The northern corn leaf blight resistance gene Ht1 encodes an nucleotide-binding,leucine-rich repeat immune receptor

Northern corn leaf blight, caused by the fungal pathogen Exserohilum turcicum, is a major disease of maize. The first major locus conferring resistance to E. turcicum race 0, Ht1, was identified over 50 years ago, but the underlying gene has remained unknown. We employed a map-based cloning strategy to identify the Ht1 causal gene, which was found to be a coiled-coil nucleotide-binding, leucine-rich repeat (NLR) gene, which we named PH4GP-Ht1. Transgenic testing confirmed that introducing the native PH4GP-Ht1 sequence to a susceptible maize variety resulted in resistance to E. turcicum race 0. A survey of the maize nested association mapping genomes revealed that susceptible Ht1 alleles had very low to no expression of the gene. Overexpression of the susceptible B73 allele, however, did not result in resistant plants, indicating that sequence variations may underlie the difference between resistant and susceptible phenotypes. Modelling of the PH4GP-Ht1 protein indicated that it has structural homology to the Arabidopsis NLR resistance gene ZAR1, and probably forms a similar homopentamer structure following activation. RNA sequencing data from an infection time course revealed that 1 week after inoculation there was a threefold reduction in fungal biomass in the PH4GP-Ht1 transgenic plants compared to wild-type plants. Furthermore, PH4GP-Ht1 transgenics had significantly more inoculation-responsive differentially expressed genes than wild-type plants, with enrichment seen in genes associated with both defence and photosynthesis. These results demonstrate that the NLR PH4GP-Ht1 is the causal gene underlying Ht1, which represents a different mode of action compared to the previously reported wall-associated kinase northern corn leaf blight resistance gene Htn1/Ht2/Ht3.     

TaTPP-7A positively feedback regulates grain filling and wheat grain yield through T6P-SnRK1 signalling pathway and sugar–ABA interaction

Grain size and filling are two key determinants of grain thousand-kernel weight (TKW) and crop yield, therefore they have undergone strong selection since cereal was domesticated. Genetic dissection of the two traits will improve yield potential in crops. A quantitative trait locus significantly associated with wheat grain TKW was detected on chromosome 7AS flanked by a simple sequence repeat marker of Wmc17 in Chinese wheat 262 mini-core collection by genome-wide association study. Combined with the bulked segregant RNA-sequencing (BSR-seq) analysis of an F₂ genetic segregation population with extremely different TKW traits, a candidate trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase gene located at 135.0 Mb (CS V1.0), designated as TaTPP-7A, was identified. This gene was specifically expressed in developing grains and strongly influenced grain filling and size. Overexpression (OE) of TaTPP-7A in wheat enhanced grain TKW and wheat yield greatly. Detailed analysis revealed that OE of TaTPP-7A significantly increased the expression levels of starch synthesis- and senescence-related genes involved in abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene pathways. Moreover, most of the sucrose metabolism and starch regulation-related genes were potentially regulated by SnRK1. In addition, TaTPP-7A is a crucial domestication- and breeding-targeted gene and it feedback regulates sucrose lysis, flux, and utilization in the grain endosperm mainly through the T6P-SnRK1 pathway and sugar–ABA interaction. Thus, we confirmed the T6P signalling pathway as the central regulatory system for sucrose allocation and source–sink interactions in wheat grains and propose that the trehalose pathway components have great potential to increase yields in cereal crops.     

Identification of tyrosines 154 and 307 in the extracellular domain and 653 and 766 in the intracellular domain as phosphorylation sites in the heparin-binding fibroblast growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (flg).

Four tyrosine residues have been identified as phosphorylation sites in the tyrosine kinase isoform of the heparin-binding fibroblast growth factor receptor flg (FGF-R1). Baculoviral-insect cell-derived recombinant FGF-R1 was phosphorylated and fragmented with trypsin while immobilized on heparin-agarose beads. Phosphotyrosine peptides were purified by chromatography on immobilized anti-phosphotyrosine antibody and analyzed by Edman degradation and electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. Tyrosine residue 653, which is in a homologous spatial position to major autophosphorylation sites in the catalytic domain of the src and insulin receptor kinases, is the major intracellular FGF-R1 phosphorylation site. Residue 766 in the COOH-terminus outside the kinase domain is a secondary site. Tyrosine residues 154 and 307, which are in the extracellular domain of transmembrane receptor isoforms and are in an unusual sequence context for tyrosine phosphorylation, were also phosphorylated.     

