Analysis of the role of the rice metallothionein gene OsMT2b in grain size regulation.

Seed size is one of the three main characteristics determining rice yield. Clarification of the mechanisms regulating seed size in rice has implications for improving rice yield. Although several genes have been reported to regulate seed size, most of the reports are fragmentary.

A rapid on-site visualization platform based on RPA coupled with CRISPR-Cas12a for the detection of genetically modified papaya 'Huanong No.1'.

The Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV)-resistant genetically modified (GM) papaya 'Huanong No.1' has been certified as safe for consumption and widely planted in China for about 18 years. To protect consumers' rights and facilitate government supervision and monitoring, it is necessary to establish a simple, rapid, and specific detection method for 'Huanong No.

Advancements in Rice Leaf Development Research.

Rice leaf morphology is a pivotal component of the ideal plant architecture, significantly impacting rice yield. The process of leaf development unfolds through three distinct stages: the initiation of leaf primordia, the establishment and maintenance of polarity, and leaf expansion. Genes regulating leaf morphology encompass transcription factors, hormones, and miRNAs.

The Identification of the Banana Endogenous Reference Gene and the Construction of Qualitative and Quantitative PCR Detection Methods.

Endogenous reference genes play a crucial role in the qualitative and quantitative PCR detection of genetically modified crops. Currently, there are no systematic studies on the banana endogenous reference gene. In this study, the gene was identified as a candidate gene through bioinformatics analysis.

Rice CENTRORADIALIS 2 regulates seed germination and salt tolerance via ABA-mediated pathway.

A FT/TFL1 subfamily gene, rice CENTRORADIALIS 2, also known as RCN1, regulates seed germination and increase salt tolerance via ABA-mediated pathway. The ABA synthesis and metabolism related genes were changed relative expression levels. Seed germination is a complex biological process that is affected by many factors.

Florigen repression complexes involving rice CENTRORADIALIS2 regulate grain size.

Grain size is one of the crucial factors determining grain yield. However, the genetic and molecular mechanisms of florigen repression complexes (FRCs) underlying grain size in rice (Oryza sativa L.) have not been reported.

Methylesterification of cell-wall pectin controls the diurnal flower-opening times in rice.

Flowers are the core reproductive organ of plants, and flowering is essential for cross-pollination. Diurnal flower-opening time is thus a key trait influencing reproductive isolation, hybrid breeding, and thermostability in plants. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling this trait remain unknown.

A cytosolic pentatricopeptide repeat protein is essential for tapetal plastid development by regulating OsGLK1 transcript levels in rice.

Most plant pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins localize to and function inside plastids and mitochondria. However, the function of PPRs that only localize to the cytoplasm remains unknown. Here, we demonstrated that the rice (Oryza sativa) PPR protein CYTOPLASM-LOCALIZED PPR1 (OsCPPR1) contributes to pollen development and localizes to the cytoplasm.

Initiation and Execution of Programmed Cell Death and Regulation of Reactive Oxygen Species in Plants.

Programmed cell death (PCD) plays crucial roles in plant development and defence response. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced during normal plant growth, and high ROS concentrations can change the antioxidant status of cells, leading to spontaneous cell death. In addition, ROS function as signalling molecules to improve plant stress tolerance, and they induce PCD under different conditions.

Hexokinase gene OsHXK1 positively regulates leaf senescence in rice.

Background: Leaf senescence is a highly complex and meticulous regulatory process, and the disruption of any factor involved in leaf senescence might lead to premature or delayed leaf senescence and thus result in reduced or increased crop yields. Despite sincere efforts by scientists, there remain many unsolved problems related to the regulatory factors and molecular mechanisms of leaf senescence.

Results: This study successfully revealed that OsHXK1 was highly expressed in senescent leaves of rice.

One-step fast and label-free imaging array for multiplexed detection of trace avian influenza viruses.

Rapid and low-cost diagnosis of multiple infectious diseases is of great significance especially in densely populated or resource-constrained settings. Herein, we developed a one-step fast and label-free imaging array for multiplexed detection of trace avian influenza virus (AIV) DNA biomarkers. By designing a series of specific and efficient catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA) amplification reactions and utilizing thioflavin T, a specific G-quadruplex fluorescence probe, three subtypes of AIV DNA biomarkers (H1N1, H7N9 and H5N1) were simultaneously and quickly detected within only 20 min, which just needed a small reagent volume of 50 μL and a smartphone instead of a spectrometer.

An enzyme-free and label-free visual sensing strategy for the detection of thrombin using a plasmonic nanoplatform.

An enzyme-free and label-free visual sensing strategy was developed for sensitively detecting thrombin using a plasmonic nanoplatform. Both the thrombin-triggered catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA) amplification reaction and G-quadruplex/hemin DNAzyme-controlled plasmonic signal readout were engineered on an electrospun nanofibrous membrane. Owing to its large specific surface area and porous structure, the nanofibrous membrane enhanced the loading capacity of B-H2 and the interface interaction efficiency.

Overexpression of a microRNA-targeted NAC transcription factor improves drought and salt tolerance in Rice via ABA-mediated pathways.

Background: The NAC (NAM, AFAT, and CUC) transcription factors play critical roles in rice (Oryza sativa) development and stress regulation. Overexpressing a microRNA (miR164b)-resistant OsNAC2 mutant gene, which generates transcripts that cannot be targeted by miR164b, improves rice plant architecture and yield; however, the performance of these mOsNAC2-overexpressing lines, named ZUOErN3 and ZUOErN4, under abiotic stress conditions such as drought have not yet been fully characterized.

