A small heat shock protein GmHSP18.5a improves the male fertility restorability of cytoplasmic male sterility-based restorer line under high temperature stress in soybean.

Small heat shock protein (sHSP) is involved in high temperature (HT) stress response. However, the function of sHSPs in regulating male fertility of soybean under HT stress remains largely unknown. Here, we identified a sHSP gene, GmHSP18.5a, which was responded to HT stress during flowering in cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS)-based restorer line of soybean. Moreover, GmHSFA6b turned out to directly activated the expression of GmHSP18.5a by binding to the heat shock cis-element in its promoter. Overexpression of GmHSP18.5a increased male fertility in transgenic Arabidopsis, soybean CMS-based restorer line and its hybrid F1 with CMS line under HT stress. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) content detection revealed that GmHSP18.5a promoted the ROS scavenging ability of Arabidopsis inflorescence and soybean flower bud under HT stress. Enzyme activity assay and gene expression analysis indicated that GmHS18.5a mainly increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the expression level of ROS metabolism-related genes under HT stress. Our results indicated that GmHSP18.5a improved the male fertility restorability of CMS-based restorer line in soybean by regulating ROS metabolic pathway and reducing ROS accumulation. Our findings not only revealed the molecular mechanism of sHSP regulating the male fertility of soybean under HT stress, but also provided a theoretical basis for creating strong restorer line with thermotolerance.

The miR156b-GmSPL2b module mediates male fertility regulation of cytoplasmic male sterility-based restorer line under high-temperature stress in soybean.

High-temperature (HT) stress at flowering stage causes significant damage to soybean, including pollen abortion and fertilization failure, but few genes involved in male fertility regulation under HT stress in soybean have been characterized. Here, we demonstrated that miR156b-GmSPL2b module involved in male fertility regulation of soybean cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS)-based restorer line under HT stress. Overexpression of miR156b decreased male fertility in soybean CMS-based restorer line and its hybrid F1 with CMS line under HT stress. RNA-seq analysis found that miR156b mediated male fertility regulation in soybean under HT stress by regulating the expression of pollen development and HT response related genes. Metabolomic analysis of miR156bOE revealed reduction in flavonoid content under HT stress. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis showed that the overexpression of miR156b caused flavonoid metabolism disorder in soybean flower bud under HT stress. Knockout of GmSPL2b also decreased the thermotolerance of soybean CMS-based restorer line during flowering. Moreover, GmSPL2b turned out to be directly bounded to the promoter of GmHSFA6b. Further verification indicated that GmHSFA6b overexpression enhanced HT tolerance in Arabidopsis during flowering. Substance content and gene expression analysis revealed that miR156b-GmSPL2b may mediate reactive oxygen species clearance by regulating flavonoid metabolism, thus participating in the regulation of male fertility in soybean under HT stress. This study not only provided important progress for understanding the molecular mechanism of miR156b-GmSPL2b regulating the male fertility of soybean CMS-based restorer line under HT stress, but also provided genetic resources and theoretical basis for creating HT-tolerant strong restorer lines.

Polypyrrole-Coated Low-Crystallinity Iron Oxide Grown on Carbon Cloth Enabling Enhanced Electrochemical Supercapacitor Performance.

It is highly attractive to design pseudocapacitive metal oxides as anodes for supercapacitors (SCs). However, as they have poor conductivity and lack active sites, they generally exhibit an unsatisfied capacitance under high current density. Herein, polypyrrole-coated low-crystallinity Fe2O3 supported on carbon cloth (D-Fe2O3@PPy/CC) was prepared by chemical reduction and electrodeposition methods. The low-crystallinity Fe2O3 nanorod achieved using a NaBH4 treatment offered more active sites and enhanced the Faradaic reaction in surface or near-surface regions. The construction of a PPy layer gave more charge storage at the Fe2O3/PPy interface, favoring the limitation of the volume effect derived from Na+ transfer in the bulk phase. Consequently, D-Fe2O3@PPy/CC displayed enhanced capacitance and stability. In 1 M Na2SO4, it showed a specific capacitance of 615 mF cm-2 (640 F g-1) at 1 mA cm-2 and still retained 79.3% of its initial capacitance at 10 mA cm-2 after 5000 cycles. The design of low-crystallinity metal oxides and polymer nanocomposites is expected to be widely applicable for the development of state-of-the-art electrodes, thus opening new avenues for energy storage.