Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies a Rice Panicle Blast Resistance Gene,Pb2, Encoding NLR Protein

Rice blast is one of the main diseases in rice and can occur in different rice growth stages. Due to the complicated procedure of panicle blast identification and instability of panicle blast infection influenced by the environment, most cloned rice resistance genes are associated with leaf blast. In this study, a rice panicle blast resistance gene, Pb2, was identified by genome-wide association mapping based on the panicle blast resistance phenotypes of 230 Rice Diversity Panel 1 (RDP1) accessions with 700,000 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. A genome-wide association study identified 18 panicle blast resistance loci (PBRL) within two years, including 9 reported loci and 2 repeated loci (PBRL2 and PBRL13, PBRL10 and PBRL18). Among them, the repeated locus (PBRL10 and PBRL18) was located in chromosome 11. By haplotype and expression analysis, one of the Nucleotide-binding domain and Leucine-rich Repeat (NLR) Pb2 genes was highly conserved in multiple resistant rice cultivars, and its expression was significantly upregulated after rice blast infection. Pb2 encodes a typical NBS-LRR protein with NB-ARC domain and LRR domain. Compared with wild type plants, the transgenic rice of Pb2 showed enhanced resistance to panicle and leaf blast with reduced lesion number. Subcellular localization of Pb2 showed that it is located on plasma membrane, and GUS tissue-staining observation found that Pb2 is highly expressed in grains, leaf tips and stem nodes. The Pb2 transgenic plants showed no difference in agronomic traits with wild type plants. It indicated that Pb2 could be useful for breeding of rice blast resistance.     

Molecular and Physiological Responses of Citrus sinensis Leaves to Long-Term Low pH Revealed by RNA-Seq Integrated with Targeted Metabolomics

Low pH-induced alterations in gene expression profiles and organic acids (OA) and free amino acid (FAA) abundances were investigated in sweet orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck cv. Xuegan] leaves. We identified 503 downregulated and 349 upregulated genes in low pH-treated leaves. Further analysis indicated that low pH impaired light reaction and carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms, thereby lowering photosynthesis in leaves. Low pH reduced carbon and carbohydrate metabolisms, OA biosynthesis and ATP production in leaves. Low pH downregulated the biosynthesis of nitrogen compounds, proteins, and FAAs in leaves, which might be conducive to maintaining energy homeostasis during ATP deprivation. Low pH-treated leaves displayed some adaptive responses to phosphate starvation, including phosphate recycling, lipid remodeling, and phosphate transport, thus enhancing leaf acid-tolerance. Low pH upregulated the expression of some reactive oxygen species (ROS) and aldehyde detoxifying enzyme (peroxidase and superoxidase) genes and the concentrations of some antioxidants (L-tryptophan, L-proline, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, and pyroglutamic acid), but it impaired the pentose phosphate pathway and V_E and secondary metabolite biosynthesis and downregulated the expression of some ROS and aldehyde detoxifying enzyme (ascorbate peroxidase, aldo-keto reductase, and 2-alkenal reductase) genes and the concentrations of some antioxidants (pyridoxine and γ-aminobutyric acid), thus disturbing the balance between production and detoxification of ROS and aldehydes and causing oxidative damage to leaves.     

Green revolution in electronic displays expected to ease energy and health crises

The technological revolution of long-awaited energy-saving and vision-friendly displays represented by bistable display technology is conning.Here we discuss methods,challenges,and opportunities for implementing bistable displays in terms of molecular design,device structure,further expansion,and required criteria,hopefully benefiting the light-related community.     

人工智能技术课程实践教学改革

根据人工智能技术课程的教学情况,从教学内容、教学方法、教学案例、考核方式、培养实践能力五个方面探讨教学改革.提出在不断更新教学内容和"课堂讲授-课下辅导"模式的基础上,加强网络资源的利用,增加贯穿整个教学过程的分组报告,设计出提高创新能力的教学案例,开展具有多元考核方式以及循序渐进的动态实验设置模式的实践教学改革,以有...     

