GRAS transcription factor LOSS OF AXILLARY MERISTEMS is essential for stamen and runner formation in wild strawberry.

Axillary bud development is a major factor that impacts plant architecture. A runner is an elongated shoot that develops from axillary bud and is frequently used for clonal propagation of strawberry. However, the genetic control underlying runner production is largely unknown. Here, we identified and characterized loss of axillary meristems (lam), an ethyl methanesulfonate-induced mutant of the diploid woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) that lacked stamens in flowers and had reduced numbers of branch crowns and runners. The reduced branch crown and runner phenotypes were caused by a failure of axillary meristem initiation. The causative mutation of lam was located in FvH4_3g41310, which encodes a GRAS transcription factor, and was validated by a complementation test. lamCR mutants generated by CRISPR/Cas9 produced flowers without stamens and had fewer runners than the wild-type. LAM was broadly expressed in meristematic tissues. Gibberellic acid (GA) application induced runner outgrowth from the remaining buds in lam, but failed to do so at the empty axils of lam. In contrast, treatment with the GA biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol converted the runners into branch crowns. Moreover, genetic studies indicated that lam is epistatic to suppressor of runnerless (srl), a mutant of FveRGA1 in the GA pathway, during runner formation. Our results demonstrate that LAM is required for stamen and runner formation and acts sequentially with GA from bud initiation to runner outgrowth, providing insights into the molecular regulation of these economically important organs in strawberry.

Determination of soybean routine quality parameters using near-infrared spectroscopy.

Large differences in quality existed between soybean samples. In order to rapidly detect soybean quality between samples from different areas, we have developed near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) models for the moisture, crude fat, and protein content of soybeans, based on 360 soybean samples collected from different areas. Compared with whole kernels, soybean powder with particle sizes of 60 mesh was more suitable for modeling of moisture, crude fat, and protein content. To increase the reproducibility of the prediction model, uniform particle sizes of soybeans were prepared by grinding and sieving soybeans with different sizes and colors. Modeling analysis showed that the internal cross-validation correlation coefficients (Rcv) for the moisture, crude fat, and protein content of soybeans were .965, .941, and .949, respectively, and the determination coefficients (R2) were .966, .958, and .958. NIRS performed well as a rapid method for the determination of routine quality parameters and provided reference data for the analysis of soybean quality using FT-NIRS.

An attenuated EIAV vaccine strain induces significantly different immune responses from its pathogenic parental strain although with similar in vivo replication pattern.

The EIAV (equine infectious anemia virus) multi-species attenuated vaccine EIAV(DLV121) successfully prevented the spread of equine infectious anemia (EIA) in China in the 1970s and provided an excellent model for the study of protective immunity to lentiviruses. In this study, we compared immune responses induced by EIAV(DLV121) to immunity elicited by the virulent EIAV(LN40) strain and correlated immune responses to protection from infection. Horses were randomly grouped and inoculated with either EIAV(DLV121) (Vaccinees, Vac) or a sublethal dose of EIAV(LN40) (asymptomatic carriers, Car). Car horses became EIAV(LN40) carriers without disease symptoms. Two of the four Vac horses were protected against infection and the other two had delayed onset or reduced severity of EIA with a lethal EIAV(LN40) challenge 5.5 months post initial inoculation. In contrast, all three Car animals developed acute EIA and two succumbed to death. Specific humoral and cellular immune responses in both Vac and Car groups were evaluated for potential correlations with protection. These analyses revealed that although plasma viral loads remained between 10(3) and 10(5)copies/ml for both groups before EIAV(LN40) challenge, Vac-treated animals developed significantly higher levels of conformational dependent, Env-specific antibody, neutralizing antibody as well as significantly elevated CD4(+) T cell proliferation and IFN-γ-secreting CD8(+) T cells than those observed in EIAV(LN40) asymptomatic carriers. Further analysis of protected and unprotected cases in vaccinated horses identified that cellular response parameters and the reciprocal anti-p26-specific antibody titers closely correlated with protection against infection with the pathogenic EIAV(LN40). These data provide a better understanding of protective immunity to lentiviruses.

[The difference in specific humoral immune responses induced with the attenuated equine infectious anemia vaccine strain and virulent strain.].

AIM: To disclose the potential roles of humoral immune response in the EIAV vaccine-induced protective immunity. In this study, major parameters of humoral immunity be compared between horses inoculated with the EIAV vaccine strain and the pathogenic virulent strain. METHODS: Experimental horses were randomly assigned into the group inoculated with the vaccine strain EIAV(DLV); (the vaccinated group) and the group inoculated with sub-morbigenous dose of virulent strain EIAV(Liao); (the inapparent infection group). Humoral immunity parameters, including binding endpoint titer and avidity index of antibodies to the envelop protein (Env) and the capsid protein (P26), and the conformation-dependent index of the Env antibody, were assayed and compared between these two groups by using ELISA. Neutralizing antibodies to the EIAV vaccine strain and a pathogenic strain were simultaneously detected by using plaque forming unite assay (PFU) and reverse transcriptase activity assay, respectively. RESULTS: In general, all humoral parameters increased with a time-dependent manner in both the vaccinated and the inapparent infection group. However, significantly higher antibody activities for P26 binding endpoint titer and Env avidity index were detected in the vaccinated group within 2 months post infection (P<0.05). Furthermore, the conformation-dependent index of the Env antibody in the vaccinated group was significantly higher than that in the inapparent infection group throughout the entire observation period (P<0.05). The most dramatic difference between these experimental groups was in the raise of the neutralizing antibody. The antibody neutralizing both the vaccine strain EIAV(DLV); and a virulent strain EIAV(DLV34); was detected significantly earlier and in higher titers in vaccinated horses than in virulent strain-infected horses (P<0.01 for EIAV(FDDV); and P<0.05 for EIAV(DLV34);). CONCLUSION: Statistically significant differences in EIAV-specific binding antibodies and the neutralizing antibody are detected between animals induced with the EIAV vaccine strain and the virulent strain. Importantly, the significantly early and strong responses in the neutralizing antibody and the conformation-dependent Env antibody induced by the vaccine implicate special roles these antibodies playing in EIAV vaccine-induced immune protection.