The impact ofArgopistes tsekooni Chen (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a herbivore, on Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense Lout. (Scrophulariales: Oleaceae), an invasive shrub in the United States, was studied in China. Five densities of adults were inoc- ulated into 3-year-old potted Chinese privet plants in cages under field conditions for 1 month. Plants exposed to high densities of adults were severely damaged and the aboveground portions of some were killed, while the survival rates of adult A. tsekooni were comparatively high. The amount of new growth of the main stem, the number of new leaves, and oven-dried biomass were significantly reduced by the combined feeding of larvae and adults. Above-ground plant mortality was 100% when plants were exposed to 24 and 30 adults/plant. In this study A. tsekooni had a significant negative impact on Chinese privet growing in pots, which suggests that it may be a promising candidate for biological control of Chinese privet in the field in North America.
In order to understand the genetic basis for Zeleny sedimentation value (ZSV) of wheat, a doubled haploid (DH) population Huapei 3 × Yumai 57 (Yumai 57 is superior to Huapei 3 for ZSV), and a linkage map consisting of 323 marker loci were used to search QTLs for ZSV. This program was based on mixed linear models and allowed simultaneous mapping of additive effect QTLs, epistatic QTLs, and QTL x environment interactions (QEs). The DH population and the parents were evaluated for ZSV in three field trials. Mapping analysis produced a total of 8 QTLs and 2 QEs for ZSV with a single QTL explaining 0.64-14.39% of phenotypic variations. Four additive QTLs, 4 pairs of epistatic QTLs, and two QEs collectively explained 46.11% of the phenotypic variation (PVE). This study provided a precise location of ZSV gene within the Xwmc 93 and GluD1 interval, which was designated as Qzsv-1D. The information obtained in this study should be useful for manipulating the QTLs for ZSV by marker assisted selection (MAS) in wheat breeding programs.
ZHAO Liang LIU Bin ZHANG Kun-pu TIAN Ji-chun DENG Zhi-ying