Pleiotropic phenotypic effects of the TaCYP78A family on multiple yield-related traits in wheat.

Increasing crop yield depends on selecting and utilizing pleiotropic genes/alleles to improve multiple yield-related traits (YRTs) during crop breeding. However, synergistic improvement of YRTs is challenging due to the trade-offs between YRTs in breeding practices. Here, the favourable haplotypes of the TaCYP78A family are identified by analysing allelic variations in 1571 wheat accessions worldwide, demonstrating the selection and utilization of pleiotropic genes to improve yield and related traits during wheat breeding. The TaCYP78A family members, including TaCYP78A3, TaCYP78A5, TaCYP78A16, and TaCYP78A17, are organ size regulators expressed in multiple organs, and their allelic variations associated with various YRTs. However, due to the trade-offs between YRTs, knockdown or overexpression of TaCYP78A family members does not directly increase yield. Favourable haplotypes of the TaCYP78A family, namely A3/5/16/17Ap-Hap II, optimize the expression levels of TaCYP78A3/5/16/17-A across different wheat organs to overcome trade-offs and improve multiple YRTs. Different favourable haplotypes have both complementary and specific functions in improving YRTs, and their aggregation in cultivars under strong artificial selection greatly increase yield, even under various planting environments and densities. These findings provide new support and valuable genetic resources for molecular breeding of wheat and other crops in the era of Breeding 4.0.

Ultralow-Permittivity and Temperature-Stable Ba1-xCaxMg2Al6Si9O30 Dielectric Ceramics for C-Band Patch Antenna Applications.

Ca-substituted Ba1-xCaxMg2Al6Si9O30 ceramics were prepared to explore the relationships among their crystal structural parameters, phase compositions, dielectric properties, and coefficients of thermal expansion and applications in C-band antenna. The maximum solubility of Ba1-xCaxMg2Al6Si9O30 was located at x = 0.25, and Ba1-xCaxMg2Al6Si9O30 ceramics (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.25) crystallized in the space group P6/mcc. In Ba1-xCaxMg2Al6Si9O30 single-phase ceramics, εr was dominated by ionic polarizability and "rattling effects" of Ba2+ and Al(2)3+; Q × f was controlled by the roundness of [Si4Al2O18] inner rings and total lattice energy; and τf was affected by the bond valence of Si/Al(1)-O(1). Notably, the low average coefficients of thermal expansion (2.668 ppm/°C) at -150 °C ≤ T ≤ 850 °C and near-zero coefficients of thermal expansion (1.254 ppm/°C) at -150 °C ≤ T ≤ 260 °C were achieved for the Ba1-xCaxMg2Al6Si9O30 (x = 0.1) ceramic. Optimum microwave and terahertz dielectric properties were obtained for the Ba1-xCaxMg2Al6Si9O30 (x = 0.1) ceramic with εr = 5.80, Q × f = 31,174 at 13.99 GHz, τf = -7.10 ppm/°C, and εr = 5.71-5.85 at 0.2 THz ≤ f ≤ 1.0 THz. Also, the Ba1-xCaxMg2Al6Si9O30 (x = 0.1) ceramic substrate had been designed as a C-band patch antenna with a high simulated radiation efficiency (87.76%) and gain (6.30 dBi) at 7.70 GHz (|S11| = -38.41 dB).