Trans-Reduction of Cerebral Small Vessel Disease Proteins by Notch-Derived EGF-like Sequences

Cysteine oxidation states of extracellular proteins participate in functional regulation and in disease pathophysiology. In the most common inherited dementia, cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), mutations in NOTCH3 that alter extracellular cysteine number have implicated NOTCH3 cysteine states as potential triggers of cerebral vascular smooth muscle cytopathology. In this report, we describe a novel property of the second EGF-like domain of NOTCH3: its capacity to alter the cysteine redox state of the NOTCH3 ectodomain. Synthetic peptides corresponding to this sequence (NOTCH3 N-terminal fragment 2, NTF2) readily reduce NOTCH3 N-terminal ectodomain polypeptides in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. Furthermore, NTF2 preferentially reduces regional domains of NOTCH3 with the highest intensity against EGF-like domains 12–15. This process requires cysteine residues of NTF2 and is also capable of targeting selected extracellular proteins that include TSP2 and CTSH. CADASIL mutations in NOTCH3 increase susceptibility to NTF2-facilitated reduction and to trans-reduction by NOTCH3 produced in cells. Moreover, NTF2 forms complexes with the NOTCH3 ectodomain, and cleaved NOTCH3 co-localizes with the NOTCH3 ectodomain in cerebral arteries of CADASIL patients. The potential for NTF2 to reduce vascular proteins and the enhanced preference for it to trans-reduce mutant NOTCH3 implicate a role for protein trans-reduction in cerebrovascular pathological states such as CADASIL.     

Energy transfer in and fluorescence studies of the Eu-Tb doped BPA-phen system

To enhance the red emission efficiency of Eu³⁺ complexes, [Eu/Tb_x(BPA)₃phen] (BPA?=?bisphenol A, phen?=?1,10-phenanthroline) is designed and synthesized. The complexes are characterized fully and their luminescence properties are evaluated. Co-fluorescence is detected in the Eu/Tb_x(BPA)₃phen complexes, and the existence of Tb³⁺ enhances the luminescence intensity of the central Eu³⁺ because of the intramolecular energy transfer from the ⁵D₄ level of Tb³⁺ to the ⁵D₀ level of Eu³⁺. The luminescence intensity of europium ions at 615?nm is the highest for Eu/Tb₁(BPA)₃phen. To improve the thermal stabilities and mechanical properties of pure complexes, Eu/Tb₁(BPA)₃phen/PAN (PAN?=?polyacrylonitrile) is used to fabricate fibres by electrospinning. Compared with Eu/Tb₁(BPA)₃phen (τ?=?1.1087?ms), the fibres have a longer fluorescence lifetime of 1.533?ms. The fibres also retain a high quantum yield of 47.16%. Thus, the flexible luminescent fibres have potential applications in many fields.     

纳米银抗菌材料研发现状

介绍了纳米银抗菌材料的研究与开发现状 ,并叙述了纳米银的制备及其应用     

Creation of Nonspherical Microparticles through Osmosis‐Driven Arrested Coalescence of Microfluidic Emulsions

Droplet‐based microfluidics enable the production of emulsions and microparticles with spherical shapes, but the high‐throughput fabrication of nonspherical emulsions and microparticles still remains challenging because interfacial tension plays a dominant role during preparation. Herein, ionic liquids (ILs) containing salts, which possess sufficient osmotic pressure to realize water transport and phase separation, are introduced as inner cores of oil‐in‐oil‐in‐water double emulsions and it is shown that nonspherical emulsions can be constructed by osmosis‐driven arrested coalescence of inner cores. Subsequently, ultraviolet polymerization of the nonspherical emulsions leads to nonspherical microparticles. By tailoring the number, composition, and size of inner cores as well as coalescence time, a variety of nonspherical shapes such as dumbbell, rod, spindle, snowman, tumbler, three‐pointed star, triangle, and scalene triangle are created. Importantly, benefitting from excellent solvency of ILs, this system can serve as a general platform to produce nonspherical microparticles made from different materials. Moreover, by controlling the osmotic pressure, programmed coalescence of inner cores in double emulsions is realizable, which indicates the potential to build microreactors. Thus, a simple and high‐throughput strategy to create nonspherical microparticles with arrested coalescence shapes is developed for the first time and can be further used to construct novel materials and microreactors.