Summary
Nitrogen (N) is one of the key essential macronutrients that affects rice growth and yield. Inorganic N fertilizers are excessively used to boost yield and generate serious collateral ...environmental pollution. Therefore, improving crop N use efficiency (NUE) is highly desirable and has been a major endeavour in crop improvement. However, only a few regulators have been identified that can be used to improve NUE in rice to date. Here we show that the rice NIN‐like protein 4 (OsNLP4) significantly improves the rice NUE and yield. Field trials consistently showed that loss‐of‐OsNLP4 dramatically reduced yield and NUE compared with wild type under different N regimes. In contrast, the OsNLP4 overexpression lines remarkably increased yield by 30% and NUE by 47% under moderate N level compared with wild type. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that OsNLP4 orchestrates the expression of a majority of known N uptake, assimilation and signalling genes by directly binding to the nitrate‐responsive cis‐element in their promoters to regulate their expression. Moreover, overexpression of OsNLP4 can recover the phenotype of Arabidopsis nlp7 mutant and enhance its biomass. Our results demonstrate that OsNLP4 plays a pivotal role in rice NUE and sheds light on crop NUE improvement.
Nitrogen (N) is an essential macronutrient for crop growth and yield. Improving the N use efficiency (NUE) of crops is important to agriculture. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying NUE ...regulation remain largely elusive. Here we report that the OsNLP3 (NIN‐like protein 3) regulates NUE and grain yield in rice under N sufficient conditions. OsNLP3 transcript level is significantly induced by N starvation and its protein nucleocytosolic shuttling is specifically regulated by nitrate. Loss‐of‐function of OsNLP3 reduces plant growth, grain yield, and NUE under sufficient nitrate conditions, whereas under low nitrate or different ammonium conditions, osnlp3 mutants show no clear difference from the wild type. Importantly, under sufficient N conditions in the field, OsNLP3 overexpression lines display improved grain yield and NUE compared with the wild type. OsNLP3 orchestrates the expression of multiple N uptake and assimilation genes by directly binding to the nitrate‐responsive cis‐elements in their promoters. Overall, our study demonstrates that OsNLP3, together with OsNLP1 and OsNLP4, plays overlapping and differential roles in N acquisition and NUE, and modulates NUE and the grain yield increase promoted by N fertilizer. Therefore, OsNLP3 is a promising candidate gene for the genetic improvement of grain yield and NUE in rice.
Summary Statement
Crop nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is an important agronomic trait. But the molecular mechanisms underlying NUE regulation are not well understood. This study reveals that rice NIN‐like protein 3 (OsNLP3) regulates NUE and grain yield especially under N sufficient conditions and is a promising candidate gene for improving grain yield and NUE in rice.
Summary
Rice panicles, a major component of yield, are regulated by phytohormones and nutrients. How mineral nutrients promote panicle architecture remains largely unknown.
Here, we report that ...NIN‐LIKE PROTEIN3 and 4 (OsNLP3/4) are crucial positive regulators of rice panicle architecture in response to nitrogen (N). Loss‐of‐function mutants of either
OsNLP3
or
OsNLP4
produced smaller panicles with reduced primary and secondary branches and fewer grains than wild‐type, whereas their overexpression plants showed the opposite phenotypes.
The OsNLP3/4‐regulated panicle architecture was positively correlated with N availability. OsNLP3/4 directly bind to the promoter of
OsRFL
and activate its expression to promote inflorescence meristem development. Furthermore, OsRFL activates
OsMOC1
expression by binding to its promoter.
Our findings reveal the novel N‐responsive OsNLP3/4‐OsRFL‐OsMOC1 module that integrates N availability to regulate panicle architecture, shedding light on how N nutrient signals regulate panicle architecture and providing candidate targets for the improvement of crop yield.
