Nitrogen addition promotes terrestrial plants to allocate more biomass to aboveground organs: A global meta-analysis

A significant increase in reactive nitrogen (N) added to terrestrial ecosystems through agricultural fertilization or atmospheric deposition is considered to be one of the most widespread drivers of global change. Modifying biomass allocation is one primary strategy for maximizing plant growth rate, survival, and adaptability to various biotic and abiotic stresses. However, there is much uncertainty as to whether and how plant biomass allocation strategies change in response to increased N inputs in terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we synthesized 3516 paired observations of plant biomass and their components related to N additions across terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. Our meta-analysis reveals that N addition (ranging from 1.08 to 113.81 g m⁻² year⁻¹) increased terrestrial plant biomass by 55.6% on average. N addition has increased plant stem mass fraction, shoot mass fraction, and leaf mass fraction by 13.8%, 12.9%, and 13.4%, respectively, but with an associated decrease in plant reproductive mass (including flower and fruit biomass) fraction by 3.4%. We further documented a reduction in plant root-shoot ratio and root mass fraction by 27% (21.8%–32.1%) and 14.7% (11.6%–17.8%), respectively, in response to N addition. Meta-regression results showed that N addition effects on plant biomass were positively correlated with mean annual temperature, soil available phosphorus, soil total potassium, specific leaf area, and leaf area per plant. Nevertheless, they were negatively correlated with soil total N, leaf carbon/N ratio, leaf carbon and N content per leaf area, as well as the amount and duration of N addition. In summary, our meta-analysis suggests that N addition may alter terrestrial plant biomass allocation strategies, leading to more biomass being allocated to aboveground organs than belowground organs and growth versus reproductive trade-offs. At the global scale, leaf functional traits may dictate how plant species change their biomass allocation pattern in response to N addition.     

Extinction risk of Chinese angiosperms varies between woody and herbaceous species

Aim

Understanding how species' traits and environmental contexts relate to extinction risk is a critical priority for ecology and conservation biology. This study aims to identify and explore factors related to extinction risk between herbaceous and woody angiosperms to facilitate more effective conservation and management strategies and understand the interactions between environmental threats and species' traits.

Location

China.

Taxon

Angiosperms.

Methods

We obtained a large dataset including five traits, six extrinsic variables, and 796,118 occurrence records for 14,888 Chinese angiosperms. We assessed the phylogenetic signal and used phylogenetic generalized least squares regressions to explore relationships between extinction risk, plant traits, and extrinsic variables in woody and herbaceous angiosperms. We also used phylogenetic path analysis to evaluate causal relationships among traits, climate variables, and extinction risk of different growth forms.

Results

The phylogenetic signal of extinction risk differed among woody and herbaceous species. Angiosperm extinction risk was mainly affected by growth form, altitude, mean annual temperature, normalized difference vegetation index, and precipitation change from 1901 to 2020. Woody species' extinction risk was strongly affected by height and precipitation, whereas extinction risk for herbaceous species was mainly affected by mean annual temperature rather than plant traits.

Main conclusions

Woody species were more likely to have higher extinction risks than herbaceous species under climate change and extinction threat levels varied with both plant traits and extrinsic variables. The relationships we uncovered may help identify and protect threatened plant species and the ecosystems that rely on them.     

显脉獐牙菜的单萜环烯醚甙

近年来,肝炎发病率高,青叶胆(Swertia mileensis)因此被大量采挖,野生青叶胆资源逐年减少。为发掘新药源,我们对云南产狭叶獐牙菜(S.angustifolia)和显脉獐牙菜(S.nervasa)的化学成分进行了研究。本文报道从中分离鉴定的4个单萜环烯醚甙Ⅰ—Ⅳ。Ⅰ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ分别为维哥罗甙(vegeloside)、獐牙菜甙(sweroside)和獐牙菜苦甙(swertiamarin),Ⅱ是Ⅰ的同分异构体,命名为显脉獐牙菜甙(nervoside)。显脉獐牙菜甙(Ⅱ)白色无定形粉末,味极苦。UVλ-_(max)~(EtOH):243nm(log ε-3.89)。IR v_(max)~(KBr) cm~(-1):3400、1700和1610,显示单萜环烯醚的特征吸收峰显脉獐牙菜;显脉獐牙菜甙;单萜环烯醚甙     

