Development of a Core Collection of Six-Rowed Hulless Barley from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Plant Molecular Biology Reporter - A core collection reflects the diversity of the larger germplasm collection and makes the evaluation of genetic resources more effective. To improve barley...     

Over 17% Efficiency Stand‐Alone Solar Water Splitting Enabled by Perovskite‐Silicon Tandem Absorbers

Realizing solar‐to‐hydrogen (STH) efficiencies close to 20% using low‐cost semiconductors remains a major step toward accomplishing the practical viability of photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen generation technologies. Dual‐absorber tandem cells combining inexpensive semiconductors are a promising strategy to achieve high STH efficiencies at a reasonable cost. Here, a perovskite photovoltaic biased silicon (Si) photoelectrode is demonstrated for highly efficient stand‐alone solar water splitting. A p⁺nn⁺ ‐Si/Ti/Pt photocathode is shown to present a remarkable photon‐to‐current efficiency of 14.1% under biased condition and stability over three days under continuous illumination. Upon pairing with a semitransparent mixed perovskite solar cell of an appropriate bandgap with state‐of‐the‐art performance, an unprecedented 17.6% STH efficiency is achieved for self‐driven solar water splitting. Modeling and analysis of the dual‐absorber PEC system reveal that further work into replacing the noble‐metal catalyst materials with earth‐abundant elements and improvement of perovskite fill factor will pave the way for the realization of a low‐cost high‐efficiency PEC system.     

No evidence of persistent effects of continuously planted transgenic insect-resistant cotton on soil microorganisms

Transgenic insect-resistant cotton expressing the Cry1Ac and/or CpTI protein has been released into the environment for commercial cultivation for over a decade in China. In this consecutive 3-year field study (2007?C2009), we characterized the microbial populations in two different transgenic cotton fields and one non-transgenic cotton field to assess the environmental impact of long-term cultivation of transgenic insect-resistant plants in credible field conditions. We obtained samples at four different growth stages of cotton (seedling, budding, boll forming and boll opening). The results showed significant seasonal variation in the number of bacteria, fungi, azotobacter, denitrifying bacteria and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and in diversity indices of microorganisms, but no significant difference in the number of each microbial population or diversity indices attributable to long-term cultivation of transgenic cotton.     

Effect of age on α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) binding sites in the rat brain studied by in vitro autoradiography

Receptors for excitatory amino acid,L-glutamate, have been classified into three subtypes named as N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), quisqualate (QA) and kainate receptors. In the present study, an effect of age on binding sites of [³H]-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (³H-AMPA), a QA agonist, was studied in the rat brain through quantitative in vitro autoradiography.³H-AMPA binding sites were most concentrated in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex where glutamate receptors have been demonstrated to play a role in synaptic transmission. In aged rats,³H-AMPA binding sites in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex were not significantly changed. In our previous studies, it was noticed that strychnine-insensitive glycine receptors, which functionally coupled with NMDA receptors, showed marked age-dependent decreases in telencephalic regions. It has been shown that the glutamatergic neuronal system is involved in learning and memory. Nevertheless, it is considered that AMPA binding sites are not involved in the decline of neuronal functions, especially impairment of learning and memory, accompanying with aging process.     

MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for the identification of freshwater snails from Senegal,including intermediate hosts of schistosomes

Freshwater snails of the genera Biomphalaria, Bulinus, and Oncomelania are intermediate hosts of schistosomes that cause human schistosomiasis, one of the most significant infectious neglected diseases in the world. Identification of freshwater snails is usually based on morphology and potentially DNA-based methods, but these have many drawbacks that hamper their use. MALDI-TOF MS has revolutionised clinical microbiology and has emerged in the medical entomology field. This study aims to evaluate MALDI-TOF MS profiling for the identification of both frozen and ethanol-stored snail species using protein extracts from different body parts. A total of 530 field specimens belonging to nine species (Biomphalaria pfeifferi, Bulinus forskalii, Bulinus senegalensis, Bulinus truncatus, Bulinus globosus, Bellamya unicolor, Cleopatra bulimoides, Lymnaea natalensis, Melanoides tuberculata) and 89 laboratory-reared specimens, including three species (Bi. pfeifferi, Bu. forskalii, Bu. truncatus) were used for this study. For frozen snails, the feet of 127 field and 74 laboratory-reared specimens were used to validate the optimised MALDI-TOF MS protocol. The spectral analysis yielded intra-species reproducibility and inter-species specificity which resulted in the correct identification of all the specimens in blind queries, with log-score values greater than 1.7. In a second step, we demonstrated that MALDI-TOF MS could also be used to identify ethanol-stored snails using proteins extracted from the foot using a specific database including a large number of ethanol preserved specimens. This study shows for the first time that MALDI-TOF MS is a reliable tool for the rapid identification of frozen and ethanol-stored freshwater snails without any malacological expertise.     

