Yield Responses of Wheat to Mulching Practices in Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau

Improving farming practices of soil and water conservation has profound effects on the yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in dryland farming regions of the Loess Plateau in China. Mulching has proven to be an effective practice to increase crop yield, and possibly contribute to replenishing groundwater. This evaluation study collected and analyzed the data of 1849 observations published in 38 papers using meta-analysis to investigate effects of the mulching practices on wheat yield in terms of different rainfall and regions in comparison with conventional tillage. The main results of the study follow. The effects of the mulching practices were ranked in the order of RFM (ridge–furrow mulching) > MTMC (mulching with two materials combined) > MOM (mulching with other materials) > WSM (wheat straw mulching) > FM (flat mulching). The effects of the mulching practices at the different levels of rainfall during the wheat growing season were in the order: (< 150 mm) > (> 250 mm) > (150–250 mm). The effects of the mulching practices in the different regions were in the order of Henan > Shanxi > Shaanxi > Gansu. WSM, MTMC and FM performed better in improving wheat yield for rainfall of < 150, 150–250 and > 250 mm during the growing season, respectively. The wheat yield with FM, MTMC, MOM and MOM was higher than those with the other mulching practices in Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan and Shanxi. The wheat yield with RFM was 27.4% higher than that with FM, indicating that RFM was the most effective practice to improve wheat yield among all the practices. These findings have important implications for choosing appropriate crop field management to improve wheat yield.     

以淀粉珠为载体的亲和层析法分离纯化高温α淀粉酶

 以淀粉珠为载体的亲和层析法分离纯化高温α淀粉酶张学忠,宋伦,王群,吴晓霞,唐锌进（吉林大学酶工程国家重点实验室,长春１３００２３;南京师范大学生物系,南京２１００２４）金凤燮等人从酒曲中筛选出高产热稳定α淀粉酶的菌株,命名为Ｂａｃｉｌｌｕｓｓｐ－ＪＦ...     

氮肥和底墒对小麦籽粒灌浆过程的调节效应分析

以氮肥和底墒为决策变量,采用最优二次Ｄ饱和设计,用Ｌｏｇｉｓｔｉｃ方程拟合各水肥处理的籽粒充实过程,并推导出一系列次级参数,分别建立了小麦籽粒灌浆强度与持续时间参数的数学模型。结果表明：生长在氮肥或底墒逆境条件下的小麦受精子房的生长潜势（Ｃｏ）较大,并随逆境条件的改善而降低;千粒重（Ｙｏ）与灌浆快增期（Ｔ）的长短、最大灌浆速率（Ｒ＿（ｍａｘ））和平均灌浆速率（Ｒ）无明显相关性,却与起始生长势、灌浆系数（Ｔ·Ｒ＿（ｍａｘ））高度正相关,并且千粒重与灌浆系数的相关性明显大于千粒重与起始生长势的相关性;氮肥和底墒对籽粒灌浆特性具有显著的调节作用。同时还阐述了调节这些参数的水肥栽培途径。     

山西朔县种子植物区系及其生态经济意义

朔县(现朔州市朔城区)植物种属相对丰富,具有维管束植物938种,隶属于420属,105科。其植物区系主要起源于古北大陆;种子植物属的地理成分复杂多样,以温带成分占绝对优势,具有典型的温带草原性质;与相邻地区植物区系的比较分析表明,联系最为密切的是蒙古草原植物区系,其次是黄土高原植物区系。该县植物资源利用应采取的对策是:既要合理开发利用,又要加强物种的保护。     

The circular RNA circSlc7a11 promotes bone cancer pain pathogenesis in rats by modulating LLC-WRC 256 cell proliferation and apoptosis

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - Treatment of bone cancer pain (BCP) caused by bone metastasis in advanced cancers remains a challenge in clinical oncology, and the underlying mechanisms of...     

