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Abstract Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are foundational gene delivery tools for basic science and clinical therapeutics. However, lack of mechanistic insight, especially for engineered vectors created by directed evolution, can hamper their application. Here, we adapt an unbiased human cell microarray platform to determine the extracellular and cell surface interactomes of natural and engineered AAVs. We identify a naturally-evolved and serotype-specific interaction between the AAV9 capsid and human interleukin 3 (IL3), with possible roles in host immune modulation, as well as lab-evolved low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6) interactions specific to engineered capsids with enhanced blood-brain barrier crossing in non-human primates after intravenous administration. The unbiased cell microarray screening approach also allows us to identify off-target tissue binding interactions of engineered brain-enriched AAV capsids that may inform vectors’ peripheral organ tropism and side effects. Our cryo-electron tomography and AlphaFold modeling of capsid-interactor complexes reveal LRP6 and IL3 binding sites. These results allow confident application of engineered AAVs in diverse organisms and unlock future target-informed engineering of improved viral and non-viral vectors for non-invasive therapeutic delivery to the brain.

Improvement of cultivated cotton adaptability to extreme climate events under climate change promotes sustainable cotton production. Extreme rainfall leads to a significant decrease in cotton yield, which may be related to changes in soil water consumption (SWC) and the vertical distribution of yield, but relevant research is still scarce. Here, a two-year cotton sowing date experiment was conducted in which geostatistics, sensor technology, the spatial grid method, and principal component analysis were combined to analyze cotton utilization of soil water during extreme rainfall (2021) and normal (2022) years. The reasons for cotton yield reduction under extreme rainfall and strategies to improve cotton production adaptability to extreme rainfall were discussed. Under extreme rainfall, the morphogenesis and reproductive organ development of cotton were inhibited. The accumulation of SWC and its relationship with the biomass accumulation of cotton on different sowing dates under extreme rainfall exhibited nearly opposite characteristics to those in a normal year. Simultaneously, the two-year yield showed the opposite trend with the change in sowing date. There existed a trade-off strategy for the vertical distribution (i.e., on the upper, middle and lower fruiting branches) of cotton yield. Extreme rainfall reduced the yield at lower fruiting branches and increased the boll-forming rate of the upper fruiting branches, which was closely related to seed cotton yield, lint yield and water productivity (WP). Optimizing the cotton sowing date (early sowing should be appropriate in this study) may improve the adaptability of cotton production under extreme rainfall, but further long-term studies are needed. This study highlights the critical practice of climate-smart agriculture and has reference value for the sustainable development of cotton production.

The northwestern continental margin of the South China Sea, extending from the broad shelf and canyon-growth slope across the Xisha Trough, represents a relic crustal rift that eventually connects to the abyssal plain. However, the provenance and source-to-sink process of sediments in this special topography remains unclear. In this study, we present the detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology of surface sediments from the northwestern margin of the South China Sea to identify the sediment provenance, track the transport pathway, and understand the source-to-sink process in this margin. The results showed that detrital zircons exhibit a wide range of U-Pb ages from 3,062.9 to 41.5 Ma and are characterized by peaks centered on 140–154 Ma, 240–258 Ma, 425–452 Ma, and 738–991 Ma. Statistical analysis indicated that the clastic sediments on the shelf closely resemble those sourced from the Pearl River system. Conversely, sediments on the slope and abyssal plain demonstrated characteristics indicative of multiple sources, primarily originating from the Pearl River, with a minor contribution from the Red River. Further quantitative study revealed a progressive increase (from 8.2% to 43.2%) in the prevalence of Red River-derived sediments with ascending water depth on the shelf and slope, whereas sediment influx in the deepest sector remains predominantly sourced from the Pearl River. This study emphasizes the controls of topography and currents in modulating the transportation of coarse-grained and fine-grained sediments within the source-to-sink system and provides a favorable solution for reconstructing the sedimentary process in continental margins.

