Summary
Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) fibre is an important natural raw material for textile industry in the world. Understanding the molecular mechanism of fibre development is important for the ...development of future cotton varieties with superior fibre quality. In this study, overexpression of Gh14‐3‐3L in cotton promoted fibre elongation, leading to an increase in mature fibre length. In contrast, suppression of expression of Gh14‐3‐3L, Gh14‐3‐3e and Gh14‐3‐3h in cotton slowed down fibre initiation and elongation. As a result, the mature fibres of the Gh14‐3‐3 RNAi transgenic plants were significantly shorter than those of wild type. This ‘short fibre’ phenotype of the 14‐3‐3 RNAi cotton could be partially rescued by application of 2,4‐epibrassinolide (BL). Expression levels of the BR‐related and fibre‐related genes were altered in the Gh14‐3‐3 transgenic fibres. Furthermore, we identified Gh14‐3‐3 interacting proteins (including GhBZR1) in cotton. Site mutation assay revealed that Ser163 in GhBZR1 and Lys51/56/53 in Gh14‐3‐3L/e/h were required for Gh14‐3‐3‐GhBZR1 interaction. Nuclear localization of GhBZR1 protein was induced by BR, and phosphorylation of GhBZR1 by GhBIN2 kinase was helpful for its binding to Gh14‐3‐3 proteins. Additionally, 14‐3‐3‐regulated GhBZR1 protein may directly bind to GhXTH1 and GhEXP promoters to regulate gene expression for responding rapid fibre elongation. These results suggested that Gh14‐3‐3 proteins may be involved in regulating fibre initiation and elongation through their interacting with GhBZR1 to modulate BR signalling. Thus, our study provides the candidate intrinsic genes for improving fibre yield and quality by genetic manipulation.
Arrestins recognize different receptor phosphorylation patterns and convert this information to selective arrestin functions to expand the functional diversity of the G protein-coupled receptor ...(GPCR) superfamilies. However, the principles governing arrestin-phospho-receptor interactions, as well as the contribution of each single phospho-interaction to selective arrestin structural and functional states, are undefined. Here, we determined the crystal structures of arrestin2 in complex with four different phosphopeptides derived from the vasopressin receptor-2 (V2R) C-tail. A comparison of these four crystal structures with previously solved Arrestin2 structures demonstrated that a single phospho-interaction change results in measurable conformational changes at remote sites in the complex. This conformational bias introduced by specific phosphorylation patterns was further inspected by FRET and
H NMR spectrum analysis facilitated via genetic code expansion. Moreover, an interdependent phospho-binding mechanism of phospho-receptor-arrestin interactions between different phospho-interaction sites was unexpectedly revealed. Taken together, our results provide evidence showing that phospho-interaction changes at different arrestin sites can elicit changes in affinity and structural states at remote sites, which correlate with selective arrestin functions.
This study proposes an integral sliding mode control (ISMC) scheme for a class of uncertain non-linear systems subject to actuator faults including outage. It is noted that traditional ISMC method ...cannot handle actuator outage. To tackle the problem, matrix full-rank factorisation technique and adaptive mechanism are incorporated. Based on the above technique, two novel integral sliding surfaces using construction methods I and II are then introduced and existence conditions of sliding modes are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities, in which less conservativeness and better robustness against actuator faults are obtained using construction method II than I. The fuzzy logic systems are applied to approximate the bounds of unknown non-linear functions. Furthermore, an integral sliding mode controller, without an fault detection and isolation mechanism, is synthesised to guarantee the asymptotic stability and the robustness of the closed-loop system against actuator faults and non-linearities from the every beginning. Finally, simulation results for a model of B747-100/200 aircraft confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control method.
This paper reported that the peroxidase-like activity of DNA-Ag/Pt nanoclusters (NCs) can be inhibited significantly by l-cysteine. Based on this finding, a highly sensitive and selective ...colorimetric detection for l-cysteine was developed with a detection limit (LOD) of 2.0nM and a linear range from 5.0nM to 500nM. This detection for l-cysteine was highly selectivity over other amino acids. The high sensitivity and selectivity of this method facilitated the detection of l-cysteine in biological samples. Moreover, this method developed here was low-cost and simple. These results indicated the excellent analytical application of Ag/Pt NCs as enzyme mimic.
