OFP is a class of plant-specific transcription factors that play important roles in the regulation of plant organ morphogenesis and response to abiotic stresses.In order to study the characterization of soybean OFP transcription factor family members and their roles in drought stress and salt stress,bioinformatics methods were applied to identify and analyze soybean OFP family members.The results showed that:a total of 41 GmOFPs,named GmOFP-1—GmOFP-41,were identified in soybean;these genes were unevenly distributed on 19 chromosomes of soybean,encoding 152—414 amino acids;subcellular localization predicted that soybean OFP proteins were mainly localized in nucleus,chloroplasts,and mitochondria;a total of 10 conserved motifs were identified in soybean OFP proteins,conservative Motifs 1 and 2 were present in all OFP members.Phylogenetic analysis classified soybean and Arabidopsis OFP proteins into five subfamilies ClassⅠ—Class V,of which soybean OFP family genes were mainly distributed in ClassⅠ and Class Ⅲ.The collinearity analysis revealed that 75 pairs of genes in the soybean genome had collinearity,four pairs of genes had tandem duplications,and only two genes,GmOFP-2 and GmOFP-39,did not have collinearity,which indicated that gene fragment duplication was the main reason for the increase in the number of soybean OFP family members.The expression patterns of GmOFP gene family members under drought stress and salt stress treatments were analyzed by qRT-PCR,and the results showed that,compared with the control,16 members out of 41 GmOFP genes exhibited significant differences in gene expression levels after drought treatments,with significant up-regulation of the expression of GmOFP-15,GmOFP-17,and GmOFP-32,while the GmOFP-4,GmOFP-5,GmOFP-6,GmOFP-9,GmOFP-12,GmOFP-21,GmOFP-23,GmOFP-25,GmOFP-26,GmOFP-27,GmOFP-38,GmOFP-39,and GmOFP-40 were significantly down-regulated after drought treatment.Eight members of GmOFPs showed significant differences in gene expression levels after salt treatment,among which GmOFP-7,GmOFP-14,GmOFP-31,GmOFP-32,GmOFP-36,and GmOFP-40 were significantly up-regulated,and GmOFP-1 and GmOFP-15 were significantly down-regulated.The above results suggest that the soybean OFP gene family may have important functions in response to drought stress and salt stress.

This study aimed to clarify the regulatory mechanism of exogenous glycine betaine(GB)on the antioxidant and photosynthetic systems of maize seedling leaves under combined heat and drought stress(TD),providing a theoretical basis for alleviating crop stress under extreme environments.Using the maize variety Xianyu 335 as experimental material,different concentrations of GB(0,50,100,200,and 400 mmol/L)were applied to the leaves at the three-leaf-one-heart stage.After 24 hours,combined stress was simulated in a climate chamber with high temperature(day/night temperature of 40 ℃/28 ℃)and 20% PEG-6000 to induce moderate drought,exploring the regulatory effects of GB on the antioxidant system and photosynthesis of maize seedlings.The results showed that 100 mmol/L GB significantly promoted plant growth.Compared with the TD treatment,plant height,leaf area,shoot dry weight,and root dry weight increased by 27.48%,27.45%,28.33%,and 78.26%,respectively,while the root-to-shoot ratio increased by 14.91 percentage points.On the 5th day after stress,100 mmol/L GB significantly enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities,with superoxide dismutase(SOD),peroxidase(POD),and catalase(CAT)activities increasing by 69.09%,69.02%,and 41.81%,respectively.Simultaneously,the contents of malondialdehyde(MDA),superoxide anion($\mathrm{O}^{\bar{.}}_{2}$),and hydrogen peroxide(H₂O₂)decreased by 21.92%,6.50%,and 25.33%,respectively.Furthermore,soluble sugar(SS)and soluble protein(SP)contents increased by 31.69% and 18.98%.Photosynthetic characterization analysis indicated that GB effectively improved the lamellar system structure of chloroplast grana and stroma thylakoids,thereby significantly increasing the SPAD value under combined stress and alleviating damage to the photosystem Ⅱ(PSⅡ)reaction center.This was manifested by a decrease in minimal fluorescence(F0)and increases in variable fluorescence(Fv)and maximum fluorescence(Fm).Additionally,by mitigating the stomatal and non-stomatal limitations caused by combined stress,GB treatment significantly enhanced photosynthetic performance,increasing the net photosynthetic rate(Pn)by 24.14% on the 5th day after stress.In conclusion,under combined heat and drought stress,exogenous GB can protect the photosynthetic system by enhancing antioxidant enzyme activities and osmotic adjustment capacity,thereby alleviating stress damage and promoting the growth of maize seedlings.

Metacaspase (MC) belongs to arginine/threonine specific protease,studies have shown that it plays a role in programmed cell death.To investigate the distribution of MC family genes in the genome of Brassica napus and whether they respond to drought stress,this study systematically analyzed the physicochemical properties,phylogeny,gene structure,conserved domains,cis-acting elements,and expression patterns of MC family genes under drought(PEG6000)and abscisic acid(ABA)stress in B.napus.A total of 25 BnMC genes were identified.Chromosomal localization showed that the 25 BnMCs were distributed on 13 chromosomes.Subcellular localization prediction showed that 17 members of the BnMC family were localized in the nucleus and seven members were in the cytoplasm.The phylogenetic tree classified BnMC into two major classes (Type Ⅰ and Type Ⅱ) and four branches (Group A,Group B,Group C,and Group D).BnMCs of the same branch had similar gene structure and conserved motif distribution.The core promoter regions of BnMC contained four types of cis-acting elements:light response element,phytohormone response element,plant growth and development response element and stress response element.Among all the cis-acting elements related to abiotic stress responses,the abscisic acid response element (ABRE) was the most abundant,with a total of 79.All members contained this cis-acting element.The transcriptome sequencing revealed that the expressions of BnMC10,BnMC22,BnMC1,BnMC12 and BnMC8 were up-regulated and the expressions of BnMC4 and BnMC5 were down-regulated after drought treatment.The qRT-PCR assay showed BnMC10,BnMC8,BnMC1 and BnMC12 genes were expressed in both roots and leaves and were up-regulated by both PEG6000 and ABA,with BnMC1 showing the most significant up-regulating changes.In summary,the response of B.napus to drought stress involves the regulation of the expression level of MC family genes.

In order to uncover key genes involved in flax's response to drought stress and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms,thereby providing theoretical support for breeding drought-resistant varieties.Using roots of the drought-resistant flax cultivar Tianya 13 as experimental material,drought stress was simulated with different concentrations(5%,10%,20%,30%)of polyethylene glycol(PEG).Based on the analysis of physiological indicators such as root length,root thickness,and dry/fresh weight ratio,20% PEG was identified as the optimal stress concentration,under which the above indicators were significantly reduced by 31.63%,30.50%,and 13.39 percentage points,respectively,compared to the control.Subsequently,Illumina transcriptome sequencing was performed on roots subjected to drought stress at different time points(8,16,24 h),identifying 5 428,5 304,and 3 603 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)at each time point,respectively.KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that these DEGs were significantly enriched in key pathways such as carbohydrate metabolism(12 genes),betaine biosynthesis(4 genes),and the antioxidant defense system(36 genes).qRT-PCR validation of selected DEGs confirmed expression trends consistent with the RNA-seq results,verifying data reliability.This study systematically reveals,that flax enhances drought tolerance through the coordinated regulation of osmotic adjustment substance(e.g.,betaine)synthesis,energy metabolism reprogramming(carbohydrate metabolism),and reactive oxygen species scavenging mechanisms.It provides important theoretical foundations and candidate gene resources for molecular design breeding in flax.

To clarify the effects of different nitrogen forms combined with magnesium fertilization on potato in the northern foothills of Yinshan Mountains,a field experiment was conducted in Hohhot,Inner Mongolia.The experiment included two nitrogen forms(nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen)and two magnesium application rates(0,45 kg/ha),resulting in four treatments.The impacts of these treatments on potato yield and its components,dry matter,nitrogen,magnesium,and potassium contents,their accumulation,and nitrogen use efficiency throughout the growth period were analyzed.The results showed that,compared with the application of nitrate nitrogen alone,the combined application of nitrate nitrogen and magnesium significantly increased potato leaf dry matter(21.24%—75.60%)and tuber dry matter(22.04%—62.36%)from tuber initiation stage to harvest stage,as well as whole-plant dry matter(32.54%—70.28%)from seedling stage to harvest stage.It also enhanced nitrogen accumulation(44.01%—69.84%)in tuber initiation stage,starch accumulation stage and harvest stage,whole-plant magnesium accumulation(37.66%—84.21%)during the entire growth period,whole-plant potassium accumulation (24.30%—54.95%) from tuber initiation stage to harvest stage, nitrogen uptake efficiency (30.77%—66.67%) during the entire growth period,and partial factor productivity of nitrogen fertilizer at harvest stage(35.13%).Correlation analysis indicated that potato dry matter,whole-plant nitrogen,magnesium,and potassium accumulation were significantly positively correlated with nitrogen uptake efficiency during the entire growth period(r was all greater than 0.78).At harvest stage,whole-plant potassium content showed a highly significant negative correlation with yield(r was -0.78).Principal component analysis further demonstrated that the total variation among treatments during the entire growth period was highly dispersed,indicating significant differences between nitrogen form combined with magnesium fertilization treatments and those without magnesium application.These findings provide a new strategy for improving nitrogen use efficiency and optimizing nitrogen-magnesium management in potato production in the northern foothills of Yinshan Mountains.

To elucidate the regulatory effects of water-fertilizer coupling on fruit quality and taste substance accumulation in flavor tomatoes,greenhouse experiments were conducted using Yutianyou 6(premium flavor type)and 2442(common type)as test materials.Six water-fertilizer coupling treatments were established(W1F1:70%—75% ETc+180-90-150 kg/ha;W1F2:70%—75% ETc+240-120-200 kg/ha;W1F3:70%—75% ETc+300-150-250 kg/ha;W2F1:80%—85% ETc+180-90-150 kg/ha;W2F2:80%—85% ETc+240-120-200 kg/ha;W2F3:80%—85% ETc+300-150-250 kg/ha).The effects on yield,nutritional quality,sugar-acid components,and dynamic accumulation of soluble solids in greenhouse tomatoes were investigated.The results demonstrated that: both irrigation and fertilization exerted extremely significant effects on tomato yield.The W2 regime increased yields of Yutianyou 6 and 2442 by 22.3% and 19.6%,respectively,compared with W1.The highest yields were obtained under F3,reaching 33 720,33 480 kg/ha,respectively.Quality traits exhibited cultivar-specific responses.Vitamin C content was optimized in Yutianyou 6 under W1F2(0.383 mg/g)and in 2442 under W1F3(0.224 mg/g).Soluble protein accumulation was predominantly fertilizer-driven,peaking in Yutianyou 6 at W2F2(7.02 mg/g).Sugar-acid accumulation patterns varied between cultivars.Yutianyou 6 showed optimal glucose,citric acid,and malic acid accumulation under W2F2,with maximal fructose and sugar-acid ratio(8.326)achieved under W2F1.Conversely,2442 displayed weaker water responses,attaining its highest sugar-acid ratio(9.346)under W2F2.Soluble solids(Brix)displayed a rapid initial increase followed by stabilization,with W1F2 producing the optimal synergistic effect(peak 10.19% in Yutianyou 6)while conserving 12.5%—17.6% irrigation water and 20% fertilizer compared with W2F1.In conclusion,moderate water deficit combined with optimized fertilization can simultaneously enhance yield and quality.Yutianyou 6 is recommended for the high water-low fertilizer regime(W2F1),whereas 2442 is suited to the high water medium fertilizer regime(W2F2).

The effects of different degrees of drought stress on antioxidant enzyme activity, malondialdehyde(MDA)content,photosynthetic characteristics,and yield composition of wheat were investigated to provide a theoretical basis and technical support for optimizing water-saving production of wheat.From 2023 to 2025,four soil water gradients of heavy drought(I-hd),moderate drought(I-md),mild drought(I-fd)and suitable water content(I-sm)were set up in the Longkou Experimental Station of Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences.The antioxidant enzyme activity,MDA content,photosynthetic characteristics and grain yield composition of wheat under different drought stress were systematically analyzed.The results showed that compared with moderate and heavy drought,mild drought and suitable water were beneficial to optimize spike number,grain number per spike and 1000-grain weight,thus significantly increasing grain yield,and the average grain yield in two years increased by 11.1%—51.0%.The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase(SOD),peroxidase(POD),and catalase(CAT)were significantly increased at each growth stage under mild drought and suitable water,and the MDA content in leaves was significantly decreased at each growth stage,which played an important role in reducing the degree of cell membrane lipid oxidation and delaying plant senescence.The leaf area index(LAI),chlorophyll relative value(SPAD value)and net photosynthetic rate(Pn)of leaves at booting,flowering and mid-filling stages were maintained at a high level under mild drought and suitable water conditions,which provided a physiological basis for the improvement of photosynthetic rate,while the above indices were significantly reduced during the whole growth period under moderate and severe drought conditions.The results of correlation analysis showed that the activities of antioxidant enzymes(SOD,POD,CAT)were significantly negatively correlated with MDA content,and significantly positively correlated with photosynthetic characteristics(LAI,SPAD,Pn)and yield components(spike number,grain number per spike,1000-grain weight),which provided physiological guarantee for maintaining higher photosynthetic capacity.In summary,both mild drought and suitable water significantly increase the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD,POD,and CAT in leaves at each growth stage,reduce the content of harmful substances such as MDA,and optimize LAI and SPAD values to improve the photosynthetic rate of leaves.The final grain yield increased by 11.1%—51.0%.However,there was no significant difference in grain yield,antioxidant enzyme activity and photosynthetic characteristics between mild drought and suitable water.Therefore,it is concluded that under mild drought conditions,high and stable yield of wheat can be achieved by optimizing photosynthetic characteristics and leaf antioxidant capacity,which provides a reliable practical approach for water-saving crop production.

To investigate the expression characteristics of OsASL1.1 and its role in the drought stress response,the subcellular localization of OsASL1.1 protein and cis-acting elements in the promoter region of OsASL1.1 gene were analyzed.Additionally,Real-time Quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR)was used to examine the expression patterns of OsASL1.1 in response to abscisic acid(ABA),mannitol,and polyethylene glycol 6000(PEG6000).CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology was employed to generate Cas9-OsASL1.1 mutants with Kitaake as background,and the mutation types were characterized.The abscisic acid(ABA)sensitivity and drought tolerance of mutants were analyzed.The results indicated that OsASL1.1 protein was primarily localized in plastids.The promoter region of OsASL1.1 contained cis-acting elements responsive to low temperatures and plant hormones(ABA and auxin),including five ABA responsive cis-acting elements(ABREs).OsASL1.1 expression was induced by ABA,mannitol and PEG6000.Two homozygous mutant types,Cas9-6 and Cas9-12,were generated.Cas9-6 harbored a 17 bp insertion that caused premature translation termination,whereas Cas9-12 had a 12 bp deletion that resulted in the loss of four amino acids.Under ABA treatment,root elongation of Cas9-OsASL1.1 mutants and wild type were inhibited;however,the inhibition was less severe in the mutants than that in the wild type.Under 150 mmol/L mannitol treatment,the survival rates of both Cas9-6 and Cas9-12 mutants were significantly lower than that of wild type,with Cas9-6 showing the lowest survival rate.In summary,the Cas9-OsASL1.1 mutants show reduced sensitivity to ABA and decreased drought tolerance,indicating that the loss of OsASL1.1 function diminishes rice sensitivity to ABA and drought tolerance.

In order to explore the effect of straw interlayer on soil respiration and the chemical structural stability of organic carbon components during the remediation of saline-alkali soil,two experimental treatments were set up in the alfalfa-planting farmland at the Saline-Alkali Soil Improvement Experimental Demonstration Base in the Agricultural High-Tech Zone of Dongying City,Shandong Province:a straw interlayer treatment (S,with a 5 cm thick straw layer buried at a 35 cm depth) and a control (CK,without an interlayer). Soil respiration characteristics of the different treatments were analyzed,and comprehensive discussions were conducted in conjunction with soil pH,electrical conductivity(EC),organic carbon component content,and chemical structure characteristics of the soil profile.The results showed that:compared with CK,the S treatment significantly increased the soil respiration rate during the alfalfa growth period, with a maximum increase of 79.84%. Furthermore, the S treatment reduced soil EC in the straw interlayer (35—40 cm) and the overlying soil layer (0—35 cm), effectively inhibiting the upward migration of salt. The 40—50 cm soil layer was identified as a critical zone for organic carbon transformation. In this layer, the S treatment significantly increased SOC content (by 16.67%) and highly significantly elevated particulate organic carbon (POC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) contents (by 208.07% and 83.41%, respectively) compared with CK. Characterization of the molecular structure of organic carbon in the 40—50 cm layer revealed distinct responses. For DOC, the S treatment reduced the magnitude-weighted averages of unsaturation (by 30.60%) and aromaticity index (by 4.84%) compared with CK, decreasing the proportion of unstable carbon. For POC, the S treatment increased the relative abundances of alkyl C(10.32 percentage points)and O-alkyl C (8.39 percentage points) while reducing carboxyl C (14.24 percentage points), thereby enhancing POC structural stability. However, for bulk SOC, the S treatment decreased the proportions of alkyl C(3.14 percentage points) and aromatic C(3.38 percentage points) while increasing O-alkyl C(5.17 percentage points)and carboxyl C(1.56 percentage points). This shift indicated a decrease in recalcitrant carbon and an increase in labile carbon, resulting in reduced SOC structural stability. Correlation analysis showed that the significant increased in soil respiration was highly significantly and significantly positively correlated with POC and SOC contents in the critical soil layer, respectively. Specifically, the accumulation of O-alkyl C(a labile component) in the chemical structure of SOC reduced the stability of organic carbon,which was the main reason for the increase in soil respiration.In conclusion,incorporating a straw interlayer significantly increased soil respiration in the short term,which was closely related to the reduction in the stability of the organic carbon chemical structure in the key soil layer.Under future "carbon neutrality" strategies,research on the selection of interlayer materials should be considered.

This study aimed to elucidate the compositional differences and molecular regulatory mechanisms of anthocyanins in kernels of fresh-eating maize with different colors by integrating metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses,thereby providing candidate genes and a theoretical basis for molecular breeding of colored fresh-eating maize.White WN2000,yellow HN,colored CN1,and black HTN188 were used as materials.Metabolomics was employed to identify anthocyanin-related metabolites and screen differential metabolites;transcriptome sequencing was conducted to obtain differentially expressed genes(DEGs).Metabolite gene associations were analyzed through GO annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment,and key structural genes and transcriptional regulators were mined within the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway.The results showed that 49 anthocyanin-related metabolites were identified in total.Major anthocyanins,including cyanidin,peonidin,and pelargonidin,accumulated significantly in HTN188,indicating stronger pigment deposition.Transcriptome analysis identified 12 557 DEGs,among which structural genes such as F3H,DFR,and UFGT,as well as transcription factors including MYB and bHLH,were significantly up-regulated in varieties with high anthocyanin content.Correlation analysis revealed that the expression level of Zm00001d011438 was significantly and positively correlated with total anthocyanin content,suggesting that it may play a key role in kernel anthocyanin accumulation.Overall,the integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses characterized differences in anthocyanin composition and related gene expression among differently colored fresh-eating maize kernels,and identified structural genes,transcription factors,and the candidate Zm00001d011438 associated with the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway,providing references for subsequent functional validation and genetic improvement.

To investigate the effects of varying nitrogen(N)application rates on carbon and nitrogen metabolism and the formation of yield and quality in sugar beet,a field experiment was conducted at the Science and Technology Park of Inner Mongolia Agricultural University,Hohhot,Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.Five N application treatments were implemented with rates of 0(N0),60(N60),120(N120),180(N180),240 kg/ha (N240).Dynamic changes in the main photosynthetic physiological indices,along with key enzymes and products involved in carbon and nitrogen metabolism of sugar beet,were analyzed under different treatments throughout its entire growth stage.The results showed that nitrogen application exerted significantly different effects on the photosynthetic characteristics,activities of key carbon and nitrogen metabolic enzymes and their metabolic products in sugar beet across different growth stages.In terms of photosynthetic characteristics,the SPAD values of all N-applied treatments on June 17 and July 2 were 10.06%—32.45%,4.19%—26.98% higher than those of N0,respectively.The N180 treatment showed the highest SPAD value and Fv/Fm on August 20,and exhibited relatively high SPAD values and Fv/Fm on September 20.Regarding the activities of key carbon and nitrogen metabolic enzymes,the N180 treatment exhibited the highest activities of sucrose phosphate synthase(SPS),sucrose synthase(SS),nitrate reductase(NR),and glutamine synthetase(GS)on July 17,which were 17.20%,20.37%,18.39%,31.30% higher than those of N0,respectively.In addition,the SPS activity on September 20 and SS activity on August 5 in the N180 treatment were also the highest,reaching 15.51,21.59 μg/(g·min),respectively.Regarding carbon and nitrogen metabolites,with the progression of the growth period,the soluble sugar content in taproots and the total nitrogen content in leaves both exhibited an overall increasing trend.The N180 treatment exhibited the highest total nitrogen content in both leaves and taproots on August 5,and the highest soluble sugar content in leaves on September 20.In terms of yield and quality,with the increase in nitrogen application rate,taproot yield showed an overall increasing trend,while sugar content exhibited an overall decreasing trend.Under the N180 treatment,the taproot yield reached 106.46 t/ha(31.00% higher than N0),the sugar content was 13.43%(0.63 percentage points lower than N0),and the sugar yield was the highest at 14.30 t/ha(25.11% higher than N0).Correlation analysis indicated that the activities of key enzymes(SPS,SS)of carbon metabolism were positively correlated with sugar yield,and carbon metabolites were negatively correlated with sugar yield overall.The activities of key enzymes(NR,GS)of nitrogen metabolism were positively correlated with sugar yield,and the total nitrogen content of taproots was positively correlated with sugar yield overall.In conclusion,a nitrogen application rate of 180 kg/ha optimized the photosynthetic performance of sugar beet leaves,promoted the coordination of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in leaves and taproots,balanced taproot yield and sugar content,and thus increased sugar yield.

