Smaller microorganisms outcompete larger ones in resistance and functional effects under disturbed agricultural ecosystems.

Body size is a key ecological trait of soil microorganisms related to their adaptation to environmental changes. In this study, we reveal that the smaller microorganisms show stronger community resistance than larger organisms in both maize and rice soil. Compared with larger organisms, smaller microorganisms have higher diversity and broader niche breadth to deploy survival strategies, because of which they are less affected by environmental selection and thus survive in complex and various kinds of environments.

Cleaner tillage and irrigation options for food-water-energy-carbon synergism in wheat-maize cropping systems.

The conventional wheat-maize systems in the North China Plain are energy and water intensive with high carbon emissions. It is imperative to find cleaner production technologies for sustainable food-water-energy-carbon synergism. Here, a three-year field experiment was performed to explore the effects of two tillage modes and four irrigation regimes during wheat season on crop yield, economic profile, water use efficiency, energy utilization, and carbon footprint in typical wheat-maize cropping systems in the North China Plain.

Large-area field application confirms the effectiveness of toxicant-infused bait for managing Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) in maize fields.

Background: Maize is one of the world's most important crops, so its stable production and supply is crucial for food security and socioeconomic development. The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), is one of the major pests in maize. We evaluated the control effect of a bio-bait, an adult attractant, combined with insecticide, a 'toxicant-infused bait', on H.

Development of Two Early Forecasting Models for Predicting Incidence of Rice Panicle Blast in China.

Early forecasting of rice panicle blast is critical to the management of rice blast. To develop early forecasting models for rice panicle blast, the relationship between the seasonal maximum incidence of rice panicle blast () and the in the preceding crop, weather conditions, location, and acreage of susceptible varieties was analyzed. Results revealed that in the preceding crop, acreage of the susceptible varieties in class (), altitude, weather conditions 120 to 180 days before the PBx date (dbPBx) and 30 to 90 dbPBx were significantly correlated with the .

Biological control and plant growth promotion properties of St-220 isolated from rhizosphere.

Root rot disease caused by is a devastating disease of and dramatically affected the production and quality of . Besides the agricultural and chemical control, biocontrol agents can be utilized as an additional solution. In the present study, an actinomycete that highly inhibited was isolated from rhizosphere soil and identified as based on morphological and molecular characteristics.

Analyses on the Infection Process of Rice Virus and the Spatiotemporal Expression Pattern of Host Defense Genes Based on a Determined-Part Inoculation Approach.

Rice viral diseases adversely affect crop yield and quality. Most rice viruses are transmitted through insect vectors. However, the traditional whole-plant inoculation method cannot control the initial inoculation site in rice plants because the insect feeding sites in plants are random.

Ecological management model for the improvement of soil fertility through the regulation of rare microbial taxa in tea (Camellia sinensis L.) plantation soils.

Agricultural management is essential to enhance soil ecosystem service function through optimizing soil physical conditions and improving nutrient supply, which is predominantly regulated by soil microorganisms. Several studies have focused on soil biodiversity and function in tea plantation systems. However, the effects of different agriculture managements on soil fertility and microbes remain poorly characterized, especially for what concerns perennial agroecosystems.

Exploring wheat-based management strategies to balance agricultural production and environmental sustainability in a wheat-maize cropping system using the DNDC model.

Faced with the great challenge of food demand and environmental pollution, optimizing agricultural practices can potentially balance food security and environmental protection. In this study, the DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC) model was applied to explore the effect of wheat-based management strategies on crop productivity and greenhouse gas emissions in the wheat-maize system. The DNDC model was tested against crop yield, daily nitrous oxide (NO) fluxes, and cumulative NO emissions determined from field measurements in a typical winter wheat-summer maize cropping system.

Significantly improving the thermostability of a hyperthermophilic GH10 family xylanase XynAF1 by semi-rational design.

Xylanases have a broad range of applications in industrial biotechnologies, which require the enzymes to resist the high-temperature environments. The majority of xylanases have maximum activity at moderate temperatures, which limited their potential applications in industries. In this study, a thermophilic GH10 family xylanase XynAF1 from the high-temperature composting strain Aspergillus fumigatus Z5 was characterized and engineered to further improve its thermostability.

[Progress in studies and control strategies for diseases of Coptis chinensis].

Coptis chinensis is one of bulk traditional herbal medicines in China. In recent years, the occurrence of various diseases has caused great yield loss and quality reduction of C. chinensis, which has become an important threat of herbal medicine industry.

Overwintering Distribution of Fall Armyworm () in Yunnan, China, and Influencing Environmental Factors.

The first fall armyworm (FAW; ) attack in Yunnan, China, occurred in January 2019. Because FAW lacks diapause ability, its population outbreaks largely depend on environmental conditions experienced during the overwinter months. Thus, there is an urgent need to make short-term predictions regarding the potential overwintering distribution of FAW to prevent outbreaks.

Nanoparticle-mediated double-stranded RNA delivery system: A promising approach for sustainable pest management.

RNA interference (RNAi) targeting lethal genes in insects has great potential for sustainable crop protection. Compared with traditional double-stranded (ds)RNA delivery systems, nanoparticles such as chitosan, liposomes, and cationic dendrimers offer advantages in delivering dsRNA/small interfering (si)RNA to improve RNAi efficiency, thus promoting the development and practice of RNAi-based pest management strategies. Here, we illustrate the limitations of traditional dsRNA delivery systems, reveal the mechanism of nanoparticle-mediated RNAi, summarize the recent progress and successful applications of nanoparticle-mediated RNAi in pest management, and finally address the prospects of nanoparticle-based RNA pesticides.

A new SNP genotyping technology Target SNP-seq and its application in genetic analysis of cucumber varieties.

