Multiple-image authentication method based on phase-only holograms and a logistic map.

An interesting security method for a multiple-image authentication scheme is proposed based on computer-generated holograms and a logistic map. First, each original image is encoded as the complex-valued hologram under the point light source model. The resulting hologram is then converted to a phase-only hologram using the Floyd-Steinberg dithering algorithm.

Expression quantitative trait loci mapping identified PtrXB38 as a key hub gene in adventitious root development in Populus.

Plant establishment requires the formation and development of an extensive root system with architecture modulated by complex genetic networks. Here, we report the identification of the PtrXB38 gene as an expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) hotspot, mapped using 390 leaf and 444 xylem Populus trichocarpa transcriptomes. Among predicted targets of this trans-eQTL were genes involved in plant hormone responses and root development.

Split selectable marker systems utilizing inteins facilitate gene stacking in plants.

The ability to stack multiple genes in plants is of great importance in the development of crops with desirable traits but can be challenging due to limited selectable marker options. Here we establish split selectable marker systems using protein splicing elements called "inteins" for Agrobacterium-mediated co-transformation in plants. First, we show that such a split selectable marker system can be used effectively in plants to reconstitute a visible marker, RUBY, from two non-functional fragments through tobacco leaf infiltration.

Reporter genes confer new-to-nature ornamental traits in plants.

This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S.

The characteristics of alkaline phosphatase activity and phoD gene community in heavy-metal contaminated soil remediated by biochar and compost.

This research was carried out to determine the influence of biochar and compost addition on the characteristics of potential alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and phoD gene community in heavy metal polluted soils. The ALP activity, the abundance and structure of phoD gene were systematically determined. Results showed that biochar and compost significantly changed soil properties, and promoted the microbial transformation of phosphorus.

Plant-Based Biosensors for Detecting CRISPR-Mediated Genome Engineering.

CRISPR/Cas has recently emerged as the most reliable system for genome engineering in various species. However, concerns about risks associated with the CRISPR/Cas technology are increasing on potential unintended DNA changes that might accidentally arise from CRISPR gene editing. Developing a system that can detect and report the presence of active CRISPR/Cas tools in biological systems is therefore very necessary.

Biological Parts for Plant Biodesign to Enhance Land-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal.

A grand challenge facing society is climate change caused mainly by rising CO concentration in Earth's atmosphere. Terrestrial plants are linchpins in global carbon cycling, with a unique capability of capturing CO via photosynthesis and translocating captured carbon to stems, roots, and soils for long-term storage. However, many researchers postulate that existing land plants cannot meet the ambitious requirement for CO removal to mitigate climate change in the future due to low photosynthetic efficiency, limited carbon allocation for long-term storage, and low suitability for the bioeconomy.

Expanding the application of a UV-visible reporter for transient gene expression and stable transformation in plants.

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) has been widely used for monitoring gene expression and protein localization in diverse organisms. However, highly sensitive imaging equipment, like fluorescence microscope, is usually required for the visualization of GFP, limitings its application to fixed locations in samples. A reporter that can be visualized in real-time regardless the shape, size and location of the target samples will increase the flexibility and efficiency of research work.

Overexpression of SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE-LIKE (SVL) in Populus delays onset and reduces abundance of flowering in field-grown trees.

The spread of transgenes and exotic germplasm from planted crops into wild or feral species is a difficult problem for public and regulatory acceptance of genetically engineered plants, particularly for wind-pollinated trees such as poplar. We report that overexpression of a poplar homolog of the floral repressor SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE-LIKE (SVL), a homolog of the Arabidopsis MADS-box repressor SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP), delayed the onset of flowering several years in three genotypes of field-grown transgenic poplars. Higher expression of SVL correlated with a delay in flowering onset and lower floral abundance, and did not cause morphologically obvious or statistically significant effects on leaf characteristics, tree form, or stem volume.

Advances and perspectives in discovery and functional analysis of small secreted proteins in plants.

Small secreted proteins (SSPs) are less than 250 amino acids in length and are actively transported out of cells through conventional protein secretion pathways or unconventional protein secretion pathways. In plants, SSPs have been found to play important roles in various processes, including plant growth and development, plant response to abiotic and biotic stresses, and beneficial plant-microbe interactions. Over the past 10 years, substantial progress has been made in the identification and functional characterization of SSPs in several plant species relevant to agriculture, bioenergy, and horticulture.

