Improvement of toughness for the hyaluronic acid and adipic acid dihydrazide hydrogel by PEG

New applications call for many new requirements. In order to improve the toughness of aldehyde hyaluronic acid (A-HA) and adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH) hydrogel, the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was added. PEG content and molecular weight have little effect on the gelation time, and the composite hydrogels can form in situ within 20 seconds at room temperature. The press test showed that the hydrogels containing PEG possessed a better compression resistance, after pressed more than five times, the composite hydrogels could restore. Rheological properties were measured to evaluate the working ability and the effect of PEG on hydrogels. By analyzing the shear viscosity (η _γ=0.01), yield stress (σ ₀) and threshold shear stress (σ _c ), the addition of PEG can make the structure of composite hydrogels get loose and improve the shear resistance. Especially, PEG800 can enhance the antishear ability obviously. The amplitude sweep tests showed a broad linear viscoelastic region, indicating a wide processing range. In the meanwhile, we also found that PEG can improve the optical transmittance of xerogel evidently.     

Fabrication of hydrophobic/oleophilic cotton fabric by mussel-inspired chemistry for oil/water separation

A straightforward approach was proposed to modify cotton fabric for oil/water separation based on musselinspired reaction. The poly(DMA-Octadecyl acrylate) was designed to contain key chemical constituents present in mussel adhesive proteins by free radical polymerization of dopamine hydrochloride and octadecyl acrylate, which strongly adsorbed to fabric substrates, providing a special surface for fabric. The chemical structure, surface topography, and surface wettability of the fabric were characterized. The results showed that as-prepared cotton fabric displayed a high CA of >150° when dripped water droplets were on the modified fabric surface, and the oil contact angle (OCA) was close to 0°, it had excellent potential to be used in practical applications and has created a new method of fabric modification for oil/water separation.     

Stability analysis of seven agronomic traits for soybean [(Glycine max (L.) Merr.] Tokachi nagaha and its derived cultivars using the AMMI model

The stabilities of seven agronomic traits were analyzed and the general stabilities of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] accessions were evaluated based on the additive main effects and multiplicative interactions (AMMI) model using the founder parent Tokachi nagaha and 137 of its derived cultivars as materials. The objective was to provide a theoretical basis for effectively using germplasm in soybean breeding and production. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that genotype, environment, and genotype by environment interactions were significantly different for each trait. The first three interaction principal components axes (IPCA) were highly significant, accounting for 61.28–70.00% of the total variation. The stability differed for the different traits. 50 cultivars with high general stabilities were identified. The general stability of Tokachi nagaha was moderate, as the stability coefficients (D_i) of its seven traits were relatively high; this must be considered by breeders using this cultivar as a breeding parent. There were significant positive correlations between the phenotypic values and their own D_i values for number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, and seed weight per plant. This would lead to the expectation that the phenotypic stability would be lower when a cultivar had more branches, pods, seeds, and high per plant yields. Thus, it appears difficult to breed cultivars that simultaneously have high yields and high stability.     

环翠楼高丽红参与韩国产高丽红参中人参皂苷含量的比较分析

目的测定环翠楼高丽红参与韩国产高丽红参中人参皂苷的含量。方法采用HPLC色谱法和比色法。结果人参皂苷的含量分别为环翠楼高丽红参:人参皂苷-Rg3含量为0.039 6 mg/g,人参皂苷-Rh2含量为0.021 6 mg/g,总皂苷含量为3.02%(g/g);韩国产高丽红参:人参皂苷-Rg3含量为0.038 9 mg/g,人参皂苷-Rh2含量为0.020 8 mg/g,总皂苷含量为2.98%(g/g)。结论环翠楼高丽红参与韩国产高丽红参中人参皂苷-Rg3、人参皂苷Rh2和总皂苷含量相近;该方法分离效果好、准确、快速、样品制备简单。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">OsLAP6/OsPKS1</Emphasis>, an orthologue of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis PKSA/LAP6</Emphasis>, is critical for proper pollen exine formation

Background

Male fertility is crucial for rice yield, and the improvement of rice yield requires hybrid production that depends on male sterile lines. Although recent studies have revealed several important genes in male reproductive development, our understanding of the mechanisms of rice pollen development remains unclear.

Results

We identified a rice mutant oslap6 with complete male sterile phenotype caused by defects in pollen exine formation. By using the MutMap method, we found that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variation located in the second exon of OsLAP6/OsPKS1 was responsible for the mutant phenotype. OsLAP6/OsPKS1 is an orthologous gene of Arabidopsis PKSA/LAP6, which functions in sporopollenin metabolism. Several other loss-of-function mutants of OsLAP6/OsPKS1 generated by the CRISPR/Cas9 genomic editing tool also exhibited the same phenotype of male sterility. Our cellular analysis suggested that OsLAP6/OsPKS1 might regulate pollen exine formation by affecting bacula elongation. Expression examination indicated that OsLAP6/OsPKS1 is specifically expressed in tapetum, and its product is localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Protein sequence analysis indicated that OsLAP6/OsPKS1 is conserved in land plants.

Conclusions

OsLAP6/OsPKS1 is a critical molecular switch for rice male fertility by participating in a conserved sporopollenin precursor biosynthetic pathway in land plants. Manipulation of OsLAP6/OsPKS1 has potential for application in hybrid rice breeding.

