DkWRKY transcription factors enhance persimmon resistance to Colletotrichum horii by promoting lignin accumulation through DkCAD1 promotor interaction.

Persimmon anthracnose, a severe disease caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Colletotrichum horii, poses a substantial threat to China's persimmon industry. Previous research showed that 'Kangbing Jianshi' cultivar exhibits strong resistance to anthracnose. Notably, 'Kangbing Jianshi' branches exhibit greater lignification compared with the susceptible 'Fuping Jianshi' cultivar. In this study, higher lignin content was observed in 'Kangbing Jianshi' compared with 'Fuping Jianshi', and this difference was associated with disease resistance. Transcriptome and metabolome analyses revealed that the majority of differentially expressed genes and differentially accumulated metabolites were primarily enriched in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and lignin synthesis pathways. Furthermore, significant upregulation of DkCAD1, a pivotal gene involved in lignin metabolism, was observed in the resistant cultivar when inoculated with C. horii. Transient overexpression of DkCAD1 substantially increased lignin content and improved resistance to C. horii in a susceptible cultivar. Furthermore, through yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) assays, we identified two WRKY transcription factors, DkWRKY8 and DkWRKY10, which interacts with the DkCAD1 promoter and induces its activity. Overexpression of DkWRKY8 and DkWRKY10 not only increased leaf lignin content but also enhanced persimmon tolerance to C. horii. Moreover, the expression levels of DkCAD1, DkWRKY8, and DkWRKY10 were significantly increased in response to salicylic acid and jasmonic acid in the resistant cultivar. These findings enhance our understanding of the molecular functions of DkWRKY8, DkWRKY10, and DkCAD1 in persimmons, as well as their involvement in molecular breeding processes in persimmons.

Genetic Model Identification and Major QTL Mapping for Petiole Thickness in Non-Heading Chinese Cabbage.

Petioles of non-heading Chinese cabbage are not only an important edible part but also a conduit for nutrient transport, holding significant agricultural and research value. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive genetic analysis of petiole-related traits using a segregating population. Modern quantitative genetic approaches were applied to investigate the genetic regulation of petiole thickness. The results indicated that petiole thickness is a quantitative trait, and the identified genetic model was consistent with two pairs of additive-dominant main genes and additive-dominant polygenes (2MG-AD). BSA-seq analysis identified a major effect of QTL controlling petiole thickness on chromosome A09: 42.08-45.09 Mb, spanning 3.01 Mb, designated as QTL-BrLH9. Utilizing InDel markers, the interval was narrowed down to 51 kb, encompassing 14 genes with annotations for 10 of them. Within the interval, four mutated genes were detected. Combined with gene annotation, protein sequence analysis, and homology alignment, it was found that BraA09g063520.3C's homologous gene SMXL6 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh) is an inhibitor of the coding and synthesis of the strigolactone pathway. Strigolactone (SLs) plays an important role in plant growth and development. The cloning results showed that multiple frameshift mutations and non-synonymous mutations occurred on the exon. The qPCR results showed that the expression of the gene was significantly different between the two parents at the adult stage, so it was speculated that it would lead to changes in petiole thickness. BraA09g063520.3C was predicted as the final candidate gene.

Indirect catalytic oxidation of multi-pollutants in diesel exhaust by ozone/micro-nano bubbles system.

Wet oxidation absorption is an efficient and promising method of exhaust gas treatment. When the micro-nano bubbles collapse, they can generate hydroxyl radicals with strong oxidising ability, which can oxidise a variety of pollutants in diesel exhaust. Ozone has strong oxidising properties, and the coupling of ozone and micro-nano bubbles can improve the oxidation and removal effects of polluted gases. In this study, the ozone micro-nano bubbles system was used to oxidise NOx, SO2, and CO to gases that were more readily dissolved in water, such as NO2, SO3, and CO2, and the gases were removed through the absorbent solution. The effects of surfactant, catalyst, urea, pH value, and salinity on the removal efficiency of NOx, SO2, and CO from diesel exhaust were investigated. Through experiments, it was found that the removal efficiency of pollutants was enhanced and then weakened with the increasing concentrations of surfactants, catalysts, and salinity, and continued to decrease with increasing concentrations of urea. When the pH value was < 7, the removal efficiency increased first and then weakened with the increase of the pH value. When the pH value was > 7, it mainly depended on the absorption of acid gas by the alkali solution. Under optimal conditions, the removal efficiencies were 86.3% for NO, 92.1% for SO2, and 65.4% for CO. This study could provide important theoretical support for the industrial application of this technology.

