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Ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrometry is used for the determination of many inorganic, organic, and biological species. However, poor selectivity limits its applications for quantitative anal...

The recycling and reutilization of biomass wastes are significant for environmental protection and sustainable development. Recently, there have many studies on utilizing biomass wastes to produce carbon dots. Whereas, the spectrum shift effect that occurs in the quantitative application of carbon dots as fluorescent probes limits the accuracy of the quantitative analysis. In this work, waste tobacco leaves were used as the carbon source for synthesizing a novel carbon dots (CDs(WTL)) through a facile hydrothermal method. The CDs(WTL) possess a series of excellent properties, including good water solubility, well stability, and high fluorescence quantum yield. The fluorescent intensity of the CDs(WTL) can be quenched by tetracycline (TC) obviously, but there is a spectrum shift. In order to use the CDs(WTL) as fluorescent probes to quantify TC with higher accuracy, a quantification fluorescence model (QFM) was introduced to overcome this spectrum shift effect that often occurs. The coefficient of determination (R2) of traditional quantification model (TQ), partial least squares (PLS), and QFM are 0.9672, 0.9834, and 0.9991, respectively; the average relative predictive error (ARPE) of TQ, PLS, and QFM are 8.8%, 4.5%, and 3.9% for the spiked water samples, and 21.9%, 22.0%, and 2.9% for spiked tablet samples, respectively. The obtained results suggest that QFM is more accurate than PLS and TQ for the TC detection. By utilizing QFM, the spike recoveries (mean ± standard deviation) in three kinds of real tablet samples produced by different manufacturers are 98.9 ± 3.6%, 102.5 ± 6.2%, and 98.5 ± 2.7%, respectively; the spike recovery in river water samples is 99.4 ± 5.0%. In addition, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used as a reference method, the F and t tests suggest that there are no significant differences on the precision and accuracy between QFM and HPLC methods.

Solving high-temperature plastic mulching film-induced leaf burning in the first week during tobacco cultivation would take much time and effort. In the present study, the growth as well as the leaf sugar and nicotine contents of seedlings with or without leaf burning induced by high-temperature plastic mulching film were tested at two independent sites in 2015 and 2016 to identify the influence of leaf burning on seedling growth. The results showed that the growth of seedlings with leaf burning was improved with increased leaf area, leaf number and plant height compared to those without leaf burning, combined with an increased seedling survival rate at two sites in two years. In seedlings with leaf burning, the contents of fructose and glucose increased and peaked at 11:00 and 13:00 in the leaf and root, respectively, with an increased root nicotine content beginning at 13:00, highlighting the signalling role of sugars. Activities of antioxidant enzymes including peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were all increased in seedlings with leaf burning. More plant biomass was allocated to roots in seedlings with leaf burning with increased root volume compared to control seedlings, which might facilitate the absorption of water and nutrients from the soil. Our findings demonstrate that high-temperature plastic mulching film-induced leaf burning not inhibited but benefited seedling survival and growth, suggesting that the time and labour-consuming manual plucking of burnt leaves can be avoided during tobacco cultivation.

High temperature (HT) at the filling stage is a major environmental constraint to rice (Oryza sativa L.) grain quality. However, the effects of HT on the accumulation and composition of storage proteins are not well understood. In this study, the transcriptional expressions of genes related to storage protein synthesis responsive to HT, and their relationship with storage protein composition, were comprehensively analyzed under controlled temperature using two non-waxy indica rice cultivars, 9311 and II-7954. HT reduced grain weight and increased total protein content (TPC) irrespective of rice genotype, and HT-inducible increase in TPC was attributable to the relative increase in proportion of the aleurone fraction to whole grain, as well as increased absolute amount of TPC in rice grain; HT resulted in a relatively higher ratio of glutelin to prolamin compared with the control temperature, as reflected by a significant decrease in amount of 13-kDa prolamin polypeptide and an enhanced accumulation of proglutelin, α-glutelin and β-glutelin subunits throughout the whole grain filling; The remarkably lowering of transcripts of glutelin and/or prolamin family genes in HT-ripening grain at the middle and late filling stage possibly were closely associated with the repressing regulation of RPBF induced by HT, while RISBZ1 was possibly mainly responsible for regulating the response of glutelin family genes to HT at the earlier filling stage. In addition, HT accelerated expressions of PDI and BiP to assist with the proper folding and assembly of proglutelin.

The metabolic profiles of tobacco leaves of two differential Chinese cultivars from different growing regions were analysed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The results of principal component analysis, partial least-squares discriminant analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis showed significant differences in metabolome among three groups, identified 24 differential metabolites, and analysed the metabolic pathway in which the metabolites were involved. Among them, 13 metabolites were associated with geographical regions, including seven organic and fatty acids, four carbohydrates and two secondary metabolites. Four amino acids and two monosaccharides were associated with cultivars and the remaining five metabolites were associated with both. The relationships among the differential metabolites and the distinct characteristics of environment and cultivar were further discussed. In addition, correlation analysis indicated that most of the differential carbohydrates were negatively correlated with the differential amino acids and organic acids. Taken together, this study demonstrates the metabolite differences between two cultivars in different regions, and highlights the effect of environment and cultivar on tobacco leaf metabolism.