To facilitate the utility of SNP-based genotyping, we developed a new method called target SNP-seq which combines the advantages of multiplex PCR amplification and high throughput sequencing. Compared with KASP, Microarrays, GBS and other SNP genotyping methods, target SNP-seq is flexible both in SNPs and samples, yields high accuracy, especially when genotyping genome wide perfect SNPs with high polymorphism and conserved flanking sequences, and is cost-effective, requiring 3 days and $7 for per DNA sample to genotype hundreds of SNP loci. The present study established a DNA fingerprint of 261 cucumber varieties by target SNP-seq with 163 perfect SNPs from 4,612,350 SNPs based on 182 cucumber resequencing datasets.

Intercrops can mitigate pollen-mediated gene flow from transgenic cotton while simultaneously reducing pest densities.

Genetically modified (GM) cotton, engineered to express Bt toxins that protect it from insect damage, has become the most successfully commercialized GM crop in China since its authorization in 1997. In light of the potential ecological consequences of pollen-mediated gene flow (PGF) from GM plants, a two year field trial was conducted to test the effects on PGF of sunflower, Helianthus annuus, buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum, and soybean, Glycine max, as intercrops in non-GM cotton fields during 2017 and 2018. DNA tests for hybridized seed were used to estimate rates of PGF in intercrop treatments.

Improvement of GH10 family xylanase thermostability by introducing of an extra α-helix at the C-terminal.

Xylanase is an important enzyme in industrial applications, which usually require the enzyme to maintain activity in high-temperature condition. In this study, a GH10 family xylanase XynAF0 from a thermophilic composting fungus, Aspergillus fumigatus Z5, was investigated to determine its thermostable mechanism. XynAF0 showed excellent thermostability, which could maintain 50% relative activity after incubation for 1 h at 70 °C.

CS3, a Ycf54 domain-containing protein, affects chlorophyll biosynthesis in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Chlorophyll plays a vital role in harvesting light and turning it into chemical energy. In this study, we isolated and characterized a chlorophyll-deficient mutant, which we named cs3 (chlorotic seedling 3). The cs3 mutant seedlings exhibit a yellowish phenotype at germination, and they do not survive at the seedling stage.

Spatial Analysis of Rice Blast in China at Three Different Scales.

In this study, spatial analyses were conducted at three different scales to better understand the epidemiology of rice blast, a major rice disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae. At the regional scale, across the major rice production regions in China, rice blast incidence was monitored on 101 dates at 193 stations from 10 June to 10 September during 2009 to 2014, and surveyed in 143 fields in September 2016; at the county scale, three surveys were done covering one to five counties in 2015 to 2016; and, at the field scale, blast was evaluated in six fields in 2015 to 2016. Spatial cluster and hot spot analyses were conducted in the geographic information system on the geographical pattern of the disease at regional scale, and geostatistical analysis was performed at all three scales.

Pollen-mediated gene flow from transgenic cotton is constrained by physical isolation measures.

The public concern about pollen-mediated gene flow (PGF) from genetically modified (GM) crops to non-GM crops heats up in recent years over China. In the current study, we conducted greenhouse and field experiments to measure PGF with various physical isolation measures, including 90, 80, 60 and 40 holes/cm separation nets and Sorghum bicolor, Zea mays and Lycopersicon esculentum separation crops between GM cotton and non-GM line (Shiyuan321) by seed DNA test during 2013 to 2015, and pollen grain dyeing was also conducted to assess the pollen flow in greenhouse during 2013. Our results revealed that (1) PGF varied depending on the physical isolation measures.

Daily expression of two circadian clock genes in compound eyes of Helicoverpa armigera: evidence for peripheral tissue circadian timing.

Circadian clock genes in peripheral tissues usually play an important role in regulating the circadian rhythms. Light is the most important environmental signal for synchronizing endogenous rhythms with the daily light-dark cycle, and compound eyes are known as the principal circadian photoreceptor for photic entrainment in most moths. However, there is little evidence for circadian timing in compound eyes.

Protective effects of the egg stalk of Paratrioza sinica (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) at various angles and spacings against three predaceous coccinellids, Harmonia axyridis, Coccinella septempunctata and Hippodamia variegata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

Background: Paratrioza sinica is a major pest of wolfberry (Lycium barbarum). Coccinellids can effectively control various developmental stages of P. sinica but not the stalked egg.

The effect of silencing 20E biosynthesis relative genes by feeding bacterially expressed dsRNA on the larval development of Chilo suppressalis.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a robust tool to study gene functions as well as potential for insect pest control. Finding suitable target genes is the key step in the development of an efficient RNAi-mediated pest control technique. Based on the transcriptome of Chilo suppressalis, 24 unigenes which putatively associated with insect hormone biosynthesis were identified.

Pollen-mediated gene flow from transgenic cotton under greenhouse conditions is dependent on different pollinators.

With the large-scale release of genetically modified (GM) crops, there are ecological concerns on transgene movement from GM crops to non-GM counterparts and wild relatives. In this research, we conducted greenhouse experiments to measure pollen-mediated gene flow (PGF) in the absence and presence of pollinators (Bombus ignitus, Apis mellifera and Pieris rapae) in one GM cotton (resistant to the insect Helicoverpa armigera and the herbicide glyphosate) and two non-GM lines (Shiyuan321 and Hai7124) during 2012 and 2013. Our results revealed that: (1) PGF varied depending on the pollinator species, and was highest with B.

Pyrosequencing reveals a shift in symbiotic bacteria populations across life stages of Bactrocera dorsalis.

Bactrocera dorsalis is one of the most economically important fruit flies around the world. In this study, 454 pyrosequencing was used to identify the bacteria associated with different developmental stages of B. dorsalis.