High‐Temperature Shock Enabled Nanomanufacturing for Energy‐Related Applications

Functional nanomaterials are playing a crucial role in the emerging field of energy‐related devices. Recently, as a novel synthesis method, high‐temperature shock (HTS), which is rapid, low cost, eco‐friendly, universal, scalable, and controllable, has provided a promising option for the rational design and synthesis of various high‐quality nanomaterials. In this report, the HTS technique, including the equipment setup and operating principle, is systematically introduced, and recent progress in the synthesis of nanomaterials for energy storage and conversion applications using this HTS method is summarized. The growth mechanisms of nanoparticles and carbonaceous nanomaterials are thoroughly discussed, followed by the summary of the characteristic advantages of the HTS strategy. A series of nanomaterials prepared by the HTS method, including carbon‐based films, metal nanoparticles and compound nanoparticles, show high performance in the diverse applications of storage energy batteries, highly active catalysts, and smart energy devices. Finally, the future perspectives and directions of HTS in nanomanufacturing for broader applications are presented.     

Atomically Dispersed Mo Supported on Metallic Co9S8 Nanoflakes as an Advanced Noble‐Metal‐Free Bifunctional Water Splitting Catalyst Working in Universal pH Conditions

Water splitting requires development of cost‐effective multifunctional materials that can catalyze both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) efficiently. Currently, the OER relies on the noble‐metal catalysts; since with other catalysts, its operation environment is greatly limited in alkaline conditions. Herein, an advanced water oxidation catalyst based on metallic Co₉S₈ decorated with single‐atomic Mo (0.99 wt%) is synthesized (Mo‐Co₉S₈@C). It exhibits pronounced water oxidization activity in acid, alkali, and neutral media by showing positive onset potentials of 200, 90, and 290 mV, respectively, which manifests the best Co₉S₈‐based single‐atom Mo catalyst till now. Moreover, it also demonstrates excellent HER performance over a wide pH range. Consequently, the catalyst even outperforms noble metal Pt/IrO₂‐based catalysts for overall water splitting (only requiring 1.68 V in acid, and 1.56 V in alkaline). Impressively, it works under a current density of 10 mA cm^?2 with no obvious decay during a 24 h (0.5 m H₂SO₄) and 72 h (1.0 m KOH) durability experiment. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations reveal that the synergistic effects of atomically dispersed Mo with Co‐containing substrates can efficiently alter the binding energies of adsorbed intermediate species and decrease the overpotentials of the water splitting.     

Phylogenetic relationships of Cyrtandromoea and Wightia revisited: A new tribe in Phrymaceae and a new family in Lamiales

The familial placements of Cyrtandromoea Zoll. and Wightia Wall., two small and enigmatic South‐East Asian genera, have long been controversial in Lamiales. Here we adopt a two‐step approach to resolve their phylogenetic relationships. We initially reconstructed a large‐scale phylogeny of Lamiales using six chloroplast markers (atpB, matK, ndhF, psbBTNH, rbcL, and rps4). The results showed that both Cyrtandromoea and Wightia emerged in the LMPO clade, including Lamiaceae, Mazaceae, Phrymaceae, Paulowniaceae, and Orobanchaceae. Based on the second set of six chloroplast markers (atpB, matK, ndhF, rbcL, rps16, and trnL‐F) and two nuclear ribosomal regions (external transcribed spacer and internal transcribed spacer) for the analyses focusing on the LMPO clade, our results revealed that Cyrtandromoea was consistently nested within Phrymaceae, whereas Wightia was supported as sister to Phrymaceae by the chloroplast DNA dataset or sister to Paulowniaceae by the nuclear ribosomal DNA dataset. Morphological and anatomical evidence fully supports the inclusion of Cyrtandromoea in Phrymaceae, and an updated tribal classification is done for Phrymaceae with five tribes, that is, Cyrtandromoeeae Bo Li, Bing Liu, Su Liu & Y. H. Tan, trib. nov., Diplaceae Bo Li, Bing Liu, Su Liu & Y. H. Tan, trib. nov., Leucocarpeae, Mimuleae, and Phrymeae. The conflicting phylogenetic position of Wightia indicated by different genome markers results in difficulty placing the genus in either Phrymaceae or Paulowniaceae. Considering the distinct morphological differences between Wightia and other families in the LMPO clade, we here propose a new family, Wightiaceae Bo Li, Bing Liu, Su Liu & Y. H. Tan, fam. nov., to accommodate it, which is the 26th family recognized in Lamiales.     