In order to reveal the response characteristics of potato growth,development,and photosynthetic traits to different water gradients during the critical growth period in semi-arid regions,this study conducted simulated experiments involving waterlogging (soil moisture maintained at 85% field capacity)and drought stress (drought initiated when soil moisture reached 65% field capacity)to investigate various growth traits and photosynthetic parameters of potatoes.The results showed that the plant height and biomass accumulation of potatoes under waterlogging were not different from those under normal irrigation.The plant height growth and biomass accumulation of potato under drought stress were significantly decreased.Meanwhile,the photosynthetic characteristics of potato leaves were significantly decreased under drought stress,including a 43% reduction in net photosynthetic rate and a 55% reduction in stomatal conductance.There was no significant difference in photosynthetic characteristics(except for stomatal conductance)between waterlogging treatment and normal irrigation treatment.Drought stress and waterlogging treatment decreased the photosynthetic capacity and light energy utilization of potato leaves to different degrees.Among them,under waterlogging conditions,the growth and development of potato leaves were more easily inhibited when exposed to strong light,and the activity of potato leaves was reduced.The growth and development of potato leaves were more easily inhibited when exposed to weak light under drought conditions,but the activity of potato leaves was not reduced.Comprehensive analysis showed that potato was more susceptible to drought stress in tuber expansion stage in semi-arid region,followed by longer waterlogging duration affecting potato growth and development.

Clarify the effect of straw returning and nitrogen fertilizer reduction on chlorophyll content,dry matter accumulation and yield of mung beans in Inner Mongolia central region,and to provide reference for the rational utilization of straw resources and scientific nitrogen application in mung bean cultivation.It used Kelyu 1 mung bean as the material and two factor split zone design was used.Two cultivation measures were set up:straw returning(ST)and no straw returning(NST)and four nitrogen fertilizer application levels were set up:0(N0),45(N45),90(N90),135(N135)kg/ha,for a total of eight treatments.To analyze the effects of different treatments at different stages on mung bean on chlorophyll content,dry matter weight of aboveground organs,main agronomic traits at maturity stage,yield and its components.The results showed that the chlorophyll content,dry matter weight of aboveground organs,main agronomic traits,yield and its constituent factors of mung beans treated differently at different stages were as follows:ST+N90>ST+N135>ST+N45>NST+N90>NST+N135>NST+N45>ST+N0>NST+N0.Compared with the NST+N0 treatment,ST+N90 treatment had the highest chlorophyll content at the podding stage,leaf dry matter weight at the flowering stage,stem dry matter weight at the maturity stage,pod dry matter weight at the podding stage,grain dry matter weight at the maturity stage,number of main stem branches,number of main stem nodes,pod length,pod width,number of pods per plant,number of seeds per pod,100-seed weight,and yield of mung beans,with increases of 24.33%,30.56%,26.83%,28.58%,43.85%,6.13%,7.03%,5.62%,16.35%,13.22%,4.45%,8.90% and 23.46%.The straw returning with 90 kg/ha nitrogen fertilizer application treatment can increase the mung beans chlorophyll content,promote the accumulation of aboveground organs dry matter weight,and improve the yield.It is an ideal measure in mung bean cultivation.

In order to explore the effects of mulching measures(such as straw returning and plastic film mulching)on soil aggregates and organic carbon in semi-arid rain-fed agricultural areas.The potato-wheat rotation system in the dryland of Longzhong was used as the research object.The effects of straw stubble mulching(SR),straw strip mulching(SM),plastic film mulching(PM)and open field(CK)on soil organic carbon components(SOC,POC,MAOC),aggregate stability and aggregate carbon contribution rate were systematically analyzed.By evaluating the soil improvement effect of different mulching measures,integrating the intrinsic indicators such as soil organic carbon component dynamics,aggregate stability and crop productivity and water use efficiency data reported in the literature,the optimal mulching mode that can synergistically improve organic carbon and aggregate stability was screened.The results showed that the organic carbon content and aggregate stability of potato and wheat were improved by three mulching measures in potato-wheat rotation,and the effect of SR treatment was the best.Compared with CK treatment,the SOC content of SR and SM treatment increased by 15.38% and 7.78%,and the SOC content of PM treatment did not change significantly.SR and SM treatment increased the POC content in 0—20 cm soil layer by 18.54%,16.62%,and PM decreased the POC content in 0—20 cm soil layer by 3.06%.The overall trend of MAOC increased in each treatment was SR>SM>PM>CK.Compared with CK treatment,SR and SM treatments increased the proportion of MWD,GMD,>2 mm aggregates and SOC content,while PM significantly reduced MWD and GMD.SR increased the SOC enrichment coefficient of>2 mm aggregates by 17.26% in 0—20 cm soil layer,and SR and SM treatments significantly increased the SOC contribution rate of>2 mm aggregates.In summary,under the conditions of this experiment,all three mulching measures can increase soil organic carbon content,and straw stubble mulching returning to the field has the best effect in improving soil organic carbon content and aggregate stability,effectively improving soil fertility.

The soybean germination stage is greatly affected by low-temperature stress,which can have a significant impact on yield.In order to explore genes related to the response of soybean germination to low-temperature stress and investigate the biological processes underlying soybean germination tolerance to cold,this study conducted transcriptome sequencing on seeds germinating for three days from eight materials showing significant differences in low-temperature tolerance during germination.Differential expressed genes (DEGs) between materials tolerant and sensitive to low temperatures were identified and subjected to GO enrichment analysis,KEGG pathway enrichment analysis,and transcription factor analysis.Among 231 DEGs identified in 15 contrasting groups of low-temperature tolerance,159 DEGs were up-regulated and 72 DEGs were down-regulated in cold-sensitive soybeans.GO enrichment analysis revealed that DEGs were mainly involved in biological processes such as cellular processes (GO:0009987),metabolic processes (GO:0008152),biological regulation (GO:0065007),response to stimulus (GO:0050896),binding (GO:0005488),transporter activity (GO:0005215),and transcription regulator activity (GO:0140110).KEGG pathway enrichment analysis indicated that DEGs were significantly enriched in starch and sucrose metabolism pathways (ko00500).Genes involved in seed development (Glyma.03G144400, Glyma.19G147200,Glyma.10G027600,Glyma.10G247500,Glyma.20G147600),metabolic reactions (Glyma.05G004300,Glyma.17G086400),and genes encoding glutathione oxidase (Glyma.01G219400) were up-regulated in cold-sensitive materials.Fifteen transcription factors from families such as MYB,AP2/ERF,and NAC were identified among the 231 differentially expressed genes,suggesting that soybeans respond to low-temperature stress during germination by regulating various biological processes,metabolic pathways,and signal transduction pathways.

In order to further analyze the genetic basis regulating the protein content of super sweet corn stalk,this study used the BLINK model to locate the major SNP loci and predict candidate genes controlling the trait,based on the maize 56K gene chip.The results showed that during the harvest period of super sweet corn,the protein content of stalk ranged from 12.63 to 30.29 g/kg,with an average of 20.76 g/kg,showing a normal distribution.Six significant SNP loci regulating the protein content of super sweet corn stalk were identified by GWAS.These loci were distributed on chromosomes 1,4 and 6,and their contribution rates ranged from 10.07% to 18.17%.Among them,Affx-115330268 on chromosome 6 had the highest contribution rate.A total of 184 candidate genes were detected in the 200 kb confidence interval between the upstream and downstream of the significant association sites,of which 34 were annotated genes,accounting for 18.48%.Through GO functional annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis,candidate genes were mainly involved in biological processes such as biological regulation,cellular processes,and catalytic activity,and were enriched in steroid biosynthesis,tryptophan metabolism,photosynthesis-antenna protein and other pathways.Based on the literature search and comparison,it was found that six key genes (GRMZM2G141473, GRMZM2G007854, GRMZM2G111319, GRMZM2G121024, GRMZM2G010353, GRMZM2G049547) that regulate the protein content of super sweet corn stalk,which are mainly involved in protein and enzyme synthesis.

To investigate the responses of different types of wheat to various nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium ratio compound fertilizers in the Huaihe River region,in terms of photosynthetic characteristics,dry matter accumulation and distribution,yield and quality,four wheat varieties(Zhongke 166,Yannong 999,Huaimai 43,Shannong 17)were selected as experimental materials.Two types of compound fertilizers were set up:high-nitrogen compound fertilizer(N-P₂O₅-K₂O=26-13-7)and equal-proportion compound fertilizer(N-P₂O₅-K₂O=18-18-18).The effects of different compound fertilizer treatments on the photosynthetic characteristics,dry matter accumulation and distribution,yield and quality of each wheat variety were analyzed.The results showed that compared with the equal-proportion compound fertilizer,the high-nitrogen compound fertilizer significantly increased the LAI,SPAD value,net photosynthetic rate and photochemical efficiency of the four varieties,delayed leaf senescence,and prolonged photosynthetic time;it also increased the dry matter accumulation at the flowering and maturity stages,optimized the dry matter distribution ratio,and ultimately increased the grain yield by 4.5% to 14.9%,with protein and wet gluten contents increasing by 1.36% to 8.17% and 3.55% to 9.36% respectively.The response of different varieties to the high-nitrogen compound fertilizer varied slightly,with Yannong 999 having the best overall performance,the largest increase in SPAD value and LAI,the highest net photosynthetic rate and yield,the highest dry matter distribution ratio at the maturity stage,and significant quality improvement;Zhongke 166 had the largest yield increase,the highest protein content and wet gluten content;Huaimai 43 had the highest increase in grain dry matter accumulation;Shannong 17 had the weakest response to the high-nitrogen compound fertilizer,but its yield was still 9.3% higher than that of the equal-proportion compound fertilizer.In summary,the high-nitrogen compound fertilizer showed significant advantages in the photosynthetic characteristics,dry matter accumulation and distribution,yield and quality of different types of wheat.Among them,Yannong 999 had the best overall performance.

Salt stress causes a significant threat to crop yield and quality.As one of the pioneer crop species in salt tolerance research,barley holds critical significance;the exploration of its salt tolerance mechanisms is capable of providing a theoretical foundation for crop salt-tolerance breeding programs.Two naked barley landraces,namely B87 with salt-sensitivity and B94 with salt-tolerance,were employed as experimental materials.At the three-leaf stage,their seedlings were exposed to a 200 mmol/L NaCl treatment for 7 days.Subsequent to the treatment,the above-ground tissues were collected for transcriptomic and metabolomic sequencing.By means of integrated multi-omics analysis,this study was designed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms governing salt tolerance in naked barley.The results demonstrated that 2 240 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 198 differentially abundant metabolites (DAMs) were identified in B87 via transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling,whereas 923 DEGs and 232 DAMs were detected in B94.Venn diagram analysis further revealed that the salt-tolerant naked barley B94 contained 480 specific DEGs and 129 specific DAMs.Furthermore, GO and KEGG analyses were separately performed on the DEGs and DAMs. And the DEGs of B94 were significantly enriched in 11 unique pathways, while its DAMs were only significantly enriched in 1 unique pathway. In addition, correlation analysis between the transcriptome and metabolome was conducted, and it was found that the changes in genes and metabolites exhibited both consistency and inconsistency. These research efforts not only enhance the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying salt tolerance in naked barley,but also provide valuable insights and candidate targets for the development of salt-tolerant naked barley cultivars in future breeding.

Soil salinization is an important constraint on the improvement of farmland productivity.In view of the poor quality and low productivity of coastal salinized soil,a pot experiment was set up to explore the effects of different dosages and ratios of organic soil conditioners on the growth and soil properties of soybean in coastal salinized farmland.The results showed that the comprehensive analysis of the physiological indicators of salt resistance,such as SOD,CAT,and MDA,showed that T3(lactose peptide 225 kg/ha,lactose peptide:inositol=10:1)and T5(lactose peptide 225 kg/ha,lactose peptide:inositol=20:1)had good improvement effects.Comparing the growth trend in the early and medium stages,T5 treatment showed good growth status,followed by T2(lactose peptide dosage 225 kg/ha,lactose peptide:inositol=5:1).In terms of dry matter accumulation and nutrient uptake,T16(lactose peptide dosage 900 kg/ha,lactose peptide:inositol=15:1),T17(lactose peptide dosage 900 kg/ha,lactose peptide:inositol=20:1)and T2 were better than those of the control treatment.The partial productivity and agronomic efficiency were the highest in T2,which were 1.11,0.87 g/kg,and the compound ratio was 5:1—15:1,which had a better effect on improving soil water-soluble ions.Taken together,the T2 and T3 treatments with a lactose peptide dosage of 225 kg/ha and a lactose peptide and inositol compound ratio of 5:1~10:1 were the best in terms of saving cost and maintaining the improvement effect.

This study investigated the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF)inoculation on the physiological characteristics and the accumulation of active components in the medicinal tree peony Paeonia ostii Fengdan under drought stress,with the aim of providing a theoretical basis for utilizing AMF to enhance the drought resistance and medicinal quality of this species.Using P.ostii seedlings as experimental material,four treatments were established:well-watered control(CK),drought stress(DR),AMF inoculation under well-watered conditions(AMCK),and AMF inoculation under drought stress(AMDR).Indicators related to plant redox homeostasis(including superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity,proline and soluble sugar content),photosynthetic characteristics(including photosynthetic pigment content,gas exchange parameters,and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters),and the content of active components(such as total flavonoids,paeonol,and paeoniflorin)in the root bark were measured.The results showed that drought stress induced significant accumulation of malondialdehyde(MDA)and reactive oxygen species(ROS),with increases of 33.53% and 50.04%, respectively,while photosynthetic performance was markedly inhibited.This was specifically evidenced by significant decreases in net photosynthetic rate(Pn),stomatal conductance(Gs),transpiration rate(Tr),maximum photochemical efficiency(Fv/Fm),and photosynthetic performance index(PIabs).AMF inoculation effectively alleviated these adverse effects.It was found that inoculation not only significantly increased SOD activity by 6.36% and elevated the contents of osmoregulatory substances (soluble proteins, soluble sugars, and proline) by 23.72%, 53.31%, and 14.70%, respectively,but also reduced ROS levels,thereby enhancing cell membrane stability.A significant recovery was also observed in photosynthetic pigment content and photosynthetic and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters(Pn,Gs,Tr,Fv/Fm,and PIabs).Furthermore,under drought stress conditions,AMF inoculation further promoted the accumulation of secondary metabolites in the root bark,including total flavonoids,paeonol,and paeoniflorin,with increases of 18.67%, 11.39%, and 5.17%, respectively, compared with the DR treatment.In conclusion,it is demonstrated that AMF can effectively mitigate the physiological damage caused by drought stress in P.ostii by enhancing its antioxidant capacity,promoting the accumulation of osmoregulatory substances,and improving photosynthetic performance.Simultaneously,AMF boosts the content of secondary metabolites in the root bark.

To explore the relationship between soil bacterial community diversity and soil enzyme activity of Qinqiong(Q) and Magnum(M) under salinity stress treatment,the bacterial community structure and soil enzyme activity of Qinqiong and Magnum for 0,6,12,24,48 h were compared and analyzed by using high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA and colorimetry.The results indicated that at the phylum level,the relative abundances of Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria in the rhizosphere soil of Qinqiong were higher than those in Magnum.At the genus level,the relative abundances of Bacillus and Arthrobacter in the rhizosphere soil of Qinqiong were greater than those in Magnum,while the relative abundance of Pseudomonas was lower compared to Magnum.After 48 hours of saline-alkali stress,the activities of soil polyphenol oxidase(S-PPO),soil catalase(S-CAT),soil dehydrogenase(S-DHA),and soil invertase(S-AI) in the rhizosphere of Qinqiong were 1.32,1.53,1.38,and 1.28 times higher than those of Magnum,respectively.Furthermore,the S-CAT activity exhibited a significant positive correlation with the bacterial ACE and Chao diversity indices.Qinqiong may influence changes in bacterial community structure by altering the relative abundances of dominant bacterial groups,thereby enhancing the bacterial community diversity index and soil enzyme activity.In contrast,the changes in the bacterial community within the rhizosphere of Magnum were not significant.The diversity of soil microbial communities is a critical factor determining the saline-alkali tolerance of oat varieties.

In order to clarify the effects of climate change and organic fertilization on soil nitrogen cycling,a soybean field experiment was conducted in Hefei, Anhui from June to November 2023. Field warming was simulated using infrared radiation warming equipment, and two temperature levels(T0:Ambient temperature;T1:Warming)and different fertilization managements(SF:Synthetic fertilization;OF:Organic fertilization),and determined the effects of warming and organic fertilization on nitrification and denitrification processes and their drivers by investigating soil physicochemical properties,the relative contributions of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria(AOB)and archaea(AOA)to the nitrification potential,denitrification capacity and N₂O/(N₂O+N₂)ratio,as well as soil respiration in combination with enzyme activity measurements.The results showed that warming significantly decreased soil moisture(2.3 precentage points),organic carbon(22.7%),total phosphorus(23.8%),N${\mathrm{H}}_{4}^{+}$-N(17.5%),while significantly increased NO₃^--N(52.8%);organic fertilization significantly increased soil moisture,organic carbon,total phosphorus,NH₄⁺-N content by 1.2 percentage points,26.5%,31.3%,17.0%,respectively.Warming increased soil respiration(26.4%),nitrification potential(31.7%),AOB contribution(16.4 percentage points),denitrification capacity(49.1%),N₂O/(N₂O+N₂)ratio(10.5 percentage points).Organic fertilization significantly decreased the nitrification potential, AOA contribution, denitrification capacity, and N₂O/(N₂O+N₂)ratio by 39.3%, 18.2 percentage points, 24.7% and 16.2 percentage points,respectively.Warming and organic fertilization significantly increased urease (S-UE), nitrite reductase (S-NiR), and hydroxylamine reductase(HR)activities.The correlation analyses showed that NO₃^--N content,S-UE,S-NiR,and HR activities were significantly positively correlated with AOB contribution rate and denitrification capacity.Therefore,warming increased soil N${\mathrm{O}}_{3}^{-}$-N content and the activities of S-UE,S-NiR and HR,which in turn increased the nitrification contribution of AOB,denitrification capacity and N₂O/(N₂O+N₂)ratio,leading to an increase in the loss of N₂O;while organic fertilization could increase the soil nutrients and regulate the role of AOA and AOB in the nitrification process,reduce the contribution of AOA,denitrification capacity and N₂O/(N₂O+N₂)ratio,and thus decrease the N₂O loss,consequently,mitigating the adverse effects of warming.

This study aims to explore the effects of reduced nitrogen application combined with organic fertilizer on soil carbon and nitrogen contents in the 0—60 cm layer of fragrant pear orchards,as well as the yield and quality of Korla fragrant pears,and to propose the optimal rate of reduced nitrogen application and matching ratio of organic fertilizer.Using 10—12-year-old Korla fragrant pear trees as test materials,a 3-year continuous experiment was carried out.The experiment set up a conventional nitrogen application treatment(denoted as N,with 300 kg/ha of nitrogen applied),three reduced nitrogen application treatments(denoted as N1,N2,N3,which reduced nitrogen by 10%,20%,and 30% respectively compared with the conventional nitrogen application treatment),and two organic fertilizer treatments(denoted as OF1 and OF2,with 22 500,33 750 kg/ha of sheep manure applied respectively).These treatments were combined to form six integrated treatments:N1F1,N2F1,N3F1,N1F2,N2F2,and N3F2.The soil carbon and nitrogen contents,soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio(C/N),as well as the yield and quality of Korla fragrant pears were determined.The result showed that N1F1,N1F2,N2F2,and N3F2 treatments significantly increased the contents of total soil carbon,soil organic carbon,soil inorganic carbon,soil microbial biomass carbon(SMBC),soil nitrate nitrogen,and soil ammonium nitrogen in the orchard.They also increased the soil C/N ratio,the contents of soluble sugar and vitamin C in pear fruits,decreased the total acid content in fruits,and had no significant effect on pear yield.The N2F1 treatment significantly promoted the contents of soil nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen but had no significant effect on pear yield or quality.The N3F1 treatment significantly inhibited the contents of soil carbon fractions and pear yield and reduced the soluble sugar content in fruits.Correlation analysis showed that soil nitrate nitrogen,ammonium nitrogen,organic carbon,inorganic carbon,total nitrogen,total carbon,SMBC,and soil microbial biomass nitrogen(SMBN)were significantly or extremely significantly correlated with pear quality;the soil C/N ratio was significantly or extremely significantly negatively correlated with pear yield and quality.Among these factors,soil organic carbon,total nitrogen,nitrate nitrogen,and ammonium nitrogen had more prominent effects on pear yield and quality.Therefore,in subsequent fertilization management,improving the contents of soil organic carbon,total nitrogen,nitrate nitrogen,and ammonium nitrogen and regulating the soil C/N ratio can better increase the yield and improve the fruit quality of Korla fragrant pears.In the management of 10—12-year-old Korla fragrant pear trees,reducing nitrogen application by 20%—30% on the basis of the conventional nitrogen application rate while applying organic fertilizer at 33 750 kg/ha is beneficial.This measure regulates soil carbon and nitrogen contents,improves pear quality,reduces chemical fertilizer input to alleviate soil pollution,and ensures the health of the soil environment.

To investigate the effects of long-term fertilization on yield formation and its physiological regulation mechanisms in double cropping late rice,it utilized a long-term fertilization experiment(initiated in 1981)in red paddy soils of Jinxian.Four typical treatments were selected:no fertilization(CK),single application of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium(NPK),double dose of NPK(HNPK),and combined organic-inorganic fertilization(NPKM).Comparisons were made on double cropping late rice yield,dry matter accumulation,chlorophyll dynamics,and differential gene expression in leaves at fullheading and filling stages in the 42nd year of long-term fertilization.Results showed that long-term fertilization resulted in yields ranked as NPKM>HNPK>NPK>CK,with HNPK and NPKM treatments significantly surpassing NPK,showing increases of 29.63% and 57.18% respectively.Compared with NPK,both NPKM and HNPK significantly improved yield components:effective panicles,grains per panicle,and grain density increased by 16.98%—46.42%,8.68%—15.26%,3.69%—7.37%,respectively.Regarding dry matter accumulation,NPKM and HNPK significantly enhanced dry matter weight at all growth stages and promoted translocation of stem-leaf dry matter to panicles from filling to maturity.The contents of chlorophyll in NPKM and HNPK treatments were significantly higher than those in CK and NPK treatments at all stages,and NPKM delayed the decay of chlorophyll from filling stage to maturity stage.Correlation analysis revealed significant positive relationships between yield and dry matter accumulation from tillering to heading(△DM1)and filling to maturity(△DM3),while showed extremely negative correlation with chlorophyll reduction from grain filling to maturity(△S3).Transcriptome analysis demonstrated that long-term fertilization significantly affected gene expression in leaves during fullheading and filling stages,with differentially expressed genes primarily enriched in photosynthesis,carbon/nitrogen metabolism,signal transduction,and stress-related pathways.In conclusion,long-term fertilization regulates gene expression and combined organic-inorganic fertilization improved yield components,enhanced early-stage dry matter accumulation,promoted assimilate translocation from vegetative organs to panicles during grain filling,maintain higher chlorophyll levels,and delayed leaf senescence post-grain filling.This comprehensive mechanism achieves yield enhancement through strengthening source(enhancing photosynthetic capacity),expanding sink(increasing dry matter storage),and facilitating flow(promoting assimilate transport).

