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As a sessile organism, rice often faces various kinds of abiotic stresses, such as drought stress. Drought stress seriously harms plant growth and damages crop yield every year. Therefore, it is urgent to elucidate the mechanisms of drought resistance in rice. In this study, we identified a glycine-rich RNA-binding protein, OsGRP3, in rice. Evolutionary analysis showed that it was closely related to OsGR-RBP4, which was involved in various abiotic stresses. The expression of OsGRP3 was shown to be induced by several abiotic stress treatments and phytohormone treatments. Then, the drought tolerance tests of transgenic plants confirmed that OsGRP3 enhanced drought resistance in rice. Meanwhile, the yeast two-hybrid assay, bimolecular luminescence complementation assay and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay demonstrated that OsGRP3 bound with itself may affect the RNA chaperone function. Subsequently, the RNA-seq analysis, physiological experiments and histochemical staining showed that OsGRP3 influenced the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway and further modulated lignin accumulation. Herein, our findings suggested that OsGRP3 enhanced drought resistance in rice by altering the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway and further increasing lignin accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lodging is being increasingly recognized as a critical concern among crop breeders worldwide as it causes a significant reduction in the grain yield and quality of multiple cereal crops. The lodging index is frequently used for evaluating the lodging resistance of rice (Oryza sativa L.) crops. However, the application of lodging index for comparing lodging susceptibility between different rice cultivars is inadequate under certain special conditions. This study was aimed to identify optimized parameters that would evaluate the lodging susceptibility and could then be used along with the lodging index for further assessing the lodging resistance. A total of 32 representative rice accessions from different countries were grown at two different locations on three different sowing dates over a period of 3 yr. The analysis of the lodging index of the different rice cultivars revealed the lodging index value of 200 as the critical threshold value of the evaluated rice accessions. Subsequently, an optimized parameter from the lodging index was proposed. This parameter could be interpreted as the magnitude of the external force that the basal second internode could withstand. A comparison of the optimized parameter values of different rice accessions revealed a previously unknown lodging‐resistant variety R379. The application of the optimized parameter would enable an accurate determination and comparison of the lodging resistance among different rice cultivars, thereby contributing to the effective selection of lodging‐resistant cultivars in rice breeding programs. Core Ideas: Lodging index is unsuitable for evaluating lodging resistance under certain special conditions.The lodging index value 200 was observed to be the threshold for lodging in the field trials.We identified a previously unknown lodging‐resistant variety R379 by the optimized parameter.Improving the breaking resistance of the basal internodes is the basis for lodging resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lotus rhizome starch (LRS) is an important traditional processed product of lotus rhizome in China due to its good taste and high nutritional value. However, adulterated lotus rhizome starches are prevalent on the market. In this study, a novel method for the rapid detection of adulteration in LRS based on color reaction between ferrous sulfate (FS) and (-)-gallocatechin (GC) in LRS was studied. The polyphenols in LRS were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) as GC and (+)-catechin, and GC could show a bluish color with FS solution. LRS showed a bluish color when FS solution (0.01 mol/L) was used as the chromogenic agent, which was not observed for other ten kinds of starches tested in this work. There was an obvious color gradient when FS solution was used to react with adulterated LRS at different proportions, and the change in blue color was obvious when maize starch or cassava starch was adulterated in LRS at the ratio of 6:4. Then, a semi-quantitative method was used to make a color card according to the color gradient, which was then successfully used to detect the adulteration of four kinds of commercial LRS. The results indicate that the proposed method may facilitate the simple, effective and efficient detection of adulteration in LRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A self-supporting electrode modify by Mott-Schottky heterostructure is designed. • The heterostructure induces 3D nucleation of Li 2 S via built-in electric field. • The heterostructure accelerates the adsorption and conversion of polysulfides. • DFT reveals interfacial charge transfer between the heterostructure and polysulfides. Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have become a research focus due to their high theoretical specific capacity and energy density. The shuttle effect and slow sulfur conversion kinetics of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) severely hindered their practical application. Here, a N-doped carbon nanofiber self-supporting electrode modified with cobalt selenide/nickel selenide as a sulfur carrier (CoSe 2 /NiSe 2 @NCNFs) is designed and constructed. The experimental results show that a built-in electric field is formed at the interface of CoSe 2 /NiSe 2 Mott-Schottky heterostructure, which promotes the conversion of LiPSs and induces 3D nucleation of Li 2 S. Furthermore, the calculation results of density functional theory clearly reveal high conductivity, adsorption and interfacial charge transfer between CoSe 2 /NiSe 2 Mott-Schottky heterostructure electrocatalyst and LiPSs. As a result, the CoSe 2 /NiSe 2 @NCNFs/S cathode shows a specific capacity of 1050.8 mAh g−1 at 1 C, and maintains excellent cycling performance with a discharge capacity of 735.1 mAh g−1 and a capacity decay of 0.003 % per cycle over 1000 cycles. This work designed a Mott-Schottky heterostructure electrocatalyst to strengthen the adsorption and conversion of LiPSs and induce 3D nucleation of Li 2 S, providing a new idea for high-performance Li-S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice yield per plant has a complex genetic architecture, which is mainly determined by its three component traits: the number of grains per panicle (GPP), kilo-grain weight (KGW), and tillers per plant (TP). Exploring ideotype breeding based on selection for genetically less complex component traits is an alternative route for further improving rice production. To understand the genetic basis of the relationship between rice yield and component traits, we investigated the four traits of two rice hybrid populations (575 + 1495 F1) in different environments and conducted meta-analyses of genome-wide association study (meta-GWAS). In total, 3589 significant loci for three components traits were detected, while only 3 loci for yield were detected. It indicated that rice yield is mainly controlled by minor-effect loci and hardly to be identified. Selecting quantitative trait locus/gene affected component traits to further enhance yield is recommended. Mendelian randomization design is adopted to investigate the genetic effects of loci on yield through component traits and estimate the genetic relationship between rice yield and its component traits by these loci. The loci for GPP or TP mainly had a positive genetic effect on yield, but the loci for KGW with different direction effects (positive effect or negative effect). Additionally, TP (Beta = 1.865) has a greater effect on yield than KGW (Beta = 1.016) and GPP (Beta = 0.086). Five significant loci for component traits that had an indirect effect on yield were identified. Pyramiding superior alleles of the five loci revealed improved yield. A combination of direct and indirect effects may better contribute to the yield potential of rice. Our findings provided a rationale for using component traits as indirect indices to enhanced rice yield, which will be helpful for further understanding the genetic basis of yield and provide valuable information for improving rice yield potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Miscanthus × giganteus is widely recognized as a promising lignocellulosic biomass crop due to its advantages of high biomass production, low environmental impacts, and the potential to be cultivated on marginal land. However, the high costs of bioethanol production still limit the current commercialization of lignocellulosic bioethanol. The lignin in the cell wall and its by-products released in the pretreatment step is the main component inhibiting the enzymatic reactions in the saccharification and fermentation processes. Hence, genetic modification of the genes involved in lignin biosynthesis could be a feasible strategy to overcome this barrier by manipulating the lignin content and composition of M. × giganteus. For this purpose, the essential knowledge of these genes and understanding the underlying regulatory mechanisms in M. × giganteus is required. Results: In this study, MgPAL1, MgPAL5, Mg4CL1, Mg4CL3, MgHCT1, MgHCT2, MgC3′H1, MgCCoAOMT1, MgCCoAOMT3, MgCCR1, MgCCR2, MgF5H, MgCOMT, and MgCAD were identified as the major monolignol biosynthetic