Molecular phylogeny and species delimitation of Stachyuraceae: Advocating a herbarium specimen‐based phylogenomic approach in resolving species boundaries

Species concept and delimitation are fundamental to taxonomic and evolutionary studies. Both inadequate informative sites in the molecular data and limited taxon sampling have often led to poor phylogenetic resolution and incorrect species delineation. Recently, the whole chloroplast genome sequences from extensive herbarium specimen samples have been shown to be effective to amend the problem. Stachyuraceae are a small family consisting of only one genus Stachyurus of six to 16 species. However, species delimitation in Stachyurus has been highly controversial because of few and generally unstable morphological characters used for classification. In this study, we sampled 69 individuals of seven species (each with at least three individuals) covering the entire taxonomic diversity, geographic range, and morphological variation of Stachyurus from herbarium specimens for genome‐wide plastid gene sequencing to address species delineation in the genus. We obtained high‐quality DNAs from specimens using a recently developed DNA reconstruction technique. We first assembled four whole chloroplast genome sequences. Based on the chloroplast genome and one nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence of Stachyurus, we designed primers for multiplex polymerase chain reaction and high throughput sequencing of 44 plastid loci for species of Stachyurus. Data of these chloroplast DNA and nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer sequences were used for phylogenetic analyses. The phylogenetic results showed that the Japanese species Stachyurus praecox Siebold & Zucc. was sister to the rest in mainland China, which indicated a typical Sino‐Japanese distribution pattern. Based on diagnostic morphological characters, distinct distributional range, and monophyly of each clade, we redefined seven species for Stachyurus following an integrative species concept, and revised the taxonomy of the family based on previous reports and specimens, in particular the type specimens. Furthermore, our divergence time estimation results suggested that Stachyuraceae split from its sister group Crossosomataceae from the New World at ca. 54.29 Mya, but extant species of Stachyuraceae started their diversification only recently at ca. 6.85 Mya. Diversification time of Stachyurus in mainland China was estimated to be ca. 4.45 Mya. This research has provided an example of using the herbarium specimen‐based phylogenomic approach in resolving species boundaries in a taxonomically difficult genus.     

In memory of Professor Tang Yan‐Cheng: New perspectives in systematic and evolutionary biology

In China, three institutes for botanical research were established in the 1920s. They were the Department of Botany, Biological Laboratory of the Science Society of China (1922, Nanjing), the Fan Memorial Institute of Biology (1928, Beiping), and the Institute of Botany, Beiping Academy of Sciences (1929, Beiping).     

基于线粒体基因分析蓝孔雀与绿孔雀的遗传差异

种间的遗传差异是物种分类和确定保护管理单元的基础,本研究利用DNA条形码技术对未知样本进行鉴定,通过NCBI进行BLAST得到结果是:与绿孔雀的同源性为96%。近一步通过对蓝孔雀(Pavo cristatus)和绿孔雀(Pavo muticus)线粒体细胞色素C氧化酶Ⅰ(cytochrome coxidaseⅠ,COⅠ)基因及线粒体基因组的比较分析,结果表明两物种间的COⅠ基因在碱基组成、核苷酸多样性等各项指标上均具有明显差异。遗传距离分析结果表明蓝孔雀与绿孔雀种内遗传距离为分别0和0.012,种间遗传距离为0.045,表明种间仍具有明显的遗传差异。通过对两物种线粒体基因组各基因的比较分析,发现ND1基因变异位点所占比例相对较高,考虑作为绿孔雀和蓝孔雀种群遗传学研究的最优分子标记。本研究将为分析孔雀类群间的系统发育及制定绿孔雀的保护措施提供了更多科学依据。     

