Free asparagine concentration, which is the determining factor for acrylamide-forming potential in cereals, was measured in grain from wheat grown in field trials in the United Kingdom in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. There were 25 varieties in 2012 and 59 in 2013, with eleven present in both trials. The trials were split-plot, with half of each plot supplied with sulphur and the other half not. The varietal means (mmol per kg) for free asparagine in the sulphur-fed wheat ranged from 1.521 to 2.687 in 2011-2012 and 0.708 to 11.29 in 2012-2013. Eight varieties were identified as having consistently low free asparagine concentration. There was a differential response of varieties to sulphur, and much higher levels of free asparagine in 2012-2013 versus 2011-2012. Given the short commercial lifespan of some wheat varieties, it is concluded that information on free asparagine concentration should be made available when a variety is launched.

This study aimed to elucidate responses of the bacterial structure and diversity of the rhizosphere in flowering broomcorn millet after rehydration following drought stress. In this study, the broomcorn millet varieties ‘Hequ red millet’ (A1) and ‘Yanshu No.10′ (A2), known for their different drought tolerance levels, were selected as experimental materials. The plants were subjected to rehydration after drought stress at the flowering stage, while normal watering (A1CK and A2CK) served as the control. Soil samples were collected at 10 days (A11, A21, A1CK1, and A2CK1) and 20 days (A12, A22, A1CK2, and A2CK2) after rehydration. High-throughput sequencing technology was employed to investigate the variations in bacterial community structure, diversity, and metabolic functions in the rhizosphere of the broomcorn millet at different time points following rehydration. The findings indicated that the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of bacteria in the rhizosphere of broomcorn millet were notably influenced by the duration of treatment, with a significant decrease in OTUs observed after 20 days of rehydration. However, bacterial Alpha diversity was not significantly impacted by rehydration following drought stress. The bacterial community in the rhizosphere of broomcorn millet was mainly composed of Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. After rewatering for 10 to 20 days after drought stress, the abundance of Sphingomonas and Aeromicrobium in the rhizosphere soil of the two varieties of broomcorn millet decreased gradually. Compared with Yanshu No.10, the abundance of Pseudarthrobacter in the rhizosphere of Hequ red millet gradually increased. A Beta diversity analysis revealed variations in the dissimilarities of the bacterial community which corresponded to different rehydration durations. The relative abundance of bacterial metabolic functions in the rhizosphere of broomcorn millet was lower after 20 days of rehydration, compared to measurements after 10 days of rehydration. This observation might be attributed to the exchange of materials between broomcorn millet and microorganisms during the initial rehydration stage to repair the effects of drought, as well as to the enrichment of numerous microorganisms to sustain the stability of the community structure. This study helps to comprehend the alterations to the bacterial structure and diversity in the rhizosphere of broomcorn millet following drought stress and rehydration. It sheds light on the growth status of broomcorn millet and its rhizosphere microorganisms under real environmental influences, thereby enhancing research on the drought tolerance mechanisms of broomcorn millet.

Conventional rice breeding predominantly relies on hybridization techniques, with hybrid progenies typically requiring 8 to 10 generations of selfing to achieve genetically stable homozygous lines. In contrast, haploid breeding enables the derivation of stable doubled haploid (DH) lines from hybrid progeny in just one generation, substantially shortening the breeding cycle. Haploid breeding comprises two core steps: haploid induction and chromosome doubling, with efficient haploid induction being pivotal to the success of this technology. Currently, anther culture, due to its relatively mature and stable protocol, has become the primary method for obtaining haploids in rice haploid breeding. This review systematically summarizes the research progress in rice anther culture, focusing on the fundamental steps and applications of haploid breeding, the developmental history of anther culture, factors influencing anther culture efficiency and their underlying genetic mechanisms, current challenges and potential countermeasures, and future prospects for rice anther culture technology.

Objective proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) possesses a rich in germplasm and demonstrates advantages in arid environments..Developing a DNA identification system for proso millet using fluorescent SSR markers can establish a theoretical foundation and provide a molecular detection tool for digital resource management. In this study, 274 core germplasm samples of Ningxia proso millet were selected as an experimental materials, Proso millet specific SSR markers developed by Shanxi Agricultural University were subjected to multiple rounds of PCR screening and optimization.The core markers were then mapped using BLAST sequence comparison based on the reference genome information of proso millet. The SSR primers were labeled with FAM/HEX at the 5' end, and the genotypes of the materials were obtained through capillary electrophoresis..The presence of amplified bands was recorded using “0,1” binary coding, while the differentiation degree of the materials was assessed using IDAnalysis4.0. The size of the amplified fragments was represented in decimal form (0-9) to generate a unique molecular ID for each material. Genetic diversity, genetic clustering and principal component analysis. were conducted using software such as Popgene, Powermarker, MEGA, and NTSYS. The molecular IDs of the materials were obtained by generating QR codes using an online QR code software ( https://cli.im/ ). PCR amplification results showed that a combination of 10 fluorescent SSR markers (RYW6, RYW125, RYW43, RYW3, RYW40, RYW37, RYW42, RYW8, RYW28, and RYW124) could distinguish all 274 materials. BLAST analysis indicated that RYW124 was located at 7.8 cM on chromosome 12, RYW40 was located at 42.64 cM on chromosome 4, RYW42 was positioned at 34.63 cM on chromosome 13, RYW28 was at 2.34 cM on chromosome 16, and RYW8 was found at 9.90 cM on chromosome 3. Across the 10 loci, a total of 125 alleles were detected at 10 loci in the 274 samples, with an average of 12.5 alleles per locus and a range of variation from 5.0000 (RYW3) to 25.0000 (RYW6). The Shannon diversity index (I) ranged from 1.2458 (RYW3) to 2.6568 (RYW6), with an average value of 1.8532. The observed heterozygosity (Ho) ranged from 0.5185 (RYW40) to 0.9964 (RYW124), averaging at 0.8674. The expected heterozygosity (He) varied from 0.5724 (RYW40) to 0.9108 (RYW42), with an average of 0.7784. Nei’s gene diversity index (Nei) ranged from 0.5711 (RYW40) to 0.9091 (RYW42), averaging at 0.7767. The polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0.6563 (RYW3) to 0.9602 (RYW42), with an average of 0.8399. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis classified the materials into four groups. The electrophoretic strip was digitally encoded, and the combination of the 10 markers was used to construct both the string and two-dimensional code DNA molecular IDs for all materials.