Soybean steroids improve crop abiotic stress tolerance and increase yield.

Sterols have long been associated with diverse fields, such as cancer treatment, drug development, and plant growth; however, their underlying mechanisms and functions remain enigmatic. Here, we unveil a critical role played by a GmNF-YC9-mediated CCAAT-box transcription complex in modulating the steroid metabolism pathway within soybeans. Specifically, this complex directly activates squalene monooxygenase (GmSQE1), which is a rate-limiting enzyme in steroid synthesis.

GmDof41 regulated by the DREB1-type protein improves drought and salt tolerance by regulating the DREB2-type protein in soybean.

Despite their essential and multiple roles in biological processes, the molecular mechanism of Dof transcription factors (TFs) for responding to abiotic stresses is rarely reported in plants. We identified a soybean Dof gene GmDof41 which was involved in the responses to drought, salt, and exogenous ABA stresses. Overexpression of GmDof41 in soybean transgenic hairy roots attenuated HO accumulation and regulated proline homeostasis, resulting in the drought and salt tolerance.

Prediction of the Current and Future Distributions of the Hessian Fly, (Say), under Climatic Change in China.

The Hessian fly, (Say) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is a destructive wheat pest worldwide and an important alien species in China. Based on 258 distribution records and nine environmental factors of the Hessian fly, we predicted the potential distribution area in China under three current and future (2050s and 2070s) climate change scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.

The WRKY Transcription Factor GmWRKY12 Confers Drought and Salt Tolerance in Soybean.

WRKYs are important regulators in plant development and stress responses. However, knowledge of this superfamily in soybean is limited. In this study, we characterized the drought- and salt-induced gene based on RNA-Seq and qRT-PCR.

Functional marker development of miR1511-InDel and allelic diversity within the genus Glycine.

Background: Single-stranded non-protein coding small RNAs, 18-25 nucleotides in length, are ubiquitous throughout plants genomes and are involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Several types of DNA markers have been reported for the detection of genetic diversity or sequence variation in soybean, one of the most important legume crops in worldwide for seed protein and oil content. Recently, with the available of public genomic databases, there has been a shift from the labor-intensive development of PCR-based markers to sequence-based genotyping and the development of functional markers within genes, often coupled with the use of RNA information.

Molecular footprints of domestication and improvement in soybean revealed by whole genome re-sequencing.

Background: Artificial selection played an important role in the origin of modern Glycine max cultivars from the wild soybean Glycine soja. To elucidate the consequences of artificial selection accompanying the domestication and modern improvement of soybean, 25 new and 30 published whole-genome re-sequencing accessions, which represent wild, domesticated landrace, and Chinese elite soybean populations were analyzed.

Results: A total of 5,102,244 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 707,969 insertion/deletions were identified.

Glyphosate effects on the gene expression of the apical bud in soybean (Glycine max).

Glyphosate is a broad spectrum, non-selective herbicide which has been widely used for weed control. Much work has focused on elucidating the high accumulation of glyphosate in shoot apical bud (shoot apex). However, to date little is known about the molecular mechanisms of the sensitivity of shoot apical bud to glyphosate.

Molecular cloning and characterization of two pathogenesis-related β-1,3-glucanase genes ScGluA1 and ScGluD1 from sugarcane infected by Sporisorium scitamineum.

Two β-1,3-glucanase genes from sugarcane were cloned and characterized. They were all located in apoplast and involves in different expression patterns in biotic and abiotic stress. Smut caused by Sporisorium scitamineum is a serious disease in the sugarcane industry.

[Characteristics of chemical composition of glass finds from the Qiemo tomb sites on the Silk Road].

Qiemo was an ancient country on the south branch of the Silk Road. The Zagunluke tomb site is located at the Qiemo County of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Glass beads and only colourless glass cup were excavated from the 3rd cultural layer of the tomb site M133 and M49, dated between the 1st AD-6th AD.

