Previous studies have indicated that China is one of the domestication centres of Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa), and common wild rice (O. rufipogon) is the progenitor of O. sativa. However, the number of domestication times and the geographic origin of Asian cultivated rice in China are still under debate. In this study, 100 accessions of Asian cultivated rice and 111 accessions of common wild rice in China were selected to examine the relationship between O. sativa and O. rufipogon and thereby infer the domestication and evolution of O. sativa in China through sequence analyses of six gene regions, trnC-ycf6 in chloroplast genomes, cox3 in mitochondrial genomes and ITS, Ehd1, Waxy, Hd1 in nuclear genomes. The results indicated that the two subspecies of O. sativa (indica and japonica) were domesticated independently from different populations of O. rufipogon with gene flow occurring later from japonica to indica; Southern China was the genetic diversity centre of O. rufipogon, and the Pearl River basin near the Tropic of Cancer was the domestication centre of O. sativa in China.

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Hd1 is one of the major photoperiod genes with high degree of polymorphisms and contributes to rice (Oryza sativa L.) flowering in different light conditions. Ninety-two rice landraces and 111 accessions of common wild rice (O. rufipogon Griff.) from the mini-core collections in China were selected and sequenced to analyze the domestication process and association of Hd1 with rice flowering. Association analysis revealed that three insertions and two deletions in the coding region of Hd1 are highly correlated with flowering time in the short-day condition. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the polymorphisms of Hd1 in wild rice are related to the distributions. Haplotype analysis indicated that Hd1 in most O. sativa L. ssp. indica Kato and O. sativa L. ssp. japonica Kato landraces evolved from different O. rufipogon groups containing functional Hd1 and that most aus varieties were domesticated from O. rufipogon containing the long-insertions Hd1, suggesting multiple origins of Hd1. Moreover, O. rufipogon which contained the long-insertions Hd1 could only be found in Southern China, implying that Southern China might be one of the domestication centers of O. sativa. This study provides much significant information to aid further understanding of the domestication process of Hd1.

Background and Aims:Many new grape breeding lines with diverse quality attributes are becoming available every year. The search for specific markets is both time-consuming and labour-intensive. Consumer-assisted selection could help improve breeding and marketing efficiency. Methods and Results: Three hundred and fifteen Chinese consumers were surveyed in Beijing; 69 of them further taste-tested ten grape samples to understand consumer preferences for tablegrape cultivars and the key attributes influencing their choice. The participants mostly preferred medium size, completely closed bunches with a tight shoulder and bunches of red to dark-coloured round or oval berries with an intense sweet-sour flavour. Intense juiciness, a crunchy texture, seedlessness and 'Muscat' aroma were supportive attributes. Conclusions: Specific preferences for extrinsic and intrinsic attributes of tablegrapes were found in Chinese consumers. Consumer-assisted selection could help improve the efficiency of breeding and targeted marketing. Significance of the Study: This study provides the first set of consumer-assisted tablegrape-selection data in China, which can be used as a reference in the breeding of new grape cultivars and in enhancing grape competitiveness in the Chinese market.

The BHMT gene rs3733890, RFC1 gene rs1051266 and MTR gene rs1805087 were associated with the occurrence of NTDs in Han population of Northern China. It was confirmed that the gene variation related to OCM was one of the susceptibility factors for NTDs.

BackgroundNeural tube defects (NTDs) are birth defects of the brain, spine, or spinal cord invoked by the insufficient intake of folic acid in the early stages of pregnancy and have a complex etiology involving both genetic and environmental factors. So the study aimed to explore the association between alterations in maternal one-carbon metabolism and NTDs in the offspring.MethodsWe conducted a case-control study to get a deeper insight into this association, as well as into the role of genetic polymorphisms. Plasma concentrations of folate, homocysteine (Hcy), S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) and genotypes and alleles distributions of 52 SNPs in 8 genes were compared for 61 women with NTDs-affected offspring and 61 women with healthy ones.ResultsThere were significant differences between groups with regard to plasma folate, SAM, SAH and SAM/SAH levels. Logistic regression results revealed a significant association between maternal plasma folate level and risk of NTDs in the offspring. For MTHFD1 rs2236225 polymorphism, mothers having GA genotype and A allele exhibited an increased risk of NTDs in the offspring (OR = 2.600, 95%CI: 1.227–5.529; OR = 1.847, 95%CI: 1.047–3.259). For MTHFR rs1801133 polymorphism, mothers having TT and CT genotypes were more likely to affect NTDs in the offspring (OR = 4.105, 95%CI: 1.271–13.258; OR = 3.333, 95%CI: 1.068–10.400). Moreover, mothers carrying T allele had a higher risk of NTDs in the offspring (OR = 1.798, 95%CI: 1.070–3.021). For MTRR rs1801394 polymorphism, the frequency of G allele was significantly higher in cases than in controls (OR = 1.763, 95%CI: 1.023–3.036). Mothers with NTDs-affected children had higher AG genotype in RFC1 rs1051226 polymorphism than controls, manifesting an increased risk for NTDs (OR = 3.923, 95%CI: 1.361–11.308).ConclusionFolic acid deficiency, MTHFD1 rs2236225, MTHFR rs1801133, MTRR rs1801349 and RFC1 rs1051226 polymorphisms may be maternal risk factors of NTDs.

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