Plant Biosystems Design Research Roadmap 1.0.

Human life intimately depends on plants for food, biomaterials, health, energy, and a sustainable environment. Various plants have been genetically improved mostly through breeding, along with limited modification via genetic engineering, yet they are still not able to meet the ever-increasing needs, in terms of both quantity and quality, resulting from the rapid increase in world population and expected standards of living. A step change that may address these challenges would be to expand the potential of plants using biosystems design approaches.

Biosystems Design to Accelerate C-to-CAM Progression.

Global demand for food and bioenergy production has increased rapidly, while the area of arable land has been declining for decades due to damage caused by erosion, pollution, sea level rise, urban development, soil salinization, and water scarcity driven by global climate change. In order to overcome this conflict, there is an urgent need to adapt conventional agriculture to water-limited and hotter conditions with plant crop systems that display higher water-use efficiency (WUE). Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) species have substantially higher WUE than species performing C or C photosynthesis.

Reconfiguring Plant Metabolism for Biodegradable Plastic Production.

For decades, plants have been the subject of genetic engineering to synthesize novel, value-added compounds. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a large class of biodegradable biopolymers naturally synthesized in eubacteria, are among the novel products that have been introduced to make use of plant acetyl-CoA metabolic pathways. It was hoped that renewable PHA production would help address environmental issues associated with the accumulation of nondegradable plastic wastes.

Extensive transcriptome changes during seasonal leaf senescence in field-grown black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa Nisqually-1).

To better understand the molecular control of leaf senescence, we examined transcriptome changes during seasonal leaf senescence in Populus trichocarpa Nisqually-1, the Populus reference genome, growing in its natural habitat. Using monthly (from May to October) transcriptomes for three years (2009, 2015, and 2016), we identified 17,974 differentially expressed genes (DEGs; false discovery rate <0.05; log-fold change cutoff = 0) from 36,007 expressed Populus gene models.

Rapid additive-free bacteria lysis using traveling surface acoustic waves in microfluidic channels.

We report an additive-free method to lyse bacteria and extract nucleic acids and protein using a traveling surface acoustic wave (TSAW) coupled to a microfluidic device. We characterize the effects of the TSAW on E. coli by measuring the viability of cells exposed to the sound waves and find that about 90% are dead.

Focusing surface acoustic waves assisted electrochemical detector in microfluidics.

This article demonstrates a novel electrochemical detection device. The device is composed by two focusing interdigital transducers for exciting focused surface acoustic waves by applying an AC signal, a three-electrode system for electrochemical measurement, and a liquid pool for holding liquid on a LiNbO wafer. The amperometry current of ferrocenecarboxylic acid and potassium phosphate buffer solution is used to characterize the detection sensitivity.

RNA interference suppression of AGAMOUS and SEEDSTICK alters floral organ identity and impairs floral organ determinacy, ovule differentiation, and seed-hair development in Populus.

The role of the floral homeotic gene AGAMOUS (AG) and its close homologues in development of anemophilous, unisexual catkins has not previously been studied. We transformed two RNA interference (RNAi) constructs, PTG and its matrix-attachment-region flanked version MPG, into the early-flowering female poplar clone 6K10 (Populus alba) to suppress the expression of its two duplicate AG orthologues. By early 2018, six out of 22 flowering PTG events and 11 out of 12 flowering MPG events showed modified floral phenotypes in a field trial in Oregon, USA.

Reproductive modification in forest plantations: impacts on biodiversity and society.

1000 I. 1000 II. 1001 III.

Chelating capture and magnetic removal of non-magnetic heavy metal substances from soil.

A soil remediation method based on magnetic beneficiation is reported. A new magnetic solid chelator powder, FS@IDA (core-shell Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles coated with iminodiacetic acid chelators), was used as a reactive magnetic carrier to selectively capture non-magnetic heavy metals in soil by chelation and removal by magnetic separation. FS@IDA was prepared via inorganic-organic and organic synthesis reactions that generated chelating groups on the surface of magnetic, multi-core, core-shell Fe3O4@SiO2 (FS) nanoparticles.