【目的】玉米穗部性状是产量的重要构成因子,利用全基因组关联分析（genome-wide association study,GWAS）方法解析玉米杂交种穗部性状的遗传基础、挖掘与穗部性状相关的位点,为功能基因克隆和高产玉米品种培育提供参考。【方法】选用115份来源于陕A群和陕B群的优良玉米自交系和4份国内骨干作为亲本,以基于NCⅡ遗传交配设计获得的442份玉米杂交种为材料构建关联群体,调查2个环境中群体材料的穗长、穗粗、穗行数等8个穗部性状;利用tGBS技术检测亲本基因型,推测出F₁杂交种的19 461个高质量SNP,结合杂交种表型和基因型开展基于加性、显性及上位性模型的穗部性状的全基因组关联分析,并利用公共数据库中玉米穗发育相关组织的转录组数据和基因的注释信息预测候选基因。【结果】表型数据分析结果显示,试验群体的8个穗部性状均符合正态分布,表型变异为3.78%—45.25%。方差分析表明,8个穗部性状的环境效应和基因型效应均呈现极显著水平（P

Ten thousand years ago human societies around the globe began to transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture. By 4000 years ago, ancient peoples had completed the domestication of all major crop species upon which human survival is dependent, including rice, wheat, and maize. Recent research has begun to reveal the genes responsible for this agricultural revolution. The list of genes to date tentatively suggests that diverse plant developmental pathways were the targets of Neolithic "genetic tinkering," and we are now closer to understanding how plant development was redirected to meet the needs of a hungry world.

The launch of seed development in flowering plants (angiosperms) is initiated by the process of double fertilization: two male gametes (sperm cells) fuse with two female gametes (egg and central cell) to form the precursor cells of the two major seed components, the embryo and endosperm, respectively. The immobile sperm cells are delivered by the pollen tube toward the ovule harboring the female gametophyte by species-specific pollen tube guidance and attraction mechanisms. After pollen tube burst inside the female gametophyte, the two sperm cells fuse with the egg and central cell initiating seed development. The fertilized central cell forms the endosperm while the fertilized egg cell, the zygote, will form the actual embryo and suspensor. The latter structure connects the embryo with the sporophytic maternal tissues of the developing seed. The underlying mechanisms of double fertilization are tightly regulated to ensure delivery of functional sperm cells and the formation of both, a functional zygote and endosperm. In this review we will discuss the current state of knowledge about the processes of directed pollen tube growth and its communication with the synergid cells resulting in pollen tube burst, the interaction of the four gametes leading to cell fusion and finally discuss mechanisms how flowering plants prevent multiple sperm cell entry (polyspermy) to maximize their reproductive success.

The ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and ATM and Rad3-related (ATR) kinases coordinate the DNA damage response. The roles described for Arabidopsis thaliana ATR and ATM are assumed to be conserved over other plant species, but molecular evidence is scarce. Here, we demonstrate that the functions of ATR and ATM are only partially conserved between Arabidopsis and maize (Zea mays). In both species, ATR and ATM play a key role in DNA repair and cell cycle checkpoint activation, but whereas Arabidopsis plants do not suffer from the absence of ATR under control growth conditions, maize mutant plants accumulate replication defects, likely due to their large genome size. Moreover, contrarily to Arabidopsis, maize ATM deficiency does not trigger meiotic defects, whereas the ATR kinase appears to be crucial for the maternal fertility. Strikingly, ATR is required to repress premature endocycle onset and cell death in the maize endosperm. Its absence results in a reduction of kernel size, protein and starch content, and a stochastic death of kernels, a process being counteracted by ATM. Additionally, while Arabidopsis atr atm double mutants are viable, no such mutants could be obtained for maize. Therefore, our data highlight that the mechanisms maintaining genome integrity may be more important for vegetative and reproductive development than previously anticipated.

Seed size is an important component of grain yield and a key determinant trait for crop domestication. The Krug Yellow Dent long-term selection experiment for large and small seed provides a valuable resource to dissect genetic and phenotypic changes affecting seed size within a common genetic background. In this study, inbred lines derived from Krug Large Seed (KLS) and Krug Small Seed (KSS) populations and reciprocal F1 crosses were used to investigate developmental and molecular mechanisms governing seed size. Seed morphological characteristics showed striking differences between KLS and KSS inbred lines, and the reciprocal cross experiment revealed a strong maternal influence on both seed weight and seed size. Quantification of endosperm area, starchy endosperm cell size, and kernel dry mass accumulation indicated a positive correlation between seed size, endosperm cell number, and grain filling rate, and patterns of grain filling in reciprocal crosses mirrored that of the maternal parent. Consistent with the maternal contribution to seed weight, transcriptome profiling of reciprocal F1 hybrids showed substantial similarities to the maternal parent. A set of differentially expressed genes between KLS and KSS inbreds were found, which fell into a broad number of functional categories including DNA methylation, nucleosome assembly, and heat stress response. In addition, gene co-expression network analysis of parental inbreds and reciprocal F1 hybrids identified co-expression modules enriched in ovule development and DNA methylation, implicating these two processes in seed size determination. These results expand our understanding of seed size regulation and help to uncover the developmental and molecular basis underlying maternal control of seed size in maize.© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

