Publications by authors named "ZhiJun Cheng"

Article Synopsis
  • - Plant lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) are crucial for moving lipids between membranes, impacting pollen wall development, including the pollen aperture structure.
  • - The study focuses on a rice mutant called pollen aperture defect 1 (Ospad1), which shows male sterility due to abnormal pollen grain development linked to a non-specific LTP that fails to properly bind lipids.
  • - Researchers found that OsPAD1 interacts with a gene involved in pollen development, providing new insights into how LTPs function in forming pollen apertures, which could have broader implications for other cereal crops.
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To improve the performance of AlCoCrFeNi eutectic high-entropy alloys (EHEA) to meet industrial application requirements, ZrAlCoCrFeNi high-entropy alloys (x = 0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.

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Tobacco () is a globally cultivated crop, with its quality closely associated with the color and chemical composition of cured tobacco leaves. In this experiment, the effects of spraying exogenous 2, 4-epibrassinolide (EBR) and melatonin (MT) on the development of tobacco leaves at maturity stage and the quality after curing were investigated. Both EBR and MT treatments significantly enhanced the appearance quality of tobacco leaves at the stem-drying stage.

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Tiller is an important factor in determining rice yield. Currently, researches mainly focus on the outgrowth of low-order tiller (LOT), while the regulation mechanism of high-order tiller (HOT) outgrowth has remained unknown. In this study, we detected one OsNL1 mutant, nl1, exhibiting HOT numbers increase, and found that OsNL1 interacts with OsTOPLESS2, which was mediated by the core motif of nine amino acids VDCTLSLGT within the HAN domain of OsNL1.

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The phytohormone cytokinin (CK) positively regulates the activity of the inflorescence meristem (IM). Cytokinin oxidase 2/Grain number 1a (OsCKX2/Gn1a)-mediated degradation of CK in rice (Oryza sativa L.) negatively regulates panicle grain number, whereas DENSE AND ERECT PANICLE 1 (DEP1) positively regulates grain number per panicle (GNP).

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The curing process regulates metabolite transformations of leaves and significantly influences the formation of tobacco quality. This study investigated the major physicochemical compositions and metabolic profiles under normal curing (NC), excessive curing (EC), and insufficient curing (IC) treatments. The results indicated that the contents of nicotine, nitrogen, potassium, and chlorine remained stable among treatments, while the sugar content in EC was significantly lower than in IC.

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In this study, GdO and YbO co-doped YSZ (GYYSZ) ceramic coatings were prepared via atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The GYYSZ ceramic coatings were subjected to heat treatment at different temperatures for 5 h to analyze their high-temperature phase stability and sintering resistance. The thermophysical properties of GYYSZ, YSZ, and composite coatings were compared.

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Autophagy is a highly conserved cellular program in eukaryotic cells which mediates the degradation of cytoplasmic components through the lysosome, also named the vacuole in plants. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the fusion of autophagosomes with the vacuole remain unclear. Here, we report the functional characterization of a rice (Oryza sativa) mutant with defects in storage protein transport in endosperm cells and accumulation of numerous autophagosomes in root cells.

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Starch is synthesized as insoluble, semicrystalline particles within plant chloroplast and amyloplast, which are referred to as starch grains (SGs). The size and morphology of SGs in the cereal endosperm are diverse and species-specific, representing a key determinant of the suitability of starch for industrial applications. However, the molecular mechanisms modulating SG size in cereal endosperm remain elusive.

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Here we present a sketch of the whole-genome sequence of . The strain comes from the leaf veins of a diseased tobacco plant. This study has significant research implications for gaining insights into the characteristics of microorganisms belonging to the genus .

