A self-regenerative heat pump based on a dual-functional relaxor ferroelectric polymer.

Electrocaloric (EC) cooling presents a promising approach to efficient and compact solid-state heat pumps. However, reported EC coolers have complex architectures and limited cooling temperature lift. In this work, we introduce a self-regenerative heat pump (SRHP) using a cascade of EC polymer film stacks, which have electrostrictive actuations in response to an electric field that are directed to realize efficient heat transfer, eliminating the need for additional transportive or regenerative mechanisms.

Detection of two homologous major QTLs and development of diagnostic molecular markers for sucrose content in peanut.

We identified two stable and homologous major QTLs for sucrose content in peanut, and developed breeder-friendly molecular markers for marker-assisted selection breeding. Sucrose content is a crucial quality trait for edible peanuts, and increasing sucrose content is a key breeding objective. However, the genetic basis of sucrose content in peanut remains unclear, and major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for sucrose content have yet to be identified.

The mechanism of white flower formation in Brassica rapa is distinct from that in other Brassica species.

A single nucleotide (G) deletion in the third exon of BraA02.PES2-2 (Bra032957) leads to the conversion of flower color from yellow to white in B. rapa, and knockout mutants of its orthologous genes in B.

Genome-wide detection of genotype environment interactions for flowering time in .

Flowering time is strongly related to the environment, while the genotype-by-environment interaction study for flowering time is lacking in . Here, a total of 11,700,689 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 490 accessions were used to associate with the flowering time and related climatic index in eight environments using a compressed variance-component mixed model, 3VmrMLM. As a result, 19 stable main-effect quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) and 32 QTN-by-environment interactions (QEIs) for flowering time were detected.

Machine learning assisted dynamic phenotypes and genomic variants help understand the ecotype divergence in rapeseed.

Three ecotypes of rapeseed, winter, spring, and semi-winter, have been formed to enable the plant to adapt to different geographic areas. Although several major loci had been found to contribute to the flowering divergence, the genomic footprints and associated dynamic plant architecture in the vegetative growth stage underlying the ecotype divergence remain largely unknown in rapeseed. Here, a set of 41 dynamic i-traits and 30 growth-related traits were obtained by high-throughput phenotyping of 171 diverse rapeseed accessions.

A Chromosome Level Genome Assembly of a Winter Turnip Rape (.) to Explore the Genetic Basis of Cold Tolerance.

Winter rapeseed (.) is an important overwintering oilseed crop that is widely planted in northwest China and suffers chronic low temperatures in winter. So the cold stress becomes one of the major constraints that limit its production.

Comprehensive evaluation of Chinese peanut mini-mini core collection and QTL mapping for aflatoxin resistance.

Background: Aflatoxin contamination caused by Aspergillus fungi has been a serious factor affecting food safety of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) because aflatoxins are highly harmful for human and animal health. As three mechanisms of resistance to aflatoxin in peanut including shell infection resistance, seed infection resistance and aflatoxin production resistance exist among naturally evolved germplasm stocks, it is highly crucial to pyramid these three resistances for promoting peanut industry development and protecting consumers' health.

Detection of a major QTL and development of KASP markers for seed weight by combining QTL-seq, QTL-mapping and RNA-seq in peanut.

Combining QTL-seq, QTL-mapping and RNA-seq identified a major QTL and candidate genes, which contributed to the development of KASP markers and understanding of molecular mechanisms associated with seed weight in peanut. Seed weight, as an important component of seed yield, is a significant target of peanut breeding. However, relatively little is known about the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and candidate genes associated with seed weight in peanut.

Genome structural evolution in Brassica crops.

The cultivated Brassica species include numerous vegetable and oil crops of global importance. Three genomes (designated A, B and C) share mesohexapolyploid ancestry and occur both singly and in each pairwise combination to define the Brassica species. With organizational errors (such as misplaced genome segments) corrected, we showed that the fundamental structure of each of the genomes is the same, irrespective of the species in which it occurs.

Long-read sequencing reveals widespread intragenic structural variants in a recent allopolyploid crop plant.

Genome structural variation (SV) contributes strongly to trait variation in eukaryotic species and may have an even higher functional significance than single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). In recent years, there have been a number of studies associating large chromosomal scale SV ranging from hundreds of kilobases all the way up to a few megabases to key agronomic traits in plant genomes. However, there have been little or no efforts towards cataloguing small- (30-10 000 bp) to mid-scale (10 000-30 000 bp) SV and their impact on evolution and adaptation-related traits in plants.

Roles of the DELLA Protein BnaA6.RGA, in Modulating Drought Tolerance by Interacting With the ABA Signaling Component BnaA10.ABF2.

Drought is a major threat to plant growth and crop productivity. Reduced level of the gibberellin would result in increased drought tolerance, but the underlying mechanism is still unclear. In , there are four genes that code for DELLA proteins, negative regulators of GA signaling.

Genetic mapping of quantitative trait loci and a major locus for resistance to grey leaf spot in maize.

The genetic basis of GLS resistance was dissected using two DH populations sharing a common resistant parent. A major QTL repeatedly detected in multiple developmental stages and environments was fine mapped in a backcross population. Grey leaf spot (GLS), caused by Cercospora zeae-maydis or Cercospora zeina, is a highly destructive foliar disease worldwide.

Knock-out of TERMINAL FLOWER 1 genes altered flowering time and plant architecture in Brassica napus.

Background: TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) is a member of phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) family, which plays an important role in the determination of floral meristem identity and regulates flowering time in higher plants.

Results: Five BnaTFL1 gene copies were identified in the genome of Brassica napus. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that all five BnaTFL1 gene copies were clustered with their corresponding homologous copies in the ancestral species, B.

Transposon insertions within alleles of BnaFLC.A10 and BnaFLC.A2 are associated with seasonal crop type in rapeseed.

In Brassicaceae, the requirement for vernalization is conferred by high expression of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). The expression of FLC is known to be repressed by prolonged exposure to cold. Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.

High-throughput phenotyping accelerates the dissection of the dynamic genetic architecture of plant growth and yield improvement in rapeseed.

Rapeseed is the second most important oil crop species and is widely cultivated worldwide. However, overcoming the 'phenotyping bottleneck' has remained a significant challenge. A clear goal of high-throughput phenotyping is to bridge the gap between genomics and phenomics.

Eight high-quality genomes reveal pan-genome architecture and ecotype differentiation of Brassica napus.

Rapeseed (Brassica napus) is the second most important oilseed crop in the world but the genetic diversity underlying its massive phenotypic variations remains largely unexplored. Here, we report the sequencing, de novo assembly and annotation of eight B. napus accessions.

Development of Whole-Genome Agarose-Resolvable LInDel Markers in Rice.

The level of difficulty involved in separating marker genotypes greatly determines the utilization of such marker-aided selection (MAS) by breeders. Genotyping by use of agarose gel electrophoresis is easily accepted by breeders due to its simple requirements and easy operation in the lab. Here, we extracted 19,937 large fragment insertions/deletions (LInDels) that were 30-55 bp based on two indica rice and one japonica rice reference genome sequences.

Genome-wide expression quantitative trait locus analysis in a recombinant inbred line population for trait dissection in peanut.

The transcriptome connects genome to the gene function and ultimate phenome in biology. So far, transcriptomic approach was not used in peanut for performing trait mapping in bi-parental populations. In this research, we sequenced the whole transcriptome in immature seeds in a peanut recombinant inbred line (RIL) population and explored thoroughly the landscape of transcriptomic variations and its genetic basis.