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Simple Summary: Correct taxonomic identification is essential for conducting successful biological research, especially of the important natural enemies of insects, such as Anastatus, a genus of parasitic wasps. In the present study, the key to all 21 Chinese Anastatus species, based on females, is provided, and seven new species are described and illustrated. We also used cytochrome oxidase I (COI) to identify and distinguish Chinese Anastatus. Seventeen sequences from seven Anastatus species were obtained and included in the GenBank database. Anastatus is the second-largest genus in the family Eupelmidae, with 150 species found worldwide and fourteen known species in China. Most species in this genus are the primary parasitoids of insect eggs, particularly those of Lepidoptera and Hemiptera, and several species have been used for the biological control of various insect pests. In this paper, seven new species of Anastatus Motschulsky, 1859 (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) from China are described, of which A. caeruleus Wang and Peng n. sp. and A. garygibsoni Zhou and Peng n. sp. were reared from the eggs of Tessaratoma papillosa (Hemiptera: Tessaratomidae), while A. daiyunensis Wang and Peng n. sp., A. makrysourus Zhou and Peng n. sp., A. polikiarkoudus Wang and Peng n. sp., A. taibaiensis Wang and Peng n. sp., and A. zdenekbouceki Zhou and Peng n. sp. were collected by malaise traps or sweeping. The new species are all described and illustrated based on female specimens, and the key to all 21 Chinese Anastatus species, based on females, is provided. Partial COI sequences of A. caeruleus n. sp., A. garygibsoni n. sp., and A. taibaiensis n. sp. are provided, and a phylogenetic reconstruction based on maximum likelihood analyses, while showing similar results at high taxonomic levels to our morphological feature classification results, provides additional information on the placement of Anastatus at the species level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil salinization is currently one of the main abiotic stresses that restrict plant growth. Plant endophytic bacteria can alleviate abiotic stress. The aim of the current study was to isolate, characterize, and assess the plant growth-promoting and saline and alkaline stress-alleviating traits of Peribacillus simplex M1 (P. simplex M1) isolates from maize. One endophytic bacterial isolate, named P. simplex M1, was selected from the roots of maize grown in saline–alkali soil. The P. simplex M1 genome sequence analysis of the bacteria with a length of 5.8 Mbp includes about 700 genes that promote growth and 16 antioxidant activity genes that alleviate saline and alkaline stress. P. simplex M1 can grow below 400 mM NaHCO3 on the LB culture medium; The isolate displayed multiple plant growth-stimulating features, such as nitrogen fixation, produced indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and siderophore production. This isolate had a positive effect on the resistance to salt of maize in addition to the growth. P. simplex M1 significantly promoted seed germination by enhancing seed vigor in maize whether under normal growth or NaHCO3 stress conditions. The seeds with NaHCO3 treatment exhibited higher reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels than the maize in P. simplex M1 inoculant on maize. P. simplex M1 can colonize the roots of maize. The P. simplex M1 inoculant plant increased chlorophyll in leaves, stimulated root and leaf growth, increased the number of lateral roots and root dry weight, increased the length and width of the blades, and dry weight of the blades. The application of inoculants can significantly reduce the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and increase the activity of plant antioxidant enzymes (Catalase (CAT), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), and Peroxidase (POD)), which may thereby improve maize resistance to saline and alkaline stress. Conclusion: P. simplex M1 isolate belongs to plant growth-promoting bacteria by having high nitrogen concentration, indoleacetic acid (IAA), and siderophore, and reducing the content of ROS through the antioxidant system to alleviate salt alkali stress. This study presents the potential application of P. simplex M1 as a biological inoculant to promote plant growth and mitigate the saline and alkaline effects of maize and other crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the response mechanism of Lilium pumilum (L. pumilum) to saline–alkali stress, we successfully cloned LpGDSL (GDSL lipase, Gly-Asp-Ser-Leu) from L. pumilum. The qRT-PCR results indicated that the LpGDSL expression was higher in the leaves of L. pumilum, and the expression of the LpGDSL reached the highest level at 12 h in leaves under 11 mM H2O2, 200 mM NaCl, 25 mM Na2CO3, and 20 mM NaHCO3. The bacteriophage overexpressing LpGDSL was more tolerant than the control under different NaHCO3 contents. Overexpressed and wild-type plants were