genes in M. × giganteus based on genetic and transcriptional evidence. Among them, 12 genes were cloned and sequenced. By combining transcription factor binding site prediction and expression correlation analysis, MYB46, MYB61, MYB63, WRKY24, WRKY35, WRKY12, ERF021, ERF058, and ERF017 were inferred to regulate the expression of these genes directly. On the basis of these results, an integrated model was summarized to depict the monolignol biosynthesis pathway and the underlying regulatory mechanism in M. × giganteus. Conclusions: This study provides a list of potential gene targets for genetic improvement of lignocellulosic biomass quality of M. × giganteus, and reveals the genetic, transcriptional, and regulatory landscape of the monolignol biosynthesis pathway in M. × giganteus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soluble starch synthase (SSS) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of plant amylopectin. To reveal the starch synthesis pathway in lotus, we cloned a gene named NnSSSIII from Nelumbo nucifera in this study. A full-length cDNA of soluble starch synthase (SSS), designated as NnSSSIII, which was 4070 bp (GenBank accession NO. KR062069) containing a 3696 bp open reading frame and encoding a protein of 1231 amino acid. Twenty SNPs of NnSSSIII were found from three breeds of lotus, which resulted in 13 coding amino acid changes. The complete genomic structure of NnSSSIII comprises 17 exons and 16 introns and covers a successive region of 70.6 kb. Expression pattern and enzyme activity assay showed that NnSSSIII gene is mostly expressed in leaves and rhizomes at the time between 8th to 14th weeks after germination. Our results indicated that NnSSSIII may paly an important role in transient starch synthesis of photosynthetic tissue and storage starch synthase of storage tissue at the total developmental stages. In addition, characterization of a genetic polymorphism of NnSSSIII cDNA contributed more molecular markers about the SSSIII gene in lotus. This study elucidates more molecular information about the NnSSSIII gene and provided guidance for future improvement of starch quality and content in lotus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A self-supporting electrode modify by mott schottky heterostructure is designed. • The heterostructure induces ordered deposition of Li 2 Se n via built-in electric field. • DFT reveals mott schottky heterostructure improves catalytic activity for Li 2 Se n. Selenium cathodes have attracted particular interest due to their high volumetric capacity and electronic conductivity compared to sulfur cathodes. However, slow conversion reaction kinetics and shuttle effect of polyselenides lead to poor cycling performance of lithium selenium batteries. To overcome these limitations, this paper designs a cobalt selenide-sulfide mott schottkyl heterostructure catalyst on carbon fibers (CoSe 2 -CoS 2 @CNF). Through the built-in electric field and high catalytic activity of heterostructure, the CoSe 2 -CoS 2 @CNF effectively decreases the nucleation barrier for polyselenides, enhances the liquid–solid conversion process and ultimately realizes ordered radial deposition of polyselenides on carbon fibres. Density functional theory calculations also prove that CoSe 2 -CoS 2 mott schottkyl heterostructure has the highest catalytic activity and accelerates the rapid conversion of polyselenides. As a result, Se/CoSe 2 -CoS 2 @CNF free-standing electrodes exhibit a high initial specific capacity of 401.6 mAh g−1 at 5C and maintained a capacity of 410.2 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles at 0.5C, with a capacity decay rate of only 0.04% per cycle. This work opens up a new field for achieving high stability lithium selenium batteries by forming mott schottkyl heterostructure structures to promote rapid conversion and ordered deposition of polyselenides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A Co/CoSe 2 Mott Schottky heterojunction electrocatalytic electrode was designed. • The Mott Schottky heterojunction achieves rapid conversion of polysulfides. • The Mott Schottky heterojunction achieves rapid Li 2 S deposition dissolution. • DFT calculation proves built-in electric field interface effect of the heterojunction. Rechargeable lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are considered ideal candidates for the next generation of energy storage devices. However, the insulation properties of S and Li 2 S, as well as the notorious "shuttle effect" of lithium polysulfide, result in severe loss of active sulfur, poor redox kinetics, and rapid capacity decline. To overcome these limitations, this paper designs a self-supporting electrocatalytic electrode based on Co/CoSe 2 Mott Schottky heterojunction coated carbon nanofibers (Co/CoSe 2 @NCNFs), and engineers it for capturing and converting polysulfides. Density functional theory calculations show that the introduction of Co/CoSe 2 heterojunction effectively reduces the redox barrier of Li 2 S. The electron current and electron interaction at the Co/CoSe 2 interface induce the redistribution of charge density in the depletion region, thus increasing the chemical reactivity of the metal semiconductor heterojunction interface, which is conducive to the ion/electron transport, polysulfide conversion and Li 2 S oxidation process. Therefore, the Li-S battery assembled by Co/CoSe 2 @NCNFs/S electrode exhibited a high initial specific capacity of 1043.3 mAh/g at 1C, and maintained a capacity of 709.9 mAh/g after 1000 cycles, with a capacity decay rate of only 0.032% per cycle. The proposed Mott Schottky heterojunction as an electrocatalyst deepens the promotion of polysulfides and Li 2 S in long-life Li-S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding small endogenous RNAs with approximate 22 nucleotides and have been identified as the key regulators in the translational level regulation of gene expression by either directly binding or cleaving target mRNAs. In plant, miRNAs have been shown to control numerous genes involved in a wide variety of metabolic and biological processes. Increasing extensive studies have been performed on model species and important agricultural crops including Arabidopsis thaliana L., Oryza sativa L. and Zea mays L., but miRNAs have not yet been complete identified in Miscanthus , a promising potential bioenergy candidate. In this study, miRNAs in Miscanthus lutarioriparius L., Miscanthus sacchariflorus N. ， Miscanthus floridulus W. , Miscanthus sinensis A., and Miscanthus x giganteous were constructed by Solexa high throughput sequencing and subsequently performed the bioinformatics analysis. Totally, 93 conserved miRNA families as well as 485 novel miRNA families were discovered in the five Miscanthus species libraries. Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed these novel miRNAs’ targets involved in 94 biological processes in M. lutarioriparius , which 25 of these processes participated in the metabolism of carbon, glucose, starch, fatty acid, and lignin formation. In the pathway enrichment analysis of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), 10 metabolism networks were found, including starch and sucrose metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, and the processing of other metabolites. This study provides a large scale identification of miRNAs and their potential targets in Miscanthus species. These miRNAs add the growing database of new miRNAs and lay the foundation for further understanding of miRNA evolution, diversification and regulation in Miscanthus . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Six MnSOD genes were isolated from five Miscanthus species. MgMnSOD1 functions in mitochondria and MgMnSOD1 seems to be the main MnSOD gene involved in stress response of M. × giganteus. Abstract: Miscanthus × giganteus is a promising biomass energy crop with advantages of vigorous growth, high yield, low fertilizer and pesticide inputs. However, poor overwinter ability limits its widespread cultivation. Moreover, narrow genetic base may increase the risk of susceptibility to diseases and pests. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), an important antioxidant enzyme involved in stress tolerance is able to protect plant cells from accumulated reactive oxygen species by converting superoxide to peroxide and oxygen. In many plants, overexpression of MnSOD has shown the ability to enhance the resistance to various stresses. This article describes the studies performed in an attempt to elucidate the molecular and enzymatic properties of MnSODs in M. × giganteus. MnSOD genes from M. × giganteus ( MgMnSOD1, MgMnSOD2), M. lutarioriparia ( MlMnSOD), M. sacchariflora ( MsaMnSOD), M. sinensis ( MsiMnSOD), and M. floridulus ( MfMnSOD) were cloned and sequenced. The sequence analysis and expression patterns of MgMnSOD1 and MgMnSOD2 suggest that they were orthologous genes which were inherited from the two parents, M. sacchariflora and M. sinensis, respectively. In addition, MgMnSOD1 is predicted to be the main MnSOD gene involved in stress response of M. × giganteus. The activity of purified recombinant MgMnSOD1 was 1854.79 ± 39.98 U mg (mean ± SD). Further enzymatic assays revealed that the protein exhibited an outstanding thermal stability. MgMnSOD1 is predicted to be targeted to mitochondria and involved in removing the superoxide radical generated by respiration. The presence and sequences of other SOD isozymes transcripts were also investigated in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

