CEF3 is involved in membrane trafficking and essential for secondary cell wall biosynthesis and its mutation enhanced biomass enzymatic saccharification in rice.

Background: As one of the most important staple food crops, rice produces large of agronomic biomass residues that contain lots of secondary cell walls (SCWs). Membrane trafficking plays key roles in SCWs biosynthesis, but information association membrane trafficking and SCWs formation in plants is limited.

Results: In this study, we report the function characterization of a rice mutant, culm easily fragile 3 (cef3), that exhibits growth retardation and fragile culm phenotype with significantly altered cell wall composition and reduced secondary wall thickness.

Low grain weight, a new allele of BRITTLE CULM12, affects grain size through regulating expression in rice.

Grain weight is a major determinant in rice yield, which is tightly associated with grain size. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms that control this trait remain unclear. Here, we report a rice () mutant, low grain weight (), which shows that reduced grain length is caused by decreased cell elongation and proliferation.

Advances in management and utilization of invasive water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) in aquatic ecosystems - a review.

The objective of this review is to provide a concise summary of literature in the Chinese language since late 1970s and focuses on recent development in global scenarios. This work will replenish the FAO summary of water hyacinth utilization from 1917 to 1979 and review ecological and socioeconomic impacts of the water hyacinth from 1980 to 2010. This review also discusses the debate on whether the growth of the water hyacinth is a problem, a challenge or an opportunity.

Effects of engineered application of Eichhornia crassipes on the benthic macroinvertebrate diversity in Lake Dianchi, an ultra-eutrophic lake in China.

An ecological engineering project with confined growth of 1.5 km(2) of Eichhornia crassipes was implemented to remove pollutants in Lake Dianchi. To assess the ecological effects of this project on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages, a 1-year investigation at the areas inside and outside E.

Unusual Biosynthesis and Structure of Locillomycins from Bacillus subtilis 916.

Three families of Bacillus cyclic lipopeptides--surfactins, iturins, and fengycins--have well-recognized potential uses in biotechnology and biopharmaceutical applications. This study outlines the isolation and characterization of locillomycins, a novel family of cyclic lipopeptides produced by Bacillus subtilis 916. Elucidation of the locillomycin structure revealed several molecular features not observed in other Bacillus lipopeptides, including a unique nonapeptide sequence and macrocyclization.

Applying a new method for direct collection, volume quantification and determination of N2 emission from water.

The emission of N2 is important to remove excess N from lakes, ponds, and wetlands. To investigate the gas emission from water, Gao et al. (2013) developed a new method using a bubble trap device to collect gas samples from waters.

Nitrogen removal from Lake Caohai, a typical ultra-eutrophic lake in China with large scale confined growth of Eichhornia crassipes.

An ecological engineering project, with large-scale utilization of Eichhornia crassipes (coverage area ∼4.3km(2)) for pollution control in an open ultra-eutrophic lake, Lake Caohai, was first implemented in 2011. In this study, the efficiency of N removal using E.