try to show that denying the existence of situational moral luck commits one to rejecting the intuition that there is a significant moral difference in the responsibility of those who merely plan a wrong from those who also execute their plans. I will also show that the structure of my argument allows us to pose challenging problems for moral luck opponents. Obviously, these are not enough to solve this difficult problem once and for all. The aim, here, is just to make the case against the denial of moral luck stronger. In the final section, some concluding remarks will be made

Effect of Salicylic Acid on Morpho-agronomical Traits of Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.) under Drought Stress

Guar is a tropical, salt and drought tolerant plant. To assess the effect of salicylic acid on its morphological and agronomical traits under different irrigation intervals, a split plot experiment based on randomized complete block design with four replicates was performed in Galeh-Gang region in Kerman province, Iran. Three different irrigations with 6, 9 and 12 day intervals, assigned to main plots and four salicylic acid concentrations (0, 0.5, 1 and 2 mM) to sub plots. Salicylic acid spraying was done three times at five leaf, flowering and podding stages. The results indicated that most of the morphologic and agronomic characters of guar were influenced under different irrigation intervals. Leaf area index, number of pods per plants and number of seeds per pod were decreased when drought stress occured. Spraying plants with salicylic acid increased almost all characters under study. While, the highest number of pods per plant, seeds per pod were obtained at 2 mM and leaf area index at 1 mM salicylic acid treatments. Irrigation interval by salicylic acid interaction was significant for specific leaf area, 1000 seed weight, seed protein content and seed yield. The highest seed yield (1245.25 kg.ha-1) was belonged to the irrigation of 6 day interval and 1 mM acid salicylic treatment. As a whole it can be concluded that use of 1 mM salicylic acid treatment might increase drought tolerance of guar and prevent yield reduction during drought stress

Anterior segment indices in mentally retarded children

Abstract To compare the anterior segment indices between mentally retarded and normal children. The current study was conducted as a cohort. In this study, 73 mentally retarded and 76 normal children were selected from normal school and special schools for mentally retarded children using random cluster sampling method. Mental retardation in children was confirmed by a psychologist. Optometry examinations including visual acuity and refraction were performed for all participants, and ultimately, corneal imaging measurements were taken by Pentacam. The mean age of mentally retarded and normal children was of 13.30 ± 1.83 and 13.05 ± 1.82 years, respectively (P = 0.180). A multiple generalized estimating equations model demonstrated that there is a significant association between central corneal thickness (CCT) (coef = 1.011, P < 0.001), corneal diameter (CD) (coef = 0.444, P = 0.046), anterior chamber depth (ACD) (coef = 0.23), P < 0.001) and index of vertical asymmetry (IVA) (coef = 0.12, P < 0.001) and mental retardation. Cerebral palsy children had higher keratoconus index (KI), central keratoconus index (CKI), index of height asymmetry(IHA), and index of height decentration (IHD) compared to those without cerebral palsy (P < 0.05). Children with moderate mental retardation had higher index of surface variance (ISV), IVA, IHA, and IHD than those with mild mental retardation (P < 0.05). The mean and standard deviation of CCT, CD, ACD and IVA index in mentally retarded children were 535.3 ± 46.68 micron, 11.87 ± 0.42 mm, 3.29 ± 0.24 mm and 0.25 ± 0.18 mm, respectively. These indices in the normal group were 525.53 ± 47.52 micron, 11.84 ± 0.38 mm, 3.15 ± 0.28 mm and 0.17 ± 0.05 mm, respectively. The findings of this study showed that some anterior segment indices were different in mentally retarded compared to normal children. Moreover, some keratoconus indicators were worse in cerebral palsy children and children with higher grade mental retardation. So, it is important to consider keratoconus screening in these children

Heterosis profile of sunflower leaves: a label free proteomics approach

Heterosis is the superior performance of heterozygous F-1-hybrid plants compared with their homozygous genetically distinct parents. The proteome of leaves of one sunflower hybrid and its parental inbred lines was analyzed by label free LC-MS/MS. A total of 1998 proteins were identified. Among them 38 proteins indicated heterosis pattern in hybrid compared with midparents. The results showed an increment of photosynthesis capacity, assimilation rate, nitrogen fixation, cell growth and reducing in some energy-consuming processes like protein production, response to stresses and respiration. These results suggest that heterosis mechanisms increase input energy of plant with reinforcement of carbon fixation pathway and reduction in consumed energy toward production of superior hybrid. This study could help to better elucidate what mechanisms are involved in heterosis of sunflower leaves and what happens at proteome level. Biological significance The current work describes the first study in which gel-free shotgun proteomics was used to compare the proteome of leaves of one sunflower hybrid to its parental inbred lines. In this study 1998 proteins were identified from sunflower leaves with label free nano LC-MS/MS. The numbers of 38 proteins significantly showed heterosis pattern. The comparison between hybrid and parental inbred lines showed that hybrid vigor is actually linked by emphasizing the assimilation rate and low energy consumption. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Comprehensive assessment of respiratory complications in patients with common variable immunodeficiency

[Background] Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a heterogeneous group of disorders, characterized by recurrent upper and lower respiratory tract infections and some noninfectious clinical complications.[Objective] To provide a detailed evaluation of respiratory presentations and complications in a cohort of Iranian patients with CVID.[Methods] A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 245 CVID patients who were recorded in the Iranian primary immunodeficiency disorders registry network. Respiratory manifestations were evaluated by reviewing clinical hospital records, immunologic findings, pulmonary function tests (PFT), and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans.[Results] Most of the patients (n = 208, 85.2%) had experienced at least 1 episode of acute respiratory manifestation, and pneumonia was observed in 31.6 % (n = 77) of cases as a first disease manifestation. During the follow-up, pneumonia, sinusitis, and otitis media were documented in 166 (68.6%), 125 (51.2%), and 103 (42.6%) cases, respectively. Abnormal PFT measurements were documented in 53.8% of patients. Among these patients, 21.5% showed restrictive changes, whereas 18.4% of patients showed an obstructive pattern. Bronchiectasis was the most frequent radiological finding, confirmed in 27.2% of patients. Patients with bronchiectasis were older at the time of immunodeficiency diagnosis (P < .001) and had longer diagnosis delay (P < .001) when compared with patients without bronchiectasis.[Conclusion] This study highlights the importance of monitoring the respiratory tract system even in asymptomatic patients. Pulmonary function tests and CT scans are the most commonly used techniques aiming to identify these patients early, aiming to reduce the rate of long-term respiratory complications.Funding Sources: This research was supported by the Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (grant no. 35741)