     

Conferring resistance to pre-harvest sprouting in durum wheat by a QTL identified in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum spelta</Emphasis>

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) causes significant yield loss and degrade the end-use quality of wheat, especially in regions with prolonged wet weather during the harvesting season. Unfortunately, the gene pool of Triticum durum (tetraploid durum wheat) has narrow genetic base for PHS resistance. Therefore, finding out new genetic resources from other wheat species to develop PHS resistance in durum wheat is of importance. A major PHS resistance QTL, Qphs.sicau-3B.1, was mapped on chromosome 3BL in a recombinant inbred line population derived from ‘CSCR6’ (Triticum spelta), a PHS resistant hexaploid wheat and ‘Lang’, a PHS susceptible Australian hexaploid wheat cultivar. This QTL, Qphs.sicau-3B.1, is positioned between DArT marker wPt-3107 and wPt-6785. Two SCAR markers (Ph3B.1 and Ph3B.2) were developed to track this major QTL and were used to assay a BC₂F₈ tetraploid population derived from a cross between the durum wheat ‘Bellaroi’ (PHS susceptible) and ‘CSCR6’ (PHS resistant). Phenotypic assay and marker-assisted selection revealed five stable tetraploid lines were highly PHS resistant. This study has successfully established that PHS-resistance QTL from hexaploid wheat could be efficiently introgressed into tetraploid durum wheat. This tetraploid wheat germplasm could be useful in developing PHS resistant durum cultivars with higher yield and good end-use quality.     

Selection of soybean elite cultivars based on phenotypic and genomic characters related to lodging tolerance

Soybean lodging can result in serious yield reduction. Detecting the quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with lodging tolerance for their further application in marker‐assisted selection (MAS) has the potential to enhance soybean breeding efficiency. In this study, a genome‐wide association analysis (GWAS) was performed to identify soybean accessions that could potentially be used to produce lodging‐tolerant varieties, based on the comprehensive evaluation of lodging scores (LS) obtained for the parental cultivar “Tokachi nagaha” and its 137 derived cultivars. Results showed that genotype, environment and genotype × environment interaction significantly influenced LS. Of the 31 significant SNPs identified, 22 were consistently detected in two or more environments and 27 SNPs were located in or close to agronomically important QTL mapped by linkage analysis. Best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs) of LS tend to decrease with the elite alleles contained by accessions increasing. Some excellent accessions, with lower BLUPs and D_i (stability coefficients) values and more elite alleles, were selected. This study contributed to understand the genetic mechanism of lodging, providing genetic and phenotypic information for MAS.     

早熟鲜食枣新品种‘串枣’

 ‘串枣’是从山东省济南市南部山区枣树实生群体中选出的早熟鲜食新品种。果实椭圆形,平均单果质量14.47 g,最大23.16 g;成熟果实红色,果面光滑,果肉浅绿色,肉质细腻,风味甜,品质佳。果核0.4 g,含仁率40%。鲜果可溶性固形物31.5%,可滴定酸4.11 g · kg^-1,可食率96.7%,维生素C 3.039 mg · g^-1。在济南市南部山区8月下旬果实成熟,果实发育期80 ~ 85 d。早熟,丰产,稳产,耐瘠薄,耐干旱,适应性强,适合在枣产区栽植。     

甜瓜白粉病抗病基因的定位及候选基因分析

以甜瓜高抗白粉病自交系MR-1为母本,易感白粉病自交系Top Mark为父本,构建BC_1P_2和F_2群体,经13个国际通用的甜瓜白粉病生理小种鉴别寄主鉴定,2015年东北农业大学设施园艺工程中心的白粉病发病病菌为P.xanthii生理小种1,甜瓜MR-1对P.xanthii生理小种1的抗性由单显性基因控制。通过对266个F2分离群体的抗病性鉴定和CAPS标记分析,采用复合区间作图法对甜瓜抗白粉病性状进行QTL分析,最终构建了1张包含203个CAPS标记的甜瓜遗传连锁图谱,并将抗病基因PXR定位在第12号染色体上M12-GH和M12-TE 2个标记之间,该基因与两侧翼标记间的距离分别为0.63 c M和0.42 c M,两侧翼标记间在甜瓜参考基因组上对应的物理距离为303 kb,该区域内含有60个预测基因,其中10个基因含有非同义单碱基突变。10个基因荧光定量分析结果显示,在抗病与感病甜瓜表达量存在较大差异的4个基因MELO3C002434、MELO3C002437、MELO3C002441、MELO3C002457为甜瓜白粉病抗病候选基因。     

芸薹根肿菌单孢分离技术体系构建及沈阳地区根肿菌的鉴定

芸薹根肿菌严重危害大白菜和其他十字花科作物。由于根肿菌通常以多个生理小种混生状态进行侵染,导致抗病品种的抗性不能持久。以沈阳地区根肿菌为材料,进行了单孢分离技术体系构建,结果表明采取冷冻盒接菌法对两日龄大白菜幼苗进行单孢接种,可将侵染率提高到47.86%;采用基质过渡培养可将大白菜植株成活率提高到67%。利用上述根肿菌单孢分离技术体系对沈阳地区根肿菌进行单孢分离和Williams生理小种鉴定,结果表明沈阳地区根肿菌存在4号、8号、9号、11号生理小种,其中4号生理小种为优势小种。