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A major QTL affecting root traits and leaf ABA concentration was identified in maize (Zea mays L.) and named root-ABA1. For this QTL, back-cross-derived lines (BDLs) homozygous either for the (+) or for the (−) allele increasing or decreasing, respectively, root size and leaf ABA concentration, were developed. This study was conducted to evaluate the QTL effects in various genetic backgrounds and at different water regimes. The (+/+) and (−/−) BDLs were crossed with five or 13 inbred tester lines of different origin, thus producing two sets of test-crosses that were evaluated in Italy and China, respectively. Testing was conducted under both well-watered and water-stressed conditions. In Italy, the test-crosses derived from (+/+) BDLs, as compared with those derived from (−/−) BDLs, showed, across both water regimes, higher leaf ABA concentration (on average 384 versus 351 ng g−1 DW) and lower root lodging (28.0 versus 52.5%), and lower grain yield under water-stressed conditions (4.88 versus 6.27 Mg ha−1). In China, where root lodging did not occur, the test-crosses derived from (+/+) BDLs were less productive at both water regimes (on average, 6.83 versus 7.49 Mg ha−1). The lower grain yield of the test-crosses derived from (+/+) BDLs was due to a lower number of ears per plant and to lower kernel weight. The results indicate that the (+) root-ABA1 allele confers not only a consistently lower susceptibility to root lodging but also a lower grain yield, especially when root lodging does not occur.

A population of 96 doubled haploid lines (DHLs) was prepared from F1 plants of the hexaploid wheat cross Chinese Spring x SQ1 (a high abscisic acid-expressing breeding line) and was mapped with 567 RFLP, AFLP, SSR, morphological and biochemical markers covering all 21 chromosomes, with a total map length of 3,522 cM. Although the map lengths for each genome were very similar, the D genome had only half the markers of the other two genomes. The map was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for yield and yield components from a combination of 24 site x treatment x year combinations, including nutrient stress, drought stress and salt stress treatments. Although yield QTLs were widely distributed around the genome, 17 clusters of yield QTLs from five or more trials were identified: two on group 1 chromosomes, one each on group 2 and group 3, five on group 4, four on group 5, one on group 6 and three on group 7. The strongest yield QTL effects were on chromosomes 7AL and 7BL, due mainly to variation in grain numbers per ear. Three of the yield QTL clusters were largely site-specific, while four clusters were largely associated with one or other of the stress treatments. Three of the yield QTL clusters were coincident with the dwarfing gene Rht-B1 on 4BS and with the vernalisation genes Vrn-A1 on 5AL and Vrn-D1 on 5DL. Yields of each DHL were calculated for trial mean yields of 6 g plant(-1) and 2 g plant(-1) (equivalent to about 8 t ha(-1) and 2.5 t ha(-1), respectively), representing optimum and moderately stressed conditions. Analyses of these yield estimates using interval mapping confirmed the group-7 effects on yield and, at 2 g plant(-1), identified two additional major yield QTLs on chromosomes 1D and 5A. Many of the yield QTL clusters corresponded with QTLs already reported in wheat and, on the basis of comparative genetics, also in rice. The implications of these results for improving wheat yield stability are discussed.

A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population and a set of advanced lines from multiple crosses were used to investigate the leaf rust (Puccinia triticina Eriks.) resistance carried by the durum wheat cultivar Creso and its derivatives (Colosseo and Plinio). One hundred seventy-six RILs from the cross Colosseo x Lloyd were tested under artificial rust inoculation in the field. The response at the seedling stage was also investigated. A major QTL (QLr.ubo-7B.2) for leaf rust resistance controlling both the seedling and the adult open field based-response was mapped on 7BL, with the favourable allele inherited from Colosseo. QLr.ubo-7B.2 showed R ² and LOD peak values for the area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) equal to 72.9% and 44.5, respectively. The presence and location of QLr.ubo-7B.2 was validated by a linkage disequilibrium-based test using two-year field data of 62 advanced lines from 21 crosses with Creso, Colosseo or Plinio as resistance donors. QLr.ubo-7B.2 maps in a gene-dense region (7BL10-0.78-1.00) carrying several genes/QTLs in wheat and barley for resistance to rusts and other fungal diseases.

Gamma-ray bursts are thought to be cosmic-ray accelerators, thus neutrinos are expected from the decay of charged mesons, produced in pγ interactions. The search for high-energy neutrinos from astrophysical sources is one of the main goals of the ANTARES scientific project. The methods and the results of a search for neutrinos from the brightest GRBs observed between 2008 and 2013 are presented. Two scenarios of the fireball model have been investigated: the internal shock and the photospheric case. Since no events have been detected in time and space coincidence with any of these bursts, upper limits at 90% C.L. on the expected neutrino fluxes are derived, as well as constraints on some parameters used in the modeling of the neutrino yield, as the bulk Lorentz factor of the jet and the baryon loading fp.