Tropical cyclone extreme rainfall (TCER) causes devastating floods and severe damage in China and it is therefore important to determine its long-term climatological distribution for both disaster ...prevention and operational forecasting. Based on the tropical cyclone (TC) best-track dataset and TC precipitation data from 1960 to 2019, the spatiotemporal distribution of TCER affecting China is analyzed.
Results show that there were large regional differences in the threshold for TCER in China, decreasing from the southeastern coast to the northwest inland. TCER occurred infrequently in northern China but had a high intensity and was highly localized. The frequency and intensity of TCER showed slightly increasing trends over time and was most likely to occur in August (41.0%). Most of the TC precipitation processes with extreme rainfall lasted for four to six days, with TCER mainly occurring on the third to fourth days. TCER with wide areas showed a northwestward prevailing track and a westward prevailing track.
Strong TCs are not always accompanied by extreme precipitation while some weak TCs can lead to very extreme rainfall. A total of 64.7% (35.3%) of the TCER samples occurred when the TC was centered over the land (sea). TCER⩾ 250 mm was located within 3° of the center of the TC. When the center of the TC was located over the sea (land), the extreme rainfall over land was most likely to appear on its northwestern (northeastern) side with a dispersed (concentrated) distribution. TCER has unique climatic characteristics relative to the TC precipitation.
Colorectal cancer is the 4th common cancer in China. Most colorectal cancers are due to modifiable lifestyle factors, but few studies have provided a systematic evidence-based assessment of the ...burden of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality attributable to the known risk factors in China.
We estimated the population attributable faction (PAF) for each selected risk factor in China, based on the prevalence of exposure around 2000 and relative risks from cohort studies and meta-analyses.
Among 245,000 new cases and 139,000 deaths of colorectal cancer in China in 2012, we found that 115,578 incident cases and 63,102 deaths of colorectal cancer were attributable to smoking, alcohol drinking, overweight and obesity, physical inactivity and dietary factors. Low vegetable intake was the main risk factor for colorectal cancer with a PAF of 17.9%. Physical inactivity was responsible for 8.9% of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality. The remaining factors, including high red and processed meat intake, low fruit intake, alcohol drinking, overweight/obesity and smoking, accounted for 8.6%, 6.4%, 5.4%, 5.3% and 4.9% of colorectal cancer, respectively. Overall, 45.5% of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality were attributable to the joint effects of these seven risk factors.
Tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, low vegetable intake, low fruit intake, and high red and processed meat intake were responsible for nearly 46% of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in China in 2012. Our findings could provide a basis for developing guidelines of colorectal cancer prevention and control in China.
ABSTRACT
Innovations in genomics have enabled the development of low‐cost, high‐resolution, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping arrays that accelerate breeding progress and support basic ...research in crop science. Here, we developed and validated the SoySNP618K array (618,888 SNPs) for the important crop soybean. The SNPs were selected from whole‐genome resequencing data containing 2,214 diverse soybean accessions; 29.34% of the SNPs mapped to genic regions representing 86.85% of the 56,044 annotated high‐confidence genes. Identity‐by‐state analyses of 318 soybeans revealed 17 redundant accessions, highlighting the potential of the SoySNP618K array in supporting gene bank management. The patterns of population stratification and genomic regions enriched through domestication were highly consistent with previous findings based on resequencing data, suggesting that the ascertainment bias in the SoySNP618K array was largely compensated for. Genome‐wide association mapping in combination with reported quantitative trait loci enabled fine‐mapping of genes known to influence flowering time, E2 and GmPRR3b, and of a new candidate gene, GmVIP5. Moreover, genomic prediction of flowering and maturity time in 502 recombinant inbred lines was highly accurate (>0.65). Thus, the SoySNP618K array is a valuable genomic tool that can be used to address many questions in applied breeding, germplasm management, and basic crop research.
To accelerate breeding progress and support basic research in soybean, the customized SoySNP618K array contains 618,888 SNPs selected from > 2,000 diverse, re‐sequenced soybean genomes. SoySNP618K is a valuable genomic tool to address questions in applied breeding, germplasm management, and basic research.