Growth of c-plane and m-plane aluminium-doped zinc oxide thin films: epitaxy on flexible substrates with cubic-structure seeds.

Manufacturing high-quality zinc oxide (ZnO) devices demands control of the orientation of ZnO materials due to the spontaneous and piezoelectric polarity perpendicular to the c-plane. However, flexible electronic and optoelectronic devices are mostly built on polymers or glass substrates which lack suitable epitaxy seeds for the orientation control. Applying cubic-structure seeds, it was possible to fabricate polar c-plane and nonpolar m-plane aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films epitaxially on flexible Hastelloy substrates through minimizing the lattice mismatch. The growth is predicted of c-plane and m-plane AZO on cubic buffers with lattice parameters of 3.94-4.63 Šand 5.20-5.60 Å, respectively. The ∼80 nm-thick m-plane AZO film has a resistivity of ∼11.43 ±â€…0.01 × 10-4 Ω cm, while the c-plane AZO film shows a resistivity of ∼2.68 ±â€…0.02 × 10-4 Ω cm comparable to commercial indium tin oxide films. An abnormally higher carrier concentration in the c-plane than in the m-plane AZO film results from the electrical polarity along the c-axis. The resistivity of the c-plane AZO film drops to the order of 10-5 Ω cm at 500 K owing to the semiconducting behaviour. Epitaxial AZO films with low resistivities and controllable orientations on flexible substrates offer optimal transparent electrodes and epitaxy seeds for high-performance flexible ZnO devices.

Cytoplasm Types Affect DNA Methylation among Different Cytoplasmic Male Sterility Lines and Their Maintainer Line in Soybean (Glycine max L.).

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) lines and their maintainer line have the same nucleus but different cytoplasm types. We used three soybean (Glycine max L.) CMS lines, JLCMS9A, JLCMSZ9A, and JLCMSPI9A, and their maintainer line, JLCMS9B, to explore whether methylation levels differed in their nuclei. Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of these four lines was performed. The results show that the cytosine methylation level in the maintainer line was lower than in the CMS lines. Compared with JLCMS9B, the Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of DMR (differentially methylated region, DMR)-related genes of JLCMS9A revealed that their different 5-methylcytosine backgrounds were enriched in molecular function, whereas JLCMSZ9A and JLCMSPI9A were enriched in biological process and cellular component. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) analysis of DMR-related genes and different methylated promoter regions in different cytosine contexts, hypomethylation or hypermethylation, showed that the numbers of DMR-related genes and promoter regions were clearly different. According to the DNA methylation and genetic distances separately, JLCMS9A clustered with JLCMS9B, and JLCMSPI9A with JLCMSZ9A. Thus, the effects of different cytoplasm types on DNA methylation were significantly different. This may be related to their genetic distances revealed by re-sequencing these lines. The detected DMR-related genes and pathways that are probably associated with CMS are also discussed.

Homotypic targeting upconversion nano-reactor for cascade cancer starvation and deep-tissue phototherapy.

Cancer starvation therapy based on catalytic chemistry of glucose oxidase (GOx) offers great potential for multimodal treatment, benefiting from both nutrition shutting-off and the oxidization product hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Herein, further optimization of such combined therapy was achieved by a cascade Nano-reactor, which was constructed by incorporating GOx into a bio-mimic upconversion nanosystem. The cascade began when GOx was delivered into tumor sites through homotypic targeting, facilitating selective starving of cancer cells and H2O2 generation. Then, upon 980 nm laser excitation, the 470 nm light emitted by upconversion nanoparticles (NaYF4: Yb, Tm) photolyzed H2O2 into hydroxyl radical for phototherapy, superior to direct photolysis by blue light with limited tissue penetration depth. Meanwhile, the 800 nm emission of UCNPs was used to track the in vivo fate and tumor targeting ability of the Nano-reactor. Radionuclide imaging further confirmed the targeting of the Nano-reactor to subcutaneous 4T1 tumor and lung metastasis. Significantly enhanced therapeutic efficacy of this cascade starvation-phototherapy was validated in vitro and in vivo, suggesting the Nano-reactor as a smart, simple and strong system for cancer multimodal therapy.

