热氧老化对麦秸秆/橡胶/PE仿藤条性能的影响

秸塑复合材料(SPC)是一种使用秸秆纤维替代木材纤维的新型木塑复合材料。以麦秸秆和低密度聚乙烯为原料,利用天然橡胶增韧的特性开发出了麦秸秆/橡胶生物质仿藤条。在100℃条件下加速热氧老化60天,观察分析其力学性能和微观结构的变化规律。结果表明,初始条件下,一方面麦秸秆纤维的加入降低了仿藤条的力学性能;另一方面橡胶的加入增强了仿藤条的韧性,起到了弥补作用。老化过程中,材料表面出现裂纹,生物质和PE界面的结合官能团丧失,界面结合能力降低,力学性能下降。结合动力学模型,0~15天为快速降解阶段,材料断裂伸长率降低较快,橡胶的加入降低了老化速率,老化系数降低了70%。含有橡胶的仿藤条在15~60天的老化过程中保持较低的老化速率,起到了抗老化作用。     

L-氨基酸脱氨酶的分子改造及其用于全细胞催化法生产α-酮戊二酸条件的优化

酮戊二酸(α-ketoglutaric acid,α-KG)是谷氨酸脱氨基的酮酸产物,作为一种重要的有机酸广泛用于食品、医药、精细化工等领域。为提高L-氨基酸脱氨酶全细胞催化法合成α-KG的效率及产量,首先通过优化全细胞催化剂制备条件及全细胞转化反应条件,包括发酵过程中的温度、诱导剂浓度、诱导剂添加时刻、诱导时间等;全细胞转化过程中的温度、pH、细胞量、转化时间。各个条件优化后以200g/L谷氨酸钠为底物时,产量最终提高了54. 9%,摩尔转化率为39. 6%。其次,通过定点饱和突变对L-氨基酸脱氨酶进行定向进化以提高其催化能力。经过多次突变、筛选,最优突变体E. coli BL21-pET-20b(+)-pm1152催化200g/L谷氨酸钠生成α-KG最高产量为100. 9g/L,摩尔转化率为64. 7%,较最初对照菌株提高了66. 3%。结果表明,条件优化和饱和突变可有效提高重组大肠杆菌全细胞转化合成α-KG的能力。     

SAA-Cas9: A tunable genome editing system with increased bio-safety and reduced off-target effects

The site-specific nature and ease of handling of clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeat(CRISPR)/Cas9 has fulfilled the decades-long goal of genome engineering,and thus has pushed the biological sciences into a new era in which site-directed manipulation of DNA is no longer a short slab(Doudna and Charpentier,2014).The incomparable power of this system also enabled unprecedented new opportunities for practical applications in agriculture,ecosystem and human health(Liu,2017).However,with the extremely rapid development and application of CRISPR system,concerns about its bio-safety have been increasing(Caplan et al.,2015;Taning et al.,2017).While multiple studies have addressed this issue,alternative options for regulating Cas9 are of great interest.As has been proved by increasing evidences,another well?known concern is the off-target effects,which could not only confound research experiments or breeding,but also cause unwanted side effects in the forthcoming therapeutic uses(Fu et aL,2013;Taning et al.,2017;Zhang et al.,2018).     

Genome Characteristics and Evolution of Pseudorabies Virus Strains in Eastern China from 2017 to 2019

Since late 2011, outbreaks of pseudorabies virus(PRV) have occurred in southern China causing major economic losses to the pig industry. We previously reported that variant PRV forms and recombination in China could be the source of continued epidemics. Here, we analyzed samples from intensive pig farms in eastern China between 2017 and 2019, and sequenced the main glycoproteins(gB, gC, gD, and gE) to study the evolution characteristics of PRV. Based on the g C gene, we found that PRV variants belong to clade 2 and detected a founder effect during by the PRV epidemic. In addition,we detected inter-and intra-clade recombination; in particular, inter-clade recombination in the g B genes of strains FJ-ZXF and FJ-W2, which were recombinant with clade 1 strains. We also found specific amino-acid changes and positively selected sites, possibly associated with functional changes. This analysis of the emergence of PRV in China illustrates the need for continuous monitoring and the development of vaccines against specific variants of PRV.     

