Correlation of microbiomes in "plant-insect-soil" ecosystem.

Introduction: Traditional chemical control methods pose a damaging effect on farmland ecology, and their long-term use has led to the development of pest resistance. Methods: Here, we analyzed the correlations and differences in the microbiome present in the plant and soil of sugarcane cultivars exhibiting different insect resistance to investigate the role played by microbiome in crop insect resistance. We evaluated the microbiome of stems, topsoil, rhizosphere soil, and striped borers obtained from infested stems, as well as soil chemical parameters. Results and Discussion: Results showed that microbiome diversity was higher in stems of insect-resistant plants, and contrast, lower in the soil of resistant plants, with fungi being more pronounced than bacteria. The microbiome in plant stems was almost entirely derived from the soil. The microbiome of insect-susceptible plants and surrounding soil tended to change towards that of insect-resistant plants after insect damage. Insects' microbiome was mainly derived from plant stems and partly from the soil. Available potassium showed an extremely significant correlation with soil microbiome. This study validated the role played by the microbiome ecology of plant-soil-insect system in insect resistance and provided a pre-theoretical basis for crop resistance control.

The subgenome Saccharum spontaneum contributes to sugar accumulation in sugarcane as revealed by full-length transcriptomic analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Modern sugarcane cultivars (Saccharum spp. hybrids) derived from crosses between S. officinarum and S. spontaneum, with high-sugar traits and excellent stress tolerance inherited respectively. However, the contribution of the S. spontaneum subgenome to sucrose accumulation is still unclear. OBJECTIVE: To compensate for the absence of a high-quality reference genome, a transcriptome analysis method is needed to analyze the molecular basis of differential sucrose accumulation in sugarcane hybrids and to find clues to the contribution of the S. spontaneum subgenome to sucrose accumulation. METHODS: PacBio full-length sequencing was used to complement genome annotation, followed by the identification of differential genes between the high and low sugar groups using differential alternative splicing analysis and differential expression analysis. At the subgenomic level, the factors responsible for differential sucrose accumulation were investigated from the perspective of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation. RESULTS: A full-length transcriptome annotated at the subgenomic level was provided, complemented by 263,378 allele-defined transcript isoforms and 139,405 alternative splicing (AS) events. Differential alternative splicing (DA) analysis and differential expression (DE) analysis identified differential genes between high and low sugar groups and explained differential sucrose accumulation factors by the KEGG pathways. In some gene models, different or even opposite expression patterns of alleles from the same gene were observed, reflecting the potential evolution of these alleles toward novel functions in polyploid sugarcane. Among DA and DE genes in the sucrose source-sink complex pathway, we found some alleles encoding sucrose accumulation-related enzymes derived from the S. spontaneum subgenome were differentially expressed or had DA events between the two contrasting sugarcane hybrids. CONCLUSION: Full-length transcriptomes annotated at the subgenomic level could better characterize sugarcane hybrids, and the S. spontaneum subgenome was found to contribute to sucrose accumulation.

Structural Characterization of Phosphorous Slag Regarding Occurrence State of Phosphorus in Dicalcium Silicate.

Phosphorous slag is a solid waste generated in the process of yellow phosphorus production. In order to deeply understand the structural and cementitious characteristics of phosphorous slag, comprehensive characterizations, including X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, Raman, scanning electron microscope, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry were adopted to investigate the composition, thermal stability, microstructure, and cementitious activity of phosphorous slag. In addition, scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, electron microprobe analysis, and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance techniques were used to analyze the occurrence state of P in phosphorous slag. The results show that phosphorous slag is mostly vitreous with good thermal stability. Its chemical composition mainly comprises 43.85 wt % CaO, 35.87 wt % SiO2, and 5.57 wt % Al2O3, which is similar to that of blast furnace slag, but it presents lower cementitious activity than blast furnace slag. P is uniformly distributed in the phosphorous slag with P2O5 content of 3.75 wt %. The distribution pattern of P is extremely similar to that of Si. P is mainly existing in orthophosphate of 3CaO·P2O5, which forms solid solution with dicalcium silicate (2CaO·SiO2). This work specifically clarifies the occurrence state of P in dicalcium silicate within the phosphorous slag. It is theoretically helpful to solve the retarding problem of phosphorous slag in cement and concrete.

Comparative Analysis of Chloroplast Genome in Saccharum spp. and Related Members of 'Saccharum Complex'.

High ploids of the sugarcane nuclear genome limit its genomic studies, whereas its chloroplast genome is small and conserved, which is suitable for phylogenetic studies and molecular marker development. Here, we applied whole genome sequencing technology to sequence and assemble chloroplast genomes of eight species of the 'Saccharum Complex', and elucidated their sequence variations. In total, 19 accessions were sequenced, and 23 chloroplast genomes were assembled, including 6 species of Saccharum (among them, S. robustum, S. sinense, and S. barberi firstly reported in this study) and 2 sugarcane relative species, Tripidium arundinaceum and Narenga porphyrocoma. The plastid phylogenetic signal demonstrated that S. officinarum and S. robustum shared a common ancestor, and that the cytoplasmic origins of S. sinense and S. barberi were much more ancient than the S. offcinarum/S. robustum linage. Overall, 14 markers were developed, including 9 InDel markers for distinguishing Saccharum from its relative species, 4 dCAPS markers for distinguishing S. officinarum from S. robustum, and 1 dCAPS marker for distinguishing S. sinense and S. barberi from other species. The results obtained from our studies will contribute to the understanding of the classification and plastome evolution of Saccharinae, and the molecular markers developed have demonstrated their highly discriminatory power in Saccharum and relative species.

Mortar Designed from Red Mud with Iron Tailings and Moulded by 3D Printing.

A specific mortar material (abbreviated as RFT) was designed from industrial solid wastes, such as red mud, fly ash, and iron tailings. It was mainly developed for 3D printing in this work. Mechanical properties, microstructure and heavy metal leaching properties were discussed. The RFT composed of 15% red mud, 45% iron tailings, 9% fly ash, 30% cement, and 1% FDN water reducing agent attained good mechanical properties. Hydration products including Ca(OH)2, ettringite and C-S-H gel were found in RFT through SEM observation. Iron tailings mainly acted as fine aggregates in RFT, and they were wrapped by the C-S-H gels, producing a strong bonding effect between aggregates and cementitious matrix. The leaching toxicity test results proved that the developed RFT mortar materials were environmentally acceptable. Finally, RFT was subjected to a 3D printing test to verify its feasibility as 3D printable construction material.

Molecular cloning, characterization and functional analysis of GluCl from the oriental armyworm, Mythimna separata Walker.

Glutamate-gated chloride channels (GluCls) mediate inhibitory synaptic transmission in invertebrate nervous systems, and only one GluCl gene has been found in insects. Therefore, insect GluCls are one of the major targets of insecticides including avermectins. In the present study, a 1347 bp full-length cDNA encoding a 449-amino acid protein (named MsGluCl, GenBank ID: MK336885) was cloned from the oriental armyworm, Mythimna separata, and characterized two alternative splicing variants of MsGluCl. The protein shares 76.9-98.6% identity with other insect GluCl isoforms. Spatial and temporal expression analysis revealed that MsGluCl was highly expressed in the 3rd instar and adult head. Dietary ingestion of dsMsGluCl significantly reduced the mRNA level of MsGluCl and decreased abamectin mortality. Thus, our results reveal that MsGluCl could be the molecular target of abamectin and provide the basis for further understanding the resistance mechanism to abamectin in arthropods.