Comparative Analysis of Mesocotyl Elongation Ability among Maize Inbred Lines.

Mesocotyl plays a key role in the seedling emergence of maize; however, the mechanism of mesocotyl elongation is still unclear. Moreover, different maize inbred lines and cultivars have varied mesocotyl lengths positively correlated with deep sowing tolerance. In this study, we selected one inbred line with long mesocotyl (LM) and two maize inbred lines with short mesocotyl (SM1 and SM2) from more than 400 maize inbred lines.

Novel insights into maize (Zea mays) development and organogenesis for agricultural optimization.

In maize, intrinsic hormone activities and sap fluxes facilitate organogenesis patterning and plant holistic development; these hormone movements should be a primary focus of developmental biology and agricultural optimization strategies. Maize (Zea mays) is an important crop plant with distinctive life history characteristics and structural features. Genetic studies have extended our knowledge of maize developmental processes, genetics, and molecular ecophysiology.

Drivers of recent decline in dust activity over East Asia.

It is essential to understand the factors driving the recent decline of dust activity in East Asia for future dust projections. Using a physically-based dust emission model, here we show that the weakening of surface wind and the increasing of vegetation cover and soil moisture have all contributed to the decline in dust activity during 2001 to 2017. The relative contributions of these three factors to the dust emission reduction during 2010-2017 relative to 2001 are 46%, 30%, and 24%, respectively.

Black carbon-climate interactions regulate dust burdens over India revealed during COVID-19.

India as a hotspot for air pollution has heavy black carbon (BC) and dust (DU) loadings. BC has been identified to significantly impact the Indian climate. However, whether BC-climate interactions regulate Indian DU during the premonsoon season is unclear.

Genome-Wide Identification of Maize Aquaporin and Functional Analysis During Seed Germination and Seedling Establishment.

Water uptake facilitates the initiation of seed germination. It is presumed that aquaporin (AQP)-mediated water inflow contributes to seed germination, but the genetic evidence is still lacking. This study aimed at genome-wide identification of ZmAQPs and further determined the physiological functions.

Transcriptome analysis reveals the mechanism of internode development affecting maize stalk strength.

Background: The stalk rind is one of the important factors affecting maize stalk strength that is closely related to stalk lodging. However, the mechanism of rind development in maize is still largely unknown.

Results: In this study, we analyzed the mechanical, anatomical, and biochemical properties of the third basal internode in one maize non-stiff-stalk (NSS) line and two stiff-stalk (SS) lines.

Modeling Dust in East Asia by CESM and Sources of Biases.

East Asian dust has a significant impact on regional and global climate. In this study, we evaluate the spatial distributions and temporal variations of dust extinction profiles and dust optical depth (DOD) over East Asia simulated from the Community Earth System Model (CESM) with satellite retrievals from Luo et al. (2015a, 2015b) (L15), Yu et al.

Effects of Nitrogen Level during Seed Production on Wheat Seed Vigor and Seedling Establishment at the Transcriptome Level.

Nitrogen fertilizer is a critical determinant of grain yield and seed quality in wheat. However, the mechanism of nitrogen level during seed production affecting wheat seed vigor and seedling establishment at the transcriptome level remains unknown. Here, we report that wheat seeds produced under different nitrogen levels (N0, N168, N240, and N300) showed significant differences in seed vigor and seedling establishment.

Biomass smoke from southern Africa can significantly enhance the brightness of stratocumulus over the southeastern Atlantic Ocean.

Marine stratocumulus clouds cover nearly one-quarter of the ocean surface and thus play an extremely important role in determining the global radiative balance. The semipermanent marine stratocumulus deck over the southeastern Atlantic Ocean is of particular interest, because of its interactions with seasonal biomass burning aerosols that are emitted in southern Africa. Understanding the impacts of biomass burning aerosols on stratocumulus clouds and the implications for regional and global radiative balance is still very limited.

Cloning and promoter activity analyses of the promoter of 2'-deoxymugineic acid (DMA) secretion channel gene YS3 in maize.

Iron (Fe) deficiency is a world-wide serious agricultural problem. Maize secretes 2'-deoxymugineic acid (DMA) to uptake and utilize Fe from the soil. In order to explore the gene expression patterns of the DMA secretion channel gene YS3, we cloned the 2813 bp YS3 promoter, and constructed the plant expression vector pCAMBIA-YS3GUS.

Pollen flow of wheat under natural conditions in the Huanghuai River Wheat Region, China.

The transgenic pollen spread is the main pathway of transgenic plant gene flow. The maximum distance of pollen dispersal (horizontal), the spatial dynamics of pollen movement (vertical), and the patterns of pollen dispersal are important considerations in biosafety assessments of genetically modified crops. To evaluate wheat (Triticum aestivum) pollen dispersal, we measured the pollen suspension velocity and analyzed pollen dispersal patterns under natural conditions in the Huanghuai River wheat-growing region in 2009.