Versatile physiological functions of the Nudix hydrolase family in berry development and stress response in grapevine

Nudix hydrolases are widely distributed across all classes of organisms and provide the potential capacity to hydrolyze a wide range of organic pyrophosphates. Although Nudix hydrolases are involved in plant detoxification processes in response to abiotic and biotic stresses, the biological functions of Nudix hydrolases remain largely unclear in grapevine.In the present study, a total of 25 putative grapevine Nudix hydrolases(VvNUDXs) were identified by bioinformatics analysis and classified int...     

Towards developing resistance to chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing using multiplexed gRNAs

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Mastreviruses are an emerging group of viruses transmitted by leafhoppers and infect both monocot and dicot plants. Chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus...     

Phenotypic variations of wheat cultivars from the North China Plain in response to cadmium stress and associated single nucleotide polymorphisms identified by a genome-wide association study

Understanding the genetic mechanisms for cadmium(Cd) uptake and translocation in common wheat(Triticum aestivum) is of significance in food Cd contamination control. In this study, a diverse panel of 132 wheat cultivars was collected from the North China Plain. The cultivars were evaluated in terms of their phenotypic variations in response to Cd stress and subjected to a genome-wide association study(GWAS) to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) associated with the phenotypic variatio...     

Bound water characteristics and microstructure evolution during uniaxial compression of mucky silty clay

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Compression studies can provide insights into evaluating the engineering potential and environmental impact of clay. The objective of this study was to...     

Wheat Seed Presoaking for Improved Germination

Seed presoaking improves wheat germination under marginal moisture conditions. The duration of seed presoaking was studied at The University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi, using 10 wheat varieties. Seed presoaking beyond 12 h does not improve germination further, and beyond 21 h, germination rate is drastically reduced.     

Fat extraction from acid- and base-hydrolyzed food samples using accelerated solvent extraction

This paper describes a new in-cell method for pursuing accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) prior to lipid analysis from food samples. It is difficult to pursue direct ASE with acid- or base-hydrolyzed samples due to the corrosive nature of the reagents and material limitations. In this study ion exchange based materials were used to remove acid or base reagents in-cell without compromising the recovery of lipids. The performance data are presented here for the new methods for lipid extraction for a variety of food samples and compared to the Mojonnier method. NIST Standard Reference Materials (SRM-1546 and SRM-1849) were used to validate the ASE methods. Excellent fat recoveries were obtained for the ASE methods. The new methods presented here enhance the utility of ASE and eliminate labor intensive protocols.     

Cool Season C3-Grasses (Wheat,Rye, Barley,and Oats) Differ in Shoot: Root Ratio When Applied With Different NPK Sources

Shoot:root (S:R) response in four winter C₃-grasses (cereals) viz. wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rye (Secale cereale L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and oats (Avena sativa L.) was investigated under eight different NPK sources (S₁ = 20-20-20, S₂ = 20-27-5, S₃ = 7-22-8, S₄ = 10-10-10-20S, S₅ = 11-15-11, S₆ = 31-11-11, S₇ = 24-8-16, and S₈ = 19-6-12) in pot experiment at Dryland Agriculture Institute, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, Texas, USA during winter 2009–2010. The experiment was performed in completely randomized design (CRD) with three repeats. The objective of this experiment was to investigate whether the S:R of winter cereals differ or not when applied with different NPK sources. Considerable variations in the shoot: root was noticed in the four grasses at different growth stages, i.e., 30, 60 and 90 days after emergence (DAE) when applied with different NPK fertilizers sources. Wheat had the highest S:R of 3.4 at 30 days after emergence (DAE), barley at 60 DAE (6.5), while oats at 90 DAE (3.9). Among the NPK sources, crops had the highest S:R of 3.6, 6.2 and 3.7 when applied with S₃, S₂, and S₆ at 30, 60 and 90 DAE, respectively. Shoot to root ratio showed positive relationship with increase in shoot weight and negative relationship with increase in root weight. The NPK fertilizer S₆ (31: 11: 11), an acid loving fertilizer had negative effects on the shoot and root development of cool season cereals, but among these cereals under study, barley and oats roots were affected more than wheat and rye. It was concluded from this present study, that the four cool season cereals responded differently in terms of shoot: root to different NPK fertilizers at different growth stages.     

黄土塬边坡植被类型对土壤孔隙的影响

黄土塬边坡植被建设以固坡为目的,不同植被的土壤孔隙结构有利于增加降水入渗,从而减少坡面产流的水蚀危害。本研究以长武塬黄土塬边坡的侧柏(Platycladus orientalis)林地、沙棘(Hippophae rhamnoides)灌丛、草地和农地4种植被为研究对象,采集0–30 cm的原状土柱,利用CT扫描和图像处理技术,对其土壤孔隙度、孔隙数目、孔隙成圆率和孔隙分形维数进行定量分析,结合土层样品的理化性质,研究影响土壤孔隙结构的主要因素。结果表明,农地、侧柏孔隙的孔径大小分异不大,而草地、沙棘自身根系互动穿插生成的根孔扩展了孔径分布范围,不仅增加了孔隙度和大孔隙数目,也降低了孔隙成圆率。草地、沙棘有利于降水入渗,是固坡的优先选择。土壤有机质、粘粒含量等性质与孔隙参数之间具有极显著(P <0.001)或显著(P <0.05)相关关系,它们的改变对土壤孔隙特征变化和提高蓄水保土能力具有重要影响。     

Comparative evaluation of different therapeutic protocols for contagious caprine pleuropneumonia in Himalayan Pashmina goats

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Therapeutic management of contagious caprine pleuroneumonia (CCPP) involves mostly the use of oxytetracycline followed by enrofloxacin and rarely tylosin. In...