以种不同类型的玉米（Zea mays L。）为材料，研究了不同类型和同一类型不同粒位子粒胚乳细胞增殖动态与粒重的关系。胚乳增殖动态可用Richards方程拟合。不同类型玉米胚乳细胞数有明显差异，表现为普通玉米（豫玉22号）＞甜玉米（甜玉6号）＞爆裂玉米（爆裂1号）＞糯玉米（黄糯1号）；不同粒位胚乳细胞数表现为中部＞下部＞上部。同一类型玉米粒重与胚乳细胞数呈极显性正相关，不同类型玉米间则胚乳细胞数与其他因素一起决定粒重。

The parental conflict hypothesis predicts that the mother inhibits embryo growth counteracting growth enhancement by the father. In plants the DNA methyltransferase MET1 is a central regulator of parentally imprinted genes that affect seed growth. However the relation between the role of MET1 in imprinting and its control of seed size has remained unclear. Here we combine cytological, genetic and statistical analyses to study the effect of MET1 on seed growth. We show that the loss of MET1 during male gametogenesis causes a reduction of seed size, presumably linked to silencing of the paternal allele of growth enhancers in the endosperm, which nurtures the embryo. However, we find no evidence for a similar role of MET1 during female gametogenesis. Rather, the reduction of MET1 dosage in the maternal somatic tissues causes seed size increase. MET1 inhibits seed growth by restricting cell division and elongation in the maternal integuments that surround the seed. Our data demonstrate new controls of seed growth linked to the mode of reproduction typical of flowering plants. We conclude that the regulation of embryo growth by MET1 results from a combination of predominant maternal controls, and that DNA methylation maintained by MET1 does not orchestrate a parental conflict.

【目的】研究不同杂种优势群玉米自交系籽粒灌浆速率的特性，筛选灌浆速率快的自交系，为高产玉米杂交种的选育提供借鉴。【方法】采用烘干法测定173份玉米自交系在授粉后10、20、30和40 d籽粒灌浆速率以及6个相关性状。应用SAS软件对灌浆速率在年际、自交系、取样时间、重复、年际×自交系、自交系×取样时间、年际×自交系×取样时间进行联合方差分析。应用SPSS软件对灌浆速率及其相关性状如10、20、30和40 d苞叶的含水率、苞叶数、40 d穗轴含水率、穗轴长、穗轴粗及40 d籽粒含水率进行相关分析。利用均匀覆盖玉米全基因组的210对SSR标记对试验材料进行全基因组扫描，通过Structure V2.3.4软件分析其群体结构。对不同杂种优势群平均籽粒灌浆速率进行方差分析，并筛选出各个群中籽粒灌浆速率快的自交系。【结果】表型分析结果表明，在P=0.01水平上，籽粒灌浆速率在不同年际、自交系、取样时间、自交系×取样时间、年际×自交系×取样时间上存在极显著差异,而重复、年际×自交系间差异不显著。通过对不同自交系籽粒灌浆速率与其相关性状间相关分析，发现10 d籽粒的灌浆速率与20 d的灌浆速率在0.01水平上达到了极显著的正相关（0.515），与40 d的灌浆速率和籽粒的含水率在0.01水平上达到了极显著的负相关（-0.198，-0.228）；20 d的籽粒灌浆速率只与40 d籽粒含水率在0.05水平上达到了显著的负相关；在授粉后30和40 d，籽粒的灌浆速率与40 d穗轴的含水率、穗轴粗以及40 d籽粒的含水率、30和40 d苞叶含水率在0.01水平上达到了极显著正相关，30 d籽粒的灌浆速率与10 d苞叶含水率达到了显著正相关；40 d籽粒的灌浆速率与20 d苞叶的含水率达到了显著地正相关。群体结构分析表明，参试自交系分成P、旅大红骨、瑞德、兰卡斯特和塘四平头5个杂种优势群。兰卡斯特和塘四平头群在0.05水平上没有显著差异；瑞德、P群和旅大红骨群间同样不存在显著差异（P=0.05）；而兰卡斯特、塘四平头群与瑞德、P群、旅大红骨群间则存在显著差异。对各群内自交系间进行多重比较，各群内自交系间灌浆速率在0.05水平上差异均不显著。试验共筛选到33个灌浆速率高于0.8 g•100 grain-1•d-1的自交系，其中瑞德群有13个，P群、旅大红骨、兰卡斯特、塘四平头群分别有9、6、3、2个自交系。【结论】不同玉米自交系籽粒灌浆速率存在较大差异，杂种优势群间的灌浆速率变化节奏不同，P群、旅大红骨、瑞德的表现快-快-慢的节奏，兰卡斯特、塘四平头的表现快-慢-慢的节奏。