To investigate the effects of climate warming and combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizer on soybean growth and yield,field experiments were conducted using infrared radiation warming systems to simulate temperature elevation.The experimental design included two temperature levels(T0:Ambient temperature;T1:Warming by 2.9 ℃)and two fertilization regimes(SF:Sole inorganic fertilizer;OF:Combined organic-inorganic fertilizer),aiming to examine the impacts of warming and fertilization practices on soybean dry matter accumulation,photosynthetic rate,leaf enzyme activities,and yield.Results demonstrated that compared to ambient temperature,warming shortened the pre-flowering and post-flowering growth periods by 3—4 d,5—6 d,respectively.Warming significantly reduced leaf nitrate reductase(NR)and glutamine synthetase(GS)activities during the pod-filling stage,decreased leaf area index(LAI)by 9.0%—13.7%,and suppressed net photosynthetic rate,collectively leading to 4.1%—19.3% reductions in post-flowering plant height and aboveground dry matter accumulation.In contrast,the combined organic-inorganic fertilization enhanced NR and GS activities,improved post-flowering photosynthetic efficiency,promoted plant growth,and increased the aboveground dry matter accumulation by 4.1%—15.3% compared to sole inorganic fertilization,with a significant interaction observed between NR and alanine aminotransferase activities.Yield analysis revealed that warming caused 9.7%—16.6%,13.3%—19.0% declines in pods per plant and grains per plant,respectively,resulting in 13.7%—21.1% yield reductions.Conversely,organic-inorganic fertilization increased grains per plant by 12.5% and pods per plant by 9.9%—10.5%,achieving 7.6%—10.8% yield improvements.Notably,significant positive correlations were detected among LAI,photosynthetic rate,nitrogen metabolism enzyme activities,and final yield.These findings demonstrate that climate warming inhibits post-flowering photosynthetic efficiency and aboveground growth in soybeans,while integrated organic-inorganic fertilization partially mitigates warming-induced yield losses through enhancing enzyme activities and photosynthetic performance,providing critical insights for adaptive agricultural practices under global warming scenarios.

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying peanut pod responses to water stress,this study employed pot experiments combined with transcriptomic analysis.Using well-watered conditions as the control, we systematically investigated the effects of periodic drought and waterlogging stress during the flowering-pegging stage on yield,quality,and gene expression in peanut pods. Results demonstrated that both drought and waterlogging stresses significantly reduced peanut pod yield(by 26.43% and 77.69%,respectively)and crude fat content in kernels (by 9.46, 6.71 percentage points,respectively).Transcriptomic analysis further revealed 1 525 and 1 382 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)in the drought-stress and waterlogging-stress groups compared to the control, respectively, with down-regulated expression being predominant in both sets of DEGs. Specifically, drought stress suppressed six key metabolic processes related to lipid and fatty acid metabolism in peanut pods,with 88.38% of associated genes showing downregulated expression,indicating that lipid metabolic disruption may be the primary cause of yield and quality reduction under drought. Waterlogging stress predominantly interfered with pod metabolism and defense functions by downregulating genes associated with catalytic activity,transmembrane transport,redox reactions,and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites.Moreover, KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that metabolic pathways and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites were significantly affected under both water stress conditions. Key gene validation via qRT-PCR corroborated the RNA-seq data, confirming the reliability of the transcriptomic findings. In summary, this research elucidates the molecular basis of peanut pod response to water stress at the transcriptome level, demonstrating that lipid metabolic disruption is the primary factor underlying yield reduction and quality deterioration under drought stress, whereas peanut pods mitigate the adverse effects of waterlogging mainly by modulating the expression of genes associated with redox homeostasis and metabolic pathways.

In order to the issues of carbon-nitrogen balance and emission reduction in greenhouse soil,a field experiment was carried out to explore the impacts of the combination of summer catch sweet corn and biochar on nitrogen absorption and carbon emission reduction in greenhouse soil.Four treatments were designed for this experiment:control(T1),catch crop(T2),biochar(T3),atch crop+iochar(T4).The research results showed that the dry biomass and nitrogen absorption of T4 corn were 10.18% and 9.49% higher than those of T2,respectively.The organic carbon in the surface soil of T3 and T4 increased by 25.26% and 50.01% compared to before the experiment,respectively.The total nitrogen in the surface layer of T4 decreased by 10.13%,and the C/N increased to 14.9.The nitrate nitrogen in the 60—80 cm and 80—100 cm soil layers of T4 decreased by 13.02% and 5.68% compared to before the experiment,with a significantly greater reduction than other treatments.The non-root microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen of T4 increased by 26.00% and 20.33% compared to the control,with the increase in the non-root area being lower than that in the non-root area.The average CO₂ emission of T4 was 603.90 mg/m³,which was 24.61% lower than that of the control.In summary,the combination of fallow sweet corn and biochar significantly promoted nitrogen absorption,increased microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen,reduced carbon and nitrogen leaching and emissions,and improved soil C/N,providing theoretical basis support for carbon and nitrogen management in the summer fallow period of facility farmland.

Sunflower is an important oil crop with strong salt tolerance in China.However,the production of sunflower is severely restricted by the intensification of salinization in main producing areas.To understand the salt tolerance mechanism of salt tolerance-related traits at the seedling stage of sunflower,and to identify SNP loci and candidate genes significantly associated with salt tolerance at the seedling stage of sunflower,124 sunflower germplasm accessions were used as materials.Under the stress of 250 mmol/L NaCl,genome-wide association analysis and mining of salt-tolerance loci/genes were performed based on 5 traits including plant height,leaf area,aboveground fresh weight,underground fresh weight,and SPAD value.The results showed that after 14 days of salt stress,the five trait indexes of relative plant height,relative leaf area,relative fresh weight of the above-ground part,relative fresh weight of the underground part and relative SPAD value at seedling stage had significant variations and normal distributions,and the most obvious influences were the relative fresh weight of the underground part and relative leaf area (with a coefficient of variation of over 46.57%).Eighteen significantly-associated SNP loci were obtained by genome-wide association analysis,among which Chr35448-18789497 was detected in several salt-tolerant traits;gene searches were conducted at 80 kb each in the upstream and downstream of associated loci,45 related candidate genes were screened out.Through scanning and gene annotation analysis of the associated locus intervals,four candidate genes that might be related to the salt tolerance trait of sunflower seedlings were discovered.A genome-wide association analysis was conducted using the phenotypes of salt tolerance identification at the seedling stage and genomic SNP data for sunflower germplasm accessions.SNP loci significantly associated with salt tolerance at the seedling stage were detected,and candidate genes related to salt tolerance at the seedling stage of sunflower were selected,which laid the foundation for the subsequent verification of salt-tolerant genes.

The mechanism of the effect of phosphorus application rate on the growth,yield formation and phosphorus fertilizer utilization rate of high-yield maize in Xinjiang under the condition of drip irrigation and fertilizer integration was clarified,in order to provide a theoretical basis for the high and stable yield of maize in Xinjiang and the green sustainability of fertilizer reduction and efficiency increase.The experiment was carried out in the maize high-yield demonstration base of Qitai Farm in Xinjiang from 2023 to 2024.Under the condition of drip irrigation and fertilizer integration,six phosphorus application levels were set up:no phosphorus fertilizer(P₀),pure phosphorus 60 kg/ha (P₆₀),90 kg/ha(P₉₀),120 kg/ha (P₁₂₀),150 kg/ha (P₁₅₀)and 180 kg/ha(P₁₈₀,CK).The changes of leaf area index(LAI),photosynthetic potential(LAD),dry matter accumulation,harvest index(HI),ear traits,yield and yield components of maize with water and fertilizer integration of dense planting drip irrigation were analyzed,and the effect of phosphorus application rate on yield and phosphorus fertilizer utilization rate of maize with dense planting drip irrigation in Xinjiang was clarified.The results showed that under the condition of drip fertigation and phosphorus application,the maize yield increased first and then tended to be stable with the increase of phosphorus application in the two years,and the yield was the highest(18.79—20.94 t/ha)at P₁₂₀ treatment.The amount of phosphorus application significantly affected the 1000-grain weight and grain number per ear of maize.The amount of phosphorus application mainly affected the length of maize ear bald tip.Compared with P₁₅₀ and P₁₈₀ treatments,the difference of ear bald tip length was not significant.During the critical growth period of corn,LAI showed a trend of first increasing and then stabilizing with increasing phosphorus fertilizer application rates.The LAI of maize under P₁₂₀ treatment at silking stage was 7.56—7.81,which was not significantly different from P₁₅₀ and P₁₈₀ treatments,but was significantly reduced by 21.54% under P₀ compared with P₁₂₀.In addition,the dry matter accumulation before and after anthesis of maize treated with P₁₂₀ was not significantly different from that of P₁₅₀ and P₁₈₀ treatments,which was 37.91% and 93.88% higher than that of P₀,respectively.In summary,drip fertigation and phosphorus application significantly affected LAI,LAD,pre-anthesis and post-anthesis dry matter accumulation and HI,shortened bald tip length,increased grain number per spike and 1000-grain weight,and then increased maize yield and phosphorus utilization efficiency,and realized the synergistic improvement of maize yield and phosphorus fertilizer utilization efficiency.

To investigate the effects of partially substituting chemical fertilizer with biochar-based organic fertilizer derived from cattle manure on N₂O emissions in summer maize fields and the underlying regulatory mechanisms,a field plot experiment was conducted from 2023 to 2024 at the Dishang Experimental Station of the Institute of Cereal and Oil Crops,Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences.Four fertilization treatments were set up:CF(conventional nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizer),and COF1,COF2,and COF3,which replaced 15%,30%,and 45% of the chemical nitrogen in CF with an equivalent amount of nitrogen from biochar-based organic fertilizer derived from cattle manure,respectively.The study analyzed the effects of different fertilization regimes on N₂O emissions,plant nitrogen uptake,soil physicochemical properties,abundance of nitrogen-cycle-related functional genes,and grain yield.The results showed that:(1)Compared with CF,the cumulative N₂O emissions under COF1,COF2,and COF3 treatments were significantly reduced by 39.4%,42.5%,and 43.8%,respectively.While reducing emissions,COF1 and COF2 increased plant nitrogen uptake by 45.9% and 24.5%,and yield by 10.6% and 11.7%,respectively.(2)COF1 and COF2 significantly promoted the formation of water-stable aggregates(WSA)(increased by 12.7% and 16.5% compared with CF,respectively)and reduced the abundance of key denitrification functional genes(norB,norC,narH),while enhancing the expression of genes related to dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium(DNRA)(napA,napB),thereby promoting the accumulation of soil nitrate and ammonium nitrogen.(3)COF1 and COF2 increased root biomass and the activities of nitrate reductase and glutamine synthetase in roots and leaves,synergistically improving plant nitrogen uptake and utilization.Correlation analysis further revealed that soil WSA formation was significantly negatively correlated with the abundance of key denitrification genes(norB/C,narH),while positively correlated with plant nitrogen uptake,root biomass,and nitrogen metabolism enzyme activities.In conclusion,replacing 15%—30% of chemical fertilizer with biochar-based organic fertilizer derived from cattle manure can directly inhibit the denitrification process and reduce N₂O emissions by promoting the formation of water-stable soil aggregates.Simultaneously,it indirectly reduces N₂O emissions by enhancing the DNRA pathway and plant nitrogen uptake capacity,which competes with denitrification for nitrate substrates.

To investigate the effects of optimizing basal-to-topdressing ratios combined with nitrogen application rates on nitrogen metabolism and nitrogen uptake/utilization in flue-cured tobacco,a field experiment was conducted using the cultivar Yueyan 97.Five treatments were designed:conventional basal-to-topdressing ratio (6∶4)+conventional nitrogen rate (CK),basal-to-topdressing ratio (4∶6)+conventional nitrogen rate (T1),basal-to-topdressing ratio (4∶6)+10% nitrogen reduction (T2),basal-to-topdressing ratio (4∶6)+20% nitrogen reduction (T3),and basal-to-topdressing ratio (4∶6)+30% nitrogen reduction (T4).It analyzed the impacts of these treatments on nitrogen metabolism,photosynthetic characteristics,dry matter accumulation,nitrogen uptake,nitrogen use efficiency,and nitrogen balance.The results showed that after optimizing the basal-to-topdressing ratio to 4∶6,the activities of key nitrogen metabolism enzymes,including glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH),aspartate transaminase (AST),and ferredoxin-glutamate synthase (Fd-GOGAT),were all higher than those under the traditional basal-to-topdressing ratio of 6∶4.When combined with nitrogen reduction treatments,the activities of nitrogen metabolism enzymes decreased.Specifically,T2 (10% nitrogen reduction) showed no significant difference from CK,while T3 and T4 (20%—30% nitrogen reduction) exhibited marked declines in enzyme activity.Optimizing the basal-to-topdressing ratio to 4∶6 also improved photosynthetic rate,SPAD values,dry matter accumulation,and nitrogen accumulation,with significant differences observed during the late growth stages.Furthermore,the optimizing 4∶6 ratio significantly enhanced nitrogen use efficiency.Compared to CK,nitrogen agronomic efficiency,partial factor productivity,recovery efficiency,and economic utilization efficiency increased by 20.68%,6.89%,4.06 percentage points,and 3.78 percentage points,respectively.Nitrogen reduction treatments reduced soil nitrogen surplus by 17.04—33.36 percentage points compared to CK.In conclusion,optimizing the basal-to-topdressing ratio from 6∶4 to 4∶6 in southern tobacco-growing regions enhances nitrogen metabolism during mid-to-late growth stages,improved photosynthetic performance,promotes dry matter and nitrogen accumulation,and increased nitrogen use efficiency.Coupled with 10% reduction in fertilizer can also reduce fertilizer input,mitigetes soil nitrogen surplus,and prevent environmental risks.

In order to find out the way to achieve further improvement in the yield of sesame,a field experiment was conducted using the sesame variety Yuzhi ND837 with two treatments application of three-nutrient compound fertilizer (M1:675 kg/ha) and co-application of three-nutrient compound fertilizer with bio-organic fertilizer (M2:405 kg/ha three-nutrient compound fertilizer+4 500 kg/ha bio-organic fertilizer).The study investigated the effects of organic-chemical fertilizer co-application on the canopy photosynthetic characteristics,and yield formation across different vertical layers of sesame canopy.The results demonstrated that M2 significantly increased the leaf area index at all canopy levels,enhanced the photosynthetically active radiation interception rate (PARi) in the upper and middle layer while reducing the PARi of the lower leaves.The M2 significantly improved the photosynthetic rate,SPAD values,and photosynthetic potential at all canopy levels,thereby significantly increasing dry matter accumulation in each layer and overall. This resulted in increases of 10.99% and 7.55% in the number of capsules per plant in the upper and middle layers respectively;increases of 5.69% and 4.96% in thousand-grain weight;increases of 16.77% and 10.61%in grain yield;and a total yield increase of 289.42 kg/ha,representing 14.43% increase.In conclusion,compared to conventional chemical fertilizer,the co-application of organic-chemical fertilizer optimizes the photosynthetic capacity of sesame at different canopy layers,particularly in the upper canopy,thereby enhancing the overall canopy photosynthetic efficiency and ultimately resulting in higher yields.

To clarify the genetic characteristics of total leaf number and leaf number above the ear in maize,and reveal their regulatory effects on maize yield potential,biomass accumulation,and lodging resistance,experiments on QTL mapping and gene mining for controlling maize leaf number were conducted.By using SLAF-seq technology for high-throughput sequencing of Chang 7-2,PHB1M,and 138 F_2∶3 families,combined with two planting density treatments(E1:60 000 plants/ha;E2:120 000 plants/ha)QTL mapping was performed on leaf number phenotypic data,and gene mining was performed on the mapping results.The results showed that two total leaf number QTLs distributed on chromosome 8 were the main effect QTLs,contribution rates were 16.96% and 23.08%,respectively,and the additive effect value was negative;the QTL for the leaf number above the ear distributed on chromosomes 2 and 4,with a positive additive effect value.the two QTLs distributed on chromosome 4 were the main effect QTL,contribution rates were 10.18% and 14.75%,respectively;the QTLs for total leaf number and leaf number above the ear were distributed in different chromosomal regions and might be subject to relatively independent genetic regulation.Gene functional analysis revealed genes screened involvement in carbohydrate metabolism,plant hormone signal transduction,and selected some transcription factors.The results of this study provide richer theoretical support for further revealing the genetic basis of maize leaf number and offer targets for marker-assisted breeding.

To determine the optimum strip configuration for the intercropping of soybean and maize with different border-row advantages,the field experiments were carried out in two distinct ecological regions,Jian'an District of Xuchang City and Shangshui County of Zhoukou City,Henan Province.The experimental materials included two maize varieties with strong border-row advantage(MC121 and Denghai 3206(DH3206)),and two with weak border-row advantage(Haoyu 16(HY16)and MY73),previously screened,and one soybean variety Jindou 99(JD99).Two strip intercropping patterns were established∶6 rows of soybeans alternating with 4 rows of maize(6S4M)and 4 rows of soybeans alternating with 2 rows of maize(4S2M).Sole cropping of soybeans(CKS)and maize(CKM)were set as the controls.This study investigated the variations in maize agronomic traits,dry shoot weight,yield and its components of each row under different strip patterns,and compared the differences of land equivalent ratio(LER).The results showed that the LER was greater than 1 in 12 of the 16 treatments formed by two strip configurations for four maize varieties in the two ecological regions,and the LER of maize varieties HY16 and MY73 was greater than 1 under each strip configuration at two sites.The LER of MC121 and DH3206,with strong border-row advantage,was higher in strip type of 4S2M than that of 6S4M.In contrast,the LER of HY16,with weak border-row advantage,was higher in strip type of 6S4M than that of 4S2M,while it was opposite for MY73.Under 6S4M planting pattern,stem diameter,canopy light transmittance,chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b contents in ear leaf and leaf below the ear of maize variety DH3206 decreased with the increase of border row order;bottom light transmittance,chlorophyll b content in ear leaf and leaf below the ear of maize variety MC121 decreased with the increase of border row order in two experimental sites.The yield of maize varieties MC121 and DH3206 with strong border-row advantage in Jian'an District and Shangshui County decreased by 23.71%,27.00% and by 20.03%,9.05%,respectively.The dry shoot weight per plant of the edge row-2 at maturity decreased by 15.87%,19.93% and by 13.82%,24.56%,respectively,compared with the edge row-1.In contrast,there was no significant change in yield and dry shoot weight per plant at maturity between the edge row-1 and the edge row-2 of maize varieties with weak border-row advantage.In conclusion,the average LER of varieties with weak border-row advantage is higher than those with strong border-row advantage under the same strip configuration,and maize yield difference between intercropping and monoculture is seriously affected by variety type.Therefore,screening and matching suitable maize varieties is essential for improving the yield and benefit of soybean-maize strip intercropping system.

To investigate the phosphate-solubilizing effects of different combinations of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria(PSB)and their impact on maize growth and phosphorus uptake,a pot experiment was conducted using three bacterial strains with distinct taxonomic classifications and phosphate-solubilizing capacities:Pseudomonas frederiksbergensis P4-5,Arthrobacter oryzae P5-41,and Bacillus aryabhattai P3-50.A non-inoculated treatment served as the blank control(CK),and the experimental treatments included:single inoculation with P4-5(Pf),single inoculation with P5-41(Ao),single inoculation with P3-50(Ba),dual inoculation with P4-5 and P5-41(Pf×Ao),dual inoculation with P4-5 and P3-50(Pf×Ba),dual inoculation with P5-41 and P3-50(Ao×Ba),and combined inoculation with P4-5,P5-41,and P3-50(Pf×Ao×Ba).The effects of these inoculation treatments on maize root morphology,shoot growth,phosphorus uptake,and indole-3-acetic acid(IAA)secretion capacity by the bacterial strains were analyzed.The results indicated that,compared to the CK,all PSB inoculations significantly increased maize stem diameter,leaf SPAD value,shoot biomass,and phosphorus uptake.Furthermore,they also significantly enhanced rhizosphere alkaline phosphatase activity(except for single inoculation with Pf and Ba,respectively)and reduced soil available phosphorus content(except for single inoculation with Ba).Among these treatments,the combined inoculation of Pf×Ao×Ba exhibited the best overall performance.This treatment secreted high concentrations of IAA,optimized maize root morphology(increasing root length,volume,surface area,and number of root tips),and significantly increased rhizosphere alkaline phosphatase activity,thereby promoting the mineralization of soil organic phosphorus and consequently enhancing maize growth and phosphorus uptake.In conclusion,the combined inoculation of Pf×Ao×Ba significantly promoted maize growth and improved phosphorus nutrition through a dual mechanism:optimizing root morphology by increasing root length,volume,surface area,and root tip number through IAA secretion,and effectively mineralizing soil organic phosphorus by enhancing alkaline phosphatase activity.