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes promote microcirculation in aged diabetic mice by TGF-ß1 signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Microvascular dysfunction is one of the most common pathological characteristics in Type 2 diabetes. Human mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (hUCMSCs-Exo) have diverse functions in improving microcirculation; however, the molecular mechanism of hUCMSCs-Exo in regulating burn-induced inflammation is not well understood. METHODS: hUCMSCs-Exo were extracted by hypervelocity centrifugation method, and exosome morphology was observed by transmission electron microscopy, exosome diameter distribution was detected by particle size analysis, and exosome specific proteins were identified by Western blot.2. DB/DB mice were randomly divided into exosomes group and PBS group. Exosomes and PBS were injected into the tail vein, respectively, and the calf muscle tissue was taken 28 days later. 0.5% Evans blue fluorescence assessment microvascular permeability. The expression of CD31 was detected by immunofluorescence.The morphology and function of microvessels in muscle tissue of lower limbs was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy.3. TMT proteomics was used to detect the changes of differential protein expression in lower limb muscle tissues of the PBS group and the exosome group, and data analysis was performed to screen key signal molecules and their involved biological pathways. Key signal molecules CD105 were verified by Western blot. The expression of TGF-ß1 in exosomes were evaluated by Western blot. RESULTS: Electron microscopy showed that hUCMSCs-Exo presented a uniform vesicle structure, and NTA showed that its diameter was about 160 nm. Western blot showed positive expression of specific proteins CD9, CD81 and TSG101 on exosomes.2. There is no significant change in blood glucose and body weight before and after the exosome treatment. The exosome group can significantly reduce the exudation of Evans blue. Compared with the PBS group. Meanwhile, CD31 immunofluorescence showed that the red fluorescence of exosome treatment was significantly increased, which was higher than that of PBS group. Transmission electron microscopy showed smooth capillary lumen and smooth and complete surface of endothelial cells in the exosome group, while narrow capillary lumen and fingerlike protrusion of endothelial cells in the PBS group.3.Quantitative analysis of TMT proteomics showed that there were 82 differential proteins, including 49 down-regulated proteins and 33 up-regulated proteins. Go enrichment analysis showed that the differential proteins were involved in molecular function, biological process, cell components,among which CD105 was one of the up-regulated proteins. Through literature search, CD105 was found to be related to endothelial cell proliferation. Therefore, this study verified the changes of CD105 in the exosome group, and it was used as the mechanism study of this study. 4. Western blot analysis showed that the expression of CD105 protein in lower limb muscle tissue of exosome group was significantly increased compared with that of PBS group. Based on the fact that CD105 is a component of the TGF-ß1 receptor complex and exosomes are rich in growth factors and cytokines, this study further examined the expression of TGF-ß1 in exosomes, and the results showed that exosomes had high expression of TGF-ß1. CONCLUSION: By improving the integrity of microvascular endothelial cells, hUCMSCs-Exo can improve the permeability of microvessels in diabetic lower muscle tissue, further promote the proliferation of lower limb muscle cells and inhibit the apoptosis of tissue cells. The mechanism may be associated with exosomes rich in TGF-ß1, which is likely to promote endothelial cell proliferation and improve permeability through binding to the endothelial CD105/TßR-II receptor complex, while promoting angiogenesis and protecting skeletal muscle cells from apoptosis.

Synthesis and Properties of Room-Temperature Phosphorescent Liquid Crystal Copolymers with Linearly Polarized Luminescence Characteristic.

Room-temperature phosphorescent (RTP) liquid crystal materials have garnered considerable attention because of their significant applications in organic light emitting diodes, polarized light emitting materials, and so forth. How to efficiently synthesize pure organic RTP liquid crystals and regulate their performance is of great significance. In this article, we propose a simple and feasible method to synthesize RTP liquid crystals and manipulate their properties through copolymerization. We constructed RTP liquid crystal copolymers by copolymerizing a phosphorescent monomer bearing biphenyl mesogen with a phosphorescent monomer bearing a dibenzofuran chromophore. All the synthesized copolymers show a liquid crystal property because of the introduction of biphenyl mesogen. Meanwhile, by changing the composition of copolymers, it is possible to regulate their RTP performance, including luminescence color and lifetime. As the content of the PMDFM0C component in copolymers increases, the phosphorescence lifetime gradually increases. For poly(MDFM0C(0.46)-co-MBi18C(0.54)), the phosphorescence lifetime can reach 463.0 ms. Moreover, the phosphorescence color of the PMDFM0C component in copolymers changes with the copolymer composition, which can induce variable room-temperature phosphorescence. In addition, when oriented, liquid crystal copolymer films can emit linearly polarized fluorescence and linearly polarized phosphorescence. The linearly polarized phosphorescence dichroic ratio and polarization ratio values of the oriented poly(MDFM0C(0.46)-co-MBi18C(0.54)) film are 3.33 and 0.50, respectively.

Clustering-Triggered Emission Liquid Crystalline Polymer Bearing Cholesterol: Tunable Circularly Polarized Luminescence and Room-Temperature Phosphorescence.

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) materials with clustering-triggered emission (CTE) characteristic have gradually attracted attention for their unique photophysical properties. However, the majority of reported clusteroluminogens lack chirality and exhibit heterogeneity, making it challenging to achieve a well-defined helical structure necessary for efficient CPL with high dissymmetry factor (glum ). In this paper, chiral liquid crystals are constructed to obtain CTE-based CPL materials with high glum values. Side chain liquid crystal polymer PM6Chol bearing cholesterol clusteroluminogens are designed and synthesized. PM6Chol-coated film and PM6Chol thermal-treated film are also successfully prepared by different film-forming methods. Both the films inherit the CTE characteristic of cholesterol and show excitation wavelength-dependent luminescent behavior. However, the two polymer films exhibit different liquid crystal phase structures, with PM6Chol-coated film being a chiral bilayer smectic C phase and PM6Chol thermal-treated film being an achiral bilayer smectic A phase. Attributed to helical arrangement of cholesterol, PM6Chol-coated film emits efficient CPL with glum values up to 1.0 × 10-1 . For PM6Chol thermal-treated film, no CPL signal is detected due to the absence of helical structure. However, it shows obvious room-temperature phosphorescence with 2.0 s afterglow and 23.9 ms lifetime.