Nonparametric and semiparametric estimation with sequentially truncated survival data

In observational cohort studies with complex sampling schemes, truncation arises when the time to event of interest is observed only when it falls below or exceeds another random time, that is, the truncation time. In more complex settings, observation may require a particular ordering of event times; we refer to this as sequential truncation. Estimators of the event time distribution have been developed for simple left-truncated or right-truncated data. However, these estimators may be inconsistent under sequential truncation. We propose nonparametric and semiparametric maximum likelihood estimators for the distribution of the event time of interest in the presence of sequential truncation, under two truncation models. We show the equivalence of an inverse probability weighted estimator and a product limit estimator under one of these models. We study the large sample properties of the proposed estimators and derive their asymptotic variance estimators. We evaluate the proposed methods through simulation studies and apply the methods to an Alzheimer's disease study. We have developed an R package, seqTrun , for implementation of our method.     

Effects of ROS and caspase-3-like protein on the growth and aerenchyma formation of Potamogeton perfoliatus stem

Protoplasma - Aerenchyma formation plays an important role in the survival of Potamogeton perfoliatus in submerged environment. To understand the regulatory role of reactive oxygen species (ROS)...     

The Effect of High-Temperature Stress on the Physiological Indexes,Chloroplast Ultrastructure,and Photosystems of two Herbaceous Peony Cultivars

In this study, two herbaceous peony cultivars with different heat tolerances (‘Fenyunu’ FYN low sensitivity and ‘Qiaoling’ QL high sensitivity) were used as research materials. An integrated view of the factors underlying the decrease in photosynthetic rate under high-temperature (HT) stress was provided by analyzing the biochemical parameters, chloroplast ultrastructure, gas-exchange parameters, chlorophyll fluorescence, and modulated 820 nm reflection of herbaceous peony leaves. The results showed that hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion, malondialdehyde, and electrical conductivity increased significantly, while the photosynthetic pigments content and photosynthetic capacity decreased significantly in QL than in FYN under HT. The contents of soluble sugars and proline increased greatly in FYN than in QL, while the activity of SOD decreased markedly in QL than in FYN after HT. Compared with FYN, the ultrastructure of QL was more seriously disrupted under HT. Chlorophyll fluorescence analysis showed that HT changed the shapes of OJIP curve, resulting in the increase of K phase and J phase. The PSII acceptor side was more damaged than the donor side, and the electron transfer was seriously blocked. The energy flow in the process of light energy absorption, capture, and electron transfer were significantly changed after HT stress. Meanwhile, PSI was also significantly inhibited, and the coordination of both photosystems decreased. The variation of these parameters in FYN was less than that in QL. These results suggested that FYN featured a more heat-tolerance ability as evidenced by the good performances on the antioxidant system, osmoregulatory capacity, and the thermostability of membranes and photosystems.

     

一种重组人α1型干扰素突变体IFN-α1/86D的纯化与鉴定

本文研究了重组人α1型干扰素突变体IFN-α1/86D在摇瓶培养和分批发酵培养的重组大肠杆菌DH5α株中的表达动态,并采用阳离子交换层析和抗α1型干扰素单克隆抗体亲和层析的两步流程对其进行了纯化,得到SDS-PAGE纯及高效液相层析(HPLC)纯的IFN-α1/86D产品,共比活性为2.3×10~7单位/毫克蛋白。N端氨基酸序列测定的结果表明,纯化产品的纯度在95％以上,但其N端不均一,产品中含有两种N端序列正确的IFN-α1/86D活性分子,即约75％为去Met分子和约25％为带Met分子。     

黄瓜子叶扩张与细胞分裂素的关系

BA(benzyl adenine)专一性地促进离体黄瓜子叶的扩张。为了研究 BA 的作用机理,我们采用间接 EIISA 和 HPLC 的方法测定了子叶扩张过程中内源玉米素(Z)和玉米素核苷(ZR)含量的变化。离体黄瓜(Cucumis sativus,津研4号)子叶用10mg/l 的 BA 培养,72小时之后,处理子叶鲜重的增加比对照高70%。Z+ZR 在 BA 处理的子叶中有大量的积累。结果表明 BA 可能诱发了黄瓜子叶中的细胞分裂素生物合成和代谢的某些基因。