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The role of amino acid transporter (AAT) genes in facilitating the transmembrane movement of amino acids between cells and various cellular components has been characterized in several plant species. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), a renowned nutritious crop known for its amino acid composition, has not yet had its AAT genes characterized. Therefore, the identification and characterization of AAT genes in quinoa will help bridge this knowledge gap and offer valuable insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying amino acid transport and metabolism. This study focuses on gene expression, gene structure, duplication events, and a comparison of functions studied to establish the role of AAT genes. A total of 160 non-redundant AAT genes were identified in quinoa and classified into 12 subfamilies, with 8 subfamilies belonging to the amino acid/auxin permease (AAAP) family and 4 to the amino acid-polyamine-organocation (APC) superfamily family. The chromosomal localization, gene structures, and conserved motifs of these genes were systematically analyzed. Expression profiling revealed diverse expression patterns across various tissues and in response to drought and salt stresses. Segmental and tandem duplications were found to contribute to the gene duplication and expansion of the CqAAT gene family. Additionally, CqCAT6 and CqAAP1 were predicted to regulate the long-distance transportation and distribution of amino acids, making them potential candidate genes for further research. Overall, this information could serve as a foundation for the identification and utilization of CqAATs in Quinoa, enhancing our understanding of amino acid transport mechanisms in this important crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, 300 quinoa accessions were systematically screened for adaptation to low-altitude areas using seventeen traits. The experiment was conducted in Taigu District, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, in 2021, at an altitude of 791 m. Out of the 300 genotypes, 107 were able to produce flowers and fruit, with yields ranging from 538 to 5132 kg ha−1 and with 1000-grain weights between 1.19 g and 2.37 g. These 107 quinoa genotypes were categorized into four groups based on grain yield: below 1500, 1500–2250, 2250–3000, and above 3000 kg ha−1. These groups consisted of 33, 33, 24, and 17 genotypes, respectively. This study found that the 1000-grain weight ranged from 1.19 g to 2.37 g, with an average of 1.72 g, 1.72 g, 1.83 g, and 1.92 g for the respective yield levels. Among the 107 genotypes, 25 had a 1000-grain weight exceeding 2 g, and 13 of these genotypes also had yields exceeding 2250 kg ha−1. The growth period of quinoa genotypes in the low-altitude area was approximately 138–142 days, with longer growth periods associated with higher yield levels. JQ-00084 is the only genotype with a yield > 3000 kg ha−1 and meets all the growth criteria, including a 1000-grain weight exceeding 2 g and a flowering-to-maturity period of over 80 days. Meanwhile, JQ-00315, JQ-00521, JQ-1029, and JQ-02405 fulfilled at least four criteria. These results highlight the importance of germplasm screening for low altitudes, and a large set of germplasms could be screened using the above criteria of phenology, growth, and yield traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to understand the influence of nitrogen accumulation, fungal endophyte, yield, nitrogen use efficiency, and grain nutritional quality parameters on the yield of quinoa in some areas of China. The endophytic microbial community in plants plays a crucial role in plant growth, development, and health, especially in quinoa plants under different nitrogen fertilizer levels. The results from the present study indicated that appropriate nitrogen application significantly enhanced the nitrogen accumulation and yield of quinoa grains during maturity, increasing by 34.54–42.18% and 14.59–30.71%, respectively. Concurrently, protein content, amylose, total starch, ash, and fat content also increased, with respective growth rates of 1.15–18.18%, 30.74–42.53%, 6.40–12.40%, 1.94–21.94%, and 5.32–22.22%. Our constructed interaction network of bacterial and fungal communities revealed that bacteria outnumbered fungi significantly, and most of them exhibited synergistic interactions. The moderate increase in N150 was beneficial for increasing quinoa yield, achieving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of over 20%. The N210 was increased, and both the yield and NUE significantly decreased. This study provides novel insights into the impact of nitrogen fertilizer on quinoa growth and microbial communities, which are crucial for achieving agricultural sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop rotation has been considered a potential solution to mitigate the negative effects of the continuous cropping of sorghum, including soil quality issues, inadequate plant development, and diminished yield and quality. A two-year field experiment was conducted to compare the effects of sorghum–sorghum continuous cropping and