Statistical study on the environmental effects on the natural variation of nutritional components in rice varieties

Assessment of the Effects of Genotype, Location, and Planting Season on the Nutritional Composition and the Metabolizable Energy of Advanced Twenty-Five Maize Hybrids

This study investigated the effects of genotype, location, and planting season on the proximate composition and metabolizable energy of advanced maize hybrids. Twenty-five hybrid maize and a local variety as control were harvested from five locations 100 days after planting for two seasons. The maize samples were sorted, cleaned, and pulverized using a laboratory mill and were analyzed for nutritional composition and metabolizable energy (ME) using standard laboratory methods. Moisture content, ash, fat, and protein had mean ± SD of 8.97 ± 0.40%, 1.48 ± 0.05%, 4.31 ± 0.19, and 8.88 ± 0.18%, respectively. ME had a mean ± SD of 379.77 ± 2.17 kJ, and total carbohydrates had values ranging from 74.68 and 77.20%, with an average of 76.68%. Results showed that most of the variations expressed in the proximate compositions of the maize hybrids were not significantly (p > 0.05) dependent on the genotypes. In contrast, locations significantly affected the maize hybrids’ proximate composition and metabolizable energy (p < 0.001). In addition, there was no significant effect (p > 0.05) of location by genotype interaction on the proximate composition and ME of the maize samples. The planting season also exhibited a significant (p < 0.001) difference for all the proximate parameters. Fourteen out of the twenty-five maize hybrids were similar to the local variety in terms of proximate composition and metabolizable energy. Therefore, they could be recommended for advancement in the breeding stages for release for household and industrial uses.

Comparison of the seed nutritional composition between conventional varieties and transgenic soybean overexpressing Physaria FAD3-1

BACKGROUND

PfFAD3 transgenic soybean expressing omega-3 fatty acid desaturase 3 of Physaria produces increased level of α-linolenic acid in seed. Composition data of non-transgenic conventional varieties is important in the safety assessment of the genetically-modified (GM) crops in the context of the natural variation.

RESULTS

The natural variation was characterized in seed composition of 13 Korean soybean varieties grown in three locations in South Korea for 2 years. Univariate analysis of combined data showed significant differences by variety and cultivation environment for proximates, minerals, anti-nutrients, and fatty acids. Percent variability analysis demonstrated that genotype, environment and the interaction of environment with genotype contributed to soybean seed compositions. Principal component analysis and orthogonal projections to latent structure discriminant analysis indicated that significant variance in compositions was attributable to location and cultivation year. The composition of three PfFAD3 soybean lines for proximates, minerals, anti-nutrients, and fatty acids was compared to a non-transgenic commercial comparator (Kwangankong, KA), and three non-transgenic commercial varieties grown at two sites in South Korea. Only linoleic and linolenic acids significantly differed in PfFAD3-1 lines compared to KA, which were expected changes by the introduction of the PfFAD3-1 trait in KA.

CONCLUSION

Genotype, environment, and the interaction of environment with genotype contributed to compositional variability in soybean. PfFAD3-1 soybean is equivalent to the conventional varieties with respect to these components. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Compositional equivalence assessment of insect-resistant genetically modified rice using multiple statistical analyses

The safety of transgenic Bt rice containing bacteria-derived mCry1Ac gene from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) was assessed by conducting field trials at two locations for two consecutive years in South Korea, using the near-isogenic line comparator rice cultivar ('Ilmi', non-Bt rice) and four commercial cultivars as references. Compositional analyses included measurement of proximates, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and antinutrients. Significant differences between Bt rice and non-Bt rice were detected; however, all differences were within the reference range. The statistical analyses, including analysis of % variability, analysis of similarities (ANOISM), similarity percentage (SIMPER) analysis, and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) were performed to study factors contributing to compositional variability. The multivariate analyses revealed that environmental factors more influenced rice components' variability than by genetic factors. This approach was shown to be a powerful method to provide meaningful evaluations between Bt rice and its comparators. In this study, Bt rice was proved to be compositionally equivalent to conventional rice varieties through multiple statistical methods.

Nutrient composition of diverse organic residues and their long-term effects on available nutrients in a tropical sandy soil

Intensive use of sandy soils for agriculture leads to significant land degradation. The application of locally available organic residues can improve soil fertility, particularly in the context of organic farming practices. This research examined nutrient concentrations in locally available organic residues with different biochemical compositions/qualities and investigated the effects of long-term application of these residues on available nutrients, such as P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, and Zn, as well as on total organic carbon (TOC) accumulation in tropical sandy soil. A field experiment was conducted in Northeast Thailand, where four local organic residues, groundnut stover (GN), tamarind leaf litter (TM), dipterocarp leaf litter (DP), and rice straw (RS), had been applied annually for 22 years. These organic residues were acidic (pH 3.7-5.8). The macronutrients N, P, and K were present at elevated levels in the high-quality organic residue GN, whereas medium-quality TM and low-quality RS and DP were dominated by the macronutrients Ca and Mg and the micronutrients Fe, Mn, and Zn. The incorporation of organic residues, particularly TM, resulted in the accumulation of TOC. Furthermore, long-term incorporation of TM increased soil pH, whereas incorporation of GN, DP, and RS did not. The higher increase in the soil pH of TM soil is likely because TM contains higher levels of ash alkalinity compared to other residues. The application of medium-quality TM increased the soil available P, Ca, and Mg, whereas low-quality organic residue RS and DP applications increased the concentrations of soil micronutrients (e.g., Mn and Zn). However, long-term applications of local organic residues did not increase available K in the sandy soil.