Birchheller3555

The functions of non-cytotoxic PyolNLP13/14 rely on their conserved nlp24-like peptide pattern. Synthetic Pyolnlp24s derived from both cytotoxic and non-cytotoxic PyolNLPs can induce plant defensin expression. Unlike classic nlp24, Pyolnlp24s lack the ability of inducing ROS burst in plants with the presence of Arabidopsis nlp24 receptor RLP23. Taken together, our work demonstrates that PyolNLPs enhance plant resistance in an RLP23-independent manner, which requires the conserved nlp24-like peptide pattern but is uncoupled with ROS burst and cell death.Salt stress is a major factor limiting the growth and yield of soybean (Glycine max). Wild soybeans (Glycine soja) contain high allelic diversity and beneficial alleles that can be re-introduced into domesticated soybeans to improve adaption to the environment. However, very few beneficial alleles have been identified from wild soybean. Here, we demonstrate that wild soybean is more salt tolerant than cultivated soybean and examine dehydration responsive element-binding (DREB) family transcription factor genes to look for advantageous alleles that might improve drought tolerance in cultivated soybean. Our genome-wide analysis identified 103 DREB genes from the Glycine max genome. By combined RNA-sequencing and population genetics of wild, landrace, and cultivated soybean accessions, we show that the natural variation in DREB3a and DREB3b is related to differences in salt tolerance in soybean accessions. Interestingly, DREB3b, but not DREB3a, appears to have undergone artificial selection. Soybean plants carrying the wild soybean DREB3b allele (DREB3b39Del ) are more salt tolerant than those containing the reference genome allele (DREB3bRef ). Together, our results suggest that the loss of the DREB3b39Del allele through domestication of cultivated soybean may be associated with a reduction in salt tolerance. Our findings provide crucial information for improving salt tolerance in soybean through molecular breeding.Molybdenum (Mo) is an essential micronutrient for almost all organisms. Wheat, a major staple crop worldwide, is one of the main dietary sources of Mo. However, the genetic basis for the variation of Mo content in wheat grains remains largely unknown. Here, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed on the Mo concentration in the grains of 207 wheat accessions to dissect the genetic basis of Mo accumulation in wheat grains. As a result, 77 SNPs were found to be significantly associated with Mo concentration in wheat grains, among which 52 were detected in at least two sets of data and distributed on chromosome 2A, 7B, and 7D. Moreover, 48 out of the 52 common SNPs were distributed in the 726,761,412-728,132,521 bp genomic region of chromosome 2A. Three putative candidate genes, including molybdate transporter 1;2 (TraesCS2A02G496200), molybdate transporter 1;1 (TraesCS2A02G496700), and molybdopterin biosynthesis protein CNX1 (TraesCS2A02G497200), were identified in this region. These findings provide new insights into the genetic basis for Mo accumulation in wheat grains and important information for further functional characterization and breeding to improve wheat grain quality.Flavones predominantly accumulate as O- and C-glycosides in kumquat plants. Two catalytic mechanisms of flavone synthase II (FNSII) support the biosynthesis of glycosyl flavones, one involving flavanone 2-hydroxylase (which generates 2-hydroxyflavanones for C-glycosylation) and another involving the direct catalysis of flavanones to flavones for O-glycosylation. However, FNSII has not yet been characterized in kumquats. In this study, we identified two kumquat FNSII genes (FcFNSII-1 and FcFNSII-2), based on transcriptome and bioinformatics analysis. Data from in vivo and in vitro assays showed that FcFNSII-2 directly synthesized apigenin and acacetin from naringenin and isosakuranetin, respectively, whereas FcFNSII-1 showed no detectable catalytic activities with flavanones. In agreement, transient overexpression of FcFNSII-2 in kumquat peels significantly enhanced the transcription of structural genes of the flavonoid-biosynthesis pathway and the accumulation of several O-glycosyl flavones. Moreover, studying the subcellular localizations of FcFNSII-1 and FcFNSII-2 demonstrated that N-terminal membrane-spanning domains were necessary to ensure endoplasmic reticulum localization and anchoring. Protein-protein interaction analyses, using the split-ubiquitin yeast two-hybrid system and bimolecular fluorescence-complementation assays, revealed that FcFNSII-2 interacted with chalcone synthase 1, chalcone synthase 2, and chalcone isomerase-like proteins. The results provide strong evidence that FcFNSII-2 serves as a nucleation site for an O-glycosyl flavone metabolon that channels flavanones for O-glycosyl flavone biosynthesis in kumquat fruits. They have implications for guiding genetic engineering efforts aimed at enhancing the composition of bioactive flavonoids in kumquat fruits.Bread wheat is a highly adaptable food crop grown extensively around the world and its quality genetic improvement has received wide attention. In this study, the genetic loci associated with five quality traits including protein content (PC), gluten content (GC), baking value (BV), grain hardness (HA), and sedimentation value (SV) in a population of 253 Chinese wheat grown in Inner Mongolia were investigated through genome wide association mapping. A total of 103 QTL containing 556 SNPs were significantly related to the five quality traits based on the phenotypic data collected from three environments and BLUP data. Of these QTL, 32 QTL were continuously detected under at least two experiments. Some QTL such as qBV3D.2/qHA3D.2 on 3D, qPC5A.3/qGC5A on 5A, qBV5D/qHA5D on 5D, qBV6B.2/qHA6B.3 on 6B, and qBV6D/qHA6D.1 on 6D were associated with multiple traits. In addition, distribution of favorable alleles of the stable QTL in the association panel and their effects on five quality traits were validated. Analysis of existing transcriptome data revealed that 34 genes were specifically highly expressed in grains during