quinoa–sorghum rotation on soil properties and sorghum yield. The treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Sorghum seeds (Jinza 22) and quinoa seeds ('Jiaqi 1' variety) were used. Soil samples were collected before and during the experiment for the analysis of physicochemical properties. The yield traits of sorghum were measured at maturity. The results showed that soil nutrients and organic matter were higher in the top 0–20 cm soil depth compared to 20–40 cm depth, with significant differences observed between cropping systems. Sorghum–quinoa cropping increased soil total N and organic matter, particularly at the jointing and maturity stages of sorghum. However, the available phosphorus was higher under continuous cropping at all growth stages. Crop rotation significantly improved sorghum yield traits, including spike fresh weight, spike dry weight, grain weight per spike, and grain yield per hectare. A correlation analysis revealed positive relationships between soil total N, organic matter, and sorghum yield. Overall, sorghum–quinoa rotation demonstrated potential for improving soil fertility and enhancing crop productivity compared to continuous cropping, although further studies are needed to explore the long-term effects and optimize management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research conducted at the Shanxi Agricultural University's Quinoa Experimental Model Base in Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, aimed to assess agronomic traits and their correlation with yield across 32 quinoa varieties. Three distinct yield categories emerged: low (≤1500 kg ha−1), middle (1500–2500 kg−1), and high (>2500 kg ha−1). High-yielding varieties demonstrated notable characteristics, including decreased plant height and increased leaf area per plant at maturity compared to low- and middle-yielding varieties. Moreover, the decline in leaf area per plant and root traits from flowering to maturity was less pronounced in the high-yielding varieties. The high-yielding varieties had a higher hardness of the stem base and middle stem by 12–13.7% and 6.3–11.5% compared to the medium- and low-yield varieties. Furthermore, high-yielding varieties indicated improvements in dry matter accumulation, decreased effective branch number, and increased main ear length and 1000-grain weight. Correlation analysis highlighted significant relationships between grain weight, yield, post-flowering senescence, and root and leaf characteristics. Structural equation model analysis revealed the negative impact of certain root and leaf traits on grain weight and yield, suggesting their importance in determining productivity. Notably, high-yielding varieties exhibited traits conducive to increased grain weight, including shorter plant height, slower root senescence, and enhanced post-flowering leaf resilience. These findings showed that understanding the relationship between agronomic traits and yield potential is crucial for optimizing quinoa production and promoting the sustainable development of this essential crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composition and form of selenium in the soil have significant effects on the selenium content of crops. In this study, we investigated the selenium absorption pathway in plants by studying the interaction between nitrogen fertilizer and soil selenium. Our results showed that the selenium concentration enrichment factors (CEF) varied within the same region due to nitrogen fertilizer application, where they ranged from 1.33 to 5.02. The soil selenium flow coefficient (mobility factor, MF) increased with higher nitrogen application rates. The sum of the MF values for each soil layer treated with nitrogen application rates of 192 kg hm−2 and 240 kg hm−2 was 0.70, which was 64% higher than that for the control group with no nitrogen application. In the 0–20 cm soil layer, the highest summed water-soluble and exchangeable selenium and relative percentage of total selenium (12.45%) was observed at a nitrogen application rate of 240 kg hm−2. In the 20–40 cm soil layer, the highest relative percentage content of water-soluble and exchangeable selenium and total selenium (12.66%) was observed at a nitrogen application rate of 192 kg hm−2. Experimental treatment of black wheat with various concentrations of sodium selenite showed that selenium treatment at 50 μmol L−1 significantly increased the reduced glutathione (GSH) levels in the leaves and roots of seedlings, where the GSH contents increased by 155.4% in the leaves and by 91.5% in the roots. Further analysis of the soil–black wheat system showed that nitrogen application in selenium-rich areas affected the soil selenium flow coefficient and morphological composition, thereby changing the enrichment coefficient for leaves (0.823), transport capacity from leaves to grains (–0.530), and enrichment coefficient for roots (0.38). These changes ultimately affected the selenium concentration in the grains of black wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precipitation is the major cause of crop yield variation in rainfed agriculture production in the Loess Plateau. As