High temperature is the major environmental factor affecting grain starch properties of cooking rice cultivars. In this study, two non-waxy indica rice genotypes, cv . 9311 and its mutant with extremely high amylose phenotype (9311 eha ) were used to study the differential expressions of genes in starch synthesis and their responses to high temperature (HT). Significant increase in apparent amylose content and hot-water-soluble starch content in mutant 9311 eha were genetically caused by a substitution from AGTTATA to AGGTATA at the leader intron 5′ splice site in Wx gene. This mutation resulted in different mRNA transcript levels, mRNA splicing efficiencies and protein levels of Wx between the two rice genotypes, which also lead to the genotype-dependent alteration in the temporal pattern of Wx transcription and granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS) activity in response to HT. However, changes in the activities of other starch synthesizing enzymes and their expressions of distinct isoform genes were not significant with the Wx gene mutation, thus only minor difference in the particle size of starch granule, chain-length distribution and gelatinization enthalpy were found between the two genotypes. The temporal-specific expression of multiple isoform genes responsive to different temperature regiments indicated that the reduction of GBSS transcript expression under HT was generally accompanied by the decreased expressions of SSSIIa, SSSIIIa and SBEIIb. Consequently, high temperature-ripened grains in 9311 eha showed high proportion of intermediate and long B chains and somewhat lower level of short A chain compared to the wildtype. The temperature-dependent alteration of amylose content was not only attributed to the reduced expression of GBSS, but also associated with the complimentary effect of SSSIIa and SBEIIb.

An early-maturity indica rice variety Zhefu 49, whose grain quality and starch structure are sensitive to environmental temperature, was subjected to different temperatures (32°C for high temperature and 22°C for optimum temperature) at the grain filling stage in plant growth chambers, and the different expressions of three isoform genes ( SBEI, SBEIII and SBEIV ) encoding starch branching enzyme (SBE) in the endosperms were studied by the real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR) method. Effects of high temperature on the SBE expression in developing rice endosperms were isoform-dependent. High temperature significantly down-regulated the expressions of SBEI and SBEIII , while up-regulated the expression of SBEIV . Compared with SBEIV and SBEIII , the expression of SBEI gene in Zhefu 49 rice endosperms was more sensitive to temperature variation at the grain filling stage. This study indicates that changes in weather/climate conditions especially temperature stress influence rice grain formation and its quality as evidenced by isoform expression.

Under mean daily temperature of 32°C (high temperature) and 22°C (normal temperature) controlled in growth chambers, the expression responses of 8 soluble starch synthase (SSS) isoform genes involving starch synthesis metabolism in rice ( Oryza sativa L.) endosperms were detected using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR). The expression patterns of SSS genes under high temperature stress were isoform-dependent, in which some isoform genes, such as SSS IIb, SSS IIc, SSS IIIb, and SSS IVa, were up-regulated with relatively high expression levels, and other genes, such as SSS IIa and SSS IIIa, showed down-regulated patterns with relatively low expression levels. SSS I and SSS IIIa were highly expressed in rice endosperms during the whole filling period in both temperature treatments, implying that they are the major isoform genes of SSS. The expressions of SSS IIb, SSS IIIa, and SSS IVa genes were much more sensitive to high temperature stress than those of SSS I, SSS IIc, SSS IIIb, and SSS IVb.

To identify the effects of grain phytic acid (PA) mutant on rice (Oryza sativa L.) grain filling and grain weight, the accumulating patterns of grain PA, total starch contents and also in relation with the carbohydrate translocation in different organs (leaf, culm, and sheath), and the activities of some enzymes involved in starch synthesis metabolism were investigated using 2 early indica genotypes differing in grain PA content-namely Xieqingzao and its low PA mutant (Os-lpa1). Compared with Xieqingzao, os-lpa1 had higher starch content and more carbohydrate accumulations in flag leaf, culm, and sheath, but much lower activities of ADPG pyrophosphorylase (ADPG-Ppase) and starch phosphorylase (SPase) in grains at filling stage, leading relatively decreasing grain weight, low grain starch accumulation and poor plumpness for os-lpa1. The activities of phosphate synthase (SP) and fructose biphosphorylase (FBPase) in sheath were generally lower at filling stage for os-lpa1 than those for Xieqingzao, despite relatively high starch content and sucrose accumulations in culm and sheath being shown for os-lpa1, implying that an obstacle of carbohydrate translocation from culm and sheath to grain at rice filling stage could be caused by grain PA mutagenesis, which might be one of major reasons for its poor plumpness and the reducing yield levels of os-lpa1.

Responses in spikelet fertility and grain weight to high temperature (HT) at anthesis and the relation to floral positions within a panicle were investigated using two HT-susceptible cultivars (Xieqingzao and Gang46) and two HT-tolerant cultivars (Qianjiang3 and Haunghuazan) under well-controlled climatic conditions. Results showed that effects of HT at anthesis were more adverse for spikelet fertility than for grain weight. The cultivar-dependent difference in spikelet fertility response to HT was mainly attributed to the extent of decrease in pollen viability for HT exposure. HT at anthesis impelled the flowering date of the florets on the middle and lower parts within a panicle, thereby resulting in shortened duration to floret-opening date and relatively concentrated floret-blossoming date. Change in spikelet fertility induced by HT was more notable than that caused by different grain positions, and the effect of HT on pollen viability was independent of the floret positions on the rachides within a panicle. Positional differences in spikelet fertility and grain weight under the HT regime were closely associated with the duration of HT exposure, in addition to differences in competing ability for supply of assimilates after successful fertilisation.