Heavy metal pollution is considered to be a major constraint of the ecosystem in current times. Heavy metals present in the earth’s crust naturally. The intoxication emerges when they are accumulated above the threshold into the environment via natural and/or anthropogenic activities, modern industrialization and some agricultural practices. Large areas of land have been polluted with heavy metals owing to the extensive application of pesticides, fertilizers, municipal and compost wastes, and also due to heavy metal release from smelting industries and metalliferous mines. Heavy metals potentially affect plant growth, metabolism and ionic status. Modification of the oxidative status of the cells is the predominant effect of heavy metals via excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, once inside the cells, heavy metals deregulate the defense components and homeostasis between the production of ROS and

Wheat is an important source of dietary protein and daily calories for majority of the world’s population. Although several pests and diseases affect yield potential and quality, the three rusts and powdery mildew fungi have caused major epidemics in the past and continue to threaten wheat production despite the widespread use of genetic resistance and fungicides. The evolution and migration of more virulent and aggressive race lineages of rust fungi have rendered varieties vulnerable. Fusarium head blight, leaf spotting diseases, root diseases and, more recently, wheat blast (in South America, Bangladesh and more recently Zambia) have become increasingly important owing to narrow options for resistance diversity. Race-specific and quantitative resistance are well studied for most diseases; their selection and deployment as combinations through phenotyping coupled with molecular strategies offer grea

Wheat stripe rust (caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) is a major disease that damages wheat plants and affects wheat yield all over the world. In recent years, stripe rust became a major problem that affects wheat yield in Egypt. New races appeared and caused breakdowns in the resistant genotypes. To improve resistance in the Egyptian genotypes, new sources of resistance are urgently needed. In the recent research, a set of 95 wheat genotypes collected from 19 countries, including Egypt, were evaluated for their resistance against the Egyptian race(s) of stripe rust under field conditions in the two growing seasons 2018/2019 and 2019/2020. A high genetic variation was found among the tested genotypes. Single marker analysis was conducted using a subset of 71 genotypes and 424 diversity array technology (DArT) markers, well distributed across the genome. Out of the tested markers, 13 stable markers were identified that were significantly associated with resistance in both years (p-value ≤ 0.05). By using the sequence of the DArT markers, the chromosomal position of the significant DArT markers was detected, and nearby gene models were identified. Two markers on chromosomes 5A and 5B were found to be located within gene models functionally annotated with disease resistance in plants. These two markers could be used in marker-assisted selection for stripe rust resistance under Egyptian conditions. Two German genotypes were carrying the targeted allele of all the significant DArT markers associated with stripe rust resistance and could be used to improve resistance under Egyptian conditions.

Wheat is a key economically important cereal crop that is consumed globally. While the grain yield increase is steady at around 1%, it is not enough to meet the growing global demands of the next decades. One the major factor that affects wheat production is the uncertainty in climatic patterns. High temperature, drought, frost, and salinity are some of the abiotic stresses known to affect wheat production significantly. Developing wheat varieties with stable and high grain yield is the crucial for sustainable wheat production. Though, diversity for tolerance to abiotic stress exists within the wheat gene pools and elite germplasms, there is a need to rapidly introgress and breed for stress adapted lines. Optimization of the breeding process, through use of effective screening technologies, faster generation advance, and recycling of parents could impact the varietal development process significantly. The advances in

Abstract

Background and aims

Pb and Sn concentration increase rapidly due to the industrial revolution and cause a significant reduction in wheat production and productivity. Understanding the genetic control of Pb and Sn tolerance is very important to produce wheat cultivars that are tolerant to such metals.

Methods

Extensive genetic analyses using genome-wide association study, functional annotation, and gene enrichment were investigated in a set of 103 highly diverse spring wheat genotypes. Kernel traits such as kernel length (KL), kernel diameter (KD), kernel width (KW), and 1000-kernel weight (TKW) were measured under each metal as well as under controlled conditions.

Results

The GWAS identified a total of 131, 126, and 115 markers that were associated with kernel traits under Ctrl, Pb, and Sn. Moreover, the stress tolerance index (STI) for Pb and Sn was calculated and GWAS revealed 153 and 105 significant markers, respectively. Remarkably, one SNP Ku_c269_2643 located within TraesCS2A02G080700 gene model was found to be associated with KL under the three conditions. The results of gene enrichment revealed three, three, and six gene networks that have an association with the processes involved in kernel formation. The target alleles of all significant markers detected by GWAS were investigated in the most tolerant wheat genotypes to truly select the candidate parents for crossing in future breeding programs.

Conclusion

This is the first study that unlocked the genetic control of kernel yield under controlled and heavy metals conditions. Understanding the genetic control of kernel traits under heavy metals will accelerate breeding programs to improve wheat tolerance to Pb and Sn.

Pomegranate peels powder (PPP) contain total phenolic compounds and antioxidation activity, which can provide numerous health benefits. White soft cheese (WSC) was prepared from mixture of buffalo’s and cow’s milk and supplemented with different levels of pomegranate peels powder (0.5, 1 and 1.5%) and estimated for numerous storage quality parameters and oxidative stability under ambient (18±2°C) and refrigerated (6±2°C) conditions. Adding of PPP increased antioxidant activity, total nitrogen, soluble nitrogen, fat content and Lactococci count. Whilst, the total bacterial counts, yeast & moulds and acid degree value decreased.  Coliforms groups were not detected in all treatments. The counts of lactic acid bacteria increased up to the thirty days of storage and then decreased up to the end of storage period. Cheese sample supplemented with 1.5% PPP gained the highest total antioxidant activity. Moreover, T2 & T3 stored in 60 days at room temperature had lower total scores than other treatments. While, T2 & T3 stored at ambient temperature for 30 days as well as T1 & T2 stored at refrigerator temperature for 45 days had superior total scores than other treatments. Generally, PPP contained elevated levels of phenolic compounds, consequently it revealed efficacy antimicrobial properties and high antioxidant activity. Therefore, the PPP can be used in production of functional white soft cheese. This study indicates that peel of pomegranate can be used commercially in the dairy industry as potential natural preservative.