over fertilization is economically and environmentally undesirable, and crop yield and the resulting returns for N input are uncertain when rainfall variability is high, optimizing N management according to precipitation during fallow season is vital for efficient crop water use and high yield in dryland rainfed farming systems. Results show that the nitrogen treatment rate of 180 treatment significantly increased the tiller percentage rate, and the leaf area index at anthesis, the jointing anthesis, anthesis maturity dry matter, and nitrogen accumulation was closely related to yield. N150 treatment compared to N180 treatment significantly increased the percentage of ear-bearing tiller by 7%, dry substance accretion from jointing to anthesis by 9%, and yield by 17% and 15%, respectively. Our study has important implications for the assessment of the effects of fallow precipitation, as well as for the sustainable development of dryland agriculture in the Loess Plateau. Our results indicate that adjusting N fertilizer inputs based on summer rainfall variation could enhance wheat yield in rainfed farming systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to understand the influence of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters on the yield of winter wheat in some areas of China. Nitrogen (N) application is believed to improve photosynthesis in flag leaves, ultimately increasing the final yield. The results from different parameters of research showed that the grain number per spike improved by 12.2% and the 1000-grain weight by 7.3%, respectively. At 20–30 days after anthesis, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and soluble protein in flag leaves of N150 were found to be the most effective. The grain yield under N manure partial substitution for N fertilizer treatment increased by 23 and 15%, respectively. The important implications of photosynthetic characteristics of variable fluorescence yield of the light-adapted state are that the contents of clear, ball, alcohol soluble, gluten, protein, and flour quality showed an increasing trend, while the contents of amylose, amylopectin, total starch, and direct/branch ratio were decreased of wheat. The net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and relative chlorophyll content of wheat. The outcome of the present investigation suggests that chlorophyll fluorescence parameters could be a valuable insight into understanding yield stability under stress conditions. Moreover, the investigated parameters could be useful criteria for the selection of photosynthetic energy under varying nitrogen application levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to understand the influence of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters on the yield of winter wheat in some areas of China. Nitrogen (N) application is believed to improve photosynthesis in flag leaf, which ultimately increases the final yield. The experiment was conducted in the wheat experimental base of Shanxi Agricultural University in Taigu, Shanxi Province, China; before sowing, four N application rates were set—N0, N120, N150, and N210 kg ha–1 of the Yunhan-20410 variety from 2019 to 2022. The results from different parameters of research showed that the organic manure partial substitution for chemical fertilizer increased post-anthesis N uptake by 16.4 and 81.4%, thus increasing the post-anthesis photosynthetic capacity and delaying leaf senescence. N150 treatment can improve dry matter (DM) accumulation, thus promoting the increase of the yield. The maximum net photosynthesis PN value of the booting stage and flowering stage indicated that nitrogen application could significantly improve the photosynthetic rate of wheat leaves, among which medium nitrogen treatment had the most significant promoting effect. The single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) value of the leaf of wheat in each treatment increased rapidly in a small range from the jointing stage to the booting stage, respectively. The grain yield under N fertilizer partial substitution for N fertilizer treatment increased by 23%. According to the different significance test, the effects of nitrogen application rate on net photosynthesis PN of winter wheat were extremely significant at all growth stages, indicating that changing the population distribution mode and nitrogen level could effectively improve leaf photosynthetic performance and that N150 level was the best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dryland winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production plays an extremely important role in the southeast of the Loess Plateau. Planting patterns have great influence on improving soil water storage and yield, and should be matched with different seeding rates. In order to assess the effect of different sowing methods on the drought resistance and stable yield of dryland wheat, a field experiment was conducted in Wenxi County Dryland Wheat Experimental Base in Shanxi Province, China. In the current study, the effects of three planting techniques (drilling sowing, furrow sowing, and film-mulched sowing) and four seeding