饲料油菜压青还田对后作小麦土壤真菌群落的影响

[目的] 从真菌群落角度揭示麦后复种饲料油菜作绿肥对土壤的培肥效果。[方法] 以常规冬小麦-夏玉米一年两作为对照（CK）,采用Illumina Miseq高通量测序技术,探讨麦后复种饲料油菜不同播量（S：小播量;M：中播量;L：大播量）与还田时期（D1：9月10日;D2：9月20日;D3：9月30日）下土壤真菌丰度和群落结构。[结果] 与对照相比,随油菜播量增加,还田生物量显著增加,小麦产量先增后减,中播量中期还田产量最高;此外,播量增加,还田时间应提前。饲料油菜还田显著降低了土壤真菌OTU数量和丰富度指数（ACE和Chao1）。真菌群落组成方面,门水平下优势菌群主要有子囊菌门、担子菌门、接合菌门和壶菌门,纲水平下油菜还田相比对照优势真菌所占比例增加。功能预测结果表明,腐生营养型是土壤真菌主要营养类型,占比41.32%-50.72%;且还田后兼性功能营养类群增加至30.05%-40.10%;同时显著提高被孢霉属、枝顶孢属、毛壳菌属、青霉菌属等具有生防功能有益菌的丰度。[结论] 在晋南旱地麦区推广饲料油菜还田有利于改善土壤真菌群落结构;本试验条件下,油菜中播量种植,9月20日还田为最优措施。     

井冈山自然保护区蜻蜓目昆虫资源调查

为明确井冈山自然保护区蜻蜓目昆虫种质资源和群落特征,为蜻蜓目昆虫资源的保护和合理利用提供理论依据,2018-2021年在井冈山自然保护区选取长古岭（海拔470 m左右）、大井（海拔930 m左右）、黄洋界（海拔1 200 m左右）3个不同海拔样地开展蜻蜓资源调查。采用Simpson优势集中性指数、Pielon均匀度指数、Berger-Parker优势度指数和ShannonWiener多样性指数对3个样地的蜻蜓进行多样性分析。共采集到标本483只,隶属于2亚目8科16属23种,其中蜻科（Libellulidae）占据绝对优势,属数和种数分别占总数的37.50%和56.52%;大井和黄洋界的群落结构指标均无显著差异（P>0.05）,大井和黄洋界的多样性指数、均匀度指数均显著高于长古岭（P<0.05）,而优势度指数、优势集中性指数则显著低于长古岭（P <0.05）。结果表明井冈山自然保护区内海拔较低的长古岭蜻蜓目昆虫群落的多样性较低,但优势种的地位更为突出。     

SGLT2 inhibitor activates the STING/IRF3/IFN-β pathway and induces immune infiltration in osteosarcoma

SGLT2 (sodium-glucose cotransporter 2) is an important mediator of epithelial glucose transport and has been reported that SGLT2, robustly and diffusely expressed in malignant cancer cells, was overexpressed in various tumors, and inhibiting the SGLT2 expression significantly inhibited tumor progression. By blocking the functional activity of SGLT2, SGLT2 inhibitors have shown anticancer effects in several malignant cancers, including breast cancer, cervical cancer, hepatocellular cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer. However, the anticancer effect of SGLT2 inhibitors in osteosarcoma and the specific mechanism are still unclear. In the present study, we found that SGLT2 was overexpressed at the protein level in osteosarcoma. Furthermore, our results showed that the SGLT2 inhibitor significantly inhibited osteosarcoma tumor growth and induced infiltration of immune cells in vivo by upregulating STING expression and activating the IRF3/IFN-β pathway, which could attribute to the suppression of AKT phosphorylation. In addition, the combined treatment with SGLT2 inhibitor and STING agonist 2’3’-cGAMP exerted synergistic antitumor effects in osteosarcoma. Furthermore, the overexpression of SGLT2 at the protein level was correlated with the degradation of SGLT2 induced by TRIM21. This result demonstrated that SGLT2 is a novel therapeutic target of osteosarcoma, and that the SGLT2 inhibitor, especially in combination with 2’3’-cGAMP, is a potential therapeutic drug.Subject terms: Bone cancer, Cell signalling