Publications by authors named "Lizhen Tao"

Currently, the main limitations of Pd-coated Nb-TiFe dual-phase alloys include insufficient hydrogen permeability, susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement (HE), and poor tolerance of HS poisoning. To address these issues, this study proposes a series of improvements. First, a novel NbTiFe alloy composed of a well-aligned Nb-TiFe eutectic was successfully prepared using directional solidification (DS) technology.

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Cytokinins, which play crucial roles in shoot development, substantially affect grain yield. In rice, the OsRopGEF10-OsRAC3 module is associated with cytokinin signaling and crown root development. However, the effects of RopGEF-mediated cytokinin signaling on rice shoot development and grain yield remain unclear.

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Protein-targeting technologies represent essential approaches in biological research. Protein knockdown tools developed recently in mammalian cells by exploiting natural degradation mechanisms allow for precise determination of protein function and discovery of degrader-type drugs. However, no method to directly target endogenous proteins for degradation is currently available in plants.

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RAC/Rho of plant (ROP) GTPases are major molecular switches that control diverse signaling cascades for plant growth, development, and defense. Here, we discovered a signaling node that connects RAC/ROPs to cytokinins. Rice (Oryza sativa) plants develop a fibrous root system mainly composed of crown roots.

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Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E1 () is required for the initiation of protein synthesis. The biological function of in plant-potyvirus interactions has been extensively studied. However, the role of in development remains unclear.

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Perennial crops have some advantages over annuals in soil erosion prevention, lower labor and water requirements, carbon sequestration, and maintenance of thriving soil ecosystems. Rhizome, a kind of root-like underground stem, is a critical component of perenniality, which allows many grass species to survive through harsh environment. Identification of rhizome-regulating genes will contribute to the development of perennial crops.

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Cell wall biosynthesis plays essential roles in cell division and expansion and thus is fundamental to plant growth and development. In this work, we show that an mutant , isolated by a forward genetic screen, displays embryo defects and short, swelling primary root with the failure of maintenance of root apical meristem reminiscent to several cell wall-deficient mutants. Map-based cloning identified is a mutant allele of (), an enzyme involved in cellulose synthesis.

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The continuous growth of roots requires the balance between cell division and differentiation. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and auxin are important regulators of root development by affecting cell division and differentiation. The mechanism controlling the coordination of cell division and differentiation is not well understood.

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The growth and development of roots in plants depends on the specification and maintenance of the root apical meristem. Here, we report the identification of CBL, a gene required for embryo and root development in Arabidopsis, and encodes cystathionine beta-lyase (CBL), which catalyzes the penultimate step in methionine (Met) biosynthesis, and which also led to the discovery of a previous unknown, but crucial, metabolic contribution by the Met biosynthesis pathway. CBL is expressed in embryos and shows quiescent center (QC)-enriched expression pattern in the root.

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The commonly used preparation methods of polypropylene functionalization require special equipment to be put into use or take a long time, which limits its application. Therefore, a simple and economical method for preparing silver functionalized nonwoven polypropylene membrane was studied herein. Triethanolamine was first coated on the surface of the polypropylene, and then Ag was deposited on the surface of polypropylene using a continuous reduction reaction of triethanolamine and silver ions.

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The Arabidopsis FERONIA (FER) receptor kinase is a key hub of cell signaling networks mediating various hormone, stress, and immune responses. Previous studies have shown that FER functions correlate with auxin responses, but the underlying molecular mechanism is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the primary root of the fer-4 mutant displays increased lateral root branching and a delayed gravitropic response, which are associated with polar auxin transport (PAT).

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Background: RAC/ROP GTPase are versatile signaling molecules controlling diverse biological processes including cell polarity establishment, cell growth, morphogenesis, hormone responses and many other cellular processes in plants. The activities of ROPs are positively regulated by guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs). Evidence suggests that RopGEFs regulate polar auxin transport and polar growth in pollen tube in Arabidopsis thaliana.