Arabidopsis AGC protein kinases IREH1 and IRE3 control root skewing

AGC protein kinases play important roles in plant growth and development.Several AGC kinases in Arabidopsis have been functionally characterized.However,the"AGC Other"subfamily,including IRE,IREH1,IRE3 and IRE4,has not been well understood.Here,we reported that ireh1 mutants displayed a root skewing phenotype,which can be enhanced by ire3 mutation.IREH1 and IRE3 were expressed in roots,consistent with their function in controlling root skewing.The fluorescence intensities of the microtubule marker KNpro:EGFP-MBD were decreased in ireh1,ire3 and ireh1 ire3 mutants compared to wild type.The microtubule arrangements in ireh1 and ireh1 ire3 mutants were also altered.IREH1 physically interacted with IRE3 in vitro and in planta.Thus,our findings demonstrate that IREH1 and IRE3 protein kinases play important roles in controlling root skewing,and maintaining microtubule network in Arabidopsis.     

DELAYED HEADING DATE1 interacts with OsHAP5C/D,delays flowering time and enhances yield in rice

Heading date is an important agronomic trait affecting crop yield. The GRAS protein family is a plant‐specific super family extensively involved in plant growth and signal transduction. However, GRAS proteins are rarely reported have a role in regulating rice heading date. Here, we report a GRAS protein DHD1 (Delayed Heading Date1) delays heading and enhances yield in rice. Biochemical assays showed DHD1 physically interacts with OsHAP5C/D both in vitro and in vivo. DHD1 and OsHAP5C/D located in the nucleus and showed that rhythmic expression. Both DHD1 and OsHAP5C/D affect heading date by regulating expression of Ehd1. We propose that DHD1 interacts with OsHAP5C/D to delay heading date by inhibiting expression of Ehd1.     

Genome sequencing and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing of an early flowering Mini‐Citrus (Fortunella hindsii)

Hongkong kumquat (Fortunella hindsii) is a wild citrus species characterized by dwarf plant height and early flowering. Here, we identified the monoembryonic F. hindsii (designated as ‘Mini‐Citrus’) for the first time and constructed its selfing lines. This germplasm constitutes an ideal model for the genetic and functional genomics studies of citrus, which have been severely hindered by the long juvenility and inherent apomixes of citrus. F. hindsii showed a very short juvenile period (~8 months) and stable monoembryonic phenotype under cultivation. We report the first de novo assembled 373.6 Mb genome sequences (Contig‐N50 2.2 Mb and Scaffold‐N50 5.2 Mb) for F. hindsii. In total, 32 257 protein‐coding genes were annotated, 96.9% of which had homologues in other eight Citrinae species. The phylogenomic analysis revealed a close relationship of F. hindsii with cultivated citrus varieties, especially with mandarin. Furthermore, the CRISPR/Cas9 system was demonstrated to be an efficient strategy to generate target mutagenesis on F. hindsii. The modifications of target genes in the CRISPR‐modified F. hindsii were predominantly 1‐bp insertions or small deletions. This genetic transformation system based on F. hindsii could shorten the whole process from explant to T₁ mutant to about 15 months. Overall, due to its short juvenility, monoembryony, close genetic background to cultivated citrus and applicability of CRISPR, F. hindsii shows unprecedented potentials to be used as a model species for citrus research.     

Discovery of genomic regions and candidate genes controlling shelling percentage using QTL‐seq approach in cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important grain legume providing high‐quality cooking oil, rich proteins and other nutrients. Shelling percentage (SP) is the 2nd most important agronomic trait after pod yield and this trait significantly affects the economic value of peanut in the market. Deployment of diagnostic markers through genomics‐assisted breeding (GAB) can accelerate the process of developing improved varieties with enhanced SP. In this context, we deployed the QTL‐seq approach to identify genomic regions and candidate genes controlling SP in a recombinant inbred line population (Yuanza 9102 × Xuzhou 68‐4). Four libraries (two parents and two extreme bulks) were constructed and sequenced, generating 456.89–790.32 million reads and achieving 91.85%–93.18% genome coverage and 14.04–21.37 mean read depth. Comprehensive analysis of two sets of data (Yuanza 9102/two bulks and Xuzhou 68‐4/two bulks) using the QTL‐seq pipeline resulted in discovery of two overlapped genomic regions (2.75 Mb on A09 and 1.1 Mb on B02). Nine candidate genes affected by 10 SNPs with non‐synonymous effects or in UTRs were identified in these regions for SP. Cost‐effective KASP (Kompetitive Allele‐Specific PCR) markers were developed for one SNP from A09 and three SNPs from B02 chromosome. Genotyping of the mapping population with these newly developed KASP markers confirmed the major control and stable expressions of these genomic regions across five environments. The identified candidate genomic regions and genes for SP further provide opportunity for gene cloning and deployment of diagnostic markers in molecular breeding for achieving high SP in improved varieties.