Melatonin Enhances Heat Tolerance via Increasing Antioxidant Enzyme Activities and Osmotic Regulatory Substances by Upregulating Expression in Maize ( L.).

Heat stress severely affects the yield and quality of maize. Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxy-tryptamin, MT) plays an important role in various types of stress resistance in plants, including heat tolerance. Enolase (ENO, 2-phospho-D-glycerate hydrolyase) contributes to plant growth, development, and stress response.

KRN5b regulates maize kernel row number through mediating phosphoinositol signalling.

Kernel row number (KRN) is a major yield related trait for maize (Zea mays L.) and is also a major goal of breeders, as it can increase the number of kernels per plant. Thus, identifying new genetic factors involving in KRN formation may accelerate improving yield-related traits genetically.

Transcription factor ZmDof22 enhances drought tolerance by regulating stomatal movement and antioxidant enzymes activities in maize (Zea mays L.).

The Dof22 gene encoding a deoxyribonucleic acid binding with one finger in maize, which is associated with its drought tolerance. The identification of drought stress regulatory genes is essential for the genetic improvement of maize yield. Deoxyribonucleic acid binding with one finger (Dof), a plant-specific transcription factor family, is involved in signal transduction, morphogenesis, and environmental stress responses.

Identification of the Maize Gene Family and Functional Studies on the Role of in Drought Tolerance.

The protein phosphatase PP2C plays an important role in plant responses to stress. Therefore, the identification of maize genes that respond to drought stress is particularly important for the improvement and creation of new drought-resistant assortments of maize. In this study, we identified 102 genes in maize at the genome-wide level.

Genome-wide identification of NF-Y gene family in maize () and the positive role of ZmNF-YC12 in drought resistance and recovery ability.

Nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) genes play important roles in many biological processes, such as leaf growth, nitrogen nutrition, and drought resistance. However, the biological functions of these transcription factor family members have not been systematically analyzed in maize. In the present study, a total of 52 genes were identified and classified into three groups in the maize genome.

Effects of biochar on rice yield, grain quality and starch viscosity attributes.

Background: Biochar can play a key role in improving paddy soil and productivity. However, there is limited information on the effects of biochar on rice quality and starch gelatinization. In this study, four rice straw biochar dosage treatments (0, 20, 40 and 60 g kg ; CK, C20, C40 and C60, respectively) were set up to investigate rice yield components, rice processing, appearance and cooking quality, and starch gelatinization.

Responses of rhizosphere bacterial communities in newly reclaimed mudflat paddies to rice genotype and nitrogen fertilizer rate.

The rhizosphere microbiome plays a vital role in crop growth and adaptation. However, the effects of rice genotype, nitrogen (N) fertilization, and their interactions on the rhizosphere bacterial communities in low fertility soil remain poorly understood. In this study, a two-factor field experiment was performed in newly reclaimed mudflat paddies characterized by poor fertility to analyze bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of Yongyou 2640 (japonica/indica hybrid rice, JIH) and Huaidao No.

Influence of biochar-based urea substituting urea on rice yield, bacterial community and nitrogen cycling in paddy fields.

Background: There is an increasing understanding of the importance of biochar-based fertilizers in agroecosystems. However, no research has evaluated the effects of partial substitution of urea with biochar-based urea on rice yields and soil microbial communities. We therefore investigated the rice yields, bacterial communities, and gene abundance involved in nitrogen in silty clay and sandy loam soil paddy fields treated with urea (U), total substitution of urea with biochar-based urea (BSU), partial substitution of urea with biochar-based urea in basal and tillering fertilizers (BSU1), and partial substitution of urea with biochar-based urea in panicle fertilizers (BSU2).

Transcriptome-Wide Analysis Revealed the Potential of the High-Affinity Potassium Transporter ( Gene Family in Rice Salinity Tolerance via Ion Homeostasis.

The high-affinity potassium transporter () genes are key ions transporters, regulating the plant response to salt stress via sodium (Na) and potassium (K) homeostasis. The main goal of this research was to find and understand the genes in rice and their potential biological activities in response to brassinosteroids (BRs), jasmonic acid (JA), seawater, and NaCl stress. The in silico analyses of seven genes involved their evolutionary tree, gene structures, conserved motifs, and chemical properties, highlighting the key aspects of genes.

Profiles of tetracycline resistance genes in paddy soils with three different organic fertilizer applications.