North Carolina design III (NCIII) is one of the most powerful and widely used mating designs for understanding the genetic basis of heterosis. However, the quantitative trait mapping (QTL) conducted in previous studies with this design was mainly based on analysis of variance (ANOVA), composite interval or multiple interval mapping methods. These methodologies could not investigate all kinds of genetic effects, especially epistatic effects, simultaneously on the whole genome. In this study, with a statistical method for mapping epistatic QTL associated with heterosis using the recombinant inbred line (RIL)-based NCIII design, we conducted QTL mapping for nine agronomic traits of two elite hybrids to characterize the mode of gene action contributing to heterosis on a whole genomewide scale. In total, 23 main-effect QTL (M-QTL) and 23 digenic interactions in IJ ( indica × japonica) hybrids, 11 M-QTL and 82 digenic interactions in II ( indica × indica) hybrid QTLs were identified in the present study. The variation explained by individual M-QTL or interactions ranged from 2.3 to 11.0%. The number of digenic interactions and the total variation explained by interactions of each trait were larger than those of M-QTL. The augmented genetic effect ratio of most M-QTL and digenic interactions in (L -L ) data of two backcross populations (L and L ) showed complete dominance or overdominance, and in (L + L) data showed an additive effect. Our results indicated that the dominance, overdominance and epistatic effect were important in conditioning the genetic basis of heterosis of the two elite hybrids. The relative contributions of the genetic components varied with traits and the genetic basis of the two hybrids was different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing shortage of oil, coal, and other traditional fossil fuels, scientists in various fields have been looking for new fuel sources to solve the energy crisis. The genus Miscanthus is an ideal biofuel crop due to its rapid vegetative growth and its potential for high biomass yields. Plant regeneration through somatic embryogenesis is a viable method to achieve large-scale production of plant biomass. Callus induction from immature inflorescences of five Miscanthus species was performed on two different media, and the relative rates of callus proliferation were calculated. The highest multiplication coefficient, 3.92, was obtained with M. sacchariflorus ssp . lutarioriparius when the concentration of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in the medium was 4.0 mg/L, and this species also performed the best at the induction phase. The proliferation coefficient for M. floridulus increased to 3.19 when the concentration of 2,4-D was decreased from 4.0 to 2.0 mg/L. When the concentration of 2,4-D was 2.0 mg/L, the proliferation coefficient for M. sinensis was 2.47. In M. sacchariflorus, the proliferation coefficients were 2.89 and 2.49 for the lower and higher concentrations of 2,4-D, respectively. The multiplication coefficient of M. x giganteus was 2.60 on medium containing 4.0 mg/L 2,4-D. Three different regeneration media were tested to induce shoots in vitro. M. floridulus and M. sacchariflorus regenerated shoots at 100% frequency in three different regeneration media. The regeneration rate for M. sacchariflorus ssp . lutarioriparius reached 99.0% on medium containing 4.0 mg/L N-Benzylaminopurine (6-BA) and 0.1 mg/L α-Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The best regeneration rate of M. sinensis was 35.2% using 2.0 mg/L 6-BA and 0.3 mg/L NAA, whereas the regeneration rate of M. x giganteus was 57.4% on medium supplemented with 3.0 mg/L 6-BA and 0.2 mg/L NAA. The in vitro-derived plantlets of all five species had 100% rooting rates on basal MS medium without supplementation. The survival rates of plantlets were above 90% for each species when subsequently grown outdoors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain shape is an important agronomic character of rice, which affects the appearance, processing, and the edible quality. Screening and identifying more new genes associated with grain shape is beneficial to further understanding the genetic basis of grain shape and provides more gene resources for genetic breeding. This study has a natural population containing 623 indica rice cultivars. Genome-wide association studies/GWAS of several traits related to grain shape (grain length/GL, grain width/GW, grain length to width ratio/GLWR, grain circumferences/GC, and grain size/grain area/GS) were conducted by combining phenotypic data from four environments and the second-generation resequencing data, which have identified 39 important Quantitative trait locus/QTLs. We analyzed the 39 QTLs using three methods: gene-based association analysis, haplotype analysis, and functional annotation and identified three cloned genes (GS3, GW5, OsDER1) and seven new candidate genes in the candidate interval. At the same time, to effectively utilize the genes in the grain shape-related gene bank, we have also analyzed the allelic combinations of the three cloned genes. Finally, the extreme allele combination corresponding to each trait was found through statistical analysis. This study's novel candidate genes and allele combinations will provide a valuable reference for future breeding work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Multiple Miscanthus chloroplast genomes were compared and evaluate in Miscanthus species combining other grass plastomes. • Several divergence hotspot regions were identified in the five Miscanthus species. • Repeat sequences and potential microsatellite markers were found among Miscanthus species. • Phylogenetic relationships among Miscanthus.sp and other closely related species were assessed based on chloroplast genomes. • The genetic information will help further improvement of genomics-aided crop improvement and population genetics. Miscanthus has been considered as potentially high-yielding biomass crop with the low-nutrient requirements, high capability of Carbon mitigation and water-use efficiency. Miscanthus species have restricted to investigate functional genomics of their large genome size, which leads to challenges to genomics-aided crop improvement. Sequencing of the plastid genomes of Miscanthus is one of complementary tool making it available for genetic researches. The complete chloroplast (cp) genomes of five Miscanthus species were sequenced using Illumina sequencing. Comparisons between the five chloroplast genome sequences revealed their conservation in gene content and order, including the IR/SC boundaries. However, some hotspots in coding regions and intergenic regions also occurred. Specifically a 13 bp deletion in the intergenic region of rps16 - trn Q and a 17 bp deletion in rps4-trnT are shared by Miscanthus lutarioriparius L. , Miscanthus sacchariflorus N. and Miscanthus × giganteus. In addition, a 39 bp deletion in trnL - trnF is shared by Miscanthus sinensis A. and Miscanthus floridulus W.. Comparisons of complete chloroplast genome of Miscanthus lutarioriparius to five published grass chloroplast genomes also reveal several hotspot regions with high polymorphism. Phylogenetic analysis based on complete chloroplast genomes and coding sequences of 77 protein genes suggest a sister relationship between the Eumiscanthus clade and the Triarrhena clade. This report is the first comprehensive comparative analyses on Miscanthus species cp genome combining other published grass chloroplast genomes. The availability of these results will supplement valuable genetic information and framework for further phylogeography, population genetics and plastid genetic engineering researches in Miscanthus.sp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Six cellulose synthase genes were cloned in Miscanthus × giganteus. • A pair of reference genes for gene relative quantification was validated. • The transcription of at least ten cellulose synthase genes was detected. • Function of each cellulose synthase gene in cell wall biosynthesis was inferred. The second-generation biofuels utilizing the cellulose from non-food lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks are renewable, environmentally friendly, not in competition with food and have the potential to tackle global energy crisis. Miscanthus × giganteus , a promising lignocellulosic energy crop with advantages of vigorous growth, high biomass yield, and potential for using marginal lands has attracted the interest of researchers. However, the high cost of feedstock (∼39 % of the total) limits the selling price and consequent competitiveness of the ethanol produced from M. × giganteus. To cross the obstacle, lowering down the cost by improving the production and properties of cellulosic biomass thus becomes an import topic. In higher plants, CesA genes encode glycosyltransferases that play key roles in the cellulose biosynthesis. To achieve higher yield and better efficient utilization of biomass in M. × giganteus , more knowledge on the function of each CesA in cellulose biosynthesis is urgent. In this study, the transcription of at least ten CesA genes was detected in M. × giganteus (MgCesAs). Among these, six full-length MgCesA genes were cloned. The functions of the MgCesAs were inferred based on their phylogenetic relationships and differential expression patterns. Specifically, MgCesA10 , 11 , 12 are likely involved in the secondary cell wall biosynthesis and form a cellulose synthase complex (CSC) with a ratio of 1:1:1. While MgCesA5 , 6 , which are constitutively expressed in all organs, together with MgCesA2 , 3 , 4 , 7 and 8 tend to participate in the primary cell wall biosynthesis of M. × giganteus. This study not only lays a foundation for understanding the biosynthesis of cellulose and further functional analyses of CesAs in M. × giganteus , but also sheds light on future improving of the production and properties of cellulosic biomass in M. × giganteus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aims to investigate the correlation between NK and NKT cell proportion disparities and prognosis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML)., Methods: Forty-four cases of acute myeloid leukemia patients were selected, and flow cytometry was utilized to evaluate the expression of bone marrow NK and NKT cells. Next-generation sequencing technology was employed to detect genetic mutations in these 44 AML patients, and the rates of first induction remission and overall survival were recorded. Comparisons were made to analyze the respective differences in NK and NKT cell proportions among AML patients with various genetic mutations and risk stratifications., Results: The FLT-3-ITD+ group exhibited a significant increase in the proportion of NK cells compared to the normal control group and FLT3-ITD+/NPM1+ group, whereas the proportion of NKT cells was significantly decreased. Additionally, the CEBPA+ group showed an increased proportion of NKT cells compared to the TP53+ group and ASXL1+ group. The high-risk group had a higher proportion of NK cells than the intermediate-risk group, while the proportion of NKT cells was lower in the high-risk group compared to the intermediate-risk group.Patients achieving first induction remission displayed a higher proportion of NKT cells at initial diagnosis compared to those who did not achieve remission. The distribution of NK cells show significant differences among AML patients in different survival periods., Conclusion: This results implies that distinct genetic mutations may play a role not only in tumor initiation but also in shaping the tumor microenvironment, consequently impacting prognosis.

Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of the da Vinci robotic-assisted laparoscopic pyeloureteroplasty (RALP) in treating pediatric ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO)., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 32 children with UPJO who suffered from RALP in our hospital from October 2020 to February 2023, compared with those treated with common laparoscopy at the same time. After the establishment of the robotic arm, a mesenteric approach was performed after entering the abdominal cavity to focus on the lesion site. The dilated renal pelvis was then cut and the stenotic ureter was removed; the anastomosis and the incision were sutured by layer., Results: A total of 62 children (44 boys and 20 girls) with a median age of 14 months (ranging from 3 to 38 months) were included. All 62 cases had hydronephrosis caused by unilateral UPJO, and the surgery was successfully completed without conversion to open. All intraoperative blood losses amounted to less than 10 ml. In the RALP group, the average operative duration was 131.28 min (ranging from 108 to 180 min). The average catheter time was 3.66 days (ranging from 2 to 7 days). The average hematuria time was 3.84 days (ranging from 2 to 6 days). The average postoperative hospital stay was 7.8 days (ranging from 6 to 12 days). The average hospitalization costs were 59,048.31 yuan (ranging from 50,484 to 69,977 yuan). The double-J tube was removed 1 month after surgery. Only one patient suffered from complications, developing a urinary tract infection 4 weeks after surgery, and was cured with the administration of oral cefaclor anti-inflammatory drugs for 3 days. All patients were followed up for 2-28 months, with a median follow-up time of 12 months. The thickness of the renal cortex was increased after surgery [(1.95 ± 0.24) vs. (4.82 ± 0.50)] cm, and the isotope renograms revealed a definite recovery of the split renal function [(28.32 ± 1.95) vs. (37.01 ± 2.71)]%., Conclusion: The robotic-assisted laparoscopic pyeloureteroplasty (RALP) in the treatment of children with upper ureteral obstruction has overall clinical efficiency. With technological advancements and an increased number of experienced surgeons, robotic surgery may become a new trend in surgery., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 Hu, Chen, Wang, Xu, Zhang, Lin, Zhang, Wang and Li.)

