N is an important macronutrient required for plant development and significantly influences axillary bud outgrowth, which affects tillering and grain yield of rice. However, how different N ...concentrations affect axillary bud growth at the molecular and transcriptional levels remains unclear.
In this study, morphological changes in the axillary bud growth of rice seedlings under different N concentrations ranging from low to high levels were systematically observed. To investigate the expression of N-induced genes involved in axillary bud growth, we used RNA-seq technology to generate mRNA transcriptomic data from two tissue types, basal parts and axillary buds, of plants grown under six different N concentrations. In total, 10,221 and 12,180 DEGs induced by LN or HN supplies were identified in the basal parts and axillary buds, respectively, via comparisons to expression levels under NN level. Analysis of the coexpression modules from the DEGs of the basal parts and axillary buds revealed an abundance of related biological processes underlying the axillary bud growth of plants under N treatments. Among these processes, the activity of cell division and expansion was positively correlated with the growth rate of axillary buds of plants grown under different N supplies. Additionally, TFs and phytohormones were shown to play roles in determining the axillary bud growth of plants grown under different N concentrations. We have validated the functions of OsGS1;2 and OsGS2 through the rice transgenic plants with altered tiller numbers, illustrating the important valve of our transcriptomic data.
These results indicate that different N concentrations affect the axillary bud growth rate, and our study show comprehensive expression profiles of genes that respond to different N concentrations, providing an important resource for future studies attempting to determine how axillary bud growth is controlled by different N supplies.
Kernel starch content is an important trait in maize (Zea mays L.) as it accounts for 65-75% of the dry kernel weight and positively correlates with seed yield. A number of starch synthesis-related ...genes have been identified in maize in recent years. However, many loci underlying variation in starch content among maize inbred lines still remain to be identified. The current study is a genome-wide association study that used a set of 263 maize inbred lines. In this panel, the average kernel starch content was 66.99%, ranging from 60.60 to 71.58% over the three study years. These inbred lines were genotyped with the SNP50 BeadChip maize array, which is comprised of 56,110 evenly spaced, random SNPs. Population structure was controlled by a mixed linear model (MLM) as implemented in the software package TASSEL. After the statistical analyses, four SNPs were identified as significantly associated with starch content (P ≤ 0.0001), among which one each are located on chromosomes 1 and 5 and two are on chromosome 2. Furthermore, 77 candidate genes associated with starch synthesis were found within the 100-kb intervals containing these four QTLs, and four highly associated genes were within 20-kb intervals of the associated SNPs. Among the four genes, Glucose-1-phosphate adenylyltransferase (APS1; Gene ID GRMZM2G163437) is known as an important regulator of kernel starch content. The identified SNPs, QTLs, and candidate genes may not only be readily used for germplasm improvement by marker-assisted selection in breeding, but can also elucidate the genetic basis of starch content. Further studies on these identified candidate genes may help determine the molecular mechanisms regulating kernel starch content in maize and other important cereal crops.
The fundamental circumferential shear horizontal (CSH
) wave is of practical importance in monitoring corrosion defects in large-diameter pipes due to its virtually non-dispersive characteristics. ...However, so far, there have been limited CSH
wave transducers which can be used to constitute a structural health monitoring (SHM) system for pipes. Moreover, the CSH
wave's capability of sizing the corrosion-like defect has not yet been confirmed by experiments. In this work, firstly, the mechanism of exciting CSH waves was analyzed. A method based on our previously developed bidirectional SH wave piezoelectric transducers was then proposed to excite the pure CSH
mode and first order circumferential shear horizontal (CSH
) mode. Both finite element simulations and experiments show that the bidirectional transducer is capable of exciting pure CSH
mode traveling in both circumferential directions of a 1 - mm thick steel pipe from 100 to 300 kHz. Moreover, this transducer can also serve a sensor to detect CSH
mode only by filtering circumferential Lamb waves over a wide frequency range from 100 to 450 kHz. After that, a method of sizing a rectangular notch defect by using CSH
wave was proposed. Experiments on an 11 - mm thick steel pipe show that the depth and circumferential extent of a notch can be accurately determined by using the proposed method. Finally, experiments were performed to investigate the reflection and transmission characteristics of CSH
and CSH
waves from notches with different depths. It was found that transmission coefficients of CSH
mode decrease with the increasing of notch depth, which indicates that it is possible to monitor the depth change of corrosion defects by using CSH
wave.
The determination of the condensation state of fresh concrete plays a crucial role in controlling the quality and safety of construction. In practice, it usually takes about 28 days for concrete to ...cure, during which the concrete mixture is hardened and strengthened until it reaches the usable standards. The traditional methods for monitoring the curing process of concrete usually only measure the Young’s modulus using the ultrasonic method. In this work, we propose a real-time concrete curing monitoring method based on accurate measurement of modulus and internal friction using a quantitative electromechanical impedance method (Q-EMI). Results show that both the modulus and internal friction can be used to monitor the curing process of concrete, and the modulus measurement is more accurate as it is less influenced by supporting conditions. For a specific concrete, the Young’s modulus turns to be stable after 4 days and the shear modulus cannot be stable until 7 days later, thus shear modulus measurement is more suitable for monitoring the curing process of concrete. In addition, it is found that the curing time is quite sensitive to the sand/cement ratio. This work provides a convenient approach to monitoring the curing process of concrete using small samples.