Mitochondria and cell membrane play important roles in maintaining cellular activity and stability. Here, a single-agent self-delivery chimeric peptide based nanoparticle (designated as M-ChiP) was ...developed for mitochondria and plasma membrane dual-targeted photodynamic tumor therapy. Without additional carrier, M-ChiP possessed high drug loading efficacy as well as the excellent ability of producing reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, the dual-targeting property facilitated the effective subcellular localization of photosensitizer protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) to generate ROS in situ for enhanced photodynamic therapy (PDT). Notably, plasma membrane-targeted PDT would enhance the membrane permeability to improve the cellular delivery of M-ChiP, and even directly disrupt the cell membrane to induce cell necrosis. Additionally, mitochondria-targeted PDT would decrease mitochondrial membrane potential and significantly promote the cell apoptosis. Both in vitro and in vivo investigations indicated that this combinatorial PDT in mitochondria and plasma membrane could achieve the therapeutic effect maximization with reduced side effects. The single-agent self-delivery system with dual-targeting strategy was demonstrated to be a promising nanoplatform for synergistic tumor therapy.
A low-temperature, flexible and facile non-thermal plasma method was used to synthesize the highly efficient nano-MoS2-based catalysts under ambient conditions.
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•Nano-MoS2-based ...catalysts were synthesized via non-thermal plasma approach.•The enhancement is attributable to the thin and short MoS2 slabs.•The performance of the plasma-prepared MoS2-based catalyst was stable in the 200 h runs.•Directly plasma-prepared MoS2 possessed the best behavior for higher alcohol synthesis.
High-performance nano-MoS2-based catalysts for higher alcohol synthesis (HAS) through CO hydrogenation were synthesized using non-thermal plasma under ambient conditions. The as-synthesized catalysts were carefully characterized using XRD, BET, H2-TPD/TPR, CO-TPD, in-situ CO adsorption DRIFTS, TEM, XPS, ICP, elemental analysis, and CO-TPSR techniques. The study results suggest that the non-thermal plasma approach not only achieves a large number of the small nano-MoS2 particles, but also decreases the synthesis time, compared to the conventional thermal methods. This flexible and facile approach can give the thinner and shorter MoS2 slabs, expose more coordinatively unsaturated sites, and increase the number of active centers for alcohols formation. Therefore, the non-thermal plasma-synthesized MoS2-based catalysts exhibited the excellent catalytic performances for HAS.
ABSTRACT
Lignin is a major component of plant cell walls and is essential for plant growth and development. Lignin biosynthesis is controlled by a hierarchical regulatory network involving multiple ...transcription factors. In this study, we showed that the gene encoding an APETALA 2/ethylene‐responsive element binding factor (AP2/ERF) transcription factor, PagERF81, from poplar 84 K (Populus alba × P. glandulosa) is highly expressed in expanding secondary xylem cells. Two independent homozygous Pagerf81 mutant lines created by gene editing, produced significantly more but smaller vessel cells and longer fiber cells with more lignin in cell walls, while PagERF81 overexpression lines had less lignin, compared to non‐transgenic controls. Transcriptome and reverse transcription quantitative PCR data revealed that multiple lignin biosynthesis genes including Cinnamoyl CoA reductase 1 (PagCCR1), Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase 6 (PagCAD6), and 4‐Coumarate‐CoA ligase‐like 9 (Pag4CLL9) were up‐regulated in Pagerf81 mutants, but down‐regulated in PagERF81 overexpression lines. In addition, a transient transactivation assay revealed that PagERF81 repressed the transcription of these three genes. Furthermore, yeast one hybrid and electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that PagERF81 directly bound to a GCC sequence in the PagCCR1 promoter. No known vessel or fiber cell differentiation related genes were differentially expressed, so the smaller vessel cells and longer fiber cells observed in the Pagerf81 lines might be caused by abnormal lignin deposition in the secondary cell walls. This study provides insight into the regulation of lignin biosynthesis, and a molecular tool to engineer wood with high lignin content, which would contribute to the lignin‐related chemical industry and carbon sequestration.
The APETALA 2/ethylene‐responsive element binding factor (AP2/ERF) transcription factor PagERF81 plays an important role in lignin biosynthesis and xylem cell differentiation in poplar and the monolignol biosynthesis gene PagCCR1 is a direct target of PagERF81.
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