Genetic improvement of grain quality is more challenging in hybrid rice than in inbred rice due to additional nonadditive effects such as dominance. Here, we describe a pipeline developed for joint analysis of phenotypes, effects, and generations (JPEG). As a demonstration, we analyze 12 grain quality traits of 113 inbred lines (male parents), five tester lines (female parents), and 565 (113×5) of their hybrids. We sequence the parents for single nucleotide polymorphisms calling and infer the genotypes of the hybrids. Genome-wide association studies with JPEG identify 128 loci associated with at least one of the 12 traits, including 44, 97, and 13 loci with additive effects, dominant effects, and both additive and dominant effects, respectively. These loci together explain more than 30% of the genetic variation in hybrid performance for each of the traits. The JEPG statistical pipeline can help to identify superior crosses for breeding rice hybrids with improved grain quality., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

With the increasing demand for predictable and accountable Artificial Intelligence, the ability to explain or justify recommender systems results by specifying how items are suggested, or why they are relevant, has become a primary goal. However, current models do not explicitly represent the services and actors that the user might encounter during the overall interaction with an item, from its selection to its usage. Thus, they cannot assess their impact on the user's experience. To address this issue, we propose a novel justification approach that uses service models to (i) extract experience data from reviews concerning all the stages of interaction with items, at different granularity levels, and (ii) organize the justification of recommendations around those stages. In a user study, we compared our approach with baselines reflecting the state of the art in the justification of recommender systems results. The participants evaluated the Perceived User Awareness Support provided by our service-based justification models higher than the one offered by the baselines. Moreover, our models received higher Interface Adequacy and Satisfaction evaluations by users having different levels of Curiosity or low Need for Cognition (NfC). Differently, high NfC participants preferred a direct inspection of item reviews. These findings encourage the adoption of service models to justify recommender systems results but suggest the investigation of personalization strategies to suit diverse interaction needs., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