To clarify the alterations of rice straw decomposition,nutrients release and chemical components in coastal saline paddy soils under different nitrogen (N) application rate,for optimizing the technology of straw returning and realizing the efficient utilization of straw resources in coastal areas.The experimental site was located in Caofeidian District,Tangshan City,Hebei Province.The decomposition characteristics of rice straw and its lignocellulose,as well as the nutrient release characteristics of N,phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) were studied,using a 360-day straw-bag burying method with four different N fertilizer levels,including N0 (0 kg/ha),N1 (225 kg/ha),N2 (300 kg/ha) and N3 (375 kg/ha).Pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) method was used to study the dynamic alterations of principal chemical components of the rice straw residues.The results showed that:the decomposition period of rice straw was divided into three stages,namely,rapid decomposition (0—30 d),slow decomposition (30—210 d) and slow decomposition (210—360 d),and the average decomposition rate of rice straw was 72.5% after 360 days with different N application rates.Increasing N application significantly increased the decomposition rate of rice straw.Compared with the N0 treatment,the N1,N2 and N3 treatments,increased the straw decomposition rate by 6.1, 7.4 and 9.2 percentage points,respectively.The trend of straw carbon (C) release rate was similar to that of straw decomposition rate,while the C release rate was only 43.2% at the end of the experiment.The nutrient release rates of rice straw were as follows:K>P>N.The N,P and K rapid release periods of rice straw was in the 0—30th (38.4%),0—60th (63.7%) and 0—15th (76.7%) days after straw decomposition,respectively.Both N and P of rice straw were enriched during the decomposition period.N application significantly increased the release of N from straw during the decomposition period,P in the early (0—15 d) and late (150—360 d) period,and K in the early period (0—15 d).Compared with the N0 treatment,the N1,N2,and N3 treatments,increased the straw N release by 6.6, 11.1, and 14.7 percentage points,P release by 2.2, 4.0, and 5.6 percentage points,and K release by 1.4, 2.1, and 2.8 percentage points,respectively.The lignocellulose decomposition rates of rice straw were as follows:hemicellulose>cellulose>lignin.Increasing N application significantly promoted the cellulose and hemicellulose decomposition rate of rice straw from day 0—90 and the lignin decomposition rate after day 90.Compared with the N0 treatment,the N1,N2,and N3 treatments,increased the cellulose decomposition rate of rice straw by 5.4, 7.3, and 8.4 percentage points, hemicellulose decomposition rate by 4.9, 6.4, and 7.4 percentage points,and lignin decomposition rate by 2.1, 5.1, and 5.7 percentage points, respectively.2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol,hydroxyacetone,2,3-dihydrobenzofuran,acetosyringone,eugenol,n-hexadecanoic acid,p-methylphenol,2,6-dimethoxyphenol,guaiacol,p-ethylphenol,and stigmasta-3,5-diene were the major (>1% relative) chemical components of straw residues during the decomposition period.Correlation analyses showed that straw decomposition rate,C release rate and cellulose,hemicellulose and lignin decomposition rates,were significantly positively correlated with eugenol,acetosyringone and 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran,while significantly negatively correlated with hydroxyacetone;straw P release rate was significantly positively correlated with hydroxyacetone and significantly negatively correlated with p-ethylphenol,eugenol and acetosyringone;straw K release rate was significantly correlated with p-ethylphenol,eugenol,acetosyringone and 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran,while significantly positively correlated with hydroxyacetone.In conclusion,increasing N application could promote the decomposition rates of rice straw and its lignocellulosic cellulose,and the nutrients release of straw N,P and K in coastal saline paddy field.The recommended optimal N application rate was 300 kg/ha under straw returning 10 500 kg/ha in coastal saline soils.p-ethylphenol,eugenol,acetosyringone,2,3-dihydrobenzofuran,hydroxyacetone,and stigmasta-3,5-diene could indicate the process of straw decomposition in straw residues.Py-GC-MS technique shows a good capability to monitor the chemical components alterations of straw residues,further deepening the understanding of straw decomposition mechanism.

The aims were to study the effect of maize straw returning on soil fertility and productivity under wheat-maize rotation system in North China,and to explore the best way and suitable amount of maize straw returning.From 2021 to 2023,a field split-plot experiment was conducted in Quzhou County,Hebei Province to compare the effects of different maize straw returning methods and amounts on wheat growth,yield composition and soil organic matter content.There were two treatments in the main area,which were cutting and crushing.The sub-area was the amount of straw returning to the field,4 levels,which were 0,0.5,1.0,and 1.5 times of the amount of maize straw in the year.The results showed that compared with straw crushing,the yield of wheat increased by 4.3% under straw cutting treatment,the number of spikes increased by 7.6%,and the harvest index increased by 1.4%,with all significant difference in 2023.The N content of wheat straw was significantly increased by 0.04 percentage points,the N and P uptake of wheat aboveground were significantly increased by 10.8% and 14.3%,respectively(2022),but the K content of wheat straw was significantly reduced by 0.13 percentage points(2023).Cutting treatment could significantly promote the growth of wheat before and after winter,and the NDVI value at jointing stage significantly increased by 11.9%(2022).Soil pH increased by 0.22 units(2023).With the increase of maize straw returning amount,wheat yield and NDVI value at jointing stage showed parabolic model of first increased and then decreased,the N,P and K absorption of above ground wheat showed a significant downward trend,and soil organic matter showed a continuous significant increase trend.Based on the growth potential and yield of wheat,the suitable returning ratio of straw cutting treatment was 58%—62%,and the suitable returning ratio of crushing treatment was 29%—42%.Under the conditions of this experiment,maize straw cutting returning has obvious advantages in promoting wheat growth,and increasing wheat yield.It can be popularized and applied in wheat-maize rotation areas that 58%—62% maize straw is returned into the soil.

Drought is one of the key factors limiting the yield of japonica rice.Exploring the genetic mechanism of drought tolerance in japonica rice at the germination stage,screening drought-tolerant candidate genes,and identifying their superior haplotypes provide a theoretical basis for deciphering the drought tolerance mechanism of japonica rice at the germination stage and developing related molecular markers.139 core germplasm resources of japonica rice from Northwest China were used as materials.Japonica rice seeds after radicle emergence were subjected to simulated drought stress using 15% PEG-6000.Six drought tolerance-related traits,including relative germination rate(RGR)and relative root length(RRL),were determined.Combined with 255 501 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs),genome-wide association studies(GWAS)were conducted using the general linear model(GLM),mixed linear model(MLM),and fixed and random model circulating probability unification(FarmCPU)model.Haplotype analysis was further performed based on drought tolerance phenotypic data to identify potential candidate genes.The results showed that the mean values of the six drought tolerance traits followed a normal distribution,with coefficients of variation(CV)ranging from 3.43% to 56.25%.Among these traits,the relative root and shoot dry weight(RRSDW)exhibited the largest CV and showed a significantly positive correlation with relative root length(RRL),relative shoot length(RSL),and relative root and shoot fresh weight(RRSFW).GWAS for the six drought tolerance traits using high-density SNPs detected a total of 1 164 distinct SNPs,among which 379 were regarded as high-confidence SNPs loci and 6 as quantitative trait nucleotides(QTNs).By integrating the 50 kb upstream and downstream regions of these loci,14 significant SNPs loci were screened out,corresponding to 14 reliable quantitative trait loci(QTL)candidate intervals,which were mainly significantly associated with RRSDW.Genes within these 14 intervals were further predicted and analyzed using databases.With missense mutations in exons as the criterion,the gene LOC_Os03g56130,which encodes lichenase-2 precursor,was identified.Combined with drought tolerance phenotypes,haplotype analysis of this gene revealed that 5 missense mutations in exons constituted 4 haplotypes.Among them,Hap.2 showed a significantly higher RRSDW than the other haplotypes,being identified as the superior haplotype.These findings indicate that LOC_Os03g56130 is a potential candidate gene associated with drought tolerance in japonica rice at the germination stage.

To elucidate the intrinsic mechanisms underlying the amelioration of degraded black soils by organic fertilizers,and thereby provide a scientific basis for optimizing chemical fertilizer reduction strategies while safeguarding long-term soil productivity in the target region,a maize field trial was conducted in 2024.Six fertilization treatments were established,as follows:CF(regular fertilization),RF(20% reduction of chemical fertilizer),RFH1(RF supplemented with 200 kg/ha humic acid fertilizer),RFH2(RF supplemented with 330 kg/ha humic acid fertilizer),RFO1(RF supplemented with 200 kg/ha chicken manure organic fertilizer)and RFO2(RF supplemented with 330 kg/ha chicken manure organic fertilizer).Compared to CF and RF,the RFH2,RFO1,and RFO2 treatments significantly reduced soil bulk density by 12.4%—20.7%.All organic amendment treatments improved soil structure stability,and the fraction of water-stable aggregates(>0.25 mm)increased by 15.9%—39.1%,while soil pH decreased by 0.8%—1.2%.RFO1 and RFO2 elevated soil alkaline hydrolyzable nitrogen content by 14.6%—28.5%.Additionally,every organic treatment increased soil available phosphorus and soil organic matter contents by 8.7%—36.8% and 11.0%—48.9%,respectively,with RFO2 showing the most pronounced improvements.At the same time,RFH2,RFO1,and RFO2 significantly enhanced the activities of key soil enzymes(urease,amylase,catalase,alkaline phosphatase,and sucrase)by 18.1%—72.4%.In terms of grain yield,RFH2,RFO1,and RFO2 outperformed CF by 0.5%—13.9%,and all organic amended treatments increased by 16.7%—36.6% compared with RF,with RFO2 achieving the highest yield.Organic amended treatments also improved partial productivity and agronomic efficiency of fertilizers by 11.9%—31.1%,while RFO2 exhibited 25.8%—36.6% higher nitrogen and phosphorus partial productivity compared to CF and RF.Overall,chemical fertilizer reduction combined with organic fertilizer effectively improved soil physicochemical properties,enhanced soil enzyme activities,and increased nutrient-use efficiency.This practice not only maintained maize yield but also contributed to the restoration of degraded black soils.Thus,20% chemical fertilizer reduction combined with 330 kg/ha chicken manure organic fertilizer(RFO2)was identified as the optimal fertilization strategy for degraded black soils in this experiment.

Small heat shock proteins(sHSP)play an important regulatory role as molecular chaperones in plant stress resistance.To investigate the biological function of sHSP in pepper,the heat-tolerant pepper material 17CL30 was used as the experimental material.The sHSP-encoding gene CaHSP21 was cloned and subjected to bioinformatics analysis.Its expression patterns in different tissues and under high-temperature stress were analyzed by Quantitative Real-time PCR.The results showed that the full-length CDS of CaHSP21 was 705 bp,encoding 234 amino acids.Physicochemical analysis revealed that the molecular mass and theoretical isoelectric point(pI)of CaHSP21 were 25.74 ku and 6.53,respectively,indicating it is a neutral protein.Its instability index was 37.39,it is classified as a stable protein.CaHSP21 contained the typical HSP20 domain of the sHSP family,and its secondary structure was primarily composed of random coils.Protein phylogenetic analysis showed that CaHSP21 had the closest genetic distance to Capsicum chinense and Capsicum baccatum,and they belonged to the same evolutionary branch.Tissue-specific expression analysis indicated that CaHSP21 expression was lowest in flowers and highest in fruits.Under high-temperature stress,CaHSP21 was induced by high temperature,and its relative expression level peaked after 3 hours of treatment.Subcellular localization results demonstrated that CaHSP21 was localized in the plasma membrane and cell nucleus.In conclusion,CaHSP21 is a key gene involved in pepper's response to high-temperature stress.

The super rice variety Nanjing 5718 has been designated as a leading variety by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and has demonstrated outstanding lodging resistance in large-scale production.Studying the stem characteristics of Nanjing 5718 and elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying its lodging resistance can provide new insights for breeding lodging-resistant rice varieties.The lodging-resistant super rice Nanjing 5718 and two varieties,Nanjing 518 and Nanjing 58,with weak lodging resistance,were used as materials to compare agronomic traits,stem characteristics and their correlation with lodging resistance.The plant height and center of gravity of Nanjing 5718 were significantly lower than those of other varieties at 20 days after heading.The length of the second basal internode,stem diameter and stem wall thickness of the second and third basal internodes of Nanjing 5718 were significantly higher than other varieties at 20 days after heading.High content of cellulase and lignin in the stem was the important factor leading to strong lodging resistance.No significant differences in cellulase activity were observed in the second basal internodes among the three varieties.Compared to the other two varieties,only the pPLAⅢα,bHLH002,ILA1 and NAC5 among the 102 genes related to the cellulose and lignin biosynthetic pathways had missense mutations in their coding regions in Nanjing 5718.The relative expression levels of key cellulose biosynthesis-regulating genes,such as MYB61, SLR1,PIL13, PG3, ERF34,DPH1 and MYB7 were significantly different between Nanjing 5718 and Nanjing 58.Significant differences were also observed in the relative expression levels of some lignin metabolism genes between Nanjing 5718 and Nanjing 58:4CL3,RLM1,CYP98A4,SWN1,PAL1,and so on.The differential expression of those genes in basal internodes likely underlies the high cellulose and lignin content of stem and consequent strong lodging resistance in Nanjing 5718.In conclusion,the strong lodging resistance of the super rice variety Nanjing 5718 results from its increased internode diameter and stem wall thickness.The higher contents of cellulose and lignin in the internodes provide a structural basis for this enhanced lodging resistance.Variations in the expression of key genes involved in the cellulose and lignin biosynthesis pathways may be the primary factor contributing to the superior lodging resistance observed in Nanjing 5718.

To explore the disparities in overwintering rates and yields between Brassica napus L.and Brassica rapa L.in the cold and arid regions of the north,as well as to examine the correlation between diverse agronomic traits,yield,and cold resistance-enhancing traits,it utilized 45 B.napus L.and 22 B.rapa L.varieties as subjects.It conducted a statistical analysis of their overwintering rates,average yields and agronomic traits.It also studied seeding density experiments with B.napus L.and B.rapa L.varieties that exhibited similar yield levels,compared root traits between B.napus L.and B.rapa L..The results indicated that among the 67 varieties tested,the average overwintering rate of B.rapa L.(97.59%) was significantly higher than that of B.napus L.(65.87%).The average yield potential of B.napus L.was higher than that of B.rapa L..For B.rapa L.,which was capable of stable overwintering,increasing the seeding density significantly elevated the number of effective plants but did not augment the average yield.Conversely,for B.napus L.,its lower overwintering rate constrained the increase in the number of effective plants,thereby limiting the average yield.B.napus L.with a high overwintering rate exhibited agronomic traits such as higher branching positions and angular density,fewer secondary branches,total branches,and effective siliques per plant after overwintering.Comparison of root traits between B.napus L.and B.rapa L.showed that enlarged root systems,short hypocotyls,and growth points positioned below the ground surface were advantageous traits contributing to the robust cold resistance of B.rapa L..It proposes that breeding density-tolerance B.napus L.with root traits akin to those of B.rapa L.and with growth points situated below the ground surface represents a pivotal breeding direction for enhancing the overwintering rate of B.napus L.,fostering increased rapeseed yield,and ensuring oil supply stability.

The large-scale production of soybean hybrids and the utilization of hybrid vigor are key to germplasm resource innovation and variety improvement.By mining and utilizing soybean male sterility genes,more advantageous soybean varieties can be cultivated,thereby improving soybean yield and quality.This study selected the male sterile mutant population that appeared in the hybrid offspring of Baoquanling green soybean(female parent)and Heinong 44(male parent)as the experimental material.Flower buds were selected from soybean fertile and sterile plants,the anthers and pollen cytology were observed,and a high-throughput sequencing platform was used to perform transcriptome sequencing on the flower and anther tissues of soybean fertile and sterile plants.Annotated,screened and analyzed the sequencing results.The results indicated that abnormal development of the tapetum layer and high pollen sterility in sterile plants were important causes of male infertility.The pentose and glucuronate interconversion pathway(ko00040:Pentose and glucuronate interconversion)was a key pathway affecting soybean fertility,and the genes encoding pectin methylesterase(PEM)and pectin lyase(PL)were downregulated in expression.The differentially expressed gene protein interaction network indicated that the pectin lyase gene was a key gene affecting the interconversion pathway between pentose and glucuronic acid.The determination of pectin lyase content showed that the pectin lyase content in sterile plant anthers was significantly reduced.The qRT-PCR detection results were consistent with the RNA-Seq sequencing results.It is speculated that the downregulation of these genes may cause a decrease in pectin lyase activity,thereby affecting the development of the tapetum and leading to male infertility.

Wheat,as one of the world's major food crops,its growth and development,yield,and quality are often constrained by abiotic stresses. To cope with these abiotic stresses,wheat has evolved a series of response mechanisms,including signal perception,signal transduction,and gene expression regulation,to maintain cellular homeostasis and protect the functions of biological macromolecules. Drought stress causes the accumulation of osmotic-adjustment substances and antioxidants in wheat,a decline in the photosynthetic rate,and alterations in morphological structure. Its molecular mechanisms mainly involve pathways such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling,hormone signaling,and gene expression regulation. Saline-alkali stress inhibits seed germination and seedling growth,leading to photosynthetic impairments,osmotic-regulation imbalances,ion-balance disorders,and membrane-lipid oxidation. Under such circumstances,wheat can enhance salt tolerance by activating the salt overly sensitive (SOS) signaling pathway,calcium-ion signaling,hormone signaling,and gene-expression regulation. Extreme temperature stress inhibits photosynthesis,triggers membrane-lipid oxidation,and promotes the accumulation of osmotic-adjustment substances. Its regulatory mechanisms mainly involve hormone signaling,transcriptional activation,and epigenetic regulation. This study reviews the response mechanisms of wheat to drought,saline-alkali,and extreme temperature stresses and looks ahead to future research directions:focusing on the cross-interaction mechanisms of multiple stresses and mining genes responsive to combined stresses; effectively integrating stress-resistant traits into high-yield and high-quality genetic backgrounds to achieve the coordinated improvement of ideal plant types and stress resistance; promoting the in-depth integration of modern biotechnology with conventional breeding methods to enhance breeding efficiency. It aims to provide comprehensive theoretical support and technical references for the genetic improvement of wheat's resistance to abiotic stresses.

Based on quantitative trait locus(QTL)mapping of grain weight and grain shape-related traits in a backcross inbred line(BIL)population derived from the cross between indica rice variety Changhui 891 and japonica rice variety 02428,this study provided valuable genetic resources for elucidating the genetic basis of grain development and molecular breeding for high yield and quality in rice.A high-density genetic map was used to conduct QTL analysis for thousand-grain weight,grain length,grain width,grain thickness,and length-width ratio under two environments.Transcriptome data of developing grains at 5,10,and 15 days after flowering from both parents were integrated to analyze candidate genes within QTL regions.Frequency distribution indicated that grain weight and shape traits in the BIL population exhibited typical quantitative characteristics,confirming the suitability for QTL mapping.A total of 37 QTLs were detected across both environments,including 18 specific to Hainan(Sanya),12 specific to Jiangxi(Nanchang),and 7 consistently identified in both locations.These QTLs were distributed on chromosomes 1—5,7,8,11,and 12,comprising 7 for thousand grains weight,5 for grain length,7 for grain width,11 for length-width ratio,and 7 for grain thickness.The analysis showed that the LOD values of these QTLs ranged from 2.79 to 43.10,with a contribution rate of 1.36% to 46.12%.By integrating differentially expressed genes from developing grains of both parents at three stages,28 candidate genes were prioritized from the 37 QTL regions.Among these,LOC_Os11g10480 and LOC_Os11g10100 were identified as key candidates for further functional validation.

In order to explore the effects of silicon fertilizer on lodging resistance,growth and development,yield,and quality of winter wheat,Kenmai 58 was used as the experimental material.The treatments included 15 kg/ha (Si1) and 30 kg/ha(Si2)silicon fertilizer applied as basal fertilizer,15 kg/ha (Si3) and 30 kg/ha(Si4) silicon fertilizer applied as topdressing at jointing stage,and no silicon fertilizer (CK).The stem lodging resistance at grain filling stage,plant growth,yield,and quality were measured.The results showed that Si4 significantly reduced the plant height,height of gravity center,and the length of the basal second internode.Compared with CK,Si3 increased the thickness of the basal second and third internodes by over 14.7%.Si2 and Si4 increased the plumpness and breaking resistance of the basal second or third internodes by 8.6%—18.7% and by 12.4%—49.2%,respectively.Nevertheless,silicon fertilizer had no effect on the diameter and dry weight of the basal internode.Moreover,silicon fertilizer increased the chlorophyll content (SPAD) of leaves at jointing stage,but had no effect on tillering,productive tiller percentage,dry matter accumulation,harvest index,yield,and main quality indexes.In summary,the application of silicon fertilizer improved the stem lodging resistance by lowering plant height,gravity center height,and basal internode length,while increasing the basal internode thickness,plumpness,and breaking resistance.Silicon fertilizer also increased chlorophyll content (SPAD) without adversely affecting wheat growth,grain yield,or quality.Silicon fertilizer could be applied either as basal fertilizer or topdressing at jointing stage.

Flavonoids,as bioactive compounds in Chinese cabbage,possess antioxidant,anti-aging,and cancer-preventive properties.To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the differences in flavonoid accumulation among different ploidy Chinese cabbage materials,this study utilized 25 diploid and 25 tetraploid high-generation homozygous inbred lines.The total flavonoid content was systematically compared,and extreme lines were selected for transcriptome(RNA-Seq)analysis.Through KEGG pathway enrichment analysis,genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis were identified,and RT-qPCR was employed to validate the expression patterns of differentially expressed genes and construct a transcription factor regulatory network.The results showed that the average total flavonoid content in tetraploid materials(10.96 mg/g)was slightly higher than that in diploid materials(10.36 mg/g).RNA-Seq analysis revealed 11 610 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)in diploid comparison groups and 6 659 DEGs in tetraploid comparison groups,with 3 598 common DEGs shared between them.KEGG enrichment analysis identified 34 candidate genes in the flavonoid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways.Six key genes(PAL1,4CL3,CHS3,CHI,CHI3,FLS1)were screened and found to be upregulated in high-flavonoid diploid and tetraploid materials.Among them,CHI3 expression was significantly higher in high-flavonoid tetraploid materials than in diploid materials.Additionally,27 bHLH and 19 MYB transcription factors were identified,and regulatory network analysis indicated that the MYB network was more complex and dominant than the bHLH network.RT-qPCR analysis confirmed that the expression patterns of the six selected key DEGs were consistent with the RNA-Seq data.This study identifies key structural genes and major transcription factors in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway,revealing the important role of CHI3 in promoting flavonoid accumulation in tetraploid Chinese cabbage,thereby providing candidate genes and a theoretical foundation for breeding high-flavonoid Chinese cabbage.