Phosphorus alleviation of nitrogen‐suppressed methane sink in global grasslands

Grassland ecosystems account for more than 10% of the global CH₄ sink in soils. A 4‐year field experiment found that addition of P alone did not affect CH₄ uptake and experimental addition of N alone significantly suppressed CH₄ uptake, whereas concurrent N and P additions suppressed CH₄ uptake to a lesser degree. A meta‐analysis including 382 data points in global grasslands corroborated these findings. Global extrapolation with an empirical modelling approach estimated that contemporary N addition suppresses CH₄ sink in global grassland by 11.4% and concurrent N and P deposition alleviates this suppression to 5.8%. The P alleviation of N‐suppressed CH₄ sink is primarily attributed to substrate competition, defined as the competition between ammonium and CH₄ for the methane mono‐oxygenase enzyme. The N and P impacts on CH₄ uptake indicate that projected increases in N and P depositions might substantially affect CH₄ uptake and alter the global CH₄ cycle.     

Setosphaeria turcica ATR turns off appressorium-mediated maize infection and triggers melanin-involved self-protection in response to genotoxic stress

Eukaryotic organisms activate conserved signalling networks to maintain genomic stability in response to DNA genotoxic stresses. However, the coordination of this response pathway in fungal pathogens remains largely unknown. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism by which the northern corn leaf blight pathogen Setosphaeria turcica controls maize infection and activates self-protection pathways in response to DNA genotoxic insults. Appressorium-mediated maize infection by S. turcica was blocked by the S-phase checkpoint. This repression was dependent on the checkpoint central kinase Ataxia Telangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR), as inhibition of ATR activity or knockdown of the ATR gene recovered appressorium formation in the presence of genotoxic reagents. ATR promoted melanin biosynthesis in S. turcica as a defence response to stress. The melanin biosynthesis genes StPKS and StLac2 were induced by the ATR-mediated S-phase checkpoint. The responses to DNA genotoxic stress were conserved in a wide range of phytopathogenic fungi, including Cochliobolus heterostrophus, Cochliobolus carbonum, Alternaria solani, and Alternaria kikuchiana, which are known causal agents for plant diseases. We propose that in response to genotoxic stress, phytopathogenic fungi including S. turcica activate an ATR-dependent pathway to suppress appressorium-mediated infection and induce melanin-related self-protection in addition to conserved responses in eukaryotes.     

Diverse Roles of the Salicylic Acid Receptors NPR1 and NPR3/NPR4 in Plant Immunity

The plant defense hormone salicylic acid (SA) is perceived by two classes of receptors, NPR1 and NPR3/NPR4. They function in two parallel pathways to regulate SA-induced defense gene expression. To better understand the roles of the SA receptors in plant defense, we systematically analyzed their contributions to different aspects of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plant immunity using the SA-insensitive npr1-1 npr4-4D double mutant. We found that perception of SA by NPR1 and NPR4 is required for activation of N-hydroxypipecolic acid biosynthesis, which is essential for inducing systemic acquired resistance. In addition, both pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI) are severely compromised in the npr1-1 npr4-4D double mutant. Interestingly, the PTI and ETI attenuation in npr1-1 npr4-4D is more dramatic compared with the SA-induction deficient2-1 (sid2-1) mutant, suggesting that the perception of residual levels of SA in sid2-1 also contributes to immunity. Furthermore, NPR1 and NPR4 are involved in positive feedback amplification of SA biosynthesis and regulation of SA homeostasis through modifications including 5-hydroxylation and glycosylation. Thus, the SA receptors NPR1 and NPR4 play broad roles in plant immunity.