Nutritional and physicochemical characteristics of purple sweet corn juice before and after boiling.

Sweet corn juice is becoming increasingly popular in China. In order to provide valuable health-related information to consumers, the nutritional and physicochemical characteristics of raw and boiled purple sweet corn juices were herein investigated. Sugars, antinutrients, total free phenols, anthocyanins, and antioxidant activity were analyzed by conventional chemical methods.

Lateral mechanical impedance rather than frontal promotes cortical expansion of roots.

It has long been considered that mechanical impedance on root will restrict root elongation and consequently promote radial growth. When seedlings grew in sands, we did observe radial expansion of roots and it, however, arose before elongation restriction. Mechanical impedance of sands can be classified into frontal- and lateral-type based on the interaction site of root.

Genome-wide characterization of non-reference transposable element insertion polymorphisms reveals genetic diversity in tropical and temperate maize.

Background: Maize was originally domesticated in a tropical environment but is now widely cultivated at temperate latitudes. Temperate and tropical maize populations have diverged both genotypically and phenotypically. Tropical maize lines grown in temperate environments usually exhibit delayed flowering, pollination, and seed set, which reduces their grain yield relative to temperate adapted maize lines.

Evolution of DUF1313 family members across plant species and their association with maize photoperiod sensitivity.

Proteins of the DUF1313 family contain a highly conserved domain and are only found in plants; they play important roles in most plant functions. In this study, 269 DUF1313 genes from 81 photoautotrophic species were identified; they were classified into three major types based on the amino acid substitutions in the conserved region: IARV, I(S/T/F)(K/R)V, and IRRV. Phylogenic tree constructed from 51 DUF1313 genes from graminoids revealed three clades: A, B1, and B2.