The screening of aromatic rice germplasm resources and the rapid identification and utilization of aromatic genes have practical significance for the genetic breeding of aromatic rice.In order to clarify the aroma types of aromatic rice materials in Heilongjiang Province and improve the breeding efficiency of aromatic rice varieties,180 aromatic rice varieties approved and promoted in Heilongjiang Province were sequenced.Compared with the reference genome Nipponbare,the sequencing results were divided into two types of mutations.The first type was the 8 bp deletion of exon 7 and three base substitutions(Badh2-E7 type),including 177 varieties.The second type was the 7 bp deletion of exon 2(Badh2-E2 type),which contained only three varieties.According to these two mutation types,two specific KASP molecular markers were designed to accurately detect the aroma types of E7 and E2 in rice.Through the identification of 180 aromatic rice varieties,the typing results were consistent with the sequencing results.Two hybrid populations were constructed by using E7 aromatic rice variety Wuyoudao 4 and E2 aromatic rice variety Songkejing 134 with non-aromatic japonica rice varieties Weinong 101 and Dongfu 114,respectively.The F₂ generation of the hybrid population was screened and identified for aroma genes,and the identification results were consistent with 100%,which verified the accuracy of KASP molecular markers.The 620 japonica rice parents created and collected by our laboratory were further identified by KASP markers,and 248 aromatic rice materials were screened.It was found that these parents were all Badh2-E7 type genes.At the same time,the existing 1 220 F₇ generation materials with E7 aromatic rice as parents were genotyped,including 293 aromatic rice materials,906 non-aromatic rice materials and 21 heterozygous rice materials.Five aromatic and non-aromatic rice materials were randomly selected for sequencing verification.The sequencing results verified that the KASP molecular marker typing was correct.This study provided new markers and materials for breeding new fragrant rice varieties in cold regions by using molecular marker assisted selection.

This study seeks to develop a highly efficient dual-base editing tool for solanaceous crops to address the challenges of poor compatibility and low editing efficiency associated with existing base editing systems in these plants. The research involved fusing the nickase Cas9 enzyme (nCas9),which has partially lost its nuclease function,with components such as the highly efficient adenine deaminase ABE8e,the optimized cytosine deaminase sdd7-mini,and the uracil glycosylation inhibitor UGI. Systematic optimization was conducted based on the promoter preferences and codon usage frequencies specific to solanaceous crops. Ultimately,the dual-base editor TPDBE-S was constructed. In transient transformation experiments using tomato and eggplant protoplasts,this editor exhibited exceptionally high editing efficiency. In the stable transformation system of tobacco,targeting the PDS gene verification revealed that four out of five positive transgenic families exhibited pronounced albinism phenotypes,thereby confirming the stable editing capability. The editing window of this editor aligns closely with the characteristics of ABE8e and sdd7-mini. Furthermore,optimizing codon preference and promoter activity in Solanaceae crops significantly enhances editing efficiency and adaptability. The construction of TPDBE-S employs a modular design. The multi-target expression cassette,based on the tRNA self-cleaving mechanism,can be rapidly assembled through one-step gene synthesis,which is both cost-effective and straightforward. This tool addresses the gap in double-base editing specifically for Solanaceous crops.

The molecular chaperone heat shock protein HSP40 binds to HSP70 through the J domain to assist in protein folding and participates in various stress responses in plants.However,the mechanism and function of NtHSP40 gene family in response to UV-B radiation remain unknown.Through bioinformatics methods,the members of the NtHSP40 gene family were identified at the whole-genome level,and phylogenetic analysis,collinearity analysis,cis-acting elements of the promoter,chromosomal localization,gene structure analysis and physical and chemical property analysis were carried out to clarify the basic characteristics of the NtHSP40 gene family.In tobacco seedlings treated with UV-B radiation,RNA-sequencing analysis was performed to investigate the eight differentially regulated genes according to the transcriptome data.The expression levels of candidate genes belonging to NtHSP40 gene family were investigated by Quantitative Real-time PCR(qRT-PCR)experiments and the total polyphenol content of metabolites was quantified by spectrometry.The results showed that there were 48 NtHSP40 genes in the genome of tobacco K326.These genes were distributed on 20 chromosomes and all encoded J domain proteins which can be further divided into three subfamilies.The variable gene structure and protein sequence characteristics indicated the diversification of the functions of the NtHSP40 gene family members.Among them,eight NtHSP40 genes responded to UV-B radiation,and was correlated with the total polyphenol content in tobacco.The research findings establish a foundation for further elucidating the functions of the NtHSP40 gene family in plant stress responses and secondary metabolism in tobacco,and for enhancing the quality of tobacco leaves.

As an important subfamily of receptor kinases,cysteine-rich receptor kinases play a key role in plant growth and development.The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the GhCRK26 gene and the development of cotton fiber,and to provide a theoretical basis for the improvement of cotton fiber quality.This study selected upland cotton Line 9 and sea island cotton Xinhai 16,and collected samples at different periods of fiber development and root,stem and leaf tissues.The expression pattern of GhCRK26 was analyzed by qRT-PCR;the gene was cloned by PCR;a phylogenetic tree was constructed with the help of bioinformatics tools to predict the physicochemical properties of the protein,its transmembrane structure and signal peptide;the promoter cis-acting elements were analyzed by the PlantCare database;and the localization of the protein was clarified by the subcellular localization assay.The results showed that the expression of GhCRK26 gene showed highly significant differences at 10,20 and 30 days after flowering in two varieties;the highest expression levels were found in the leaves of Line 9,while in Xinhai 16,the expression of stem and leaves did not show significant differences.A 2 049 bp CDS sequence encoding 682 amino acids was successfully cloned.The evolutionary tree showed that GhCRK26 protein was the most distantly related to Hibiscus trionum,and the closest to Gossypium tomentosum and Gossypium barbadense;the protein was hydrophilic and unstable,containing a transmembrane structure and a signal peptide;methyl jasmonate and abscisic acid response elements were identified in the promoter region;and the subcellular localization confirmed that it was localized in the cell membrane.The above studies provide a basis for further in-depth analysis of the function of GhCRK26 gene in fiber development.

In order to systematically analyze the sequence characteristics and expression pattern of BolMYC2 in broccoli,and to explore the role of BolMYC2 in response to the infection of soft rot pathogens in broccoli,the coding sequence of BolMYC2 gene was cloned by PCR amplification using broccoli cDNA as a template.The basic properties of BolMYC2 protein were analyzed by bioinformatics software.BolMYC2-EGFP fusion expression vector was constructed and transiently transformed into Nicotiana benthamiana to analyze the subcellular localization of BolMYC2 protein.The transcriptional expression characteristics of BolMYC2 in different tissues of broccoli and the transcriptional expression characteristics of BolMYC2 under the stress of soft rot pathogens were analyzed by qRT-PCR.The results showed that the coding sequence of BolMYC2 was 1 833 bp,encoding 610 amino acids.The theoretical molecular weight was 66.297 ku and the theoretical isoelectric point was 5.21.BolMYC2 was an unstable hydrophilic protein without transmembrane structure and signal peptide.Conserved domain analysis showed that BolMYC2 protein contained the conserved domains bHLH-MYC_N and bHLH_SF of MYC transcription factor family.Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that BolMYC2 protein was closely related to brussels sprouts.Analysis of the cis-acting elements of the BolMYC2 promoter showed that it contained cis-acting elements involved in light response,hormone response,stress response,and multiple MYB,MYC,and WRKY transcription factor recognition elements.Subcellular localization results showed that BolMYC2 was localized in the nucleus.BolMYC2 was highly expressed in leaves and seeds.In addition,the expression level of BolMYC2 decreased first and then increased after broccoli was infected by soft rot pathogens,suggesting that BolMYC2 plays an important role in broccoli response to biotic stress.

To elucidate the molecular mechanism of prickle formation on the eggplant calyx,a genetic population was developed by crossing the homozygous prickly line 24C01(female parent)and the non-prickly line 24C02(male parent).In the F₂ generation,the distribution of calyx prickle density followed a normal distribution.Two extreme bulks were constructed by pooling DNA from 30 highly prickly and 30 completely non-prickly F₂ individuals.By combining BSA-seq with map-based cloning,the calyx prickle gene SmPL was fine-mapped to a 131.4 kb interval on chromosome 6.Among the 12 annotated genes within this region,only Smechr0602815.1,Smechr0602817.1,and Smechr0602821.1 showed differential expression between the two parental lines.Re-sequencing analysis further revealed a nonsynonymous mutation(G1066A)in Smechr0602815.1 in 24C02,resulting in a glutamate-to-lysine substitution,and a fragment deletion in Smechr0602821.1 in the same parent.Based on these sequence variations,kompetitive allele-specific PCR(KASP)markers linked to the non-prickly allele were developed.It was found that the markers exhibited a genotype-phenotype concordance rate exceeding 96% when tested across 100 diverse eggplant accessions.These results indicate that the developed KASP markers enable efficient early-selection for the non-prickly trait and can significantly accelerate the breeding of nonprickly eggplant varieties.

Cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase (C4H),a key enzyme in the flavonoid synthesis pathway,plays a crucial role in plant stress resistance.To clarify the bioinformatic functions of the C4H gene family in three medicinal liquorice species (Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.,Glycyrrhiza inflata Bat.,and Glycyrrhiza glabra L.),investigate their expression characteristics under abiotic stress,as well as their relationship with the synthesis and accumulation of liquiritin,we used bioinformatics methods to analyze the C4H gene family members,and combined transcriptome data and RT-qPCR validation to understand their expression under abiotic stress and their relationship with liquiritin content.Results showed that a total of 11 C4H genes were identified in the whole genomes of the three medicinal liquorice species and were named GuC4H1—3,GiC4H1—3,and GgC4H1—5,respectively.These genes were distributed on 2 chromosomes in G.uralensis and G.inflata and on 3 chromosomes in G.glabra.Although the gene members differed in physicochemical properties such as the number of amino acids and isoelectric points,all of them were predicted to be localized in the endoplasmic reticulum and contain a C-terminal heme-binding domain (PFGVGRRSCPG).Expression pattern analysis indicated that the 11 C4H genes were expressed in different tissues of the three medicinal liquorice species,and abiotic stress significantly induced the upregulation of C4H gene expression in the underground parts.Among them,the expression of GgC4H5 was the highest under salt stress for 24 h,which was 1.68 times that of the control group (24 h);the expression of GuC4H3 was the highest under drought stress for 2 h,which was 3.03 times that of the control group (2 h).In addition,moderate abiotic stress significantly increased the liquiritin content in the underground parts of the three liquorice species.Under NaCl stress for 2 h,the increase in liquiritin content in G.inflata was the most significant,which was 2.92 times that of the control group (2 h);under PEG stress for 24 h,the increase in liquiritin content in G.glabra was the most significant,which was 2.31 times that of the control group (24 h).GgC4H5 showed a similar expression trend to liquiritin content under salt stress,while GuC4H2,GuC4H3,GiC4H2,and GiC4H3 showed a similar expression trend to liquiritin content under drought stress.Therefore,these genes are likely to be the key genes involved in the response to abiotic stress and liquiritin synthesis in the underground parts of the three medicinal liquorice species.

To investigate the key genes in cotton in response to Phytophthora boehmeriae infection and preliminarily elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying their interaction,it performed transcriptome sequencing and TMT-based quantitative proteomic analysis on the boll rot-susceptible cotton germplasm line 885 using the Illumina Hiseq^TM platform.By screening for differentially expressed genes(proteins)and conducting GO/KEGG enrichment analyses,key genes involved in the stress response were identified.Bioinformatic analysis was further carried out on these candidate genes,and their expression patterns under pathogen stress were validated via Real-time Quantitative PCR(qPCR).The results showed that combined transcriptomic and proteomic screening identified 50 candidate sequences with significant differential abundance at both the transcriptional and translational levels.GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that the differentially expressed genes were primarily enriched in pathways such as plant hormone signal transduction,plant-pathogen interaction,glutathione metabolism,and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites.Further sequence alignment screened seven candidate genes related to disease resistance.qPCR verification demonstrated that the expression of Gh_D02G091500,Gh_D06G194600,Gh_A01G241100, Gh_A06G192400,and Gh_D09G161000 was significantly induced by P.boehmeriae.Among these,the cotton nitrate reductase gene exhibited the highest fold change and the most significant differential expression.The full-length sequence of this nitrate reductase gene was cloned and designated GhNIA1.In conclusion,it identified GhNIA1 as a key gene involved in the cotton-P.boehmeriae interaction and provided preliminary characterization of GhNIA1.These findings lay a theoretical foundation for further analysis of the molecular mechanism by which GhNIA1 participates in cotton resistance to boll rot and for breeding resistant varieties.

The abscisic acid(ABA)receptor protein PYL,as the initial component of ABA signaling transduction,actively participated in ABA-mediated signaling transduction in plants and played a crucial role in regulating plant resistance to stress.In our previous study,based on transcriptome data,the gene Cla97C07G133100.1,which was negatively responsive to salt stress in watermelon,was screened out and named ClPYL8.To further explore the biological function of the watermelon ABA receptor ClPYL8,using watermelon TN07011 as the experimental material,the structure and function of ClPYL8 were analyzed using bioinformatics,subcellular localization,and RT-qPCR methods.The results showed that the open reading frame of ClPYL8 gene was 702 bp,encoding 233 amino acids.Protein conserved domain prediction revealed that ClPYL8 contained the PYR/PYL/RCAR-like conserved domain,belonging to the SPRBCC superfamily.The promoter cis-acting element analysis indicated that the ClPYL8 promoter contained various elements responsive to stress,auxin,and light.The seamless cloning technique was used to construct the EGFP fusion expression vector,which was then transformed into tobacco.The results showed that ClPYL8 was localized in the nucleus and cell membrane.Tissue-specific(RT-qPCR)analysis revealed that the gene exhibited the highest expression level in seeds and the lowest in fruits and female flowers;under salt stress,the expression of ClPYL8 showed a downregulation trend;under drought stress,the gene expression first decreased and then increased;under low-temperature stress,the gene expression first increased and then decreased.In conclusion,ClPYL8 actively responded to abiotic stress and might regulate watermelon's stress response through the ABA signaling pathway,suggesting a potential negative regulatory role in salt stress and positive regulatory roles in drought and low-temperature stress.

In order to identify the pathogenic source of Tomato chlorosis virus disease and clarify the taxonomic status of Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV)in the Shijiazhuang area of Hebei Province,an analysis of the phylogenetic relationships of diseased samples collected from the Tomato Planting Base in Dahe Town,Shijiazhuang,was conducted.Additionally,an efficient method for ToCV identification was established.The published ToCV sequences in NCBI database were selected for similarity analysis,and the full-length RNA1 and RNA2 sequences of ToCV,Heat-shock protein 70 homologue(Hsp70h)and coat protein(CP)sequences were used to construct the phylogenetic tree.The results showed that the nucleotide(nt)sequences of RNA1 and RNA2 of the ToCV-SJZ shared 85.2% and 92.4% similarity,respectively,with the corresponding sequences of the ToCV-XS Taiwan strain,indicating the closest genetic relationship.The evolutionary analysis showed that ToCV could be divided into two clades,one represented by the Florida strain and the other by the Taiwan strain.According to the CP gene sequences of ToCV-SJZ,ToCV-XS and ToCV-Florida strains,a RT-qPCR assay system based on SYBR Green Ⅰ was established.In conclusion,this study clarifies the taxonomic status of the ToCV-SJZ isolate and provides technical support for the identification of disease-resistant germplasm resources and scientific prevention and control.

To explore the formation molecular mechanism of the geoherbalism of Shanxi Forsythia suspensa,a genome-wide identification and characterization of UGT gene family members was performed using bioinformatics methods based on the genome data of F.suspensa.Transcriptome data of F.suspensa from different producing areas and Real-time PCR were used to analyze the expression patterns of UGTs gene in F.suspensa from different habitats and different tissues.The results showed that a total of 170 family members were identified in the whole genome of F.suspensa,and the family members were unevenly distributed on 14 chromosomes,named as FsUGT1—FsUGT170.The molecular weight of 11.16—56.77 ku and isoelectric point of 4.70—9.18,most of which are hydrophilic proteins.Subcellular localization predictions indicated that FsUGT proteins were predominantly localized in the chloroplast and cytoplasm.Phylogenetic analysis classified the F.suspensa UGT gene family into 15 distinct subgroups.Synteny analysis identified 31 collinear gene pairs involving 23 FsUGTs and 20 UGTs from Arabidopsis thaliana.Analysis of gene structure,conserved protein motifs,and conserved domains revealed that the FsUGT genes possess 1 to 7 exons and 0 to 6 introns,and all encoded proteins contain the characteristic PSPG conserved domain.Promoter cis-acting element analysis demonstrated the presence of multiple regulatory elements associated with light responsiveness,phytohormone signaling,biotic and abiotic stress responses,and growth and development within the promoter regions of FsUGT genes.Gene expression profiling showed that the transcript levels of FsUGT4 and FsUGT145 were significantly higher in F.suspensa samples from Shanxi compared to those from Henan and Shaanxi,and their expression in leaves was significantly higher than in flowers and fruits.In conclusion,this study identified 170 members of the UGT gene family in F.suspensa and highlighted two genes,FsUGT4 and FsUGT145,which exhibit elevated expression in Shanxi accessions and are potentially implicated in forsythin biosynthesis.

The Kip-related protein(KRP)gene family acts as a key regulator of the cell cycle,modulating cell division and endoreduplication by inhibiting cyclin-dependent kinase(CDK)activity,and participates in plant abiotic stress responses.To investigate the structural characteristics and environmental stress response profile of PbKRP2 in Pyrus betulifolia,the gene was cloned using reverse transcription PCR(RT-PCR).Bioinformatic analysis was conducted to elucidate its sequence features,predicted protein interactions,and phylogenetic relationships.Quantitative Real-time PCR(qRT-PCR)was employed to assess the tissue-specific expression characteristics of PbKRP2 and its expression patterns under various stress conditions.Results showed that PbKRP2 was 585 bp in length,contained 4 exons and 3 introns,and encoded a 194-amino acid protein.The predicted protein had 25 potential phosphorylation sites,a O-glycosylation site,and a conserved C-terminal cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor(CDI)domain.Phylogenetic analysis indicated that PbKRP2 was closely related to PyKRP2 in Prunus yedoensis var.nudiflora,PpKRP2 in Prunus persica,and MdKRP2 in Malus domestica.Protein interaction network screening identified potential interactions between PbKRP2 and 10 proteins.Analysis of the static structure of potential interacting proteins suggested that PbKRP2 formed spatial interaction conformations with its target proteins PbCDKB1;1 and PbCYCD7;1,respectively.The promoter region of PbKRP2 contained multiple cis-acting regulatory elements responsive to environmental factors and hormonal signals.qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated that PbKRP2 transcript levels were significantly higher in stems and leaves compared to roots,petals,and fruits.Furthermore,PbKRP2 transcription levels were consistently upregulated under low-temperature stress and abscisic acid(ABA)treatment,but significantly downregulated under dehydration and salt stress.In summary,these findings provide a candidate gene for stress-resistant breeding of pear and genetic improvement of fruit trees by elucidating the sequence characteristics of PbKRP2 and its differential response patterns to abiotic stresses.

In order to clarify the function of the protein phosphatase 2C gene GmPP2C72 in salt stress response and its salt-tolerance molecular mechanism,bioinformatics analysis of GmPP2C72 protein was conducted, GmPP2C72 gene was cloned to construct the overexpression vector,and then was transferred into Lotus japonicus using the cotyledon node genetic transformation method mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens.Finally,the phenotype,physiological indicators and the expression levels of salt tolerance related genes of transgenic plants were analyzed under salt stress condition.The results showed that GmPP2C72 gene contained an open reading frame of 1 206 bp,encoding 401 amino acids,and the encoded protein belonged to the member of the class A subfamily of PP2C family.GmPP2C72 gene did not exhibit tissue expression specificity,it was expressed in various tissues of soybean,and the expression of this gene was induced by salt stress.The overexpression vector of GmPP2C72 gene was successfully constructed.GmPP2C72 gene was successfully transferred into Lotus japonicus,and three transgenic lines with GmPP2C72 gene were successfully obtained.Compared with wild type,the three transgenic lines maintained better growth state,with significantly higher contents of chlorophyll and proline and lower relative plasma membrane permeability and malondialdehyde content in leaves of Lotus japonicus under salt stress.In addition,the expression levels of four key salt tolerance related genes,LjLEA, LjCOR,LjRD29B,and LjP5CS were significantly higher compared with wild type.Overall,the overexpression of GmPP2C72 gene enhances the salt tolerance of Lotus japonicus by reducing the degree of membrane lipid peroxidation and the permeability of the plasma membrane,increasing the contents of chlorophyll and proline in the leaves,and enhancing the expression levels of salt tolerance related genes.

In order to clarify the species and composition of pod rot pathogenic fungi in Hebei,Shandong,and Henan Provinces,diseased peanut pods from the main production areas of these three provinces were used as materials.Pathogens were isolated and purified using the tissue isolation method,and their species were identified by morphological characterization combined with rDNA-ITS and TEF-1α gene sequence analyses.Seven representative strains (RF1-7) were selected to evaluate pathogenicity via mycelial inoculation on kernels and spore suspension inoculation on fresh pods,according to Koch's postulates.The results revealed that 307 strains of fungi were isolated and purified,with the genus Fusarium as the dominant genus,accounting for 63.52% of the total.Regional differences in pathogen composition were observed in the three provinces.In Hebei Province,Fusarium neocosmosporiellum predominated,while in Shandong Province,Fusarium oxysporum was the dominant species,and in Henan Province,Fusarium solani had the highest proportion,with isolation rates of 50.75%,57.15%,and 47.67% of the Fusarium species,respectively.All seven selected strains exhibited varying degrees of pathogenicity in both kernel and fresh pod inoculation assays,among which Fusarium neocosmosporiellum showed 100% disease incidence.Except for showing no significant difference compared to the disease incidence caused by Fusarium vanettenii,the incidence induced by Fusarium neocosmosporiellum was significantly higher than that caused by the other five tested isolates,and the infected kernels and pods displayed typical disease symptoms,indicating Fusarium neocosmosporiellum possesses stronger pathogenic potential.This study provides a first systematic characterization of the population distribution and pathogenicity differences among peanut pod rot pathogens in Hebei,Shandong and Henan.The findings could provide a theoretical basis for formulating region precise prevention and control strategies for peanut pod rot and are crucial for ensuring the sustainable development of the peanut industry in Northern China.

