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Taking the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences as an example, the modes and approaches of combing industry-universities-research institutions to promote rural revitalization by agricultural scientific research units are discussed. The main approaches are as follows: focusing on practical technical training to promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, transferring scientific and technological achievements to promote the deep integration of basic research, applied research and achievement transformation, and using the agronomist college as a carrier to promote the integrated development of industry-universities-research institutions and promote rural revitalization through systematic personnel training.

Carbohydrates are an important regulator of canola seed oil content. However, understanding the physiological regulation by carbohydrates governing seed oil accumulation is fragmented. In the present study, activities of sucrose and starch catalytic enzymes, including neutral and alkaline invertase, sucrose synthase (SUS), and starch phosphorylase, and biosynthetic enzymes, including sucrose phosphate synthase and ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, were compared in developing silique and seed of high oil content and low oil content lines (HOCL and LOCL, respectively). The results showed that the HOCL had significantly higher total soluble sugar concentration in the developing silique wall and seed during the seed lipid accumulation stage. Strikingly, all the enzymes showed very strong activities at 20 days after anthesis in the silique wall of the HOCL, which was in agreement with the higher amounts of corresponding gene expression. The result indicated that the homeostasis of the high efficiency of cleavage and biosynthetic of carbohydrates in the HOCL was beneficial for the rapid volume expansion of silique and transportation of carbohydrates, i.e., sucrose and starch, to the seed for utilization. At seed deposition stage, all the enzymes exhibited significantly higher activities in the HOCL than in the LOCL, which was helpful for increased production of carbohydrates. The results of gene expression at seed oil deposition stages revealed that one of the SUS genes, SUS3, showed significantly higher transcript amount in the HOCL than in the LOCL at all stages while most of other genes showed no significant differences between two lines at developing stages. Therefore, SUS3 might be played vital roles in the sucrose cleavage.

Increasing seed oil content is one of the most important breeding targets for rapeseed (Brassica napus). In this study, we combined quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping and marker-trait association analysis to dissect the genetic basis of seed oil content in rapeseed. A doubled haploid (DH) population with 261 lines was grown in two highly contrasting macro-environments, Germany with winter ecotype environment and China with semi-winter ecotype environment, to explore the effect of environment effect of on seed oil content. Notable macro-environment effect was found for seed oil content. 19 QTL for seed oil content were identified across the two macro-environments. For association analysis, a total of 142 rapeseed breeding lines with diverse oil contents were grow in China macro-environment. We identified 23 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers that were significantly associated with the seed oil content. Comparative analysis revealed that five QTL identified in the DH population, located on chromosomes A03, A09, A10 and C09, were co-localized with 11 significantly associated SSR markers that were identified from the association mapping population. Of which, the QTL on chromosome A10 was found to be homeologous with the QTL on chromosome C09 by aligning QTL confidence intervals with the reference genomes B. napus. Those QTL associated with specific macro-environments provides valuable insight into the genetic regulation of seed oil content and will facilitate marker-assisted breeding of B. napus.

Background Although the seed oil content in canola is a crucial quality determining trait, the regulatory mechanisms of its formation are not fully discovered. This study compared the silique and seed physiological characteristics including fresh and dry weight, seed oil content, chlorophyll content, and carbohydrate content in a high oil content line (HOCL) and a low oil content line (LOCL) of canola derived from a recombinant inbred line in 2010, 2011, and 2012. The aim of the investigation is to uncover the physiological regulation of silique and seed developmental events on seed oil content in canola. Results On average, 83% and 86% of silique matter while 69% and 63% of seed matter was produced before 30 days after anthesis (DAA) in HOCL and LOCL, respectively, over three years. Furthermore, HOCL exhibited significantly higher fresh and dry matter at most developmental stages of siliques and seeds. From 20 DAA, lipids were deposited in the seed of HOCL significantly faster than that of LOCL, which was validated by transmission electron microscopy, showing that HOCL accumulates considerable more oil bodies in the seed cells. Markedly higher silique chlorophyll content was observed in HOCL consistently over the three consecutive years, implying a higher potential of photosynthetic capacity in siliques of HOCL. As a consequence, HOCL exhibited significantly higher content of fructose, glucose, sucrose, and starch mainly at 20 to 45 DAA, a key stage of seed lipid deposition. Moreover, seed sugar content was usually higher than silique indicating the importance of sugar transportation from siliques to seeds as substrate for lipid biosynthesis. The much lower silique cellulose content in HOCL was beneficial for lipid synthesis rather than consuming excessive carbohydrate for cell wall. Conclusions Superior physiological characteristics of siliques in HOCL showed advantage to produce more photosynthetic assimilates, which were highly correlated to seed oil contents. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1999-3110-55-34) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