Crop yield plays a critical role in global food security. For optimal plant growth and maximal crop yields, nutrients must be balanced. However, the potential significance of balanced nitrogen–iron ...(N–Fe) for improving crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) has not previously been addressed. Here, we show that balanced N–Fe sufficiency significantly increases tiller number and boosts yield and NUE in rice and wheat. NIN-like protein 4 (OsNLP4) plays a pivotal role in maintaining the N–Fe balance by coordinately regulating the expression of multiple genes involved in N and Fe metabolism and signaling. OsNLP4 also suppresses OsD3 expression and strigolactone (SL) signaling, thereby promoting tillering. Balanced N–Fe sufficiency promotes the nuclear localization of OsNLP4 by reducing H2O2 levels, reinforcing the functions of OsNLP4. Interestingly, we found that OsNLP4 upregulates the expression of a set of H2O2-scavenging genes to promote its own accumulation in the nucleus. Furthermore, we demonstrated that foliar spraying of balanced N–Fe fertilizer at the tillering stage can effectively increase tiller number, yield, and NUE of both rice and wheat in the field. Collectively, these findings reveal the previously unrecognized effects of N–Fe balance on grain yield and NUE as well as the molecular mechanism by which the OsNLP4–OsD3 module integrates N–Fe nutrient signals to downregulate SL signaling and thereby promote rice tillering. Our study sheds light on how N–Fe nutrient signals modulate rice tillering and provide potential innovative approaches that improve crop yield with reduced N fertilizer input for benefitting sustainable agriculture worldwide.
This study characterizes the OsNLP4–OsD3 module that integrates N–Fe nutrient signals to downregulate SL signaling and thereby promote rice tillering. The results also show that the balanced N–Fe fertilizer can significantly improve grain yield and NUE in both rice and wheat under field conditions.
AIM: To complete the data of ocular trauma in central China, as a well-known tertiary referral center for ocular trauma, we documented the epidemiological characteristics and visual outcomes of ...patients hospitalized for ocular trauma in this region.METHODS: A retrospective study of patients hospitalized for ocular trauma in central China from 2006 to 2011 was performed.· RESULTS: This study included 5964 eyes of 5799 patients. The average age was 35.5 ±21.8y with a male-to-female ratio of 2.8:1. The most common age was 45-59 y age group. Most patients were farmers and workers(51.9%). The most common injuries were firework related(24.5%), road traffic related(24.2%), and work related(15.0%). Among the most common causative agents were firecrackers(24.5%), followed by metal/knife/scissors(21.4%). Most injuries occurred in January(14.2%),February(27.0%), and August(10.0%). There were 8.5%patients with ocular injuries combined with other injuries.The incidence of open ocular injuries(4585 eyes, 76.9%)was higher than closed ocular injuries(939 eyes, 15.7%).The incidences of chemical and thermal ocular injuries were 1.2% and 0.6%. Ocular trauma score(OTS)predicted final visual acuity at non light perception(NLP), 20/200-20/50 and 20/40 with a sensitivity of 100%,and light perception(LP) /hand motion(HM) and 1/200-19/200 with a specificity of 100%.· CONCLUSION: This study provides recent epidemiological data of patients hospitalized for ocular trauma in central China. Some factors influencing the visual outcome include time interval between injury and visit to the clinic, wound location, open or closed globe injury, initial visual acuity, and OTS.