DNA methylation participates widely in the regulation of gene expression in plants. To date, the regulation and function of DNA methylation is still unknown in tomato plants. Here, we generated SlCMT4 mutants using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system. We observed severe developmental defects in CRISPR-Cas9-mediated SlCMT4 mutants, including small and thick leaves, increased lateral buds, defective stamens and pistils, small fruit size with reduced setting rate, and defective seed development. The alterations at hormonal levels (IAA, tZR, strigol) were consistent with the multibranching phenotype in SlCMT4 mutant plants. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockout of SlCMT4 induced the expression of two pollen-specific genes ( PMEI and PRALF ) that suppressed the development of pollen wall and pollen tube elongation, which is responsible for irregular and defective pollen. The small-sized fruit phenotype is probably associated with upregulated expression of the IMA gene and reduced seeds in the mutant lines. Furthermore, we performed whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) of fruits and found that SlCMT4 knockout reduced genome-wide cytosine methylation. A reduction of methylation was also observed in a 2-kp region of the IMA and LOXB promoters in the SlCMT4 -mutant fruits, indicating that the hypermethylation status of the CHH context is critical for the inhibition of IMA and LOXB promoter activity. Our results show that SlCMT4 is required for normal development of tomato vegetative and reproductive organs. This study illuminates the function of SlCMT4 and sheds light on the molecular regulatory mechanism of tomato plant architecture and fruit development and ripening., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nanjing Agricultural University.)

Lotus (Nelumbo Adans.), a relict plant, is the testimony of long-term sustained ecological success, but the underlying genetic changes related to its survival strategy remains unclear. Here, we assembled the high-quality lotus genome, investigated genome variation of lotus mutation accumulation (MA) lines and reconstructed the demographic history of wild Asian lotus, respectively. We identified and validated 43 base substitutions fixed in MA lines, implying a spontaneous mutation rate of 1.4 × 10-9 base/generation in lotus shoot stem cells. The past history of lotus revealed that the ancestors of lotus in eastern and southern Asia could be traced back ~20 million years ago (Mya) and experienced twice significant bottlenecks and population splits. We further identified the selected genes among three lotus groups in different habitats, suggesting that 453 genes between tropical and temperate group and 410 genes between two subgroups from Northeastern China and the Yangtze River - Yellow River Basin might play important roles in natural selection in lotus's adaptation and resilience. Our findings not only improve an understanding of the lotus evolutionary history and the genetic basis of its survival advantages, but also provide valuable data for addressing various questions in evolution and protection for the relict plants., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.)

Plant circadian clock coordinates endogenous transcriptional rhythms with diurnal changes of environmental cues. OsPRR37, a negative component in the rice circadian clock, reportedly regulates transcriptome rhythms, and agronomically important traits. However, the underlying regulatory mechanisms of OsPRR37-output genes remain largely unknown. In this study, whole genome bisulfite sequencing and high-throughput RNA sequencing were applied to verify the role of DNA methylation in the transcriptional control of OsPRR37-output genes. We found that the overexpression of OsPRR37 suppressed rice growth and altered cytosine methylations in CG and CHG sequence contexts in but not the CHH context (H represents A, T, or C). In total, 35 overlapping genes were identified, and 25 of them showed negative correlation between the methylation level and gene expression. The promoter of the hexokinase gene OsHXK1 was hypomethylated at both CG and CHG sites, and the expression of OsHXK1 was significantly increased. Meanwhile, the leaf starch content was consistently lower in OsPRR37 overexpression lines than in the recipient parent Guangluai 4. Further analysis with published data of time-course transcriptomes revealed that most overlapping genes showed peak expression phases from dusk to dawn. The genes involved in DNA methylation, methylation maintenance, and DNA demethylation were found to be actively expressed around dusk. A DNA glycosylase, namely ROS1A/DNG702, was probably the upstream candidate that demethylated the promoter of OsHXK1 . Taken together, our results revealed that CG and CHG methylation contribute to the transcriptional regulation of OsPRR37-output genes, and hypomethylation of OsHXK1 leads to decreased starch content and reduced plant growth in rice., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Liu, Li, Lu, Sun, Pang, Xiang, Deng, Xiong, Shu, Yang and Hu.)

Miscanthus species are perennial C4 grasses that are considered promising energy crops because of their high biomass yields, excellent adaptability and low management costs. Miscanthus lutarioriparius and Miscanthus sacchariflorus are closely related subspecies that are distributed in different habitats. However, there are only a few reports on the mechanisms by which Miscanthus adapts to different environments. Here, comparative transcriptomic and morphological analyses were used to study the evolutionary adaptation of M. lutarioriparius and M. sacchariflorus to different habitats. In total, among 7586 identified orthologs, 2060 orthologs involved in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and plant hormones were differentially expressed between the two species. Through an analysis of the Ka/Ks ratios of the orthologs, we estimated that the divergence time between the two species was approximately 4.37 Mya. In addition, 37 candidate positively selected orthologs (PSGs) that played important roles in the adaptation of these species to different habitats were identified. Then, the expression levels of 20 PSGs in response to flooding and drought stress were analyzed, and the analysis revealed significant changes in their expression levels. These results facilitate our understanding of the evolutionary adaptation to habitats and the speciation of M. lutarioriparius and M. sacchariflorus . We hypothesise that lignin synthesis genes are the main cause of the morphological differences between the two species. In summary, the plant nonspecific phospholipase C gene family and the receptor-like protein kinase gene family played important roles in the evolution of these two species., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-021-01030-1., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that the submitted work was not performed in the presence of any personal, professional or financial relationships that could be constructed as a conflict of interest., (© Prof. H.S. Srivastava Foundation for Science and Society 2021.)