High temperature stress is an important abiotic stress during plant growth and development that can damage canola male reproductive organ development. In this present study, we characterized a canola genic male sterile line that its fertility can be restored after high temperature induction with heterozygous but not homozygous condition. Anther length and weight was elongated and increased 2 and 5.7 times at 9 days after high temperature treatment in heterozygous line. Furthermore, viable pollen grain was produced in the anther. Anther carbohydrate content was assayed. The result showed that fructose and sucrose contents were much more stable under heat stress both in hetero- or homozygous lines. However, glucose and starch content was considerably increased after high temperature treatment in heterozygous line. In particular, anther glucose content was twice as much as that of starch content after 5 days high temperature treatment. Activity of neutral invertase, acid invertase, and sucrose synthase were increased in the anther of heterozygous line under heat stress. But activity of neutral invertase was the highest among these three sucrose cleavage enzymes. Both activity of sucrose phosphate synthase and starch phosphorylase were decreased under heat stress in the anther of heterozygous line. Activity of ADP glucose pyrophosphorylase was greatly increased in the heterozygous line, which was beneficial for starch accumulation. Transcription level of carbohydrate related genes was analyzed. 27 and 34 of the carbohydrate related genes were identified for down- and up-regulated in the anther of heterozygous line, respectively. Their function involved in the regulation of heat tolerance of heterozygous line was also discussed. Key words: Canola, carbohydrate, gene.

The PIEZO2 ion channel is critical for transducing light touch into neural signals but is not considered necessary for transducing acute pain in humans. Here, we discovered an exception - a form of mechanical pain evoked by hair pulling. Based on observations in a rare group of individuals with PIEZO2 deficiency syndrome, we demonstrated that hair-pull pain is dependent on PIEZO2 transduction. Studies in control participants showed that hair-pull pain triggered a distinct nocifensive response, including a nociceptive reflex. Observations in rare Aβ deafferented individuals and nerve conduction block studies in control participants revealed that hair-pull pain perception is dependent on Aβ input. Single-unit axonal recordings revealed that a class of cooling-responsive myelinated nociceptors in human skin is selectively tuned to painful hair-pull stimuli. Further, we pharmacologically mapped these nociceptors to a specific transcriptomic class. Finally, using functional imaging in mice, we demonstrated that in a homologous nociceptor, Piezo2 is necessary for high-sensitivity, robust activation by hair-pull stimuli. Together, we have demonstrated that hair-pulling evokes a distinct type of pain with conserved behavioral, neural, and molecular features across humans and mice., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest. None

The versatility of somatosensation arises from heterogeneous dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. However, soma transcriptomes of individual human DRG (hDRG) neurons-critical in-formation to decipher their functions-are lacking due to technical difficulties. Here, we developed a novel approach to isolate individual hDRG neuron somas for deep RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). On average, >9,000 unique genes per neuron were detected, and 16 neuronal types were identified. Cross-species analyses revealed remarkable divergence among pain-sensing neurons and the existence of human-specific nociceptor types. Our deep RNA-seq dataset was especially powerful for providing insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying human somatosensation and identifying high potential novel drug targets. Our dataset also guided the selection of molecular markers to visualize different types of human afferents and the discovery of novel functional properties using single-cell in vivo electrophysiological recordings. In summary, by employing a novel soma sequencing method, we generated an unprecedented hDRG neuron atlas, providing new insights into human somatosensation, establishing a critical foundation for translational work, and clarifying human species-species properties.

The roles of Aβ low-threshold mechanoreceptors (LTMRs) in transmitting mechanical hyperalgesia and in alleviating chronic pain have been of great interest but remain contentious. Here we utilized intersectional genetic tools, optogenetics, and high-speed imaging to specifically examine functions of Split Cre labeled Aβ-LTMRs in this regard. Genetic ablation of Split Cre -Aβ-LTMRs increased mechanical pain but not thermosensation in both acute and chronic inflammatory pain conditions, indicating their modality-specific role in gating mechanical pain transmission. Local optogenetic activation of Split Cre -Aβ-LTMRs triggered nociception after tissue inflammation, whereas their broad activation at the dorsal column still alleviated mechanical hypersensitivity of chronic inflammation. Taking all data into consideration, we propose a new model, in which Aβ-LTMRs play distinctive local and global roles in transmitting and alleviating mechanical hyperalgesia of chronic pain, respectively. Our model suggests a new strategy of global activation plus local inhibition of Aβ-LTMRs for treating mechanical hyperalgesia., Competing Interests: Declaration of Interests The authors declare no competing interests.