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Article Synopsis
  • Polar auxin transport, essential for plant growth, relies on the activities of auxin influx (like AUX1) and efflux carriers (like PIN2 and PIN7) to create an asymmetric distribution of auxin.
  • The study identifies RopGEF1, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, as crucial for the proper localization of AUX1 and the accumulation of efflux carriers, influencing embryo and early seedling development in Arabidopsis.
  • Mutations in RopGEF1 lead to defects in embryos, disrupted cotyledon veins, and altered auxin distribution patterns, indicating its significant role in maintaining cell polarity and ensuring effective auxin transport in plants.
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ROP GTPases are crucial for the establishment of cell polarity and for controlling responses to hormones and environmental signals in plants. In this work, we show that ROP3 plays important roles in embryo development and auxin-dependent plant growth. Loss-of-function and dominant-negative (DN) mutations in ROP3 induced a spectrum of similar defects starting with altered cell division patterning during early embryogenesis to postembryonic auxin-regulated growth and developmental responses.

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Article Synopsis
  • RAC-like GTPases in plants, specifically AtRAC7/ROP9, are crucial for hormone signaling, distinguishing several functional groups through phylogeny.
  • AtRAC7/ROP9 uniquely modulates both auxin and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathways, showing that it influences plant responses to these hormones in contrasting ways.
  • High expression of AtRAC7/ROP9 in embryos and lateral roots highlights its key role in development, as well as its potential involvement in a feedback mechanism that regulates hormonal signaling.
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Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease. The molecule, 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydr- oxystilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside (TSG), is a potent antioxidant derived from the Chinese herb, Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. In this study, we investigated the protective effect of TSG against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced apoptosis in rat adrenal pheochromocytoma PC12 cells and the possible mechanisms.

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The root stem cell niche defines the area that specifies and maintains the stem cells and is essential for the maintenance of root growth. Here, we characterize and examine the functional role of a quiescent center (QC)-expressed RAC/ROP GTPase activator, RopGEF7, in Arabidopsis thaliana. We show that RopGEF7 interacts with At RAC1 and overexpression of a C-terminally truncated constitutively active RopGEF7 (RopGEF7ΔC) activates RAC/ROP GTPases.

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Oxidative stress plays an important role in Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Salidroside, a phenylpropanoid glycoside isolated from Rhodiola rosea L., has potent antioxidant properties.

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Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside (TSG), which is an active component of the rhizome extract from polygonum multiflorum, shows potent antioxidant properties. In this paper, the neuroprotective effects of TSG on 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells were investigated.

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Auxin signaling relies on ubiquitin ligase SCF(TIR1)-mediated 26S proteasome-dependent proteolysis of a large family of short-lived transcription regulators, auxin/indole acetic acid (Aux/IAA), resulting in the derepression of auxin-responsive genes. We have shown previously that a subset of Rac GTPases is activated by auxin, and they in turn stimulate auxin-responsive gene expression. We show here that increasing Rac signaling activity promotes Aux/IAA degradation, whereas downregulating that activity results in the reduction of auxin-accelerated Aux/IAA proteolysis.

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Plant Rac-like GTPases have been classified phylogenetically into two major groups-class I and class II. Several pollen-expressed class I Rac-like GTPases have been shown to be important regulators of polar pollen tube growth. The functional participation by some of the class I and all of the class II Arabidopsis Rac-like GTPases in pollen tube growth remains to be explored.

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The auxin indole-3-acetic acid is a key plant hormone essential for a broad range of growth and developmental processes. Here, we show that auxin activates Rac-like GTPases (referred to as Rac/Rop GTPases), and they in turn stimulate auxin-responsive gene expression. In particular, we show that overexpressing a wild-type tobacco Rac/Rop GTPase, NtRac1, and its constitutively active mutant form activates auxin-responsive gene expression.

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