β-Amylase (BAM) is involved in regulating various biological processes in plants and responds to multiple external stimuli such as hormones and abiotic stress. To explore the characteristics and expression patterns of the BAM gene family in maize, we performed a genome-wide identification of the maize BAM gene family using bioinformatics methods. We also analyzed the encoded proteins, chromosomal localization, gene structure,cis-acting elements, synteny analysis, tissue-specific expression, and the expression patterns of the genes after simulated hail stress and melatonin treatment. The results showed that 16 ZmBAM members were identified in maize, all of which contained the typical Glyco_hydro_14 domain, with most of them being hydrophilic proteins. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that ZmBAM protein can be divided into three groups, with genes in the same group sharing similar gene structures and motif distributions. Cis-acting element analysis suggested that the expression of most ZmBAM genes might be related to plant hormones, abiotic stress, and light responses. Synteny analysis revealed a certain level of homology between the maize BAM gene family and those of Arabidopsis and soybean, with a closer relationship to rice. qRT-PCR analysis showed that, under simulated hail stress, most genes were upregulated, and their expression was significantly upregulated after melatonin treatment. This study provided a reference for further understanding the function of the maize BAM gene family in response to abiotic stress.

It aimed to successfully construct a stable human cervical cancer (HeLa) cell line with TRIM21 gene knockout using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology.First,two specific sgRNAs (sgRNA1 and sgRNA2) targeting the TRIM21 gene were designed and synthesized,and they were cloned into the LentiCRISPRv2 vector using PCR amplification and seamless cloning techniques.Subsequently,the editing vectors were transfected into HeLa cells via electroporation,and monoclonal cell lines with successfully integrated editing vectors were obtained through puromycin screening.After validation by Western Blot and expansion of culture,a stable TRIM21-knockout HeLa cell line was established.Based on this cell line,we further investigated the role of TRIM21 in regulating the type I interferon signaling pathway.The experimental results demonstrated that TRIM21 knockout significantly suppressed the expression levels of MDA5,MAVS,and IRF3 in the cells,while also inhibiting the phosphorylation of IRF3,revealing the critical regulatory role of TRIM21 in the type I interferon signaling pathway.The TRIM21-knockout HeLa cell line successfully constructed in this study provides a reliable cellular model for in-depth research into the mechanism of TRIM21 in regulating viral replication and its role in innate immune responses.Furthermore,by optimizing experimental methods,this study confirmed the efficiency and stability of electroporation in constructing gene-knockout cell lines,offering technical references for the construction of other gene-knockout cell lines.

A field experiment was conducted from 2023 to 2024 to investigate the response of silage yield in different types of summer maize varieties to various planting patterns.Two varieties,Cangyu 338(CY338,a low-density tolerant variety)and Nongda 372(ND372,a density-tolerant variety),were selected as experimental materials.Four planting patterns were established,including conventional mode(CT),1∶1∶2 mode(1∶1∶2),double plant mode(DP),and 40+80 mode(40+80).Results showed that the dry weight(dry yield)of maize plants and whole ears increased gradually,while the fresh weight(fresh yield)declined during the maize growth period.Significant differences in dry and fresh weight,as well as yield,were observed among the different planting patterns.The dry and fresh weight showed as follows:CT>40+80>1∶1∶2>DP,however,higher plant yield was achieved under DP and 1∶1∶2 patterns.The highest whole ear yield was obtained under CT in 2023 and DP in 2024,followed by the 1∶1∶2 pattern.Additionally,there were significant annual variations in whole ear yield.Dry and fresh weight per plant and whole ear of CY338 were higher than those of ND372,whereas the yield exhibited the opposite trend.A similar changing trend was observed across different years.The response of dry and fresh weight per plant and whole ear to planting patterns indicated that CT resulted in the highest values,while DP yielded the lowest.Except for the dry and fresh weight per plant of ND372 in 2023 under other planting patterns,the 40+80 pattern generally produced higher dry and fresh weights compared to the 1∶1∶2 pattern.In contrast to dry and fresh weight,variety yield exhibited significant variations.The lowest yield for both plant and whole ear was observed under the 40+80 pattern.However,plant yield under the DP and 1∶1∶2 patterns exceeded that of other patterns.Notably,the DP pattern achieved the highest yield,except for ND372 in 2023,which experienced higher precipitation during the experiment.For CY338 in 2024,a year with less precipitation,the DP pattern yielded the highest whole ear production,followed by the 1∶1∶2 pattern,while other varieties showed the highest yield under the CT pattern.In conclusion,planting patterns significantly influence plant and ear characteristics.Corn varieties with high-density tolerance can achieve increased plant and whole ear silage yields.The DP pattern is particularly effective for enhancing plant silage yield(with the 1∶1∶2 pattern being suitable for density-tolerant varieties in rainy years),while the CT pattern is more effective for whole ear silage yield(with the DP pattern being advantageous for low-density-tolerant varieties in the years with less rainfall).

A multi-epitope vaccine against porcine Escherichia coli infection was designed by means of immunoinformatics to block the adhesion and colonization of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli(ETEC)strain to intestinal epithelial cells of piglets to prevent piglet diarrhea.The B cell epitopes,Th cell epitopes,and CTL cell epitopes of adhesin 987P and F18 of ETEC were predicted by immunoinformatics tools,and the dominant epitopes were screened.The dominant epitopes were linked to the multi-epitope vaccine by Linker according to three different epitopes,and their antigenicity,allergenicity,and tertiary structure were predicted.The results showed that seven dominant epitopes were selected.The antigenicity test showed that the antigenicity of fusion peptide Ⅰ,fusion peptide Ⅱ,and fusion peptide Ⅲ were 1.069 2,1.089 2,and 1.050 7,respectively.The results of the allergy test showed that the fusion peptides Ⅰ,Ⅱ,and Ⅲ had no allergen.Based on the three-dimensional modeling of the fusion peptides,the results showed that the structural epitopes were well exposed,easy to bind to antibodies,and met the requirements of epitope design in protein molecular conformation.In addition,according to different rules,we arranged three kinds of amino acid sequences,which were inversely translated into nucleotide sequences according to the codon preference of lactic acid bacteria and inserted into pET28a plasmids to obtain pET28a-9F1,pET28a-9F2,and pET28a-9F3 plasmids respectively.

The objective of this study was to identify novel major QTLs conferring plant height with breeding potential, and to screen favorable gene loci for marker-assisted selection, so as to provide theoretical basis and molecular resources for plant architecture improvement, lodging resistance improvement and high-yield breeding in wheat. A total of 162 doubled haploid (DH) lines derived from wheat cultivars AN1589 and LX6 were used as experimental materials, which exhibited significant phenotypic variation in plant height. The DH population was genotyped with the wheat 55K SNP array, and polymorphic molecular markers were screened to construct a high-density genetic linkage map. Combined with phenotypic data of plant height collected from six environments across three consecutive years, genome-wide QTL mapping was performed for plant height traits. Four environmentally stable major QTLs were detected via inclusive composite interval mapping (ICIM), which were distributed on chromosomes 4B, 4D, 5D and 6D, individually explaining 7.08%-39.31% of the phenotypic variation. Among them, Qph.ahau-4B was steadily identified in all six environments and BLUP analysis, explaining 28.65%-39.31% of the phenotypic variation. This locus covered a physical interval of 20.61-22.26 Mb, flanked by markers AX-109018264 and AX-109968140, with an additive effect ranging from -9.34 cm to -8.68 cm. This QTL presented prominent genetic effect and high environmental stability, and was verified as a novel and previously unreported major dwarfing QTL by literature comparison. In conclusion, a novel major and environmentally stable QTL for plant height was successfully identified on chromosome 4B. It lays a foundation for subsequent fine mapping, gene cloning and molecular marker-assisted breeding in wheat.

To identify the suitable sowing date and planting density for the synergistic improvement of yield and quality of strong gluten wheat,the strong gluten wheat variety Kexing 3302 was used as the experimental material.Two sowing dates(October 18(S1)and October 28(S2))and five densities(basic seedlings of 180×10⁴ plants/ha(D180),225×10⁴ plants/ha(D225),270×10⁴ plants/ha(D270),315×10⁴ plants/ha(D315),and 375×10⁴ plants/ha(D375))were set.Field experiments were conducted in 2021—2023 to investigate the effects of sowing date and density on physiological indicators,yield,and quality of wheat plants.The results showed that the relative chlorophyll content(SPAD)of wheat leaves generally decreased with the increase of planting density,and reached its maximum at most growth stages under low-density treatment.With the delay of the sowing date,the relative chlorophyll content of leaves showed an upward trend,with S1 sowing date being lower than S2.As planting density increased,the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI)generally showed an upward trend,and the NDVI value at S2 sowing date was significantly lower than that at S1 sowing date.The number of spikes and grain yield decreased with the delay of the planting density,but increased with the increase of planting density,with the highest yield under D375 treatment.With the delay of the sowing date,both protein content and wet gluten content generally showed a slight downward trend,but the grain protein content of all treatments was above 13.5%.The total starch content of wheat grains generally decreased with the increase of density at S1 sowing date,but increased with the increase of density at S2 sowing date.In addition,the peak viscosity,trough viscosity,final viscosity,and breakdown value generally increased with the increase of density under the two sowing dates.Parameters such as dough stability time and water absorption rate did not exhibit obvious regular pattern under different sowing dates and planting density,but all met the standards for strong gluten wheat.In summary,at sowing date S1,the planting density of Kexing 3302 at 315×10⁴—375×10⁴ plants/ha can achieve high quality and high yield.

This study was carried out to understand the effect of different light quality treatment on the growth,photosynthesis and antioxidant enzyme activities of tomato seedlings in artificial light plant factory.The trial was conducted at a light intensity of 200 μmol/(m²·s),with blue LED light(B)as control.Green light(G),red light(R),far red light(Fr),or ultraviolet light(UV)with consistent light intensity was added on the basis of blue light to clarify the growth,photosynthetic and antioxidant enzyme activities of tomato seedlings under different light quality combinations.The results showed that compared with control,the height of tomato seedlings under B+Fr treatment was significantly improved,increased by 34.54%.B+R treatment significantly increased the stem diameter and dry and fresh weight of tomato seedlings by 39.27%,25.58% and 22.20%,respectively compared with B.The intercellular CO₂ concentration and stomatal conductance(Gs)of tomato seedlings under B+G treatment were higher than other treatments.Besides,B+R treated seedlings had the highest effective photochemical quantum yield of PS Ⅱ,the actual photochemical quantum yield of PSⅡ and the photochemical quenching coefficient,increased by 4.30%,0.97% and 1.87%,respectively compared with the control.Furthermore,B+G,B+R treatment significantly increased the antioxidant enzymes activity,and significantly decreased the content of malondialdehyde(MDA),reactive oxygen species and hydrogen peroxide in tomato seedlings.Thereinto,MDA content of B+R treated seedlings was 50.64% lower than B treatment,while SOD,POD and APX activities were 15.44%,25.00% and 21.65% higher than B treatment,respectively.Taken together,B+R treatment was not only conducive to the cultivation of strong tomato seedlings,but also helped improving PSⅡ activity of leaves,thus enhancing photosynthetic performance.Meanwhile,B+R light treatment could also maintain a high level of antioxidant enzyme activity in tomato plants and improved the antioxidant capacity of tomato plants.

To investigate the physiological regulatory role of salicylic acid(SA)in alleviating saline-alkali stress in kidney bean seedlings and to provide a basis for stress-resistant cultivation of kidney beans in typical saline-alkali areas of Shanxi Province,kidney beans were used as the test material.A composite saline-alkali stress system with a ratio of NaCl,Na₂SO₄,NaHCO₃,and Na₂CO₃ of 1∶9∶9∶1 was used to simulate saline-alkali stress.Five concentration gradients of 0(CK),20,40,60,and 80 mmol/L were set to screen for the optimal concentration of salt-alkali stress treatment.Subsequently,based on the selected concentration,three SA concentrations(20,40,and 60 μmol/L)were applied simultaneously to study the mitigating effect of SA on kidney bean seedlings under saline-alkali stress.The results indicated that under 40 mmol/L salt-alkali stress,the growth of red kidney beans was significantly inhibited but did not reach lethal or severe stress levels,making it the optimal salt-alkali stress concentration.Stress at this concentration induced oxidative damage in early seedlings,inhibited nutrient absorption and translocation,increased the activities of arginine decarboxylase(ADC)and ornithine decarboxylase(ODC),and led to excessive accumulation of putrescine(Put).Under 40 mmol/L saline-alkali stress,exogenous application of 40 μmol/L SA reduced malondialdehyde(MDA)content in leaves and roots by 37.63% and 39.76%,respectively;hydrogen peroxide(H₂O₂)content by 38.71% and 21.13%,respectively;and superoxide anion(O₂^-)content by 40.00% and 52.17%,respectively.Root activity increased by 56.14%.The Na content in both leaves and roots significantly decreased,while the contents of K,Cu,Ca,and Fe significantly increased.Furthermore,exogenous application of 40 μmol/L SA reduced the activities of ADC and ODC,increased the activity of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase(SAMDC),and promoted the conversion of Put to spermidine(Spd)and spermine(Spm),thereby enhancing the plant's antioxidant capacity and ion homeostasis regulation.In conclusion,exogenous salicylic acid can effectively alleviate the physiological damage caused by composite saline-alkali stress in kidney bean seedlings by activating the antioxidant system,optimizing polyamine metabolism,and promoting the absorption and distribution of mineral elements.

Jasmonates play a crucial role in regulating fruit ripening and quality formation.The JAZ proteins are key repressors of the jasmonic acid signaling pathway.To investigate the function of PavJAZ1 in sweet cherry fruit ripening and quality regulation,the PavJAZ1 gene was identified and cloned from the sweet cherry genome.Bioinformatics analysis was performed to explore its physicochemical properties,protein structure,conserved domains,and cis-acting elements in the promoter region.The gene expression pattern of PavJAZ1 in fruits was analyzed by Quantitative Real-time PCR.The subcellular localization of the PavJAZ1 protein was observed,and the interaction between PavJAZ1 and PavMYC2 was verified using the bimolecular fluorescence complementation(BiFC).The results of gene identification and cloning showed that the open reading frame of the PavJAZ1 gene was 837 bp in length,encoding 278 amino acids.The molecular weight of the PavJAZ1 was 30.09 ku,the theoretical isoelectric point was 9.21,the instability index was 54.14,and the grand average of hydropathicity was -0.564,indicating that it was an alkaline hydrophilic and unstable properties.Protein structure analysis revealed that PavJAZ1 was mainly composed of random coils and α-helices,containing two conserved domains,the Tify domain and the Jas domain.It also exhibited high homology with proteins from other species,among which it showed the highest homology with that of peach,a plant that also belonged to the genus Prunus of the Rosaceae family.Subcellular localization analysis showed that the PavJAZ1 protein was localized in the nucleus.The expression level of PavJAZ1 increased significantly in the early stages of fruit development and then gradually decreased.This result suggested that PavJAZ1 may play different roles at different developmental stages.In addition,the BiFC results showed that PavJAZ1 interacted with PavMYC2,confirming that PavJAZ1 participates in the jasmonic acid signaling pathway.

To understand the germplasm characteristics of Schizothorax prenanti and provide a theoretical basis for its germplasm identification,traditional morphological methods were employed to observe the morphological features,and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to study the characteristics of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) in the heart,muscle,eye lens,liver,and kidney tissues.The results showed that the main morphological characteristics of S.prenanti were as follows:elongated body with a slightly laterally compressed shape;inferior mouth with a transverse fissure and a blunt,rounded snout;a sharp keratinous edge on the anterior margin of the lower jaw,one pair of barbels on the snout and one pair at the corners of the mouth,with the latter located posterior to the former;dorsal fin formula D.ⅲ-8,with the undivided fin rays of the dorsal fin in sample fish being weak and having a smooth posterior margin or only a few serrations;pectoral fin formula P.i-18-20,pelvic fin formula V.i-9-10,and anal fin formula A.ⅲ-5,with a row of large scales on each side of the anal fin and anus;a two-chambered swim bladder,with the posterior chamber longer than the anterior one;a black peritoneum;a total of 4+40-45 vertebrae;three rows of pharyngeal teeth with a dental formula of 2·3·5/5·3·2.The expression of LDH and MDH isozymes in S.prenanti exhibited tissue specificity,with the expression patterns in different tissues closely related to their physiological functions.LDH expression in the liver was encoded by three genes,namely LDHA,LDHB,and LDHC,and the enzyme band encoded by LDHC tending towards the cathode.There were five LDH enzyme bands in the eye lens,with stable expression.Therefore,it is recommended to use LDH in the eye lens as a biochemical genetic marker for germplasm identification of S.prenanti.

Serine hydroxy methyl transferase(SHMT) is a conserved pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme that catalyzes the reversible conversion between serine and glycine. It is also an essential enzyme for nucleotide biosynthesis, folate, and amino acid metabolism, playing a critical role in plant development and enhancing the ability of crops to resist stress.The watermelon inbred line TN07011 was used as the material.ClSHM78 was cloned by RT-PCR technology and subjected to bioinformatics analysis.An overexpression vector was constructed and transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana. The T₃ transformed lines were subjected to low-temperature and salt stress treatments,by determining phenotypic and physiological indices, the function of ClSHMT8 in abiotic stress was explored.The results showed that ClSHMT8 was 1 749 bp in full length, encoding 582 amino acids. NCBI-CDD conserved domain prediction indicated that the protein contained a typical SHMT domain.Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that this protein shares a close genetic relationship with its homologous proteins from cucumber and bitter melon.Heterologous expression of ClSHMT8 in Arabidopsis thaliana yielded three T₃ lines, which exhibited significantly larger rosette leaf area, earlier flowering period, and larger seed size compared to the wild type. Under low-temperature and salt stress, the T₃ plants showed significantly higher contents of soluble protein(SP) and chlorophyll(Chl), as well as activities of antioxidant enzymes such as peroxidase(POD), superoxide dismutase(SOD), and catalase(CAT), while the content of malondialdehyde(MDA) was significantly lower than that of wild type. Taken together, ClSHMT8 not only positively regulates plant growth and development, but also enhances plant tolerance to abiotic stresses.These results demonstrate that ClSHMT8 plays an important role in the response of Arabidopsis thaliana to abiotic stress environments.

Waterlogging stress severely impacts soybean production.To investigate the effects of waterlogging stress on soybean growth and development and elucidate its response mechanisms,this study employed four soybean germplasms cultivated in the Huaibei region as experimental materials.Through simulated waterlogging treatment at the V2 stages,combined with yield analysis,physiological indices,and transcriptomic profiling,the study explores the waterlogging tolerance mechanisms in soybean.The results demonstrated that waterlogging stress significantly reduced dry matter accumulation and nitrogen uptake efficiency in the waterlogging-sensitive cultivar Xudou 18,resulting in a yield loss of 30.23%.In contrast,the waterlogging-tolerant cultivar Huaidou 13 exhibited stronger adaptability with only a 16.77% yield loss,attributed to stabilized root nitrogen absorption and maintained root dry matter accumulation.Transcriptomic analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes(DEGs)in Huaidou 13 under waterlogging stress were significantly enriched in pathways that related to the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites,photosynthetic systems,and antioxidant activity.Conversely,DEGs in Xudou 18 were predominantly associated with hormone transduction,photosynthesis,and peroxisome-related pathways.A total of 148 genotype-specific DEGs were identified between cultivars with contrasting waterlogging tolerance,primarily enriched in photosynthesis,secondary metabolite biosynthesis,and fatty acid metabolism.Identified transcription factors included members of the AP2/ERF-ERF,C3H,ARR-B,NAC,and WRKY families.In summary,transcription factors or genes in secondary metabolic pathways that may be related to waterlogging tolerance were screened.

Drought during the grain filling period can seriously affect the later growth and development of foxtail millet plants,as well as the morphogenesis,yield,and quality of grains.To analyze the effects of drought during the grain filling period on the later growth and development of foxtail millet,as well as the morphogenesis of grains,and to provide a theoretical research basis for the molecular mechanism of foxtail millet starch regulation in response to drought stress,it investigated the effects of different degrees of drought during the grain filling period on the agronomic and grain quality traits of foxtail millet using Jingu 21 as the material.Simultaneously,Real-time Quantitative PCR was used to analyze the response of key genes SiAGPase1(Glucose pyrophosphorylase)and SiSSS1(Starch synthase)to drought during starch synthesis.The results showed that drought had significant effects on fresh weight per plant,fresh weight per root,fresh weight per panicle,panicle weight,grain weight per spike,grain weight per thousand grains,main stem diameter,subpanicle internode length,chlorophyll content,seed setting rate,spike code density and other agronomic characters.The more severe the stress,the greater the degree of reduction.The analysis of grain composition showed that drought can reduce the content of fat,crude protein,peak viscosity and final viscosity.The more severe the stress,the greater the reduction degree.Gene expression analysis showed that the expression levels of SiAGPase1 and SiSSS1 changed sharply during the grain filling period under drought stress.The results revealed that SiAGPase1 and SiSSS1 played an active role in regulating the balance between starch decomposition and starch accumulation in grains under drought stress in order to adapt to plant response to drought stress.

In order to elucidate the molecular mechanism of flour-quality regulation at the transcriptional level,wheat mutant varieties A94 and A261 were obtained by ⁶⁰Co-γ irradiation mutagenesis of Shimai 15,and the developing seeds at days 7,14,21 and 28 after flowering were subjected to transcriptome sequencing,and water absorption,dough development time,stable time,softening degree and farinogram index of the three varieties were measured.The results showed that farinogram parameters of two mutant varieties were better than those of Shimai 15.Twenty-four samples were sequenced,and after the data were filtered and annotated,a total of 26 714 genes were identified.With respect to Shimai 15,there were 1 042,258,301 and 366 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)at four time points in A94,respectively,and there were 2 178,248,117 and 959 DEGs in A261,respectively.KEGG enrichment showed that DEGs were mainly involved in pathways of starch and sucrose metabolism,protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum.GO enrichment showed that DEGs were mainly involved in glycogen biosynthesis processes,amyloplast and other biological processes.By analyzing the differential genes in these pathways and biological processes,it was hypothesized that the reasons for the improved flour quality in the mutant varieties include the up-regulation of genes related to sucrose and starch synthesis and metabolism in the early stages of filling,the degradation of misfolded proteins in the middle and late stages,and the differential expression of genes regulating protein and starch accumulation.