A collection of 134 durum wheat accessions, mainly including cultivars (cvs.) representative of the major gene pools, was assembled and characterized with 70 SSRs for genetic diversity and level of long-range linkage disequilibrium (LD). Results of both a distance-based and a model-based (Bayesian) cluster analysis evidenced the presence of a structured diversity. In the model-based analysis, six to eight main distinct subpopulations were identified based on the molecular data. Only a relatively small portion (20%) of the molecular variation was accounted for by the geographical origin of the accessions. Major differences were detected between the North American and the Mediterranean cvs., while a considerable overlap characterized the cvs. from CIMMYT-ICARDA and Italy. The North American cvs. showed the highest within group mean genetic similarity (GS(m) = 0.68). French cvs. revealed sizeable similarities with both the North American as well as the Italian and CIMMYT-ICARDA pools. Considering the germplasm as a whole, high levels of LD were found both at locus pairs with an intrachromosomal distance <50 cM as well as at those with distances more than 50 cM and independent (86, 52 and 54% of SSR pairs at p < 0.01, respectively). After re-evaluating LD within each of the three main subgroups identified through the analysis of the germplasm structure, the LD level remained high for tightly to moderately linked locus pairs (<20 cM apart), but was greatly reduced in the loosely linked (more than 50 cM apart) and independent locus pairs. The implications of these findings as to the possibility of using association mapping for gene/QTL discovery in durum wheat are discussed.

The approximation of the optimal policy functions is investigated for dynamic optimization problems with an objective that is additive over a finite number of stages. The distance between optimal and suboptimal values of the objective functional is estimated, in terms of the errors in approximating the optimal policy functions at the various stages. Smoothness properties are derived for such functions and exploited to choose the approximating families. The approximation error is measured in the supremum norm, in such a way to control the error propagation from stage to stage. Nonlinear approximators corresponding to Gaussian radial-basis-function networks with adjustable centers and widths are considered. Conditions are defined, guaranteeing that the number of Gaussians (hence, the number of parameters to be adjusted) does not grow “too fast” with the dimension of the state vector. The results help to mitigate the curse of dimensionality in dynamic optimization. An example of application is given and the use of the estimates is illustrated via a numerical simulation.

Comparative analysis of a number of studies in drought-stressed maize (Zea mays L.) reporting quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for abscisic acid concentration, root characteristics, other morpho-physiological traits (MPTs) and grain yield (GY) reveals their complex genetic basis and the influence of the genetic background and the environment on QTL effects. Chromosome regions (e.g. near umc11 on chromosome 1 and near csu133 on chromosome 2) with QTLs controlling a number of MPTs and GY across populations and conditions of different water supply have been identified. Examples are presented on the use of QTL information to elucidate the genetic and physiological bases of the association among MPTs and GY. The QTL approach allows us to develop hypotheses accounting for these associations which can be further tested by developing near isogenic lines (NILs) differing for the QTL alleles. NILs also allow for a more accurate assessment of the breeding value of MPTs and, in some cases, may allow for the map-based cloning of the gene(s) underlying the QTL. Although QTL analysis is still time-consuming and resource-demanding, its integration with genomics and post-genomics approaches (e.g. transcriptome, proteome and metabolome analyses) will play an increasingly important role for the identification and validation of candidate genes affecting MPTs and GY.

Gamma-ray bursts are a possible site of hadronic acceleration, thus neutrinos are expected in correspondence of a GRB event. The brightest GRB observed between 2008 and 2013 (GRB080916C, GRB110918A, GRB130427A and GRB130505A) have been investigated using the data of the ANTARES high energy neutrino telescope. In this paper two of most promising models of the GRB neutrino emission will be studied: the internal shock model and the photospheric model. No muons have been measured in space and time correlation with the selected GRBs and upper limits at 90% C.L. on the expected neutrino fluxes have been derived. This measure allows also setting constraints on some parameters used in the modeling of the neutrino flux: the bulk Lorentz factor of the jet Г and the baryon loading fp.

Approximation schemes for functional optimization problems with admissible solutions dependent on a large number d of variables are investigated. Suboptimal solutions are considered, expressed as linear combinations of n -tuples from a basis set of simple computational units with adjustable parameters. Different choices of basis sets are compared, which allow one to obtain suboptimal solutions using a number n of basis functions that does not grow “fast” with the number d of variables in the admissible decision functions for a fixed desired accuracy. In these cases, one mitigates the “curse of dimensionality,” which often makes unfeasible traditional linear approximation techniques for functional optimization problems, when admissible solutions depend on a large number d of variables.

We investigated the overlap among quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in maize for seminal root traits measured in hydroponics with QTLs for grain yield under well-watered (GY-WW) and water-stressed (GY-WS) field conditions as well as for a drought tolerance index (DTI) computed as GY-WS/GY-WW. In hydroponics, 11, 7, 9, and 10 QTLs were identified for primary root length (R1L), primary root diameter (R1D), primary root weight (R1W), and for the weight of the adventitious seminal roots (R2W), respectively. In the field, 7, 8, and 9 QTLs were identified for GY-WW, GY-WS, and DTI, respectively. Despite the weak correlation of root traits in hydroponics with GY-WW, GY-WS, and DTI, a noticeable overlap between the corresponding QTLs was observed. QTLs for R2W most frequently and consistently overlapped with QTLs for GY-WW, GY-WS, and/or DTI. At four QTL regions, an increase in R2W was positively associated with GY-WW, GY-WS, and/or DTI. A 10 cM interval on chromosome 1 between PGAMCTA205 and php20644 showed the strongest effect on R1L, R1D, R2W, GY-WW, GY-WS, and DTI. These results indicate the feasibility of using hydroponics in maize to identify QTL regions controlling root traits at an early growth stage and also influencing GY in the field. A comparative analysis of the QTL regions herein identified with those described in previous studies investigating root traits in different maize populations revealed a number of QTLs in common.