Publications by authors named "Xiang-qian Zhang"

APETALA2/ethylene-responsive (AP2/ERF) plays crucial roles in resisting diverse stresses and in regulating plant growth and development. However, little is known regarding the structure and function of the AP2/ERF genes in pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum). The AP2/ERF gene family may be involved in the development and maintenance of P.

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Introduction: Members of the plant-specific B3 transcription factor superfamily play crucial roles in various plant growth and developmental processes. Despite numerous valuable studies on B3 genes in other species, little is known about the B3 superfamily in pearl millet.

Methods And Results: Here, through comparative genomic analysis, we identified 70 B3 proteins in pearl millet and categorized them into four subfamilies based on phylogenetic affiliations: ARF, RAV, LAV, and REM.

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Inadequate reference databases in RNA-seq analysis can hinder data utilization and interpretation. In this study, we have successfully constructed a high-quality reference transcript dataset, ZjRTD1.0, for Zoysia japonica, a widely-used turfgrass with exceptional tolerance to various abiotic stress, including low temperatures and salinity.

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Modern anthuriums, (Hort.) are among the most popular flowering plants and widely used for interior decoration. Their popularity is largely attributed to the exotic spathes with different colors.

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Leucine-rich repeat extensins (LRXs) are required for plant growth and development through affecting cell growth and cell wall formation. LRX gene family can be classified into two categories: predominantly vegetative-expressed LRX and reproductive-expressed PEX. In contrast to the tissue specificity of Arabidopsis PEX genes in reproductive organs, rice OsPEX1 is also highly expressed in roots in addition to reproductive tissue.

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The DEMETER (DME) DNA glycosylase demethylates the central cell genome prior to fertilization. This epigenetic reconfiguration of the female gamete companion cell establishes gene imprinting in the endosperm and is essential for seed viability. DME demethylates small and genic-flanking transposons as well as intergenic and heterochromatin sequences, but how DME is recruited to these loci remains unknown.

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Egg production in chickens is a quantitative trait. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of promoter methylation of the Zona pellucida 2 (ZP2) gene on egg production. Real-time fluorescence quantification showed that the expression of the ZP2 gene in the ovaries of 300-day-old Jinghai yellow chickens in the high-laying group was significantly higher than that in the low-laying group (p < 0.

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Article Synopsis
  • Elephant grass is a low-nutrient, fast-growing forage plant used in tropical regions, and research on transgenic tobacco with a specific gene shows increased drought tolerance.
  • Transgenic tobacco exhibited no growth costs while expressing this gene, leading to higher lignin content, antioxidant enzyme activities, and osmotic adjustments.
  • The study suggests that overexpressing this gene allows plants to better survive water deficits by redirecting metabolic processes to produce defensive metabolites, potentially aiding in developing drought-resistant crops.
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The loss of volatiles results in the deterioration of flavor in tomatoes. Volatiles are mainly derived from fatty acid, carotenoid, phenylpropane, and branched chain amino acids. In this study, the tomato accession CI1005 with a strong odor and accession TI4001 with a weak odor were analyzed.

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(stylo) species are commercially significant tropical and subtropical forage and pasture legumes that are vulnerable to chilling and frost. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms behind stylos' responses to low temperature stress. Gretchen-Hagen 3 (GH3) proteins have been extensively investigated in many plant species for their roles in auxin homeostasis and abiotic stress responses, but none have been reported in stylos.

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species are economically important tropical and subtropical forage legumes which are generally vulnerable to chilling and frost. Fine-stem stylo ( var. ) has the most superior cold tolerance among all stylo species.

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Article Synopsis
  • Drought limits cotton productivity, but proper irrigation can enhance yield; this study focuses on determining optimal irrigation depths and understanding the molecular effects of irrigation on cotton in Inner Mongolia, China.
  • Using transcriptomic analysis of cotton seedlings with different irrigation depths (D30 at 30 cm and D50 at 50 cm), researchers identified 4,549 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) linked to plant responses under varying irrigation.
  • The findings revealed that D30 irrigation improved yields of unpinned and lint cotton, while D50 led to reduced yields and increased stress-related gene expression, highlighting D30 as the more effective irrigation strategy.
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The cultivation of innovative abilities has become an important guide for higher education in China. Strengthening the integrated knowledge to design experiments is an effective way to improve undergraduate students' innovative abilities. Herein we designed a comprehensive experiment for molecular genetics by utilizing a rice insertion mutant identified previously in our research project.