The purpose is to analysis the fruit quality and fruit cracking characteristics of Xinjiang self-bred grape varieties under the application of plant growth regulator.The table grapes Xinyu and Xinya bred by research institute of grapes and melons of Xinjiang uygur autonomous region were selected as experimental materials,and 5 mg/L GA₃+5 mg/L 6-BA were sprayed at the veraison period,setting the veraison period and spraying once(T1),twice(T2),three times(T3)every 14 days.The optimal spraying scheme was screened out by measuring the basic indexes of grape fruit quality and fruit cracking rate.The contents of grape skin cell wall components(pectin,protopectin,cellulose,hemicellulose)and the activities of PG,PEP,PL,CE were determined by ELISA kit,and the relative expression of PG,PEP,PL,CE genes were detected by Real-time Quantitative PCR.At the T3 treatment,the content of fructose and glucose components increased significantly,the content of tartaric acid and malic acid decreased significantly,the solid-acid ratio increased significantly,and the fruit cracking rate decreased by 40.7,24.0 percentage points respectively.Compared with the control group from the late verasion to the harvest period,the activities of PG,PEP,PL and CE metabolism-related enzymes and the expression levels of corresponding related genes decreased,and the content of pectin,protopectin,cellulose and hemicellulose cell wall components increased,thus affecting the fruit cracking rate.In conclusion,the fruit quality was improved by spraying of GA₃+6-BA three times after veraison period,at the stage of 100% colored berries,inhibited the enzyme activities PG,PME,PL by reducing PG,PL gene expression,then enhanced the production of protopectin,at the stage of 100% colored berries and the harvest period,inhibited the enzyme activities CE by reducing CE gene expression,then enhanced the production of hemicellulose.While the content of protopectin and hemicellulose increase stabilized the cell wall structure,enhanced the mechanical properties of peel and reduced the fruit cracking rate.

To investigate the genetic evolution and molecular differences of Lentinula edodes germplasm resources and their hybrid progeny,it utilized whole-genome resequencing technology and analyzed genetic diversity and population structure based on single-nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)data.It involved eight main cultivated varieties,six hybrid new varieties,and two wild strains of L.edodes.The results revealed that the SNP numbers in the wild strains Y5 and Y6 were significantly higher than those in the cultivated varieties,with 158 659 and 149 422 SNPs,respectively,and they clustered in independent branches based on genetic distance.In contrast,the cultivated varieties and their hybrid progeny exhibited similar SNP numbers and genetic relationships,with SNP counts ranging from 97 295 to 105 627 and genetic distances ranging from 0.001 2 to 0.055 3,clustering within the same branch.The branches of the cultivated varieties and their hybrid progeny could be divided into six closely related groups.These included early-maturing varieties L18 and 868,early-maturing white-faced varieties RX11,QK212,and 0912,medium-maturing firm-textured varieties 808,LX1,and 168,hybrid progeny varieties JX15 and JX3 of 808,L18,and 868,hybrid progeny varieties JXB5 and JXB15 of JX15 and JX3,and hybrid progeny varieties E14 and E36 of 0912 and JXB5.Population structure and principal component analysis revealed that L.edodes germplasm resources could be divided into four subgroups.The first class included varieties RX11,QK212,and 0912,as well as their hybrid progeny E14 and E36.The second class consisted of main cultivated varieties LX1,168,and 808,along with their hybrid derivatives JX15 and JX3,which share extremely similar genetic information or background.The third class comprised L18 and 868,along with their multiple-generation,genetically improved,high-quality hybrid strains,JXB5 and JXB15,which exist in a transitional state between cultivated varieties and wild strains,with a propensity towards the cultivated varieties.The fourth class was represented by wild strains YX5 and YX6,which are distinctly different from the cultivated strains.This study clarified the genetic differences among L.edodes strains,laying the foundation for the selection of parents and the pairing of hybrid combinations in subsequent hybrid breeding.

To clarify the effects of different nitrogen application treatments on the photosynthetic characteristics and yield of kidney beans,in 2023 and 2024,four nitrogen fertilizer treatments,0(N0),45(N45),90(N90),and 135 kg/ha(N135),were set up using British Red kidney bean as experimental material to analyze the effects of different nitrogen treatments on the leaf area index,relative chlorophyll content,aboveground dry matter weight,yield components and planting benefits.The results showed that under the nitrogen fertilizer treatment of 0-135 kg/ha,the photosynthetic characteristics,aboveground dry matter weight,and yield of kidney bean increased with the increase of nitrogen fertilizer level.All indicators were significantly higher in N135 and N90 treatments than in N45 and N0 treatments.The leaf area index,relative chlorophyll content,aboveground dry matter weight,number of pods per plant,number of grains per pod,100-grain weight,and yield of kidney beans were all the highest compared to the N0 treatment,increasing by 14.71%-19.09%, 15.06%-19.45%, 25.37%-51.58%, 13.62%-18.20%, 8.50%-10.11%, 12.11%-16.35%,and 16.94%-18.03%,respectively;the average yield was 3 202.99 kg/ha.The increase in the above indicators under N90 treatment was second only to that under N135 treatment,which were 12.18%-17.15%, 13.87%-17.97%, 17.51%-31.45%, 12.03%-16.37%, 6.32%-7.91%, 9.88%-13.69%, and 16.23%-17.77%,respectively.Under the N90 treatment,the planting net profit of kidney bean was the highest,at 45 596.85 yuan/ha,followed by the N135 treatment.Compared with the N0 treatment, the net profit increased by 16.63% under N90 and by 16.56% under N135.Applying nitrogen fertilizer improves photosynthetic characteristics and promotes dry matter accumulation by increasing leaf area index and relative chlorophyll content,thereby increasing yield and planting benefit.The highest yield of kidney beans was achieved under the N135 treatment,followed by the N90 treatment.The N90 treatment resulted in the highest profit for kidney beans.In terms of comprehensive kidney bean yield and profit,90 kg/ha nitrogen application treatment(N90)is the nitrogen fertilizer application amount that ensures stable and high yield of kidney bean and maximizes planting profit,and can be promoted and applied in the central regions of Inner Mongolia.

Wheat leaf rust and wheat powdery mildew are two important diseases in the world.Cultivating and planting disease resistant varieties is the most economical and effective method to control these two diseases.In order to test the distribution of wheat leaf rust resistance gene Lr21,the molecular marker closely linked to Lr21 was used to detect 1 200 wheat varieties(lines),and 23 wheat varieties(lines)were detected to contain Lr21.The molecular markers related to other leaf rust resistance genes were used to detect 23 wheat materials,Lr20 gene was detected in Gaoyou 2018,Lr37 gene was detected in Aifeng 8,Jingdong 22,Zhongmai 175,Luyuan 205 and Tang Y958,and Lr46 gene was detected in Jinan 17.No wheat varietie(line)was detected to contain Lr9,Lr10,Lr19,Lr24 or Lr34.Resistance evaluation of 23 wheat varieties(lines)containing Lr21 was identified using the epidemic races of Puccinia triticina(Pt)and Blumeria graminis f.sp.tritici(Bgt),respectively.The results showed that seven wheat varieties(lines)were resistant to both Pt and Bgt,with a frequency of 30.43%,and six wheat varieties(lines)were susceptible to Pt and Bgt mildew at the same time,and the frequency was 26.09%.Taken together,Lr21 was detected in 1 200 wheat cultivars(lines),as well as the presence of other rust resistance genes,and further evaluated their resistance to Pt and Bgt,which will provide a theoretical basis for the selection of multi-resistant wheat.

Evaluating the pedicel length trait of cucumber germplasm resources and exploring the related variation sites can help improve the breeding efficiency of cucumber quality.This study first evaluates the fruit pedicle length traits of 229 cucumber germplasm resources on the day of flowering and during the commercial fruiting period.Then,using the identified medium to long pedicle self-cross lines 9D6 and 6457 as parents,and short pedicle self-cross lines MT and 6429 as parents,F₂ populations were constructed.QTL-seq was used to locate the QTLs controlling cucumber pedicel length traits,and Real-time Quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR)was employed to analyze the expression patterns of candidate genes and validate variant sites.The results showed that the pedicel length on the day of flowering and during the commercial melon period was positively correlated with the germplasm resources,and the variation of the pedicel length on the day of flowering and during the commercial melon period was 0.4—6.2 cm,0.4—5.3 cm,respectively.Genetic analysis showed that the broad genetic forces of cucumber pedicel length were 69.4%,94.4%,respectively,showing typical quantitative trait inheritance characteristics.Six and five QTL loci related to pedicel length on the day of flowering were detected in two sets of F₂ population,respectively.Two QTL intervals 0.840—7.350 Mb on chromosome 5 and 17.735—31.087 Mb on chromosome 6 were co-localized in the two sets of populations.CsPG1(CsaV3_5G010970)and CsROS1 (CsaV3_6G040410)were predicted within the QTL interval of co-location.A non-synonymous SNP311 C/T was found at the conserved domain of CsPG1 coding sequence(CDS)in the medium-long fruit pedicel parental lines 9D6 and 6457.In addition,there was a 9-bp base insertion in the CsPG1 promoter of 9D6,which contained TATA-box,which may be related to its significantly higher expression than other parents on the day of flowering.A 3-bp deletion was found at the CDS of CsROS1 in the short fruit pedicel parental lines 6429,resulting in the loss of one serine residue in the encoded protein.A synonymous SNP3282 T/C was detected at the CDS in the long fruit pedicel parental lines 9D6 and 6457,causing the preferred codon UAU to change to the non-preferred codon UAC.CsPG1 and CsROS1 were considered to be key candidate genes for cucumber fruit pedicel length.

To explore the accumulation characteristics of soil phosphorus and its distribution pattern in the profile after long-term application of different organic fertilizers,a long-term field experiment was conducted to investigate the distribution and migration patterns of phosphorus in the soil profile under continuous application of different amounts of livestock and poultry manure organic fertilizers and sludge compost.The results showed that after 11 consecutive years of application of high amounts(60 t/ha per year)of pig manure,chicken manure and sludge,the phosphorus they brought in could obviously migrate to the 30—60 cm soil layer.The application of medium and high amounts(45,60 t/ha per year)of pig manure,chicken manure organic fertilizers and sludge compost could make the available phosphorus migrate to the 60—90 cm soil layer.After 11 years of application of different types of organic fertilizers,the phosphorus activation coefficient of the plough layer soil showed a significant upward trend,and the difference between high and low application rates reached a significant level.The order of soil phosphorus activation coefficient under different organic fertilizer treatments was:pig manure organic fertilizer treatment>chicken manure organic fertilizer treatment>sludge compost treatment.The content of available phosphorus in the plough layer soil after the application of chicken manure,pig manure organic fertilizer and sludge compost conformed to the linear plus plateau regression model with the phosphorus input.Under the condition of equal phosphorus input of organic fertilizer,the contribution of pig manure and chicken manure organic fertilizer to the available phosphorus in the plough layer soil was significantly higher than that of sludge compost.When the phosphorus input was greater than 7.14 t/ha,the contribution of pig manure organic fertilizer to the available phosphorus in the plough layer soil was significantly higher than that of chicken manure.The total phosphorus and available phosphorus contents in the soil profile were significantly positively correlated with the organic carbon content.In the 0—90 cm profile,soil organic carbon and phosphorus might co-migrate.

To address the challenges of water scarcity and excessive nitrogen fertilizer application in strong gluten wheat production in the low plain areas of Hebei Province,the effects of water-saving and nitrogen-reduction cultivation modes on grain yield and quality of strong-gluten wheat were studied and evaluated,which provided reference for breeding and cultivation management of strong gluten wheat in this region.Field experiments were conducted in Cangzhou from 2016 to 2018,with the conventional treatment(CK:irrigation of 1 500 m³/ha,nitrogen application of 240 kg/ha)as the control,two experimental groups were established:water-saving(W1:750 m³/ha;W0:0 m³/ha)and nitrogen-reduction(N-:120 kg/ha;N0:0 kg/ha).The yield and quality responses of 13 strong gluten wheat varieties were analyzed.The results showed that in the water-saving experiment,treatments W1 and W0 significantly reduced yield by 20.8% and 38.0%,respectively,compared with CK,while W0 exhibited a significant yield reduction of 21.6% compared with W1.The three tested varieties showed strong drought resistance and water-saving characteristics.Treatment W1 significantly prolonged the dough stability time by 8.25 min, while treatment W0 led to a significant decrease in protein content by 1.0 percentage point and a notable reduction in flour water absorption by 2.25 percentage points.Under reduced nitrogen treatment (N-), yield decreased by 3.7% compared to CK, but nitrogen absorption and utilization efficiency increased significantly by 9.8 percentage points.The treatment N0 showed a significant yield reduction of 15.8% and 12.6% compared to CK and N-, respectively. For dough quality, treatment N- increased the stability time by 0.6 min and the extensibility area by 0.35 cm², while treatment N0 caused a significant decrease in protein content by 0.8 percentage points and a reduction in other quality indicators.Principal component analysis showed that the treatment W1 achieved the highest comprehensive quality score(W1>CK>W0),among nitrogen reduction treatments,the ranking was CK>N->N0.Cultivars Shiluan 02-1,Gaoyou 5218,Gaoyou 5766,and Gaoyou 2018 demonstrated stable quality performance across all treatments,and can be used as excellent breeding materials.The conclusions showed that in the low plain areas of Hebei,moderate water stress(W1)could improve certain quality traits despite causing yield reduction;halving nitrogen application(N-)maintained stable yield while significantly improving nitrogen fertilizer absorption and utilization efficiency without affecting quality.The responses of strong gluten wheat to water and nitrogen regulation were asynchronous between yield and quality,and among different quality characteristics.Therefore,both breeding programs and cultivation management should adopt multi-objective synergistic optimization strategies to achieve balanced improvement in both yield and quality.

To investigate the effects of row spacing and chlormequat chloride application on lodging resistance and yield performance of foxtail millet in Southeastern Shanxi,a two-factor randomized block design was employed,utilizing Jingu 21 as the experimental material.The experimental design included three row spacing levels(30,40,and 50 cm,designated as D30,D40,and D50,respectively)and three chlormequat chloride treatment regimes:spraying with water only(CK),single application at the six-leaf stage(T1),and sequential applications at both the six-and eight-leaf stages(T2).This resulted in a total of nine treatment combinations.The study evaluated the impacts of these treatments on stem morphological characteristics,lodging incidence,grain yield,and its component traits.Results showed that chlormequat chloride application under varying row spacing conditions significantly improved stem breaking resistance while significantly reducing plant height,center-of-gravity height,and field lodging rate.The D40+T2 treatment exhibited the highest stem breaking resistance(94.59 N)and concurrently achieved the lowest values for plant height(161.53 cm),center-of-gravity height(80.3 cm),and lodging rate(16.31%).In terms of yield,as row spacing increased,the yield of CK,T1,and T2 treatments all showed a decreasing trend.Among them,the D30+T1 treatment achieved the highest yield of 4 923.83 kg/ha.Correlation analysis indicated that under different row spacing and chlormequat treatments,millet yield was mostly positively correlated with plant height and panicle traits,while consistently negatively correlated with lodging rate.This demonstrates that optimizing row spacing and chlormequat application can effectively regulate key agronomic traits.In conclusion,optimizing row spacing along with appropriate chlormequat treatment can effectively minimize the risk of lodging while maintaining yield.The D30+T1 treatment demonstrated superior overall performance and is therefore recommended for broader adoption in foxtail millet cultivation in Southeastern Shanxi.

Bacillus thuringiensis(Bt)produces multiple insecticidal proteins and serves as a vital biological control agent.This study aims to identify Bt strains with insecticidal activity against lepidopteran pests,thereby alleviating pest resistance pressure and expanding resource reserves.A total of 109 Bt strains were selected from soil of Hebei Province.The shape of parasporal crystals was observed under an oil microscope,and the insecticidal protein genotypes of the Bt strains were identified by PCR using 40 pairs of primers(including cry,cyt,and vip genotypes).The insecticidal activity bioassay was performed using five lepidopteran pests,including Plutella xylostella and Spodoptera litura.The molecular weight of crystal proteins was detected via SDS-PAGE.The shape of parasporal crystals from 90 strains was spherical,and the crystals from the remaining 19 strains were diamond-shaped.The detection rate of insecticidal protein genotypes reached 93.6%,with 29 distinct cry genotypes,1 cyt genotype,and 3 vip genotypes identified.A total of 91 strains possessed combinations of at least two insecticidal protein genotypes,among which 26 strains contained six or more,predominantly exhibiting cry+vip patterns.We found that 19 Bt strains showed high insecticidal activity against various lepidopteran pests such as P.xylostella. These strains primarily expressed proteins at 130,65 ku,encompassing lepidopteran-killing genotypes such as cry1,cry2,and cry15,consistent with PCR identification results.Here,we identified broad-spectrum insecticidal and highly toxic Bt strains against lepidopteran pests,and revealed its insecticidal genes.Our work provides an important candidate for the development of bioinsecticide.

In order to investigate the effects of different concentrations of γ-aminobutyric acid(GABA)on the nutritional quality and antioxidant activity of cherry tomatoes,cherry tomatoes were used as experimental materials.Foliar spraying of GABA solutions with different concentrations(0,5,10,20,and 40 mmol/L,denoted as CK,G5,G10,G20,and G40,respectively)was initiated at 15 days after the anthesis of the 3rd inflorescence.It aimed to explore the impacts of exogenous GABA application on the nutritional quality,endogenous GABA content,and antioxidant activity-related indicators of cherry tomatoes.The results showed that exogenous GABA treatment could significantly improve the nutritional quality and antioxidant capacity of cherry tomatoes.With the increase in treatment concentration,the contents of soluble sugar,total phenols,and total flavonoids,as well as the sugar-acid ratio,increased continuously.Nutritional quality indicators such as vitamin C content,soluble sugar content,and sugar-acid ratio all reached their maximum values under the G40 treatment.The contents of total phenols and total flavonoids in the G40 treatment were significantly higher than those in other treatments except G20,increasing by 24.26% and 91.75% compared with CK,respectively.The lycopene content of cherry tomatoes under the G40 treatment was the highest,which was significantly 85.96% higher than that of CK.The endogenous GABA content first increased and then decreased with the elevation of treatment concentration,reaching the maximum value under the G20 treatment,which was significantly 101.85% higher than that of the control.However,there was no significant difference in endogenous GABA content between the G20 and G40 treatments.Both DPPH free radical scavenging activity and FRAP antioxidant capacity were synchronously enhanced,and both reached their maximum values under the G40 treatment,which were significantly higher than those of CK.Correlation analysis indicated that the antioxidant capacity of cherry tomatoes was extremely significantly positively correlated with total phenols,total flavonoids,and lycopene.In conclusion,exogenous GABA(G40 treatment)can serve as a green and efficient strategy to enhance the nutritional quality and antioxidant activity of cherry tomato fruits.

To investigate the effects of salicylic acid(SA)spraying on potato physiology and yield under reduced basal fertiliser conditions,with a view to providing technical reference for hormone regulation to improve potato yield.The potato variety Dongnong 310 was used as the test material,and the field experiment was conducted using the randomised block group method.Five treatments were set:conventional basal fertiliser(T1),50% reduction of basal fertiliser(T2),50% reduction of basal fertiliser+spraying of 6.9 mg/L SA(T3),50% reduction of basal fertiliser+spraying of 13.8 mg/L SA(T4)and 50% reduction of basal fertiliser+spraying of 27.6 mg/L SA(T5).Samples were taken at the early tuber formation,late tuber formation,tuber growth stage and starch accumulation stage,and plant height,stem thickness,relative chlorophyll content,photosynthetic parameters,fluorescence kinetic parameters,canopy coverage and yield were determined.The results showed that under weight loss treatment,spraying salicylic acid could promote potato growth and increase yield per unit area.Among the four SA treatments in the same period,T3 and T4 treatments could increase potato plant height,stem thickness,Net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), stomatal conductance (Gs), photochemical quenching coefficient(qP)and starch content;and T4 and T5 treatments could increase potato canopy coverage,Fv/Fm,maximum electron transport rate(ETRmax), and half-saturated light intensity(Ik).Spraying different concentrations of SA had a significant effect on the yield of potato tuber under the weight-loss treatments,and T1,T3,T4,and T5 treatments were significantly higher than T2,increasing 36.74%,27.35%,29.83%,22.96%.The number of potatoes produced per plant was highest in T1 treatment,followed by T4,and the difference between the two was not significant,and T1,T3,and T4 treatments were 33.47%,28.28%,and 30.29% higher than T2.Single plant yield of T1,T3,T4 and T5 treatments increased by 35.19%,27.87%,28.76%,23.39% compared to T2.The commercial potato rate T3 and T4 increased by 3.67, 3.72 percentage points compared with T2,and the differences were significant.In summary,exogenous SA increased the Pn,Tr and Gs of potato leaves under 50% reduction of basal fertilizer treatment,and increased the yield per unit area,and the spraying of 13.8 mg/L SA in the pre-tuber formation stage could effectively alleviate the adverse effects of reduced basal fertilizer on the growth and yield of potato.

