Genome-wide association analysis identified molecular markers and candidate genes for flower traits in Chinese orchid (Cymbidium sinense).

The orchid, the champagne of flowers, brings luxury, elegance, and novelty to nature. Cymbidium sinense is a symbol of gigantic floral variability on account of wavering shapes and sizes of floral organs, although marker-trait association (MTA) has not been studied for its floral traits. We evaluated markers associated with 14 floral traits of C. sinense through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 195 accessions. A total of 65 318 522 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 3 906 176 insertion/deletion (InDel) events were identified through genotyping-by-sequencing. Among these, 4694 potential SNPs and 477 InDels were identified as MTAs at -log10 P > 5. The genes related to these SNPs and InDels were largely associated with floral regulators, hormonal pathways, cell division, and metabolism, playing essential roles in tailoring floral morphology. Moreover, 20 candidate SNPs/InDels linked to 11 genes were verified, 8 of which were situated on exons, one was located in the 5'-UTR and two were positioned in introns. Here, the multitepal trait-related gene RABBIT EARS (RBE) was found to be the most crucial gene. We analyzed the role of CsRBE in the regulation of flower-related genes via efficient transient overexpression in C. sinense protoplasts, and found that the floral homeotic genes CsAP3 and CsPI, as well as organ boundary regulators, including CsCUC and CsTCP genes, were regulated by CsRBE. Thus, we obtained key gene loci for important ornamental traits of orchids using genome-wide association analysis of populations with natural variation. The findings of this study can do a great deal to expedite orchid breeding programs for shape variability.

Polydopamine coated TiO2 nanofiber fillers for polyethylene oxide hybrid electrolytes for efficient and durable all solid state lithium ion batteries.

The polyethylene oxide (PEO) solid electrolyte is a promising candidate for all solid state lithium-ion batteries (ASSLIBs), but its low ionic conductivity and poor interfacial compatibility against lithium limit the rate and cycling performance of the cell. Herein, the novel and efficient TiO2@polydopamine (PDA) fillers have been synthesized by coating PDA onto the surface of the TiO2 nanofibers, which are then incorporated into PEO matrices to form the composite electrolyte. The composite electrolyte displays a higher ionic conductivity of 4.36 × 10-4 S cm-1, a wider electrochemical window up to about 5 V and a higher tLi+ of 0.190 at 55 °C compared to the PEO electrolyte. Additionally, the Li/composite electrolyte/Li batteries show a stable Li plating/stripping cycle performance, indicating good interfacial compatibility between the composite electrolyte and lithium. Thus, the LiFePO4/Li ASSLIBs display a fantastic rate performance and cycling stability, and deliver superior discharge specific capacities of 153.83 and 136.45 mA h g-1 at current densities of 0.5C and 2C, achieving good capacity retentions of 93.27% and 91.23% at 0.5C and 1C after 150 cycles, respectively. Therefore, the PEO-TiO2@PDA composite electrolyte is a potential solid electrolyte for ASSLIBs.

Does warmer China land attract more super typhoons?

Accurate prediction of where and when typhoons (or named hurricanes which form over the North Atlantic Ocean) will make landfall is critical to protecting human lives and properties. Although the traditional method of typhoon track prediction based on the steering flow theory has been proven to be an effective way in most situations, it slipped up in some cases. Our analysis of the long-term Chinese typhoon records reveals that typhoons, especially super typhoons (those with maximum sustained surface winds of greater than 51 ms(-1)), have a trend to make landfalls toward warmer land in China over the past 50 years (1960-2009). Numerical sensitivity experiments using an advanced atmospheric model further confirm this finding. Our finding suggests an alternative approach to predict the landfall tracks of the most devastating typhoons in the southeastern China.

Controlled fabrication of hexagonally close-packed Langmuir-Blodgett silica particulate monolayers from binary surfactant and solvent systems.

We describe a controllable method to fabricate hexagonally close-packed Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) monolayers with stearic acid (SA) as co-surfactant and methanol as co-solvent. The optimal SA concentrations and volume ratios of chloroform to methanol are 0.8 mg/mL and 3:1 for particles of 140 nm, 0.50 mg/mL and 4:1 for particles of 300 nm, and 0.05 mg/mL and 5:1 for particles of 550 nm, respectively. Additionally, SEM detections of the monolayers transferred at different surface pressures indicate that the monolayers deposited from the binary systems are more compressible. The experimental results indicate that the interparticle repulsions and particle-water interactions can be enhanced without decreasing the particle hydrophobicity by adding SA and methanol; thus, particulate monolayers with large hexagonally close-packed domains composed of small silica particles can be successfully fabricated using LB technique. We propose that the enhanced interparticle repulsion is attributed to the Columbic repulsion resulting from the attachment of SA molecules to the CTAB modified particles around the three phase contact line.