The brassinosteroid biosynthesis gene TaD11-2A controls grain size and its elite haplotype improves wheat grain yields.

KEY MESSAGE: TaD11-2A affects grain size and root length and its natural variations are associated with significant differences in yield-related traits in wheat. Brassinosteroids (BRs) control many important agronomic traits and therefore the manipulation of BR components could improve crop productivity and performance. However, the potential effects of BR-related genes on yield-related traits and stress tolerance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) remain poorly understood. Here, we identified TaD11 genes in wheat (rice D11 orthologs) that encoded enzymes involved in BR biosynthesis. TaD11 genes were highly expressed in roots (Zadoks scale: Z11) and grains (Z75), while expression was significantly suppressed by exogenous BR (24-epiBL). Ectopic expression of TaD11-2A rescued the abnormal panicle structure and plant height (PH) of the clustered primary branch 1 (cpb1) mutant, and also increased endogenous BR levels, resulting in improved grain yields and grain quality in rice. The tad11-2a-1 mutant displayed dwarfism, smaller grains, sensitivity to 24-epiBL, and reduced endogenous BR contents. Natural variations in TaD11-2A were associated with significant differences in yield-related traits, including PH, grain width, 1000-grain weight, and grain yield per plant, and its favorable haplotype, TaD11-2A-HapI was subjected to positive selection during wheat breeding. Additionally, TaD11-2A influenced root length and salt tolerance in rice and wheat at seedling stages. These results indicated the important role of BR TaD11 biosynthetic genes in controlling grain size and root length, and also highlighted their potential in the molecular biological analysis of wheat.

Characteristics and trends of childhood cancer in Pudong, China, 2002-2015.

BACKGROUND: With the growing threat of cancer to children's health, it is necessary to analyze characteristics and trends of childhood cancer to formulate better cancer prevention strategies. METHODS: Data on the 430 children with cancer during 2002-2015 were collected from the Pudong Cancer Registry, diagnosed with the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology and categorized according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer. The incidence rate, trends over time, and survival of patients grouped by sex, age, and region were explored using the Kaplan-Meier, Cox regression, and Joinpoint Regression models. RESULTS: The crude childhood cancer incidence and world age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) were 115.1/1,000,000 and 116.3/1,000,000 person-years. The two most frequent cancers were leukemia (136/430, 31.63%, ASR, 37.8/1,000,000 person-years) and central nervous system (CNS) tumors (86/430, 20.00%, ASR, 22.9/1,000,000 person-years). Our findings indicate that the survival rate for children between 10 and 15 years of age was higher than that for 5-10; and the survival rate for children who had leukemia was higher than that of children with CNS tumors. However, the overall incidence of childhood cancer, and leukemia, CNS tumors remained relatively stable in Pudong between 2002 and 2015. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and survival rate for childhood cancer patients varied by age and cancer type. The overall trends of childhood cancer incidence remained relatively stable in Pudong from 2002 to 2015 even though socioeconomic development has been unprecedentedly fast in this region.