analyzed for phenotype, chlorophyll content, O2− content, H2O2 content, lignin content, and so on. Overexpressed plants had significantly higher resistance than the wild type and were less susceptible to saline–alkali stress. The yeast two-hybrid and BiFC assays demonstrated the existence of an interaction between LpGDSL and LpBCP. The yeast one-hybrid assay and transcriptional activation assay confirmed that B3 transcription factors could act on LpGDSL promoters. Under saline–alkali stress, L. pumilum will promote the expression of LpGDSL, which will then promotes the accumulation of lignin and the scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to reduce its damage, thus improving the saline–alkali resistance of the plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the effects of cigarette size on the quality of cigarettes, cigarettes of four sizes (circumference x length: conventional cigarette 24.3 mm x 84 mm, 22 mm cigarette 22 mm x 84 mm, slim cigarette 20 mm x 89 mm, super slim cigarette 16.9 mm x 97 mm) were made under the same cut tobacco, filling density, air permeability of cigarette paper, tipping paper specification, tow material and draw resistance of filter rod. After the evaluation of physical indexes, smoke indexes, aroma component contents and sensory quality, the results showed that: 1) When cigarette size gradually varied from conventional to super slim, the cut tobacco content in single cigarette decreased, cigarette draw resistance increased, cigarette hardness decreased, and the ventilation rate of tobacco filler more than doubled. There was a good linear relationship between the draw resistance of tobacco filler and the reciprocal of the cigarette circumference square. 2) When the cigarette size varied from conventional to super slim, the puff number decreased by 0.92 puff/cig. The releases of tar, nicotine and CO in mainstream cigarette smoke presented an overall decreasing trend. The puffing ratio and the tobacco consumption of a single puff increased first and then decreased, those of slim cigarette were the highest, which were 29.37% and 19.98 mg/puff respectively. In addition, the tar release of a single puff from the slim cigarette was the highest. 3) The particulate aroma components of a single puff and their total amount from the slim cigarettes were the highest. When cigarette size varied from conventional to super slim, the contents of heterocyclic compounds in mainstream smoke increased first and then decreased, and the contents of 3-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one, 3-vinylpyridine and phenol in a single puff increased significantly. 4) The overall evaluation score of sensory quality of the slim cigarette was the highest, while that of the super slim cigarette was the lowest. As cigarette circumference decreased, the evaluation scores of aroma component contents, smoke concentration and smoke irritancy all reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lactobacillus casei (L. casei) is well known for its probiotic property in human and animals. Lactoferricin (Lfcin) polypeptide can effectively modulate host immune responses and have antimicrobial activity in vivo and in vitro. In order to develop a food-grade L. casei system constitutively expressing bovine Lfcin, this study constructed a thymidine auxotrophy (ΔthyA) recombinant L. casei. Results: Based on the thymidylate synthase gene (thyA) insert site, LFEC(Lfcin expression cassette)was inserted into L. casei genome through homologous recombination, successfully expressed and could be stably inherited. The recombinant L. casei, ΔthyA L. casei-LFEC, is sensitive to chloramphenicol and limited when cultured without thymine. Meanwhile, ΔthyA L. casei-LFEC has both good antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and antiviral activity against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV). Conclusions: We successfully constructed a recombinant L. casei strain expressing Lfcin, ΔthyA L. casei-LFEC, which could only survive in the presence of thymine, and had excellent antimicrobial and antiviral activity with good genetic stability and sensitivity. This research provides a cost-effective alternative to the antibiotics with additional biological functions and wider applicability prospect. Using ΔthyA as the selectable mark instead of antibiotic to construct genetic engineering L.casei provides a safe and effective approach of feed additives in livestock raising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Xenanastatus Bouek (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) is recorded for the first time in China based on a newly described species, X. imbricatius Wu & Peng sp. nov. The new species is described and illustrated based on females from Guangdong province; internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) and partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and 28S ribosomal DNA (28S) sequences are provided. The world species of Xenanastatus are differentiated in a key based on females.