Results: In this study, we showed that the germination of ZUOErN3 and ZUOErN4 seeds was delayed in comparison with the wild-type (WT) seeds, although the final germination rates of all lines were over 95%.

Overexpression of OsAGO1b Induces Adaxially Rolled Leaves by Affecting Leaf Abaxial Sclerenchymatous Cell Development in Rice.

Background: ARGONAUTE 1 (AGO1) proteins can recruit small RNAs to regulate gene expression, involving several growth and development processes in Arabidopsis. Rice genome contains four AGO1 genes, OsAGO1a to OsAGO1d. However, the regulatory functions to rice growth and development of each AGO1 gene are still unknown.

One-step sensitive thrombin detection based on a nanofibrous sensing platform.

Convenient and time-saving one-step strategies for detecting ultralow concentrations of protein biomarkers play key roles in rapid disease diagnosis. In this study, we report a one-step detection method based on a nanofibrous sensing platform via the combination of proximity-induced DNA strand displacement (PiDSD), catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA) amplification and thioflavin T (ThT) binding. The interface behaviors on the nanofibrous membrane were studied to promote interface reaction kinetics and thermodynamics.

Plasmonic nanoplatform for point-of-care testing trace HCV core protein.

Early diagnosis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is still urgently desired as there is a global healthy burden and no vaccine available. In this work, a plasmonic nanoplatform was engineered with catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA) amplification reaction specifically of HCV core protein (HCVcp), G-quadruplex/hemin DNAzyme and nanofibrous membrane together. HCVcp was detected in whole serum at the ultralow concentration of 1.

controls ROS production and the initiation of tapetal PCD by epigenetically regulating expression in rice anthers.

Proteins of the ARGONAUTE (AGO) family function in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Although the rice () genome encodes 19 predicted AGO proteins, few of their functions have thus far been characterized. Here, we show that the AGO protein OsAGO2 regulates anther development in rice.

Mean irradiance profile of a Gaussian beam under random jitter.

The mean irradiance profile has been widely applied in performance analysis and atmospheric channel research for free space optical communication; however, the modeling method and a closed-form expression of the mean irradiance profile under random jitter have rarely been discussed. To the best of our knowledge, this work presents a modeling method and a closed-form expression for a mean irradiance profile under random jitter through the ensemble average principle for the first time. We find that, with an increase in random jitter variance, the mean irradiance profile varied from an approximately Gaussian profile to a flat-topped profile to a hollow profile.

Plays a Pivotal Role in Very-Long-Chain Alkane Biosynthesis and Affects Plastid Development and Programmed Cell Death of Tapetum in Rice ( L.).

Cuticle waxes, which are primarily comprised of very-long-chain (VLC) alkanes, play an important role in plant reproductive development. () is recognized as the core element for VLC alkane biosynthesis in Arabidopsis (). However, genes involved in the VLC alkane biosynthesis in rice remain unclear, and the alkane-form pathway in rice has still to be further explored.

Overexpression of miR164b-resistant OsNAC2 improves plant architecture and grain yield in rice.

Plant architecture is a major target of rice (Oryza sativa) breeding and selection, but the underlying regulatory networks remain unclear. Here, we overexpressed an OsNAC2 mutant (OErN) that cannot be cleaved by the miRNA miR164b. OErN plants had better plant architecture and longer panicles, and produced more grains.

Development of Commercial Thermo-sensitive Genic Male Sterile Rice Accelerates Hybrid Rice Breeding Using the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated TMS5 Editing System.

Hybrid rice breeding offers an important strategy to improve rice production, in which the cultivation of a male sterile line is the key to the success of cross-breeding. CRISPR/Cas9 systems have been widely used in target-site genome editing, whereas their application for crop genetic improvement has been rarely reported. Here, using the CRISPR/Cas9 system, we induced specific mutations in TMS5, which is the most widely applied thermo-sensitive genic male sterility (TGMS) gene in China, and developed new "transgene clean" TGMS lines.

Principle and performance analysis of coherent tracking sensor based on local oscillator beam nutation.

By integrating coherent tracking sensor functionality into a coherent communication receiver, a dual-function receiver with coherent boresight error sensing is developed for tracking in coherent free-space optical communication systems. The sensor principles are analyzed according to optical interference theory, and the boresight error detection algorithm and small signal linear model are derived. Analysis of local-oscillator beam nutation on system performance shows that the best nutation half-angle is 0.

RNase Z(S1) processes UbL40 mRNAs and controls thermosensitive genic male sterility in rice.

Thermosensitive genic male-sterile (TGMS) lines, which are male-sterile at restrictive (high) temperatures but male-fertile at permissive (low) temperatures, have been widely used in breeding two-line hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.). Here we find that mutation of thermosensitive genic male sterile 5 (tms5) in rice causes the TGMS trait through a loss of RNase Z(S1) function.

Effectiveness of adaptive optics system in satellite-to-ground coherent optical communication.

Adaptive optics (AO) systems can suppress the signal fade induced by atmospheric turbulence in satellite-to-ground coherent optical communication. The lower bound of the signal fade under AO compensation was investigated by analyzing the pattern of aberration modes for a one-stage imaging AO system. The distribution of the root mean square of the residual aberration is discussed on the basis of the spatial and temporal characteristics of the residual aberration of the AO system.