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Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates the connection between protein arginine methylation (PRMT) and jasmonate (JA) signaling in the development of spikelets in rice plants.
  • Researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 to create OsPRMT6a loss-of-function mutants, which displayed abnormal spikelet structures, to analyze this relationship.
  • The results indicate that OsPRMT6a methylates JA signal repressors (OsJAZ1 and OsJAZ7), enhancing their interaction with JA receptors, which regulates JA signaling and spikelet development; a feedback mechanism was also revealed that adjusts OsPRMT6a levels based on JA presence.
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Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers identified a rice mutant named flo24, which has abnormal starch grains and is linked to a heat shock protein called HSP101 that functions in starch biosynthesis.
  • * The study suggests that FLO24 interacts with key enzymes for starch production and works alongside another protein, HSP70cp-2, to help regulate endosperm development, especially under high-temperature conditions.
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Article Synopsis
  • The FM39-7 strain, sourced from fermented rice in China, is a type of edible fungus.
  • Researchers sequenced its genome, which has a size of 25.89 Mb and a G + C content of 48.86%.
  • The genome consists of 8485 annotated genes, indicating a complex genetic makeup.
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Breakdown of reproductive isolation facilitates flow of useful trait genes into crop plants from their wild relatives. Hybrid sterility, a major form of reproductive isolation exists between cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) and wild rice (O. meridionalis, Mer).

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CYP78A, a cytochrome P450 subfamily that includes rice (Oryza sativa L.) BIG GRAIN2 (BG2, CYP78A13) and Arabidopsis thaliana KLUH (KLU, CYP78A5), generate an unknown mobile growth signal (referred to as a CYP78A-derived signal) that increases grain (seed) size. However, the mechanism by which the CYP78A pathway increases grain size remains elusive.

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Hybrid sterility restricts the utilization of superior heterosis of indica-japonica inter-subspecific hybrids. In this study, we report the identification of RHS12, a major locus controlling male gamete sterility in indica-japonica hybrid rice. We show that RHS12 consists of two genes (iORF3/DUYAO and iORF4/JIEYAO) that confer preferential transmission of the RHS12-i type male gamete into the progeny, thereby forming a natural gene drive.

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Humans tend to focus on others' gaze. Previous studies have shown that the gaze direction of others can induce corresponding attentional orienting. However, gaze cues have typically been presented alone in these studies.

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Article Synopsis
  • Research identified a specific male sterility locus on chromosome 4 in hybrids of African cultivated rice and Asian cultivated rice, causing pollen semi-sterility.
  • The study found that non-functional pollen grains abort at the late bicellular stage and have a distortion in male gametogenesis when carrying the allele from the rice variety DJY1.
  • Future efforts will focus on map-based cloning to further understand the molecular mechanisms behind hybrid sterility between these two rice species.
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Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins function in post-transcriptional regulation of organellar gene expression. Although several PPR proteins are known to function in chloroplast development in rice (Oryza sativa), the detailed molecular functions of many PPR proteins remain unclear. Here, we characterized a rice young leaf white stripe (ylws) mutant, which has defective chloroplast development during early seedling growth.

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The endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) is highly conserved in eukaryotic cells and plays an essential role in the biogenesis of multivesicular bodies and cargo degradation to the plant vacuole or lysosomes. Although ESCRT components affect a variety of plant growth and development processes, their impact on leaf development is rarely reported. Here, we found that OsSNF7.

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Others' gaze direction and traffic arrow signal lights play significant roles in guiding observers' attention in daily life. Previous studies have shown that gaze and arrow cues can direct attention to the cued location. However, it is ambiguous where gaze and arrow cues guide attention: the cued location or a broader cued region.

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There is a close regulatory relationship between the circadian clock and the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway in regulating many developmental processes and stress responses. However, the exact feedback regulation mechanism between them is still poorly understood. Here, we identified the rice (Oryza sativa) clock component PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATOR 95 (OsPRR95) as a transcriptional regulator that accelerates seed germination and seedling growth by inhibiting ABA signaling.

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Anomaly detection based on telemetry data is a major issue in satellite health monitoring which can identify unusual or unexpected events, helping to avoid serious accidents and ensure the safety and reliability of operations. In recent years, sparse representation techniques have received an increasing amount of interest in anomaly detection, although its applications in satellites are still being explored. In this paper, a novel sparse feature-based anomaly detection method (SFAD) is proposed to identify hybrid anomalies in telemetry.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A rice mutant called dwarf and high tillering1 (dht1) shows traits like dwarfism and increased tiller numbers, similar to those seen in SL signaling mutants, suggesting a connection.
  • * The study identifies DHT1 as a unique protein involved in splicing pre-mRNAs, including the SL receptor gene D14, and its malfunction leads to disrupted SL signaling and associated growth defects. *
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