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.     

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Upper Airway Changes after Protraction Headgear and Rapid Maxillary Expansion Treatment

Clinically, it is common for Class III patients with maxillary skeletal deficiency, which may result in a variety of adverse consequences. Protraction headgear and rapid maxillary expansion (PE) is an effective treatment, but its effect on upper airway hydrodynamics has not been reported. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes of the flow in the upper airway after PE by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The sample includes fifteen patients (6 males, 9 females, age 11.00 ± 1.00) and the paired T-test was used to analyze the differences between the measured data before and after treatment. The maximum flow velocity decreased from 8.42 ± 0.16 m/s to 6.98 ± 0.36 m/s (p < 0.05), and the maximum shear force decreased from 3.72 ± 1.48 Pa to 2.13 ± 0.18 Pa. The maximum negative pressure decreased from −101.78 ± 33.60 Pa to 58.15 ± 9.16 Pa, only the changes of velopharynx and glossopharynx were statistically significant; while the maximum resistance decreased from 140.88 ± 68.68 Pa/mL/s to 45.95 ± 22.96 Pa/mL/s. PE can effectively reduce the airflow resistance of the upper airway and the probability of airway collapse, thus improving the patient’s ventilation function.     

Impacts of iron on phosphate starvation-induced root hair growth in Arabidopsis

In Arabidopsis, phosphate starvation (-Pi)-induced responses of primary root and lateral root growth are documented to be correlated with ambient iron (Fe) status. However, whether and how Fe participates in -Pi-induced root hair growth (RHG) remains unclear. Here, responses of RHG to different Fe concentrations under Pi sufficiency/deficiency were verified. Generally, distinct dosage effects of Fe on RHG appeared at both Pi levels, due to the generation of reactive oxygen species. Following analyses using auxin mutants and the phr1 mutant revealed that auxin and the central regulator PHR1 are required for Fe-triggered RHG under −Pi. A further proteomic study indicated that processes of vesicle trafficking and auxin synthesis and transport were affected by Fe under −Pi, which were subsequently validated by using a vesicle trafficking inhibitor, brefeldin A, and an auxin reporter, R2D2. Moreover, vesicle trafficking-mediated recycling of PIN2, an auxin efflux transporter, was notably affected by Fe under -Pi. Correspondingly, root hairs of pin2 mutant displayed attenuated responses to Fe under -Pi. Together, we propose that Fe affects auxin signalling probably by modulating vesicle trafficking, chiefly the PIN2 recycling, which might work jointly with PHR1 on modulating -Pi-induced RHG.     

Primary structure effects on peptide group hydrogen exchange

The rate of exchange of peptide group NH hydrogens with the hydrogens of aqueous solvent is sensitive to neighboring side chains. To evaluate the effects of protein side chains, all 20 naturally occurring amino acids were studied using dipeptide models. Both inductive and steric blocking effects are apparent. The additivity of nearest-neighbor blocking and inductive effects was tested in oligo-and polypeptides and, suprisingly, confirmed. Reference rates for alanine-containing peptides were determined and effects of temperature considered. These results provide the information necessary to evaluate measured protein NH to ND exchange rates by comparing them with rates to be expected for the same amino acid sequence is unstructured aligo- and polypeptides. The application of this approach to protein studies is discussed. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

库木塔格沙漠土壤细菌多样性及具有群体感应抑制活性放线菌筛选

【背景】群体感应抑制剂(quorum sensing inhibitor,QSI)作为抗生素潜在替代品,可有效降低致病菌传染性和毒性。沙漠土壤蕴藏着丰富的放线菌资源,是挖掘群体感应抑制剂的重要来源。【目的】解析库木塔格沙漠土壤细菌群落多样性,筛选并挖掘群体感应抑制活性放线菌资源。【方法】采用Illumina Nova Seq高通量测序技术揭示库木塔格沙漠土壤细菌群落组成,利用可培养方法进行土壤放线菌分离和鉴定;选用紫色杆菌CV026模型筛选群体感应抑制活性放线菌,并对其功能特性进行初步评价。【结果】Illumina Nova Seq高通量测序结果显示,样品土壤细菌涉及23门96目150属,优势菌门为变形菌门(Proteobacteria,61%)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria,28%),其中分枝杆菌属(Mycobacterium)为放线菌门最优势菌属(87.3%),其次为红球菌属(Rhodococcus,6.8%)和丙酸杆菌属(Cutibacterium,0.9%)。可培养方法共分离到108株放线菌,归属9科10属,其中优势菌属为链霉菌属(Streptomyces),占65....     

氰氟虫腙对草地贪夜蛾的毒力与田间防效

【目的】本研究旨在明确氰氟虫腙对草地贪夜蛾Spodoptera frugiperda幼虫的毒力水平和田间防治效果,为科学使用氰氟虫腙防治草地贪夜蛾提供参考依据。【方法】采用饲料混毒法在室内测定了氰氟虫腙与4种常用杀虫剂甲维盐、氯虫苯甲酰胺、虱螨脲和茚虫威对草地贪夜蛾3和6龄幼虫的致死中浓度(LC₅₀)及LC₉₀值,以及LC₉₀浓度的这些杀虫剂对3龄幼虫的致死中时(medium lethal time, LT₅₀)值。采用人工喷雾方法测定了玉米田中22%氰氟虫腙悬浮剂(6.6 g/667 m²)、22%氰氟虫腙悬浮剂(17.6 g/667 m²)、5.7%甲维盐水分散剂(1 g/667 m²)和150 g/L茚虫威悬浮剂(2 g/667 m²)对草地贪夜蛾幼虫的防效。【结果】室内生测结果显示,供试的5种杀虫剂中氰氟虫腙对草地贪夜蛾3和6龄幼虫均具有较高的毒力,其LC₅₀值分别为2.64和4.3...     

Interactive Effects of Iron and Photoperiods on Tomato Plant Growth and Fruit Quality

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Photoperiod and micronutrient iron (Fe) are critical for plant growth and development. However, the interactive effects of Fe nutrition and photoperiod on...     

三角帆蚌Hc-GSK3β基因鉴定及内壳色性状相关SNP筛选

为了探究三角帆蚌(Hyriopsis cumingii)糖原合成激酶-3β(GSK3β)基因对壳色的影响,研究采用RACE技术获得Hc-GSK3β基因cDNA全长1867 bp,其中包含1261 bp的ORF区编码420个氨基酸, ORF中含有一个S＿TKc结构域,该结构域序列高度保守。组织差异表达分析发现Hc-GSK3β基因在紫色蚌鳃、斧足、内脏团和边缘膜组织中表达量高于白色蚌的表达量(P<0.05),且在斧足和边缘膜表达差异水平达到极显著(P<0.01),而在紫色蚌闭壳肌组织中表达量显著低于白色蚌(P<0.05)。原位杂交(ISH)实验结果显示在三角帆蚌外套膜的外褶、中褶、內褶、背膜区和腹膜区均有阳性信号产生,且在外褶的信号表达较强烈。该基因经重测序比较,共鉴定出6个SNP位点,其中在C+185A位点的CA基因型在紫色蚌的分布频率显著高于白色三角帆蚌(P<0.05);在紫色蚌中, T+341G位点TT基因型三角帆蚌内壳颜色参数b值显著低于TG基因型(P<0.05)。研究表明, Hc-GSK3β基因参与了三角帆蚌壳色形成,筛选的SNP标记可用于三角帆蚌壳...