Helophytes adapt to water and N-enrichment stresses by adjusting and coordinating stoichiometry characteristics in main organs.

Exploring the adaptation strategies of plants under stressful environments from an ecological stoichiometry perspective is a critical but underexplored research topic, and multi-organ collaborative research for multi-species can provide a comprehensive understanding. In this study, helophytes were selected as the subjects, and water depth and water N-enrichment were set as the stressors. A simulation experiment including three water depths (drought stress, control and flooding stress) and four water N-enrichment levels (control, low, medium and high N-enrichment stresses) for six helophyte species was carried out. Overall, C concentrations in all plant organs remained stable under water (drought-flooding stress) and N-enrichment stress. N concentrations increased under both flooding and drought stresses, while P concentrations and the N:P ratio showed an increase and decrease under only flooding stress, respectively. N concentration and N:P ratio increased with water N-enrichment level. The interaction only promoted the accumulation of N concentrations in aboveground organs. Especially, several species also changed organ C concentrations to adapt to water stress and adjusted root N concentrations for the combined stresses of flooding or drought and high N. Leaf and stem were strongly synergistic in N element, and leaf and root were mainly synergistic in P element. Water N-enrichment determined organ element concentrations more than water depth, and species identity dictated organ C:N:P ratios. Our results reveal that the allocation and synergy of nutrients among organs are important adaptive strategies for plants in stressful environments. Meanwhile, increasing water N-enrichment can be an unignored stressor, and species identity should be paid attention as a countermeasure.

Human Placenta-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Ameliorate Diabetic Neuropathy via Wnt Signaling Pathway.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PMSCs) on diabetic peripheral neuropathy and explore the role of Wnt signaling pathway. Method: Twenty-seven male db/db mice were randomly categorized into the control group, PMSC group, and PMSC treatment with Wnt inhibitor treatment group. Intervention was initiated in week 22. Thermal stimulation response was determined with a plantar analgesia tester. The mice were sacrificed on 7, 14, and 28 days. The morphology of sciatic nerves was observed by electron microscopy, and the expression of protein gene product (PGP) 9.5, S100ß, and Ku80 was detected by immunofluorescence. Bax, ß-catenin, and dishevelled1 (DVL1) were detected by western blot. Results: Thermal stimulation response was improved in the PMSC group on 14 and 28 days. Compared with the control group, PGP9.5 was increased in the PMSC group, accompanied by a significant increase in the expression of S100ß. On the contrary, LGK974 inhibited the effect of PMSCs on thermal stimulation response and the expression of PGP9.5 and S100ß. Both PGP9.5 and S100ß were correlated with Ku80 in fluorescence colocalization. The myelin sheath of sciatic nerves in the PMSC group was uniform and dense compared with that in the control group. The effects of PMSCs promoting myelin repair were significantly inhibited in the PMSC+LGK974 group. Bax in the PMSC group expressed less than the control group. In contrast, the expressions of ß-catenin and DVL1 were higher compared with that in the control group on the 14th and 28th days. The expression of DVL1 and ß-catenin was lower in the PMSC+LGK974 group than in the PMSC group. Conclusions: PMSCs improved the symptoms of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, along with the improvement of nerve myelin lesions, promotion of nerve regeneration, and activation of Schwann cells, which might be related to the regulation of Wnt signaling pathway and inhibition of apoptosis.

Composite Hydrogel Microspheres Encapsulating Hollow Mesoporous Imprinted Nanoparticles for Selective Capture and Separation of 2'-Deoxyadenosine.

Hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles have been widely applied as a carrier material in the molecular imprinting process because of their excellent properties, with high specific surface area and well-defined active centers. However, these kinds of materials face the inevitable problem that they have low mass transfer efficiency and cannot be conveniently recycled. In order to solve this problem, this work has developed a composite hydrogel microsphere (MMHSG) encapsulated with hollow mesoporous imprinted nanoparticles for the selective extraction of 2'-deoxyadenosine (dA). Subsequently, the hollow mesoporous imprinted polymers using dA as template molecule and synthesized 5-(2-carbomethoxyvinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (AcrU) as functional monomer were encapsulated in hydrogel. MMHSG displayed good performance in specifically recognizing and quickly separating dA, whereas no imprinting effect was observed among 2'-deoxyguanosine (dG), deoxycytidine (dC), or 5'-monophosphate disodium salt (AMP). Moreover, the adsorption of dA by MMHSG followed chemisorption and could reach adsorption equilibrium within 60 min; the saturation adsorption capacity was 20.22 µmol·g-1. The introduction of AcrU could improve selectivity through base complementary pairing to greatly increase the imprinting factor to 3.79. Therefore, this was a successful attempt to combine a hydrogel with hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles and molecularly imprinted material.

Secondary Metabolites from Marine-Derived Bacillus: A Comprehensive Review of Origins, Structures, and Bioactivities.