reproductive growth stages. The functions of these genes will be characterized in future experiments. This study provides novel insights into the genetic basis of quality traits in wheat.Water-soluble carbohydrates (WSCs) play a vital role in water stress avoidance and buffering wheat grain yield. However, the genetic architecture of stem WSCs' accumulation is partially understood, and few candidate genes are known. This study utilizes the compressed mixed linear model-based genome wide association study (GWAS) and heuristic post GWAS analyses to identify causative quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) and candidate genes for stem WSCs' content at 15 days after anthesis under different water regimes (irrigated, rainfed, and drought). Glucose, fructose, sucrose, fructans, total non-structural carbohydrates (the sum of individual sugars), total WSCs (anthrone based) quantified in the peduncle of 301 bread wheat genotypes under multiple environments (E01-E08) pertaining different water regimes, and 14,571 SNPs from "35K Axiom Wheat Breeders" Array were used for analysis. As a result, 570 significant nucleotide trait associations were identified on all chromosomes except for 4D, of which 163 were considered stable. A total of 112 quantitative trait nucleotide regions (QNRs) were identified of which 47 were presumable novel. QNRs qWSC-3B.2 and qWSC-7A.2 were identified as the hotspots. Post GWAS integration of multiple data resources prioritized 208 putative candidate genes delimited into 64 QNRs, which can be critical in understanding the genetic architecture of stem WSCs accumulation in wheat under optimum and water-stressed environments. At least 19 stable QTNs were found associated with 24 prioritized candidate genes. Clusters of fructans metabolic genes reported in the QNRs qWSC-4A.2 and qWSC-7A.2. These genes can be utilized to bring an optimum combination of various fructans metabolic genes to improve the accumulation and remobilization of stem WSCs and water stress tolerance. These results will further strengthen wheat breeding programs targeting sustainable wheat production under limited water conditions.Technology advancement has contributed significantly to productivity improvement in the agricultural sector. However, field operation and farm resource utilization remain a challenge. For major row crops, designing an optimal crop planting strategy is crucial since the planting dates are contingent upon weather conditions and storage capacity. This manuscript proposes a two-stage decision support system to optimize planting decisions, considering weather uncertainties and resource constraints. The first stage involves creating a weather prediction model for Growing Degree Units (GDUs). In the second stage, the GDUs prediction from the first stage is incorporated to formulate an optimization model for the planting schedule. The efficacy of the proposed model is demonstrated through a case study based on Syngenta Crop Challenge (2021). It has been shown that the 1D-CNN model outperforms other prediction models with an RRMSE of 7 to 8% for two different locations. The decision-making model in the second stage provides an optimal planting schedule such that weekly harvested quantities will be evenly allocated utilizing a minimum number of harvesting weeks. We analyzed the model performance for two scenarios fixed and flexible storage capacity at multiple geographic locations. Results suggest that the proposed model can provide an optimized planting schedule considering planting window and storage capacity. The model has also demonstrated its robustness under multiple scenarios.Breeding for decreased fruit cracking incidence and increased fruit firmness in sweet cherry creates an attractive alternative to variable results from cultural management practices. DNA-informed breeding increases its efficiency, yet upstream research is needed to identify the genomic regions associated with the trait variation of a breeding-relevant magnitude, as well as to identify the parental sources of favorable alleles. The objectives of this research were to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with fruit cracking incidence and firmness, estimate the effects of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) haplotypes at the detected QTLs, and identify the ancestral source(s) of functional haplotypes. Fruit cracking incidence and firmness were evaluated for multiple years on 259 unselected seedlings representing 22 important breeding parents. find more Phenotypic data, in conjunction with genome-wide genotypic data from the RosBREED cherry 6K SNP array, were used in the QTL analysis performed via Pedigrness haplotypes were tracked to an unnamed parent of 'Emperor Francis' and 'Schmidt,' an unnamed grandparent of 'Black Republican,' 'Rube,' and an unknown parent of 'Napoleon.' These four stable QTLs can now be targeted for DNA test development, with the goal of translating information discovered here into usable tools to aid in breeding decisions.Acer pseudosieboldianum (Pax) Komarov is an ornamental plant with prominent potential and is naturally distributed in Northeast China. Here, we obtained a chromosome-scale genome assembly of A. pseudosieboldianum combining HiFi and Hi-C data, and the final assembled genome size was 690.24 Mb and consisted of 287 contigs, with a contig N50 value of 5.7 Mb and a BUSCO complete gene percentage of 98.4%. Genome evolution analysis showed that an ancient duplication occurred in A. pseudosieboldianum. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that Aceraceae family could be incorporated into Sapindaceae, consistent with the present Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system. We further construct a gene-to-metabolite correlation network and identified key genes and metabolites that might be involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis pathways during leaf color change. Additionally, we identified crucial teosinte branched1, cycloidea, and proliferating cell factors (TCP) transcription factors that might be involved in leaf morphology regulation of A.