To fully utilize the effect of foliar fertilizer on increasing soybean yield,an experiment was conducted to study the effects of foliar fertilizer application frequency and timing on soybean growth,photosynthesis,yield and grain quality.The results showed that F1 (spraying at the beginning of flowering stage)was more beneficial than F2 (spraying at the beginning of pod stage)and F3(spraying at the beginning of filling stage)for increasing fresh leaf weight per plant,dry leaf weight per plant,fresh root weight,dry root weight,fresh root weight growth rate,dry root weight growth rate and dry matter accumulation rate of population,and spraying foliar fertilizer twice F4 (initial of flowering stage+initial of pod stage),F5 (initial of flowering stage+initial of filling stage),F6 (initial of pod stage+initial of filling stage)in improving the above indexes were better than spraying foliar fertilizer once F1,F2,and F3.Spraying foliar fertilizer once F2 was the most beneficial for increasing chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate,while F1 had the highest canopy photosynthetically active radiation;spraying foliar fertilizer twice F4 had the highest values of chlorophyll content,photosynthetic rate and canopy photosynthetically active radiation,compared to F1,F2,and F3,F4 significantly increased chlorophyll content and canopy photosynthetically active radiation at filling stage by 8.22%,7.08%,9.89% and 9.25%,13.36%,16.78%,respectively.Compared to spraying foliar fertilizer once,spraying foliar fertilizer twice significantly increased the dry weight of soybean population,and compared to CK,spraying foliar fertilizer once and twice could enhance yield by 82.34—327.86 kg/ha and 318.91—463.98 kg/ha,respectively.Although spraying foliar fertilizer twice was more beneficial for increasing the protein content of soybean grain when compared to spraying foliar fertilizer once,the effect was insignificant,spraying foliar fertilizer at the initial of flowering stage+initial of pod stage was the most effective way to increase protein content.Overall,spraying foliar fertilizer once at the beginning of the flowering period was the most beneficial for improving soybean growth,photosynthetic characteristics and yield,while spraying at the beginning of the pod stage was the most beneficial for improving protein content,and spraying foliar fertilizer twice at the beginning of flowering stage+beginning of the pod stage had the best effect.

It is of great significance to study the effects of brackish water sprinkler irrigation on the growth and yield of summer maize to alleviate the shortage of fresh water resources,promote the utilization of unconventional water resources and guarantee the production of summer maize.Field trial was conducted for two consecutive years in the central plain area of the Heilonggang Basin,Hebei Province.It aimed to investigate the effects of three sprinkler irrigation treatments(fresh water,2 g/L brackish water,and 3 g/L brackish water)on root distribution,photosynthetic performance,and grain yield in summer maize.Results showed that the average dry root weight density of 0-60 cm soil layer in the whole growth period of 2 g/L brackish water sprinkler irrigation was reduced by 7%-9% than fresh water irrigation but with no significant difference,and the average root dry weight density of 3 g/L brackish water sprinkler irrigation was significantly reduced by 19%-26%.Compared with fresh water irrigation,the 2,3 g/L brackish water sprinkler irrigation both had adverse effects on the photosynthetic characteristics of leaves,especially the 3 g/L brackish water sprinkler irrigation,the net photosynthetic rate,stomatal conductance and light use efficiency were significantly reduced by 29%-37%,40%-49% and 29%-35%,respectively,which seriously affected the photosynthetic capacity of the leaves.In 2020,the leaf area index of 2 g/L brackish water sprinkler irrigation was reduced by 15% compared with that of fresh water sprinkler irrigation but with no significant difference,and the leaf area index of 3 g/L brackish water sprinkler irrigation was significantly reduced by 28%.In 2021,there was no significant difference in leaf area index between different treatments during the whole growing period.There was no significant difference in plant height between different treatments during the whole growth period of two years.2 g/L brackish water sprinkler irrigation had no significant effect on yield of summer maize in both years,and the yield of 3 g/L brackish water sprinkler irrigation was significantly reduced by 9% in 2020.No significant differences were observed in ear count,kernel number per ear,or 100-grain weight across the irrigation treatments.In summary,the salinity of brackish water sprinkler irrigation less than 2 g/L can guarantee the growth and yield of summer maize in this area.

To further investigate the function of cotton basic helix-loop-helix(bHLH)transcription factors in salt stress response,we introduced the cotton bHLH transcription factor GhbHLH149-like(previously identified by our team)into wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation,and verified the function of GhbHLH149-like transcription factor in Arabidopsis.Protein structure prediction indicated that the secondary structure of GhbHLH149-like protein is mainly composed of α-helice and random coil,and it was a non-transmembrane hydrophilic protein.Quantitative Real-time PCR(qRT-PCR)results showed that the expression level of the GhbHLH149-like gene in transgenic Arabidopsis was significantly higher than wild-type.The results of phenotypic and physiological index assays indicated that the seed germination rate and root length of transgenic seedlings were significantly higher under salt stress,and the growth performance of transgenic seedlings was markedly better.Meanwhile,the contents of hydrogen peroxide(H₂O₂)and superoxide anion(O₂^-)were significantly lower,whereas the superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity was significantly higher in the transgenic lines.Taken together,GhbHLH149-like gene can significantly enhance the salt tolerance of Arabidopsis,presumably by participating in reactive oxygen species(ROS)scavenging.This study lays a theoretical foundation for the in-depth dissection of the molecular mechanism of cotton GhbHLH149-like gene in salt stress response.

In order to investigate the effects of salt stress on the growth,development and quality of facility cucumbers,salt treatment was carried out on Zhongnong 126 cucumber in the multi-storey glass greenhouse of Vegetable Research Center of Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences from 2023 to 2024.Four treatments of 0(control),25,50 and 100 mmol/L NaCl were added into the nutrient solution to analyze the effects of different concentrations of NaCl treatment on growth and development,photosynthetic characteristics,antioxidant enzyme activity,fruit quality and yield of cucumber.The results showed that with the increase of NaCl concentration,cucumber plant height decreased,stem diameter had no significant difference,and leaf area decreased.Leaf photosynthetic pigment content,Net photosynthetic rate(Pn), stomatal conductance(Gs), transpiration rate(Tr), maximum photochemical efficiency(Fv/Fm),photochemical quenching coefficient(qP)decreased gradually. Intercellular CO₂ concentration(Ci)gradually increased; Non-photochemical quenching coefficient(NPQ) increased first and then decreased, and was highest under T2 treatment. The activities of Superoxide dismutase(SOD), peroxidase(POD), catalase(CAT)increased and then decreased.Except SOD,the activities of POD and CAT were the highest at 25 mmol/L NaCl concentration,which were 38.73% and 95.18% higher than CK,respectively.The content of H₂O₂ increased gradually.With the increase of NaCl concentration,the melon length shortened and the melon head pointed,and the fruit deformity rate increased.The vitamin C content increased first and then decreased, and it performed best under T1 treatment, which was significantly better than the control group. There was no significant difference in soluble solid content among different treatments.Salt treatment significantly reduced the yield of cucumber by 38.89%-81.35% compared with control.Based on the comprehensive evaluation of yield and quality,it is suggested that Zhongnong 126 cucumber should be treated with 25 mmol/L NaCl,which can significantly improve fruit quality.Subsequent research will focus on optimizing cultivation techniques,improving plant salt tolerance while ensuring quality,achieving yield improvement,and providing technical support for high-quality cucumber production.

In previous research,cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase(POR)was identified as a critical host factor facilitating aflatoxin B1(AFB1)-induced hepatotoxicity through CRISPR/Cas9 library screening.To further elucidate the mechanistic role of POR in AFB1-mediated hepatocellular damage,we designed two single-guide RNAs(sgRNAs)targeting exon 5 of the human POR gene,based on its published sequence,using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology.These sgRNAs were cloned into the lentiCRISPRv2 vector,which was subsequently packaged into lentivirus and utilized to infect THLE-2 human hepatocytes.Monoclonal cell lines were isolated by limiting dilution,and knockout efficiency was assessed at both the mRNA and protein levels using off-target sequencing,reverse transcription quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR),and Western Blot analysis.The findings indicated that V2-sgRNA-POR-1 successfully knocked down POR expression,resulting in a significant reduction at both the transcriptional and translational levels in the selected monoclonal cells.Further experiments involved treating THLE-2 wild-type cells with varying concentrations of AFB1(100,200,400,800 μmol/L)for durations of 24,48,and 72 hours.CCK-8 cell viability assays demonstrated that AFB1 toxicity to hepatocytes was significantly dependent on both concentration and exposure time,with an optimal exposure condition identified at 200 μmol/L for 48 hours[IC₅₀(48 h)=(200.55±44.49)μmol/L].Under these conditions,POR knockout cell lines exhibited marked resistance to AFB1-induced cytotoxicity,with significantly higher cell viability than wild-type cells.These findings suggest that POR plays a critical role in facilitating AFB1-mediated hepatocyte toxicity,and that POR knockout substantially enhances cellular resistance to AFB1.

bHLH(Basic helix-loop-helix)gene family is one of the largest plant transcription factor families,binds to cis-acting elements on target gene promoters and plays crucial roles in various physiological processes including growth development,secondary metabolism regulation,signal transduction,and stress response.As one of the world's most important cash crops,cotton is severely affected by stresses such as Verticillium and Fusarium wilt,low temperature,high temperature,salinity,drought,and heavy metal exposure,which significantly impact yield and fiber quality.Meanwhile,with the continuous decline in cotton cultivation benefits,the high-value utilization of by-products such as cottonseeds and cotton secondary metabolites plays a crucial role in improving the comprehensive utilization value of cotton.In this paper,the functions of cotton bHLH transcription factors in cotton fiber development,biotic stress response,abiotic stress response,plant architecture,anther,glandular development,and somatic embryogenesis were summarized.Furthermore,it discusses the application prospects of in-depth analysis of the biological functions of bHLH transcription factors in enhancing the utilization value of cotton by-products,such as cottonseed oil,cottonseed protein,gossypol,anthocyanins,cottonseed vitamins,and nectar,in order to provide theoretical reference for further clarifying the functions of bHLH transcription factors in cotton growth and development,as well as improving the comprehensive utilization value of cotton by-products.

To identify the types of tomato wilt pathogens,select tomato rootstock varieties resistant to wilt disease,and explore the effects of resistant rootstocks on enzyme activity and the number of cultivable microorganisms in the rhizosphere.The results showed that the Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.lycopersici race 3 was the pathogen responsible for tomato wilt in Dingxing area,which has a large tomato cultivation area in Hebei Province.Two high resistance rootstock varieties(TMS150,Jinpeng No.8)and two disease resistant rootstock varieties(Ouzhen 006,CFH-27)were screened using the root injury soaking method.Overall,disease resistant varieties increased the activities of superoxide dismutase,peroxidase,polyphenol oxidase,and catalase,which were positively correlated with the abundance of potential beneficial microorganisms(Bacteria,Actinomycetes,Biocontrol bacteria,Nitrifying bacteria,Ammonifying bacteria,Azotobacter,and Cellulose degrading bacteria)in the rhizosphere soil and negatively correlated with the number of Fungi.This result provided a theoretical basis for the breeding of vegetable rootstock varieties with disease resistance and disease control.

To investigate suitable cultivation practices for enhancing wheat yield and reducing greenhouse gas CO₂ emissions in hilly drylands of Southwest China,this study employed a two-factor split-plot design.The main plots consisted of straw mulching(SM:8 000 kg/ha)and no straw mulching(NSM:0 kg/ha),while subplots included three nitrogen application levels:no nitrogen(N0:0),optimized reduced nitrogen(N1:120 kg/ha),and conventional nitrogen(N2:180 kg/ha),forming six treatments.The results demonstrated that SM increased wheat yield by 29.4% compared to NSM(2 a).The results of two years showed that the wheat yield of N1 treatment increased by 82.9% and 133.8% respectively compared with N0 treatment,and the wheat yield of N2 treatment increased by 84.6% and 148.9% respectively compared with N0 treatment.Compared with the NSM,the soil water content of SM in the jointing stage,flowering stage and mature stage of wheat increased by 3.31,2.78 and 2.40 percentage points(2 a),respectively.Additionally,compared with NSM,the soil bulk density of SM was significantly reduced.Straw mulching significantly elevated soil organic carbon(SOC)and total nitrogen(TN)contents,while nitrogen application increased TN content.Throughout the entire growth period of wheat,straw mulching increased the CO₂ emission flux,and this flux rose in tandem with the increase in the nitrogen application rate.The cumulative CO₂ emissions of the SM treatment were 45.72% higher than those of the NSM treatment.Similarly,the cumulative CO₂ emissions of the N1 and N2 treatments were 48.88% and 71.70% higher than those of the N0 treatment respectively.A further analysis of the CO₂ emission intensity revealed that straw mulching had no significant impact on the CO₂ emission intensity,whereas the N1 treatment exhibited a significantly lower CO₂ emission intensity than the N0 and N2 treatments.Through Mantel analysis,it was discovered that soil moisture,total nitrogen,organic carbon,and wheat yield had a significant influence on CO₂ emissions.The study demonstrates that the integrated practice of straw mulching combined with 120 kg/ha nitrogen application represents the most suitable cultivation approach for wheat in hilly drylands of Southwest China,achieving optimal balance between economic viability and ecological sustainability.

In order to analyze the effects of graphene oxide(GO),a novel nanomaterial,on plant growth,development,and fruit quality,Micro-Tom tomato was used as the model plant.Parameters measured included seed germination rate,seedling height,stem diameter,photosynthetic efficiency,fruit yield,antioxidant enzyme activities,and the accumulation of internal fruit components such as soluble solids content,lycopene,and vitamin C under varying GO concentration levels.The safety implications of GO application in agriculture and forestry were also evaluated.The results indicated that GO concentrations of 50,100,200 mg/L significantly enhanced seed germination rate,promoted germination,and increased radicle length,with the most pronounced effect observed at 200 mg/L GO.Concentrations of 50,100 mg/L GO exhibited significant positive effects:effectively increasing plant biomass,improving photosynthetic efficiency,enhancing antioxidant enzyme activities within the plants(contributing to the maintenance of redox homeostasis),and simultaneously elevating single-fruit fresh weight and overall yield.Notably,50 mg/L GO significantly increased fruit vitamin C content,directly demonstrating its potential to enhance the nutritional value of tomato fruits.Meanwhile,no detectable accumulation of GO was found in any tissues of the treated tomato plants.This finding provides critical evidence for assessing the biosafety of GO,preliminarily indicating that its plant growth promotion occurred without significant concomitant accumulation.Therefore,an appropriate concentration of GO,particularly 50 mg/L,can function as an efficient and relatively safe plant growth promoter,achieving synergistic improvements in tomato yield and fruit quality.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the activator (LiCl) and the inhibitor (MSAB) on the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in C₂C₁₂ cells,as well as to explore how activation or inhibition of this pathway influences myogenic differentiation in C₂C₁₂ cells.This study utilized C₂C₁₂ cells as a model,the cells were treated with different concentrations of LiCl (0,15,and 25 mmol/L) as well as IWR-1 and MSAB (0,15,and 25 μmol/L) to induce differentiation.The expression of proteins related to the classical Wnt signaling pathway and myogenic differentiation cells was detected using Western Blotting technology.The results indicated that a concentration of 15 mmol/L LiCl did not had a significant effect on the β-catenin protein within the Wnt signaling pathway.In contrast,a concentration of 25 mmol/L LiCl promoted the expression of β-catenin,Pax7,MyOG,and MyHC in C₂C₁₂ cells.IWR-1 had no significant effect on β-catenin protein,whereas MSAB at concentrations of 15 and 25 μmol/L exhibited an inhibitory effect on the expression of β-catenin protein.Notably,the inhibition with 15 μmol/L MSAB was particularly pronounced,leading to a marked reduction in the expression levels of β-catenin,Pax7,MyOG,and MyHC in C₂C₁₂ cells.In conclusion,25 mmol/L LiCl and 15 μmol/L MSAB can effectively activate and inhibit the Wnt signaling pathway within C₂C₁₂ cells,thereby influencing myogenic differentiation in these cells.

It is important for agricultural production to study the spatial and temporal distribution of winter wheat drought in Hebei Province.Based on the meteorological observation data of 119 national meteorological stations in Hebei Province during the growing period of winter wheat from 1991 to 2021,based on the national standard of"Meteorological Drought Grade"(GB/T 20481-2017),we calculated the meteorological drought composite index(MCI)and analyzed the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of winter wheat drought in Hebei Province in recent 30 years.The results showed that:the frequency of drought decreased gradually with the drought grade from light drought to extreme drought.The average frequency of light drought occurrence in different growth stages of winter wheat in Hebei Province ranges from 22.1% to 22.5%.The average frequency of medium drought occurrence ranges from 11.7% to 14.5%.The average frequency of heavy drought occurrence ranges from 3.6% to 5.5%.The average frequency of extreme drought occurrence ranges from 0.4% to 1.0%.During the whole growth period,the areas with relatively high frequency of occurrence of medium drought and above were mainly distributed in most parts of Hengshui,west and south of Cangzhou,east of Xingtai,and east of Handan,and the frequency of occurrence was more than 20.25%.From 1991 to 2021,the drought intensity and range of winter wheat in Hebei Province showed a significant decreasing trend in the middle and later stages of growth.

The study aimed to examine the differences in physiological responses to NaCl between these two sweet cherry scion-rootstock combinations,explore the physiological mechanisms governing how different sweet cherry scion-rootstock combinations respond to salt stress,and provide a basis for screening salt-tolerant rootstocks and cultivating sweet cherries in saline-alkali soils.One-year-old plants of the sweet cherry cultivar Meizao(M) grafted onto Gisela 6 (G6) and Colt (KT) rootstocks were used as experimental materials.A pot culture experiment was conducted to simulate NaCl stress,with determinations made on the contents of osmotic adjustment substances,activities of antioxidant enzymes,and photosynthetic gas exchange parameters.The results showed that NaCl treatment promoted the accumulation of osmotic adjustment substances such as soluble sugar,soluble protein,and proline in the leaves of the two sweet cherry scion-rootstock combinations.With the increase in NaCl treatment concentration,the soluble sugar content of M/G6 increased first and then decreased,while that of M/KT continued to increase.Under the 150 mmol/L NaCl treatment,the increase in proline content of M/KT (6.11 times) was significantly higher than that of M/G6 (1.74 times).The contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) increased with the increase in NaCl treatment concentration.However,the peroxidase (POD) activity of M/G6 reached its peak at 100 mmol/L,which was significantly higher than that of M/KT.With the increase in NaCl treatment concentration,the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) and stomatal conductance (Gs) of the leaves of the two sweet cherry scion-rootstock combinations gradually decreased,while the intercellular CO₂ concentration (Ci) gradually increased.Non-stomatal limitation was the main factor for the decrease in Pn of the leaves of the two scion-rootstock combinations.M/G6 showed better salt tolerance under moderate salt stress (100 mmol/L),alleviating oxidative damage by relying on the accumulation of soluble sugar and the enhancement of POD activity.M/KT maintained osmotic balance through the accumulation of proline and the increase in SOD activity under high salt stress (150 mmol/L).Based on comprehensive evaluation,in actual production,M/KT can be considered as a reference option for slightly saline soil,and M/G6 is recommended for moderately saline soil.

The chloroplast genome of Cucurbita ficifolia was assembled,annotated and analyzed to reveal the phylogenetic relationship between C.ficifolia and other Cucurbitaceae plants.The Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform was used to sequence C.ficifolia,and its sequence characteristics,gene type,gene repeat sequence,codon preference and species evolution were analyzed.The chloroplast genome of C.ficifolia was 157 631 bp in length with a GC content of 37.15%.A total of 141 genes were annotated,comprising 60.99% protein-coding genes,33.33% tRNA genes,and 5.67% rRNA genes.These genes were categorized into four groups:photosynthesis-related genes,self-replication genes,other genes,and genes of unknown function.Simple sequence repeat analysis was performed on the chloroplasts of C.ficifolia,and a total of 192 SSR loci were detected.Codon preference analysis showed that there were 31 codons with RSCU values greater than 1.00,and 29 codons ended with A or U.The boundary genes of C.ficifolia were different from those of 8 other Cucurbitaceae species,and the expansion and contraction phenomena were obvious in the IR region and LSC region.The results of evolutionary analysis showed that C.ficifolia was in the same branch with C.moschata,C.maxima,C.pepo,C.argyrosperma var. palmeri,C.foetidissima,C.okeechobeensis subsp. martinezii and C.lundelliana.C.ficifolia was distant in relationship with other species of Cucurbitaceae.The chloroplast genome of C.ficifolia was assembled,and annotated with 141 genes and 192 SSR loci.Its evolutionary relationship is relatively distant with the selected Cucurbitaceae species.This study provides a theoretical basis for phyletic evolution and molecular breeding strategies in C.ficifolia.

This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanism of spermatogenesis and address the decline of semen quality in male animals by analyzing the transcriptome data of the testicles of large and small Blcattle black cattle and mining the key genes and microRNAs(miRNAs)related to spermatogenesis.Six 12-month-old black cattle testicular tissues were collected from Blcattle black cattle as experimental animals,and the testicles were divided into large and small testis groups according to testicular weight,length diameter and short diameter.The whole transcriptome library was constructed,and the differential expression genes(DEGs)were screened with |log₂(Fold Change)|≥1 and FDR<1 as the threshold,and the differential expressed microRNAs(DEMs)were screened with |log₂(Fold Change)|≥1 and P≤0.05 as the threshold.GO and KEGG enrichment analysis screened the biological items and pathways that affect spermatogenesis,weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA)screened the gene groups associated with testicular traits,integrated protein protein interaction(PPI),and finally screened out candidate genes related to spermatogenesis and predicted to target DEMs.The results showed that a total of 3 935 DEGs(2 049 up-regulated,1 886 down-regulated)were screened in the transcriptome library,and the differentially annotated genes of GO function were significantly enriched in signal transduction and MAPK cascade.KEGG showed that FGFR3,NFKB1,MAP3K5 and TAB1 were significantly enriched in the MAPK cascade and sphingolipid signaling pathway,and 6 762 and 295 genes were strongly correlated with testicular size,respectively.The integration of PPI protein-protein interaction identified 20 differential genes with high connectivity.Combined with the small RNA library,the above four candidate genes were screened for targeting miRNAs,namely FGFR3(Bta-mir-296-5p),NFKB1(Bta-mir-15b),MAP3K5(Bta-mir-375)and TAB1(Bta-mir-15b,Bta-mir-11988 and Bta-mir-7180).Real-time PCR verification showed that the expression levels of Bta-mir-15b,Bta-mir-375,TAB1 and MAP3K5 were higher in the testis,and the expression of other genes and miRNAs was lower in the testis.In summary,20 candidate genes and five candidate miRNAs related to spermatogenesis were screened,among which TAB1 and Bta-mir-15b,MAP3K5 and Bta-mir-375s may be important candidate genes and miRNAs affecting spermatogenesis.