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Magnetic iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted extensive attentions in biomedical fields such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, the instability and unfavorable dispersity of bare Fe₃O₄ NPs is a challenge for biomedical applications. Herein, we proposed a strategy using hollow carbon sphere (HCS) as a shell structure to endow Fe₃O₄ NPs better stability, dispersity, as well as biocompatibility.

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The DEMETER (DME) DNA glycosylase demethylates the maternal genome in the central cell prior to fertilization and is essential for seed viability. DME preferentially targets small transposons that flank coding genes, influencing their expression and initiating plant gene imprinting. DME also targets intergenic and heterochromatic regions, but how it is recruited to these differing chromatin landscapes is unknown.

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Epigenetic variants broaden phenotypic diversity in eukaryotes. Epialleles may also provide a new genetic source for crop breeding, but very few epialleles related to agricultural traits have been identified in rice. Here, we identified Epi-sp, a gain-of-function epiallele of the rice ESP (Epigenetic Short Panicle, Os01g0356951), which encodes a putative long noncoding RNA.

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Rice leucine-rich repeat extensin-like protein OsPEX1 mediates the intersection of lignin deposition and plant growth. Lignin, a major structural component of secondary cell wall, is essential for normal plant growth and development. However, the molecular and genetic regulation of lignin biosynthesis is not fully understood in rice.

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Leaf senescence is a genetically regulated, highly complex and ordered process. Although it has been extensively studied, the mechanism of leaf senescence is not well understood. In this study, we isolated a rice mutant, designated as premature senescence leaf (psl), which exhibits early senescence and spontaneous lesion mimic phenotype after flowering.

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Little is known about the cross talk between the lignin biosynthesis gene promoters and the regulatory proteins that modulate molecular signaling and respond to various stresses. In this study, we characterized the promoter region of the lignin biosynthesis pathway cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) gene in elephant grass, Pennisetum purpureum. Quantification of the transcript levels of the PpCAD promoter revealed it is preferentially expressed in vascular tissue, especially xylem.

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, one of the most important orchid genera in horticulture, can be classified into epiphytic and terrestrial species. Generally, epiphytic seedlings can be easily propagated by tissue culture, but terrestrial seedlings are difficult to propagate. To date, the molecular mechanisms underlying the differences in the ease with which terrestrial and epiphytic cymbidiums can be propagated are largely unknown.

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Photosynthesis characteristics of winter wheat under different tillage practices during fil-ling stage are vital for dry matter accumulation, transfer, and yield development. A field experiment, including no-till with residue removal (NT), no-till with residue retention (NTS), rotary tillage with residue removal (RT), rotary tillage with residue retained (RTS), subsoiling with residue removal (DT), subsoiling with residue retained (DTS), plow tillage with residue removal (CT), and plow tillage with residue retained (CTS) was conducted at Wuqiao experimental station of China Agricultural University since October 2008. The diurnal variation of photosynthetic characteristics of flag leaf, photosynthetic response curve, and crop yield under different tillage practices were evaluated during winter wheat filing stage in this study.

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A wide range of molecules are transported across membranes by the ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters. Plants possess a collection of ABC proteins bearing similarities to the components of prokaryotic multi subunit ABC transporters, designed as ABC group I. However the functions of most of them are not well understood.

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No-till (NT) practices are among promising options toward adaptation and mitigation of climate change. However, the mitigation effectiveness of NT depends not only on its carbon sequestration potential but also on soil-derived CH4 and N2O emissions. A meta-analysis was conducted, using a dataset involving 136 comparisons from 39 studies in China, to identify site-specific factors which influence CH4 emission, CH4 uptake, and N2O emission under NT.

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We report engineered hollow core-shell interlinked carbon spheres that consist of a mesoporous shell, a hollow void, and an anchored carbon core and are expected to be ideal sulfur hosts for overcoming the shortage of Li-S batteries. The hollow core-shell interlinked carbon spheres were obtained through solution synthesis of polymer spheres followed by a pyrolysis process that occurred in the hermetical silica shell. During the pyrolysis, the polymer sphere was transformed into the carbon core and the carbonaceous volatiles were self-deposited on the silica shell due to the blocking effect of the hermetical silica shell.

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