Deficit irrigation is a common strategy to reduce water use and improve the sustainability of cotton production. However, the effects of water deficits on crop productivity and quality are subject to genotype by management by environmental interactions. This study investigated effects of water deficits and frequency of irrigation on cotton performance grown in semi-arid region, Xinjiang, the main cotton-growing area in China. Two field trials (2020 and 2021) with split experimental design, including main factors of three irrigation levels (moderate-deficit, mild-deficit and full-irrigation) and split factors of three irrigation frequencies (4, 8 and 12 days) were conducted. Results from two trials both showed little negative influence of irrigation levels on yield, and higher irrigation frequency improved yield under same irrigation level. Significant effects of irrigation levels on yield components were found in 2021, with a 22 % increase in boll number and an 18 % reduction in boll weight under moderate-deficit irrigation compared with those under full-irrigation. Interactions between irrigation levels and frequencies significantly affected harvest index (HI), showing that reduced irrigation might be beneficial for improving HI. However, decreased fibre length while increased fibre micronaire were found under deficit irrigation. A strong association between radiation use efficiency (RUE) and boll growth rate was observed, suggesting that RUE might be the driving force of yield formation. A tight correlation between both biomass and transpiration efficiency versus delta temperature between air and canopy (ΔTair-canopy) was observed, suggesting ΔTair-canopy could be used as an efficient tool to assess plant production under deficit irrigation. This study provided an improved understanding of the physiological basis of cotton yield formation and further identified a high-throughput and instantaneous method to monitor effects of deficit irrigation on crop productivity.

Optimizing irrigation strategies is crucial for sustaining cotton production in the face of growing water scarcity. The three-year experimental study (2020–2022) focused on the impact of varying irrigation amounts (320, 370, and 420 mm) and frequencies (4-, 8-, and 12-day intervals) on cotton growth, yield, yield components, and fiber quality in southern Xinjiang. Employing a completely randomized design with three replications, the results indicated higher irrigation amounts resulted in numerically 2.5–7.5% higher lint yields compared to those under medium and low irrigation amounts, notably significant in 2021. Boll density emerged as the primary yield component influencing yield loss due to irrigation amount, followed by seed cotton weight boll−1. Increased boll density was associated with a greater total number of fruiting sites. Additionally, the increased seed cotton weight boll−1 could be linked to an increased seed number boll−1 and a decreased boll fraction at the lower fruiting branches with lower seed cotton weight boll−1. Higher irrigation frequency improved lint yield by increasing boll density, though a significant effect was observed only in 2020. Increased irrigation amounts generally led to longer fiber lengths but lower micronaire values, while increased irrigation frequency resulted in longer, stronger fibers and reduced micronaire values. Furthermore, the highest yield stability was observed under the condition of high irrigation amount and high frequency. This study holds certain guiding significance for water resource management in cotton production in arid regions.

Ta-10W alloy has great potential in the aerospace and nuclear industries due to its good formability, high melting point and excellent high-temperature strength. The purpose of this study was to experimentally research the tribological behaviors of Ta-10W at elevated temperatures and the effects of temperatures on the friction coefficient and the wear rate of Ta-10W in sliding wear. It was found that the main wear mechanism of the material at 100°C was abrasive wear, as well as adhesive wear and slight oxidative wear occurred at 200°C and 300°C. The friction coefficients increased as the temperature rose, which was attributed to the increase in metal viscosity at elevated temperatures. The wear rate gradually decreased with the temperature rising, such that there was a conversion from severe wear to light wear. At 200°C and 300°C, a large amount of stable oxide film covered the scar surface, resulting in decreased wear rate.