蓝光对保护地蔬菜烟粉虱的控制作用

[目的]研究蓝光开灯时段、蓝光光强对烟粉虱Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius)的驱避作用,以及蓝光照射对保护地辣椒和黄瓜上烟粉虱的控制作用,为利用驱虫灯实施对蔬菜烟粉虱的绿色防控提供科学依据.[方法]在蔬菜上用蓝光(波长为470 nm)照射,设置照射时间段17:00-18:00、18:00-19:00、19:00-20:00、20:00-21:00和21:00-22:005个处理、光照强度1、2、6、8、10、20、30、70、1501x9个处理,分别研究不同开灯时段和光强对烟粉虱的驱避作用,以不用蓝光处理为对照;分别在保护地黄瓜和辣椒上放置蓝色灯带,每天18:00-20:00开灯,每3d一次,分别调查黄瓜和辣椒上烟粉虱的虫量.[结果]18:00-19:00时间段蓝光照射对蔬菜烟粉虱的驱避作用最强,虫口减退率占试验总时段的50.94％;17:00-18:00次之,占22.29％;烟粉虱的虫口减退率与光照强度呈正相关(P＜0.05),其回归方程为)y=3.0297x+ 12.508 (R2=0.981).蓝光对保护地辣椒和黄瓜上烟粉虱有较好的驱避作用,辣椒上蓝光处理10d后烟粉虱的虫口减退率达到85.73％,上部叶片和中部叶片上虫口减退率之间没有显著差异(P＞0.05);蓝光处理黄瓜12d后烟粉虱的虫口减退率达90.33％,在光照的前期上部叶片的虫口减退率高于中部叶片,处理9d后上部叶片和中部叶片上虫口减退率之间没有显著差异(P＞0.05).[结论]蓝光对蔬菜烟粉虱具有较强的驱避作用,在18:00-19:00使用蓝光对保护地蔬菜上的烟粉虱的控制效果较好.     

An-1 Encodes a Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Protein That Regulates Awn Development,Grain Size,and Grain Number in Rice

Long awns are important for seed dispersal in wild rice (Oryza rufipogon), but are absent in cultivated rice (Oryza sativa). The genetic mechanism involved in loss-of-awn in cultivated rice remains unknown. We report here the molecular cloning of a major quantitative trait locus, An-1, which regulates long awn formation in O. rufipogon. An-1 encodes a basic helix-loop-helix protein, which regulates cell division. The nearly-isogenic line (NIL-An-1) carrying a wild allele An-1 in the genetic background of the awnless indica Guangluai4 produces long awns and longer grains, but significantly fewer grains per panicle compared with Guangluai4. Transgenic studies confirmed that An-1 positively regulates awn elongation, but negatively regulates grain number per panicle. Genetic variations in the An-1 locus were found to be associated with awn loss in cultivated rice. Population genetic analysis of wild and cultivated rice showed a significant reduction in nucleotide diversity of the An-1 locus in rice cultivars, suggesting that the An-1 locus was a major target for artificial selection. Thus, we propose that awn loss was favored and strongly selected by humans, as genetic variations at the An-1 locus that cause awn loss would increase grain numbers and subsequently improve grain yield in cultivated rice.     

Changes in Soil Carbon and Nitrogen following Land Abandonment of Farmland on the Loess Plateau,China

The revegetation of abandoned farmland significantly influences soil organic C (SOC) and total N (TN). However, the dynamics of both soil OC and N storage following the abandonment of farmland are not well understood. To learn more about soil C and N storages dynamics 30 years after the conversion of farmland to grassland, we measured SOC and TN content in paired grassland and farmland sites in the Zhifanggou watershed on the Loess Plateau, China. The grassland sites were established on farmland abandoned for 1, 7, 13, 20, and 30 years. Top soil OC and TN were higher in older grassland, especially in the 0–5 cm soil depths; deeper soil OC and TN was lower in younger grasslands (<20 yr), and higher in older grasslands (30 yr). Soil OC and N storage (0–100 cm) was significantly lower in the younger grasslands (<20 yr), had increased in the older grasslands (30 yr), and at 30 years SOC had increased to pre-abandonment levels. For a thirty year period following abandonment the soil C/N value remained at 10. Our results indicate that soil C and TN were significantly and positively correlated, indicating that studies on the storage of soil OC and TN needs to focus on deeper soil and not be restricted to the uppermost (0–30 cm) soil levels.     

A novel ultrasensitive bioluminescent receptor-binding assay of INSL3 through chemical conjugation with nanoluciferase

Insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3) is a reproduction-related peptide hormone belonging to the insulin/relaxin superfamily, which mediates testicular descent in the male fetus, suppresses male germ cell apoptosis and promotes oocyte maturation in adults by activating the relaxin family peptide receptor 2 (RXFP2). To establish an ultrasensitive receptor-binding assay for INSL3−RXFP2 interaction studies, in the present work we labeled a recombinant INSL3 peptide with a newly developed nanoluciferase (NanoLuc) reporter through a convenient chemical conjugation approach, including the introduction of an active disulfide bond to INSL3 by chemical modification and engineering of a 6× His-Cys-NanoLuc carrying a unique exposed cysteine at the N-terminus. The bioluminescent NanoLuc-conjugated INSL3 retained high binding affinity with the target receptor RXFP2 (K_d = 2.0 ± 0.1 nM, n = 3) and was able to sensitively monitor the receptor-binding of a variety of ligands, representing a novel ultrasensitive tracer for non-radioactive receptor-binding assays. Our present chemical conjugation approach could readily be adapted for conjugation of NanoLuc with other proteins, even other macrobiomolecules, for various highly sensitive bioluminescent assays.