A novel dirigent protein gene with highly stem-specific expression from sugarcane, response to drought, salt and oxidative stresses.

Dirigent and dirigent-like family proteins contain a number of proteins involved in lignification or in the response to pathogen infection and abiotic stress in plants. In the present study, a full-length cDNA sequence of a dirigent-like gene designated ScDir (GenBank Accession Number JQ622282) was obtained from sugarcane based on the stem full-length cDNA library. The ScDir gene was 819-bp long, including a 564-bp ORF encoding 187 amino acid residues.

A comparative miRNAome analysis reveals seven fiber initiation-related and 36 novel miRNAs in developing cotton ovules.

An increasing number of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to play crucial regulatory roles in the process of plant development. Here, we used high-throughput sequencing combined with computational analysis to characterize miRNAomes from the ovules of wild-type upland cotton and a fiberless mutant during fiber initiation. Comparative miRNAome analysis combined with northern blotting and RACE-PCR revealed seven fiber initiation-related miRNAs expressed in cotton ovules and experimentally validated targets of these miRNAs are involved in different cellular responses and metabolic processes, including transcriptional regulation, auxin and gibberellin signal transduction, actin bundles, and lignin biosynthesis.

Molecular characterization of three ethylene responsive element binding factor genes from cotton.

Ethylene-responsive factors (ERFs) are important regulators of plant gene expression. In this study, three novel ERF genes, GhERF2, GhERF3 and GhERF6, were isolated from cotton (Gossypium hirstum) using rapid amplification of cDNA ends-polymerase chain reaction. Transient expression analysis using GhERF-green fluorescent protein fusions showed that these three proteins were targeted to the nucleus.

Dammarane-type saponins from the flower buds of Panax ginseng and their intracellular radical scavenging capacity.

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) has been extensively used as a functional food for thousands of years.

Molecular cloning, expression profile and promoter analysis of a novel ethylene responsive transcription factor gene GhERF4 from cotton (Gossypium hirstum).

Ethylene-responsive element binding factors (ERFs) are plant-specific transcription factors, many of which have been linked to stress responses. A novel ERF gene, designated GhERF4, was isolated by RACE-PCR from Gossypium hirsutum. The GhERF4 cDNA has a total length of 1061bp with an open reading frame of 669bp, encoding a protein of 222 amino acids with a molecular weight of 23.

Molecular cloning and functional characterization of a DREB1/CBF-like gene (GhDREB1L) from cotton.

The transcription factors DREB1s/CBFs play important roles in the regulation of plant resistance to environmental stresses and are quite useful for generating transgenic plants tolerant to these stresses. In the present work, a cDNA encoding DREB1/CBF-like protein (GhDREB1L) from cotton was isolated, and its sequence features, DNA binding preference, and expression patterns of the transcripts were also characterized. GhDREB1L contained one conserved AP2/ERF domain and its amino acid sequence was similar to the DREB1/CBF group of the DREB family from other plants.

[The porcine alpha1, 3 galactosyltransferase gene siRNA targeted heterozygous hepatocyte negative express GT].

Objective: To study whether the porcine alpha1, 3 galactosyltransferase gene siRNA targeted heterozygous hepatocyte negatively expresses GT mRNA and resists to the cytotoxicity of nature antibody in human serum.

Methods: The porcine alpha1, 3 galactosyltransferase gene siRNA targeted vector (pPNTloxPGTsiRNA) were construct with pPNTloxPGT and pMXSV/U6 vector. Positive-negative selection was used to produce a heterozygous pPNTloxPGTsiRNA knockout (+/-) clone.

Physicochemical interaction and its influence on deep bed filtration process.

The capillary model was used to analyze the hydraulic conditions in the deep bed filtration process. The physicochemical interaction forces between the filter media and suspended particles and their influence on deep bed filtration process were also studied theoretically. Through the comparison of the hydraulic and physicochemical forces, the key influencing factors on the filtration process were proposed and investigated.