The marine is a highly complex ecosystem including various microorganisms. Bacillus species is a predominant microbialflora widely distributed in marine ecosystems. This review aims to provide a systematic summary of the newly reported metabolites produced by marine-derived Bacillus species over recent years covering the literature from 2014 to 2021. It describes the structural diversity and biological activities of the reported compounds. Herein, a total of 87 newly reported metabolites are included in this article, among which 49 compounds originated from marine sediments, indicating that marine sediments are majority sources of productive strains of Bacillus species Therefore, marine-derived Bacillus species are a potentially promising source for the discovery of new metabolites.

TaKLU Plays as a Time Regulator of Leaf Growth via Auxin Signaling.

The growth of leaves is subject to strict time regulation. Several genes influencing leaf growth have been identified, but little is known about how genes regulate the orderly initiation and growth of leaves. Here, we demonstrate that TaKLU/TaCYP78A5 contributes to a time regulation mechanism in leaves from initiation to expansion. TaKLU encodes the cytochrome P450 CYP78A5, and its homolog AtKLU has been described whose deletion is detrimental to organ growth. Our results show that TaKLU overexpression increases leaf size and biomass by altering the time of leaf initiation and expansion. TaKLU-overexpressing plants have larger leaves with more cells. Further dynamic observations indicate that enlarged wheat leaves have experienced a longer expansion time. Different from AtKLU inactivation increases leaf number and initiation rates, TaKLU overexpression only smooths the fluctuations of leaf initiation rates by adjusting the initiation time of local leaves, without affecting the overall leaf number and initiation rates. In addition, complementary analyses suggest TaKLU is functionally conserved with AtKLU in controlling the leaf initiation and size and may involve auxin accumulation. Our results provide a new insight into the time regulation mechanisms of leaf growth in wheat.

Modified expression of TaCYP78A5 enhances grain weight with yield potential by accumulating auxin in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Increasing grain yield has always been the primary goal of crop breeding. KLUH/CYP78A5 has been shown to affect seed size in several plant species, but the relevant molecular mechanism is still unclear and there are no reports of this gene contributing to yield. Here, we demonstrate that modified expression of TaCYP78A5 can enhance wheat grain weight and grain yield per plant by accumulating auxin. TaCYP78A5 is highly expressed in maternal tissues, including ovary and seed coat during wheat development. The constitutive overexpression of TaCYP78A5 leads to significantly increased seed size and weight but not grain yield per plant due to the strengthening of apical dominance. However, localized overexpression of TaCYP78A5 in maternal integument enhances grain weight and grain yield per plant by 4.3%-18.8% and 9.6%-14.7%, respectively, in field trials. Transcriptome and hormone metabolome analyses reveal that TaCYP78A5 participates in auxin synthesis pathway and promotes auxin accumulation and cell wall remodelling in ovary. Phenotype investigation and cytological observation show that localized overexpression of TaCYP78A5 in ovary results in delayed flowering and prolonged proliferation of maternal integument cells, which promote grain enlargement. Moreover, naturally occurring variations in the promoter of TaCYP78A5-2A contribute to thousand-grain weight (TGW) and grain yield per plant of wheat;TaCYP78A5-2A haplotype Ap-HapII with higher activity is favourable for improving grain weight and grain yield per plant and has been positively selected in wheat breeding. Then, a functional marker of TaCYP78A5 haplotype Ap-HapII is developed for marker-assisted selection in wheat grain and yield improvement.

Crescent-shaped micromotor sorbents with sulfonic acid functionalized convex surface: The synthesis by A Janus emulsion strategy and adsorption for Li.

Self-propelled micromotor (SPM) plays a vital role in recycling of lithium (Li+) from wastewater in battery industry. In this work, a crescent-shaped micromotor sorbent (CSMSs) with sulfonic group on convex surface was prepared by Janus emulsion to extract Li+. Using sodium p-styrene sulfonate as a functional monomer, well-designed CSMSs was prepared by UV-induced monomer interfacial polymerization, and their pit size can be controlled by adjusting the ratio of two incompatible oils (ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate and liquid paraffin). In addition, MnO2 nanoparticles, which embedded into concave interface, generated O2 bubbles in the presence of H2O2, and constant circular or line motion of CSMSs was observed. Zeta potential of CSMSs was -51.66 eV at pH = 10, and strong electrostatic attraction between sulfonate groups and Li+ endowed the maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 31 mg g-1 at 25 °C. Self-propelled effect further enhanced kinetic performance for Li+, and equilibrium time can be reduced from original 10-6.0 h, suggesting autonomous movement achieves rapid mixing and mass transportation. After three adsorption/desorption cycles, the adsorption capacity of the material remains above 90%. This simple and large-scale preparation strategy provided a synthetic method for functional and Janus SPM, as well as sorbents for Li+ enrichment.