Saccharum spontaneum L. has contributed important traits to modern sugarcane (S. spp. L.) cultivars such as adaptation to environmental stress and ratooning ability. There is interest in further use of S. spontaneum in sugarcane improvement for sugar or energy‐from‐biomass production systems. In this study, parents and progeny from 43 biparental crosses between sugarcane and S. spontaneum clones were evaluated in field trials in China and Australia, along with several commercial cultivars. The S. spontaneum clones were from diverse geographic origins in China. Measurements were made on biomass composition (% dry matter, brix and pol in juice and cane, purity, fiber content) and yield components. Moderate to high (>0.7) broad‐sense heritabilities and high genetic variances were observed for most traits. About half the total genetic variance was retained as among‐family variance for the biomass composition traits, but this proportion was generally <25% for biomass yields. Midparent values in an independent trial predicted biomass composition traits reasonably well (generally, r > 0.6), but less so for cane and biomass yield (0 < r < 0.4). Genetic correlations between performance of families evaluated in different countries were strong, providing preliminary evidence that results in one country could be used for identifying elite families in the other. Strategies for efficient development and selection of elite clones from S. spontaneum are suggested.

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Two poplar lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCCs), LCC-48 and LCC-72, were isolated at different milling times, 48 h and 72 h, respectively. A new hydrogel carrier was prepared from these LCCs in the presence of polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether as the crosslinker for cell (human hepatocyte (L-02)) culture. The effects of the structure of LCC on the carrier were investigated. The FT-IR spectra indicate that the two LCC samples were composed of lignin and polysaccharide, and showed a typical LCC structure. The galactose contents of LCC-48 and LCC-72 were 3.02% and 5.67%, respectively. The results of cell culture show that a large number of hepatocytes adhered to the porous carriers. Hepatocytes grown on the LCC carriers outperformed the control group in every observed category, including cell proliferation rate and metabolic activity. These results indicate that poplar LCC might be a great potential precursor of biological carriers for human hepatocytes culture.

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YZ05-51' (Reg. No. CV-161, PI 673444) sugarcane (a complex hybrid of Saccharum spp.) was developed through cooperative research conducted by the Yunnan Sugarcane Research Institute (YSRI) of Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Yunnan Yunzhe Technology Development Co. Ltd. It was released to growers in mainland China on 1 Aug. 2013. YZ05-51 was selected from the cross Yacheng 90-56 × 'ROC 23' planned by YSRI and crossed at Yacheng Sugarcane Breeding Station (YSBS) of the Guangzhou Sugar Industry Research Institute, Yacheng, Hainan Province of mainland China in January 2005. The female parent (Yacheng 90-56) is an advanced clone developed by YSBS. The male parent (ROC23) is a cultivar developed by the Taiwan Sugar Research Institute. YZ05-51 was selected from a ive-stage selection program in YSRI and tested in the eighth China Regional Trial for Sugarcane Varieties at 14 locations in mainland China for 2 yr. YZ05-51 was released by the China Committee of Sugarcane Variety Release because of its higher cane yield compared with ROC16 and ROC22 (two reference cultivars) (7. 1 and 1.1%, respectively), its higher sugar yield compared with ROC16 and ROC22 (10.6 and 2.7%, respectively), and its resistance to drought, high resistance to smut (caused by Ustilago scitaminea H. & P. Sydow), and moderate resistance to mosaic (Sorghum mosaic virus and Sugarcane mosaic virus).

YZ081609' (Reg. no. CV-187, PI 689800) sugarcane (a complex hybrid of Saccharum spp.) was developed through cooperative research conducted by the Yunnan Sugarcane Research Institute (YSRI) of Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Yunnan Yunzhe Technology Development Co., Ltd. YZ081609 was selected from the cross YZ94-343 × 'Yuetang00-236' made by YSRI, and the fuzz was produced at Yacheng Sugarcane Breeding Station of the Guangdong Provincial Bioengineering Institute, Yacheng, Hainan Province of mainland China in December 2007. The female parent, YZ94-343, is an advanced clone developed by YSRI. The male parent, Yuetang00-236, is a cultivar developed by the Guangdong Provincial Bioengineering Institute. YZ081609 was selected from a five-stage selection program in YSRI and tested in the 14th Yunnan Regional Trial for Sugarcane Varieties at six locations in Yunnan Province, China, for three crop cycles (two plant-cane crops and one ratoon crop). YZ081609 was registered in China on 6 Feb. 2018. The cane yield of YZ081609 was 14.4 and 15.3% higher than 'ROC22' and 'ROC16' (two references cultivars), respectively; the sugar yield was 22.3 and 20.1% higher than ROC22 and ROC16, respectively. YZ081609 is moderately susceptible to smut and highly resistant to mosaic (Sorghum mosaic virus and Sugarcane mosaic virus).Abbreviations: DAP, days after planting; RCBD, randomized complete block design; SC, sugar content in cane; SSW, single stalk weight; YRTSV, Yunnan Regional Trial of Sugarcane Varieties; YSRI, Yunnan Sugarcane Research Institute.

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is an important economic crop, supplying up to 80% of the table sugar and~60% of bio-ethanol worldwide. Due to population growth and dwindling fossil-fuel reserves, the demand for sugar and bio-ethanol requires significant improvement in sugarcane production. Breeding sugarcane cultivars with high-performance agronomic traits is undoubtedly the most efficient way to achieve this goal. Therefore, evaluating agronomic traits and dissecting underlying loci are critically important for this aim steps in providing genetic resources and molecular markers for selection. In this study, we assembled a diversity panel of 236 elite sugarcane germplasms originally collected from 12 countries. We evaluated 28 agronomic traits in the diversity panel with three replicates. The diversity panel was genotyped using amplified fragment length polymorphism markers, and a total of 1,359 markers were generated. Through the genome-wide association study, we identified three markers significantly associated with three traits evaluated at a stringent threshold (P < 0.05 after Bonferroni correction). The genotypes of the three associated markers grouped respective trait values into two distinct groups, supporting the reliability of these markers for breeding selection. Our study provides putative molecular markers linked to agronomic traits for breeding robust sugarcane cultivars. Additionally, this study emphasized the importance of sugarcane germplasm introduced from other countries and suggested that the use of these germplasms in breeding programs depends on local industrial needs.

YZ01-1413' (Reg. No. CV-170; PI 678580) sugarcane (a complex hybrid of Saccharum spp.) was developed through cooperative research conducted by Yunnan Sugarcane Research Institute (YSRI), of Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Yunnan Yunzhe Technology Development Co., Ltd. It was released to growers in Yunnan Province, China, on 9 June 2014. YZ01-1413 was selected from the cross 'Yuetang 85-177' × 'ROC10' planned by YSRI and crossed at the Yacheng Sugarcane Breeding Station of Guangzhou Sugar Industry Research Institute, Yacheng, Hainan Province of mainland China in December 2000. The female parent (Yuetang 85-177) is a cultivar developed by the Guangzhou Sugar Industry Research Institute. The male parent (ROC10) is a cultivar developed by the Taiwan Sugar Research Institute. YZ01-1413 was selected from a ive-stage selection program in YSRI and tested in the 11th Yunnan Regional Trial of Sugarcane Varieties at ive locations of Yunnan Province for 2 yr. YZ01-1413 was released by the Yunnan Committee of Crop Variety Release because of its higher cane yield compared with reference cultivars ROC10 and ROC22 (25.8 and 8.4%, respectively), higher sugar yield compared with ROC10 and ROC22 (25.5 and 7.4%, respectively), tolerance to drought, and high resistance to smut.