Variety identification method of coated maize seeds based on near-infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics

Published Date

May 2015, Vol.63:21–26, doi:10.1016/j.jcs.2014.07.003

Title 

Variety identification method of coated maize seeds based on near-infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics

• Author 

• Shiqiang Jia ^a,b
• Dong An ^a,c,,
• Zhe Liu ^a
• Jiancheng Gu ^e
• Shaoming Li ^a
• Xiaodong Zhang ^a
• Dehai Zhu ^a
• Tingting Guo ^d
• Yanlu Yan ^a

• aCollege of Information and Electrical Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
• bKey Laboratory of Agricultural Information Acquisition Technology (Beijing), Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100083, China
• cModern Precision Agriculture System Integration Research Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Beijing 100083, China
• dNational Maize Improvement Center of China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
• eBeijing Kings Nower Seed S&T CO., LTD., Beijing 100080, China

Received 17 February 2014. Revised 14 July 2014. Accepted 15 July 2014. Available online 1 August 2014.

Highlights

• •
  NIR spectroscopy is used to identify varieties of maize seeds.
• •
  The influence of seed coating agent on NIR spectra is evaluated.
• •
  Biomimetic pattern recognition method (BPR) is improved and applied.

Abstract

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been used to identify variety authenticity of bare maize kernels. However, maize seeds are coated with seed coating agents in practice. Therefore it is of great significance to investigate the feasibility of identifying coated maize kernels by NIRS. This study employed NIRS to quickly determine the variety to which a sample of coated seed belonged. The NIR spectra of clean and coated seeds were obtained using MPA spectrometry in diffuse reflectance mode by three methods. Influence of seed coating agent on NIR spectra was discussed based on spectra collected from whole single seed by method 1. In method 2, to eliminate the influence of seed coat, the seed coat agent on the back side of the seed was polished away. In method 3, clean and coated seeds were cut open along the crease on the embryo side, and the sections were scanned by the spectrometer, so as to acquire information on the seed, and to avoid the influence of the seed coating agent. Then, support vector machine (SVM), soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA), and biomimetic pattern recognition (BPR) were employed to establish the identification model for four maize varieties. Performance of variety models based on spectra measured by method 1 and 2 were poor. In method 3, the SIMCA model showed better performance than SVM and BPR models, and achieved an accuracy rate of 97.5%. The results demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing NIRS and chemometrics, as an objective and rapid method for the identification of maize seeds with seed coating agents.

Keywords

• Maize
• Seed coating agents
• Variety identification
• Near-infrared spectroscopy

Abbreviations

• BPR, Biomimetic pattern recognition
• NIR, Near-Infrared
• NIRS, near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy
• FT-NIR, Fourier transform near infrared
• KS, Kennard-Stone
• PCA, principal component analysis
• SIMCA, soft independent modeling of class analogy
• SVM, support vector machine

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• ∗ 
  Corresponding author. College of Information and Electrical Engineering, China Agricultural University, No. 17, Qinghuadonglu, Box 63, Beijing 100083, China. Tel.: +86 13366883406.

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Protective roles of nitric oxide on seed germination and seedling growth of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under cadmium stress

Published Date

October 2014, Vol.108:114–119, doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.05.021

Title 

Protective roles of nitric oxide on seed germination and seedling growth of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under cadmium stress

• Author 

• Junyu He ^,
• Yanfang Ren
• Xiulan Chen
• Hui Chen

• College of Agriculture, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China

Received 8 August 2013. Revised 6 April 2014. Accepted 19 May 2014. Available online 19 July 2014.

Highlights

• •
  SNP attenuated the Cd-induced inhibition of rice seed germination and seedling growth.
• •
  The maximum alleviation is obtained with the application of 30 μM SNP.
• •
  The antioxidant enzymes׳ activity is enhanced by 30 μM SNP under Cd stress.
• •
  30 μM SNP strongly reduced Cd accumulation in rice seedlings.

Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) is a bioactive molecule in plants which mediates a variety of physiological processes and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses including heavy metals. In the present study, the effects of exogenous NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on rice seed germination and seedlings growth were investigated under Cd stress and a possible mechanism was postulated. The results indicated that 100 μM Cd significantly decreased rice seed germination index, vigor index, root and shoot lengths as well as fresh weight compared to control. Exogenous SNP dose-dependently attenuated the inhibition of rice seed germination and thereafter seedling growth caused by Cd. The promoting effect was most pronounced at 30 μM SNP. Cd exposure caused oxidative stress by elevating hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents in root and shoot of rice seedlings. 30 μM SNP counteracted partly Cd toxicity by reducing the H₂O₂ and MDA contents of Cd-exposed seedlings. Meanwhile, application of SNP markedly stimulated the activities of superoxide dismutases (SOD), ascorbate peroxidases (APX), guaiacol peroxidase (POD) and catalases (CAT) compared with Cd treatment alone, thereby indicating the enhancement of the antioxidative capacity in the root and shoot under Cd stress. In addition, addition of 30 μM SNP increased accumulation of proline in both root and shoot. The Cd accumulation in seedlings was significant reduced by SNP, implicating that the protective role of SNP was responsible for preventing Cd accumulation. However, the effects of SNP were reverted by addition of cPTIO, a NO scavenger, suggesting the protective roles of SNP might be related to the induction of NO. Furthermore, K₃Fe(CN)₆ and  /  had no similar roles as SNP. Based on these results, it can be concluded that SNP exerted an advantageous effect on alleviating the inhibitory effect of Cd on rice seed germination and seedling growth, which might interact with NO.

Keywords

• Cadmium
• Rice
• Seed germination
• Nitric oxide
• Antioxidative enzymes

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• ⁎ 
  Corresponding author. Fax: +86 851 8297955.

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The effects of poly-unsaturated fatty acids on the physiology of hibernation in a South American marsupial, Dromiciops gliroides

Published Date

November 2014, Vol.177:62–69, doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2014.07.004

Title 

The effects of poly-unsaturated fatty acids on the physiology of hibernation in a South American marsupial, Dromiciops gliroides

• Author 

• Carolina Contreras ^a
• Marcela Franco ^b
• Ned J. Place ^c
• Roberto F. Nespolo ^a,d,,

• aInstituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Campus Isla Teja, Valdivia 5090000, Chile
• bFacultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas, Universidad de Ibagué, Carrera 22 Calle 67 Barrio Ambalá, Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia
• cDepartment of Population Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
• dCenter of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES)

Received 21 April 2014. Revised 24 June 2014. Accepted 3 July 2014. Available online 15 July 2014.

Abstract

Many mammals hibernate, which is a profound lethargic state of several weeks or months during winter, that represents a transitory episode of hetherothermy. As with other cases of dormancy, the main benefit of hibernation seems to be energy saving. However, the depth and duration of torpor can be experimentally modified by the composition of food, especially by fattyacid composition. In eutherians, diets rich in unsaturated fatty acids (i.e., fatty acids with at least one double bond) lengthen torpor, reduce metabolism and permit hibernation at lower temperatures. Here we studied whether diets varying in fatty acid composition have an effect on the physiology of hibernation in a South American marsupial, Dromiciops gliroides. We designed a factorial experiment where thermal acclimation (two levels: natural versus constant temperature) was combined with diet acclimation: saturated (i.e., diets with high concentration of saturated fatty acids) versus unsaturated (i.e., diets with high concentration of unsaturated fatty acids). We measured energy metabolism in active and torpid individuals, as well as torpor duration, and a suite of 12 blood biochemical parameters. After a cafeteria test, we found that D. gliroides did not show any preference for a given diet. Also, we did not find effects of diet on body temperature during torpor, or its duration. However, saturated diets, combined with high temperatures provoked a disproportionate increase in fat utilization, leading to body mass reduction. Those animals were more active, and metabolized more fats than those fed with a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids (=“unsaturated diets”). These results contrast with previous studies, which showed a significant effect of fatty acid composition of diets on food preferences and torpor patterns in mammals.

Keywords

Dromiciops

Hibernation

Poly-unsaturated fatty acids

South American marsupial

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• ⁎ 
  Corresponding author.

For further details log on website :

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1095643314001317