Aim： MicroRNAs play pivotal roles in regulation of both innate and adaptive immune responses. In the present study, we investigated the effects of microRNA-124 （miR-＆24） on production of the ...pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α in lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-treated mouse macrophages. Methods： Mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7 was stimulated with LPS （100 ng/mL）. The levels of miR-124 and TNF-α mRNA were evaluated using q-PCR. ELISA and Western blotting were used to detect TNF-α protein level in cell supernatants and cells, respectively. 3＇-UTR iuciferase reporter assays were used to analyze the targets of miR-124. For in vivo experiments, mice were injected with LPS （30 mg/kg, ip）. Results： LPS stimulation significantly increased the mRNA level of miR-124 in RAW264.7 macrophages in vitro and mice in vivo. In RAW264.7 macrophages, knockdown of miR-124 with miR-124 inhibitor dose-dependently increased LPS-stimulated production of TNF-α protein and prolonged the half-life of TNF-α protein, but did not change TNF-α mRNA levels, whereas overexpression of miR- 124 with miR-124 mimic produced the opposite effects, Furthermore, miR-124 was found to directly target two components of deubiquitinating enzymes： ubiquitin-specific proteases （USP） 2 and 14. Knockdown of USP2 or USP14 accelerated protein degradation of TNF-α, and abolished the effect of miR-124 on TNF-α protein stability. Conclusion： miR-124, targeting USP2 and USP14, negatively regulates LPS-induced TNF-α production in mouse macrophages, suggesting miR-124 as a new therapeutic target in inflammation-related diseases.
The red palm weevil （RPW; Rhynchophorusferrugineus） is a devastating pest of palms, prevalent in the Middle East as well as many other regions of the world. Here, we report a large-scale de novo ...complementary DNA （cDNA） sequencing effort that acquired ~5 million reads and assembled them into 26 765 contigs from 12 libraries made from samples of different RPW developmental stages based on the Roche/454 GS FLX platform. We annotated these contigs based on the publically available known insect genes and the Tribolium castaneum genome assembly. We find that over 80% of coding sequences （CDS） from the RPW contigs have high-identity homologs to known proteins with complete CDS. Gene expression analysis shows that the pupa and larval stages have the highest and lowest expression levels, respectively. In addition, we also identified more than 60 000 single nucleotide polymorphisms and 1 200 simple sequence repeat markers. This study provides the first large-scale eDNA dataset for RPW, a much-needed resource for future molecular studies.
AIM:To investigate the effects of hepatocyte growth factor(HGF)on MMP-2 expression in scleral fibroblasts from guinea pig with LIM.METHODS:Sixty 1-week-old guinea pigs were chosen for the study.The ...right eyes were treated with-10.0 D lenses as the LIM group;the left eyes remained untreated as the control group.The refraction and axial length were measured by streak retinoscopy and A-scan ultrasonography respectively prior to and 4wk after the experiment.Four weeks later,the guinea pigs were sacrificed and primary scleral fibroblasts were taken for tissue culture.The 3rd-5th generation scleral fibroblasts were chosen for the experiments.The expression levels of HGF and MMP-2 protein in the scleral fibroblasts were analyzed by Western blotting.After HGF with different doses acted on the scleral fibroblasts of the control group,MMP-2 protein expression in the scleral fibroblasts was analyzed by Western blotting.HGF siRNA was transfected into the scleral fibroblasts of the LIM group and the protein expressions of HGF and MMP-2were analyzed by Western blotting.RESULTS:The LIM group became myopic with a significant increase in axial length(7.97±0.29 mm vs7.01±0.26 mm,P<0.05),and a significant decrease in refraction(-5.06±0.31 D vs 0.55±0.25 D,P<0.05)compared with the control group.The protein expression of HGF in the scleral fibroblasts of the LIM group was significantly higher compared with the control group(1.26±0.04 vs 0.32±0.04,P<0.05).The protein expression of MMP-2 in the scleral fibroblasts of the LIM group wassignificantly higher compared with the control group(0.89±0.06 vs 0.42±0.05,P<0.05).In the scleral fibroblasts of the control group,HGF(0,0.1,1,10 ng/mL)upregulated MMP-2 protein expression in a dose-dependent manner(0.35±0.03,0.44±0.02,0.91±0.03,1.33±0.04,all P<0.05).In the scleral fibroblasts of the LIM group transfected with HGF siRNA,MMP-2 protein expressions were significantly decreased compared with the negative control group(0.29±0.03 vs 0.81±0.05,P<0.05).CONCLUSION:HGF is a upstream mediator of MMP-2in scleral fibroblasts from guinea pig.
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