Fusarium head blight (FHB), leaf rust, and stem rust are the most destructive fungal diseases in current world wheat production. The diploid wheatgrass, Thinopyrum elongatum (Host) Dewey (2n = 2x = 14, EE) is an excellent source of disease resistance genes. Two new Triticum–Secale–Thinopyrum trigeneric hybrids were derived from a cross between a hexaploid triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack, 2n = 6x = 42, AABBRR) and a hexaploid Triticum trititrigia (2n = 6x = 42, AABBEE), were produced and analyzed using genomic in situ hybridization and molecular markers. The results indicated that line RE21 contained 14 A-chromosomes, 14 B-chromosomes, three pairs of R-chromosomes (4R, 6R, and 7R), and four pairs of E-chromosomes (1E, 2E, 3E, and 5E) for a total chromosome number of 2n = 42. Line RE62 contained 14 A-chromosomes, 14 B-chromosomes, six pairs of R-chromosomes, and one pair of translocation chromosomes between chromosome 5R and 5E, for a total chromosome number of 2n = 42. At the seedling and adult growth stages under greenhouse conditions, line RE21 showed high levels of resistance to FHB, leaf rust, and stem rust race Ug99, and line RE62 was highly resistant to leaf rust and stem rust race Ug99. These two lines (RE21 and RE62) display superior disease resistance characteristics and have the potential to be utilized as valuable germplasm sources for future wheat improvement.

Wheatgrass, Thinopyrum elongatum (2n = 2x = 14, EE), is an important wild relative of wheat with many excellent traits, including resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB), that can be used for durum wheat improvement. Through hybridization of the durum cultivar “Langdon” with the amphiploid 8801 (AABBEE), a disomic alien addition line (2n = 30) with a pair of Th. elongatum 7E chromosomes was obtained and confirmed using chromosome-specific molecular markers of Th. elongatum and genomic in situ hybridization (GISH). This line is meiotically and reproductively stable, generally forming 15 bivalents at meiosis including 14 pairs from Langdon and 1 from Th. elongatum with 2 chiasmata each as revealed by GISH analysis. At the adult growth stages under field conditions, this addition line shows high resistance to FHB, with less than 16% infection on visual observation in 2 years (2014 and 2015). This addition line is shorter in height and has narrower leaves and shorter spikes as compared to its parent Langdon. So the linkage group 7E might be a further source of wheat improvement by targeted introgression approaches.

It is very important to use chromosome-specific markers for identifying alien chromosomes in advanced generations of distant hybridization. The chromosome-specific markers of rye and Thinopyrum elongatum, as well as genomic in situ hybridization, were used to identify the alien chromosomes in eight lines that were derived from the crossing between Triticum trititrigia (AABBEE) and triticale (AABBRR). The results showed that four lines contained all rye chromosomes but no Th. elongatum chromosomes. The line RE36-1 contained all of the rye chromosomes except for chromosome 2R. The lines RE33-2 and RE62-1 contained all rye chromosomes and 1E and 5E translocated chromosome, respectively. The line RE24-4 contained 12 rye chromosomes plus a 7E chromosome or 12 rye chromosomes plus one R-E translocated chromosome. Chromosome identification in the above lines was consistent using chromosome-specific markers and genomic in situ hybridization. These chromosome-specific markers provide useful tools for detecting alien chromosomes in trigeneric hybrids, and these lines could be utilized as valuable germplasm in wheat improvement.

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Purpose Anemia is a worldwide common condition during pregnancy, conferring a number of health risks to mothers. However, very little is known about the association between severity of anemia and severe maternal outcomes. This study aimed to assess the association between severity of anemia during pregnancy and the risk of severe maternal outcomes. Patients and Methods This retrospective cohort study was based on data from China’s National Maternal Near Miss Surveillance System for the period 2017–2018, which included 18 hospitals in southern China. Pregnant women admitted for delivery were divided into 4 groups based on severity of anemia during pregnancy: no anemia, mild anemia, moderate anemia, and severe anemia groups. Severe maternal outcomes were a composite of life-threatening conditions (ie, organ dysfunction) as defined by the WHO criteria, occurring at any time after admission until discharge or death. Modified Poisson regression analyses and propensity score-weighted regression analyses were used to estimate the relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of severe maternal outcomes among women with anemia of varying severity during pregnancy. Results The incidence of severe maternal outcomes was 0.3% (417/138,556) in total, and the rates were 0.1% (85/99,755), 0.2% (30/18,502), 1.2% (234/19,697) and 11.3% (68/602) in no anemia, mild anemia, moderate anemia and severe anemia group, respectively. Compared with no anemia, the adjusted RR for severe maternal outcomes was 4.19 (95% CI, 3.20–5.50) in moderate anemia group and 22.12 (95% CI, 15.43–31.69) in severe anemia group; the weighted RR was 1.01 (95% CI, 1.01–1.01) in moderate anemia group and 1.11 (95% CI, 1.07–1.14) in severe anemia group. Conclusion Moderate to severe anemia during pregnancy was independently associated with an increased risk of severe maternal outcomes. Maternal health care providers and pregnant women themselves should give more attention to the prevention and treatment of anemia during pregnancy, especially moderate to severe anemia.