N6-methyladenosine transcriptome-wide profiles of maize kernel development.

Maize (Zea mays L.) kernel development is a complex and dynamic process involving cell division and differentiation, into a variety of cell types. Epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, play a pivotal role in regulating this process.

Maize requires arogenate dehydratase 2 for resistance to Ustilago maydis and plant development.

Maize (Zea mays) smut is a common biotrophic fungal disease caused by Ustilago maydis and leads to low maize yield. Maize resistance to U. maydis is a quantitative trait.

Defective kernel 66 encodes a GTPase essential for kernel development in maize.

The mitochondrion is a semi-autonomous organelle that provides energy for cell activities through oxidative phosphorylation. In this study, we identified a defective kernel 66 (dek66)-mutant maize with defective kernels. We characterized a candidate gene, DEK66, encoding a ribosomal assembly factor located in mitochondria and possessing GTPase activity (which belongs to the ribosome biogenesis GTPase A family).

The novel E-subgroup pentatricopeptide repeat protein DEK55 is responsible for RNA editing at multiple sites and for the splicing of nad1 and nad4 in maize.

Background: Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins compose a large protein family whose members are involved in both RNA processing in organelles and plant growth. Previous reports have shown that E-subgroup PPR proteins are involved in RNA editing. However, the additional functions and roles of the E-subgroup PPR proteins are unknown.

Microplastics in oysters Saccostrea cucullata along the Pearl River Estuary, China.

As a transitional zone between riverine and marine environments, an estuary plays an important role for the sources, accumulation and transport of microplastics. Although estuarine environments are hotspots of microplastic pollution, the correlation between microplastic pollution and aquatic organisms is less known. Here we investigated microplastic pollution in wild oysters Saccostrea cucullata from 11 sampling sites along the Pearl River Estuary in South China.

[Residues and health risk assessment of HCHs, DDTs and heavy metals in water and Tilapias from fish ponds of Guangdong].

Concentrations of copper, lead, cadmium, arsenic, hexachlorcyclohexane (HCHs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs) in the water and the fish samples collected separately from fish pond, markets and supermarkets in four cities of Guangdong Province were measured by using GC-ECD, flame atomic absorption spectrometry and atomic fluorescence spectrometry. Health risk assessments associated with Cu, Pd, Cd, As, HCHs and DDTs were conducted based on the model of health risk assessment recommended by the US EPA. The results showed that the concentration ranges of Cu, Pd, Cd, As, HCHs and DDTs in water samples were nd-0.

[Preparation of OMC-Au/L-Lysine/Au modified glassy carbon electrode and the study on its detection response to hydroquinone and catechol].

Ordered mesoporous carbon-Au nanoparticles (OMC-Au) nanocomposites were synthesized by a one-step chemical reduction route, and an OMC-Au/L-Lysine/Au composite film-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was constructed. The microstructure of OMC and OMC-Au/L-Lysine/Au composite films were characterized by SEM, and the preparation process of OMC-Au/L-Lysine/Au modified glassy carbon electrode was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The electrocatalytic oxidation of hydroquinone and catechol on the modified electrode was discussed by differential pulse voltammetry in this study, and a sensor for separate determination of hydroquinone and catechol based on OMC-Au/L-Lysine/Au modified glassy carbon electrode was developed.