Most of the freshwaters worldwide are used for agriculture. Freshwater sources are expected to decline and will not suffice to support the food production needed for the growing population. Therefore, growing crops with seawater might constitute a solution. However, very little work has been done on the effect of seawater stress on wheat, an important cereal crop. The present study aimed to determine whether particular wheat genotypes provided better resistance to seawater stress. A set of 80 highly diverse spring wheat genotypes collected from different countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America was exposed to 50% seawater stress at the early growth stage. Four seeding shoot and root traits were scored for all genotypes. High genetic variations were found among all genotypes for the epicotyl length (EL), hypocotyl length (HL), number of radicles (NOR), and fresh weight (FW). Eight genotypes with high-performance scores of seedling traits were selected. The correlation analyses revealed highly significant correlations among all traits scored in this study. The strongest correlation was found between the NOR and the other seeding traits. Thus, the NOR might be an important adaptive trait for seawater tolerance. The genetic diversity among all genotypes was investigated based on genetic distance. A wide range of genetic distances among all genotypes was found. There was also a great
genetic distance among the eight selected genotypes. In particular, the genetic distance between ATRI 5310 (France) and the other seven genotypes was the greatest. Such high genetic diversity might be utilized to select highly divergent genotypes for crossing in a future breeding program. The present study provides very useful information on the presence of different genetic resources in wheat for seawater tolerance.

There is an increased interest among poultry nutritionists to increase the linoleic acid (LA) content
of the egg, which possesses many benefits for human health. This fatty acid must be provided
by the diet as the bird’s body cannot synthesise it. The present study evaluated the
influence of different levels of dietary LA on the productive performance, egg quality and yolk
lipid profile of Longyan laying ducks. In total, 900 Longyan female laying ducks aged 24 weeks
were assigned to six dietary treatments, each containing 6 replicates of 25 ducks. The six dietary
treatments contained six incremental levels of LA (analysed content: 0.36, 0.66, 0.80, 1.07, 1.28,
and 1.45%) and the experimental diets were offered for the following 20 weeks. The results
showed that different supplemental levels of dietary LA had no effects on egg production traits,
concentrations of plasma cholesterol and triglycerides, or low or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol
(p>.05). There was a linear increase in yolk colour (p<.001) and yolk cholesterol (p<.005)
with increasing dietary LA. With increased intake of LA, the yolk content in C18:1, C20:1 and
total monounsaturated fatty acids decreased linearly (all p<.005), but the concentrations of
C18:2, C18:3, C20:2, C20:3, C20:4, C20:6, and total polyunsaturated fatty acids were linearly
increased (p<.008 to <.0001). The results of the present work show that LA dietary supplementation
of Longyan duck layers positively modified the yolk fatty acid profile, increased the yolk
cholesterol, and enhanced the yolk colour.
HIGHLIGHTS

This study evaluated the effects of selenium
(Se) supplementation in maternal and offspring
diets on performance and antioxidant capacity of ducklings
aged from 0 to 2 wk. A total of 144 female Longyan
duck breeders aged 22-wk were allotted into 2 treatments
and fed a control diet or a 0.16 mg Se/kg supplemented
diet. At 40-wk, 120 offspring from each
treatment were divided into 2 groups, with 6 replicates
of 10 birds. Using a 2 £ 2 factorial design, ducklings
from each maternal dietary treatment were assigned to
a control diet or a 0.16 mg Se/kg supplemented diet
from hatch to 2-wk. Compared with Se-deficient diet,
maternal diet supplemented with 0.16 mg Se/kg
increased the BW of hatchlings (P < 0.01). There were
interactions between maternal and progeny diet with
0.16 mg Se/kg in BW of ducklings aged 2 wk and BW
gain (BWG) as ducklings from maternal Se/progeny
none treatment had the lightest BW and BWG (P <
0.01). Maternal diet with 0.16 mg Se/kg decreased
plasma concentration of uric acid and insulin-like growth
factor 1 (P < 0.01), and progeny diet supplemented with 0.16 mg Se/kg increased the activities of glutathione peroxidase
3 (GPx3) in plasma and glutathione peroxidase
1 in erythrocyte (P < 0.01). Maternal diet with 0.16 mg
Se/kg increased (P < 0.05) the hepatic activity of total
superoxide dismutase (T-SOD). Progeny diet supplemented
with 0.16 mg Se/kg increased (P < 0.01) hepatic
activity of GPx3 and decreased (P < 0.01) the hepatic
concentration of malondialdehyde. Interactions were
detected between maternal and progeny diet with
0.16 mg Se/kg in hepatic activity of T-SOD and maternal
and progeny diet supplemented with Se displayed
the highest hepatic activity of T-SOD (P < 0.05). Overall,
Se supplementation in the diet of duck breeders and
offspring increased the antioxidant capacity of ducklings.
Maternal Se supplementation increased the BW of
hatchlings, whereas maternal and progeny dietary Se
supplementation did not affect the BWG of ducklings
aged from 0 to 2 wk. Se supplementation with additional
0.16 mg/kg in the diet of duck breeders and offspring
displayed beneficial effects particularly on the antioxidant
capacity in ducklings.