rates (150, 225, 300, and 375 kg ha−1) were examined on water storage, dry matter formation, yield, and water use efficiency (WUE). The results showed that furrow sowing (FS) and film-mulched sowing (FM) treatments increased soil water storage in the 0–300 cm soil layer at overwintering and jointing stages. In addition, FS and FM increased soil water consumption in the 0–300 cm soil layer from overwintering to maturity of wheat. Furthermore, FS and FM significantly increased the dry matter accumulation from the overwintering to the mature stage, promoted its accumulation in vegetative organs and translocation to grains after anthesis, viz., increased yield by 6.2% and 7.9%, and WUE by 4.6% and 5.3%, respectively, as compared with those of the drilling sowing (DS) treatments. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that grain yield had a significantly positive correlation with soil water storage at overwintering and jointing. Moreover, grain yield was significantly positively correlated with soil water consumption in the 0–300 cm soil layer from jointing to maturity. Additionally, the seeding rate of 150 kg ha−1 with FS could obtain higher WUE and grain yield. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that the seeding rate of 150 kg ha−1 is used with FS to improve the grain yield and WUE of dryland agricultural systems in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the effects of long-term fallow tillage on soil microbial community structure in different soil layers and winter wheat yield, we conducted a 5-year long-term field experiment in the Loess Plateau, China, using three fallow tillage methods: no-tillage (NT), subsoiling tillage (ST), and deep plowing (DP). The soil physical and chemical properties, community structure, and composition of soil bacteria and fungi in the 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm soil layers, and winter wheat yield were analyzed. The results showed that, compared with DP, NT and ST significantly increased soil moisture content (SWC), soil organic carbon (SOC) content, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) contents in 0–20 cm soil layer (p < 0.05), and significantly increased soil microbial community Shannon and Simpson index in 0–40 cm soil layer (p < 0.05). Compared with NT, ST and DP significantly increased SWC and SOC contents in 20–40 cm soil layer (p < 0.05). Actinobacteria and Ascomycota were the most abundant bacteria and fungi in the soil of the experimental site. Redundancy analysis further showed that soil physicochemical properties (SWC, SOC, DOC, and DON) were closely related to the microbial community. PICRUSt2 prediction results showed that DP increased the metabolic functional diversity of bacteria and fungi. ST and DP significantly increased the yield of winter wheat, and DP had the best effect. In conclusion, subsoiling tillage and deep plowing were beneficial to the accumulation and utilization of natural precipitation and the improvement of soil microbial community structure. Deep plowing was beneficial to the decomposition and metabolism of straw and organic fertilizer, and improved the catabolic ability of microbial community, thus increasing the yield of winter wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This correction notice states that the author Wenbin Bai has been changed to the second corresponding author. The correction does not affect the scientific conclusions of the original publication. The corrected author contributions statement is provided, and all authors have agreed to the published version of the manuscript. [Extracted from the article]

(1) Background: many rare cystic fibrosistransmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mutations remain poorly characterized with regard to functional consequences of the mutation. We present the clinical features of two pediatric cystic fibrosis (CF) subjects who are heterozygous for F1099L (c.3297C>G), one with G551D (a class III mutation) and one with 3849 + 10kbC->T (a class V mutation). We also identified the molecular defect(s) that are associated with F1099L mutation to correlate with the clinical features that we observed; (2) Methods: clinical findings and history were extracted from the electronic medical record and de-identified. F1099L-CFTR protein expression level and maturation status, channel function, and the effects of CFTR modulation on these characteristics were investigated using western blotting and iodide efflux assay; (3) Results: these two subjects have mild CF phenotypes when F1099L is combined with two known disease-causing mutations. F1099L-CFTR has a moderate defect in processing and maturation, causing fewer CFTR channels at the cell surface and, therefore, impaired channel activities. These defects could be effectively corrected using VX-809 (lumacaftor); and, (4) Conclusions: our biochemical data correlate with the disease manifestations and suggest that F1099L is potentially a CF-causing mutation. The study expands our knowledge of rare CFTR mutations and may help in developing effective therapies for subjects with F1099L mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]