Beach intra-tidal bed level changes are of significance to coastal protection amid global climate changes. However, due to the limitation of instruments and the disturbance induced by wave motions superimposed on water levels, it was difficult to detect the high-frequency oscillation of the submerged beach bed level. In this study, an observation, lasting for 12 days and covering the middle tide to the following spring tide, was conducted on a meso-macro tidal beach, Yintan Beach, to simultaneously detect the characteristics and influence mechanism of bed level changes at intra-tidal and tidal cycle scales. The collected data included water depth, suspended sediment concentration (SSC), waves, high-frequency three-dimensional (3-D) velocity, and the distance of the seabed to the acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) probe, which were measured by an optical backscatter sensor, two Tide & Wave Recorder-2050s, and an ADV, respectively. The results showed that the tidal cycle-averaged bed level decreased by 58.8 mm, increased by 12.6 mm, and increased by 28.9 mm during neap, middle, and spring tides in succession, respectively, compared with the preceding tidal regimes. The net erosion mainly resulted from large incident wave heights and the consequent strong offshore-directed sediment transport induced by undertows. Moreover, the variations in the bed level were more prominent during a neap to middle tides than during middle to spring tides, which were jointly caused by the wave-breaking probability regulated by water depth and the relative residence times of shoaling wave, breaker, and surf zones that were determined by relative tidal range. In terms of the intra-tidal bed level, it displayed an intra-tidal tendency of increase during floods and decrease during ebb tides, i.e., the intra-tidal bed level changes were controlled by water depth, which modulated the effects of waves on sediment resuspension and vertical sediment exchange. To be specific, waves and SSC were responsible for the intra-tidal bed level changes under low-energy wave conditions, while mean current and bedform exerted important influences on the variations of the intra-tidal bed level under moderate wave conditions, which broke the foregoing interrelation between bed level, waves, and SSC. This study, therefore, emphasizes the usage of ADV measurement to investigate bed level changes in sandy coasts.

Abstract Background Within-canopy interception of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) impacts yield and other agronomic traits in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Field experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of 6 cotton varieties (they belong to 3 different plant types) on yield, yield distribution, light interception (LI), LI distribution and the relationship between yield formation and LI in Anyang, Henan, in 2014 and 2015. Result The results showed that cotton cultivars with long branches (loose-type) intercepted more LI than did cultivars with short branches (compact-type), due to increased LI in the middle and upper canopy. Although loose-type varieties had greater LI, they did not yield significantly higher than compact-type varieties, due to decreased harvest index. Therefore, improving the harvest index by adjusting the source-to-sink relationship may further increase cotton yield for loose-type cotton. In addition, there was a positive relationship between reproductive organ biomass accumulation and canopy-accumulated LI, indicating that enhancing LI is important for yield improvement for each cultivar. Furthermore, yield distribution within the canopy was significantly linearly related to vertical LI distribution. Conclusion Therefore, optimizing canopy structure of different plant type and subsequently optimizing LI distribution within the cotton canopy can effectively enhance the yield.

The photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) of crop canopy is highly related to yield formation, but how it relates to yield and yield distribution is not well understood. The focus of this study was to explore the relationship between light competition under different densities and yield distributions of cotton. The experiment was conducted in 2019 and 2020 at the Cotton Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Anyang city, Henan Province, China. A randomized block design was employed, with a total of three repeats. Each repeat had six density treatments: D1: 15,000; D2: 33,000; D3: 51,000; D4: 69,000; D5: 87,000; and D6: 105,000 plants·ha−1. As predicted, the results showed that the canopy light interception, leaf area index, plant height, and biomass of high-density cotton were higher than those of low-density cotton. The aboveground biomass produced by D6 was the highest, and was 12.9, 19.5, 25.4, 46.3, and 69.2% higher in 2019 and 14.3, 19.9, 32.5, 53.7, and 109.9% higher in 2020 than D5, D4, D3, D2, and D1, respectively. Leaf area, plant height, biomass, boll number, and boll weight were significantly correlated with the light interception rate. D5 (87,000 plants·ha−1) had a higher light interception rate and the highest yield. The highest lint yields produced by D5 were 1673.5 and 1375.4 kg·ha−1 in two years, and was 3.2, 4.3, 5.6, 9.7, and 24.7% higher in 2019, and 6.8, 10.6, 13.5, 21.5, and 34.4% higher in 2020 than D6, D4, D3, D2, and D1, respectively. The boll retention of the lower fruit branch under D5 reached 0.51 and 0.57 in two years, respectively. The shedding rate of the upper fruit branch decreased with the increase in cotton density in two years. The boll retention rate and shedding rate in the lower part of cotton plants were most closely related to light interception, with R2 values of 0.91 and 0.96, respectively. Our study shows cotton yield could be improved through higher light interception by optimizing planting density and canopy structure.