Background: Tears in Schwartz-Matsuo syndrome are generally confirmed by preoperative ophthalmoscopic examination. A case of Schwartz-Matsuo syndrome with a tear detected by ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) and treated by UBM-guided scleral buckling was reported, and its mechanism was analysed., Case Presentation: A 40-year-old Chinese man presented with blurry vision and intermittent eye pain in his left eye for three days. The visual acuity of the left eye decreased from 20/20 to 20/40, and the intraocular pressure (IOP) fluctuated dramatically from 24.0 mmHg to 56.7 mmHg at the first visit. Gonioscopy revealed that the chamber angle remained open. A macula-involving inferior retinal detachment extending from 4:30 to 9:30 with no obvious causative break was observed through ophthalmoscopic examination. However, a single small tear was detected at the nonpigmented epithelium of pars plana of the ciliary body at approximately 7-8 o'clock by UBM. The loss of photoreceptor outer segments and ellipsoid zone and the existence of macular microcysts in the inner and outer nuclear layers were observed in the detached macula by optical coherence tomography. Then, he underwent successful scleral buckling guided by UBM. Three months later, the retina was flat with normal IOP, and the best corrected visual acuity of his left eye gradually improved to 20/25. UBM confirmed the closure of the tear., Conclusions: Tear of the nonpigmented epithelium of the ciliary body is a rare condition associated with Schwartz-Matsuo syndrome. UBM plays a key role in detecting occult tears of the nonpigmented epithelium of the ciliary body, guiding scleral buckling surgery, and observing the closure of the tear postoperatively.

Amorphophallus , a perennial herb belongs to the family Araceae, and is widely distributed in Asia and Africa. As an agricultural crop, it has been cultivated and consumed for ~2000 years in China. Previous studies have found that there are chromosome number and ploidy changes in this genus, but there are a few reports on the evolution of different karyotypes. For this study, we collected 37 samples of a wild population of Amorphophallus muelleri from Myanmar and analysed their karyotypes. The karyotype analysis showed that it is a population with mixed chromosome numbers and ploidy, with four karyotypes of 2 n = 24, 26, 28 and 39. Combining the results of this study with previous literature, we speculate that karyotypes with 2 n = 26 may be the common ancestor, and further the other three karyotypes were evolved from this by various ways. As far as we know, this is the first attempt to put forward the hypothesis of the evolution of those four karyotypes together. On the other hand, by using inter-simple sequence repeat marker-based unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean cluster analysis, we found that these individuals of four karyotypes can be divided into four corresponding categories, indicating that they have been differentiated at the genome, providing a theoretical basis for future use of these wild germplasm resources.

Smart integration of transition-metal sulfides/oxides/nitrides with the conductive MXene to form hybrid materials is very promising in the development of high-performance anodes for next-generation Li-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their advantages of high specific capacity, favorable Li + intercalation structure, and superior conductivity. Herein, a facile route was proposed to prepare strongly coupled MoS 2 nanocrystal/Ti 3 C 2 nanosheet hybrids through freeze-drying combined with a subsequent thermal process. The Ti 3 C 2 host could enhance the reaction kinetics and buffer the volume change of MoS 2 at a low content (8.87 wt %). Thus, the MoS 2 /Ti 3 C 2 hybrids could deliver high rate performance and excellent cycling durability. As such, high reversible capacities of 835.1 and 706.0 mAh g -1 could be maintained after 110 cycles at 0.5 A g -1 and 1390 cycles at 5 A g -1 , respectively, as well as an outstanding rate capability with a capacity retention over 65.8 % at 5 A g -1 . This synthetic strategy could be easily extended to synthesize other high-performance MXene-supported hybrid electrode materials., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

It have been significantly demonstrated that Hexokinase (HXK), Granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS) and ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) are three critical enzymes in the starch biosynthetic pathway and are related to starch (amylose, amylopectin and total starch) content in lotus. It is important to develop functional markers in marker-assisted selection of lotus breeding. So far there have been few reports about lotus functional markers. In this study, based on insertion-deletions (INDELs) and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we developed three functional markers, FMHXK-E1, FMGBSS-I8 and FMAGPL-I1. FMHXK-E1 was developed based on polymorphisms of two haplotypes of NnHXK. 26 lotus cultivars that the 320-bp fragment presented in NnHXK had a lower content of amylose and a higher content of amylopectin. FMGBSS-I8 was developed based on polymorphisms of two haplotypes of NnGBSS. The group containing 32 lotus cultivars with the 210-bp fragment had less amylose content and more amylopectin content. FMAGPL-I1 was developed based on polymorphisms of two haplotypes of NnAGPL (ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase large subunit gene). The group containing 40 lotus cultivars with the 362-bp fragment had less amylopectin, total starch content and more amylose content. According to the study, FMHXK-E1, FMGBSS-I8 and FMAGPL-I1 are closely related to lotus starch content. It could be provided research basis for molecular assisted selection of lotus starch content improve breeding efficiency.

Background: Starch branching enzyme (SBE) is one of the key enzymes in starch biosynthetic metabolism, determining amylopectin structure., Methods: Full length coding sequences (CDS) of SBE genes were cloned using reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) technology, and neighbor-joining (NJ) tree was used for phylogenetic analysis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were determined to assess the genetic polymorphisms and variation indexes between individuals and clusters. Quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to analyze the spatial and temporal expression of NnSBE genes. The effect of NnSBE genes on amylopectin's fine structures was explored using affinity and the enzyme activity analysis of two isoforms in amylopectin and amylose., Results: In this study, two SBE family genes, NnSBEI and NnSBEIII , were identified in lotus ( Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.). Phylogenetic analysis sorted NnSBEI into SBE family B and NnSBEIII into SBE family A. UPGMA phylogenetic tree divided 45 individuals of lotus into three classes. The homozygous haplotype (A G G A G) of NnSBEIII was observed in seed lotus. During the seed embryo development stage, NnSBEIII reached the peak in the middle of the development stage, while NnSBEI increased in the mid-late developmental stage. The different affinity activity of the two isozymes binding amylopectin and amylose assay indicated NnSBEI has higher activity and wider affinity., Discussion: Genetic diversity showed that NnSBE genes received artificial selection during the process of cultivation and domestication in lotus seeds. Furthermore, the expression pattern and affinity activity analysis indicated that NnSBE genes were related to the chain length of amylopectin., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests., (©2019 Zhu et al.)