A Novel Theranostic Nanoprobe for In Vivo Singlet Oxygen Detection and Real-Time Dose-Effect Relationship Monitoring in Photodynamic Therapy.

Singlet oxygen, as the main member of reactive oxygen species, plays a significant role in cancer photodynamic therapy. However, the in vivo real-time detection of singlet oxygen remains challenging. In this work, a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based upconversion nanoplatform for monitoring the singlet oxygen in living systems is developed, with the ability to evaluate the in vivo dose-effect relationship between singlet oxygen and photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy. In details, this nanoplatform is composed of core-shell upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), photosensitizer MC540, NIR dye IR-820, and poly(acryl amine) PAA-octylamine, where the UCNPs serve as an energy donor while IR-820 serves as an energy acceptor. The nanoparticles are found to sensitively reflect the singlet oxygen levels generated in the tumor tissues during PDT, by luminescence intensity changes of UNCPs at 800 nm emission. Furthermore, it could also enable tumor treatment with satisfactory biocompatibility. To the best knowledge, this is the first report of a theranostic nanoplatform with the ability to formulate the in vivo dose-effect relationship between singlet oxygen and PDT efficacy and to achieve tumor treatment at the same time. This work might also provide an executable strategy to evaluate photodynamic therapeutic efficacy based on singlet oxygen pathway.

FRET-Based Upconversion Nanoprobe Sensitized by Nd3+ for the Ratiometric Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide in Vivo.

The exorbitant level of hydrogen peroxide is closely related to many human diseases. The development of novel probes for H2O2 detection will be beneficial to disease diagnosis. In this study, a novel Nd3+-sensitized upconversion nanoprobe based on Förster resonance energy transfer was first developed for sensing H2O2. This nanosystem was made of core-shell upconversion nanoparticles (emission at 540 and 660 nm), dicyanomethylene-4 H-pyran (DCM)-H2O2, and poly acrylic acid (PAA)-octylamine. Obviously, upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) doped with Nd3+ acted as an energy donor, and DCM-H2O2, transferring to DCM-OH with the reaction of H2O2, acted as an energy acceptor. The ratiometric upconversion luminescence (540 nm/660 nm) signal could be utilized to visualize the H2O2 level, and the LOD of the nanoprobe for H2O2 was quantified to be 0.168 µM. Meanwhile, owing to the dope of Nd3+, the nanoprobe would not induce the overheating effect in biological samples and could possess deeper tissue penetration depth, compared with the UCNPs excited by 980 nm light during bioimaging. The nanoprobe could also play an important role in detecting the exogenous and endogenous H2O2 in living cells with ratiometric UCL (upconversion luminescence) imaging. Furthermore, our nanoprobe could function in detecting the H2O2 in a tumor-bearing mouse model. Therefore, this novel nanoprobe along with the ratiometric method for responding and bioimaging H2O2 could serve as a new model that promotes the emergence of novel probes for H2O2 detection.

High-Performance Flexible Thin-Film Transistors Based on Single-Crystal-like Silicon Epitaxially Grown on Metal Tape by Roll-to-Roll Continuous Deposition Process.

Single-crystal-like silicon (Si) thin films on bendable and scalable substrates via direct deposition are a promising material platform for high-performance and cost-effective devices of flexible electronics. However, due to the thick and unintentionally highly doped semiconductor layer, the operation of transistors has been hampered. We report the first demonstration of high-performance flexible thin-film transistors (TFTs) using single-crystal-like Si thin films with a field-effect mobility of ∼200 cm2/V·s and saturation current, I/lW > 50 µA/µm, which are orders-of-magnitude higher than the device characteristics of conventional flexible TFTs. The Si thin films with a (001) plane grown on a metal tape by a "seed and epitaxy" technique show nearly single-crystalline properties characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, reflection high-energy electron diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The realization of flexible and high-performance Si TFTs can establish a new pathway for extended applications of flexible electronics such as amplification and digital circuits, more than currently dominant display switches.