Different cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) planting patterns are widely applied in the Yellow River Valley of China, and crop yield mainly depends on light interception. However, little information is available on how cotton canopy light capturing and yield distribution are affected by planting patterns. Hence, field experiments were conducted in 2016 and 2017 to study the response of cotton canopy light interception, square and boll distribution, the leaf area index (LAI) and biomass accumulation to three planting patterns: a cotton monoculture (CM, planted on 15 May) system, a cotton/wheat relay intercropping (CWI, planted on 15 May) system, in which three rows of wheat rows were intercropped with one row of cotton, and a system in which cotton was directly seeded after wheat (CWD, planted on 15 June). The following results were obtained: 1) greater light capture capacity was observed for cotton plants in the CM and CWI compared with the CWD, and the light interception of the CM was 22.4% and 51.4% greater than that of the CWI and CWD, respectively, at 30 days after sowing (DAS) in 2016; 2) more bolls occurred at the first sympodial position (SP) than at other SPs for plants in the CM; 3) based on the LAI and biomass accumulation, the cotton growth rate was the greatest in CWD, followed by CM and CWI; and 4) the CM produced significantly greater yields than did the other two treatments because it yielded more bolls and greater boll weight. Information on the characteristics of cotton growth and development in response to different planting patterns would be helpful for understanding the response of cotton yields to planting patterns and would facilitate the improvement of cotton productivity.

The growth and development of cotton are closely related to climatic variables such as temperature and solar radiation. Adjusting planting density is one of the most effective measures for maximizing cotton yield under certain climatic conditions. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the optimum planting density and the corresponding leaf area index (LAI) and yield under the climatic conditions of Henan Province, China, and (2) to learn how climatic conditions influence cotton growth, yield, and yield components. A three-year (2013-2015) field experiment was conducted in Anyang, Henan Province, using cultivar SCRC28 across six planting density treatments: 15,000, 33,000, 51,000, 69,000, 87,000, and 105,000 plants ha-1. The data showed that the yield attributes, including seed cotton yield, lint yield, dry matter accumulation, and the LAI, increased as planting density increased. Consequently, the treatment of the maximum density with 105,000 plants ha-1 was the highest-yielding over three years, with the LAIs averaged across the three years being 0.37 at the bud stage, 2.36 at the flower and boll-forming stage, and 1.37 at the boll-opening stage. Furthermore, the correlation between the cotton yield attributes and meteorological conditions indicated that light interception (LI) and the diurnal temperature range were the climatic factors that most strongly influenced cotton seed yield. Moreover, the influence of the number of growing degree days (GDD) on cotton was different at different growth stages. These observations will be useful for determining best management practices for cotton production under the climatic conditions of Henan Province, China.

Modification of the cotton canopy results in shade avoidance and competition for light, which shows that density and spatial arrangement of cotton have a great impact on light interception. This experiment was conducted in 2018 and 2019 in the experimental field at the Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science in Anyang city, Henan Province, China. Six plant densities of cotton variety SCRC28 were used to assess spatial competition for light in cotton populations during the whole growing period. Light interception data were collected and analyzed according to the spatial grid method and the extension of Simpson’s 3/8 rule. The results showed that at the bottom of the canopy, greater light interception was observed at high densities than at low densities, while in the external part of the layer of the canopy in the horizontal direction, low light interception was recorded at low densities. Leaf area, aboveground biomass and plant height were obviously correlated with light interception, and the cotton population with a higher density (8.7 plants m−2) performed best at the light interception competition, and with the highest yield. The results will provide guidance on light management through the optimization of the structure of the canopy to provide more solar radiation and a significant basis by which to improve the management of light and canopy architecture.