The rapid expansion of organic rice cultivation areas have been accompanied by increased application of organic fertilizers. The high prevalence of soil antibiotic resistance caused by organic fertilizer application poses a severe threat to the agricultural and soil ecosystems. To date, research efforts and understanding of the effects and mechanism of action of the various organic fertilizers on antibiotic resistance in paddy soils remain poorly investigated.

Transcriptional regulatory networks in response to drought stress and rewatering in maize (Zea mays L.).

Drought severely affects the growth and development of maize, but there is a certain degree of compensation effect after rewatering. This study intends to elaborate the response mechanism of maize at the physiological and molecular level as well as excavating potential genes with strong drought resistance and recovery ability. Physiological indexes analysis demonstrated that stomata conductance, transpiration rate, photosynthesis rate, antioxidant enzymes, and proline levels in maize were significantly altered in response to drought for 60 and 96 h and rewatering for 3 days.

Maize Is Involved in Drought Resistance and Recovery Ability Through an Abscisic Acid-Dependent Signaling Pathway.

Analyzing the transcriptome of maize leaves under drought stress and rewatering conditions revealed that transcription factors were involved in this process, among which of the ABSCISIC ACID-INSENSITIVE 5-like protein 5 family was induced to significantly up-regulated. The functional mechanism of in Abscisic acd (ABA) signaling pathway and its response to drought stress and rewatering has not been studied yet. The present study found that ZmbZIP33 contains a DNA-binding and dimerization domain, has transcriptional activation activity, and is highly homologous to SbABI1,SitbZIP68 and OsABA1.

Rice-crayfish systems are not a panacea for sustaining cleaner food production.

Integrated rice-crayfish systems are expanding rapidly and are the most widely applied planting-breeding modes in Jianghan Plain in China. We conducted nutrient use efficiency, economic, and emergy analysis of three rice production modes, namely, rice monoculture (RM), rice-crayfish rotation (RCR), and rice-crayfish coculture (RCC), in Jingzhou City, which is located in the Jianghan Plain. Compared with RM mode, rice-crayfish systems using the RCR and RCC modes increased rice yield by 5-7%, showed more than 8% higher chemical nutrient use efficiency, and increased the value-to-cost ratio from 1.

Systematic Analysis of the Maize Genes Revealing Family Members Involved in Osmotic Stress and Confers Enhanced Drought Tolerance in Transgenic .

OSCAs are hyperosmolality-gated calcium-permeable channel proteins. In this study, two co-expression modules, which are strongly associated with maize proline content, were screened by weighted correlation network analysis, including three ZmOSCA family members. Phylogenetic and protein domain analyses revealed that 12 ZmOSCA members were classified into four classes, which all contained DUF221 domain.

Systematic Analysis of Differentially Expressed Maize Genes between Drought and Rewatering Transcriptome Reveals bZIP Family Members Involved in Abiotic Stress Responses.

The basic leucine zipper () family of transcription factors (TFs) regulate diverse phenomena during plant growth and development and are involved in stress responses and hormone signaling. However, only a few have been functionally characterized. In this paper, 54 maize genes were screened from previously published drought and rewatering transcriptomes.

Mudflat reclamation causes change in the composition of fungal communities under long-term rice cultivation.

Fungi play a critical role in farmland ecosystems, especially in improving soil fertility; however, little is known about the changes in fungal communities caused by mudflat reclamation under rice cultivation. In this study, mudflats located in Yancheng, China, which were divided into nine plots with 0, 11, and 20 years of successive rice cultivation histories, were sampled to determine the fungal community composition by using Illumina MiSeq sequencing. Results show that the Shannon diversity of the fungal communities did not change significantly but the species richness increased under mudflat reclamation with long-term rice cultivation.

Mudflat reclamation causes changes of gene abundance in nitrogen cycle under long-term rice cultivation.

Rice cultivation is the main method for mudflat reclamation. However, changes in the community structure of microbes involved in nitrogen (N) cycling in response to mudflat reclamation via rice cultivation remain poorly understood. This study used quantitative polymerase chain reaction to characterize the distribution of various inorganic N-cycling pathways in response to mudflat reclamation via rice cultivation.

Dynamic Change in Enzyme Activity and Bacterial Community with long-term rice Cultivation in Mudflats.

Bacteria play an important role in the reclamation of mudflats. However, little is known about the effects of long-term rice cultivation on bacterial communities in mudflats. In this study, the bacterial community in mudflats with long-term rice cultivation was evaluated using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA genes.