Miscanthus lutarioriparia, which is found widespread in China, has attracted great attention as a most potential bioenergy plant for years. The quantitative real time PCR (RT-qPCR) has appeared as a sensitive and powerful technique to measure gene expression in living organisms during different development stages. In this study, we evaluated ten candidate genes, including 25S ribosomal RNA gene (25S rRNA), actin1 gene (ACT1), carotenoid-binding protein 20 gene (CBP20), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene (GAPDH), Ubiquitin gene (UBQ), eukaryotic elongation factor 1-αgene (eEF-1α), α-tubulin gene (α-TUB), β-tubulin gene (β-TUB), eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4α-1 gene (eIF-4α) and NAC domain protein gene(NAC) in a series of 30 M. lutarioriparia samples followed by statistical algorithms geNorm and Normfinder to analyze the gene expression stability. The results indicated that eIF-4αand UBQ were the most stable expressed genes while CBP20 showed as the least stable among all the samples. Based on above research, we recommend that at least two top-ranked reference genes should be employed for expression data normalization. The best genes selected in this study will provide a starting point to select reference genes in the future in other tissues and under other experimental conditions in this energy crop candidate.

Sodium-ion hybrid supercapacitors (Na-HSCs) by virtue of synergizing the merits of batteries and supercapacitors have attracted considerable attention for high-energy and high-power energy-storage applications. Orthorhombic Nb 2 O 5 (T-Nb 2 O 5 ) has recently been recognized as a promising anode material for Na-HSCs due to its typical pseudocapacitive feature, but it suffers from intrinsically low electrical conductivity. Reasonably high electrochemical performance of T-Nb 2 O 5 -based electrodes could merely be gained to date when sufficient carbon content was introduced. In addition, flexible Na-HSC devices have scarcely been demonstrated by far. Herein, an in situ encapsulation strategy is devised to directly grow ultrathin graphene shells over T-Nb 2 O 5 nanowires (denoted as Gr-Nb 2 O 5 composites) by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, targeting a highly conductive anode material for Na-HSCs. The few-layered graphene capsules with ample topological defects would enable facile electron and Na + ion transport, guaranteeing rapid pseudocapacitive processes at the Nb 2 O 5 /electrolyte interface. The Na-HSC full-cell comprising a Gr-Nb 2 O 5 anode and an activated carbon cathode delivers high energy/power densities (112.9 Wh kg -1 /80.1 W kg -1 and 62.2 Wh kg -1 /5330 W kg -1 ), outperforming those of recently reported Na-HSC counterparts. Proof-of-concept Na-HSC devices with favorable mechanical robustness manifest stable electrochemical performances under different bending conditions and after various bending-release cycles., (© 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Rapid amplification cDNA end (RACE) assay was established to achieve the complete cDNA sequence of a catalase gene (NnCAT) from Nelumbo nucifera. The obtained full-length cDNA was 1666 bp in size and contained a 1476-bp open reading frame. The 3D structural model of NnCAT was constructed by homology modeling. The putative NnCAT possessed all the main characteristic amino acid residues and motifs of catalase (CAT) protein family, and the phylogenetic analysis revealed that NnCAT grouped together with high plants. Moreover, recombinant NnCAT showed the CAT activity (758 U/mg) at room temperature, holding high activity during temperature range of 20-50 °C, then the optimal pH of recombinant protein was assessed from pH 4 to pH 11. Additionally, real-time PCR assay demonstrated that NnCAT mRNA was expressed in various tissues of N. nucifera, with the highest expression in young leaf and lowest level in the root, and mRNA level of NnCAT was significantly augmented in response to short-time mechanical wounding. Different expression pattern of NnCAT gene suggested that NnCAT probably played a defensive role in the initial stages of oxidative stress, regulating the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by extracellular stimuli such as short-time mechanical wounding.

A full-length cDNA clone encoding an 866 bp-length glutathione peroxidase protein (NnGPX) was isolated from lotus (Nelumbo nucifera L.). The deduced amino acid sequence of the NnGPX gene had significant homology with ATGPX6. A 3D structural model of the NnGPX was constructed by homology modeling. The cloned NnGPX gene was expressed in Escherichia coli, and a fusion protein of about 40 kDa was detected after isopropyl thiogalactoside induction. Under different concentrations of Na2SeO3 treatments, NnGPX was found to be an enzyme that does not contain selenium. Real-time PCR analysis showed that the NnGPX gene was expressed in all organs of lotus, and its high expression mainly occurred in organs with active metabolisms. NnGPX transcript increased remarkably in response to cold, heat, mechanical damage, and salt treatment. Subsequently, the NnGPX gene was introduced in Oryza sativa cv. Yuetai B. PCR results verified the integration of this gene into the genome of rice and reverse transcription-PCR verified that this gene had been expressed in transgenic rice. The transgenic plants were significantly more tolerant to salt stress compared with the wild-type.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the g.27450A>T genetic variant of osteoprotegerin (OPG) gene and osteoporosis in Chinese postmenopausal women. A total of 886 subjects were enrolled in this study. The femoral neck hip, lumbar spine (L2-4), and total hip bone mineral density (BMD) were detected by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The genotyping of the g.27450A>T genetic variant of OPG gene was investigated by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and DNA sequencing methods. Significant differences in the femoral neck hip, lumbar spine (L2-4), and total hip BMD among different genotypes were found, and the subjects with AA genotype were significantly higher than those of AT and TT genotypes (P<0.05). The allele-A could be a decreased risk factor for osteoporosis. Results from this study support that the g.27450A>T genetic variant of OPG gene has potential relationship with BMD and osteoporosis in Chinese postmenopausal women., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)