基于Golden Gate技术的齐整小核菌转录单元高效组装系统

【目的】为齐整小核菌代谢工程研究建立高效的转录单元组装系统。【方法】通过应用Golden Gate技术,以mobius assembly为基础,分别设计并构建DNA元件标准化接口改造、单转录单元组装、应用质粒(多转录单元)组装等功能的载体,从而形成一套完整的多转录单元组装系统。【结果】构建了2个用于DNA元件标准化接口改造的Level 0载体,4个用于单转录单元组装的Level 1载体,4个用于应用质粒组装的Level 2载体和13个应用质粒组装的辅助质粒。然后应用此系统为齐整小核菌组装了若干经过标准化接口改造的DNA元件质粒、单转录单元质粒和硬葡聚糖相关基因的功能分析质粒。所构建的最终应用质粒可以同时适用于齐整小核菌的根癌农杆菌介导转化法、电穿孔转化法和原生质体转化法。【结论】此质粒系统具有强大的DNA设计、组装和容纳能力,为未来齐整小核菌代谢工程和功能基因组学研究提供了高效的质粒构建技术平台。     

Upgrading the genome of an elite japonica rice variety Kongyu 131 for lodging resistance improvement

Developing a new rice variety requires tremendous efforts and years of input. To improve the defect traits of the excellent varieties becomes more cost and time efficient than breeding a completely new variety. Kongyu 131 is a high-performing japonica variety with early maturity, high yield, wide adaptability and cold resistance, but the poor-lodging resistance hinders the industrial production of Kongyu 131 in the Northeastern China. In this study, we attempted to improve the lodging resistance of Kongyu 131 from perspectives of both gene and trait. On the one hand, by QTL analysis and fine mapping we discovered the candidate gene loci. The following CRISPR/Cas9 and transgenic complementation study confirmed that Sd1 dominated the lodging resistance and favourable allele was mined for precise introduction and improvement. On the other hand, the Sd1 allelic variant was identified in Kongyu 131 by sequence alignment, then introduced another excellent allelic variation by backcrossing. Then, the two new resulting Kongyu 131 went through the field evaluation under different environments, planting densities and nitrogen fertilizer conditions. The results showed that the plant height of upgraded Kongyu 131 was 17%–26% lower than Kongyu 131 without penalty in yield. This study demonstrated a precise and targeted way to update the rice genome and upgrade the elite rice varieties by improving only a few gene defects from the perspective of breeding.     

Ribosomal protein L22-like1 promotes prostate cancer progression by activating PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling pathway

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common malignancies in men. Ribosomal protein L22-like1 (RPL22L1), a component of the ribosomal 60 S subunit, is associated with cancer progression, but the role and potential mechanism of RPL22L1 in PCa remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of RPL22L1 in PCa progression and the mechanisms involved. Bioinformatics and immunohistochemistry analysis showed that the expression of RPL22L1 was significantly higher in PCa tissues than in normal prostate tissues. The cell function analysis revealed that RPL22L1 significantly promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of PCa cells. The data of xenograft tumour assay suggested that the low expression of RPL22L1 inhibited the growth and invasion of PCa cells in vivo. Mechanistically, the results of Western blot proved that RPL22L1 activated PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in PCa cells. Additionally, LY294002, an inhibitor of PI3K/Akt pathway, was used to block this pathway. The results showed that LY294002 remarkably abrogated the oncogenic effect of RPL22L1 on PCa cell proliferation and invasion. Taken together, our study demonstrated that RPL22L1 is a key gene in PCa progression and promotes PCa cell proliferation and invasion via PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, thus potentially providing a new target for PCa therapy.