In this study, transplanting cotton seedlings grown in artificial substrate is considered due to recent increased interest in cotton planting labor saving approaches. The nursery methods used for growing cotton seedlings affect root growth. However, the underlying functional responses of root growth to variations in cotton seedling transplanting methods are poorly understood. We assessed the responses of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) roots to different planting methods by conducting cotton field experiments in 2012 and 2013. A one-factor random block design was used with three replications and three different cotton planting patterns (substrate seedling transplanted cotton (SSTC), soil-cube seedling transplanted cotton (ScSTC) and directly sown cotton (DSC). The distributions and variances of the root area density (RAD) and root length density (RLD) at different cotton growing stages and several yield components were determined. Overall, the following results were observed: 1) The RAD and RLD were greatest near the plants (a horizontal distance of 0 cm) but were lower at W20 and W40 cm in the absence of film mulching than at E20 and E40 cm with film mulching. 2) The roots were confined to shallow depths (20-40 cm), and the root depths of SSTC and DSC were greater than the root depths of ScSTC. 3) Strong root growth was observed in the SSTC at the cotton flowering and boll setting stages. In addition, early onset root growth occurred in the ScSTC, and vigorous root growth occurred throughout all cotton growth stages in DSC. 4) The SSTC plants had more lateral roots with higher root biomass (RB) than the ScSTC, which resulted in higher cotton yields. However, the early onset root growth in the ScSTC resulted in greater pre-frost seed cotton (PFSC) yields. These results can be used to infer how cotton roots are distributed in soils and capture nutrients.

As an important successional stage and main type of biological soil crusts (BSCs) in Shapotou region of China (southeastern edge of Tengger Desert), lichen soil crusts (LSCs) often suffer from many stresses, such as desiccation and excess light intensity. In this study, the chlorophyll fluorescence and CO2 exchange in the rehydrated LSCs were detected under a series of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) gradients to study the photosynthetic acclimation of LSCs. The results showed that although desiccation leaded to the loss of photosynthetic activity in LSCs, the fluorescence parameters including Fo, Fv and Fv/Fm of LSCs could be well recovered after rehydration. After the recovery of photosynthetic activity, the effective photosynthetic efficiency ΦPSII detected by Imaging PAM had declined to nearly 0 within both the lichen thallus upper and lower layers when the PAR increased to 200 μE m-2 s-1, however the net photosynthesis detected by the CO2 gas analyzer in the LSCs still appeared when the PAR increased to 1000 μE m-2 s-1. Our results indicate that LSCs acclimating to high PAR, on the one hand is ascribed to the special structure in crust lichens, making the incident light into the lichen thallus be weakened; on the other hand the massive accumulation of photosynthetic pigments in LSCs also provides a protective barrier for the photosynthetic organisms against radiation damage. Furthermore, the excessive light energy absorbed by crust lichens is also possibly dissipated by the increasing non-photochemical quenching, therefore to some extent providing some protection for LSCs.

Identifying the characteristics of light interception and utilization is of great significance for improving the potential photosynthetic activity of plants. The present research investigates the differences in absorbing and converting photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) among various cotton cultivars. Field experiments were conducted in 2012, 2013 and 2014 in Anyang, Henan, China. Ten cultivars with different maturity and plant architectures were planted at a density of 60,000 plants ha-1 in randomized blocks, with three replicates. The spatial distribution of light in canopy was measured and quantified with a geo-statistical method, according to which the cumulative amount of intercepted radiation was calculated by Simpson 3/8 rules. Finally, light interception was analyzed in association with the biomass accumulation of different cultivars. The key results were: (1) late-maturing varieties with an incompact plant architecture captured more solar radiation throughout the whole growth period than middle varieties with columnar architecture and even more than early varieties with compact architecture, and they produced more biomass; (2) the highest PAR interception ratio and the maximum biomass accumulation rate occurred during the blossoming and boll-forming stage, when leaf area index (LAI) reached its peak; (3) the distribution within the canopy presented a significant spatial heterogeneity, and at late growing stage, the PAR was mainly intercepted by upper canopies in incompact-type plant communities, but was more homogeneous in columnar-type plants; however, the majority of radiation was transmitted through the canopy in compact-type colonies; (4) there was not a consistent variation relationship between the cumulative intercepted PAR (iPAR) and biomass among these cultivars over the three years of the study. Based on these results, we attempted to clarify the distinction in light spatial distribution within different canopies and the patterns of PAR interception in diverse cotton cultivars with different hereditary characters, thereby providing a significant basis for researchers to select cultivars with appropriate growth period and optimal plant architecture for improvement of light interception and utilization.