SUMMARY
Xyloglucan, an important hemicellulose, plays a crucial role in maintaining cell wall structure and cell elongation. However, the effects of xyloglucan on cotton fiber development are not ...well understood. GhMUR3 encodes a xyloglucan galactosyltransferase that is essential for xyloglucan synthesis and is highly expressed during fiber elongation. In this study, we report that GhMUR3 participates in cotton fiber development under the regulation of GhMYB30. Overexpression GhMUR3 affects the fiber elongation and cell wall thickening. Transcriptome showed that the expression of genes involved in secondary cell wall synthesis was prematurely activated in OE‐MUR3 lines. In addition, GhMYB30 was identified as a key regulator of GhMUR3 by Y1H, Dual‐Luc, and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) assays. GhMYB30 directly bound the GhMUR3 promoter and activated GhMUR3 expression. Furthermore, DAP‐seq of GhMYB30 was performed to identify its target genes in the whole genome. The results showed that many target genes were associated with fiber development, including cell wall synthesis‐related genes, BR‐related genes, reactive oxygen species pathway genes, and VLCFA synthesis genes. It was demonstrated that GhMYB30 may regulate fiber development through multiple pathways. Additionally, GhMYB46 was confirmed to be a target gene of GhMYB30 by EMSA, and GhMYB46 was significantly increased in GhMYB30‐silenced lines, indicating that GhMYB30 inhibited GhMYB46 expression. Overall, these results revealed that GhMUR3 under the regulation of GhMYB30 and plays an essential role in cotton fiber elongation and secondary wall thickening. Additionally, GhMYB30 plays an important role in the regulation of fiber development and regulates fiber secondary wall synthesis by inhibiting the expression of GhMYB46.
Significance Statement
In this study, GhMUR3 was identified and cloned in Gossypium hirsutum, confirming that it affects fiber elongation and secondary wall thickening and plays an important role in fiber development. In addition, GhMYB30 was screened as an upstream transcription factor to directly regulate GhMUR3 expression. Combined with the results of DAP‐seq, the possibility of GhMYB30 affecting fiber development through multiple pathways was expounded. This study will provide a new research direction for improving the quality of cotton fiber.
Despite the rapid adoption of genetically modified (GM) crops by farmers in many countries, controversies about this technology continue. Uncertainty about GM crop impacts is one reason for ...widespread public suspicion.
We carry out a meta-analysis of the agronomic and economic impacts of GM crops to consolidate the evidence.
Original studies for inclusion were identified through keyword searches in ISI Web of Knowledge, Google Scholar, EconLit, and AgEcon Search.
Studies were included when they build on primary data from farm surveys or field trials anywhere in the world, and when they report impacts of GM soybean, maize, or cotton on crop yields, pesticide use, and/or farmer profits. In total, 147 original studies were included.
Analysis of mean impacts and meta-regressions to examine factors that influence outcomes.
On average, GM technology adoption has reduced chemical pesticide use by 37%, increased crop yields by 22%, and increased farmer profits by 68%. Yield gains and pesticide reductions are larger for insect-resistant crops than for herbicide-tolerant crops. Yield and profit gains are higher in developing countries than in developed countries.
Several of the original studies did not report sample sizes and measures of variance.
The meta-analysis reveals robust evidence of GM crop benefits for farmers in developed and developing countries. Such evidence may help to gradually increase public trust in this technology.
Electrical communication between an enzyme and an electrode is one of the most important factors in determining the performance of biofuel cells. Here, we introduce a glucose oxidase-coated metallic ...cotton fiber-based hybrid biofuel cell with efficient electrical communication between the anodic enzyme and the conductive support. Gold nanoparticles are layer-by-layer assembled with small organic linkers onto cotton fibers to form metallic cotton fibers with extremely high conductivity (>2.1×10
S cm
), and are used as an enzyme-free cathode as well as a conductive support for the enzymatic anode. For preparation of the anode, the glucose oxidase is sequentially layer-by-layer-assembled with the same linkers onto the metallic cotton fibers. The resulting biofuel cells exhibit a remarkable power density of 3.7 mW cm
, significantly outperforming conventional biofuel cells. Our strategy to promote charge transfer through electrodes can provide an important tool to improve the performance of biofuel cells.
Chitosan is an environmentally friendly agent that is used to achieve the antimicrobial properties of textiles. Nowadays, the binding of chitosan to the textiles has been thoroughly researched due to ...the increasing demands on the stability of achieved properties during the textile care processes. Most crosslinking agents for chitosan are not safe for humans or environment, such as glutaric aldehyde (GA) and formaldehyde derivatives. Eco-friendly polycarboxyilic acids (PCAs) are usually used in after-treatment. In this work, chitosan powder was dissolved in citric acid with sodium hydrophosphite (SHP) as a catalyst. Standard cotton (CO) and polyester/cotton (PES/CO) fabrics were pretreated in 20% NaOH, similar to mercerization, in order to open the structure of the cotton fibers and hydrolyze polyester fibers, continued by finishing in the gelatin chitosan bath. Afterwards, the hot rinsing process, followed by drying and curing, closed the achieved structure. The main objective was to achieve durable antimicrobial properties to multiple maintenance cycles CO and PES/CO fabric in order to apply it in a hospital environment. The characterization of fabrics was performed after treatment, first and fifth washing cycles according ISO 6330:2012 by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), electrokinetic analysis (EKA), by the determination of tensile properties and mechanical damage (wear), and the antimicrobial activity. The application of 20% NaOH led to the swelling and mercerization of cotton cellulose, and hydrolysis of polyester, resulting in better mechanical properties. It has been confirmed that the chitosan particles were well implemented into the cotton fiber and onto to the polyester component of PES/CO blend. The presence of chitosan was confirmed after five washing cycles, but in lower quantity. However, achieved antimicrobial activity is persistent.
