Plant adaptation to climate change—Where are we?

Climate change poses critical challenges for population persistence in natural communities, for agriculture and environmental sustainability, and for food security. In this review, we discuss recent progress in climatic adaptation in plants. We evaluate whether climate change exerts novel selection and disrupts local adaptation, whether gene flow can facilitate adaptive responses to climate change, and whether adaptive phenotypic plasticity could sustain populations in the short term. Furthermore, we discuss how climate change influences species interactions. Through a more in‐depth understanding of these eco‐evolutionary dynamics, we will increase our capacity to predict the adaptive potential of plants under climate change. In addition, we review studies that dissect the genetic basis of plant adaptation to climate change. Finally, we highlight key research gaps, ranging from validating gene function to elucidating molecular mechanisms, expanding research systems from model species to other natural species, testing the fitness consequences of alleles in natural environments, and designing multifactorial studies that more closely reflect the complex and interactive effects of multiple climate change factors. By leveraging interdisciplinary tools (e.g., cutting‐edge omics toolkits, novel ecological strategies, newly developed genome editing technology), researchers can more accurately predict the probability that species can persist through this rapid and intense period of environmental change, as well as cultivate crops to withstand climate change, and conserve biodiversity in natural systems.     

Enabling Deformable and Stretchable Batteries

Deformable energy storage devices are needed to power next‐generation wearable electronics that interface intimately with human skin. Currently, deformable energy storage devices demonstrate poor performance compared to their rigid lithium‐ion counterparts, forcing wearable manufacturers to design their devices around bulky battery compartments. However, technological advances to create deformable batteries at the component and device level have yielded continuous improvement in stretchable batteries over the last five years. In this Essay, the major strategies at the component and device level that have been successfully employed to create stretchable batteries are reviewed. The outstanding challenges facing deformable energy storage are also discussed, namely, energy density, packaging, delamination, device integration, and manufacturing. This Essay will give researchers who are interested in contributing to the development of deformable batteries a cursory understanding of the most successful strategies to date, and provide insights into the most important directions to pursue in the future.     

Genetically distinct pathways guide effector export through the type VI secretion system

Bacterial secretion systems often employ molecular chaperones to recognize and facilitate export of their substrates. Recent work demonstrated that a secreted component of the type VI secretion system (T6SS), haemolysin co‐regulated protein (Hcp), binds directly to effectors, enhancing their stability in the bacterial cytoplasm. Herein, we describe a quantitative cellular proteomics screen for T6S substrates that exploits this chaperone‐like quality of Hcp. Application of this approach to the Hcp secretion island I‐encoded T6SS (H1‐T6SS) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa led to the identification of a novel effector protein, termed Tse4 (t ype VI s ecretion e xported 4), subsequently shown to act as a potent intra‐specific H1‐T6SS‐delivered antibacterial toxin. Interestingly, our screen failed to identify two predicted H1‐T6SS effectors, Tse5 and Tse6, which differ from Hcp‐stabilized substrates by the presence of toxin‐associated PAAR‐repeat motifs and genetic linkage to members of the valine‐glycine repeat protein G (vgrG) genes. Genetic studies further distinguished these two groups of effectors: Hcp‐stabilized effectors were found to display redundancy in interbacterial competition with respect to the requirement for the two H1‐T6SS‐exported VgrG proteins, whereas Tse5 and Tse6 delivery strictly required a cognate VgrG. Together, we propose that interaction with either VgrG or Hcp defines distinct pathways for T6S effector export.     

扁圆封印木（相似种）茎干的解剖特征

贵州省水城矿区晚二叠世煤核中扁圆封印木（相似种Ｓｉｇｉｌｌａｒｉａ ｃｆ．ｂｒａｒｄｉｉＢｒｏｎｇｎ．）茎干的主要解剖特征如下：管状中柱,具多边形薄壁细胞组成的髓。初生木质部成环带状,外缘呈规则的齿槽状,向心式发育。次生木质部显束状特征,横切面管胞为方圆至长方形,纵切面为梯状壁增厚,并具流苏纹。射线１—２列细胞宽,数个至十余个细胞高。叶迹起源于初生木质部外缘的槽中,中始式,但以向心发育为主。     

The identity of the genus Metaeritrichium in Boraginaceae

Metaeritrichium has been considered monotypic and endemic to China in traditional taxonomic treatments. However, our examinations of specimens and bibliography, combined with field observations, reveal that Metaeritrichium microuloides is conspecific with Actinocarya acaulis. Metaeritrichium is therefore treated as a synonym of Actinocarya. We also clarify the typification of Actinocarya acaulis.     

Comprehensive binary interaction mapping of τ phosphotyrosine sites with SH2 domains in the human genome: Implications for the rational design of self-inhibitory phosphopeptides to target τ hyperphosphorylation signaling in Alzheimer’s Disease

Amino Acids - Human microtubule-associated protein Tau (τ) is abundant in the axons of neurons where it stabilizes microtubule bundles; abnormally hyperphosphorylated τ is a hallmark of...     

By-Products of Zea mays L.: A Promising Source of Medicinal Properties with Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Activities: A Comprehensive Review

Zea mays (Z. mays) is one of the main cereal crops in the world, and it′s by-products have exhibited medicinal properties to explore. This article intends to review the chemical compositions and pharmacological activities of by-products of Z. mays (corn silks, roots, bract, stems, bran, and leaves) which support the therapeutic potential in the treatment of different diseases, with emphasis on the natural occurring compounds and detailed pharmacological developments. Based on this review, 231 natural compounds are presented. Among them, flavonoids, terpenes, phenylpropanoids, and alkaloids are the most frequently reported. The by-products of Z. mays possess diuretic effects, hepatoprotective, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, plant protection activity, and other activities. This article reviewed the phytochemistry and pharmacological activities of Z. mays for comprehensive quality control and the safety and effectiveness to enhance future application.     

A new computational approach for real protein folding prediction

An effective and fast minimization approach is proposed for the prediction of protein folding, in which the 'relative entropy' is used as a minimization function and the off-lattice model is used. In this approach, we only use the information of distances between the consecutive Calpha atoms along the peptide chain and a generalized form of the contact potential for 20 types of amino acids. Tests of the algorithm are performed on the real proteins. The root mean square deviations of the structures of eight folded target proteins versus the native structures are in a reasonable range. In principle, this method is an improvement on the energy minimization approach.