MicroRNA (miRNA), a type of non-coding RNA, is crucial for controlling gene expression. Among the various miRNA families, miR166 stands out as a highly conserved group found in both model and crop ...plants. It plays a key role in regulating a wide range of developmental and environmental responses. In this review, we explore the diverse sequences of MIR166s in major crops and discuss the important regulatory functions of miR166 in plant growth and stress responses. Additionally, we summarize how miR166 interacts with other miRNAs and highlight the potential for enhancing agronomic traits by manipulating the expression of miR166 and its targeted HD-ZIP III genes.
MicroRNAs are important regulators in plant developmental processes and stress responses. In this study, we generated a series of maize STTM166 transgenic plants. Knock-down of miR166 resulted in ...various morphological changes, including rolled leaves, enhanced abiotic stress resistance, inferior yield-related traits, vascular pattern and epidermis structures, tassel architecture, as well as abscisic acid (ABA) level elevation and indole acetic acid (IAA) level reduction in maize. To profile miR166 regulated genes, we performed RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analysis. A total of 178 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, including 118 up-regulated and 60 down-regulated genes. These DEGs were strongly enriched in cell and intercellular components, cell membrane system components, oxidoreductase activity, single organism metabolic process, carbohydrate metabolic process, and oxidation reduction process. These results indicated that miR166 plays important roles in auxin and ABA interaction in monocots, yet the specific mechanism may differ from dicots. The enhanced abiotic stress resistance is partly caused via rolling leaves, high ABA content, modulated vascular structure, and the potential changes of cell membrane structure. The inferior yield-related traits and late flowering are partly controlled by the decreased IAA content, the interplay of miR166 with other miRNAs and AGOs. Taken together, the present study uncovered novel functions of miR166 in maize, and provide insights on applying short tandem target mimics (STTM) technology in plant breeding.
The elite maize hybrid Zhengdan 958 (ZD958), which has high and stable yield and extensive adaptability, is widely grown in China. To elucidate the genetic basis of yield and its related traits in ...this elite hybrid, a set of doubled haploid (DH) lines derived from ZD958 were evaluated in four different environments at two locations over two years, and a total of 49 quantitative trait loci (QTL) and 24 pairs of epistatic interactions related to yield and yield components were detected. Furthermore, 21 QTL for six investigated phenotypic traits were detected across two different sites. Combining the results of these QTL in each environment and across both sites, three main QTL hotspots were found in chromosomal bins 2.02, 2.05-2.06, and 6.05 between the simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers umc1165-bnlg1017, umc1065-umc1637, and nc012-bnlg345, respectively. The existence of three QTL hotspots associated with various traits across multiple environments could be explained by pleiotropic QTL or multiple tightly linked QTL. These genetic regions could provide targets for genetic improvement, fine mapping, and marker-assisted selection in future studies.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have emerged as a powerful tool for unraveling intricate genotype-phenotype association across various species. Maize (
L.), renowned for its extensive genetic ...diversity and rapid linkage disequilibrium (LD), stands as an exemplary candidate for GWAS. In maize, GWAS has made significant advancements by pinpointing numerous genetic loci and potential genes associated with complex traits, including responses to both abiotic and biotic stress. These discoveries hold the promise of enhancing adaptability and yield through effective breeding strategies. Nevertheless, the impact of environmental stress on crop growth and yield is evident in various agronomic traits. Therefore, understanding the complex genetic basis of these traits becomes paramount. This review delves into current and future prospectives aimed at yield, quality, and environmental stress resilience in maize and also addresses the challenges encountered during genomic selection and molecular breeding, all facilitated by the utilization of GWAS. Furthermore, the integration of omics, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, epigenomics, and phenomics has enriched our understanding of intricate traits in maize, thereby enhancing environmental stress tolerance and boosting maize production. Collectively, these insights not only advance our understanding of the genetic mechanism regulating complex traits but also propel the utilization of marker-assisted selection in maize molecular breeding programs, where GWAS plays a pivotal role. Therefore, GWAS provides robust support for delving into the genetic mechanism underlying complex traits in maize and enhancing breeding strategies.
Interfacial exciplex has recently been adopted as an effective host to achieve phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with high efficiencies and low driving voltages. However, a ...systematic understanding of exciton recombination behavior in either host of interfacial exciplex is still deficient. Herein, the strategic design rule of interfacial exciplex host is proposed to overcome the negative effects of direct trapping recombination by systematically investigating exciton recombination behavior in interfacial exciplex hosts. As a result, blue and orange phosphorescent devices acquire peak external quantum efficiencies of 23.5% and 29.2% with low turn-on voltages. These results provide a simple method to realize highly efficient OLEDs aiming for general lighting and display applications.
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