Since bacterial infections seriously threaten human's health, considerable attention is devoted to the design of nanoscale antibacterial materials. Among them, metal nanoparticles cannot meet the ...requirements of durable antibacterial effects and are harmful to biological environments. In this study, environmentally friendly nanogels with durable antibacterial and antiadhesion properties are prepared by copolymerization of styrene, polycaprolactone‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride methacrylate. The resultant nanogels possess regular spherical morphologies with the size of about 200 nm. The nanogels exhibit a strong ability to kill bacteria and the mechanism is different from that of conventional antibacterial agent loaded nanoparticles. In addition, anti‐infection experiments explored by a wound model confirm the nanogels have the capability to prevent infection. Furthermore, the nanogels grafted on the surface of cotton fibers display good thermal stability, which is essential for finishing of fabrics. The cotton fabrics finished with nanogels can prevent the adhesion of bacteria by enhancing the hydrophobicity and the bacteriostatic rate. The antibacterial fabrics against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli are still more than 86% active after 50 times of mechanical washing. The biocompatible nanogels are unleachable from the antibacterial fabrics which demonstrate that they are ideal candidates for durable and environmental‐friendly nanoscaled antimicrobial materials.
In this study, environmentally friendly nanogels with durable antibacterial and antiadhesion properties are prepared by copolymerization of guanidine groups based monomers. The resultant inherent guanidine spherical nanogels can kill bacteria effectively and have the capability to prevent infection. Furthermore, the nanogels grafted on cotton fibers display good thermal stability. The cotton fabrics finished with nanogels can prevent the adhesion of bacteria permanently.
Cotton gin trash (CGT), an agro-industrial waste material produced during the ginning operation of cotton fibre, is a sustainable source of material to fabricate biodegradable polymer. Earlier ...research conducted on the preparation of polymer from different fractions of cotton trash such as linters, burrs and seed hulls cannot be pursued, as physical separation of these individual parts is quite difficult and impractical; the linters entangling all fractions. In our current study, we have used the whole cotton gin trash to fabricate films using formic acid (FA) with different CGT/FA weight ratios (0.5/99.5, 1/99, 3/97, 5/95 and 7/93) in a one-step process. Further, we investigated the structural changes, crystallinity, thermal property, tensile characteristics, wettability and biodegradability of the CGT films. The crystallinity of the films increased with increasing proportion of formic acid. The films were thermally stable up to 200 °C without any glass transition point. The tensile strength of the films was comparable to commercial low density polyethylene. The films produced in this study were found to be biodegradable. Therefore, the overall results have well exposed the CGT as a potential sustainable source for material production.
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•Fabrication of biodegradable film from whole cotton gin trash, as a biomass waste.•Crystallinity of the film enhanced with the higher proportion of formic acid in fabrication process.•Fabricated film showed comparable tensile strength to commercial low density polyethylene.
This article presents the findings concerning the preparation and properties of cotton woven fabrics with a conductive network made of multiwall carbon nanotubes deposited on the fiber surface by the ...padding method. The next stage of treatment consisted of imparting superhydrophobic properties to the fabrics in solution with methyltrichlorosilane (MTCS) in a waterless medium. The tests performed show that the state of surface and water content in cotton fibers exerts a significant influence on the hydrophobic properties of the analyzed samples. In order to explain the differences in hydrophobic properties, the morphology of the cotton fabric surface was examined using samples with various water contents. The formation mechanism of MTCS coatings on cotton fabric has been proposed.
Modernization and the global fashion market demand continuous improvements in upland cotton cultivars (
L.) to meet these improved fiber characteristics (fiber length, fiber strength, micronaire) ...requirements. Researchers have centered their efforts on improved fiber quality; however, the efforts are not immediately supporting the textile sector. The daily mean and temperature amplitude fluctuation affect cotton yield and fiber characteristics. This study analyzed four newly developed cotton varieties in two cotton regions for fiber characteristics' variations. It was observed that cotton fiber quality characteristics (fiber length, uniformity, strength, and micronaire) are impacted in diverse ways. Fiber quality is mainly affected by the genotype and environmental conditions, e.g., weather conditions, irrigation management, fertilization, and cultural practices. The Khanewal region had shown better fiber characteristics than the Multan region, whereas cotton variety CIM-785 had better fiber characteristics in both regions.
• Basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) proteins are involved in transcriptional networks controlling a number of biological processes in plants. However, little information is known on the roles of bHLH ...proteins in cotton fibre development so far.
• Here, we show that a cotton bHLH protein (GhFP1) positively regulates fibre elongation. GhFP1 transgenic cotton and Arabidopsis plants were generated to study how GhFP1 regulates fibre cell elongation.
• Fibre length of the transgenic cotton overexpressing GhFP1 was significantly longer than that of wild-type, whereas suppression of GhFP1 expression hindered fibre elongation. Furthermore, overexpression of GhFP1 in Arabidopsis promoted trichome development. Expression of the brassinosteroid (BR)-related genes was markedly upregulated in fibres of GhFP1 overexpression cotton, but downregulated in GhFP1-silenced fibres. BR content in the transgenic fibres was significantly altered, relative to that in wild-type. Moreover, GhFP1 protein could directly bind to the promoters of GhDWF4 and GhCPD to activate expression of these BR-related genes.
• Therefore, our data suggest that GhFP1 as a positive regulator participates in controlling fibre elongation by activating BR biosynthesis and signalling. Additionally, homodimerisation of GhFP1 may be essential for its function, and interaction between GhFP1 and other cotton bHLH proteins may interfere with its DNA-binding activity.
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