Comprehensive assessments of germplasm collections of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) have failed to identify any accessions that are highly resistant to Mycosphaerella blight, caused by Mycosphaerella pinodes. In the present study, the broad-sense heritability of resistance to M. pinodes was studied on 558 pea genotypes in a detached-leaf assay and in field trials over 2 yr. In addition, analysis of covariance in disease reaction between the two assessment methods was examined. Only a few genotypes displayed relatively high levels of resistance, and as expected, no complete resistance was observed. The pattern of differences in reaction to M. pinodes among the genotypes demonstrates that resistance is quantitative and moderately heritable. Broad-sense heritability was higher in the detached-leaf assays than in the field trials, likely because of more environmental variance in the field. Covariance between repetitions of the detached leaf assays was not significant but was significant between the field tests. This indicates that detached-leaf assessments are more reliable for assessment of large numbers of accessions.

Mycosphaerella blight, caused mainly by Mycosphaerella pinodes (Berk. and Blox.) Vestergren, is the most important foliar disease on field pea (Pisum sativum L.) in western Canada. A quantitative trait analysis of resistance to M. pinodes was undertaken on five crosses with reciprocals of P. sativum to examine broad‐sense (H2) and narrow‐sense (h2) heritability, minimum number of genes involved (MNG), midparent heterosis (MPH), cytoplasmic inheritance, and epistasis. Mean H2 was 0.75 (range 0.67–0.80) and mean h2 was 0.59 (range 0.41–0.70), indicating that additive variance is important and that improvement in resistance can be achieved through breeding. Mean MNG was 2.16 genes (range 0.06–6.22), indicating that genes for resistance differed among parent lines. Mean MPH was 50% (range 47–57%), indicating that heterosis did not influence the expression of resistance to M. pinodes There was no difference between the mean of any F1 population and its reciprocal, indicating lack of maternal inheritance. The mean of the epistatic points was −0.01 (range −0.1 to 0.12), indicating that epistasis was not important in these crosses. These results will further the understanding of the natural genetic diversity for disease resistance to M. pinodes in P. sativum

No abstract

BackgroundWHO put air pollution is one of the largest environmental risks, but people are more concerned about Outdoor Air Quality (OAQ) but little about Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). People’s indoor activities accounts 70% to 90% time of a day. Children may stay longer. This survey is to learn Chinese families perspectives on IAQ, identify knowledge and behaviour gap and collect insights on IAQ promotion.Methods10 cities were selected based on geography and year average PM2.5. 100 school-aged children’s families participated the survey in each city. Data from 1000 school-aged children was collected through school teachers. Children marked their choices on the questionnaire sheets while teacher reading the questions and choices. Data from 1000 parents was collected online. Parents got an survey invitation with online survey links, they completed the online survey and returned a signed feedback slip to school teacher.Results80% of the families consider OAQ as “worse”. A limited knowledge of PM 2.5 and its impact, such as 31% of kids have NEVER heard about the word PM 2.5 and 54% of parent do not know the “safety level” of indoor PM 2.5 by WHO. Chemicals, bacteria and viruses are the most concerned ingredients on IAQ at home. An obvious gap between knowing and doing, such as smoking was rated as No. 1 bad for IAQ at home (72%), but 58% of the parents were observed smoking at home. High consensus on improving IAQ at home with 87% families supporting actions on No Smoking, Ventilation, Green-materials for decoration and More greenery.ConclusionsThe awareness on IAQ low while the need on IAQ is high. An obvious gap between knowing and doing on smoking at home. Great opportunities to conduct IAQ at home with majority families’ support especially actions on No Smoking, Ventilation, Green-materials for decoration and more Greenery.

Glaucoma, an eye disorder caused by elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in humans. Understanding how IOP levels have evolved across animal species could shed light on the nature of human vulnerability to glaucoma. Here, we studied the evolution of IOP in mammals and birds and explored its life history correlates. We conducted a systematic review, to create a dataset of species-specific IOP levels and reconstructed the ancestral states of IOP using three models of evolution (Brownian, Early burst, and Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU)) to understand the evolution of glaucoma. Furthermore, we tested the association between life history traits (e.g., body mass, blood pressure, diet, longevity, and habitat) and IOP using phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS). IOP in mammals and birds evolved under the OU model, suggesting stabilizing selection toward an optimal value. Larger mammals had higher IOPs and aquatic birds had higher IOPs; no other measured life history traits, the type of tonometer used, or whether the animal was sedated when measuring IOP explained the significant variation in IOP in this dataset. Elevated IOP, which could result from physiological and anatomical processes, evolved multiple times in mammals and birds. However, we do not understand how species with high IOP avoid glaucoma. While we found very few associations between life history traits and IOP, we suggest that more detailed studies may help identify mechanisms by which IOP is decoupled from glaucoma. Importantly, species with higher IOPs (cetaceans, pinnipeds, and rhinoceros) could be good model systems for studying glaucoma-resistant adaptations.